Going Back - angelofrainfrogs (phantomhivemast3r) (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

It's going back, back, back, back
They've been through this before
It's going back, back, back, back
The final page of the lore
The sound of cheer
The need for fear
The souls of the kids are free
Rewind the tears

~Going Back by Kyle Allen Music~

It was a fairly large hotel. It made Charlie wonder how many people visited this town nowadays, what with the Mecca of Fazbear Entertainment standing tall and proud as its most notable landmark. Last she checked, this town had a population of a little over 10,000. Not a whole lot, but not a small number by any means. Sammy's draw of tourists had done wonders for the family businesses.

“We should order room service as soon as we check in. Gregory's going to need to build his strength back with something that isn't a pizza-flavored slushee,” Charlie pointed out, waiting before crossing the street. While she was sure Freddy knew not to linger in the road, Charlie grasped onto his free hand regardless to make sure he and Gregory were still trailing along.

The parking lot looked pretty full, and they approached with only Michael's shopping bag of clothes as their luggage. At the front desk, popping gum in his mouth sat a concierge manager typing things into the computer, digits nimbly pounding away at the keys.

“Be with you in a moment!” the overworked college student called, finishing his email. Getting up from the desk and walking towards the quartet, he put on his best customer service smile. “What can I do for you folks?”

Despite him never having interacted with another human outside the comparatively small bubble of the Pizzaplex, Freddy took it upon himself to respond. Beaming down at the young boy, he announced: “Hello! My family and I require a room to stay in—preferably one with 'room service,' as we are quite hungry.”

Michael bit back a groan. God, he could see it now—he thought catching Charlie up to speed with things would take a while, but it seemed like Freddy was going be the biggest problem. Quickly stepping in, Mike moved in front of the redhead to catch the concierge's attention.

“Sorry, ignore my—uncle. He’s... not from around here,” Michael said, reaching into his pocket to retrieve Sam’s wallet. Offering the boy an apologetic smile, he clarified: “We need a room for four people, at least 5 nights with the possibility of an extended stay. It doesn't have to the biggest; we don't mind sharing beds. Just preferably no smaller than queen-sized—two kings would be great, if you have it.”

“Do you guys have ping-pong or air hockey here?” Charlie asked, officially overloading the poor kid with too many questions.

His eyes flicked between the three of them, blinking. “Uh... Y-Yes! Yep, there's actually one available family vacation suite! That's a bathroom, two king beds with a kitchen and full amenities, too.”

The concierge leaned over and grabbed a pamphlet, handing it over to Charlie who presented it to the rest of the group.

“With room service, plus full spa, gym, and arcade access, that's about $250 a night,” he added, doing his best to answer all of their questions.

Charlie tried to hide her shock at how expensive things were. Sammy did say they could use his credit card on anything after all... And the room looked nice. Gregory deserved a good spot to be in and relax.

“We'll take it,” Michael said quickly, not in the mood to haggle. He was just happy they'd found something so spacious—he thought with all the cars in the parking lot, they'd have to settle for a simple room with just two beds, and a bathroom, maybe a couch if they were lucky. Though Sammy would probably appreciate a cheaper price, Mike knew he'd understand them wanting to indulge after so long being cooped up and handed over the credit card. “You can put the tab on here.”

Freddy, who'd only been exposed to the exorbitantly hyped-up prices in the Pizzaplex, had no frame of reference for what was considered expensive. He appreciated Michael taking charge, hanging back next to Charlie's side as Mike and the concierge moved to the front desk to get all their information and secure the room.

“Need anyone to take your luggage, Mr...?” the young man began to ask. Taking the credit card from the brunette, he couldn’t help but notice the distinctive name emblazoned on the metal rectangle.

Samuel Emily.

Anyone who lived in that area of Hurricane knew the Emilys. The boy then felt sort of stupid for not recognizing Mr. Emily's family—even if he couldn't quite recall ever seeing this group before.

“Nope! We don't have much,” Charlie responded, reassuring him with a grin. With that succinct answer, after charging the card the manager would put their names in as Emily for the time being.

“Uh—okay then, you’re all set! Here are your room keys, guys, and your recreational passes,” he explained, pointing to the number on the keycard. “Room service will call after 20 minutes; give you some time to get settled. Have a nice day, and enjoy your stay!”

“You have a wonderful day as well!” Freddy called over his shoulder as Michael firmly took his free hand and urged him towards the elevators.

Mike couldn't help but roll his eyes, a smile lifting his mouth at Freddy's endearing friendliness. At least that hadn't changed.

Before long they'd ridden the elevator up to the 7th floor and found themselves in front of room 717. The door opened with nothing more than a delicate press of the keycard against its sensor lock, and Michael led the way into the suite.

“Oh, hell yeah!” he exclaimed, staring around the room in wonder. True to the concierge's word, there was a little kitchen and sitting area at the end of the short entrance hallway they stood in.

Michael wasted no time kicking his shoes off, dropping the bag of clothes, and walking into the space, taking note of the two doors coming off of the sitting area that led to the bedroom and bathroom. The bathroom itself was shaped like an L and also had two doors so it could be accessed from either the bedroom or the main area, per whatever suited the guests' fancy. Michael spun in a slow circle, his arms spread out wide. “I can definitely get used to this place.”

Charlie had noticed on their way through the halls that things looked notably different from the last hotel she remembered staying in nearly fifty years ago. The style of interior design had changed from those homey patterns to something more minimalistic over the decades. Gone were the days of strange patterns and bright colored dishes, replaced by a more neutral palate. If asked, Charlie would argue and say that it seemed a lot more boring to look at.

But how could she really complain when their room had a flat television?

She was awestruck, and looked around Michael and Freddy at their temporary living space. It wasn't long before she found the bedroom and flung herself onto the nearest mattress. She sunk in almost immediately and stretched her arms out to the ceiling.

“It's like laying on a pile of angel hugs...,” Charlie groaned, feeling the stress she didn't know was in her back melt away the longer she reposed on the top of her bed's comforter. “Come on, Freddy! Put Gregory to bed and take a load off!”

While Michael went to explore the kitchenette and bathroom, Freddy followed after Charlie. At first Gregory didn't want to move, frowning as his father's warmth was suddenly taken away when Freddy detached the limp grip around his neck... Although this stopped as soon as Gregory felt the plush mattress underneath him. If they'd thought he was in deep sleep before, it was nothing compared to what the exhausted kid was about to experience as he instantly passed out again.

Freddy had set Gregory on the second bed, so in order not to disturb him he went over to where Charlie lay. He made sure to take his shoes off as he'd seen Michael do at the door, choosing not to comment on the fact that Charlie hadn't done so herself. She was clearly overwhelmed, and Freddy had to admit he was a bit stunned himself—not at the technology or the way anything looked, but simply for the fact that it was such a foreign environment to anything he was used to.

No longer would he have to enter “sleep mode” in a charging pod. Severely underestimating the cushiness of the comforter underneath him, Freddy promptly fell back onto the mattress with a surprised gasp, landing with his head on the pillow right next to Charlie's.

“Oh... this is very comfortable!” he commented with a laugh, turning his face towards her as he rested his hands on his stomach.

Charlie opened an eye, glancing over to Freddy as his weight shifted where she laid on the bed and rolled into her friend slightly. There, she would proceed to ask Freddy a question. “Have you ever actually slept before?”

Surely, sleep mode was similar, Charlie thought. But could Freddy dream? That was the important question.

Gregory certainly dreamt. Looking over at the tiny kid curled in the middle of the mattress would tell you that instantly. He twitched every now and then, having an active dream—maybe one where he was running...

“It's really easy. You just close your eyes and stop thinking of anything,” Charlie guided. Though she always slept better with music, Charlie wouldn't be needing it tonight. The excitement and terror of one action-packed weekend was enough for Charlie's mind to cringe at the thought of staying awake any longer. While Charlie was a side sleeper, choosing to roll and face Freddy as she shut her eyes, Gregory was in a tightly wound ball, laying on his right side and holding himself as he dreamed.

“I have never truly slept as you have,” Freddy replied, then listened to Charlie's instructions. He soon shut his eyes as well, staring at nothing but blackness.

And then he waited.

And waited.

He tried to think of nothing, but in doing so he was thinking about not thinking, which put Freddy in a catch-22. Still keeping his eyes closed, his brow furrowed slightly as he asked: “How do you... think of nothing?”

“You just don't,” Michael piped up unhelpfully, appearing in the doorway. Their one bag of clothes was slung over his shoulder again as he leaned casually against the frame, observing his family either passed out or on the verge of doing so. He too needed a rest, but first he really wanted to take a nice, hot shower and wash off all the gunk and grime from the past few days.

“Here, I found the room service menu on the coffee table,” he said, throwing the laminated booklet towards the bed where it landed next to Charlie's back. “I'm going to take a shower—you guys can handle it if they call, right?”

It was a simple task, answering the phone and giving them an order Gregory might like to eat, but Freddy and Charlie's unfamiliarity with everything made Michael a bit nervous—especially since the only one besides him who could help looked like she’d already drifted off.

To Mike’s surprise, Charlie opened her eyes to look at him standing across the room. With a grin, she reclined her arms behind her head. With the sheer technological advances of these androids’ existence, she was sure her father designed them to be waterproof. Even so, she was glad Michael seemed more than ready to test it out first.

“Sure,” Charlie replied with a shrug. “Don't worry so much; we'll be fine. We'll order Gregory something simple and a few other things for the room. By the way, if you happen to figure out if these android bodies need to use the bathroom, could you give me a heads-up?”

Charlie was half-joking. She hadn't exactly had the urge to go, but she couldn't help thinking about all that food she ate. It must go somewhere, right? Or maybe it just gets burned to make fuel inside her?

Charlie felt like the only thing these robotic forms were missing was an instruction manual...

“Will do,” Michael replied with a roll of his eyes. He fished around in the bag for a new set of dark wash jeans and tank top, this one black with a simple neon logo for The Fazbear Band emblazoned on the front. New outfit obtained, Mike dropped the bag on the floor and headed to the bathroom.

Like Charlie, he had a suspicion that their bodies were converting things they ate into fuel. How, he had no idea—that was another question for Henry the next time they met up.

After locking the bathroom doors, Michael was quick to throw off his dirty clothes, cringing at the messy pile on the floor they made. The group would definitely need to do a shop outside the Pizzaplex to invest in other items besides shirts and pants…

Michael wanted to take the hottest shower he could physically stand, letting the burning water eat away at his years of tightly-wound anxiety. However, he also didn’t want to damage any internal systems in this robotic body, so he opted for a temperature best described as “pleasantly warm.” As he scrubbed the dried blood out of his hair, he could feel his stress going down the drain right along with the crimson water.

While Michael commandeered the bathroom, Freddy and Charlie perused the room service menu.

“What do you think Gregory will like?” Freddy asked, curious of her opinion. “I would prefer it to be somewhat healthy, if possible…”

“Healthy... Hm...” Charlie looked over the kids menu. It was recommended for children 12 and under, so that seemed appropriate for him. It couldn't hurt to get Gregory more than one thing, considering how fast that kid ate. She wondered if a growth spurt was right around the corner. “Okay, hear me out. We get him this peanut butter and jelly smoothie, plus the broccoli mac and cheese. And a pulled pork sandwich?”

Charlie was initially going to get him the chicken nuggets, but she was afraid it wouldn't be enough to hold him over until dinner. She figured it was also about time to get him back on a healthy eating schedule. Just then the phone rang, prompting Charlie to jump up and answer it before the incessant noise woke up Gregory.

“Think about something you want to eat, okay, Freddy?” she said, answering the phone in a sing-song tone before reciting their order so far. She was glad to see Gregory was still asleep, out like a light and dead to the world in the middle of his bed.

“Me?” Freddy blinked down at the menu. Right; in this body he should be able to consume food as well. He roamed over all the options, not afraid to admit with a small laugh: “It is a bit overwhelming, if I am honest!”

Still, Charlie was expecting an answer. Freddy would like to just try a bit of Gregory’s food—and he was sure the boy wouldn’t mind sharing with him—but he knew Gregory needed all of it to make up for the nutrition deficit he’d been suffering for far too long. He really was a tiny kid for 12 years old…

“I suppose I will try a cheeseburger?” Freddy said it as more of a question. Burgers were quite popular at the Pizzaplex and Freddy had always wondered what the fuss was about.

Charlie nodded, holding her hand over the receiver as she listened to Freddy's request. “One cheeseburger with all the fixin’s, please—uh, medium rare!”

She figured that was a safe bet. That’d been her dad’s usual order if she remembered correctly, so perhaps Freddy would like it, too.

“Could I also get a 24 piece basket of the hot wings, bone-in?” Charlie curled the phone cord around her fingers, walking back towards the living space as to not disturb Gregory. She thought for a moment of ordering champagne, then decided against it. It would be nice to celebrate, but knowing Gregory, he'd try to get into the bottle and drink some for himself. “20 minutes? Solid, thank you... Yep, you have a good day, too.”

Oh man, she was adjusting to talking to people again. After hanging up the receiver, Charlie quickly jumped back onto her side of the bed before reaching over and hugging Freddy.

“Dude—you're gonna love burgers,” she assured him, almost excited to watch Freddy take a bite from his first meal.

“I am eager to try one!” Freddy replied with a grin, maneuvering his arm from underneath Charlie to wrap it around her back. He held her loosely as she hugged onto his torso, thinking back on how far they’d come from their initial, confused meeting in the ball pit.

Despite the strange circ*mstances, even back then they’d gotten along perfectly, becoming fast friends in a matter of hours. Perhaps, subconsciously, they knew they were destined to stick together for a long time.

About five minutes after Charlie ended the phone call, Mike emerged from the bathroom. He looked fresh and clean, hair a wet, slightly wavy mess as he’d decided to give it a brief towel dry and let the air do the rest. He was quick to jump on the bed next to Charlie, smushing her into a sandwich between himself and Freddy.

“So, what are we talking about?” he asked cheerfully, completely inserting himself into whatever bonding time the others were having.

Freddy could only chuckle at this, understanding Michael’s want to be close to them even if he had an interesting way of showing it. After all he’d been through, it was refreshing—and relieving—for Freddy to see the man's true personality peek through without constant anxiety pushing it down.

“Oh, you know,” Charlie began, playfully nudging her old friend as he scooted in closer. “Just talking about how much you smell. Yikes, dude; you sure you actually stood under the water in there?”

She shot a grimace at Freddy, which lasted around half a second before Charlie burst into twinkling laughter. Ignoring Michael’s offended scoff, she told him: “I ordered both of us hot wings, by the way; hope you don't mind.”

It was a strange dynamic they all shared. From Charlie's almost reserved demeanor when they first met to her now openly involving Freddy when she clowned on her friend, the three of them had certainly come far. The days of hiding in backrooms and away from the light were over.

“Oh my god… hot wings?!” Michael draped himself over her shoulders with a dramatic gasp. “Charlie Emily, you know me so well.”

“I take it you are a fan of that dish?” Freddy laughed, watching as Charlie tried in vain to push away Michael’s dead weight as he practically rag-dolled on her, grinning all the while.

“That and a good old-fashioned burger; those were some of my favorites,” Michael replied, and Freddy’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

“Well, what a coincidence! Charlie ordered me a burger as well—you are more than welcome to have a bite.”

“I’m taking you up on that for sure.” Mike gave Freddy a rather lackluster thumbs, attention now focused on bothering Charlie. He had a lot of years to make up for, after all.

Charlie effectively had her arms pinned as Michael rolled over her, essentially using her as a pillow. He totally ignored her as she attempted to wiggle from beneath him while he had his conversation with Freddy, but without the use of her arms there was no throwing him off easily.

“Are you comfy yet?” she asked sarcastically. Squished lightly between her two friends, she managed to screw one arm out from under Mike and poke his ribs with a bony finger.

Gregory was beginning to stir at the sound of fun. It was the oddest thing, he felt as though he'd gotten a full night’s sleep—though he was sure it still couldn’t be that late in the day. He almost felt jealous as he watched his family interact without him, but there wasn’t anything to stay mad at. Gregory would get up slowly, hoping to get a drop on them and ambush his family where they all hung out casually on the bed.

“I was, until my pillow stabbed me in the ribs…,” Michael grumbled, finally rolling off Charlie to lay on his back. He scrunched one leg up, hooking the other over his knee as he locked his hands behind his head. He could definitely still use a legit rest, but the shower seemed to give him a small burst of energy—enough to have trouble sitting still for a little while longer, at least.

Michael may not have noticed Gregory sneaking towards them, but Freddy had a second sense when it came to his son. As Charlie and Mike playfully bickered, Freddy’s ears perked up at the muted padding of little shoes against carpet. For a moment he ignored this, acting like he was completely unaware of Gregory’s approach as he laughed softly along with the others. However, just as Gregory reached Freddy’s bedside in preparation to strike the redhead acted fast.

Whipping around, Freddy was quick to snatch him under the arms and hoist him into his lap, hugging him close. “Hello, superstar! I am glad you could join us! How are you feeling?”

Gregory squawked as he was lifted, unable to mask the smile on his lips. Other than his pale eyes, there didn’t appear to be anything different about him—no major change in health from before the nap. Thank goodness.

“Better! I feel great, actually,” he laughed out, content despite his plan not exactly working. He leaned in, hugging Freddy around the chest as he took in his surroundings. “This hotel room’s pretty sweet!”

When he’d left that horrendous foster home a while ago, Gregory knew one of the things he’d miss most was sleeping in a real bed. Though he’d had some respite in Freddy’s room this past weekend, the itchy carpets of the Pizzaplex and hard flooring could only be comfortable for all of three minutes.

“I got you a big lunch to get your strength back, kiddo,” Charlie said, turned on her side again now that Michael quit using her like a backrest.

“We are staying in a family vacation suite,” Freddy added, gesturing towards the doorway leading to the main area. “As well as these extremely comfortable beds, we have our own kitchen and sitting area, and full spa, gym, and arcade access.”

He was quoting the concierge now, understanding the concept of an arcade perfectly but curious as to what the gym and spa entailed. He could make educated guesses of course, which weren’t too far off—he knew gyms were meant for humans to work out in and spas were meant to relax.

“Arcade?!” Gregory asked, surprised to know there was something he’d enjoy at this hotel. Well—besides from the free meals and beds.

