Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Droplets twirled in the brisk wind, spattering over cars, umbrellas, hooded jackets, and the hair and clothes of anyone unprepared for the weather. Bodies cloaked in thick fabric of every color scuttled through the bloated parking lot and to a beacon of light and heat. Four cartoon characters behind big neon icons and words stared down at the cold soon-to-be patrons, the bear’s hand extended out beyond the lights, its cardboard outline rimmed in a halo of pink and blue.

A young, lone boy approached the entrance, his thin frame engulfed in a thick orange jacket and pants that reached his old orange and white sneakers with blue lightning bolts on the outward-facing sides. A thick, knitted cap with long ear flaps and a pom-pom on top and dangling from long strings pressed down on his short, slightly curled hair. He wrapped his arms tight around himself and an old red, blue, and cyan plush bunny pressed tight to his chest, hidden from the inconsistent, sharp drops by his jacket. After a quick glance around, he spotted one adult and two teens swarmed by twelve children his age. Despite them all being clustered together, the only thing they had in common was their age. Even then, of the eleven and twelve-year-old kids, one was seven at most.

Gregory snuck forward further until he was close enough to gain their attention.

The girl in front of him looked back. “Hey, uh, hi.”

“Hello.” Gregory’s breath came out in a cloud before his face. “You guys are in a party?”

“Mhm! It’s my cousin’s birthday!” she answered cheerfully. “What about you?”

The boy beside her asked, “Yeah, uh, why are you over here?”

“Oh, I had to go back to the car to get my little sister’s toy.” Gregory held up the bunny toy. A once-shiny orange wristband hugged the thinnest point of his wrist. “Have you been here before? I know all the best places.” He glanced at the adult with an exaggerated tilt of his head to be sure the two saw the action. He lowered his voice, “And how to make the machines give you tokens back.”

The dubious boy’s eyes brightened. “Really?”

Gregory nodded. “Yep. See, if you put four quarters into one of the soda machines and then press the return button, sometimes they’ll give you five quarters back. And there’s a machine in the East Arcade that doesn’t work right. If you kick it in the right spot, you’ll get extra tickets and sometimes get your tokens back!”

Gregory chatted with the two birthday party kids as they pushed their way through the line of glass double doors. Four neon heads of the band members stared down at them as they passed.

They wove through the crowd directly toward the entrance stands, skipping the ticket lines entirely. The two teenagers walked around them like border collies, ordering kids together. A girl with short, spiky pink hair tipped red and wearing a leather jacket looked Gregory over. “Where are you supposed to be?”

The girl he talked to, Amanda, said, “Oh, his parents are inside! He was just getting his little sister’s bunny.”

“…okay. Just don’t run off or whatever.”

When the teen left, Gregory threw a quick glance around. Two adults with a little girl stood near the golden fountain. The girl sat on the man’s shoulders, head tipped back as she admired the golden statue of Freddy.

Someone in a neon orange uniform with a winking Glamrock Freddy on the back stood by the ticket gate in front of them, a tablet in their hands. A second uniformed employee–another teenager barely older than the pink-haired one that scrutinized Gregory–stood on the other side with a handful of bracelets. One of the kids held up a wrist and received a bright blue wristband. The second kid–a girl with a Roxy sweater–gained a purple one and a crown.

Gregory looked at the two adults by the fountain with their kid. “Oh! That’s them. See you!”

“Bye!” the two chorused.

The boy, Chris, said, “Thanks, by the way.”

Amanda nodded. “Thanks! It was really nice of you to get your sister’s toy.”

“Yeah, guess so.” Gregory edged around the crowd of kids. When he tried to get through the ticket stand, the employee with the tablet looked over at him. “Whoa, kid. Wait in line.”

Gregory showed off his wristband and toy. “My little sister left her toy in the car, so I went and got it. I’m supposed to be here.”

“Oh.” Still, the employee scrutinized his wristband. “…eh, looks okay. Go ahead.”

“Can, um… can you open this? I dunno how…”

“Can I have your ticket?”

“No?”

The girl in line for the birthday party complained, “Come on, I’m next in line! You’re supposed to be paying attention to me!”

“I’ll be right with–”

The pink-haired teen said, “Dude, just ring her up.”

“I need to–”

“Hold on.” The girl narrowed her eyes. “Is… no. Alex?”

The employee turned to their tablet. They took a card attached to their waist by an extendable string and scanned the ticket stand in front of Gregory. “Uh, there you go. What’s your name again?”

“Alex, you work here?”

“I-I don’t know who Alex is, Ma’am.”

“My name’s Samantha! From AP Chem?”

Gregory walked through the open gate and toward the adults. With a glance back to be sure his acquaintances weren’t looking at him, he walked straight past the party of three up one of the set of stairs flanking two huge faux palm trees.

Heh! That worked better than last time!

“Definitely. You’re lucky those teens recognized each other. You should’ve stayed with those kids longer.”

Yeah. That’s true. But we’re in! Gregory stopped at the top of the stairs near a pair of ticket booths pressed up back-to-back. They stood across from a kiddie rocket pressed against a wall between two elevators. The kiddie rocket squeaked as it rocked, and a little boy held on for dear life.

Gregory entered the right elevator with a few other people talking amongst themselves. He perked up. Walking beside a taller woman was a curly-furred, red-and-white-patched dog with a red vest. “DO NOT PET” stamped on the side facing Gregory. The boy looked at the dog and then the woman. She didn’t have one of those long sticks and sunglasses like blind people do. At least, from what he saw in the movies.

The elevator doors closed, and it jolted and sang.

Above them, a cheerful man’s voice interrupted the music. “Before their extinction, bears were known to attack pizza delivery trucks more than any other food service vehicles. This has been another fun Faz Fact!”

 Did they really do that?

“Maybe. Pizza is pretty good.”

The elevators opened.

Gregory stepped out last, his big brown eyes running across the gargantuan room large enough to hold a three-story house with room to walk. The center of the area was dominated by long party tables and flanked by smaller, fenced-off dining areas. Photo booths and fake plants lined the short fence around the main atrium space. Individual dialogue combined with the music and pounding of feet into a dull roar. Lights glowed and flashed, and TV screens hung over the walls and were attached to a huge box hung like a chandelier above them.

Gregory relaxed his grip on his toy and held it at his side. He shifted his hot coat and unzipped the front. Warm but not uncomfortably hot air rushed under his coat and brought attention to the damp skin beneath his old shirt. He ruffled his coat to bring air through his sleeves before finally taking it off and tying the arms before his chest and over his shoulders like a cape.

Gregory had been planning on making the show, but he had quite a bit of time to kill. He had told those two how to trick the machines. Maybe he could try it out again. But he also had a Party Pass he had been saving for weeks, now. He’d stolen it from the Hell-beast and originally planned on returning it, but running away from home left little opportunity or desire for that.

…Well, Gregory had never gone mini-golfing before. Or golfing. So why not?

Gregory skirted around the crowd past a giant lifted area of floor with a huge golf club and golf club amidst massive fake fronds. Beyond that was a room of various greens covered in fake greenery. A giant golf ball with large spokes ending in the bottom half of golf balls ringing it sat in the middle of the room.

A S.T.A.F.F. bot with a tablet whose screen faced outward–or perhaps there were two screens–stood before a large doorway into a wide green hallway. Gregory stopped in front of it as the thing let out a warning beep and held out its flat, three-fingered hand. “PARTY PASS” glowed in golden letters on the tablet screen facing Gregory.

With some hesitance, Gregory drew a golden pass from his pocket and held it out. The bot took it from him, tossed some confetti in the air with a happy trill, and stood up straight again. Another few people standing behind Gregory gave over their tickets.

He tromped down the hallway with a gradual bend decorated by Monty stuff, different cartoon versions of the animatronics with golf clubs, and a few ads.

At the end of the short, wide hall, he walked out onto a balcony overlooking a huge mini golf course full of lush trees and bushes. A trail wound through the room decorated by mini golf holes. He made his way down the stairs–unable to run due to the people around him–and grabbed a club, ball, and score sheet from one of the windows. There wasn’t much money left in his pocket after, but eh, there were people he knew who only gave him food or supplies, anyway.

Gregory set Bonnie down next to himself at the first hole.

He… well, bigger numbers were better, right?

Or was that in every other sport except golf?

After nearly reaching the limit of strokes on hole four, he picked up his shiny violet golf ball at hole five and puffed, “You’re supposed to go in the hole!”

Behind him, a loud and heavy voice said, “It ain’t the ball that determines your score, y’know!”

Gregory bristled and spun around. Monty, a golf club over his shoulder, stared down at him. Being an animatronic, Gregory couldn’t see any facial expression, only teeth.

“How’re you doin’, little guy? Knocking the ball out of the park? Or, in the park, I guess.”

Gregory puffed, “Well, I lost it a couple of times. This sucks. I’m not good at it.”

Monty made a weird noise like something between an “aw” and a laugh. “You’ll never get better with that attitude! Here, kid, lemme show you a few tricks. How much have you played?”

Gregory shrugged and looked down at the ball. “Um… not. I haven’t.”

“Ya haven’t? Then don’t be so hard on yerself, little guy! Not all of us get to be born golfers. How’s about this: I’ll give you a few tips. But you gotta be easier on yerself, okay?”

Gregory looked up at him and then at the flag at the end of the course and let out a short sigh. “Okay. You’ll, uh… you’ll help me, though? Aren’t you busy or something?”

“Busy keepin’ kids like you in the green! C’mon, little guy. Set yer ball down here. You’ll want to move yer feet a little so yer square by it. A good angle is just as important as a good swing.”

Gregory sidled around so he stood where Monty told him to, set down his ball, and held his club.

“Put yer hands down a little, like this. You want full control of the club. Ya wanna hit the ball, not yerself or anyone around!”

Gregory hit the ball four times before it rolled into the hole. Gregory bounced on his heels and peered into the once-empty hole. “I did it!”

“Four strikes! That’s a birdie. Not bad for a first-timer.” Monty ruffled his knitted hat.

Gregory ducked out of compulsion, leading the alligator to pull his hand back as if burned, but relaxed when Gregory laughed and stood up straight. “Thanks! Can we do another?”

“Depends. How many’s on your score sheet?”

“Um… five.”

“Five, huh? Weeeell, fer bein’ such a good sport…” Monty leaned down and lowered his voice to a loud whisper, “Don’t tell anyone, but I’ll let ya run the course again. Bad luck an’ all with the first few holes. How ’bout that?” He tipped his head a little so Gregory could see him wink behind his star-shaped shades.

Gregory grinned and responded in a loud whisper, “Okay!”

Gregory picked up Bonnie and scurried off as Monty turned and lumbered off to the golf club rental shop.

Monty is so cool!

“He is. Always was a little… off, though. To me.”

Really? Why?

“Well, he wasn’t part of the band. He was also really new. People like bowling. I don’t blame him for being a little standoffish with me. I was a classic, after all. Like Freddy and Chica.”

Oh. That’s true. He’s still really nice. Gregory set Bonnie down beside himself and the ball.

When Monty came back, they went back to going through the course.

Monty asked as they traveled to the next hole, “Where are yer parents, anyway? You wanna show ’em your score sheet?”

Gregory shrugged. “Well, my dad’s not here. I came here with my brother and sister. My sister’s going to some princess birthday party or something. My brother is supposed to watch her. So, he just let me play mini golf.”

Monty made a low noise. “Golf ain’t that fun alone, y’know.” He looked up. “Hey, kid! There are some others at the next hole. What do you think of joinin’ them?”

Gregory looked down the course at the next hole. Another girl his age and an older boy were there as well as two adults. “Can’t I play with you?”

“’course! But I got a birthday party I gotta go to in a little bit,” Monty admitted. “Sorry little guy, but I can’t stay much longer. Hey, maybe you’ll make a few new friends! Anyone who likes mini golf has to have somethin’ goin’ fer ’em.”

“…okay. Thanks! Um, you’ll still help me with this one, right?”

“O’ course, little guy. I said I would!”

Gregory managed to get to Hole Ten by the time the younger girl set her ball down for her turn. The family, upon spotting Monty, greeted the animatronic alligator, the boy more enthusiastically than the girl.

“How’s this party goin’?” Monty asked.

The girl exclaimed, “Great! I’m beating Jeremy!”

“By, like, one point!” Jeremy countered.

“Competition’s healthy, just make sure you don’t fight over it,” Monty pointed out. “…but you got this, Jeremy. Good job… Mary!” Monty paused for just a moment as he looked at her. Did he know all the kids here? “What do you guys think of an extra hand? Gregory here’s been going down the courses, an’ we were thinkin’ a bigger party might be fun.”

Gregory, clutching Bonnie with one arm, nodded. Though normally standoffish, Gregory was a little more relaxed with the animatronic alligator at his side talking for him.

Mary looked up at Jeremy, who shrugged, and their parents.

The woman said, “The more the merrier! Have you been playing long, Gregory?”

Gregory shook his head. “I’ve never played before. Monty helped me, though!”

“That’s nice of him. Thanks, Monty.”

“Any time, Mrs. Caviler. Have fun an’ score some good numbers!” Monty turned and walked off into the trail flanked by lush, fake greenery.

Mary asked, “So, who are you?”

“Gregory,” Gregory answered.

“Well, I know that. But I’ve never seen you before. Do you live close to here?”

Gregory shrugged. “Sorta. How long have you been here?”

“We just moved.”

“That’s probably why. Anyway, are you going to go?”

Gregory was quiet for most of the holes. He went last and was nowhere near Mary or Jeremy’s level, both of whom competed fiercely. Even with Monty’s teaching, Gregory was still new to the game. Mary and Jeremy’s parents did play, though, and Gregory managed to outdo their father. By the time they’d come around to the last hole, Gregory no longer stood on guard.

As Jeremy went, Mary asked, “So, what’s with the toy?”

“Bonnie?” Gregory asked, inadvertently tightening his grip a little on the toy. “Um, he’s mine. Why?”

“I was just wondering. You look kinda old to be carrying around a toy, y’know.”

Gregory shrugged, his eyes set squarely on her. “Yeah, well, what of it?”

“Nothing, I guess.”

Mrs. Caviler said, “Okay, you three, Pizzaplex is closing in an hour. Gregory, where are your parents?”

“They’re not here,” Gregory said, looking up from his ball one stroke away from the hole. “I came here with my older brother and little sister. I’m going to meet up with them… um… an hour before the Pizzaplex closes.”

Mr. Caviler asked, “Your brother? Where is he?”

“Probably by the Daycare. That’s where the party rooms are.” Gregory tapped his ball into the hole, snatched it back out again, and scribbled down the last number on his scorecard, folded it, and stuffed it in his pocket. “It was really nice seeing you guys!” With that, he scampered off the golf supplies shop and returned his club, ball, and pencil.

With that, Gregory left Gator Golf. He did throw one last look back to see if he could spot Monty. But if the green and yellow gator was there, Gregory couldn’t see him.

An hour.

“There’s probably plenty to do for an hour. Or maybe we should head back before it gets too cold.”

It’s already cold. Might as well stay inside for a while.

“That’s true, but if you wait too late it’ll get way too cold. Or you might miss the bus.”

Eh, I’ll take the next bus. Come on, Bonnie, we haven’t been here in forever!

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t want to be stuck outside.”

Trust me, we won’t get stuck outside.

Gregory made his way through the wide hall from the golf course to the entrance area in the atrium.

Gregory wasn’t all that pleased when he entered the atrium and found it so completely packed that he couldn’t get through the crowd. Oh well. It wasn’t like he’d be able to see it from the tables, anyway. The staff didn’t let anyone stand on the tables.

So, he skirted around the crowd and up on the raised platforms with tables, only to find them crowded as well. Except it was worse because the people there talked loudly to one another. Gregory ended up standing at the fringes of the crowd, sulking. He did try to backtrack and stand on the balcony of the second story, which a few other people did as well. He leaned on the glass and clutched Bonnie tight, refusing to look straight down.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!” a robotic, lively voice boomed. “Put your hands together for the one, the only…”

The stage split open, revealing Freddy, Chica, Roxy, and Monty.

“Freddy Fazbear!”

The crowd cheered as the band ran to the front and side of the stage, the sides lifting to show off the girls as the boys stayed on the main part of the stage. They weren’t quite close, but they were both in full view of the crowd.

Gregory hugged Bonnie tighter. However, the experience that once brought him intense excitement and joy failed to bring anything but a hollow pain in his chest.

“You’ll love them, Honeybun. You remember them, from the game, right? These are a little different. Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, and Roxy.”

“I saw them before.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, they’re at the entrance. But! They’re even more different in person. Ray’s mom told me that they can walk and talk on their own. Maybe we’ll meet one in person!”

“Like Bonnie? I want to meet Bonnie!”

“Yes, just like Bonnie.”

Gregory set his chin on the railing.

“We still have each other.”

I know.

Still, he fought to hold back tears. In fact, he tried to concentrate so much on both the concert and keeping himself together, he developed a headache. It quickly grew from bad to worse. Though it didn’t feel exactly terrible–he’d live–it became too noisy to properly see or to hear the people around him or the animatronics singing on stage. He took a step back and looked over the roaring crowd below and the line of people with him, barely hearing their chatter or the booming music from every speaker. To his right, meters away partially hidden by a plant and beside Roxy Raceway’s entrance, was a… mascot? Bonnie was the last rabbit at the Mega Pizzaplex. Did they introduce some obscure other rabbit while he wasn’t looking? Unlike Bonnie or the older versions he’d seen–like Bon-Bon and Spring Bonnie–this one was white with giant red eyes and a huge smile. Then again, there had never been any wolves or alligators before the mall. So, something new was nothing new, technically. His headache was making it hard to see her appropriately.

The white rabbit waved. Significantly shorter than the actual robots, and her movements quite fluid, he wouldn’t have a hard time believing she wasn’t one of the bots and was just the company trying out a mascot costume before bothering to spend the money on a bot.

Gregory looked around at the patrons, but none of them paid any attention to the slightly off-white rabbit. When he looked back, she stopped her waving and gestured for Gregory to come forward. The boy was hesitant, but when the white rabbit said nothing, he approached.

She backed off before he could get too close and walked into the hall leading to Roxy Raceway. Curious, Gregory followed her.

She skipped through the empty hall, sending a look back behind her as she went to be sure he was following. Follow he did.

She giggled, a noise that immediately spiked his heart rate. She asked, “What is your name?”

His headache eased enough to where he could think of the words he wanted to say. “I-I…” A sudden apprehension crept up on him. He blurted out, “Evan.”

“Evan? What a ni-ice name!” Her voice glitched in the middle. Was she actually a robot? Her voice had a metallic tinge, and it did glitch in the middle. Did that mean, if she was a robot, that she wasn’t functioning properly? Or maybe she was using a not-so-good-quality voice modder.

Bonnie?

“…”

The white rabbit went on, “You have a nice toy. I saw you were alone. Where are your friends, Evan?”

“Um… at the concert. My sister and brother are downstairs. I didn’t want to be in the crowd,” Gregory went on easily. “Our dad is picking us up after the show.”

“Maybe I can meet them after the show,” she offered. “But right now…” She turned her head back and forth so he knew she was checking their surroundings before turning to him. “I can sneak you backstage to meet with the glamrocks.”

“Really?” Gregory’s eyes went round.

“Yeah! I work here, Evan. They let me go anywhere I want.” She tipped her head, flopping her long, perked ears to the side. If she could close her eyes, she’d probably be winking. “What do you say? Who do you want to meet?”

“Monty!” Gregory exclaimed. Then, he hesitated and narrowed his eyes. “Why me? What do you want?”

She sighed. “I saw you all alone, Evan. I hate seeing kids sad. So, I wanted to turn that frown upside down! What do you think? We can go to meet Monty and you two can get your picture together. I’d bet my ears that he’s already given you something, huh?”

Gregory slowly nodded. “Um… yeah.”

“Did he ask any of the staff if he could do that?”

Gregory stayed silent.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell on you! Either of you!” She giggled to herself. “So, what makes you think he wouldn’t take one little picture with you?”

That’s true. Bonnie?

“…”

“Oh good! Come with me! I know a shortcut.” With that, she turned and skipped through the carpeted balcony and down the stairs. Gregory, his muscles a little stiffer, followed. The near-empty Roxy’s Raceway expanded far out to his right. She led him around to the bumper kart corral, empty of staff–human or bot. He just saw a door close. The white rabbit led him around the go-karts and into a new door.

It closed behind him.

The white rabbit stopped and looked back at him as they entered a severely different environment. In the cement tunnels, colors were far scarcer, and machines and covered construction equipment were more prevalent. “Come on, Evan. Rockstar Row is just down this hall!”

At first, the boy couldn’t force himself to move. This… was a horror movie. Plain and simple. He just followed a strange person into what was basically a dark alley, alone, without telling anyone where he was.

Gregory immediately spun around and pulled at the doorknob.

Cli-click.

“Evan!” The rabbit chortled and strode up to him, her large feet bouncy and nearly silent on the hard floor. “Come with me, I won’t hurt you!”

Gregory jingled the door again. “No, no! No, I want to leave! I don’t care about the picture, thanks!”

A soft, pale-furred hand landed on his shoulder. Now that her masked face was about three inches away from him, he could see the stitching holding together off-white patches of fur on her suit. While some were white, others were gray or tan. Some fur was thin and short, other patches shaggy and thick. One patch on her hip going down her thigh and her right hand weren’t furry at all, or even blank white. Was it a picnic sheet? A few wiry whiskers poked out of her snout and scraped against his face. “You already made your decision,” she whispered. Something moved up to touch his face. “Now–”

Gregory shoved her away and screamed. He turned tail and fled through the hall. Pain cut across his cheek and blood swelled from a nick the white rabbit’s knife left behind.

The once-silent footsteps thumped against the cement behind him.

He looked back and choked on his breath upon seeing the white rabbit running full pelt at him. She did have to pick up her legs further and move her feet in a such way that she wouldn’t trip over her own costume. With that edge, Gregory focused ahead on himself. Bonnie! Bonnie, I need your help! Why aren’t you talking back?!

“…”

“Gregory! Come back here!” Her snappy voice sank into his core like a tiger’s claws and turned his blood to ice.

Gregory turned a corner, staying between yellow and black banded lines warning him of dangerous equipment. Names flashed above various splits in the halls. Names of attractions like Roxy Raceway, names of food storage, and names of staff-only places like Parts and Service. Most of them were “barred” from him by gates, though the chain locks on most of them wrapped around the locks, one chain link door was cracked open. Ones without chains and instead a light at the top right were also cracked open with the light being red.

He turned a corner and hopped into a large laundry tub. He curled up into himself and cupped his hand over his mouth. The white rabbit raced past him.

Chapter Text

Bonnie held tight in his grasp, Gregory took long, shaky breaths until his heart slowed and his breaths evened out. His headache passed and he could think clearly again.

Bonnie? Are you there?

“Yes! Gregory? Are you okay?”

Yes! Gregory stopped himself from laughing aloud. Why didn’t you answer me earlier?

“I couldn’t. I couldn’t think. Something felt wrong, but I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t hear you.”

Gregory took a deep breath. “Well, we need to get out of here. I can’t stay here a second longer.”

“That’s fair. I don’t want to, either.”

Gregory peeked his head out of the laundry tub and looked up and down the utility tunnel. He climbed out and walked back in the opposite direction of the white rabbit–hopefully toward a door he could open. A second pair of footsteps joined his own.

Gregory froze and clutched Bonnie to his chest. He looked around, but the cement hallways echoed the steps and made them impossible to track. At least they sounded like shoes and not rabbit feet.

Still, he took a few slow, silent steps back.

A voice demanded from behind him, “Kid? What are you doing here?”

Gregory jumped and darted down the hallway.

“Wait, no! Kid!” the woman yelled and ran after him. “Come back!”

 She didn’t sound like that murder rabbit, but that murder rabbit was using a voice mod so she could be anyone–maybe even a he for all he knew! What he knew for certain was that he couldn’t get caught. He threw a glance back at the lady chasing him–a pale, blonde woman wearing a security uniform.

Sore but not tired despite how long he’d been on his feet and his previous run–how long had he been sitting in that tub?–he blundered through a couple of sets of double metal red doors already cracked open and shut them both behind himself. He dove into a small “room” on the right wall. A few boxes with glass walls facing outward lined the wall, but one was boarded over, and he shoved himself through the broken glass of the one beside it and hid behind the boards.

She followed him inside, hissing to herself, and searched the space. Eventually, she either gave up or imagined he had run out behind her because she turned and left right back through the red double doors.

Gregory peeked his head out from behind the boarded wall and squeezed out. Now he took a good look around the room. To the left of the room were engines or giant generators blocked off by a chain-link fence. A metal skeleton-like thing with ears and eyes with holes instead of pupils and irises hung from the ceiling. In the center pushed near the back of the room was a huge cylinder with giant tubes and wires connected to it and the ceiling. Huge windows ringed the outside and a big door faced the front. A computer terminal flanked the right side of the built-in door. Wrapping around the cylinder on either side were curled stairs with a very long landing connecting them, as he discovered after climbing up them. Four doors, each with a band member’s symbol in different colors, were painted on them.

He hesitated and then walked through Monty’s door down a brick hallway with a lime green edging. Gregory stepped into the weirdly small elevator and pressed one of two buttons in it–the glowing “up” arrow. The “down” arrow was currently dark.

The elevator jolted and its ding came out as a raspy croak that slowly, painfully died. The elevator doors opened, showing part of the floor as the elevator hadn’t even gotten the full way up before dying.

Gregory climbed out into the cramped cement room made tighter by boxes, machines, and a small chain link fence segment separating the walkway to the door from a huge red tube cylinder with a porthole and lightning bolt.

Gregory bristled as Monty spat, “Crap! Not again!” He stiffened as a hard thump emanated from his room as if something hit the door and then the shriek of metal on metal.

“This might not have been a good idea.”

Maybe not.

Gregory looked back at the broken elevator and stuck his head inside. Both buttons were dark. He pulled his head back and looked up. Nope, no vents. Maybe he could just wait here until the end of the night. The elevator croaked again and shut its doors before shutting off for good.

The noise within the room–which dramatically decreased to that of shuffling–stopped.

Gregory glared at the elevator and cursed it in his head. He looked around at his monotone surroundings, but it was too little too late as the door opened. The green and yellow alligator animatronic stepped out of his room and into the darker back room. The animatronic’s umber eyes stared at Gregory behind his star glasses. “What are ya doin’ here, kid? It’s after hours! An’ you ain’t supposed to be in my back room!”

“It closed that early?” Gregory asked.

“Early? Kid, it’s eleven twenty-five at night,” Monty pointed out. “It ain’t exactly early. What are you doin’ here?”

“Well, I wasn’t here because I wanted to be,” Gregory scoffed. “But I got tricked by some stupid rabbit lady and she chased me here. I don’t think she knew I came here, but she definitely chased me through the utility tunnels.”

“The utility tunnels? Ain’t no one without security clearance allowed in there! That place’s dangerous fer guests, and definitely fer kids.” He hesitated and put a clawed finger to his chin. “Did ya say a rabbit chased you?”

“A white rabbit lady,” Gregory confirmed.

“There aren’t any rabbits in the ’plex. You sure…?”

“Yes, I’m sure! She tried to kill me!”

Monty nodded his head to the door. “There’s a security off’cer who should be roamin’ around here any minute. We could get her help.”

“Her” help? As in that blonde lady in the tunnels? “No. I don’t know who she is, but I don’t trust her. Please, you gotta help me. I just… need to get out.”

Monty nodded. “That ya do, Little guy. Alright. If some is lady lookin’ to murder a kid, I’ll need ta sneak you out. Real easy. Bots ignore me when I walk around.”

Gregory furrowed his eyebrows. “Um… you’re not going to call her, anyway?”

Monty scoffed and waved a clawed hand. “Ah, all she’d do is help you get outside. I’m as good as any staff member.” He chuckled to himself.

“He has to help you if there’s an adult after you; ever since the late eighties, Fazbear animatronics were programmed to protect children against aggressive adults. Just be glad it’s not the… early eighties.”

Gregory nodded. “Okay. Thanks. Uh, wouldn’t they find me, though?”

Monty scoffed, “Not with me helpin’ you! C’mere!” He turned and walked back into his green room. Gregory followed, hesitating as he looked out the giant window that made up the entire opposite wall, the teal curtains drawn wide open. Monty stopped by his vanity and rifled through the drawers. “Lemme jus’…” Greenery draped from the walls. Monty balloons stuck to a few barrels of mini golf supplies. A couch with pillows and plushies sat up against the wall. Torn string lay scattered in the middle of the shiny floor. Most interesting was the ravaged hunk of metal that was probably once a S.T.A.F.F. bot lying near an arcade cabinet of a mini golf game.

Finally, he let out a victorious growl and pulled out a set of glasses like his own but much smaller. He gently picked them up and handed them over to Gregory. “Here ya go! A set of Gator Glasses!”

Gregory gasped and took the object. He immediately put them on. “Thanks, Monty!” The world took on a darker, slightly purplish hue.

“You’re welcome, Little guy! If ya ever need to contact me, jus’ use those! I won’t be able to talk to you directly. We’ll only be able to send messages to each other. But we can still communicate anywhere in the Pizzaplex. Oh, an’ it keeps a log o’ conversations an’ shows the time. So even if we get separated, I’ll still be able to guide you!” Every few sentences, his explanation came up in the chat log, which did take up some space in Gregory’s vision, but he could minimize it so he could see again. He opened it again immediately.

“Can I talk back to you?” Gregory asked. His response appeared in the chat log. “Oh, cool!”

“The mall closes at midnight. We should get going.”

Right! Gregory tapped the side of his glasses and minimized the chat log. “So, um, how do we get out of here?”

Monty started. “O-oh! Heh, yeah, should get on that.” Monty strode forward and tried to open the door of his greenroom. Click. He shrugged. “We’re normally locked in our rooms for another few minutes, then we’re allowed out on our patrols.”

Gregory asked, “Is there any way we can get out before that?”

“Why’s that?”

“Er, well, just in case that rabbit lady shows up or security tries to stop you or something?”

“…oh. Good point. You can climb through this vent. Go get a maintenance light from the back room while I open this.” Monty reached up to the vent register of the vent above his door. Gregory ran to the back. A long, thin flashlight sat on a box against a wall. He flicked it on. It technically lit up the area in front of him, but not by much. Still, it gave off light. So, Gregory pocketed it and ran back into the main room, where Monty had discarded the vent register. The animatronic alligator held his hands out for Gregory. Gregory stepped forward and allowed Monty to pick him up and lift him into the vent. Monty went on, “You should be able to open my door from the outside. Just go right!”

“Okay!” Gregory crawled through the short bit of vent into the main part, taking an immediate right once presented. He quickly came across a vent register leaking in bright white and pink light. The riff of a guitar spilled through the vent. He kept moving. Though the sound faded a little, it strengthened again as he took a turn and another vent connected to Chica’s room. He peered inside to see Chica rocking out on her guitar. Her very tidy room with pink walls and a jungle green floor glowed under the bright bulbs and neon lights. Weirdly, over a half dozen pizza boxes piled up in one corner.

He stopped at the end of the vent, pushed Bonnie out first, and then threw himself out feet first, catching himself with his hands on the edge to break momentum so he wasn’t falling as far. The edge of the vent cut his arm as he brushed past, and he sucked in his breath. When he inspected it, a few drops of red swelled along the slice. He’d live. Gregory plucked Bonnie off the ground.

The time was eleven-thirty pm.

The intercom stated, “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for visiting and we hope you enjoyed the show! Freddy and the gang are pretty tired, but they’ll be back again tomorrow! Have an awesome night, and we’ll see you again soon!”

Gregory looked over his dark, sparkly surroundings. The lights above were dark, and the neon lights of the gang’s faces and various symbols didn’t spread much multicolor light very far. A couple of wet floor sign bots with glowing circle eyes watched him at the end of the hall by a set of closed shutters, giving him a warning sign of where to stop. The light spilling out from Chica, Monty, Roxy, and Freddy’s rooms was enough to light his immediate path.

He walked past glass cases set on pedestals protecting various ancient artifacts of the past. The outline of a star-shaped guitar from one of the old rockstars in a case near the door was lit up by Chica’s room, as was a cupcake almost directly in front of it, and then a huge, stepped pedestal holding a golden statue of Chica lined with fake fronds. Monty’s green room sent pale green light over the hall. Monty stood in front of his window and gave him the thumbs up. Gregory tried to open his door, but the handle merely jerked. “It’s not opening for me, either!” Gregory complained.

“You can’t? Try, uh… swipin’ your Photo Pass the other way?”

“Photo Pass?” Gregory echoed. “I don’t have a ‘photo pass’. Do I need one?”

“Oh. Sorry, I thought ya did. Well, there should be one at a convenience counter,” Monty offered.

Great. Gregory bit back a sigh and walked into the hall. Hopefully, the convenience counter was close.

Before the violet curtains of Roxy’s greenroom was another red guitar, presumably from a rockstar. Roxy herself stood in front of her glowing star-shaped vanity in her spotless, mechanics-covered room playing with her mane and tail.

Then there was Freddy, the star of the show, in a bear-themed room with child drawings pinned on his wall, his greenroom exposed by the red curtains drawn and tied to the ends. He stood in the middle of his room, looking at a bowling ball. Freddy’s body remained still in his pose and his head rotated to the side. For just a moment, Gregory met Freddy’s intense lavender eyes. Then, his line of sight was broken as Gregory was too far down the hall to be seen.

Gregory stared ahead at the dark, checkerboard-trimmed shutters. He ducked under them as they opened a couple of feet, but no further. TVs attached to pillars held up the ceiling in intervals down the hall connected by red couches and potted plants. The first two pillars had nothing connecting them, allowing for a huge, open space and winding pale tile to weave around the space-patterned carpet. More decorations covered the walls, but the light emitting from Rockstar Row was too faint to properly see them. The bottom parts of a few gold poles in a line glinted. He saw the faint outline of the floor trim and a box at the close end of the narrower hall. He blinked and stood for a few seconds to let his eyes adjust. He pulled his sunglasses up to his forehead. Neon strips of light glowed above, making themselves known and glinting off the shiny metal of the poles and plastic TVs. At least with no brighter light source, he could use them to see their reflection in the pale, winding tile, the counter beside the poles, and the box ahead of him.

A pair of big red eyes glinted further down the hall. He jumped and lurched back. Gregory took out his flashlight and pointed it at them. The eyes vanished, leaving empty darkness in their wake. The boy sighed and took a few long, deep breaths to calm his racing heart and jittery nerves.

Gregory stepped forward, transferred the light to his hand holding Bonnie, and ran his fingers over a piece of thin, smooth plastic jutting upward and then to the side and closed around a handle. He pushed the handle forward and pulled it back, winding it and listening to it creak until finally it cracked, and the box lid popped off, letting out a burst of confetti. Gregory gasped and started, releasing the handle. He hissed to himself the ridiculousness of the situation, stuck his hand inside, pulled out the pass, and got to his feet.

As he turned and walked back, pulling his glasses down over his eyes as he did so, his headache returned. He looked down the hall and bristled upon seeing two big red eyes. He turned the flashlight on them. This time, the red eyes didn’t go away.

He ducked under the shutters, put away his flashlight, and darted through Rockstar Row, making sure to keep his head down and stay on the other side of the artifacts so that he could hide from the purple-eyed bear. Just in case, he glanced at Freddy. Freddy stood perfectly still and faced the hall, his baby blue eyes sweeping over the hall like a security camera. Roxy swung her head back and forth as she searched the hall, back to her vanity and hands raised at her sides as if ready to swipe.

Gregory stopped in front of Monty’s room and opened the door. Monty opened his mouth.

Gregory cut him off with a hiss, “Monty! We’re in trouble!”

Monty started. “Trouble? What’d’ya mean?”

“That white rabbit’s back a-and she’s gonna kill me! We need to get out!”

Monty nodded. “Get in my chest cavity. I’ll take you out through the utility tunnels. It’s the safest way out.”

Gregory threw another nervous glance back. “Okay. But be careful moving around.”

The yellow plate decorated with smaller plates opened to show a space inside of Monty’s shell that his endoskeleton and wiring didn’t completely take up. Gregory climbed inside the tight space, clutching Bonnie tight to his chest, and wrapping his coat tighter around himself to keep it from catching on anything. The plates closed and Monty prowled forward, body tipped forward to allow his massive tail room to move. Weirdly, Gregory’s glasses connected to a camera set in, and automatically projected by, the cameras in Monty’s eyes and he could see through them. He passed by Roxy and Freddy’s room, sparing them a look they didn’t return, and took an immediate left once the space opened up and the artifact pedestals ended. They passed a stage Gregory could see as Monty’s eyes caught way more light than Gregory’s, partially because they glowed.

He opened the double red doors with his massive, clawed hands, revealing a cement landing with a microphone and circle symbol painted on it immediately turned left into a staircase down into the dim-lighted cement walls–one wall painted lime green–and lime green metal stairs broad enough for animatronic feet to tread with unpainted landings.

Monty finally got to the end of the stairs and took a turn through a doorless walkway into a wide cement hallway akin to the one Gregory sprinted through earlier that night. A pair of shutters blocked their way, but they opened completely when Monty approached. He didn’t even need to duck his head.

A warning beep sounded in his system and the animatronic alligator stopped. “You’re hurt.”

“Don’t worry about it; I’m fine,” Gregory reassured him.

“Nope, sorry. Somethin’s wrong, Little guy. I’m takin’ you to a first aid station,” Monty stated.

“There’s no time! I’m fine!” Gregory’s complaints fell on deaf ears–or whatever Monty had–as Monty turned down the first tunnel branching off on the right. It wound down a few turns before finally stopping in a small, cluttered room with a three-walled, red-and-white room without a roof and a fourth wall made of a red curtain. A stand-up post that looked like a sawhorse stating “DANGER” in a big red circle and then under it in plain black and white “HIGH VOLTAGE” “KEEP OUT” sat next to it, blocking him from further entry. Well, those two mixed perfectly.

Gregory rushed into the first aid station and picked through the supplies until he found some antiseptic to clean off his arm. He clenched his teeth at the sting but made little noise as he cleared off the dry blood and dirt. The action reminded him of the cut on his cheek he needed to dress as well.

“Gregory! I hear someone!”

Gregory, wrapping his arm, froze and then peeked out of the curtains. Monty stood in the doorway. The gate and chains high up the stairs to Gregory’s left shuddered. A flashlight glared off his yellow, green, and purple casing. Officer Vanessa walked out; her flashlight trained on Monty.

“Monty?” Officer Vanessa asked. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in your room!”

Monty tipped his head up and swished his tail. “I’m on patrol!” he proudly declared.

Officer Vanessa shifted her weight and cocked her head, her free hand on her hip. Her exasperated tone turned accusatory. “You’re not due on patrol for another five minutes.”

Monty barked out a laugh.

The security guard let out a groan. “Okay, whatever. Look, we’re like fifteen minutes from closing, and some kid is sneaking around backstage. If you see anything, notify me immediately. I already alerted the others. Go back to your early patrolling I guess.” She turned around and went back in the direction she’d been walking. She muttered, “There’s a loose wire in that head of yours.”

Gregory glared after her, cut off the bandage on his arm, and stepped out to meet Monty. “I told you she was after me.”

Monty scoffed. “I didn’t say a thing. Now come on! Let’s rock!”

The kid pulled on his coat and climbed into Monty’s stomach hatch again. The animatronic started off down the utility tunnels. Gregory asked, “Where are we?”

“The utility tunnels,” Monty stated. “Told you that. Oh! Uh, probably mean where-where, huh? We’re under the Pizzaplex. These tunnels go to pretty much everything.”

Gregory raised his eyebrows. “We can go anywhere?”

“Yep! Monty Golf, Roxy Raceway, Fazer Blast… an’ all the staff places. But ya need to get through the doors an’ gates an’ such. Guests aren’t allowed down here, but you’re an exception.” A chain link fence blocked them, so Monty took a right through a small doorless doorway up another set of square-spiral, lime stairs. The stairway ended at a turn, the left side being a fence with locked chains and a Monty symbol that had been crossed out, and the right leading to an open room with another one of the red cylinders with the portholes and lightning bolts. A set of red metal doors stood ahead of them.

Monty hesitated. “That’s a recharge station in case we get low on power. I’m usin’ more power holdin’ you, but I still got some left in me, I think.” He continued moving.

This hallway was half pink, the walls halfway up being painted a vibrant pink as far as he could see. A red arrow with the black outline of a desk and maybe a person or bot and “LOBBY” pointing down through the hall stamped into the wall. Unfortunately, a table with stacks of paint cans on top and under it as well as a few boxes blocked the way. A gray door with a Chica and Freddy before and after the table cut into the right side of the wall.

Monty opened the door.

The hallway curved a few times before opening into a thin room with a long shelving unit full of stuff in the middle. Monty stopped and let out a nervous growl. “Sorry, kid, but I don’t think I’ll fit through here naturally. How about you walk on ahead an’ I’ll try an’ follow?”

“Uh, okay.”

Monty’s stomach hatch opened, and Gregory climbed out. He took off his coat and loosely tied it around his neck like a cape, again. He squinted in the darkness, but the umber light given off by Monty’s eyes helped somewhat. He wove around the block, made it to the door, and looked back. Monty looked at the given space and his paws and shuffled around to try and get through sideways. Unfortunately, his tail wouldn’t bend at that angle that easily, and he needed to tip his head pretty far back as well because of his combined snout and mohawk. His chest bumped against the shelving unit and caused it to shudder. He stopped and shuffled back. “Actually, I’ll find another way. See you on the other side, kid!”

Gregory grimaced but waved back. “Okay! See you on the other side!”

He turned ahead again and, clutching Bonnie, walked into the pitch-black hallway. He took out his pitiful flashlight, which with not even a neon light to help guide him, it looked extraordinary. He walked into a storage room a few times, but eventually, he made it to a door leading into a hall full of technology that whirred, buzzed, and glowed with various degrees of light including monitors with screen savers on. It wasn’t a good amount of light, but it was some light, and he could see it.

To his left was a gate with an anti-Monty symbol and locked chains. But to his right was hopefully the way out.

So, he continued on the right path.

At the end of the path was a symbol painted on the wall he couldn’t see, a chain link fence on the right, and an open area on the left. As he approached, something slammed into the left side and a yellow light glowed over the hall. Gregory jumped and picked up his pace. Roxy pushed into the fence, her clawed fingers in the holes in the linked metal. Lavender light glowed over him as he passed, his quick pace even quicker as he sprinted down the now half-purple, half-white brick hallway. The symbol on the wall was the same arrow with the desk, person, and “LOBBY” on it. “Hey, kid!” she called, but he didn’t slow down.

He shoved through a door into a wide space he could barely see into and slowed so he didn’t trip over himself. Something crashed behind him in the technology hall and feet slammed into the ground.

Then, stacked barrels exploded over the ground as Chica rammed through them, some edging toward the stairs at the opposite side of the room. “Lost boy over here!” she sang. His glasses beeped.

Gregory took the stairs heading up, running as fast as his legs would take him. Chica’s clawed feet took longer to climb up the steps than his own despite being faster over flat ground. Despite that, the stairs shuddered under her feet and her eyes threw lavender light over him and he could swear he heard the crackle of her electronics in his ears and his heart felt like it would burst.

The stairs ended on a landing. A symbol of a badge with a circle around it stamped into the wall. He rushed onto the landing and stumbled into the room, slamming his hand into the glowing green, Freddy-head-shape-button on the wall. Chica ran into the door with a hard thud! The other door slammed shut as well.

He squinted in the harsh gray light as static from the giant monitor filled the room, glinting off metal and plastic and seeping over cloth. Gregory leaned on the control panel, gasping for air and struggling to stay on his feet as his legs burned and threatened to give out on him. His glasses beeped again, and he pressed them.

The first message read, [I see you, kid! I’m behind you!]

The second message read, [Chica and I are at your door, and she wants in pretty badly.]

Beep! [Those things are tough! They’re meant to keep the staff safe and all that as long as they’re powered and closed.]

Gregory looked at the door power. He gasped. “Monty, the door’s at fifteen percent! How am I going to get out of here?!”

Beep! [Uh, don’t panic! Look, there should be a security panel on that desk. Hold on while I make it available to you.]

…

Beep! [There we go! Ha! Now you can activate the security.]

Gregory pressed the Freddy-head-shaped button on the security desk amidst the clutter of technology. The right door opened. Weirdly, the left one had gone quiet. His glasses beeped and another panel appeared beside his chat log labeled “CAM”.

Beep! [Your glasses are connected to the security cameras. Check on them! You won’t be able to read these messages while you look at the cams, and the cams aren’t attached to a real good map, but they are labeled.]

Beep! [If a camera detects sound, it’ll light up yellow. If it detects movement, it’ll light up red. Look for a way out of there and to the main lobby. That’s where the exit is. By the way, you think you can open the door now?]

Gregory went to the left door, but when he pressed the button, it just buzzed at him in return. “No. I think it senses that you’re nearby or something. No one’s on my right.”

Beep! [Oh, well. Maybe I’ll see where Chica went. You keep going!]

“Okay!” Gregory switched to the CAM tab. Monty was right; if that was a map, his plush Bonnie was a Freddy action figure. It was barely a few squares with tilted squares on it. Given, the tilted squares had triangles coming from one end and all of them were numbered. So that was somewhat useful. At the top were the numbered boxes and their labels. The box with a 2 for “SEC_LOBBY2” lit up red as did the square tilted up at a forty-five-degree angle at the bottom right of the weird geometry pretend-map. He tapped the edge of his glasses and highlighted “SEC_LOBBY1”, which was the landing in front of the left door, thankfully empty, and then “SEC_LOBBY2”, which was a bench in the square. Chica moved through it and rifled through some trash in the corner. “SEC_LOBBY3” was the opposite corner of the square. Was it just a loop? Yeah, it was a loop with the security lobby on one end and the main lobby on the other. Weird. The cameras were dark, but like Monty they were visible.

Gregory minimized it and walked into the dark hall, passing a dark spotlight, plastic tubs, and an empty laundry tub. He pulled out his meager flashlight and kept it low. She got to her clawed feet and continued moving. More tubs and cardboard boxes on the floor and on shelves lined the walls. Between the cameras was a branching hall that led into the main lobby. So, all he had to do was follow her… yes! There! Her eyes lit up the checkerboard-trimmed doors that led to the branch in the hall as she passed. He waited for her to take the corner before sneaking up to the corner and taking it.

The short hall led to another short set of doors and then passed into the entrance area before the ticket stands. Neon lights on the walls and ceiling as well as parking lot lights glowing through the massive front windows and glass doors lit up the shiny, dark tiles.

The time was twelve am.

Chapter Text

The intercom stated, “Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex is now closed. Initiating nighttime protocols.”

Gregory bristled and took off in a sprint past a huge pillar with a wrap-around, dark TV. Shutters decorated with winking Freddy faces slid over the doors. “No. No! Wait! I’m still here!” He slowed to a stop as he got to the sealed exit and sighed. “Now what am I supposed to do?”

Beep! He tapped his glasses. [Aw, it wouldn’t let you through? Well, there’s another way. The doors open at six am, so you should be able to get out then.]

Beep! [Until then, keep moving and try not to draw too much attention to yourself. If we find another way, I’ll help you. Promise.] Gregory re-read the message before minimizing it. He had Monty on his side. He shouldn’t worry too much, right?

He clutched Bonnie a little tighter and looked out the windows as he passed. The air chilled as he got close. He shivered and looked ahead. The air warmed as he walked deeper into the entrance area, though not by much. The temperature would only seriously change past the ticket stands.

Great. Ticket stands. He’d only gotten through because of dumb luck last time. There wasn’t any teen to recognize a poor teen employee this time. Across the vast room, he looked past the pillars with dark electronic ads to see neon lights pointing to a sign. He faintly read something about a pass. Pass? Oh, something like a ticket into the Mega Pizzaplex, maybe?

This box had a crank on it, too. Gregory rolled his eyes and, preparing for the worst, held it down and cranked it until the top popped off with a honk and spray of confetti. He snatched the pass and walked to the ticket stands, which accepted his pass once he swiped it at a certain angle.

Beep! [Good job, kid! You got into the lobby! Unfortunately, that ticket doesn’t let you into the Pizzeria. Look in Customer Service; there’s an upgrade machine in there.]

Gregory started to speak but choked on his words upon seeing something move before the giant fountain before him. He tapped his glasses and minimized the chat log.

A faintly humanoid robot rolled around on two combined wheels, one robotic arm held up with an embedded flashlight, big block sensors with a robber mask painted around it on its face shadowed by a security cap. Aside from the hat and flashlight, it was identical to the ones in the utility tunnels and the one that took his party pass. It rolled back and forth, searching the rather small area. But worse than the creepy robot was the white, pink, and green shape that lumbered around the fountain. Thankfully, Chica’s back faced him, and her head pointed away.

Gregory glanced around at his surroundings and then tried to creep forward. Unfortunately, both ways he looked, the entryways were blocked by diamond-shaped rolling shutters. He darted up to the fountain, out of range of the creepy security bot, and looked around for Chica. She stood at the top of the bright pink stairs leading down. But, before she could step down, Monty called, “Hey, Chica!”

She stopped and turned to her left. “Monty?” She stepped away from the stairs. Gregory let out a quiet breath and looked into the building beside himself. To his right, “Glamrock Gifts” inside two circles with lightning bolts glowed in neon on the shop window. Across from him, on the second-story wall next to the balcony, was “Faz pad” glowing in yellow neon. More than likely, he was going to go right.

Gregory went up the stairs and across the walkway. The “Glamrock Gifts” symbol glowed above the door. Behind him, a photo booth sat on carpet between two elevators. The crowded gift shop screaming at him to buy its yet-to-be-restocked merchandise weirdly felt more cramped and emptier than it did when it was packed with people. Maybe it was the darkness.

The first story’s centerpiece facing the counter was something about a… mystery prize, maybe? There were a lot of question marks and a box with a crank flanked by the daycare attendant plushies. Well, the last two gave him passes. Maybe this one was a mystery prize that happened to be a ticket into the Pizzaplex.

He popped open the box and plucked the “prize” out, only to find—

“It’s a crappy Mr. Hippo fridge magnet? Lame.”

Beep! [Oh, sorry about that, kid. Maybe next time.]

Well, he wasn’t here for the mystery prize, anyway. He was here for the tickets. So, the desk must be under the Fazpad.

Gregory backtracked up the stairs and across the carpeted landing. No noise came out of the place. So, he walked across the walkway and through the café. Hunger clawed at his stomach, but he ignored it. He had more serious issues right now. If he came across food, he’d go for it. Right now, he had other things to deal with.

He descended a couple of flights of stairs, the stairwells completely unlit and thus he needed to keep his hand on the wall to keep from falling.

Immediately after opening the door, he found a machine to the far right with a big screen on its face behind a counter. A few neon lights lit up the area, but they were scarce. He walked up to the machine and glanced at the wall beside it, where a warning to keep magnets away from the machine was stuck onto the wall beside it. The immediate desire to slap his new magnet onto the machine was balanced by the need to get a new pass. If he broke the machine, it might not give him a new pass, after all.

A screen with bear ears on top said, “UPGRADE YOUR FULL ACCESS PASS!” while the screen on the machine had the same light blue background but switched between a little chubby blue-pink-and-white bear with dialogue and the same bear with a barcode beside it. He fed the pass into the slot next to the number pad and looked at the screen. The screen stayed with the little bear saying its name and offering to help. Gregory huffed. “It ate my pass!”

Beep! [Is there any way of, uh… undoing it?]

Gregory glanced at the magnet warning and then the machine. Heh, maybe. He took the Mr. Hippo magnet out of his pocket and gave it the greatest purpose it could ever fulfill.

The screen glitched and the bear became very worried. Then, the machine spat out a new card—a blue one with clouds and a sun and a moon on it.

“Yes! The magnet scrambled the machine!” Gregory hissed in victory. Then, his eyebrows furrowed, and he took the pass. Superstar Daycare PICK-UP PASS. “Aw, man. Now it’s some kind of Daycare Pass?”

Beep! [Daycare? Ya sure? Er–well, ya see it. Course yer sure. Well, uh, yeah. Have you tried the elevators?]

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “Isn’t that how you enter?” Still, he left the café and walked to the first elevator he found. Nope, nothing. “It’s locked. I think I need that entrance pass.”

Beep! [Nah! Wait there a moment!]

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

The green and gold animatronic ran through the front entrance, halfway up the stairs to the landing, and then leaped up to the balcony near Gregory. He bared his teeth in a laugh. “See? Told you I’d be back! Let’s get movin’, Little guy!” He strode up to the elevator and pressed the button. It beeped and opened for them. Monty allowed Gregory in first.

After the doors shut and elevator music turned on, the elevator announced, “Did you know that everyone loves pizza? Yes, it’s true! Based on a double-blind study from a leading Fazbear publication and scientists, one hundred percent of those questioned would choose pizza over any other food group, even people with wheat and dairy allergies! This has been another fun Faz Fact!”

Gregory looked up at Monty. “Really? Is that true?”

Monty nodded. “Probably. Chica likes to say pizza is her favorite food, too.”

Gregory thought for a long moment. A memory of warm smells, a vast span of brown and yellow flecked green, and a gentle chiding to keep him from burning himself he always ignored crept into his mind. “Has she ever had casserole?”

Monty blinked. “What’s a casserole?” Then he said, “Er, well, there are two exits you can take! There’s the Loadin’ Docks down by the kitchen, and then the Fire Escape by the Prize Counter. You… don’t have a map. That’s okay, I’ll jus’ show you where it is an’ we’ll take it from there!”

The elevator doors opened.

Gregory crept out behind Monty. His eyes went wide. Neon lights made themselves known and glinted off the shiny bits of wall, railing, and floor near them but that was about the extent of it all. What was once a colorful, crowded wonderland plunged into a dark nightmare. Shadows stole the true color of the massive environment and the lack of lights over the main atrium floor turned it into a gaping void. Far off, a few flashlight beams pointed at a low angle lit up the area before themselves and moved at a quick, even pace—too even to be human. Monty’s umber eyes cast a glow over the confetti-carpeted ground and sleek, decorative map stand before them.

Gregory stepped out into the dark when a metal, three-flat-fingered hand gripped his arm with a sharp alarm. He squealed and whipped around to face the bot that grabbed him. It immediately released him and held out a shiny, dark pamphlet. The bot, though built like the security bot, had a yellow torso with a lowercase “i” on its front, orange blush circles, a hat with a short, round brim, and a square fanny pack of maps. It stated in a monotone voice, “Hello! Please take this map.”

Gregory stared at it, wide-eyed, tiny flashlight gleaming off its round glasses.

“Take a map.”

Monty said, “It ain’t leavin’ you alone ’til you take a map.”

Gregory switched his flashlight hand and took the map.

“Thank you. Please enjoy.” Map Bot stood up straight and swiveled its head around, searching for more mapless victims.

Gregory looked up at Monty and then the map, which he unfolded. It wasn’t that complex, but it was large, and it was labeled. Monty pointed to two places. “That there’s the fire escape, which you can enter through here, and that’s the loadin’ docks, which you can enter through here! An’ you’ve been to Monty Golf before. So, let’s get goin’!” Monty started walking.

Gregory folded his map, shoved it in his pocket, and walked after him. He asked the animatronic alligator, “Where are we going?”

Monty answered, “Well! You need a security badge, right? There’s one in Monty Golf! There are exits in the Prize Counter and you could take the Fire Escape. But you’ll need access to ’em first.”

Gregory nodded in understanding.

“Where, uh… where do you want to go? Exit from?”

“Loading docks,” Gregory answered. “They’re the closest, and I don’t want to set off a Pizzaplex-wide alarm or something that would attract her to me.”

“Good thinkin’!” Monty congratulated. “You’re a real smart kid, you know that?”

Gregory shifted his pocket flashlight to his other hand and looked at that, instead. “Heh. Uh, thanks.”

Monty’s feet clanked against the tiled floor of the main atrium. Gregory sucked in his breath and turned his flashlight off. A flicker of yellow appeared at the edge of his vision. Yellow eyes glowed over party favor-covered tables in the center of the atrium, flickering behind the potted plants and photo booths that got between them until those, too, stopped appearing.

Then, they got to a large platform with giant fake fronds and blades of grass and a huge golf club and ball declaring “Gator Golf”. The party-themed shutters opened.

Roxy’s yellow eyes snapped to the shutters. She hesitated in her patrol. But, upon seeing only Monty, she turned away and kept moving. “Hey, kid! Come on out!” she called.

Gregory followed close to Monty’s side. Once the shutters closed behind them, Gregory turned his mini flashlight back on.

They walked through the green-carpeted, plant-covered golf entrance area and to the green and gold shutters trimmed gray blocking them from the hall. A bot quite similar in build to the security bot and Map Bot but with a purple throat, hatband, upper arms, and triangles stretching out from under its eyes stood before the shutters. Yellow buttons trailed down its chest. It held an electronic “FAZCOMMS” sign with Helpy and a box with a ticket feeder in it on its hip. Though it tried to turn toward Gregory, Monty stood between him and the ticket bot, and it stared ahead again.

The large hallway wound, empty and dark, lined with various golf-related decorations, and ended in a set of shutters that opened up into the huge mini golf course. While during the day the ceiling lights and lights inside of the different shops lining some walls and in the center house lit up the whole place, the only lights he could see were the orange string lights in the trees hanging over the path like a swarm of lightning bugs frozen in time. A couple of flashlights glowed further in as two security S.T.A.F.F. bots made their way around the golf course. Gregory frowned at his pitiful light. Still, it was better than nothing. Besides, he had Monty, and he could see Monty.

A few closed ice cream stands stood on the balcony as well as some wooden benches, just as he remembered them. “Monty’s GATOR GOLF” was printed on the carpeted floor before them. A small gift shop cut into the wall directly to their left. Alligator heads all in various positions from being completely hidden in the water with their jaws shut to out and silently hissing lined the winding path.

Gregory looked up at the small stage as they passed by it.

“Monty played there before he became the bassist for our group.”

Gregory asked, “Do you still play on stage?”

“What d’you mean?” Monty asked, incredulous. “I was just on stage tonight!” His eyes went to the stage beside Gregory. “Oh. That’s what you mean.” His voice lowered a little. “…not too of’en anymore, but sometimes.”

Beside the stage was “Gator Grub”, a kitchen currently dark and empty. As a S.T.A.F.F. bot started to get close, Gregory ducked inside. Monty, curious, followed. He admitted, “I guess this is another way to the security office, yeah. Now, an alarm’s gonna go off once ya pick up that badge. I’ll work on turnin’ it off, alright?”

“Okay.” They passed by a couple of ovens, a fridge, and some more tech before passing through a door into a tiled hallway tinted green like the rest of the minigolf course quickly ending in a right turn. A symbol of a security badge with a circle around it and an arrow pointing down the hall was painted at the end of the hall.

A quick turn later exposed a short hall with five red doors–two on each side and one at the end. The first on the right was locked with a white “5” on the top left, while the first on the right was left unlocked. A security badge symbol pointed to the left two doors. For being security, this seemed extremely unsecure.

Monty waited out in the hall as Gregory stepped into the checkerboard tile room barely wider than the door with a shelving unit on one side and a desk unit extending out of the side to the right at the end. A security metal door and a thin window cut into the wall on the right, at least.

When Gregory stepped into it, red lights turned on throughout the small checkerboard outer room and the security inner room and an alarm blared. He jumped and looked around the small space before seeing the Freddy-head-shaped holder on the tech-covered table in the front. He touched the nose. Beside it was a camera and on top of a pizza box was a blue and rainbow ticket to MAZErcise. “What’s this? It looks like an old camera.” He pocketed the ticket and badge and picked up the camera.

The time was four-fifteen am.

Gregory glanced at the time on his glasses again. Why did picking up the camera mess with his glasses of all things? Weird.

Monty opened the door and stepped inside. “C’mon, kid! Let’s get outta here!”

Gregory ran out behind him, Bonnie tucked under his arm with the camera in his hand and the flashlight in his other hand. Monty glanced down at him. “Oh, you got a Faz-Cam! Yeah, you can use the flash to stun animatronics. Not me o’ course, ’cause of my glasses. Like you’d try. Hah! Bright lights or flashes cause us to briefly malfunction.”

Gregory glanced at the time as they escaped onto the minigolf course. “Monty, what time is it?”

“Four-fifteen. It’s gettin’ late. Good thing we’re still together! The doors open at six. We’re gonna make it!”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “You didn’t feel that?” What? Bonnie, did you?

“That wasn’t a malfunction? Did time just move really, really fast?”

“Feel what?”

“Time just moved! It was just twelve.”

Monty looked down at him. “Little guy, it’s four-fifteen. Couldn’t’ve just been twelve. Might’ve felt like it, though! Heh.”

Gregory frowned. “Really, we came here directly from the doors. Though… if we came here from the doors… why was it still twelve? It should’ve been twelve-oh-five or something.”

“Something is really wrong here.”

You’re telling me.

Monty started climbing the stairs and Gregory followed. “I’m not sure what yer talkin’ about little guy. But if ya want to leave early, we can get to the loading docks.”

Gregory’s eyes brightened and he nodded. “Yes!” Time glitch thing or whatever or not, they don’t need to think about it. What’s important is getting the heck out!

“And getting away from the white rabbit.”

Right, getting away from the white rabbit .

Gregory had spent most of his time at Monty Golf while the Pizzaplex was open. Even walking in the same direction he’d gone to leave, it was unrecognizable in the darkness and without its various moving parts.

Roxy still patrolled the atrium, though now her clunking footsteps took her to the areas below the balcony. She passed under the stairs between them and the doors leading to Salads and Sides.  Though her head was turned to the side as she inspected her environment, she would be moving toward them any moment, now. Her head tipped up as she sniffed the air and her ear twitched. Could she smell him? Oh no.

Gregory, light off, looked at Monty, who looked down at him. He whispered, “Jus’ climb into my stomach hatch and I’ll walk you past her.” His yellow-plated stomach hatch opened. Gregory slipped his jacket on, stuck the camera into his jacket pocket, and climbed in. Monty’s stomach hatch closed behind him. He tipped forward as the animatronic alligator did so. She started walking in their direction, just seconds after Monty’s stomach hatch closed. Monty passed her, swinging his head back and forth as he pretended to search for Gregory.

Roxy didn’t even glance at Monty, and instead passed him, growling to herself. “You will find him!”

Once they were a sufficient distance away, and had a few closed food carts between them, Monty stopped and opened his stomach hatch. Gregory climbed out, pulled off his jacket, and tied it around himself again. Gregory looked at the doors and the vent, then walked up to the nearest door and pulled on it. Nope, locked and with too high a security clearance for him.

“They’re all that level,” Monty said. “I think I could go with you down there. Open the door an’ such. That vent leads directly to it. We could meet in the middle.” Monty growled to himself and then said, “That’d be too dangerous. Nah, you can come with me, we can go together!”

Gregory glanced at the vent. “Well, if it’s faster, and that vent connects directly to it, then what’s the harm? I went through those tunnels by myself! I can do this.”

Monty snorted. “Ain’t you optimistic! Well, you got spirit. If you’re sure, then, I’ll meet you there. Though, if you enter an area where I can’t see yer glasses then I won’t be able to track you. So, keep that in mind, alright?”

“Got it!” Gregory confirmed and strode over to the vent. Monty pushed open the door to Salads and Sides.

Gregory looked through the shiny, square vent. A few cables snaked over it. At the end where a corner began were gently spinning metal blades. A grate made a barrier between the fan and the vent itself. Bonnie in his arm and flashlight in the same hand, he crawled on his knees and one hand through the vent. Upon turning, he found more cables poking through the walls like stitches, crossing through the walls, and attaching themselves to electrical boxes. Some cables snaked across the ground. The boy clenched his teeth as every movement echoed and his uneven weight distribution caused the bendable vent to squeak and thump. After a short incline, he found a hole in the vent’s ceiling going straight up. Some lights glowed inside his vent, which was a blessing.

Gregory froze upon hearing metal clicking. Behind him, a little rusted metal creature dropped from the vent above. Six metal legs held up its rounded body while its two arms held cymbals before it. It lifted its square head, white with pink makeup and a black top hat. It stared at Gregory with empty black eyes. Its broken, thin rectangular teeth gnashed in its unmoving mouth.

Then, it charged.

Gregory bristled and turned a corner, thumping unevenly through the vent as he hurried forward. The vent opened into a small circular room of sorts with a grate for the floor. He could stand on two feet and run for a few steps before diving into the other side. Its “feet” clicked on the vent lining and cymbals clanged as it gained on him.

The vent went down.

Gregory threw himself down. Except, his palm slipped. Instead of crawling, he was sliding. He crashed into the wall with each turn but didn’t slow. The little rusted creature’s scratchy music faded out of existence. Decades later, his battered body slid out into a small room. He landed on the grated floor with a huff as the fall knocked the wind out of him.

Gregory groaned and pulled himself to his feet. He held his arms above himself in a testing stretch. Nope, no broken bones. He retied his jacket knot and looked around at his surroundings, finding two red tanks and then a doorway that led into another small room with equipment and cartoon posters above what looked to be a bar. Phrases such as “100% OF FATAL ACCIDENTS INVOLVE HUMANS” on a poster with a S.T.A.F.F. bot, a picture of Monty’s mouth twisted in a smile cut off at the top of the muzzle said, “NEVER STOP SMILING” and then a poster of Chica holding a pizza cutter with one hand as the other had been sliced off was accompanied by “KNIFE SAFETY.”

Disinterested in everything going on in the empty breakroom and the open bathroom attached, he walked past a bunch of lockers and through a room straight out of a Sci-Fi movie. Monitors and machines along with a spaghetti plate of cables and wires and all sorts of wall machines cluttered the space so heavily Gregory had to watch his feet to keep from stepping on something. Yet there were two rolling chairs? Were they put there before or after a box of wires exploded all over the floor? There was a can of Orange Fizzy Faz with Freddy on it. As he discovered it was unopened, he snatched it and drank the can.

Outside of the room, a grid of catwalks ringed giant metal vats he could imagine someone had fallen into before above. As he drank his soda, now more fiercely aware of his thirst having ignored basic functions in his fear and escapes, he checked the cameras on his glasses. Chica roamed the catwalks. The catwalks themselves were high up and due to the darkness, Gregory couldn’t see the area below.

Gregory decided to scoot around to the door on the opposite side of the room. He set the empty can back down where he found it—not his fault he couldn’t see a trash can—and carefully moved through the sliding metal door. Chica wove around the vats. But if he was careful, he could just slip by her. She didn’t seem to be using the leftmost catwalk, though she did seem to gravitate toward the door he needed to go through. Chica was just really good at getting exactly in his way, wasn’t she?

At one point she made a sudden turn and he had to walk across to another row of the catwalks to avoid her. That just meant he was closer to the door and her back was turned to him!

Victorious, he slunk through a metal door in a yellow wall with a suitcase symbol beside it. A normal desk room nestled behind the door with computers and chairs in connected tables. Litter and objects cluttered the space. Unfortunately, Gregory did not have long to look at his surroundings as the door squeaked close behind him. He heard an exclamation of some sort in probably chicken language behind him and heavy footsteps clanged against the catwalk.

Gregory bolted out the other door and through a set of catwalks above a giant kitchen. Chica opened the door to the desk room just as Gregory slammed through another. Three more doors were presented to him: one on each side and one down the hall a little. To his left stood a security door. He ran through that one. It slammed shut behind him and magnetically locked. The power meter beside it glowed. The footsteps stopped, but Chica’s banging on the door began.

Gregory backed away further into the small security office, most of it taken up by maroon cabinets and a giant computer monitor system on the opposite wall. Most of the monitors were blue save for the giant one showing the kitchen below, but one had a picture of Helpy in a chef hat tossing a pizza. The second security door stood blocked by a tower of boxes.

On the table sat a Freddy head with a security hat. Yes! Gregory pressed its nose and the head opened painfully slowly until the card was completely revealed. Gregory snatched it. The card reader snapped shut.

Gregory glanced at the door and hissed, “Monty, are you there? I’m trapped! Chica found me and there’s only one security door!”

Beep! Gregory tapped his glasses and opened the chat log. [Oh, that’s bad news. Hey, I got good news: you have access to the pizza delivery system through that console.]

Gregory coughed and asked, “What? How is that supposed to help?”

Beep! [Chica loves pizza!]

Oh, right. Was the pizza made right here? Admittedly, it made sense, considering there was an entire kitchen under them.

Gregory set Bonnie on the desk and pressed the button in front of the monitor.

Immediately, the computer greeted him. “Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex Quick Delivery Virtual ordering system. It seems you have qualified to upgrade to a supreme. Additional charges may apply.”

The screen became a camera. The screen, now flanked by blue grids with an objective marker at the top left, turned on as well. Though darkness enveloped the kitchen, the bot’s vision was brighter and allowed Gregory to at least see where he was going and the pictures on the labels of various stations. The HUD of the S.T.A.F.F. bot took up quite a bit of space, but he could still see through it. A flat circle of dough sat at the bottom of the screen as the bot held it. “You are now in control of one of our highly qualified pizza-making S.T.A.F.F. bots. Follow the instructions on the left side of your screen to force the bot to make your perfect mouth-watering pizza.”

The S.T.A.F.F. bot stated, “Let’s start with the sauce.”

Gregory drove the bot around the kitchen looking for the sauce machine. He stole a quick glance at the security door. The battery life drained way too fast for his liking. Technically, any draining was too much for his liking, but this fast?! He found the sauce machine and selected it. The machine automatically sprayed sauce over the pizza for a few seconds before the S.T.A.F.F. bot picked it back up.

“It is now time for some cheese. Yum.”

Commanding himself not to follow the urge to yell at the bot to go faster, he obeyed the directions and looked for cheese. That machine wasn’t too far away, thankfully.

Chica called from the door, “Don’t worry, you’re safe with me.”

The computer bot suddenly chipped in, “Would you like to take a short survey about your experience?

Another few seconds were spent dispensing shredded cheese on the pizza before the bot picked it up again.

“Let’s get some delicious meat.”

“Let me take you to your parents,” Chica offered.

Gregory turned the bot around and searched the metal maze of tables and kitchenware until he found a machine labeled “MEAT” which the S.T.A.F.F. bot used as it put down the pizza. Another few seconds passed as what looked like pepperoni sprinkled over the pizza.

“Now it is time for the ‘not meat’ stuff.”

“Your family is looking for you.”

Gregory sent another nervous glance at the steadily draining door power but kept most of his attention—and then all of it once the bot picked up the pizza—on the screen. The “NOT MEAT” machine stood further in.

“Gregory…” Chica called. Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. How did she know his name?

What looked like spam rained down on the pizza. The bot picked it up. “Time to bake. An oven would be ideal.”

The boy pushed the bot onward in search of the oven and stopped upon finding it. The oven slowly opened, accepted the pizza, and then slowly shut. The button didn’t take long to press, but the oven took its time to cook. Strangely, when the pizza came out, it came out already wrapped in a pizza box with a smiling Freddy face on it.

The computer congratulated, “Delicious! To ensure a safe and timely delivery, our cutting-edge Pizza Tracker allows you to deliver the pizza to your own home or residence. Additional mileage charges may apply.”

The banging stopped.

Gregory looked up at the battery that stopped draining and then at the screen. The S.T.A.F.F. bot turned on its own. Chica now stood beside it. She grabbed the bot, cried “Pizza!” and lunged at the bot’s camera, which immediately went to static. Gregory stepped away from the console.

The computer bot went on cheerfully, “Your pizza has been delivered. How would you rate your service? Pick two that apply.”

Gregory decidedly left the console, picking up Bonnie as he went. When Gregory left the room, Chica was nowhere to be found. He went down the hall and into a long, but not very wide, room. A hall back into the kitchen flanked the stairs. Across from that stood a set of double doors… that were too high of security for him to open.

Oh well.

He went through the kitchen. Across the kitchen was a set of double doors. “EXIT TO DOCKS” painted above them; white text on a red rectangle that popped out of the otherwise monotone walls. He froze upon seeing Chica and turned off his flashlight. She knelt on the floor, ripping apart the pizza. Gregory snuck by her, all but pressed up against the tables lining the wall and a duffle bag. The chicken animatronic, too busy with her meal next to the overturned S.T.A.F.F. bot, didn’t notice him pass by nor did she even twitch to acknowledge one of the double doors a few feet away from her opening a little and then closing. He turned on his flashlight once out of the sparsely lit kitchen.

Ahead of him, through a short, open-topped hallway without a door, was a large gray room with yellow and black stripes painted into squares on the floor. Giant crates and forklifts scattered across the floor. Gregory said, “I found the loading docks, but there’s nothing here. There are some big garage doors, but I don’t see a way to get out.”

Beep! [You see a set of controls anywhere?]

Gregory spotted a computer terminal near the door on the further left side of the room with a tall, thin pedestal topped by a glass case. He walked up to the terminal and looked over the pedestal with the badge. “I think so. There’s a funny locked box with a badge on it.”

Behind him, a door opened.

Gregory jumped and pointed his flashlight back. It reflected off green and gold paint and purple star lenses. He relaxed. Monty stated, “That ain’t good. Someone changed the permissions on it an’ made ’em way too high.”

“Can’t you open it?”

Monty shook his head. “I ain’t allowed to open exit doors unless it’s an emergency.”

Gregory frowned and then asked, “Can we try the fire exit?”

“Yep! Come with me! The doors require a higher security level than you have right now, so you gotta keep with me for a bit.”

Chapter Text

They walked straight back through the kitchen–Gregory hiding in Monty to evade Chica–and through a few doors and hallways clustered with boxes and shelving units. A recharging station pressed up against a corner beside a huge, industrial elevator. It opened from the middle like a set of jaws, its tooth-shaped, double-layered metal doors opening at a delay to one another to allow them entrance.

Roxy had vanished from the atrium floor when they came back, which was good for him, he supposed. But at the same time, he had no clue where she was, now.

Monty said as they walked, “You can get to the Prize Counter through the Super Starcade, which is locked tight. So, you’ll get through El Chips. But the fire escape should be right next to the Prize Counter. We got this.”

They climbed up a set of escalators to the carpeted first-floor balcony. El Chips, Gregory found, was on the third-floor balcony in the middle of the east wing.

Stairs.

Why couldn’t the Starcade be on the first or even second floor? Main floor?

They passed fake potted plants and clusters of arcade cabinets as well as a large menu stuck into the floor in front of El Chips. When Gregory stepped up to it, it opened a couple feet, but no more.

Monty sighed. “Yep, that’s what I was afraid of.” He got down and shoved his head under it and then pulled it back. He heaved in the effort it took to attempt to push the shutters further. They creaked, and his claws dug shallow marks into the metal, but they didn’t open any further. He released the shutters, sat back, and adjusted his glasses. “I’ll just have to go the long way. See you there, Little guy! Stay out of trouble, huh?”

Gregory blinked and then laughed. “Yeah, you, too!” Look at those gouges! He could have cut straight through that if he wanted to!

“He’s strong, and those claws of his make him stronger.”

Gregory ducked under the slightly warped shutters and stood up in a warm-colored, tortilla-chip-and-beaver-themed restaurant. Shelves of chips lined up beside him and a counter with soda fountains–all dark–lined up beside a cash register under a few menu signs. A huge beaver with a sombrero stood at the far right wall. Further in the L-shaped space, a single S.T.A.F.F. bot plain of color save for its characteristic blush marks and buttons slowly pushed a mop over the orange and maroon tiled floor. The bot didn’t mind the borderline useless flashlight on it.

Gregory avoided it and the wet floor as he made his way to the orange with yellow zig-zagged lines and black-and-white checkerboard shutters, which opened up all the way for him. The curvy hall lined with red couches and neon cacti with sombreros led to a set of confetti shutters and then a wide space with more shiny maroon and orange tile with a mop bot. When he stepped out, he only saw some couches, chairs, tables, and mild decorations. A few air hockey tables stood to the side.

Beep! [Hey, you made it to the East Arcade! The Prize Counter is through the security office. That’s the door with the badge symbol on it.]

This was the arcade? It looked more like a lounge than anything else.

Then, Gregory walked deeper in.

He passed up some wide area of counters with soda fountains and silverware on them, and a few kiddies carts nearby. Clusters of arcade machines, games, and fewer decorations to block his view of possible places to spend his limited money he really shouldn’t be spending spread out over the floor glinting in the scant neon lights, his own flashlight, and the sole flashlight of the security bot rolling around.

Roxy called from deeper in the arcade behind him, “Hey kid, come on out! We’re only trying to help.”

He jumped and looked back and then forward at where a door with a security badge painted on it stood. Thank goodness I don’t need to risk going back there. He walked up to the door, careful to stay quiet and not get in the way of the patrolling security bot. He reached up to the door handle and–

Click.

Gregory’s heart sank. “Monty? The door won’t open.”

Beep! [Guessing you don’t have the security clearance. There happens to be a roll-up door thing on the other side of the Starcade leading right to it.]

Gregory grimaced, turned, and walked straight back in the direction he’d come. Roxy goaded, “I bet you don’t even have friends.”

Okay, rude.

He untied his coat, slipped it on so it wouldn’t drag on the ground, and crouched down low. Gregory pocketed his flashlight and snuck around the edge of the Starcade, keeping toward the walls and making sure to keep clusters of arcade cabinets or various attractions like basketball throw between him and her as much as possible. He really had to squint and search for his way, but the light given off by a second security bot’s flashlight near his destination helped with his direction. He squeezed between the cabinets and wall near the end, passed by an open vent, and got to the slim set of confetti shutters that refused to open. “Locked again?” he hissed. “Why does a pizza place need so much security?”

Beep! [They’re required after past events. I don’t know too much about it myself. Maybe there’s another way in.]

There has to be. Gregory glanced back at the wall where he’d seen the open vent and walked back to it. He shifted Bonnie under his arm and pulled out his flashlight. Well, may as well try.

He crawled into the metal vent, leaving the glittery arcade and its patrolling bots behind. The scrappy little Mini Music Man crawled down from a vertical vent above. Gregory bristled and began crawling again, this time faster. The thing scuttled after him, clanging its cymbals and gnashing its broken teeth. A few turns and a short incline later, he found freedom.

Gregory pushed himself out of the vent and landed deftly on the ground. A wall with a security badge and a security door faced him. Rather, it was a wall to a smaller room within the room he now occupied with tables, desks with multiple computer screens, shelving units, boxes, and an arcade cabinet.

He passed through the security door and into a smaller, more cluttered office. This one had a Freddy head badge holder resting on the desk. He pressed its nose. It slowly opened until it was wide enough for him to take the card before snapping shut.

Gregory bristled as an alarm squealed. The security doors opened. The intercom above stated, “Emergency Lockdown activated. This area is off-limits to guests.”

“No, no, no!” Gregory squeaked. “Monty! I don’t know what happened! All I did was take the badge.”

Beep! Gregory checked his chat log. [Don’t worry! I’ll help ya out. Just gotta disable the alarm, uh, somehow.]

Gregory looked at the closed doors. Roxy’s heavy footsteps thudded outside. “You don’t know how to shut off the alarm?”

Beep! [I never said that! I know how! It’ll just take me a minute. Make sure to keep those doors closed and stop them from getting in, alright?]

Roxy yelled, “You are nothing!”

Gregory took a deep breath. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll do that.”

Gregory looked at the security doors. Power bars sat beside each one.

Roxy stalked up toward the right door.

Gregory darted over to the door and pressed the Freddy head button. The door slammed shut. The boy hid from sight from the window beside it and winced as he heard Roxy’s fists clanging against the door. Her sharpened claws screeched against the unyielding metal.

The power bar slowly drained.

Gregory tapped his glasses and looked at the CAMS tab. Eventually, the animatronic wolf gave up and continued patrolling. The boy took this opportunity to open the door again.

Roxy came in around the other side. He raced to the other door and slammed it shut. She started her assault on the only barrier between her and her to-be victim. Eventually, Roxy gave up and continued walking.

Gregory switched doors, opening the recently battered one and closing the necessary one.

He flitted from one side of the room to the other. For the most part, he either had one door closed or they were both open as the animatronic loitered and stalked around, looking for a real opportunity to strike.

Roxy said, “Hey, Kid, come on out. We’re only trying to help.”

Then, he stood by the wrong door a little too long.

Roxy charged straight through the open door. She grabbed him and yanked him off the ground, her glowing lavender eyes glaring into his. He screamed and tried to grab her muzzle, dropping Bonnie in the process, but she shook him off and shoved her face forward. The last thing he saw was her endoskeleton’s second set of teeth. Hard, rounded material pressed down on either side of his head.

~

Gregory blinked and jerked his hand back. His head whipped back and forth, and he ran his fingers through his hair, dislodging his knitted hat, finding neither Roxy’s teeth nor any cuts left behind by them in his head. The air conditioner quietly whirred overhead, and technology beeped and hummed. Both doors were at full power. “What the heck?”

“Oh my God you almost died.”

But I did die? What happened?

“I don’t know! Roxy killed you!”

But I’m still alive! He checked the time. And it’s still four-fifteen! What’s wrong with this place?!

Beep! Gregory checked his chat log. [Did something happen?]

Gregory started to speak and then hesitated and said, “No. I just have a bad feeling that this is going to set off an alarm.”

Beep! [You’re probably right. I’ll get ready to disarm it. Hold on for a moment.]

…

Beep! [Okay. It’ll take a few minutes, but I think I know how. When you’re ready.]

“When I’m ready,” Gregory echoed and sighed. He set Bonnie down. Did he even want to pick up the badge now that he knew Roxy could come charging in and kill him?

Well of course he knew Roxy could kill him; why else had he been avoiding her so far? If he was going to get out and away from Roxy and the white rabbit, he needed a higher security level. The way to get a higher security level was with this, that was that. So, he took a breath to steel himself, and pressed the nose on the Freddy head.

He took the badge once it was presented to him.

Alarms blared and the doors opened. Gregory changed the tab on his glasses from the chat log to the camera tab. He worked much harder to keep Roxy out, staying on his toes and darting from door to door, not staying at a closed one for longer than absolutely necessary.

Then, the doors shut on their own. The power bars stopped draining. The alarms shut off.

Roxy, at the door, spat and stalked off.

Beep! Gregory switched to the chat log on his glasses. [There we go! Knew I could do it!]

Beep! [I mean, I knew we could do it! Now just head on down once the coast is clear.]

Gregory rolled his eyes. True, it was a team effort. Gregory had been the one in danger, though. He picked up Bonnie and snuck out of the security office into the back room of the Prize Counter filled with shelving units of various merchandise and containers. Many of the containers had a weirdly disproportionate amount of Freddy plushies, but of older models. He went straight out the door Roxy left through.

Toys and objects sat on shelves and hung from walls. Posters decorated the walls. A huge one of a yellow jester with a sun-shaped face stared down at him. A blue jester with a crescent-moon painted face was not far behind. Their plushies and dolls intermixed with the bands’. ATM machines and a few counters made ample hiding places as he heard Roxy stalking around the circular room with a huge elevator in the middle. “MEGA PIZZAPLEX” in neon lights stamped above it. He suspected that the elevator would go down, and he didn’t need to go down. He needed to get to the fire escape. Every building had a fire escape, after all.

A pair of shutters behind the elevator did not yield to him, so he had to walk around to the hall beside it, whose yellow foldable gate pushed back until it was completely folded.

Gregory kept an eye on the cameras and one on his surroundings as he listened for the she-wolf. He did have to wait, hiding behind walls or inside the single kiddie cart sitting in the dome room until she passed. But when he got to the door labeled “FIRE EXIT”, he found it flanked by two wet floor sign bots, red rope, and a scrubber machine resembling a push-able lawnmower.

Worst of all, when he went to open the double doors, they did not budge.

“What kind of fire escape is locked?!” he exclaimed and then winced and whipped his head around to look up and down the hall and make sure Roxy hadn’t heard him.

Beep! [Seems like you’re not… VIP enough? Who’s not VIP enough to escape a fire? You’ll need a much higher security rank… hold on while I pull a Freddy.]

Gregory snorted. “Pull a Freddy?”

“He probably means ‘Do something good or in someone’s favor’ or ‘fix a glaring issue’ but doesn’t want to admit it.”

Beep! [I lodged a formal complaint. Come back to the Prize Counter, I know a good way out!]

There was an elevator by the Prize Counter, wasn’t there? Gregory backtracked. When Roxy stalked up the colorful, gently curved hallway, he hopped into a laundry tub thing and hid until she passed. He made it back down the hall and through the star-dome room before getting to the Prize Counter with the elevator in it. The elevator itself was surrounded by a few layers of glass with a hole cut through for the door–likely to keep people safe as they observed the Pizzaplex on the way down. Just as he hit the button to call it, a hand–organic and just larger than his own with fingers free of gloves–grabbed him by the arm. “Gotcha!”

Gregory screamed and spun around. He immediately lashed out at her, but she grabbed him by the arms, still holding her bulky flashlight precariously in a few fingers, and kept him from fleeing. “Kid, hold on, I’m trying to help you!”

Gregory snapped back, “Well it doesn’t look like it!”

Grrrraaaaaarrrrrrrr!

A loud, snarling roar emanated from the other side of the room. Monty rushed out of the hall and into the room, head down and muzzle tipped up to bare his teeth. Officer Vanessa jumped, and her grip reflexively loosened enough for Gregory to break free. Gregory wheezed out a breath and took a few steps back out of the security officer’s reach. She didn’t pursue him and instead stayed facing Monty.

Monty’s eyes tracked Gregory. He snarled and bent his head a little further down. He twitched and opened and closed his claws.

Beep! Gregory touched his glasses. [Run! Hide!]

Gregory spun around and ran, minimizing the chat box as he went. Beep! He considered opening the chat message but decided against it. It took up too much room in his vision.

“Run, run, run!” Monty roared behind him. Gregory looked back and his heart stopped seeing his once-umber eyes glowing a sharp lavender. Monty leaped straight over Officer Vanessa, who also gave chase.

Gregory took a corner and raced into the star-dome room.

“You are nothing!” Roxy barked from the fire escape hall.

Gregory stopped and jumped into the kiddie stroller. He slapped a hand over his mouth and curled up as tightly as he could. Monty rushed around the other side of the dome and Vanessa ran straight past Gregory. He slowly let go of his mouth and took slow, deep, quiet breaths. Roxy snarled at the two newcomers. Officer Vanessa prompted her about Gregory and got a defensive answer in return.

Gregory popped open the top of the kiddie stroller, slipped out, and snuck back toward the elevator.

“There you are!” Monty yelled.

Gregory still had quite the distance between him and the elevator. He took out his camera, spun around, and flashed it. Monty ran straight up to him and snatched him off the ground.

“Why didn’t that work?!” Gregory yelped.

“His glasses, Gregory!”

Oh. I’m dead. Gregory stuck the camera in his coat and grabbed the alligator’s snout. “Wait, Monty! You’re supposed to be my friend!” he pleaded. “You taught me how to play min-golf, remember? You said you’d help me escape! You said you wouldn’t hurt me!”

Monty’s victorious growl tapered off. He blinked. “Gregory?”

Roxy charged in behind him. “Hey! He’s mine! I was here first!”

Monty snarled back at her and ran, holding Gregory one armed and using the other arm and his tail for balance. Roxy stopped chasing him. Monty threw himself out onto the balcony and between some potted plants and a coin-powered car ride and staggered so he hit the rail.

“Monty!” Officer Vanessa barked, stalking out of one of the shutters to the Prize Counter.

Monty turned on her. He crouched, set to run, but strangely didn’t move.

“Set the child down. Now.”

Gregory looked up at him but couldn’t see anything above the bottom of his chin. “Monty, we need to get out of here!”

Officer Vanessa stated, “That’s an order, Monty. Release him. Now.”

Gregory crossed, “Don’t listen to her!”

Monty snarled, “Shut up! Shut up, I’m tryin’ to think!”

The security officer stated, “Don’t think! Set the child down!” She was within feet of them now.

Gregory yelped as Monty’s claws dug into his arm. “Ow, ow, ow! Monty!”

Monty’s head whipped down, and his claws relaxed. “What–?”

Officer Vanessa lunged forward. A barbed black box on a stick appeared in her hand. Monty released Gregory before it even touched him. It hit the animatronic alligator’s thigh and he let out a short roar that was very quickly cut off. His head bowed and arms dangled. The security officer grabbed Gregory, slamming into Monty as she did so. Something cracked and metal creaked.

Gregory was pulled forward. He gritted his teeth against the pain in arm and clutched Bonnie tighter. Warm wetness trailed down his bare arm. “Let me go!”

The security guard continued to move, walking straight past some overly complex music place on an overhang and to a set of stairs. “Oh, no. You’ve caused enough trouble tonight, Buster. You’re going to sit in Lost and Found like a good little boy.”

Gregory tried prying her fingers off, but it was quite the task one-handed and jeez was she made of steel? “Monty!” Gregory yelled.

Behind him, Monty growled to life. “Hey! Li-ittle–!” The animatronic alligator, who’d been leaning heavily on the awkwardly bent railing, woke up and immediately tried to move only to throw himself off balance further as he didn’t right himself first.

Monty fell, screaming, off the third-floor balcony.

Crachhunk!

Gregory’s eyes went wide as he watched his purple feet and yellow and green banded tail vanish below the floor. “Oh, no, Monty!”

Officer Vanessa stopped and looked back. Then, she continued moving, pulling him onto a frozen escalator. “He’ll be fine; Parts and Service will pick him up in the morning.”

Gregory followed her, staring numbly after the place the alligator had fallen and must currently be, though he couldn’t see him, even from the stairs. Not with the security officer blocking his way.

He looked up at her as they got near the elevators. No, no, no he couldn’t follow her. No matter what she did, she couldn’t “have his best intentions in mind”. She didn’t even care Monty was hurt!

Gregory pulled his arm, and thus hers, toward himself and bit down on the side of her hand hard enough to feel the bones beneath her skin. She yelped and dropped her flashlight. Officer Vanessa, rather than releasing Gregory or pulling his hair as he expected her to do, grabbed Bonnie by the ears and yanked him free.

Gregory let go of her. “Bonnie, no! Let him go!”

Officer Vanessa held the rabbit out of arms reach, her knuckles white with how tight she squeezed his aging ears and her emerald eyes burning. Pale lavender flecks pierced the green of her irises. Gregory flinched and shrunk back into himself.

“That seriously hurt,” she stated slowly, hissing the words through her teeth. “Don’t bite me again. Do you understand?”

Gregory nodded.

Officer Vanessa closed her eyes. When she opened them, some of the tenseness left her, though there was still that sharp glare in her clear green eyes. “You’re going to come with me and sit tight and wait for your parents or the police to arrive. Then you’ll get your toy. Got it?”

“Please don’t mess with her, Gregory. I don’t want to be with her.”

Gregory nodded again.

“Good.” The severity left her tone, and she lowered Bonnie to her other side. She picked up her flashlight, balancing the hefty thing in her remaining fingers and palm, and said offhandedly as they walked, “Monty’s going to be fine. I’m sure if your parents take you here, you’ll see him on stage or in the golf course again. Good as new.”

Gregory glanced back at the balcony. Monty still hadn’t made a noise.

The elevator beeped and opened.

Officer Vanessa kept him in a death grip the entire time. A crescent shaped set of dents and pealed skin marred the surface of her hand, just behind her knuckle.

Behind the counter of the help desk, a door led to a stairway right and up, but there were two other doors there as well–one directly across from the entering door and one to the left, across from the stairs. Vanessa opened the left door, pushing down on the handle with her elbow. Then she flipped on a light within the small room as they entered, causing him to wince. Shelves cluttered with boxes of various colors and a few objects lined one wall, while a cluster of four monitors perched over a desk on the opposite wall. An amalgamation of novelty gifts sprawled out beneath them.

She clicked off her flashlight, shut the door with her foot, and released Gregory.

He pulled his arm back. It took every fiber of his being not to retreat further. Officer Vanessa set down her flashlight and held out Bonnie for Gregory. He immediately, gently, took the rabbit and ran his hands over his ruffled ears. “You’re okay,” he mumbled.

“Thank you for not leaving me.”

“You’re my best friend; I’m never leaving you.”

Gregory jumped as the woman reentered his vision and took a step back. She held up one hand in a signal of submission. “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. Look, I need to clean your arm. I’m no paramedic, but I know how to use a Walmart med kit.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the first aid kit in her other hand. He wanted to argue, to shake his head and flee. But he knew better. Gregory had no place to run. She knew that. Why else would she let him go?

So, he didn’t move.

He winced as she wiped off his arm. He couldn’t help the feeling of alarm upon seeing the ragged gashes in his arm. They were thin and short, but immediately upon being disturbed they started to bleed again. Though she wiped off the blood from around the puncture wounds, more dried blood dribbled down his arm and coalesced at the bottom. It must have been dripping at least a minute or so prior. How had he not noticed that?!

“He didn’t mean it,” Gregory said without thinking. “You made him. He was just holding me.”

“This was an accident,” she pointed out. “I know that. Why do you think I didn’t want him holding you? He’s been acting strangely all night. He could’ve done much worse to you than that if I let him run off with you.”

“Nuh-uh. Monty’s my friend,” Gregory emphasized.

“He’s your friend when he’s functioning properly,” she corrected, cleaning off the last of the blood and wrapping his arm in gauze. The roll ran out just as she got past the edge of his wound. “They never refill these things,” she mumbled to herself and released him. “Now, wait here.” With that, she clipped shut the first aid kit, hung it up, grabbed her flashlight, and walked through the door. She hesitated in the doorframe. “Really, I’m not the bad guy, Gregory. I’m trying to help you. It’s dangerous for kids to be here at night.”

She closed the door.

The time was two am.

What the heck was with time–whatever, not important right now! Chat logs first!

[Never mind, don’t run! Don’t run!]

There were the things he’d said out loud, which Gregory skimmed over. And then… nothing else. Nothing else? Oh, not good, not good! He tapped out of it so he could see his surroundings more easily.

“Monty? Monty are you there?” he called as if he could summon his animatronic friend if he searched hard enough. Could he even get here at all? Gregory could see a red-and-blue security door and a large vent in the wall by the floor, but he neither had a high-security pass nor a screwdriver. “I’m trapped.”

“We’ll think of something. There has to be something.”

Gregory squeezed Bonnie tight in a hug, and that helped with his anxiety. His arm stung a little, but whatever goop she put on it before wrapping it eased any actual pain. “I don’t know. How?”