“After you eat,” Charlie reminded him gently. Someone had to disappoint him a little, and she knew Freddy didn't enjoy telling his son no. Though as his big sister, Charlie could burst his bubble all she liked to a certain degree.

“We’re going to max out your poor brother’s credit card at the end of this, Charlie,” Michael mused, turning on his side to face the others and resting his head on his palm. He grinned up at Gregory, happy to see that he did in fact look chipper than earlier. “But yeah, we’ve got a bunch of food on the way—apparently your dad’s going to try a burger.”

Gregory's eyes widened at that, and he eagerly patted Freddy’s shoulders. “Oh man—you're gonna love it!”

All this talk of food made Gregory's stomach growl loudly. The lack of a proper diet was beginning to take its toll. If only he still had that blue ice cream cake, he thought. He could fill up on that right away.

As if on cue, there was a hard knock at the door as an unseen staff member called out: “Room service!”

“I’ve got it,” Michael assured, launching himself off the bed and heading for the front door. Opening it revealed a huge tray piled high with food, which he immediately brought inside with a careful balancing act. Charlie really had gone all out with Gregory’s lunch…

The others made their way over as Michael set the food on the kitchen counter. When Gregory tried to peer up and see their spread, Mike told him: “Looks like you’ve got a sandwich, some Mac and cheese, and… a smoothie?” Eyebrows furrowed curiously, he picked up the drink and read the label on the side. “PB&J flavored… huh. Mind if I take a sip? Thanks.”

Without waiting for an answer Mike took a loud slurp of the drink, his face shifting through an array of emotions as he processed the weirdness of it.

“Michael…,” Freddy chided gently, though he couldn’t fault him for being intrigued. Admittedly, now that he could eat Freddy wanted to try everything on the counter too.

Gregory laughed at his reaction. The smoothie was a mix of grapes, strawberry yogurt, and peanut butter. It tasted too sweet to be good for you. Yet it must have some nutritional value if it had fruit, right?

“Oh man, is it like the pizza slushee?” Gregory leaned over, snatching his smoothie out of his big brother's grasp. Immediately, Gregory went through similar stages of grief to Michael after taking a sip. It had an odd texture with the various seeds—he was almost positive this yogurt was just mixed with strawberry preserves to make it even sweeter. After processing what’d just assaulted his taste buds, he held the smoothie up to Freddy.

“Try this—” Gregory suggested without giving his verbal opinion. He didn't want to influence his dad’s decision to drink the odd smoothie more than his face already had.

Freddy took the smoothie, visually analyzing it before hesitantly putting the straw to his lips. He took the smallest of sips, more so trying to get used to the sensation of drinking before he could focus on the flavor itself. He swirled the smoothie in his mouth, giving the flavors and textures a moment to process before swallowing it down. The corners of his lips quirked up and down of their own accord, his expressive face unable to settle on how he felt. Meeting Gregory’s inquisitive gaze, all he could say was: “It is… odd.”

Meanwhile, Charlie popped open the large container of hot wings, its spicy aroma wafting over the table. Luckily they’d been given an array of dipping sauces along with a few vegetables. Charlie figured she’d end up sharing those veggies with Gregory, as her and Michael were likely just going to pig out on the platter of chicken wings. “I could cry, these look so good...”

Michael joined Charlie at the table, enticed by the mouthwatering scent of chicken. They each picked up a wing, clinking them together as if they were glasses before taking a bite.

“Oh my fu—reaking god…,” Michael groaned, curbing his swear at the last second when Freddy’s eyes snapped to him. It seemed like the former bear’s patience for cursing was at its end, now that he had time to worry about that sort of thing. Mike immediately scarfed down the rest of the chicken wing and deposited the bone on the empty side of the container. “I missed food so much…”

“Right?!” Charlie said, discarding a wayward bone. This hotel’s kitchen didn’t mess around with the wings. Satisfied for the moment, Charlie wiped her fingers off—now more attentive towards getting Gregory his sandwich and side dish. After she set Gregory’s plate at the table, Charlie retrieved and set Freddy’s burger down as well.

“I can’t believe I was fine with not eating for like forty years—never doing that again, that’s for sure,” Charlie scoffed, going in for a second spicy morsel.

Gregory wasted no time. Like a feral beast, he dug into his bowl of gooey homemade macaroni and cheese. The dish had been baked over with spiced bread crumbs, its broccoli snapping with roasted flavor as he munched on his pasta. It felt good to eat a dish with some vegetables in it. While Gregory's deathly pallor hadn't changed from the meal, he seemed more lively and aware with each bite.

Satisfied that Gregory was enjoying his food, Freddy picked up his burger. Again, he conducted a visual examination before digging in, taking note of “all the fixin’s” that Charlie ordered. Then he took a tentative bite, placing the rest of the burger back in its container while he chewed experimentally. His bright eyes widened as the satisfyingly greasy flavor washed over his tongue, and instead of giving a verbal opinion he simply picked the food right back up and took another bite.

“Good news: Freddy likes burgers, everyone!” Michael announced, though his words were muffled as he spoke through a mouthful of chicken wings.

Freddy nodded in agreement, swallowing down another few bites before offering Mike a bite. “I am sorry… Did you want some, Michael?”

“No—you’re good, big guy!” Mike laughed, shaking his head and grabbing another wing. “Enjoy your first official meal!”

Charlie snorted, covering her mouth as she dug out a napkin from their meals and tossed it Michael's way. The sauce on his face was making her mouth burn just by looking at it. If she remembered correctly, Michael had been far better with spices than her. She was always dipping her wings into the blue cheese sauce provided and powered through despite the pain it took to clean the spicy meat from the bones.

“Yeah! It's your first time eating, so take a wing—” Charlie offered, pushing hers and Michael's platters towards Freddy a little.

While Gregory wanted to part with some food to share with Freddy, he found himself on autopilot when eating. He wasn't paying attention at all, and had quickly finished off his pasta before starting on the pulled pork sandwich Charlie so graciously chose for him. It felt nice to eat real food.

When he heard his name being called, he finally looked up. The corners of his mouth were stuck with cheese and barbecue sauce as he listened.

“Gregory—is your food really good, little man?” Charlie asked, subtly pointing out how he hadn't spoken since they began their meal.

“Mhm—” was all Gregory could answer. Both cheeks were full and he foresaw himself spitting anywhere should he actually try to talk.

Freddy quickly realized that he wasn’t a fan of messy food. The burger was bad enough, falling apart towards the end and dripping a trail of grease down his hand that he quickly stopped before it reached his sweater. Learning quickly, he pushed his sleeves up before attempting to eat a wing, although the texture of the sauce coating his fingers made him grimace slightly. It reminded Freddy of children slapping their sticky hands onto every part of his suit they could reach, covering him with unknown substances and prompting a thorough wash at the end of each day. Still, he managed a surprisingly demure bite of the chicken wing that left little residue on his mouth and had to consent it was also delicious.

Having wiped off his own face, Michael grabbed a handful of clean napkins and threw them to Gregory. Honestly, now that he’d been fed the kid probably needed a shower more than anything—it would certainly make him feel even better to put a clean outfit on over a body not already caked in grime

Gregory read Michael's mind. He was a little surprised no one had commented on the sheer unhygienic state he was in. All of his bandages, once fun and brightly saturated colors, were coated in a generous layer of filth. He was sure were he to peel back the protective plastic, the healing skin beneath would be clean and lily white.

There would be a paradox with cleaning himself off. People would see how pale he'd become, and may worry and nag his dad about the matter if they were super nosy... Then again, people were going to complain if he smelled bad, too.

With his sandwich finished, Gregory pushed his emptied containers away, asking Freddy: “Can I be excused? I need to shower or I'll catch the plague or something...”

“Of course,” Freddy replied with a nod, already starting to gather the empty containers together.

“The bag of new clothes is in the bedroom,” Michael reminded as Gregory rushed off.

After Michael and Charlie scarfed down the rest of their wings, they helped Freddy collect the trash. Upon Freddy’s confused question of where to put things, Mike laughed and informed him that they could just return the tray to the hallway and staff would pick it up. It was interesting to figure out the little things Freddy didn’t know—Michael had to remind himself that what was common knowledge to him wasn’t necessarily as obvious to the former animatronic.

When Freddy bent to place the tray on the hallway floor, he felt Sammy’s business card crinkle in his pocket. Locking the door and returning to the living room area, he told the others: “We should call Sammy and let him know we successfully acquired a room.”

“Do you want to do the honors, Charlie?” Michael asked, watching Freddy pull the little card out of his pocket.

Charlie leaned back, the sensation of being full unusual and new all over again. While eating had given her a sort of tired demeanor, she could always talk to her brother. “Sure! Sam's probably already worried we haven't called already.”

Charlie didn't want to tell the others, but Sam had begged Charlie to stay. While she wanted to catch up with her twin, it was very clear that he wouldn't get anything done with her around to distract him. She'd return tomorrow, and the three friends could catch up—maybe reintroduce Sammy with Liz and Evan, if he was up for it.

And Sam still had to meet with his dad…

After taking the card from Freddy, Charlie wandered into the living area and dialed up his number. He voice grew dimmer as she walked, with Sammy picking up immediately.

“Hey! It's Charlie—” she started, unaware that he knew the hotel was calling him from the caller ID. Their conversation consisted of what room they were staying in, and how nice it was to be out and about again after so long.

Inside the bathroom, after Gregory dressed himself he took a good look in the mirror. Wiping away the fog from the reflective glass, he sighed deeply.

He was happy to be out of the Pizzaplex—even happier to be alive and with people who cared about him. Still, this ghastly appearance he had now just made him feel strange. It’s like he was looking at another person's face in every reflection he saw of himself. The shower didn't help with that; it couldn't wash away the effects of the Remnant on his body.

Feeling his mind grow foggy, Gregory decided to lean against the sink and stare dejectedly until his face looked normal again.

Of course, it didn’t take Freddy long to sense something amiss. After the water had been cut off for some time and the boy still hadn’t emerged from the bathroom, Freddy glanced towards the closed door with a pinched expression.

“Hey, we’re supposed to be relaxing, remember?” Michael commented, placing a hand on Freddy’s back. Despite his playful words, Mike also felt a nagging tug in the back of his mind as he remembered the last time he’d left Gregory alone in a bathroom… although he was quick to remind himself that William and his tricks were gone. Plus, Michael was in there last and hadn’t seen anything that might inject an unsuspecting child with immortality juice.

“…I should check on him,” Freddy murmured, and Mike knew not to fight him on the matter. He gave Freddy’s back a pat, then went to lounge on the couch and check out the TV, curious to see what sort of trashy shows were on nowadays. Knocking on the bathroom door, Freddy called out softly: “Gregory? It is Freddy; are you alright?”

Gregory was stirred from this odd depersonalizing episode. Blinking out of it and looking to the door, he called beyond the sturdy wooden barrier between them.

“Combing my hair!” he lied, quickly brushing his fingers through his bangs. Gregory held it out before dropping the still wet locks of hair, in desperate need of a cut soon. “Be out in a second!”

The last thing he wanted was to worry Freddy of all people. After making himself a little more presentable, halfway tucking his tank top and not caring if it was uneven, Gregory strode from the bathroom. Charlie had since taken her call out on the balcony, the cord to the hotel phone pinched between sliding glass doors. Between Michael's flicking through endless channels, you could hear the light chime of her laughter.

Gregory smiled up at Freddy. “What's up?”

There wasn't anything wrong. He was fine.

…Well. Fine enough .

Surely the strange apprehension he felt when entering bathrooms now would go away eventually. One day he'd forget the whole fiasco with that plushie even happened, Gregory told himself.

“I was just checking in on you,” Freddy said, returning the smile. Clearly the boy had been stressing about something—Freddy could see it in his pale face and shining silver eyes. “Follow me a moment, would you?”

He led Gregory into the bedroom and closed the door, just in case he didn’t want his siblings to overhear their conversation. Freddy hoped he'd open up and tell him what was bothering him, but if not he at least wanted to assure Gregory he was always there if he wanted to talk. The poor boy had been through so many traumatic events over the past weekend, it was honestly a wonder he could still be in such high spirits. Freddy half-expected some residual shock to hit at any moment—possibly even for Michael and Charlie, too, though they had years to deal with the situation compared to Gregory’s three days.

“Sit next to me,” Freddy instructed gently as he perched on one of the beds, patting the empty spot at his side. When Gregory clambered up and got settled, Freddy ran a hand through his wet hair, pushing it out of his face. “I just wanted to let you know that you can always talk to me about anything. You have been through a lot this weekend—more so than anyone should ever have to, let alone someone so young. If there is ever something bothering you, I will listen and do my best to help in whatever way I can.”

Freddy’s words and kind expression were backed with nothing but the utmost sincerity. Of course he could talk to Freddy about anything; Gregory knew this.

But what good was talking about how he felt going to do?

Maybe this mindset—this way of approaching things—wasn't good. But Gregory felt as though it was merely his self-esteem being affected. Or... perhaps it was a side effect of the Remnant.

There was a while where Gregory thought on this. That is until he realized his father was looking at him with increasing worry. He had to say something—whether it was a cover up or the truth it didn’t matter.

“It's my face... I just don't look like me anymore. I'm still getting used to it,” Gregory admitted, unsure how important it was that his mind left his body while staring at his own reflection. He would omit this little detail for now.

“Ah.” Freddy’s expression shifted to one of understanding. “Well, I can certainly empathize to a degree—it seems like it may take us both a while to get used to our appearances.”

At this point, Freddy still hadn’t gotten a chance to really look at this new android form of him—not while he inhabited it, that is. So distracted with the rest of the world, he’d been content to catch the occasional faint glimpse of himself in a passing glass window. However, he knew Gregory’s concern came from an entirely different and darker place.

“If it is any consolation,” Freddy continued with that eye-crinkling smile of his, gently cupping one of Gregory’s cheeks in his hand. “I still think you look just like my superstar, regardless of what you might see in the mirror.”

At least they weren't going through this alone. Gregory never thought he'd ever get to feel the familial closeness and pride of being loved unconditionally. But Freddy remained his papa bear; now he just happened to look less ursine than ever.

“That helps...” Gregory replied, leaning into his touch. “I'll get over it eventually. Like you said... I just have to get used to it.” He sighed in a resigned fashion.

And hey—maybe it would help him hide better from... them.

“It's probably for the best I don't look like myself, anyway.” Gregory reached up and grasped Freddy's hand where it rested on his face, glancing away momentarily. “Then my foster parents can't find me...”

Almost imperceptibly, Freddy’s fingertips tightened against Gregory’s cheek. This was a topic he hadn’t wanted to think of just yet, but knew this was a real threat on the horizon. For all intents and purposes, Freddy had kidnapped a child. Despite the well-meaning behind his actions, he knew there was a whole slew of issues regarding that he hadn’t the first idea how to go about dealing with.

“No matter what happens, I am staying with you,” Freddy reassured, wholly confident of at least that fact. He finally moved his hand, only to pull Gregory into a tight hug. “Now, how about we get the others and check out that arcade? I am curious to see how it compares to the Pizzaplex!”

Gregory had never seen such a collection of attractions than those at the Pizzaplex. He doubted the little hotel arcade could hold a candle to the might of the gaming library Freddy’s had. Still, it was totally worth it to go and see the looks on Michael’s face when Gregory beat him at fighting games again. It was a fun distraction.

And that’s what he really needed right now. Anything to get his mind off the silver eyes in his head, and those terrifying faces of people who only loved him for the paycheck he brought with him.

***

There were a few reruns of popular shows playing on some TV channels. The 90’s hit The Immortal and the Restless was having an anniversary marathon—all twelve seasons aired two times and followed by the dramatic movie conclusion. When Charlie was done with her phone call, she couldn’t help but notice the familiar theme song playing on the high definition television.

“Oh no, what season is this?” she asked, hurrying to hang up the phone so she could scamper back towards the couch. She didn’t want to miss anymore of the show than she already had.

“Season five,” Michael replied, shifting to make room. His eyes never left the TV, even as he felt Charlie sink in next to him. “You’ve missed so much… meanwhile I’ve seen this entire show way too many times.”

Mike couldn’t even begin to count the amount of hours he’d laid motionless in front of the TV, watching crappy soap operas with reckless abandon. It’d become somewhat of a guilty pleasure over the years, especially as time went on and it became more difficult for him to actually leave his apartment. What better way to get away from the troubles of his own life than to become invested in those of fictional characters?

As Charlie settled next to Michael, Freddy and Gregory emerged from the bedroom. Noticing the pair on the couch, Freddy walked over to their side and announced: “Gregory and I are going to visit the arcade and would love for you to join us!”

“Huh?” Mike was fully invested in the vampire drama, and it took a monumental effort—and well-timed commercial break—to tear his gaze away and look up at Freddy. Once he processed what the man said though, he was quick to brighten up with an eager nod. “Oh, sure! We can definitely explore the hotel a bit.”

Good thing they were playing the marathon twice, Charlie thought, grinning as she lifted herself energetically from the couch. That way they could start at the beginning tomorrow.

“I almost forgot about the arcade!” Charlie was going to enjoy being able to play a video game without the oppressive atmosphere of the Pizzaplex ruining all their fun. Remembering the bag stashed away inside her jacket pocket, she mused: “I wonder if this prize counter will accept three rolls of game tickets from Freddy's…”

“Great question,” Gregory said, already trying to get out of the door. He reached for the knob and opened up the hallway and holding it. “We'll find out when we get there!”

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

The rest of the day and following night passed in a pleasantly restful blur. The family visited the arcade, then swung by the gym and spa just to see what those were all about. However, most of their time was spent in their suite watching TV, eating overpriced food, or simply chatting. This usually involved Michael and Charlie regaling stories from their past, with two or more of the group snuggled up together at all times.

Though they were safe and sound, it was hard to shake the feeling of worry if anyone left each other’s line of sight. It was much easier just to stay close, and one seemed to complain about this one bit.

Before they knew it, nearly a full twenty-four hours had passed since they'd escaped the Pizzaplex. The group found themselves standing outside the mega-mall, staring up at the bright neon entrance sign. Gregory’s hand was securely latched onto Freddy’s, while Charlie had her arm hooked through Michael’s. She’d called earlier to let Sam know they’d been fed and rested and were ready to return, and he could be seen just inside the glass doors waiting for them.

“Well… here we are again,” Michael sighed, sounding a bit reluctant. The rare day of rest and no responsibility had been wonderful, but he knew they still had a good deal to sort out in the aftermath of William’s blight of terror.

“It looks like Samuel is waiting for us,” Freddy commented, squinting at the pacing figure. He began to walk, gently pulling Gregory along behind him. “Let us see what progress they have made in our absence!”

Dressed in his overalls and smattered with oil, the overworked owner was fidgeting uncomfortably. Samuel knew he shouldn't be worrying so badly. The hotel was four blocks away; it wasn’t possible they could’ve gotten lost. When Sam noticed the gang heading towards the Pizzaplex, he figured he'd better not be rude and went to hold the door for them.

“Guys, glad to see you all again!” he greeted, hoping his sunnier demeanor would encourage them not to fear the place Charlie described to him as a “death trap.” “Guess who got a few of the animatronics up and working? This guy!”

Sammy felt the taxing exhaustion falling on his shoulders from the manual backbreaking labor, but with the staff and engineer shortage he had to work double shifts fixing everyone before the week was up. That was about as much as Samuel could pay for out of pocket before their company would fail to financially recover, anyway. It wasn't as if he could slack off even if he wanted to.

“Which ones?” Gregory asked warily, sending Sam a skeptical eye as they entered the building.

“Heh,” Samuel huffed, feeling the apprehension radiate off the kid. “Just the Daycare attendant and the bassist! As you can probably guess, Monty's old body was unsalvageable so we rebooted his AI into a new, clean model. Poor guy's upset we haven't been able to find his glasses, though...”

“Monty is back online?!” Freddy asked eagerly. His gaze automatically turned to the path leading to Rockstar Row, and right on que he could see the friendly gator striding towards them with a wave.

Out of his three band members, Monty was the one he regretted damaging the most simply because Freddy had been the direct cause of his destruction. He wanted to run right to Monty and apologize, but kept the urge at bay with a glance towards Gregory. To say the boy looked nervous was an understatement. He was certainly trying to put on a brave face, but his hesitancy was palpable.

Still holding Gregory’s palm, Freddy ran his free hand through Gregory's hair to reassure him. “I would like to visit Monty and Sun today, but we can do so at your pace, superstar. Is that alright?”

Michael had clapped Sammy on the back by this point, flashing him a grin.

“Look at you, Sam—a bonafide mechanic.” He chuckled, raising a questioning eyebrow. “Hopefully no one gave you too much trouble…?”

Michael spoke as if he was the head mechanic of the Pizzaplex. Though after all those years working so up close and personal with dozens of animatronics from multiple franchises, not to mention the fast repairs he’d had to do over the weekend, he might as well be.

“Mike, my life is trouble,” Sammy said with enough enthusiasm it seemed more like he was joking than self-deprecating. “Really it wasn't them that caused an issue. Dumping all that malware was such a pain. Then after that it was simple routine parts maintenance—or, in Monty's case, porting him to a new shell. I don't think I've ever seen an endoskeleton so messed up like that!”

As if he sensed them talking about him, the large figure of Montgomery Gator emerged from the back door leading to Rockstar Row. Catching sight of the group, the friendly gator strode towards them with a wave. Gregory was all tense at Monty’s approach; getting his legs to move properly was an impossible feat. Still the gator advanced, and Gregory couldn't help but be reminded of when Monty turned on him within his dressing room. The sudden burst of the neon lights and subsequent thrashing that followed would forever be etched into his mind.

“I-It’s fine! I'll just close my eyes; pretend he's not there...,” Gregory told Freddy. He knew Monty should be okay, but really it was only Freddy’s secure, warm hand that kept him from bolting for the safety of the hotel room.

“Hey, Boss-man!” Monty called to Sammy with a wide grin, stopping a few feet away from the group. “Just wanted to let ya know I’m feelin’ a whole lot better than earlier—my software checks said everythin’s a-okay, too.”

“That is wonderful to hear, Monty!” Freddy replied automatically, not registering how out of place this comment might sound in his current body. The gator’s red eyes rolled towards him, full of nothing but amiable confusion. Even when his gaze flitted over Michael, Charlie, and—most concerning—Gregory, Monty gave no indication of malfunctioning.

“Heh, thanks, Mister… uh…,” Monty trailed off, tilting his head curiously. A blue light emitted from his eyes as he conducted a quick scan, then shook his head with a little shrug. “Sorry, none of y’all are in my database. I thought we weren’t havin’ guests today?” He turned his questioning gaze on Sammy, but before he could explain Michael stepped in.

“Maybe we should all move to Monty’s room to talk?” he suggested, noting the inquisitive looks they were getting from passing staff members. Monty clearly hadn’t been briefed on their situation, although Mike couldn’t blame Sammy for that—it was a feat just to get the animatronic working again in such a short amount of time, let alone explain… everything.

“Sure—we’re still puttin’ back the final touches, but if the Boss is okay with it, then I don’t mind,” Monty said with another shrug, still looking to Sammy for direction.

When not infected by malware, the gator was pretty agreeable! That, and he was a little unnerved by the look of poorly disguised hurt on the red-headed man’s face, let alone the utter fear radiating from the boy at his side. He also couldn’t shake how familiar the man’s voice sounded… not to mention his striking blue eyes. They weirdly reminded him of Freddy’s, but that was probably just a trick of the light.

“Or we could talk anywhere else!” Gregory squeaked imperceptibly. Yet Charlie and Samuel began to lead the group with Sam’s rather cheery disposition being their locomotion.

“Good idea! I’ll introduce you to my friends there, Monty,” Sam assured.

Gregory gave some resistance as Freddy went and followed his friend inside his hangout spot. Monty’s room had been restored to its former punk-rock glory. The aesthetic was cool—that was why Gregory chose to hide there that first night he’d been trapped. After everyone filed in, Samuel clapped his hands together to garner their attention.

“Alright! Introductions. Monty, these are my friends.” He gestured down the line of humans who filed inside his hang out spot. “Michael Afton—he’s related to one of the original founders and a good buddy of mine. Charlie—my sister!" He frowned, knowing he'd have to explain why the staff referred to her as his daughter. A conversation for later, Sam compartmentalized. "And this is Gregory! Er..." Sam’s voice took on a confused tone as Gregory hid behind Freddy’s leg.

“Oh, goodness—I am sorry, superstar,” Freddy apologized, snapping out of his funk when he felt Gregory cling. Despite how much he wanted to tell Monty everything right then and there, Gregory’s health and happiness came first. Freddy shifted to place a comforting hand on his son’s back, pressing him closer to his leg and offering Monty an apologetic smile. “Gregory is… shy around the animatronics.”

“Aww, that’s okay, little guy!” Monty replied, completely unfazed by kids being scared of him. He crouched, trying to make himself as non-imposing as possible, tail curled around his leg. Resting his forearms on his knees, Monty flashed Gregory a wide grin. “I know I look kinda scary, but I’m not gonna hurt ya! Promise!”

Michael couldn’t help but grimace at the irony of these words, turning his face away so Monty wouldn’t catch his expression. He moved closer to Gregory, running a hand through his hair and hoping the combined presence of him and Freddy would help ease the boy’s nerves.

Gregory seemed to stare right on through the oversized alligator a little longer than was comfortable. He couldn't stand Monty looking at him like that, gaze fixed and attentive. Although he seemed happy now, all Gregory could remember was how Monty slashed at him with reckless abandon whilst out of his mind.

Then, Gregory remembered the pair of shades in his pocket. Silently, he fished out the star-shaped frames and held them in his palm like a peace offering.

“We've met before... I was never on the kid registry and snuck in. These are yours...” Gregory breathed out nervously, withholding from begging Monty not to crush his bones. Being immortalized with Remnant or not, Gregory was positive such a mauling wouldn't feel pleasant.

Charlie gritted her teeth. That was sure to confuse the hell out of the poor gator. But she felt bad for Gregory, and maybe this was his way of making nice with the animatronic?

“My shades!” Monty gasped, reaching for the glasses with quick reflexes most of the group had only seen in a negative context. It was only after he’d set the glasses on his face that he saw Gregory’s wide-eyed expression of terror—or was it determination? Honestly, the kid looked like he was either going to run away screaming or sock Monty in the jaw, and the gator wasn’t too keen on either option.

“Sorry, kid,” he apologized, squinting at Gregory through cracked purple frames. “I was just surprised! I thought these were lost when—”

Monty trailed off, sharp-toothed jaw hanging open slightly as he put together the pieces. He looked to the kid’s dad—why did he seem so familiar?!—then to Sammy, speaking in a slow, almost horrified tone.

“Oh no, was… was he here over the weekend?! I don’t remember anythin’ ‘cept things bein’ all outta whack…” Turning his gaze back to Gregory, he wore an expression of sincerest apology. “If I did somethin’ to make you scared of me, I’m so sorry, little guy…”

The fact that Gregory had his glasses indicated to Monty that something very bad had gone down the last time they met—and the gator was clearly the cause of it.

“Now,” Samuel had his hands up patting the air as if to tell everyone to calm down. “No one’s in trouble. There was a... a system glitch this weekend, and poor Gregory was caught in the middle of the whole thing. Super unnerving, especially for a kid.”

Sam tried to explain things lightly for now in general terms he hoped the animatronic would understand. Looking to Monty, Sam offered him a pat on the back. “It’s like having a cold—you just weren't yourself, but we're all good now. There's no hard feelings; right, Gregory?”

The boy shoved his hands deep into his pockets, exercising the cheat he found. As long as he flipped things off from within his pockets, no one knew he was doing it. Therefore he wouldn't get in trouble.

“Yeah, sure,” Gregory settled. If Monty wanted him dead, he was basically being served up on a silver platter. The bassist would have had no trouble trying to mutilate him right then and there should he feel the urge to. After another tense moment, Gregory said in a bit more of a definitive tone: “We're cool...”

After clearing his throat, Samuel came to Freddy's side, clamping a hand on the taller man's shoulder to call attention to him. “But how could I forget our last guest? You two have met before as well! Why don't you say 'hi,' Fred?”

Monty watched Gregory carefully as Sam explained things, thankful the kid didn’t bolt for the door. That must’ve been one hell of a glitch… He was relieved when Gregory announced they were cool, even though Monty could see it’d take a lot of effort on his part to make up for whatever he’d done to the poor little guy. When Sammy formally introduced the boy’s father, Monty’s attention was instantly diverted to the redhead.

“Fred?” he echoed, slowly rising up to full height so he didn’t startle the child with sudden movements. His gaze was solely fixed on the man Gregory clung to, taking another serious look at his eyes and the way he held himself. Honestly, it really did remind Monty of his bandmate, who was currently decommissioned like Chica and Roxy.

But… that made no sense. This man was clearly human and had a kid.

“Hello, Monty,” Freddy said warmly, his greeting late but as heartfelt as ever. Michael took the liberty of subtly pulling Gregory to his side so the old friends could interact, not wanting him to get caught in the crossfire if Monty freaked out as Freddy continued with a smile. “I know this will come as a shock and may be difficult to understand, but… I am the Freddy you have known your entire life—my data was ported into a new body, hence why my old one is out of commission.”

Monty simply blinked at him for a long, tense moment. Then he snorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest and shaking his head. “Oh, you’re a jokester! I gotcha.”

“I am serious, Monty.” Freddy’s gaze was imploring, begging the gator to believe him, but Monty just rolled his eyes.

“Nah—you got me for a sec, not gonna lie. But Freddy’s an animatronic bear; it’s literally in his name.” He looked the man up and down with a loud laugh. “And no offense, big guy, but you’re nothin’ close to that.”

Freddy huffed, looking to the ground for a moment. He knew this wouldn’t be easy, but he needed Monty to believe him somehow…

“It's true!” Charlie said, speaking up for Freddy and vouching for their existences as robots. “In fact, Michael and I are just like you too, Monty—we’re all animatronics! Oh, except Gregory; he’s one hundred percent human.” She looked to Michael, pulling her hair from the side of her neck. “Quick—Mike, find that flappy panel thing my dad built!”

If anyone could demonstrate their robotic abilities, Michael would know how to showcase them.

“Eugh—don't do the face thing. The face thing’s weird.” Gregory held up a hand and looked away to blind the direction where Charlie stood. While the skin-flush neck flap was a genius way to hide an access port and control panel, it squicked Gregory out when seeing the “flesh” peel backwards.

“Sam, you do not want to see this either,” Michael advised. When he was sure Sam and Gregory’s visions were shielded, he reached over to hook a short nail into the loose piece of skin at the base of Charlie’s skull and exposed the row of controls.

“See? Freddy and I have them, too,” he said as Monty moved closer to stare at Charlie’s neck with a wide-eyed expression of shock.

“Well, I’ll be…,” the gator muttered, his circuits working overtime to take in this information. The closest thing to a humanoid robot the information in his databanks provided was the Ballora model, but she was nowhere close to actually passing as a real person. But these things in front of him… these were flawless, down to the veins under their skin and false heartbeats in their chests.

“It really is me, Monty,” Freddy assured, grasping his friend’s claw between his hands.

The difference in their palm size was almost laughable as Monty stared down at them for a second. Then he looked into Freddy’s eyes, searching for any sign this was still just a really well thought-out trick…

Upon finding only the worried sincerity he’d come to associate with his good friend, Monty let out a shout and scooped Freddy into a tight embrace.

“Aw man, Fredbear, I missed you!” he exclaimed, ignoring how Freddy’s feet lifted off the ground a couple inches as he hugged him close. “I knew somethin’ was up when they said you were down for the count and no one could tell what was wrong with ya…” He tilted his head curiously, holding Freddy out by the shoulders and still suspended in the air. “But why’d you switch to this body when yours looked perfectly fine?! I mean, this one’s cool and all—I dig the hair, especially—but… why?”

“Oh, it is a long story…,” Freddy chuckled, perfectly content in Monty’s grasp. It was strange being handled like a typical human, but of course he wasn’t scared of his dear friend in the slightest.

“You guys should catch up!” Charlie encouraged. The feeling of her fake skin peeling away came in the form of an odd tickle, and she smoothed it down with her palm before letting the long, dark tresses of her hair fall back over her shoulders. “Michael and I have some maintenance to take care of...”

Their mission was the farthest thing from fun, but undeniably important: they were to dismantle those robots in William’s secret murder room, and Charlie would see if there was anyone else still stuck who wanted to come back. Though, she doubted she’d find anyone else besides the girl they’d discovered last night. Their killer was dead after all; there wasn't much use for vengeful apparitions when they have nothing to be vengeful for.

Still, some came back for other unfinished business—or simply out of confusion over being dead in the first place. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to check.

“When we come back, we've got a surprise in the basem*nt for you, Sammy!” Charlie told him, grasping onto his arm and playfully shaking it.

“Sounds... Ominous. Yet, at the same time, inviting!” He supposed it was his sister’s tone of voice, though he trusted both her and Michael not to be pulling one of their tandem pranks upon him so soon after arriving back in his life.

“Uh—I've gotta go find Hannah soon, too. So I'll come with when you guys get back!” Gregory piped up. The telltale makings of a blush forming over his cheeks made Charlie grin.

“What?” Gregory asked defensively, feeling the burn get worse as Charlie raised her eyebrows silently. “What? We're just hanging out!”

“I didn't say anything! Sensitive, much?” she teased, reaching out and tussling his hair.

“Gregory and I will stay here for the time being, then,” Freddy agreed as Monty finally set him back on the ground.

“See y’all soon!” Monty said with a bright wave, eager to spend time with Freddy and catch up on what happened while he was out. Plus, more importantly, they could discuss what the future would look like for Freddy and the band with this new development.

As the others made their way to the door, Mike followed Charlie’s lead and aggressively ruffled Gregory’s hair to the point where it stuck up every which way, snickering all the while. With a chiding click of his tongue, Freddy quickly got to work smoothing it out to the best of his ability, causing Monty to let out another hearty laugh. The last thing the group heard before the door shut was Monty asking in a jovial tone: “So, Fredbear—is this your kid now, or…?”

Gregory looked up the hulking robot. He wasn’t even close to the mean, bloodthirsty monster Gregory had come to know over the past weekend. From what he could tell, under normal circ*mstances Monty was a nice gator. Relaxed and smiley, he even seemed to be fine with Freddy's decision to change.

Relieved, Gregory explained the situation in the succinct way kids had. “Yee-up, Freddy adopted me!”

Freddy could tell Gregory was already more comfortable around Monty, much to his relief. He was also pleased the gator was taking everything in stride, especially the new appearance.

“That’s real sweet,” Monty told the pair with a wide grin. “Freddy’s definitely gonna take good care of ya, squirt—he’s a super protective bear.” He chuckled at a memory, setting his hands on his hips. “One time he caught me holdin’ a kid up by the ankle—it was totally fine and the little guy begged me to do it! But man did Freddy chew me out for not following ‘child safety protocols’ or whatever…”

“The blood was rushing to the poor boy’s head, Monty; I was concerned,” Freddy replied, eyes narrowed slightly as he defended his position.

The gator just snorted and waved a nonchalant hand. “Eh, he was fine! You know I was checkin’ his health stats. The dude was screamin’ from fun, not pain!”

Monty was by far one of the more hands-on entertainers. Every kid wanted to emulate those nature programs where the hosts would wrestle gators, and Monty seemed more than happy to oblige.

Freddy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, which only seemed to entertain Monty further. His tail swayed slowly back and forth, amused by how much more expressive Freddy’s new face was. Now it was even more fun to rile the old bear up.

Coming out from the safety behind Freddy, Gregory would trust that Sam had fixed Monty’s programming and William’s virus was completely wiped from his software. It was sort of funny watching as Freddy and Monty gently disagreed upon their treatment of the kids. Gregory assumed during normal hours that Monty’s goal was for fun, and never to intentionally harm.

From there Gregory would ask Monty a list of questions about day to day life as an entertainer at the Pizzaplex. Now that one of the Glamrocks didn’t want his blood, they all could comfortably talk…

***

“Hey, Sam?” Michael asked as he, Sammy, and Charlie walked down Rockstar Row. “I left the walkie talkie I was using over the weekend here the other night. Any chance we could pick up a spare? That way Charlie and I can call you when we’re done, since we don’t have cell phones...” He paused, brows creasing together in thought. “Actually, it’s not a bad idea to get Freddy a walkie while we’re in the Pizzaplex, too…”

Sam gave a nod, thankful to have someone he knew and trusted to fix such a sensitive matter. The whole thing left a bad taste in his mouth, but there was only so much he could do in the wake of supernatural forces.