The cluster of monitors, once showing nothing but static, flickered to life. A patchy, off-white bunny mask with wide red eyes and slit pupils stared straight at him through the screens. Mangled whiskers popped out of her muzzle and her wide smile felt dim beneath her glowing eyes. His blood turned to ice. The screens hissed with static so he could barely see the image. “Hello, Gregory!” Her soft, cooing voice caused a chill to run down his spine. “All wrapped up like a gift. Sit tight, little gift; I’ll see you soon~!” Her voice crackled near the end.

The monitors fell back into a hissing, warping static.

Okay, so, Monty wasn’t responding to him, Officer Vanessa thought he was safe and was not likely to come back, he didn’t have the security clearance to open the door, and that rabbit lady knew where he was! Did he even trust Officer Vanessa to open the door for him? …yeah, she threw Monty off the third story for thinking he was going to hurt Gregory. She’d probably do the same to some psycho child-stealing rabbit lady.

Gregory searched through the room, skimming over the pile of junk, and sweeping over boxes until he found a few tools lying discarded on the floor. One of them happened to be a small, red screwdriver. With a victorious hiss, he snatched the tool and ran to the vent.

A melodic hum, this one organic from a human and not a machine, grew loud enough for him to register.

The boy looked up. Through the window, he saw wide rabbit feet–one silver, one muted tan–skipping down the stairs before the room. He unscrewed the vent register as quickly as his shaking fingers would allow. The white rabbit stood before the translucent window of Lost and Found, her big red eyes staring down at Gregory and her hand raised in a wave. His head hurt, and his mind went fuzzy as his ears filled with static.

The boy grabbed Bonnie, pushed himself through the vent, and out the other register. He stumbled to the polished checkerboard floor and took off at a sprint, stumbling over his clumsy feet at the sudden acceleration. His mind was clear again, and he wasn’t about to let that change. Behind him, the footsteps became quicker and farther apart. As he rushed up the stairs, he dared a glance back.

The rabbit chased him. Her ears wavered in the air as she raced out of the hall and to the stairs. By the time her fluffy feet hit the stairs, Gregory was already on level ground.

He slammed full force into the left, inactive elevator. Gregory squeaked a mild swear and rushed to the right elevator. He fought to get it open faster and darted inside. He winced as the static came back and tried to block out his senses and thoughts. The doors hadn’t opened all the way before he slammed the button.

The last thing he saw before the doors shut was a pair of red eyes way, way too close.

The elevator whirred and ascended.

Beep! Gregory immediately checked his chat log. [Gregory, if you’re getting any of these messages, meet me by Fazer Blast.]

“I just got your message!” Gregory reassured him and took out his tiny flashlight. “I’m going to Fazer Blast!”

The elevator stopped. Gregory darted off the balcony, onto the main atrium floor, and started to run to Monty Golf before changing directions and running in the opposite direction. A large platform with a rocket stood before the “FAZER BLAST” attraction. He dipped under the party shutters and stepped into a different kind of alien world than that of Monty Golf. His shoes fell upon the purple, cosmic carpet. A huge, cartoon rocket ship statue dominated the center area, while alien ships scattered around the fringes too high up for Gregory to climb–including a Ferris Wheel with UFOs instead of seats. A small shop with stairs leading atop it sat on the right side. Green neon lights lit up the pillars flanking the elevator in bars while a few neon space-Helpys spattered the walls. A hallway to the right led to some other attraction, probably, he didn’t see in the dark. A ticket bot standing before the elevator blocked his entry.

The shadows shifted to his left and he perked up. Gregory turned to the corner with his flashlight and gasped. Monty sat in the corner, his head bowed and a good amount of the shell in his side and chest caved in. His jaw was crooked, and throat caved in, and his tail bent at an awkward degree. His cracked glasses managed to stay on his snout, at least. Worst of all was the fact he was holding one of his arms on his lap, completely detached.

The time was two-fifteen am.

“Monty? Are you okay?” Gregory asked dumbly and nearly slapped himself.

When Gregory approached, he snarl-growled, hesitated, and then growl-grunt-huffed. Monty bent his head again. Beep! [You’re alive! That’s what’s important, Little guy. I’ll be fine. Just need some repairs done.]

“Is there anything I can do?” Gregory asked.

Monty nodded. Beep! [Help me get to Parts and Service.]

Gregory nodded sharply; gaze set in determination. “Of course, I will! How will I get there?”

Beep! [It’s down under the main stage. Normally the lift takes us there after every concert. I’m not normally responsive any other time I’m sent there. You can use the door beyond that hall in that room under the Racetrack Hall to get to the Rehearsal room and get a Backstage Pass and turn on the lift.]

Beep! [I believe in you, Little guy. You’re real smart! I’ll be here if you need me, but my claws are a little damaged at the moment.]

Gregory nodded. “I-I understand. Okay. I’ll do my best.” Gregory got up and turned to the hall. With one last glance back at Monty, he walked straight through the lesser decorated room and to the blue door that would eventually lead to the rehearsal room. He took a deep breath to gather his resolve and pushed through.

Chapter Text

Gregory walked straight into a huge, dark room made into a winding hallway by huge shipping containers with Freddy’s face on them. Smaller boxes, containers, forklifts, and port-o-potties forced him into walking in a zig-zag path. Gregory set down Bonnie, pulled off his coat, and tied it around his neck like a cape. He reached for Bonnie and hesitated upon seeing his still neatly wrapped and tied bandages, compared to the messier wrapping on his other arm. Gregory picked up Bonnie and continued moving. He finally got to the back wall with more equipment. He froze upon hearing Roxy’s voice.

“Are you lost?” It was high and sounded genuine, but he knew better.

He snuck up to the metal door and set his ear to it. He could hear metal footsteps, but they were far away.

After a breath, he opened the door.

The occasional light from the wall or ceiling shed a pool of light upon the wall and ground. However, he could barely see the crates–some covered, some not, all of varying sizes–and pallets and the occasional forklift. He shut the door behind himself. Like the rest of the Mega Pizzaplex, he could barely see the ground beneath his shoes. Though the rest of the Mega Pizzaplex had neon lights that gave the illusion of help, this place did not.

Gregory looked at the flashlight in his hand.

…welp.

He flicked it on and then off again.

…

Roxy called, “I bet I’m your favorite?” Her footsteps didn’t cease, but they also didn’t change direction or speed.

Gregory flashed his flashlight again to get a look at where he was going. A corner blocked his view of the rest of the giant room close ahead. After another flash, he crept up to the corner. A few lights hung above an extremely long and tall stack of shelves filled with all sorts of random stuff. Roxy stalked past, looking over the territory with bright eyes and perked ears.

He shut off his flashlight. As if he was going to use that around her!

He tapped on the CAMS tab on his glasses and searched through the cameras. Thankfully, although the place was dark, the cameras picked up quite a bit more light and he could actually see what surrounded the cameras. He pressed another one of the boxes. It flickered another color and a triangle facing the direction opposite Gregory appeared on it.

Finally, he growled to himself, “Urg! There’s nothing here. Must be in another camera.”

A few cameras on opposite sides of a long, tall shelving unit took a second or so to become usable. A doorless entryway was carved into the wall far near the top. “Ha! There!”

He stayed on the camera for a little while longer to study her movements. She walked in a simple circle, her left flank facing the shelving unit at all times. She never stopped but swiveled her head back and forth like a security camera. With her far away enough, he turned on his flashlight so he could see where his feet were.

“I bet you don’t even have friends,” she goaded. Her voice came from outside as his glasses didn’t pick up audio from the cams.

“I bet you don’t have real friends,” he grumbled to himself.

Gregory tapped his glasses and stalked around the corner, his side brushing the wall and then the covered crates pushed against the wall. He noted the thin space between the crates and wall he could probably worm his way into which Roxanne definitely could not.

She turned a corner around the shelves. He could still see her in the gaps in the shelving unit, her sunny yellow eyes glittering in the light as she swiveled her head back and forth.

Gregory crept over to the other side of the hallway made of crates leading up to the shelving unit. A thinner hallway with yellow lockers opened on the other side of the shelving unit, behind Roxanne. He took a moment to watch her move so he would not be caught in her peripheral vision and then crept as quickly as he could around the shelving units.

Then, he heard her yell, “I see you!”

She faced him, her lavender eyes shining.

She charged.

Gregory bolted into the hallway, weaving between the obstacles set up in his path and around a corner. She barreled through the small hallway, clipping boxes as she went. Gregory leaped into a laundry tub and flattened himself to the bottom of it.

Roxy rushed past, her head whipping around and ears flicking back and forth as she ran.

Gregory opened the CAMS tab again.

Roxy had run some distance before slowing to a stop, no doubt growling to herself. Her yellow eyes no longer glowed so brightly, but she kept searching and walking in the direction Gregory needed to go.

He hopped out of the laundry tub and snuck after her. There were enough fake walls, props, barriers, and boxes to cut out a direct line of sight. Still, he checked the cameras constantly.

He heard a door open and then close.

Roxanne left the door to one of the side rooms and then opened another, stuck her head inside, sniffed, and closed it again.

Well, he knew where he wasn’t hiding. Can robots smell?

“Some. I couldn’t.”

Roxanne stopped at the end of the hallway, twitched her ears, and then turned around.

Gregory hopped into another laundry tub and crouched as flat and still as he could make himself.

Roxanne walked past him, growling to herself. “You will find him first.”

Gregory waited until she got farther away before checking his watch. Once a few more props were between them, Gregory hopped out and walked as quickly but quietly as possible to the end. He could use his flashlight here, while her back was to him, and stuff was in the way.

He shut the metal doors at the end of the hall behind himself. “How does she keep finding me?”

“She’s programmed to find children.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “What… does that mean?

“We–the Glamrocks, at least–were programmed to seek the rooms with the most noise. That way we wouldn’t accidentally get stuck in quiet rooms, and we would always be within reach of children and staff. I’m guessing that we–they were still never given a proper night mode. So, just stay quiet. If you do make any noise, find your way out fast.”

There was a short pause.

“I miss some things from when I was alive. But my programming is not one of them.”

Gregory walked further into the room. His flashlight fell over a prop of a sailor Freddy with a scimitar leaning on a wall. This one was brown instead of orange and blue. Interestingly, chairs–some folded, some not–were scattered around the place. A giant whiteboard discussing showtimes and rehearsals sat on the floor. Nearby a mic stand stood before a half-moon set of bleachers. What about the others?

“Freddy and Chica tended to like the certainty it provided. Monty sometimes got frustrated with his restrictions. Roxy loved figuring out ways around it and boasting about them. Then the staff would hear about it and crack down harder on all of us. She never could keep her muzzle shut when it came to achieving something. What she didn’t know was the engineers were using her as their beta tester. She always bragged about how smart she was, but she never figured that out.”

In the back corner of the room, he spotted a few… multicolored triangles on stands. Something sat on them. He hopped over the bleachers and climbed up onto the raised platforms. Did you figure out ways around your programming?

“A few, but most of them got shot down by Roxy. I tried telling Freddy, but he didn’t want to hear it. Straight and narrow for him.”

A backstage pass lay discarded on one of the bleachers in the back. He picked it up. “Got it! Now I should be able to find the lift controls.”

The time was two-thirty am.

He squinted at another headache. So, what did you find out? What could you do?

“…”

Bonnie?

Gregory’s eyes went wide. The door to the back area opened and two big red eyes appeared. Gregory launched himself off the bleachers. “How do you keep finding me?!” he yelled back at her.

The white rabbit skipped into the main rehearsal room. “I’m the best at hide-and-seek. I always win~!” she purred. “Do you want to play tag next? I’ll be it~!”

He took out his camera and tried to snap a picture of her. The eyes on the swashbuckler Freddy prop glowed, but the white rabbit simply ignored the flash. Did the mask act like Monty’s glasses? Of course, they did, you idiot! It’s a mask!

Nearby was a set of foldable wall bars leading out. While one half was fully extended, the other was just shy, as if not properly shut and definitely not latched. He took it, hoping the white rabbit would be slowed down by the tight turns enough to allow him out. He shut the rolling shutters but didn’t bother trying to figure out how to lock them. A huge cabinet, its back to him, made a wall that split the small room in half. He heard the metal of the barrier behind him creak as the automatic door before him opened. He blundered straight into a rack of colorful foldable chairs in the second room and flung himself out the door. Gregory crashed into the hard, clean floor, wincing at the screams of avalanching metal and plastic behind him. He looked up at Rockstar Row. More specifically, the end near Chica’s room with all the old stuff in display cases and that one roped-off area with Halloween stuff.

Just across from him on a blue wall facing him was a door with a red sign stating “TO STAGE CONTROLS” “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY” beside it.

Gregory scrambled up and pushed through the door, scanning the pass first, and found himself before a set of metal stairs. He shut it quickly, but quietly, behind himself and then took off up the metal stairs. Around the stairs and below the floor, he found a dark and cluttered space. With the darkness so heavy, he needed his flashlight again. His headache subsided and he could use his senses well enough. Bonnie? Bonnie, can you hear me?

“Yes! Was that her? Why is she here again?!”

Yeah! I don’t know how she keeps finding us, but she does! Maybe she has a tracker thing like the animatronics? He stepped onto a floor made of grate leading to two doors–one with a pink star guitar and the other with a green straight guitar. Those doors led into a thin room with two more similarly decorated doors. They both ended up in a fairly large room made smaller by wrap-around walls of electronics and a wall in the center holding screens and more computers. Quite a few of the screens showed different parts of the Mega Pizzaplex, while a few computer screens simply stayed off.

Who needed this many computers?

Gregory looked out the wide window above the panel on the right side of the room to see Rockstar Row. The neon lights glared off the windows, making seeing through the one-way glass almost impossible. He crawled onto the desk panel and pressed his face against the glass just in time to see the door to the rehearsal room open. The white rabbit stumbled out, kicking away a chair that attempted to ensnare one of her long feet as she went. She hesitated at the door, her head moving slowly back and forth. He wasn’t sure what was worse; her creepy bouncy dancing or the sudden stillness she’d taken on, like a dog who was waiting for her quarry to lose its nerve.

Then, she relaxed and skipped down Rockstar Row, tipping her head back and forth in rhythm, throwing her head to the side to give the green rooms she passed a lazy glance. Eventually, she left his sight. He waited for another few long, silent moments for her to come running back through the door. But, she didn’t come back. He swallowed and slowly slipped back down to the floor.

On the desk of computers and tech next to him was a little Freddy head with a security hat. He pressed its nose. Slowly, it opened enough for Gregory to take the higher-level security card. The thing snapped shut once its purpose was fulfilled. Next to it was a dusty case with a disk.

“Is this the control disk?” he asked himself, looking over the thing. “It looks… old.”

Some of the computers flickered on and all the doors shut. Alarms screamed above him.

Oh no, not again!

Beep! Gregory tapped his glasses and went to his chat log. [Kid, looks like you triggered the security again and it activated a lockdown.] One of the screens on the wall turned on and showed Monty’s broken face, part of it lost in an umber glare as the camera in his eye stared at a mirror. So, the other one wasn’t functioning.

“A lockdown?” Gregory echoed, looking over at the doors. The left had a green symbol painted onto it while the right had a pink symbol. On the opposite side of the room were two more doors with two more symbols. The giant screens above both sets of doors hissed in static. After a few seconds, the static eased and showed two moving shapes–a gray and purple one stalking back and forth and a white, pink, and green one slowly lumbering back and forth. Roxy growled and they searched for the noise but did not yet approach the doors. What was stopping them? “Monty, I see Roxy and Chica on the cameras. They’re both coming to the office!”

Beep! [Don’t let them in. The doors have electrical deterrents. If you see them banging on the doors, hit the button next to them. The shock will stun them.]

Gregory flashed a nervous glance at the outer monitors, where Roxy and Chica paced but did not attack. “Okay, but how do I get out of here?”

Beep! [Do you see the big vent in the floor?]

Gregory looked down. Indeed, he stood on a metal grate more than big enough for him to jump into if the grate was missing.

Beep! [If I can get to the room under you, I can get it open and let you out.]

Half a second passed.

Beep! [All the doors are on lockdown. Look for me on the monitors. If you see me waving, push the button in front of the monitor to open the door.]

The screen fizzled and changed. A pair of bright red-orange eyes on a pale, fuzzy face stared at him. “There you are!” the white rabbit announced. “See you soon~!” Now the aggressive animatronics approached the doors.

Beep! [Hurry, Little guy! I can’t stop her!]

The monitors flickered and changed to a video feed of cameras around the Pizzaplex.

Beep! [Can you see me?]

No?!

Gregory set Bonnie down and ran around, searching the monitors, until he could see Monty in front of a door. The animatronic held his forearm in his mouth and waved with his remaining arm. Gregory pressed the button, and the door opened.

Right beside him, he heard clanging and spotted Chica banging on a door with a microphone on it. Unfortunately, the camera was opposite the door so, though Chica banged on the right door in the camera, Gregory heard it on the left. He pressed a button near the power bar on the wall that her banging ate away. The banging stopped as she ba-gawked. On the monitors, she seized and then bowed her head and went limp on her feet.

On the other side of the room, Roxy pounded on the pink guitar door.

As Gregory darted to the door to stop her, he heard a beep. [Open the door!]

Gregory dissuaded Roxy from attacking before searching for Monty and opening the door. Chica, on the other monitor, seemed to have shaken off the shock and now walked to the other door.

The boy had to run back and forth, stopping on occasion to let Monty out or just to rest as he became breathless. Gregory was persistent, but his constant glancing at the ticking timer and dwindling power ate at him. Bonnie’s encouragement helped, at least. Monty’s continued progress gave him hope as well.

Then, Gregory heard thumping below him. He ran around to the grate. A light showed in the darkness, getting steadily brighter and shifting from side to side like someone running with a flashlight.

The light stopped. A set of black claws on green fingers poked through the grate and yanked it down. The metal shrieked as it was torn out, and a heavy thud followed. Gregory ran up to the hole left behind to see Monty standing on the floor, the vent grate and his forearm lying on the floor. Monty snarl-growled.

Beep! [Jump! I’ve got you!]

Gregory nodded and ran back to the desk. He snatched Bonnie, ran back to the vent, and then crawled down so he hung onto the lip of the vent before letting go. Monty grabbed him between his arm and chest, catching him with his palm and the remaining section of his arm and allowing him to fall back on his chest rather than be batted to the ground in another direction. Monty let him down and picked up his own arm. Gregory laughed. “Monty! You saved me!”

Beep! [Yep! There you go, safe and sound! Let’s go to the atrium. That’s a program disc for the show. If you use that, you can run a program that’ll let you run the lift.]

Gregory nodded and followed Monty down the thin cement hall as he wound away from the Backstage control room. The cement corridors crossed with pipes on the walls and turning a corner on occasion thinned around them. Gregory’s heart skipped. If the white rabbit or one of the other animatronics caught them here, they were done for. Gregory held Bonnie tighter and stayed close to Monty deeper into the fairly lit tunnel away from the wailing alarms. The alarms stopped.

After an eternity of walking, they came across a short set of stairs and to a blue metal door leading out into the atrium. To their left was a short set of stairs leading to the stage, while a set of stairs leading somewhere he didn’t care about rose up to their right. Security barriers prevented them from entering the main dining hall.

Beep! [Guess I’ll wait here. You run the disc and come back on stage. Hurry, it’s almost the end of the hour!] Monty walked onto the middle of the stage beside a button on a very tall, thin pedestal.

Gregory nodded and speed-walked out onto the dark dining hall. Security bots were moved to the atrium floor. Security barriers cut him off from the east and west dining platforms as well as any hope of sneaking around a set of stairs. So, he had to just get through it.

He darted out behind a booth. The booths and a couple of kiddie rocket rides sat a good couple of feet from the half-wall to the areas beyond, giving him enough ability to slip by without getting spotted by the light.

“Monty said the booth is on the third floor.” Gregory mumbled, clutching the borderline useless flashlight and squinting his eyes in the darkness, came up over the ridge to the second floor. The elevators to the exit nestled in the wall almost directly across from him. A set of security barriers blocked the stairs up. “Why are there so many security barriers now?”

Gregory eyed the barriers but kept moving to the right, his left being blocked close by as more security barriers had been erected. The semi-light given off by neon lights glittered off the metal. Gregory went around the booth cluster and up the next set of stairs. A good chunk of the third floor was taken up by circles of arcade cabinets. A child stroller corral and another few kiddie rocket rides and planters sat against the glass wall over the rest of the building.

The intricate, shiny sound booth sat at the top of the third floor, jutting out over open air. Thankfully, the security barriers were on the other side of the booth, giving him full access to the short set of stairs up to the shiny and unnecessarily complex Sound Booth. The memory of getting dragged past it by Officer Vanessa hours ago tasted vile.

Gregory took the disk out of its case and gently set it in.

The time was two-forty-five am.

Gregory started pressing buttons. Still, nothing happened.

“Monty, it’s not working! I put the disk in, but it didn’t do anything.”

Beep! [I was afraid of that. At night, power is turned off to the Pizzaplex except for the neon lights. You’ll need to turn on the power blocks for the Sound Booth, stage, and Parts and Service.]

Gregory grimaced. “Do you know how to do that?”

Beep! [Oh, yeah! There’s a power station by the loadin’ docks in the basement. Should be real quick an’ easy gettin’ to it and back.]

“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Gregory looked over the balcony. On stage, Monty stood, broken.

Gregory winced as the beginning of another headache came back, pushing against his senses in an attempt to disconnect them.

Then, he heard her humming.

Gregory walked around the booth to the stairs and peered around the wall separating most of the sound booth from the third floor. The white rabbit skipped across the floor on the other side of the barriers. Gregory bolted for the stairs. He had to move around the occasional security S.T.A.F.F. bot as they somehow rounded the corners around the arcade islands at the exact wrong time.

“Gregory!” the white rabbit called. “I’m just trying to help. Please, let me help you!”

You’re going to kill me! Gregory wanted to say the words, but the longer he hesitated, the closer she got and the more muddled his thoughts became.

Finally, he made a break for the stairs.

“Slow down, you’ll get hurt!” she called after him.

Gregory raced down the stairs. He tripped over himself at the bottom but managed to catch his balance.

“Gregory, your friends mi-iss you!”

His slowly clearing symptoms got worse again. He could see her ears bobbing down the stairs above him.

He ran.

“Gregory, get back here!” she snapped. There was a slight hesitation and then her voice calmed, “I’m so so-orry Gregory. I didn’t mean to yell. But please, the other animatronics are here! I can protect you!”

Gregory got to the stairs leading to the atrium floor. He flashed a glance back fast enough to see her leave the stairs running. He bristled and bolted down the stairs, trying his hardest to keep his balance.

She yelled, “Monty, Roxy, Chica! Security alert, first floor! Now!”

Gregory’s blood froze in his veins. Chica and Roxy’s calls took up the dining hall. The white rabbit took the stairs behind him.

Gregory, huffing, stumbled as he hit the atrium floor. But the lights, the noise, the fear, the overwhelming headache and disconnect of his senses and inability to see was just too much!

He put a hand to his head and staggered into a table, shoving a chair forward as he did so.

Chica’s head snapped back. She, who passed the tables and approached the booths, caught sight of the boy. Her lavender eyes glinted. “Lost boy over here!”

He turned and made a dead sprint for the vent.

“Your parents are looking for you!”

“You are not better than me!”

Gregory darted out of the stairs and main atrium, toward Salads and Sides. Trying his best to ignore both of the bots now hyper-focused on him, threw himself into the vent and crawled in as fast as he could.

Roxy’s claws squealed against the vent lining and her teeth and claws flashed at the entrance.

Gregory rounded a corner and slowed to a stop.

Tiny metal feet clicked as they hit the vent behind him, and scratchy music sang.

The boy pushed himself to move again as quickly as he could.

After some crawling and a short stumble through a wide area with a grate, he slid down the rest of the vent tipped down at an angle. Gregory stumbled upon landing on solid ground and ran shoulder-first into a red tank.

Gregory, shivering hard enough to bring sharp attention back to his aching bruises and stinging cuts, shined his flashlight over the small room with the red tanks. He took long, deep breaths, but his eyes stung, and his throat tightened up regardless. Now that the adrenaline of his recent flight was over, the aches and pains of the night could come back. That and the fact he’d nearly gotten his head ripped off by that wolf again–at the behest of the rabbit lady. That rabbit lady! He thought she would have been in that security room. If she could get from that security room to the third story that fast… she could be anywhere.

“Just stay quiet. Maybe she’s like the animatronics and has tech that is attracted to sound.”

Gregory nodded and shut his eyes. He gave Bonnie one last hug, took a shaky breath, and started walking. He barely twitched his flashlight through the breakroom as he moved through it, the wire room, and the vat maze. Silence hung so thick and heavy that the only reassurance he had not gone deaf was through his own footsteps.

The metal door blocking him from the room he could not previously enter now opened itself.

Racks of technology filled the place, littering the walls and settling on shelving units. An inactive generator with a red light stood some distance from the door with a cable running across the ground to the kitchen. A gently growling generator with a glowing green light stood close to the door. A large cable ran out from it toward the wall opposite the kitchen. He found a panel of buttons, switches, and a wide monitor against the opposite wall to the kitchen. A plate labeling the grid’s function as lights overshadowed the grid. A screen between the plate and grid stated, “POWER USAGE: 00/33” and “TIME UNTIL NEXT RESET: 0:10”.

“BASEMENT 2:” stamped before the first row of four buttons: “PARTS AND SERVICE”, “EDUCATION MAZE”, “UTILITY TUNNELS”, and “PARKING GARAGE”. There was “BASEMENT 1”, which included the kitchen and loading docks. “GROUND LEVEL” included the front area and “DAYCARE THEATER”. Finally, on the last row, “BALCONY EAST”, “BALCONY WEST”, “EL CHIP’S”, “EAST ARCADE”, “WEST ARCADE”, and “BONNIE BOWLING” showed. There were others scattered amongst the levels, but none of them drew his eye.

Gregory hummed to himself. Well, what would be the problem with turning them all on? He pressed every button in all the rows. They turned green and then flashed red and shut off. An error message popped up on the screen above them.

“ERROR: ONLY 5 GENERATORS ALLOWED ACTIVE DURING NIGHT HOURS”

Gregory frowned. That… was going to be a problem. The mandatory reset warning also didn’t look too charming. He pressed the buttons under “BALCONY EAST” on Level Four, “ATRIUM FLOOR” on Level One, and “PARTS AND SERVICE” on Basement Two. They stayed green.

Beep! [The lift activated! Good job, Little guy! Now make your way back here and be careful.]

Gregory snickered to himself and, shoulders squared, and chest puffed out, waltzed out of the room and down through the locker rooms.

*          *          *          *          *

After quite the walk around, he made it back to the atrium.

He turned off his light and jolted upon looking at the stage.

Music blared. On the stage, four sputtering holographic versions of the glamrocks sang.

Freddy stood tall and proud with a mic stand in one hand and his mic in the other. He sang with his head held high. Sharp designs rounded his face and zig-zagged over his chest in a lightning bolt. Chica rocked out on a guitar, facing the crowd with round eyes and an open, clean beak. Earrings dangled from the side of her head and her own crazy colors and designs popped from her colored legs and shirt. Roxy stood up straight, her head up and a keytar in her hands. Spikes like an explosion dressed the front of her shirt. Monty stood beside her, knees bent, and eyes hidden behind shades and a bass guitar in both hands.

Beneath their feet, waiting and broken, was the real Monty.

Gregory climbed the stairs and ran to the tall, thin pedestal before the animatronic alligator.

Beep! [Great job, Little guy! Just press that button and the lift will take us down to Parts and Service.]

Gregory slammed his hand onto the button.

Roxy jolted as she skidded to a stop on the stairs. She glared after the boy and alligator as they descended. A growl like that of a chainsaw tore itself out from her voice box.

Then, her ears flattened, her snarl cut off, and she ran.

Gregory didn’t have much time to contemplate her sudden retreat when he heard the slight tinkling of bells. Bells? Why were there bells? Behind him, the weirdest animatronic he’d ever seen popped up from under the lift. Its round, flat face was mostly painted white and part dark navy blue in a crescent moon with a permanently grinning face and pointy nose. Two red dots glowed in place of its pupils. As it cocked its head, a floppy blue night cap with yellow stars lined with white edging on its head flopped over and rang a bell on the tip. Its slender body fit between the lift and the metal wall. Five long, lithe white fingers tipped blue stamped on the lift. It raised one hand in a slow wave. As it raised its white and blue arm, he saw its frilly blue and gold trimmed collar and its thin body was split in the middle with the left being white and the right being navy blue. A red sash wrapped around its waist above its frills. Weren’t the animatronics supposed to be, well, animals? The only humanish ones were the S.T.A.F.F. and that wasn’t one of those.

Gregory stumbled back into Monty. “What the heck is that?!” he squawked. “There! On the wall!”

Monty looked at the animatronic. The new animatronic raised its arms and slipped under the lift. Beep! [That’s the Daycare Attendant. Follow me to the recharge station!]

The lift stopped moving. Gregory followed Monty to the shutters and then the cement hall. Although this hall was unfamiliar, the double red doors at the end were familiar. They passed up a white brick hall with lime green trimming.

A raspy, deep voice warned, “It’s past your bedtime…”

Gregory bristled and looked around. Red glinted in the corner of his vision. He turned his flashlight on the red pinpricks of light and barely lit up some of the white on its face and cap before it flitted away. The double red doors sat at a “T” with the recharge station at the end of the right side of the “T”. Monty stopped and pushed Gregory back.

Beep! [Get in first, Little guy!]

Gregory hesitated. “What? Me?”

The moon-faced thing hopped and, as if made of feathers, landed a few feet away from them. Yellow cartoon stars spattered over its puffy blue pants just like its cap and it hopped from foot to foot on pointed, curly shoes tipped with bells. Now that it was closer, Gregory saw the red ribbons with bells on its wrists. That would explain the initial noise, but it had been quiet ever since! “Naughty boy…” it cooed. “You’ve been playing with time. That’s against the rules. Bad children must be punished!” Its voice turned into a hiss. Then it jumped backward as Monty lunged, swiping his claws and belting out a bone-chilling roar. He chased the animatronic jester. Gregory stepped back and then bristled as it dodged Monty and landed hardly a foot away from Gregory. He took the opportunity to dive into the recharge station.

He hopped up and looked through the window. The jester spun around and jumped again to dodge Monty but didn’t clear the room. Rather, it landed on Monty’s shoulders. “You need to be repaired, Montgomery Gator,” it rasped.

Monty thrashed under it, snapping and whipping his tail to keep his balance and gouging lines into the cement with his claws as he stumbled anyway in his desperate struggle. “You need a screwdriver in yer head!”

It grabbed him by the neck and then the wrist when the animatronic alligator tried lashing out at him.

Gregory gasped, “Leave him alone!”

Monty’s eyes stopped glowing and he collapsed.

It looked up at Gregory, gave him a little wave, and then set Monty’s arm on his back and dragged him by his ankles through the double red doors.

The time was three am.

Chapter Text

Gregory sank down to the floor of the charging station, Bonnie hugged tight to his chest. The impermeable wall he’d built and had been keeping together all night with glue and sand finally broke and as much as he tried, he couldn’t slow down the sobs that raked his pitiful little body. He scrubbed the back of his hand against his face, and he tried to take deep breaths. But he couldn’t stop his stupid hiccupping and gasping, and he still tasted the salty tang of tears that spilled over his dirty cheeks.

“Everything will be okay. Parts and Service is right through there. That’s where we want to go, anyway, right?”

Gregory sniffled. That jester thing hurt him! What if he’s hurt worse?

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s a big bot that can take a bit of a fall. I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear you’re okay.”

It’s my fault he’s there.

“No. Moon was going to attack you, and Monty wouldn’t allow it. You couldn’t help that. You hid, and that was the right thing to do. When you’re ready, we’ll go looking for Monty and see if we can help him. It’s not your fault, Carrotpop.”

Gregory sniffed, rubbed his shirt over his face, and nodded. Yeah, they needed to help Monty. He took another few steadying breaths, got to his aching feet, and left the charging station. He checked out the double red doors. The number “4” was printed at the top corner.

“Monty? Are you there?” Gregory asked. He walked around to one of the giant windows flanking the doors. After another short room and set of doors and windows, he could see further into the room. A giant cylinder, most of its walls made of glass, with a computer terminal dominated the front and center. There was a shape of a person before it. The lower half of the figure was dark, but the upper half sort of blended into the neutral surroundings.

Officer Vanessa.

No other human–save for Vanny–occupied the building right now. That had to be her.

He pushed through the first set and then stuck by the window next to the other doors. He hissed, “Monty, are you in here?”

The time was three-fifteen am.

Whoa, that was a very fast fifteen minutes. …why was he even surprised, anymore?

Officer Vanessa stood in front of the now open cylinder. Monty lay in the chair. Gregory muttered, “I’ve got to get him out of there.”

“…I kept him in Lost and Found.” Officer Vanessa’s voice barely reached Gregory through the glass windows and metal doors.

Monty grunted, “Uh, good news? So, is he with his parents or what now?” Gregory smiled a little at that. So, he was alive, and they fixed him!

The security guard sighed tersely, “No, he’s still out there and we can’t. Turns out, there’s no record of him here.”

“No record? How’d he get in here? Every kid has a record!”

Officer Vanessa went on as if he hadn’t spoken, her voice as dry as ever. “His name is Gregory. You know how I know that? You called him that before grabbing him and trying to chuck both of you off the third-story balcony.”

“I wasn’t gonna do that!” Monty snarled. “I didn’t wanna fall! You pushed me!”

“I pushed an aggressive animatronic who disobeyed staff orders and drew blood from a child. You watch your tone, or you’re scrap, you understand?”

…

Vanessa sighed. “Right. Well, you’ve been acting weirder than usual tonight. Hang out here for a bit. I gotta find that kid.” With that, she walked away from the cylinder and to one of the stairs that wrapped around the side of the cylinder. The cylinder door closed once she backed out of it. Light glared over the stairs and walls as she moved and swept the flashlight over her surroundings.

Monty called after her, “Vanessa, don’t leave me here!”

A few doors lined the walls above the stairs. She took the second one with a purple door and hall.

Gregory waited until it got quiet to push his way through the second set of red metal double doors.

“Gregory!” Monty called. “You’re here an’ alive! That’s great!”

Gregory ran up to the now-closed cylinder and looked through the window. He couldn’t see much beyond the animatronic’s purple feet and, beyond that, his hands at his sides and his bottom jaw. “Monty! What did they do to you?”

“Jus’ some maintenance. Got me put back together, but I’ll still be a little roughed up until the next engineer team comes by with a new shell. Now, eh, use the console to let me out.”

The boy walked around to the computer. Its screen glowed a very dark green. “Select Upgrade” in digital, light green letters stamped across the top. Under it was a list with slightly smaller printed words. “Power Upgrade” “Claws Upgrade” “Voicebox Upgrade” and “Eyes Upgrade”, all in off-white text, listed below with “Exit” in lime text.

The computer said, “Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure.”

Well, Monty didn’t need an upgrade, and he said he was fixed. Gregory tried pressing the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. “Select Repair” replaced the upgrade heading. “Hardware Scan”, “Physical Scan”, “Routine Check-Up”, and “Custom-Repair” were listed below it.

He decided to do a hardware scan, first. Hardware was the wiring and stuff on the inside. Like a computer, the thing that lets Monty think. Considering the other option was just going to tell him about the outside stuff, he could infer his previous assumption about hardware to be correct.

The computer announced, “It seems that Monty is under the weather. It seems Monty’s basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Monty will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice. Activating safety protocols. Rebooting in Safe Mode.”

A few moments passed where Monty went very still and then a few of the machine arms inside of the cylinder twitched up.

The cylinder opened beside Gregory. Monty got up and walked out, ducking his head a little as he went. While Monty had been put back together, his shell was still crumpled in places.

Gregory looked around the room. On the left of the cylinder was a line of rooms, some with wood-patched or blocked doors, others with broken windows. Generator-like machines and chain-link fences were on the right. An active endoskeleton stared ahead with blank red eyes and hung near the machines. The room was so wide he wasn’t bothered by any loud noises, nor could he see clearly through the windows.

The time was three-thirty am.

“So, how do you feel?” Gregory asked.

“Better,” Monty admitted. “I… feel different.” He hesitated and then looked over at the far side of the room. He looked at Gregory. “Hey, Little guy? Can you try runnin’ over there?” He pointed to a spot at the end of the room.

Gregory looked over at the spot quizzically and then at him. Then, understanding dawned on him.

“Gregory, this isn’t a good idea. If this didn’t fix him, you have nowhere to run.”

Sure, I do! I could run over there! Gregory turned and raced over to the spot indicated. He stopped and looked back at Monty and gave him the thumbs up.

Monty gave him the thumbs up back and laughed. “You did it! Good job, kid!”

Gregory ran back to him. “That’s amazing!” he laughed. “Now she can’t make you try and kill me, anymore!”

“What about the others?” Monty asked. “You think Chica and Roxy are being controlled, too?”

Gregory thought for a moment. “That would make sense, yeah.”

“And Freddy. He left out Freddy.”

“And Freddy.”

“Right, him, too,” Monty agreed with significantly less enthusiasm. “…maybe. He’s been acting different, but he hasn’t gone after you.”

Gregory asked before Bonnie could, “Weird how?”

Monty coughed. “Jus’… weird. Doesn’t talk to us at night, jus’ goes to the darkest part of the Pizzaplex and hides. Scares off that creepy jester while he’s at it, too. That clown scares all of us, but lately, one hint of Freddy and he’s gone.” Monty hesitated. “…fer good reason. It’s best if you don’t meet Freddy, Little guy.”

Gregory gave him a weird look. “Oh? You just said you didn’t think he was being controlled and that he didn’t attack me.”

“Right, because he hasn’t seen you,” Monty agreed. “Look, kid. I don’t know if he’s hacked like I was or just went off the deep end, but he ain’t actin’ like us. He’s attackin’ us. An’ if that’s ’cause he was hacked like we were, he could attack you, too. But he only patrols the real dark places, like the garage and sewers, utility tunnels, and sometimes attractions when the power gets diverted out of there or if there’s an outage.”

“Well, can’t we fix him, then?”

Monty shook his head. “I wouldn’t suggest tryin’! If Chica or Roxy tried hurtin’ you, I might be able to talk to ’em. That big bear won’t listen to a word I say!”

Gregory looked away but said nothing.

Monty’s voice calmed significantly. “Alright, kid. You need more badges if you’re gonna get a high enough security level to get outta here. There’s another badge in Fazer Blast. But that would need a Party Pass. I think Chica has a spare one in her room. She gives ’em out to the birthday kids. Her green room is next to mine in Rockstar Row.”

Gregory looked up at him and nodded. He forged ahead to the right set of stairs curling around the protective cylinder. A few blackboards with diagrams caught his attention. One bore a pair of eyes with eyelashes. One had a beak. The other had a set of claws. The last had a battery. Gregory raised his eyebrows. “Monty? Check out these pictures. Chica has some sort of special voice box, Roxy has new eyes, and oh, here are your better claws. Freddy has some sort of battery?” Gregory looked over the railing around the protective cylinder.

Monty flexed his claws. “Yeah, got those adjustments a bit ago. Somethin’ about bein’ better at playin’ the guitar. Which, they’re fun an’ all, but it’s hard to play with my friends nowadays.” The animatronic alligator walked up the stairs to join him.

Gregory furrowed his eyebrows. “Why does having special claws make it hard to play with your friends?”

Monty thought for a moment. “Well… back before my new claws, I liked roughhousin’, an’ so did Roxy. That’s just what we did. We bite an’ hit an’ we don’t mean nothin’ by it. We can’t hurt each other. But after I got these claws, it was like anything I touched became fragile. An’ even if it wasn’t, I ain’t riskin’ hurtin’ my friends because I moved the wrong way. …imagine if one day you woke up an’ all yer friends were made of cardboard. It would make playin’ a lot different, wouldn’t it?”

Gregory looked at him and then Bonnie and the hand holding it. His gaze drifted to the bandages on his arm. “Yeah, it would,” he admitted. He walked through Roxy’s hall and to the compact elevator. Monty stopped outside and waited as the doors closed on him.

One silent, slow elevator ride later, the doors opened. Inside the cluttered room made smaller by a few chain link fence pieces stood a recharge station. A few feet away from the elevator was a door. Gregory stepped through. Roxy’s room was… purple. Roxanne toys, a Roxy neon sign, pictures, an overwhelming amount of racing and mechanics artifacts, an arcade cabinet, and a kiddie rocket ride filled her room. A lot of the stuff sat on the couch across from the door. The vanity’s lights still glowed. The glass wall out into Rockstar Row stayed bared as the curtains held open.

Outside, Gregory heard a voice.

He stiffened and crept out of Roxy’s room and hugged the wall toward Freddy’s room. Searching in the semi-light, her flashlight dragging across the floor and walls, walked Officer Vanessa. “Come on, kid!” she called. “Where are you?”

Gregory peered around the corner. Unfortunately, the security officer hung around Freddy’s room. Did she know Gregory was going there? She couldn’t, could she?

“Are you hungry?” she called, her voice light despite the exhaustion that dragged at her words.

Gregory hid behind the wall as her flashlight’s beam scored the floor near him. Did… did she have food on her? No, she couldn’t have. She was just lying. She knew he was hungry. There had to be some place with food in this mall.

She stepped down the hall, passing by the artifacts in their cases. She stopped to inspect one, searching around it as if he might be hiding behind it.

He snuck past her and quickly got to Freddy’s room.

“I’m here to help. Please, let me help you!” she called.

Gregory narrowed his eyes. That’s just what the animatronics and the white rabbit said. He knew he couldn’t trust her. He tried to get through Monty’s room, but he didn’t have the security clearance. Besides, he would not have been able to climb up there himself. So, he backtracked to Freddy’s room, empty of the animatronic bear. This door opened to his pass. His room was red and orange and filled with Freddy Fazbear memorabilia, though the wall by his vanity had children’s drawings tacked onto it. A couple of bowling balls sat on the ground by the couch at the foot of the two-step stairs before the arcade cabinet. A duffle bag sat beside his unlit vanity with a Glamrock Freddy plushie on it. A note sat inside.

“FREDDY REPORT: ERRANT BEHAVIOR REPORT – Freddy’s personality chip has started acting quirky lately. He becomes agitated around references to previous models of Freddy and has started destroying merchandise from the Prize Counter and patrons. It is recommended we remove the merchandise of older Freddy models from the Prize Counter before we start hearing more ‘rumors’.”

So that’s why all those Freddies were hidden in the back of the Prize Counter.

Freddy’s vent had no register in the side of his back room, where a pile of boxes near it could give Gregory access to it. He climbed up the pile and into the vent. He passed Roxy’s room and then Monty’s. He stopped by Chica’s first room vent and unscrewed the vent covers. He only unscrewed three of the screws holding it together before it swung to the side to allow him room.

Chica-themed things–plushies, a neon sign, dolls, an arcade cabinet, the like–filled the space. Her open curtains separated her pink walls from the giant, clear window. A duffle bag sat on the ground with a note inside.

“CHICA REPORT: ERRANT BEHAVIOR REPORT – Chica’s personality chip has always been a bit ‘quirky’, but the new Pizza Flavored Monty Mystery Mix Slushy Syrup has adverse effects on her programming. She has attacked patrons, employees and S.T.A.F.F. for it. It is recommended that Monty Mystery Mix should be recalled before we’re inundated with lawsuits.”

Huh.

Officer Vanessa called, “I’m only here to help. Please come out.”

On Chica’s vanity next to a large plush cupcake lay a little golden slip labeled “Party Pass.”

“Monty! I found the Party Pass!” Gregory exclaimed, holding the golden slip.

Beep! [Good job!]

The time was three fifty-five am.

Bells.

Gregory bristled. “Oh, no, it’s that moon guy!”

Beep! [Get to a recharge station! I’ll meet you there!]

Gregory ran out of Chica’s room. Officer Vanessa’s flashlight no longer ran over the ground. He stopped as he nearly ran directly into the star-spattered jester. Moon cooed, “It’s past your bedtime~!”

Gregory, sticking to the wall, ran past him, throwing on his jacket as he went, and then darted to Monty’s room. He knocked on the door and Gregory was let right in. Gregory climbed into his stomach hatch. He winced at the bent plastic of his chest making his claustrophobic environment even tighter but stayed quiet. The animatronic alligator lumbered into his backroom and into his charging station.

The time was four am.

Unlike Monty Golf, they didn’t go through the Utility Tunnels to the front doors first. Instead, they went through Rockstar Row and into the atrium that way. Fazer Blast was located on the opposite side of the atrium than Monty Golf.

Roxy still patrolled the atrium. This time she was far away. So, he slipped out into the dark floor and crept past the shops until he got to a set of shutters barring the rest of the atrium from a well-lit attraction.

The shutters opened.

His shoes fell upon the purple, cosmic carpet. A huge rocket ship statue dominated the center area, while alien ships scattered around the fringes too high up for Gregory to climb–including a Ferris Wheel with UFOs instead of seats. A small shop with stairs leading atop it sat to the right side. Although there was a hallway to the right, it stopped due to a construction sign. A S.T.A.F.F. bot standing before the elevator blocked his entry with one hand up and its electronic “FAZCOMMS” sign with Helpy on it facing him.

Roxy growled and looked around the small lobby. When he didn’t immediately appear within her sight, she turned and stalked off and called for his attention again.

The boy took a deep breath. He marched up to the purple-and-yellow S.T.A.F.F. bot before the elevator that immediately barred him entry. The boy showed it the Party Pass, which the bot took. It tossed a bunch of confetti in the air with a short dance, stuck the ticket in the ticket feeder in its hip, and then promptly ignored him. Gregory strode to an alien-centric elevator and pressed the entry button.

…

He pressed the button again, but nothing happened.

He bowed his head.

Monty commented, “Looks like you’ll need to divert power to Fazer Blast this time, too.”

Biting back a retort, Gregory nodded. “Yeah, looks like it. I’ll be right back.”

*          *          *          *          *

He took the elevator in Salads and Sides this time. When he got to the power terminal, he asked, “What else should I turn on? I can turn on four other places while I’m here.”

Beep! [I’m not rightly sure. You’ll have five badges. The last three are in the warehouse next to Parts and Service, the West Arcade, and the Daycare.]

Daycare? Like with the Daycare Attendant? The moon guy? Heh. No way. Gregory looked over the panel. “Uh… what’s the ‘Warehouse’? I don’t see that here…”

Beep! [It’s uh… it’s also called the ‘Education Maze’ sometimes…]

He pressed “PARTS AND SERVICE”, just in case, “EDUCATION MAZE”, “WEST ARCADE”, and “FAZER BLAST”. He could activate a fifth one… hmm… “KITCHEN”.

He looked up upon seeing a sudden flash of light leak in through the doorframe leading to the kitchen.

Beep! [You got it! Lights are on at Fazer Blast!]

Gregory asked, “Outside of it, too? In that lobby area?”

Beep! [Yep!]

“So, they’ll definitely know I’m in there, or at least going there.”

Beep! [Oh, that’s true.]

Beep! [You handled yourself pretty well in the atrium an hour ago, I’m sure you’ll do fine here!]

Someone was confident, at least.

Gregory walked back to Fazerblast, avoiding Roxy as she patrolled. Monty waited for him by Fazerblast. The ticket bot didn’t try to stop him as the boy walked straight past him and pressed the elevator button. The doors opened and allowed them inside.

The elevator whirred. Freddy’s voice boomed, cheerful and loud, “Calling all recruits!” Gregory jumped and then sighed through his teeth. “Fazer Blast is a high-intensity, space combat simulation! Suit up and save the universe, as you blast everyone and everything with high-tech laser effects! Blast strangers, blast your friends! Beat the superstar score! And get a free Fazerblaster gun! Enlist now!”

Monty snorted. “Don’t gotta worry about him here, Little guy. Lights are on. That’s jus’ a recordin’.”

“I know,” Gregory grunted. “Just… didn’t expect it.”

Eventually, the other door opened, and Gregory strode out into the room whose major light source, despite the few real lights being active, was the absurd amount of neon lights. Space and aliens scattered about the faintly lit room along with pictures of the glamrocks in space suits with laser guns. In a shop to the left behind a rocket, there was merchandise on shelves and clothes hung up and a few ATM machines sat against the wall.

To the right of the elevator stood a glass case with awards and a sign-up desk before it. Between the desk and a few rows of arcade cabinets was a blue futuristic door that slid up when Gregory approached. A bathroom sign with Freddy’s and Chica’s symbols stamped on it was above it.

From behind the desk, he caught sight of two doors on the opposite wall. One said “NO ENTRY” while the other had a security badge above it. Gregory ran around to the “NO ENTRY” door. There wasn’t exactly a scanner, so it probably wasn’t an employee door. Darn. A small “L” shaped hallway was behind the other door, with one door inside leading to a bathroom with a single toilet.

Further down the hall was a metal door with another Security Badge sign beside it.

The room went dark as soon as he entered.

Beep! [They know you’re here! Get the security upgrade and get out!]

Gregory found the little security Freddy head and pressed its nose. As it slowly opened, he searched the small room. A duffle bag with a note talking about hiding Monty Mystery Mix in ice cream storage was there. An empty pizza box stood out amongst the clutter with a cyan and lavender bowling ticket on it.

Beep! [Nice find! That’s a free bowling pass for the rest of the year!]

Gregory grabbed the security badge and indeed got out. However, when he went to open the door, he stopped dead.

Chica wandered around the place.

Chica stopped when her name was called and looked back at Monty. He said something Gregory didn’t catch and pointed to the exit elevator. Chica shook her head and pointed to the security door. Monty said something else and, with a flippant wave of his hand, walked to the elevator. Chica, after a moment of hesitation, followed him.

Once they were gone, Gregory walked to the last blue door, this one leading to the arena.

After a short “L” shaped hallway, dark with neon arches like a snake’s rib cage around him, he entered a room only slightly wider than the hallway. A whole big row of black seats lined the left wall. A S.T.A.F.F. bot with Fazerblast gear stood up on a stage on the other side. The lights turned on here.

The bot droned, “You must be the new Fazerblast recruits, and from the looks of you, the orange-slash-blue team hasn’t got a chance. Soon you will be fighting for your lives. I am here to tell you how to play Fazerblast. There are two rules you must follow at all times. Rule One: No running. No jumping, hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving. No shooting Fazerblasters in, or close to, other players’ eyes. Being flashed in the eyes may induce seizures, blindness, or semi-permanent paralysis. If you are flashed in the eyes, immediately flush your eyes with soap and water and then blink repeatedly until vision is restored. Rule Number Two: Have fun.”

Gregory ran through the next door through an “L” and into another small room, this one lined on either side with vests and two tables with helmets. One side was orange with helmets that had bear ears and top hats, the other was blue with helmets that had springs and balls on the ends like alien antennae. The robot stated, “Before you enter the arena, grab a helmet and Fazerblaster.”

Gregory took off his knitted hat, set it in his coat pocket, fitted an orange helmet on, and grabbed the lone laser gun beside all the other helmets. He put on the vest with the lightning bolt on as an afterthought. The helmet’s visor went over his eyes. It was so clear and light that he could barely notice it being there at all. That was until the HUD appeared. “SCORE” “0/3” popped up in blue letters at the left edge of his vision. “HEALTH” with six short bars under it glowed green on his right.

Gregory remembered his mother telling him about what her VR had been like before she had to sell it. “It’s like seeing into a whole other world.” He’d never actually gotten to use it before, though. Like his stepbrother would let him use his, or his stepfather would remember his promise to get one for him. This was different than just seeing something because he could see himself and he was holding Bonnie under one arm and a Fazerblaster in his hands.

He couldn’t help a joyful squeak and held the gun tighter.

The doorless entryway led to an actual door flanked by two other doors a few feet away. Both other doors said, “NO ENTRY.” So, he went in through the middle one.

He got to the end with three doors. The robotic voice stated, “You are on the orange team, soldier. Report to the orange hallway.”

The left door, glowing with bands of orange lights, opened for him. At the end of the long “L” hallway stood an extravagantly designed elevator that glowed with futuristic lights and patterns both carved and made of light. He half wondered if there were alien props that would go around yelling “boo” or something.

The lights shut off.

Gregory jumped and looked around as a red light became his only aid in sight. The other door opened, leading him into a neon-and-blacklight maze of barriers and vibrant carpet. A few boxes reached up, stacked like rooms without ceilings accessed by stairs. He checked his glasses. Cameras showed the absurd maze, a few boxes he could climb into, and three separate flags–one of which was at the top of the room stack in the center of the arena. He tapped his glasses to minimize the CAMS tab, finding a single catwalk. He forged on to the first flag.

Gregory had been partially right about the alien posters yelling “boo!”, but only as S.T.A.F.F. bots wearing alien helmets and wielding Fazerblasters rolled out from around barriers. He shot them down before they could shoot back.

Each time he shot, one of the six glowing blue bars on the right of his headset’s screen would go dark. If he stopped shooting long enough, the bars would refill. Words like “NICE SHOT”, “AMAZING”, and “5 IN A ROW” appeared if he shot them in a certain way or shot a certain number of bots in a row well enough. He smirked to himself. Heck yeah, he was amazing.

The first flag was in a corner near the door. A ceiling was overhead on this section, weirdly enough. A button on a pedestal beside the flag glowed green. He ran up and pressed it.

Computer bot announced, “You have captured the flag!”

“00:28” appeared in purple letters at the top of his vision.

A S.T.A.F.F. bot nearby announced in a monotone voice, “Capture the flag!”

Gregory shot it.

Computer bot said, “Time to defend.”

The “aliens” that tried to sneak up on him or flat-out charged missed and got shot by Gregory quickly after being spotted. Bots continued to say things such as “Die Earth scum”, “Stand still so I can shoot you”, and “Intruder alert” as they attacked. Once the timer ticked down to nothing, “AREA CAPTURED” appeared in green letters on his visor and the computer announced, “You have successfully defended the station! Move on to the next one, Space Cadet!” The “0/3” at the top-left of his screen went up one.

Heck yeah!

He found the next flag on the ground, deciding to leave the middle one for last. He nearly forgot he was in a life-or-death situation and the only reason he was even playing was to…

Hold on, he already got the security badge! Why was he here? Well, maybe he could get something that could help him defend himself, like a Fazerblaster. He could sneak one out.

Thump, thump, thump!

Gregory jumped and hid behind a wall as he heard animatronic feet hit the ground. White, yellow, pink, and green flickered down the hall. He sucked in his breath as Chica emerged from deeper in the maze, searching the halls. She called, “Who wants candy?”

Gregory backed up into a wall and looked around, finding two paths–straight ahead or right into Chica. Both paths would cross into Chica’s vision and lead to her chasing him down. He looked down at his Fazerblaster. The bots didn’t like being shot by it.

He side-stepped into view and held up his gun. Her eyes turned on him. He shot, his laser hitting her straight in the eyes. She squawked and jolted like she’d been flashed by the camera. Gregory turned and darted around the maze to take the other ground flag. On the wall, he spotted a plain elevator door. Being similar to the one he went through with little fanfare, he could assume this was the loser’s elevator. 

Chica called from somewhere nearby, “Your parents are looking for you!”

Gregory scoffed at the notion and pressed the button beside the flag. Computer bot announced, “You have captured the flag!”

“00:28” appeared in purple letters at the top of his vision.

A S.T.A.F.F. bot nearby announced in a monotone voice, “Capture the flag!”

Gregory shot it.

Computer bot said, “Time to defend.”

Gregory backed up and shot anything that dared get close. For a second, he could’ve sworn he saw something pale moving, but when he looked back, he only saw barriers.

The timer ran out. “AREA CAPTURED” appeared in green letters on his visor and the computer announced, “You have successfully defended the station! Move on to the next one, Space Cadet!” The “1/3” at the top-left of his screen went up one.

Now he approached the stairs. Hopefully, he could capture this flag up top with just as few problems!

As he climbed the stairs, the walls became scarce. There were a few walls on the landing and the top was ringed with them. But here, on the slope glowing with lights, he was vulnerable. Chica, on the ground, looked up upon hearing him and cried, “Lost boy over here!”

Gregory captured the flag in the center and hid behind one of the walls.

As the clock ticked down, S.T.A.F.F. bots rolled into his vision. Chica lumbered onto the top platform. Rather than target the flag, she searched for Gregory. She ba-gawked as she was blasted in the face again with his Fazerblaster.

“YOU WIN” blazed across his visor in blocky, electric, green letters and yellow stripes with thin stripes missing above and below with green furls on either side.

The computer bot said, “You have defeated the alien army! Good job, Space Cadet! Proceed to the winner’s elevator for your reward.”

Gregory laughed and ran.

As he tried to find his way, he found a plain metal door in the wall, hidden in the maze. Curious, he attempted to open it.

Click.

…oh, well. Not his problem. He had other things to do outside of bothering with random creepy doors. He found the Winner’s Elevator with a “Blaster Return” box next to it. So, he didn’t get to keep it. There was probably another he could take.

Gregory got inside the elevator and immediately pressed the button to return to the upper level.

Beep! He tapped his glasses to look at his chat log. [Good job, Little guy! Since you won, you should be able to claim your prize in the Superstar Lounge.]

The next door opened, showing a hallway lit with green lights that he ran through. The blue door at the end opened up to another couple of doors with an empty doorway on his right leading to a small lounge area. An empty pizza box and some unopened chip bags beside consumed coffee cups ringed the table.

A few small, red couches and benches ringed the small room overlooking the arena. A Freddie plush sat on a couch. He snatched the golden Fazerblaster and started to leave when he spotted the open vent.

The time was four-fifteen am.

“Where does this vent go?” he wondered, took out his mini flashlight, and ducked inside. He climbed up the steeply sloped vent that stopped rather suddenly at a fan with a grate over it. It opened onto an uneven catwalk with a few boards laying haphazardly on the ground and barred off from the arena by gargantuan cutouts of the main cast of characters. A partially crumpled note lay on the ground.

“NEW HIRE SUMMARY – Head Security Guard. No prior qualifications. Internal reference (name withheld).”

Gregory shrugged and dropped the note. Unfortunately, a wall stopped him from further movement. But the wall next to him had a vent he could use. This vent also continued up at an angle, taking two quick right turns and a left one and going up for what felt like an entire story before taking one right turn onto a grated catwalk.

Gregory stood up and looked down over the arena and the catwalk, and then the metal door to the room jutting out of the wall. The door itself was a metal security door with a window cut out of it. He peered through it, finding a messy bed, some pizza boxes, and a baby blue arcade machine covered in balloons with a smiling sun and a boy in a striped shirt and labeled “BALLOON WORLD”.

“Monty, I found a secret hide-out, I think,” Gregory reported. “Or maybe a station? I dunno.”

Beep! [A security station above Fazer Blast? Maybe a hide-out. Got any more details?]

Gregory shook his head. “No. I don’t know how to get in.” Directly across the small room was another door, this one without a window. The wall between the doors was made almost entirely out of window material, but there was no way he was looking through it without risking falling off the catwalk. “There’s this arcade machine that says, ‘Balloon World’ and a bed. It looks like someone lives here.”

Beep! [I don’t want to say this, but if anyone would know if someone lived here, it would be Officer Vanessa.]

“If she knew someone lived here, she would have kicked them out,” Gregory pointed out.

Beep! [What if she already did? Kid, it’s four-fifteen in the mornin’. Anyone who lived here would be asleep, don’t you think?]

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “Um… well, I got the Fazerblaster. I’ll meet you outside.”

“It never hurts to be careful.”

He kind of has a point, though. Gregory ducked into the vent system and retraced his steps. He passed through the Superstar Lounge into the door at the end. He took off his helmet and, with a forlorn look at the visor, set it back down and walked to the exit on the right, next to the entrance hall. Gregory put his knitted hat back on.

The open doorway leading into a neon tunnel, helpfully labeled “EXIT” took him down and through the “NO ENTRY” door he saw in the entrance area.

Gregory walked into the elevator and immediately pressed the button out.

Chapter Text

Monty met him in the space before Fazer Blast. Gregory exclaimed, “That’s five! So, we only need two more: the one from the maze and the dance place! Since the maze is right next to Parts and Service, that’ll be the easiest to get to. So, I’m thinking we can go there first. What about you?”

Monty nodded. “Eh, yeah, that’s true, Little guy. We will need to go there, eventually. May as well go now.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

“There are… it’s a pretty dangerous place,” Monty admitted. “You jus’ need to be cautious is all.”

Gregory chuckled. “It’s funny hearing you say ‘cautious’. You normally just charge into things.”

“Heh. Yeah. Yeah! C’mon! Let’s do this thing!” Monty’s reluctance faded and he tipped his head up and lashed his tail.

Gregory’s eyes brightened and he followed Monty back to the stage lift. The lift sank beneath the atrium. Taking the first turn on the right, he found a large break in the wall leading to another light-bricked hallway with lime trimming. But as he turned a corner–

A pair of metal pincher-like hands grabbed him and whirled him around so he was face-to-face with Map Bot. It let go of the terror-frozen kid and held out a map. “Hi. Please take this map.”

Gregory reluctantly took the map.

Map bot stood up straight and faced away. “Thank you. Please enjoy.”

Gregory glared back at it. “Ugh! I hate that thing!” he spat.

Monty grunted, eying the bot, “You ain’t the only one.”

Gregory opened up the ratty, white-and-blue map as he approached another door. “Hmm… well, wasn’t all useless. It’s a map of the utility tunnels.”

Gregory knocked his head on a partially opened garage door. He spat a word he’d learned from an oblivious teacher and held a hand to his head. Blinking the stars out of his eyes, he looked into the room presented to him. He pushed the map back into his pocket with his other hand.

Cement pillars rose out of the cement floors and touched cement walls. A few laundry baskets and a forklift occupied the room. Aside from the mechanical broken parts strewn about, they were alone in the well-lit, empty room. Well, at least none of the other animatronics were here. This would be a really bad place to meet them.

When he got to the end of the room, he found Monty lagging behind, eyes darting from shadow to shadow. Wariness crept up on Gregory and he backed up so he stood by the animatronic alligator. “What’s wrong? Is there something here?”

Monty stopped. He growled low to himself, almost too low for Gregory to hear, “Stupid, you’re scaring the kid.” Then at a normal volume, he said, “No, it’s fine, kid. Well, for right now. Here. There’s probably nothin’ here. In the warehouse–education maze, there are endos-in-trainin’. The others… they don’t really know much about them. I don’t know if they even know about them.”

“Are you scared of them?” Gregory edged. He could feel Bonnie’s nervousness as well.

“No! No, course not,” Monty scoffed, staring ahead at their goal rather than down at Gregory. “I’m jus’ bein’ real with you, Little guy. They’re dangerous. I ain’t scared of a few endos, but I’m Monty Gator. Heh. Uh… you’re still jus’ a kid. No offense, o’ course!”

“He’s right about that; you couldn’t fight off an endo on your own much less multiple. You’ll need to be sneaky if they’re aggressive.”

Gregory frowned. “You’re lying. You won’t look me in the eyes.”

Monty set a hand on the back of his neck. “Kid…”

“Bonnie’s scared, too,” Gregory offered.

“Got that right. We should just skip this place and go back to the Daycare.”

“He says we should go to the Daycare instead. But since we’re here, I think we should go ahead with the plan. I-I’m kinda scared, too.”

Monty looked down at him and Bonnie. “Bonnie’s always been the smart one.” He grunted. “Smart and kind and soft. Everything I’m not. He never needed to be brave. Never had anything to be afraid of.” Monty growled to himself and said, “But I’m not him. I’m not smart or nice or anythin’ like that. But I got the teeth and the claws and the big roar, so everyone thinks I’m scary an’ brave. If I don’t got that, what else do I got?”

Is that what everyone thinks?

“…maybe. The other band members don’t.”

Gregory huffed. “You’ve been helping me all night! You’ve been nice to me even though you didn’t have to, and I never would’ve gotten through the whole Pizzaplex on my own. You got in big trouble with Vanessa and with Moon because you were helping me. A-and… and it’s easy to be brave around you, you know?” He thought for a moment and then pulled out his golf score sheet. Monty gave him an odd look and gently took the paper. “When I was failing at playing mini golf, you taught me how and got me a new golf score sheet. I don’t know who keeps telling you that you’re mean or you’re dumb, but whoever they are, they’re freaking liars.”

Monty sighed and looked down at Gregory. “Thanks, kid. This… this means a lot. I can’t take this, though. It’s yours.” He held it back out to Gregory.

Gregory shook his head. “No. It’s yours. You’re helping me escape the Pizzaplex. I want you to remember you’re cool.”

Monty’s eyelids fell a little. “Heh. Kid, everythin’ I hold gets torn, remember?”

Oh, right. The kid thought for a moment and then nodded. “Okay. How about you write a note to yourself on it? If you’re feeling bad, I can show it to you.”

Monty chuckled. “You’re a persistent kid, ya know that? Alright.”

“Oh, and write something about our time travel adventure, so you don’t forget about that, either!”

Monty snorted. “I ain’t forgettin’ about time travel any time soon, but sure thing. Got a pen…? No? Ah… well, how about we wait ’til we get back to my room? I got a pen there.”

“Okay, I guess.” Gregory, making a mental note to start carrying around a pen, took the paper back, folded it, and stuck it in his pocket again.

Gregory turned a corner, passed some boxes, cement bags, and an orange truck, and walked through another garage door. Crates covered in orange tarps and tables of various shapes set in various positions filled the space, forcing him to move from side to side rather than just a straight line. There was one point he could walk in a straight line. An endoskeleton stood near the end of it, hunched over and limp.

Then, as Gregory approached, it pulled its head up and slid into a position to walk or run. Red lights glowed through hollow disks in its eyeballs. Gregory dove behind a table and peeked his head out to watch the thing standing there menacingly.

…

Gregory slid back behind the table. Alright, so it wasn’t moving. But it was blocking his way. Maybe he needed to–were those footsteps?

Monty hissed and took a few steps back. “Little guy, look at it!”

Gregory peered out from behind the table and slapped a hand over his mouth to keep from screaming. While he was thinking to himself behind the table, the endoskeleton walked from its place to roughly two feet away from Gregory. But if it had just walked, why did it stop here?

Monty went on, “It only moves if no humans are watchin’ it. But it don’t matter if bots are watchin’ it, so it’s gonna ignore me. Keep your eyes on it.”

Gregory lowered his hand and nodded. “Okay.” He stood up and stepped back a few paces. It didn’t follow. He scooted to the side, keeping his eyes and meager flashlight on the thing. Again, it didn’t move. Gregory sidled past it, keeping it in his sight.

He backed into a stack of boxes. When he went to navigate around the boxes, he didn’t hear anything change. When he looked back, he saw nothing but a few obstacles between them.

Weird.

When he went to continue down the hall, he ran into a chain-link fence. He asked, “Hey, Monty? There’s a chain link fence blocking the way.”

Beep! [If I break it, it’ll let its friends out. I ain’t letting more of those things out. You sure there’s not a gate?]

Gregory stole a glance back before looking back at the endoskeleton. “Nope, no gate.”

Beep! [Then I can’t follow you. Those things ain’t right in the head. Without personality chips and not being fully trained, they’ll attack anything but another endo–including humans and other bots. But they can’t move if they’re being watched by a human. So just keep an eye on them and they won’t attack.]

“Then maybe there’s a way around.” Gregory’s eyes fell on a large, open vent. A few cardboard boxes that would obviously hold Gregory no problem stacked under it.

“How does he know so much about endoskeletons?”

Gregory edged closer to the vent. Wait, you don’t?

“No. I only vaguely know they exist, like you know skeletons exist. Since, you know, I had one. I didn’t know anything about ‘training’.”

He climbed onto the boxes and crawled into the vent. A shiver ran through Gregory as he had to walk through cobwebs. The cobwebs fluttered in the slight breeze created by a fan at the first turn. “Bonnie asks how you know so much about them.”

Beep! [Heh. I don’t know if you heard Vanessa, but I get threatened a whole bunch by the staff. ‘You keep this up and we’ll replace you with one of the endos!’ So, I got to learn what they are. Turns out humans started getting scared of me after I got my claws. That creepy clown and I have something in common after all.]

After walking through the bazillionth cobweb and knowing he was probably covered in spiders, he heard something metal hit metal and a clicking noise. Cymbals crashed together.

“Not again!” Gregory crawled faster, spitting at the sticky webs covering his hand as he moved straight through one. Could the vents please not be covered in spiders when there was a metal spider music man thing already in said vents?!

Gregory crawled out onto a green case and hopped to his feet. He jumped to the ground half a foot down and backed up. The creepy metal thing walked up to the end and then turned and skittered back the way it came.

Ew.

He stood up and brushed himself off. “Why would they give you those claws if it made them scared of you? They sound dumb.”

Beep! [Hah! You’re smart, Little guy! You ask the right questions. They just told me it would make me better with the guitar. That’s it.]

More clutter, including a whole cluster of vibrant trash cans printed with various characters’ features, made his walk suffocating. He went through a set of garage doors.

He came face-to-face with a Moon plush sitting on a small stack of tires.

Gregory glared and walked past it.

On his right was a giant poster with an endoskeleton with a medkit kneeling in front of a hurt kid and applying a bandage to the kid’s knee. A green checkmark was on it, but someone with purple spray paint crossed it out and added bunny ears.

More importantly, the thin hall made thinner by more clutter continued further. Another poster with an endoskeleton was on it, but he couldn’t see what it was. Halfway down the hall, he spotted a monitor with a cartoon version of Moon’s head with his eyes closed and the Moondrop candy under it. What, were these endoskeletons some fans of the Daycare Attendant or something?

An empty doorway he hadn’t noticed broke off on the opposite side of the TV. The hallway was short and connected back into the main one, though.

Then Gregory approached the door at the end. An endoskeleton holding a red balloon stood before a girl with pigtails standing in front of a male parental figure. She held the endoskeleton’s hand. Another green checkmark was on this wall.

Near the wall was a Freddy-head-shaped button on a thin pedestal. As he did with everything in life, he pressed the big glowing button.

He looked up as the “poster” hissed and the entire section of the wall rose up. “That wall just moved!” he exclaimed.

“Ever the observational one!”

He moved into the now winding hall flanked by unmoving conveyor belts. Some boxes and a yellow Chica plush sat there. There was probably a Bonnie plush on top of the boxes, but it was high up and he wasn’t certain the color was actually purple.

Gregory stopped. An endoskeleton, fully awake and staring straight at an inactive S.T.A.F.F. bot, stood in a once colorful room with a rainbow and another endoskeleton “poster” on one wall. This one was of an endoskeleton chasing a child. A red X was painted on this one.

Another TV trying to sell Moondrop candy sat before a kid’s table and set of chairs, sending white and blue light over the surrounding area. Kids couldn’t be allowed down here. That would be insane. But there was kids’ stuff here and some plushy objects from the daycare resting on boxes against the walls and this TV with Moon on it. Training, right. They probably needed to get used to kid stuff.

“Yeah, probably. Though with so many endos… why wasn’t I recreated?”

Gregory shrugged. Maybe you’re irreplaceable. You are pretty special.

He walked past the endoskeleton and a couple of inactive friends. A button on a pedestal sat beside the TV. He had to turn his back to press it, but only for a second. The endoskeleton didn’t properly turn around.

Gregory watched it as he scooted by. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go down the next hallway backward as there were a couple of corners. Besides, what if he tripped over something? So, after a second of watching the endoskeleton, he bolted. He ignored the plush walls and toys and steam coming from pipes and a couple of giant colorful blocks with another Moon plush on them as he turned another corner.

He slowed down and walked through a set of open chain link gates. An inactive endoskeleton stood near the gate. Gregory discovered a second one next to it as he passed. At the end of the hall, “PARTY” spelled in silver balloons attached to the wall. A S.T.A.F.F. bot leaned forward, but Gregory couldn’t see anything from the shoulders forward from around a corner.

The hallway expanded a little bit after the corner, showing the S.T.A.F.F. bot leaning over a table. Its decapitated, mangled head with a cone hat sat by a slice of cake.

…

Gregory inspected the poster wall. It was another endoskeleton, of course, this time with a birthday hat. He pressed the button opposite the poster wall and hurried through. He could hear the endoskeletons he previously passed activate.

A short hall lined with chain-link fences and large machines with steam hissing out met him. A mangled S.T.A.F.F. bot lay propped against the fence at the end of the walkway before a bend. The poster wall to the left of him was an endoskeleton with a party hat at a table, flipping the cake on a plate over and causing the little girl sitting at the table with a hat to turn her head and raise her arms in defense. Another X was painted above it. Gregory decided to take a right turn.

He passed an open chain-link part of the fence. Another Moon plush sat on a box and this time at the end of the hall was a full portrait of Moon, his eyes closed, and head tipped to rest on his hands. The left side of the fork in his path was a door, the right side was more hallway with another two endoskeletons on it. Gregory walked down that hall, past the endoskeletons, and into a small room with another button, this time before a painted poster of Moondrop candy.

He pressed the button.

The two endoskeletons behind him came to life.

Gregory, his flashlight on them, walked around so that his back faced the wall at which he’d arrived.

…

Gregory bolted in the opposite direction of the endoskeletons, who immediately gave chase. The poster door on the other side of the mangled S.T.A.F.F. bot was open, and Gregory wasted no time in racing through it. Another endoskeleton whom he’d lost previously spotted him as he went and decided to give chase as well.

The next bit of hallway was cement, but the walls were mostly covered in drapes, a rug that ran through, and a few plastic kiddie benches sat to one side–all themed with blue. The benches had red tops that housed another Moon plush and sat across from a TV advertising Moondrop candy, shedding more blue light over him as he went.

Three inactive endoskeletons slumped in a corner with soft blue walls and more blue rugs. Red curtains pulled back in an empty doorway that opened into a small room. A few TVs, a couple of which were turned on to show Moondrop candy while others were either off or showing static, and more Moon decorations scattered about, including a plush. He pressed a button on a pedestal beside the Moondrop TV and kept going. The button activated a few more endoskeletons.

The halls stopped being completely Moon-themed, though they had a lot of kid’s stuff and another Moondrop poster. After a bend, he saw a poster wall. This was the same endoskeleton with a med kit and crossed-out checkmark as the one in the beginning.

Passing a Moondrop candy poster painted on the wall, he got to a slightly more open space with a giant open doorway on the right.

As soon as Gregory entered, the yellow-and-black-striped doorway closed with a giant metal door.

Inside the room were soft walls and soft floors like some sort of weird copy of the daycare. Except, there wasn’t a play place or a ball pit, or even a place leading to a naptime room. There was a short wall of green interwoven bars like the wall of the play place structured at the end of the octagonal room. One would think anyone obsessed with an animatronic meant to put children to sleep would have at least one bed. But nope. Instead, this room was decorated with endoskeletons all along the walls and a security desk. The security desk sat on a cement square lined with black and yellow striped tape.

“It’s the Security Office. Hmm. Should be one of those badge things in here.”

Gregory decided to check the space behind the green barred wall. More giant daycare objects were stacked there. A Moon plush sat on the ground. He went back to the security desk, where he found a Freddy Head Security Badge holder on it. A Moon plush sat behind it. A black Security cap sat on the other side, in front of a computer filled with static.

What kind of alarm will this trip?

“Got it!” Gregory exclaimed as he pulled out the security card. The once inactive endoskeletons all around him hissed to life. “Oh, come on!” he yelled and darted out of the now-open door. The med kit endoskeleton door opened.

Gregory escaped.

They followed him outside of the gate that they opened. Gregory wove back through the clutter, hopped onto the green box below the vent, and crawled inside.

The little metal spider thing followed him again, but Gregory crawled quickly and threw himself out the other side.

He took a second to breathe, to regain his energy and calm his fluttering heart. There couldn’t possibly be anything worse than that in this mall, right?

Right?

The endoskeleton in this room was gone. Gregory still inspected every shadow with his flashlight as he walked. Maybe it somehow went back and joined its brethren in trying to kill Gregory. That would be fun.

Monty spotted him around a bend. “Hey, Little guy! You got the badge!”

Gregory nodded, grinning. “Now all I need is the one from the West Arcade. Though… I only have one more badge to get.”

Monty nodded. “What are ya thinkin’?”

“Well, when you were broken, they took you to Parts and Service and I was able to fix you and now that virus isn’t causing you to go crazy anymore, right?” Gregory pointed out. “I already said we could fix them. Now that I can go pretty much anywhere, we can do it!”

Monty lashed his tail and laughed. “Yeah! But, uh… do ya really think you’d need to break them? I could carry any one o’ them myself.”

Gregory pointed out, “You wouldn’t listen to Vanessa, and you tried to kill me, remember?”

Monty muttered, “That’s true. Maybe you could try talkin’ to ’em, though. Chica’s a sweetheart.”

Gregory nodded. “Okay. I’ll go find her, then.” So… you thinking what I’m thinking?

“Most likely not. What are you thinking?”

I’m thinking since every time they even look at me they attack me, I could knock her out and then blindfold her or something. Maybe if she doesn’t see me, she won’t attack me. And if she still does, I can probably take her down.

“…just… please don’t hurt her. How do you plan on doing that?”

*          *          *          *          *

The note he found in her room talked about how crazy she went for Monty’s Mystery Mix, and how it was hidden in the bowling alley. Since he got a ticket for Bonnie’s Bowling from Fazer Blast, part one of his plan was in the bag!

“How are we going to get her to find it when we want her to find it? What if she finds us on accident just in the atrium or on the balcony and attacks us there?”

Gregory, having left Rockstar Row after getting Monty to sign a note to himself on his golfing score sheet, hesitated in the atrium. He continued moving. We’ll just have to deal with it.

“That’s not a good plan.”

Do you have a better one?

“There’s a cupcake delivery system. You might be able to hide the syrup in the icing vat and then get the delivery bot to deliver it to wherever we’re going. She probably won’t find the bot since she’s looking for you. If she does, she’ll be busy eating the cupcake and you’ll know where she is.”

That… okay, that’s a good plan.

He climbed the stairs up to the third floor. Only a few bots were on the second and third floor. Gregory looked behind himself at El Chips and MAZErcise. On the opposite side of the third floor was a big sign painted on the wall: Bonnie Bowling. A blue rabbit from the shoulders up wearing a striped red and black shirt smiled and held up a bowling ball. This one was bulkier than Vanny with a warmer smile and bright round eyes with whites and round pupils. “Why doesn’t he look like you?”

“I have no clue why he looks more like the original Bonnie. I don’t know why the staff do most of what they do.”

Gregory wrinkled his nose. Adults are weird. He glanced at the Bonnie Bowling ticket in his hand and forged on.

Another ticket bot was there to stop him until he presented the Bonnie Bowling ticket, at which point he was given a short celebration and then was quickly forgotten.

The elevator didn’t take long and soon he was on an ill-lit checkerboard floor in a hall plastered with ads and pictures of the band.

The mystery mix was in the back of the ice cream storage. When he checked the CAMS tab, he saw an ice cream parlor beyond the bowling lanes.

Step One: Monty Mystery Mix.

Step Two: Lure Chica.

Step Three: …something…

Step Four: Free Chica!

Gregory was the best at plans.

Unfortunately, more S.T.A.F.F. bots littered the arcade machine area and around the bowling lanes, which were accessible by a few sets of stairs going down. None of them approached the ice cream parlor overlooking the bowling lanes, which was nice. While Gregory would have loved to hide under tables and behind machines for three hours, they couldn’t waste time.

Do you know any tricky back entrances or something?

“From here to the ice cream parlor? Yeah, but none that would take less time than just going straight through the arcade. You’ll need to be sneaky, that’s it.”

Gregory narrowed his eyes. Sneaky… like I was sneaky with the endos? I just ran past them!

“You could freeze them in place by looking at them! Gregory, don’t!”

Gregory darted onto the floor. He ran around a security bot whose light shown a little too close to him and then around the arcade cabinets. A second rolled around from the other side and he took a few steps back and then ran around that one, too. He waited for way too long in front of a pair of shutters to go out onto the main floor between the arcade section and the bowling alley. Then Gregory was in front of the ice cream parlor beside the bowling lanes.

He cackled and looked back at the slowly patrolling bot.

“Are you insane?! You could have been caught!”

But I wasn’t~!

He tromped by multiple small tables and chairs and the bar with bar stools lining it. Small ice cream wheeled boxes settled by the bar. At the end was a circular stage with a red curtain around it. “THIS ATTRACTION IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED” with the smaller words “PLEASE ENJOY ANOTHER ATTRACTION” beneath printed on the sign in front of it. Gregory asked, “Was this yours?”

“Yeah. That was my little stage. In front of my room.”

Beep! [Are you talking to someone? You’re in the bowling alley already!]

“Yeah, I’m talking to Bonnie,” Gregory said. “He told me this little stage was his and it’s in front of his room. Did you ever get to visit Bonnie?”

Beep! [Oh, uh, yeah that is Bonnie’s stage. …yeah, I visited him once or twice.]

“He did. We weren’t exactly friends, but he did.”

Beep! [You seem fond of him! Did you ever get to meet Bonnie?]

Gregory grinned. “Yeah! Mom took me here a few years ago when Bonnie was still in the band. I got to see him play on stage. After the show, I tried to meet him, but there wasn’t enough time. Mom had said she’d take me next time.” His wide smile fell. “But the next time my mom took me, Bonnie wasn’t here, anymore. The person I asked said he went to the farm. He wouldn’t tell me which farm he went to. So, Mom bought his plushie. Turns out this plushie is really special, though. Bonnie didn’t leave. He came back as a plushie.”

Beep! [Did he, now? I’m sorry you didn’t get to meet him properly, Little guy. He was a nice fellow.]

“Hey, let’s stop talking about me, okay? You know what happens when you talk about me too long.”

Gregory grimaced. Yeah. But Monty’s not like that! …okay. “I’m gonna keep looking. See you soon!”

Beep! [Alright! See you soon, Little guy.]

Gregory took a deep breath and looked up at Bonnie’s stage again. To the left was a way to get behind the bar and to a door that led to a couple of small, cluttered rooms with a doorless doorway between them. Down the left end of the room, past some boxes and bowling balls, he climbed on a few boxes pushed up against a metal shelving unit. Atop the shelving unit were a couple of boxes of Monty Mystery Mix.

Step one accomplished! Now, he needed to do Step Two and Step Three extremely close together. He could probably lure her quickly, but then what would he do? Where was her cupcake factory again? That was… by… Monty Golf and Kid’s Cove? Yeah, because Fazerblast was beside Roxy’s Raceway.

Chapter Text

Chica’s Cupcake Factory was on the second floor. The stairs weren’t extremely close to Bonnie’s Bowling, but there was one measly security bot patrolling there and Gregory managed to get by on foot. The walkway was long and fairly barren with just a few electronic stands and a couple of kiddie rocket rides and advertisements filling the place. He walked through a set of shutters. A couple of S.T.A.F.F. security bots roamed the shiny tile floor of the dining area around the kitchen building. Beyond that, through a door, was the factory itself with a giant cupcake and conveyor belts.

Gregory slipped into the kitchen. Nine inactive kitchen bots stood around. Near the door was a list of random stuff, and then a website for online ordering of cupcakes. That sort of sounded like the online pizza delivery, didn’t it? He looked over the list more closely and found plenty of phrases referring to delivery, in-factory baking, personalized ingredients, and controlling the bots. On the right wall was a large oven set on the counter itself with a cupcake icon. The thing could fit Gregory! Which, it wasn’t going to do that. Beside it was a box connected to the front of a vat beside the cupcake machine. “SECRET INGREDIENT” was printed on the box. Gregory looked down at the Monty Mystery Mix he now held. He opened the box, stuck it inside, and shut it.

Nice.

Well, considering he didn’t want to get killed by the chicken, here was probably not the best place to be standing. Although there were computers everywhere, the only place that came to mind with pizza delivery was the security room by the basement kitchen next to the Loading Docks.

Gregory, repeating in his head what he needed to do and the website to go to in his head, left the factory and then down to the first floor. He walked through Salads and Sides and used the elevator there to go to the power control room. He needed to take power away from “EDUCATION MAZE” and redirected it to “CUPCAKE FACTORY”.

Okay, so, go to the office and then have the cupcake made and delivered. He’d need a distraction so that Chica didn’t attack him in the office. Maybe leading Chica to the factory would be a good idea? He’d have the cupcake baked and then be transported back by the time she got there, hopefully. Then she’d come back and get jumped by Gregory–literally. Or he could just stay quiet. After all, she wasn’t here right now.

He left the power room and crossed through the kitchen and a short hall and to the security room. He loitered for just a moment, indecisive, before turning to the security office.

Gregory set Bonnie on the desk, opened the pizza delivery app, and typed in a code. The screen flashed from one of pizza to “Chica’s Cupcake Factory.” He grinned and scrolled through the app until he found “Build Your Own Cupcake!”

The familiar robot voice stated, “Congratulations! You have enough credits for a free Chica Factory Cupcake. Additional charges may apply. Let’s get started.” He winced. Well, there goes “being quiet”.

The screen became that of a kitchen littered with S.T.A.F.F. bots. As soon as the screen, now flanked by blue with an objective marker at the top left, turned on, all of the inactive bots turned on and drove to their stations. At the bottom of his screen, he could see a large bowl, like he was holding one in front of himself.

“You are now in control of one of our highly trained baking S.T.A.F.F. bots. Follow the instructions on the left side of the screen to force the bot to make your perfect cupcake. If your bot is unable to get to another part of the kitchen, switch to another bot using one of the arrows on either side of the screen.”

Gregory glanced at the top left of the screen. Helpy’s head with a little chef’s hat sat snugly on the top left. “Gather Batter Ingredients” stayed beside it. On the top right were the numbers 9/9.

The baker bot stated in a voice that warbled on occasion, “Let us first prepare the cupcake batter. We will need: Egg. Flour. Sugar. Butter. Milk.”

He commanded the baker bot to go to the fridge first.

“Milk. Butter. Egg.” The bot listed off the ingredients as it pulled individual containers of varying sizes meekly labeling their contents into the bowl. They stayed in their containers. “Good. Now we will need: Flour. Sugar.” The bot rolled to one of the cabinets nearby. Another few individual containers were pulled out. “Flour. Sugar,” the bot listed off. It gathered them in with the rest of the ingredients.

“Good. It is time to make the delicious batter,” it droned. The objective at the top changed to “Prepare Batter.”

Chica entered the kitchen. The baker bots stayed at their stations, motionless, as Chica or Gregory’s bot passed them. But, after Gregory’s bot set the ingredients beside a large mixer, he spotted Chica at the edge of the screen staring at him.

Chica’s head twitched and then she charged at the bot. The screen turned to static.

“No!” Gregory squeaked.

The screen turned back on, but this time across the kitchen. The numbers at the top right read 8/9.

“Wha–? Okay!” Gregory turned the bot to skirt around the island so that he didn’t get too close to Chica, who successfully put his previous bot’s misery to an end. He looked around and rolled the bot over to the fridge, where he took out a cake and dropped it on the floor. His bot rolled back quickly enough to keep from getting smeared in cake.

Across the room, Chica’s head snapped up.

Gregory switched bots once Chica got close. She ignored the bot he had been using to grab the cake. Gregory’s cooking assist bot opened the mixer and the containers of ingredients and poured them into the mixer.

The mixer turned on… and stayed on.

Computer bot asked, “How would you rate your experience so far? Pick two that apply.”

The survey went ignored.

Finally, the mixer opened. The baker bot tapped the whisk on the edge of the bowl and withdrew the bowl. The whisk was set aside, where another S.T.A.F.F. bot immediately swooped in with a washcloth.

The instructions changed to “Find Cupcake Tin.”

“Let’s get a cupcake tin to shape our cupcake,” stated the bot. It set down the bowl again and rolled across the floor. Chica lifted her head to stare at the bot as it approached. Her head twitched.

Gregory switched to another bot on her other side to fetch the cupcake tin.

Chica went back to eating.

Gregory’s baker bot set down the cupcake tin.

The instructions changed to “Find Cupcake Liner.”

“Now we need a cupcake liner. There are many choices of cupcake liners,” the bot stated. Near where the tin had been, a cabinet held an array of cupcake liners–any size from mini to the size of a small child and every color and pattern one could imagine and more. Gregory randomly picked a pink one with yellow triangles.

Chica wandered. She caught sight of Gregory’s baker bot. Her head twitched. Gregory, too concentrated on the cupcake liner, didn’t see her. He did hear her bawk and his bot getting attacked.

He was forced into another baker bot. Of the nine that began in the kitchen, six remained, including the one he piloted. He pulled open a food cabinet and brought out a large container of sprinkles closest to the bot. He dropped it on the floor. It shattered against the clean tile. Sprinkles scattered over the ground.

Chica, finished destroying the previous bot, perked up at the noise and went to investigate.

Gregory switched to a bot close to the cupcake liners. Unfortunately, the one he had gotten originally had fallen to the floor, so he needed to retrieve another. This one was the same color and pattern being from the same stack. He brought it back to the tin and fit it inside. Why the baker bot didn’t pack it in completely confused him, but he didn’t think any more about it.

The instructions changed to “Pour Batter.”

“It is time to pour the batter.” The baker bot picked up a floppy-ended spatula and tipped the bowl over. The cupcake liner sank with a quiet sigh as the air was forced out from under it.

Gregory heard sprinkles tinkling over metal and landing on the floor. But, as the baker bot’s bowl was empty, he could no longer hear the sprinkles. She still rummaged through it. Without stopping to wait for Gregory’s command, the S.T.A.F.F. bot let go of the bowl with the hand holding the spatula and scraped out the batter.

Chica’s noises tapered off.

The bot kept working. The batter didn’t fill the entire thing, but the bot still scraped as much as possible. Did it really need to do that?! Really?! It got most of it! That was good enough! It had to be!

After an eternity, the bot set down the spatula where the whisk had been. Immediately, the washer bot swooped in to snatch the spatula and wipe down the counter.

The instructions changed to “Bake Cupcake.”

Gregory preemptively switched bots. He switched just in time to see Chica grab the baker bot and go in for the attack. Sprinkles trickled out of her throat and peppered her icing-smeared beak. The number at the top right lowered to 5/9. He hissed in annoyance. She was right in front of the batter! How was he going to get back? Wait, was she going to eat the batter?

Panicking, he looked around and commanded the S.T.A.F.F. bot to roll over to the stacks of pots and pans on the counter. They rattled obnoxiously as he hit them. Chica looked back and immediately walked to the noise.

Gregory switched bots.

The bot stated, “Time to bake. An oven would be ideal.”

His bot picked up the raw cupcake and rolled up to the oven. It opened, revealing a pan onto which he could place the cupcake. It closed immediately after accepting the cupcake.

The instructions change to “Prepare Icing.”

“It is now time to prepare the icing. We need: Icing. Secret ingredient.” Gregory grimaced. Hopefully, Chica wasn’t going to go too haywire too quickly. He commanded the bot back to the cabinet with vats of icing and grabbed it. Within a box next to the oven was the “secret ingredient.”

Monty Mystery Mix.

The bot opened the vat of icing and then the box of syrup.

Immediately, Chica’s head spun around like an owl’s. “I smell pizza!” she cried and turned around. Gregory’s bot dropped the mix into the icing and shut the lid.

Gregory was forced into another bot’s body. 4/9.

As Chica tore apart that S.T.A.F.F. bot, Gregory rolled around the other side of the island and picked up the closed vat. All he needed to do was fit the vat onto the top of the oven, right above the “ICING HERE” label.

Gregory was forced into another bot. 3/9. Was it just him, or was she getting more aggressive? Was she really that crazy over the mystery mix? Well, good for him, he supposed. Not right now, but eventually. He tipped over a garbage can.

Chica, confused and a little suspicious, raised her head to look at the noise. Her head twitched and she got up and approached the mess.

Gregory changed bots.

Ding!

The oven opened, revealing a box with Chica’s cupcake printed on the front. The top and top half of the sides were transparent, allowing him to see the pink-frosted cupcake tinted green in places. “Chica’s Cupcake Factory” stamped the front side.

The instructions changed to “Deliver Cupcake.”

“The cupcake is finished. It is time to put it in the delivery system.”

Chica looked up too late. Gregory’s S.T.A.F.F. bot automatically wheeled to the corner of the kitchen with windows and set it on a slot that opened in the wall. The slot closed.

Computer bot announced, “Delicious! To ensure a safe and timely delivery, our cutting-edge Cupcake Tracker allows you to deliver the dessert to your own home or residence. Additional mileage charges may apply.”

Hardly a second later, the screen went fuzzy as Chica attacked the now “free” bot.

Gregory stepped away from the computer and looked outside. He heard the whirr of a bot and a S.T.A.F.F. bot with a delivery cap on came in with a giant box holding his unique cupcake. He took it with a puff and wheezed, “Thank you.”

The bot straightened up. “Thank you for your service.” It rolled away.

Gregory shifted his grip on the box and stomped into the kitchen. He looked up and set it down below the catwalk. He broke apart the box and peeled the sides so not one inch of the cupcake was spared from the animatronic’s vision. Gregory pressed the Freddy-head-shaped button attached to a cord on the wall. The catwalk’s rails slid back. Heavy footsteps tromped closer.

“Gregory? Where’d you go?”

I’m just outside, it’s fine. You should stay there. I don’t want you getting lost or covered in icing or something.

Gregory ran out of the kitchen and back up the stairs as quickly as he could. By the time he opened the door to the catwalk above the kitchen, Chica had entered. She stooped over the giant, warm cupcake that smelled of vanilla cupcake and pepperoni pizza. “Pizza~!” she cooed and immediately ate the cupcake as quickly as she could shove handfuls of it in her beak.

“Please don’t go for too long. I don’t want to be alone.”

I’ll be back soon!

Gregory slunk a little further onto the catwalk and to the edge so he crouched directly above her. He took a deep breath and climbed to the edge. It squeaked beneath him, and he froze.

Chica paused and looked around the kitchen. She quickly went back to her toddler-sized cupcake.

After a moment of berating his hesitation passed, Gregory let go of the catwalk and jumped down feet first, heels pointed down and close together.

Chica’s head turned upon hearing the metal squeak above. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t have time to say anything before Gregory’s feet connected with her neck and the side of her head slammed into the ground.

Gregory lost his balance and fell back onto her. Chica shrieked and turned her head back like an owl. Gregory winced and covered his ears as the noise–emanating from her upper chest less than a foot away–stabbed into his ears. His glasses glitched and the lights above them flickered. Her lavender eyes trained on him. “There you are!” Gregory’s eyes widened. She tried to reach back to grab him, but her arms couldn’t reach completely back. Her fingers caught onto his coat and started to pull him off. Gregory grabbed her hand and kicked her face. She croaked as his foot struck her messy beak. The first kick jerked her head to the side and the second knocked her beak loose. She released him, turned her head forward, and shoved her hands into the ground.

Gregory yanked himself up, braced his feet against her shoulder blades, and grabbed her by whatever her shoulder things were called. Chica pulled herself up. “Get off, Gregory!”

“How are you awake? I thought I knocked you out!” Gregory yelped and yanked her to the side. Chica stumbled. She hit a countertop and staggered away from it and into another. He ducked out of her grasp as she grabbed at him again. He didn’t know where they were going, but as long as she didn’t grab him, he was fine with it. Vaguely, he recalled Moon standing on Monty’s shoulders before the animatronic alligator passed out. How did Moon shut Monty down? Could Gregory do the same thing to Chica?

She ba-gawked upon hitting a wall face-first, overcorrected and hit a wall back-first, extracting a squeal of pain from Gregory, and then tripped and landed on her face in a pile of garbage.

Gregory groaned and held a hand to his head. Oooooh ow. Headache. Backache. Everything-ache. Chica floundered in the trash pile, so of course he stayed on. Then, his headache worsened, his senses tried disconnecting from his brain, and he realized too late that this was not a normal headache.

He released her and looked up. Two big red eyes stared at him from the kitchen. The white rabbit stood by the counters. She held one finger up to her permanently grinning mouth and then pressed a glowing green button with the other. She waved and wiggled her fingers with a muffled giggle.

Gregory stared at her and then gasped as his entire world vibrated and got smaller. More precisely, it got shorter as the ceiling lowered. It stopped and groaned as it caught onto a metal bar. He scrambled to get out and tripped over himself. Chica turned on him, hissing. She snatched him by the ankle as he fled and threw him down as he tried to escape.

“No, no, no!” he yelled and tried to yank his ankle free. He kicked her fingers and slithered out of her grasp. She lunged for him and managed to catch him, barely, knocking the beam down with her.

The garbage compactor slammed down. Chica’s hand spasmed and fingers twitched, but her grip stayed.

The white rabbit gasped theatrically, “Look at what you’ve done, Gregory! Oh, and she was only trying to help…”

Gregory looked up as the white rabbit abandoned the button and skipped toward him.

The garbage compactor raised.

Gregory turned back to the inanimate chicken animatronic. She jerked to life. Chica croaked and tried dragging him further toward herself–or maybe tried dragging herself out–and reached with her other hand. He flipped over and kicked her in the face with all his might, knocking her beak completely loose.

The garbage compactor’s right wall closed in.

The white rabbit took Gregory by the back of his shirt.

Chica spat out static as the compactor squeezed her until her head shell cracked in half.

Gregory lashed out at the white rabbit with his fists and tried kicking Chica’s hand again. When the compactor wall retreated, the bottom opened, and Chica slid down. Gregory started to slide with her.

The white rabbit gasped, “No! No, let go, Chica!” She stumbled forward and released Gregory, who clawed at the slimy ground as he was dragged with the animatronic chicken into the depths of the garbage compactor.

*          *          *          *          *

Gregory landed hard on a pile of rotting garbage. He groaned and sat up. When he opened his eyes, he saw nothing. He bit his tongue to keep from making a noise and scrambled to pull out his flashlight. When he did, he flicked it on and confirmed he was indeed not blind. He sat in what was essentially a garbage land, with what little his tiny flashlight could reveal. Beside him, Chica lay sprawled face-up, her beak barely hanging on by a few wires. He picked up his glasses, wiped them off on his shirt, and put them back on. Bonnie? You there?

No answer.

Gregory whispered, “Bonnie? Can you hear me?”

Beep! [Gregory! Why the heck are you in the sewer? How did you get there?]

“There was an accident with the garbage smasher,” Gregory admitted. “Chica and I stumbled in, and the rabbit lady turned it on. Chica’s banged up. I-I don’t know how to get her out of here.”

Beep! [Kid, don’t worry about Chica. Get your hide out of there right now. I’ll worry about her. You get out! Freddy patrols the sewers!]

Gregory’s eyes went wide. Freddy patrols all the dark places. Gregory looked around, finding nothing in the black. He got up and snatched Chica’s beak and voice box from her. “That’s for trying to kill me,” he grunted and stuck them in his jacket. “I’ll give it back if you stop.” He swept his meager flashlight over the ground and started walking until he found a slope leading to a long, huge pipe piled with more garbage and running water in the middle. He wrinkled his nose at the running water and kept moving along the cement walkway lined by yellow tape with black sideways arrows guarding him from the water. But that didn’t last long so he jumped into the shallow water and climbed out to the other side. A working metal door allowed him out onto a short balcony with a guard rail. He flashed his light over the black, but though some water glimmered in the distance, nothing else was revealed in the void.

The walkway stopped suddenly and dropped into the black with nothing but a few planks to span the gap. The planks creaked underfoot as he crossed over them. One cracked and shuddered. He hopped onto the other side and glanced back. No Chica so far. Also, no Monty, Freddy, or white rabbit.

He had to climb over pipes, his heart lurching as he slipped on one with his wet shoes, and walk through a tunnel with other pipes and wires dangling through it. Still, he persevered, and he moved as quickly as he could. Just stay quiet and move fast. Animatronics are attracted to noise, Bonnie said so. Just stay quiet and maybe Freddy won’t know you’re here.

Eventually, he walked through a red door into a cement stairway right and up… up straight into a parking garage cluttered by a lot of not-car things. Barrels, ice cream carts, and boxes covered in cloth, that he could see. Or maybe that’s just what he saw. Maybe it was clear further in. Maybe there were cars. Maybe it was empty.

Footsteps.

Gregory jumped and swung his flashlight around. The heavy, plastic footsteps echoed in the cement parking garage. Maybe they were coming from in front of him, though they could be coming from the right? Were they coming from behind him? Stupid echo! They were getting louder! Where was he supposed to go? Where was the exit?

He froze upon seeing two red glowing dots in the dark straight ahead and for a wild moment he felt a crazed version of relief upon seeing Moon–a threat, but a familiar one. The moment left as the dots turned into glowing lavender disks a few yards in front of him.

Gregory just stared at the lights. His flashlight fell on them and barely showed the outline of the bear’s orange and cream torso and scarlet shoulders, gleaming off his shiny black bow tie.

Trrrriiiing tring, tri-tring, tring! Music started–twinkling, playful music.

A light flared inside of Freddy’s head plates to the beat of the instrumental and with each gentle flash, the discs would be accompanied by bright white eyes, fangs, teeth, and the outline of his jaws and eye sockets. Everything else was hard to decipher past that point.

Gregory blinked. How… how was he supposed to react to this? Wasn’t Freddy supposed to be trying to kill him?

Then, the music ceased, and the lights went out. Faintly, he could see two red lights behind his pupils three feet from him.

Gregory yelped and whipped out his camera. He shut his eyes tight and clicked the button. Freddy roared at the intense flash and Gregory himself flinched. He stashed his camera away and ran into the parking garage. He pulled out his flashlight and Fazerblaster. Freddy’s feet thumped behind him. Gregory turned back to shoot. The only targets he had were two red dots. He shot and faced forward again as Freddy snarled and the red lights turned off. He barely had time to dodge obstacles and had to run up a slope at one point.

Gregory stopped as he nearly ran into another wall. “Stupid flashlight!” he spat. He turned to shoot Freddy again. Nothing happened. The light meter on the edge of the Fazerblaster had run completely out. His eyes went wide, and he stared up at the red lights.

Then, he set his gaze and turned to Freddy. “I’m not afraid of you!” he yelled and puffed up. “I’m even less afraid of that stupid rabbit!”

Freddy stopped. His teeth, claws, and accessories gleamed in Gregory’s flashlight while the rest of his shell accumulated dust and dirt.

“I just got tossed into a garbage smasher! You think you’re scarier than that? Ha! You’re nothing compared to that! In fact, I stole Chica’s beak! She dragged me with her, so I took her beak and voice box! Do you want me to rip out your stupid music box? I’ll turn you into scrap metal!”

The lights on Gregory’s Fazerblaster recharged. He shot Freddy in the face and darted off again. Finally, he found a chain-link door in a chain-link fence to run into. He yanked it open, slipped through, and shut it behind himself. It wouldn’t afford him much time, but the bear was much larger than him so it would give him some time, at least.

The tunnel zig-zagged and a metal staircase led up to a tunnel with a ground of mismatched metal floor and a wall of tubing. Strangely, the thumping stopped behind him. Gregory chanced a look back. Far back, two red eyes peeked over the bottom of the stairs and a headache crept in. He turned ahead again. He left the tunnel and stopped before a set of massive doors. He pushed his way through and shoved the door behind himself with a hard thunk. When he tried opening it again, it clunked and wouldn’t budge. Hopefully, that meant it was locked from both sides.

A few candles barely lit up their places covered in sticky notes but provided little light outside of that. He still hurried over the storm of sticky notes covering every surface and up the square spiral lime green staircase. Light not his own trickled in from above and he felt his legs almost give out from under him. He forced himself not to run the rest of the way up the metal staircase and into the cement landing littered with paint cans, lined with shelves, and holding a huge red tool cabinet. A few feet away was a chain link door through a chain link fence. The light source came through there from the buzzing, elongated ceiling lights in the laundry mat.

The time was four-forty am.

Wheezing and gasping, nerves frayed and heart still pounding at a million miles an hour, Gregory shut the fence door behind himself and staggered back to the kitchen.

Chapter Text

Bonnie? Are you there?

“Gregory! Gregory, are you okay?! I was calling and calling but you weren’t answering! Where were you?!”

Gregory walked through the kitchen just skirting the security office. It’s a long story.

“We’ve got a while between now and Parts and Service. You did convince Chica to come to Parts and Service, right?”

Uh… yeah. I hope so. But you got a point. Gregory walked into the security office and picked the glamrock rabbit up off the desk. For a long moment he simply stood there, hugging Bonnie tight to his chest and getting his breathing under control. Okay. Let me make sure power is on at Parts and Service first.

When Gregory went to check the power, “PARTS AND SERVICE”, “CUPCAKE FACTORY”, “WEST ARCADE”, “FAZER BLAST”, and “KITCHEN” glowed green.

TIME UNTIL NEXT RESET: 0:15

Weirdly, Gregory didn’t feel that much of a sense of urgency. The time had changed recently. But time didn’t move like it should in the Pizzaplex. So it could be that fifteen minutes would pass in about an hour or in three minutes or in fifteen minutes.

Gregory left the power room. So, when I set that trap for Chica, I thought that when I jumped on her, it would knock her out. It turns out that bots are kind of tough…

Gregory took Roxy’s elevator to Parts and Service. Monty’s tail disappeared into the protective cylinder. Gregory ran up to it fast enough to see Monty helping Chica inside. Chica herself looked up at Monty and her surroundings and spat out garbled static and metal screechy noises. Gregory stayed outside and out of sight.

Monty said, “It’s okay, Chickadee. One of the engineers is gonna fix you right up. Yer gonna need to lay down, though. Trust me on this, okay?”

Chica squawk-screeched again and nodded. With no further hesitation, she lay down on the red and white dentist’s chair. Monty backed out of the cylinder. A few of the arms swooped down and something plugged into her. Her eye lights went dark, and her twitching ceased.

Gregory said, “I have her beak.”

Monty jumped and raised his hand. “What the–kid!” He sighed and lowered his hand. “You about set off my alarm! Stop sneaking up on me like that, alright?”

“Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine. What… what happened?”

“There was an accident with the garbage compactor. She fell in. I mean, we both fell in, kinda.” He twisted around to show off his filthy back and then straightened out again. “Then that white rabbit turned it on. I think she wanted to destroy Chica and scare me out so that I wouldn’t have anywhere to go, and I wouldn’t be able to make Chica my friend like you. But it kind of backfired because Chica grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let go until we were in the garbage place. I broke her beak off trying to escape.” He pulled out her beak and voice box.

“Ya managed to escape Freddy, too,” Monty stated. “I was afraid ya wouldn’t.”

Gregory grinned, put away the beak, and pulled out his Fazerblaster. “He isn’t wearing glasses.”

Monty blinked and then laughed. “You’re a clever kid!” He looked at Chica through the window of the closed door and his laughter tapered off. “Could you, uh… fix her? Reconnect her voice box?”

Gregory looked through the window and grimaced. “I dunno. It looks complicated.”

“Just do what the cylinder thing says. But be careful. She’s not actin’ right at the moment.”

Come on, you said you would! You can’t back off now! Gregory nodded. He walked around to the computer terminal. The bot declared, “Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure.” A list of upgrades showed, but the boy pressed the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. Computer bot announced, “Preparing for repair procedure.” A pause. “You may now enter the protective cylinder.”

The door opened again to allow Gregory inside. He set Bonnie down on the computer. “I can’t hold you and do repairs. You’ll be okay with Monty,” Gregory promised and walked up to the door, which yielded to him. Gregory stood so his chest was level with hers as she lay down. Most of her shell was dented or broken in some way. There was a good amount of damage to her neck and her beak was still incredibly messy. Wouldn’t all that food and garbage be bad for her system or something?

The bot said, “In case of emergency, the protective cylinder will protect important service personnel outside of the protective cylinder. Deactivating animatronic safety protocols now.” She had safety protocols in the first place? “It is recommended that no mistakes are made during the procedure.”

Gregory pulled up a stool and got up on his knees so he could look down on her.

The bot said, “To access the voice box, we must access Chica’s chest cavity. Please remove Chica’s chest cavity.”

I removed her voice box without doing that. Still, Gregory tried pulling at the warped and cracked metal. He sucked in his breath and yanked his hands back as a few metal arm-things swooped down and latched onto the chest plate. Another arm hissed a covered flame at a few choice spots and then reared back up into the ceiling. The chest plate was pulled off and placed to the side as it wasn’t attached to her. It exposed a mess of wires, beams, and buttons. A few colored wires where her voice box used to be were flanked by buttons of corresponding colors. More of the colored wires stuck out of the bit of endoskeleton showing beneath her broken facial shell.

“Please replace the voice box.” Gregory pulled out Chica’s voice box and did as he was told. “To replace the voice box, repeat the correct sequence by reattaching the correct colored wires. It is important that you match the pattern correctly.” After a short pause, the bot stated, “Left blue. Right green. Left green.” Gregory plugged the corresponding wires into the voice box, though he had a little trouble fiddling with it considering how roughly he’d taken it out in the first place. “Right red. Yellow. Right blue. Left red.” He connected these, too.

The bot stated, “Well done. Return the chest plate.” Gregory sat back as a couple of arms retrieved her broken chest plate and set it back down. One arm came down and reattached it by the seams. “Time to replace the beak. Firmly reattach the beak to Chica’s endoskeleton. Be sure to match her endoskeleton with the beak slot for a proper fit.”

Gregory pulled the beak from his coat and looked at the back and then her face and then the back again. He measured the slots in the beak and stamped it into her face. He pushed until he heard a hard click.

“Good job. Now, use the testing console to run diagnostics and complete the procedure.” A new arm swooped down in front of Gregory’s face. Its hand was flat with four colored buttons. The red button flashed. He pressed it. Chica’s beak twitched open, and she let out a high-pitched squawk. The red and then the blue button flashed. The blue button caused her to make a lower-pitched noise. After a total of four patterns, the arm retracted.

“Testing phase complete. Scanning for irregularities.”

…

“Scanning complete. It seems Chica’s basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Chica will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice. Activating safety protocols. Rebooting in Safe Mode.”

Gregory left the protective cylinder and went to the computer terminal to complete the procedure. He picked up Bonnie and turned back to Monty and the cylinder, which opened as Chica staggered out. With her endoskeleton bent, she leaned to one side and her feet pointed inward, but she still managed to stand. “Monty?” She asked, her voice clear. “I can…” She looked over at the terminal and then down at Gregory. “You’re Gregory. Are you the one who fixed me?”

Gregory nodded. “Long story, but yeah.”

Chica asked Monty, “What happened?”

“What do you remember, Chickadee?”

Chica blinked and lowered her head a little. “I… do not know. I remember there being a cupcake and then… I woke up here?”

Monty admitted, “That sounds like what Gregory said. He said you two fell in the compactor?”

Chica’s narrowed eyes widened. “That’s right! Gregory!” She turned back to the kid. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he reassured her. “You chased me around a lot, but it wasn’t your fault. It was the rabbit lady.”

“The rabbit lady?” Chica prompted.

Gregory nodded. “Yeah, she’s the one who infected you guys with some virus that’s made you all act crazy and try and kill me! And then just now she tried to crush us in a garbage compactor! I was trying to knock you out so Monty could bring you here and I could put you in Safe Mode like him. But, uh… but that didn’t work.”

Chica looked at Monty, “She infected you with this virus, too?”

Monty nodded. “Yeah. But this little guy found me at the beginnin’ of the night in my room and asked fer my help an’ there was no way I was sayin’ no. Guess it doesn’t work that well on kids we know! But, uh… but it did when he got caught by that officer and tried to run. She tossed me off the balcony by the Prize Counter.”

Chica put a hand on her beak. “The Prize Counter? How did you survive?”

Monty nodded to Gregory and patted his head, causing the boy to laugh and duck out of his grasp. “This little genius! Vanessa fixed me, but he found a way to clear me of that dumb virus thing. We thought it would work on you an’ Roxy.”

“And Freddy.”

“I don’t know about him,” Gregory mumbled and ran his hand over Bonnie’s ear. He winced upon realizing he had spoken out loud.

Chica asked, “What about who?”

“Bonnie said it should work on Freddy, too. But I don’t know,” Gregory admitted, petting Bonnie’s ears. “When I met Freddy in the garage, he didn’t act like any of you guys. He didn’t even talk, and his eyes barely glowed. I got him to hesitate for a few seconds so I could recharge my Fazerblaster, probably because I surprised him when I said I wasn’t scared of him, but I don’t think that’ll work again. If he doesn’t listen to you guys, and he won’t listen to me, I don’t know how we would fix him.”

“Freddy’s a good guy. There has to be a misunderstanding somewhere. Monty’s abrasive and rude. He’s just not trying hard enough.”

Gregory stopped petting Bonnie and shifted the rabbit to look at him. Bonnie! Monty’s our friend! He’s a good guy. You weren’t there. Freddy was scary.

“I know him. You don’t. He’s a good guy.”

Chica sighed. “I don’t know what happened to him, but he’s started acting differently. He’s not as patient. I guess we have all been acting differently ever since we’ve gotten those upgrades.”

Gregory stated, “Since the rabbit lady made you start acting weird.”

Monty growled and lashed his tail. “Are you sayin’ she’s the reason I’ve been feelin’ this way? We’ve all been feelin’ this way? That’s why I felt different aft’r you fixed me?”

Gregory nodded. “Probably. That would make sense.”

Chica chipped in, “What about Roxy? Is she okay?”

Gregory shook his head. “She’s still under the influence of the virus.”

“We’re going to help her, though, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah. First, we should find her. She’ll probably be at Roxy Raceway.”

“I’ll see if she’s in Rockstar Row or Backstage.”

The time was four-fifty-five am.

Chica jolted. “Hide, Gregory! I-I’ll see you both later. Good luck, Monty!” With that, she turned and ran off to the elevators. She stumbled and ran with a messy gait, but she got where she needed to go.

Gregory and Monty ran in the other direction to where the charging station was just outside. Moon met them there in the hallway. “Good night…” it cooed.

Monty took a moment to snarl at Moon and then stopped by the recharge station long enough for Gregory to climb into his stomach hatch and climbed in. Moon stared at him from outside. After a long moment, the jester animatronic hopped away, vanishing into the hall.

The time was five am.

They left the recharge station.

Gregory nodded. Oh, yeah. This should be a snap! …heh. Hopefully.

They went through Roxy’s elevator, though Monty was a little slow and missed it. That was fine; he could take the next one. In the meantime, Gregory walked out of Roxy’s greenroom, through Rockstar Row, and into the atrium.

“Kid, I’m sorry for scaring you. Please come out.” Officer Vanessa’s voice reached him from the dining hall.

He hid behind the planters and booths and crept quickly, but quietly, out of the dining area and up the stairs.

“Are you hungry?” Officer Vanessa’s voice was barely audible from where he walked. Good.

The hall leading to Roxy Raceway wasn’t too far from the stairs, the stairs being the midway point between the extreme ends. The hall itself overlooked Kid’s Cove, which stood right beside Fazer Blast. He passed the security bot making wide rounds.

Gregory wove through the hallways created by construction fences and then stopped. A pair of shutters stood before him. On a branching path to the right, another pair of shutters stood. He took a deep breath, wincing as he heard Monty’s heavy steps approaching.

“Somethin’ wrong, Little guy?”

“This is where I found her,” Gregory said. “After I left Monty Golf, I came here to watch the show. She was standing right there.” He pointed to a spot just within range of the now open shutters. “I didn’t know who she was. She told me that she could get me backstage and meet you after the show.”

Monty grunted. “You should be able to trust adults. It’s plain wrong when you can’t. Well, I’m here to help ya now. We’re gonna make sure she won’t get you.”

Gregory let out a short sigh and smiled. “Thanks, Monty.” With that, he strode done the hall to Roxy Raceway. The path split further down to the nail salon. But why would he go there?

At the end of the hall was a round and glowing pillar and racing items. Another duffle bag sat on the ground. They had to stop to allow the shutters on their right to open.

As soon as they passed the threshold into pale red and black checkerboard tile, Roxy’s voice said, “Hey. I’m Roxanne Wolf. If you’re looking for high-speed motor mayhem, Roxy Raceway is the place to be. Sign up today and be a winner! No one likes a loser.”

He stepped further out onto the floor, which dropped off suddenly with a guardrail around it. Various pop-up shops lined the floor. He couldn’t see much past that as his tiny flashlight and Monty’s eyes didn’t spread light too much farther than that. Tiny lights just bright enough to be seen lined each side of the road so he could vaguely see the giant, winding go-kart track with an overpass consuming most of the area.

“I don’t see her,” Gregory said and walked forward until he got to the guard rail. The white rabbit led him across the balcony here to the left and down to the utility tunnels by a small bumper kart area. Ahead of him should be the go-kart track. Unless Roxy was concealing her eyes like Freddy, he should see her. He should at least hear her. He did see three security bots roaming the ground, flashlights pointed down.

“Yeah, I don’t think she’s here.” Monty voiced their thoughts aloud. “Maybe we could find a way to get her here, though? She’s real stubborn, so be careful of that.”

A set of stairs led down to their immediate right. Immediately across from the stairs, up against the opposite wall, stood the information registry.

He entered the unlocked red door at the end of the information registry building. Monty, too big to fit inside without making them claustrophobic, waited behind the desk. On the ground before a wall separating the front from the back room was a duffle bag with a note.

“Chasing cars: ERRANT BEHAVIOR REPORT – Roxy never misses a race. Every time there’s a test run in the track she gets in the way. She’s broken every test dummy we’ve sent out on the track.”

“Huh.”

Monty shook his head. “She’s always been real competitive. And none of us like these S.T.A.F.F. bots too awfully much.”

“Weird that she would jump in front of one, though.” Gregory walked around into the back of the small building. If she’s so eager to get in front of a go-kart, maybe he could just… let her. After all, of every animatronic in the building, including that jester one, she was the most eager to kill him. She had actually killed him. Getting run over one time if there was no other way to get her to Parts and Service didn’t seem too awfully far-fetched. Besides, it would be her choice to jump in front of the go-kart.

Shelving units and lockers filled the space in the back room.

Ugh.

Boring.

Well, Gregory needed a go-kart. Surely, there would be one next to the racetrack, right? With this information in mind, he walked to the end of the room, peered out into the open space to be sure Roxy wasn’t around there, and walked toward the racetrack. He hesitated and then decided to turn left inside and investigate the garages under the balcony.

Shutters showing garages of various things sat beneath them. He investigated them but they were fairly plain with a couple having party supplies with neon pink stars glowing on the walls. Under one table in a corner as if it had fallen off and gotten forgotten was a neon blue and pink ticket labeled “DANCE PASS,” which he didn’t hesitate to grab.

The time was five-fifteen am.

Among the others, there was a small garage full of go-karts with an animatronic recharge station. One kart was missing, and the one behind it was blue with yellow stars, which none of the others had the star pattern or the same shade of blue. He didn’t know how he’d get any of these to the racetrack without a ton of noise. Maybe he should’ve gone there first and looked for a trailer or something. Outside, two lines of bright squares lined up on the path outside of the garages, all empty. More garages of go-karts lined up until the very end where a set of stairs came down from the floor above. The room at the very end was circular. A duffle bag sat in the middle of a ring of shelves.

“PQ2 MAINT LOG: MAINTENANCE LOG – Princess Quest 2 – Won’t boot properly. No idea why! Shuts down when I try to play? Like it’s personal. Doesn’t matter anyway. Still haven’t found PQ1.”

“Princess Quest 2”… so “PQ1” must be “Princess Quest 1”. Everything about this place was weird. Well, he had the dance pass, and he could get the security badge and then come back. After all, time technically didn’t move until something happened. Though, that something could be triggering the security alarms when he took the badge.

…nah. It was five-fifteen. He had time.

“Monty? I think we have enough time to go to the West Arcade really quickly, get that badge, and come back. She’s not here right now, after all. Maybe we’ll catch her when we get back?” Gregory suggested.

Monty nodded. “Yeah, we might. I’ll come with ya. We’ll have this over and done with in no time.”

Gregory nodded and led him around the garages and balcony. He took out his map as they moved and, flashlight in his mouth, checked their position and the position of the West Arcade… on the third floor. He groaned and put away the map. He took the flashlight out of his mouth. “Why does this place have to have three stories?”

Monty chuckled. “It’s a big place, Little guy! There’s a lot of stuff fer kids to do durin’ the day.”

“And at night,” Gregory agreed.

Monty snorted. “True. The Mega Pizzaplex used to hold overnight shut-ins. They were like sleepovers, where a party o’ kids would come in and stay overnight. No one was allowed in or out of the building. We stopped havin’ those. None of them involved any o’ this.”

Gregory looked down at Bonnie and relaxed from his bristling.

A ticket bot tried to block him until he gave him the dance pass, at which point it allowed him to the elevator onto the West Arcade.

The first thing Gregory noticed upon stepping out was the giant golden statue of Freddy and Friends, Freddy standing on top of giant speakers. Neon lights and arcade screens threw multicolored light across the floor, walls, and arcade cabinets. Still, the darkness was harsh, and Gregory absolutely needed his tiny flashlight here, especially on the shiny, dark dance floor. Monty’s eye lights helped.

Gregory stepped out onto a futuristic hallway. To his left was an arcade. To his right was a dancefloor. A giant robot lay on the stage. His squarish head the size of a minivan lay on two of his hands, his black circle eyes staring into nothingness as he “slept.” A massive set of headphones sat on his head. As Gregory approached, he saw its huge row of teeth modeled after a keyboard.

Pinks and blues colored his otherwise white face and red and gold headphones sat atop his head. His were black and white like keyboard keys, but the inside of his mouth varied in color, changing like light shimmering off a dark pool with antifreeze. So, those things in the vent must be miniature versions of this–albeit slightly modified.

Beside him was a platform with a metal safety railing interrupted by a short set of stairs. A breaker switch clung to the wall. He stepped back and walked to the arcade, where a set of spiral stairs led him up to a landing with arcade cabinets and then another set of stairs leading to more arcade cabinets set up to make a winding pathway. Behind him was a round platform with dining tables and chairs sectioned off with faux walls. However, he didn’t need those. Probably. Instead, he walked to the other end past all the arcade cabinets and a few rooms dominated by a single color with a mic near the end. Once he got to the last door past some games with chairs and a door that was out of order, he escaped the lights and colors and emerged into a poorly lit brick-walled hall. A metal security door cut into the bricks on the left with a long, small window beside it looking into the hallway.

Gregory walked in. A large repair machine with a slot in the front metal part stood before him. A box of S.T.A.F.F. parts sat in a bin beside it. A security desk armed with electronics and empty food boxes lined the left walls. A vent entrance cut into the wall left of the door.

. He grabbed the security card off the far desk. He tapped the nose of the Freddy security badge holder. It slowly opened, let him take the card, and then snapped shut again.

The scant lights went out.

The computer bot who helped him in Parts and Service called, “The West Arcade was not shut down properly. Some data may be corrupted. Initializing start-up sequence. Before proceeding, reset the audio manager circuit breaker, located next to the dance floor.”

That breaker by the DJ!

Monty growled and looked around the dark room, “Gregory, the security system’s locked you out. We gotta reset the breakers and restore power to the West Arcade. Then the elevator out will power up again.”

“Got it!” Nothing had moved, no one had entered–that he could see–but the backup lights came online. Gregory ran, glancing around at his surroundings now dipped in blood. He kept a lookout but didn’t see Roxy, Chica, or the white rabbit as he moved to the stairs. Monty stopped following.

On the little raised platform by the stage on the dance floor, the breaker switch’s light glowed red. So, he pulled it down. It clicked and the circle and lightning bolt glowed green. The lights went out completely and the neon walls turned on bright. Electric music boomed through the arcade. Something shuffled rather quickly. He looked beside himself.

The DJ was gone.

The computer voice said, “Great job. Safety protocols deactivated.”

Oh, come on!

“Pram zapped. Brun DJ protocols. Reticulating splines. Please reset the breakers to all zones. Three zones remain: Janitorial service. Arcade. Arcade.”

Neon lights and arcade screens threw multicolored light across the floor, walls, and arcade cabinets. Still, the darkness was harsh, and Gregory absolutely needed his flashlight here, especially on the shiny, dark dance floor.

He ran through a wall and checked the girl’s bathroom. Nope. He checked the boy’s bathroom. A door led off into a janitor’s closet. A breaker clung to the wall. He pulled it down immediately.

“Two zones remain: Arcade. Arcade.”

Gregory stepped out into the bathroom and froze. The bathroom door opened, revealing DJ Music Man’s head cocked to the side so both eyes could stare in. His head retreated, replaced by a gloved hand reaching in. Gregory ran around to the other door. When DJ Music Man’s arm extended fully inside, the boy darted out straight under his legs and toward the arcade.

He ran around to the lower arcade, searching the walls.

Then, a roar blasted nearby, and a huge green and purple shape rushed out of the bowels of the arcade and landed before him.

Gregory yelped and held up his flashlight to Monty’s face.

Monty cackled. “You got on the DJ’s bad side, little guy. Not good.” The mirth died from his voice. “Switch is over there. I’ll keep lookin’.” He pointed to the wall behind himself and hopped off further into the arcade. Gregory could barely hear Monty’s feet hit the ground under the blaring music. Gregory put a hand to his chest. At least warn him, first!

Gregory wanted to hate this atmosphere, but surprisingly the music and the glaring lights were way better here than anywhere else in the dark and boring mall.

Still, he gathered his wits and ran to the breaker. It clicked on.

“One zone remains: Arcade.”

Gregory looked up to see DJ Music Man crawling out of a giant, lit-up hole in the wall.

Welp, time to move.

Gregory bolted for the spiral staircase. He ran deeper into the arcade, away from the repair bot tunnel. He found the next breaker across the bridge.

“Rerouting encryptions. Almost done. There is a software update available. Reset the final circuit breaker located at the south end of the arcade maintenance hallway.”

That was the place with the security room, right?

Gregory ran back over the bridge and wove through the arcade cabinets. He burst through the door, ran down the hall, and turned. Arcade cabinets and equipment sprinkled through a long hallway with a giant circular hole at the end wall. At the end of the hall, he spotted a lonely arcade cabinet pressed against the wall. Princess Quest II. The screen was dark. A cutout of Bonnie in a sailor’s uniform and bandana, covered in seafoam, leaned against the wall on its side. Free of danger for the moment, hopefully, Gregory ran to the breaker. He took a few deep breaths and stayed still long enough to regain some energy. Then, he grabbed the last breaker and pulled it down.

The music reached a crescendo and then paused as if holding its breath.

The ground shook and from the giant hole in the wall emerged DJ Music Man. His hand-feet stomped as he emerged, causing the very ground to shudder.

The beat dropped.

Gregory ran.

Arcade cabinets fell over and stuff fell from the ceiling or walls to block his path. He still managed to find a path, but with each turn he had to make, or time needed to slow down, the DJ got closer.

Finally, Gregory broke free of the hall and took a turn. As he ran to the security door, he glanced behind himself to see the DJ in the hall.

He shut the door behind himself.

…

The noises within the hall died down. The lights came on–enough that he no longer needed his flashlight.

The time was five-thirty am.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He looked to the repair receptacle, and then beyond that at the vent. Well, he had the security card. May as well, right?

“Where does this vent go?” he wondered aloud as he crawled through the dark space. No little music man vent bug thing crawled in behind him. Which was for the best considering how long this vent was–and sloped downward, too!

Then, he was on a short section of catwalk against the wall.

He got up and looked down at his feet. Below him, a whole arena maze spread out beneath him–Fazer Blast. Small, orange lights only bright enough to be seen and guide whoever was on the catwalk glowed at specific intervals. At a few points, a dull purple light shone from the ceiling. Well, the catwalk was purple with the safety rails and beams crossing the grates a sharp blood red. So, it fit in with the spontaneous colors of the neon and blacklight arena below him. At the end was a wall with a metal security door with a window. He stopped and peered inside. He couldn’t see much but did find a door with a window opposite him, a stack of boxes… there was a computer with a ton of notes scattered about and some pizza boxes on the floor. There might have been some blankets just out of his sight across from the computer desk. Some other technology sent a pale blue glow over the wall from his side. He couldn’t see the electronics, but… was that the arcade cabinet? If so, this was the other side of the weird room!

“Monty! I found that weird room in Fazer Blast but from the other side. There’s a vent leading there from the security room in the West Arcade!”

Beep! [You found what now? Another entrance? You should get back here; we should be leaving.]

Gregory bit back a sigh. “Yeah, I guess so. Okay, I’ll be right there.”

[He’s right, you know. I have a bad feeling about this place.]

Gregory shot a look back at the room as he walked back to the vent. …maybe.

Chapter Text

With no other way down, Gregory made his way back up the vent system and to the West Arcade security room. He didn’t bother to replace the vent register once he was back on two feet. He grabbed the security badge almost as an afterthought.

Monty met him in the security room. Gregory said, “Even if she’s not there, I think just going there will attract her.”

Monty walked with him out into the arcade. “That sounds right, Little guy.”

Then, the lights and music went out—all of the lights, save for Monty’s eye lights. Gregory gasped and bristled. Monty froze in place.

“Oh no.”

Monty took Gregory’s hand and kept moving through the silent, dark arcade maze. Gregory squeaked and hid behind Monty as he saw two lavender disks begin to glow a few yards away. They stopped. He turned his flashlight up onto orange and yellow and red plastic and a shiny black bowtie and hat, cyan claws, a studded wristband, and white fangs that still gleamed despite how scuffed the rest of him had become.

Monty gently released Gregory and patted the boy’s chest to urge him back behind him. “Freddy. What’re you doin’ here?”

Freddy’s eyes went down at met Gregory’s. His music box trilled and a light flashed in his endoskeleton.

Monty snapped, “Answer me, Fazbear!”

The music stopped and the lights went out. For a moment, Freddy looked at Monty. Then, his eyelights went out as well, showing only the shine of two little red bulbs.

Monty barked, “Get outta here, kid!” He lunged at Freddy and threw them both sideways with a hefty roar. Freddy snarled back.

Gregory darted past the quarreling animatronics, wincing as he heard them crash into one of the arcade cabinets. He paused at the stairs and looked back. Monty’s eyes, no longer hidden beneath glasses, shed a glow over Freddy’s face. No camera, then. The alligator pinned him to the ground. Freddy’s paw flashed out of the black, grabbed him by the snout, and shoved him into the arcade cabinet.

“Run! Gregory, run! Go!”

Gregory shook his head and continued down the spiral stairs. If anyone could fight the animatronic bear, it was the one with the enhanced claws.

A headache crept up on Gregory and whatever was left of his senses started to break. Two big red eyes gleamed in the dark. “This is your fault!” he accused, stopping in the middle of the cabinet area as he found his way blocked.

The white rabbit stepped forward. “Freddy is only trying to help~! Monty seems to be malfunctioning. Don’t worry. Freddy will neutralize him, and the maintenance crew will bring him back to be fixed later. In the meantime, you can come with me. You won’t need to worry about any more scary, malfunctioning animatronics with me.”

Gregory looked around the arcade maze as he continued to back up. She currently stood between him and the elevator. “M-Monty’s gonna win and he’ll come back, and we’ll escape!”

“Monty wouldn’t hurt Freddy. He wouldn’t hurt the star of the show unless he wants to get disassembled.” The white rabbit continued to advance, skipping merrily forward. “Monty’s replaceable. People will forget about him. Just like they forgot about Bonnie. Like they’ll forget about you if they haven’t already.”

Gregory’s back hit the wall. Numb with terror, he barely registered how close she was. Then, he found a space to the left and the right as he’d escaped the hall of arcade cabinets the white rabbit had backed him into.

He darted to the left and dashed for the elevator.

“Gregory!” she yelled and ran after him.

He ran through the dark, unable to see through tear-blurred eyes with his meager maintenance flashlight and the headache that muddled his senses further. He bounced off the golden statue of the band but managed to stay on his feet and staggered into the brightly lit elevator. He slammed into the “shut elevator” button and it whirred to life.

His headache eased and he took long, deep breaths as he leaned against the elevator wall. “Hey, superstars!” Freddy’s voice boomed above him, and Gregory nearly jumped out of his skin. “It’s me, Freddy! Welcome to the Mega Pizzaplex! Grab a jumbo slice of pepperoni and top it off with an ice-cold Fizzy Faz. Then enjoy our super games and attractions. Don’t forget to drop by Rockstar Row and meet me in person! Have fun and have a Faz-eriffic day!”

Gregory groaned and rested his head back against the shuddering wall. “I hate this stupid mall.”

He decided to loiter in front of the elevator to the West Arcade for a few moments before making his way to Roxy Raceway. He asked, “Monty? Are you there? Are you okay?”

…

“He’ll call you back, I’m sure. He definitely won’t forget about you, Gregory.”

Yeah, I guess you’re right.

He walked in silence.

“I remember something.”

Pulled from his dark thoughts, Gregory perked up. What do you remember?

“Something weird. It’s not from my life, but it kind of is. The white rabbit talked about being forgotten. You know that I’ve forgotten quite a lot. But I’m starting to… remember things. The longer we’re here, the more I remember. But the things I’m beginning to remember… aren’t good.”

Gregory grimaced. …like?

“I remember the white rabbit… I remember… needing Freddy, and him not being there. Or, he was there and she—but it’s so confusing because it’s like I’m trying to remember two things at once. Then I remember the Pizzaplex was dark. Which, it’s always dark at night. But I specifically remember it was dark one night. Power outage, maybe? It’s confusing.”

His eyebrows furrowed. Yeah, sounds like it.

Beep! Gregory immediately tapped his glasses. [Hey, kid? You okay?]

“Yeah, I’m fine! The rabbit lady was there, but I got away from her. Are you okay? Where are you?”

Beep! [The rabbit lady was there? Where?]

“The bottom story, by the stairs. I think she was using Freddy to chase me to her. But it’s fine! I got away!”

Beep! […well, as long as you got away. I’m okay. You’re going to Roxy Raceway?]

“Yep! I’m almost there!”

Beep! [I’ll meet you there, then.]

“Okay. You’re going to be okay, though, right?” He couldn’t help but remember the white rabbit’s words. Even if she was a liar, she might have been telling him the truth just then since the truth would be scarier than lying. “The rabbit lady said that—”

Beep! [Don’t listen to anything she says. She’s a liar. Whatever she said about me or Freddy probably ain’t true. I’ll be fine, Little guy. I’ll meet you at the Raceway.]

“…okay.”

Gregory passed through the hallway to the raceway, stopping only to wait for the shutters to the raceway to open and allow him entry. He bristled upon hearing the thump-thump-thump of heavy plastic feet on the ground, but when he turned to face the noise, it was only Monty.

Monty, whose snout was twisted into a snarl, part of his mohawk missing, shell further dented, and the tip of his tail crooked. But he’d recovered his glasses—one lens cracked, and the bridge bent—and was able to wear them and he still walked perfectly fine.

They should get Roxy.

Well, Gregory needed a go-kart. Surely, there would be one next to the racetrack, right? With this information in mind, he walked to the end of the room, peered out into the open space to be sure Roxy wasn’t around there, and walked to the racetrack. He passed a cutout of Helpy in racer gear with his hand up saying, “You must be at least this tall to ride.” Gregory passed under it.

Whatever, there weren’t any adults around. He didn’t need to follow any rules without an adult around to stop him!

Around a bend in a clear area sat a go-kart with a racing-gear-covered S.T.A.F.F. bot on it. Another cart sat further back, empty of a driver assist. He ran up to the empty one. Yes! Roxy would probably come back soon enough, so all he needed was to drive out. She’d see him, get mad there was a go-kart on the track or whatever, and then jump off right in front of him! Genius plan.

Well, that was until he tried to get into it.

Monty pointed out, his voice box glitching a little, “Little guy, y-yer a little small to be on one-one o’ these karts alone. You’ll n-need one o’ the assist bo-bots.”

Gregory looked up at him. “What? Seriously?”

Monty nodded. “Yes, seriously!” he answered, his voice tinged with a nearly offended hardness. “We take-take safety real seriously here-re. B’sides, you’ll-ll also need a-a helmet.”

Stupid safety regulations! “Can’t you go with me?” Gregory asked.

The animatronic alligator shook his head. “Nope. I’m too bi-big. Sorry, Little guy-uy.”

Gregory sighed and backed off from the empty go-kart. He gave the one with the driver assist the side-eye. “Fine. Where are the helmets, anyway?”

*          *          *          *          *

He sat in the go-kart in front of the start line. He wore his dirty coat zipped up rather than off and wrapped around his neck. Bonnie’s purple head and ears poked out of the coat under his chin. He didn’t have a clear sight of where he was going, but he did know where the edges of the track were, and he had the driver assist. Monty carefully patted the back of the go-kart. “Break a leg!”

“I’ll try not to!” Gregory grinned back at him and started the go-kart. The animatronic alligator laughed and stepped back. Then he was off, driving through the racetrack, careful not to go full speed and concentrating on the track. He heard another set of wheels on the track and looked back. Roxy stayed perched on top of the go-kart itself, balancing with both feet on the seat, one hand on the steering wheel, and the other held out. Gregory bristled and looked ahead again. So, she wasn’t going to jump in front of his go-kart. Big deal, Plan B—

Roxy yelled and swiped her hand inches above his head. Gregory’s go-kart jolted and something hid the track with a harsh thud behind them. He looked back to see the Driver Assist leaning back, headless. Roxy’s go-kart jerked under her at the awkward shift of weight, so she slowed a little to readjust but was soon closing in.

Keen not to get too close to Roxy, he dove right. “Get back here!” Roxy yelled, slowing as she regained her balance again. “You are not better than me!”

Gregory glanced behind himself once at her and then ahead. If he stayed out of reach of her claws and stayed ahead, he could beat her in her own race. Or at least make her think as much…

As they took a turn and Gregory, ill-experienced, had to slow a little, Roxy got closer and swiped at him. She wobbled and her go-kart fell behind just a little farther as Gregory raced ahead again. As they crossed over the overpass, Roxy took a different approach and tried to get her go-kart as physically close to his as possible to nudge it off. He winced upon hearing the shrill squeal of the side of his go-kart against the side rail. He pushed back just a little, heart pounding as his go-kart wobbled beneath him. He ducked under her teeth and escaped as they fell back to the floor level.

Gregory spotted the finish line ahead. How many laps had they gone?

By the look in Roxy’s yellow eyes, how her head suddenly snapped forward and ears perked, he knew they were on the last lap.

Completely ignoring Gregory, she urged her little go-kart to go faster, leaning forward with her head down and jaws slightly parted, her mane and tail waving in the wind.

The boy decided to slow down a little and go directly behind her.

Roxy screamed as her go-kart dove nose-first into the ground and threw her. She tumbled but managed to hop back on her feet, digging her nails into the ground to stop her momentum as quickly as possible.

Gregory, however, was not a giant neigh indestructible hunk of metal and plastic and probably would not get out of a collision unscathed. He whipped his go-kart around to avoid hers. As he felt the wheels of his go-kart leave the ground, he abandoned ship and rolled hard across the pavement. He looked up just in time to see Roxy, standing firm before him as if ready to lunge, get hit hard.

Roxy tumbled back, nearly rolling over herself completely before gravity overtook momentum and she crashed through the far wall.

Surprised at the sudden hole in the earth, Gregory got to his feet and walked up to the hole. He climbed over broken bars and pipes and some boxes before landing on the ground near her. The wolf pushed and clawed at the go-kart a few times in her dying throes before going still. The driver assist had disappeared. Good thing we weren’t on that.

“No kidding.”

Gregory walked up to her, on his toes and ready to jump back. Her limbs were all tangled up in the go-kart that pressed her against the wall. Her faceplate warped and bent inward, revealing her eyes skewed in odd angles. He narrowed his eyes and pulled them out way too easily. “You have special eyes,” he mused aloud. “That means you’ll want them back more than anyone else. And if you want them back, you’re going to need to stop trying to kill me. Besides, they look like they’ll need to be fixed, anyway.”

He threw a look around. “Now how do I get out of here?” Construction equipment blocked him off at one side. The other side had a doorway, but it was blocked off by wood. He approached the doorway. Maybe he could get this wood off somehow? Or break enough of it to slip through?

He bristled upon hearing a loud creak and looked back. Roxy shoved the go-kart off of herself and got to her feet. He turned his flashlight on her. The pitiful light gleamed off the remaining shell on her muzzle twisted into a snarl. Her tail bounced limply between her legs as she stalked forward.

“Roxy?”

She roared and charged at Gregory, waving her clawed hands and opening her toothy jaws. Gregory jumped out of the way just in time to miss her. She crashed straight through the wooden door without slowing down. “I can hear you!” she warned.

Gregory tip-toed inside. Her ear swiveled back, then her whole head, and she roared and charged him again. He ran and ducked under a hole in the cement wall of the small, cluttered room. She ran through the metal door of that room and into a larger room lined with rocket rides, tub containers, a laundry tub, boxes, and more clutter. The door here was blocked off. Gregory bolted to the wooden door. She broke through that door, too.

“Roxy!” he called. “Let me talk!”

“There you are!” she snarled and turned on him.

He darted around a wooden table with empty paint cans, but she followed his fear-clumsy steps. “Would you just stop and listen?”

Roxy growled and charged him again.

He pushed through a metal door and ran into a blocked wooden one. He side-stepped it just fast enough to keep from being mowed down by Roxy, who broke through it and ran into a room full of fire.

Oh, like he was going in there.

“Roxy, stop! I have your eyes!” Gregory yelled from the doorway. “And you won’t get them back if you kill me!”

Roxy, who’d turned toward him again, poised herself to spring but stayed put. “What’s stopping me from taking them from you?”

“The fact you can’t fix yourself?” Gregory scoffed.

Roxy growled and waved her tail.

After a moment of silence elapsed, Gregory went on, “I can fix you. I will, but only if you promise not to hurt me.”

Roxy twitched her ear. She stalked forward so that she was in front of him, looming over the boy. Unlike Freddy or any of the endos, the little red eye lights in her endoskeleton stayed off. “How am I supposed to trust you won’t run off the second I get you to safety?”

“You’re faster than me,” Gregory stated bluntly. “Besides, I promised Monty and Chica I would help you. You trust them, don’t you?”

 Roxy’s hands lowered a little. “Monty and Chica?”

“Yes,” Gregory said. “I helped them when the white rabbit tried to kill Chica and me and Monty… fell off the balcony. I said I’d help you.”

Roxy growled, “If this is a trick, you’ll regret it.” She hesitated. “…but fine.” She reached out and waved her paw until she grabbed Gregory by the shoulder. He tried to duck away, but she grabbed him, hoisted him off the ground, and held him under her arm like a football. “I’ll take us to Parts and Service.” She twitched her ear.

“Are you sure you can get there?” Gregory asked.

“Of course I can!” Roxy snapped. She walked forward and immediately smacked into the doorway leading out. She barked, “Who put that there?!” Gregory winced and recoiled as he nearly hit the other doorway.

The time was five-forty am.

*          *          *          *          *

Eventually, they made it back to Roxy’s green room and through her door to the elevator.

Roxy held onto the rail on the stairs with her free hand. She dropped Gregory unceremoniously and made her way to the protective cylinder.

Gregory, muttering under his breath, got up, took off his coat, tied it around his waist, and went to the computer. “You’re so lucky I’m not going to break your legs. See you chase me, then.” Unfortunately, the power was out. So, he had to walk all the way back to the power room by the kitchen and back.

He set Bonnie down on the terminal. The computer bot declared, “Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure.” A list of upgrades showed, but Gregory pressed the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. The computer announced, “Preparing for repair procedure.” A pause. “You may now enter the protective cylinder.”

By now, Roxy lay on the red and white chair. She lay still and at his mercy, like Chica and Monty.

She needed her eyes back. He didn’t see any actual damage to her endoskeleton. She’d demonstrated her ability to walk, run, and carry Gregory so he doubted anything else was broken. Anything he could fix, anyway. For now, it was just the eyes.

“It seems that Roxy is under the weather. We can fix that later. For right now, we can focus on her eyes. Let’s begin by removing Roxy’s faceplate. Press Roxy’s snout to remove skull housing.”

Gregory poked her snout, close to her nose, and withdrew his hand. Machine arms swooped down to take apart her face—her ears, the top of her mane, faceplate, and snout.

“Great. Plug the replacement eyes into the open eye sockets.”

The boy took the eyes out of his pocket and fitted them back on. One kept trying to roll over, but once he’d attached it, the eyes stayed facing forward. With her endoskeleton bared and her bottom jaw with sharp teeth left, her eyes were way out of place.

“Well done. Reattach the ocular connector wires. It is important that you make no mistakes.” The computer beeped out colors and he connected the colorful wires that had been damaged and torn out. Though a little more complex than reattaching a voice box, he managed to completely reattach her eyes.

“It is time to close the faceplate.”

Gregory waited for more instructions, but none came. So, he poked the place where the bridge of her nose would be and retracted his hand. The machine put back on her broken faceplate, snout, ears, and hair. Although her shell was still warped and broken, and she stared at him with a permanent snarl, she could see again. Hopefully, she would act better.

The machine’s arms retracted. The chair pulled up so Roxy sat in a way that Gregory could see her eyes. The arm with four colored buttons swooped down. “Red.” The red button on the pad flashed. Her eyes darted from side to side and up and down with each button press. A pattern of four colors flashed before dulling.

“Testing phase complete. Scanning for irregularities.”

…

“Scanning complete. It seems Roxy’s basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Roxy will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice. Activating safety protocols. Rebooting in Safe Mode.”

Gregory left the protective cylinder and went to the computer to complete the procedure and retrieve Bonnie.

The protective cylinder opened again. Roxy waited for it to open before leaving. Her tail still bounced limply between her ankles and her head stayed down. Still, she looked around at her surroundings and then at Gregory. She eyed him. “It was you.”

“Er… maybe?”

Roxy stood up straight and ran her fingers through her broken mane. She wrapped an arm around her cracked chest. “I’m broken, aren’t I? I can’t defeat a child. I couldn’t find him. I’m ugly. I’m a mess. I’m just a loser.” She put a hand to her snout and a sob raked her body.

“Er, no you’re not,” Gregory tried. “You’re, uh… well, nothing stops you, right?”

“Right,” she grumbled and hiccupped. She closed her eyes and put both hands on her snout. He was almost afraid she’d break it off if she put any more pressure on it.

The double red doors opened. Monty walked in, Chica stumbling behind him. Chica called, “Roxy! Oh, there you are!”

Monty greeted, “You’re ok-okay!”

Roxy’s ears flattened and released her muzzle. “He said he promised you he’d help me. But…” Then her eyes went up again. “What happened?”

Monty lashed his tail. “Kid sa-says it’s the-the white r-rabbit. The virus sh-she made th-that’s makin’ us act cra-crazy, which is-is right since it m-made me attack him-m and ended up-p throwin’ me off the-the balcony from the Prize-ze Counter.”

Chica chipped in, “And she turned on the garbage compactor with me inside to get at Gregory. But he fixed us both.”

Gregory chipped in, “You were really competitive before, but she must have made you really crazy, too.”

Roxy growled, “She’s the reason this happened to me?”

“Probably, yeah,” Gregory said. “I’m trying to get away from her. We… don’t know where she is. She just kind of appears.”

Roxy twitched her ear. “We’ll find her. If you want to get out, why haven’t you?”

“The doors are locked until six am, or I need seven security badges to leave—which I have, now,” Gregory explained. “But I wanted to fix you, first.”

The time was five-fifty am.

Roxy stared at the double red doors. “The Daycare Attendant!”

Gregory scoffed, “Why don’t we just hide in a charging station?”

Monty didn’t take his eyes off the doors. “’cause the-the chargin’ stations are off f-fer the last-t ten minutes of-f the hou-hour.”

“Oh.”

Monty turned to Gregory. “It’s n-nearly six am. L-let’s get you-you to the fr-front doors.”

Gregory nodded and followed Monty up the stairs. Roxy’s head turned up. “He’s in the vents!”

“So that’s how he keeps following us!” Gregory exclaimed as they ran down Roxy’s hall. He climbed into Monty’s chest cavity, and they entered her elevator together. He climbed out once they were outside, as he knew they’d be quicker on foot.

The time was five-fifty-one am.

Rockstar Row led them into the atrium and up onto the first-story balcony to the first set of elevators. Gregory flashed a look at the entrance to the hall leading to the Daycare as they ran through the main entrance.

The time was five-fifty-seven am.

Gregory climbed through a turn still. He waited for Monty to run around through a larger one and meet him at the front doors.

The time was six am.

Predawn sunlight trickled through the door, though the black of the night still dominated the sky. Moonlight and streetlamps glowed over the parking lot. The wind whistled. He gave the glass door a testing press, and the chilly glass yielded to his touch. Gregory laughed. “Monty! It’s open! Let’s go!”

“No. Sorry, k-kid. But I c-can’t leave.”

Gregory looked back, confused. “Of course you can! Come on! Come on, we can hide you somewhere.”

But the sad look didn’t leave Monty’s eyes. His scraped-up tail slithered slowly across the floor from one side to the other. “Without a-a re-recharge station, I’d-d shut d-down right qu-quick. It’s a s-safety precaution-n. An’ you’re a-a brilliant k-kid, but I’ll fi-find a way to b-break myself in a w-way even yo-you won’t be able to fi-fix. We found a-a way to get y-you out of here, Little guy. That’s wh-what matters. Now…” Monty hesitated and looked away. He bowed his head and sighed before looking at Gregory again. “Don’t co-come back, al-alright? It ain’t s-safe fer ya here. It never w-will be. We’ll l-look fer that r-rabbit as best we can-can. But if she’s been here this-this long doin’ what she’s bee-been doin’… Jus’ st-stay safe, alright? I’ll mi-miss ya.” He crouched so that he was at eye level with Gregory and gently ruffled the knitted hat on Gregory’s head. The kid ducked and let out a half-hearted chuckle that quickly died.

Gregory hugged Bonnie tighter to himself. “Monty, if I leave now, nothing will change, will it? There will be more disappearances.”

Monty thought for a moment before saying, “Maybe. We’ll tr-try our best, Little guy-uy.”

Gregory looked out the windows again. This is what he’d spent all night trying to do. All these bruises and scrapes he’d collected, the trauma, the sneakiness, and the plans he initiated, everything he learned, the enemies he went up against, the friends he made… everything led up to this moment. So, he turned back to Monty. “I’ll miss you, too. Bye.” He pulled his filthy coat back on and stuffed Bonnie inside so his eyes, nose, and ears poked out the top.

“Bye-ye, Little guy.”

Gregory shivered as he passed through the short space between the doors.

Chapter Text

Light and heat blasted into him as he stepped out through the threshold. He blinked and jolted. A lady with a fluffy red-and-white dog wearing a “DO NOT PET” vest passed him from the elevator they just left. Gregory gasped as Bonnie fell from his grasp. He picked him up, finding his coat—clean and free from garbage—tied around his waist. His arm was still bandaged. Gregory put a hand on his face, a bandage there, too. His fingers pushed up his Monty Gator glasses.

“You’re kinda in the way,” someone told him. Gregory stepped sideways out of the path of the elevator.

Bonnie? Is this real?

“I… don’t… know…?”

Gregory checked his pocket. He found the golf score sheet as well as the Party Pass he had brought in from home. So, he had not gone golfing with Monty that night and thus did not give his Party Pass to the ticket bot. However, he had his golf score sheet… with Monty’s signature and note. In his glasses, the chat log and cameras were empty.

The time was six pm.

Okay, so, we tried to leave at six am through the front doors and it brought us back here? Twelve hours in the past?

“Maybe we should try again?”

Without a ticket? No, if we try again, we might get stuck at the front entrance. If we leave, we’ll leave somewhere else. Like…

Gregory’s eyes drew up to the East Arcade. The fire escape?

“Let’s think of a game plan first, okay?”

Alright.

Gregory wandered deeper into the Mega Pizzaplex. It was… jarring how different the place looked lit up and cozy with people than it did empty and dark. His eyes glazed over the signs begging him to go to Monty Golf… Roxanne Raceway… the Starcade. Then, his eyes rested on the stage. There was one way for this night to end. He needed to leave. Maybe all he needed to do was leave with the rest of the crowd after the show. This time without following the white rabbit.

“Hopefully.”

Gregory sat at one of the small tables near the wall, lay his head on Bonnie, and watched the stage. He wouldn’t get a good look at the glamrocks from here. But he’d be close enough to see them. He let out a short sigh. It was weirdly nice to sit down. Despite having technically not been running around the Pizzaplex for almost seven hours, he was sore as if he did and as if he’d tumbled over the go-kart track. Ugh, time loops kept scrapes and bruises and not just bandages, huh?

Heavy feet thumped the ground beside him and stopped. “Hello, little boy,” she chirped.

Gregory sat up and looked into Chica’s dark blue eyes. She stood behind him, shiny and whole, back straight and feet in front of her and head up. “Oh, uh, hey, Chica.”

“What are you up to? Where are your friends?”

“They’re, uh… they’re not here. My little sister is having a birthday party and our parents let our older brother take us. But none of my friends could make it.”

Chica put a finger to her beak. “Oh, well… I’m sorry to hear that.”

Gregory shrugged. “It’s okay. I have Bonnie. We’ll just wait until the show starts.”

Chica hummed to herself and gasped, “Oh! You know what? Cupcakes make everything better. The show’s going to take a long time to start. How about I take you to the cupcake factory in the meantime?”

The cupcake factory? Like the one we used to build the giant cupcake to try to kill you with? Gregory nodded and got to his feet.

“I’m sure they make smaller ones.”

The boy followed her through the crowd as she cheerfully greeted and cooed over everyone who asked for her attention. Gregory couldn’t summon any indignation or impatience, but rather guilt. This was a very different chicken than the one he met last night. Or was it this night? Stupid time travel. The escalators actually worked, so he just needed to watch his step at the bottom and top of the moving steps.

“What is your favorite flavor?” she asked.

“Chocolate and caramel,” he answered almost immediately.

“Ooooh~! Those go really well together! No wonder they’re your favorite. This is going to be so fun! Do you like sprinkles?”

They passed through the hall leading to the cupcake factory.

Gregory shrugged. “Sure.”

The animatronic chicken chuckled. “Well, we have all sorts of decorations, you know. You don’t have to have sprinkles. Or any decorations if you don’t want any. But we have plenty if you do!”

The heavy smell of every cupcake imaginable met them in the hall before they entered the cupcake factory itself. Gregory jolted, taken aback by the sheer amount of smells. At night, there was hardly anything to speak of. Did the cleaning crew wipe down everything that thoroughly? Well, they probably had to clean out Chica, and whoever could prove they didn’t feed her probably didn’t get blamed and charged for cleaning her out or something.

“Do you have any allergies?” she asked.

He jerked out of his thoughts and shook his head. “No, no allergies or anything like that.”

“Okay! It’s always very important to start with that. All conditions must be taken very seriously. Now, let’s go find an apron that will fit you. Baking can be messy business!”

They walked around the huge shop-esc building inside of the room, which was turned into an L-shaped hall by it. Intricate, curly designs set in the pink metal stood out on the doors and walls and glass, allowing him to see into the huge kitchen behind the front counter. The nine bots that were there at night had dwindled to three—not including the washer bot—with human adult staff and parents to oversee the children around the appliances. Those too young to use the appliances had an adult or bot use it for them.

Chica opened a cabinet just inside by the back door and pulled an apron out that said “LET’S EAT” on it for herself. Gregory’s was much smaller to fit himself and, as he knew from experience with Fazbear merchandise Bonnie would not be there, it was Freddy-themed. The bear had been terrifying at night, yeah, but Chica tried to kill him as well. Now Chica was bubbly and nice and was helping him make a cupcake rather than trying to kill him. Maybe Freddy was nice, too.

She helped him tie the apron behind his back. Chica explained, “We’ll need to wait our turn. There are plenty of other kids making their cupcakes. In the meantime, you can imagine what yours will look like!”

A sudden wariness crept up on Gregory. “Hey, um… Bonnie doesn’t like being alone, but I don’t want to risk getting batter on him. Do you have a bag I can hold him in for a little bit?”

Chica hummed. “Well, I don’t think so. I could hold him in my stomach hatch, though. I’ll keep him safe until we’re all clear. What do you two think of that?”

Gregory nodded. “Okay.” She’s way too small to hold me, but she could probably hold you.

“She does sometimes carry toys and give out tickets and gifts to kids.”

He held out Bonnie and Chica gently took the toy, pulled the loop of her apron over her head, set him in her stomach hatch, and then pulled her apron back on properly.

A free place opened up as a little over half a dozen kids and just under that many parental or older sibling supervision moved off with their new cupcakes. Chica helped Gregory with the ingredients he needed and instructions on how to bake. On occasion, she’d coo over cupcakes other kids had made, giving tips when asked and making joking grabs for them when appropriate. She also encouraged some of the chaperones to help. One gloomy teenage boy in particular dressed in black with a red streak in his short, raven hair watched a few of his younger cousins bake. He wore a Daycare Theater apron, probably because it was the only one that had any amount of black on it—that being Moon, whom Gregory found appropriately scary for an angsty teen. It took some convincing, but Chica managed to get him to make one cupcake for himself. Gregory wanted to hate it, just as he hated the kid’s attitude, but he couldn’t. Chica was right—it was masterfully done, and Gregory knew he was lying when the boy hissed that he wasn’t into baking, reiterating that it was a girl’s activity.

“Baking is an everyone’s activity!” Chica chirped. “Girls, boys, and everyone else can enjoy baking. Anyone who likes to eat can like to bake.”

Gregory scoffed, looking at his pale golden cupcake. “I thought it was more fun than just standing in a corner watching everyone else and I’m not a girl.”

“Yeah, but you’re like, seven.”

“Eleven. I’m not seven.”

One of his cousins tipped her head back and groaned. “You’re always like this, Gummy! Come on, let’s go before you get us kicked out again.”

“My name’s not Gummy!” the boy snapped, snatched his cupcake, and followed the kids.

His fellow teen snorted. “Monty’s been taken, Montgomery. Have you tried Monty_16?”

Gregory rolled his eyes. “Teens like him are so annoying.”

Chica turned to Gregory. “Now, Gregory! Don’t be mean! Monty’s sensitive about his baking skills for whatever reason. It’s not nice to pick at people, even people bigger than you.”

Gregory gave her a wary look. “Kids can’t bully teens.”

Chica nodded. “They can. Anyone can be a bully, even on accident. If I wasn’t here, would you have teased him about his baking skills?”

He… decided not to answer this.

Her voice softened. “You are a good kid, Gregory. You are so nice and such a good baker! Look at you! But be careful about what you say because sometimes we can hurt people’s feelings by accident. Sometimes, they won’t tell us we’re hurting them, either. So, we should be aware of how people are feeling. Okay?”

Like how Monty never tells anyone he doesn’t like that people think he’s just some dumb, scary alligator? People way smaller than him can push him around as much as they want, and he can’t do anything about it. Gregory nodded. “Okay. I will. Thanks, Chica.”

“That’s great to hear! Thank you, Gregory! Now, let’s look at this cupcake, huh?”

His cupcake was still messy. Multicolor stars peppered its pale gold surface, some of which smudged onto the green and orange zig-zagged cupcake wrapper. “I kind of like this,” he stated. “I think the stars are good enough.”

“The stars are very pretty!” she agreed. “And they look very good on this cupcake. Ooooh salted caramel frosting on a chocolate fudge cupcake! You have quite the taste in dessert. Oh! One last thing!” She walked back to the wrapper cabinet, shuffled through it, and then came back with an empty cupcake paper—pink with yellow triangles. “Here! An extra cupcake paper! Next time you bake at home, you’ll have at least one extra.”

Gregory took it from her. Like the golf score sheet. “Thank you, Chica!” He gently folded it and set it in his pocket. “Thanks for helping me.”

“Definitely! Now, I’m sorry, but I have a Mazercise class I have to head off to. It was really nice getting to know you, though! I’m sure you’re a wonderful friend to have. Speaking of which!” She took off her apron and helped Gregory untie his. Then, she opened her stomach hatch, took Bonnie out, and handed him back—as well as a golden ticket.

Gregory took Bonnie back, automatically holding him under his arm, and then the ticket. “Oh, uh, this isn’t mine.”

“That’s not yours?” she asked. “Well, it’s not mine… oh! Goodness, was Bonnie going to surprise you with a Party Pass and I just ruined it? I’m so sorry, Bonnie! Well, he’s a very good friend. Maybe next time you come here you can meet my friend Roxy! She loves helping kids race in Roxy’s Raceway and sometimes visits the Salon. Or Monty! You might like him, too. If you haven’t already met him. Monty’s almost always in Monty Golf.” She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “He’s a fun gator. You’d be fast friends! If you haven’t met Freddy already, he’s really nice to be around and he would just love to meet you! You have a good night, and tell your little sister happy birthday for me, okay?”

Gregory pocketed the Party Pass. “Okay. I will. Thank you again, Chica! Good night!”

Gregory took his cupcake, set his apron in the laundry tub, and walked out. Chica walked out of the cupcake factory, greeting people, and cooing over kids and their creations as she went.

“Chica has always been so kind and generous. It’s a wonder Fazbear Entertainment has kept her around, what with her gifts. Technically, she’s only allowed to give out Party Passes to birthday kids. But sometimes stuffed animals she holds will mysteriously have them and gift them to kids instead of her. She’s smarter than people tend to give her credit for.”

Gregory looked down at his cupcake and then at the tables. He took one of the chairs, set Bonnie down, and ate his messily made creation. Why is she so different at night?

“You saw Monty and how different he was as well. Roxy, Freddy, and the Daycare Attendant have to be the same way.”

It’s kind of too late to go to Roxy Raceway, though. We’ll just have to see them on stage.

“Why? Why don’t we just run?”

Time loop, remember? I don’t have a ticket and we don’t know how it works, exactly.

“True. After the show at the latest.”

He tossed his empty cupcake paper away and walked down the hall back to the atrium. Unfortunately, Gregory couldn’t shake off his curiosity. He knew entering the raceway would prove to be futile—he wouldn’t get to meet Roxy. Even if he did, he wouldn’t get to meet her well enough to get her to spare him come night when the white rabbit mind controlled her. That was if he wasn’t able to escape after the show and before the Mega Pizzaplex closed, of course.

Gregory walked past a few people to get into Roxy Raceway. With the ceiling lights on, the raceway felt both larger and smaller at the same time, which was weird? Smaller in that it had space and therefore was not an endless void, but larger as in it had a taller ceiling than most any other place in the Mega Pizzaplex barring the main atrium.

Go-karts zoomed over the track. People whooped and called all along the sides, watching their friends and family and random people as they waited or simply watched for the fun of it. Some people shopped for snacks along the balcony on which Gregory had entered as he quickly climbed down the stairs. A cluster of kids played bumper-karts. Roxanne Wolf stood by the starting line, watching the go-karts race. As it was so late, the crowd had thinned.

Right, it was getting late. Maybe he could try leaving through one place—such as the fire exit.

Gregory walked back through Roxy Raceway and then up the escalators to the East Starcade, and through there to the Prize Counter. He let out a breath as he walked straight through the open archway that would hold shutters come night. Jeez how much easier his night would have been if these were left open!

Plenty of kids and adults stood at the Prize Counter, picking out their prizes for their tokens. Gregory tapped his glasses. Unfortunately, his CAMS tab was empty. Darn. So, he made his way around the place as inconspicuously as possible, admiring the toys, eventually backing toward the open hall to the fire exit. Once he was within range, and out of immediate sight as the closest security guard looked away, he crept as quickly as he could up to the doors, pushed on them, and then pulled.

Cli-clunk.

Still locked? Did he have to start a fire or was he still not VIP enough?!

He scurried back to the Prize Counter before he was found. Okay, so, there was the Loading Docks, which he wasn’t getting to any time soon being a guest without security clearance. Though there was that vent near Salads and Sides he didn’t need security clearance to enter. There were the front doors, which he could get stuck in the front area since he didn’t have a ticket. But it was a possibility.

“So, Salads and Sides vent or the front doors. Maybe that free entry pass is there.”

Gregory grinned. Right! The free entry pass! Unless they refilled it every evening after guests left, there was a possibility that he could get back inside using a free pass.

With that in mind, he left the Prize Counter along with a growing group of other guests. Confusion was quickly replaced by understanding and then a cold feeling of dread. Showtime.

Gregory edged out of the crowd on the first-floor balcony. A headache crept up on him—an all too familiar sensation that preceded danger. He looked back to see himself before the hallway to Roxy Raceway. In that hall to Roxy Raceway was the white rabbit. She tipped her head so that her ears flopped over, and she waved. He darted off. Her head moved to show her eyes following him, but weirdly, she did not go after him. Instead, she turned back and skipped away.

He squirmed through the crowd, holding Bonnie close to his chest, not bothering to react to the surprised and angry comments. He looked toward the doors but stopped. A kid running for his life through a massive crowd of people would not only be incredibly obvious from the stir he’d make but he would be slowed down by this thick crowd. So, he made a break for Salads and Sides, keeping his head down and staying slow, mumbling apologies, and asking for clearance. A security barrier kept him from reaching the area near it. He, sending a look both ways, climbed over it and darted inside.

He managed to make it partway through the metal vent when he heard the click of little metal legs and the chime of music. He pushed himself to go faster and crawled through the vent, stumbled over the short area of space tall enough for him to stand in, and threw himself into the vent on the other side. He slid down the rest of the vent, thumping into the sides and finally being thrown into the small room with a few red vat things.

“Gregory, why are we here?”

It… is a good idea. Trust me.

“We don’t have any security clearance. How are we supposed to get anywhere?”

He grimaced and crept into the break room. Well… there’s a security room near here…

“And every human guard in the building’s going to go nuts over it.”

Okay, what do you think we should do?

“I don’t know, but not this!”

Gregory crept up the small technology spaghetti room. Voices and beeping technology emanated from within. The second he stepped through there, they’d see him and he’d be taken to kid jail. Technically, it was a better option than being killed, but still not a favorable option. Footsteps thumped over the grate in the vat room and to the spaghetti wire room. He sucked in his breath and darted to the yellow lockers. Gregory threw himself into one, hugged Bonnie close, and shut his eyes. The door creaked open, the footsteps entered, and objects shuffled.

“…have an hour left on shift. An hour. Jesus Christ. This has to be breaking some labor laws. Hey, I recognize that look. What’s up?”

“Nothing, it’s… okay, so, Robert told me you said you were applying for other positions. He didn’t tell the boss or nothing. But are you really leaving?”

“Well, it’s not that I want to, but… Mark and I were talking. It’s probably a rumor, but he thinks they’re getting ready to fire us all. And you know Mark, he’s drinking buddies with the brother of the CEO’s side-chick. So, if anyone would know, it would be him. I thought I’d get ahead of the curb. I think you should, too.”

The locker beside Gregory opened. He flinched but managed to stay quiet.

“Ha! And what, replace us with those mindless bots? As if. This place would tank in a day, a week tops.”

The locker shut again.

“I don’t know, the way those corporate idiots think…? They might believe the bots could handle it.”

The door opened. “They can’t be that stupid. …oh, fuck they are that st—”

The door closed.

Gregory waited. He waited and waited in the silence until finally deeming the coast clear and creeping out. He walked up to the doors. Strangely, they’d gone completely silent. He cracked them open, only to find them empty. He walked through the room and hesitated before tip-toeing into the vat room. He was halfway through it, clutching Bonnie tight to his chest, before he looked up and saw a security camera, its red light blinking, staring right at him.

“Get out of here! Come on!”

Gregory half considered going back. He shook off the thought and ran forward. The office room was empty as well. He stopped at the door and looked over the catwalk in the kitchen, finding that place empty, too, but still light.

He winced at the sudden headache and squinted. He ran ahead. Maybe he could grab the security badge and just vault the catwalk into the kitchen and hide if he didn’t break both of his legs. However, going into the security room would trap him if the white rabbit found herself outside the door, which she had to as she was so close!

He ran to the door, and it opened.

An off-white paw lunged out of the security office and grabbed him by the front of the shirt. He squealed as he was shoved against the white rabbit, but her paw over his mouth muffled his scream. He squirmed and kicked and clawed at her arm and struck at her sides. The white rabbit pushed through a set of doors.

The white rabbit dragged him down the stairs.

He grew dizzy and wheezed and stumbled as it became harder and harder to breathe enough air through her grip to compensate for his thrashing. The Loading Docks left, and they were again in the Utility Tunnels, alone.

Rapidly running out of options, Gregory went completely limp.

The white rabbit stumbled and her grip on him slipped. She quickly regained her composure and went to contain him again. He slipped out of her grasp and made a mad dash in the opposite direction of wherever the heck she was going.

“Gregory!” she called. “Wait, don’t go!”

“Save… it!” Gregory wheezed without looking back. Every muscle he had and more he didn’t know he had ached and burned, and he couldn’t breathe, and whatever the white rabbit was doing to his head was making it impossible to see ahead of himself or think of an escape. He just needed to find a place to hide.

Gregory turned a corner and kept running. He found a laundry tub and stopped long enough to hop into it and cover himself with whatever was in it. He covered his mouth with his hands, held Bonnie under the blanket, and shut his eyes tight.

*          *          *          *          *

When Gregory opened his eyes, he lay curled up under a blanket and his hands sat beside him, one draped over the cyan, red, and blue bunny’s body, but not over his mouth. He was breathing normally. He blinked and sat up, dislodging the blanket. Aching, but at least somewhat rested, Gregory peered over the lip of the laundry tub, picked up Bonnie, and climbed out.

“Ugh, hopefully it’s not too late,” Gregory muttered.

“Hopefully.”

Gregory started off down the tunnel at a quick walk. He turned a corner, running straight into another body just taller than him. He huffed and took a step back, looking straight up into a set of vivid green eyes.

“Kid? What are you doing here?” Officer Vanessa asked, more surprised than angry at his presence.

Gregory hissed under his breath and ran back in the opposite direction, ignoring her shout at him to stop. Choose a direction! Any direction! And I chose the exact wrong one! Why is she even here?!

“Because she works here? Though, that was pretty bad timing…”

That’s one way to put it. Gregory ran where his feet took him, just looking for an escape. Sore and tired but not overwhelmingly so despite how long he’d been on his feet and his previous run—how long had he been asleep?—he blundered through a couple of sets of double metal red doors already cracked open and shut them both behind himself. He dove into a small “room” on the right wall. A few boxes with glass walls facing outward lined the wall, but one was boarded over, and he squeezed through the broken glass of the one beside it and hid behind the boards.

She followed him inside, hissing to herself, and searched the space. Eventually, she either gave up or imagined he had run out behind her because she turned and left right back through the red double doors.

When he peeked his head out, he found the protective cylinder in the far end of the room and sighed. Great. This again.

Gregory slipped out and walked up the stairs. He stopped as he got to the landing. He knew what would happen if he went with Monty… sort of. What if Monty didn’t recognize him? What if Monty just turned around and ate him? They hadn’t even seen each other all night, after all. The only animatronic Gregory had met that night was Chica.

He stuck his hand in his pocket and ran his fingers over the golf score sheet and the cupcake paper. The boy took a deep breath and walked through Chica’s door. Her elevator took him up to her room. It let out a quiet, warbled ding before the lights flickered out. The doors opened halfway. Gregory squeezed himself out. When he pressed the button, the doors closed and refused to open again. Muffled music from a guitar emanated from Chica’s green room.

Well, this is it, then.

“Chica is such a nice gal. Once she recognizes you, you won’t have anything to worry about. But it never hurts to be careful.”

The guitar music tapered out. Gregory looked up at the security door.

The door opened, revealing the silhouette of the chicken animatronic. “What are you doing here?”

“Wait! Wait, I-I’m stuck here.” Gregory stood up and held his hands in front of himself. “I need your help escaping. Please, I just need to get out of here. I’m being chased by some murderer lady in a rabbit suit. You remember me from earlier, right?”

Chica hesitated and then nodded. “Gregory. Gregory! Oh, little boy, you’re so frightened!” She stepped forward so that she stood in front of him. “I’m so sorry if I scared you. Of course, I’ll help. A murderer in a rabbit suit? Oh, that sounds terrible. If we hurry, we can get you to the front doors before the Mega Pizzaplex closes. Come here. It’s dark outside.” She led him into her room and rummaged through a drawer in her vanity. Chica pulled out a cupcake keychain and held it out for him.

Gregory accepted it and pressed down on its squishy face. Something hard on the back of its “head” clicked and its eyes glowed. He clicked it again, and its eyes glowed purple. On the third press, it turned off. The thin keychain itself attached to the flame on the candle. “Thanks, Chica!”

Chica cooed, “Oh, you’re welcome! Now, we should get you out of here.” She tried to open the door, but it clicked back. “Hmm, yeah, I thought so. We should get you up into one of those vents.” She pointed up at the two vents in her walls. “Then you can hop out and open my door from the outside! What do you think?”

Gregory nodded. “Good plan! Um… how do we open them?”

Chica set a finger on her beak. “Well, how about you stand on my shoulders, and you can reach the vent like that? We’ll still need a way to open the vent.”

The kid looked at her maintenance room. “Do you have a screwdriver back there?”

“I don’t think so, but you can check! I’ll keep thinking of something else in the meantime.”

Gregory nodded and ran into the back room. He couldn’t see any screwdrivers. He did see a discarded coin, though. He picked it up and ran back to Chica. “Hey, Chica! We can use this quarter. I know how to unscrew things with coins.”

Chica gasped. “Really? Wow! You’re so clever! Okay, here. Climb up on my shoulders.” She got down on one knee and held her hands out. Gregory carefully stepped up onto her hands and, biting back a gasp, grabbed onto her head with a few fingers—one arm still held Bonnie and the quarter stay pinched between his thumb and forefinger—as she lifted him onto her shoulders and stood up. She held him by the ankles and stood up straight underneath the vent above the door to the maintenance room.

Gregory carefully unscrewed the vent register with the quarter. “You know, I bet Monty’s first response would have been to tear off the vent.”

Chica laughed. “Yep! Roxy, too, probably! Freddy may have opened it himself. But I’m not very tall, and I can’t jump, and I don’t have claws. So, I have to find other solutions to problems my friends might not have to think about. Besides, this is much more fun, don’t you think?”

Gregory chuckled. “Yeah! Breaking into a vent as a team! We get to—whoa! Oh no!” He gasped as the coin slipped out of his hand. He tried to snatch it out of the air, but it fell out of his grasp, bounced over the floor, and rolled under the couch. Well, that’s what he got for unscrewing a vent with one hand. Thankfully, he could pry the third screw the rest of the way off with his nails, and the vent register slid off. “Well, I lost the quarter, but the vent’s open. Thanks, Chica! I’ll be back soon.”

“Be careful!” Chica slowly let go of Gregory, though she kept her hands near him.

He tossed Bonnie into the vent and pulled himself up. He picked up Bonnie again and started moving. He only passed one vent register this time.

He stopped at the end of the vent, pushed Bonnie out first, and then hesitated at the memory of pain. The last time he was in this vent, and he threw himself out, he cut himself on something. He looked over the edge of the vent and found a sharp edge. So, he adjusted his grip on the edge accordingly and threw himself out feet first, catching himself with his hands on the edge to break momentum so he wasn’t falling as far. Gregory plucked Bonnie off the ground.

The time was eleven-thirty pm.

Chapter Text

The intercom stated, “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for visiting and we hope you enjoyed the show! Have an awesome night, and we’ll see you again soon!”

Gregory looked over his dark, sparkly surroundings. The lights above were dark, and the neon lights of the gang’s faces and various symbols didn’t spread much multicolor light very far. A couple of wet floor sign bots with glowing circle eyes watched him at the end of the hall by a set of closed shutters, giving him a warning of where to stop. The light spilling out from Chica, Monty, Roxy, and Freddy’s rooms was enough to light his immediate path. He clicked the back of his cupcake. Its eyes glowed, giving about as much light as the maintenance light in Monty’s maintenance room, but less concentrated.

Ah, this wasn’t going to get annoying fast.

Gregory approached Chica’s door. He decided to click off the light. It needed to cycle through the purple light before shutting off. Something flashed on the door as he did so. Gregory raised his eyebrows. He clicked on the cupcake light and then the UV light. Glowing in UV light on the door was a simply drawn rabbit’s head with a small triangle warning sign above the head and the ears crossed out.

“…that’s the white rabbit’s, isn’t it?”

When did she draw this, though?

“Hopefully not tonight.”

Gregory tried to open the door. Click. “The stupid door won’t open.”

“Oh?” Chica asked. “You’ll need a Photo Pass. I’m sorry, I thought you already had one. Well, the convenience counters always have them!”

Just like with Monty’s door. Memories crept back into his mind as he walked back into the hall. He walked past glass cases set on pedestals protecting various ancient artifacts of the long gone. The outline of a star-shaped guitar from one of the old rockstars in a case near the door was lit up by Chica’s room, as was a cupcake almost directly in front of it, and then a huge, stepped pedestal holding a golden statue of Chica lined with fake fronds. Monty’s room glowed with pale green light, detailing the fake fronds and minigolf memorabilia within his green room. Monty stood with his fingers tangled in a complex web of string, carefully twitching and moving his fingers and hands to continue the design. Torn string lay in front of his feet. Before the violet curtains of Roxy’s greenroom was another red guitar, presumably from a rockstar animatronic. Roxy herself stood in front of her glowing star-shaped vanity in her spotless, mechanics-covered room playing with her mane and tail.

Then there was Freddy, the star of the show, in a bear-themed room with child drawings pinned on his wall, his greenroom exposed by the red curtains drawn and tied to the ends. He stood in the middle of his room, looking at a bowling ball. Freddy’s body remained still in his pose and his head rotated to the side. Gregory stopped behind one of the pedestals holding a glass case of something or other. Freddy stared in his direction for an uncomfortably long amount of time before his ear twitched and his head went back to his bowling ball. Gregory still didn’t trust that he was looking at the bowling ball and he hurried his pace.

Gregory stared ahead at the dark, checkerboard-trimmed shutters. He ducked under them as they opened a couple of feet, but no further. TVs attached to pillars held up the ceiling in equal intervals down the hall, connected by red couches and potted plants. The first two pillars had nothing connecting them, allowing for a huge, open space and winding pale tile to weave around the space-patterned carpet. More decorations covered the walls, but the light emitting from Rockstar Row was too faint to properly see them. He clicked on his cupcake light, and then for curiosity’s sake clicked it again for the UV part. Nothing purple glowed, so he went back to the light.

Gregory stepped forward, transferred the light to his hand holding Bonnie, and grabbed the pass from the present against the far wall.

He ducked under the shutters and clicked his cupcake light so it turned into a UV light. At this angle, Freddy wouldn’t be able to see him. So as long as he was quiet, and the bear was like Monty and Chica and couldn’t get through his door, he could check Freddy’s door.

So, Gregory did just that, creeping up on the bear’s door with his cupcake UV light up. Plain bunny ears glowed on the door, no warning sign or crossed-out marks or a head or anything. Well, if Freddy was Vanny’s pet, that would make sense. That meant that Vanny barely controlled Chica and couldn’t be around her. What about the others? Did she have any control over Roxy and Monty?

He took the long way around the glass cases to avoid Freddy’s detection. Just in case, he glanced at Freddy. Freddy stood perfectly still and faced the hall, his baby blue eyes sweeping over the hall like a security camera. Roxy’s door had an exclamation mark above an eye and a bunny symbol. Roxy swung her head back and forth as she searched the hall, back to her vanity and hands raised at her sides as if ready to swipe. Further down, Monty’s door just had a few exclamation marks but did have a bunny symbol like Chica and Roxy. Considering what Monty did to Gregory on accident, that checked out. Monty stared at the hall, his head moving back and forth and his whole body moving with it. The strings lay discarded on the floor.

Gregory stopped in front of Chica’s door and opened it.

“Super job, Gregory!” Chica congratulated. “Now, let’s get you out of here.”

Gregory glanced at the other greenrooms as Chica walked out of hers. “What about the others? Your friends aren’t exactly, uh… friendly.”

“Oh, um… just stay low, okay? If I carry you, they’ll see you, too. We’ll go through the utility tunnels. It’s the quickest path and no one should see us there.”

Gregory nodded and walked to her other side, careful to stay low to the ground. Chica glanced at the other green rooms. She opened one of the double red utility doors and let him in first. He clicked on his cupcake light. It meshed with her deep blue eyelights as they walked down the lime-green metal stairs.

Vanessa called somewhere down below, “Hello? Little boy? If you’re down here, say something!”

A flash of cold nipped his veins. “That security guard’s down here!” Gregory gasped. “We have to go back!”

Chica soothed, “Don’t worry, she’ll see me first. If she spots me, hide and wait until she leaves. However, we should try not to get spotted in the first place.”

Gregory nodded but didn’t say anything. She held out her hand for him. He gave her an odd look.

“We’re about to go into the tunnels. You can hold my hand so you don’t accidentally get lost,” Chica suggested.

“I’m old enough to walk on my own.”

“You are, but even the security staff get lost sometimes!”

Gregory nodded. “Okay. Just so… I don’t get lost.” Gregory hooked one of his fingers from his other hand into the cupcake’s clip. Then, as they hit the end of the stairs, he took her outstretched hand. Despite her fingers being cold and plastic, holding onto her hand, and feeling her fingers wrap around his, gave him some measure of security.

Gregory flashed a glance at the hallway he and Monty had gone down to bandage his arm and cheek. It felt like an eternity had passed since they’d gone through this hallway, but only twelve hours had gone by. Only twelve hours. Maybe, technically, no time had gone by since he’d just gone back in time.

Curious, Gregory asked, “Where are we?”

Chica answered, “We’re under the Pizzaplex! The Utility Tunnels connect all the attractions—Monty Golf, Roxy Raceway, Fazerblast. Anywhere in the building is accessible to S.T.A.F.F. with high enough clearance. Guests aren’t normally allowed down here buuuut you’re a special exception.” She tipped her head, and he caught her wink. He smiled up at her and muffled a laugh.

A chain link fence blocked them, so they continued right up the lime stairs. The stairway ended at a turn, the left side being a fence with locked chains and a Monty symbol that had been crossed out, and the right leading to an open room with another one of the red cylinders with portholes and lightning bolts. A set of red metal doors stood ahead of them.

“That’s a recharge station,” Chica pointed out. “We need to go to those to recharge at the end of the hour. Thankfully, I recently charged and I’m ready to keep going! I have the longest battery life of all the band so I can teach the Mazercise courses without running out of battery too often.”

“So, do you need to recharge at the hour, too?”

Chica shook her head. “Nope. If I manage my battery, I can go for up to two hours without needing to recharge. Neat, huh?”

They passed through the double set of red doors into a half-pink hallway, the walls halfway up being painted a vibrant pink all the way as far as he could see. A red arrow with the black outline of a desk and maybe a person or bot and “LOBBY” pointing down through the hall stamped into the wall. Unfortunately, a table with stacks of paint cans on top and under it as well as a few boxes blocked the way. A gray door with a Chica and Freddy before and after the table cut into the right side of the wall. Gregory asked, “Why wasn’t everyone else given a longer charge? Isn’t it boring needing to charge every hour?”

“It’s our design,” she stated simply.

They passed through the gray door into a bathroom. A pile of garbage pushed up against the wall. Chica’s eyes stayed on the garbage pile as they passed it and a little while after they left back into the hall.

“Are you okay?” Gregory asked.

“Huh? Oh! Yes,” Chica said, turning ahead again. “I am a-okay!”

The hallway curved a few times before opening into a thin room with a long shelving unit full of stuff in the middle. Gregory bit back a grimace. This is where Monty had trouble, right? Chica kept moving. She pulled her hand behind herself so that Gregory had to walk behind her single file. They still made it all the way through without any problems.

They emerged into a half-pink, half-green hallway wide enough for them to walk together. It twisted and turned a few times with a few storage rooms built into it before leading into a room that buzzed and beeped with technology. Chica hesitated when they got in and hissed, “Monty!” Then, she released Gregory and pushed him forward, away from the fence. Gregory stumbled and looked back at Chica, who raised her hands to grab him. “Lost boy over here!” she trilled.

Gregory stumbled back, eyes wide in terror. She looked at the path ahead with dark blue eyes and then at him and winked.

Behind her, the chains binding the fence snapped as Monty ripped through it. “There you are!” the animatronic alligator roared.

Gregory’s gaze hardened. He turned and ran, “chased” by Chica, whose lumbering steps were just shy of his run. Monty snarled at her, “Chica, move!”

“He’s mine!” Chica hissed back at him.

The cupcake flashlight gave a pitiful amount of light, but it was light all the same.

At the end of the path was a symbol painted on the wall he couldn’t see, a chain link fence on the right, and an open area on the left. As he approached, something slammed into the chain link and a yellow light glowed over the hall. Gregory jumped and picked up his pace. Roxy pushed into the fence, her clawed fingers in the holes in the linked metal. Purple light glowed over him as he passed, his quick pace even quicker as he sprinted down the now half-purple, half-white brick hallway. The symbol on the wall was the same arrow with the desk, person, and “LOBBY” on it. “Hey, kid!” she called, but he didn’t slow down.

He shoved through a door into a wide space he could barely see into and slowed so he didn’t trip over himself. Chica caught up with him as they ascended the stairs. Monty roared and kept following, but his huge paws couldn’t get up the stairs quite as quickly as Chica’s feet or Gregory’s shoes.

Gregory raced into the security office. The door slammed shut behind him. Chica flew into the door with a startled squawk.

Gregory squinted in the harsh gray light as static from the giant monitor filled the room, glinting off metal and plastic and seeping over cloth. He spun around but found no buttons by the doors that could open it. He stopped looking when Monty slammed into it and his claws shrieked against the door.

Beep! Gregory tapped his glasses. A new chat message appeared in his log. [You should be very safe in here. These security offices were meant to keep staff safe in case of emergency, as long as the doors have power.]

Gregory looked at the power bar beside the door Monty pounded on. He bristled. “Chica, the door’s at fifteen percent!”

Beep! [Oh. Well, I’ll give you security access. That should let you use the doors and cameras. Then you can get out of here. Hold on a second!]

Beep! [There! Now you should be able to connect to the security system with your glasses.]

Gregory pressed the Freddy-head-shaped button on the security desk amidst the clutter of technology. The right door opened. His glasses beeped and another panel appeared beside his chat log labeled “CAM”.

Beep! [Your glasses are connected to the security cameras. The cameras are attached to a labeled map. If a camera detects sound, it’ll light up yellow. If it detects movement, it’ll light up red. Now we should go to the main lobby. That’s where the exit is.]

Gregory tapped his glasses and opened the CAMS tab. Nothing occupied the square-shaped hall. He walked out into the hall and to the next set of double doors. The short hall led to another short set of doors and then passed into the entrance area before the ticket stands. Neon lights on the walls and ceiling as well as parking lot lights glowing through the massive front windows and glass doors lit up the shiny, dark tiles.

The time was twelve am.

The intercom stated, “Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex is now closed. Initiating nighttime protocols.”

Gregory bristled and took off in a sprint past a huge pillar with a wrap-around, dark TV. Shutters decorated with winking Freddy faces slid over the doors. “No. No! Wait! I’m still here!” He slowed to a stop as he got to the sealed exit and sighed. “Now what am I supposed to do?”

Beep! [Oh no! I’m so sorry. Well, we can always come back at six am. That’s when the doors open. Until then, you need to lay low. I will keep you safe, okay?]

Gregory nodded and let out a breath. “Okay. Thank you, Chica.” He looked over the ticket stands and then the far side of the room, where he knew the complimentary pass was.

Wasn’t this too familiar?

He clutched Bonnie a little tighter and looked out the windows as he passed. The air chilled as he got close. Streetlamps glowed over the parking lot and stars twinkled like ice chips high in the sky. No moon hung in the black. He couldn’t help laughing at the irony. He shivered and looked ahead. The air warmed as he walked deeper into the entrance area, though not by much. The temperature would only seriously change past the ticket stands.

Across the vast room, he looked past the pillars with dark electronic ads to see neon lights pointing to a sign. He faintly read something about a pass. Right, the complimentary entry pass.

This box had a crank on it, too. Gregory rolled his eyes and, preparing for the worst, held it down and cranked it until the top popped off with a honk and spray of confetti. He snatched the pass and walked to the ticket stands, which accepted it once he swiped it at a certain angle.

Beep! [Good job, Gregory! Sadly, that complimentary entry pass only lets you into the Lobby, not into the Mega Pizzaplex. You can exchange it in customer service, though!]

Gregory started to speak but choked on his words upon seeing something move before the giant fountain before him. He tapped his glasses and minimized the chat log.

A security bot rolled back and forth in front of the ticket stands.

Gregory glanced around at his surroundings and then tried to creep forward. Unfortunately, both ways he looked, the entryways were blocked by diamond-shaped rolling shutters. He darted up to the fountain, out of range of the creepy security bot.

Gregory looked into the building beside himself. To his right, “Glamrock Gifts” inside two circles flanked by lightning bolts glowed in neon on the shop window. Across from him, on the second-story wall next to the balcony, was “Faz pad” glowing in yellow neon. Faz pad had the customer service machine on the bottom floor. However, the machine ate his card last time. It might not do so this time, but just in case, he should get a magnet from Glamrock Gifts.