“Anything I have is at your disposal. Just as long as this mess is taken care of without anyone else getting hurt,” Sam told them, voice quiet and low. “If I don't hear from either of you, Charlie told me to find Puppet. Said she’d be somewhere in the basem*nt...”

Charlie's bracelet had been lost long ago, but if Samuel led Puppet directly to her old charge, she could extract Charlie and Mike’s bodies from the room without risking Sam getting hurt.

“Got it; thanks, Sammy.” Michael clapped his friend on the shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry—we’ve been dealing with this stuff for decades. Why don’t you try and sit for five minutes, okay? Charlie and I will swing by a security office and grab some walkies.”

Sam was clearly exhausted, both from the stress of everything and fiddling with animatronic machinery all night. Michael knew the workaholic wouldn’t stay down for long, but perhaps he and Charlie could nag him enough into getting off his feet for just a little while.

It was a short walk to Parts & Service. From there, it wasn’t a far stretch finding the false wall in the room that hid away William’s secret laboratory. Charlie looked apprehensive, unsure if Michael was going to be able to handle the gore-splattered place. Her fear was that it’d only aggravate the trauma her friend had been through, and the last thing Mike needed was a full-blown panic attack.

“I’m not too sure how strong these things are, but we can’t underestimate them. Just let me know if it’s too much…,” Charlie warned him, thinking of options just in case. She could always dismantle those deadly endos in a pinch—though Michael would surely be able to disassemble them faster than she ever could.

“Will do,” Mike said with a curt nod. His whole body was tense, preparing for the horrific sight it was about to witness. Charlie had warned him as best she could about what awaited them in this dark little room, but Michael knew that no amount of warning would hold a candle to the real sight of all those bodies.

Thankfully, the tarp was still laying over the majority of the dead children, except for the three Charlie had tried to bring back. Michael forced his gaze not to linger on the covered mass, though he felt the telltale sign of his last meal rising up his throat when he saw what was clearly Hannah’s little ponytail sticking out from behind one of the S.T.A.F.F. bot masks, now stringy with dried bodily fluids and sagging low towards the base of her neck. Michael looked away quickly, gripping the edge of the false wall opening as he fisted his shirt over his mouth and nose, trying to take deep breaths.

As harsh as the thought was, Michael just had to remind himself there was no way he could’ve saved these kids—not with the circ*mstances he and Charlie had found themselves in when waking up at the Pizzaplex.

It was the guilt that got to him the most, really. The sight was horrific, yes, but at least the kids Charlie had propped up still looked mostly intact. Strangulation was by no means a pleasant way to go; however, Michael had far too many memories of his own body looking and feeling disgustingly wrong that the state of the kids wasn’t the most shocking thing. God, they were so young, though…

After taking a moment to recover with Charlie hovering worriedly by his side, Michael’s pale eyes shifted to hers and he gave a light nod. Letting his shirt drop back down, he kept his vision focused on the half of the room full of endoskeletons, making a beeline for the closest one and wasting no time dismantling the terrible thing. Even though Vanny did mess with their coding to some extent, like the other animatronics the majority of their aggressive nature came from William’s virus. Now, they were completely still and silent, their screws coming loose surprisingly easy—almost as if wishing to be dismantled after all the innocent deaths they’d caused.

Charlie would stand by vigilantly, helping Mike organize his tools and handing him the correct wrenches or pliers. The smell in the room, on top of the heavy darkness that was only broken by the crack inside the wall, had given Charlie the feeling of claustrophobia again. Still, she powered through with the determination to eradicate every remaining ounce of evidence that William was ever here.

Yet that didn't explain on what to do with the children. Charlie begun to think of ways to take them out of the Pizzeria while still being respectful, lost in her many ideas while Michael worked.

Then there was a snapping sound, a bang... And complete darkness fell over the both of them.

“Mike?” Charlie jumped, reaching out to grasp for her friend. “What did you do? This isn't that funny, you know...”

She sounded annoyed, voice pitched high with tension and nerves. She wouldn't hold it against him if he was only trying to lighten the mood, but this was too solemn of a job to be pulling a prank of this caliber.

“Charlie?!” Michael's instant reaction was concern for his friend, reaching around blindly until his hand clasped onto hers. He held tight, letting out a sigh of relief that quickly turned into an annoyed growl. “I didn’t do anything—the f*cking door shut on us!”

Still holding Charlie’s hand, Michael looked around the room and tried to orient himself. It was pitch-black save for a tiny sliver of light that came in through the bottom of the fake wall, though this did absolutely nothing to help them see.

“Un-f*cking-believable,” Michael cursed, his filter gone with no impressionable siblings or stern father figures to worry about overhearing him. “I had one more of those damn things left, then we’d be out of this sh*thole of a room and meet up with the others…”

He heaved another sigh, pulling Charlie in the direction of the light and running the fingertips of his other hand along the wall. “Let’s try to open the door ourselves before we call Sam and give him a heart attack; there’s got to be an internal switch somewhere around here…”

Charlie would let a sigh rip from her body—not one of annoyance, but rather of relief. There was nothing extraordinary happening to them; just the two of them doing a chore together and being waylaid with something menial.

“Right—” Charlie agreed. This was probably something the two of them could solve themselves. “—you try pushing it open, I'll feel along the wall.”

She gave Mike’s hand a reassuring squeeze, then let him go to search. She started low next to the seam in the false wall, then gradually climbed in search of a lock button or even a card reader. Finding nothing, Charlie decided to concentrate her efforts on helping Mike push open the door.

“This thing wasn't this hard to open before!” Charlie groaned, bracing her feet on the ground. Shoving the entirety of her body weight against the door proved to do nothing alongside him, and was quickly becoming a waste of time.

And then there was the sound of sneakers squeaking across the polished tile floors. Like someone had bolted across the room just out of their line of sight.

The sharp noise made Charlie squish against Michael in the darkness, unable to see any looming threat. Were the endoskeletons coming back online?!

Something laughed at them from the shadows.

“Who’s there?!” Michael called, his nerves alight and focused on the direction of the squeaking and laughter. It almost sounded like a kid, but the only ones that should be in the Pizzaplex right now were either in Monty’s room or way down below in the old Pizzeria.

“Cassidy?” Michael hissed the name, wrapping a protective arm around Charlie’s shoulders as he squinted into the darkness. He hadn’t yet gotten to know her on a personal level, but it was clear that out of everyone she was the most likely to do something like this and think it was hilarious. Plus, without an android body she could easily phase through walls and find them. “Cassidy, if that’s you this is not funny—stop trying to freak us out and open the damn door!”

Charlie curled her arm up and around Michael's back, keeping track of where he was and to give herself a sense of balance while pivoting in the dark. She couldn't actually see anything, but Charlie went and agreed with Michael's scolding tone.

“It's pretty f*cked up Cas, come on. You've done way better pranks than this...,” Charlie half-lied. Usually all her pranks were a little cruel. Her reasoning was that it gave them something to think about other than being dead all day. When Charlie heard two unfamiliar voices talking she squeezed Mike even harder, halting his steps while she attempted to locate where its origin was.

“'Nother one?”

“Who's Cassidy?” whispered two similar voices, not too far from each other.

Charlie barely remembered the room's layout, but urged Michael where she thought the sound was coming from near a workbench.

“Shut up, dumbass; they're coming!” scolded the first voice.

“Don’t tell me to shut up, ass-hat! You’re the one who started it!”

The bickering voices stopped after a quick and dull thumping sound. Charlie had accidentally kicked a tool across the floor; now whoever it was could hear their approach and dared not speak anymore, allowing a dark silence to fill the room.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

“Oh sh*t…,” Michael breathed in a whisper, he and Charlie stopping in their tracks. The voices muttering from the darkness were completely unfamiliar, as were the way they snapped at each other. The closest Michael could compare it to was when he’d bickered with Lizzie and Evan as kids. With a grimace, he leaned towards Charlie to whisper in her ear. “I think these might be other kids who… you know.”

He couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder at where the endoskeletons stood, still and silent in their dismantled states. With a shudder, he also recalled the image of three small bodies wearing demented S.T.A.F.F. bot masks. Out of the trio, Michael had only recognized Hannah’s tiny, frozen frame.

“Hey, um… we’re not here to hurt you,” he said, trying to sound calm despite his racing mechanical heart. Charlie may have done this sort of thing many times, but Mike was still new to the whole concept of giving recently-deceased children her Gift. Keeping a tight hold of Charlie, he offered the voices a tiny smile, unsure if they could actually see it in the darkness. “I’m Michael, and this is Charlie. We’re friends.”

To the girl at his side, he whispered: “I thought you said Hannah was the only one that came back!”

Charlie gave him a hard shrug so he could feel her equal confusion.

“I tried to bring back three kids. I only got Hannah,” Charlie explained in a hush. She alternated into a louder call, adding a tense smile to her voice just like Mike. “Hello? I’m Charlie! We only want to help—”

Then, it was back to whispering with Michael. “—these must be the other two. I didn’t sense anything when we came in here today; they must’ve been hiding!”

It was the most logical conclusion she could draw.

“Can you believe they're whispering about us like we're not here?” sounded a voice from directly behind them, making Charlie actually jump in shock. “Hellooo? Do you guys work here? One of your stupid employees locked us in this sh*tty room!”

As one, Charlie and Michael whipped around and saw the two apparitions. Charlie took stock of the way they looked and it made her regret opening her eyes. They were two pale, fair-haired boys. Their heads from the crown to their jawline were leaking steady streams of blood, so vivid and dark that Charlie thought it was all a bad dream for a moment—too much at once to be real.

“Yeah,” the other agreed, crossing his arms and leaning against his brother, his crooked neck making him a little shorter than his sibling. “You guys sure took your sweet time finding us.”

It took all of Michael’s willpower not to scream at the sight of the ghosts. He was used to apparitions that were indistinguishable from living humans unless you looked really hard—these boys appearing as they did the moment they died was something else entirely. Their bleeding heads reminded Michael way too much of Evan’s mangled body after he’d been pried from the jaws of Golden Freddy…

Despite William’s instruction to stay in the back room, Michael couldn’t resist the urge to see the damage he’d done to his brother. That whole day was a horrendous blot of darkness in Michael’s memory, but the image of Evan’s bloodied, slack-jawed face with eyes rolled far back into his skull was the focus of his nightmares for decades afterwards.

Finally releasing Charlie, Mike pressed a hand over his mouth and tried to take deep breaths as he started to tremble. However, this only strengthened the scent of death and decay he inhaled from the bodies in the corner, so he quickly scrapped that idea, thankful androids didn’t need to breathe. He didn’t want to offend or upset the kids—it wasn’t their fault they looked like that—but Michael wasn’t going to be any help until he cleared his head first.

“J-Just give me a s-sec,” he choked out, meeting Charlie’s gaze for the briefest second before fully turning away.

“Yo, lady is he gonna throw up?” the first boy asked, peeking over to where Michael was taking a time out. Charlie tried her best to shield Mike with her body and distract the spirits.

“Him? Nah, don't even worry about him. What's your names?” Charlie begun to investigate, trying to figure out exactly how much they knew what was really going on.

The more dominant of the two brothers stepped forward and jabbed a thumb towards himself. “We're Cain and Quinn. I’m Cain; he’s not. Figure the rest out. I'm getting tired of being locked in this room, so can you tell your friend to hurry up?”

The snappy tone was not helping the situation, making Charlie narrow her eyes at the pair.

“Bad news, kid,” she said bursting the thirteen year old's bubble. “We don't work here. Besides, last time we checked that door could open...”

Now the children stirred uncomfortably, false confidence that was there before met with uncertainty. The two brothers looked between each other, concerned. Charlie, in the meantime, looked behind herself and took stock of her friend still recovering from the initial shock. It was how Hannah looked too, until she remembered. Then it was all a matter of keeping one's emotions in check to control their appearance. Something told her it might take a moment to help these stubborn kids, and with Michael still trembling they would get nowhere fast.

Charlie walked over and rubbed between Mike's shoulder blades as she spoke to the boys. “How long have you guys been in here?”

This only seemed to cause the brothers more confusion, sharing a quizzical look amongst themselves. Cain was the first to speak again.

“Like a week—”

“—You don't know what you're talking about.” Quinn rolled his eyes, his voice taking on a less ethereal tone. “It's been like a night.”

“No! Shut up; okay, like—we've been in here for a week. Quinn doesn't remember anything. Ass-hat...” Cain bickered back, adamant about how lost they were before, and how long they seemed to have been trapped in the darkness.

As the boys argued, Michael managed to pull himself together and straighten up. Luckily this was getting to be an easier task each time, the panic attacks less debilitating when he reminded himself of two important facts: William was gone for good, and Evan and Lizzie forgave him for how horrible he'd been as a snot-nosed teenager.

Speaking of such children, when Michael turned around he was able to get a good look at Cain and Quinn. Beneath the blood trail, they seemed like totally average kids—albeit pissed-off ones, though Mike certainly couldn't blame them.

“Sorry you got stuck here, guys,” he told them, offering a weak, sympathetic smile. He paused, then gestured awkwardly to the dark room. “Stuck in general, I mean, with... with what happened. You got brought back last night because of Charlie here.” He patted his friend's shoulder, also as reassurance that he was okay and she could now focus her concern on the ghost kids. “She was trying to see if anyone was still hanging around so she could help you out.”

Cain threw up his arms, exclaiming: “Yes! That's what I was trying to say! We need help—wait, what do you mean brought back?”

He’d been sidetracked, looking between the strangers with animosity. When Cain glanced to his brother, it was almost like he was seeing the blood for the first time.

“—sh*t! Dude, your head!” The boy pointed, cowering away from his sibling.

As Quinn looked back he gasped, seeing an equivalent shimmering dried blood on Cain’s horrified face. “MY head?! Dude, your head!”

The proceeded to touch each other's skulls without the ability to really feel the pain. It looked painful, but almost synchronically the twins found out nothing really hurt. Not anymore.

“Guys, you've been in this room for at least a week. How do you think you've been eating…?” Charlie asked them, allowing the truth to sink in silently for a moment.

“Damn it! I knew we shouldn't have followed that weird kid inside...,” Quinn griped regrettably. His arms crossed as they blamed everything but themselves. Why should they have trusted the grimy, neighborhood outcast to begin with?

…Because it’d been something to do, was the answer, ironic in its simplicity. The twins didn't have money to spend on games or pizza at the mall, so they snuck in alongside a boy who promised they could get free pies and games if they were careful about it.

Michael frowned at the mention of a “weird kid,” but decided not to question it right now. They needed to focus on getting Quinn and Cain to accept they were dead without them having a mental breakdown, if possible.

“Hey, guys?” Mike spoke up, calling the twins' attention to him. “Look, I'm not going to lie: this situation sucks. You don't deserve what happened to you—you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He let that sink in, hoping the kids wouldn't be too offended by his more direct approach.

“But, unfortunately... you're not the only one this happened to,” Michael went on, his voice a bit softer along with his expression. He slung an arm around Charlie's shoulders, trying to sell the twins on their casual, friendly demeanor. He pointed his free thumb to Charlie, then to himself. “Charlie and I? We've been working to put things right, and we've found a few other kids that ended up like you. It's horrible and you have every right to be upset—but just know that you're not alone. If you want, we can take you to see the others; they're always up for new friends... Well, once we figure out how to get out of this room.”

He glanced sidelong at Charlie, hoping he hadn't overstepped whatever routine she had for dealing with these temperamental ghosts.

Charlie gave Michael a supportive nod, appreciating the help. Being essentially this company’s personal grim reaper was tiring. While she’d never had someone assist her in talking down spectral children before, she found it helped exponentially—especially when there was more than one lost soul to comfort.

“Just like that? Dude—right on our 13th birthdays?” Cain asked, arms bent at the elbows and facing palm up. When he looked to his brother and found him unresponsive, Cain nudged Quinn roughly. The sudden, jarring memory of a spike bursting through the top of his brother's skull, blood spraying out like an aggressively shaken can of pop had made Cain weak in the knees as he began to really shake his shell-shocked brother. “QUINN, ANSWER ME, I'M FREAKING OUT!”

It wasn't long before Charlie came over, touching the volatile kid's shoulder. She had some words of encouragement, but found she didn't need them as Cain turned and beat the sides of his fists against her ineffectively.

“No! Don't touch me! I-I'm not dead, okay?! I'm not and neither is he! Got it?!” The threat was vague and scared, coupled with Cain’s writhing as Charlie caught his wrists in her hands. She simply held them as Cain began to weep, all while his brother stared deeply into the rusted grain of the floor.

Hesitantly, Michael moved to Quinn's side, crouching slightly to look into his blood-smattered face. The boy's gaze was far away, and Mike could only imagine what horrors he was reliving.

“Hey...,” he murmured, reaching out a tentative hand and touching his shoulder. Quinn winced away, causing Michael to snatch his hand back with a quick apology. “Sorry! Sorry...”

He paused, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced to where Charlie was trying to comfort the other twin. Eventually, Michael turned his focus back to Quinn with all the empathy he could possibly muster.

“Okay, so you guys had the sh*ttiest 13th birthday ever... I get that. Mine sucked ass, too.” He offered a tiny smile, though it garnered no response. “But you want to know something kind of cool? You guys have powers now—Charlie can show you how to use them. At least that's something, right?”

“Powers?” Quinn finally perked up. Perhaps friends and powers could make up for the world’s suckiest birthday party...

Charlie eventually resigned that Cain, in all of his impotent rage, had given up the fight quickly and chose to sob into the front of her shirt. There she would pet down the back of his head, encouraging him to cry it all out as she watched his brother’s progress.

“Yep. You guys are going to feel a little silly for being so upset,” she said to hype up the only pros there were to being dead. “Floating, transparency, and did you know you can just possess things?”

Quinn gave a shrug, a small smile cracking at the corner of his lips.