Gregory went up the stairs and across the walkway. The “Glamrock Gifts” symbol glowed above the door. Behind him, a photo booth sat on carpet between two elevators. The crowded gift shop screaming at him to buy its yet-to-be-restocked merchandise felt empty.

The first story’s centerpiece facing the counter was something about a mystery prize. There were a lot of question marks and a box with a crank flanked by the daycare attendant plushies. He could hardly make out any words with his cupcake light, and there weren’t any purple lines to be revealed in the UV light. So, he cranked open the prize box and fished out the Mr. Hippo fridge magnet. The small flare of hope he couldn’t help but feel was immediately dashed.

Gregory backtracked up the stairs and across the carpeted landing. No noise came out of the place. So, he walked across the walkway and through the café. Hunger clawed at his stomach, but he ignored it. He had more serious issues right now. If he came across food, he’d go for it. Right now, he had other things to deal with.

Immediately after opening the door at the bottom of the stairs, he found a machine to the far right with a big screen on its face behind a counter. A few neon lights lit up the area, but they were scarce. He walked up to the machine and glanced at the wall beside it, where a warning to keep magnets away from the machine was stuck onto the wall.

A screen with bear ears on top said, “UPGRADE YOUR FULL ACCESS PASS!” while the screen on the machine had the same light blue background but switched between a little chubby blue-pink-and-white bear with dialogue and the same bear with a barcode beside it. He fed the pass into the slot next to the number pad and looked at the screen. The screen stayed with the little bear saying its name and offering to help.

He took the Mr. Hippo magnet out of his pocket and gave it the greatest purpose it could ever fulfill.

The screen glitched and the bear became very worried. Then, the machine spat out a new card—a blue one with clouds and a sun and moon on it.

“Yes! The magnet scrambled the machine!” Gregory hissed in victory. Then, his eyebrows furrowed, and he took the pass. Superstar Daycare PICK-UP PASS. “Aw, man. Now it’s a Daycare Pass?” Again? What are the odds of that?

Beep! [Daycare? Oh, that’s wonderful news! I’ll meet you in the Daycare! The entrance is on the second-floor balcony.]

“Okay. Meet you there.” Gregory looked over his pass as he walked back up the stairs. Monty really didn’t want to go to the Daycare. Is the moon man there?

“Yes, Moon lives there. Moon also patrols the Pizzaplex when it gets dark.”

So why is Chica so excited? Doesn’t she know? Monty was scared of him!

“I… I remember good things about Moon. Nice things. But Sun…?”

…

“My memory’s acting weird. He’s nice, but now the rule is to leave the lights… off? But I almost always knew the attendant while the lights were on. Am I mixing that up? I know recently what he did, but I remember… I-I need some time to think.”

Gregory walked up to the big red doors. Above them was the “Superstar Daycare PICK UP” logo with a rainbow. Next to it was a pillar with a square cut into it with the same logo and “DAYCARE PASS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY” under it. He clicked his cupcake flashlight and grimaced at the purple glowing scribbles over it. He clicked the cupcake a couple of times to turn it into a light again and pushed through.

He pushed his way through and groaned in exasperation. The dark tiles and star-speckled ceilings ate whatever light the scarce neon lights ringing the step pedestals, fountain, and pillars and the soda machines far away gave off. Thankfully the red-bricked walls weren’t too bad, but they were far from shiny. So, he kept his hand on the wall and walked forward. A charging dock pressed up against the wall near the sun and moon, blue shutters at the end of the wide hall.

Gregory approached the shutters and then bit back a yelp and instinctively covered his eyes as bright light spilled through the festive shutters. Squinting through his sunglasses, he looked around the light blue room. The far wall consisted of mesh. Two golden statues, one of a jester with a round, flat face, grand smile, and sunshine spokes around his head in a ta-da pose facing him, stood in the center. A couple of red couches sat to the left of the room with various blue toddler chairs and toddler tables scattered about. On the right were adult tables and red adult chairs. He stepped inside, still trying to get used to the mad amount of light.

The time was twelve-thirty am.

Beep! [Hello, Gregory! Um, it seems I can’t get to you. You’ll need to go to the Daycare and ask Sun to let me in! He’s the Daycare Attendant.]

Gregory eyed the mesh. He walked up closer, but his view was blocked by giant cut-out clouds. A slide with a rainbow above it declaring “SLIDE INTO FUN” above it stamped above the teal carpeted ground. He looked back at the statue. From this angle, he could see the other one. This jester had a round, flat face like the sunny one, but no spokes. Instead, it had a nightcap. It crouched and jumped with one foot way up high, elbows bent and hands level in a funny jig. Neither foot touched the ground and a gold pole connected to the ceiling kept it in the air.

Moon.

So, what was that about the rule about keeping the lights off?

“I-I… I don’t know. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, maybe that’s it. Naptime rules you know.”

Gregory hesitated at the slide. He took a deep breath, pocketed his cupcake for safekeeping, and hopped into the slide.

He rushed down the curly, steep-angled slide. Bumps between where colors alternated in the slide jabbed into his bones. Finally, the slide spat him out into a huge ball pit. Bouncy, squeaky music interrupted by animal sounds played above. He hopped up, flanked on either side by faux brick castle walls a few feet tall—tall enough to hinder an escape, but not so much as to block his view of the gargantuan play place that sprawled out beside him. Barred play structures with cutouts of the characters attached to them stood out on the multicolored floor. Slides wove in and out and up and down the play structures doubling as probably illegal climbing bars considering how tall they were. Toddler chairs around tables sat out along with a few huge stuffed toys and a few stacks of cans. At the far end of the daycare up against the wall was the security desk. He looked forward into the ball pit and saw a few rainbows acting as walled handrails leading from the ball pit out into the play place.

A loud, clanking noise above him snapped his attention skyward. Up on the wall, a balcony jutted out from the 2-D castle tower cut out on the wall. The jester from the castle twirled out in clothes not too dissimilar in color from the sun-spoke statue with the added orange striped pants and red buttons and cloth. “Hooo, hooo, hooo!” he exclaimed, tossing his pale hands back hard enough to throw himself off balance and force one bell-tipped foot off the ground before landing again. He crouched, clapped his hands before himself, and dove into the ball pit. Balls exploded from the impact and rained back down.

Nope.

Gregory struggled toward the rainbow bridge, though barely being able to touch the ground with his toes was making that an undertaking. Two lithe-fingered hands burst from the ball pit and snatched him, yanking him into the air as the jester animatronic stood up. “Hello! New friend!” The daycare attendant held him up at eye level way higher than an adult and tromped onto the bridge.

A memory flashed through his mind, of warbled music and faded paint, Sun the Daycare Attendant with warped sun rays and the intense need to run, get away, hide before he hurts you!

“You’re sure up la—!”

Fear so intense and sudden jolted through him that he screamed and thrashed in his grip. Sun released him immediately, thankfully with very little air between him and the soft ground of the bridge, with a shocked “Oh!”. Gregory bolted to the nearest hiding place—the opening to a play structure. It wasn’t much, but it broke the line of sight and he hid in the corner. Light from the ceiling spotlights and glowing clouds streamed into the play structure in broken squares.

“Oh no, oh dear! I’m so sorry! New Friend, I didn’t mean to scare you!” Sun called after him.

What was that?

“I-I don’t know? I don’t… I-I… he… I don’t know.”

I need to get out of here.

“Yeah.”

Gregory wove through the play structure, staring out through the bars into the playground as he went. Sun’s bells jingled in the clear area between the structures nearby. If Sun hurried, he could grab Gregory before he made it to the security desk. But he wouldn’t be expecting Gregory to be going to the security desk, would he?

Gregory peered around the corner at Sun, who fidgeted anxiously nearby, ringing his bells and swaying and watching Gregory. Upon seeing Gregory, he called, “Hello, New Friend! It’s okay, I won’t come over there if you don’t want me to. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

The boy glanced at the big double doors—there was no way he was going to be quick enough to reach those—and then further into the play place and back to Sun.

The Daycare Attendant crouched down to Gregory’s level. His fidgeting still rang the bells on his wrist on occasion, though this was likely on purpose to keep Gregory’s attention. “Do you want to play some games? There’s the play structures and the ball pit, but I also have crayons and glitter glue and I can put on a puppet show!” Sun listed off.

Gregory shuffled his feet. “…are you going to hurt me?”

“No, New Friend! I’m not here to hurt you! I would never hurt a child. I’m here to help.”

The kid shot him a shifty look. “The others said they were here to help me. And they tried to bite my head off.”

Sun stopped. “The others… they… but they’re supposed…” his voice trailed off. Then, he laughed and went back to his ringing. “Well, you can stay here! I’m programmed to run the Daycare, and no other animatronics are allowed inside without my permission outside of working hours!”

“No one can come in? But I got in,” Gregory pointed out, relaxing just the smallest bit. At least Roxy couldn’t come in here and split his skull in half again.

“That’s because you’re a human! You have a Daycare Pass!”

Gregory thought for a moment. “Well… one of them isn’t trying to kill me. Chica. She’s my friend. Can you let her in here?”

“Chica?” Sun prompted, cocking his head. His spokes followed at a delay. “Oh, I know of her! If she’s your friend, then that’s a-okay! You’ll need to come out, though. None of the glamrocks can fit in the structures like I can.” Sun held up his hands. “If you don’t want me to come near you, that’s okay! I’ll stay over here!”

Clutching Bonnie tight to his chest, Gregory crept out of the play structure. He took a few steps out into the light but didn’t get anywhere close to arm’s length of the Daycare Attendant. The memory of a pair of hands grabbing him and the fear, the overwhelming need to run stayed sharp in his memory. Sun was calm right now, and the Sun he’d seen in that memory—or maybe vision all things considering—was worn to hysteria with warped sun rays. They may not be the same animatronic, or maybe it was a glimpse into the future and hadn’t yet come true, but Gregory couldn’t be too careful.

The true memory, Gregory’s memory, of Roxy’s teeth in his head resurfaced. Sun didn’t have teeth, but he could still do damage.

Then, a headache crept up on Gregory. He narrowed his eyes and set his hand to his head. He sucked in his breath and his eyes widened.

Sun asked, his voice a little quieter now. A blessing for his aching head. “New Friend? Are you okay?”

“Th-that rabbit lady! It’s the rabbit lady!”

Sun froze as if Gregory had hit the pause button on him. “The rabbit lady?”

The double doors creaked open just a little.

They both turned to the doors. She put a finger to her mouth just like when she pressed the button on the garbage compactor. Gregory bristled and ran behind Sun, hiding behind one of his striped yellow and orange legs. She wouldn’t attack a giant creepy jester animatronic, would she?

Sun’s knees bent but stopped when Gregory touched him.

Then, she stretched herself out and flipped a switch just within reach of the security desk. The lights within the Daycare went out with a whine and the bouncy music slowly died. She fled and shut the door.

Sun screamed, “No! No, no, no! Lights on, lights on!”

Gregory looked up at him. “The moon guy!” He tugged at Sun’s pants. “Come on, we gotta get out of here before he gets us!”

Sun grabbed Gregory and shoved him away so hard that the boy staggered back a few feet and fell back with a hard huff. “Get out, get out!” The Daycare Attendant screamed and grabbed at his spokes and face.

Gregory scrambled back and staggered to his feet.

Sun’s cream and yellow colors turned to extreme shades of white and navy blue. His spokes retracted, replaced by a floppy nightcap. The Daycare Attendant, previously doubled over so close to the ground its scarlet eye lights glowed over the soft padding, pulled itself up into a crouch and raised its hands before itself.

Chapter Text

“You’re actually Sun?!” Gregory squawked, backing away from the Daycare Attendant as it turned to him and crept forward. Lights were off in the Daycare, and the once glowing clouds were dark, allowing the stars behind them to glow. The sun had fallen below the castle at the front and the crescent moon rose.

“Naughty boy, naughty boy. It’s past your bedtime, long, long since. You have been messing with time.”

Gregory backed into the double doors. His headache had passed. Cowardly rabbit. She was probably scared of him, too. For good reason.

He darted behind the security desk.

Moon hissed and chased him but did not follow him into the off-limits area. “Kids are not allowed behind the security desk!”

Gregory called, “Make me!”

The Daycare Attendant growled and stalked back and forth in front of the desk.

Gregory looked at the desk and found the Freddy head contraption with a security cap. He pressed its nose. It opened enough for him to snatch the security card. A flashlight—a real, powerful flashlight—was stuck on a charger on the wall. He immediately swiped it. On the wall was the light switch—a colorful switch with a sun painted on top and a moon on the bottom rather than an “ON/OFF” label. Duct tape across the middle of the “sun” switch, partially covering the image, had torn off the wall having once been presumably firmly plastered to it. Yikes.

He tried pressing the sun switch.

Click.

Nothing, not even a spark or fizzle of a lightbulb, came in answer.

Beep! [Gregory? The lights are off in the Daycare? If you need to turn them on, there are generators in the room off the Naptime room.]

Generators in the naptime room, got it.

Beep! [Hey, New Friend? Do you hear me?]

Gregory’s eyes went wide. “You’re not Chica.”

Beep! [There’s a generator in a cabinet by the fridge. Turn it on!]

Gregory scowled at Moon as the blue Daycare Attendant stalked back and forth, glowing red eyes not once leaving him like a hungry cat. “I’m not trusting you.”

Beep! [That is fair. But please, you need to turn the lights on! He doesn’t want to hurt you. But his security mode is… out of sorts.]

Gregory growled and spat. This is stupid! I can’t trust him!

“What else can you do? Look, you remember what happened with Roxy in the security room. If Moon gets you, it might be the same thing. You’ll just come right back. So, trust him this once. I’ll think of something else in the meantime.”

Fine. Gregory waited for Moon to get to the very right side of the desk before darting out the left side and around the closest play structure.

He looked back. Moon was strangely much slower than Sun, moving at a creep rather than using long strides that utilized his long legs. He vanished completely when Gregory got between the play structure and the wall. Still, the boy wouldn’t question it. Instead, he ran to the cabinet beside the fridge and tried to open it.

Click.

He swiped his security card over it. It opened for him, revealing an inactive generator. He pulled the switch up and shut the door. One of the lights in the play place blazed, a single spotlight in the dark.

Beep! [Good job! That’s the first one down! Four more to go!]

Gregory looked both ways. Where was Moon? He couldn’t afford to run into—

Creak, click, click, crrrreak!

He looked up upon hearing the clicking and grinding of gears and creaking joints. Moon clung to the bars directly above him, barely visible in the dark. Even the stars on his pants were crossed by shadows as the UV lights above that made them glow were blocked by the play structure.

Beep!

Gregory let out a squeak, ducked, and bolted. Heart thundering and breaths coming in wheezes, he ran straight to the door at the right side of the room, its label lost to the dark. That handle stayed firm, yielding a few inches but no further. He ran his security badge over it a few times and then turned his flashlight up at the door, where a “10” was printed at the top right corner. He looked back and darted away upon seeing Moon creep over the ground between the play structures and the security desk.

Gregory climbed into the closest play structure and hid. Sun hadn’t followed him in. That must mean—

Moon crawled into the play tunnel with ease.

“Bad children must be found.”

When he looked back, Moon crawled through the smaller walkways on all fours like some sort of demented, four-legged spider.

Gregory tapped his glasses to see what Sun had said. [The next four are in the Naptime Room. You can’t open it; Moon or Chica can.]

Gregory spat, “Well, then, what am I supposed to do? You still haven’t let Chica in!”

Beep! [The only thing that overrides his security protocols are his caregiver protocols. Maybe if you find a way to activate those, he’ll let you in!]

“Let me in? Why would he let me in? Are you crazy-y?!” Gregory yelped as, when he tried turning a corner into another tunnel, his hand slipped on the steep slope, revealing that the passage was not a tunnel but a slide.

His hand squeaked over the plastic as he struggled to stop himself, but with one hand clutching Bonnie and thus a quarter of his weight on his shoulder where his clothes did not stick to the slide, he ended up going down. He tumbled out onto the soft floor, his star glasses sliding off his nose and clattering to the ground in the confusion.

Gregory blinked and looked around. Huh. The world became less purple and somewhat lighter, though still dark.

A soft cackle trickled through the still semi-silence of the dark playplace.

The boy bristled and whipped his head up to face the noise. Moon crept up to him, back to the doors and security desk, and under the glare of the spotlight that shone with the power of a thousand suns. Gregory yelped and covered his eyes. “Shit! That hurt!” he spat and fumbled to grab his sunglasses.

“Gregory!”

Moon hissed, “Language!”

Gregory put on his sunglasses and scrambled to his feet. He grabbed his flashlight and turned it to Moon, who spat at him and ducked out of the way. It, however, did not swear. The boy bolted. He tapped his glasses upon finding he was in the CAMS tab and saw he had a new message.

[Gregory, watch your language!]

“Jeez, not you, too. Fine, okay. Whatever. That Moon guy’s trying to kill me and that spotlight is brighter than the fricking sun and probably made me partially blind, and you get onto me because of swearing?”

Beep! [Yes. Swearing will not change your situation.]

“Shit, fuck, hell.”

Beep! [Young man!]

“Gregory, as funny as that is, you have other things to worry about.”

No matter where Gregory went, Moon followed. Not only did Moon follow, but Gregory couldn’t find another generator or another pass. How was he going to get into the Naptime Room?!

“It’s past your bedtime.”

Gregory, having slid down the other slide back out into the play place, shut his eyes. He was getting nowhere running from Moon. Please, please, please let this work!

He ran into the other play structure from the bottom where the roof was tall enough for Moon to walk.

Gregory, heaving, picked a spot around a corner and lay down with his now-deactivated flashlight in his pocket. He shut his eyes and relaxed. Well, even if this turned out to be a stupid idea, he doubted he could run any further. So, he had that going for him.

Gears clicked and whirred.

He could feel his presence beside him.

Moon stooped down to inspect him. When Gregory showed no signs of moving despite his racing heart and uneven, heavy breathing, Moon gently picked him up, taking great care to keep Bonnie from falling. Moon’s plastic chest was warm.

The door to the naptime room opened.

The door to the naptime room closed.

Moon set Gregory down on a bed, took off his shoes and glasses, and pulled the blanket over him and Bonnie. Gregory forced himself to stay still as Moon set a finger to his neck and his forehead.

…

The bot walked away.

Gregory, as his breathing evened out, listened. While he couldn’t hear Moon’s clinking gears, he heard the creak of Moon’s joints some distance away.

The boy opened one eye. Moon, no longer watching Gregory, crouched, and pulled up a blanket to look under a bed.

Okay, so, beds were a no-go hiding place. Got it.

Moon stood up.

Gregory shut his eye.

Quiet footsteps became even fainter.

A door opened and then closed.

Gregory blinked open his eyes and looked back at the door. The boy slipped out of bed, shoved on his shoes and glasses from under the bed, and ran to the door labeled “EMPLOYEES ONLY”.

Gregory slipped into the room. He jolted and looked around. Technology covered the place. Lights of varying sizes, some blinking and some constant, bedecked the technology. Further in, through gaps in the shelving units, Gregory spotted dim red lights.

The boy, flashlight in hand, ran through the maze of shelving units.

He found a generator.

Clunk. Brrrrrr!

The faint red light turned green and bold.

Gregory just finished the third generator of the night when the door opened.

The boy shut off his flashlight and stuck it in his pocket.

Two small red lights accompanied by quiet footsteps slunk through the room. It walked faster than he remembered.

“Bad children must be found.”

Gregory bristled and searched for the next generators. These ones faced the wrong direction so he couldn’t see their red glow. He could barely see right in front of himself!

Clunk. Brrrrrr!

Gregory neared the end of the room with the last generator.

“Bad children must be punished.”

The red lights glimmered and shot up and stopped just above one of the shelving units.

The boy nearly laughed aloud upon finding another red light. He grabbed the lever and threw it down. His glasses beeped.

Then Gregory was in the air, Moon having dropped from the ceiling behind him and snatched him like an owl. Moon growled, “That is enough from you.”

“Gregory! Don’t freeze, do something!”

“Children are not allowed here. It is past your bedtime, and you have been messing with time.” Moon walked back toward the naptime room.

Gregory laughed, inwardly cringing at how cracked and high-pitched it was. “What are you going to do, put me in Time Out?”

“Yes.” Moon’s head twitched and it growled. “No.”

Come on, why wasn’t time resetting? Shouldn’t I be back at the security desk?

“Maybe he has to kill you to do that? Or maybe it has to be during an alarm? Maybe it has to be a glamrock?”

Your theories are horrible!

“I’m trying!”

Gregory, who had stayed tense and still so far, asked, “Can I time travel by myself or do I have to use stuff around the Pizzaplex?”

“You are not a time traveler,” Moon stated, his voice firm. “The Mega Pizzaplex is the time anomaly. You will not mess with it further.”

“If I promise not to, will you let me go?”

“No.”

“What if I ask—” Gregory interrupted himself to kick back with both feet. Moon, holding Gregory under the arms with his fingers wrapped around his chest, jolted as the boy kicked him in the chest hard enough to shove himself forward. When Moon didn’t give, Gregory kicked again. Moon simply held him further away.

“Stop,” Moon stated. “You cannot hurt me, and it is rude to try.” Gregory hooked one leg over his arm and twisted himself around. He pulled his flashlight out and pointed it straight at Moon’s face.

Moon released him with a shriek as he was flashed point-blank and clapped his blue-and-white hands over his face.

Gregory hit the ground hard. For a moment, he lay stunned, a little wheeze escaping his lungs from the impact. Bonnie bounced over the floor and the flashlight’s beam waved wildly as it tumbled away.

“Gregory! Get up, get up, get up!”

He gasped and scrambled to his feet. He snatched Bonnie and his flashlight, then bolted. Bells rattled behind him. He slammed into the door to the Naptime Room and whipped around to point his flashlight back. Moon shied from its glare, side-stepping from its once very direct path straight to Gregory. He slammed through the door, kicked it shut behind himself, and rushed between the beds. For one horrifying moment, he considered the possibility of being trapped—after all, Moon was the only one who could open that door. As if Gregory could trick Moon into opening that door for him. If he wanted Moon to kill him instead of tossing him into baby jail, well, he’d gotten his wish. Looking back over his shoulder, Gregory found the jester animatronic had abandoned his hopping and creeping and now bounded from headboard to headboard, flinging itself yards at a time and landing on its hands or feet, whichever didn’t matter. Both continued the blue Daycare Attendant’s propulsion. At no point did its searing red gaze leave Gregory’s.

Gregory crashed into the door to the play place. Relief flooded through him as the door yielded and he stumbled outside. He pushed the door shut behind himself, hearing a hard click as it locked. Except, now he had a quarter of open play place space between himself and the security desk, and Moon’s shoes thumped on the ground behind the door.

“Th-the cans! Gregory, I-I remember, something about the cans. He doesn’t like those!”

Gregory zeroed in on a stack of two blue cans with yellow squiggles and dots. He raced to the short stack beside the nearest play structure. Moon threw open the door behind him. “Naughty boy!” it snarled. “I’m putting you in Time Out!”

Bonnie, help?

“Do it!”

 Gregory turned and threw Bonnie as hard as he could. The bunny plush thumped against the blue Daycare Attendant’s face. For a moment, the infuriated bot hesitated and looked down at the harmless projectile. Then it seemed to remember what it was doing and hissed, “Do not throw toys at others, child!”

Gregory skidded to a stop by the cans and kicked them as hard as he could. The one he kicked let out a sad honk as Gregory’s foot came in contact with it.

“Urg, clean up, clean up!” Moon spat.

Gregory dashed toward the security desk. He glanced over his shoulder at Moon, who ignored Gregory in favor of picking up the cans and setting them back in their respective places. Gregory stopped behind the desk and slammed his whole hand into the switch, pressing the torn duct tape back down on the wall as he did so. Lights blazed on and squeaky, bouncy music slowly came back to life.

Gregory looked back. Moon was nowhere near the blue cans. He turned off his flashlight and pocketed the item as he ran back to Bonnie. He picked up his best friend and looked over him but couldn’t find any additional wear on his once-shiny pelt. “You good?”

“I’m good. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.” He turned around and, hugging Bonnie, crept out further into the light, eyes darting around his surroundings. But the yellow jester animatronic… wasn’t there. Skeptical, he called, “Sun? You here?”

Bells jingled and Sun skipped out behind the play structure, just out of his immediate sight from the door. He stopped a good distance from Gregory. “Hello~! Yes, I’m here!” He clapped his hands together. “You said your friend Chica was looking for you here?”

“Why didn’t you say you were Moon?!” Gregory spat. “That guy tried to kill me!”

Sun’s spokes twitched at the accusation. “I’m not Moon, I’m Sun,” Sun countered with the confidence of a kid trapped in a lie. “But we… we do share a body. He comes out when it’s dark. A-and he would never—it’s against our programming to hurt a child. He’s just a little… extra strict nowadays.”

Gregory looked out at the netting. Everything beyond the Daycare was nearly pitch black. The entire pizzeria was dark, save for neon lights and the glowing eyes and lights of bots. He looked back at Sun. “I guess I get the whole Sun-Moon thing, but why is he here? Shouldn’t they—”

“Nope!” Sun interrupted, so quickly and loudly Gregory started. “He’s just under the weather is all, that’s it. They’ll fix him. Until then, we keep the lights on. But they’ll fix him, and everything will be all better soon enough.”

“So, he’s like the others.” Gregory huffed. “Like Roxy, Monty, and Freddy. They’re really nice during the day, but then when it gets to be nighttime, they try to kill me. Whatever. Can you let Chica in, now?” And for the love of God let me out?

“Oh, yes! Definitely!” Sun bounced on his feet, rattling the bells on his shoes and wrists as he did so. He skipped to the door and waited for a few moments. Then, after some silent knock or code or something, he opened the door. “Hello, Chica~!”

Gregory perked up and ran up to the door.

Chica looked up at Sun far more than she did everyone else. Freddy and Monty would look up to Sun. “Hello, Sun! It’s very nice to meet you. Gregory! Hello! Oh, you’re okay!”

Gregory ran out the door so he could stand beside her and looked back the way the white rabbit might have gone. Stupid rabbit, this was her fault.

“Ab-so-lutely! He’s very clever and brave.” Sun’s spokes retracted just a little when Gregory looked up at him. “I’m sorry again. That was very not nice of him.”

“I would’ve still liked someone to have told me,” Gregory mumbled. He bit back a sigh upon feeling Chica’s gaze on him. “But it’s not your fault. It was that stupid rabbit.”

“Rabbit?” Chica prompted. “Did she come back for you?”

Gregory nodded. “The same way she did last time. She appeared when I was in a bad situation and then she made it worse.”

This tidbit of information caused more confusion. Gregory said before anything could be asked, “Last time—I mean… Chica, you believe me, right? I wouldn’t lie to you?”

Chica nodded. “Of course! I know you wouldn’t lie to me, Gregory.”

Gregory took out his Monty golf score sheet, signed by Monty, and held it out to her. She looked it over, puzzled. “This was made yesterday and signed… this morning…? This is his writing…”

Gregory explained, “Yeah, because I went to Monty Golf and I was doing really bad at mini-golf, Then Monty helped me and got a new score sheet for me. At the show, the white rabbit tricked me and brought me to the utility tunnels. I escaped and found Monty in his green room. He gave me these glasses.” Gregory adjusted his star glasses. “He promised to help me find a way out. So, we spent all night—or morning—looking for a way out, starting with going through the utility tunnels off Rockstar Row. Just like you helped me.” Gregory explained, very briefly, how they explored the Mega Pizzaplex, getting security badges and finding ways to help. Then, he went to the part about how they stumbled into the garbage compactor and the rabbit lady turned it on.

“I don’t think she wanted me in it,” Gregory admitted. “She tried pulling me out and freaked out when you wouldn’t let me go. I tried fixing you, though! And this time, I know how to avoid getting Monty thrown off the third-story balcony, and we can just avoid the garbage smasher!”

Sun put in lightly, “And you can avoid time travel.”

“In this freaky place?” Gregory scoffed. “I mean, I can try.”

Chica looked at Sun. “Time travel? Gregory, you really went from six am tonight back to six pm yesterday evening?”

Gregory nodded.

Sun put in, “You won’t remember until someone reminds you, Chica. Moon and I are the only ones who remember. Someone else might, but we don’t know who.”

“I remember,” Gregory put in.

“You, too,” Sun agreed, less enthusiastically were that possible. “You… you, too.”

Gregory eyed him. “What does that mean?”

Chica put a hand to her beak. “Ooooh, you poor thing! I’m so sorry, Sun! What can we do to make it better?”

Sun jolted and laughed. “Aw, that’s so kind of you, Chica! But that’s okay…”

Chica shook her head and lowered her hand. “Nuh-uh. I sense someone is feeling some bad feelings. Freddy likes to say hugs make things better.” She held her arms open. “Do you want a hug?”

Sun chuckled. “Ah, well, I mean, thanks, but, I-I—well, I mean…” After half a heartbeat passed, Sun rocked on his heels, reached forward, and wrapped his arms around Chica.

Chica cooed and hugged him back.

Gregory looked down at Bonnie and petted his ear. Memories he knew as his own pecked at the edge of his thoughts and he concentrated hard on Bonnie’s ear.

“You still have me, Gregory.”

It’s not that.

“…I know .”

Gregory jumped upon feeling a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Chica. She asked, “Gregory? Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Gregory said, keeping his voice surprisingly smooth. “I was just talking to Bonnie is all. We need to get more security badges, but also get to Parts and Service and take you off the main network. And the others. Monty first, since we can show him this signed golf sheet, then Roxy and Freddy.”

Chica nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. Oh, you are a clever little boy, Gregory! We should get going before the end of the night, then!”

Gregory chuckled dryly, “Something tells me we don’t need to worry about that. At least until we meet Freddy.”

Chica walked out the door with a cheerful wave to Sun. “Bye, Sun! I’ll talk to you later! Oh, maybe you can come over to Mazercise! There’s a bunch of fun stuff to do over there!” As Gregory’s stride was much shorter than hers, he needed to quicken his pace to catch up.

Sun shook his head. “Oh, no. I can’t leave the Daycare. Moon and I are programmed to stay here, except for Moon’s end-of-hour patrols.”

“Oh.” Chica deflated a little and then perked up again. “Well… then I’ll come over here! Oh, then you can meet Freddy, Roxy, and Monty! We can have so much fun together!”

Sun cocked his head. “That sounds super fun! Thank you, Chica!”

Gregory said, “Bye.” See you later, Moon.

“Sun.”

Sun waved to him, too. “Goodbye, New Friend~! Good luck getting back home!” He shut the Daycare door behind them.

Chica led Gregory around the shops lining the walls. “It’s good to be kind to people, even those you don’t like. It was very big of you to say goodbye nicely like that. I know you might not like Sun, but he seems really nice! I’m sure if you get to know him more, you’ll start to like him, too!”

Gregory shook his head and started up the stairs. “I don’t see what you mean. He’s still Moon and Moon tried to kill me!”

Chica hummed. “You know, Gregory, sometimes it’s hard to understand people and what they’re going through. Robots can be very different from people. There are some things that humans do or are that confuse me! But Sun and Moon are not the same person. They share the same body, but they are two different AIs.”

Gregory glanced at Bonnie.

“No, she’s absolutely right. You’ve seen twins before. Like Lyre and Bella? Imagine them, but every time the lights turn on or off, Lyre switches out with Bella and vice versa. …that’s a terrible way of putting it, actually.”

“So, like twins?” Gregory edged. “Lyre and Bella are two girls that go to my school that were born at the same time and people mistake them for each other a lot, even though they act and dress differently. Lyre’s pretty”—wimpy—“shy, and Bella’s a”—bitch bully—“mean girl. I don’t know how people keep getting them mixed up. Lyre is just so obviously… Lyre and Bella can try to pretend to be Lyre to sneak up on people or evade teachers or whatever, but she’s still Bella.”

Chica giggled. “Lyre and Bella sound interesting! I hope I get to meet them myself! But I guess so. Maybe”

The lights went out.

The time was twelve-fifty-five am.

Gregory bristled. Chica held out her hand for Gregory to take. “You can hold my hand so you don’t get lost.” He took it. Again, he could very well walk on his own. However, her eye lights and steady navigation were a blessing in the sudden blinding dark. He’d gotten used to the light spilling out of the Daycare. Now it was time to go back to the darkness of an empty, nighttime pizzeria.

Moon’s chilling cackle broke through the silence of the void behind them. Gregory refused to look back.

They pushed through the tiny gate and out the shutters to the recharge station. Chica opened the door and ushered Gregory in. “You wait here. I can’t hold you.”

It looked up at Gregory, gave him a little wave, and then set Monty’s arm on his back and dragged him by his ankles through the double red doors.

Gregory shook his head and held onto the door. “No! You can’t wait out there. I-I was okay with Monty.”

“You would be safe inside Freddy or Monty’s insolated stomach hatches, but if I held you, the recharge station would turn on and give you a nasty shock.” Chica gently pried his hands off the door. “I’ll be okay, Gregory. Trust me. I have an extended battery life, remember?”

“But Moon—”

Chica shut the door to the recharge station.

Gregory peered out the window. Dread settled in his stomach as he saw Moon creep in from under the shutters. Chica’s back stayed to Gregory.

The time was twelve-fifty-six am.

Moon stopped. He shifted and bounced from foot to foot, his hands closer to his chest than Sun’s but still up. He cocked his head. “Chica. The boy is up past his bedtime. He is a naughty rulebreaker.”

Chica returned, bubbly and sweet, “I know it’s late, but Gregory’s really trying his best! We’re trying to get him out of the Pizzaplex and back home. Now, I know you and he got off on the wrong foot. So, why don’t we talk this out? Sometimes our problems stem from not knowing things and talking it out can make things clearer and easier to get through!”

Moon rotated his head further at an unnatural degree. “There’s nothing to talk about Chica Chicken. He is a naughty boy and should be punished.” His raspy voice ended with a hissing note.

Chica set her hands on her hips. “Now you listen here, Moon!” she snapped. Gregory and Moon jolted, the jester animatronic setting both feet on the ground and righting his head. “Gregory’s trying his best and you are scaring him! He’s just a little boy! You’re supposed to be taking care of children. I know you can do better than this.”

Moon stood up a bit straighter—not as much as Sun, but enough that he could stand over Chica. “I am doing my job, Chica. He is a rulebreaker.”

Chica stalked up to him and shoved a finger to his chest, her beak so close to his face that deep blue light from her much larger eye lights gave the white side of his face a bluish glow and faded his red, pinprick eye lights to a sickly purple. He flinched and withered at her touch.

The time was twelve-fifty-seven am.

Chica snapped, “You are not doing a good job of it if you’re scaring him silly like that! Children like him should be handled gently and respectfully. They’re maturing, but they’re still young, impressionable, and scared by big mean animatronics who chase them around all night!”

Moon, who’d shrunken into himself and now had to look up at Chica, played with the bells on its wrists. He rasped, “He needs to be put to bed. It is past his bedtime…”

Chica scoffed. “And you’re doing a good job of that by chasing him around, are you? You don’t treat the other children like this. I know you don’t. The other children used to love you. At the bakery, I had all sorts of little kids who’d wear Daycare aprons and use Sun and Moon sprinkles on their cupcakes because they really loved you both. So, you must have been doing something right!”

Moon flinched again.

“Why is Gregory any different?” She cocked her head. “Why doesn’t he deserve to be treated like the other children? Why is he different?”

“He is not different,” Moon defended. “He is like the other rulebreakers and naughty children. He should go to bed.” Moon hissed to himself. “But he will go to security.”

Gregory’s eyes narrowed in thought. So… Moon would’ve taken him straight to Vanessa? Well then, why did Vanessa run off when Moon appeared? Did she trust Moon to fetch Gregory that much more than she trusted her own ability? Did she like her kids traumatized and probably dead first? She seemed perfectly capable of grabbing him when she ambushed him at the Prize Counter.

The time was twelve-fifty-eight am.

Chica pointed out, “Well, Gregory says he doesn’t trust the security guard. I trust him and I know he wouldn’t lie to me like that. He was terrified when I found him—or when he found me. You don’t need to make things worse for him. Understand?”

“It is best for the child to be taken to security.”

“It’s best for Gregory to get out of the Mega Pizzaplex. I will keep him safe. Even if I have to tell off bullies like you.”

Moon swatted her hand, as her finger still touched its chest. She pulled her hand back but didn’t give in her stance. By now, she leaned forward as she chased Moon so that her beak stayed close to its faceplate, and she kept intense eye contact. “I am not a bully, Chica Chicken.”

“A bully picks on those who can’t defend themselves. Gregory can’t defend himself from you and you both know it. A bully hurts and scares those who can’t do anything about it. You’re being a bully, Moon, whether you know it or not.”

Then, Chica let out a noise like a sigh and she shut her eyes. She pulled herself back so that she stood up straight, relaxed her arms by her sides, and opened her eyes again. “Sometimes, Moon, we can act in ways or say things without meaning to. Sometimes we have feelings we don’t like or don’t understand and end up hurting people by accident. I understand, Moon, what it’s like to feel strange and different and not know why. If you’re not feeling well, I need you to talk to whoever you’re close to about it and work it out. But I can’t have you around Gregory in the meantime. You could hurt him accidentally. I promised him that I would protect him. As much as I want to help you, I can’t right now. Maybe tomorrow, when Gregory is safe at home, in his own bed where he belongs.”

The time was twelve-fifty-nine am.

Moon shuffled his feet. With his newfound freedom, he looked between her and the recharge station with Gregory. He let out a quiet growl and darted back to the shutters to the Daycare. He slipped under them before they opened too far.

The time was one am.

Chapter Text

Gregory hopped out of the recharge station, laughing. “Wow! You really told him off!”

Chica turned around and chuckled. “Well, I do believe Moon needed a stern talking to. Sometimes, the kindest thing you can do is be firm. And good news! Only five more hours until the front doors open!”

Gregory nodded. “Five hours. This is crazy.” His smile fell away, and he glanced back toward the Daycare. “That rabbit lady appeared and turned out the lights in the Daycare. She turned on the garbage smasher, too. What if she does that again?”

“We’ll stay away from the garbage compactor,” Chica stated and held out her hand. Gregory took it without thinking and they walked toward the exit shutters. “Back then, was I with… did I do what she said? If she did that to me, I didn’t matter to her. But that doesn’t mean anything.”

“’Cause she thinks you’re just a bot,” Gregory summed up. “But you’re not! You’re Chica! …and, yeah, you were under her control. Monty picked you up after that and I disconnected you from the main network and put you in Safe Mode in Parts and Service. You were better after that.”

They stopped at the shutters leading into the main entrance before going to the right elevator. Chica glanced at Gregory. “Monty must have trusted you very, very much. If just anyone had called and told him someone else pushed me into the trash compactor, especially if they were in your position, he would think they were lying.” She tapped his glasses and he ducked with a muffled laugh. “And these prove it, Mini-Monty!”

Gregory straightened out his glasses and tapped out of the CAMS tab. “Well, we’d been working together a while and I did help him in Parts and Service before that.”

“Aw! Well, we can get Parts and Service running again soon. We’ll need to get you a few badges first so you have the right permissions to use some of the equipment and open some of the doors.”

The elevators stopped and the doors opened. Gregory stepped out and yelped as an orange S.T.A.F.F. bot with glasses and a safari hat grabbed him and spun the kid around to face it. “Hello. Please take this map.” It released him and held out a map of the atrium. “Take a map.”

Gregory snatched the map. Map Bot stated, “Enjoy.” The thing straightened out and swiveled its head back and forth in its search for new victims.

The kid wrinkled his nose and stuck the map in his pocket. “Ugh, I hate that thing.”

Chica clicked her beak. “Gregory, that’s a strong word to use.”

“It’s true, though. Monty said so.”

“Just because Monty says something doesn’t make it true or okay.” Chica threw a look at it. “But Monty might be kinda sorta right. Anyway! You have a map of the atrium! There are two security offices I know we get to easily–one by the kitchen in the first-floor basement and one by the Prize Counter on the third floor. There is one in Fazer Blast and Monty Golf, which we will definitely find Monty there. I know you have at least one Party Pass and I have a spare in my room.”

“I have two,” Gregory reassured her. “The one you gave me, and one I had before I got here. I had been saving it for a while. Last time, I used it to get to Monty Golf during the day. This time, I didn’t need it to get to your cupcake factory.”

Chica shook her head. “Nope! You don’t need any special permission or extra anything to go to the cupcake factory! Though you are supposed to pay to get in.”

Gregory looked at her. “I was? I didn’t.”

“That’s because I took you in through the back,” Chica said. “Going through the payment process would’ve been so boring. And it’s not technically against the rules to allow a guest through the back if the guest is accompanied by staff, which I do work at the cupcake factory and so I am a staff member. It’s not stealing if I give you the ingredients, which I gave you what you need. You just put everything together!”

“I forgot how much I miss Chica.”

You said Roxy was the one always finding loopholes!

“I said Roxy was the one always bragging about finding them.”

Chica went on, “But since we should go to Parts and Service first, which means we should turn it on, so we should avoid Monty Golf for now.”

Gregory nodded. “I don’t really want to go to El Chips. I have a bad feeling about that place. How about the kitchen? That place is right next to the power generator.”

Chica bounced on her orange-toed feet. “Oh, I love that idea! Maybe we’ll find a snack while we’re there. Okay, let’s go!”

Gregory ran his flashlight over the inert escalator as they walked down into the main atrium floor. Chica’s feet clanked over the shiny, dark tile while Gregory barely made a sound in comparison. Yellow light glinted and Gregory sucked in his breath and shut off his light.

Roxy, by the party tables, froze and her head whipped toward Chica, yellow eyes glowing discs in the dark setting her muzzle and perked ears aglow. “Chica?” Roxy asked. “Did you see a light go out just now?”

Chica turned toward her, tapping Gregory so he stood straight behind her, and cocked her head. “A light? Well, usually the S.T.A.F.F. bots carry lights. But there aren’t any here.” Chica looked around herself. “Are you sure you saw a light?”

Roxy growled and pinned her ears. “Of course I’m sure! I know I saw a light turn off here!”

“No you didn’t,” Chica clucked. “Roxy, you’re always seeing freaky things with those new eyes of yours. This is just another side effect. You didn’t see a light flashing.”

Roxy growled again, but it was fainter. “But I did, though.”

Chica shook her head and softened her voice. “Roxy-poo, I didn’t see any lights turn out. Hey, why don’t you continue your search up here and I’ll start my search in the basement level?”

Roxy rubbed her eyes and blinked furiously. “I swear I… maybe I didn’t. I guess it could have just been a trick. I’ve been seeing nothing but darkness and S.T.A.F.F. bot lights for the past hour.” Roxy groaned. “I hate flashlights! Especially ones that flicker. Why did I get put on atrium duty?”

“Because you’re the best of us and he’s bound to come through here?”

Roxy thought for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah. I am the best. I am the best. And I will find him. That’s right. I’ll find him. Yeah.” She whipped her tail back and forth, almost like she was wagging it. Almost. “I’ll find that kid. Good luck, Chica!” She waved and received a wave in return before continuing to walk. “Hey kid, come on out! We’re only trying to help,” she called.

Chica hummed to herself as she walked to Salads and Sides, Gregory at her side with his flashlight off. Her humming to the beat of their latest song covered up what little noise his old tennis shoes made on the tile floor. She stopped once they were far enough away and with enough obstacles between them that he couldn’t see Roxy.

Gregory looked up at her. “How did you do that?”

Chica chuckled and sighed. “Oh, it’s a rather mean tactic of making someone believe something that isn’t true or disbelieve something they know is true. Like how I convinced Roxy that she didn’t see you turn off your light, even though she did. It’s very mean and you should never do it. But…” Her voice got quiet. “–she would have hurt you if I didn’t.” Chica stopped in front of the door to Salads and Sides. She stomped her foot. “Oh, I could just scream! This is so wrong! Hurting people is wrong! But Roxy is my best friend. She’s a good person. Bad people do bad things. And hurting you would be a bad thing. But she’s not a bad person. But if I hadn’t done that simply awful thing to her then she would have hurt you. Oh, I’m a terrible friend. This is all so wrong!” She buried her face in her hands and choked out noises like crying.

Gregory grimaced and then reached up and set his hand on her shoulder. “It’s the rabbit lady. It’s not Roxy. You’re trying to help me. Thank you, Chica. I think you’re a really good person.”

Chica lowered her hands enough to look down at him and her crying lessened to some sniffles. “Oh, thank you, Gregory. You’re s-so nice.” She shut her eyes. “Oh, Gregory. I will help you. I promised I would be your guardian. But I don’t want to choose between my friends.”

“You don’t have to. I mean, it’s not like it’s them or me, right? We’ll help them eventually.”

“…Monty sometimes says I care too much,” she admitted. “But that didn’t make sense to me. Now I get it. I want to help Moon, even though he tried to hurt you. I feel bad about tricking Roxy, even though she would have certainly hurt you. I care too much for everyone. Why was I built like this?”

“Monty’s a fucking idiot. She doesn’t care too much. She just has enough love to spread to everyone.”

Gregory piped up, “Bonnie says that you don’t care too much. You just have enough love to spread to everyone.”

Chica started and blinked. “Bonnie… did used to say that to me. Oh, he was such a good friend. It was so unfair what happened.” She looked down at Bonnie. “He is a special friend, isn’t he?”

Gregory nodded. “He’s my best friend. He says you’re smarter than people give you credit for. He’s helped me a lot. He just doesn’t like being on his own.”

“At least when I’m held, I can pretend I’m not completely paralyzed. I like experiencing the world with you.”

“Aw! Well, I understand not liking being alone. It’s no fun when you’re all alone. The more the merrier! Oh, golly. We’ve been standing here for so long. We need to get moving. Okay, there’s an elevator in here.” Chica squared her shoulders.

Gregory nodded to the vent. “Actually, you having to open every door for me is going to take forever. I’ll just take this vent and meet you there! It won’t take long.”

“That vent?” Chica threw a cautious glance at the square opening close to the floor. “That doesn’t look safe.”

“I’ve been in it before. It’s fine,” Gregory soothed and walked right up to it. “I’ll see you there!”

“No!” Chica squawked.

Gregory yelped and clapped his hands over his ears as something like a knife stabbed into them. The light from a security S.T.A.F.F. bot nearby and Gregory’s flashlight flickered and stopped moving as the bot ceased its roaming and twitched in place for a few seconds. The neon light near them flashed ominously before returning to a steady glow. His gator glasses glitched. Gregory blinked the blurriness from his eyes and snatched Bonnie and his flashlight from the ground. His ears still rang.

Chica put her hands to her beak. “I’m sorry!” she whispered, near inaudible from their current distance apart.

Gregory waited for his ears to stop ringing before he asked, “What was that?”

“I-I accidentally yelled.” She continued to whisper something. He caught the word “sorry” in the mix, but other than that, he didn’t have much luck. It wasn’t like he could lip-read her beak.

Against his better judgment, Gregory stepped closer to her. “Can you repeat that?”

She nodded. “I accidentally yelled. I have a special voice box that activates if I get too loud or sing. It messes with technology and hurts people’s ears–including my friends. And humans. I’m not allowed to sing on stage because of it.”

He bit back a sigh. “Can you like… control it or something?”

“If I don’t yell or sing it doesn’t happen.” She shrugged. “I’m sorry, Gregory.”

“Well, we need to be quiet, anyway. Roxy probably heard that,” Gregory pointed out.

“Oh! Right! Come with me.” She opened the door to Salads and Sides for him. “As much as I trust you, I don’t trust that vent not to have anything scary or dangerous in it.”

Gregory reluctantly nodded. A memory of that stupid spider crawled back into his mind. “Yeah, guess you’re right about that.”

“Besides! I know my way around the kitchen.” Chica hummed merrily through the long, empty room as they walked. Gregory walked by the currently stagnant conveyor belt. A single shirt lay haphazardly on the end, spilling over the edge.

She stopped in front of a sheet of metal with a jagged line in the middle. Then, the metal split and opened like the maw of a beast with a double row of wide, flat teeth to expose a huge metal elevator. “This is big enough for all sorts of big supply carts!”

Gregory’s gaze flicked from her to the metal elevator. He stepped inside the cracked and rusted interior and pressed the glowing green button on the side. One Freddy-head-shaped button glowed green on either end of the elevator. As soon as he pressed it, the double rows of inches thick metal rose up and sunk down to meet in the middle. The elevator jolted and sank. Music warbled half-heartedly above them.

Chica clucked, “The speaker in this elevator has been broken for months!”

He put down the knee-jerk reaction of sarcastically prompting her to sing instead and asked, “How often do you come down here?”

“Every night!” she chirped. “For the past few months especially.”

The doors opened to a hallway stretched out on either side. Red and blue containers with their lids popped off and stacked cardboard boxes pressed up against the wall opposite the elevators. He leaned out and saw around the right corner there were sets of conveyor belts multiple stories high stacked up on ladders. He stepped out and looked down the left, where his flashlight was eaten by the void. “B1-MAIN-COR-S2” labeled the wall across from them. An out-of-place Freddy “never stop smiling” poster was pinned on the cement wall. In the far-right corner was another charging station.

Chica took a left. “The kitchen’s really close!”

“The security station, you mean,” Gregory corrected.

“Huh? Oh! Right! Yes!” The chicken laughed. “The security office by the kitchen!” They walked past the cardboard boxes and a few short shelves and took an immediate right. Gregory waved his flashlight over the wooden pallets. Right, right. They needed to go through the double doors at the end and take a left, and then they’d be in the power distribution room.

Chica opened one of the double doors for him into the vast room of boxes, crates, crate-sized boxes, wooden pallets, and forklifts. He ignored that and took a left. The door to the power distribution room was closed. So, they walked through the hall beside it, shelving units rising up to make the already cramped area smaller. It was a wonder those big machines got anywhere. The room ended and a set of metal stairs split off from the hallway and led up to a shut door. The hallway split further beside the stairs until reaching a double set of doors labeled “EXIT TO DOCKS”. That was the kitchen.

Gregory walked up the metal stairs. Chica hesitated a moment before clanking after him. She opened this door for him, too, as it was just out of his security level.

He stopped before the metal doorway leading into the security office. The first time he’d been here, he set off an alarm that caused Chica to try and bash down the door. The second time, the rabbit lady caught him.

Gregory walked into the small security office, most of it taken up by maroon cabinets and a giant computer monitor system on the opposite wall. Most of the monitors were blue save for the giant one showing the kitchen below, but one had a picture of Helpy in a chef hat tossing a pizza. The second security door stood blocked by a tower of boxes.

On the table sat a Freddy head with a security hat. Yes! Gregory pressed its nose and the head opened painfully slowly until the card was completely revealed. Gregory snatched it. The card reader snapped shut. He winced as an alarm screamed.

“Hold on while I disable it.” Chica stopped moving and stared at the wall of boxes opposite of her, unblinking. After half a minute of the squealing elapsed, it ended.

The time was one-thirty am.

Something inside Chica beeped and she blinked and looked down at Gregory again. “There we go! All quiet. I normally like going down here for snacks, so the others will probably assume I’m here. But we should probably get going just in case.”

Gregory called as they left the room, “Wait, Chica. Before we leave.”

Chica stopped and turned to him. “Hmm?”

“I’d like to check out the power diverter room.”

“Oh, sure!” Chica hummed to herself as they walked down the stairs. Unlike Freddy, her voice was higher pitched and electric, obviously mechanical.

“Do you like to sing?” he prompted.

“Sure do!” Chica chirped. “I used to be a back-up singer.”

“Why don’t you anymore?”

Chica’s eyelids fell a little. “Oh, well… ever since I got this new voice box, they made me stop. It was supposed to help me sing, but any time I do… you saw what happens.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “And they haven’t replaced it with your old one, yet?”

“No. I guess they haven’t had the time to! They must be really busy.” Chica nodded. “Some of the engineers like to tell me if I behave, they’ll rush my procedure. But others say that they don’t know when I’ll have my procedure. I think the former are just trying to get me to do what they want. But since that’s pretty easy, I don’t really mind. No one pays me much mind. I miss singing with Freddy–on stage and after hours.”

“It sounds like these upgrades they’re giving you are really messing with you guys,” Gregory said. “Monty has to be really careful doing a lot of stuff because of his claws since he might accidentally break something or hurt someone. You can’t sing, anymore.”

“And harsh or flashing lights drive Roxy nuts,” Chica concluded. “Freddy runs out of battery so much faster nowadays, even though his battery module is supposed to make some of his systems more efficient.”

The boy wrinkled his nose. “These ‘upgrades’ don’t sound much like upgrades to me. Did they ‘upgrade’ the Daycare Attendant, too?”

Chica shrugged. “I don’t know. They’ve always been so reclusive. If they have, they never told us.”

They walked into the electronics room with the power generator. Gregory ran up to it and held up his cupcake light. He clicked it twice and raised his eyebrows. The “FAZER BLAST”, “ROXY RACEWAY”, and “WEST ARCADE” labels all glowed under the light. “Huh,” he huffed. “Fazer Blast is where I found that weird room. We found Freddy in the West Arcade. So, there’s something hiding in Roxy Raceway?”

Chica looked over at the glowing buttons. “Oooh! I didn’t know there were UV signs around the Pizzaplex!”

“Me, neither,” Gregory admitted. “Then I was playing with this keychain and accidentally shined it on your door. It showed a symbol with a rabbit head and its ears crossed out. And more symbols on the other green room doors. There are other places in the Pizzaplex with these clues that she left behind probably for herself. There’s a room above Fazer Blast and we don’t know who it belongs to or why it’s there. And we met Freddy in the West Arcade. She ambushed me there. That’s probably why those two are marked. So, there’s definitely something hidden at the Racetrack.”

Chica prompted, “Does that mean we should avoid the Racetrack?”

Gregory snorted. “As if! We should definitely investigate once we get the time. Okay, so, the Prize Counter should be pretty easy. In and out, simple as that!”

“Yep! Simple as that!”

*          *          *          *          *

“Oh, right.” Gregory stared down at the shutters leading to El Chips that refused to open past a couple of feet. “You can’t, uh… get through here, can you?”

Chica shook her head. “Nope, sorry. Hmm…” She put a finger to her beak. “How about this: I’ll guide you on your glasses and in the meantime, I’ll find another way!”

He bit back a sigh. Oh, this was going to be the same as last time. “Okay. See you soon?”

“See you soon!”

Gregory ducked under the shutters into the beaver-themed Mexican restaurant. He raided the kitchen and found the only thing not completely sealed away was a single can of lime-flavored Monty Fizzy-Faz. Eh, well, he had something in his stomach to distract from his hunger a little. That and he had a cupcake earlier. Still, he’d need something more than candy soon.

Gregory crept straight to where he knew the vent to the security office lay. He shrugged on his jacket so it wouldn’t drag across the floor and he waited for Roxy to pass by him.

“I can help,” she offered, her voice sweet and calm and an absolute lie. Well, maybe not an absolute lie. Maybe they truly did want to help him, but whatever the rabbit lady did to them made them… not.

Just as he got close to the arcade cabinets where the vent was, Roxy yelled, “I found him!”

Gregory ran the rest of the way, squeezing between two arcade cabinets and flinging himself into the vent. Roxy snarled and scraped her emerald claws into the vent lining glinting in the light of her lavender eyes and flashed her teeth, but by that point, he was already out of her reach–but just barely. She snarled at him one last time before rearing back and retreating.

He… had a bad feeling he knew where she was going to go.

That and she’d definitely alerted someone. Hopefully that someone was Chica. However, as Chica hadn’t been put into Safe Mode, that alert might just take her out of her helpfulness and put her on the attack. The only other option–as Freddy definitely wasn’t one–was Monty. The thought of going up against the alligator animatronic made his heart twist for way more than one reason.

Music sang steadily louder behind him and little metal feet landed and clinked on the vent behind him.

Time to move.

Gregory sped up his crawling. Though it was once difficult on three limbs as his fourth held Bonnie and the flashlight, he’d gotten used to it over the night. He still slipped at the end and scrambled for a foothold, throwing himself off balance and staggering once he hit the ground before finally falling onto his shoulder. But he didn’t break anything or land flat on his face.

Improvement!

He pulled himself to his feet, brushed himself off, and readjusted his glasses. Gregory pulled off his jacket and tied it over his shoulders again. He took a long, deep breath and wandered the rectangular hall surrounding the security office. Shelving units, containers, arcade cabinets, a desk with a computer, tables, and some other tech cluttered the space. Security cameras nestled in the corners. A door led through the northern and south end of the room.

“Gregory?”

I know, I know. Unable to stall any longer, he walked through one of the metal doors into the security office. He glanced around at the computer monitors still glowing with screen savers and their corresponding keyboards. Flatscreen TVs making a grid filled with static bunched up on the wall above the double set of computers with two chairs and the Freddy head device between them. Another lonely computer desk pressed up against the wall opposite the filing cabinets and exorbitant amount of shelving units.

“Hey, Chica? I found the security badge. I think it’ll set off an alarm if I pick it up, though.”

Beep! [An alarm? That makes sense. Well, if it does, I’ll turn it off. Just pick it up whenever you’re ready.]

Gregory shuffled his feet. “…okay.” He set Bonnie down beside the security badge holder. He pressed its nose. It opened achingly slow until it reached its apex. Gregory snatched the badge. It fell with a harsh snap. An alarm blared and the doors snapped open. “Chica! I-I just picked up the badge, I didn’t do anything else!”

Beep! [It’s going to be okay, Gregory. I’ll turn the alarm off, but it will take a little bit, okay?]

“O-okay.” Gregory winced at his voice crack. He tapped his glasses and went to the CAMs tab. Roxy stalked into the room from the arcade on the south side. From the north side–likely the Prize Counter–Monty shoved the door open. Gregory flipped between two of the cameras showing both of his doors. Roxy got near his left door. He darted to it and slammed it shut. Roxy lunged at the door just as it closed. She growled and pounded on the security door. The door power slowly trickled down. Aside from the noise of her fists against the metal, he couldn’t even tell she was battering the door. What was this thing made out of? And could he get a helmet made of it?

Roxy spat and stalked off, lashing her tail. Gregory opened that door. He barely had enough time to run to the other and close it before Monty attacked, throwing his entire weight into the door shoulder-first and then tearing his claws over the metal. He switched between pounding on the door and scoring at it with his claws before giving up and walking down the hall, allowing Gregory to open the door.

He flicked between cams and listened to the doors.

Monty rumbled, “Don’t be scared.”

Gregory winced. He spotted Roxy approaching the opposite door again and closed it. He darted between the doors, keeping them closed only as long as necessary. Finally, the alarm stopped wailing and the doors closed on their own.

He let out a heavy, relieved breath.

Beep! He tapped his glasses to switch tabs. [There we go! All done! I’ll meet you at the Prize Counter.]

“Okay. See you there.”

Monty prowled into the Prize Counter’s back room. Roxy passed him, walking further into Gregory’s destination. He rolled his eyes. Of course his life couldn’t be that easy. Why would it be?

He picked up Bonnie and, watching the camera, walked to the door to the Prize Counter. He waited until Monty’s back was turned before slinking out. Again, he immediately found a disproportionate amount of the stuff back here happened to be older models of Freddy. Distracted by one of the plushies that had fallen out of a box, he nudged a Toy Freddy plushie on a shelf. He bit back a gasp and immediately made a grab for it.

It tumbled across the ground, hardly making a noise. Gregory sent a look at Monty, who still stalked down the aisle with his back turned to the boy. Gregory let out a short breath and walked through the doorless archway out to the Prize Counter. The Moon plushie let out a sad squeak as he stepped on its face.

Monty turned his head back. “Huh? Rox… ha! Party time!”

Gregory bolted. Monty ran around the aisle rather than bother trying to turn around and flew out the archway after him.

Cursing Moon for somehow trying to get him killed without even physically being there, he ran between two islands of ATMs flanked by Freddy trash cans and ran around a giant circular display of huge toys glowing with neon strips. Monty clipped past one of the islands. He took a sudden turn at the end of that one as Gregory tried to circle around the second massive circle and lose him. The toy display exploded as his tail whipped into it.

Gregory, wheezing, ran around the first display and slowed down as he stopped hearing thundering footsteps. He looked back, but the Fire Escape was blocked off by rolling shutters. Well, around the Prize Counter corner, there was an observatory of sorts blocked by party shutters he could cut through to get to the Fire Escape, probably. They headed in that direction, after all… and it was his only other option left.

As Gregory walked toward it, Monty lurched out from behind the circular display with a cackle. “Where’re you goin’?”

Gregory couldn’t even scream before Monty’s massive paws were around him and he was ripped up into the air. Monty’s tail lashed, knocking over more plushies from the display on his left and the red rope creating a neat line for people to take on his right.

The boy dropped Bonnie and his flashlight and grabbed Monty by the snout. “Wait, wait! Please don’t eat me! You know me!”

But there was no recognition in those lavender eyes of his, just cold glee. The hunter had caught his prey.

Monty’s eyes, already mostly hidden beneath his glasses, vanished entirely behind his jaws as he bared teeth longer than Gregory’s hand.

Then, Chica shrieked, “Drop him!”

Gregory yelped and clapped his hands over his ears as knives stabbed into them. Monty roared and released Gregory. The animatronic gator doubled forward, hands over his head where his ear holes would be. The neon lights around them and Gregory’s flashlight flickered sporadically. His own gator glasses glitched. Gregory blinked the blurriness from his eyes and snatched Bonnie and his flashlight from the ground.

Chica called, her voice much quieter and softer but still audible. “Quickly, Gregory!”

He looked up to see Chica at the entrance to the star place and ran to meet her. He looked back at Monty, who growled and slowly removed his hands from his ears. The lights stopped flickering. Gregory’s ears had since stopped ringing, mercifully.

Chica ushered him along, one finger to her beak to signal for silence. She stopped and pointed to the kiddie cart inside the star room. Gregory climbed inside without hesitation. Roxy ran inside, ears pricked. “Chica! What happened?”

Chica said, “One of the bots went haywire. I put it down, though. I think I saw the kid running toward the… uh… fire escape…?”

Roxy cackled, “Fire escape! Got it! Thanks, Chica!” Roxy spun around and rushed into the hall. Chica waved for him to climb out and Gregory obeyed.

Chica chuckled. “Do you want to go through the arcade?”

Gregory nodded. “Thanks, Chica. That was so cool! But uh… a little warning would’ve been nice.”

“I’m sorry.” Chica started walking. “I panicked. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Nah. I’m fine, now.” Gregory turned off his flashlight as they passed through the hallway Roxy ran into. Thankfully, they only needed to cross it to get to a set of shutters into a winding hall. It emptied into the opposite side of the arcade from El Chips. Well… at least they were away from Monty and Roxy.

Then, as they skirted around security bots and arcade cabinets alike, a headache crept up on Gregory.

“Oh no.”

“Hmm?” Chica glanced down at him.

“I-it’s the rabbit lady!” Gregory whipped his flashlight around and searched his surroundings. “She’s here somewhere!”

Chica’s back straightened and her head swiveled around. “…I don’t see anyone.”

“You might not. Monty couldn’t see her.” He gritted his teeth as his headache worsened.

Chica took him by the hand and sped up her walk. “Then we’ll just hurry.” She leaned down so she was closer and murmured, “And if I ask you ‘what rabbit’, cover your ears.”

Gregory grimaced and nodded. He squinted and searched his surroundings. Where was she? She had to be close by and getting closer.

Finally, they arrived at the shutters to El Chips. They opened. Chica ba-gawked, went rigid, and then slumped forward. Standing straight in front of them, a rod with a barbed black box in one hand, was the rabbit lady. She giggled and cocked her head. “You don’t really think you can use these bots against me, do you, Gregory?”

Gregory slipped from Chica’s grasp and took a step back.

“Over here!” Roxy yelled behind him.

He bristled but didn’t dare break eye contact with the rabbit lady.

She cooed, “Did you still want that picture with Monty?”

“Picture with Monty?” he repeated hoarsely.

The ground shuddered as Roxy charged. The rabbit lady lunged at him. Gregory dodged and scrambled back. Weirdly, Roxy didn’t change course with the boy. She smacked the rabbit lady back with a scream. “He’s mine! I found him first!” When she turned to Gregory, he flashed his flashlight in her eyes. She flinched and a snarl tore out of her voice box so hard it crackled and spat.

She doesn’t like flashing lights. He clicked the power button on his flashlight a few times. Roxy’s snarl cut off and she froze. The light in her lavender eyes went out completely and reverted back to their original gold. The wolf relaxed, her claws–once raised to grab him, fell to her side, and she stood up straight, ears slack and dull eyes staring straight ahead like one of those creepy endos.

He darted past the rabbit already starting to wake herself up again and ducked under the second set of shudders into El Chips. Chica’s eye lights flickered back to life. “G-Gregory? Roxy, what are you–what?!”

He caught a glimpse of the rabbit lady scrambling to her feet before the shudders closed completely. Gregory ducked under the second set of shutters. His headache eased and he started to get a grip on his senses again as he ran. Guilt squirmed inside of him thinking about how he just left Chica. But there was no way he was going up against that rabbit lady. Besides, Roxy was her friend, and she could see her, apparently. Maybe Roxy didn’t like her. Or maybe Roxy’s ultra-competitive nature overrode any “loyalty” she had toward the rabbit, if she had any in the first place. They didn’t seem to want to give him over to her, after all. That’s if he didn’t just somehow kill Roxy by flashing a light in her eyes.

Bonnie?

“I’m here.”

That was her. The rabbit lady. Roxy accidentally helped us.

“She what now?”

She could see the rabbit lady and just knocked her over because she wanted to get to me first. He slowed to a walk as he got past the shudders to the Prize Counter and looked back.

“…yeah, I could see that. She’s competitive. But the seeing her thing… Monty couldn’t see her. Then again…”

She has special eyes. Gregory could recall all those upgrades. Monty’s claws, Chica’s voice box, Freddy’s battery, and Roxy’s eyes. And the symbol the rabbit lady drew over Roxy’s door… the eye with the warning sign. So, Chica’s voice box works on her, too.

“Where is Chica?”

Gregory grimaced. …in the arcade. I ran. Do you think she’s okay?

“If Roxy attacked the rabbit, the rabbit likely isn’t sticking around to hurt Chica. I don’t think you need to worry about Chica. You should still check on her.”

He sighed and tapped his glasses to open the chat log. “Chica? Do you come in? Are you there?”

Beep! [Gregory! Oh, thank goodness you’re okay!]

He grinned. “You’re okay? She didn’t get you?”

Beep! [I’m fine. I don’t know what happened. One moment I was with you, and then I was given a controlled shock. The next moment, I’m next to Roxy and she’s furious about losing you. She checked on me to make sure I was okay.]

Beep! [I asked her if she’d seen the rabbit–though I was very careful to be vague–and she said that a white rabbit just tried to steal you from her a moment ago.]

Beep! [Be careful; Roxy doesn’t know where she is, now. Keep moving and I’ll find you.]

“Okay. Be careful yourself, Chica.” Gregory started to move off but hesitated and walked toward the stairs closer to El Chips. The entrance faced the restaurant but was opposite it so nothing that jumped out of the shudders could run after him. “I-I… I’m sorry for leaving you.”

Beep! [If you hadn’t, I would have been very sad.]

Beep! [She doesn’t want me, Gregory. She wants you.]

Gregory climbed down the stairs, head down. Yeah, well, still doesn’t change the fact I just ran while you were vulnerable.

Chapter Text

Gregory set off across the party themed carpet. He passed by a couple of planters, one of which held a faux tree, and a set of elevators on the right and two on the left leading to the lobby. A couple of S.T.A.F.F. made their rounds, but he avoided them. Neon lights glowed in the distance, breaking up the darkness. He took the stairs opposite the elevators down to the atrium floor. He needed to skirt around the food stalls to get to the big elevator down and to the power room. Now he could turn on “FAZER BLAST”. As an afterthought, he turned on “MONTY GOLF” and “PARTS AND SERVICE”. He turned back and quickly made his way back to the atrium.

As he crossed one of the dining areas, his flashlight dragged over a huge green and yellow banded planet with a ring around it. A neon Helpy in a space suit with a laser gun glowed beside “FAZER BLAST” written on the wall in neon letters. He ducked under the party shutters into an alien world of alien ships, planets of various sizes, and astronauts both in neon form and cardboard cut-outs armed with laser guns centered around a stylized rocket set up in the center of the front area on stilts.

Gregory presented his pass to the ticket bot, who trilled, tossed some confetti with a little dance, and rolled away. He gave it a passing glance before walking through the elevator to Fazer Blast. “I’m going to Fazer Blast. I’m in the elevator.”

Beep! [Oh, good! I’ll meet you there. But I’m not supposed to help you in the arena.]

Gregory about responded when Freddy’s voice boomed above him. “Calling all recruits!” Gregory jumped and then cursed himself. “Fazer Blast is a high intensity space combat simulation! Suit up and save the universe as you blast everyone and everything with high-tech laser effects. Blast strangers! Blast your friends! Beat the Superstar Score and get a free Fazerblaster gun! Enlist now.”

The elevator doors opened.

“He’s… not that annoying in person.”

Gregory stepped out into the room whose major light source, despite the few real lights being active, was the absurd amount of neon lights. Space and aliens scattered about the faintly lit room along with pictures of the glamrocks in space suits with laser guns. In a shop to the left behind a rocket, there was merchandise on shelves and clothes hung up and a few ATM machines sat against the wall.

To the right of the elevator stood a glass case with awards and a sign-up desk before it. Between the desk and a few rows of arcade cabinets was a blue futuristic door that slid up when Gregory approached. A bathroom sign with Freddy’s and Chica’s symbols stamped on it was above it.

From behind the desk, he caught sight of two doors on the opposite wall. One said “NO ENTRY” while the other had a security badge above it. Gregory ran around to the “NO ENTRY” door. There wasn’t exactly a scanner, so it probably wasn’t an employee door. Darn. A small “L” shaped hallway was behind the other door, with one door inside leading to a bathroom with a single toilet.

Further down the hall was a metal door with another Security Badge sign beside it.

The room went dark as soon as he entered.

Beep! [Security knows you’re there. Grab the badge and leave very carefully.]

Gregory found the little security Freddy head and pressed its nose. As it slowly opened, he searched the small room. A duffle bag with a note talking about hiding Monty Mystery Mix in ice cream storage was there. Didn’t need that. An empty pizza box stood out amongst the clutter with a cyan and lavender bowling ticket on it.

Beep! [Oooh! That’s a free bowling pass for the rest of the year! There’s an ice cream parlor there.]

Gregory grabbed the security badge and indeed got out. He walked to the last blue door, this one leading to the arena.

After a short “L” shaped hallway, dark with neon arches like a rib cage around him, he entered a room only slightly wider than the hallway. A whole big row of black seats lined the left wall. A S.T.A.F.F. bot with Fazerblast gear stood up on a stage on the other side. The lights turned on here.

The bot droned, “You must be the new Fazerblast recruits, and from the looks of you, the orange-slash-blue team hasn’t got a chance. Soon you will be fighting for your lives. I am here to tell you how to play Fazerblast. There are two rules you must follow at all times. Rule One: No running. No jumping, hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving. No shooting Fazerblasters in, or close to, other players’ eyes. Being flashed in the eyes may induce seizures, blindness, or semi-permanent paralysis. If you are flashed in the eyes, immediately flush your eyes with soap and water and then blink repeatedly until vision is restored. Rule Number Two: Have fun. Do you want to hear these rules again?”

Gregory started to run through the door before, it went on, “Warning: Fazer Blast is a high-energy space combat simulation. People with medical conditions are allowed to participate. My medical software makes me a qualified doctor and I approve this message.” Gregory hesitated by the door and stared at the bot. He didn’t remember having any medical conditions, but at the same time, he hadn’t been to a doctor in months. So, he wasn’t a hundred percent sure. “By listening to these instructions, you have waved all rights and ability to make any claims against Fazbear Entertainment. Any accidents or injuries are your sole responsibility or shared responsibility between you and any associated party involved in said incident. Now get in there and fight, fight, fight!”

[You’ve played this game before, remember? You’ll be fine.]

Yeah, you’re right. Gregory shook his head and ran through the next door through an “L” and into another small room, this one lined on either side with vests and two tables with helmets. One side was orange with helmets that had bear ears and top hats, the other was blue with helmets that had springs and balls on the ends like alien antennae. The robot stated, “Before you enter the arena, grab a helmet and Fazerblaster.”

Gregory took off his knitted hat, set it in his coat pocket, fitted an orange helmet and vest with a lightning bolt on, and grabbed the lone laser gun beside all the other helmets. The helmet’s visor went over his eyes. It was so clear and light that he could barely notice it being there at all. That was until the HUD appeared. “SCORE” “0/3” popped up in blue letters at the left edge of his vision. “HEALTH” with six short bars under it glowed green on his right.

Gregory had already played the game once, but he still let out a joyful squeak upon activating the technology always talked about but never in his grasp.

The doorless entryway led to an actual door flanked by two other doors a few feet away. Both other doors said, “NO ENTRY.” So, he went in through the middle one.

He got to the end with three doors. The robotic voice stated, “You are on the orange team, soldier. Report to the orange hallway.”

The left door, glowing with bands of orange lights, opened for him. At the end of the long “L” hallway stood an extravagantly designed elevator that glowed with futuristic lights and patterns both carved and made of light. He half wondered if there were alien props that would go around yelling “boo” or something.

The lights shut off.

Gregory jumped and looked around as a red light became his only aid in sight. The other door opened, leading him into a neon-and-blacklight maze of barriers and vibrant carpet. A few boxes reached up, stacked like rooms without ceilings accessed by stairs. He checked his glasses. Cameras showed the absurd maze, a few boxes he could climb into, and three separate flags–one of which was at the top of the room stack in the center of the arena. He tapped his glasses to minimize the CAMS tab, finding a single catwalk. He forged on to the first flag.

He shot down alien S.T.A.F.F. bots before they could shoot back.

Each time he shot, one of the six glowing blue bars on the right of his headset’s screen would go dark. If he stopped shooting long enough, the bars would refill. Words like “NICE SHOT”, “AMAZING”, and “5 IN A ROW” appeared if he shot them in a certain way or shot a certain number of bots in a row well enough. He smirked to himself. Heck yeah, he was amazing.

The first flag was in a corner near the door. A ceiling was overhead on this section, weirdly enough. A button on a pedestal beside the flag glowed green. He ran up and pressed it.

Computer bot announced, “You have captured the flag!”

“00:28” appeared in purple letters at the top of his vision.

A S.T.A.F.F. bot nearby announced in a monotone voice, “Capture the flag!”

Gregory shot it.

Computer bot said, “Time to defend.”

The “aliens” that tried to sneak up on him or flat-out charged missed and got shot by Gregory quickly after being spotted. Bots continued to say things such as “Die Earth scum”, “Stand still so I can shoot you”, and “Intruder alert” as they attacked. Once the timer ticked down to nothing, “AREA CAPTURED” appeared in green letters on his visor and the computer announced, “You have successfully defended the station! Move on to the next one, Space Cadet!” The “0/3” at the top-left of his screen went up one.

Heck yeah!

He found the next flag on the ground, deciding to leave the middle one for last. He nearly forgot he was in a life-or-death situation and the only reason he was even playing was to grab the Fazerblaster.

Gregory darted around the maze to take the other ground flag. On the wall, he spotted a plain elevator door. Being similar to the one he went through with little fanfare, he could assume this was the loser’s elevator.

Gregory pressed the button beside the flag. Computer bot announced, “You have captured the flag!”

“00:28” appeared in purple letters at the top of his vision.

A S.T.A.F.F. bot nearby announced in a monotone voice, “Capture the flag!”

Gregory shot it.

Computer bot said, “Time to defend.”

Gregory backed up and shot anything that dared get close. For a second, he could’ve sworn he saw something dark moving, but when he looked back, he only saw barriers.

The timer ran out. “AREA CAPTURED” appeared in green letters on his visor and the computer announced, “You have successfully defended the station! Move on to the next one, Space Cadet!” The “1/3” at the top-left of his screen went up one.

Now he approached the stairs. Hopefully, he could capture this flag up top with just as few problems!

As he climbed the stairs, the walls became scarce. There were a few walls on the landing and the top was ringed with them. Gregory captured the flag in the center and hid behind one of the walls. As the clock ticked down, S.T.A.F.F. bots rolled into his vision.

“YOU WIN” blazed across his visor in blocky, electric, green letters and yellow stripes with thin stripes missing above and below with green furls on either side.

The computer bot said, “You have defeated the alien army! Good job, Space Cadet! Proceed to the winner’s elevator for your reward.”

Gregory laughed and ran.

As he tried to find his way, he found a plain metal door in the wall, hidden in the maze. Curious, he attempted to open it.

Click.

…oh, well. Not his problem. He had other things to do outside of bothering with random creepy doors. He found the Winner’s Elevator with a “Blaster Return” box next to it. Gregory dropped his Fazerblaster and immediately pressed the button to return to the upper level.

Beep! He tapped his glasses to look at his chat log. [Great job, Gregory! Since you won, you should be able to get your reward in the Superstar Lounge.]

The next door opened, showing a hallway lit with green lights that he ran through. The blue door at the end opened up to another couple of doors with an empty doorway on his right leading to a small lounge area. An empty pizza box and some unopened chip bags beside consumed coffee cups ringed the table.

A few small, red couches and benches ringed the small room overlooking the arena. A Freddie plush sat on a couch. He snatched the golden Fazerblaster and started to leave when he spotted the open vent.

The time was four-fifteen am.

Gregory stuck the Fazerblaster in his pocket–or tried to, the bulbous tip of it barely fit, but it did so well enough to free his hand–and took out the cupcake light. He clicked it on. An arrow on the wall pointed down to the vent. So… the room had something to do with the white rabbit. This had to be about the room. There was no way it wasn’t.

He switched the cupcake keychain for his flashlight and crawled into the vent. Gregory climbed up the steeply sloped vent that stopped rather suddenly at a fan with a grate over it. It opened onto an uneven catwalk with a few boards laying haphazardly on the ground and barred off from the arena by gargantuan cutouts of the main cast of characters. A partially crumpled note lay on the ground.

“NEW HIRE SUMMARY – Head Security Guard. No prior qualifications. Internal reference (name withheld).”

Gregory dropped the note. Unfortunately, a wall stopped him from further movement. But the wall next to him had a vent he could use. This vent also continued up at an angle, taking two quick right turns and a left one and going up for what felt like an entire story before taking one right turn onto a grated catwalk.

Gregory stood up and looked down over the arena and the catwalk, and then the metal door to the room jutting out of the wall. The door itself was a metal security door with a window cut out of it. He peered through it, finding a messy bed, some pizza boxes, and a baby blue arcade machine covered in balloons with a smiling sun and a boy in a striped shirt and labeled “BALLOON WORLD”.

“Hey, Chica, I found a room above the Fazer Blast arena. It has a bed, some old pizza boxes, and an arcade cabinet.”

Beep! [A… room? With a bed and stuff in it? Oh. That doesn’t sound safe.]

“I’ve seen it before,” Gregory reassured her. “Last time. But I couldn’t do anything about it.” He switched his flashlight for his cupcake keychain and clicked it on. A rabbit head glowed on the door. Inside, beside the arcade cabinet spanning across the wall, was the word “VANNY”. He blinked and raised his eyebrows. “Vanny? I-I think her name is ‘Vanny’.”

Beep! [Vanny? What a weird name. How do you know that?]

“The keychain you gave me,” Gregory said. “It has a UV light on it, and she wrote her name in UV paint or something. At least, I think it’s her name. Maybe it’s a codeword?” Gregory looked over the security door. How do I open this door?

“Are you–Gregory! We have enough evidence! We know her name and where she lives. We need to leave! Now! We can’t just stick around her lair!”

Her bed is literally the last place she’d think we’d be. Gregory shined his light over an arrow near the door pointing to the right, extending all the way to the corner. He reached around and patted the wall around the corner. His fingers must have touched some sort of pad as he didn’t feel a button compress when the door shot open. He jumped and bolted to the vent. Gregory hesitated before he could climb in and looked back.

…nothing.

He stood up and crept into the room. A computer terminal stood against the wall with the security door with a second computer monitor and a small TV screen attached to it. A remote sat on it. A strange feeling overcame Gregory as he approached the cheerful arcade cabinet. A crumpled note lay on the ground beside it, almost under it against the wall. Gregory set Bonnie down on the arcade cabinet and picked it up.

“FIND THE GLITCHES.”

Curious, he set the note down and backed up. The arcade cabinet lit up when he grabbed the joystick, no coins needed.

“Gregory, what are you doing playing an arcade game in a serial killer’s bedroom?”

I don’t know. I just… have a feeling about it.

A little boy in a striped shirt holding balloons floating over a circus appeared on screen. “BALLOON WORLD” with “HIGH SCORE: 0” were by the top with “START GAME” and “QUIT ARCADE” in tickets below them. A creepy stylized Sun grinned in the top corner. He pressed a button and the game beeped. The screen changed to the circus with BB holding a couple of balloons standing on a tall diving board. With no direction, Gregory had to test a few buttons before finding the right ones. The balloons got bigger with each press until finally BB was launched off the diving board and floated right.

The game began.

And… it was a game. He had balloons to grab–every three balloons granted him an extra balloon, or hit point–and each time he hit an object that wasn’t a party favor, like the giant blocks on the ground, he lost a balloon. He once floated too high and lost a balloon that way. Gravity was also a thing, and he could reach terminal velocity, which didn’t help. He also quickly discovered that Sun wasn’t a problem. There was a day/night cycle and Moon was the problem, the wide grinning celestial body without a cap bringing with it a swarm of bats that were hard to dodge. He made it past the circus area to the grassland once before resetting three times. Frustrated, he reset a fourth time. “What glitches am I even looking for?”

“I don’t know, you ask me. You’re the one playing a game in a serial killer’s bedroom.”

Beep! [Glitches? What glitches?]

“Um… well, there’s a Balloon World arcade cabinet inside the room and I found a way to open the room,” Gregory explained, grimacing as he overcompensated getting away from a bat and nearly launched himself off the top of the screen. Sun came back, but now he had Moon’s maniac grin. “And there was a note that said to find the glitches. So… I’m looking for the glitches. I guess I’m a play tester, now!”

Beep! [Gregory! Please leave! That’s super dangerous. She could go back to her room any minute, now!]

“I’ll leave at the first sign of danger. There’s just something really weird about this game, and I gotta figure out what it is.” Gregory grinned as he made it through the grassland and into the next area–a forest whose trees had already been chopped so the leaves were gone but the stumps were extremely tall. He had a high score of ten thousand something and counting. Did that mean anything?

Then, he spotted a purple pixelated speckle in the top of one of the shorter tree trunks. Purple, like the color of the animatronics’ eyes. That and it was extremely out of place. He had to hit a tree and slow down dramatically to get to it. But when he hit the glitch, the entire game changed. The screen turned to shades of maroon, red, and black and became even more pixelated. The foreground trees vanished, leaving in their wake a trail of pixelated boxes of random sprites in a wavy pattern. In the background, Sun turned to Moon but with Sun’s rays that now glowed and a second set of larger, darker rays and glowing yellow eyes and jagged teeth. The dark orange rays rotated behind the thing in the background as time went on. Gregory struggled hard to keep Balloon Boy in the wavy line. A few boxes spattered the screen. A couple of balloons scattered through the line that he could pick up. Not that he’d need them; he couldn’t see his HUD anymore. Eventually, the screen started glitching so terribly he could barely see Balloon Boy. Eventually, the trail ended, and Balloon Boy went out into space. His character was suddenly jerked into the center of the screen. Gregory pressed a few buttons, but nothing worked. The weird Sun-and-Moon amalgamation popped up to the foreground so it filled the entire screen, turning Balloon Boy into an insignificant spec in comparison despite changing nothing about him, except for deflating his once huge balloons into tiny spheres of color barely a few pixels wide. The screen glitched worse and worse until the screen shut off. For half a second, Gregory barely saw the words “Good night” flash across the screen before everything went dark.

Gregory lifted his hands from the arcade cabinet. “You… saw that right?”

“Yeah. You found the glitch, alright.”

That weird feeling Gregory had when looking at the arcade machine dissipated. It wasn’t complete, but he had a feeling part of it was due to the fact that this entire situation was weird. Still, there was something about this machine. This was only the beginning. There was more.

Gregory said, “Okay, I’m coming back. I found the glitch and now the game’s off.”

Beep! [Oh, that’s good. Hurry, please!]

He grabbed Bonnie and escaped back through the vent. He put away his supplies, trading out his helmet for his knitted hat.

Chica waited for them in the lobby. He held up the golden Fazerblaster with a wide grin. Chica clapped her hands. One eyelid blinked at a slight delay compared to the other. “Oh, well done! You’re very good at this! Okay, let’s go. Where do you think we should go next?”

“We need to get Parts and Services open,” Gregory stated. “So, we’ll need to turn on the lift. To do that, I need the backstage pass and stage controls. Though, the last time I tried to get the stage controls, you and Roxy tried breaking down the doors. You’d need to open the vent under the office. Could you reach that?”

Chica tipped her head. “Why don’t we just use the elevator?”

Gregory blinked. “What?”

“Well, our rooms have elevators that take us down there,” Chica explained. “I learned that after getting my beak. We could just take one of those down.”

Gregory sighed and hung his head. “Of course we could. I’m an idiot! I found that out with Monty last night! Okay, so, your elevator is broken as is Monty’s. So, we’ll need to try Roxy or Freddy’s. I think Roxy’s worked.”

“Roxy’s first, then,” Chica concluded. “As much as I love my friend, I don’t want to accidentally run into him if he goes back to his greenroom.”

Gregory hugged Bonnie a little tighter. “He isn’t, like, immune to you or anything, right?”

She shook her head. “No, no one is. But I… I don’t want to hurt him.” Her head bowed. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Gregory set his hand on her arm. “It’s, um… it’s not your fault they’re aggressive, you know. You’re a really good… chicken.”

Chica laughed. “Aw, thanks, Gregory! That’s so sweet of you! Come on. Let’s get going.”

Gregory smiled up at her and followed Chica to the elevator. Chica’s once bouncy gait turned slightly uneven and heavy. He looked up at her. “Hey, Chica, are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine! I… I haven’t gone this long without charging in a long time is all,” Chica said. “But I’ll be fine until the end of the hour. Like I said, my battery is the second best in the building!” They skirted the atrium floor, staying under the balcony as they approached the shutters leading to Rockstar Row.

“O…kay. As long as you’re okay,” Gregory conceded. After a moment, he asked, “What happened to Roxy?”

“What do you mean?” Chica asked.

“Is she… I mean, functional?”

Chica nodded. “Oh, yes! She was functioning perfectly well when I last saw her. Why? Did something happen in the arcade?”

Gregory nodded. “I flashed my flashlight in her eyes. She was super mad and then she just suddenly stopped and stood up. Her eyes stopped glowing and everything, like when Monty was deactivated and put in the cylinder in Parts and Service.”

“Oh, yes. What you did… caused a system restart. She went to sleep and then woke back up again. She wasn’t very happy when she woke back up, though.” Chica chortled.

“So, like a power button? But with light?” Gregory asked.

“Sort of. We already have shut-off switches and system restart buttons. It’s how we get transported to Parts and Service. Fast flashing lights shouldn’t cause a system restart, but they do.” Chica shrugged. “I guess it’s just a funny little quirk! Like sleeping too long makes you even more sleepy. It doesn’t make sense, but it happens.”

“But your shell covers your whole body! How is there room for a shut-off switch?”

Chica chuckled. “That’s a funny question! And a good one, I guess. The engineers were really smart and good at hiding all the technical things. But if you look, all of us have them.” She stopped and knelt down so that she was eye level with Gregory and then tipped her head forward to expose the back of her neck. “See here? Where my endoskeleton’s exposed? I think it’s there.”

Near where she pointed, on the back of her neck just below her head was a button labeled “STM RST”

“I see it! And everyone has it?”

Chica stood up and continued walking. “Yep! All bots, even S.T.A.F.F. bots, are required to have them in case we get broken. That way the staff are safe to help us.”

Gregory recalled the time he and Monty had gotten to Parts and Service but were ambushed by Moon. When Moon’s attempt to grab Gregory had been foiled, he jumped onto Monty’s shoulders and took the gator down impossibly easily. “So, Moon must know how to do that? That’s how he gets you guys to Parts and Service?”

Chica chuckled, though the noise was a little less real. “Yes, I guess so. We weren’t always so scared of it, you know. Moon wasn’t always so bad. But then I suppose they thought that getting one of the animatronics to take a broken animatronic to Parts and Service would be safer than a team of humans. Since no one wants to go to Parts and Service, and none of us really got to know them before, all we really knew about Moon was when it came out to deal with intruders or take one of us down. Looking back, it’s really unfair how we treat them.”

Gregory scoffed. “Yeah, I’d kinda not like someone for only taking me to the doctor.” He gave her a sideways look. “Are you going to try to be friends with him?”

Chica nodded. “I’ll try, after we get you out of here. I’ve been very mean to Moon. I have to make it up to it somehow. Neither of them can have cupcakes. Hmm… I’ll figure something out.”

Gregory ran his flashlight over the red sofas making islands in the center of the lounge-slash-ticket hall. A wave of exhaustion made his legs weak, but he bit his tongue. It was way too open here. If that rabbit lady decided to come back, he wouldn’t be lucky enough to have a jealous Roxy to push her aside this time and he’d be out in the open. Or if Roxy came back, he’d be out for her to grab and Chica would have to squawk at her to stop her from doing that and then make up some excuse as to why she did that later while feeling awful about it.

An idea popped into his head. “Hey, Chica? Before we try Roxy’s room… is it okay if we, uh… is anyone going to be checking your room?”

Chica looked down at him. “My room? Oh! We can go there! Are you tired? Heh! You must be. You’ve been doing an awful lot of running around! I’ll need to find a way to hide you. Any wandering bots might get suspicious if I close my curtains.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why is that?”

“Our curtains are supposed to be open so people can look inside.” They stopped at the end of the hall and allowed the party shutters to open. Two sets of big glowing dots stared at them from Rockstar Row. The Wet Floor Bots turned and followed them as they walked, though they stayed in place. “The curtains are only closed if something’s wrong with the room or with us.”

“Okay. But… do you guys ever get time to yourselves?”

“Sure we do! Just because we never close our curtains doesn’t mean we don’t have time to ourselves!” Chica chirped. “There’s no one else here, is there? Besides, there’s always the attractions. I like going to the bakery. Though, it’s kinda funny… I used to like spending time at the bakery.” Her eyes narrowed and she put a finger to her beak. Chica stopped in front of her door, staring hard at the green star with her symbol on it. “Now it’s just… not as interesting, anymore.”

“Is killing pizza bots more your style, now?” Gregory chuckled, though he couldn’t smother the nervous pitch in his tone.

“Yes,” she admitted, her voice so quiet Gregory barely heard her. Her finger curled into her beak, and she bit down on it. “Now… now that I think about it… I hadn’t–I mean, I hadn’t thought about it. But now that you say it, yes. I do attack the pizza bots. Oh, I do attack the pizza bots.”

“It’s that virus,” Gregory stated. “It made you eat a whole bunch of weird stuff and attack the bots.”

Chica let go of her finger and opened her door. “I guess so. But I still hurt them. Oh, how do I make it right?”

Gregory, despite wanting nothing more than to just collapse on the couch and sleep until the end of time, stepped back. “Let’s get you into Parts and Service. Then we can sit down.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t want to risk needing to run away.”

Chica shut her door. “Okay, but after that, we’re coming right back, alright?”

He smiled. “Sounds good to me!” Unless this triggers a time jump for some reason.

Chapter Text

Chica knocked on Roxy’s door, winced, and then walked through without further delay and led him into the elevator. This one, thankfully, worked and got them to Parts and Service. The lights glowed and machinery whirred. He speed-walked down the steps and stopped in front of the computer. Chica followed, hesitating only for a moment in front of the cylinder once it was open before walking herself inside and lying down on the red and white chair.

The bot declared, “Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure.” A list of upgrades showed, but the boy pressed the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. Computer bot announced, “Scanning for irregularities.”

…

“Scanning complete. It seems Chica’s basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Chica will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice. Rebooting in Safe Mode.”

He looked into the cylinder. Chica’s dull eyes glowed deep blue and she pushed herself up again. He backed off to allow her room to leave. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Different.” She stared at the double doors opposite the cylinder for a few seconds before turning back to Gregory. “But in a good way. I don’t know how to say it.”

The time was two-fifty-five am.

“What?!” he gasped. “How come?!”

Chica waved for him to come closer and lumbered toward the double red doors. “Hurry, Gregory!”

Gregory ran after her. “You sure you’re okay?”

“You need to hide in a recharge station,” Chica stated, her voice firm.

“Well, you need to be in one!” he countered. “You go to yours, I’ll hide in this one!”

Chica pushed through the doors, allowing him through. “I will go once I see you are safe.”

Bells.

Gregory bristled and looked down the hall. Moon stood at the mouth of the hall just a few yards away, shifting from foot to foot, the bells on his wrists jingling softly as he moved. Chica stopped and turned to him. Gregory darted to the recharge station and hid inside.

“I told you to stay away from him, Moon,” Chica stated.

Moon pulled his hands closer to himself and stopped moving. The bells stopped ringing. “I announced my presence this time, Chica.”

Chica relaxed a little from her defensive position. “I know you did, but you should not be here.”

“You need to recharge,” Moon pointed out. “You do not look well.”

Chica raised her head. Her head twitched and one eyelid followed the other at a delay when she blinked. “I will go to charge when I want to, Moon.”

“You will hurt yourself, Chica Chicken. Please do not do so.”

“I’m not a child, Moon,” she chided. “I know how to look after myself.”

“You are not a child,” Moon agreed. “He is. It is past his bedtime. He must rest as well. Why do you insist on staying active?”

The time was two-fifty-six am.

“I promised to help Gregory,” Chica stated, her voice again firm. She twitched again. “As long as I think he’s in danger, I’ll stay.”

Moon wrung his hands. “I will not harm the child, Chica. I do not wish to harm you. I need to take you to a recharge station.” He slunk forward a step and then stopped and crouched lower when Chica bristled and opened her beak. Gregory’s hands whipped up to his head just in case, but he didn’t cover his ears quite yet.

She closed her beak. “Thank you. Please leave, Moon.”