“Cain? Hey... I-I'm sorry, lady—uh, Charlie. You know, for my brother...” Quinn pulled his more emotional sibling away and hugged him, their appearances becoming more normal and their features more clear. Not to her complete shock, Charlie found herself recognizing the brothers from one of the many missing person’s flyers that had found their way into the basem*nt.

“Seriously, you don’t have to apologize,” Michael spoke up for Charlie, knowing she wouldn’t mind. He stood again, flashing her a relieved grin before looking back to the brothers. “Like we said, we’re here to help—both with the bad stuff and the awesome things like supernatural powers.”

Mike glanced around the room, his eyes settling again on the sliver of light coming from underneath the doorway. His grin brightened and he raised a questioning eyebrow at the twins.

“Actually, maybe you can test one of them out? We’ve got to get out of this room, but the button for the door is on the outside—do either of you think you’d be up for trying to phase through walls?” He shoved his hands in his pockets and gave a nonchalant shrug. “Personally I think that’s a great one to start with—it’s a classic, after all.”

Quinn wondered if he and Cain could go together. It took a minute to get his sibling to calm down, and though their words earlier were harsh to each other, the two appeared to get along better when the other was in need. As Cain wiped his eyes, his told his brother: “I know you want to go, you better not leave me here.”

The threat was empty, but Quinn seemed to appreciate it nonetheless and escorted Cain towards the door. With beginner’s luck, the two of them phased through the thick metal in a singular step. Their forms disappeared for all but a moment before the door was opened again.

“Good job, you both!” Charlie cheered, covering her eyes from the obnoxious glare of the light in the main room.

Mike leaned into Charlie again, placing a gentle hand on her back as he murmured in her ear: “I’m going to dismantle the last endo—give me two minutes.”

True to his word, Michael sped back to the last “active” robot and made quick work of decommissioning it beyond repair. Returning to Charlie’s side, he tugged her arm to pull her away from the kids. Thankfully, Cain and Quinn were involved in a heated debate over which ghostly power was the best so Charlie could spare a second to speak with Michael.

“We should definitely take these two down to Henry and the others like… now,” Michael stated, then gave a little sigh. “It’ll be tricky, but I don’t think we should let Sammy see anyone but my siblings and your dad today, if we can help it. He’s clearly stressed as hell, and it’ll be hard enough for him to deal with three ghosts he knows, let alone four more random dead kids... Maybe we take the twins down to Cassidy and Hannah, and give them a heads-up to keep a low profile? We can just keep Sammy in Henry’s workshop while we visit.”

The disturbed twins were distracted enough, walking on ahead and independently of Michael and Charlie. She agreed with her friend, feeling their best chances were letting Quinn and Cain hang out with Cassidy. Charlie was sure they’d get along with their comparatively abrasive personalities, and it was the best option not to stress her brother out as much as humanly possible.

“For sure—” she whispered back. Her dad could probably handle a bunch of kids running around, ghosts or not. After all, it used to be his job to keep them entertained. “—I'll tell them. Hey guys, wait up! We're going to take you to see Cassidy and Hannah!”

Quinn and Cain glanced at Charlie from over their shoulders, and Quinn pulled aggressively on his brother's arm to stop Cain's gait.

“Yo dumbass, pay attention!” Quinn scolded his more air-headed counterpart. When Cain turned around, he roughly shoved Quinn to make him lose his balance.

“Boys! Come on, stop being so rough! There's video games in the basem*nt if you're good!” Charlie enticed, causing the two to speed back and latch onto her side in an attempt at obedience.

“Yup—tons of games that aren't even in the normal arcades!” Michael added to sweeten the deal. “You've just got to follow us and not wander off, okay? It's not too far of a walk.”

With that he would lead the charge, trusting Charlie to bring up the rear and occasionally checking over his shoulder to make sure that Cain and Quinn were walking between them. The boys were definitely rowdy, but their latent uncertainty of their situation combined with the small trust they'd built between themselves and these seemingly-friendly adults was enough to keep them from wandering out of their sight. After many twisting passages and downwards staircases, they made it to the hallway that marked the official entrance to the old Pizzeria.

“Alright guys, we're super close now!” Michael said, turning to face the twins and walking backwards a few paces. He could tell they were getting restless and hoped that seeing more kids and/or Henry would help ease their nerves. Turning back around, Michael was suddenly hit with the sense that someone—or something—was watching him. He pinched the bridge of his nose, resisting the urge to groan. How he could've forgotten about the other entity residing down here, he had no idea...

It was a toss-up whether kids would be freaked out or entranced by an amalgamation of animatronic parts, so Michael called out loud enough for his voice to echo throughout the cavernous space: “We'll go visit my Uncle Henry first—Charlie's dad. He's super cool and will take care of you guys. We can introduce anyone else down here later, so they should stay put until I call them out.”

As he spoke the last word Michael reached the door to Henry's workshop. He knocked, finding it unlocked and opening at his touch. He ushered the trio inside quickly, then turned to see his uncle standing by his workbench.

“Oh!” Henry exclaimed, his face immediately lighting up at the sight of Charlie and Mike, then softening into a mildly confused expression when he saw the boys at their side. “Hello, everyone; I wasn't sure when to expect you. I see you found some new… friends?”

“OOOH!” Lizzie gasped, popping out from the inner hatch of the charging pod she’d seen her dad finally die inside of. “More friends?! Hello! Hiiii, Michael~”

Lizzie waved to the group, seeming in good spirits. When she spied the two boys, Elizabeth turned her nose up; she’d been playing with Cassidy and Hannah, and felt it unnecessary to hang around the rough-looking twins.

“Evan! It's two boys!” she called, eyes widening when Quinn and Cain came to take an experimental wander around Henry's workshop.

“You’re Charlie's dad?” asked Cain, picking up various wrenches, unable to keep his hands to himself as Quinn meandered towards Elizabeth.

After clearing her throat, Charlie came over to greet her dad with a hug.

“Sorry I keep finding more!” she remarked in a jovial tone, not quite upset as long as the kids were okay. “We can't stay for long; we have to go find Sammy, but we'll be right back with him.”

“Oh, um—alright,” Henry said, looking a bit frazzled by the sudden influx of kids as he hugged onto Charlie. However, he certainly couldn't fault his daughter for trying to give those taken away by William's cruelty a second chance. After letting go, Henry turned to Cain and flashed him a kind smile, crouching down and thrusting out a hand. “And yes, I'm Charlie's dad—you can call me Henry. It's nice to meet you...?”

“Cain!” The boy pointed to himself, then to his brother, gesturing widely and attaching his name along with him.

Congruently, Quinn stared through Elizabeth whilst trying to figure out something to say. Eventually, he settled for asking: “So… do you like Foxy?”

He figured it’d be beneficial to see which Fazbear characters this girl favored as a way of getting to know one of the ghosts he might be spending eternity with. The question put sparkles in Liz’s eyes, and she felt less nervous with some common ground between them.

Meanwhile, Evan had been playing quietly in the corner with a couple of slightly-charred Freddy and Bonnie plushies, making a big show of Freddy absolutely kicking Bonnie's ass. He jumped to his feet at the sound of his brother's voice, dropping the toys and already rushing over before Lizzie called his name.

“Mike!” Evan exclaimed, latching onto Michael's leg and grinning up at him, completely ignoring the new faces.

“Oof—hey, buddy!” Michael laughed, ruffling Evan's hair until he let go. “How's everything been?”

“Good! I can run around so much now; it's awesome!” Evan had vowed never to be stuck inside a robot again, no matter what.

“I'm glad,” Michael replied, the anxiety he had about leaving his siblings alone disappearing with the words. They seemed just fine with Henry to watch over them, as expected. Placing a hand on Evan's shoulder, Michael turned him around to face the room and pointed to the twins. “Did you hear Lizzie? We brought some new friends—you want to say hi?”

Evan hesitated for a moment, biting his lip. Then he slipped his hand into Michael's and gave a little nod. Even after all this time, the kid was still a bit people-shy. With a soft smile, Mike walked him over to the new boys—he'd introduce them, then head back up top with Charlie to grab the rest of their ever-expanding group of companions.

When Cain spotted Evan, he looked to the younger boy with a slight smile on his face. At least they wouldn't be alone—even though they had each other, there was only so much comfort they could give in such strange circ*mstances. Now that the support group was larger, the twins felt a little safer at the resignation of their fate.

***

As Michael and Charlie departed, a spring in their steps after they’d rescued more lost souls, they slowed their pace in tandem upon hearing a metallic banging in the vents.

“WHY CAN'T WE-E SAY H-HI-I?” asked the pneumatic and coarse voice inside.

“Because you're freaky,” Michael replied without missing a beat, turning towards the noise. Sure enough there was a grated opening to the vents just overhead, through which a lone eyeball suspended on a wire peeked through. If Michael squinted, he could just make out a hint of the white clown mask lingering in the darkness. He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“These kids just realized they've met a bad end and are trying to adjust—they don't need to see you coming at them on top of everything else,” Michael explained, gazing up at Ennard. He clenched his teeth for a moment, then pointed out a fact that he hoped would curb Ennard's desire to see the new kids. “Besides, they're with Elizabeth right now and I don't think you want to bother her, do you?”

Another pause, then Michael rolled his eyes high to the sky and muttered: “Also I'm sure you wanted to say hi to me the most, anyway, so... hi.” He lifted a hand slightly in a sarcastic wave.

Ennard shrunk at the sound of Lizzie's cheerful voice echoing through the hall, having to admit that Michael was right. Of courseEnnard just came out to greet him.

“HI MIKEY...” Their eyeball batted affectionately his way. Then to some extent Ennard extended the hello to Charlie, their tone muter but still with a friendly nature to it. Charlie imparted a smile and a wave, but before she could say anything in return Ennard turned their focus back to Michael.

“WE HELPED OUT... ENNARD BROUGHT THE RABBIT AND THE FOX UP...” They pointed, trying to communicate that they moved the powered-down units for Samuel to more easily work on them. The other busted robots were already in Parts & Services, waiting for Sammy’s attentive hands.

“Really?” Though Michael was loathe to admit it, he did appreciate Ennard's desire to assist where they could, even when Michael himself wasn't present. “Uh... thanks, I suppose. I'm sure Sammy appreciated the help. Did Sammy actually see you? Or... have an actual conversation with you?”

Once he remembered Ennard's presence in the basem*nt, Michael had already begun plotting ways to get the robot to stay away while they brought Sammy down so the poor man didn't pass out again from being overwhelmed. However, while Michael still didn't necessarily want them to interact, if Sammy was at least aware of his mysterious helper's presence it might make things easier in the long run...

“WE ARE SHY...” Ennard admitted. They were well aware that human adults would judge him more harshly than, say, a lone child. They elaborated, telling Michael, “WE... WROTE HIM A NOTE.” As Sammy would’ve been confused as to how all of the animatronics were found so easily, especially after Vanessa lost them so spectacularly.

“Oh goodie,” Charlie murmured, not trying to sound worried as she imagined how Sammy would’ve reacted to such a letter. Given Ennard’s vernacular and fractured thoughts, she couldn't imagine the text was particularly easy to comprehend.

“I'm sure he appreciated that. Thank you, Ennard,” she encouraged anyway. At least the letter was a nice thought to add in addition to the good deed.

“Great...,” Michael sighed heavily, echoing Charlie's sentiment. He then patted her back, urging her to start walking again. “Right, well, we're actually going to get Sammy right now and bring him down here, so keep out of sight, okay?” He turned to follow Charlie, throwing a hand up and over his shoulder in what could possibly be considered a slightly friendly gesture of parting. “We'll be back soon.”

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

The pair traveled back up to surface level, picking up the pace the closer they got to their friends. When they emerged into the beautiful overhead lights of the atrium, Michael called Sammy on his walkie and asked to meet in Monty's room. He assumed Freddy and Gregory were still hanging out there, as they hadn't heard anything to the contrary.

Sure enough, they caught sight of the gator through the window, talking animatedly with Freddy and Gregory who laughed at his latest anecdote. To Michael's great relief, Gregory seemed much more at ease with the oversized robot. Knocking on the glass to get their attention, Mike waved when the trio looked his way. “Hey, guys! Let us in? Sammy's on his way over, too.”

“What's the password?” Gregory called through the thick panel of glass that separated them. He rose from his crisscross position on the ground, excited to see other company after listening to the robots getting reacquainted for who knows how long.

“There is no password, you little ding-dong!” Charlie laughed, watching as Gregory giggled before throwing open the door.

“Was your mission a success?” Freddy asked, standing from the couch as Charlie and Michael funneled into the room.

“Sure was,” Mike said with a nod and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. “We found two more 'friends' that were apparently hanging around since Charlie's initial call the other night... they're with the others now, so no worries.”

“Oh... I see.” Freddy looked to the ground, giving the lost souls a moment of somber silence before perking back up. “Well, as long as they are being taken care of, then I am sure they will be alright. Gregory and I have been having a wonderful time with Monty!” He patted the gator's arm, and Monty grinned down at the newcomers with claws on his hips.

“Heck yeah we have!” the gator agreed heartily, letting out a loud laugh. “Gregory's a plucky lil' squirt—I like 'im!”

“As I knew you would,” Freddy chuckled, gazing between the gator and his son with a fond smile.

Gregory seemed to thrive in the praise. Where there was once animosity between him and the nearly seven foot tall gator, he was beginning to feel a bit of a soft spot for the guy again. As far as the remaining animatronics went, Monty was a close second to his favorite.

“Hold the door! I’m coming!” Behind the androids, the hurried shuffles of the CEO could be heard.

“Hey—” Samuel huffed, fixing his crooked glasses as he leaned into the doorway “—how’s everything going, guys?”

“Good—we've got one more piece sorted out, and one less thing for you to worry about,” Michael assured, grinning at his old friend. “We just came to pick you three up, actually—we're ready to show you the basem*nt surprise Charlie mentioned earlier if you're ready to see it, Sam.”

Freddy visibly brightened at Michael's words, excited to see Henry and the other kids again. He peered up at Monty, offering him a fist to bump. “I believe that is our cue to leave. I will return as soon as I can; try to stay out of trouble, will you?”

“HA! No promises, Fredbear!” Monty cackled, returning the gesture. The comical difference in the sizes of their hands only made him laugh more, and Freddy shook his head affectionately. It was so nice to have his old friend back in action and returned to his proper self.

If Freddy felt this relieved from Monty being offline for only a few nights, he couldn't imagine what it must've felt like for Charlie and Michael to see each other again after so many years. It made his heart simultaneously warm and achy to think of.

Charlie seemed to empathetically cling to that same ideal. When she found out that Mike had been the one to save her from the ruins of the old pizzeria, her heart simultaneously broke and soared at the same time. Her one true friend had been the soul to help her, and in turn, she helped him. She could see that similar bond between Freddy and Monty. Though their parting was bittersweet, they’d all see each other again soon.

Gregory waited by Freddy, and in a sign of good faith, raised his hand to bump Monty’s fist. He couldn’t blame the gator for what that virus made him. Like the others, all he wanted at his core was to have fun.

“I gotta go visit my other friends but we’ll see you later, Alligator!” Gregory joked, giving the bassist a genuine smile.

“See ya around, squirt!” Monty replied, pressing Gregory’s knuckles against his own. His tail, previously laying still against the floor, slowly swished side to side in poorly-contained glee. Monty was over the moon that the kid was no longer terrified of him and hoped his loving—but comparatively stricter—dad would let Gregory out of his sight someday so they could have some real fun.

Once all partings were done, Freddy slipped his hand into Gregory’s as they followed the others. Charlie took the lead this time, with Michael and Sammy side-by-side behind her. As they walked, Mike nudged Sammy’s shoulder with a smirk.

“So we hear you’ve got a secret helper who brought up some animatronics for you,” he began, trying to keep his tone nonchalant. Same as Charlie, Michael was so curious to know what a note from Ennard was like, let alone how Sammy was faring with everything.

Sam brightened at this. The fact he had some competent worker who’d been willing to both locate and lug all of his heavy equipment up the freight elevator and into Parts & Service had sent him over the moon. Good help was hard to find… but then again, he couldn't afford to pay more than minimum wage until recently.

“Yes!” he answered, sighing in relief. “I couldn't really... Read the letter they wrote on my office desk, but I got the important parts.” He laughed off the oddity with a wave of his hand. “Thanks to them, I predict the Glamrocks will be up and running before the week's end! That, and the new additions I plan to add...”

After all, those robots were a part of his new business deal. Fresh characters always brought in bigger profit margins. If Sammy added them at the right times during the season, then they could get the second Pizzaplex built in the next decade.

The happy look on his face only faltered when Charlie asked Michael: “Are you going to tell him, or should I?”

“Um, yeah, so... that wasn't actually a new employee who brought the animatronics up,” Michael began, his smile slipping into a grimace. “It's... ugh, how do I explain this thing... Well, first off, their name is Ennard.”

When Michael paused again, Freddy decided to interject, quickly catching onto the situation. “Ennard is an allied animatronic that has been helping us most of the weekend. It sounds like they still wanted to assist where they can?” He tilted his head questioningly, to which Michael nodded.

“Yes—okay, so this is going to sound really weird, but they're actually four different bots melded together,” Michael tried to explain. His brow creased and he held up his hand, counting his fingers silently. “Er... maybe three? Depends on if you consider BonBon a separate entity.”

He huffed a sigh, realizing he'd spent far too long debating the finer details of the amalgamation. He looked back to Sam, feeling bad for confusing him even more.

"Do you remember that Funtime animatronic line William tried to start up a while ago? That's what Ennard is—all of them combined into one robot except Circus Baby. They're... probably going to pop out of the vents at some point; trust me, you'll know if you see them.”

That... didn't seem like it would work, realistically? Samuel had studied the Funtime blueprints a long time ago, and while many of their functions seemed vestigial, including an extending ice cream scoop that came from Circus Baby’s stomach, their programming would simply clash too much to form a functioning robot.

Sam rubbed his neck as he listened, then jumped high and bumped into his sister at the feeling of something wrapping around his leg.

“OH—Christ!” he yelped, shaking off the metal tendril that seemed to affectionately curl around his calf.

“IT WAS ME. HI,” stated the cacophony of four broken voice boxes speaking together in unison. “HELLO, PIZZARIA OWNER. HELLO, LITTLE MIKEY AND FREDDY... WE MISSED YOU GUYS...”

Charlie caught her brother as he clutched his chest with a tight fist, breathing hard as he got over the initial shock of being touched in the dim lighting.

“Ennard—” Gregory laughed, trying to make it seem less of a big deal than it really was. “—you scared Mr. Sam!”

“OUR BAD...,” they replied apologetically, receding back towards the vents with their many moving appendages.

“See?! You're freaky!” Michael exclaimed a big smugly, happy to prove his point from earlier. To Sam, he added: “I worked in their storage facility and they, um... got... attached to me. Charlie and I found them again in the basem*nt a few nights ago, and now they won't leave me alone.”

He shot a glare into the dark corner, where a tendril was steadily inching its way back to Michael's foot. Instead of trying to kick it Mike simply kept walking, knowing it was pointless to waste energy on such a gesture.

“Hello, Ennard!” Freddy said with a bright wave, completely opposing to Michael's sullen pout. “Thank you for helping Sam with the animatronics. Have things been alright during our absence?”

“WE... MADE A... FRIEND,” they replied slowly, as if self-conscious. Still, they were proud of this feat. Despite Michael's warnings not to leave the vents, they had snuck out into the Daycare and found the friendliest robot—someone who rivaled Ennard in height and with a bubbly personality. “WE WANTED TO COME AND SEE... HOW YOU ARE ALL DO—DOING...”

After his initial fright, Samuel had found this animatronic fascinating from a scientific standpoint. “Oh, you have a short in your voice box. I could fix that for you... It's the least I could do for helping us out!”

Ennard shook their head, somewhat afraid of the attention.

“NO... WE WON'T NEED THIS BODY FOR LONG... THANK YO-U.” They spoke decisively, and in as polite of a tone they could muster through their intimidating static.

Michael whipped around, causing Charlie to run into him as his eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“What?! What does that mean?!” he hissed. “Ennard, what the f*ck does that mean?!”

“Michael...?” Freddy began hesitantly, and the man's gaze shifted to his.

“Ah, sh*t—I mean, crap. Ugh. Sorry, Freddy,” he apologized weakly, then ran a hand through his hair. “I don't like when they say things like that...”

Michael just had to remind himself that Ennard was smart enough not to try to that organ-removing tactic again in order to get a new body... At least, he hoped that was the case. Still, it didn't hurt to advise Sammy: “Hey, try to keep people away from the vents for a little longer, okay? For my sake.”

This raised alarm bells with Samuel, primarily because he couldn't have anyone else getting hurt. Not only were people’s lives at stake, but this could all come crashing down and ruin him financially.

“WE WILL NOT HURT ANYONE—IT'S A SURPRISE—Surprise!” Ennard rejoiced, voice seeming to fade away as they crawled backwards into the winding ventilation system.

After all, they couldn't have Michael finding out their plans! Being able to watch over and keep him safe to make up for all those years of torment they caused meant they’d have to be at liberty to leave the Pizzaplex. This couldn't be achieved given their current size and stature.

“You better be good, Ennard,got it?” Charlie remarked in an attempt to lightly threaten, though the intent was all but lost to Ennard who only saw Charlie as the harmless, plucky friend of Michael's. She let out a sigh, gripping Mike’s shoulder in to ground him to the present. “Why don't you go hang out with your new friend? We'll catch up with you later.”

At the dismissal, the group watched as Ennard's spaghetti-like limbs retracted back into the darker recesses of the air duct.

“Oh... That's... Neat...,” Samuel murmured, concern rife in his face and high-pitched voice. “Note to self: We'll hire outside contractors for air duct maintenance...”

And maybe add an NDA to the hiring process.

Michael sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand while patting Charlie's reassuring grip on his shoulder with the other. If Ennard said they wouldn't hurt anyone, Michael had to believe them. It wasn't like he had much choice in the matter, anyway...

“...Perhaps we should continue on,” Freddy suggested after a moment of silence, to which the others heartily agreed and began making their way deeper into the basem*nt.

***

Henry heard an approaching commotion in the hallway and had been frantically tidying up his workshop. He'd managed to convince all the kids but Evan and Liz to go play in another room, effectively keeping them out of the way for what was sure to be an interesting visit. The younger Aftons were still nearby in his workshop, yet again playing with the charging pod that served as the place of their father's demise—it seemed like they'd grown attached to the thing in a dark sort of way. As footsteps approached the door, Henry moved to open it. He was initially greeted by Michael's now-smiling face, then Charlie next to him, and just behind them—

“Hi, Sammy,” Henry breathed, his voice mildly choked with emotion at the sight of his son looking quite a bit older than when they'd last met.

Michael turned to place a hand on Sammy's back, still smiling as he proclaimed: “Surprise!”

Samuel's mouth hung open. Him, too? His father's soul must’ve been trapped here since the fire—

It was Sam's wishes that they completely buried the old Diner below the Pizzaplex. A fitting gesture, Sammy thought, as the firemen told him on that fateful night that they never could definitively say they retrieved the remains of Henry's body.

After adjusting his glasses, Samuel would see it wasn't a trick of the light, and that his father was here, tangible—but almost shrouded by a dream-like haze that made Sam squint as he petered forward. Moving towards the old ghost, Sammy wordlessly left Michael's hand to touch the air before falling forward against his father.

“Hey, Dad...,” Sam muttered into Henry's shoulder as he tried his best to keep from shaking.

“Hey,” Henry breathed into Sammy's hair, holding him close. He could feel his son trying hard to keep his emotions in check and was thankful that he could interact with him enough to offer comfort. “I'm sorry I left you without saying goodbye; I'll explain everything when you're ready to hear it, I just... I couldn't bear it if you tried to stop me and got caught up in all of this, too.”

Out of all the Afton and Emily children, Sammy was the only one to make it unscathed past his twenties—physically, at least. Yes, Michael was still around for quite a while after the scooping incident, but it was debatable to call that living... It was a marvel, a blessing, and a curse that Sammy had come out of their traumatic past with his body and mind more or less intact, and Henry knew he couldn't chance that by telling Sam his plan to end William once and for all.

It'd worked out for the better in the end, since William did not disappear as planned from the fire. If Sammy hadn't been around to create the Pizzaplex, William's software would have simply found its way into a different establishment far away from the only ones who could send him to permanent hell. Really, Sammy's decision to make this a “gravesite” for his father was fate at its best.

Sam was content to rest in the strong hold of his dad. It was funny—hugging him always made him feel like a kid, finding the times he’d been hugged the most was when he was young. Henry's embrace was kind and nostalgic; it made him happy. The first time in a long time Sam felt like things were going to be alright, and that he wasn't simply a bobbing head struggling above endless crashing waves.

Sam felt Charlie squeezing in, murmuring, “Hey, scoot over guys...,” as she quietly inserted herself alongside her twin. As Sammy tucked her against him, years of survivor’s guilt and pain were slowly left to be forgotten among William's ashes scattered around the basem*nt.

While Sam and Henry caught up, Freddy noticed the Afton kids and decided to take Gregory over and say hello, giving the newly-reunited family a few seconds of privacy. Gregory was alright with leaving the Emily's to rekindle. After all, his friends were waiting for him! Gregory had a feeling he knew where they were, too. Silver eyes pierced the darkness, scanning watchfully for movement.

“Hey!” he shouted, wondering if they were playing a game as he wandered into the shadows by the charging pod. “Are you guys hiding? Helloooo?”

A set of deep brown eyes peered out of the porthole, watching Gregory stalk closer. Evan sat on Lizzie's shoulders, needing the height boost so they could lay in wait for their prey. They'd hoped to prank Michael first, but Gregory would do just fine. When the boy was close enough, Evan gave the signal by tapping Lizzie's shoulder, prompting her to throw open the charging pod door and burst out with a shriek.

“BOO!” Evan shouted, arms outstretched as the pair landed directly in Gregory's path, Lizzie clutching her brother’s legs so he didn't fall off.

“AHHH!” Gregory let out a short shriek, arms outstretched as he jumped and made this odd, pseudo-karate movement that ended with him lightly ‘chopping’ Liz in the shoulder.

“You guys!” Gregory breathed out, laughing. “You don’t have to scare me every time I come down here!” Though Evan stacked neatly on top of Elizabeth’s shoulders had given him an idea. “…Can I get in on this totem pole?”

With a bright, happy gaze, Elizabeth beamed at him.

“Totally! Climb on up!” she laughed, bracing herself as Gregory attempted to climb both their shoulders.

“Boy did I miss you two,” Henry admitted over by the workbench, then pressed a firm kiss to the tops of his children's heads before finally letting them go. He flashed Charlie a smile before focusing on Sammy, looking him up and down with a hearty chuckle. “Well, well... you're a chip off the old block, huh?”

It was crazy how Sammy mirrored his father more so in the way he held himself than by looks alone. Yes, there was definitely a resemblance between the men, Henry's body now frozen in time a bit closer to Sammy's current age. But Sam also had a bit of Charlie in him, which in turn meant their mother's features showed through as well. Yet to anyone that saw the family together, there would be no mistaking that Henry was indeed Sammy's dad through and through.

“M-Me?” Samuel sounded genuinely surprised at this, sounding nervous and prideful at the same time. “You really think so…?”

Charlie gave her brother a sideways glance, laughing as she asked him: “Sammy, you own a mirror at home, right? Especially with the reading glasses and robotics hobby, man; you're like a mini-Dad.”

“I guess I sort of forgot—it’s been awhile since I’ve had anyone older than me pinching my cheeks and telling me ‘Oh, you look just like your father!’” Sam gave a well-meaning chuckle, fixing the rim of his glasses to adjust from where he'd pressed his face into Henry’s shoulder.

“But you do!” Michael insisted, reenacting Sammy’s words and stepping closer to pinch his cheek with a wicked cackle. “Look at this face!”

“Michael, leave him be!” Henry laughed, playfully smacking the android’s hand away so he couldn’t harass Sammy any further. A far cry from when Mike was young, it was clear that his bothersome actions were only meant in jest.

Sammy’s embarrassment was minimal, though his face grew a wide smirk when Michael pinched his cheeks. He affectionately raised his arm and locked it around the back of Mike’s neck in a playful gesture. There, Samuel would go on to converse and question with his father and completely ignoring the indignant cries of protest from his old friend.

It was odd, reacquainting yourself with people you swore you knew your whole life. For instance, Charlie had been trapped in a puppet for decades—which would’ve been nice to know before Samuel went to make fun of said robot for years after Charlie’s death, cursing its oddly terrifying mask for not saving his sister that fateful day…

While this wholesome emotional bonding was taking place, a more physical display was happening on the other side of the room as Gregory clambered up the Afton kids to complete their totem pole. Using Lizzie’s body as a stable base, Evan helped Gregory get situated on his shoulders, holding his legs just as Lizzie grasped his. Freddy, who’d been watching the trio intently after Gregory’s initial scare, finally stepped in to add his two cents to the situation.

“Please be careful, you three…,” he advised, eyebrows creased in worry as he looked up at Gregory, now towering a few inches above him. Evan had been so focused on scaring and then subsequently helping Gregory, he hadn’t realized the red-headed android was even standing nearby until he spoke up.

“Whoa—Freddy, you look so cool!” Evan exclaimed, instantly recognizing Freddy’s voice despite its lack of mechanical feedback. Evan then flashed Gregory an upside down grin. “So did you guys actually get to leave and hang out somewhere else for a while?”

He figured they must’ve if it took them this long to visit, although the concept of stepping foot outside a Fazbear Entertainment establishment was still foreign to the boy trapped there the longest. As her brother mused on life outside, Liz carefully walked to show off the stack they had going. The android body left Liz with more stability than ever before.

“Dude! We live in a hotel and they have a POOL!” Gregory answered, like it was the coolest thing ever. “And an arcade. Just ask Mike; I kicked his butt at Mortal Kombat!”

He held a sense of pride at this. Michael would need a lot more practice if he wanted to get better than Gregory at fighting games.

Liz would laugh with a snarky, “Oh, I believe it,” as she paraded them slowly towards Freddy’s side. She got a better look at him, and decided his new form suited the robot’s kind and demure attitude.

To Gregory’s credit, Evan did think living in a hotel with those sorts of amenities sounded pretty cool.

“That’s awesome!” he exclaimed, trying to remember what it was like to swim in a pool. Their parents would always take them to the local community one when they could, although summertime with kids out of school also meant a welcome uptick in business for the restaurants.

William had been ecstatic when Michael got old enough to take Liz and Evan by himself, shoving a few extra dollars in the eldest Afton’s pocket to make up for him being appointed babysitter. Smiling at the good memories of hot summer days and ice-cold popsicles, Evan looked over towards his brother. He instantly tensed upon seeing an unfamiliar face, though as he squinted to get a better look he let out a little gasp.

“Is that Sammy?!” he asked incredulously, taking in the similarities between this man and his Uncle Henry. Even before receiving an answer, Evan knew his guess was correct simply based on the equivalent tones of the men’s laughter as they reminisced.

“It is!” Freddy confirmed with a soft smile. He glanced to the group, making sure they’d calmed from their initial meeting before adding: “You should go and say hello. I know he would love to see you both, too.”

“Yeah! Onwards!” Evan commanded, kicking his feet to start Lizzie moving again. Unfortunately this counterbalanced Gregory on his shoulders, but with quick action from Freddy their tower stayed upright and intact. Evan laughed an apology, and then they started the careful walk towards the Emily’s and Michael.

“Woah—” Lizzie gasped, giggling at how old their friend was now. With Freddy’s help, the totem pole made their way to Samuel. The kids called to him, and Gregory waved to garner his attention.

“Sammy Emily!” Elizabeth shouted, making their friend jump.

When he saw the Afton kids stuck in time, it gave Sammy a feeling he couldn’t describe. There was an intense happiness, followed immediately after by a pitting and hollow depression.

Look at how young they were, tortured for years from what he heard of Charlie’s account...

But Sam resigned himself to serenity, as their pain had seemingly ended and the smiles he loved so long ago had returned to their faces.

“Guys—” he replied instinctively, unaware of the tears falling from the corners of his eyes. “—you’re both here!”

And Liz was a lot stronger than he remembered! Though it was owed to the animatronic body she paraded around, he surmised.

“I just can’t seem to get rid of them,” Michael chimed in with a dramatic roll of his eyes, though there was nothing but affection behind his words. He moved forward to disassemble the totem pole when he saw the telltale wobbling of Evan’s bottom lip. Honestly, Mike was amazed his brother hadn’t cried even more during their last few encounters, though he reasoned Evan was probably still getting over the shock of the whole situation just like everyone else. However, now there were all-too-familiar tears running down his face, although this time they were from happiness.

"Sorry, Sammy,” Evan apologized, wiping ectoplasmic snot from his nose and giving Sam a little grin as Mike set him on solid ground. “I-It’s good to see you; Lizzie and I missed you a whole lot!”

Samuel was wiping his cheeks, trying to remove his own evidence of how much he truly missed this little group.

“No! Really, don’t be sorry guys!” he began to say, and when he felt Elizabeth hug his side, he was sure that he was going to burst into his own tears again.

Sam was relieved that despite everything, they weren’t mad he'd survived. He wanted so badly to grow old with those around him, imagining often what they could’ve been if given a chance at life… That was too painful, so instead he focused on the now.

“The only thing you all need to be sorry for is not finding me earlier!” he said, sniffling heavily. “I… I really missed all of you so much. Thank you…”

“No, thank you!” Liz replied, gaining Sam’s full attention. “You built this place; it's like a whole amusem*nt park! Now all the ghosts can actually have fun!”

Liz promised not to mention it, but Cassidy may have been breaking the rules. She was hanging out in the attractions upstairs with the three new kids, but Elizabeth swore she wouldn’t speak a word if no one asked. Still, she assumed Samuel would be fine allowing them to mingle with the regulars upstairs from time to time. After all, they seemed normal enough when you didn’t pay close attention to the wavering outlines of their spectral forms.

“Yeah, this place seems so cool!” Evan agreed, knowing this to be true from the stories both Gregory and Cassidy regaled him with. He also knew Cassidy and the other ghosts probably weren’t supposed to leave the basem*nt… But though Evan might be a scaredy-cat, he wasn’t a snitch.

“Well, maybe one night soon we can take you guys up top,” Michael suggested, looking to Henry and Sam with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m sure we can make something work—if it’s alright with Sammy, of course,” Henry deferred, patting his son’s shoulder. “We'll figure out the details later."

Samuel beamed at this. He could definitely make it work. "All of you are welcome above ground! Please, help yourselves to the attractions and toys.”

No one could complain about that arrangement. Satisfied at the prospect of exploring another time, Evan turned his attention go Gregory. He slipped his hands around Gregory's arm and shook it lightly.“Hey, are you staying for a while? You wanna play together?”

The adults shared a look, before Freddy responded: “Go ahead; we will call you when it is time to leave.”

When they’d collectively given Gregory the permission to hang around, he laced his arm through Evan's. “Let's go!”

Who knew when they were going to cut their meeting short and take Gregory away from his new friends? Lizzie followed where the two boys ran, speeding into the darkness with the energy that only excitable kids like them had.

“And BE CAREFUL, DARN IT!” Charlie called, hoping the voices she heard call back where that of their acknowledgement. The kids must’ve really been itching to hang out together. “That was fast—sorry they didn't stay longer, Sammy!”

Charlie apologized for them, but Sam waved his hand dismissively.

“I'm sure it won't be the last time I see them. Besides, I'm just glad I have you guys to hang out with. Plus—Dad.” Samuel pointed to Freddy and his android form. “I just want to say, this engineering is nearly flawless. How on earth did you achieve all this?!”

Henry gave a hearty laugh and clapped Freddy amiably on the back. The redhead gazed serenely down at the group, looking utterly content now that both families were together again.

“The androids?” Henry began, crossing his arms over his chest. “Those took a lot of time—I still don’t think they’re perfect, but as long as you’re all happy then I suppose I can be as well.” There was a murmuring of acknowledgment from the three robots, to which Henry grinned. “As for Freddy’s personality… that was all you and Mike.”

He hadn’t even fathomed the idea of a throwback 80s Glamrock line of animatronics, but Henry had to admit it was brilliant. Even more so amazing were the robotic AIs themselves; the old mechanic was so curious to see what the others were like without the influence of a human soul. From what he’d heard about them, his awe would likely be on par with how Sam felt about Freddy right now.