Moon shuffled his feet. Then, he turned and darted around the corner in a brisk jingle of bells. Chica watched him go for a moment longer before turning back to Gregory. “Gregory, you’ll be safe here, okay?”

Gregory nodded. “Then we can meet in–look out!”

Chica tried to turn around, but Moon launched himself from the vent in the wall near her, landing with his feet on her shoulders and one hand clamping her beak shut before she could fully do so. Then she was on the ground, limp and dull-eyed. He climbed off of her and paused for a long moment. “…I am… sorry, Chica,” he mumbled to the animatronic bird that could no longer hear him. Then, he scooped her up into his arms, heaved her up, and struggled to push through the doors into Parts and Service.

The time was three am.

Gregory stumbled out of the charging station and immediately ran into the double red doors. His hand and forearm slammed into the metal with a hard thump! “What?” he wheezed. He grabbed and jangled one of the handles, but it refused to budge. A “4” printed at the top corner of the door. He checked his cards and found… three.

Three cards.

He ran around to one of the huge filthy windows flanking the door and flashed his light inside. Through a double set of windows, he could barely see the cylinder. No one else was there, yet. Moon had cleared out. Chica might not–well, she had to be. Where else would it take her? Gregory just couldn’t see anything inside the cylinder from this angle, distance, and through the glass no one bothered to clean.

He turned and ran down the hallway back to the lift. He stopped at the shutters, only to find a huge metal pole and a circular indention at the end of a ramp filling the room.

No, no, no! This is awful! Tears welled in his eyes and he clenched his teeth, shaking in the effort it took to keep his breathing level.

“Breathe, Gregory. We’ll get through this. We just need one card.”

Gregory stepped back and allowed the shutters to close. He tried to take a breath, but it came out as a hiccup. His legs hurt. His head hurt. His arms were sore. What he would do to just lay down.

But he couldn’t do that, not with Chica in Parts and Service. Even if animatronics weren’t allowed or able to work the machines, Moon could call over someone who could, as in Officer Vanessa. Who knows what damage Officer Vanessa could do to Chica.

Gregory slunk down the hall and turned to the one that would lead to the warehouse, education maze, place-thing. A pair of metal pincher-like hands grabbed him and whirled him around so he was face-to-face with Map Bot. The orange and white S.T.A.F.F. bot let go of the terror-frozen kid and held out a map. “Hi. Please take this map.”

Gregory reluctantly took the map.

Map Bot stood up straight and faced away. “Thank you. Please enjoy.”

Gregory glared back at the thing. “Ugh! I hate that thing!” he spat. He opened up the ratty, white-and-blue map. “…yeah, no, I can do better on my own.” Still, he folded it and stuck it in his pocket beside the one he’d gotten in the atrium.

He hesitated at the end of the hall to let the shutters open. Gregory swept his flashlight over the cement room. Cement pillars rose out of the cement floors and threw shadows against the cement walls. A few laundry baskets and a forklift occupied the room. Aside from the mechanical broken parts strewn about, he was alone in the vast, empty room.

Well, at least none of the other animatronics were here. Heh. Imagine if he had to face off against Roxy or Monty again. Then again, Gregory was alone. If Vanny knew what happened, she could sneak up on Gregory. He eyed the singular buzzing light in the wall some distance away. He hadn’t met Freddy here before, but Moon also hadn’t attacked Chica before. Maybe they changed as the night went on, or when they saw the opportunity to strike.

Gregory couldn’t get away from Freddy in that tightly packed maze.

Gregory turned a corner, passed some boxes, cement bags, and an orange truck, and walked through another garage door. Crates covered in orange tarps and tables of various shapes set in various positions filled the space, forcing him to move from side to side rather than just a straight line. There was one point he could walk in a straight line. An endoskeleton stood near the end of it, hunched over and limp.

Then, as Gregory approached, it pulled its head up and slid into a position to walk or run. Red lights glowed through hollow disks in its eyeballs. Gregory’s flashlight whipped up to concentrate on it. He watched the thing as he walked around it and to the vent further down the hall. After a moment’s hesitation, he looked away and climbed inside.

Gregory wrinkled his nose. Right. Spiderwebs. He fought through a few turns of spiderwebs before tinkling music drifted into the vent and then the clack of little metal limbs hit the vent. Cymbals crashed together. “Not again!” he whined and forced himself to crawl faster.

He threw himself out the other side, scrambling over a green case and tumbling to the ground. His flashlight and Bonnie stayed firm in his grasp, thankfully. The faraway sting of a cut on his hand demanded his attention as well as the new thump of a headache, but he decided the dusty cement ground was as good a place as any to lay and catch his breath.

“Gregory…”

I know, I know. Just a few minutes.

“You’re cornered here. If anything decided to come over here, you’d need to escape into the vent, where that spider thing still is.”

Gregory forced his eyes open. After a long, steadying breath, he pushed himself up to his feet. He started moving.

More clutter, including a whole cluster of vibrant trash cans printed with various characters’ features, made his walk suffocating. He went through a set of garage doors.

He came face-to-face with a Moon plush sitting on a small stack of tires.

Gregory glared and swatted it with his flashlight. The thing tumbled to the floor at his feet.

On his right was a giant poster with an endoskeleton with a medkit kneeling before a hurt kid and applying a bandage to the kid’s knee. A green checkmark was on it, but someone with purple spray paint crossed it out.

More importantly, the thin hall–made thinner by more clutter–continued further. Another poster with an endoskeleton was on it, but he couldn’t see what it was. Halfway down the hall, he spotted a monitor with a cartoon version of Moon’s head with his eyes closed and the Moondrop candy under it. What, were these endoskeletons some fans of the Daycare Attendant or something?

An empty doorway he hadn’t noticed broke off on the opposite side of the TV. The hallway was short and connected back into the main one, though.

Then Gregory approached the door at the end. An endoskeleton holding a red balloon stood before a girl with pigtails standing in front of a male parental figure. She held the endoskeleton’s hand. Another green checkmark was on this wall.

Near the wall was a Freddy-head-shaped button on a thin pedestal. As he did with everything in life, he pressed the big glowing button.

He looked up as the “poster” hissed and the entire section of the wall rose. Now came the true danger–endoskeletons stood beyond this door and the mess of conveyor belts.

He moved into the now winding hall flanked by unmoving conveyor belts. Some boxes and a yellow Chica plush sat on there. There was probably a Bonnie plush on top of the boxes, but it was high up and he wasn’t certain the color was actually blue.

Gregory stopped. An endoskeleton, fully awake and staring straight at an inactive S.T.A.F.F. bot, stood in a once colorful room with a rainbow and another endoskeleton “poster” on one wall. This one was of an endoskeleton chasing a child. A red X was painted on this one.

Another TV trying to sell Moondrop candy sat before a kid’s table and set of chairs, sending white and blue light over the surrounding area. He walked past the endoskeleton and a couple of inactive friends. A button on a pedestal sat beside the TV. He had to turn his back to press it, but only for a second. The endoskeleton didn’t properly turn around.

Gregory watched it as he scooted by. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go down the next hallway backward as there were a couple of corners. Besides, what if he tripped over something? So, after a second of watching the endoskeleton, he bolted. He ignored the plush walls and toys and steam coming from pipes and a couple of giant colorful blocks with another Moon plush on them that he decided to smack off as he turned another corner.

He slowed down and walked through a set of open chain link gates. An inactive endoskeleton stood near the gate. Gregory discovered a second one next to it as he passed. At the end of the hall, “PARTY” spelled in silver balloons attached to the wall. A S.T.A.F.F. bot leaned forward, but Gregory couldn’t see anything from the shoulders forward from around a corner.

The hallway expanded a little bit after the corner, showing the S.T.A.F.F. bot leaning over a table. Its decapitated, mangled head with a cone hat sat by a slice of cake.

…

Gregory inspected the poster wall. It was another endoskeleton, of course, this time with a birthday hat. He pressed the button opposite the poster wall and hurried through. He could hear the endoskeletons he previously passed activate.

A short hall lined with chain-link fences and large machines with steam hissing out met him. A mangled S.T.A.F.F. bot lay propped against the fence at the end of the walkway before a bend. The poster wall to the left of him was an endoskeleton with a party hat at a table, flipping the cake on a plate over and causing the little girl sitting at the table with a party hat to turn her head and raise her arms in defense. Another X was painted above it. Gregory decided to take a right turn.

He passed an open chain-link part of the fence. Another Moon plush–that he had to knock over, of course–sat on a box and this time at the end of the hall was a full portrait of Moon, his eyes closed, and head tipped to rest on his hands. A shiver ran through Gregory at the sight. The left side of the fork in his path was a door, the right side was more hallway with another two endoskeletons on it. Gregory walked down that hall, past the endoskeletons, and into a small room with another button, this time before a painted poster of Moondrop candy.

He pressed the button.

The two endoskeletons behind him came to life.

Gregory, his flashlight on them, walked around so that his back faced the wall in which he’d arrived.

…

Gregory bolted in the opposite direction of the endoskeletons, who immediately gave chase. The poster door on the other side of the mangled S.T.A.F.F. bot was open, and Gregory wasted no time in racing through it. Another endoskeleton whom he’d lost before spotted him as he went and decided to give chase as well.

The next bit of hallway was cement, but the walls were mostly covered in drapes and a rug ran through and a few plastic kiddie benches sat to one side–all, of course, themed with blue. The benches had red tops that housed another Moon plush–he didn’t watch it fall as he ran–and sat across from a TV advertising Moondrop candy, shedding more blue light over him as he went.

Three inactive endoskeletons slumped in a corner with soft blue walls and more blue rugs. Red curtains pulled back in an empty doorway that opened into a small room. A few TVs, a couple of which were turned on to show Moondrop candy while others were either off or showing static, and more Moon decorations scattered about, including a plush that immediately faceplanted on the floor. He pressed a button on a pedestal beside the Moondrop TV and kept going.

Static and a television shed quite a bit of light on this button. He froze after he removed his hand from it.

Blood.

Blood smeared over the button. He turned his hand over. A gash ran over his palm.

“Gregory, that activated the endos! Come on!”

Gregory shook his head, but that did nothing but make him dizzy and confuse his thoughts further. Blood. Focus. Endos. Maze. Get out. Card. Chica. Moon. Focus.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hand. Another kid his age, maybe a little younger, stood down the hall opposite the endos, in the direction of where he needed to go. Something was held in his arm out of Gregory’s sight. He waved for Gregory again.

“Wha–who?” Gregory called and ran after the kid. He turned and ran, leading Gregory.

The halls stopped being completely Moon-themed, though they had a lot of kid’s stuff and another Moondrop poster. After a bend, he saw a poster wall. This was the same endoskeleton with a medkit and crossed-out checkmark as the one in the beginning.

Passing Moondrop candy painted on the wall, they got to a slightly more open space with a giant open doorway on the right. The boy flitted inside without hesitation.

As soon as Gregory entered, the yellow-and-black-striped doorway closed with a giant metal door.

Inside the room were soft walls and soft floors like some sort of weird copy of the Daycare. Except, there wasn’t a play place, a ball pit, or even a place leading to a naptime room. There was a short wall of green interwoven bars like the wall of the play place structured at the end of the octagonal room. One would think endoskeletons–or anyone, for that matter–obsessed with an animatronic meant to put children to sleep would have at least one bed. But nope. Instead, this room was decorated with endoskeletons all along the walls and a security desk. The security desk sat on a cement square lined with black and yellow striped tape.

Gregory turned to the kid. “Who are you? Why are you down here? Is Vanny after you, too? Vanny, the white rabbit lady with the blue bow.”

The boy’s previously unreadable expression became thoughtful. Now that they were standing still, Gregory could get a better read on the kid… and how Vanny must have a type as the boy was almost identical to Gregory–save for his nearly black, brown eyes and straight, ear-length hair. Even his shirt was similar, though black with one silver stripe rather than navy blue with two pale blue ones like Gregory’s. Though somewhat scruffy from stress, he looked way too well-groomed to have been in the Pizzaplex all night. He even had his own little toy–a yellow Freddy with creepy black eyes and a purple bow and hat. The boy finally said, “You should help your friend. You both need to sleep. Then…” The boy paused again and chose his words carefully. “Then you should get the help of the other bots.”

“I figured as much,” Gregory admitted. “What do you know about them? Did you manage to befriend one of them? Chica’s nice! I managed to put her into Safe Mode. The others are infected by a virus!”

The boy nodded grimly. “I know. My friends are trying to help. My b…” The boy swallowed back whatever he was going to say. “Take the card, save your friend, get some sleep, and then help the other bots.”

“Your friends? There are others here?” Gregory looked back toward the door. Bonnie, I don’t remember seeing any signs of other people the last time we were here!

“…me… neither… Gregory, something’s not right about this.”

Gregory stiffened and pulled Bonnie closer to himself. “What do you mean?”

The boy looked at Bonnie curiously. An entirely new look crossed over the boy’s features, something less tense… something younger. “Oh. You have a special friend, too.”

Gregory nodded. “Yeah, uh… Bonnie… yeah. Bonnie’s my best friend. Who’s that?”

“Fredbear,” the boy said automatically as if asked the question often. “He talks to you, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah. Does Fredbear talk to you?”

“Sometimes, yeah. Not much now, though.”

Gregory hummed and said, “That stinks. Bonnie can’t move on his own. So, I take him where I can, even if people think I’m a little baby about it. But babies aren’t the only ones that can have toys. My name’s Gregory. What’s yours?”

“I’m Evan.” The boy hesitated and looked at the door. “I’ll talk to you later,” he stated stiffly and ran at the metal security door.

“Wait, Evan–!” Gregory yelled and then stopped as the boy ran straight through it. “…what the fuck?”

“I told you something wasn’t right about that kid. That was a spirit.”

“Let’s… get out of here.” He walked straight to the security desk, where he found a Freddy head Security Badge holder on it. A Moon plush sat behind it. A black Security cap sat on the other side, in front of a computer filled with static.

This alarm… what did this trip? Hopefully, it didn’t summon the other animatronics.

While Gregory waited for the head to open, he smacked the Moon plush off the desk.

“Got it!” Gregory exclaimed as he pulled out the security badge. “I can open Parts and Service now.”

The roughly dozen endoskeletons in the room hissed and their eyes glowed red.

“Oh, come on!” he yelled and darted out of the now-open door. The medkit endoskeleton door opened.

Gregory escaped.

They followed him outside of the gate that they opened. Gregory weaved back through the clutter, hopped onto the green box below the vent, and crawled inside.

The little metal spider thing followed him again, but Gregory crawled quickly and threw himself out the other side. He stumbled out, barely managing to not hit the ground by hitting the wall on the other side with his shoulder. He looked down to find more blood on his pants where he’d stepped on the handprints he’d left in the vent.

Gregory looked up, chest heaving, but the endoskeleton that was once here was gone. Gregory still inspected every shadow with his flashlight as he walked. Maybe it went back and joined its brethren in trying to kill Gregory. That would be just wonderful.

He contemplated stopping but banished the thought. He was so close. He’d go to Chica and then sleep in her greenroom for years and no time at all would pass.

Gregory slunk through the cement hallways, sidling between the giant boxes and forklifts, running his flashlight over the walls and objects. He hesitated in front of the few sets of shutters in his path. He winced at the sting in his palm when he grabbed the handle of the double doors but pushed them open nonetheless. The second set opened just as easily as the first.

The time was two-fifteen am.

Great, a time change. This didn’t bode well.

He stumble-ran up to the cylinder. Chica lay still on the bed, eyes staring at the wall. An arm held her on her side as a panel on her back had been flipped open and a thick cord plugged into her back. Confusion and dread fell into the pit of his stomach. He set Bonnie down on the computer terminal.

The bot announced, “Welcome to Parts and Service! Please select your desired procedure!”

Gregory pressed down through the panels, careful not to get blood on the keyboard. Finally, he got to “cancel procedure”.

“Are you sure you wish to cancel the charging procedure on Glamrock Chica? Her charging cycle is not yet complete. Any malfunction that occurs due to insufficient battery caused by employee recklessness will be subtracted from the employee’s paycheck and disciplinary action will be advised.”

Gregory hesitated despite not being an employee, but pressed “yes”, anyway.

“Disconnecting Glamrock Chica from the charging terminal.”

The arm holding her raised back up to the ceiling. A few moments later, Chica sat up and got to her feet. Her dark blue eyes fell on Gregory and she immediately stepped up to the cylinder’s door, which opened achingly slow.

Gregory snatched Bonnie and his flashlight and stepped away from the terminal.

The time was two-thirty am.

Why was time flying now of all places? Was Parts and Service cursed?

“Gregory! Oh, I’m so glad to see you’re alive!” Chica knelt in front of him. “How are you? Oh no! You’re hurt!”

“It’s nothing, really. It doesn’t hurt much, anymore.” Gregory tightened his grip on his flashlight to muffle a noise of pain as he waved her off. “I’m glad you’re okay. I thought Moon hurt you.”

Chica shook her head. “Oh, no. Moon wouldn’t hurt any of us. You don’t need to worry about me. Come on, we need to get this cleaned.”

“Can’t I sit down first?” Gregory couldn’t help the whine in his voice.

Chica shook her head. “I don’t want this to get infected. How about I carry you? Would that be okay?”

“I’m not a baby, I can walk,” Gregory responded immediately. He hesitated and looked at Bonnie.

“I know you’re not a baby,” she reassured him, her tone even and calm. “You’re a big kid! But even big kids get tired, hmm?”

“…okay,” he muttered and nodded. He looked up at her. “How far away is it?”

“Not far!” Chica got up and hooked one arm around his back under his arms and then another under his legs so she could pull him up without throwing off his balance first. He turned off and put away his flashlight and then, hugging Bonnie but being very careful not to rub blood on his fur, leaned into her. Her cold, dirty, plastic case pressed against his already abused skin and tried hard to suck the warmth from his little body. He’d at first expected to be bumped along with her as they walked, like he had with Monty. But she leaned into each careful step, gently rocking him from side to side and running thick, plastic fingers over his tangled, greasy hair.

They stopped in the elevator. It jolted and whirred. “For your safety, please steer clear of the doors,” the bot over the speakers said.

Gregory tried to keep track of their surroundings. However, he was barely aware of the elevator stopping and various doors opening and changing of scenery. He heard voices and Chica stopped on occasion. He was tempted to wake up, then. But that only lasted a few minutes before they went through another set of doors and silence reigned save her footsteps. Whatever danger there might have been had passed. So, whatever.

Chica stopped. “Okay, Gregory, we’re here. I need to set you down, now, to treat your hand.”

“Five more minutes,” he mumbled in response to the voice coming directly from her upper chest, close to her throat, rather than her beak. Animatronics were weird.

The chicken chuckled. “No, I’m sorry, not five more minutes. Come on, let’s go.”

Then, she was leaning down, and one arm was lower than the other.

Gregory opened his bleary eyes and lifted his head. He slipped out of her grasp and looked around. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his injured hand and bit back a yawn. He held Bonnie by the arm with his other so he could hold it by his side rather than keep it up by his chest. When his eyes refocused, he found himself staring at the First Aid Station where he’d treated his arm and hidden from Officer Vanessa after meeting Monty that first night.

Chica pulled the curtains back and shuffled through the supplies. Gregory, too tired to complain, sat down and, when prompted, held out his hand.

“You’re such a brave kid!” she cooed after washing out his hand and bandaging it. Unfortunately, the gash was a little large for a colorful bandage and thus needed gauze. She still pecked it to “kiss it, make it better”. “You handled that like a champ!”

Gregory, who’d squirmed in his seat and held his hand in a fist on his lap, smiled. “Really?”

“Yes, really! Now, how about that rest I promised you?” Chica stood up.

Gregory escaped the station on his own. “Yes! Er, please. Yes.”

“Do you want me to carry you again, or do you want to walk? It’s okay either way. You’re a big kid, and I won’t think any differently. …and I won’t tell anyone I carried you here either, if you don’t want me to.”

Yes. Please. Gregory hurt. His whole body ached, from time running and standing and from his crying and the constant fighting and injuries he’d sustained throughout the night, and from his time outside as a little vagrant because he was an ungrateful gremlin. But he couldn’t force himself to ask. He couldn’t say those two stupid words.

Chica held out her arms and cocked her head. Gregory looked up at her and then Bonnie and scuffed the ground with one dirty shoe. He slunk up to her and set his head against her side. The glamrock gently scooped him up and, once he was settled, turned around and left. Her head tipped up when she climbed up the stairs. She hesitated in front of the doors but eventually pushed through with her shoulder.

Half a second later, he escaped her grasp, slowly landing on something soft and springy with an equally soft back. He blinked open his eyes and looked up at a world of pink and green. Chica’s greenroom, right.

“I don’t have a blanket,” she admitted. “I hope that’s okay. I’ll go look and see if one of the engineers may have left one of their jackets behind.”

“Okay. Thank you,” he called after her.

She stopped by the door to the maintenance room. “Oh, you’re welcome, Gregory. You get to feeling better. You must be exhausted after all that running around. You’re not a robot like me, you know; you can’t just recharge at one of the stations.” She chuckled to herself. The door shut behind her.

Gregory lifted his head and tried to look outside. However, the neon light from inside Chica’s room glared off the greenroom window, making it impossible to see into the dark hallway. He could still see the faint outline of boxy shapes from the scant neon lights outside, and thankfully none of those outlines moved. He lay his head back down on his arm again, as there were no pillows–just a tall and sheer couch arm–and shut his eyes again.

The door opened again. He jolted and opened his eyes but relaxed upon seeing Chica.

Chica sighed, “There are no jackets or spare clothes or blankets. I’m sorry about that, Gregory.”

“That’s okay. I’m fine here,” he reassured her and snuggled into Bonnie. Curled up on himself with his back to the couch, the cool air wasn’t as much of a bother.

Something giant and semi-squishy like a tough pillow landed gently on the couch beside him. “Wha…?”

“It’s a corndog pillow,” Chica explained. “I always keep it on my couch. It should hide you in case anyone comes by.” She leaned over the pillow and ran her hand over his head. “I’ll see you in a little bit, okay? I need to go recharge.”

“Okay.”

Chapter Text

Gregory clutched Bonnie tight as he ran, ran, ran away from the monsters that prowled the dark. The twisted beasts that once claimed friendly faces now wanted nothing more than to tear him apart. The ground shook and then stopped and something whistled overhead. He screamed as Monty landed before him, his umber eyes glowing in the darkness and glinting off his shiny glasses. The decrepit beast cackled and pulled himself up, raising his single arm and lashing his broken tail. He snarled and tipped his head, his cracked glasses skewed on his warped head, revealing one lazy eye and one functioning one. Although he had no bottom jaw with which to bite down, the jagged teeth of his top jaw and his wicked right claws and the talons on his feet could all do enough damage not to mention any other part of his broken body’s weight or jagged edges.

Gregory turned and sprinted back the other way.

Bells tinkled above him. He looked up and tried to raise the hand with a flashlight. Moon, hanging from a beam Gregory ran straight under, snatched him from the ground, tearing the flashlight and Bonnie from his hands and yanking him into the air. Monty barreled past, his roar crackling and stuttering.

Gregory squirmed in his grasp, but Moon held him fast and threw them both down to the ground. He looked at Moon and then ahead to see Vanny. Another set of hands grabbed him, velvety and cracked in dirty gloves. Moon didn’t release him. Two purple circles glowed. Light flashed above, enough for him to see Freddy. Gregory screamed and thrashed in the hands of his captors, but the kids wouldn’t let him go and he felt Freddy’s teeth on his head and velvety fur on his hands.

Gregory spasmed awake and curled up tight into a shivering ball.

“Gregory?”

Light cut through the dark of his shelter as the stuffed corndog was moved aside.

“You’re okay, now. You’re safe, Cupcake.” Chica cooed, kneeling beside the couch. Her thick fingers ran over his head and shoulders.

Gregory flinched. He rubbed his face and opened his eyes. Tears trapped beneath his eyelids rolled down his cheeks. He winced at the light. Had… he been crying? In his sleep?

“Can you tell me what happened?” Chica went on.

“Bad dream,” he muttered.

“Aw. Those are no fun. You know, I heard talking about bad thoughts can help make them not-so-bad anymore. Do you want to talk about it?”

The first immediate answer that came to mind was “no”, for a multitude of reasons. No, he didn’t want to share his feelings. No, he didn’t want to think about his dream. No, talking about his nightmare wouldn’t make it any better. It might make it worse, considering Chica was likely to defend at least Freddy if not Monty and–knowing her–maybe Moon. But… maybe… Chica was right about a lot of things so far. He did not want to stew on his stupid nightmare the whole rest of the night.

So, staring at the back of the couch and petting Bonnie’s ear, Gregory recited his nightmare. How Monty had become this weird, broken version of himself. Then when Moon swooped down on him like a snare trap and tore away his only defenses. Gregory’s voice broke and he shut his eyes. “Bonnie can’t move on his own. I can’t lose Bonnie.”

“I’m here for you, Gregory. Moon wouldn’t actually do that.”

How do you know?

“I just… something tells me he’s not that evil. He wants you more than he doesn’t want me.”

Gregory mumbled, “Bonnie thinks Moon wouldn’t do that.” He hiccupped and swallowed. “Maybe he’s right.” Hopefully. There’s nothing I could do to fight him. “Then Vanny appeared and grabbed me, and Moon didn’t stop her. And Freddy was there. Then they tried to feed me to Freddy a-and he bit me and that’s when I w-woke up.” Gregory choked out the last bit of his dream in a rush, afraid if he stopped to take a breath, he would stop completely.

“That is awful,” Chica agreed. “You must have been very scared.”

Gregory nodded and rubbed his face again.

After a short silence, Chica said, “We have Parts and Service running and we know it works. If you want, we can find Monty. I can talk him down and then you can show him the golf score sheet. Monty’s a funny guy and likes to check out weird or dangerous things. As long as you’re safe, we can help him. Then he won’t get broken, and he won’t try to hurt you.”

“And my nightmare won’t happen,” Gregory finished.

“Yes,” Chica agreed. “The rabbit, Vanny. Moon wouldn’t help her. She tried to hurt you. Moon does not want to hurt you.”

“What if he does, though?” Gregory asked. “It really looked like he did every other time he’s gone after me! Like when the lights went out in the D-Daycare!” He flinched at the memory of his escape from the Naptime Room, how the infuriated blue Daycare Attendant flew out of the electrical room and chased him down.

Chica tipped her head. “Hmm… well… what happened when Vanny entered the Daycare the first time?”

“She turned out the lights,” Gregory said.

“What happened then? What did she do?”

“…she ran away.”

“Would she have run away from her friend? From someone who was trying to help her?”

Gregory shook his head.

“There!” Chica chirped. “Moon may be… rough, but it isn’t going to give you to Vanny.” She rested her hand on his head. “And… we will stay away from Freddy, okay? Then you won’t need to worry about him.”

Gregory looked back at her. “We can’t help him, huh?”

Chica bowed her head. “Freddy is my best friend, Gregory. We’ve been friends for as long as we’ve been active. All of our previous versions have been in the band, and they were probably friends, too. And during the day, he still is. But something’s changed, and Freddy is acting differently.”

“He’s attacking you guys. Monty said so. And I read this note saying he destroyed Freddy toys. Do you think if we put him in Safe Mode, we can help him, too? You guys tried attacking me before.”

Chica’s eyes narrowed. “…maybe. But Gregory, please don’t get your hopes up. I can talk to Monty and make him listen to you. But I can’t make Freddy listen to you.”

“Who are you going to ask next? Roxy?”

Don’t take that tone with me. I’m trying, okay?

“…I know.”

Gregory sighed and sat up. Chica pulled her hand back. “Okay. Thank… thank you, Chica.”

Chica sat back on her heels. “How do you feel?”

“Better,” he admitted.

She cooed and said, “That’s good! Scary dreams are just that: scary dreams. Not real. Do you want to stay here for a little while longer or do you want to go?”

Gregory pushed himself off the couch. He straightened his knitted hat and picked up Bonnie and his flashlight. “We need to get going. I’d like to get Monty’s help.”

“Also not getting chomped by him would be nice.”

That, too. He’s a good gator.

“We’ll probably find him in Gator Golf,” Chica said. “He likes to walk around on the catwalks.”

Gregory asked, “How do we get there? Through the main place?”

“Well… let’s try the golf course first,” she suggested. “It’s dangerous up in those catwalks.”

After a quick trip to the basement to turn on Parts and Service and Monty Golf, Gregory gave his second ticket to the Ticket Bot and walked with Chica through the wide hallway. “Chica?” he asked. “If he does see me, and I hide, what are you going to say?”

“Well, we’ll try not to get found by him first,” Chica suggested. “We’ll find him. Then I’ll talk him down and introduce you. He should listen to me. If he doesn’t, you run and hide. I’ll try to convince him to go to Parts and Service without you. That might be a teensie bit difficult, though… he probably won’t want to go.”

“Tell him I’m there,” Gregory suggested. “I’ll just meet you guys there.”

“Then we’ll run into the same problem,” Chica pointed out. “But worse because there’s no place for you to hide in Parts and Service. Monty can be reasonable. We’ll think of something.”

The shutters at the end opened, revealing a faux bog lined with mini golf courses. Alligators hissed and roared, rising up out of the water, opening their mouths and shaking their heads, and then sinking back under the rippling surface. A ball pit filled the center of the room with a trailer rearing out of the island in the middle.

Gregory looked over the lights hanging in the branches of the trees like fireflies as they walked. Two Security Bots made their rounds, but Chica and Gregory evaded them. After passing up a small stage, they came upon a building labeled “GATOR GRUB”.

Gregory hesitated. “There’s a security room down the hall connected to this room. And it lets out an alarm. It might attract Monty.”

Chica tapped her beak. “We don’t want to talk to him while an alarm is going off. Well, if he does appear, we’ll just need to run out of there.”

Gregory nodded and pushed open the door. The chef bot stood in front of the counter, waiting for instruction or perhaps to be booted up. He glanced back at the chicken animatronic as she shut the door behind him, looking over the kitchen as they walked. Her head turned back at an unnatural degree as they progressed out. But when the door shut behind them, she looked ahead again. Gregory turned his attention down the long, desolate hall as well. A single security badge icon stamped into the far wall was the only thing to break the monotonous, flat gray of the cramped space.

A single turn later, and there were five doors–two close to each other on the left, two further apart on the right and one at the far end. Gregory stepped into the door on the left into the security office, ignoring the cluttered space around it. Red lights blazed and an alarm shrieked. Gregory winced and shut off his light. Shoot, he should probably remember which ones activated instantly. Then again, this was hopefully going to be his last time here so he wouldn’t need to.

Gregory lunged for the security Freddy head on a tech-covered table and bopped it on the nose, snatched the camera beside it, and the blue and rainbow ticket to MAZErcise on the pizza box nearby. Once the Freddy head had opened all the way, he took the security badge inside.

The time was four-fifteen am. Again.

He looked back to see Chica standing directly in front of the window by the door he’d entered, blocking any view from the outside. His glasses beeped.

Gregory tapped his glasses. [Did you get everything you needed? That Faz-Cam will stop anyone that tries to get near you, except for Monty because of his glasses, and Sun because he’s immune to light based resets.]

Gregory gave her the thumbs up. He winced upon hearing pounding at the door. Monty roared, “I know yer in there!”

He stepped out through the other door. Once that door closed behind him and he slipped out into the hall, Chica followed and then ushered him out through the door opposite, which he now had a high enough security level to access.

The alarm died behind them.

Gregory asked, “So… what time do you think we should call him?”

Chica hummed to herself. “Well, I’m not quite sure. He’s definitely going to be patrolling the golf course after this.”

“Gregory? Why are you guys walking?”

I dunno, because Chica’s pretty loud when she runs. I’m not leaving her again.

“You’re going to get killed.”

Gregory opened his mouth to speak when the ground started to shake under him. He bristled and spun around in time to see Monty charge up the trail behind them, lavender eyes concentrated on him. Gregory tried to run but Chica pushed his head down, simultaneously stopping him and forcing him to duck.

Monty flew over him. He landed on the trail ahead of them, tipping forward and waving his tail to regain his balance, and turned around to face them. He cackled, “Rock and roll!”

Gregory slipped out of Chica’s grasp and stood up. “Monty, wait! Before you kill me or whatever, please listen to me.”

Chica chipped in, “Monty, please listen to him.”

Monty tipped his head with a low, confused growl. He bared his claws, but at least shut his mouth.

Gregory let out a quiet breath and pulled out his Monty Golf score sheet. He held it out and stepped forward, Monty’s signature facing the animatronic alligator.

Monty looked down at the paper and carefully took it from him. Despite having likely perfect vision being a robot, he squinted at the paper. “This is my signature,” he grunted. “An’ it’s marked last evenin’. But I don’t remember these scores or you.”

Gregory explained, “Today–er, last night since it’s morning now, I went to Monty Golf. I’m terrible at mini golf and I’d never played before. You helped me out and gave me a new score sheet because it was my first time playing. That night, during the show, this white rabbit lady showed up and lured me into the utility tunnels, where I ran away. I found you in your green room and you agreed to help me. You gave me these glasses.” He pointed to his glasses. “You helped me get through the Pizzaplex and find a way to escape by getting seven security badges. We found out Vanny, the rabbit lady, was controlling you guys through a virus in the main network. I took you off the main network and put you into Safe Mode and that helped. We helped Chica and Roxy. Finally, you helped me escape, even though I wanted to stay and help.”

Chica put in, “He found me this morning and asked for my help and then he helped me. I feel different, now. She did something to me, Monty. She’s done something to all of us.”

Monty blinked his umber eyes and looked at Chica and then Gregory. He held out the paper for the kid, who immediately, gently, refolded and pocketed it. “That’s jus’ plain ridiculous,” he stated. “…but I have to believe it. I wrote it to myself an’… Chickadee, I’ve never seen this Vanny person.”

Chica shook her head. “Me, neither. But Roxy has and so has Gregory.”

Monty blinked. “She did? Why didn’t she tell us?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted.

“We’ve been here a long time. We should get going.”

Gregory looked around. “Do… you want to go to Parts and Service? Then we can help you.”

Monty looked at Chica, who nodded, and then at Gregory. “Yeah, guess so.”

Gregory grinned and walked with them down the trail. He narrowed his eyes at a creeping headache. He gasped and looked around. “Chica! It’s the rabbit lady!”

Chica looked around. “Where?”

Monty glanced down at him and then around Monty Golf. “Did you see her?”

“No, no! I always feel bad whenever she’s close! I-it’s like she has this-this thing on her that makes everything all weird!” Outside of the two security bots, nothing moved in the golf course.

Chica took his hand and moved forward. “We need to move. If you see her, tell me.”

Gregory stumbled, but quickly found his footing and followed. He nodded, hugging Bonnie close to his chest. Monty growled and followed, swinging his head back and forth and holding his claws out by his side. Gregory tried not to look back at him. Don’t run. Whatever you do, don’t run. Bonnie? Can you hear me?

“…”

I thought so.

His headache worsened. Then, as they approached the elevators, he caught a set of white ears peeking out over the landing in front of the elevators. He exclaimed, “She’s on the landing!”

Chica and Monty both looked up. Chica asked, “Where?”

Vanny leaned over the balcony and waved. “Hello, Gregory~!” she cooed and cocked her head to the side, flopping her ears over. “I found you~!” With that, she skipped down the stairs.

Gregory pointed at the stairs. “Sh-she’s on the stairs! You really can’t see her?”

Chica turned and ran in the opposite direction. Gregory yelped and stumbled and ran after her. “I can’t. We need to leave!”

Gregory yelped, “No! No, Chica, I can’t run!”

Chica glanced back at him. “Why not?”

Beep! Gregory winced. Beep! He looked back. Beep! Monty held his paws over his eyes and doubled over. Beep! Vanny stopped by the alligator animatronic and stared up at him. Beep! He took a step back, shook his head, and then lowered his hands and turned his lavender eyes on Gregory and Chica.

Gregory’s headache eased into nonexistence. He wheezed, “Monty goes back into hunting mode when I run from him.”

Chica looped back to Gator Grub and down the hall. She led him through the hall, the door at the end, and the small, circular tech room into one of the golf courses with mist and gold guard rails.

Behind the bathrooms was a gold door with a “10” at the corner. Chica stopped and pushed through it. Gregory could barely hold back tears upon seeing the descending spiral stairs. She let go of him and ushered him inside. “Keep going. Find your way back to my greenroom and then Parts and Service. I’ll distract Monty. Okay?”

Gregory stammered but nodded.

Chica stepped back and shut the door behind herself. The ground shook and Monty’s snarling grew louder… and then softer.

Gregory, gasping and wheezing for air, descended the stairs.

“Gregory? What happened? Where are we?”

Vanny caught up to us and turned Monty against us again. Chica distracted him and told me to go through the utility tunnels.

“Alone?”

Either alone or with her and Monty and probably Vanny, too.

“…point taken.”

Gregory tapped his glasses to look at his chat log. Monty left a few messages behind.

[Don’t run! Little guy, tell Chica to stop!]

[Keep running. Somethin’s wrong, I don’t know.]

[Little guy, it’s Parts and Service, right? You said to go there?]

[I’m sorry, I don’t want to hurt you. Just stay with Chica!]

Gregory’s heart stung. He stepped down into the cement hall and kept walking. He took out his flashlight and pointed it around at the cluttered space and walls. Eventually, his flashlight’s beam fell over a few symbols and arrows pointing to the Daycare, Kid’s Cove, and an arcade. “Okay, so… Kid’s Cove is next to the entrance to Monty Golf. A-and the Daycare is next to the entrance to the Pizzaplex. If we go to the Daycare, we can go there and then backtrack through those utility tunnels back to Rockstar Row.”

“Isn’t the security door closed?”

“It can’t still be closed.”

“What if it is? We can’t get back in here.”

Gregory bit back a growl. “Well, then, we’ll get to Rockstar Row through the atrium.”

“Right under Roxy’s nose, without Chica to gaslight her.”

What do you suggest we do?

“Just keep moving through here. These tunnels connect to all the attractions. I’m sure one will connect to the one connecting to Rockstar Row eventually.”

Gregory bit back a growl. Bonnie was just being helpful. He was making sense, too. Ergh! Why couldn’t they just be there already? This place was creepy! With it’s one light every twenty feet that flickered and the rows of tech that beeped and glinted like something out of an old sci-fi movie.

Gregory checked the wall, squinting to make out the symbols. They had passed Kid’s Cove and were close to the tunnel leading to the Daycare, now. The lights were dimmer here. Hopefully they stayed clinging to life, no matter how little it was.

…

They passed the Daycare and took two turns and Gregory could see signs pointing to various maintenance and control facilities, but none to Rockstar Row or Parts and Service. Gregory spat, “This is so stupid! I should just go to the atrium!”

“A little bit longer.”

“Do you remember any of this?”

“Well, not really. I know something bad happened near the Daycare tunnel, or a tunnel with the Daycare marked on it. But that’s it.”

“Helpful,” Gregory grunted.

“Yeah, well, I’m trying my best here. I barely ever went into the Utility Tunnels.”

Gregory scuffed the ground with his shoe. “This is so stupid,” he repeated. “We should be there by now, or at least know where we are. I wish this place wasn’t so confusing. I wish we had a map!”

“A map would be helpful.”

Gregory ran his light over the wall again to get some sense of where he was going. He started to speak but hesitated upon hearing a new sound–a robotic buzzing like the frantic whirring of gears and speeding wheels. Wheels and motors? Like a moped or cart or something? Driven by Officer Vanessa? …with no light?

He started off down the hall at a sprint. The whirring got louder until suddenly a set of robotic, pincher-like hands grabbed his arm in a vice grip and spun him around. He screamed and whipped his flashlight up so it glared off the S.T.A.F.F. bot’s orange-and-white face.

Map Bot released him and held out a blue and white pamphlet. “Take a map.”

Gregory looked at the map and then the robot.

“Take a map,” Map Bot repeated.

Gregory took the map.

“Thank you. Enjoy.” Map Bot straightened out, turned, and rolled down the hall at a more passive pace.

Gregory stared after the robotic greeter until finally the S.T.A.F.F. bot vanished into the dark. “W… what?”

“You have a map, now. That should lead you to Rockstar Row. I forgot they did that.”

“O-oh. Right.” Gregory blinked and shook his head. “Right.” He looked down at his newest piece of literature. Gregory knelt, spread it over the ground, and held his flashlight far back behind himself so it didn’t glare over the paper quite so hard into his eyes. “So, we… are probably around here. We passed up the Daycare having come from Monty Golf and… Rockstar Row was in the exact opposite direction.” Gregory hung his head and sighed. “Great.” He packed up the map, put it in his pocket, and started off down the hall again.

“At least we know where we’re going.”

That’s a comfort.

Beep! Gregory tapped his glasses. [Gregory? Where are you? I convinced Monty to come to Parts and Service, but you aren’t here.]

Gregory said, “I got lost in the utility tunnels, but I found my way and I’m on my way back. Is he in the cylinder? Is he still under the influence of the virus?”

Beep! [No, he’s outside of it. I don’t know; he’s not acting mean. But he’s never acted mean toward me before.]

“Can you get him to talk to me?”

Beep! [Can he talk to you?]

“He talked before, when we were running away.”

Beep! [Okay, I’ll ask him, now.]

Beep! [Little guy? How do I know how to contact you?]

Gregory grinned. “Hey, Monty! You’re my friend! Don’t you remember? Even a little bit?”

Beep! [No, I’m sorry. Chica keeps telling me about you, but I don’t rightly recall seeing you. Vanessa did say there was a missing kid around here. Guessing that’s you.]

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’ve seen me before. You’ve attacked me before.”

Beep! [I have? When? Why?]

“You don’t remember?” Gregory bit his tongue and asked, “You keep finding an intruder here, right?”

Beep! [That’s right. There’s a security threat around here somewhere. Nearly caught them in the Prize Counter and gave them the what for.]

Gregory asked, “Can you describe them? Like, what did they look like?”

Beep! [You saying you’ve seen them?]

“Maybe. So, can you?”

Beep! [I sure can! I almost caught them at the Prize Counter! I]

Several seconds of silence followed this message.

Beep! [I can’t rightly tell you. I just know they’re a threat. Have you seen them?]

“Yeah. That was me,” Gregory said. “At the Prize Counter, and just now in Monty Golf. That ‘intruder’ was actually me. It’s Vanny. She’s done something to you all to make you think kids are security threats or something. Roxy tried to kill me, too. So did Freddy.”

Beep! [That was you? Kid, I could’ve killed you.]

“But you didn’t. Chica saved me. And I’m going to help you once I get to Parts and Service. Hopefully putting you into Safe Mode removes whatever hold she has on you.”

Beep! [If you come here, I’ll see you as a threat and I’ll try and neutralize you.]

“Then don’t see me, problem solved,” Gregory scoffed. “Close your eyes or something. Or, I’ll tell you guys when I’m getting close. Then you go in on your own before I get there.”

Beep! [Heh. Close my eyes. I like your way of thinking. Alright. Tell us when you’re close.]

Gregory drew his flashlight over the walls. “Okay. Will do!”

“So, good news?”

Great news! Monty is feeling better, but is definitely still under the influence of the virus.

Chapter Text

As Gregory caught Bonnie up on recent events, he checked on the signs painted on the walls to be sure they were going in the right direction. Sure enough, he came across one leading to the Daycare and to Monty Golf.

“Shouldn’t Vanny be here?”

Gregory’s step wavered. However, no red eyes glinted in the dark and his senses were just fine. Maybe she thought we slipped past her and went into the atrium? Or maybe she didn’t expect us to get lost and tried following us to Rockstar Row.

“Wouldn’t that mean she would be in Rockstar Row?”

Gregory half wanted to ask Chica to keep a look out for him, but he knew how futile that would be. Instead, he shook his head. No, she’ll have moved on. Right? We’ll just need to be careful. That’s if she was there in the first place, which she might not be!

Still, anxiety got the better of him and he stopped and turned around. We can get there through Monty Golf. There’s only a small corner of the atrium between Monty Golf and the hall leading to Rockstar Row. And I can flash Roxy.

“As good idea as any, I suppose. I wish we knew where she was!”

As Gregory started to climb the stairs back up to Monty Golf, the shadows shifted behind him. He jumped and spun around. The kid from the endoskeleton maze stood at the base of the steps, staring up at them, his hold on the creepy yellow bear lax. Gregory relaxed somewhat. “Hey. So, you don’t just haunt kiddy mazes, then?”

“No,” Evan said. “I mostly just stay here.”

“Here? Like the utility tunnels? Or Monty Golf?”

“Freddy Fazbear’s.” The spirit frowned. “I shouldn’t, but I do.”

“So, this place is haunted?”

The spirit nodded.

Gregory pointed up. “Well, I’m going to Monty Golf and then to see my friends in Parts and Service. You wanna come with?”

“No,” Evan stated. “I’ll stay here.”

“Okay, sure.” Gregory looked up. Then he looked back at the kid. Curiosity overtook any caution he might have had. When the spirit showed no signs of moving, he descended the stairs, stepping around the other kid as he did so. “So, uh… did she kill you? Is that why you’re here?”

He shook his head. “No, not her. It was… an accident.” Evan looked down at Fredbear and fiddled with his paw. “I get that. It’s not right, but it was. He didn’t mean to.”

Gregory tipped his head. “How do you accidentally murder a kid?”

“By being mean and stupid.” Evan pointed down the hall. “You should head down that way if you want to meet your friends.”

“Okay, thanks. Hey, so, like… why are you talking to me now?”

“Because I can. It’s easier to talk to people when it’s quiet.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is that why you aren’t around when I’m up top? Well, then, why haven’t I seen you in the utility tunnels before? Or in the sewers?”

“We–I wasn’t interested in talking to you before the time loop,” Evan said. “I thought you would be another dead kid. It would be easier talking to you when you were… dead. You’re always with someone else down here. It’s always so loud that you wouldn’t be able to hear me and you pay too much attention to the animatronics to see me. Which is what you need to do.”

“Oh. And ’cause they’re not here, you’re able to talk to me, now. So, because you’re able to talk to me now, can you tell me who you are?”

“I don’t think you want to know.”

Gregory snorted. “What, are you some parallel version of me or something? Some version of me stuck in an infinite time loop? We don’t even look the same.”

“You actually do look pretty similar.”

“No, I’m not you,” Evan admitted.

“Is he from the old location?”

“Bonnie asks if you’re from the old location,” Gregory translated diligently.

The kid blinked owlishly at him. “…yes.”

Gregory perked up. “Oh! That means you’re one of the children the old Freddy models ate! Er–sorry.”

“Gregory!”

The spirit grimaced. “The others weren’t eaten by Freddy, they were killed.”

Gregory looked down at Bonnie. “Sorry. I thought so. Just, you know, stories and stuff. Most people think about the disappearances and murders and stuff and they think ab–the others weren’t eaten? Does that mean you were?” He looked up, but found Evan gone. He sighed. “I’m an idiot.”

“Yeah. Come on, idiot. Time to go help your friends.”

Hey! Gregory continued walking down the tunnel.

“Heh! I’m kidding! …you really shouldn’t ask a dead kid if he got eaten by Freddy.”

One of the branching tunnels led to Rockstar Row, but another led directly to Parts and Service. “Hey, guys? I’m almost there!”

Beep! [Oh, good! I was getting a little worried. I’m glad you found your way.]

Beep! [I’ll, uh, put myself in the cylinder.]

“Well, Bonnie, one more repair. Then we’ll fix Roxy and maybe we’ll find a way to help Freddy, too!”

“Definitely find a way to help Freddy.”

One of the double red doors opened and Chica waved at him. “You can come in! Hello, Gregory!”

Gregory grinned and ran up to her. “Hey, Chica! Man am I glad to see you!”

Chica laughed and, when he passed, shut the door. “I’m so happy to see you, too. I’m sorry for leaving you alone, but the only way I could talk to Monty is if you weren’t there.”

Gregory nodded. “Yeah, I thought so. But I’m here, now.” He pushed through the other door and approached the cylinder. The first thing he saw were Monty’s clawed feet and hands and his yellow chin. He walked to the computer terminal, its screen glowing a dark green with lighter green letters.

“Select Upgrade” in digital, light green letters stamped across the top. Under it was a list with slightly smaller printed words. “Power Upgrade” “Claws Upgrade” “Voicebox Upgrade” and “Eyes Upgrade”, all in off-white text, listed below with “Exit” in lime text.

The computer said, “Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure.”

Gregory pressed the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. “Select Repair” replaced the upgrade heading. “Hardware Scan”, “Physical Scan”, “Routine Check-Up”, and “Custom-Repair” were listed below it.

He decided to do a hardware scan, first–like he’d done with Chica. Nothing was wrong with his outside body.

The computer announced, “It seems that Monty is under the weather. It seems Monty’s basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Monty will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice. Activating safety protocols. Rebooting in Safe Mode.”

The cylinder opened beside Gregory. Monty got up and walked out, ducking his head a little as he went.

Gregory asked, “So, how do you feel?”

“Better,” Monty admitted. “I… feel different.” He hesitated and then looked over at the far side of the room. He looked at Gregory. “Hey, Little guy? Can you try runnin’ over there?” He pointed to a spot at the end of the room.

“Sure!” Gregory turned and raced over to the spot indicated. He stopped and looked back at Monty and gave him the thumbs up.

Monty gave him the thumbs up back and laughed. “You did it! Good job, kid!”

Chica clapped her hands together. “Oh, this is so exciting! And no one got hurt.”

The time was four-fifty-five am.

Gregory winced as the lights went out around them. Monty growled and lashed his tail, his claws out beside himself. Chica took a few steps back. “Gregory, you can hide in the charging station.”

“No!” Gregory countered immediately. “Then he’ll just attack you again! I am not going to just stand around and let you get taken by that stupid jester again!”

Two red lights glittered through the glass. He looked out through the double sets of glass to the utility tunnels to see Moon peering inside, head cocked.

Monty cut in, “Climb into my stomach hatch. Then we can hide together and Chica can go to her room. Right, Chickadee?”

Chica gasped and nodded. “Yes, good idea!”

The time was four fifty-six am.

Gregory looked at Chica as he untied his coat and slipped it on. “Promise you’ll go? You’re not gonna wait?”

“I promise.”

Gregory ran up to Monty, who stood up straight and opened the hatch stretching from the top of his chest down through his stomach. Gregory had to be careful of the wires and inner mechanisms of the animatronic alligator, but there was room for him if he curled up tight enough. The stomach hatch closed and Monty leaned forward again. Gregory’s glasses hooked up to the cameras in Monty’s eyes so he could see out into the world beyond and not just his cramped space.

Chica walked up the stairs. Monty turned and pushed through the doors. He stopped upon almost immediately running into Moon.

The jester hopped back, hissing madly. He cocked his head. “Monty Gator, that’s dangerous. You could hurt the child.”

Monty lashed his tail. “You’re dangerous!” He tried to walk sideways, but that required twisting around in such a way it compressed the compartment Gregory hid inside of and the boy let out a terrified squeak. Monty stopped that particular move and raised his claws. “I ain’t afraid to defend myself, clown.”

Moon flipped forward so he stood on one hand. His bells jangled quietly in the quick, fluid movement. “You could hurt the child.” He rotated his head so that it was right-side-up. “Release him.”

Monty snorted and stalked toward the recharge station. In two bounds Moon was between him and it.

The time was four-fifty-seven am.

Monty growled and lowered his head and parted his jaws so the jester, hopping from foot to foot just like his statue, could see his plastic teeth with metal jaws and reinforced claws. “I’m tryin’ to be nice, but yer wearin’ my patience. Get!”

Moon stated, “Release him. It’s past his bed time, and he’s been a naughty boy.”

Gregory shut his eyes. Bonnie, I hope this works.

“Hope what works?”

He tapped his glasses and concentrated on Moon. He breathed in a voice hardly louder than his thundering heart and definitely quieter than Monty’s growling, “Can you hear me?”

Moon’s dancing stopped and its head turned ninety degrees clockwise. Beep! [You speak? Why don’t you talk outside?]

“Because you hurt Chica and you scared me.”

Moon, still on one foot, withdrew a little. Beep! [She was malfunctioning. She needed help. I did not hurt her.]

Monty’s growl tapered off, though he didn’t make a move against the jester.

“She would’ve did it on her own. And you still scared me. Monty’s my real friend. And you’re threatening him!”

Beep! [Monty harmed you.] Moon’s head turned upside down, now. The bell on his hat jingled morosely at the slow movement. [He frightened you. He nearly killed you.]

“Well, he didn’t mean to. I know he’s my friend. He helped me.” Gregory couldn’t help but look at his arm. Hidden beneath the sleeve of his coat were bandages covering marks left by Monty’s claws. “It was an accident.”

Monty echoed, “An accident?”

“But he’s still trying to help me. He’s awesome and he’s been great to me, even before the Pizzaplex closed and Vanny attacked me. You weren’t. You’re broken. The lights are left on all the time because no one likes you! No one likes you because you act like a jerk!”

“Gregory! Stop!”

“Get out of the way of the recharge station. You’re not gonna get me again. You can’t kill all the children you meet.”

“Stop, seriously!”

“Go back to the Daycare and sulk you stupid security bot!”

“Gregory shut up!”

Gregory shut his mouth. The sudden spike of anger in Bonnie’s voice cut off any other words that might have come to mind.

Moon’s foot landed on the ground and his head rotated right side up.

The time was four-fifty-eight am.

Moon asked, his tone indecipherable and its pitch as weirdly warbled as always, “Do you feel better now?”

“…Bonnie’s mad at me.”

“You’re damn right I am.”

Why?

Moon cooed, “It’s bedtime, naughty child.”

Monty stormed forward and lashed out with teeth and claws. Moon leaped up and clung to the wires thicker than Gregory’s arm above the recharge station. Monty opened the recharge station door with a cackle and stepped inside. Moon landed behind them, hissed, and then spun around and darted off.

The time was five am.

Monty huffed, “You really went off, didn’t you, Little guy?”

“Heh, yeah.”

The animatronic alligator stepped out of the recharge station. Gregory immediately left his stomach hatch and landed deftly on the ground. He pulled off his coat and wrapped it around his neck. Monty asked, “You mentioned an accident. That it?”

Gregory looked up at him and then his pointer finger and his own arm. “…yeah. It was an accident. You remember when the rabbit was there, and we ran from her? Well, that happened, sort of, but with Roxy and Vanessa chasing me.” Gregory gave him a very short recap of the story, from how Monty tried to eat him but stopped upon recognizing him to him defending Gregory from Vanessa and accidentally cutting him with his claws.

Monty looked at his claws with a low huff. “Been doin’ that a lot. Accidentally breakin’ things. Hurtin’ people. May as well just stop touching things at all.”

“It was an accident,” Gregory reiterated. “You didn’t really hurt me. You just nicked me. I also got cut on a vent, so I need bandages there, anyway. You’re not dangerous, Monty.” He set down Bonnie and grabbed Monty’s hand with both of his own. “You’re not stupid. You’re not dangerous. You’re an awesome alligator and my best friend. Even if you don’t remember it.”

Monty stared at him for a long moment. He chuckled and ruffled the knitted cap on Gregory’s head. The boy ducked, laughing. “You’re a good kid, y’know that? There’s a family out there lucky to have you, an’ we’re gonna make sure you get back to ’em, alright?”

Gregory’s grin went slack and he looked away. “I don’t–”

The double red doors opened. Chica poked her head out. “Hello!” she chirped and waved.

Gregory let go of Monty and waved back. “Hey, Chica!” He picked up Bonnie and ran to meet her. Monty was quick to catch up.

Chica stepped out into the utility tunnels so the door could shut behind her. “Thank you so much, Monty! Aw, look at you! You are just the cutest thing, Mini-Monty!” she cooed.

“I’m not cute,” Gregory corrected, gaining an amused chortle from the bird in return and muffled snicker from the gator.

“Well, you are to me,” Chica decided. “I knew Monty would keep you safe. See? No one got hurt!”

Gregory’s smile fell somewhat. “You did.”

Chica shook her head. “Gregory, it takes a lot more than that to hurt me. Moon is specifically programmed against harming other animatronics.”

Monty looked between them. “What happened?”

Gregory said, “Moon attacked Chica when the lights went out.”

Chica stated, “I was critically low on battery and hid Gregory in a recharge station rather than use it myself. Moon’s job includes bringing malfunctioning animatronics to Parts and Service.”

Monty grunted and crossed his arms. “That creepy clown’s still tryin’ to hurt the kid, if you’d rather hide him in a recharge station than risk letting the little guy stay outside of it.”

Gregory nodded.

Chica sighed. “Monty, name-calling is rude, first of all. Second of all, yes, I am protecting Gregory from Moon. But that doesn’t mean Moon is bad. I protected Gregory from you.”

Monty recoiled. “I wasn’t actin’ right because of somethin’ that rabbit did to me!”

“Maybe it’s been affected by Vanny like we were.”

“Or maybe it’s ‘actin’ weird’ cause it’s just plain malfuctionin’ an’ the maintenance crew ain’t doin’ anything to fix it.”

Gregory looked down at Bonnie and quietly ran his fingers over the rabbit’s ear.

“It’s okay, Gregory. I know them. They aren’t actually mad at each other.”

Chica shot back, “I know Moon can do good, and being around Gregory is making it act unkindly. Like when Gregory ran from you, you started chasing him.”

Gregory looked through his chat logs. He stopped by one in particular. [That is fair. But please, you need to turn the lights on! He doesn’t want to hurt you. But his security mode is… out of sorts.] Sun had sent that one when the lights were off, and Gregory hadn’t trusted him enough to take his advice about how to open the Naptime Room door.

Gregory chipped in, “Maybe Chica has a point?”

The quarreling animatronics looked down at him. The chicken animatronic winced and bowed her head. Monty asked, “What do you mean, Little guy?”

“I mean: Sun said his security mode was acting weird. Moon isn’t just a security bot. He’s also in charge of putting kids to bed. So, what if we disable his security protocols or something? Would that fix whatever’s making him go crazy?”

Monty looked at Chica and then Gregory and nodded. “Y’know, that ain’t a bad idea. That would also make it harmless.”

Chica slowly agreed, “Moon wouldn’t be able to hurt you. Or attack anyone. Or defend itself.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Sun doesn’t have security protocols, and he can’t defend himself,” Chica explained. “He can alert us, and we can deal with the intruder. Or security can, I guess.”

“You know how the neighbors declawed their cat to keep it from clawing the furniture?”

Yeah. Why?

“This would be sort of like that.”

“Oh.” Gregory thought for a long moment, not really looking at anything. “So, what do you think?”

“I think we can restrict his security protocols.”

Chica asked, “Who are you asking?”

“Bonnie,” Gregory answered. “He said we can restrict his security protocols instead. Taking them away would be like declawing him. And you shouldn’t declaw cats.”

“I once took away a cat that was declawed. It was unfortunate. It didn’t last long.”

Gregory gasped and held out Bonnie. “What happened to it? How did a cat get into the Pizzaplex?”

“It’s a long story. You should talk about Moon instead.”

Monty asked, “Eeeeeh there isn’t a cat in the Pizzaplex?”

Chica stood up straight. “Well, sometimes animals sneak inside. But the staff will get them out soon enough!”

Gregory shook his head and held Bonnie close again. “Well, whatever, right, okay. Anyway, Bonnie said we should talk about Moon instead. Which is a good idea. The only way we can get to Moon is if the lights are off. And Sun definitely isn’t leaving the Daycare.”

Monty snorted. “I ain’t turning out the lights.”

Chica nodded. “He would be very mad if you did that. And he would be right, too!”

“Which means we need the lights to turn off on their own,” Gregory went on.

“An’ so we wait?”

Gregory shook his head. “Waiting won’t help. Time doesn’t move forward unless we make it move forward. There are a few times that the lights have gone out. There was the time Chica malfunctioned.” He held up a finger. “The time I repaired Roxy.” He held up another finger. “After we left the Daycare.” Another finger. “Just now when I fixed you, Monty.” He held up another finger. “And then when I picked up that pass from Chica’s room.” He held out his thumb, splaying his whole hand. “So, five whole hours. Time skipped over the end of the hour when Vanessa grabbed me at two am yesterday, so I didn’t see Moon. Even if I did, Vanessa already had me. And that’s not something we can do.”

Monty tapped the air. “So, Chica can’t malfunction again, and you already fixed me, that’s two out.”

Chica chipped in, “We already left the Daycare, and fixing Roxy would put us at five-fifty, meaning you would need to leave at six am.”

Gregory finished, “So that just leaves the Party Pass in your room! If I grab that pass, the lights will go out. Then Moon will come out to get me. We can lead him down here and trick him into Parts and Service.”

Monty laughed. “That’s brilliant! You’re a smart kid!”

Chica put a finger to her beak. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Tricking people is wrong.”

Monty pointed out, “Moon would say ‘no’ and so’d Sun, you know that. I said no the first time, before I knew I was gonna hurt Gregory. Moon knows it’s hurtin’ Gregory an’ it still won’t stay away.”

Gregory frowned. “You’re right, Chica. It’s wrong to trick people. But Moon is seriously smart. If we ask him or Sun, they’ll figure out our plan. We only have one shot at this. It’s this or Moon keeps attacking me. Maybe he’ll stop attacking you guys, too! You said you wanted to help him, right? Maybe this will help! And you don’t need to be part of it if you don’t want to. You can stay in the charging station while I lure him into Parts and Service.”

Chica clicked her beak. “I still have a bad feeling about this. But… if it helps… I guess it’s okay just this once.”

“Just this once,” Gregory accepted. “And not again. If this doesn’t work, we won’t try to trick him again.”

Chica nodded. “Okay. But you need to promise that you won’t hurt it. Neither of you will hurt it.” She narrowed her eyes at Monty.

Monty held up his hands. “Alright, alright! I won’t hurt it, I swear.”

“Promise,” Gregory agreed.

Chica nodded and relaxed. “Good! Now, I have a Party Pass on my desk. Is that the one you were talking about?” She opened the doors to Parts and Service and walked toward the stairs.

Gregory ran up to her side so he could match her speed. “Yep! That’s the one!”

Monty followed behind. “Well, this aughtta be fun.”

Chapter Text

Gregory, Chica, and Monty stood in Chica’s room. Gregory said, “We have one chance. Moon is super smart, and he probably won’t fall for the same thing twice.”

Chica asked, “Gregory, are you sure this is right? I know we should help them, but tricking people is wrong.”

Gregory shrugged. “Well, I don’t know how else to help them. Moon’s coming to us. That’s super important. I don’t want to have to hurt him. You know? Like Monty! We managed to get Monty to go to Parts and Service on his own. But do you think I could talk Roxy into doing it by myself?”

Monty patted Chica’s shoulder. “The boy’s tryin’ to help, Chickadee.”

Chica sighed and bowed her head. “I know.” She set her hand on the back of her neck. “It is just… tricking people is wrong. It’s bad to trick people.”

“Would he listen to any of us if we asked him to come with us?” Gregory asked. When she didn’t answer, he looked at the ticket on her desk. “Just… it’s for his own good. It’ll help everyone.” It’ll make sure he stops hunting me.

The chicken animatronic sighed and nodded. “Okay. Oh, I hope he’s okay.”

Monty chipped in, “Ah, I’m sure it is, Chica! Don’t you worry a feather on your head! Alright, little guy. I’ll go down an’ tell you when I’m in position.” With that, the alligator animatronic turned and walked out of the room.

Chica said, “Maybe I could talk to Sun.”

“Maybe,” Gregory agreed. “What if Sun says no? Sun and Moon are the s–in the same body. Then he’ll figure out we’re trying to trap him. Chica, if this doesn’t work, we’ll ask him next time. And… and we won’t hurt him.”

“Chica’s smarter than people give her credit for, Gregory. The virus might have made her go haywire, but that doesn’t mean anything now. If you promise her something like this, you’re keeping it.”

I know, Bonnie! I… I know. Moon will probably attack me first, though.

“You know as well as I do how well she’ll take that excuse. And she’d be right.”

What’s with you defending him all the sudden?

“What’s with you being a jerk all the sudden?”

Chica nodded. “Okay. I believe you, Gregory.”

Beep! [I’m in front of Parts and Services!]

He smiled and grabbed the ticket.

The time was three-fifty-five am.

The remaining lights in the Pizzaplex went out. Chica flinched and ran into her backroom. Gregory ran out of her room.

Moon stared at him from in front of one of the exhibits, low to the ground and glowing red eyes on him. He cackled, “Knock, knock…!”

Gregory called behind himself, “Nobody’s home!” He stopped at Roxy’s room and ran inside and through her elevator. The idea that Moon could just run into the hallway in front of Parts and Service caused his heart to lurch. He took a deep breath. Nope. No bad thoughts. They were going to do this, and they were going to do this right.

The elevator dinged and opened.

The time was three-fifty-six am.

Gregory raced down Roxy’s hallway, his flashlight’s light bouncing off the sharp white and violet bricks. He stopped in time to keep from hitting the security door with Roxanne’s symbol on it and waited the few seconds it took to open before ducking under it and running down the stairs.

Gregory stopped.

Moon stood between him and the double red doors. He cooed, “Good night…”

Gregory took a step back, flashlight trained on Moon’s chest and Bonnie held tight to his chest. “N-no!” He winced at the crack in his voice. “Let me pass.”

“You have been awake far too long…”

The double red doors opened behind it.

Moon hopped to the side, away from Monty and the protective cylinder. Gregory followed Moon’s movement with his flashlight. Monty growled and backed up as well. His hands were by his sides, his clawed fingers curled like talons. He could shred Moon. That’s not what they wanted, though!

The time was three-fifty-seven am.

Gregory glanced at Monty and then Moon. “Why don’t you just leave us alone? You know what’s going to happen. You’re going to just stand there, and I’m going to run with Monty to a recharge station and then get out of here by six am. There’s nothing you can do about it!”

Moon jolted. Then, he made a quiet hiss like steam escaping an engine. He threw himself forward, landing on his hands a mere foot away from Gregory, his body curled back and legs bent backwards so that his curled shoes nearly touched his head. Gregory yelped and scrambled back, running straight into the computer terminal as he did so–still in Moon’s reach. The jester animatronic let go of the floor and curled himself back again so he could snatch Gregory off the floor in both hands and spring off.

That was, until Monty barreled into them.

The alligator leaped across the room and threw himself into them shoulder first, arms out and hands curled into fists. Moon yanked Gregory back and clutched him tight to his chest as the two were thrown a few feet across the floor and skidded another yard or so. Gregory squirmed and struggled, but Moon had wrapped himself completely around him, barring both any chance of escape and any chance of alligator related abduction or injury.

Not the plan, not the plan!

Monty grabbed Moon by the neck and shoved him into the ground. “Let go of the kid.”

Moon, his face inches from the alligator’s toothy snout, hissed back, “Release me. Now.”

Gregory squeaked out, “Let go of me and he might!”

Monty snarled, “I don’t negotiate! Let the kid go!” Feet planted on either side of the taller, but gangly animatronic currently curled up around the child, he kept one hand on the jester animatronic’s neck and the other raised. “Or else.”

“Or else what…?” Moon coiled more tightly around Gregory. “I don’t need a faceplate to do my job, Montgomery Gator. You can’t break me, unless you want to hurt the child… again.”

Monty’s tail lashed. Finally, he roared and slammed his hand down. His claws screeched across the concrete by Moon’s head. Had he been Sun, he would have sustained quite a bit of damage. Gregory flinched.

Moon cooed, “Frustrated are we~?”

The time was three-fifty-eight am.

Monty’s glare subsided a little and his tail waved. “Ha! It’s almost the end of the hour. We’re gonna turn on these lights. You think Sun’s gonna hand that kid over?” Monty set his hand palm-down on the ground where his claws gouged the ground. “Or am I gonna ask him, too?”

Moon snarled and kicked Monty in the chest with both feet. The alligator’s stance wavered, and he lashed his tail and waved one arm to keep his balance. Moon released Gregory with one hand to grab at the animatronic alligator’s lower law and twist left, toward the arm that currently held him by the neck. Moon kicked again and then his left leg with both of its own feet for good measure. Despite technically needing to get away, Gregory couldn’t help but cringe into Moon’s chest in the hopes he wouldn’t get hurt by the alligator’s flailing claws or Moon’s own assault on his captor.

The alligator fell hard on his side.

Moon, his neck still in Monty’s grasp, was yanked down with him. He tried to release Monty and pull back, but Monty grabbed him by his arm and pulled the Daycare Attendant up above himself.

Gregory tried his last trick in the book and went completely limp. The sudden change caused Moon’s grip to slip just a little, for just a moment. Gregory took that moment to back out and stumble away. He scrambled to his feet, huffing. Monty kept his legs down. Good. The claws on his feet were just as sharp as the ones on his fingers, for some odd reason. Why? Why did they do that?

Whatever. Gregory set Bonnie down, took another breath, and jumped onto Moon’s back. “Sorry about this,” he puffed. “Didn’t think Monty was going to take your fricking head off.”

The time was three-fifty-nine am.

“He started it!” Monty barked.

Gregory grabbed the edge of his faceplate. “But it’s time for you to take your nap.”

Moon jolted and his attack on Monty immediately switched to an attempted escape. But Gregory found the emergency reset button near where his neck met his faceplate.

Moon went limp and his eye lights shut off.

The time was four am.

Gregory climbed off of him, picked up Bonnie, and backed up.

Monty grabbed Moon by the shoulders, hesitated, growled to himself, “You promised Chica,” and then gently set him down. Gregory shuddered looking at his face, his eyes staring blankly off at the stairs. The animatronic alligator straightened his jaw, got to his feet, and scooped up the Daycare Attendant. It was almost… funny how human-like he looked, asleep, or “asleep”, in Monty’s arms. Though Moon’s proportions were still not human, he was not as bulky as the animatronics and, in Monty’s arms, didn’t look insanely big or threatening.

Monty said, “Alright, kid. Open the door.”

Gregory ran to the computer terminal, set Bonnie down, and looked back.

Monty stopped in front of the cylinder. Moon’s eye lights flickered on. Monty jolted. “That was fast.”

Moon hissed at him and raised his hands to attack, tipped his head back to look at the cylinder, and immediately stopped all noise and movement. Then, he scrambled up and tried to leap away. Monty grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back. “Nuh-uh! Yer already here! Yer goin’ in!”

“A request by a superior human staff was not filed for me to be put into Parts and Service!” Moon countered, pushing off Monty as hard as he could. But Monty held on as tightly as he dared–Gregory watched closely just in case he nicked Moon, which he didn’t–and waited for the cylinder to open completely.

“Well, yer broken and ya need repairin’. Don’t know why no one’s been doin’ it before, but no one helped us, neither. We got help. Now it’s yer turn.” He had to kneel to get inside.

Moon’s shoes slid off the alligator’s plate-painted chest, belly, and arms. The jester animatronic tugged at his clawed fingers and pushed at his snout and head. He tried twisting his body in weird ways, but Monty’s grip wasn’t dependent on the Daycare Attendant’s joints. “A report was not filed, release me! Now!”

Monty looked back at Gregory as the door had not closed. “Uh… this might be a problem…”

Gregory grimaced. “Uh… Moon? We’re only trying to help. I fixed Monty, Chica, Roxy, and Freddy before. I fixed Monty and Chica this time.”

Moon, his back flat against Monty’s, stared back at him. “I do not require assistance. You are too young to be handling machinery this advanced. Release me, now.”

Gregory looked at the computer terminal.

Monty laughed. “Got an idea!”

“No! No, let me go!”

Gregory looked inside the cylinder again. Monty released Moon with one hand, pinning him against his head and shoulder with his right hand, and used the other to grab a cord tied against the wall. Monty looped it through the hoop in Moon’s back and, with some crazy dexterous finger movement, managed to knot it and pull it tight. “Alright,” the animatronic alligator said to the still struggling jester animatronic. “You want me to let you go? There you go.” Monty released it.

Moon climbed onto Monty’s head and shoulders and shot off across the cylinder. Gregory flattened himself to the ground. Moon hit the end of the cord and stopped just short, causing some of the machinery inside to rattle. He plopped down on the floor, sat up, and looked back. He gave another short tug on the cord. Moon let out a short, high-pitched noise Gregory barely registered and scrambled to untie it.

Monty walked past him and ducked out. With only one animatronic inside, the door started to shut. Moon whipped around. His eyes–the one on the white side of his face blue, now–turned to the door and he made another lunge for an escape but stopped short. Gregory shuffled back, glancing up at Monty and then Moon, who still struggled to untie the knot. But when the door shut and his shaky fingers, less adept than Monty’s, couldn’t loosen the knot, he darted to the back of the cylinder. Strangely, quiet music started to chime, muffled somewhat by the cylinder. Moon’s voice was nearly indecipherable beneath it as he sang with perfect clarity but a low volume, “Twinkle, twinkle little star…” Weird?

He knows where he is, right? Why is he singing a bedtime song?

“Why do you think, Gregory?”

A heavy feeling squirmed inside of him. “Monty?” he asked, looking up at the animatronic alligator. “This… is the right thing, right? We’re doing this to help them.”

“Course we are, Little guy,” Monty soothed. “You’re not doin’ anythin’ wrong. That creepy jester was the one who attacked you, an’way.”

“Yeah, he was going to keep hunting me down,” Gregory agreed. He looked back into the cylinder one last–

He jolted and ran up to the window. “Monty? Is he in there?”

Monty looked inside. “Yeah. I put it in there. Why?”

“Do you see him?”

“…clown’s gotta be in there somewhere.”

Gregory searched, but no light came from within the dark cylinder. The music was there, including the singing, but no light. He pressed his flashlight against the window and shone it inside. He caught a glint of something white and blue. Barely visible behind the red and white chair, huddled behind the machinery, was Moon. “I didn’t know he could turn his eye lights off.”

“Only one way in or out of this thing. Go on, start it up. I don’t know what it does, exactly. But it’s gotta do something.”

“Even if he’s not on the bed thing?” Gregory walked around to the computer terminal and turned it on.

“Maybe.”

The bot declared, “Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure.” A list of upgrades showed, but the boy pressed the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. Computer bot announced, “Preparing for repair procedure.” There was a long pause accented by rattling machines and jingling bells. The music stopped abruptly. “You may now enter the protective cylinder.”

Gregory walked up to the door, which slowly yielded to him. Inside, Moon’s feet fell over the end of the chair. A cord connected to the back of his head.

The bot said, “In case of emergency, the protective cylinder will protect important service personnel outside of the protective cylinder. Deactivating animatronic safety protocols now.” He had safety protocols in the first place? “It is recommended that no mistakes are made during the procedure.”

Gregory pulled up a stool and got up on his knees so he could look down on it. Nothing was broken, so this should be easy. No repair, no mistakes.

“It seems that the Daycare Attendant is under the weather. It seems Moon’s basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Moon will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice.” The computer bot beeped. “An error has occurred. The Daycare Attendant cannot be disconnected from the main network without authorization by the head of security or head engineer. Please provide authorization before continuing.”

“No!” Gregory yelled. “No, no, no!” Gregory growled and hit his knee. “This is so stupid. Why do I need permission to take Moon off the main network?”

Monty offered, “Could be their permissions are different than ours. Their programming is way different than ours.”

Gregory looked back. “Who’s head of security and engineering? Can we call them?”

“Officer Vanessa is Head of Security. John Remington is Head of Engineering, an’ he’s off shift,” Monty reported. “I don’t think you’re gettin’ that authorization, Little guy.”

The kid groaned and looked down at Moon. “Well… there has to be something. Um… well, I have a high security clearance.” Gregory hopped down and ran to the door. The cylinder door opened to allow him passage. He scanned his badge.

It beeped at him. “Please provide authorization from the Head of Security or Head of Engineering before continuing.”

He growled and sighed. “There’s gotta be something… let’s just run some scans or something? Maybe because they’re different from you, she did something different to them.” Gregory tapped down from the “Upgrade” screen and selected “Hardware Scan”.

“Scanning the Daycare Attendant, please standby,” the computer bot said. Another few moments and then a beep. “Scan complete. The Daycare Attendant appears to be in perfect working order. No repairs are necessary.”

Gregory selected “Physical Scan”.

“Scanning the Daycare Attendant, please standby.” … “Scan complete.” The computer bot repeated itself.

Gregory, struggling to keep from getting frustrated, chose “Routine Check-Up”.

The bot repeated itself.

When Gregory chose the last option, “Custom Repair”, the bot asked, “What would you like to repair?”

Gregory hesitated. Shoot, I should’ve thought of this.

“Try ‘security protocols.’”

Gregory said, “Security protocols.”

“Which of the Daycare Attendant’s security protocols do you want repair? Daycare Attendant–Sun or Daycare Attendant–Moon?”

As messed up as Sun was, he wasn’t trying to kill Gregory. So, he said, “Daycare Attendant–Moon.”

The computer bot beeped. “Scan complete. The Daycare Attendant appears to be in perfect working order. No repairs are necessary.”

“Bullcrap.” Gregory looked at Monty. “What else can I ask it?”

Monty shrugged. “I… I don’t know, Little guy. You fixed us by takin’ us off the main network an’ puttin’ us in Safe Mode. If ya can’t do that to the Daycare Attendant, I dunno. Maybe just keep it in there? The cylinder can keep any bots its hooked up to inactive. Even if it activates again, there ain’t any way it’s gettin’ out of there.”

Chica, who’d somehow crept up behind them, said, “Just keep it inactive or trapped? That would horrible!”

Gregory jumped and spun around. “Wha–when’d you get here?”

Chica gasped and put a hand to her beak. “Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you! Well, you hadn’t come back, so I assumed you were done with your plan, and I got worried and came down to check on you. You were partway through with your security protocols thingy. You’re such a smart kid! I’m sorry it didn’t work out. But I don’t think trapping him is the best thing to do. Besides, there’s still Roxy.”

Gregory frowned. “Right, Roxy. So, we need the cylinder to be open.”

Monty pointed out, “By that point, the lights should be on again.”

“Yes, they should,” Chica conceded. “But it’s already so late, it probably needs to get back to the Daycare.”

Gregory nodded. “That’s true. Plus, there’s a recharge station right outside I could run to.” He sighed. “Okay. Turning the computer off now.” He turned to the computer and pressed “Finish Procedure”. Monty stood clear of the door.

After a short pause, the door opened. Moon slunk out into the open. He stopped outside of the cylinder’s reach and looked down at Gregory with bicolored eye lights–one blue, one red–and played with the bells on his wrist. He asked, “You did not deactivate me?”

Gregory blinked. “What? Deactivate you? No. Why would I do that?”

“I harmed and scared you,” Moon stated simply. “And there is no one to stop you.”

Gregory snorted and gestured to Chica. “I promised Chica I wouldn’t hurt you.”

Chica clucked, “And you’re a good kid! You would never deactivate one of us!” Gregory flashed a smile at her before turning back to Moon.

Moon looked up at her. “Chica. You’ve been so kind. Thank you.”

Monty shrugged. “All that strugglin’ for nothin’.”

Moon spun around. In a heartbeat, Monty was on his back. Moon hopped back a few feet.

Gregory bristled. Chica gasped. “Moon! Why did you do that?”

Monty kicked and struggled to pull himself back up. “Stupid clown!” he spat.

Moon growled, “You threatened Sun.”

Chica marched between them and put her hands on her hips. Moon bristled. She turned to Monty, who’d gotten to his feet. “Monty Gator! You know better! Sun is easily frightened. You were supposed to help Moon. It’s so terribly mean to threaten someone, much less their other part! What were you thinking?”

Moon relaxed and cocked his head.

Monty recoiled. “Wh-what? I was only doin’ what I had to! It had that kid in a death grip!”

Chica puffed, “And you could not have gotten the repair cylinder to temporarily deactivate Moon, freeing Gregory and getting Moon where it needed to go without the threats?”

Monty raised a hand and opened his mouth and then shut it again.

Gregory looked between them. That… was a really good idea, actually. Why hadn’t they thought of that?

Chica turned around and relaxed. “I’m sorry, Moon. Monty really isn’t that bad. He’s just defending Gregory. He was trying to help you but was doing it the wrong way.”

Moon stated, “He threatened Sun.”

Chica looked back. “And that was wrong of him. Wasn’t it?”

Monty growled, crossed his arms, and looked away. “…yes.”

“When we do something wrong to someone, what do we say?”

Monty sent Chica a scathing glare. After a long moment, Monty turned to Moon. “I’m sorry fer scarin’ Sun.”

Moon made a quiet beeping noise to himself and said, “He accepts your apology.”

Chica cooed and clapped her hands. “Oh, that’s wonderful! I’m sure we’ll all be friends in no time!” Then, she turned her attention to Moon specifically. “Now, Moon. I understand what Monty did was wrong. But it’s wrong to hit people.”

Moon sank into himself and played with the bells on its wrist and looked away. He growled, “Montgomery is dangerous and mean. He deserved it.”

Monty lashed his tail and growled back. “I ain’t the one tryin’ to kill the kid, ya moody dipstick!”

Chica squawked and turned on Monty. “Name-calling is unacceptable, Monty!”

Moon hissed, “You very well could have injured him had I not protected him!”

Monty barked out a laugh. “Ain’t that rich! You protected him? You were tryin’ to kill him!”

Gregory looked down at Bonnie and petted his ear.

Chica held her hands out. “Monty, please, Moon wasn’t feeling well. We can’t blame him for that.”

“Yeah, an’ it just tossed me over! It wasn’t ‘feelin’ bad’ when it did that just now!”

Moon cackled. “You go down too easily.”

“I don’t!”

Chica turned her head around like an owl to shoot him a hard look. “That’s not funny, buster!”

Moon cocked his head and leaned to the side so he could look around Chica. “He does.”

“I don’t!” Monty lashed his tail again and lifted his claws. “You come over here and tell that to my face!”

Gregory hugged Bonnie and continued petting his ear, trying to block out the noise. Chica would calm them down and then pat him and tell him everything was okay.

Moon hopped from foot to foot, jangling the bells on his feet and wrists. “For a big, scary alligator, you can’t fight off a fool.”

Chica shook her head. “Don’t fight! Please. This isn’t why we’re here.”

Monty shuffled his feet and snorted. “Yeah, fine, Chickadee. ’Sides, I wasn’t expectin’ it. Wasn’t a fair fight.” He sniffed and looked at his claws. “You wouldn’t hold up.”

Chica bowed her head and relaxed.

Moon cooed, “It’s okay you can’t think on your feet, Montgomary.”

Monty roared and flung himself across the room. Moon jumped back, landing in a handstand with its head now right-side-up and shadowed by its feet. Monty pulled his paw back. Gregory squeaked and buried his face in Bonnie’s head.

Chica screamed, “Stop!”

Gregory yelped and clapped his hands over his ears as the sound stabbed into his ears. Bonnie hit the ground. His glasses glitched. Monty jolted and clapped his hands over his head. Moon crumpled and clawed at his face, whining.

Chica stormed up to the two, yanked Moon off the ground by his neck, and grabbed Monty by the mohawk. She waited a few seconds and asked, “Can you hear me now?”

“Yes.” Monty grunted, tail and arms lax, and Moon just mumbled, lying like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

“You two are fighting childishly. Worse than all your petty squabbling is that you are scaring Gregory! You can bicker all you want on your own, but not in front of him! Do you understand me?”

“Yeah, Chica.”

“Yes, Chica.”

“Now I know you aren’t going to apologize sincerely to each other. But you should both know better. Especially you, Moon!” She clicked her beak at the Daycare Attendant. “I expected much better of you! Now I’m going to let you go and you better walk up to that boy and apologize for scaring him right now. Do you understand me?”

The two confirmed they heard her.

She released Monty and nudged Moon to his feet before letting go of him. Moon slunk up to Gregory, who had picked up Bonnie and hugged him again. “Thank you for trying to help me. It was wrong to fight in front of you.”

“Your turn, Gregory.”

What do you mean “my turn”? I didn’t do anything!

“You said no one liked him!”

…oh. Right.

Gregory looked down at Bonnie again. “It’s okay,” he mumbled. “Sorry about yelling at you earlier. That was mean.” Happy now?

“Yes. You can hate him all you want. Just don’t be a jerk.”

“You were scared.” Moon cocked its head, his night cap swinging in the action. “Does that mean I’m forgiven~?”

Gregory narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t say that.”

Moon’s head tipped further and shifted so he was on the other foot. “Awwww… what can I do to make it better?”

Gregory rolled his eyes. “Maybe don’t kill me.”

“I would never~!”

He sputtered, “You chased me through the Daycare! Th-through the Pizzaplex when it got dark!”

Moon tapped its chin, which by now was where his forehead was supposed to be. “If I recall correctly, you’re the one time traveling.”

“…point taken,” he admitted begrudgingly. “Still tried to kill me.”

Moon righted its head. “I would never! You were going in Time-Out.”

Gregory grinned and rocked back on his heels. “Am I still going in Time-Out?”

Moon rocked from foot to foot and hummed to himself. “…perhaps I will let you off this time.”

“Okay, good. …and fine, because Bonnie and Sun said so. I’ll forgive you a little bit.” Gregory narrowed his eyes. “But not completely.”

Moon made a quiet trilling noise Gregory just barely picked up. Was he quiet or just high pitched? “I’m glad to know I have your sort of approval.” Moon gave him a mock bow.

Gregory snorted and rubbed Bonnie’s head with his thumb. “You’re lucky Bonnie likes you for some reason.”

“Well then, thank you, Bonnie,” Moon looked down at Bonnie. “He is in very good shape. You must take good care of him.”

He smiled. “Thanks! Yeah, well, he’s my best friend. I can’t just let him get dirty or torn up or something. It’s kind of hard since I take him everywhere, but I’m really careful. He doesn’t like being alone or sitting in one place since he can’t move on his own.”

“Where did you get him?” Moon prompted.

“Mom got him for me,” Gregory’s voice dropped a little.

“That’s a happy memory. C’mon.”

I know it is. I know.

“I have a Bonnie toy, too! We have the whole set, and some older ones,” Moon went on.  He played with the bells on his wrists. “You could play with them if you want.”

Before Gregory could really think of a response–or a reaction–a big purple paw landed on Moon’s head and Monty entered Gregory’s vision.

Gregory looked up. “Hey, Monty!”

Moon, as Monty ruffled his hat and shoved his head down, backed away and readjusted it.

Monty laughed. “Hey, Little guy! Finally gettin’ along! Too bad the cylinder thing didn’t work. But looks like yer charm did the trick.”

Gregory grinned and snickered. “Well, Chica helped.”

“And?”

“…Bonnie? Yeah, he gave me the idea to try.” Gregory nodded and then laughed when Monty scoffed and crossed his arms. “You gotta admit you almost shredded us both.”

“I did not!” he squawked. Monty hesitated. “Okay, maybe. But I didn’t actually, did I? I’d never hurt ya! Speakin’ o’ which. How about Roxy?”

Gregory nodded, his smile falling. “Right, right. We’ll need to figure out how to get Roxy here. I have an idea, but I kind of want a better one.”

Behind Monty, Chica, arms crossed and eyes boring holes in the back of Monty’s head, made a noise like she was clearing her throat.

Monty flinched. “Right. Uh…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, kid. ’Bout gettin’ in that spat. Wasn’t quite right o’ me.”

Gregory shrugged. “Eh, it’s… I–yeah. Uh, we should just go find Roxy before she finds us first.”

“Tell Moon.”

Tell him what?

“It’s four. You’re about to make if five-thirty.”

…oh. Right.

Gregory looked at Moon, who had been forced to take a few steps back by Monty and now was within Chica’s grasp and being cooed over by her. Chica was nice. And Vanny tried to crush her. He shook himself and said, “Hey, uh… so, it’s four.”

Moon’s attention snapped to Gregory.

“So, hear me out. I’m not going back in time. I’m just going to Roxy Raceway and going forward. So, that’s not bad, right?”

“No. That is not good,” Moon’s voice took a sudden stern tone.

Monty turned on Moon. Gregory went on, “Okay, yeah, I know. Time travel bad. But I can’t exactly go forward naturally. I would need to… okay, it’s four so that means… I’d need to get the Fazerblaster or the Faz-Cam.” He showed off the weapons. “So, can’t do that. Then I’d need to repair someone. Already did that.” He nodded to Monty. “It’s not like I could do that again. If time isn’t going to move forward naturally, I’m going to have to force it to move forward. A-and I’m not going backwards any more tonight.”

Moon growled to himself. “No, no… time travel is unacceptable…” He shuffled his feet and tapped his finger on its other wrist, disturbing one of the bells. “Can’t allow it…. Can’t help.”

Chica chipped in, “You don’t need to help if you really can’t. That’s perfectly okay. We understand.”

Moon tipped his head to look at her and then away again. After another long moment of tapping and growling to himself, he finally said, “No, I cannot allow you.”

“And if you weren’t there?” Gregory asked.

Moon tapped his wrist harder. “No. It’s still bad.”

Gregory groaned. “Then what do you suggest?”

“…I must report back to the Daycare.” Moon crossed the room in a few bounds and fled through one of the double red doors into the utility tunnels.

Then, Monty asked, “How’d you say you convinced Roxy to get here the first time?”

Gregory looked up at him. “Huh? Oh. Uh… I ran a go-kart onto the track and ended up accidentally running her over.”

“What?!”

Gregory held up his hands. “It was an accident! She drove in front of me!”

Chapter Text

Gregory’s flashlight ran over the hallway to Roxy Raceway. “We’ll need to get her to listen to me without getting in front of me.”

Chica hummed and said, “You shouldn’t use one of the go-karts. She’s so competitive, you’ll only make her mad.” She tapped her beak. “Unless you get into a friendly competition with her, somehow.”

Monty nodded. “Yeah! We can’t race with her. I bet havin’ a racin’ buddy would make her night!”

Yeah, a racing buddy with his head still attached, hopefully. Gregory stopped as they came across a split path and raised his flashlight to the shutters blocking him from the beauty salon. He switched the flashlight to his other hand and tucked Bonnie under his arm and held out his cupcake charm. He clicked it a few times and approached the shutters. An arrow marked the floor pointing to the door.

Chica gasped. “Another arrow! Oh, where is this going?”

Monty grunted. “Arrow? Another one? What’s goin’ on?”

Gregory stepped closer so the shutters would open and allow them passage. “Vanny marked special places and made notes with UV stuff. Like her hiding place above Fazerblast, your guys’s rooms, and the Daycare. Vanny must be hiding something here, or there’s something important to her.” A desert stone pilar broke through the ground. Red painted the right wall.

Chica glanced back. “Oh, now that you put it that way… should we be going?”

“Yeah, of course.” Wooden beams and spiky plants guided his way. “Glamrock Salon” was scrawled in curly red letters outlined in gold on the wall.

After passing through another set of shutters, they came to a desert landscape with a road between themselves and a beauty salon. One S.T.A.F.F. bot patrolled the road, barring them entry. Gregory could wait until he passed and darted across the road. However, he noticed the bot stopped near the end of the road before the bend that led further in, turned around, and kept moving. He held his cupcake over the ground, finding the arrow curve and point toward the back of the salon. He signaled for Monty and Chica to wait.

Gregory passed by soda machines, rocket toys, and some places he could hide within until he skirted around to the front of the Beauty Salon. Through the massive glass windows and doors, he could see a salon with rows of long chairs by mirrors and sinks, racks of merchandise making a square corner blocking off couches from the rest of the room, a pedestal with camera equipment near it, and a center bar splitting the place in half with a cash register in the front. Another bot patrolled this place, driving in a circle around the inside of the salon.

Gregory took out his Fazerblaster and shot it in the face.

It stopped in its tracks with a small shiver, its light pointed aimlessly ahead. “Warning: tampering with Fazbear Automated S.T.A.F.F. will result in the suspension of your membership.”

He stuck his tongue out at the thing.

Gregory skirted around it and ran to the end of the room and through the only door not labeled as a bathroom or exit.

The background was cluttered, but interestingly enough a single arcade cabinet stood. “Princess Quest” was printed on the gray machine with red trim. A gold and yellow princess with a lantern walking painted on the side of the machine. Currently, numbers and letters flashed, on the screen. When he shined his cupcake charm light, an arrow pointed directly to it. He clicked off the charm and stuck it in his pocket. A strange feeling came over him. This thing… did not belong here. But it needed to be here.

“I found it,” Gregory said and approached the machine. “It’s the Princess Quest game.”

Beep! [Oh, good! We can leave, then!]

“Just a minute.” He set Bonnie down and pressed “play”. The thing didn’t ask for a coin.

The princess on the arcade cabinet appeared in a very dimly lit castle room with a few doors around it. A chest with a heart in it sat in the top corner. Gregory navigated around the place, finding some doors locked and others open. A few braziers were lit, but others were dark. Her lantern lit them. Floating, round blobs with a set of white teeth and eyes and round goopy spikes erupting from their heads floated around one place. When he got near one, it immediately latched onto her head as if trying to suck out her brain. He decided not to get near any others, not with his health that low. Why did he just have four hearts? At one point he walked down a long, walled-off carpet with a golden chest at the end. Yeah, that’s a trap. A small golden key sat within. The trap activated when he left and a swarm of the black blobs–this time with more pronounced rabbit ears and goopy bipedal bodies, swarmed. They all swarmed to one side so he could go around the other. The graveyard puzzle with a whole bunch of broken gravestones with braziers that needed to be lit in a certain order was a little difficult, especially as some gravestones showed no golden dots to indicate which number they were. A golden chest was at the top of this bit of the map, though. After the gravestone puzzle was a broken room with a burning, glitchy purple chest with an even stranger burning, purple glitchy key. The door with the purple lock opened into a long, unbroken corridor. Two paths blocked by stones led away to the door. But he couldn’t go there. He could only go forward… until the hallway led up into a room with an unlit brazier, which he immediately lit, a gate now barring him from leaving. An amalgamation of the goops, only in a giant form with blazing purple eyes, rose up before him. The game glitched worse and worse. Tentacles spread over the room, and it went dark, leaving only the glowing purple eyes and dots.

The game ended.

Gregory… didn’t know why, but the feeling was back. This didn’t belong here. Now, it no longer needed to be here.

He picked up Bonnie. I felt it again. Did you see that?

“Yeah, creepy. But it’s just a game, Gregory.”

No, there’s something more. Something different.

Beep! [Little guy? You there?]

“Huh? Yeah I’m still here. That game turned off, just like the Balloon World arcade did. I think there’s something weird going on with these games.”

Beep! [Better reason to hurry on back, then! We ought to get back to the Raceway and see Roxy.]

“Okay. I’ll be right there.” Gregory started to leave, but decided to check the bathroom attached to the back room first. A pair of yellow shoes with red tips sat there. Blue lightning bolts took up the sides. He squeaked in victory. Shoes!

He set Bonnie down, sat down on the first toilet, and pulled off his old ratty footwear in favor of the new ones. These ones were a little tighter on the sides of his feet, but not in the way that they were too small. He’d just gotten so used to the soles of his old shoes being worn to nothing that having soles and structure was going to need a few moments of adjustment. But who cares? He had new shoes! Ones that weren’t ratty and used! Unfortunately, these ones were laced and not Velcro, but that was fine. He tied them again and then hopped to his feet. He shifted his feet and walked in a small circle. Way better than his old shoes! Okay, he was done. New shoes acquired. Time to leave.

At the end of the hall leading to Roxy Raceway was a round and glowing pillar and racing items. Another duffle bag sat on the ground. They had to stop to allow the shutters on their right to open.

As soon as they passed the threshold into pale red and black checkerboard tile, Roxy’s voice said, “Hey. I’m Roxanne Wolf. If you’re looking for high-speed motor mayhem, Roxy Raceway is the place to be. Sign up today and be a winner! No one likes a loser.”

He stepped further out onto the floor, which dropped off suddenly with a guardrail around it. Various pop-up shops lined the floor. He couldn’t see much past that as his flashlight and Monty’s and Chica’s eye lights didn’t spread light too much farther than that. Tiny lights just bright enough to be seen lined each side of the road so he could vaguely see the giant, winding go-kart track with an overpass consuming most of the area.

“I don’t see her,” Gregory said and walked forward until he got to the guard rail. Ahead of him should be the go-kart track. Unless Roxy was concealing her eyes like Freddy, he should see her. He should at least hear her. He did see three security bots roaming the ground, flashlights pointed down.

Chica said, “She’s not here. If she was, she would have noticed us when the shutters opened.”

Monty suggested, “Maybe we could find a way to get her here, though? Once we think of a plan, o’ course.”

“One that doesn’t involve being thrown out of a go-kart,” Gregory concluded. His bones ached at the memory, and some bruises still splotched over his tender skin.

Chica turned to him. “What happened?”

Gregory bit back a sigh and recalled the story of how he took down Roxy, including as many details as he could.

Chica tapped her beak. “So, you started driving alone and she chased you and tried driving you off the track. Well, what if you asked her permission first?”

Gregory shook his head. “Chica, if I tried talking to her, she’d attack me!”

Monty chipped in, “Let me. I’ll go find her, wherever she is, and then I’ll convince her to talk to ya, or at least let ya race against her. She likes racin’. I’m sure it’ll be fun!” With that, Monty turned and ran back out into the hall.

Gregory looked to the starting line. “I guess you’re not going to let me drive on one of those alone.”

Chica shook her head. “You aren’t tall enough to ride, so you’ll need a Driver’s Assist.”

He edged a smile. “You won’t make one exception?”

Chica gave him a look. “No, Gregory. Saftey is very important.” Then her voice lightened. “Let’s go find a kart with a Driver Assist in it!”

He passed a cutout of Helpy in racer gear with his hand up saying, “You must be at least this tall to ride.” Gregory passed under it. Around a bend in a clear area sat a go-kart with a racing-gear-covered S.T.A.F.F. bot on it. Another cart sat further back, empty of a Driver Assist.

Chica stepped up to the go-kart. “This one should work!”

Beep! Gregory started to speak but closed his mouth. He tapped his glasses. [Hey, Little guy! We got a problem. Good news! I found Roxy!]

Gregory’s stomach dropped.

Beep! [Bad news, uh… she’s running ahead of me to the Racetrack.]

Chica asked, “Did something happen?”

 “Monty found Roxy. She’s on her way.” He winced at the weakness in his voice.

Chica’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh! Well, uh, I’m sure she’ll be reasonable! Don’t worry, Gregory. We can talk her down. She won’t hurt you.”

“You’ll make me go deaf shouting if you do it anymore,” Gregory pointed out, rubbing the side of his head both at the memory and anticipation of pain he knew was to come.

Chica shook her head. “It won’t come to that. Roxy’s my friend! She’s a wonderful girl. I’m sure we can all be friends.”

Gregory put down a grimace. Friends, right. Technically, he was able to help her last night and she didn’t try to kill him for the few minutes they had together. Maybe tonight would be similar.

The shutters to the Raceway opened.

Gregory looked around the Driver Assist at the wolf as she stalked down the stairs, her head whipping back and forth. He looked up at Chica. The chicken walked toward her. “Roxy-poo!”

Roxy stopped and turned on Chica so fast Gregory was sure she broke something.

Chica went on, “I was wondering where you were. It’s–”

“You’re hiding the kid, aren’t you?” Roxy growled, ears pinned and tail lashing.

“Wh-what? No!” Chica giggled. “Roxy, you silly goose. I’m not hiding anyone!”

Roxy’s eyes drifted toward the area behind her. Gregory hid completely behind the Driver Assist bot. “Where is he? Why haven’t you taken him back to Vanessa?”

Chica tapped her beak. “W-well, you see, Roxy, it’s not… it’s not that simple. I don’t think Vanessa has the boy’s best interest at heart, you see.”

Roxy snarled, “You are conspiring against me! You and Monty!”

“What? No! No, it’s not like that! Roxy, where on Earth would you get that idea? You’re my friend! I-I’d never–!”

“You both know where he is and you won’t tell me!” the wolf barked. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but he goes to the nightguard! All lost children do! And you and Monty know where he is and won’t tell me because you don’t trust me. You-you’re playing buddy-buddy behind my back like I wouldn’t notice?”

“Roxy, please–”

“You’re going to throw me away! You’ll start ignoring me, too! Just like you ignore Freddy! I’m not Freddy! I’m better than him!” Roxy’s snarling took a screechy note that strained her voice box so much her words crackled.

Chica pleaded, her voice cracking in the beginning of a sob, “No, no, it’s not like that, I promise–!”

“I will find him, and I’ll bring him to the nightguard! I don’t need you! I don’t need any of you!” Roxy spat.

Gregory shut his eyes, took a steadying breath, and then stepped out from behind the Driver Assist. “Roxy, it’s not her fault! She’s just trying to protect me.”

Roxy’s gaze snapped to him and her yellow eyes turned lavender. “There you are!”

“Wait, wait!” Gregory held up hands. “I’ll make you a deal!”

Roxy, who’d already bounded forward a few feet, stopped. She flicked her ear and growled, “What deal? Kid, you’re not in any shape to be making deals.”

“I’m not trying to trick you,” Gregory reassured her. “Look, I know you can get me. I can’t outrun you. Even if I could, you’re going to find me, anyway.” He backed up and patted the go-kart with the S.T.A.F.F. bot. “I want to run a race. If I win, you leave me alone. If you win, uh, you can kill me or whatever you were going to do.”

Roxy narrowed her eyes. “Why don’t I just do that now? How do I know you’re going to stay here?”

Gregory shrugged. “If you think I’ll beat you and you want to give up now and be a loser–”

“I’m not a loser!” Roxy screeched, her eyes flashing bright yellow. Her voice leveled out and she stood up straight. “Fine! I’ll race you. But I’m going to win.” She stalked past Chica and him.

Chica ran up to Gregory. “Good luck!” She wished, the cheer in her voice muted and strained.

“She isn’t feeling right,” Gregory reassured her. “I-I’m sure she’ll feel bad and apologize later.”

Chica bowed her head. “I hope so. I hope she doesn’t really think that. Roxy’s my friend. I would never want to hurt my friends.”

“Helmet,” Roxy stated when he tried to get in, giving him a side-eye.

He turned back to look at her, about ready to point out how she didn’t have a helmet but found her wearing a red-violet helmet accented blue-violet with her name on it. She pointed to a shut crate nearby. He popped it open to find a multitude of helmets. He picked out the orange one with a blue lightning bolt and hopped into his go-kart. He pulled on his coat and stuck Bonnie inside so that his head and ears poked out the top and he could see in front of them as they drove.

Roxy walked up to the start line, pulled a lever, and then jumped into her kart and stared ahead with a razor-sharp intensity. Lights blazed over the racetrack, lighting up every inch save for the underpass, which glowed with a string of mostly functioning lights along the road.

A red light beside the checkerboard line flickered on. It switched off and a yellow one below it flashed. Then, it switched off and a green one glowed, accompanied by a horn.

Roxy was off, her go-kart squealing in the sudden and heavy stress it was put under.

Gregory gasped and scrambled to get his own go-kart going, slamming his foot into the acceleration pedal. He managed to catch up just enough to keep his eyes on her tail as they sped through the raceway.

Roxy tipped her head back. “You better catch up, slow-poke!”

“Are you going to let me?” Gregory called, taking a corner.

“Absolutely not!” she laughed.

Gregory tried to catch up to her. Yet, whatever he did, she stayed several kart lengths ahead. He lost her for a heartbeat around a corner spiraling up.

Gregory gripped the wheel tighter and stayed close to the wheel. As he looked over the rest of the raceway flashing under them yards below them, and Roxy racing ahead of him, the realization of just how deep his error was dawned on him.

He was going to lose.

They passed the finish line again, Gregory much too far behind Roxy to give him any hope of a come-back.

She took turns expertly, losing little if any speed while Gregory wobbled and needed the assist bot to keep him in the lane if he didn’t keep his foot on the pedal. Though, when he took it off, the go-kart slowed, and he had to push it again.

He wasn’t quite sure of what lap they were on. But when Roxy’s ears flipped forward and she let out a cackle upon seeing the finish line, he had a good idea.

Roxy’s go-kart darted across the finish line, and she whooped in victory. Gregory struggled in behind her a few seconds after her wheels touched the checkerboard tile. Their go-karts slowed and they led them off the track.

Gregory eyed his escape but didn’t make a move.

Roxy squared her shoulders. “That is how a real racer does it.”

“Yeah. You won alright.”

“I did! I am the best, though. So, you losing was pretty much guaranteed.” She leaned on her go-kart and looked at her nails. “I don’t know why you challenged me to a race. You’re a decent driver, though.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “I lost.”

“So? I’m better than you. Of course you lost. You didn’t have a chance in the first place.” She looked away from her nails and at him. “But you still thought you could, and you gave it your all, anyway. You got pretty close. So, you’re decent. I’ll give you that. You’ve got the heart of a racer. If you keep practicing, you might get the leaderboard one day.”

Gregory looked around. “So, you won the bet.”

Roxy looked down at him. “Yeah, I did.” She hesitated and glanced at Chica and Monty, who’d finally managed to catch up and now gave them the thumbs up, before looking at Gregory. “I guess I’ll let you have a few minute head start.”

Gregory smiled. “Thanks. You know, I was wondering… Chica and Monty are my friends. They were taken over by this virus made by Vanny, that white rabbit.” His smile fell. “It made them act crazy, but I was able to help them. Do you want to come with us? And I can help you, too? You’ve seen the rabbit, right?”

Roxy’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I’ve seen her. Are you trying to say she’s messed with us?”

Monty chipped in, “I know it. Seen it fer myself. Or felt it, I guess.”

Chica nodded. “She’s horrible. Gregory and Monty told me about her. But I can’t see her.”

Monty shook his head. “I can’t neither, but I just know she’s been around, somehow. That an’ Gregory’s given us the heads up.”

Roxy flicked her ear and raised her head. “How do you know she’s done something to us?”

Monty huffed, “This kid helped me. I didn’t know how messed up I felt until I didn’t feel messed up an’more.”

Gregory chipped in, “I used the cylinder in Parts and Service to put them into Safe Mode and disconnect them from the main network. I guess that helped.”

Roxy hummed to herself and said, “Well…” She tucked a few strands of plastic hair behind one of her ears. “I trust you Chica, Monty. I guess. But I don’t know about this whole rabbit thing. I’ve seen her around, but if I was infected with some virus, I’d know by now. The engineers would know by now.”

Chica shook her head. “That’s what we thought! But she somehow did something that got around the engineers.”

Gregory agreed, “When I tried to help Moon, I did a bunch of scans and none of them came up with anything. But obviously, something’s up with him.”

Roxy looked at him. “You got Moon into Parts in Service? That jester is terrified of the place.”

Gregory grimaced. “Yeah, I know. We tricked him into it.”

Monty nodded. “Kid’s a genius! He played as bait while I took it down. Then he reset the c–Moon. Woke up quick, though. Way quicker than any of us. Still pretty weak.”

Roxy looked at Chica. “Was this before they got your help?”

Chica bowed her head. “No. I thought… well… as long as they didn’t hurt Moon… something was wrong and making them both act strange. Just like we were acting strangely. Gregory just wanted to help.”

Gregory shrugged. “I didn’t trick you into it, did I?”

Roxy sniffed. “I’m surprised is all. He’s smarter and faster than the two of you. Maybe not Chica, but he has an unfair advantage over Chica. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Monty snorted. “Hey! That clown ain’t smarter than I am! I tricked it!”

Roxy snickered. “Easy, big guy. I’m playing.”

Gregory narrowed his eyes as a headache crept up on him. Can’t we just go, already?

“…”

Bonnie?

His eyes widened. “Oh no. It’s the rabbit! Vanny!”

Monty looked around, claws raised. Chica stepped to Gregory’s side.

Roxy looked between them, ears perked and standing up straight. “How do you know?”

“Wh-whenever she gets close, she messes with my head.”

Roxy twitched her ear and narrowed her eyes. “Well, let’s take this talk somewhere else.”

Chica took Gregory’s hand.

Beep! [Let’s meet back up with them in Parts and Service, Gregory.]

Gregory sucked in his breath. “Wait! I have a better idea!” he hissed, immediately grabbing their attention. “She knows I’m not your friend, Roxy. Maybe Chica and Monty can leave one way, and Monty can pretend to be holding me in his stomach hatch. Roxy, since you can see her and she probably doesn’t think we’re friends, yet, we can go another way!”

Monty asked, “Ya sure ya don’t want to jus’ ride in my stomach hatch?”

Roxy chipped in, “He has a point. She might catch up to you. Then what? We’ll meet up later, okay?” She turned to Gregory and got down on one knee. “Jump on my back, kid.”

Chica hesitantly let go of his wrist. “O-okay. Be careful!”

Gregory grinned at her. “We will! You, too!” He ran up to Roxy and climbed up onto her back and hid beneath her thick mane. He was careful to hold onto the chinks in her plates rather than wrap his arms around her.

Monty and Chica left first, heading straight for the exit to the atrium. Roxy waited for a few heartbeats before meandering around the garage doors. Gregory through a look back. The white rabbit, on the ground, glanced at Roxy and then at the animatronics. Roxy, her side to Vanny so she didn’t have her back facing the rabbit, stopped at one of the garages and looked inside, sniffing the air and twitching one of her ears. “Hey, kid, come on out! We’re only trying to help!” she called.

Vanny hesitated a moment longer before bouncing up the stairs.

Roxy continued walking.

Gregory whispered, “Hey, can we grab the Dance Pass? There’s one in the garage right there. I need another security pass if I want to escape.”

Roxy nodded.

Beep! [Sure thing, kid.]

They needed to check a couple of garages, but they found one that Gregory found was familiar. Under one table in a corner as if it had fallen off and gotten forgotten was a neon blue and pink ticket labeled “DANCE PASS,” which he didn’t hesitate to hop down and grab.

The time was five-fifteen am.

As he walked out, he clicked his cupcake light. He perked up and they both stopped as his UV light lit up a line on the ground. As he stepped forward a few feet, following it, he found it turned into an arrow pointing to the east, back side of the Raceway. “Roxy? Do you know what’s over there?”

Roxy shook her head. “No. Well, unless the arrow turns toward those stairs.” She pointed to their side where the stairs led up to some extremely tall bleachers overlooking the raceway. “I don’t know why there would be an invisible arrow pointing to the bleachers, though. Why is there an arrow here?”

Gregory shrugged. “Dunno. But the Raceway was highlighted at the power room.” He followed the arrow, finding a second that curved to follow the wall away from the stairs leading to the balcony out of the Raceway.

Roxy looked up and around, her fingers curled so her emerald painted claws were bared, and her jaws parted. One ear twitched and she sniffed the air.

The arrow eventually led him to a door behind a chain link fence gate to the left of the bleacher stairs. He pushed it open and walked through the unlocked metal door with a bunny symbol painted in invisible paint on it. They were immediately confronted by a sharp drop and a set of spiral grate stairs surrounded by chain link fence down. Roxy growled, “Careful in here, kid.”

Gregory nodded. “Yeah. Uh… okay. I don’t think… what’s that?” A note lay on a the grate floor a few yards away. A few crates stacked on top of each other made an impromptu set of stairs down that allowed him to walk down and grab it. “CONSTRUCTION UPDATE – Today, we broke through the foundation and found what looks like an old elevator shaft. Someone must have known about this, right? There’s something down there pulling power. I’m taking a team down in the morning to check it out.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “An old elevator? So, Vanny has to be interested in whatever is down here.”

Roxy nodded. “And whatever she’s interested in has to be very dangerous. Come on, get out of there, kid.”

Gregory looked up at her and then nodded and set the note down. He stepped back up the crates and shut the door behind himself. “Yeah, not yet. She still has Moon and Freddy on her side. If we go down there, we might need to hurt them, and they’ll hurt you guys and might get me, too.”

Roxy huffed, “Smart kid. Come on, let’s go back before Chica and Monty start getting worried about you.” She nudged her head back and Gregory followed her..

Roxy led him into the Utility Tunnels near the bumper carts. A chill went through Gregory as he stepped inside. “This is where she took me.”

Roxy glanced down at him out of the corner of her eye. “She took you here? The rabbit?”

Gregory nodded. “I went to the concert and watched you guys on stage. I guess she knew I was alone. She tricked me into following her, saying she could help me go backstage to meet Monty. After I got here, I got scared and tried to leave. But the door was locked. So, I ran and hid until she went away. Somehow, I got to Parts and Service. That’s how I found the elevators to your rooms and went to Monty’s room to get his help.” He huffed. “I was so stupid! There aren’t any rabbits at the Pizzaplex anymore!”

Roxy shook her head. “No, kid, you’re not stupid. She’s an adult, and you should be able to trust adults. You should be able to trust all of us, too. She looks like one of us, doesn’t she?”

“Sorta.”

“I… I’m not an old character,” Roxy admitted. “But I’ve heard a lot about what happened. A lot of the rumors, especially the ones surrounding Freddy and Bonnie. Between you and me, that’s probably why they never fixed Bonnie. It wasn’t his fault. He was a good guy. But…”

“It was Vanny,” Gregory concluded. “N-no. Wait. It was the guy before Vanny.”

Roxy twitched her ear. “Maybe. I don’t know much. Fazbear Entertainment doesn’t let us know anything we don’t need to know.” She snorted. “But I’m smarter than them.”

Gregory chuckled. “Yeah, definitely.” Bonnie?

“…I don’t want to talk right now, Gregory.”

Oh. Okay .

Chapter Text

The walk to Parts and Service took a surprisingly short amount of time. When they got there, Chica and Monty met them from the direction of the stage lift.

Gregory waved but dare not run to them. Instead, he led them through the double red doors. He hesitated just inside. “After this, it’ll turn to five-fifty am. What if Moon comes after me?”

Chica shook her head. “Moon’s our friend now, remember?”

Gregory pointed out, “But the cylinder didn’t work. Maybe it could be like that thing with Monty. Like when I ran from you.” He looked at the alligator animatronic, who made a quiet, sad growling noise. “Like when the lights turn out and he’s supposed to find me, that could be like when I’m running from Monty. It’ll just set him off again. Or maybe it won’t. Maybe he won’t attack me. But if he does, I’ll need to go to the front doors. I don’t want to abandon you guys. Especially not now that I can help.”

Roxy asked, “Why not go to the doors, wait for six am, and then come back? I mean, it’s also five-fifteen. Will it really take that long?”

Gregory nodded. “It will, trust me. But…” He narrowed his eyes. “You know, you have a point. Why don’t I just stay longer?”

Chica pointed out, “After six am, the morning shift comes back.”

Gregory showed her the Dance Pass. “This will set the time to five thirty. Maybe if we’re lucky, it’ll prevent the morning shift from arriving.”

Chica glanced at Monty, who returned the look. Roxy tipped her head. “What does that mean? Are you talking about turning back time? With a ticket?”

Gregory nodded. “It’s kind of complicated, but if I use this ticket to get into the arcade and take the security badge, the time here will go back to five thirty. Though, that’s if time doesn’t move forward after six am.”

“Maybe time will move forward after you walk through those doors.”

Gregory glanced down at Bonnie. “Good point. Bonnie said time might only move forward after I walk through the doors. That’s when I went back. Maybe if we take down Vanny, I can walk through those doors and not go back in time.”

Chica cooed. “Oh, I hope so. You’ve been through so much, already.”

Gregory grimaced. “Oh, and… about the arcade… the last time I was there, I met Vanny. And Freddy. All the lights turned out and Freddy appeared. He tried to attack me, but you stopped him and fought him instead.” He looked at Monty and then back around at the others. “So, that might happen again. Hopefully not. So, we’ll need to be careful. Maybe I can hide from him since I know what he sounds like.”

Roxy’s ears flicked forward. “Freddy was there?”

Monty shook his head. “Ain’t no way we’re going there if Freddy’s there, kid.”

Chica bowed her head. “We shouldn’t go if he’s there. He’ll do something he’ll regret.”

Gregory bit back a sigh. I shouldn’t have told them that.

“No, they would’ve been super mad at you if he was there, and they found out you knew he’d be there.”

He pointed out, “I still need the security badge. We could just sneak by him.”

Monty snorted. “If he found out I was carryin’ you, he’d try an’ fight me and I couldn’t fight him while carryin’ you. You could get real hurt!”

“Then I’ll hide in the arcade cabinets,” Gregory reasoned. “But there are only so many security badges around the Pizzaplex, and there’s something important in the West Arcade. It was highlighted in the power control room. Remember that?” He looked back at Chica.

She nodded. “Yes, that’s true. Vanny marked it as important.”

Roxy huffed, “That could just mean she laid a trap there and found a way to get herself and Freddy there fast.”

Then, an idea came to Gregory. “Oh, how about this: I need a lot of security clearance on my own. However, Moon and Freddy are two of Vanny’s biggest… uh… what would you call them? Minions, I guess? They don’t want to work for her. Anyway, doesn’t matter. If it turns dark and Moon appears but he’s friendly, that means he’s not her minion anymore and he can help us get to her. She’ll only have Freddy on her side. She might even get scared and try to run off. We can take her down! But if Moon isn’t friendly, then we know he’s still under her control. We’ll need that other security pass. Chica, you’re the kindest person I know. Maybe, if Freddy gets there, and I hide so he can’t see me, you can talk Freddy down and maybe even convince him to come here!”

Chica’s eyes widened. “You really think so? Do you think he’d do that? We could help him?”

Monty set his hand on Chica’s shoulder. “Chickadee, let’s not get hasty here.” He looked down at Gregory. “I get what yer thinkin’ Little guy. What yer tryin’ to do. An’ it’s real nice. But it ain’t possible and it ain’t worth the risk to try. He’s dangerous. If he doesn’t hurt you, he could hurt Chica.”

Gregory looked back at Roxy. “What do you think?”

Roxy crossed her arms and tapped her emerald claws on her forearm. She pinned her ears and, with a short hiss, said, “You’re both right. Freddy’s dangerous. It’s a big risk. Chica’s the nicest gal we know. If anyone could talk to that stupid bear, it’s her.”

Monty retorted, “If she could, she’d have done it earlier! When a kid wasn’t in danger!”

Gregory pointed out, “Maybe she just didn’t have the opportunity. Right, Chica?”

Chica shut her eyes. “I’m a horrible friend. I didn’t even try. When he started acting weirdly, I talked to him, but when he started leaving, I got scared and I-I didn’t even try to look for him.”

Monty nodded once. “You’re not a terrible friend fer bein’ scared, Chickadee. He’s dangerous. He could hurt you. That’s the right call.”

Roxy scoffed. “Something’s been messing us all up.” Her ears flicked forward. “That’s what you mean. The rabbit’s been messing with us for that long.”

Gregory shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, it would make sense.”

Roxy sighed. “You know what? Chica’s right. We should help Freddy. With or without Moon.” With that, she turned and walked to the cylinder, head held high.

Gregory speed-walked to catch up with her and set Bonnie down on the computer terminal. Once she was inside and laying down, the computer prompted, “Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure.” A list of upgrades showed. Gregory pressed the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. “Select Repair” replaced the upgrade heading. “Hardware Scan”, “Physical Scan”, “Routine Check-Up”, and “Custom-Repair” were listed below it.

He decided to do a hardware scan, first–like he’d done with Chica. Nothing was wrong with her outside body.

The computer announced, “It seems that Roxy is under the weather. It seems Roxy’s basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Roxy will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice. Activating safety protocols. Rebooting in Safe Mode.”

Gregory picked up Bonnie and looked up at the cylinder door as it opened.

Roxy stepped out. She ran her fingers through her mane, tucking a few strands of plastic hair behind her ear. Roxy sniffed and twitched her ear and looked around and then at her friends and Gregory. “…you look different. Everything looks different. Everything feels different. I feel different.”

Gregory smiled. “Better?”

She nodded. “Better, yeah.” Then, she looked at Chica. Her ears pinned and she bowed her head. “Chica, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for what I said.” She stepped forward and took Chica’s hands, pulling them up between them. “You’re the best friend anyone could ask for.”

Chica cooed. “Aw! Thank you, Roxy! I-I know you weren’t feeling well. I don’t blame you. Thank you for apologizing. That was really sweet.”

Roxy snorted. “Why can’t you be mad at me? I was so mean to you!” Her words came out more as a whine than a growl.

Chica laughed. “I can’t be mad at you, Roxy-poo! You’re my best friend!”

The time was five-fifty am.

Gregory sucked in his breath and looked around their now dark surroundings as the lights shut off. He swiped Bonnie, pulled out his flashlight and clicked it on.

Roxy’s head whipped around as she searched her surroundings before suddenly stopping, her muzzle pointed up and toward where the wall met the ceiling above the red double doors. Her ears perked. Right, she could see bots through the walls, couldn’t she? Monty, Chica, and Gregory followed her gaze.

A conveyor belt heavy with boxes connected that part of the wall to the wall on the other side, weaving around shelving units way up high. The rubber flaps in the wall above the conveyor shifted, allowing a gangly, dark and light body through. In the shadows, it was hard to see anything but obscure, broken shards of light shell, including a half-moon face and stars. Two red pinpricks of light glowed in the shadows, turning the once white moon pink.

Gregory forced himself to stay in place. Maybe he’s like Monty and he’ll attack if I run.

“Maybe.”

Chica called, “Hello, Moon!”

Moon stayed perched on the conveyor belt. “…I told you not to mess with time. You are a–” He twitched and growled to himself before continuing, “–naughty boy.”

Roxy growled and pinned her ears. Beep!

Gregory tapped his glasses. [Go. Want me to come with?]

Gregory nodded and ran up the stairs. “Chica, we need to go!”

Chica whined but followed. Roxy ran after him. Monty crouched, claws at his side and watching Moon. “Stay righ’ there or I’ll tear ya to shreds!”

Moon launched himself over the alligator and onto the stairs. Monty roared and threw himself across the room. At this point, Gregory had already run into Roxy’s hallway and now the door shut behind the wolf, who looked back, ears perked.

The time was five-fifty-one am.

Gregory got on the elevator with Chica, Roxy promising to follow.

Chica soothed, “Roxy’s the fastest animatronic in the Pizzaplex. She could probably get to the door of her own room before us!”

Gregory shuffled his feet and played with Bonnie’s ears. The tiny elevator stopped and opened. He darted out and hesitated for only a second for Chica to leave the elevator. Roxy caught up in Rockstar Row. Gregory looked back at her and then at Moon, either following her gaze or catching sight of him on his own.

Then, as they got into the black atrium in front of gator golf, Roxy hissed in frustration.

“What is it?” Gregory panted.

“I don’t see it,” she growled, ears pinned and glowing yellow eyes narrowed. “And the dumb thing knows it.”

“But how?” Gregory turned his gaze upward. “What’s the difference now?”

“He’s not behind a wall, and he turned his eye lights off,” she growled and then snapped her jaws so hard her teeth clacked together. “That’s how he gets around my eyes normally! Cocky, smarty-pants jester. I’m better than it. I’ll figure out how to find it first.”

The time was five-fifty-three am.

Chica piped up, “There’s no need to get mean, Roxy. Moon doesn’t mean any harm. I thought you didn’t like your upgrade since it made you see weird things and made you really sensitive to flashing lights.”

Roxy growled, “That doesn’t mean it’s not useful.”

He got to the stairs behind Chica. Roxy followed parallel, lagging behind as she couldn’t find her footing as well as the boy with smaller feet for whom the stairs were made.

Something hard touched his sides just below his arms. Gregory screamed and ducked down, throwing himself wildly off balance as Chica stayed completely unaffected by him. Chica turned her head completely back and stopped. “Gregory?”

Roxy looked up. “Moon!”

The blue Daycare Attendant, attached to a cord on the ceiling, landed on the rubber stair railing and struck downward. He snagged Gregory and leaped backward. Gregory yelped as, with Chica’s grip much stronger than Gregory’s, the motion nearly tore his arm out of its socket.

Chica turned completely around. Beep! [Cover your ears!]

Gregory let go of Chica and Bonnie and immediately covered both of his ears. Momentum swung them backwards as Moon, confused, watched the interaction. Then, his once loose body went rigid and leaned back into the cord, away from Chica. Roxy ducked and covered her ears, wincing in anticipation. Chica’s shriek still dug into his skull, but his palms created a good enough barrier to minimize the pain to a dull ache followed by intense dizziness. His glasses glitched and flashlight flickered. Moon squealed and dropped Gregory, twitching and curling into himself like a dying spider. Gregory’s left foot hit the ground, and then his right, and momentum and the slick floor kept him going.

All the air left Gregory in a hard wheeze and stars burst in his vision. He gasped and shivered, scrambling to grasp any coherent thought.

The time was five-fifty-four am.

A pale shape contrasted the neon marred darkness, and something touched his arm. Gregory flinched and blinked rapidly. He groaned and tried to pull himself up. However, he found the ground had vanished from under him, again. This time, the arms he lay on were wider and brighter and more consistent in color.

“Bonnie…” he groaned out.

Light flared behind them before going out.

Chica reassured him, “Bonnie is safe. You’re safe with me, Gregory.”

“Me?! You’re worrying about me?! You-you’re probably super hurt!”

She got to level ground and approached the elevators. Roxy ran past, Gregory’s flashlight and Bonnie in her hands. She recalled the elevator and let them on first. Roxy glared out into the atrium and growled, ears flat and tail up and whipping back and forth. She climbed in after them.

Gregory so wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep, but he couldn’t. They were near the end. They would get to the doors, and then they would get Freddy, fight Vanny, and end everything. Then Gregory would be free to leave and never return. A heavy feeling settled inside of him at the thought. He shook it off. He wouldn’t risk staying here, not if that meant something else going wrong and him getting stuck in Groundhog’s Day for the rest of forever.

The time was five fifty-five am.

The elevator doors opened. Gregory looked around the entrance area as they walked down the stairs, quick but careful not to fall down. However, he didn’t see Moon at all.

They went around the turnstiles and made it to the doors.

Monty clunked down the stairs.

Chica gently set Gregory down.

The time was six am.

Gregory stretched and winced. “Ow. I’m okay.” He looked at the doors. The black of night still dominated the sky, stars spattering the vast expanse. Far into the horizon, the faintest sliver of paler blue edged the dark. Streetlamps glowed over the parking lot, overpowering the faint moonlight. He touched his fingertips to the glass and found it chilly, nearly ice cold.

He turned back to Chica and Roxy. Roxy searched the area behind them for a few moments longer before turning back to them, head up and ears and tail relaxed.

Chica clucked and ran her fingers over his forehead and arm and held his hand. “Oh, look at you! You’re going to be all bruised and banged up!”

Gregory shrugged, biting back another wince. “I’ve been through worse.”

“Worse?!” she squawked and then huffed, “Why? Who made you go through worse? I’ll have a few words with them!”

Gregory chuckled. “Thanks but, uh… that was me.”

Monty asked as he stopped by them, “What was him?”

Roxy shrugged. “I’d believe it. The little scamp has a wild streak. By the way, here you go, Kid.” Roxy held out her hand.

Gregory turned around, gasped, and gently took Bonnie and the flashlight. “Thanks, Roxy!” It was much easier to ignore the trivial pains with Bonnie.

Chica explained, “Moon grabbed Gregory. I… decided to use my voice box to force it to let him go. Gregory fell from a little under a story to the ground. Thankfully, he didn’t land on his head. He landed on his feet, but he tripped and fell backwards. He has some minor injuries that will need pediatric care.”

Pediatric care…? Oh, right, kid doctor. “I don’t need to go to the doctor,” Gregory argued. “You already looked me over! I’m fine!”

Chica turned on him. “Nuh-uh. Gregory, you need to see a professional. Those cuts and scrapes could also get looked at as well.”

Monty chuckled. He opened his mouth but froze upon seeing the look Roxy was giving him. Monty slowly closed his mouth.

“She’s kinda right, but I’m sure we can deal with it on our own. Just change the topic. Freddy.”

Right. Gregory shook his head. “Whatever. We have other stuff to worry about. Like Freddy! I think we should go to the arcade, now, and see if this ticket works.”

Chica asked, “What if it doesn’t? Gregory, if you’re caught here by staff, we won’t have any choice but to let you go. We have to do what a staff member says.”

Roxy snorted and twitched her ear. “Even if whatever they say is stupid.”

Gregory shrugged and smiled. “Guess we just won’t get caught, then!”

*          *          *          *          *

Weirdly, the lights were on. They made the elevator ride and three-level trek to the West Arcade.

Gregory waved his flashlight around the wall and floor and the potted plants and closed pop-up shops. He looked up at the sign marking the arcade and then the ticket bot. He looked around, but aside from another security bot, there were no signs of “life”. “Monty? Where are you?”

Beep! [Inside! Nothing’s here, yet. You got the all clear.]

Gregory chuckled. “Thanks!” He looked back at the chicken and wolf animatronic as he gave the Dance Pass to the ticket bot. “Monty’s inside. He says he’s making sure everything’s clear.”

Chica oohed. “Oh, how smart of him!”

Roxy sniffed and looked at her nails. “Yeah. Sounds like him.”

The ticket bot, as it finished its little dance, rolled away.

The time was five-thirty am.

Gregory walked past it to the elevator and called it. She didn’t sound thrilled.

“Maybe she thought he was going to pick a fight.”

Well, if Freddy had been there, he probably would have.

The elevator opened for them. Roxy asked, “Chica? Can I go first? So I can see anything before the doors open.”

Chica blinked. “Oh. Yeah, okay! I’ll be right here!”

Roxy waved her tail once. “Thanks, Chica! Elevator will be back in no time.” With that, she forged ahead into the elevator.

Gregory walked behind her, admittedly confused and a little suspicious.

“She won’t hurt you. I wonder what she’s thinking about.”

The doors closed. The elevator jolted and started with a whirr.

Roxy looked down at him at the corner of her eye. “You know why he’s doing this, right? Even though he thinks it’s a bad idea?”

Gregory nodded. “He wants to make sure I’m safe.”

“He could have done that waiting for us outside. We could go in together and if there was anything dangerous, he’d pick you up–or make me pick you up because I’m faster–and run off. But instead, he went straight into danger to make sure it wasn’t actually dangerous.”

Gregory nodded. “Yeah, that does sound like something he would do. He always does that, though. He’s brave and strong. He could take on anything.” His voice wavered.

Roxy’s ear fell back like it had in Roxy Raceway when she confronted Chica and accused her of going against her. However, one ear was still relaxed, and her eyes were half-lidded and her tail brushed her thighs. The intercom said something, but they both ignored it.

“You know, don’t you?” Gregory asked. “Because you’re his friend? That people think he’s dumb and scary even though he’s not?”

“Yes,” Roxy stated. “I’m not stupid. I hear what people say, especially since we’re both new attractions. Replacements. He has to act brave because if he’s not, he’s just Bonnie’s dumb, scary replacement. The staff think he destroyed Bonnie, you know. That he was ambitious or jealous, so he killed Bonnie because he knew he could take Bonnie’s place.”

“That’s awful! We weren’t best friends, but we got along and he’d never–I’d never–Monty was–I don’t remember, b-but Monty wouldn’t–”

“You don’t think that, do you?” Her words took a cooler tone but stayed level.

Gregory shook his head. “Monty’s my friend. He’s great and he’s brave and he’s smart and nice. He helped me, even when he didn’t need to or when it was scary or I didn’t deserve it. The staff are stupid and wrong. And besides, Bonnie says Monty would never attack him. I believe Bonnie more than some stupid staff who would give Monty claws and then punish him for being scary because of them.”

Roxy laughed. “Yeesh. You’re one smart kid.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve always wondered if adults are given a good knock on the head after growing up. I’ll need to ask Sun. He’s gotta have experience with adults.”

Gregory glanced at the elevator button. “What do people say about you?”

“Me?” Roxy echoed.

Gregory nodded. “You said both you and Monty were ‘replacements’.”

He could recall Roxy’s words as she prowled the arcade. “I bet you don’t even have friends, do you?”

“Do they think you don’t have friends or something?”

She scoffed. “What? No.” She flicked her tail. Her ears flattened and she looked away. “No, I’m great. I’m perfect. Everyone loves me. They want to be me. Of course I have friends.”

“Chica and Monty are great friends,” Gregory agreed. “So is Bonnie. He’s my best friend. You must have known him.”

“I did. We were better friends than Monty and I. But she and Monty always had something I wouldn’t. Guess it was like Freddy, Chica, Foxy, and I. They were made almost together. She was made first. But they had more in common.”

“Did you know Foxy?” Gregory bit his cheek.

Roxy snorted and shook her head as if he’d just splashed her with water. “No! I didn’t! I was made after him. I never met Foxy the Pirate Fox.” She spat his name like an insult. “I’m not even a fox. I’m a wolf. A girl. A racer. I’m not going to be him.”

“I–”

The elevator doors opened.

Roxy stalked out with a huff.

Gregory sighed and walked after her.

“Don’t worry; she’ll cool off after a little while. She never stays mad for long.”

The boy pressed the elevator button to shut the door. After a moment or so, the down arrow glowed.

Gregory looked ahead. A giant golden statue of the band perched atop a platform. Neon lights and arcade screens threw multicolored light across the floor, walls, and arcade cabinets. Still, the darkness was harsh, and Gregory absolutely needed his flashlight here, especially on the shiny, dark dance floor. Monty’s eye lights helped.

Gregory stepped out onto a futuristic hallway. To his left was an arcade. To his right was a dancefloor. A giant robot lay on the stage. His squarish head the size of a minivan lay on two of his hands, his black circle eyes staring into nothingness as he “slept.” A massive set of headphones sat on his head and its huge row of teeth modeled after a keyboard.

He started to walk further into the arcade, but only got to the golden statue before a huge green-and-purple shape flew down from the upper story and landed before him. Gregory jumped back and heaved out a sigh. “Monty! You scared me!”

The alligator animatronic stood up. “Oh, whoops. Sorry about that! Uh, well, nothin’ here! Security card’s probably in the office up there.” Monty pointed up at the wall on the far end of the upper floor. “I just saw Roxy walk through in a puff. What happened? An’ where’s Chica?”

“Chica’s coming on the next elevator ride,” Gregory explained. “And… I may have accidentally offended Roxy asking if she knew Foxy.”

Monty nodded with an “ooh” of understanding. “You probably guessed it by now, but it ain’t a good idea to talk to her about the old fox. But, uh… you wanna go get that security card? I’ll stay down here and tell Chica where ya went.”

Gregory nodded and gave him the thumbs up. “Okay!”

He walked to a set of spiral stairs up to a landing with arcade cabinets and then another set of stairs leading to more arcade cabinets that made a winding pathway. Behind him was a round platform with dining tables and chairs sectioned off with faux walls. He passed all the arcade cabinets and a few rooms dominated by a single color with a mic near the end. Once he got to the last door past some games with chairs and a door that was out of order, he escaped the lights and colors and emerged into a poorly lit brick-walled hall. A metal security door cut into the bricks on the left with a long, small window beside it looking into the hallway.

The security room. Gregory had been here, once. He pushed through the door and made the tally twice. A large repair machine with a slot in the front metal part took up the center of said room. A box of S.T.A.F.F. parts sat in a bin beside it. A security desk armed with electronics and empty food boxes lined the left wall. He sent a glance at the vent in the floor on the rightmost wall. He hesitated. That would lead to Vanny’s hideout above Fazerblast. However, he had already been there, and that door had been marked “out of order”. That trip would just be a waste of time. Besides, he’d already played the Balloon Boy game. What if she was there? What if that’s how she got to the West Arcade so quickly and he just walked right into her gloved hands?

Nope, he wasn’t chancing it. Absolutely not.

He walked to the line of tech and connected desk space on the left wall.

The door opened.

Gregory jumped and sucked in his breath. He sighed upon seeing the chicken animatronic. “Hey, Chica!”

“Oh! Sorry to scare you!” Chica called, careful to keep her voice low enough not to become a shriek. “Um… that’s the badge, right? You just need that?”

“Yep!” Gregory grinned and turned to the Freddy-head-badge-holder on the desk. It slowly opened, let him take the card, and then snapped shut again.

The scant lights went out.

Chapter Text

The computer bot who helped him in Parts and Service called, “The West Arcade was not shut down properly. Some data may be corrupted. Initializing start-up sequence. Before proceeding, reset the audio manager circuit breaker, located next to the dance floor.”

That breaker by the DJ!

Chica exclaimed, “Gregory, the security system locked you out. We need to reset the breakers and restore power to the West Arcade as quick as we can.”

“Got it!” Nothing had moved, no one had entered–that he could see–but the backup lights came online. Gregory ran, glancing around at his surroundings now dipped in blood. He kept a lookout but didn’t see Vanny as he moved to the stairs. Chica stopped following.

On the little raised platform by the stage on the dance floor, the breaker switch’s light glowed red. So, he pulled it down. It clicked and the circle and the lightning bolt glowed green. The lights went out completely and the neon walls turned on bright. Electric music boomed through the arcade. Something shuffled rather quickly. He looked beside himself.

The DJ was gone.

The computer voice said, “Great job. Safety protocols deactivated.”

Oh, come on!

“Pram zapped. Brun DJ protocols. Reticulating splines. Please reset the breakers to all zones. Three zones remain: Janitorial service. Arcade. Arcade.”

Neon lights and arcade screens threw multicolored light across the floor, walls, and arcade cabinets. Still, the darkness was deep, and the shiny, dark dance floor sucked up the light that shone on it. Gregory clicked on his flashlight to make his navigation of the place possible.

He ran through a swinging door and checked the girl’s bathroom. Nope. He checked the boy’s bathroom. A door led off into a janitor’s closet. A breaker clung to the wall. He pulled it down immediately.

“Two zones remain: Arcade. Arcade.”

Gregory stepped out into the bathroom and froze. The bathroom door opened, revealing DJ Music Man’s head cocked to the side so both eyes could stare in. His head retreated, replaced by a gloved hand reaching in. Gregory ran around to the other door. When DJ Music Man’s arm extended fully inside, the boy darted out straight under his legs and toward the arcade.

He ran around to the lower arcade, searching the walls.

Then, a nearby roar broke through the blaring music, and a huge green and purple shape rushed out of the bowels of the arcade and landed before him.

Gregory yelped and held up his flashlight to Monty’s face.

Monty cackled. “You got on the DJ’s bad side, little guy. Not good.” The mirth died from his voice. “Switch is over there. I’ll keep lookin’.” He pointed to the wall behind himself and hopped off further into the arcade. Gregory could barely hear Monty’s feet hit the ground under the blaring music. Gregory put a hand to his chest. At least warn him, first!

Gregory shook himself off and darted through the small maze of arcade cabinets on the left side of the lower floor. The switch glowed red on the wall.

Ka-chunk!

“One zone remains: Arcade.”

Gregory looked up to see DJ Music Man crawling out of a giant, lit-up hole in the wall.

Welp, time to move.

Gregory bolted for the spiral staircase. He ran deeper into the arcade, away from the repair bot tunnel. Roxy ran on the bridge coming from the opposite direction of him. She jabbed her thumb back. “On the wall close to the bridge. Steer clear of the ’bot.”

“Thanks!” He called to her as they resumed their running–Roxy far outpacing Gregory and vanishing into the arcade cabinet maze within moments.

He did need to duck out of sight as a security bot rolled through the very thin walkway. It turned around before it could make its way to the stairs and rolled back. Gregory followed it at a distance until he got to the lever and pulled that down, too.

“Rerouting encryptions. Almost done. There is a software update available. Reset the final circuit breaker located at the south end of the arcade maintenance hallway.”

Gregory ran back over the bridge and wove through the arcade cabinets. He burst through the door to the maintenance hallway, ran down the hall, and turned down the elbow. Arcade cabinets and equipment sprinkled through a long hallway with a giant circular hole at the end wall. At the end of the hall, he spotted a lonely arcade cabinet pressed against the wall. Princess Quest II. The screen glowed like the first game, asking to be played. A weird feeling overcame him looking at it. A cutout of Bonnie in a sailor’s uniform and bandana, covered in seafoam, leaned against the wall on its side. Free of danger for the moment, hopefully, Gregory ran to the breaker. He took a few deep breaths and stayed still long enough to regain some energy. Then, he grabbed the last breaker and pulled it down.

The music reached a crescendo and then paused as if holding its breath.

The ground shook and from the giant hole in the wall emerged DJ Music Man. The ground shuddered as he emerged.

Gregory ran.

Arcade cabinets fell over, and stuff fell from the ceiling or walls or from behind him as the DJ tossed broken machines to block his path. He still managed to find a path, but with each turn he had to make, or time needed to slow down, the DJ got closer.

Finally, Gregory broke free of the hall and took a turn. As he ran to the security door, he glanced behind himself to see the DJ in the hall.

He shut the door behind himself.

…

The noises within the hall died down. The lights came on–enough that he no longer needed his flashlight.

He let out a breath and turned off his flashlight. Good. Gregory pocketed the tool and walked back into the hallway. As the fear of the chase subsided, curiosity filled its place. He walked to the end and approached the Princess Quest II arcade cabinet. He could have sworn the last time he’d seen it, it was broken or powered off, and the note he’d gathered about it confirmed it indeed did not work. Yet here it was, screen glowing in gentle yellow light, inviting him to play. There was that weird feeling again, the same one he had when he played Balloon World and the first Princess Quest Game.

Beep! [Gregory? Are you okay? Where are you?]

“I’m fine,” he reassured whoever contacted him. “I’m just down the hall. Remember how I beat Balloon World? And Princess Quest? I think there’s something special about these arcade cabinets.”

Beep! [Really? Like what?]

“I don’t know. Something. It’s the second…”

Beep! [Key?]

“Key?” he asked, taken out of his thoughts enough to concentrate on his chat log. “What gave you that idea?”

Beep! [Just an idea. I’ll talk to you later!]

“Okay. Talk to you later.”

Beep! [Hey, Gregory? Monty and Roxy are out in the arcade. You’re not in the office?]

He bit back a sigh. Couldn’t bots talk to each other? “I’m just down the hall. I’m gonna play this arcade game. It’s… like that first one I was talking about. I’ll be super quick.”

Beep! [Okay. Just as long as you’re safe!]

Gregory set Bonnie on the cabinet, grabbed one of the knobs, and pressed “START”.

This time, the princess had a sword. She could light the braziers with her sword if they needed lighting. The goopy bunny heads and bipedal bunnies died on her sword, though the bipedal ones needed three swings than the round ones who died after two. At one point, she walked into a room, black save for an aura of light around her and single white orbs with pupils scattered in the dark. When she got close, they spat glowing white balls at her. These were a little difficult to dodge, but she managed. Those little turret bunnies took one hit. At one point, there was a room with purple, red, and gold braziers. When he hit the yellow one, the fire died almost immediately, when he hit the red one, a “shadow” princess, the same as the one he played save for being purple, appeared. When the princess moved, the shadow princess moved in the opposite direction. Both braziers had to be lit at the same time to create the bridge necessary to proceed. The shadow princess blinked out of existence once the puzzle was completed. There was one similar, but instead of lighting the trio of braziers on either side of a red one, they had to be lit in a certain order to move them into a certain pattern. Well, all of them had to be lit, but then a hidden yellow and a hidden purple brazier would be revealed and would un light itself each time it was hit after moving the other three braziers. The last room after that was the old red man, presumably the king, standing close to her bed.

“Congratulations! Your quest is done. It is time to sleep.”

But the stone door at the end… it was covered in purple pixels scattering and changing positions. Was it glitched? When the princess entered, the screen immediately changed. Now, she stood in a security office, like the first one Gregory had been in when fleeing Monty in the utility tunnels. She stood, unable to move in the small space. Then, the game ended, and the arcade cabinet shut off. The weird feeling faded, just as it had with the previous games.

He met Chica in the security room. “Even if she’s not here now, sticking around will just attract her, I think.”

Chica nodded. “That makes sense. Especially if this place is special to her somehow. Okay, let’s hurry.”

Gregory escaped the security room and maintenance hall at a quick pace.

They made it a few turns in before the lights and music went out–all of the lights, save for Chica’s eyes. Gregory gasped and bristled. Chica froze in place.

“Oh no.”

Beep! [Hide. Get out of sight. Now.]

Gregory looked around and dove into a kiddy cart nearby. Under the mesh of the cart’s top, he could see Chica’s deep blue light. Two tiny red dots glowed to the left. Gregory hugged Bonnie hard to his chest. His fingers ran over his Fazerblaster stuck into his pocket.

“Freddy!” Chica exclaimed, her voice light and chipper. “It’s been forever since I’ve seen you after work!”

The red dots stopped. Silence met her words.

Chica’s eye lights shifted and the clunk-clunk of plastic of her tapping her fingers together preluded her speech. “So, it has been a while.” Her voice lost its cheer and dipped into a serious tone he couldn’t rightly match with her. “I’m sorry. You’ve been alone and I haven’t done anything to help you. I haven’t even tried. Something is wrong. With all of us. And it’s not your fault.”

Plastic slid over plastic and Chica dipped her head. “You’ve been an amazing friend to me, Freddy. You’re kind, you’re calm, you’re always willing to listen. You’re so compassionate and wise. You love helping people, even people who don’t like you as much as they should. And you’re selfless and brave. You wouldn’t hurt anyone. Not us. Especially not a child.”

The red dots moved, but only slightly. Freddy growled out, “You know where the child is.”

Chica looked up. She stood up straight. Her eyes reached the top of his chest, just like Monty. The alligator probably had the same endoskeleton as Freddy but without the ears. She stated, “Yes, I do.”

“Where is he?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

The red dots moved. Chica’s deep blue eyes tipped back and shone off his polished bowtie and teeth and dirty muzzle and chest. Freddy said, “That boy’s mine. You three can conspire or play on your own. But I’m delivering him to Vanessa. Not you, not that dog, that traitorous gator, or the blue S.T.A.F.F. bot. As leader of this band, it’s my right and responsibility.”

Chica opened her beak. It shut with a hard snap as shiny cyan claws forced her faux mandibles together. A moment of silence passed. The claws shifted and more of his fingers were revealed. Plastic scraped over plastic as his thumb scratched the bottom of her beak when he released her bottom mandible. She stated, “…I won’t hurt you, Freddy. I refuse to. But if it makes you feel better, that’s okay. I still won’t give you the child.”

Plastic creaked as the cyan claws pressed down harder and sunk into the chicken animatronic’s orange beak.

Gregory’s eyes went wide, and he barely kept himself from making a noise.

Beep! [Gregory, stay still and quiet. Do not move, whatever happens.]

“Gregory, whatever he does, he can’t actually break her. He wouldn’t.”

Freddy growled, “Where is the child? You are already a poor singer. I can make ‘no’ the last word you ever say.”

Chica stared back, hands at her side. “No. You’ll do something you’ll regret, and I can’t let you do that. I can’t let you hurt the child.”

Creeeeaaarrrrrk

Freddy hissed, “I do not have all night, Chica. I will not regret following orders. You are the one disobeying staff orders. Tell me where the child is.”

“No. You’re my best friend, Freddy. You have been since we were created. But something is wrong with you. Something’s wrong with all of us. I’m not going to let you hurt this child.”

A snarl built in Freddy’s chest and then was suddenly cut off. “The others are here,” he stated. “I will just ask them, then.”

Chica’s eyes narrowed. “And do you expect them to help you? I want to help you because you’re my friend, Freddy!” Her voice cracked and she shut her eyes. She opened them again and her voice calmed. “As you’re friend, I–”

Ssshhcccrrreeeeiiikkk!

Thump.

Gregory put a hand to his mouth.

An object just larger than his fist hit the ground in front of his stroller. Chica stepped back, eyes wide. Her eye lights gleamed off her white face plate and fell into the void left behind by her missing beak.

Freddy’s muzzle glowed in blue light from his own eyes, pupils a light aqua like the sea on a tropical beach rather than Chica’s, like a midnight lake.

Freddy’s ears fell and he raised a paw to his muzzle. “Chica?” he croaked out. “Oh, Chica, I… I am terribly… sorry…”

Chica tipped her head. She croaked out static.

Freddy looked down at his claws. He closed his hands and brought them closer to himself. He looked at her. “Chica, I am broken. Please take me to the engineer team.”

Chica nodded. She picked up her beak and walked with Freddy.

“Wait.”

I know. Gregory stayed perfectly still.

Beep! [Gregory! Freddy and I just left the Arcade. Monty and Roxy will meet you on the lower story.]

“Okay.” Gregory popped out of the stroller and clicked on his flashlight. Then, he hesitated and pulled up his glasses. “Hey, kid?” he whispered. “Evan? Are you here?”

A long moment passed before a kid stepped up beside him, barely visible in the edge of his flashlight’s glow. “What do you need, Gregory?” His voice was choppy, quiet.

“Is Freddy going to be okay, you think? Is he going to kill me?”

Evan’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why are you asking me?”

Gregory shrugged. “I dunno. You’ve been here longer. I just figured you’d know.”

The spirit looked out into the dark arcade in the direction of the elevator and then nodded. “Just be smart. And… and free Freddy, okay? Just please make sure he’s not being controlled.”

Gregory grinned. “Yeah, of course! I’ll fix him, and then we’ll make a plan to go against Vanny! She’s hiding in Fazerblast and there’s something else in Roxy’s Raceway. But she’s definitely hiding in Fazerblast. I’ll talk to the others once I put Freddy in Safe Mode. Then Vanny won’t be able to control Freddy again.”

“Good idea. Thank you.”

Gregory raised an eyebrow. “You’re really focused on Freddy, huh?” He glanced down at the yellow toy in his arms. “Is it because of that?”

Evan looked down at Fredbear. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and, after a very long moment, he slowly nodded. “I guess so. Yeah. Kinda. The others are probably missing you.”

“Oh, right.” Gregory started forward. He glanced back and found, surprisingly enough, Evan walking at his side. “Do you know much about Vanny’s plans? Or does anyone else here? Like, other spirits or whatever?”

Evan shook his head. “Most of the other kids are too scared to go back, or to talk about it. I wasn’t killed by her. Most of the kids who aren’t afraid of Vanny weren’t killed by her. There is one girl who was killed by Vanny and isn’t afraid of her. She doesn’t like talking to the rest of us, though. She thinks we’re boring. I’ll try talking to her. Maybe she’ll have something to tell you.”

“But you… live here. If they know, why don’t you? Can’t you just follow her?” Gregory walked down the spiral stairs.

Evan shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s something about Vanny… it’s like only certain people can see her. And if we can’t see her, it’s harder to follow her.”

They landed on the lower story. A set of glowing umber eyes and gold eyes turned to him from deeper in the dark. Gregory put on his glasses.

Evan said, “I should…” His voice trailed off. His lips continued to move as if he were speaking, but his voice… ended.

“What? Bonnie, can you hear him?”

“…”

Bonnie? Gregory glanced down at the stuffed toy.

Roxy yelled, “Kid! Get over here!”

He jumped. A headache crept up on him. He winced and narrowed his eyes, concentrating on what was before him as something tried to separate his mind from his senses. He sucked in his breath and whipped his flashlight around. Evan vanished from his side.

Perched on the balcony above him, watching him with giant red eyes with claw-thin pupils, was the patchy white rabbit. She didn’t wave or laugh or call or tip her head to flop her ears. She stared at him, holding onto the railings, like an eagle ready to swoop down on a wayward lamb. He bolted for the elevator, where Roxy glared at the balcony and Monty watched Gregory. Gregory’s headache eased the farther away he got.

“Hey, Litt–” Monty started.

“It’s Vanny!” Gregory pointed back at the balcony. “We gotta go!”

Roxy pressed the elevator button. Light spread over the floor and glinted over the statue and nearby arcade cabinets. Gregory darted inside with Monty. The boy hissed, “C’mon Roxy! I’m sure it’s fine!”

Roxy growled, but looked back and entered, anyway. Gregory, once inside the elevator, looked at the balcony again. Vanny was gone.

The elevator groaned and shuttered beneath their collective weight, but it managed to slowly make its way down. Gregory let out a long breath.

The intercom stated, “For your safety, please stay away from the doors.”

Monty looked between them. “I-I don’t get it. What happened? You can see her?”

Roxy nodded. “I can and I did! She was up on the balcony. She was about to jump down and get him!”

Gregory looked up at her. “That’s the weird thing! Every other time I’ve seen her, she’s always talked to me or done some crazy singing or dancing or whatever. But just then, she was just… staring at me.”

Roxy swished her tail. “I saw Freddy and Chica leave. Maybe she was mad you stole Freddy from her.”

Gregory grimaced. “Maybe.”

Monty scoffed. “Well! She’s just gonna have to deal with it. We’re gonna have our friend back.”

Roxy snorted. “After you didn’t believe we could.”

Monty shrugged. “I was bein’ cautious. Didn’t want anyone gettin’ hurt.”

Gregory bit his tongue. An idea popped into his head. “Hey, after I put Freddy into Safe Mode, we’ll probably need to do something. Vanny already knows she’s lost him. So, she’s probably going to run away. But if I leave, she’ll just find a way to infect you guys again and hunt me down. We need to fight her now.”

Beep! [Fight Vanny? Gregory, that’s not such a good idea. She could really hurt you!]

Roxy pointed out, “We need Chica’s input.”

“Chica said it’s not a good idea since she could hurt me,” Gregory said, pointing to his glasses. “But what else are we supposed to do? Let her win? She’ll just kill more kids!”

The elevator opened. Gregory walked out first, but the three ended up moving at a quick pace. Gregory went on, “But I guess we can talk about it when we get together.” I don’t know what there is to talk about, though.

“They’re worried about you. They can be fixed by the engineering team in the morning. You can’t.”

Yeah, well, they can be possessed by her to kill me or each other. I can’t.

“…I mean… as far as you know. What if she could be possessed?”

You can’t possess people. That’s stupid .

*          *          *          *          *

Gregory pressed the button on the stage. He waited just outside the red double doors and looked up at Roxy. Roxy looked at the doors. She narrowed her eyes. “It might be okay. Ask Chica.”

“Chica?” Gregory asked. “Can I come in?”

Beep! [Yes! Freddy can’t see you.]

“Did you tell him to close his eyes?” Gregory asked.

Beep! [Yes. I did. He was confused, but he agreed.]

Gregory gave them the thumbs up. “She said it’s okay!” He pushed through the door, which opened much more easily with Monty pushing it open as well. The alligator walked ahead of him and stood in front of the cylinder. Chica stood with her back facing them.

Monty asked, “Freddy? So, that’s really you?”

“Yes, Monty,” Freddy responded. “I, er… yes. You are you? As Chica said?”

Monty nodded. “Yeah.” He turned his head and put a finger to his snout. Gregory could hardly see any of the machinery past him. Roxy, ears perked and eyes fixed on the inert bear, walked around to Chica’s other side. She kept her hands to her side, but her tail raised almost level with her hips and waved slowly. Her head moved only to follow the bear’s position.

Was Bonnie different? The thought came to him like a slap in the face. Even when Chica had been “sick”, she wasn’t set off by his running like the others were. The others were predators that stalked and chased and ambushed. Animals in tall tales that ate naive little kids who wandered too far into the scary woods forever prisoner under the moon’s cold light. Bonnie was a bunny; rabbits wouldn’t hurt anyone. They were hurt by everyone just like chickens. Well, except for Vanny, but Vanny didn’t count.

“Yes.”

Gregory jolted and looked down at Bonnie. “Huh?”

“The longer I’m here, the more I start the remember about my life. And… I was different. Special. I think? That’s why I died. Vanny thought I was special. She didn’t specify why I was special, but that has to be it. …I remember darkness. And light. Smoke, and fresh air? I don’t know.”

Gregory continued walking. He bristled upon hearing a sharp hiss.

“Chica! What happened?” Roxy demanded.

Chica continued to watch Freddy. She made a hissing, grinding noise before stopping.

Gregory set Bonnie down on the computer terminal, glowing a dark green. Gregory said, “Chica, do you have to go in the repair cylinder to replace your beak?”

Chica looked down at Gregory, narrowed her eyes, and then shrugged and held out her beak for him. She knelt so that she was close in height to the boy. Gregory looked over the beak and then the voice box attached to it. Some of the wires were frayed and jagged and the metal was scratched and dented. However, the plug in the back stayed intact. So, he plugged in her voice box and pushed her beak into place.

Gregory let go. “Did it work?”

“I think so,” Chica answered, her voice as clear as ever. Scratches marred her slightly dented beak, but otherwise, everything was back in place! “Thank you, Gregory!”

“No problem!” He looked back at the cylinder. Now, Freddy.

He could barely see a scrap of orange plastic behind Monty. “Select Upgrade” in digital, light green letters stamped across the top. Under it was a list with slightly smaller printed words. “Power Upgrade” “Claws Upgrade” “Voicebox Upgrade” and “Eyes Upgrade”, all in off-white text, listed below with “Exit” in lime text.

The computer said, “Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure.”

Gregory pressed the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. “Select Repair” replaced the upgrade heading. “Hardware Scan”, “Physical Scan”, “Routine Check-Up”, and “Custom-Repair” were listed below it.

He decided to do a hardware scan, first–like he’d done with the others. Nothing was wrong with his outside body.

The computer announced, “It seems that Freddy is under the weather. It seems Freddy’s basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Freddy will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice. Activating safety protocols. Rebooting in Safe Mode.”

The cylinder opened beside Gregory. Freddy got up and walked out, ducking his head a little as he went. He started upon seeing Monty standing so close to him and then turned and saw Chica and Roxy beside her. His ears fell. “I am so sorry, Chica. I… who else is here?” He turned to the computer terminal.

Monty pushed Gregory back behind him with his tail. “Actually, I don’t think that’s a good idea at the moment. With what ya did to Chica, I ain’t so sure.”

Freddy nodded. “I understand.”

Gregory petted Bonnie’s ear, took a deep breath, and walked around Monty. “Actually, Monty, I don’t. How else will we know if we fixed him?”

“Little guy!” Monty hissed.

Freddy perked up. “You are not an engineer. You are the child that Officer Vanessa is looking for.”

Gregory nodded. “Yeah, and I don’t trust her. I don’t know what she’s up to, but it can’t be anything good. And Vanny’s also been attacking me and trying to send everyone else after me. Which, how are you feeling?”

“I am feeling much better now,” Freddy answered cheerfully. The cheer dimmed immediately. “I have still done quite a lot of wrong. I will fix my mistakes. Gregory, would you accept my help?”

Gregory nodded, a grin making its way on his face. “Heck yeah! We could use all the help we can get against Vanny! I know where her lair is. We can attack her now, while she’s vulnerable.”

Roxy asked, “You do? Where?”

Freddy looked away and put a finger to his chin.

Gregory answered, “Fazerblast. She has a hide-out there. And in the power room, she marked Roxy Raceway as important. So, if we check there, we might find some arrows pointing somewhere. But if we go to Roxy Raceway now, we’d give her time to run away.”

Roxy nodded. “We’ll need to be fast.”

“Takin’ the fight to her! I like it,” Monty agreed.

Freddy nodded. “Yes. Let’s end this.”

Chica looked around at them and then sighed and bowed her head. “I guess I’m outvoted. Okay. Let’s stop her.”

Chapter Text

Gregory concentrated on his surroundings as they moved into Fazerblast. He tried not to think about his bruises and the headache–the real one, not the one he got with Vanny–or the soreness in his muscles or stinging of his likely reopened wounds he’d gathered throughout the nights. Instead, he focused on the mission at hand, at the space-themed room as he idled in it, waiting for Monty and Roxy on the next elevator ride down.

“We can do this. With their help, especially with Freddy on our side, Vanny doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Yeah,” Gregory agreed, petting Bonnie’s ear. “She doesn’t stand a chance. Heh.”

Chica asked, “Are you okay?”

Gregory nodded. “Fine. Just… I’m fine. We’re gonna be okay. We’ll catch her. We can’t let her get away.”

“We won’t let her hurt you again,” Chica reassured him. “Not as long as you’re with us.”

Freddy chipped in, “We can do this, Gregory.”

The elevator behind them opened.

Monty and Roxy joined them.

Gregory forged ahead, walking into the arena entrance labeled “ENTRY”. The thick blue door opened vertically into the ceiling like the metal safety doors. He ran his flashlight along the walls covered in faux pipes and prop wires as wide as his arm and powered off lights. Handrails made the hall more cramped.

The short hall emptied into a wide room, two rows of seats on one side and a stage with a powered down S.T.A.F.F. bot in Fazerblast gear on the other. A dark, flat TV screen hung above the opposite door and above their door. Stars glittered on the ceiling in between the ribs of dark lights. Gregory’s flashlight beam lingered on the S.T.A.F.F. bot for a few moments before turning back to the door.

Roxy grunted, “Those things only do what they’re programmed to do. They don’t have personalities. That one could be replaced with a laptop and there wouldn’t be any difference.”

Chica chipped in, “Except people respond differently to laptops since the bots give the illusion that they’re being watched by it. Humans act differently when they’re being watched.”

Gregory looked back at them. “So, it’s not seeing us?”

Chica shook her head. “Nope! Well, it is seeing you. Technically, all S.T.A.F.F. bots can ‘see’, but it’s not recording you and it doesn’t have the ability to judge you. It has a set of lines it’s supposed to say, routines in case something was to happen in this room, and then it’s base code that match every other S.T.A.F.F. bot in the building so it can replaced within a few minutes if it malfunctions.”

Roxy sniffed. “A laptop would have a camera in it.”

The opposite door opened for Gregory into another twisted, dark, futuristic hallway. He shot one last glance at the bot on stage. Its head was tilted at a gruesome degree compared to its slumped forward body so its eyes, glowing with pinpricks of faint red light, were on them. It vanished behind Roxy’s hair too fast for Gregory to react. Then the door closed, and it was out of sight forever.

Gregory turned forward again. That… probably isn’t good.

“What? What did you see?”

You didn’t see it? That bot was staring right at us! Just now!

“Oh. No, I didn’t. Do you want to tell the others?”

If you didn’t see it, then maybe I’m just seeing things. I am kinda jumpy right now. He waited for Bonnie to contradict him, but the rabbit did not. So, Gregory kept the words he didn’t mean and continued to walk in silence. The next door they came upon exited into a trident-shaped room.

He sent a glance at the AR laser tag gear lined up on the left and right walls but ignored it and walked forward to a pole that reached his chest before fanning out into a big, very thick saucer with lighter orange squares around the side and a big light orange button. As it was currently off, the lights and button on the dark orange object were dim and pale. He looked up at the center door and then back and forth at the left and right doors, both of which said: “NO ENTRY”. An exit sign pointed from the left door back. So, he took the middle door… which led to a set of three doors.

Chica asked, “Where’s the entrance?”

“It’s through the winner’s elevator.”

“Oh! Then go through orange team’s elevator. That one’s the closest.” Chica pointed to the left door.

“Elevator?” Gregory prompted. “Are you sure it’ll hold all of us?”

“Extra sure!”

Gregory nodded and walked through the right door, keeping his flashlight ahead. There was only one turn, but the hallway was rather long. “So, uh… is this gonna work without power?”

“It’s not really an elevator,” Chica explained. “It’s just a room to jazz kids up and get them ready for the ‘big fight’.” She chortled. “So, no worries! We can open it ourselves!”

“Oh.” Gregory thought for a long moment. “So… this elevator isn’t an elevator. Are there other elevators that aren’t elevators?”

Chica chuckled. “Ah, that’s a funny question. Um… I’m not super-duper familiar with the elevators. I just know this one since I’ve been here a lot.”

He sent a glance back at her. Monty claimed, “The Pizzaplex is a big ol’ mess, Little guy! That’s all ya gotta know.”

Gregory sighed and walked through the door to the “elevator”. “The more I learn about this place, the less I like it. Who even built this place?”

Roxy grunted, “Maniacs.”

Once Monty’s tail was through the door, Gregory reached toward the “START GAME” button on the wall, but stopped himself. “Uh, this button’s not gonna work, is it?”

Chica, already at the other door, said, “Nope! Now, never do what I’m gonna do, okay?”

Gregory nodded. “Okay! That means you’re not shouting, right?”

The chicken raised her foot and wedged her sharp yellow toes between the elevator doors. “Nope, and you back off, Monty. You’ll break it.”

Monty, who’d raised his foot to step closer, step his foot down again with a quiet “Aww”.

Gregory patted his arm.

Chica wiggled her foot back and forth until enough of it was between the doors that there was a gap, and she slid her fingers into the doors. The elevator doors creaked open, revealing dark barriers where his flashlight beam barely touched and a black void beyond. She stepped outside with a trilled, “Ta-da~!”

Gregory grinned and ran after her.

Light.

As soon as Gregory ran out to meet Chica, the lights within the maze blazed on. Lasers shot up into the ceiling. Neon signs of the characters glowed above. The maze barriers lit up. Spunky music slowly but steadily rushed to fill the silence. Gregory looked up. Lights lit up at specific intervals along the catwalks leading from one end of Fazerblast to the other, ending at Vanny’s hide-out.

Monty roared, “How’d she know?!”

“The bot,” Gregory squeaked out.

Freddy looked down at him. “What? What do you mean?”

“The bot in that room we passed. I-it looked at us. I thought it was my imagination, since when I asked Bonnie, he said he didn’t see it. It saw us! And it told her we were here!”

Roxy shook her head impatiently. “No, that can’t be right. She must have seen us on the security cameras in the lobby or something. Maybe we tripped a sensor. She could have set up a trap for us here.”

Chica stated, “Whatever happened, it happened. I don’t think those bots can record and communicate, and I don’t even think it was active, but I’ll choose to believe you, Gregory. Even so, regardless of how she found out, she found out.”

Monty stalked forward a few steps. “Then let’s get this party started!”

Gregory pointed to her hide-out. “The way I got to it before was through a vent in the winner’s lounge.”

Chica said, “Then we’ll need to–”

“Bots!” Roxy hissed and ducked her head, ears flat and hands up at her sides. “Heading straight for us.”

Freddy tried, “Perhaps they are laser tag S.T.A.F.F. bots and believe we are attempting to engage in a friendly game of tag?”

Roxy ran out into the maze, forcing them to follow.

Chica called, “Wait! Where are you going?”

“To the winner’s elevator!” Roxy declared.

“I know a quicker way up there!” Chica suggested. “That catwalk points directly to the electronics room. Mabe there’s a way to enter from there!”

Roxy stopped, looked around and moved right. “Okay, great. Let’s go there, then. Where is it?”

“It’s in the wall… you don’t even know where we are, do you?”

“Of course I do!” Roxy snapped, taking another turn. She looked up an incline to the center of the maze and then back at Chica. “But you’re the one who knows where it is.”

Beep! [I heard your call.]

“What? Who said that?” Gregory looked around at the four animatronics with him, but none were actually paying attention to him. Well, until now.

Chica asked, “Who said what?”

“Someone sent a message to my Gator Glasses,” Gregory responded. He hugged Bonnie tighter. “I-I don’t know who it was. My glasses never have any names on them! They said ‘I heard your call’. What does that mean?” He looked up at Chica with round eyes. “I didn’t call anyone!”

“I know, I know,” she soothed. “Whoever it is, they’re just some meanie trying to scare you. We won’t let them hurt you. We’re in this together, right?”

Gregory nodded, tightening his grip on Bonnie. “Yeah, we are.”

Roxy snarled at the wall and held her claws up by her sides, tail up and waving slowly. Monty crouched and raised his hands, ready to spring. Freddy looked behind them, stepping back so he was closer and cut off what would otherwise be a quick route to Gregory. Chica held out her hand. “The maze is a little confusing. Let me guide you through it.”

He nodded and took her hand. Just like that, some of his anxious thoughts ebbed. “I can walk,” he forced himself to say as he walked at her side.

She chuckled. “I know, Gregory. You’re a big kid.” She raised her voice, “Come with me! I know th–bagawk!” She reared back as a S.T.A.F.F. bot in alien laser tag armor lunged out of out of the walkways. Roxy flew past Chica and slammed into it. Her jaws clamped down on its thin neck and claws squealed over its chest and arm. The bot writhed, its motors clicking and wheels whirring overtime as she kicked it down.

Chica led Gregory onward. Monty stayed at their side, throwing a look back at Roxy, while Freddy kept to the rear, ears back and looking constantly from Gregory to the catwalks.

Roxy caught up with them after another turn. When another bot made its presence known, its glaring red eyes pointed down at Gregory, Monty took a hard swipe at it. It tottered and spasmed as its head snapped back, split open like a ravaged dog toy. Monty stayed long enough to rip open its chest plate and kick it down.

More trouble met them, but the animatronic alligator and wolf worked together seamlessly to ward them off until they got a plain metal door in the real wall behind a colorful wall. Chica stated, “The server room is through here and then a huge staircase.”

Monty reported, “Uuuuuh, problem!”

Chica looked back. “What’s the–? Oh.”

More laser staff flooded their vision. While many looked fresh to fight, some were limping along, mangled or rusty. Some, he spotted, weren’t on their wheels at all and instead propelled themselves forward on their hands.

Monty stepped back, “Li’l guy, I’m not so sure we can fight this many of ‘em.”

Freddy said, “We must barricade the door, there’s…”

The S.T.A.F.F. all stopped at once as he spoke. The shadows flickered high above. Gregory’s eyes flicked up. Up in the window, the rabbit lady moved within her room behind the window. Maybe in a dance or… no, she was holding something.

Beep! Dread clenched the pit of his stomach. [Disassemble Monty.]

The bots jolted and all at once they turned their eyes on the animatronic alligator. With more speed than should be possible, they descended. Monty belted out a guttural roar at the unflinching army pounced on the first to enter his line of sight. A second and third grabbed onto him and started tearing at his casing. A fourth following. Roxy tore one off, but it was replaced by two more. Freddy worked to heave off the zombie bots, but even after hitting the ground, they just flipped themselves over and continued their assault. Monty snarled and thrashed and slapped them with his claws and tail and muzzle. His eyes were wide, and he gouged deep marks in the floor trying–and failing–to back away.

Chica put a hand to her beak and tugged Gregory inside.

Gregory burst out, “You have to do something!”

Chica shook her head, one hand on her beak. The door slammed shut behind them.

“I’ll go get Vanny myself–”

“No,” she cut him off, releasing her beak. Chica stomped forward, taking him with her through the twisting, cluttered hallway. “I will guide you to the stairs. I will protect you. If I yell, I will hurt my friends.” She choked and put her free hand to her beak again. She hesitated in front of a rolling shutter door. It opened automatically for them. Chica ducked so they could hurry into the server room. A couple of scuffed security S.T.A.F.F. bots with jagged smiles painted on their faces and words sloppily painted onto their chests rolled around, but he and Chica snuck by them.

Past the racks and walls of electronics, the room was littered with supplies, dark laser tag walls, and the occasional kiddie ride. A set of spiral stairs curled straight up.

“Be careful, please.”

We will. We’re ending this.

He and Chica ran to the stairs. Unfortunately, they were slim enough to be single file for the animatronic chicken and the boy. She went first, holding her hand behind herself. They climbed up and up, passing the floor of the laser tag arena and then the walls. Gregory looked down, frantically searching for robotic life. Further in the arena, by the wall, he found the highest concentration of the stupid bots. Monty was… on the ground, surrounded by purple and green plastic. He still moved, gave signs of life. Roxy all but lay on top of him, shielding what was left of his body with her own. She bit and snapped but didn’t raise a hand to swipe at the bots that Freddy still frantically tried to fight off.

“If we stop her, we can stop the bots, right?” Gregory rationalized.

“Yes,” Chica answered. “That makes sense! You’re a very clever boy, Gregory.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Chica pushed through a half gate barring them entrance to the catwalk.

Gregory kept his eyes forward as he stepped over the grate catwalk, refusing to look down over the arena so far down. Instead, he hurried across, to Vanny’s room.

Gregory winced as his headache came back twofold and whatever stupid voodoo magic thing she did tried disconnecting his brain from his senses.

The door to Vanny’s room opened.

Chica’s hand slipped out of Gregory’s.

His gaze snapped up. “What–?”

Chica stood in front of him, hands before her chest, staring down two S.T.A.F.F. bot that rolled onto the catwalk. They stopped when she opened her beak, hesitating as if they recognized what that signal meant.

Vanny walked right past them, a skip in her step, something black and bulky and horrifying familiar in her hand.

“Look out!” Gregory yelled. “I-it’s her! The rabbit lady!”

Chica looked around. “Rabbit lady? I don’t see her?”

Vanny stopped and jabbed Chica in the neck with her stick.

The animatronic chicken ba-gawked and jolted. Her eye lights flickered off and her head and shoulders slumped. Vanny stepped back. “Disassemble Chica.”

Gregory shook his head. “No. No, no, no!” He grabbed Chica’s hand and tugged her back.

Vanny chortled, “Don’t worry, she’ll wake up in just a moment! This wasn’t meant to hurt.” She waved her taser teasingly beside herself.

Chica’s eye lights blinked back to life.  She blinked. “Wha–Greg–?” One of the S.T.A.F.F. grabbed her by the beak. She stumbled and waved her arms, yanking her hand out of Gregory’s grasp, and tried to hit back, but they shoved her off the side.

She hit the ground far, far below.

Gregory gasped and ran to the edge. He peered over the catwalk to the multicolored ground below.

She didn’t move for several moments. When she started to do so, the redirected S.T.A.F.F. nearby swooped down.

“Chica,” he coughed out. His eyes dragged up to where the battered wolf had wrapped herself around the unmoving alligator and still fighting bear.

This is all my fault.

A white paw landed gently on his shoulder. “Oh, Gregory,” she cooed. “Gregory, Gregory. You don’t need to worry about them. Freddy started acting out of control, just like them. But the other bots will neutralize them and then the engineering team can take a look at them and they’ll be all better soon! They’ll be back to their normal selves in no time, like nothing happened.”

Gregory looked up at her. He could barely see the fuzzy white shape above, marred by those almond shaped scarlet eyes and slit black pupils. He… didn’t quite understand what he was feeling. He knew what he should be feeling. He should be afraid. He should be terrified. He should be sad. He should be angry.

But he was…  nothing.

Something gleamed at the edge of his vision. Her hand tightened on his shoulder.

His heart beat faster in an effort to thaw his frozen muscles. No, no, no, he knew what that was. Gregory threw his arms and flinched back as she took a swipe at him. He squeezed shut his eyes, preparing for the worst.

Shhhhrip!

The worst… never came?

Gregor opened his eyes. The tip of the blade poked out inches from his chest… right out of Bonnie’s back. “Bonnie!” he screamed and yanked the toy back. He twisted her thumb back and, using the leftover surprise from his still-alive-and-not-bleeding-out state and pain to dislodge her, turned and ran.

He tried to run, at least, until finding himself face-to-chest with the two bots. …the two bots that killed Chica. The bots under Vanny’s control. Vanny, the one who ordered them to kill Monty, Chica…

Gregory darted past her into her room.

Vanny followed. “Gregory, are you tired? You can take a nap in my bed if you want.”

Gregory’s eyes fell on a remote. Well, it was more of a box with a red button and an antenna and a speaker. Maybe the speaker was for commands…?

“Gregory!” Vanny laughed, her voice a little more thin. “Hey, that’s not yours. Put, put that down.”

Gregory turned on her, the remote in his grasp. He narrowed his watery eyes. He declared, “Disassemble Vanny!” He pressed the big red button.

 The two bots rolled inside, their eyes on her.

Vanny backed up. “No, no, no, no.” She tried to run around them, but one of the bots grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back. The second took her ear and dug its fingers into her side.

Gregory ran.

Vanny’s screams faded as the door to her room automatically shut behind him and he got further away. He flew down the spiral stairs and, gasping and heaving, stumbled through the server room. He emerged out the plain metal door to see Freddy, standing still, head bowed. The casing on his hands and arms were warped and parts of his hands had been chipped off altogether. His ears fell back, and he stared down with dull aqua eyes, the lights so dim they were barely on.

Below him, Monty lay on the floor, stripped almost completely down to the endoskeleton. His arms lay beside him, detached, and one eye had rolled off somewhere. His jaw cracked open to a gross degree, but had not been taken completely off. Green, purple, and gray bits of casing scattered around him like snow. His functioning umber eyes sputtered.

Roxy stood above him as well, her head bowed, ears back and tattered tail between her torn up legs. Her own casing had been shredded and her mane was barely anything but plastic scraps. One eye held on by the power of determination alone.

Freddy looked back and his eyes shone at a brighter, more consistent degree upon seeing Gregory. “Gregory! You are alive! Oh, what good news! That must mean you have defeated Vanny. …where is Chica?”

Roxy’s head snapped up and her ears perked.

Gregory whined and looked at his feet. Fresh tears welled in his eyes. “V-Vanny had h-her stupid bots th-throw her off the catwalks and att-attack her.”

“No! No, it was just a fall!” Roxy spun around and raced into the maze. Her eye bounced across the floor. “Chica! Chica, answer me!”

Monty’s jaw twitched and his eye sputtered and brightened. He let out a snarling growl choked with static.

Beep! [Little Guy? You’re okay?]

Gregory ran to Monty’s side and knelt beside him. “Yeah! Yeah, I am! Roxy’s looking for Chica. I-I’m sure you guys are gonna be okay. You’ll definitely be okay. Right?”

Beep! [Definitely. Takes more than a few dumb bots to take down Monty Gator!]

Freddy chipped in, “Gregory, it is not safe here. You must go.”

Gregory shook his head. “No.” He sniffled and cursed the crack in his voice. “No, I can’t just leave you guys.”

Freddy set his paw on Gregory’s shoulder. “Engineers will help us. They cannot help you. Please, Gregory.”

Gregory took Monty’s gnarled hand. “No. No, I can just hide somewhere. I’ll do that, yeah! Tell him, Monty!”

Beep! [Sorry, kid. Bear’s right. Sorry I got to cut this short, but this gator is pretty tired, okay?]

Beep! [Goodbye, kid. Take care of yourself.]

“Monty? You’re a robot, you don’t sleep,” Gregory pointed out. Monty’s eye lights went out and he stopped moving entirely. “Monty? Monty, c’mon, dude, answer! You don’t sleep! Bonnie–”

Gregory’s breath hitched as he looked at his toy.

A jagged wound cut straight through his chest and tore down his belly. Stuffing hung out and threads stuck out. “Bonnie…”

“…don’t… like this…”

“Bonnie, can you hear me?”

“…little bit… ’s hard to… see or… feel. Like I’m… dying again… but not…?”

Gregory looked up at Freddy. In the maze, Roxy’s calls for Chica had turned into heavy sobs. The boy got to his feet. It was six AM and regardless, he had the security clearance.

Gregory made his way back through the maze. He had to use the cams to help him navigate. He only used one of them, knowing where the other two would fall.

Eventually he made his way to the open entrance elevator. His feet moved on their own as he traveled through the winding hallways back through the laser tag arena. His fingers ran over Bonnie’s chest, compressing leaking stuffing and exposed thread.

“…saved… you…”

But you’re hurt! I spent years making sure you’re okay and now you’re all ripped open!

“…it’s okay…”

Gregory pressed the button in the Fazer Blast elevator. “Vanny’s gone but… I mean, so’s everyone else. That means no one else will go missing. Right? So, we did a good thing. A-and the engineers will be able to fix them. I mean, they couldn’t fix you, but… but that was probably different, somehow. She probably did something to you. She can’t do anything to anyone ever again.”

“…nope…”

Gregory strode out of the elevator with faux confidence. “Yeah! Definitely. Since she’s gone, she can’t stop the engineers from helping them. She can’t kill anymore kids. We’ll be safe. I’ll find some way to patch you up. I don’t know how to sew, and I don’t have any sewing supplies or anything. But I could learn, right? You’re good at remembering stuff, too.”

“…”

“Bonnie?” Gregory stopped in front of the shutters and held the stuffed rabbit out in front of himself. “Bonnie, can you hear me?”

A long moment passed before…

“…yes…”

Gregory sighed and kept moving, cradling Bonnie rather than hugging him and risking destroying him further. “You’re going to be okay. We’re both going to be okay. I’m gonna fix you up and then…I dunno but first thing’s first: we fix you.”

Gregory continued to talk to Bonnie, demanding his occasional input, as they got to the double layered glass doors leading outside. The shutters barring them from exiting had rolled back up. He set his hand to the chilly glass, took a sharp breath, and pushed through. Vanny was dead. No one would worry about her ever again. But the animatronics had been destroyed. He had nothing here. First thing’s first: fix Bonnie.

Chapter Text

Gregory stepped into warmth.

A shiver ran through him, and he stared into the dazzling atrium with wide, misty eyes. “No. Oh, no, no, no.” The others weren’t dead, but he was back again!

“You’re kinda in the way,” someone said behind him. Gregory wasn’t aware he was walking until his dirty shoes started taking him over the checkerboard floor.

“This is insane.”

You’re telling me! This can’t be happening. This… it can’t be. Gregory looked over the crowd. He ran his hands over his arms, over the dirtying bandages of various ages. He winced as he moved the wrong way. Gregory stopped and stretched despite his body’s protests. He spotted Chica’s tufted feathers over the crowd as she walked among them. That’s how she found Gregory last time–she was already by the stage. Monty must already be in Monty Golf. Roxy was in Roxy Raceway prior to the show, so that’s likely where she would be now. Where was Freddy?

Whatever. He needed to get out. Obviously, anything that included him going somewhere guests were not permitted was off limits. Gregory tapped his glasses. His chat logs and CAM tabs were both empty. He fished out his cupcake light and found his signed Monty Golf score sheet and signed cupcake liner in his pockets as well as his Party Pass. He replaced the items. Okay. Okay, well, there was still the fire escape… that was VIP required.

Gregory took a steadying breath and hugged Bonnie as he stepped onto the escalator. Normally, he didn’t interact much with Bonnie in public past holding him–definitely nothing as babyish as hugging him or petting his ears. But it helped, at least somewhat, with the turbulent emotions just made all the worse by hunger and pain and exhaustion. If he tousled his hair the right way and acted in the right manner, he could pass off as a child much younger than he truly was. He was already short, and Bonnie made things easier.

But he didn’t want to look like a little kid because he wasn’t. He was eleven. He was mature enough and sly enough and smart enough to sneak into Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex. He spent the night here–twice–and survived. But he was an idiot and got his friends killed.

“You didn’t. You saw Chica just now: functioning and walking around, good as new. You’re back at the start of the time loop again. None of that happened, as far as they’re concerned.”

Gregory rubbed his shoulder, wincing where he’d hit the floor. It happened to me.

“I know. But it won’t happen this time.”

He nodded, taking another set of escalators up to the third floor. People laughed and complained and chattered to each other in the arcade, turning the already crowded floor into one big obstacle. Gregory managed to squirm his way through to the Prize Counter. Then, while the worker closest to him checking out the shelf of toys wasn’t looking, he strolled past and walked straight up to the doors to the fire exit.

Cli-clunk.

Nope. Not VIP enough.

Gregory turned and walked back as quickly as he dared. So, the fire escape was, again, out of the picture. No way he was going to the loading docks. The only other way out was through the front doors. Even then, he ran the risk of getting stuck without an entry ticket. Though, did the utility doors need clearance? He nodded. “Front doors it is.”

He looked over the balcony just in time to see Chica vanish over the top of the stairs from the atrium to the balcony. Chica was probably going to her cupcake factory. Monty was likely still in his golf course. Was Roxy in her raceway? At night she was pretty much everywhere but the raceway.

Gregory couldn’t shake off his curiosity. He knew entering the raceway would prove to be futile–sure, he might meet Roxy, but then he’d just have to go through a whole new night in the Mega Pizzaplex. Maybe it was interacting with the animatronics that was making him go through these time loops.

“Or maybe it was interacting with, and befriending, them that was saving you.”

Gregory walked past quite a few people to get into Roxy Raceway. With the ceiling lights on, the raceway felt both larger and smaller at the same time, which was weird? Smaller in that it had space and therefore was not an endless void, but larger as in it had a taller ceiling than most any other place in the Mega Pizzaplex barring the main atrium.

Go-karts zoomed over the track. People whooped and called all along the sides, watching their friends and family and random people as they waited or simply watched for the fun of it. Some people shopped for snacks and trinkets along the balcony Gregory left as he quickly climbed down the stairs. A cluster of kids played bumper-karts. Roxanne Wolf stood by the starting line, watching the go-karts race.

He hesitated partway down the stairs as he heard quiet sniffling.

Gregory’s eyebrows wrinkled. He made it all the way down the stairs and looked into the first garage. All the shutter doors were open. Within the first garage, a kid just about his age sat against the wall, curled up with her arms around her knees, her red violet sweatshirt a flare against the checkerboard white and black tile.

Gregory threw a look around at his surroundings. Other kids younger and older ran and walked past as did adults and teens–staff and guest. None of them seem to notice her existence. Gregory turned to her and walked into the room. He grabbed one of the napkins, knelt beside her, and offered it to the now cautious girl.

“Um… hey,” he offered. “Did you get your make-up done at the salon? It looks nice.”

She sniffled, the caution breaking in lieu of her misery. “Yeah, but it’s all ru-unny, now,” she mumbled. “…thanks.” She took the napkin and tried dabbing at her tears without messing up her make-up worse than it already was.

Gregory shrugged. “I dunno, I think it looks cool all messed up.”

She scoffed and hiccupped again. “Guys don’t know what make-up should look like.” She still smiled a little at that. “Thanks.”

“So, uh… what… happened?” Gregory edged.

She squinted at the napkin, but not in anger as he might expect. She more looked at the blackened thing with… resignation. “It’s my birthday. I had my party here. But no one showed up.”

Gregory’s eyebrows raised. “What? Who wouldn’t show up to your birthday?”

“My friends, apparently,” she mumbled.

“You need better friends,” Gregory stated plainly.

“They’re not all bad,” she argued, but didn’t look up.

“Yeah, not all bad,” he agreed. “Like abandoning someone on one of the most important days of the year.”

She sniffled and dabbed uselessly at her face again.

Gregory lost a little of his indignation. He fetched another napkin for her. “Hey, sorry. I just… don’t like seeing people put down. I’m sorry your friends didn’t come to your party.” He hesitated. “Is, um… is the party over already?”

“Roxy had to go, so yeah,” she said. “Roxy’s the best. She’s so nice and special and cool. I hope I get to have my next birthday here again.”

He opted to nod. “I heard she’s pretty cool. Chica told me a little about her, and so did Monty. But if your birthday party’s over already, does that mean we can host the afterparty now?”

She gave him a quizzical look. “The what now?”

“The afterparty,” he said simply. “When you had your party, but then you have enough stuff left over for another party. I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to. But I know some good ways to play with the machines around here and have some fun.”

The girl laughed and sniffed. “Why are you being so nice to me? You don’t even know me.”

Gregory’s smile fell and he looked at Bonnie. “Eh, well, I kinda know what it’s like to be alone. It really sucks. I mean, I’ve got Bonnie. He’s my best friend. But it’s hard for him to do some things.”

“The only things I can do are limited to anything that is just talking to you in specific. So, yes. It’s hard for me to do some things.”

The girl looked at Bonnie and then him. “You know, Bonnie was always my dad’s favorite. I was pretty young when I met Bonnie. My name’s Cassie.” She held out her hand.

Gregory go of Bonnie with one hand and took hers. “I’m Gregory.”

“Heh! Now, what’s this you said about the machines?”

Gregory got to his feet and helped Cassie to hers. “Well, if you kick a few of the ones in the Starcade in just the right spot, they’ll give you extra tickets. Some will even give you your coins back! Some soda machines will give you five quarters back instead of four when you ask for a refund,” he told her as they walked up the stairs and out of Roxy Raceway. “So, we could go to the Starcade and mess with those machines or… it’s your birthday, right? So, Chica must have given you a Party Pass. Have you used it?”

Cassie shook her head. “Nope. I still have it. Why? Do you have one?”

“Yeah. We could go to the Starcade or blow these tickets on Fazerblast and show the rest of the babies there who’s boss. What do you think, Birthday girl?”

Cassie grinned. “It’s been a little while since I’ve blasted anyone.”

Gregory cackled. “Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!”

Cassie chuckled, hiccupped, and took a deep breath. “But first, I really should go wash this off in the bathroom.”

Gregory nodded and followed her back to the Salon. He waited outside, looking around at the desert themed exterior with the giant scissors on the building. Girls, mostly, occupied the space. The boys that he could see tended to be older. When she came back out, she’d washed off the runny part of her makeup and dried her face. She smiled and asked, “Fazer Blast?”

“Fazer Blast!”

Then the two were off. Cassie called, “Gregory! Slow down! I’m not as fast as you!”

Gregory slowed his sprint to match her run, cackling, “For a Roxy fan, you’re pretty slow!” They walked down the escalator to get down faster and both presented their Party Passes to the ticket bot in Fazer Blast when prompted.

Cassie picked up the blue helmet with alien antenna, what looked like a bulletproof vest with a glowing lightning bolt and tie, and Fazerblaster, prompting Gregory to shrug and do the same. He had to take off his knitted hat, fold it, and stick it in his coat pocket. The helmet pressed down on his star glasses, but he’d done it enough it didn’t matter. “SCORE” with “0/3” under it popped up in blue letters at the left edge of his vision. “HEALTH” with six short bars under it glowed green on his right. A blue “10/10” and an orange “10/10” showed on the bottom left. An icon of his blaster and six boxes stacked on top of each other lined the right side of his vision. He held Bonnie in the crook of his arm and wielded the Fazerblaster in both hands. Cassie asked, “How many times have you played?”