“Okay, but seriously, Uncle Henry—these bodies are astounding,” Michael said, his excitement palpable as he was finally able to talk about this topic in depth. “I’m not a huge fan of the bleeding, but I get why you made us that way—it’s to keep all the mechanisms lubricated, right? Less manual oiling of the joints?”

“Correct.” Henry grimaced, remembering the matted crimson state of Michael’s hair the other night. “I wanted to avoid you needing regular touch-ups as much as possible, so I developed the fake ‘blood’. Plus, it adds to the lifelike quality of the skin.”

It was strange for Michael to hear his current body spoken of like a machine, but that’s all it was in the end. Which begged another question that’d been on his mind since the other day: “So… how did you make it so we can eat?”

There was a moment of silence where Henry’s face fell into a confused, slightly mortified expression. As reckless as Michael could be, he thought the eldest Afton would at least have enough sense not to put human food into a robotic body—he’d seen firsthand the damage it’d caused Chica over the years.

“Are... Are you telling me you’ve been eating actual food? As in, the stuff that Sammy needs to live?!” Henry eventually asked, looking to Charlie for clarity.

Charlie shared a look between her friends before slowly glancing back towards her dad.

“Y... Yes?” she answered, unsure if that was a bad thing or not. “We had hot wings yesterday—are we not supposed to be eating?”

Well, now Charlie was somewhat worried about the quality and conditions of their new bodies. Should they mess them up somehow, Charlie would hate to have to put Michael or herself back into the character vessels or free-floating ether; not when they only had a touch of freedom and happiness. And last thing she wanted is to walk around and smell of rotting food or breakdown in front of someone... Surely that would be traumatizing for anyone to witness.

“I mean—why else would you give us taste buds?” she continued, looking to Freddy and Michael, wanting to make sure it wasn't just her who was able to savor the deliciousness of their food from the other day.

Henry opened his mouth to protest that he did no such thing, but the looks on Charlie and Michael’s faces gave him pause. He glanced at Freddy, noting the same expression of confusion creasing his brows.

“Freddy… did you eat something, too?” Henry asked incredulously.

“Yes; I had a cheeseburger with all the fixin’s,” the former animatronic replied honestly. “But if it is any consolation, I do not feel any distress from consuming physical matter as I did in my old body.”

There had been only one time Freddy was persuaded to try a slice of pizza when in his original form. In a rare moment of everyone ganging up against their band leader, Roxy, Chica, and Monty wouldn’t give Freddy a second of peace until they’d all taken at least one bite of the greasy pie. Freddy had regretted it instantly, feeling the heavy wrongness of a foreign object trying to work its way through his inner mechanics. However, he hadn’t felt anything like that when consuming the burger—in fact, he’d felt unexpectedly satisfied.

“…Huh.” Henry took off his glasses and wiped the lenses on his shirt, trying to fathom what the hell was happening. “I think, as per usual, there are things going on here far out of my control… I’d prefer to check one of you out to make sure nothing’s messing with your systems, but if everything looks good after that I suppose you can indulge every once in a while…”

“I volunteer to be examined,” Freddy offered, raising a hand and flashing the group a reassuring smile. “I am used to having technicians working around my internal mechanisms.”

He certainly wasn’t about to subject Michael and Charlie to being opened up so Henry could root around in their stomachs—they’d been through enough traumatic events already.

“Thanks, Freddy; can you hang back for a little bit whenever you all decide to go upstairs again?” Henry asked, patting Freddy’s shoulder appreciatively. The redhead nodded, trusting Michael and Charlie to watch over Gregory while they were apart.

Now more than ever did Henry resemble a doctor as opposed to a mechanic. Maybe it just seemed that way to Charlie due to their recent re-personification. Whatever the reason, Charlie smiled despite the worry that something may be wrong with their inner cogs and mechanisms. She absently laid a hand over her stomach, thoroughly investigating the robot's idle hard drive for errors. With nothing out of the ordinary popping out at her, she hoped if something was wrong, it was just a minor issue.

Samuel, who’d been intently listening to their experiences, had perked up at the chance to witness the inner workings of these robots.

“Would you mind if I stay behind, too?” Samuel wondered curiously. He didn't know how secretive Henry was about his creations nowadays, but Samuel was hoping to create more realistic human characters in the future.

“I do not have an issue with that,” Freddy readily agreed. Since the day he was powered on he’d been subjected to hundreds of tests and safety checks of varying levels of invasiveness, both planned and at random. Freddy was used to this sort of attention from multiple people at a time, so having Sammy tag along was nothing he hadn’t experienced before. Besides, Freddy would never deny his creators the opportunity to work with him if they thought it best—though it was certainly nice of Henry and Sammy to ask first.

“I don’t either,” Henry assured, wrapping an arm around Sammy’s shoulders. He beamed with paternal pride, excited to see how his son would respond to such an advanced machine. Hell, he’d even be willing to let Sammy fiddle with anything that needed adjustment, if he was up for it.

And Freddy, too—Henry had to remind himself that the former bear was basically a human now, and though he was blessed with an amenable personality, he still deserved the right to his own free will.

“I… think I’ll sit this one out, if that’s cool,” Michael said quietly, his face a mixture of tentative intrigue. Yes, he definitely wanted to see how these bodies worked, just… not right now. Thinking of what else they could do while Freddy was incapacitated, he recalled Sammy mentioning there was one more animatronic up and running besides Monty. “Maybe Charlie and I can take Gregory to visit the Daycare? If he’s willing to go without his dad, of course.”

Michael gave a soft laugh, glancing to where the kids had long-since disappeared into the darkness to play.

Charlie smiled at this. She’d almost forgot they still needed to visit the sunny Daycare attendant. She felt bad for leaving the freshly-made friend in there to the proverbial wolves and wanted check up on them. With Moon certainly having calmed down with the removal of that nasty glitch, Charlie could finally get his perspective on the situation, too.

“Great idea! Gregory—time to go!” Charlie turned towards the diner, cupping her hands around her mouth. “Gregory! Where are you, buddy?”

After a moment of no response, she bit her lip and began worrying the faux skin around her nailbeds. “Uh—Mike, I think that's our cue to start looking for him.”

While the threat of Gregory dying was severely lessened, he could still get hurt. So Charlie would always worry about her little brother to some extent.

“I’m telling you—those two are double trouble! And don't get me started on Lizzie…,” Michael muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets as he moved towards the darkness. “Gregory, where’d you guys run off to?”

“We’ll hang tight until you find them,” Henry said, shifting his weight to slouch casually to one side. He wasn’t very concerned with Gregory getting hurt, for he knew as long as the kids stayed in the designated area he’d told them to stay in, they shouldn’t come across anything that could potentially cause harm. Whether they would actually listen to Henry’s instructions was another story entirely, though… So he thought it best to stick around just in case.

Freddy remained by Henry’s side, though he did call out for his son in hopes that his voice might prompt Gregory to respond more than his older brother’s did. “Alright, superstar, it is time to go!”

Little did they know that Gregory and the others had taken to exploring the very site of Henry and Michael's last business venture: the burned down diner that managed against all odds to stay standing after nearly seven years of disrepair. Liz had shown them the way back inside, and together they’d been going through old photos hanging on the wall, vintage posters whose images all but faded from heat exposure.

Liz wanted to show Gregory where Puppet—the real Puppet—had been staying. She was right where they expected, hanging off the lip of the opened top of the scorched, oversized gift box. From there, Puppet watched the kids play inside the grody old dining area, content to let them explore to their hearts' content under her observant eye.

“Did you guys hear something?” Gregory asked when Freddy’s baritone voice just barely penetrated the old walls. Before he knew it the Puppet was behind him, scooping him up and gently carrying him towards the back entrance.

“Awh,” Liz fretted, throwing a rubber ball in a rebellious manner against an already cracked photo. “You have to leave already?”

Puppet offered her a shrug; she didn't make the rules. Carting Gregory off, she simply motioned for Liz and Evan to follow her out of the diner.

“There you are!” Michael exclaimed as the kids appeared back in the workshop. He snickered at the grumpy pout on Gregory's face from being unceremoniously carried away from his exploring. When he was finally set down, the android ruffled Gregory's hair. “Sorry to spoil the fun, kid. Your dad and Sammy are hanging out with Henry for a little bit, so Charlie and I are taking you to visit the Daycare—that cool with you?”

“I wanna go, too...,” Evan muttered.

“Soon—I promise!” he reassured with a grin, which seemed to satisfy Evan well enough.

“See you around, Gregory!” Evan wrapped his arms around his doppelgänger in the briefest bear hug, squeezing him tight before moving to embrace Michael's legs.

Mike smiled at the affection, and when Evan moved onto Charlie the eldest Afton quickly pulled Elizabeth into a side-hug as well. Before she could protest, he raised a fist and rubbed his knuckles against her head with a cackle, causing her already-curly hair to frizz every which way. “I've been waiting so long to do that again! HA!”

“Mike, you're a terror—let her go,” Henry chided with a roll of his eyes, feeling like no time had passed at all from when the Aftons were kids. Honestly, their whole interaction was kind of endearing.

Liz gritted her teeth and groaned at the sensation of knuckles being harshly dragged across her scalp. These robot bodies felt like an extension of her soul—the odd feeling had not escaped her. Though she smiled as soon as it was done. As much as Michael's torture hadn't been exactly missed, it was his charm that Liz felt like she had gone without for so many years.

“Oh, you're so going to get it later...,” Elizabeth warned, and fairly so. The next time Mike came for his siblings, there’d be a prank most foul waiting for him.

It wasn't long before the Puppet found Charlie, climbing up her leg and arm to hang around her shoulders. Charlie closed her eyes and hugged the musty old robot, feeling like she was embracing both her childhood doll and house at the same time.

“Hey—it’s okay, I’m here,” she soothed, sensing Puppet had been missing her by the strain of those noodle-like arms around her. So focused on comforting, Charlie hardly even noticed the little green bangle Puppet slipped over her wrist once more. Clearly, Henry had removed it from its cherished place around the endoskeleton spine when patching up the old bot.

When his little siblings' attention had been diverted to another round of stretched-out goodbyes, Mike stepped close to Charlie and the now tightly-wrapped Puppet. He offered the animatronic a smile, shoving his hands in his pockets. It was weird to see the robot and Charlie separated—even after being with Charlie's android for days on end, Michael still associated her soul with the creation designed to protect her.

“Don't worry,” he began, watching the stoic mask turn to him. The Puppet's eyes were nothing but hollow black holes, the pinprick light that marked Charlie's soul well and truly gone. Perhaps a bit more perceptive than before, she was just a robot once again—but a damn good one, that's for sure. “We're taking care of Charlie. She's got so many people to look after her now—she'll be lucky to get out of our sight for a few minutes.”

His laugh was a bit subdued, unsure if the Puppet would appreciate such humor; he couldn't even remember her original personality except for her tendency to follow Charlie around incessantly and occasionally hand out presents to excitable kids.

As Michael spoke, Puppet sought no comfort. In fact, she was comforting Charlie like a crying child, gently stroking her dark hair with a plush, spindly hand.

However, the Marionette remembered Michael well. She recalled everything he’d done—and the things she and Charlie had done to him.

After nuzzling Charlie's cheek with a matronly sort of affection, Puppet reached out, now transferring onto Michael's shoulders in greeting him. She raked her fingers through his hair, examining his face and committing it to memory.

Michael, she remembered, not William.

After patting his cheek softly, she climbed down and silently crawled to Henry, Sam, and the Afton kids, arms silently raised for one of them to pick her up. Puppet was a simple AI that’d been exposed for far too long to a human’s soul. Her feelings were just as indistinguishably real as Freddy's now, though she had no means to articulate it well without a real voice of her own. Though she had a voice box, she hadn't actually been given speech to go along with; the only sound it could emit was the melody from her turnkey music box. It was Charlie's voice that came through, never more evident than now as she slunk silently across the floor. Funny enough, she ignored Freddy completely—though Puppet saw the bear as a friend now, her facial recognition software hadn't registered who the redhead was yet.

“Wow, Charlie,” Gregory said, realizing where she'd gotten her nervous habit of needing to know where he was all the time. “You said that's your animatronic?”

“Yep!” Charlie answered with a sense of glee and pride. “I designed her when I was very young.”

Samuel felt a twinge of pain at the sight of the Marionette—how she recognized him and immediately scampered for the Emilys’ affection. However, he wasn't one to pull the attention to himself for such menial discomfort. He remembered particularly how bad he felt for telling Charlie when they were young how creepy her robot was.

Why did he have to be such a cruel kid?

“Hey there,” Henry murmured, lifting Puppet into his arms and allowing her to cling just as she had to Charlie and Michael. He gently patted her back, feeling the tension in Puppet's wires from moving around instantly relax as she registered him as both her creator and Charlie's father. “I told you she'd come back for you, didn't I? Stop worrying.”

Repairing the Puppet had been Henry's top priority after William's defeat. He'd been itching to get the robot fixed up ever since Charlie transferred bodies, but he'd had other things to focus on at the time—besides, he didn't want to risk her getting more damaged when she inevitably jumped in the crossfire to try and save Charlie like she'd failed to do that rainy night so long ago. It hadn't taken much to get the Puppet back in commission, being one of the more simplistic models. As soon as she rebooted and started to look around, Henry realized she was in a similar state to Freddy: much too aware of her surroundings for a simple robot.

It made total sense, though. If Freddy had gained sentience from Michael's comparatively short influence, surely the Puppet was alive after being bonded to Charlie for so long. The one thing Henry regretted was not programming her with a voice of her own, but they'd managed to figure out how to communicate just fine and she'd been content to rest in her oversized gift box until Charlie's return.

After a moment, Henry felt a small presence next to him. Looking down, he saw Evan smiling up at him, gently tapping the Puppet's spindly leg as he told her: “I'm super glad you're back online; you and Charlie helped us so much...”

He'd already expressed his gratitude when Henry reintroduced them, but Evan felt the need to remind Puppet that he recognized that it hadn't just been Charlie watching over him and the other kids all this time.

Charlie felt some semblance of pride in the work she'd done with the Marionette. As the Puppet clung to Henry, she reached down and excitably mussed up Evan's hair, softly tussling it between her hands. Lizzie got the same treatment upon her standing next to them.

By her own, the Puppet seemed to be just as friendly and affectionate as Charlie, likely picking up her affinity for the Afton siblings as a result of Charlie's love for them. After clocking Samuel’s vague reluctance to acknowledge her, Puppet gave him a brief pat to the shoulder before slipping down from Henry's hands.

“What do you think, Sammy?” Charlie asked, beaming at the well-deserved attention her old friend was receiving. “I was thinking Puppet would fit right in at the Daycare, or even the game counter in the arcade! She does need a good home and all...”

“O-oh!” Samuel registered the fact that Charlie would want the animatronic well taken care of. Though every time he looked at the thing it gave him flashbacks to finding his sister blue faced and long dead in an alleyway— “Maybe! Maybe I-I could... I could see what space I can work out for her! Yeah...”

“If I may put in my two cents,” Freddy spoke up, slightly raising a hand to get the group's attention. “I believe the Puppet would be a perfect addition to the Daycare. She and Sun would get along wonderfully, and I am sure he would appreciate an extra set of hands.”

Henry and Michael nodded in agreement. If there was anyone in the Pizzaplex that knew how animatronic personalities would mesh together, it was certainly Freddy Fazbear. He got the most exposure to everyone, and as a natural leader always made sure to pay attention to how his fellow robots got along—favorably or otherwise. Though no one outright disliked each other, there were clear lines between personalities that made it so some characters simply wouldn't do as well with others for an extended period of time. Sun, with his bright, bubbly demeanor, got along with everyone to an extent... but he could certainly be a lot. If the Puppet by her lonesome was anything like Charlie, Freddy could already tell that she and Sun would become fast friends—and Moon as well, by extension.

“Speaking of the Daycare...,” Michael prompted, raising an eyebrow to Charlie. “We should get moving so these three can have a chat.” Out of the corner of his eye caught Evan gearing up to ask something, and before the boy uttered a syllable Michael added: “It's boring work stuff—trust me, you don't want to stay with them. How about you and Liz go find the other kids and play with them for a while? I promise we'll stop by again before we leave!”

“Yeah! Come on, Evan! Leave the boring work stuff to the boring adults!” Lizzie snagged her younger brother’s hand, sticking out her tongue at Mike and Charlie. Feigning offense, Charlie touched a hand to her chest.

“—Liz I am hurt. So hurt I'm going to go play video games upstairs,” she said with a faux-snobby tone, as if said to one-up her friend. Liz blew a raspberry at her before imparting a hug to her, pulling a laugh from Charlie. “We'll be back tomorrow!”

Puppet immediately went back to hanging onto Charlie, having silently and almost undetectably snuck over her shoulders again. Looking to the newest addition to their crew, Charlie told the young boy: “Say goodbye to Freddy, Gregory! He's gonna get a little checkup from Doc Emily.”

Bouncing back to Freddy, Gregory would give him a quick hug, unsure how long this apparent checkup would take. “Later, Dad! Love you.”

“I love you, superstar; have fun!” Freddy replied, squeezing Gregory back with a smile. After a few more goodbyes were exchanged and it was agreed Sammy would call when he and Freddy were done, Mike slipped his hand into Gregory's and led the way out of the basem*nt.

“I guess you're coming with us for a bit, huh?” he asked, glancing side-long at the Puppet were she hung off Charlie. The animatronic slowly turned to face him and gave a short nod, causing Michael to chuckle. “That's fine! We can introduce you to Sun right now, then—or, reintroduce, I guess.”

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

As Michael mused over the semantics of the Puppet and Charlie as two separate beings, Sun was already speaking with another new friend in the Daycare. When he'd first noticed the faint sound of metallic scraping a few days ago he'd been wary, even more so when he discovered the source—a bulky conglomeration of sentient wires scuttling around in the vents. However, once assured that neither of them was a threat the pair had gotten to talking... and surprisingly, they'd hit things off quite well.

Currently, Sun was giving Ennard a tour of his little room above the stage. It'd been put back to rights once the virus was gone since Moon was no longer apt to mess it up in his unbridled rage. Nightshift was in full swing with only barebones staff, so Sun felt alright having Ennard out and about as long as they kept watch. Therefore it was to Sun's great surprise when he heard the metallic garage door sliding open by the pick-up area, coupled with faint laughter and chattering voices.