“A couple,” Gregory admitted. “But never with anyone. So, stay together?”

“Yep. We should stay on the ground first. Everyone’s going to rush the top flag first and then get each other out. What do you think?” Cassie prompted as they took a right through the glowing hallway to the alien elevator along with a little over half a dozen other kids ranging from ten to fourteen.

“Sounds good. Left side first,” Gregory determined. “I know a few sneaky ways out of there in case we get cornered.”

“Do they involve cheating?” Cassie prompted.

“No,” Gregory answered immediately. He hesitated. “I couldn’t find a way to cheat it without climbing over. Uh… is hiding in those boxes cheating?”

Cassie shook her head. “Nope.”

The elevator grew dark around them.

Gregory grinned. “So, if we tag the flag and then one of us happens to get scared and hide in the box, but then get out courage back when someone walks past the box, that’s totally legal, right?”

She snickered. “Yes!”

The doors opened, revealing a huge glowing maze. The kids ran out, seeking their prospective targets. Gregory instinctively tried going for his cameras before remembering his glasses currently weren’t attached to any cameras. Eh, well, he had his memory. That, and he had Cassie, who ran through the maze without hesitation. How often did she come here?

Computer bot chirped, “Orange team has captured a flag!”

They stopped and each hid behind a wall before an opening to one of the flags. Two kids in orange helmets with ears and top hats stood at the ready beside the flag, watching the entrances. Cassie muttered, “We’ll get shot if we’re spotted.”

“What if I run distraction?” Gregory whispered back. “You shoot them in the back.”

“Then you’ll get shot,” she pointed out.

“What if I run distraction?”

Gregory nudged his head toward Bonnie. “What if he does it? I’ll go over there”–he tipped his head to the other entrance they stared down–“and then toss Bonnie. They’ll shoot at Bonnie, or at least get distracted, and you shoot them. Then they’ll see you and I’ll join in.”

The blue “10/10” on the bottom-right of his vision turned to “9/10”.

Cassie narrowed her eyes and then nodded. “Could work. Alright, go. I’ll be ready.”

“Orange team has captured a flag!”

“My teammates suck,” Gregory muttered to himself, stifling a yawn, as he ran to the other side, his shoes silent on the carpet.

“Hopefully your luck turns. If not, you and Cassie will at least get this one!”

Gregory stopped, took a breath, and then tossed Bonnie into view with a quick, “A flag!”

Both boys turned their attention on Bonnie and the one nearest to Cassie, the younger one, shot him twice. The one closer to Gregory wrinkled his eyebrows. “What the–?”

The younger one squeaked and turned to Cassie, but it was too late as his glowing suit buzzed and went dark. “Hey!” he complained. “That wasn’t fair!” The orange “10/10” on the bottom-left of his vision turned to “9/10”.

The older one turned to her and Cassie, laughing, ducked out of the way of his shot, giving Gregory clearance to shoot him a few times and knock him out of the game. Three of the glowing blue bars under his Fazerblaster on his helmet turned dark. “8/10”.

The older boy jolted and looked at Gregory and then rolled his eyes and walked away. “You’re too old for toys, you know that, right?”

Gregory retrieved Bonnie. Cassie called back to him, “Better luck next time!” She pressed the button on the flag and they both took up position beside it. The dark squares on his Fazerblaster lit up again. “0:29” in purple numbers glowed in the middle-top of his vision.

The computer in their helmets declared, “You have captured the flag! Time to defend!”

Time ticked down. A few more kids were taken out. Another orange-team kid came to investigate their flag and got knocked out by the duo. “AREA CAPTURED” briefly glowed in green letters in his vision. Their score went from “0/3” to “1/3”.

The computer congratulated, “You have successfully invaded the station! Move onto the next one, Space Conqueror!”

Their teammate counter ticked down by one. Cassie commented, “They’re probably all on the top flag right now.”

“You want to take out some people?” Gregory asked.

Cassie shrugged. “Sure.”

“Blue team has captured a flag!” Their score went up by one.

Gregory hissed as he heard footsteps and pointed to the corner ahead of them. Cassie stopped and started to run away when Gregory pointed to the box and then himself. She snickered and nodded.

Gregory darted ahead and hopped inside. A few orange team girls ran past. They stopped upon seeing Cassie.

Cassie called, “I come in peace!”

The older girl, maybe a year older than Cassie, laughed. “Well, I don’t!” The younger one, eight perhaps, giggled to herself. Cassie ducked behind a wall as both shot at her.

Gregory slipped out of the box and shot the older one in the back.

The girl jolted. “What the fffrick?! Is something–? Hey!” She looked back at Gregory and raised her gun to shoot him, but its tip had grown dark.

Gregory grinned and waved his gun.

Cassie jumped out of hiding and shot the girl’s partner as she was distracted. As the two slunk off to the loser’s elevator, Cassie and Gregory ran up to meet each other with a high five.

The boy cackled, “They didn’t know what hit them!”

“They got a little too cocky,” Cassie agreed. “Now the rest are probably defending the last flag. How good are you at capturing flags?”

“I dunno, how good are you at capturing flags?” Gregory tossed his Fazerblaster up and caught it again. He snickered and tipped his head toward the hall. “Oh whatever. Let’s rock!”

They had to slow down at the base of the ramp and stay low and quiet. The raucous sounds of battle poured in from overhead. Lights not part of the environment flashed. Gregory and Cassie sent a look at each other. Cassie hissed a warning and they both stopped and hid behind a wall as someone came down. But their suit and gun were dark, and they trudged down the walkway. Their helmet had alien antennae. Not good.

Up closer to the flag, the walls were tighter together in a few broken rings around a flag. Someone on the blue team tried darting out and touching it, but three other people from around the circle popped up and shot them. The blue team kid abandoned their mission and fled, but were hit, anyway. A couple other blue teamers tried firing back, but the orange teamers retreated instantly. The sounds had died down, now, at their stand-off.

They were up three to four kids, one to two flags. Unfortunately, that “one” they needed and the “three” they were up against had the advantage.

They joined up with a ten-year-old boy and fourteen-year-old girl near the ramp up. Cassie asked, “Do you remember where they were?”

They nodded. The girl scoffed, “Yeah, but that won’t help. They’ve got their flanks covered, and any time we try to come through, they shoot us. When we try to land a hit, they retreat. But by the time they’ve retreated, whoever we’ve sent out’s already dead.”

Gregory suggested, “Why don’t we rush them on both sides? Then that will force them to shoot or move back. Or that’ll at least distract them. While that’s happening, one of us will go and press that button to get the flag and come back. Then we just sit and wait for victory.”

Cassie chipped in, “We’ll need someone staying back and shooting the person in the middle continuously to keep them down, too. Due to the shot limit, watch your shots.”

The older girl pointed out, “Then we’ll lose one of us and it’ll be over, anyway.”

Cassie countered, “Even if that person gets shot, they’ll still probably hit the button first.”

“It might be a good idea, but we’ll get shot by the people on the side.”

Gregory chipped in, “Leave that to us. We’ll take care of them. Little guy, you’re a small target. Want to go grab the flag?”

The boy started upon being singled out. “Uh… sure.”

The girl sighed. “Guess I’ve been out-voted. Sure. What’s the signal?”

Gregory smirked. “When you hear screaming.”

He and Cassie split up and stalked around the circle. He stopped upon seeing the tips of shoes on the floor. Gregory waited until he heard Cassie shout before he yelled and started forward, shooting the wall once. The shoes retreated and a few shots went off. Gregory pressed forward and then ducked out of the way of a shot. Four shots, so far. Two to go. Gregory shot again and cackled, pressing forward around the circle. The boy reciprocated instantly. The health bar on Gregory’s screen went down and a bullet hole appeared before rapidly fading. Gregory ducked back again. Wow, those shots were really powerful. Three shots, maybe? So, he could technically just take the last one this kid had, but then he’d leave himself completely vulnerable.

The younger boy’s laughter broke through the buzzing music and sound effects.

“He got the flag!” one of the orange teamers shouted.

Gregory popped forward and shot the distracted boy a few times. He turned back to Gregory too late as his vest and gun went dark. The boy swore and stood up straight. Gregory stepped to the side to allow him passage. Then, the boy yelled, “A kid’s coming for you, Josh!”

Gregory bristled. “Cheater!”

The boy stuck his tongue out at Gregory and ran off.

Gregory kept moving regardless. The kid in question, Josh, shot as soon as Gregory got near a corner. Gregory jumped back, suddenly very glad he didn’t just take a shot in exchange for defeating the other kid.

“YOU WIN” blazed across his visor in blocky, electric, green letters and yellow stripes with thin stripes missing above and below with green furls on either side.

The computer bot said, “You have defeated the human fleet and destroyed Earth! Good job, Space Conqueror! Proceed to the winner’s elevator for your reward.”

Gregory cackled and ran into the open flag area and toward the ramp, where he met Cassie. “That was awesome!”

“You bet! You took down your guy, too?”

“Yeah, and he was a lousy cheater.”

“Ugh. I heard. Want to go for another round?”

“You bet!”

They played as orange team–Space Cadets–once and then aliens again before getting tired and opting for a snack break. With no adult supervision, said snack break consisted of a large Fizzy-Faz, jumbo slice of pizza, and some nachos for Cassie, and a large Fizzy-Faz and peperoni for Gregory. When Gregory accidentally admitted he didn’t bring enough to get anything else, Cassie added some garlic knots, cheesy sticks, and candy for them to split and then paid for the entire order herself.

“My mom told me I could get whatever I wanted. She’s kinda expecting a party of, like, five kids,” Cassie reassured him.

“Thanks,” Gregory mumbled, playing with their receipt proclaiming their order number. The practical side of him didn’t want to offer to pay for his part, but the proud part of him didn’t want her help.

Eventually, they got their order and dragged it to one of the smaller tables. Gregory traded a garlic knot for some nachos and they split the cheesy sticks. Bonnie sat on a seat scooted away from the table with a napkin on his lap just in case. The two laughed about their recent game and Cassie enthused a bit about Roxy when Gregory pointed out her Roxy sweatshirt.

Cassie asked around a soaked nacho, “So did your parents drop you off? I don’t recognize you.”

Gregory nodded, finishing his last bit of pepperoni pizza. “Yeah, my stepfather did. Did yours?”

Cassie shook her head. “No, not really. Well, sorta. I–” She cut herself off as someone in a security uniform with a very sour expression stopped at their table. “Yeah?”

Gregory turned on him. “What’s the problem, officer?”

The security officer–Dylan, as his nametag implied–glanced at Bonnie and then Gregory’s wristband and then back at Gregory. “Where’s your ticket?”

Shit.

“I gave it to my brother. I didn’t want to drop it,” Gregory said and held up his wristband. “Isn’t this good enough for you?”

“No, because we got a tip that some boy with a Glamrock Bonnie plush and an orange wristband snuck in. Come with me, you’re going home.” He held out his hand.

Cassie burst out, “Wait! He’s with me, he hasn’t caused anyone any trouble.”

The security officer scrutinized her. “Go back to your… Shouldn’t you be in Roxy Raceway?”

“Well, I–”

“Go back, Cassie. You, come with me.” Dylan reached for Gregory, who jumped out of his seat and tried to run. The security officer grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back. “Ap-ap! No.”

Cassie abandoned her seat. “Let go of him, you jerk! He’s not doing anything wrong!”

Dylan, holding Gregory tight even as the boy thrashed in his grasp, threw a look at her. “Cassie, go back to Roxy Raceway. You, kid, are coming with me.”

“No! You–”

“Or I’ll call your mother and you can sit in the maintenance closet until she picks you up after her shift.”

Cassie closed her mouth and glared at him. She sent an apologetic look at Gregory, who stopped struggling. Gregory glared at the security officer. Clutching Bonnie, he followed without further resistance. “Bye, Cassie.”

“Bye, Gregory.”

Chapter Text

He sent a sour look up at Dylan. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You snuck in without a ticket,” the security officer countered. “Now you’re coming with me, and I’ll call your parents and we’re going to have a good talk about stealing.”

“I didn’t steal anything!” Gregory snapped.

The man’s grip constricted a little further. “This wristband doesn’t belong to you,” he stated.

Gregory stumbled after him, hissing and spitting and struggling. The man’s grip didn’t slack.

How do I get this guy off me?

“I don’t know!”

“Let me go! I’m not doing anything!”

“You’re somewhere you’re not supposed to be,” the man countered. “Do your parents even know you’re here?”

“Yeah!”

“Oh really? So, when I call them, they’ll say they forgot to give you a ticket and the right wristband?” the security officer asked.

Gregory decided to keep his mouth closed. His arm was sore by the time they went back through the atrium and entered the elevators. He threw a morose look back at the grand dining area.

The elevator doors shut behind them.

The cheerful voice said over the speakers, “Did you know that birthday wishes only come true at Freddy Fazbear’s? It’s true! Kids who have home birthdays have fewer friends and parents who don’t love them. This has been another Faz Fact!”

Gregory rolled his eyes. His grip on Bonnie tightened a little. The irony hurt.

The elevator doors opened.

The man led him down the steps, through what looked to be some sort of service desk and locker area–Gregory cringed a little at the shrill tone the lady at the counter took on with the frazzled worker–and through a locked door.

The man stopped before entering one of the doors. Instead, he looked up upon hearing a set of shoes walking down the stairs. He stated, “Hey, Maria. This kid was running around the Plex without a ticket and an expired wristband. Probably stole it.”

“Nuh-uh! It’s mine!”

The woman, Maria, looked at Dylan and then at Gregory and back again. She sighed. “Dylan, the kid’s like, nine. Don’t get onto him like that.”

“I’m eleven,” Gregory corrected.

“Eleven,” Maria corrected herself. “I’ll take the kid. You go file a report.”

“I’ll take him,” the man countered. “You know where the report files are. You can do that.”

“I’m sorry, officer, but I happen to be the one whose shift in the Daycare just ended. You don’t even like helping lost kids,” Maria stated. “I’ll handle the kid.”

Dylan bristled but let go of Gregory. He stalked past her. “Fine, go talk to that creepy jester.”

Maria watched him go.

Now that she’d stopped and Gregory no longer glared at Dylan, he saw the woman in the same white shirt with black pants and pauldrons with a silver badge. The difference was a pale blue nametag stating “MARIA, SHE/HER” with a smiling sun and moon on either side and clouds. Dylan’s was dark violet with lightning bolts and stars. Maria smiled. “Hey, kid. Sorry about Dylan. He’s got a stick stuck somewhere.”

Gregory couldn’t help a snicker. Got that right.

“Come with me.” She held out her hand. “We should probably leave before he comes back. He’s kinda right. I’m supposed to be off duty.”

What a jerk. Gregory still didn’t take her hand. “If you’re off duty, then I can just go, right? The doors are right there.”

“Kid, it’s freezing out there. I can’t let you go if I don’t know where your parents are, much less go out in that.”

“I have a jacket.”

“Jackets only do so much. Come on. What’s your name, anyway?”

Gregory, upon being prompted again, sighed and reluctantly took her hand. She led him back out of the small hallway and through the service desk area. “I… I’m Gregory.”

“Okay, Gregory. We’re going to the Daycare, alright? You’re going to have to stay there until we find your parents. Do you know your parents’ phone numbers?”

Daycare? The thought shook him from his exhaustion and dreary hopelessness. The one with Sun and Moon?

“That would make the most sense; you are a lost child.”

Gregory shook his head. He wrinkled his nose. “Why do I have to go to the Daycare? Isn’t that for babies?”

“Well, most of the kids there are on the younger side, but sometimes very, very young kids or older ones can stay there if they need some place to stay.”

“You mean baby jail?”

She chuckled. “I haven’t heard that one before! I know you don’t want to be here, but don’t worry, Gregory. I have a friend who works there. He’s really nice. “

“I’m still too old for a daycare.”

“Heh! You haven’t even graduated middle school and you’re already too old for playgrounds, huh? You’re one of the older kids, but it’s better than sitting around in Lost and Found with some cheesy crackers, hmm? They won’t even let us put cartoons on the TV in that old place.”

Gregory bit back a sigh. As much as he wanted to argue, she was right. He glanced down at Bonnie, who he still held loosely to his chest. “What about Bonnie? Little kids always try to take him.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Bonnie’s yours! The other kids have to learn that some stuff doesn’t belong to them. Plenty already have, but it’s harder for some kids than others. Even so, Sun will make sure no one steals Bonnie from you.”

Gregory still felt a little doubtful. His eyes fell on something shiny and gold hanging off her neck. At first glance, with the color and context, he might have thought it was a medallion of sorts which would be incredibly out of place for a Fazbear Entertainment employee. But on closer inspection, it turned out to be a Sunnydrop candy attached to a thin chain necklace around her neck. He looked up at her. “Are you… wearing candy?”

“Sorta!” She picked up her necklace and held it out so the candy dangled freely under her fingers. “It’s resin, but made using a real wrapper. I love the color yellow. Normally, we’re not allowed to wear jewelry, but since this is technically promotion or advertising, management let it slide.” She set down the necklace, stuck her free hand into her pocket, and pulled out her keys, where a Moondrop candy and Carrotdrop candy bumped against a few other colorful objects on her keychain. “Hey? Heh. I’ve also got a bit of a sweet tooth.” She put her keys away. “What about you? Have you ever tried them?”

Gregory shook his head. “Nope. I’ve seen a whole bunch of posters for them, though.”

“Well, then. How about this: once we get there, if you behave, I’ll give you one of my Sunnydrop candies? A real one, not a resin one.”

Make a break for it as soon as she lets go?

“She’s a security guard, Gregory, and she’s being nice. Do you know how rare that is? She’ll also catch you, or someone else on duty who is less nice will.”

Yeah, I know. Gregory nodded. “Okay.”

She led him up the stairs and through an archway with “SUPERSTAR DAYCARE” written above in big letters on clouds and rainbows. A smiling sun and sleepy moon flanked the logo above the giant doorway and on a small sign in front of it. Some people milled about, but not nearly as many as in the atrium or even the front area.

Gregory watched the elevators as they passed to get into the dark hallway with brick walls and stars speckling the ceiling. “Hey, can’t I just go watch the show? I-I’ll come right back. I really want to see Freddy.”

“Oh, kid. I’m sure you’ll get to meet him,” she said, her voice softening. “I’d bet that Freddy would love to meet you, too. But he can’t do that right now, okay? We need to look for your parents, and Freddy is busy getting ready for the next show. You know how rockstars are; they take forever to get ready to do anything.”

They passed up a few bathroom doors on the right and a big step fountain flanked by palm trees on the left. Water cascaded down the steps. Giant pictures were painted directly on the bricks. Some were directions to or from the Daycare, and some were advertisements for candy. One was a poster with a stylized portrait of Sun and a giant piece of orange candy beside it. “SUNNYDROP” drooped across the bottom of the picture. “THE ENERGIZING CANDY” decorated the name of the candy. The next was a darker poster with a cartoonish Moon with closed eyes and a piece of blue candy. “MOONDROP” was the name of this candy. “THE SLEEPY-TIME CANDY” accompanied it.

At the end of the wide hall was another doorway to a blue room.

They passed through a small, sleepy room with a few people dominated by two giant golden statues, Sun bright and shiny in front facing the parents and Moon crouched down in his little dance facing the Daycare.

They passed the “SLIDE INTO FUN” entrance. The staff member pushed the half gate open and led him through the short walkway to the stairs down. “This is the Superstar Daycare,” she said. “You’ll be staying in the play place with the other kids until we contact your parents.”

Gregory asked, “What happens if you can’t find them?”

“Well… I hope we do,” she answered. She stopped in front of the giant double-doors leading into the play place. “But don’t worry about that, okay? Just sit tight and have fun.” She took a piece of yellow candy from her pocket and held it out.

Gregory took it from her with a quiet “thanks” and pocketed it without breaking eye contact.

With that, she lifted a fist and knocked.

Within seconds, one of the gargantuan doors opened inward just enough to show the yellow jester. Bouncy music and the screams and laughter of children drifted into the hall. Sun stooped down somewhat so he was close to the staff member’s height. “Hello, Mrs. Seaver! Who’s our new friend?”

Maria smiled. “Hello, Sun! Gregory here is a little lost. While we look for his parents, he needs to stay here.”

Gregory’s grip on Bonnie tightened again and he doubled down on his glare.

The bells on Sun’s wrists jingled as he clapped his hands together. “It’s really nice to meet you, Gregory. I’m sure we’ll have a ton of fun! The staff here are really smart. They’ll figure everything out in a jiffy.”

Maria let go of Gregory’s hand and guided him inside. “Have fun. If Steve gives you a hard time, just call me, okay?” She chuckled to herself. “Good night, Sun.”

“Good night, Mrs. Seaver!”

With that, the staff member left. Sun shut the giant door.

Gregory watched the Daycare Attendant destroy his last glimpse of freedom with a shockingly quiet thunk, almost hidden beneath the bouncy music.

Sun turned to Gregory and trilled, “Oh, you’re going to love the other kids here a-and all the things we can do! We can finger paint, tell stories, draw, play in the structures–oh! Some kids are playing tag! Maybe you can ask to join them!”

Gregory growled, “No, Sun. I just want to leave. Can’t you tell them to let me out?”

Sun’s shoulders slumped. “Oh, I’m sorry, New Friend–”

“I’m not your friend,” Gregory warned.

“Sorry, sorry! Well, Gregory, I can’t just let you out of the Daycare. That would be highly irresponsible of me! Don’t you worry, I’m sure the staff will call your parents and have them over here before you know it. In the meantime…” Sun tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Do you want to play in the play structures or the ball pit? Oh, or do you want a snack? We have plenty of snacks!”

Gregory looked past him into the play area and then up at Sun. “You know what? I think I’ll go play by the ball pit and pretend to time travel back to when this place was cool.”

Sun chuckled, annoyingly perky despite the jab. “That sounds like a great idea. Be careful and have fun!”

Gregory stalked past him, eyeing the other children running amok in and around the play structures. He hadn’t exactly memorized the place, but he knew there would be no place to think in the play structures. He stopped on the rainbow bridge leading into the ball pit, where a few kids floundered about, laughing and throwing balls at each other like they were in a swimming pool. No one was in the square netting structure around the ball pit, interrupted at times by castle towers. He walked into the structure at one end. Huge squares of light glowed over the soft ground. A spiral stairway led up each tower to the top. He climbed up the first one and looked over the play place–Sun stood with his hands over his eyes as a group of kids ran away from him–before climbing back down. Although there were others, he didn’t bother climbing them.

Gregory stopped at a corner. He looked up. The giant mesh netting of the play area met the wall of the building. However, it wasn’t clipped to it, so there was a good foot or two of distance. There was still the giant not-glass wall reaching yards high. Huge billowy white clouds obscured most of the wall, throwing a deep shadow over the corner. The tower also contributed its own shadow. A blue square of the wall created a corner and then jutted out in a half-moon to curl around the tower leaving a spot completely hidden from the hall’s sight.

Gregory stepped behind the tower. He cocked his head, waiting. However, when no pushy Daycare Attendant came to scold him, he lay down with his back to the tower and Bonnie tight in his arms. Sure, it wasn’t the most comfortable position, but a soft ground meant for kids who constantly tripped over themselves wasn’t the worst place to lay on.

Evidently, his body thought the same, and hardly a minute passed before he was completely unresponsive.

*          *          *          *          *

Gregory held Bonnie close. He wanted to run, he tried, but his legs were tired. He’d been running for so long and so hard. He was quick and small, and he could climb and crawl through spaces adults shouldn’t. But this time travel had meant that he’d been awake for days.

If the rabbit lady had been awake for days, she wasn’t showing any signs of it.

Robots couldn’t get tired.

He hid beneath the exaggeratedly lush plastic fronds of a bush in one of the many planters of the atrium balconies. Downstairs, Roxy prowled the atrium. Above him, he heard Chica thumping around. Maybe if he stayed still and quiet, he wouldn’t need to run. He could wait and rest and then he’d make a break for the Salads and Sides vent.

“Oh, Gregory~!” Vanny cooed. “Are we still playing Hide and Seek? Because I believe I’ve found you~!” She let her voice break off into a giggle.

Gregory squeezed his eyes shut tighter. Don’t let her trick you. Just a little longer.

Her soft paws patted the carpet near the planter and her synthetic voice chilled his bones. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…!”

…

The ferns crackled as Vanny’s mask shoved through them. “Found you!” One hand went up, gripping the handle of her knife, and the other grabbed him by the shoulder. He twisted around to bite the offending appendage.

Gregory tasted blood.

Screaming–a child’s scream, a boy’s–rang in his ears. Something hit him hard in the left ear and stars burst into his dark vision. He bit down harder and threw his weight forward, grabbing at the offending fist to keep it from hitting him again. They hit a wall and then fell sideways to the floor. He coughed and gagged at the knee that managed to strike his stomach in all that flailing.

Then something else was stuck into his mouth–hard and plastic. Gregory gagged and reflexively opened his mouth and jerked his head back as it tried to enter his throat. Coughing and spitting, he scrambled back, snatching Bonnie as he did so and kicking Sun in the face. But his little corner was still that–little. Sun barely occupied the entrance all folded into himself and he took up quite a bit of room. Never mind the now whimpering and still bleeding kid glowering at him who also occupied some of his space.

Gregory bristled and bared his bloody teeth at the kid.

Sun soothed, “Okay, okay, we can calm down. Let’s get this bandaged up. You’re going to be just fine, Sorrel. Come with us, Gregory.”

Gregory shook his head and shuffled back a little further.

Sorrel whined, “My hand hurts!”

“Oh, and you’re being so brave, my little sunbeam! Oh, yes, okay, let’s get that hand looked at. Okay, you can stay there, Gregory. But do stay.” Sun backed off into the tunnel. As there was no top, he could walk. Sorrel stuck his tongue out at Gregory and followed Sun, his hand held close to himself but not touching anything.

Gregory adjusted his glasses. Time to leave.

“Yep.”

He looked up at the corner. Two clouds arched down at their lowest point at the corner. He threw on his jacket, stuffed Bonnie inside so his head poked out and freed Gregory’s hand and walked up to the corner. Then, he crouched and threw himself up. His fingers slipped on the smooth clouds, but their thickness alone gave him enough room to get a grip. He did fall off once, but the second hop was successful. The clouds weren’t up against the glass but had a few inches gap, so his toes and heels fell off either edge. He slowly bunched himself up so that he was pressed up against the corner, his palms against the glass like a lizard. He edged to the right, scooting his shoes rather than daring to pick them up.

Beep!

Gregory jolted and gasped as he nearly fell off. What the fuck? He shakily took one hand off the glass and tapped his glasses. The CAMS tab was empty. So, he went to his log.

[I see you on that wall! You get down right now! You could get hurt climbing those walls.]

Gregory slowly turned his head back. Sure enough, he could see past the tower and over the structure around the play area beside the ball pit. Sun, still working on calming Sorrel and tending his wounded hand, had positioned himself in such a way so that he was facing Gregory’s exit. Gregory muttered, “How did you see me? A-and how did you connect to my glasses?”

Beep! [First: Please get off the wall before I have to tell you again.]

Gregory nodded. “Okay.” He looked down and slowly, carefully, slid his hands down until he crouched, and he grabbed onto the cloud. Then, he dropped down onto the soft ground.

Beep! [Monty connected your glasses to the Mega Pizzaplex’s main network, so anyone else connected to the main network can contact you. That includes me! I have a sense of when kids are up where they shouldn’t be.]

Great. So now he has some sort of cameras or sensors somewhere I need to find. Gregory slunk back to his place–his secluded nap hideaway turned timeout corner. He pulled off his jacket and retied it over his shoulders. Gregory plopped down cross-legged with Bonnie on his lap and wiped off his face.

Bells.

Gregory kept his eyes on Bonnie. “I’m not gonna apologize.”

“What happened, Gregory?” Sun’s voice was… soft, patient. Not shrill.

Gregory glanced at him. The animatronic rested with his elbows on the ground and hands crossed under his head. Gregory sighed and looked down at Bonnie again. “I didn’t mean to, okay? It was an accident.”

“Well, accidents happen,” Sun admitted. “The important part is when an accident does happen, we try our best to make it better.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “You believe me?”

Sun made a quiet trilling noise. “Of course! I know you wouldn’t bite Sorrel normally. But maybe you could tell me what happened before that? What might have caused it?”

Gregory scoffed. “Doesn’t matter.”

“How are we going to make sure it never happens again if we don’t know what caused it?” Sun rationalized.

The boy petted Bonnie’s ear. “You still wouldn’t get it.”

“Try me!” Sun tipped his head a little and his spokes shivered and followed. “I might surprise you! Again!” He chuckled.

“Weird robot,” Gregory muttered and readjusted his glasses. He went back to petting Bonnie. “I was trying to sleep for a bit. I figured if I was going to stay here I may as well sleep. Your other half got onto me about that enough.” Gregory sent a sharp look at Sun before going back to Bonnie. “Soapy woke me up. I didn’t mean to bite him. But I thought he was–it doesn’t matter.”

Sun hummed and said, “I’m sorry you had a bad dream. Do you, um… do you want to tell me?”

“No.”

“Well, that’s okay! You don’t have to if you don’t want to! Now, Gregory…” Sun made a noise like a sigh. “You still bit Sorrel. It was an accident, and accidents happen, but you should still apologize.”

Gregory snorted. “Well, if he wasn’t trying to grab me, he wouldn’t have gotten bit.”

“Did you think he was grabbing you?”

“Yeah.”

“Well!” Sun leaned back enough to free his hands and clap them together, ringing the bells on his wrist. “Why don’t we go talk to Sorrel and get this cleared up, huh? Do you remember what Chica said?”

Gregory shot him a look. “…yeah, which thing?”

Sun laughed and then said in a perfect impression of Chica, “Sometimes talking it out can help make things better!”

Gregory blinked and turned to him.

“I do pretty good impressions, don’t I?”

“Yeah.”

Sun dipped his head and Monty’s growl replaced his voice. “C’mon kid, what’d’ya say we jump in the ball pit and scare the other kids?”

Gregory snorted. “That’s not something Monty would say,” he asserted.

“No, between golfin’ an’ runnin’ ’round on the catwalks, I love swimmin’ in the ball pit and grabbin’ anyone that gets too close!” Sun continued in Monty’s voice.

Gregory pouted in a furious effort to hide the smile fighting to make its way onto his face. “No. Monty–well, he does golf and hang out on the catwalks.”

“Monty” cackled. “’Course I do! I also love runnin’ around destroyin’ things!”

“Okay, he does like destroying things,” Gregory conceded. “I bet he doesn’t like you making fun of him like that.”

Sun raised his head again and resumed speaking in his own voice. “I’m not mocking anyone, Gregory! I’m acting~! How did I do?”

“Seven out of ten. You didn’t talk like him, and it drew me out,” Gregory stated.

Sun gasped and reared back. “Really? A seven? For that?” Gregory couldn’t help snickering at the pure indignance in his tone. “And laughter. Now who’s mocking who, huh?”

“You started it.”

Sun tipped his head to the side and crossed his arms with a short huffy noise. “If you need reminding, you started this, young man! Speaking of which…” Sun pulled himself back and rolled onto his heels. “It’s time we go talk to Sorrel.”

Gregory’s smile faded. He rolled his eyes. “Fine. If it’ll mean you leave me alone.” He pushed himself to his feet and followed Sun out.

Sun crawled under the opening of the next tower and hopped up outside so he could stretch himself out. “Whoo! You certainly found yourself in a tight space, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Sun strode over to where Sorrel sat with a few other kids at a table eating snacks as they drew. Sorrel was among them. Really, the only reason Gregory recognized the curly-haired boy was due to his bandaged hand. The shadows had stolen his original ginger hair, and the abrupt wake-up into a fight had prevented him from really retaining any details of him, anyway.

Gregory stopped near the ball pit structure and waited for Sun to come back with Sorrel. Sorrel, dry-eyed, gave Gregory a wary look as they approached. Gregory willed himself not to bristle. Gregory was going to be stuck with Sun longer than Sorrel was.

Sun stopped between them. “Hello, Sorrel! Gregory here wants to talk and make things better. Would you like to tell your side of the story?”

“I was just trying to wake you up,” Sorrel puffed. “You sounded like you were having a bad dream or something. I didn’t know you were gonna bite me!”

Gregory looked up at Sun and then Sorrel. “Well, I didn’t want you waking me up. I don’t like it when people touch me and I don’t expect it, especially when I’m asleep. But I didn’t mean to bite you. So, I’m sorry.” He managed to grate out the last few words. They weren’t well-spoken, but they were spoken.

Sorrel puffed. “I was doing something nice!”

You’re going to be stuck here with Sun longer than him.

Sun interjected, “And you had really good intentions! But some people don’t like being touched. You really shouldn’t touch people without their say so, especially if they’re asleep. Next time, if you’re really concerned, you could try talking to him.”

The boy stared up at Sun. “I was just being nice.”

“I know, my little sunbeam. But Gregory doesn’t like it when people touch him when he’s asleep. He told you that.”

Sorrel looked at Gregory and then scuffed the ground. “Okay. Can I go back to my drawing?”

Sun looked at Gregory, who nodded.

“Sure! Have fun~!” Sun waved to the boy as he ran back to what he’d been doing.

Gregory looked up at Sun. “Are you going to try to put me in Time-Out, now, too?”

Sun put his hands on his hips. “Tsk! For that tone of yours, I should!”

Gregory snickered.

“Aw, no. I’ll let you off with a very firm warning. Just don’t go biting any more kids, mini-gator, okay?”

Gregory bared his teeth in a grin and adjusted his glasses. “Something about naptime and monsters just go really well together. So, I can’t promise much, Sun.” With that, he tromped off.

Chapter Text

“It really isn’t a good idea to get on his bad side.”

I know. I couldn’t help it, though! It was right there! I had to take it!

“Just because it was doesn’t mean it was right.”

Anyway, escape plans.

“That’s futile. There are two entrances to the Daycare: that slide and those big doors. Sun can get from one to the either in less than seven seconds. I’ve seen him pick up a kid from the ball pit and then rush a kid trying to go behind the security desk.”

What about if I make a mess and then run for it?

“Run for what? The slide he can climb up faster than you can or the locked door?”

Gregory growled to himself and leaned on one of the structures near the security desk. Fine. What’s your idea?

“Wait.”

Wait?

“For your stepdad to come pick us up.”

Gregory jolted and threw Bonnie out at arm’s length so he could look him square in the face. “Are you nuts?!” he squawked. He gritted his teeth to keep from wincing. Don’t you know what happened the last time we saw him?

“Yes, I do. But if it saves you from this horrible time loop, I don’t care, anymore. Just hand me over to Sun and I’ll stay with the other toys here. I won’t be as well taken care of here as I will be with you, but I won’t be ever be alone and you’ll be free.”

Gregory shook his head and hugged Bonnie. No. Absolutely not. I’d rather stay here–and I mean stay here, I won’t leave the doors at six am–then give you up. I mean it. You’re my best friend, Bonnie. I promised I’d do anything to keep you safe and I meant it.

“You’re the best friend anyone could ever ask for, you know that? Please, if the opportunity arises and you can get out of this time loop… even if you have to leave me behind to do it… do it.”

“Not leaving you behind,” Gregory mumbled. “I’ll stay in this stupid pizzeria forever but I’m not leaving you behind.” He sighed. “Okay, now that you’re done distracting me, Bonnie, escape options.”

Beep! Gregory winced. He tapped his glasses. [I heard that! :)]

Gregory growled, “Would you stop spying on me? …also, how the heck did you put a smiley face on that? Are you typing?” He looked around, but he couldn’t immediately spot the Daycare Attendant.

Beep! [Magic~!]

He rolled his eyes. Whatever. “Hey, since you’re at it, can you give me permission to use the cameras?”

Beep! [What do you say?]

“Please?” he asked, unconvinced.

Beep! [Only because I know how responsible you are. But if you give me any reason to think you’re being naughty, I’ll take it back! ^^]

Gregory blinked. No. No, way. He tapped his glasses. His CAMS tab, previously nothing but static, now had a few shapes with a couple of squares. There were only four cameras–in his experience, there were over a dozen throughout the Daycare area including the theater–and they all pointed into the play pen. “Uh… thanks.”

Beep! [You’re welcome! :) Remember, Gregory, I’m being nice. But if you break any rules, I’ll take it back.]

“Okay, yeah.” Gregory nodded, though he knew Sun wouldn’t be able to see him. Gregory looked around and climbed into the structure behind himself so that he could watch the security desk without being watched back. This structure was halfway across the play place with an entire sectioned off area in front of the slide with toys on multicolored squishy tiles between the mouth of the curly slide and the desk. He also needed to get on his knees and look over the yellow plastic board attached to the blue slide to see the security desk.

Gregory sat down in his corner, set Bonnie on his lap, and watched a camera focused on the huge area in the front, mainly the yellow patch in front of the right structure with a bit of the security desk in view. He glanced at the security desk, where the person behind the desk was watching the cameras. He moved the camera himself to the left to see the security desk and then zoomed in. When the security guard didn’t react–unfortunately he couldn’t zoom all the way on the person as the camera didn’t reach that far and would instead zoom in on the floor in front of the desk–Gregory put more of his attention on the cameras. He spotted Sun chasing a kid–no, running from a kid. A few children were running from a little boy. Said boy patted Sun’s ankle and suddenly all the children were running from Sun.

“Pfft. You got caught easy.”

Beep! Gregory had to switch tabs to read the chat log. [That’s part of the fun! Do you want to come play? :D]

“Nah, you play your baby games.” Gregory bit back a yawn. I could use the energy for when I’m playing tag with Vanny. He couldn’t help the bitter thought. He went back to the cameras. At times, he meandered around to inspect the play structures and ground for any ways of escape, but Sun always grabbed his attention again with some new game.

“That’s a terrible hiding place,” Gregory pointed out as Sun hid behind a giant plush cube, his spokes sticking out the top.

Beep! [Says the one with the camera! I’d say I have a pretty good hiding place thank you very much.]

A little girl peeked around the cube and tagged his shoulder. Sun popped up and threw his arms up in celebration.

Yeah, they were baby games, and the kids were on the younger side, but maybe being stuck up here alone was…

Gregory asked, “If I promise to come back, can I leave? Just to go to Roxy Raceway for a little bit?”

Beep! [No can-do, Friend. I can’t let anyone leave without a parent, guardian, or staff member accompanying them. Did you want to meet Roxanne?]

“No. I just… met someone else. I thought she might still be there, or something is all. She’s more fun than a bunch of three-year-olds.”

Beep! [You made a friend? Well… I’m sorry, I wish I could, but not even for a friend.]

Gregory let a breath out through his teeth. “Oh, whatever.” He went back to his camera watching. Bonnie, he said my glasses were connected to the network, right?

“Yeah.”

Why hasn’t anyone else tried talking to us?

“Before we put them in Safe Mode, they mostly just tried killing you. I don’t think it occurred to them to try. I don’t know if they were even thinking.”

Gregory switched to the camera above the security station. If my glasses are connected to the network, do you think I can contact someone?

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Just keep your head low.”

Gregory turned his head and peeked out over the clouds. I’m just curious… but fine. His eyes fell over a mop bot, and a couple of wet floor bots some distance away. He could barely see them around the edge of the cloud. You know, they never attacked me.

“Mop bots may alert for intruders, but their main priority is cleaning so at night, if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone. Wet Floor bots are perfectly harmless. I think. Their coding is very rudimentary.”

Gregory grinned. You mean like… a “fifth grader whose really good at coding could hack it” rudimentary?

“Gregory don’t! You’ll make Sun mad at you!”

I won’t get caught. Don’t worry.

“Okay, genius coder, how are you going to get it to come over here so you can hack it? You neither have the tools nor ability to get over there. If you did, we wouldn’t even be considering this right now.”

Gregory scoffed. “You’re such a wet blanket sometimes, you know that? Er, Bonnie. Not you, Sun. Because you’re still spying on me. I know it.”

“Tch. Being realistic.”

Gregory perked up. Hold on, a wet blanket! Those things love going to spills, right? So, we just gotta make a spill over here.

“Through the glass?”

Shush! Gregory tipped his head back. How would he get something spillable over the ten-foot-tall glass wall without Sun catching on? He hummed and looked out into the hall again. Finally, he asked, “Hey, Sun? Do those Wet Floor bots ever come in here?”

Beep! [Nope! Wet Floor bots go to the nearest mess and let out an alert for a mop bot. As I have the Daycare very well taken care of, they have no need to come here.]

“Okay. There’s one outside. They never attacked me or anything at night.”

Beep! [I expect not! They’re completely harmless. :)]

 “Can I talk to one?”

Beep! [Well, no. They have speakers but weren’t coded to talk.]

Gregory rolled his eyes. “Okay, yeah. But I still want to talk to one. Can’t I talk to it through the glass or something? People talk to dogs all the time and they don’t talk back.”

Beep! [Oh! Well, maybe there’s one to spare somewhere. Come over to the window here!]

Gregory slid down out of the structure and ran out into the play place behind it. Sun skipped over to the play stove up against the window-wall and then bent down with his hands on his knees and his face close to the glass. One of the Wet Floor bots that had been watching the Mop bot rolled up to the window and stared up at Sun. Sun looked at Gregory. “Here you go! I put his priority to very low so other bots will be called before it, but they are busy bees, so keep that in mind.”

Gregory grinned. “Thanks, Sun!” He ran up to the window, where the Wet Floor bot immediately stared at him. He tipped his head and moved one hand up and out to the side. The bot didn’t follow his hand. However, when he stepped to the side, it twisted around to follow him. He shuffled to the side, and it rolled with him. Gregory grinned. See, Bonnie? No spill required and we practically got Sun’s permission.

“Bad idea.”

“You’re way different than the other bots. Why do you follow me and not my hand?” He tipped his head but was not followed. Unfortunately, he tipped himself over enough to throw himself off balance and he threw both arms out to catch himself. The Wet Floor bot followed his left hand–more precisely, it followed Bonnie.

Gregory regained his balance again. “You like Bonnie, huh?” He held out Bonnie and moved him. Wet Floor bot’s square, bear-eared head followed Bonnie. “Heh. I do, too. He’s my best friend. I hear a lot of funny things about the bots around here. Do you have a friend?” Gregory tapped his glasses. This would be a lot harder without a keyboard or tablet. But maybe he could pull it off.

The Wet Floor bot beeped.

“Oh, you do? Is your friend at work?”

The Wet Floor bot beeped.

“Maybe your friend will be able to visit later,” Gregory suggested, wrinkling his nose, and glaring at the screen in his glasses. How did he get out of these tabs…? There! He let out a short, silent breath and carefully tapped through more screens that started popping up on his glasses, which by now completely engulfed the left side of his vision.

The Wet Floor bot beeped again in the same monotone pitch.

“Yeah, after it’s done with work. How do you like work, anyway? The glamrocks and Sun say that they like their jobs. Do you like your job?” Gregory bit his lip, his finger hovering over his glasses. Okay, so, this was way more complex than he previously assumed. This was… high school coding level at least, if not more advanced. No! No room for doubting! Just, the bot is right there!

The Wet Floor bot beeped.

“I’m guessing that’s a ‘yes’?” Uh… oh! Profiles?

The Wet Floor bot beeped.

Well, he wasn’t looking for profiles, he was looking for bots. Unless that’s how he was going to find the bot. Did a Wet Floor bot have a profile? “Do you have a name?”

The Wet Floor bot beeped.

“No?” Gregory prompted, struggling to make his own narrative at the same time as navigate this new Hell he’d made for himself. “Can I give you a name?” He went into profiles. Whoa, shit. There were children’s folders, as in children for the Daycare. Children in the Pizzaplex. There were staff, S.T.A.F.F., and the bots. When Sun meant… what was Monty thinking? Well, it wasn’t like Gregory was going to be doing anything bad. Monty probably didn’t even think Gregory could have gotten to it or thought about trying.

The Wet Floor bot beeped.

Gregory, by now his entire glasses screen filled with icons, folders, and a few prompts he struggled to get through with just the ability to tap on his glasses–he wasn’t risking attempting a voice command–said, “Well, you really seem to like Bonnie. Bonnie, what do you think?”

“Are you seriously asking me to name this wet floor sign?”

Wet Floor bot, excuse you. It’s a bot, it has feelings.

“Gregory, this is a mistake, a huge error. This is a bad–”

I’ll call it Bob.

“Oh my–fine. Springy.”

Springy?

“Yeah, like dandelions. In the spring. They’re yellow.”

Gregory barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “Bonnie thinks Springy is a good name. What do you think?” He got to the folder of Wet Floor bots and the ID list exploded. It was endless! Which one was this?!

The Wet Floor bot beeped.

Something on his glasses flickered. He squinted. The ID between “ID-WFB_199856” and “ID-WFB_199854” changed positions. On a hunch, he scrolled up and burst into laughter. “ID-WFB-Springy_199855” stared back at him. “Oh, you like that name, Springy?”

The Wet Floor bot, Springy, beeped the same monotone beep.

“Well, then, you’ll be known henceforth as Springy.” Gregory tapped the ID. A window with a screen of blinking green numbers flashed down it. He decidedly closed it. I… can’t mess with him.

“Why? Does it need a password?”

No. You named it! What if I break it accidentally? I can’t break something with a name!

“Oh my God, Gregory, this was a problem of your own creation!”

I know! Gregory bit back a sigh and looked at Springy. An idea popped into his head. Actually, I have an idea. “So, what’s it like being a Wet Floor bot, Springy?” He clicked on the ID again and the black window with code popped up again. Upon closer inspection, and after getting over the initial shock, this coding did seem familiar. It looked a lot like the more advanced stuff in their class. Simple compared to a lot of the other stuff he’d been seeing to this point. He couldn’t imagine what the Glamrocks’ must look like–or Sun and Moon’s for that matter.

Springy beeped again.

“So, I’m guessing it’s good, but it has it’s down times?” Gregory made the generic guess. He kept scrolling, skimming as quickly as he could while still actually searching. Again, he wished for a tablet or at the very least a keyboard.

Springy beeped.

Gregory hesitated. He said that he put Springy at a low priority, right?

“Yeah, I think so.”

Well, it looks like if I change this little bit here, I can get it to prioritize following us over a mop bot.

“Why, though?”

Because it’s funny. I dunno.

“‘Because it’s funny.’ You’re getting us arrested because it’s funny?! Are you kidding me?!”

Come on, free Springy! He’s been bound here for too long! Free Springy! Free Springy! Gregory snickered to himself and asked, “How do you like the mop bops, Springy?” Let’s ask him. See what he thinks.

“We’re getting arrested.”

Springy beeped.

“So-so, huh?” Gregory prompted and tapped the line of code.

“I swear to God. Gregory, Springy doesn’t have feelings!”

Oh, but he shouldn’t be so stupid as to put his own name. …Bonnie. Springy shall follow Bonnie. It took a while to alter it as he had to essentially go through each letter individually, and each letter needed to be chosen individually as it started out automatically as “A” and each tap turned it into an “a” then “B”, “b”, “C” and further down until he stopped for a few seconds, at which point it would stop flashing and a new letter would appear. Still, he was patient and he triple-checked the new line and then continued.

“You’re the worst.”

“How about the Security bots?” For a “simple” bot, there were a lot of lines here.

Springy beeped.

“Ouch, not a fan, huh? Yeah, me neither. What do they do? Run into you?” He decided to skim faster. Most of this crap was just about messes and pathing, anyway.

Springy beeped.

“Yeah, they’re the worst.” He stopped at one point and read over a few lines over reactions to being struck but kept moving. The thing had virtually no responses other than letting out a distress signal. Like a plant! Heh.

…he just stole the electronic equivalent of a potato, didn’t he?

Well, he didn’t steal it. Technically, all he did was make it prefer following Bonnie instead of a mop bot, and that was already a given, honestly. He already liked Bonnie. If Springy tried to leave the Mega Pizzaplex, well, Gregory wouldn’t help or hinder it. Finally, Gregory saved his changes and left the program.

Springy beeped.

Hey, Bonnie? Springy is officially your number two fan.

“If I had hands, I would strangle you.”

Gregory hurriedly tapped his glasses to go back. “How about the Glamrocks? Do you talk to them often?”

Springy beeped.

“Oh, never talk, I see. That’s a shame. They’re really nice.” Gregory went back to his chat log and then minimized it so he could see through his glasses again.

Springy beeped. Then, Springy let out another beep without being prompted. Gregory tipped his head.

Bells.

He bristled and spun around. Gregory looked up as Sun stopped behind him, hands on his hips and head cocked. “Gregory, I thought we talked about this!”

“Talked about what?” Gregory asked, scrambling to feign confusion. “You said I could talk to Springy!”

Sun’s face was stuck in a permanent smile, but Gregory had the distinct feeling that Gregory’s charade was not nearly convincing enough. Sun’s voice dipped into a warning, “Gregory, that’s not what we talked about.”

“Busted.”

Shut up!

Gregory glanced back at Springy and then at Sun. He let out a short sigh. “Okay, fine. But I wasn’t stealing Springy or doing anything wrong! I did just want to play a little.”

“P-play a little?!” Sun sputtered. “Gregory, Fazbear security just alerted the front desk to a possible security breach! You can’t play with bots like that. It’s against the rules to tamper with bots!”

“I didn’t know!” Gregory scoffed.

“Gregory. You can’t tell me you didn’t know tampering with bots was against the rules.”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t know everyone would make such a big deal about it. It’s just Springy. He can’t even do much.”

Springy beeped.

Sun twitched. “That was still very wrong!” He turned to Springy. “Thank you very much, Wet Floor bot. You may go back to your station.”

Gregory looked back. “What? No! Why?”

Springy started to move back, but stopped and looked at Gregory–more specifically, Bonnie.

Sun’s rays twitched. “Please go back to your station, Friend.”

Springy rolled forward to the glass.

Sun turned back to Gregory. Gregory shrank back into himself and hugged Bonnie tighter. Sun asked, his voice thin but calm, “Gregory, what kind of playing did you do to this bot?”

“Nothing much,” Gregory muttered. “I saw how much he liked Bonnie. So, I just changed his priorities a little. Now he prioritizes Bonnie over the mop bots. Or, everyone else, I guess. I swear he already liked Bonnie before. He even followed Bonnie with his head! Springy, you did that before, right?”

Springy beeped.

Sun buried his face in his hands. “Oh, Gregory, that is against the rules! You can’t tamper with the bots! How did you even do that, anyway?”

Gregory tried a shaky smile. “Magic…?”

Just then, the second Wet Floor bot rolled over to them, its job apparently finished. Gregory looked at it and then Sun. “Look! Watch this!” He held up Bonnie. Springy and the new Wet Floor bot tipped their heads back to look at Bonnie and then followed the rabbit from there. “See? So, it wasn’t a huge change. All I did was make him want to follow Bonnie, not just look at him.”

Sun said, “Gregory, the Wet Floor bots are there to warn guests of spills. They don’t have feelings.” Then, he held out his hand. “You can have those glasses back at the end of the day. But if I can’t trust you to behave with them, then I can’t let you wear them.”

“My gator glasses? But Monty gave them to me!” Gregory held onto them as if just the thought of losing them would cause them to fly away.

“Do you want to be put in Time-Out, too?” Sun prompted, now in a sterner voice. Yeesh, this guy.

Gregory narrowed his eyes. After a long moment passed between them, Gregory finally took off his glasses. He blinked and rubbed his eyes at the harsh returning light as it lost its muted, purplish hue. “Oh, ow. Was the light always that bright?”

Sun chuckled and gently folded the glasses. “It’s always bright during the day, Gregory!”

“I’m becoming nocturnal,” Gregory grunted, still squinting. He opted to bury his face in Bonnie’s head. “That it?”

Sun, no longer holding the glasses, clapped his hands together, ringing the bells on his wrists. “That’s it! Go play, Gregory! Have some fun!”

Gregory, a hand over his eyes and squinting hard, slunk back into the structure around the ball pit and hid in the dark corner where he’d taken his nap. He could lay down in peace here, but there was no way he was sleeping even as exhausted as he was. Too many thoughts buzzed in his mind. Everything was way too bright. He didn’t have his gator glasses. He pulled out his cupcake charm and held the loop through his finger and let it dangle in front of him for a few moments. He stashed it away and went back to hugging Bonnie and glaring at the wall. Eventually, his eyes readjusted to the light.

“You did realize that nothing good was going to come from that, right?”

I told you to shut up.

Sun did come back a few minutes later, but only to ask, “Gregory, would you like to join us for a puppet show?”

“No,” Gregory muttered, glaring at the wall.

“Okay! Well, I’ll be out in the play place if you change your mind!”

The amount of children in the play place dwindled further and further until finally, the giant double doors closed behind the very last children.

Bells jingled nearby but stopped short of his little corner. “Well! We still have a few more minutes to play! What do you want to do?”

Gregory looked up at the corner where his voice emanated. They’re going to call the cops on me.

“Probably.”

How do I stop them?

“You can’t. Talk to Sun. He’s worried.”

“I dunno. I…” He sighed and rolled onto his back. “I don’t want to play games. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be at the Mega Pizzaplex, anymore.”

“I’m sorry, Gregory. I’m sure someone is going to pick you up any time now!”

“Why can’t I go by myself?” Gregory asked, shoving energy he didn’t have into his voice.

“It won’t work if you leave. You need someone to take you.” The bells on Sun’s wrists clinked as his hand appeared around the corner, Gregory’s Gator Glasses held on his open palm. Gregory immediately sat up and put his glasses back on. Weirdly, the other cameras in the Daycare were open so all fifteen were accessible to him. He clicked out of the CAMs tab, picked up Bonnie, and crawled around to the mouth of the corner to look at Sun. The Daycare Attendant crouched on his knees, his pupilless, milky white eyes on Gregory.

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “What does that mean? I bet I could make it to the front doors from here.”

Sun chuckled, though the noise didn’t seem particularly happy. “Oh, I bet you could! But… well, you’ve met Moon. Moon and I disagree on some things, but one thing we agree very strongly about is time travel.”

Gregory groaned and rolled his eyes. “Not this again.”

“Yes, this again,” Sun stated. “You didn’t know what you were doing, so you had no way of knowing, but because you’ve messed with time so much you’ve become… tangled.”

Gregory narrowed his eyes. “Tangled?”

Sun hummed and twitched his spokes. He went on, “Imagine time as a cord. It’s a whole bunch of strings all neatly woven together. Well, in the Mega Pizzaplex, time is more like an unraveled cord–just a mess of strings. The more and more you pull at the strings, the more they wrap around you and the harder it is to unravel them.” Sun mimed pulling a cord taunt and then pulling at its invisible threads. “The strings are messy, messy but they are where they are supposed to be. We bots are all knots in these strings. We’re tangled up for good. The customers and staff don’t touch the strings at all. Those who do risk getting tangled up in them like us. It’s Moon’s job–my job, too, but mainly Moon since I’m restricted to the Daycare during the day–to stop people from messing with the strings.”

Gregory tipped his head. “So… what does that have to do with me not leaving?”

“Well, when you’re tangled up in something, it’s not easy getting out of it,” Sun explained. “Have you ever tried untangling knotted up strings or cords?”

Gregory wrinkled his nose at the memory of his knotted mouse cord. “Yeah.”

“It’s not easy, is it?”

“So, it’s impossible?”

Sun’s spokes twitched again, and he opened his hands as if dropping the cord. “Nope! That’s the good part! You still have hope! But the only way to escape the Pizzaplex is if someone on the outside came in and brought you out. Now, maybe if the Mega Pizzaplex wasn’t a big ol’ time mess, you could leave on your own, but I don’t think that’s happening.”

Gregory perked up. “Hold on, you said you guys were like knots instead of tangles. Does that mean you can’t leave?”

“Mhm!” Sun answered, somehow cheerfully. “But the others don’t know that. They think they can’t leave because they’ll run out of charge, or they’ll break. They don’t understand time like we do. Moony and I can’t leave because it’s our job to keep the order.” He chuckled to himself. “And, of course, to watch little kids during the day. But that’s the fun part of the job. That’s the easy part.”

Gregory looked down at Bonnie. “So, all those times Moon was after me… was because I was messing with time?” It wasn’t because he was just being a jerk or evil or something?

“Eh… mostly. Moon used to be much more patient. But there’s something that’s making him… not-so-patient,” Sun admitted. “I can keep time-order, too. Kind of. So, the lights stay on.”

“Well, what about yesterday? Er–last time? When we put Moon into Parts and Service? He acted much better after that,” Gregory pointed out. “Either he really liked Chica, or whatever I did in Parts and Service helped him.”

“I believe it was both. He… was happy to have Chica as his friend.”

Gregory scoffed. “Moon doesn’t seem like the friendly sort.”

“Moon has friends!” Sun squawked.

“Oh?”

After half a second’s pause, Sun said, “He befriended the Mini Music Men in the vents.”

“Of course he’d like the spiders.”

“Well, we don’t get very many visitors here,” Sun pointed out. “And we can’t leave.”

Gregory snorted. “Well, what about the Spider King, the DJ? Has he met him before?”

Sun chuckled. “He has! The DJ is very nice.”

Gregory played with Bonnie’s ears. “Those spider things and the DJ didn’t really talk to me. Even the others talked to me when they tried killing me. What gives?”

“Oh! They can’t talk! They don’t have voice boxes like we do,” Sun answered, shifting a little in his place. “They talk through music! They don’t like Chica very much.” Sun sighed and his spokes twitched again, curling counterclockwise before bouncing back again. “What a shame. She’s so nice. But! Moon knows far more instrumental songs than I do.”

“Like Springy?” Gregory prompted. “Springy doesn’t have a voice box.”

Sun shook his head. “No. Springy is a Wet Floor bot. They’re very simply coded, barely bots at all. Even the S.T.A.F.F. are smarter, made to vocalize and not made to think.”

Gregory eyed him. “So, what makes him different than you? Those dumb spider things in the vents only tried to kill me. There’s nothing smart about that.”

Ever patient, Sun explained, “They weren’t built to think. The Wet Floor bots… they are what you would think of as like a drone. The S.T.A.F.F. can’t think for themselves. They can move, talk, and respond, but they can’t think. The band, Moony and I, the Mini Music Men, the DJ–we can think for ourselves and have personality chips! That’s what sets us apart from them.”

“It’s true, Gregory. He’s not being mean; that’s just how things are.”

“And that’s what everyone thinks?” Gregory asked.

“Well, yes.”

“Even the engineers?”

“Especially them! They made us!”

So, when Vanny said I couldn’t use the bots against her, she wouldn’t expect me to use a S.T.A.F.F. bot against her, would she?

“That’s a… you know… not a terrible idea.”

Of course it’s not! Then, an idea popped into his head. “Do you know any humans that got stuck here? Like, how do you know I can’t just leave?”

Sun’s spokes twitched again. “We’ve seen a few of them. All of them were little children just like you who were taken here after hours. Most of the time, they couldn’t time travel; they didn’t know how to deviate from the set path. Some of them found ways, accidentally. That’s when Moony had to come get them. You’re the first to ever make it to six am. Twice!”

“And I’ll do it a third time,” Gregory stressed. “Myself. Myself and Bonnie, we’ll make it out.” His voice lowered. “Besides, no one’s coming to get me.”

“Oh. Don’t your parents know where you are? Maybe they just need help getting here!”

Gregory shook his head. Shamefully, his eyes stung. “I don’t want him to.”

“Him? Why not?” Sun cocked his head. “I’m sure he loves you very much. He might just not know you’re here.”

“He loved my mom very much,” Gregory grumbled. “He loves his son and his daughter. If they were here, he’d already be here. If mom was here, he’d pick me up. But he won’t because she’s not.” He hugged Bonnie tight to his chest.

“It’s okay. I’m still here. I won’t leave you.”

I know. Love you, Bonnie.

“I love you, too, Gregory.”

Sun made a thoughtful hum and said, “I know that sometimes things might not be great. But if he loved your mom, then maybe he loves you, too! Sometimes it’s hard for people to show their emotions, especially if they’re really sad.”

“He loves Owen and Gabriela. He got Gabriela her own dollhouse and made a Halloween costume for Owen for his Halloween Party.” Gregory sighed. “Bonnie won’t leave me, though.”

Then, a thought occurred to him. He looked up. “Are you gonna tell them who my stepbrother and stepsister are?”

“Well…”

“You are,” Gregory stated. He looked back down at Bonnie. “You’re gonna call the cops on me and get them to call my stepdad. Well, I don’t want to go back. You better know that.”

Footsteps approached. Sun looked back. Gregory scooted back further into his corner.

“Sun, do you know the kid’s name?”

“Um, Gregory.”

“Sun.”

“H-his name’s Gregory!”

“…okay. Look, it’s past time for him to leave. He’s going to the front.”

Sun thought for a long moment. “Gregory is still stressed and scared. I need to make sure he’s okay. So, you can let him wait here for a while! I’ll make sure he’s a-okay!”

“Children aren’t supposed to stay in the Daycare past closing. You know this. He’s not a puppy. He goes home to his parents.”

Sun made a noise like a sigh and leaned forward so he could look into Gregory’s corner. “It’s okay, Gregory. I-I’m sure everything will be okay!” He held out his hand for Gregory.

Yeah, right .

Chapter Text

Gregory stood on his own two feet, refusing to look up at the adult in front of him. Said adult held out her hand expectantly. Gregory wrinkled his nose. Still, he held out his hand and allowed himself to be taken and led out. He eyed the woman as they left the Daycare and walked around to a set of stairs leading up to a walkway. She held Gregory’s wrist tight enough to keep him close, but not enough to bruise. Like Maria and Dylan and the person at the security desk, she wore a white shirt with black pauldrons and pants. A silver badge stuck to her chest and a black security cap sat on her head.

She decided to say, “I have to take you to your parents, okay? You need to go home. I can’t let you just run loose.”

“You think I’m going to steal stuff.”

“I think if you encounter a criminal looking to steal things, you’ll be in big trouble,” the woman pointed out, throwing a short look at him as they walked through the dark and starry hall. “Besides, it’s against the rules for guests to stay past closing.”

Gregory stated, “Sun said he’d take care of me.”

“And he definitely would. But the Daycare Attendant can’t keep a child without staff supervision, and I don’t have time to watch you. It’s forty degrees outside. I can’t let you go without knowing you’re going someplace with a heater.”

“I can go on my own. I’ll take the bus,” Gregory mumbled.

“That’s not very reassuring, especially considering the bus is a twenty-minute walk from the front entrance.”

“Fifteen.”

“I’m not arguing with you, anymore. You’re going to stay here until your parents or the police arrive and then I can let you go.” They passed through a set of shutters to the balcony above the main entrance and ticket area.

Gregory eyed the entrance as they walked down the stairs. If he let her lock him in Lost and Found or a breakroom or something, he was dead meat. He’d be tossed in a cop car and taken back and that would be that. However, if he made it to the elevators, he could get into the atrium and just poof. The cops would give up eventually and he could sneak his way out. He would need a hiding spot…

“What about Freddy?”

Freddy? What do you mean?

“If you hide in his room in Rockstar Row, she won’t check there. He’s really nice, so if he sees you, he might not tell her you’re there.”

The same Freddy that tried to murder me?

“Maybe he’ll be like the others and if you talk to him before midnight he won’t kill you?”

Ugh, maybe. Hopefully.

Gregory looked up as they approached the movable wall barring them entrance to the service area. Then, he yanked her hand back toward himself.

The security guard squealed in pain and immediately released him.

Gregory bolted in the opposite direction of the entrance.

She cut herself off from a swear and pulled up a walkie talkie. “Hello? Anyone still here? We got a kid running through the daycare toward the theater!”

Hah! Let them believe he was in the theater.

Gregory ducked under the shutters that once closed and now slowly opened for him. He darted down the hall and then the stairs. He passed the restrooms without a glance. A security S.T.A.F.F. bot rolled out from in front of the toy store toward Gregory, its flashlight gleaming over the ground and security cap tilted down just a little.

Gregory spun around and darted in the opposite direction. He just managed to glance through the tall, rolling, opaque hills to see Sun in the Daycare, head up and toys in his grasp. After dodging another bot, he passed the stairs, keeping close to the wall, and ducked into the first door he found–one of two on a long, dark section of the wall with huge lettering on it.

Gregory stopped.

Arcade machines.

He shook himself and ran through the short curvy maze of arcade machines, loosely themed after Sun and Moon with splashes of advertising. He spotted a few air hockey and table machines, ATMs, coin machines, and claw machines. Gregory squeezed between the arcade cabinets in the middle and hunkered down as small as he could make himself.

The lady came back to look for him, as did a couple of others. They eventually retreated. The whirring of mechanical parts and wheels on the ground signaled to him the arrival of a few more bots.

Gregory waited until finally the only thing he could hear was the quiet rumbling and whirring of technology. Strangely, it took only a few seconds for the noise to die down. After a quick breath, he wriggled out of his hiding place.

“You’re new here.”

Gregory slapped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from screaming. He spun around and faced a little girl in a violet blouse and blue skirt. A blue bow stuck in her loose brown braid. He stared at her for a long moment. “…who are you? A-are you another spirit? Like Evan?”

The girl huffed and rolled her eyes. “You’re half-right. I am a spirit, but not like Evan. I was killed by that stupid rabbit lady. I can see her. He can’t. He’s a coward and sad and stuff like everyone else. I’m not.”

Gregory forced himself to relax. Evan said he’d try to talk to the spirit who didn’t like them. “So can you help me?”

She nodded. “Yep. I haunt the arcades. I know how to manipulate all the technology around here. I can make the arcade machines spit out tokens and coins and glitch out. I can get a air hockey machine to keep playing. I can make those light flashy booths go off. All the spirits can if they want, but they don’t. I know where all the arcades are. They’re my favorite place to be, ’cause that’s where all the other kids are. I can also made the bots go weird and the lights flash, but that’s boring.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “So, if you know where the arcades are… do you know about the broken or the weird ones? Like the Princess Quest and Balloon World ones?”

She nodded again and then hesitated. “Well… I know where most of the broken ones are. But one of the Balloon World ones got rolled away somewhere when I wasn’t looking and now I can’t find it again. There are some special ones, like Balloon World. You saw the one Vanny stole.” She wrinkled her nose as if she had smelled something foul.

Gregory nodded. “Yeah, and I played it. I beat it, too. How’d you know?”

“Because it’s special,” she answered simply. “I have an idea! Tonight, if you stay, you go to the other arcades. I’ll point you to the special ones. The first you want to go to is the…” She squinted her eyes and tapped her chin. “What order should we do this in…? Uh… East Starcade! The one by El Chips. It’s on the balcony on the third floor just outside of the East Starcade.”

Gregory nodded. “Balcony by East Starcade… and you’ll just… meet me there?”

“And I’ll point you to the arcade cabinet, yep! If you stay.” She shrugged. “If you can go, I’d recommend you go, though. Maybe you can do this during the day, when that evil rabbit isn’t around.” She narrowed her eyes at the wall facing the Daycare. “And I can play distraction so you don’t end up in there again. Well, bye!” She skipped out the arcade, phasing straight through the door. When Gregory ran to the door and opened it, she was gone.

…yeah. I’ll do this… tomorrow morning.

“Good idea.”

Chipper music bled from the well-lit daycare play place. Down the walkway both a story up and on the lower floor he stood on, humanoid bots with wheels, black security caps, and flashlights rolled to and fro. Thankfully, he could only see one per floor, but he wasn’t taking a chance he just couldn’t see the others never mind the fact he didn’t know their range of sight.

Gregory crept-ran down the hall until he got to the stairs and then to a half-gate leading to the sleepy blue waiting room. It was cracked open so he could walk straight into the sleepy blue lobby.

Click

He looked back to find the gate closed completely behind him. Meh. He wouldn’t need to backtrack any time soon. Hopefully.

He looked up at the golden statue of Moon and then back at the wall facing the play place. A hole attached to a colorful, curly slide with a rainbow ending in clouds announcing “SLIDE INTO FUN” was the real attention grabber.

Gregory turned his back to it and made his way through the dark room and ducked under a pair of shudders to enter the even darker hall speckled with stars in the ceiling. The soda machines still glowed, throwing multicolored lights over the shiny, dark floor. Neon lights decorating the walls gave him something to see with, but the main lights stayed off. He took out his cupcake keychain and clicked on the light, barely illuminating a few feet in front of himself.

Down the stairs, past the fountain, and beyond the ticket readers were doors. He knew the mostly empty parking lot, lit by the reflection of harsh orange lights upon cars and dark pavement, lay behind those doors. After a few minutes of brisk walking, he’d be on a bus and out of there, regardless of what Sun said. For good.

A headache started to form as he crept closer to his escape. His ears rang and eyes went fuzzy as his head filled with static. Fear bloomed in his little chest as he barely registered the party-colored shutters at the end of the starry hallway.

Oh no.

The shutters groaned open, sliding upward to reveal the darkness of the front area. More prominent neon lights crossed over the walls and glowed over the shiny, multicolored floor. A break in the neon light stood directly before Gregory. As the shutters pulled upwards, they revealed two huge, off-white rabbit feet attached the patchy gray-and-white legs with one red-cross-hatched patch.

Gregory attempted to take a step back, to heed the warning bells clamoring in his head. However, his mind went blank, and his muscles froze. His dream crashed into him like a bus, the image of her raised knife and her shiny red eyes and her hand on his arm all too real–

An oval-shaped, patchy white head tipped under the opening entryway so one white and one gray ear flopped to the side and two giant red oval eyes set above a cartoonish grin stared up at him. Her slit pupils stared straight into him. “Welcome back!”

With a mind of their own, his legs took Gregory as fast as they could back down the hall to the Superstar Daycare. Light shone through the parting bottom of the shutters like a brilliant sunrise through a broken thunderstorm. He squirmed under it before it could open all the way and shot out into the small, sleepy room. His headache cleared as he got away, but it still infringed on the edge of his senses, especially as he had to stop in front of a closed gate. He jingled the half-gate as hard as he could and spat a word he shouldn’t know.

Gregory looked at the hole in the cloudy wall with a rainbow above it. “SLIDE INTO FUN!” curled above it. A protest started up in him, but the harsh return of his headache spurred him into action, and he flung himself into the hole.

He grimaced as each bump in the slide struck his ribs.

The slick slide flung Gregory out into a pile of multicolored plastic balls. He immediately struggled to the surface, Bonnie’s arm tight in his grasp and his feet barely able to touch the floor. He had to readjust the knitted hat on his head. At least his headache went away. Still, he threw a look back at the empty mouth of the slide to be sure.

When he heard a squeaking noise, he ducked back under and wiggled down further. He found some breathing room as the plastic balls were too odd of shape to fit neatly together. However, some wasn’t a lot and soon the area before him was stifling and warm.

“What’s happening? Gregory? Where are we?”

The Daycare. Vanny was right outside.

“Are you stuck?!” a familiar, masculine voice gasped above him. Not half a second later, two large hands grasped him from around the middle and yanked him out of the pit and into the air.

Gregory gasped and blinked owlishly at Sun, who stared back with a slightly cocked head and held Gregory out at arm’s length. “Are you okay? What are you doing here? It’s late! You look scared. What happened?” Sun shot off at record’s pace. Sun didn’t require air to talk and had no lungs to force pauses between sentences. That did not make it any less creepy.

Gregory stammered. “I-I’m hiding.” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “I’m hiding. I ran and hid from those people who tried taking me away. But when I tried to escape again, she found me. I had to run, and the gate was locked.”

“Who is she?” Sun asked, his voice a little slower and half a notch lower in energy.

“The-the rabbit lady. Vanny. She’s in the hall here!”

Sun’s small movements stopped. “The rabbit lady?”

Gregory nodded, holding onto his hand. “You have to hide me before she sees me!”

Sun’s spokes twitched and he brought Gregory out onto the floor. “Well, you can hide in the play structures. She might not see you there!”

Gregory shook his head. “Then she’ll come in here and catch me. She’ll expect me to be hiding in the play structures! Can you just open the door for me, and I’ll go find somewhere else?”

 “No!” Sun squawked and then caught himself and went on, “Oh, no, I can’t do that! If you saw her, you could get hurt! It’s safer in here. No one and nothing can get in or out without me knowing about it.”

Gregory narrowed his eyes. “You did a great job warding her off when she popped in and turned off the lights. She’s scared of Moon, you know. If she doesn’t know I’m here, she won’t do that.”

Sun made a weird noise in his voice box. “Gregory, I… look, there aren’t a lot of places to hide here. Everywhere in the Daycare is accessible to staff and children alike!” There was a short pause. “…but you’re right. If she knows you’re here, she’ll force Moon to do something he’ll regret, and no one will be happy with that. Okay, well, you can stay in my room for a little while. How does that sound?”

Gregory raised an eyebrow. “Your room?”

“My room!” Sun repeated, cheer leaking back into his voice. He pointed up at the castle balcony cut off by red curtains. Gregory had first seen the yellow daycare attendant exit from there and jump into the ball pit to grab him. “No one will find you there. Only staff with high enough priority even know it exists!”

Gregory nodded. “Okay. Just until she leaves.”

“Thanks, Sun.”

“Thanks, Sun.”

“You’re welcome, Gregory!” Sun held out a hand and grabbed a cable that dropped from the ceiling. He clipped it to his back and held out his hands. “Let’s go up to our room!”

For a moment, Gregory just stared. Then, realization dawned on him. “You want me to come to you?”

“Flying can get a little scary for someone who’s never done it before,” Sun admitted. “I know that you didn’t like me grabbing you before, Gregory. And you shouldn’t touch someone without their permission.” He chuckled at that last part.

Gregory eyed him. The image of Sun with warped spokes and the feeling of intense fear swam back into his mind. He shook it off the best he could and stepped up to Sun. “Just up to your room. I’m not a baby. I can walk on my own.”

“Oh, of course. I don’t doubt that for a second!” Sun picked him up from under the arms and held him close to his chest. He smelled faintly like birthday cake and cleaning supplies.

Then, they were up. Gregory watched as the ground left them behind–the padded, multicolored floor growing smaller and the ball pit they’d been beside quickly becoming a rainbow blob. Sun landed deftly on the platform. Sun rocked on his heels, jangled the bells attached to his shoes. “Eh…. Excuse the mess. I’ll tell you when you’re good to go. Just don’t handle any of the machinery in here, okay?”

Mess? He nearly scoffed, but instead said, “Okay. Chica let me stay in her greenroom earlier and I’ve been in their maintenance rooms a few times. So, I think I know how to not touch things that’ll kill me.”

Sun tsked at him, but there was no real force behind the noise. “Again with the tone! You need to learn some manners, young man.”

Gregory snorted. “And who’ll make me? You?”

Sun tapped his chin. “Well, since you wouldn’t listen to me… I’m sure Chica would be very happy to help.”

Gregory narrowed his eyes at him–more accurately, at the underside of his faceplate. “You wouldn’t.”

Sun chuckled. “I’d do anything to help my little starlings. And sometimes that help comes with a firm talking to.”

Gregory muttered, “This whole thing is ridiculous.”

“Aw, don’t worry, I’m just messing with you!” Sun chortled, pushing through the bright red curtains.

Gregory gave him the side-eye. “Really?”

“Maybe~!”

They passed up a mountain of stacked up toddler chairs and a crate. Sun climbed over a tall railing and hopped a fairly long distance into the room to reach the floor.

“I didn’t know you lived in my brother’s room,” Gregory snorted. A few tables stood up toward the stage. Daycare objects scattered everywhere, including an entire playhouse and a toddler table clustered with chairs, which were occupied by a Monty, a Freddy, a Chica, a Roxy, and a Bonnie plush–all in pristine condition. A Sun plush lay against the play house near it. String lights drooped over the walls, connected to the ceiling every few feet. What took the smile off his face was the headless S.T.A.F.F. bot hunched over a table under a big complex section of electronic devices and stuff connected directly to the wall. Another mangled bot lay crumbled in the corner and a broken, partially disassembled S.T.A.F.F. bot lay on a table against the wall opposite the entrance. An endoskeleton head and torso lay amongst the wreckage along with some other electronics. A slightly scuffed Moon plush lay discarded on the other side of the room.

Sun chuckled and walked toward a hole in the wall opposite the headless bot. “Ah, well, I just… haven’t gotten around to cleaning. I’ve been a bit of a busy bee.”

“Why are there broken bots here? And why doesn’t that one have a head?”

Sun set Gregory down in front of the hole in the wall, which turned out to be a tunnel. “Well… they’re… I–I found them that way. The staff would’ve just thrown them away. So, I decided to, um… help them. Or try to. A-anyway! In here there should be some room for you to sit down and stay a while. You can take a nap o-or play with some of the toys in here. Just please don’t touch the machinery.”

Sun pointed to the tunnel.

Gregory kept his gaze on Sun. “What do you mean ‘help them’? Are you an engineer, too? I didn’t know bots could do repairs on other bots.”

Sun wrung his hands. “They-they can’t. We can’t. We weren’t coded with that information. Moon was given the information to know how to render the other animatronics harmless and ready for transport, but that is the fullest extent of any of our knowledge. I’ve begged the engineer team over and over to help Moony and they won’t do it.” Sun’s voice took a surprisingly hard edge. “They refuse to. I don’t know why, but they won’t do anything! They just keep the lights on all the time! So!” His voice leveled out. “I’m teaching myself mechanics. Maybe if I learned what went wrong with them, I-I’ll learn what went wrong with Moony and I’ll fix him.”

Greogry raised his eyebrows. “You can do that?”

“It’s really super duper hard, but I think I’m learning, yeah! But that’s what brothers are for, right? We do things to help even if they’re hard.”

The comment stung, even if it wasn’t meant to.

“Now, I-I should go clean the Daycare. She might suspect something if I’m not there. You stay in there, please.” Sun gestured to the tube again.

Gregory bit back a sigh and nodded. “Okay.” He walked to the tube, biting his cheek and hugging Bonnie tight.

“You still have me. You don’t need him. You don’t need any of them.”

I know. I know. It’s just… I know. But needs and wants rarely overlapped.

Gregory climbed over an oversized, soft alphabet cube into a cramped room with more string lights and a small, thin spotlight attached to a board on the ceiling. The spotlight pooled light over the wall he climbed through, glowing over a cluster of children’s drawings of the band. A few had Sun or Moon on them. The spotlight was attached to a different cord than the string lights. He sucked in his breath as he almost tripped over another endo skeleton part and grimaced. Ugh. Merch hung on another wall. Pillows scattered over the corner under the pictures with the upper body of a mangled S.T.A.F.F. bot on them, a few huge mattress-like pillows lay in the center, and milk crates with some supplies. Other crap scattered about, including a Sun plush and a Roxy piñata. A golden Sun plush lay against the corner.

Most interestingly, a Balloon World arcade cabinet stood against the world, its screen glowing and flashing between the “START” and “HIGH SCORE” screen. A weird feeling overcame him as he looked at it. “Bonnie…”

“You have that feeling again?”

Yeah.

“I mean, at least it’s safe here.”

Gregory set Bonnie down beside the arcade cabinet. A note sat on the ground. “EXIT INTERVIEW: They are working together. The arcades. They are hiding something. The glitches. Glitch them all at the same time... then the Princess will recognize me. She's testing me. I am not yet worthy. The others are protecting it. Let me stay! I am so close! Just one more night, please! I can save the Princess!” Weird?

Balloon Boy stood on a diving board with three balloons in hand and a circus background and Sun in the top right corner. The game went as normal, Gregory pressing buttons and balancing keeping Balloon Boy in the air and out of harm’s way while also collecting balloons and points. He found a glitch in a tree once he got to the woods. Everything went nuts and dark, and Moon’s face superimposed over Sun’s and a double layer of rays appeared around him. The lines between his jagged teeth and around his eyes glowed. Just as before, he got to the end and his character was jerked to the middle of the screen and the Sun character filled the dark screen.

Then, the screen turned black and Balloon Boy–a very, very simplified, eight-bit version of the character with one balloon and a red shirt without stripes–dropped from the top of the screen down to the bottom of the screen. The next screen was black with lines of varying gray shades like an old TV screen. The third screen had three Balloon Boy sprite silhouettes with gray tear streaks standing below a massive, simplified, three-branched tree. His colorful sprite landed on the same plane as the tree and crying balloon boy shadows. Hesitantly, Gregory edged his character toward the first one. His smiling sprite, having no walking animation but a springing noise any time he jumped and a click when he landed, moved over the sprites and to the next screen. This screen was black with a blue square, three platforms with two extended white circles like clouds, and a giant balloon flashing in multiple colors. He hopped through the blue square, onto the platforms and to the flashing balloon. Immediately, the balloon vanished, his character froze, and stripes of pure white overtook the screen. Then, the screen hissed in static and shut off.

Gregory stepped back. “…you saw that, right?”

“Yeah. I… saw that. That was different than the first game.”

“I’ll need to ask Sun when he gets back. It was definitely different.”

Beep! [Ask me what?]

Gregory picked up Bonnie and sat down near the machine. “Your Balloon World machine. It was acting weirdly. Have you played it?”

Beep! [Yes. But only a few times. It doesn’t have an ending. Did you play it?]

“Yeah, and something weird happened. There’s a Balloon World game in Vanny’s room and when I played that, I beat it. You just have to find one of the purple glitches, go into it, and then follow the weird line to the end.”

Beep! [You went into the rabbit’s room? That’s super not safe!]

Beep! [Gregory, you could’ve been hurt!]

“But I wasn’t! You guys worry too much. Anyway, I did the same thing here and then it dropped me into a whole new eight-bit game. But like, nothing really happened. I just needed to grab a balloon and then the game kinda crashed. Also, there’s this weird note by the machine talking about a princess and glitches.”

There was half a second’s delay.

Beep! [The game hasn’t ever changed on me. Is it off?]

“Yeah. The screen’s black. It cut to static and turned off. Now I can’t hear any buzzing or anything inside of it.” Gregory looked over the colorful, silent cabinet. Lights gleamed off the dark screen.

Beep! [I can check it out when I get back! Are you still in the room?]

“Yeah. So, what about that note?” Gregory picked it up. It was handwritten, like most of the others he found.

Beep! [Oh. That was stuck in the machine. It’s from the previous Daycare Attendant. She was a nice lady. The kids really liked her! :) Too bad she left.]

Gregory blinked. “What? But you’re the Daycare Attendant.”

Beep! [Yep! But the Daycare used to be attended by humans! Then we took over after she left.]

Gregory looked down at Bonnie. “Did you know that, Bonnie?”

“Yeah. I was an original, Gregory. I’ve been here since the place was built!”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked, and it never came up in conversation.”

Gregory asked, “So, if you were made to be a Daycare Attendant, and she left, wouldn’t that mean the Daycare would have had to be closed for a super long time while you were made?”

Beep! [Nope! We were told it only took nine days plus three to get used to the Daycare while it was empty and two days to work with the previous Daycare Attendant during the day. We weren’t built to be in the Daycare. We were actually made to be in the Theater! We just switched jobs to go where we were needed.]

“Whoa, you were on stage? Like Freddy, Bonnie, Monty, Chica, and Roxy?”

Beep! [Haha! Whoa, not like them! They’re rockstars. Moony and I were performers. We were in theater performances, not in a band.]

Gregory could recall Sun’s words earlier that evening. “I’m not mocking anyone, Gregory! I’m acting~!” Later he put on a puppet show. “Do you miss being on stage? It’s okay if you do. Monty says he does. He has a stage in Gator Golf he never goes on, too.”

Another very short span of silence.

Beep! [Aw, that’s nice of you to ask! Sometimes, but I’m happy to be here! We love it here! As much fun as theater is, we love working in the Daycare.]

“Because they’ve been re-coded to. Sun was a bit of a snobbish jerk before, but at least that’s because he was doing what he was originally made to do, and he was proud of it. Moon got way into its role. Like too into it and would be his creepy persona outside of performances, too. At least Monty enjoyed the bit and played along.”

What?

“Yeah, Monty would go to the theater sometimes and Sun or Moon would go to Gator Golf and they’d do stupid stuff. After they became babysitters, they kinda drifted apart, and after the Moon situation, well… you know what happened.”

Gregory stared at his lap, eyebrows furrowed. Why didn’t they stay friends?

“They turned into almost completely different people. They weren’t them, anymore, Gregory.”

Beep! Gregory jolted as the noise pulled him from his thoughts. [You got to spend a lot of time with the glamrocks, huh? Have you been here before?]

He nodded. “Twice. I got to meet Bonnie for the first time. But then the second time, Bonnie wasn’t here, anymore. So, Mom got me this Bonnie plush instead. She said he was special. I don’t know how she knew, but she must have known somehow, because he is.”

“I don’t know, either.”

Gregory snorted. “I bet I would’ve liked you more back then. I was really little. And yellow was my favorite color.”

Beep! [Well, you have great taste! Yellow is a great color! What’s your favorite color now?]

“Um… green. Like, dark green. Bonnie’s is dark green, too.”

“Like the jungle. It’s so crazy cool. I have things to say about Fazbear Entertainment, but they did really well with Monty’s swamp.”

“Heh! He likes how Monty’s swamp is decorated.”

Chapter Text

Gregory poked at the stuff around himself as he and Sun talked until suddenly, Sun stopped responding.

Gregory opened his mouth and then closed it. He got up from his lounge into a crouch and shuffled around so he could climb as quietly as he could under the pillows beneath the S.T.A.F.F. bot.

After an eon of silence, the music in the Daycare warbled to an end. The lighting dimmed.

Gregory’s eyes went wide, and he clutched Bonnie tighter. She knows we’re here.

“Hey, hey, the lights in here are still on. So maybe we just need to wait for a little while?”

Gregory looked up. The string lights stayed on, but the spotlight had turned off. In the main room, the string lights still glowed, but the main light was off in there, too. Hopefully, it was still too bright for Moon.

Hopefully.

Why isn’t Sun talking to me? Even if he turned into Moon, he should still be able to talk to me!

“I don’t know. But I like it here. Just stay quiet.”

If the lights don’t scare him off, is this a good enough hiding place? I mean, this is his room.

“No. They don’t need their eyes to look for children, Gregory. They’re better than the Glamrocks at finding them.”

Just then, little dress shoes appeared on the floor. Gregory bristled and looked up, refusing to move even an inch. The arcade spirit stood in front of him, her hands behind her back. “You should probably get moving.”

“Why?” Gregory breathed.

“That rabbit lady is heading this way,” she stated matter-of-factly. “This room is hidden, so maybe she doesn’t know you’re here. Maybe she thinks you went into the theater or the basement and hid there. It would be a dumb hiding spot, by the way. You’d just get lost. One of the other kids tried hiding there and got killed. Anyway, I would be prepared to run, just in case.”

“Run where?” he whispered.

She shrugged. “I dunno. Uh… there’s only one entrance or exit for people. If she uses it, then you won’t be able to.” She narrowed her eyes. “And if you’re dead you can’t play those arcade games. You’d become trapped here. And you’d become all sad and boring.”

Bonnie? Would I survive falling from Sun’s balcony?

“Would you surv–ugh. I guess you don’t have a choice. Yes. But only if you don’t have any other options and only if you land in the ball pit.”

Gregory crawled out from under the pillows. “Bonnie knows what to do.”

“Oh good! Bonnie was always a pretty cool character. That’s probably why that stupid rabbit lady made her suit look like a rabbit. She was copying Bonnie. Pretty badly, too.” The girl nodded matter-of-factly.

Gregory nodded and walked around her to the tunnel. He looked out into the semi-bright room. He could imagine his living room being this bright during the day, the window blinds open and the lights off and the sun not directly within view of the glass. He walked around the junk in the room to a ladder up to the stage and climbed up onto the stage. He crouched between a crate and the wall, near enough to the curtains to leap out at half a second’s notice, far enough that if Moon did land on the balcony and tried to grab him without going in, Gregory would be out of his reach. The girl hopped up behind him, unaffected by gravity but at least pretending to follow it by jumping from the table. She phased right through the rail and stuck her head out the curtains before pulling back and looking at him.

Then, a familiar headache gnawed at his senses.

She looked at the wall with the tube. Gregory followed her gaze, finding that further along the wall was a door. She phased through the railing as she jumped down on the table, floor, and ran through the door. She came back and called, “Yeah, that’s her!”

Gregory’s eyes went wide. He threw himself through the curtains and onto the balcony and then stopped dead. From here, he could see the entire play place, but so, so far up. He put on his jacket and zipped Bonnie up inside, shut his eyes, grabbed the floor of the balcony, and threw his feet off.

Gregory released the balcony.

He was in the air for years, or maybe seconds, before plunging into the ball pit. This part, as he struggled to bring himself up, was much deeper than the part by the slide and he couldn’t touch the bottom. Unlike water, there was air he could breathe. However, like a pool, it gave him the distinct feeling of swimming.

He managed to scrape his fingers against something solid. He reached up and tangled his fingers into the bars of the structure wrapping around the ball pit and small green area with castle walls. Gregory gasped and wheezed as he let his heart settle and pulled his body toward the wall.

Bells.

Two pinpricks of red lights glowed above him, perched on the structure. Gregory sucked in his breath and froze.

Two small lights glowed above him–one red and one blue. Perched at the top of the tower, fingers gripping the lip of the balcony, moon-painted head facing him, was the jester from the creepy statue. A blue and-yellow-starred floppy nightcap sat on its head. A bell dangled from it. A yellow, crooked spoke jutted out from under its chin. After his run-in with the previous child-killing animatronic and crazy security guard, any curious trust he might have had was replaced by wariness and fear.

“Naughty boy, naughty boy,” Moon cooed. “You are up past your bedtime.”

Gregory picked up a ball and chucked it at the animatronic. It bounced harmlessly off the Daycare Attendant’s faceplate and landed back in the ball pit. “And you’ve been a big jerk ever since I met you!” He kicked off the wall and spun around to face one of the rainbow bridges out.

Moon hissed, “Do not throw things at other people!”

Gregory stuck his tongue out at him, trying his hardest to look like he knew what he was doing.

Then a thought occurred to him. Sun could jump into the ball pit.

“Uh… maybe… Moon… can’t…?”

Moon’s glow-in-the-blacklight stars shot over them and into the play area.

Gregory, panting, finally touched the ground near the rainbow bridge and struggled up through the rest of the ball pit to it. “He really can’t? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Because I didn’t know that! When would that have come up in conversation?”

“Okay, that’s fair.”

A faint glow caught Gregory’s attention, and he turned his attention on the jester animatronic, creeping up from around the smaller play structure. Moon cackled, a slight warble in his voice as if he couldn’t decide between a tone or pitch.

His voice became a little higher pitched. Whiny. Scared? But only a little. Still, what could scare some creepy flying jester animatronic who was taller and stronger than any adult Gregory had met?

Well, what could scare him? Also, where had he seen him like that? Sure, Gregory and Monty tricked Moon and forced him into the repair cylinder, which did terrify him. However, he hadn’t spoken. He sang, in a quiet and pitiful voice, but he didn’t talk like he had in that memory. And again, what memory? Moon never appeared with Sun’s spokes. Ever. Gregory had never seen him on the balcony, at that.

“Gregory, move!”

Gregory yelped and stumbled into a sprint as Moon lunged at him. Moon cooed at him and cocked his head. “Runny run, run away~!”

Gregory gasped, “Bonnie! What just happened?”

“I-I don’t know! Maybe there’s something Moon is scared of behind the desk? I don’t know what it would be, though!”

“Behind the–? What?” Gregory ran toward the end of the play structure and kicked over one of the stacks of cans. The cans toppled over.

“Urg! Clean up, clean up!” Moon spat.

Gregory, huffing, stumbled behind the security desk and snatched the flashlight. His shoes picked up a sticky note, but most of them were so old, they’d lost their tackiness. A few computers, minimal electronics including walkie talkies, fans, a pizza box, and a random picture of Roxy sat on the desk. Under it were a couple of computer towers in front of closed cabinets. He immediately rifled through them. Maybe something would pop out at him as important if he came across it? Because at the moment, he didn’t have a clue what he was looking for.

“Young children are not allowed behind the security desk!” Moon asserted, staring at him from around the side of the counter.

Gregory ignored him. His fingers fell over something wide and thin. His eyes lit up and he dragged out the tablet. Gregory popped out the pen and turned it on. Though the light glared with harsh intensity upon being prodded awake, his sunglasses defended him from the worst of it. The Freddy Fazbear logo glowed at him. Then, a password screen.

“Uh… Bonnie?”

“I don’t even have the slightest clue.”

Gregory looked back. A filing cabinet stood against the wall beside a few other cabinets. A few walkie talkies, binders, and a ton of bottles of disinfectant sat on top of them. Jeez, it could take hours to search through all that!

He looked on the ground and then his shoe. Gregory pealed a sticky note off his shoe.

User: MSeaver04

Pass: SMC4ndy!

He narrowed his eyes and held it up to the light of the tablet. Seaver. This means “candy”. That security lady. Maria. Oh! She must be one of the security people who works here! Yeah, she said she just finished a shift here.

“So, you think that’ll work on the tablet?”

Gregory nodded, popped out the pen, and tapped the “Username” line, causing the virtual keyboard to pop up.

[Welcome back Maria]

The words faded off screen, replaced by the Freddy Fazbear Mega Pizzaplex logo and a few icons and folders.

File Explorer, Recycling Bin, an internet icon, folder labeled “Report”, folder labeled “Names”, and an icon of a weirdly shaped yellow wrench labeled “DON’T TOUCH TECH ONLY” lined up on the left side of the screen.

Gregory double-tapped the wrench.

It took a moment, but a black and gray window appeared with a lighter button lined with buttons and words and options. A window popped up with a picture of a silhouette of a Freddy head with a question mark in the middle. “ANIMATRONIC NOT CONNECTED” lined the bottom of the pop-up window.

Gregory’s eyes widened. Bonnie. I know what to do.

“Gregory, you better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

Gregory stuck the pen back in, shut the tablet, and stuck it under his arm. He stood up and peered over the counter. Moon stalked back and forth. He perked up upon seeing Gregory. Moon dipped under the counter’s sight. Curious, Gregory stood up on his toes and planted his hands on the desk and craned his neck to look over the desk.

Moon sprung up like a Jack-in-a-box, sending Gregory reeling back with a squeal. “Peek-a-boo!” Moon cackled.

“Screw you!” Gregory spat, hitting the cabinets behind him with a thump and rattling the bottles of disinfectant.

Moon clutched the counter and sank down so his eyes were almost level with it. “Oh? You don’t want to hide anymore?” He cocked his head. “Hidey hide, hide away?”

Gregory glared at him and pointed his flashlight at the back of the chair near him. “No. How about we play ‘Hide and Seek?’ You go hide.”

Moon hummed and released the counter with one hand to tap his chin. “Hide and Seek is so much more fun with more people…”

“Bonnie’s gonna play.” Gregory held out Bonnie.

“Then I will need to seek,” Moon pointed out. “Since you’re the best at finding Bonnie.”

“Maybe he’ll look for me first. Give you a head start to do whatever you’re going to do.”

Gregory frowned at Bonnie. “Not helping. But…” He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’m always first seeker, but Bonnie agrees with you.”

Moon released the counter and danced back a few long strides. Then, he bent his head forward and held both hands over his eyes. “One… two…”

He’s serious.

“Of course he is, he’s a childcare bot! Get going!”

Gregory started to run out of the security area. However, as he became acutely aware of the patter of his shoes on the floor echoing in the temperate silence, he stopped, kicked his shoes off, and continued running. His socks made much less noise against the soft ground than his tennis shoes. Gregory stopped by the child house. He set Bonnie down by the play structure, back to one of the supports to the bridge, near the play house. The door squeaked as he opened and shut the play house’s door. He darted into the play place and crawled up to the bridge, hiding just out of sight.

Moon called, “Ready or not here I come~!” He turned in a lazy circle and plucked at the objects around him, gently turning over obstacles and looking into shallow hiding places. “Where oh where could my starlings be?” he cooed.

Starlings? Wasn’t that what Sun called the other kids?

“Sometimes.”

“Could he be here…?” Moon asked, looking around the opposite corner. “Could he be… oh! Hello, Bonnie Bunny!” Moon gently plucked the rabbit from the floor. “Now, where could Gregory be…?”

Gregory slunk onto the bridge and then slipped under the rope and landed on Moon’s shoulders. The Daycare Attendant spat and yanked himself back, attention now directed on the boy clinging to his back. His grip on Bonnie tightened, but not enough to damage the toy. Though the Daycare Attendant was flexible and quick like a demented snake with arms, his fight with Monty taught Gregory everything he needed to know about what part of him couldn’t twist itself into a knot. Gregory hooked his feet into the loop on his back and grabbed the back of Moon’s neck.

“Sorry Moon, but it’s time for you to take your nap!” Gregory pressed the reset button on the back of the Daycare Attendant’s head, where his circuitry and wiring was exposed.

Moon collapsed.

Gregory yelped as the bot went down like a sack of bricks and he nearly slammed his own head into the ground. He braced his feet against the back of Moon’s head just in case the Daycare Attendant woke up, pulled out his tablet and searched the back of his head. Panic started to swell in his chest before he finally found a terminal and plugged it in. The blank Freddy head switched to a cartoon outline of what looked like their face with half of Sun’s spokes and Moon’s hat. “DAYCARE ATTENDANT” stamped below it. Gregory watched Moon. At this point, Moon had woken up in Monty’s arms. Monty claimed he woke up very quickly. Gregory let out a short breath. “So, I was right. This will keep him asleep.”

Gregory pulled out the tablet’s pen and tapped through a few folders, pop-up warnings and commands, and programs. He hesitated upon coming across the program he sought–the same one he used to make Springy want to follow Bonnie.

Bonnie? This, uh… this looks kind of complicated…

“Yeah, I’m not surprised. Some pretty genius people made them. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Yeah, I’m sure! I’ll just look for something familiar. Gregory scrolled through the insane amount of code, the jumble of numbers and letters he hadn’t the faintest idea how to translate. He stopped, shut his eyes, and took a deep breath. “No, Gregory. You can do this. Don’t panic. Maybe it’s just an advanced type of code you use.”

He opened his eyes and studied the first line he saw. At first, it was just a jumble of letters and numbers. But the longer he looked at it, and the ones above and below, the more he recognized it. There was no godforsaken way he was about to replicate or modify it, but he did faintly recognize it as a conditional statement regarding the amount of… presumably that meant children. Okay, so this was a language he knew!

He kept scrolling. The creeping thought of how he would find some type of murder-children code nipped at the back of his mind. No matter how much he tried to push it down, he couldn’t ignore the inevitable. He barely recognized this language. Even if he managed to recognize something wrong when he had no baseline to compare it to, how would he fix it without breaking them? Professionals who were trained specifically to fix and build bots like him never saw the Vanny virus thing! How would he?

“Maybe there’s a manual somewhere?”

In here? Why? It would be in Parts and Service or wherever they were built, which might not even be here.

“I’m trying to be helpful, but fine, be that way.”

Gregory sighed. “Sorry. I know you’re only trying to help.”

Finally, he growled and tipped his head back. “Uuuugh! Why can’t this be easy? Can’t there just be some, like, evil program chip or something? This is gonna take forever.”

“Why don’t you just leave him asleep until the lights are on?”

Gregory hesitated in his scrolling. “That… doesn’t sound like a bad idea. But I wouldn’t be able to do that every time. So, if I can’t figure it out, we’ll do it this one time.”

“Great! Now pick me up, please.”

“Oh! Right. Um, by the way…” Gregory shut out of the folders and clicked the pen back into place. He pried open Moon’s fingers and untangled Bonnie from his grasp. “How are we getting into the power room?”

“Oh. Right. Moon’s the only one with that permission.”

Gregory looked down at him. “Is it like… a handprint sorta thing? If I just find some way to drag him over there, I can get him to open it?”

“Gregory, how are you bringing this giant metal jester all the way across the playground to the Naptime room?”

He scoffed, “I don’t hear you coming up with suggestions!”

“Sorry. Well, you should probably get the security badge, at least.”

Gregory nodded and walked back to the security desk. He grabbed his shoes as he went. “Maybe this will turn the lights back on?” He poked the Freddy head and looked around. His eyes trailed the safety net. He gasped, “Oh! Our original plan! Sun can’t stop us! We can just climb over the wall!”

“Yeah! Great idea! That play structure is close to the wall. Maybe you could climb up onto that and jump closer?”

Gregory snatched the security badge.

…

Nothing.

He ran to the smaller play structure, climbed up the slide and onto the top. Clutching Bonnie to his chest, he climbed up with one hand onto the top of the play structure. He crawled across the top on his hand and knees, careful not to slip through one of the holes. He stopped at the edge closest to the wall and perched at the very edge.

Gregory paused at the brink. While he’d never tried to jump gaps–especially this far up, he noted as he stared down the hefty drop–he wasn’t about to ruin his only chance at freedom.

He crouched and threw himself across the gap.

Gregory didn’t make the jump.

His fingers and tips of his shoes hooked into the netting and his body slammed into the glass-like wall. He scrambled up, not using all of his left fingers as he gripped Bonnie tight, and over the top. He swung around to the other side.

Gregory sent a look at the table far below. His heart skipped. What do I do?!

“Uh! Just, uh! Well, no one’s gonna come catch you so, um… oh this was a dumb idea!”

“Not helping!” Gregory squeaked out. He took a deep breath. “Yeah, you’re right! This was dumb!”

“This was my idea. Let go of me, alright? Hang onto the wall with both hands.”

Gregory wanted to refuse, but his arm was getting sore.

Gregory let go of Bonnie and reached his hand out to steady himself.

“Okay, now, try maneuvering around so you land on the table. That’s the closest thing to you.”

Gregory swallowed, took a deep breath, and kicked off from the wall. He landed on the table, slipped, and stumbled onto the chair and rolled onto the floor, crashing into another chair as he went. He groaned and held his shoulder. “That sucked,” he growled.

“But you’re alive and not too hurt!”

Gregory stood up and stretched. He winced at the soreness in his shoulder and the backache returned. “If this keeps up, I’m just gonna be a pile of broken bones in the morning.” He picked Bonnie up from where he’d rolled away and trudged off, shoeless, friendless, and sore.

He scaled the stairs.

The time was twelve-fifty-five am.

Gregory turned his flashlight down the walkway, stretched his legs, and continued to move. He was able to push through the gate from this side. He walked around the golden Sun and Moon statues and ducked under the shutters. His eyes fell on the charging station. Moon was currently inactive. However, the time change could mean he was somehow magically active again or maybe Vanny knew he was inactive and came to help him or maybe someone else would help him. Or maybe time would only jump forward if he entered the charging station?

Gregory climbed inside. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and ducked lower.

A headache crept up on him and tried to disconnect his senses from his brain. The rabbit lady skipped right past the charging station.

*          *          *          *          *

The shutters opened for her.

The time was twelve-fifty-six am.

He had activated the next time jump–a night cycle at that. Moon wouldn’t be happy with him, oh no. The slippery little boy managed to escape again, though. But how…?

She struggled to put down the delight that bubbled up inside of her. She turned the energy into a bouncy hum. Oh, how she was going to cherish manipulating this boy’s spirit. She underestimated him and for good reason. What a dumb little thing walking away from the crowd without a glance back to follow a strange bunny into the empty darkness. But ever since, he’d made the most interesting quarry, worming out of her traps and manipulating her bots. He was learning, and at a dangerous pace. So, her fawn might not be the little fragile thing she once assumed, but he was still a child.

A little boy.

Mortal and full of spirit.

And struggling oh so much.

The time was twelve-forty-seven am.

She tromped down the stairs. Her elongated, foam toes and crinkled board soles had been difficult at first. However, a lady could get used to anything. Could hide anything. Could be anything. And could do it even with skepticism and scoffs from the outside.

She stopped before the doors to the Daycare. The danger markers she’d put up, invisible to anything that couldn’t see in UV light, glowed plain as day. She pushed one open with a hard click.

She stuck her head in and stopped.

Her bot lay sprawled on the ground in the middle of the playground just under the bridge.

She slipped inside and ran up to it, unable to help the sharp sting in her throat. My best one! Shit, he’ll be mad if I just let it get broken!

She knelt beside the inactive bot. A tablet attached to the back of the bot’s head through a short cable. She snorted and burst into laughter. Her shoulders slumped and the noise threw her head back. She jerked her head down again and inspected the tablet. The only program running was a maintenance program, but nothing was open on it. No code was running, nothing was being modified. There wasn’t even a “SAVE” or “SAVE AS” option available.

“Clever boy,” she choked out through her laughter. Tears ringed her eyes. Her chest hurt. This little boy was a genius, too smart for his own good. But he was too soft. He could have destroyed Moon, erased its code or done something so malicious it would have reduced the Daycare Attendant to a glowing pillow. She knew that children were being taught coding in school now a days, but it wasn’t advanced–definitely not advanced enough to know shit about something like this. He would have screwed up anything he tried to do.

So, he did nothing.

“Stupid, clever boy,” she rasped and swallowed back the last of her laughter. She turned her head and threw a look back at the double doors. Her original thought on the boy’s modification of her bots wasn’t true. It wasn’t just random chance he’d stumbled upon a possible daytime-nighttime glitch and was then exploited into freeing the other bots. He was doing it on his own. He was learning. He was taking over her bots and turning them against her. Maybe that Bonnie toy wasn’t an imaginary friend, but some sort of communication device she just hadn’t detected? She was no longer hunting prey.

She was hunting an opponent.

A giggle forced itself through her tight lips, curled in a stiff smile. Challenge. Accepted.

Chapter Text

The time was one am.

Gregory asked, “Hey, Sun? Are you there?”

…

He sighed, “Yeah, I figured.”

“They’re probably still knocked out by that tablet thing.”

“Which means Vanny’s not there!” Gregory stepped out of the charging station and shut it behind himself.

“You should still be careful.”

Gregory hummed and ducked under the shudders. Bouncy music and bright light poured in as the shutters opened. The statues gleamed in the light given off by the Daycare. Fortunately, the gate leading to the doors was open, so he walked right through.

“Yeesh, how is that guy able to listen to this music all day every day for forever?”

“I believe he actually can’t get tired of it. I don’t think so, at least. I was programmed to like the music played at Bonnie Bowling. Now that I don’t have programming… well… I mean, it’s not that bad. I still kind of like it.”

Gregory stopped at the doors and held out his Daycare Pass. When that didn’t work, he held out a Security Badge. “…I think I know why Maria knocked on the door.”

“Me, too. I thought she was just getting his attention.”

Gregory sighed and bowed his head. “Well, slide it is.” He turned and trudged back up the stairs. “I wonder where the ghosts went. I haven’t seen Evan in forever.”

“I dunno. Maybe they have other things to do. The girl said you should go to the arcade by El Chips. So, you’ll probably see her there.”

He passed through the gate, stuck his flashlight in his pocket, and slid down the slide.

Colors flashed and his fingers squeaked over the plastic, feeling every ridge where the different colored segments were joined together. Then he was out, and he plunged into the ball pit. He pushed himself up and struggled hard to the castle wall. He scrambled to pull himself up onto the wall and over onto the soft floor. On the floor under the bridge lay Sun, one of his spokes partially retracted as it pressed against the tablet.

Gregory stepped up to him and then picked up the tablet. Sun’s spoke slid out automatically once unblocked. He popped out the pen and minimized the program. It took him a moment, but he found the “DISCONNECT DEVICE” option on right side of the ribbon and double clicked it. After a moment, a pop-up announced it was safe to unplug the tablet. Gregory did so and took a few steps back. He popped the cord out of the tablet and stashed it in his pocket out of sight and stuck the tablet under his other arm.

After a few seconds, the yellow Daycare Attendant twitched and then pulled his sprawled limbs closer to himself. Sun planted his hands into the ground and popped up so he sat back on his heels, and turned his focus on Gregory. “Gregory!” He jumped to his feet, hopping to the side quickly enough to keep from smacking his head on the bridge. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Oh no! What happened? How did you get here?” Half a second passed. Before Gregory could even think of speaking, Sun let out an urgent shriek-gasp. “Oh no! You were in danger, and I was inactive the whole time? Did Moon hurt you? Did the rabbit lady find you?”

Gregory shook his head and held up his hands. “Whoa, whoa! Can I talk, please?”

Sun nodded and pulled his hands back behind himself.

Gregory sighed. “Okay, thanks. First off: what do you know?”

“Not a lot, N–Gregory. I have your voice logs, but I was inactive since twelve-thirty, just after I organized the toys. Mhm!” Sun hummed. “I remember… the lights turning off. I turned to see who did that and…” Sun tipped his head. His spokes followed at a delay and overshot before springing back. “–it was something very scary. A person in a rabbit costume, I think. But I couldn’t call a security alert. Then I woke up here!”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed and he nodded. “Weird. Okay. The other animatronics can’t even see her, except for Roxy. Maybe if they could, she’d be scary to them, too. Okay, so, I guess that also answers my second question. Which is why you wouldn’t answer me. Are you going to do that again? Next time Moon comes back, are you going to go away again? For real?”

Sun rocked on his heels. “Oh, well… We are always active! Both of us! It’s just sometimes one of us can be… put to sleep. It used to be during shows we’d do it intentionally to surprise each other, keep our reactions to each other’s parts real, you know? But, uh… if a mechanic shuts us down, then we’ll stay asleep. Which always happens together. I wouldn’t want to put Moony to sleep! That would be–I mean, even if sometimes he can be a bit mean.”

Gregory snorted, “Sun!”

Sun flinched. “Whenever Moony goes on patrol, I–sometimes I’ll be forced to go to sleep. Which is so weird because Moony wasn’t supposed to be on patrol just now.”

Gregory sighed. “So, next time it’s lights out, you won’t be able to talk to me and…” His eyes widened. “Wait. You said you’re both always awake. Does that mean he was awake the whole time? Even now?”

“Yep!” Sun chirped.

Gregory sputtered, “Wh-what? Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Sun chuckled. “Ah, well… it doesn’t really matter.”

“I talk about him all the time! What if I said something important and he heard?” Gregory puffed. “Like my plan? I mean thankfully I only thought of it after, but still.”

Sun brought his hands out from behind his back. “Your plan? What… what plan?”

Gregory’s bravado wavered as the nervous tinge in Sun’s voice was lost. He brought out the yellow tablet. “I didn’t hurt him. It was just like Parts and Services. I kept him knocked out. I tried to find a way to maybe fix him, but I’m not… I don’t know enough to do that.”

Sun looked at the tablet and gasped, a hand flying to his unanimated mouth. “You really looked at his–our code and tried to modify it?”

Gregory nodded and then shrugged. “Sort of. It was way too advanced. I tried looking for like a ‘kid-killing code’ or something and maybe if I took that out, he’d be okay again and wouldn’t try to, you know, kill me. But it was way too complex. Bonnie suggested I just leave him and come back when the lights turn on. Which I did!”

Sun let go of his face and he wrung his hands. “But you know something about coding. Can you teach me? M-maybe if I know something, I’ll be able to learn more by looking at the other bots!”

Gregory narrowed his eyes in thought.

Beep! [Do not teach him. He will hurt us.]

Gregory tightened his grip on Bonnie. He hesitated and asked, “What do you think, Bonnie? I mean, I didn’t do anything because I could’ve hurt Moon. So, what if… you know?”

“I get you. I think it’s a bad idea. But also, he’s not stupid. He’s a safety nut. He’ll probably focus so much on learning from other bots he’ll forget to test on himself.”

Beep! [I do not know what Bonnie is saying, but Sun is scared. He does not know what he is doing. He will get impatient or angry and hurt us both.]

Gregory looked up at Sun, who waited, wringing his hands and rocking on his heels. His bells jingled. “Um… I’ll make you a deal. I saw Vanny right before I got here. I was hiding in a recharge station outside of the Daycare. You won’t be able to work on Moon tonight, anyway. So, if you help me get out, I’ll find you something way better than me to learn from. Since I don’t know much and I’m a bad teacher. Maybe like a library book or something.”

Sun fiddled with his fingers. “…okay. Okay! That sounds like a great idea!” Sun’s voice regained its previous enthusiasm. “I can absolutely help you leave! Um… one problem: I can’t leave the Daycare. I also can’t get into any security feed outside of the Daycare.”

Gregory frowned. “That’s um… that’s not good.”

Beep! [I can use the security systems in the Mega Pizzaplex.]

Without thinking, he translated, “Moon said he could use the security systems in the Mega Pizzaplex.”

Sun froze as if paused. “Really?”

Gregory looked at the message and then Sun. “Uh… are you okay? That… was Moon, right? And you know he can do that, right?”

Sun nodded. “Y-yeah! It was! I do!”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why would he help me? He’s only been trying to kill me.”

Beep! [No, never kill! You belong in Time-Out. You are a rule-breaker.]

Gregory puffed, “Yeah, right. Like I’d trust that.”

Sun chipped in, “Moony and I can help! I won’t be able to leave the Daycare, but there are a few alarms that will be set off in the Pizzaplex we can help you with. But! You can’t mess with the timeline.”

Gregory groaned. “But I need to get a weapon early! How else am I going to defend myself? If I was with Monty, I could just hide in his stomach hatch or Chica could trick them. But you can’t even leave the Daycare!”

Sun tapped his chin. “That is a conundrum indeed.”

Gregory grunted, “I wish there was a way to make them see I was their friend.”

Beep! [That is a good idea.]

“What? What’s a good idea?” Gregory asked and then rolled his eyes. “Could you try to make sense?”

Sun gasped, “Oh! Moon’s talking about making them think you’re one of them. Most of the bots recognize faces, like yours as a human face. They recognize each other’s faces. But they don’t recognize a human with a mask!”

Gregory’s eyes widened. “Was that why kids weren’t allowed to go into the Pizzaplex in their Halloween costumes?”

“Yep! All those people wearing masks would have driven the other bots nuts! We have special eyes so we can see through disguises.”

Beep! [Roxy has special eyes, too. She can see bots through walls.]

Gregory snorted. “Yeah, I know she can see bots through walls. She saw you.”

Sun nodded. “Yep! She, she can. Well! That just means all we need is a mask. And it’ll need to be a Roxy mask, because an animatronic will get a teensie bit suspicious of someone wearing their face or an unannounced, new animatronic.”

Gregory asked, “Do you have a mask?”

Sun chuckled. “Well… no, not really. However, I know where to get one!” Then, Sun’s bounciness slacked. “Of course, it is a little bit dangerous. So maybe… You know, she probably wouldn’t expect you to come back. So, why don’t you stay here?”

Beep! [Under the theater there are masks of all the characters.]

Gregory shook his head. “Nuh-uh. I’m not staying anywhere for more than a little while. And I mean anywhere. At all.”

“Are you sure?” Sun asked. “You’ll be just fine here. You were okay just now, right? Moon didn’t hurt you–he’d never!–and that rabbit lady probably isn’t coming back.” Sun wrung his hands, face tipped just a little to the side so it wasn’t fully facing him.

Gregory scoffed, “Yeah, he didn’t hurt me because I tricked him! I doubt that trick will work again! Chica was able to scold him or scare him away and Monty could protect me. Just now I tricked him. But now I don’t have Chica or Monty and now Moon won’t trust me again because he’ll think I’ll lead him into a trap, which is probably true.”

Beep! [You are a clever boy.]

“Thank you.”

Sun looked at him again. “I… Gregory, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You’ll be much safer in here.”

Gregory looked down at Bonnie. “Do you remember anything about under the theater?”

“No, not really. Monty sometimes went there. Sun and Moon know it best, though.”

Gregory pouted. “And I can’t ask for Monty’s help.” He sighed. “I can still do it. I’m not helpless, you know. I’ve had to survive this long this many times.”

“You’ve had help,” Sun pointed out. “It’s not–”

“Not all the time!” Gregory snapped. He petted Bonnie’s ears hard enough to push them down into the rabbit’s face. “No one helped me when I was in that ‘education maze’. Twice! And Monty couldn’t help me when I was dumped into the sewers with Freddy, who I had to escape completely on my own because Bonnie was still in the kitchen security office! Not to mention while I was here with you and Moon last night when Chica was trying to get in. Or when I had to get into El Chips and Roxy bit my head off!” Gregory’s voice cracked and he swallowed hard, cursing himself internally with everything he had. He gave up on petting Bonnie and hugged him tight.

Sun stayed silent through Gregory’s tirade. “Oh, Gregory. That sounds awful! You shouldn’t need to go through all that.”

Gregory spat, “I wouldn’t have needed to if it wasn’t for that stupid rabbit lady! If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t even be here! None of the other animatronics would be acting crazy!”

Sun nodded. “She’s a terrible, terrible person. It’s good that you’re staying away from her. And you should keep staying away from her. Right now, the glamrocks aren’t so friendly, either. So, I think the best thing would be to stay here in the Daycare, where you will be safe. The other glamrocks are not allowed in here after hours without my permission, or unless I call a security alert.”

“And what’ll happen if she comes back and turns the lights off again?” Gregory pointed out. “Just let me out. I’ll go get a Roxy mask. Then… I’ll do something.”

Beep! [Get a second security badge. Without my aid, you will need your own security clearance. There is a badge in the office in El Chips and the kitchen office.]

 “I’ll get the second security badge from El Chips,” Gregory stated with a firm nod. “That’s what I’m supposed to do, right? Moon told me so.” So did the arcade spirit.

Sun rocked gently on his heels. For half a second it looked like he was trying to come up with some argument against it. But logic won out. “Oh, I suppose so. Just be very, very careful, okay? If you need any help at all, just ask! And don’t be afraid to come back!” Sun skipped to the door, ducking under the bridge as he did so. Gregory followed, making sure to give the security desk a noticeable berth.

Sun set his hand to the door. He cocked his head and his spokes followed with a slight bounce. Was he talking to Moon? He wasn’t saying anything to Gregory.

Apprehension crept up on him. If he attacks me, will it be like when Moon attacked me and we won’t go back?

“Sun won’t attack you. He physically can’t. He’s coded against it.”

Didn’t you say the other bots were?

“The other bots have security protocols, so if you were a security threat instead of a kid, yeah, they could hurt you. Sun doesn’t have those, remember?”

Oh. Gregory found it in himself to relax a little. “Right, yeah. Wonder why… hold on a minute. Time didn’t reset when Moon grabbed me.”

Sun looked down at Gregory. “Oh! No, time doesn’t move according to certain actions. It’s based on places and objects.”

Gregory shook his head and looked up at him. “That’s not true. When I was in El Chips and I was trying to get the security badge, Roxy ran through run of the doors and tried to eat me. She picked me up and shoved me in her mouth! Then I blinked and I was back before I had grabbed the badge. Monty was all confused when I asked him about the alarm because he said it hadn’t gone off, but one probably would. Roxy killed me and I went back in time before she did.”

Sun brought his other hand up and tapped his chin. “That’s… interesting. That must have been the anomaly we felt a few resets ago.”

Gregory nodded. “Yeah, maybe. Anyway, after time reset to six, I came back with Chica and we went here, and then that rabbit lady turned off the lights. The only reason I trusted you was because I knew if Moon caught me, I’d come right back to the desk. So, while Bonnie thought of a better plan, I would just go along with your plan. But when Moon caught me, I never went back to the desk!”

Sun shook his head. “Moon and I can’t control time. We enforce it.”

“Roxy can’t either,” Gregory scoffed. “I can’t. But here I am, even after she bit my head off! So, what’s so different?”

“Maybe Moon wasn’t actually trying to kill you.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Gregory countered instantly. “Of course he was, what else was he gonna do?”

Sun asked, “What did Bonnie suggest?”

Gregory rolled his eyes. “Bonnie thinks maybe Moon wasn’t trying to kill me. Which, if that was true, what else is he trying to do?”

Sun nodded. “Of course Moony isn’t trying to kill you!”

Beep! [No, never kill! You should go to Time-Out. Or bed. You are tired.]

Gregory scoffed, “Of course you’d say that and no, I’m not tired.” I’m exhausted. “But… but I guess it makes some sense. Or whatever.” He walked up to the closed doors. “Bonnie also said you couldn’t attack me. So… that’s good. I mean for me. I don’t know why. Why don’t they let you attack stuff?”

Sun chuckled and waved his hand, jingling the bells on his wrist. “Oh, well, I don’t need to! I can leave that up to Moony, or the security bots or glamrocks. It’s kind of funny they let Moon have security protocols in the first place. But! I don’t need them.”

Beep! [Sun would be scary, like me.]

Gregory almost felt like laughing. Sun? Scary? There was no part of that hyper-caffeinated yellow jester that was the least bit intimidating. At least Moon had the spooky dark theme and a deep, scratchy, warbly voice that made him sound psychotic. Gregory tried to imagine Sun with that some tone, even higher pitched, but honestly couldn’t. He was goofy, soft, and annoyingly patient. A lot like Chica, and Chica was nice.

Then, he recalled the Sun he’d seen in that vision last night, worn to hysteria with warped sun rays. The intense fear and need to get away, the inability to do so while being held high above the ground or hugged so tight he could feel his bones start to crack and the breath squeezed from his lungs.

So maybe… Moon had a point. If that Sun was possible, he didn’t want to know a version that could harm on purpose.

Gregory looked at Sun’s hand on the door. “Sooo… are you gonna open the door?”

“Oh, right.” Sun, with a little more hesitation and another short bout of silence, extended his arm. The door clicked and opened. “If, if you’re scared or anything happens or you get tired and want to take a break, you can come right back! Remember: no animatronics can enter the Daycare without my day so!”

Gregory, already out the door, looked back at him. “…oh. Right. Yeah! Okay. Thanks, Sun. I’ll remember that.” With that, he walked off down the hall toward the nearest set of green carpeted stairs.

A couple of S.T.A.F.F. bots roamed the balcony connecting the party rooms sitting atop the gift shop and bathrooms. He edged their pathing and walked up to the shutters on the opposite side of the room from the exit. Above the shutters was a giant beige ribbon curled up and then out at the sides, arced over the entrance. Two gold masks shaped like the Daycare Attendant’s face, one grinning, one frowning, pinned on top of either side. Two huge clouds and a bright sun painted behind them. He walked up to the rainbow edge entrance, glancing at the ticket stands sitting behind red roped poles as he went. The shutters opened for him.

Within, a security bot buzzed in a small circle around a small concession room like its artificial life depended on it. The bubble words “PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA” stacked on top of each other, a pepperoni pizza pattern of yellow and red polka dots filled the words. An older cartoon Chica and Bonnie bordered the giant words.

Gregory waited for the security bot to move out of the way before darting forward. The next archway was void of any blockade, so he ran past the bot and through the archway flanked by trashcans of the characters and a few soda fountains. The area opened into an enormous theater. Neon stars of different sizes and colors glowed over the ceiling. He stayed on a short, wide walkway with a security S.T.A.F.F. bot. To his left, the floor fell away, replaced with rows of descending cushy seats all facing a large stage at the far end of the room where a single S.T.A.F.F. bot stood. A gargantuan screen spanning from the stage floor to near the ceiling flanked by open curtains stood dark and shiny. He snuck past the security S.T.A.F.F. bot rolling around on the walkway above the theater.

He turned his flashlight on the wall. It was painted white, mostly. Though as he approached the opposite wall, a huge portrait of Captain Foxy was painted on the wall, pointed toward the exit, grinning and running. Gregory pointed his light back and found more characters; the cartoon forms of the purple rabbit, yellow chicken, and brown bear, slouched as they walked toward the end.

He turned forward again, passed through an archway, and stopped. To Gregory’s left, a set of red carpeted stairs descended. But straight before him was a poster for an ad of a movie or show of one of Captain Foxy’s pirate adventures. “This poster is huge,” he commented. “…Captain Foxy’s been gone for a while. Kinda weird they still have this old poster of him.”

“Fazbear Entertainment hates throwing things away if it makes them money.”

They didn’t have any problems with you or Captain Foxy. Gregory couldn’t help the bitter thought as he descended the stairs to the left.

“…well… can’t say that isn’t true.”

He walked over one landing before taking a left into a hall where a security bot buzzed, searching tirelessly for an intruder it would never catch.

Gregory shot a look through the wide archway across the short hallway into the auditorium with the stage and then ducked into the hallway in the opposite direction of the security S.T.A.F.F. bot.

The hallway expanded into a small room. “MAZErcise” and “Fazer Blast” posters pinned up in the wall. A few small racks with outfits filled the thin space. Taking up most of the blank wall were three white boards with what looked like schedules, names, and numbers on them. A short set of stairs descended to a landing, where it met a set of stairs going up to a set of closed shudder gates. A cartoon symbol of Sun and Moon printed on the wall above the landing. A few more posters lined the wall of the stairs. Still, a bad feeling bunched up inside of him as he walked down the steps.

“Yep. This is the place.”

Gregory jumped and spun around. The arcade ghost stood behind him, blinking owlishly. “Wh-what?” he sputtered out.

“This is where she killed the boy with the glasses,” the arcade ghost explained. “It’s not a good idea to trap yourself down here. There’s only one entrance.”

“Is… is she here?” Gregory rasped.

The arcade ghost shook her head. “Nope. The rabbit lady? Not here. But she’s pretty smart and can get around real easily.”

Gregory swallowed and looked to the stairs. “Well… I need to get a mask to trick the animatronics. Do you know where one is?”

The arcade ghost shrugged. “Not really. I don’t go here often.” She tromped past him, light on her translucent feet and hands out by her sides. “Y’know, it’s been a while since I’ve talked to anyone. The other ghosts are all sad and whiny, and none of the living can see me.”

Gregory shot a look back at the empty hall, at his only exit, but followed. “That’s what Evan said.”

The landing led to a short, wide set of stairs and a balcony overlooking a rather large basement filled with a maze of props, filming equipment, and costumes. He winced at the glare of the light reflected off the Freddy-head-shaped mirrors on the table at the end of the balcony. A single Toy Chica plush sat beside one of the stand-up face mirrors. He peered over the maze. Costumes and masks… masks… masks…

“Oh, Evan. The boy that looks like you. Y’know, for some reason, the other kids don’t like not doing what he says. I don’t think they’re scared of him, but one time he mentioned this ‘Cassidy’ person, and everyone got all fidgety.” She smirked. “Maybe this Cassidy learned to do what I could. Seems like the others haven’t been doing it.”

Gregory took his eyes away from the maze and back to her. “…what did you learn to do?”

The arcade ghost hopped up onto the table and stuck her hand into the left of the two hanging lights. The light sputtered and flickered sporadically until she removed her hand. “Any technology I touch just goes nuts. I like the arcade because I can bust the machines and make them give kids back their coins or force them to spit out extra tokens.” She cackled to herself. “But pranking staff is hilarious! The kitchen and security have the most tech, but the security guards are always boring.” She hopped down. “Did you find your mask?”

Gregory nodded to the maze. “Maybe? They could be down with the props.” He walked down one of the stairs flanking the balcony to the landing above the theater basement floor. He maneuvered around the various props, lights, and fake walls and went through a few doors, needing to back through one he opened on accident, before getting to a cluttered room in the back with big cardboard cut-outs of various characters. The lights here weren’t on, so he couldn’t exactly see most of the clutter. However, he spotted a few masks on the wall near a rack of costumes and some on the floor.

“Uh… I don’t see a Roxy mask,” he said plainly. “Bonnie? Do you see one?”

“There’s a Foxy one, a Glamrock chia mask, a MerChica mask, a Rockstar Freddy mask… not seeing Roxy.”

Mary shook her head. “Nope. Maybe they used it and didn’t put it back. This entire place is a mess.”

Gregory snorted and kicked some of the masks. They clattered away. “Got that, right. This place is a disaster.” He narrowed his eyes. “Wait a minute… Sun said I couldn’t use a mask of anyone here because they’d be suspicious of any new characters… so what about…” He plucked a S.T.A.F.F. bot mask off the rack. “This? A S.T.A.F.F. bot? Last night, they wouldn’t stop telling me how not-seriously they take these guys!”

Beep! [Oh, that’s a wonderful idea! :D]

Beep! [Good choice.]

Gregory smirked. “Glad I have your approval. Alright, mask down, game time.”

Chapter Text

Gregory’s eyes glazed over the arcade machine islands on the balcony. As he passed one of them, a black and white machine labeled “Fazbear Noir — Five Coins” burst to life, its screen hissing in static and presumably an intro song playing beneath the hiss. It spat out a string of tokens. Gregory jumped and scrambled back. “What the f—?!” He slapped a hand over his mouth and looked around.

A S.T.A.F.F. bot rolled around near the entrance to El Chips.

He turned back to the machine, barely able to hear its distress over his thundering heart. Its static eased into nothingness, replaced by the intro screen. The girl poked her head out from the top of the machine and pulled her arms up so she could rest her elbows on top and lay her chin on her hands.

Gregory glared at her and stamped his foot. He let go of his mouth and hissed, “Why would you do that?! You scared the crap out of me!”

Mary chuckled. “I told you I could mess with the machines here. You know, I hear you telling kids how to mess with the machines.”

Gregory shifted his feet. “Yeah? So?”

“I think it’s great! It’s easy to tell when kids want to mess with the machines. Sometimes I don’t see them, though, and they get upset. Sometimes machines break on their own.” She shrugged.

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “You keep saying ‘machines’. Do you just mess with the arcade machines? Or do you mess with other kinds of machines?”

“Just the arcade machines,” she said. “I can mess with other technology like make the light flicker or make the elevators wobble. But that’s boring. I’ve made a blender explode once, which was kinda funny. But then one of the managers yelled at the person using the blender and made her cry, which wasn’t funny. I can also make the, uh… ‘staff’ robots do weird things. You know, the ones with mops and that make pizzas and stuff.”

Gregory raised his eyebrows. “Really? You can affect the bots? Like… how?”

She shrugged again. “They don’t do much. Just stop what they're doing for a little bit. Sometimes they get stuck. I don’t know about the animatronics, though.” She scoffed. “The dumb Daycare bot called me a bug, though. I’m not a bug. I’m a girl. None of the others even know I’m here.”

“A bug? …oh. You mean… like a glitch?” he asked.

This time, she gave him a weird look. “What does that mean?”

Gregory offered, “Maybe he’s not calling you a ‘bug’ like an ‘insect’, but a ‘bug’ like a ‘glitch’. Because you caused these machines to start glitching. So, what if you can do that to them, too?”

“Bug is a dumb name,” she commented.

He nodded.

“But… I guess that makes sense,” she relented. “Anyway, you’re in front of El Chips. So! This is the arcade machine you’re looking for.” She pointed to the arcade cabinet to the right of “Fazbear Noir — Five Coins”. It sported a dragon and a pink and white Foxy labeled “Mangel’s Quest”. “But I think you knew that already.”

Gregory scrutinized the machine in question and, looking up and down the balcony to make sure no one was there, approached it. “How do you know?”

“Just feels different.”

It did feel different, weird. Like it didn’t belong. Like the Balloon World arcade cabinets or the Princess Quest games. However, when he tried to press “play”, the machine demanded a coin sacrifice.

I don’t think playing normally will do anything. You can try, though.

“Yeah, with what money?” Gregory sighed and stood back on his heels. “Okay… okay… so… we need to do something different. The others didn’t need play tokens or anything.”

Mary dipped under the black and white machine and then skipped out to stand beside him. “Want me to mess with the machine? Maybe I can get it to play without needing tokens?”

Gregory shook his head. “What if you accidentally break it? We’ll just need to try something else.”

“I wouldn’t break it,” Mary puffed, but kept her hands to herself.

Gregory’s eyes drifted to the four buttons beside the joystick. Despite being on a shiny, new machine, the buttons themselves were worn with use. The top left one showed the most wear. The bottom left one was slightly less scuffed. The top right one was a little less scuffed than that and the bottom right one, though on old and dull maroon, was least worn of them. Without thinking, Gregory pressed the four buttons in that order.

The wide black screen flickered on. “MANGLE’S QUEST” in thin white letters stamped across the top left corner of the screen with a large “0” on the top right. A purple box encased most of the screen, its right side extending past the screen. Three dark blue ovals like maybe clouds scattered across the “sky” of the box. A single purple platform with a skeletal gray body and single limb and white paw hovered near the middle. Near the back left of the box was a floating white fox head with red blush marks and purple eyes. A round shadow cast on the ground far below it. Black lines streaked over the screen like some old console, just like what happened to the Balloon World game in Sun and Moon’s room.

Gregory set Bonnie down on the arcade cabinet and grabbed the joystick. A “boing” sound played when Mangle jumped, but otherwise the game was silent. When Mangle touched the body, it was added to the head so she was no longer just a floating head, but a body with a head and a single limb. The score changed from “0” to “100”. Gregory moved right, to the next area.

Four platforms with two parts and three windows were on the wall here. An excited child in a green shirt and blue pants Mangle’s height ran right toward Mangle. Mangle jumped and moved left to get out of that area and out of range. When he went back, he just saw the child leaving right. Great. A leg with a foot and an arm with a hand sat on two platforms, so he got those, watching as the child ran back, arms extended in front of himself. He jumped off the platform to the next area.

The kid met her there. Thankfully, she landed on one of the next four platforms, one of which was attached to the back wall. One last part–a head–was on one of the platforms. One of the two windows showed a crescent moon. A white door labeled “exit” also stood on the ground. She ignored the exit door. Instead, she jumped onto the platform above it and clipped straight through the wall.

Then, he was falling.

The screen turned to bands of various shades of red with sharp white and black vertical stripes. He kept falling until the second red glitch screen, which had a giant crying child bent forward with rivers of tears going to the ground and bands of lighter gray around their legs. Mangle hit the ground and went left.

The red glitches went away, and flat-topped red balloons appeared in a platform spiral up with some confetti near the top. Some balloons clipped the ceiling, and when Mangle jumped on them, she ended up clipping through the ceiling and going to the next are up, which had a few more balloons, and then dropping back down, which made traversing a little confusing. Finally, she got to the top and pushed through to the left frame where a huge cake sat on another balloon, the giant crescent moon glowing behind it. As soon as Mangle touched the cake, the cake vanished, and white stripes overtook the screen for a few seconds before bursting into static.

Gregory let go of the joystick. That weird feeling was gone.

“None of the other kids did this?”

Mary shook her head. “Nope. Anyway, you should probably get your security card or whatever. The next arcade machine is…” She squinted. “There are three… I think. The next one is probably in Chica’s Cupcake Factory.”

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “The cupcake factory? But I was there last reset! I didn’t see an arcade cabinet.”

Mary shrugged. “Yeah, it’s hidden in the back. The game’s unfinished or broken or something. Dunno. I didn’t break it. It was like that when I saw it.”

The boy sighed. “Okay, well, fine. Guess I’ll look for it. But, I should get the security card from El Chips first.”

Mary nodded and looked back over toward the closed shudders. A single security bot patrolled in a circle at the end of the balcony, the entrance of El Chips being included in its route. “Good luck with that.”

“Thanks.” Gregory watched the bot move off before walking toward the shutters and dipping under them.

Beep!

A single mop bot occupied the restaurant. He snuck into the kitchen and grabbed the can of lime soda he knew was left out, everything else having been put away. Gregory tapped his glasses and read the message as he drank. [Hey, Gregory! :) Who were you talking to? Is there someone else there?]

The boy deigned to stare at his partially full can of soda. “…you’re not gonna believe me, but yeah. She’s a ghost. She was killed by Vanny and now she haunts the arcade.”

Beep! [Really? Have you seen her before?]

“No. I saw another ghost. He said that they don’t like all the noise you guys make. She warned me about Vanny and Moon when the lights went out tonight. I don’t think she likes you or Moon. Also, she told me where the other arcade machines were.”

Beep! [Oh. Well, I’m glad she’s helping you! That’s great! :)]

Beep! [You are in the kitchen. Are you hungry? They lock up food after hours…]

“No, I had dinner with Cassie. I’m just grabbing a soda.” Gregory finished his soda and left it on the counter. Then he snuck around the S.T.A.F.F. bot, ducked under the party shutters, and crossed through a short winding hallway into the East Starcade.

Beep! [Be careful; you are in the East Starcade. Roxy is nearby.]

Gregory snorted. “Yeah, and every door here is locked. When I grab the security badge, an alarm is going to go off.”

Beep! [I will disable the alarm.]

Beep! [Oh, please be careful! :( Are you super sure you need the security badge?]

Gregory rolled his eyes and bit back a groan. “Yes, I’m super sure I–” He sucked in his breath and stepped back around a corner as he heard heavy animatronic feet clunking over the ground.

A low growl rumbled among the beeping and whirring of the barely active arcade machines. Golden eyes swept across the floor. “I bet you don’t even have friends!” she goaded.

“Crap,” he whispered. “She’s in the way.”

Beep! [Roxy’s there?]

Roxy stopped and one of her ears rotated around to his direction.

“Shut up!” he hissed as quietly as physically possible and ducked down.

Roxy turned her whole head in his direction and started toward him. “Are you lost?” she called, her wide yellow eyes concentrated on the corner, head down, and hands raised.

Gregory looked back, but the space between the wall and the arcade cabinets was too wide. Any place where he could hide was either too far away or facing Roxy.

One of the machines to Roxy’s left burst to life, the screen hissing in temporary static before showing the title screen and blaring music. A long line of tickets spat out of the arcade cabinet. Roxy’s head whipped around, and she cackled, “There you are!” she took off at a dead sprint toward the singing arcade cabinet.

Gregory let out a breath and snuck out onto the floor behind her toward where he knew the vent leading to the security room was located. Lights flashed off the shiny floor and the machines warbled and beeped. He jumped upon seeing a flicker of color beside him but relaxed a little upon seeing Mary.

She said, “This is my favorite place in the whole Pizzaplex. None of the kids can see me so they don’t know I’m the one giving them extra tickets, but they wouldn’t be able to see me even if I didn’t mess with the machines. So, there’s no use being mopey about it. The others around here are so whiney and mopey.”

“Why can I see you?” Gregory challenged, his voice low.

Mary shrugged. “Why does your Bonnie toy talk to you and only you? Don’t you think it would be more believable if Bonnie could talk to some other kid, too? Maybe you’re just a ghost whisperer or something.”

Gregory thought for a long moment. “…Evan said he didn’t talk to me because it would be hard, and it was noisy. So, you could talk to me.”

“No ghosts talked to me when I was here,” Mary pointed out. “I didn’t have animatronic friends like you did that made a bunch of noise. I was all alone.”

Gregory looked over his shoulder in the direction Roxy had gone. He couldn’t see her faux mane or shiny plates. He asked, “…so… how did she get you? She found me during the show and told me she could get me backstage and meet Monty. When I hid from her, I must have passed out or something because a few hours passed.”

“You, too?” Mary asked. “Yeah, well, I told her I didn’t feel well so I didn’t want to go backstage. She told me she had some medicine that would make my headache go away and I could have cupcakes or something after. I figured out something was wrong when she passed by a first aid station. She told me it didn’t have the right medicine in it. But I got a bad feeling and ran off. You know about the time weirdness by now, though. Time must have skipped forward, ‘cause I was trapped.”

Suddenly, Mary stopped and looked around, craning her neck and standing on her tip-toes. Gregory stopped as well and tried to follow her gaze. Then, she pointed at one of the arcade cabinet islands. “That’s where she found me. Vanny.”

He glanced between her and the arcade cabinet. “She found you there?”

Mary nodded. “Yep. Then… everything’s fuzzy after that. It’s really hard to remember what happened when she was around. I do remember I was really, really scared. But I ended up here. Well, here-ish.” Mary shrugged. “She doesn’t scare me anymore, though. She can’t even see me, now. If she could, I would haunt her forever.”

Gregory looked around and continued moving. “She can’t see any of you?”

“No one can,” Mary stated simply. “No humans, no bots. Only you.”

Gregory slipped behind the arcade cabinets and a Wet Floor Bot. An open vent stood exposed in the wall just a few inches off the ground, its grate on the floor near a wheeled red toolbox. Music chimed from within, spilling out into the chirping and beeping arcade.

He crouched down and climbed into the vent, passing under a hole in the vent where another vent connected to his. The music got louder, and metal rapidly clicked over metal. There was a pause in the clicking and then a hard thump behind himself.

Gregory stopped and turned around, his flashlight glinted off rusted metal painted silver and pink and blue. The mini music man picked itself up and held up its cymbals. Music… Moon liked music. Didn’t Sun say something about the little vent crawler things? “Uuuh—Sun? I found a Mini Music Man.” The little thing charged at him, gnashing its broken teeth. Gregory gasped and stumbled forward.

Beep! [Oh! They can’t talk back. Try singing to it! They love music :)]

Gregory took a couple of turns very close together and then stopped near the mouth of the vent leading into a security room. He turned back to the possessed wind-up toy rapidly approaching him. “W-wait! Wait, uh…” Song, song, song! He hummed to a beat of a song he remembered playing over and over again, tapping his fingernails against the lining of the vent in tune, “Hm, hm, hm-hm-hm, hm, hm, hm-hm, hm, hm, hm-hm, hm, hm, hm-hm.” The little animatronic stopped moving and stared. “We’re waiting every night to finally roam and invite new people to come roam with us. For many years we’ve been all alone forced to play those same songs we’ve known since that day.”

The possessed wind-up toy started singing, warping its own music box to match his notes. It was crude, but it was likely the bot had never been exposed to the song before and was thus only hearing it second-hand.

“An imposter took our life away, now we’re stuck here and decay.” Gregory gained confidence the longer he sang. “After all you’ve only got five nights at Freddy’s. Is this where you wanna be? I just don’t get it. Why do you wanna stay five nights at Freddy’s?” He didn’t quite remember the end notes, so he just made them up.

The Mini Music Man waited for a heartbeat after Gregory went quiet and started playing its music box. Gregory listened intently. It was the same music it had been singing when it was chasing Gregory a minute ago and before in different vents. Gregory hummed along as best he could. The Mini Music Man clacked its little feet against the vent and clanged its cymbal. It stopped singing and waited, staring at Gregory with glassy black eyes.

After a moment, Gregory realized what the silence meant and started humming something he knew the little bot would know: one of the more popular songs the band tended to perform in the evening. They might have even played it that evening. The Mini Music Man barely skipped a beat before chipping in and “singing” along.

“Is this a good idea? You’re in a vent, someone could hear you!”

Well, they sing in the vents all the time. Still, Bonnie had a point, probably. So, Gregory tipped his head to the security room. “I gotta go grab that security badge. See you later!”

The possessed wind-up toy chittered its broken teeth and clanked its cymbals. Then, it turned and skittered off into the vent from whence it came.

“They do like music,” Gregory commented, climbing safely down from the vent. “I didn’t have my music player with me, so I had to improvise. But it still sang with me. So, they’ll all do that?”

Beep! [They should! ^^ They communicate through music. They don’t have proper voice boxes like we do.]

Beep! [An alarm will trigger when you take the security badge.]

“Yeah, and then Roxy will try and eat me,” Gregory scoffed, wandering through the metal security door that slid up at his approach and entering the small security office.­ “Can you stop the alarm from going off?”

Beep! [No.]

Gregory frowned at the Freddy-head-shaped badge holder. He sighed and raised his hand, “Well, now or never. I’ll just watch out for Roxy and Monty.” He pressed Freddy’s nose. The badge holder opened far enough for him to take the badge and opened only long enough for him to take the security badge. It snapped shut.

Alarms wailed and the security doors snapped open.

Gregory ran to the door on the left and tapped his glasses to look at the security cameras. Almost immediately, he found Roxy stalking in from the arcade. Monty shoved through the door leading to the Prize Counter ahead of him. Monty growled out in a weirdly teasing tone, “I will find you!”

Roxy’s hiss carried from the back of the room, and he saw her glaring at the back of the security room in Monty’s general direction. “You’re the best! You will find him first.”

Gregory glanced at his cams and then the doors, one hand hovering over the door button. Monty rushed the door, slamming into it just as it hit the ground. His claws screamed against the metal and he threw himself at the metal barrier.

Gregory took a step back and glanced at the dwindling door power.

Finally, Monty stepped away from the door and moved away. He turned his head to look through the glass-slit window into the office. Gregory ducked down and pressed up against the wall. The alligator’s auburn eyes hidden behind purple star glasses glazed over the room before turning ahead. Roxy passed him and stared into the window, her glowing yellow eyes darting from corner to corner. Finally, she backed away and turned to the door. Her ears flattened and, after a brief hesitation, she threw herself at it.

Gregory winced and looked at the door power. It… still had plenty of power.

He opened the door as soon as Roxy stalked away.

Monty came around to the other door and Gregory darted across the room and closed it. Roxy doubled back and Gregory had to close the other door. The animatronic wolf and alligator circled the room, attacking the doors at random, occasionally doubling back or attacking the same door. The alarm squealed above him.

“Are you almost done deactivating the alarm, yet?” Gregory demanded, watching Roxy pound on the right door through the cameras.

Beep! Gregory switched to the voice logs. [Soon.]

He glanced at the door power. “Well I hope ‘soon’ is really soon! The door’s at ten percent and Roxy’s pounding at the door!”

He just caught a glimpse of purple and green on the other side of the room shift. Gregory’s blood ran cold. Staring at him through the glass, head cocked to the side as he walked and just threw a sideways look into the room but stopped midstep, was Monty.

“There you are!” the animatronic alligator roared and ran for the door.

Gregory darted forward and threw his hands into the button. The door slammed down.

CRRRAAAACK!

Gregory’s eyes went wide with horror. The door shut most of the way, but didn’t quite hit the ground, instead finding an obstacle in its way. Between the yellow and black striped door lip and the floor was Monty, squirming and heaving and snarling and clawing at the ground. His green and yellow exoskeleton creaked and cracked as it began to crumple under the door. The door power ticked down. 7%... 6%...

Gregory looked at the opposite door. The door was still closed, but when he tapped his glasses, Roxy was no longer there.

The opposite door opened on its own.

Gregory looked at Monty again and bit his lip. He took a deep breath. “Monty, if I–” The animatronic alligator snapped and lashed out.

Gregory just barely leaped back in time not to get eviscerated. Monty’s shiny purple eyes turned on him. “There you are!” His teeth flashed as the alligator snapped uselessly at the air and switched rapidly between slashing at Gregory and gouging thin lines into the floor. The animatronic’s toes squealed over the floor and kicked into the opposite wall. His shell cracked further.

“Get out! Get out, get out! Now!”

Gregory backed further into the room and then ran into the outer office. The alarm’s wail dug into his skull.

“Run, run, run!” Monty howled after him.

The boy started toward the Prize Counter, stopped himself, and ran in the opposite direction, toward the arcade. The security door was near El Chips. He could get out that way.

“You can’t outrun me!” Roxy screamed.

Gregory bristled and threw open the door to the arcade. He slammed it shut behind himself and took off at a sprint. The door swung open heartbeats later, two violet eyes glowing from the short monochrome hall. The alarm’s wail bled outside before sharply cutting off.

The time was one-thirty am.

The animatronic wolf hurled herself into the arcade.

Beep! [Done. The alarm is disabled.]

“Roxy’s chasing me!” Gregory panted, struggling to take a corner in the red and gold room lit only by arcade machines and accent lights.

Beep! [Roxanne? She won’t be tricked by the mask.]

The mask! Gregory could have kicked himself. The mask would have worked on Monty!

Beep! [Oh no! :( Please be safe. Maybe you could hide? She can’t see humans through walls.]

He focused on the shutters leading to El Chips, just past an island with some plates and equipment and a lounge.

Gregory grimaced and nodded. He squinted and searched his surroundings. Where was she? She had to be close by and getting closer.

Finally, they arrived at the shutters to El Chips. The shutters opened. Chica ba-gawked, went rigid, and then slumped forward. Standing straight in front of them, a rod with a barbed black box in one hand, was the rabbit lady. She giggled and cocked her head. “You don’t really think you can use these bots against me, do you, Gregory?”

Gregory skidded to a stop, momentum throwing him forward into a hard stumble. Roxy flew past him with a victorious shriek and landed on all fours a meter or so away. Ears pinned and tail whipping violently, she whipped her head around and let out a snarl loud enough that it crackled and popped. What the heck kind of noises did they program into those bots?!

He ran further into the arcade.

“You think you’re better than me?” she called after him.

“H-how do I g-get out of here? There’s another way out right?” Gregory sputtered.

Beep! [The quickest way out is El Chips! Is something blocking the way? Did the door get stuck?]

“N-no—well, I dunno. Last time I was there, the stupid rabbit lady was there.” Gregory wheezed. He flinched as the ground shuddered beneath him. He changed direction and ran around an arcade cabinet island. Roxy dashed past him. She whipped her head around so her eyes stayed locked on him and stumbled over her feet changing direction to follow him. “What if she’s there again?”

Beep! [Oh, that wouldn’t be good :( But! Lucky for you, there’s another exit! There is an elevator in the Prize Counter that SHOULD work. ^^]

Gregory ran around the island and then across open space and dove behind a line of machines along the wall.

Roxy ran straight past, snarling to herself and searching the floor for the missing child.

Gregory poked his head out and then scampered out into the arcade, head ducked down. He found the vent into the security room and crawled into it again. The alarms had since gone quiet, and both doors stayed shut and unobstructed. Gregory hopped down, passed by the office, and through the door into the back of the Prize Counter. He stopped just outside of the door, listening.

…

Far away, he heard heavy steps.

Gregory kept himself low and on his toes. The faint memory of the Moon plush betraying him invaded his mind and he looked down. Sure enough, a Moon plush lay discarded on the ground in the archway; a surefire way to gain attention that he neither wanted nor needed. He stepped over it and crept over the confetti-patterned carpet into the main room. A few gold bars with red ropes hanging between them barred off most of the hall to keep customers out of the back area. ATMs stood like guards just a few feet in front of the Prize Counter. An island with neon trim filled with toys of various sizes dominated most of the space. Other stands of toys spattered over the floor. Off to one side of the prize-filled area was a huge, clear tube with an opaque cylinder within. Both layers had doors with a set of buttons settled next to the doors. Above the doors was a glowing mega pizzaplex sign.

Gregory approached the elevator.

The time was one-forty-five am.

Huh. Didn’t I have to go to the fire exit last time?

“Yeah… weird.”

Well, I’m not going to the fire exit this time. I’m going to the elevator.

“What happened when we tried going to the elevator again?”

Gregory pressed a button by the elevator door. The elevator whirred. A light flashed behind him. He jumped and started running, not even bothering to look back. A bandaged hand snatched Bonnie by the ears.

“Bonnie!” Gregory halted and spun around, his arms empty of his friend for the first time in months.

Officer Vanessa shifted her feet and held Bonnie just out of reach. “You can have him back, but you need to promise me that you’ll come with me, alright, kid? No kicking or biting or whatever, either.”

Gregory tore his eyes away from Bonnie to look at her. Officer Vanessa… did not glare at him. She gave him a stern look with emerald eyes heavily shadowed by a lack of sleep and excess of stress. Her clothes were a little more ruffled and her blonde ponytail slightly more frayed. She was paler than he remembered, too. Was she scared? Or had she… lost a lot of blood?

Gregory nodded. “Okay. Please don’t hurt him.”

“I won’t hurt him. I won’t hurt you, okay, kid? Look, I’m here to help. Just… please let me help you.” She lowered Bonnie back to his level. Gregory gently took him back. No sooner had Bonnie left her grasp than Officer Vanessa took Gregory’s arm.

Gregory slipped out of her grasp before she could properly grab him and darted in the first direction away. That direction happened to be toward a short hallway that would probably eventually lead to the fire exit.

“There you are!” Monty roared and laughed. The animatronic alligator, stalking up the hallway, charged at him.

Gregory immediately changed direction on the carpet and ran deeper into the main Prize Counter area. “Monty! Stop! I’m your friend!”

“Game over, kid!” Monty cackled, easily catching up to the boy and snatching him by the jacket.

Officer Vanessa yelled, “Monty Gator, stop!”

Monty stopped moving, lurching forward as momentum tried forcing him to move forward. He turned his head back. “What?” Gregory struggled to untangle his jacket from Monty’s claws.

The security officer stalked up to them, flashlight pointed up at the alligator, who glared through his glasses. “Let him go. Now.”

Monty released Gregory, who stumbled back and then ran to Officer Vanessa.

Officer Vanessa stated, “I found him. You can go back to doing whatever. You’re lucky I don’t shut you down right now and send you to Parts and Service.” With that, she took Gregory’s hand and stalked out of the Prize Counter. Gregory flinched a little at how cold her hand was. He matched her pace wordlessly. They left through the arcade, where Roxy snarled at them, but didn’t outright attack Officer Vanessa.

Chapter Text

“Where are you taking me?” Gregory asked as they passed through El Chips.

“You need to go home,” she stated. “You can’t stay in the mall. It’s too dangerous here.”

That’s not evasive. “You didn’t answer my question,” he pointed out.

“I’ll tell you when we get there, how about that?” she compromised.

They ducked under the shudders and made the trek presumably out of the atrium since their first destination was the stairs. Officer Vanessa’s breath very quickly started to fall to wheezes and gasps. She leaned on the railing of the escalators as they descended. Her shaky grip tightened just a little bit yet got slightly looser.

“Um… Officer Vanessa?” Gregory forced himself to ask. “Are you… okay?”

“I’m fine,” she forced out. “Thank you for asking, but don’t worry. I’m fine. What about you? You’ve got some… old bandages that could be replaced. How old are they?”

“Me?” Gregory coughed out. “I–I’m fine! You’re the one who’s dying or something.”

“I’m not dying,” the security officer chided. “I… could use a little rest. And some orange juice or black tea. But I’m not dying.”

“Orange juice?” Gregory’s eyebrows wrinkled. “Why?”

Officer Vanessa stopped at the bottom of the stairs. A map of the mega Pizzaplex stood before them with twin elevators opposite them. She took a deep breath. “Actually… you’re right. I might need to sit down for a little bit.”

Oh no.

“Uh… okay.”

She shut her eyes and took a few long, deep breaths. “…okay. I think I’m good now. I’ll take another break when we get there. Come on.” With that, she led him across the confetti carpet floor. Her once quick, precise stride devolved into a slow, uneven gait. By the time they got to the elevators, she tripped over her own feet and hit the wall. Still, she managed to stay upright and call the elevator.

They got approximately halfway across the balcony of the entrance area before Officer Vanessa collapsed. Gregory tried to catch her, but just managed to break her fall so she managed to not hit to ground hard enough to break her head open.

“Ah fffffrick,” she hissed and put a hand to her head, eyes shut tight.

Well, we can run, now.

“And leave her?”

Well… yeah. I mean… Gregory rolled his eyes. You’re the worst, Bonnie. He got to his feet and darted off toward the Daycare.

“Kid!” she called after him. “Shit.”

He ducked under the shudders and turned on his flashlight briefly, just long enough to get through the hall to the Daycare. The half gate was already open, so he just needed to run down to the doors and knock.

The door opened instantly. Sun stooped down to his level. “Oh, Gregory! Are you okay? I heard you through your glasses. You sounded like you were in trouble!”

“I was,” Gregory stated plainly. “Do you have orange juice?”

“Oh! Yes, I do. Do you want a snack?”

“Officer Vaness passed out and she said orange juice would help,” Gregory reported. “And… she saved me from Monty. So, I kind of gotta help her.”

Sun jolted. “Officer Vanessa went unconscious? What happened?”

Gregory bit back a sigh. “She’s kind of on the ground, y’know? I’ll tell you while you get the orange juice.”

“Good idea, good idea.” Sun pulled the door open wider and skipped inside.

Gregory stayed outside. “So, she was really pale and her hands were cold. When she led me down the stairs she got tired pretty quickly and I asked her if she was okay and she said she was, but then she got dizzy and needed to take a break. She said that a nap and orange juice would help. After that, she collapsed. She’s still awake, but she can’t get up.”

Beep! [Was she hurt? Was she wearing any bandages or did her suit have any cuts that you saw?]

“Well, her hand was bandaged, but I think that’s because I bit her two time cycles ago. Why?”

Beep! [Have you ever gotten your blood drawn before, Gregory?]

“Yeah,” Gregory answered. “They never gave me orange juice, though.”

Beep! [That’s because they only took a little bit. If you lose too much blood, bad things can happen. Orange juice can help because it has vitamin C!]

Bells.

Sun danced back, a box of orange juice, a bottle of water, and a granola bar in his hands. The Daycare animatronic held out the items for Gregory to take. “Here you go! And if you want anything, just ask!”

“Okay. Thanks, Sun.” Gregory shifted Bonnie under his arm and took the drinks and snack and went back up.

Officer Vanessa had gotten back up to her knees, though she still had a hand to her head and one eye was closed while the other was squinted. She looked up at Gregory’s approach. “Kid?”

Gregory stopped and held out the juice first. “You said orange juice would help. I asked Sun if he had any, and he did. He also got some water and a granola bar for you.”

Beep! [She needs a nap.]

Beep! [Moon’s right; after this, she needs to rest.]

“Moon said you need a nap. I mean, he also said I need a nap, and I don’t care what he says. So, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Officer Vanessa chuckled as she took the granola bar from him. “Thank you. I… thought you were gone.” She struggled somewhat but poked a hole in the top of the orange juice box with the straw.

Gregory shrugged. “Yeah, me, too. But you saved me from Monty. Bonnie wouldn’t let me live it down if I left you.”

“You wouldn’t let yourself live it down.”

You shut up.

Gregory glanced at the elevators. “They’re acting differently. Monty’s supposed to be my friend.”

“They are acting worse than usual,” Officer Vanessa agreed, taking a swig from her water bottle. “But kid, during the day, Monty might be your friend, but he’s going to be different at night. They all are. It’s not you personally.”

“It’s Vanny.”

She went on, “That’s why I need to get you out of here. It’s dangerous.”

“Well, why don’t they attack you?” he challenged.

She chuckled wryly, most of the way through her granola bar. “They’re scared of me.”

“They… are?”

Officer Vanessa nodded. “If one of them attacks me, I can hit them with this.” She patted a sheath on her side. “It’s meant to disable aggressive robots. They can’t feel pain, but they don’t like being shocked. I also know how to manually reset them with my flashlight, which they also really don’t like. But you saw Monty. Monty, Roxy, Freddy… even Chica could kill me if she really wanted to. During the day, they’re your friends, but at night, they’re something different. And it’s that different that I get to be stuck with most of my waking life.”

“I can stop them with my flashlight,” Gregory pointed out.

“You know how the resets work?” Officer Vanessa finished off her orange juice. Her eyes were a little more clear.

Gregory nodded.

“Well. Clever boy. What do you know about these bots?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Not a whole lot. I know Sun and Moon aren’t reset by my flashlight.”

Officer Vanessa sighed. “Yes. It would be annoying, if I ever had to deal with them. But Sun never leaves the Daycare, and Moon only leaves at the last five minutes of the hour. My Taser is the only thing I can think of that would stop them. But Sun isn’t violent, so you don’t have to worry about him. Moon… is… overzealous but he’ll do as I say.”

Then, Officer Vanessa pressed her fists into her knees and pushed herself up. Some color had returned to her face, though not a whole lot. She took a deep breath and blinked rapidly. “Well, I wouldn’t clear myself for driving, but I can think again.”

Gregory glanced at the elevators. She wouldn’t be able to catch him.

“How long have you had those on?” she asked, gesturing to the bandages he’d wrapped around his arm.

“A few nights,” he answered. “Days.”

“Well, those look a little old. Come on. I’ll take a look at them while we’re there.” She transferred her wrappers to the hand holding her flashlight and held out her other hand for Gregory.

“This or time travel.”

What do you mean?

“Isn’t this when it got to two am? Going with Vanessa?”

Bonnie, you’re the worst at plans.

“How else are we going make it two am and not get Moon mad at us?”

Gregory reluctantly nodded and took her hand. Okay, but I’m leaving the second the time changes, got it?

“Definitely.”

They walked downstairs, through customer service, and into Lost and Found, where Vanessa pulled the first aid kit off the wall.

Gregory held out his arm and asked, “Why did you pass out, anyway? Sun asked if you were hurt.”

The security officer unwrapped the old, dirty, fraying bandages. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for the juice and snack, kid. It really helped.”

“I won’t tell him you’re hurt if you don’t want me to.”

“I’m not hurt.”

“What if you pass out again?” he blurted out and bit his cheek to keep from outwardly reacting.

The slight bristle Officer Vanessa had taken melted as she relaxed. “Aw, kid. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Well, kinda more worried about if you’re gonna be able to catch me, now. But I guess. “I told Sun what happened because he was worried and he said you probably lost a lot of blood.”

She shook her head. “That bot thinks too much. It really should just be normal and act like the others. Be obsessed with golf or something and make it the mechanics’ problem. How did you get this?”

The old, partially healed gash along his arm touched air. Gregory looked at it rather than her. “I cut my arm on a vent. But I used antiseptic on it.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Two nights ago.”

“Was the vent dirty or rusty?”

“It was kinda dusty, I guess. What do you mean by ‘Sun thinks too much’?”

Officer Vanessa hummed to herself. “Do you know when your last tetanus shot was?”

“Like, a few months ago. Last summer. Can you answer my question?”

She nodded. “You shouldn’t need a tetanus shot, then. But if you get a fever, you need to go straight to the hospital and tell them you cut your arm on some metal. Got it?”

Gregory rolled his eyes but nodded.

She took the roll of bandages next to herself and rebandaged his arm. “Sun is too clever for his own good, and so is Moon. The other bots have their little activities and obsessions. Chica loves baking, Monty loves golfing, Roxy loves racing, Freddy loves being a third wheel. Bonnie loved bowling. The Daycare Attendant doesn’t have much to do where they are. They don’t like staff, with maybe an exception but I think people are kidding themselves when they claim that, and they especially don’t like Parts and Service. Moon’s such a rules lawyer.” She rolled her eyes. “I can’t get a break from him. He’s covered in bells, but he could be anywhere in the building, and you wouldn’t know it until he’s right there. The other staff are too afraid to deal with him, so they make me do it since I’m the night shift and security staff. He’s not blatantly dangerous if you’re following the rules. He’s just very strict about the rules. But also very good at finding loopholes. If Fazbear Entertainment didn’t want them as a babysitter so much, they’d probably hire him as a lawyer.”

Officer Vanessa finished bandaging his arm. She checked his other arm, where Monty had cut him. Those bandages weren’t as tattered given a professional had applied them. “Sun is overly protective and just as good at following the rules and finding loopholes as Moon. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was a black-and-white rule children couldn’t stay past closing, he would’ve probably succeeded in keeping you, staff orders or not. People aren’t afraid of Sun. He’s still too smart.” She closed the first aid kit and hung it back up. “Now, you stay here until your parents or the police arrive.”

The time was two am.

Gregory started for the door, but she beat him there. Even from inside, the door security level was too high, and he was locked out–or, in this case, locked in. He tested the doorknob, anyway, before releasing it. “Well… crap. We’re trapped.”

Beep! We winced and tapped his glasses. [Trapped? Oh no, where are you trapped?]

“Lost and Found. She locked me in here. But we got out of here before.” He looked down and searched the room. “I remember… there was a screwdriver here somewhere, I think…?”

The white noise on the TVs stopped hissing, and in their place was a patchy, off-white bunny mask with wide red eyes and slit pupils. Mangled whiskers popped out of her muzzle and her wide smile felt dim beneath her glowing eyes. His blood turned to ice. The camera gave him no mercy of a cropped shot. The screens hissed with static so he could barely see the image. “Hello, Gregory!” Her soft, cooing voice caused a chill to run down his spine. “You’re safe and sound. Wait there; I’ll see you soon~!” Her voice crackled near the end.

The monitors fell back into a hissing, warping static.

Gregory continued searching through the room, skimming over the pile of junk, and sweeping over boxes until he found a few tools lying discarded on the floor. One of them happened to be a small red screwdriver. With a victorious hiss, he snatched the tool and ran to the vent.

A melodic hum, this one organic from a human and not a machine, grew loud enough for him to register.

The boy looked up. Through the window, he saw wide rabbit feet–one silver, one muted tan–skipping down the stairs before the room. He unscrewed the vent register as quickly as his shaking fingers would allow. The white rabbit stood before the translucent window of Lost and Found, her big red eyes staring down at Gregory and her hand raised in a wave. His head hurt, and his mind went fuzzy as his ears filled with static.

The boy grabbed Bonnie, pushed himself through the vent, and out the other register. He stumbled to the polished checkerboard floor and took off at a sprint, stumbling over his clumsy feet at the sudden acceleration. His mind was clear again, and he wasn’t about to let that change. Behind him, the footsteps became quicker and farther apart. As he rushed up the stairs, he dared a glance back.

The rabbit chased him. Her ears wavered in the air as she raced out of the hall and to the stairs. One of her fluffy hands briefly took the railing. By the time her fluffy feet hit the stairs, Gregory was already on level ground.

He considered heading back to the Daycare, but quickly shook off the thought. No one was scared of Sun. He slammed into the elevator button, squeezed through the doors as they opened, and pressed the “emergency close” button as rapidly as possible even through the static in his head. The doors shut, snapping away the bright red eyes and pale face way too close to the elevator. Gregory let out a breath and pressed the “up” button.

No one’s broken. So, you won’t be doing any repairs.

Gregory’s eyebrows furrowed. “…you’re right. So, how will I get the time to move if I don’t do any repairs? Sun? How did the other kids do it?”

Beep! [Oh, that’s a good question. Well, you see… they… didn’t.]

Gregory sighed. “Thanks for that.”

Beep! [It’s not all bad! Maybe we can fix one of the animatronics?]

Beep! [You could fix Freddy first.]

Gregory blinked. “Freddy? Why would I fix Freddy first?”

“Well… that’s not an awful idea. The others are going to stay away from Freddy, right?”

“Yeah, for a reason.”

Beep! [Freddy? Oh, well… he’s certainly a choice!]

The elevator doors opened and Gregory stepped out. The giant screens in the atrium glared in static and then flickered and showed Vanny’s face. “Are you having fun yet?” her synthetic voice echoed through the dead silence.

The boy froze, his breath catching in his throat.

“C’mon, Gregory, move! We can’t stay here!”

Where am I supposed to go?

“I-I… I don’t know!”

The color changed to his left. Gregory jumped and turned to find Mary standing beside him. She asked, “Were you still going to go to Chica’s Cupcake Factory? Still kinda need a living person to play those arcade machines.”

Gregory nodded. “Y-yeah.” With that, he shot a look around his surroundings and ran right, past Kid’s Cove and toward where the lush greens and yellows of Monty Golf spilled into the atrium. He needed to vault over security barriers as he did so. Gregory slowed to a walk as he approached a set of shutters.

Cli-clunk.

“Locked?!” he squawked. “Why? What am I supposed to do now?”

Mary put a finger to her chin and narrowed her eyes. “Weird. Well, not weird, it is after hours. I just never really thought about this place being locked.”

Thump, thump, thump.

“Gregory.”

Gregory bristled, snagged his mask from his hip, and took off his glasses. He turned to see Chica lumbering toward him.

She froze. The chicken animatronic blinked at him. She threw a wide, slow look around, her head twitching a few times like when she’d been low on battery. “Who wants candy?” she called and walked up to the shutters. They opened for her. Gregory perked up and followed.

“What are you doing?! You’ll trap yourself in there!”

I’ll be fine. She’ll let me back out.

“Or she’ll kill you first!”

Bonnie, I’ll be fine. He looked back at the closing shutters and then at Mary, who strode confidently beside him.

“You’re brave,” she stated. “But, y’know… this is important.”

He nodded, watching Chica as she lumbered down the wide hall with closed food stands, giant advertisement screens, and a few balloon pillars along the left wall at a bend. They passed up a couple of kiddie car corrals. Had Chica not charged at some point over the past few hours? That was weird.

The shutters at the end opened for Chica and Gregory hurried to follow, just in case that one was locked, too.

This space was a bit more cramped with red ropes guiding his movements to food stalls, food carts, ATMs, stand-up digital posters, a sectioned-off kiddie ride place, and a wide area for tables and chairs. Well, as wide an area as could exist in the thin space taken up by the make-them-yourself treats factory. “LET’S EAT!!!” proclaimed in bold yellow on neon pink plastered over a few doors in the shop taking up most of the space. A security bot got near Chica in its round, but she passed through its designated path before they could intersect. Gregory ducked past.

Mary commented, “She’s going where you need to go. But don’t worry, I’m sure she won’t stay.”

Gregory shot her a look.

“What?”

Chica pulled open one of the doors and stopped just inside. She surveyed the room with a long, slow movement, her head and eye twitching a few times, before lumbering further inside. Gregory, cursing himself and his luck, walked around the shop to the back. He passed by a photo booth as he went and found, behind the shop, conveyor belts and machines sectioned off from him by yellow railing. He looked to the back of the shop, which dipped inward into a “U” shape, revealing three doors, one of which had a bathroom sign and one of which he knew from experience led into the kitchen. So, the unmarked one on the very left should lead to the back room, where the Chica game was hidden.

With another glance around, he marched right into the back room. Shelving units with boxes and supplies, tools, and cooking supplies filled the space. In the corner, a medicine pink arcade machine glared against the steel grays and muted browns of its surroundings. A joystick with a cheese splatter dominated the controls. Its title read “Chica’s Feeding Frenzy” with a blue splatter and a pizza slice. A feeling of unease surrounded it. It shouldn’t be here, like all the others, but it was.

He poked at the joystick, but weirdly… nothing happened.

“Um? Are you sure this was next?” He jiggled it again, this time with more confidence. Nothing happened.

Mary nodded. “Yep! Totally confident.”

“It would be off if you shouldn’t play it, right? That’s what happened with the others, at least. They were turned off.”

He took off his mask so he could see the screen better and replaced his glasses. “Okay, but… do I have to do something first? I mean, obviously. But what?” He tapped his glasses and opened the CAMS tab. Outside, a security bot rolled around. On one of the tables he’d sworn was empty was… something. He squinted and then wrinkled his eyebrows. A cupcake?

It vanished.

He jolted and switched cameras and back. Nope. Empty table.

“What the…?” he mumbled.

“What? What happened?”

I just saw a cupcake on this table. But then it vanished into thin air! On the conveyor belt system sat a half dozen or so giant, fake cupcakes and then one tiny one. It vanished after a few seconds, too. “No way!” he squawked. “Mary, go check outside, on the conveyors! Are there any cupcakes?”

Mary gave him an odd look, but hopped outside, anyway, phasing straight through the door. She came back a few seconds later. “I saw a whole bunch of really big ones. No normal ones, though.”

“That’s so weird.”

“You should keep it down so Chica doesn’t hear you.”

Gregory grimaced. Right. Chica. He switched to the kitchen. Chica wandered around the kitchen with the inactive bots. Another cupcake sat on the island. The chicken animatronic trudged right past it. The little thing vanished into thin air. Gregory shook his head. He changed cameras again until he found the last cupcake in the entrance of the factory, sitting on the counter ready to be purchased.

It vanished.

Color flickered on the black screen.

Gregory closed the CAMS tab on his glasses and turned his attention to the arcade cabinet. Now, instead of a black screen, half of the screen had a green border with the rightmost side having no wall. “CHICA’S PARTY WORLD” in digital white text sat between the top green border and the top edge of the screen on the left while a cake and a “0” were on the top right. Two sets of six yellow squares like chocolate bars or windows occupied the “wall” on the left side of the box. Some older model of yellow Chica with giant blue eyes, a bib, plate, and pink underwear or bikini or something–something told him this sprite probably wasn’t modeled for him in mind but that wasn’t here nor there–stood in the middle. He moved the joystick up and she bounced up with a click and “boing” sound just like the little balloon boy. He moved her to the next frame.

Three platforms filled the room and a giant hole gaped in the middle of the floor. Two huge yellow cakes with pink icing sat on the bottom and top platform. He grabbed one cake, but missed the jump and fell into the hole. Thankfully, she landed on a platform almost parallel to the ceiling in a room with four other platforms and two kids crying on their hands and knees. They didn’t have tear streaks leading to the ground like the black and white children and they had color. Two more sets of windows were in the background here. Was he supposed to give cakes to these kids? In the last one, he gave a cake to a crying kid, but that one was black and white with long tear streaks. Well, if he did, he’d need two cupcakes. So, he jumped onto the platform attached to the left wall and then straight up. Chica’s sprite emerged into the room above, but only halfway. Strangely, he could still move left, so he did, until he fell into a small oddly shaped room. The main room only took up half the screen, while the other half was a small room up at the top like a cubby with a floor that jutted into a platform too high to reach. A few balloons led up to the platform, thankfully. Up in the cubby space was the black and white crying child. Another window was here above the balloons. Chica jumped over the balloons and landed beside the child, where a giant, tiered cake appeared. Its eyes opened, and white lines barred the screen before the screen was plunged into static once again.

Gregory backed away from the game. The feeling of wrongness, of nonbelonging, dissipated. “That was… weird.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Mary nodded thoughtfully. “Interesting. I’ve never actually seen anyone play one of those games. I just… uh… the next one is…” She squinted. “Okay, I’ll need to look for it. I know it has a bear in it. I’ll tell you when I find it.” With that, she turned and ran out, phasing straight through the door.

Gregory started to call to her, but cut himself off. She’s been here for how long now and doesn’t know where the weird games are?!

“Well, she knew where these were. Maybe she wasn’t paying a lot of attention to them.”

Gregory scoffed. Maybe. But, still. We’re trapped in here with Chica ‘cause she knew here this one was!

“Speaking of, we should probably get out of here .”

Chapter Text

Gregory checked his CAMS tab. Chica had wandered into the front area of the cupcake factory, but not outside. With a quick, steadying breath, Gregory slipped out of the back room, careful to shut the door as quietly as he could behind himself. He threw a look around himself and snuck around the small building within the room. As he got around the front, he switched his glasses for the S.T.A.F.F. bot mask.

He stopped in front of the shutters.

Locked.

He groaned and tipped his head back. “How are we supposed to open this? Well… we could get Chica to open it, but how?”

“Maybe you could put a cupcake or something near it? She really liked that cupcake you delivered to the kitchen.”

“Yeah, but that had Monty Mystery Mix in it,” Gregory pointed out. “I don’t have that with me. Plus, I’d need to go in there to get a cupcake.” He nodded to the kitchen.

“Yeah, and she’d eat all of them if there were any. Okay, any other ideas?”

Gregory looked around. His eyes fell on the back of the store. With another glance at the doors to be sure Chica wasn’t coming out, he walked around to the back again. “Hey, Bonnie… where do these conveyor belts lead?”

“This is a bad idea, Gregory.”

“Okay, but what other ideas do you have?”

“Wait until she leaves?”

“How long do you wanna wait here? Until Vanny learns where I am? Until Chica figures out I’m not a S.T.A.F.F. bot?” Gregory challenged.

“Or until she leaves to check somewhere else, and you don’t have to potentially fall and break your neck!”

The boy looked back at the door leading into the cupcake factory and then the conveyor belts with the giant cupcakes. “…okay, but we’ve never been on these before.”

“Gregory, if I was alive, you’d be killing me right now.”

“Only for a little bit. Then we’ll be back in the atrium or something.” Gregory climbed over the yellow railing and onto the conveyor belt. They squished unevenly beneath his shoes and the incline immediately threw off his balance so he had to get down on his hands and knees. He switched out his mask for his glasses so he could see and held his flashlight with his left hand, cradling Bonnie in the same arm so he only had three limbs to support him.

With one last glance back into the cupcake factory, he pushed through some rubber flaps and into the pitch black.

Gregory was grateful that the conveyor belt went through a tunnel larger than him. But the unending darkness his flashlight could barely combat and the sudden twists and turns that all but nullified its slight usefulness quickly started to press down on him. The conveyor belt stopped and turned to metal rollers. Gregory gripped the first one successfully. But his jeans refused to find a grip and he slipped, yanking his arm back and throwing him down shoulder first so he half tumbled, half rolled down the metal rollers until landing on his chest on another conveyor belt. Bonnie and his flashlight tumbled away.

Gregory groaned and pulled himself up, wincing at a new soreness in his arm. “Why is it so slippery? It’s not even wet.”

“So, nothing sticks to it, genius. No one’s small enough to get here if anything gets stuck.”

Gregory sent a sharp glare at Bonnie as he limped forward and picked him up, this time handling him and his flashlight with his right arm. “You don’t have to be a jerk about it.”

“You’re lucky you didn’t get more hurt just now!”

“I’ll watch where I’m going.” Gregory defended and resumed moving. The conveyor belt split in places, but he kept confidently moving forward.

They encountered another set of rubber flaps. The kid pushed through them and looked around, confused. Was this… the loading docks? Conveyor belts sprawled around him as well as boxes and shelving units. Some boxes were still on the conveyor belts. He sat back on his heels. “Well… I’m out. I guess. Just need to find a way down.”

“Stay on the conveyor.”

“That’ll take a while.”

“Gregory I swear to God. Worse than what happened to your arm will happen if you fall off from here!”

“Ugh, fine.” Gregory crawled along the conveyor. Once he got low enough, he grabbed the edge, swung his legs down, and dropped onto the conveyor below him and then to the ground below that. “See? Still alive!” he announced. He looked around and left the conveyor area, taking a beeline to the power room. Within, machinery beeped and whirred. The controls desk waited for input. He stood back on his heels and thought. So… we already agreed to help Freddy, right?

“Yep. Honestly, I think we should focus on someone else, first. Freddy isn’t in the right mind for ‘help’.”

Gregory nodded. Exactly. You saw the way Monty backed off when Officer Vanessa told him, too. He was acting crazy, but he still listened to her. Maybe, if we repair Freddy, the others will listen to Freddy.

“Or be too afraid of him to attack you.”

Or that, yeah .

Beep! Gregory tapped his glasses. [Hey! :) How is everything? Where are you?]

“Oh, okay. I’m in the kitchen, now. I had to go through a conveyor belt,” Gregory said and shrugged. He winced and rubbed his arm. “I was locked out and didn’t w–couldn’t wait on Chica to unlock the door for me. So, now I’m in the loading docks.” Gregory perked up. “Oh! There’s another badge in the kitchen!”

Beep! [The conveyor belt?! Oh! Wait! You shouldn’t get that. It might mess with time.]

“Mess with time?” Gregory scoffed. “It’ll be fine. None of the badges have ever made time go backwards before. I… don’t think. Have they?”

Beep! [Gregory, please don’t take that badge. You’re really not ready for it, yet.]

Gregory sighed. “Then what am I supposed to do? Last time, I had to fix Monty by going backstage and getting that badge and turning on the controls to the stage, then going to Parts and Service where Moon and Monty fought. Okay, that was the first time, not last time. Last time, I was with Chica. But it was the same thing, pretty much.”

“What about if you take Sun to Parts and Service? Would that work?”

Gregory shook his head. “No. I need permission from Officer Vanessa or the head of mechanics or whatever for that. Though… maybe just taking him there would work… Sun, Bonnie suggested I take you to Parts and Service instead. Time would move forward then, right?”

Beep! [Oh, well, that’s a very good plan! Bonnie is very smart. But time will only move forward AFTER the repair. :( I’m sorry.]

Gregory scoffed, “So, I need to get one of the Glamrocks?”

Beep! [Yeperoni!]

Gregory blinked and grinned. “I have an idea.”

“Oh no.”

Beep! [Oh? :D]

Gregory turned on the power to Parts and Service, the DJ station in front of El Chips, and the laundry room. “Okay, so you know how Freddy is only found in places with zero light? Like the sewers and basements and stuff? Well, I’ll just find him in the kitchen basement and lead him to Parts and Service!”

“Gregory that’s actually insane! I thought you were going to find some way to disable him or something?!”

Beep! [Oh, that sounds really dangerous! Maybe we should think about a different plan. >>;]

Beep! [Not that this is a really BAD plan!! But it could use a little work!]

Gregory tromped out of the power room. “Look, man. I’m completely stuck here. I’m not going to just wait here for Vanny to kill me or for one of the bots to go nuts and bite my head off.”

Beep! [Gregory, please! How about you come back to the Daycare? Then we can make up a plan together?]

Beep! [Sun is right, this is dangerous. Come back.]

“We have Sun and Moon to help plan, now. They’ve been here way longer than you. Let’s get their help!”

“Newsflash, this whole place is dangerous,” Gregory reminded them. “And Bonnie agreed with you again. I don’t know why he likes you so much.”

“It’s not that I like them, it’s that I think this plan is going to get us killed.”

Gregory stepped through the locker rooms. His flashlight glared over freshly cleaned ceramic and tile. Despite the laundry baskets, towels still piled up on the benches.

Beep! [Yes, that’s true. The Mega Pizzaplex is dangerous at night. That’s why you should be super careful! Which you have been! ^^]

Beep! [But still, no one is allowed in the Daycare without OUR say-so or without a Daycare pass. So, we can plan here! :)]

Gregory broke free of the locker rooms and showers and looked around at cluttered shelving units primarily filled with folded white towels standing on dusty cement. Boxes stuck underneath the shelving units. His flashlight fell on a chain-link fence with a gate. He rattled it. Locked.

“Damn. Guess we’ll have to think of something else.”

“Yeah… something else…” Gregory’s eyes fell on the toolbox and paint cans and then up to the top of the gate. The chain link didn’t reach the ceiling. A few feet away from it was a blue beam that almost reached the ceiling.

“I know what you’re thinking. I know that face. We’re doomed.”

Gregory grinned. “Not if I do this right.”

Beep! [Um, do what right? :)]

Gregory pulled on his jacket and stuck Bonnie inside so that his head popped out the top. “I’m getting into the garage place my own way.”

Beep! [Your own way?]

Beep! [Child, do not climb that fence!]

The two messages came back almost simultaneously, “said” so fast that the only thing that determined who spoke first was the order in which he received them. That may be only because Sun was currently in control of their body, for all Gregory knew.

“I’ve done it before. It’s not that dangerous,” Gregory reassured him.

“That’s true. As long as you keep your grip. …why do I remember climbing a fence?”

Gregory took a few steps back and then rushed forward and threw himself up. “I dunno. I didn’t think animatronics would climb many fences.”

“Me, neither. It doesn’t really seem like a memory. But it does. Like the one with smoke. I don’t get it. Anyway, just be careful.”

Beep! Beep! Gregory grimaced. He grabbed the top of the fence and tapped his glasses. [Gregory that’s dangerous! You could fall and get hurt!]

[That is against the rules, Child.]

“I’m fine. I need to find Freddy and where else am I going to find him?” Gregory threw his legs over the fence, clipping the blue beam as he did so. However, there was still technically enough room for him to squeeze through. He climbed halfway down before dropping the rest of the way. “Guess if you wanna stop me, you’ll have to come here and do that yourself.”

Beep! [Gregory, you know I can’t leave the Daycare. :(]

Beep! [There is a reason Freddy patrols those areas.]

Again, he received the messages pretty much at the same time.

“I’m certainly not changing your mind. Alright. But you know how I feel. Freddy’s my best friend. He’s amazing. But he’s acting differently, way more than everyone else. Just… be careful.”

“I will,” Gregory promised. He stretched again as he walked. “Yeah, see? My arm’s feeling better already. So, I didn’t break my shoulder. You’re not right about everything and I can be careful.”

“You’re going to kill me one of these days.”

Beep! [What?! What happened to your shoulder?]

Gregory winced. “Oh, nothing. I fell on it. Climbing on stuff. In a vent. But it’s fine, now!” He turned on his flashlight as he walked down a set of square spiral stairs.

Beep! [How about we talk through a different plan? I’m sure we can think of something else! ^^]

Beep! [Chica is willing to help you.]

Okay, true. Still, he was already here. He was already committed to this. Gregory’s flashlight drew over hundreds of sticky notes clinging to every non-stairs surface. He hesitated at a landing where a table with five S.T.A.F.F. bots–one headless, one a magician, one in a bowling suit, one in an ice cream server suit, and one in a purple dress and pale lavender curly wig–sat. He shook his head and continued moving. At the base of the silo, clusters of S.T.A.F.F. bot heads, toothy smiles painted on their faces, piled up in random places. Candles barely damaged the darkness.

Gregory stared at the massive door leading down to the garage. “Bonnie, this is a horrible idea.”

“Yes, it is! Oh my God yes, it is!”

He squared his shoulders. “But there’s no turning back now.”

“But there is! There is! You can turn around and walk back up the stairs!”

Gregory shook his head. “If I’m going to do this, I’m going to have to face Freddy. I can’t let Vanny use him against us again.”

“Can’t we just stick with the West Arcade plan?”

“M-m. We can’t time travel, and we need someone to fix.”

Beep! [Why don’t you ask Chica for help? She was really nice last time!]

Beep! [You are a clever child; we will think of something.]

“Monty almost killed me last time I saw him. I don’t trust Chica. If you try to help, she could use her voice box on you and hurt me at the same time.” Gregory heaved open one of the massive doors and walked straight in. He flicked on his flashlight and started off down the decrepit environment. He waved his flashlight over the mismatch of metal textures on the ground as he walked and then to the cramped, winding tunnel flanked by rusted handrails. Tubbing systems crawled over the walls on his left. Gregory shuddered and turned ahead again. Eventually, he climbed down a set of stairs and his walls became fully cement. Another sharp turn dumped him into a cramped parking garage. Darkness choked every corner and fought against his flashlight’s beam.

Then…

Trrrriiiing! The music started–twinkling, playful music.

Gregory’s head whipped around, his flashlight beam staying low, and stopped upon seeing two red dots in the dark. They appeared as glowing red dots, but a light would flare inside of Freddy’s shell to the beat of the instrumental and with each gentle flash, the dots would be overshadowed by pale blue disks on bright white eyes accompanied by fangs, teeth, and the outline of his jaws and eye sockets. Everything else was hard to decipher past that point.

Well, here goes nothing. Gregory stared at him and listened to the trilling music for a moment longer. Then, he smiled. “I remember that song!” he gasped. “Freddy sang it! The real one, from the old Pizzeria!”

The music stopped and a snarl akin to Monty’s tore out of Freddy’s voice box. “I am the real Freddy!” His narrowed eyes glowed consistently, now. Without the music and flashing light to take his attention, Gregory quietly took note of Freddy’s sly step forward.

“Yeah, you’re a Freddy,” Gregory agreed smoothly. “But you’re not the Freddy.”

“Yes, I am! I am the one and only Freddy Fazbear! I am the lead band member!”

Gregory put down a snort. “I played the VR game. You’re not the only Freddy.”

“That was just a game. You are in my Mega Pizzaplex.” Another step closer. “Those were broken. Something was wrong with them. I am not them. I am the one and only Freddy Fazbear. I am the lead singer of my band in my Mega Pizzaplex.” Another step. His voice calmed. “I am your friend.”

Gregory stared him down. Oh, boy, he was getting close. The kid shrugged. “Actually, Bonnie’s my friend. He was so cool when he was around, even though there were other Bonnies before him. And it’s funny you keep saying these things about ‘your band’ and ‘your pizzaplex’. You just kind of inherited it. So, you’re just an old Freddy with a different shell, huh?” The bravado he’d mustered up from the roll died instantly.

“Run. Now.”

Gregory bolted. He winced at the whistle of something sailing through the air way too fast flew past his head and the hard clack of plastic snapping against plastic at high speed. Freddy’s feet thumped behind him as Gregory sprinted around obstacles in the garage, which didn’t have any cars–just barrels, forklifts, a few generators, and some other junk.

Generators, huh? What did they do? Maybe… knock down giant angry animatronics?

Gregory turned his flashlight to the first generator, but it was already rumbling. Dangit! Whatever it was supposed to power was already rumbling.

“You need to go back! This just leads to the sewers and those are blocked off by garbage from the compactor. You’ll be trapped!”

He’s blocking the way!

Gregory’s flashlight fell over a door, and he charged it. He slammed shut the door to the utility tunnels behind him and raced onward through the black. The door opened behind him.

Gregory took a corner. His flashlight fell over a laundry tub. He hopped into it and shut off his flashlight. Freddy turned the corner. Dim purple light spread over the tunnels. “Why do you hide?” Freddy asked, calm and soft, tinged with an almost genuine curiosity, and not at all the snarly brat he was three seconds ago.

Okay, just gotta wait… just gotta wait until he’s far enough away and then we can make another run for it.

“There you are!” he exclaimed, cheerful and bouncy like Sun.

Gregory squealed and jumped from his hiding place to run. Except… Freddy wasn’t there? The animatronic bear, already some distance down the hall, spun around and faced him. “Gregory!”

“Fuck!” Gregory spat and ran. Embarrassed and terrified by the trick, he concentrated on running as fast as he could down the tunnels. Footsteps thumped behind him. He tried to turn a corner, but the darkness, the speed, the terror, his stupidity and regret–Gregory tripped.

His flashlight flew out of his hand and bounced and rolled away, sending a beam of light flying in wild directions before settling back toward him and Freddy. Bonnie tumbled out of his grasp. Concrete scraped the skin on his arms and forehead and knocked his head and the bones in his ribs, shoulder, and arm.

He groaned and blinked his hazy eyes.

“Get up! Get up! Gregory, you need to get up, now! Before he gets you!”