Gripping Ennard's arm and shaking it gently, he exclaimed in a hushed whisper: “Ooh, I think someone's here! Stay put juuuust a sec and let me see who it is!”

“BE SAFE,” replied Ennard, who had been meticulously helping Sun redecorate the room back to his liking. The Daycare attendant was very particular about how the string lights were hung and their placement inside his room, so Ennard thought to busy themselves by helping out and finding the right balance for their living space. Ennard was still not one to trust the guards around here completely, and likely never would. That didn't mean they couldn't respectfully keep a quiet and mature distance from whoever entered to check up on the Daycare attendant.

Now inside the Daycare again, Gregory hoped Sun could forget all that nasty business with the lights. It wasn't like Gregory had even pulled the switch anyway! It was stupid Vanny when she was being puppeteered by William. Even so, at the sight of Sun coming out from his colorful balcony Gregory’s first instinct was to hide behind Michael and Charlie.

“Hi!” Sun exclaimed brightly, waving to the group through. Standing atop the tiny stage, he tried to get a good look but could only see so far through the netting that surrounded the play area. Still, it was enough to know he didn't recognize any of the humans—at least, not the two young adults. That animatronic draped over the girl's shoulders, though...

With a gasp, the memory of the kind Puppet hit Sun like a truck, causing him to clap his hands together in delight. “Charlie! Oh gosh, I'm so happy to see you again! Come, come—I'll let you and your friends through the main door!”

Sun pointed to the large wooden doors that had been the bane of their existence the last time the group were in the Daycare. Once he saw them start moving, Sun scampered down and rushed to open the heavy block of wood, eagerly hopping from foot to foot as he awaited their arrival.

Michael was sure to keep Gregory close behind him and as out of sight as possible, feeling the boy's palpable hesitancy radiating off him like a wave. As they neared the doors, he murmured in Charlie's ear: “Maybe you should do the introductions this time? He's clearly excited to see you...”

Charlie would take on the task eagerly. She was happy to see that Sun had made a full recovery from near-complete insanity via virus shenanigans. Stepping in past the huge door, Charlie motioned for the others to follow suit as she called to Sun.

“Sun! How the heck are you?” she called, the Puppet on her shoulders practically vibrating with anticipation. As soon as they were inside, Charlie felt the lightweight form fall to make her way towards Sun, greeting the attendant by holding out her long and spindly arms for a hug.

“Look—this is all probably a lot to take in, but I'm Charlie. That's Puppet!” Charlie clarified, gesturing to the boys as they filed in through the door. “You remember Gregory, right? And this is Michael!”

“Oh! Hello there!” Sun laughed, lifting Puppet's lanky body without hesitation and hugging her close. Over her shoulder, Sun examined the others through his static mask. Charlie's voice was familiar, certainly—that had been coming out of the animatronic in his arms the last time they'd met. Strange, but nothing the Daycare attendant couldn't look past. He didn’t recognize Michael, but Gregory—

“Little sunbeam!” Sun gasped, pressing his palms to the sides of his mask as Puppet finally let him go. He desperately wanted to reach out and hug the boy, but resisted the urge. From his expression alone, he could tell Gregory was wary of him... not that Sun could blame the poor kid after what his darkness-loving counterpart put him through.

“Gregory, I'm so sorry for the other night!” Sun went on, wringing his hands together in the best display of nervous apology he could muster. “Moon was not himself and shouldn't have chased you around like that... Plus, I know it wasn't your fault the lights got flipped! You were nowhere near the switch. I shouldn't have thrown you out, either—I felt so bad afterwards and I really wanted to help, but I couldn't get through...”

“Hey, it's alright,” Michael soothed as Sun's pitch reached higher and higher the more he fussed. “None of the animatronics were themselves that night—don't stress about it. As long as you still feel okay now...?”

“Oh yes, I feel wonderful!” Sun chirped, perking up at the reassuring words.

Puppet seemed glad to hear that, squeezing Charlie excitedly around the shoulders after scaling her back once more. Maybe it was strange, but Charlie thought of her as her shadow—reliable in the way that she’d always be there.

But where she felt comfort in her animatronic protector, her best friend's clingy companion was feared and reviled by him...

“MIIIIIIKE...” A reverberating purr could be heard behind Michael and the gang. It was a good thing Gregory had been looking up at Ennard’s more put together form, shocked into not speaking. While Gregory didn’t necessarily fear Ennard, he didn't appreciate being snuck up on. Unfortunately, he failed in alerting Michael before it was too late.

“SUN... IS NEW FRIEND! MEET SUN...?” asked the giddy clown.

“Oh god—of course,” Michael griped, pulling Gregory away from Ennard’s immediate grasp.

“Ohhhhh!” Sun exclaimed with a chuckle, lightly smacking a palm to his forehead. “Michael… Mikey… you must be Ennard’s best friend!”

“Like hell I am!” Mike was glaring daggers at this point, solely fixated on Ennard’s leering form. Sun co*cked his head curiously, looking between the dichotomous pair.

“Hmm? But… Ennard said you were besties!” the cheery attendant added, using terminology he’d picked up on from being around younger generations of humans. “They said you’ve known each other for a loooong time!”

“ROOMIES,” Ennard choked out through their shared voice box. Ennard stood leaning heavily on their side in a way that made Gregory think they were going to fall over, but they were just sort of lopsided due to the carpet covering weighing more on one side.

“It's a long story,” Gregory filled in Sun briefly. That wasn't really for him to explain, and he didn't have all the facts anyway. If anyone, Ennard should fill their new friend in on what they did all those years ago—so Gregory abstained from big (and unfortunate) details. “Mike worked with Ennard, and they tricked him—”

As Gregory summarized the sanitized version he knew of their past, Puppet decided her presence was best used on Michael at the moment. She clambered up his back, watching over his shoulder protectively. Feeling the anxiety and anger rolling off him, she gently patted Michael’s head. With how much she heard Ennard speak about Mike already, there wouldn't be a need to really protect him. Still the Puppet was aware that Michael may need some form of safety blanket or he wouldn't calm down.

“Ennard,” Charlie called their attention. “You know you’ve got to take it easy on Mike. Come on...”

There was a moment of silence before Ennard uttered a broken, penitent: “SORRY...”

Michael heaved a sigh, reaching up to pat the soft shoulder of the Puppet that lingered over him.

“I’m fine,” he assured. Every encounter with Ennard was a little easier, especially when Michael had his family by his side for security.

“Wow… sounds like you’ve had quite the adventure together!” Sun remarked after Gregory finished his summary. Sun threw an arm around Ennard's shoulder, which served as a good counterbalance for their lopsidedness. “Ennard showed up in the Daycare yesterday night and they’ve been super fun to hang out with! It’s no wonder you two get along, Mike!”

Michael simply pursed his lips, deciding that to refute Sun’s insistence on his “friendship” with Ennard was a losing battle. Instead he rolled his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets as he mumbled an unenthusiastic: “Whatever…”

“SO!” Sun exclaimed after a moment’s pause, clasping his hands together and looking around before his gaze settled in Gregory. “Would you like to play?! I know you didn’t get a chance to really explore the Daycare, sunbeam—feel free to look around, if you want!”

Sun’s upbeat demeanor slipped into a calmer tone as he reassured: “By the way, if the lights do happen to go out for some reason, I promise than Moon's functioning perfectly now. He feels horrible about the whole thing, even though we can’t remember most of it… He wants to apologize too, if you come across him.”

Sun would leave it at that, completely up to Gregory if he’d willingly like to summon Moon at any point. Either way, the Daycare attendant would do his best to make up for all the terror his personalities caused the poor child the other night.

Sun was a huge factor in Gregory’s major trust problems with the animatronics thanks to how friendly and accommodating he'd been until Vanny shut them into total darkness. Gregory was sure that Samuel wouldn't allow anyone to waltz into the Daycare should either attendant be acting out of sorts, so he threw a smile up to Sun.

“That's what we came here for! Come on—what kind of game should we play?” Gregory asked, gently pulling the ribbons and bells that were connected to his wrist in the direction of the play area.

That left the Marionette and Ennard locked in a stare-down, as if one was waiting in anticipation for the other to move. It was like watching two stray cats advance on each other, calculating before simultaneously deciding to throw down and fight in an alley.

Ennard broke the silence, greeting the Puppet with a strained: “HEL...LO?” and slowly reaching their hand out.

The Puppet remained cautious, watching as Ennard’s clawed fingers stopped a foot short of Michael. She bridged the gap, reaching out before swiftly climbing to hang off their arm.

“She can't speak—voice box only plays music,” Michael clarified, watching the interaction like a hawk. Ennard wasn't going to harm anything that didn't pose a threat to him, Michael had to keep reminding himself of that. It still didn't help his nerves as he saw what was his best friend until a few days ago hanging off Ennard like they were a weird jungle gym. He let out a small sigh, sparing a glance to where Gregory was leading the Daycare attendant around excitedly.

“Have you met Moon yet?” Michael asked after a beat of silence, eyes flicking back to Ennard with mild curiosity. He couldn't fathom how Sun and Ennard's personalities worked together, let alone Moon's. With a mild frown, Mike realized that he didn't actually know what Moon was supposed to be like either.

Ennard diligently held the Puppet up as she swung herself lazily from their arm. The very action made Charlie laugh at what she perceived to be the fun her old robot was having. Ennard shook their head, eyes never leaving Michael now that Puppet posed no real threat.

“MOON IS... ELUSIVE,” Ennard noted, one of their superfluous eyes glancing at Gregory's direction. The boy was in thought, thinking of the games they could play together.

“I figured as much.” Michael turned his gaze to the glow star-studded ceiling. If Moon was actually as calm and friendly as Freddy stated during one of their many discussions about his time in the Pizzaplex, Mike could definitely see how kids would enjoy spending nap time here as well.

“You're good at Hide and Seek, right?” Gregory was asking Sun, already having his first hiding spot picked out.

Sun nodded enthusiastically, the bells on his wrists jingling as he shifted from foot to foot. “Yes! That's one of my favorite games!” He turned his back to Gregory, having noticed him searching for a place the Daycare attendant wouldn't easily be able to find him. Covering his eyes with his hands for good measure, Sun told the boy: “Okay, you can hide first—I'll give you to the count of thirty!”

Charlie had been entertained at the sight of Puppet nimbly clinging to the carpet on Ennard’s back before sitting directly atop their head. Unfazed completely, a couple of Ennard's vestigial eyes blinked as they remarked: “SHOULD TINY MICHAEL GROW TIRED… WE MEET MOON.”

Waiting for Sun to cover their eyes in anticipation, Gregory bolted faster than he ever thought he could run. He made a beeline straight for the ball pit, diving head first into the deep, rubber-coated pool of color and staying buried beneath its saturated waves for cover.

Charlie tugged on Michael’s shirt to get his attention. “Speaking of which—look, isn’t he so stinking cute when he’s having fun?”

Before Michael could correct Ennard on Gregory's name, Charlie had diverted his attention towards said kid and his disappearing act. Michael conceded with a nod, his smile growing wider at the sight of Gregory actually having fun for once. Mike realized how little chance he'd actually been able to just... be a kid. They might not know the finer details of Gregory's troubled past, but his new family could tell without a doubt his childhood had been stifled far too much.

Of course, Sun instantly recognized the sound of someone diving into the ball pit. He'd give Gregory the benefit of the doubt though, making a big show of looking around when he eventually counted all the way up to thirty.

“Hmm...,” the Daycare attendant murmured, slinking casually towards the nearest play structure and peering into one of the plastic tubes. “Now where oh where could that little sunbeam be...”

Michael chuckled softly as he watched, crossing his arms over his chest. He figured Sun already knew where the kid was, but clearly understood his role to let Gregory think he'd outsmarted him—at least for a little bit. “Sun's a good sport, I'll give him that.”

Ennard sat on the ground now, Puppet's legs dangling just within their line of sight until they picked her up and set her down on their knee. She slouched a little against Ennard’s hand, but ultimately kept resting upright with their help. Puppet looked to Ennard gratefully and patted their hand as they watched the little game of hide and seek.

“MAYBE... NEXT ROUND... WE COULD PLAY..?” Ennard mentioned to the group as they watched Sun entertain Gregory and his antics for the time being.

Charlie glanced sidelong at Ennard, surprised that they wanted in. Then again, she figured they wanted to spend more quality time with their new friend. She hadn't even considered that they may be encroaching upon their time together.

“I'm game. Mike?” Charlie asked, nudging her friend with her elbow.

Michael stared at Ennard hard through narrowed eyes. No matter how much everyone else got over their initial unease around them, Michael knew he'd never be absolutely 100% comfortable around the amalgamation even if his stress and anxiety lessened as time went on.

Who could blame him, though? No one had quite the experience with Ennard as he did...

Even so, a glance at the Puppet resting contentedly in Ennard's lap, then a look at Charlie's imploring face was enough for Michael to relent to their wishes.

“Ugh... fine,” he groaned, sounding almost like a petulant child who'd been told to clean their room. He did want to play hide and seek with his friends though, and knew Gregory and Sun certainly wouldn't turn down any new players. Before the group could get too excited, Michael held up a finger to signal them to wait. “One condition, though—I'm the seeker first.”

Charlie saw no issue in this, and by the looks of the Marionette she didn't have an opinion about their upcoming game in the slightest. Ennard began to quake slightly, gaze floating back to Michael. Ennard really hoped he found them first. That would give them time to talk a little...

Or, that's what Ennard had secretly hoped for. More than anything, they would love for Michael to understand them just a little more.

“THIS... WILL BE... FUN!” Ennard decreed, reaching over and taking Puppet's arms gently by the wrists. They resembled waves with the cadence Ennard shook her with, but she didn't seem to mind at all. It was hard to tell, given she was the most stoic of the animatronics, but she was soaking in the attention from this strange companion.

“Dude, you're such a super cheater when you seek,” Charlie scoffed, causing Puppet to take back her hands and cover her mouth in a silent laugh at Charlie's call-out.

“No, I'm just good,” Michael corrected smugly, then turned his attention towards the ball pit as he heard a loud exclamation.

“Found you!” Sun cheered, lifting Gregory high into the air. The Daycare attendant laughed brightly, carrying Gregory back over to the group as his legs kicked uselessly. Eventually he set the boy down, the smile in his voice matching the grinning visage of his mask. “Gregory had a great hiding spot! Does anyone else want to join?!”

“You read our minds,” Michael replied, craning his neck to look up at the tall animatronic. Sun let out a gasp of excitement, looking between the group.

“ALL of you?!” he asked, and when Mike nodded Sun instantly bent to grasp the one of the Puppet's spindly hands and Ennard's arm, hoisting them both to their feet in one fluid movement. It was a surprising display of animatronic strength and Michael felt a pang of relief that the Daycare attendant was now fully on their side. Sun bounced from foot to foot, causing the lightweight Puppet to sway with the movement while Ennard remained more or less stationary. “Ooh, this is so exciting! Who's the seeker this time?!”

While the Puppet grasped onto Sun's hand in turn, she raised her arm to point repeatedly at Michael in silent answer to Sun’s question. Gregory was attempting to find a new hiding spot; inside of one of the slides seemed to be a good idea. Charlie meanwhile had no clue where she’d go. Honestly, just trying to sneak around unnoticed by Michael was probably her best bet.

“I CAN HARDLY CONTAIN MY JOY,” Ennard remarked, their voice betraying little raw emotion as normal; rather their inflection was presumed as excitable due to how hard it was to understand them through the exorbitant static.

“Ooh, Michael's it? Okay! We're counting to thirty!” Sun instructed, releasing his animatronic friends so they could all find spots to hide.

“Got it. One.... two...,” Mike began, closing his eyes and making a display of also covering them with his hands so Charlie wouldn't accuse him of cheating.

As the countdown began, everyone followed Gregory's lead and scrambled to find a good spot. Sun went into the play structure as well, scrunching his flexible body up as much as possible and settling in one of the opaque tubes that connected two of the jungle gyms. Michael was bit bigger than the kids that usually crawled through the play place, but if Sun could fit he imagined Mike's lean frame could as well.

“—Thirty. Ready or not, here I come!” Michael proclaimed loudly, doing his best to slow his counting until all sounds of shuffling had stopped. Opening his eyes, he turned to scan the Daycare for signs of any of his companions.

Gregory had made it to his chosen hiding spot right away. He felt like it was smart to stand inside the tube slide. Who would guess he was chilling comfortably inside?

As for Ennard, currently they’d made the rough attempt to hide behind the security desk. Provided no one looked that way at a certain angle, Ennard was totally hidden.

The Puppet? Gone without a trace. Tiny and silent, the animatronic had wedged herself between the bars of the climbing gym and a metal cut-out of Roxy’s face.

All the while Charlie wandered around, tiptoeing across the rubber. She was praying now. There had to be a good hiding spot somewhere—some place no one had taken yet. She watched her step, careful not to trip while listening for Michael in her search.

Mike had gone for the easiest place to check first: the security desk. As he approached, he got the definite feeling that someone was hiding back there. With a wicked grin, he slowed his steps so they barely made a sound on the padded floor, hoping to get the jump on his hapless victim.

“AHA—oh… it’s you.” Michael’s joy was cut short as he peered over the front of the desk and came face to face with the last thing he wanted to see. Rolling his eyes, Mike pushed away from the desk and gestured for Ennard to come out of hiding. “Figures you’d be the first one I found.”

“YAY.” Ennard rejoiced, slowly picking themselves up from the floor. “YOU HAVE FOUND US... GREAT JOB, MICHAEL...”

Charlie watched this interaction from the obscurity of the colorful bars of the play place. Wow Ennard, Charlie thought to herself, way to kill him with kindness... Either that, or poor Ennard genuinely had no damn clue Michael legitimately hated them with a passion.

“Let me know if you see anyone, alright?” Mike said, searching the jungle gym with narrowed vision and refusing to acknowledge the smidgen of amiability he was showing his metallic shadow. “You’ve certainly got enough damn eyes to track them down…”

Though it was the smallest of swears, Sun was unable to stop a little gasp from escaping his mouth. His language filter was amped to the extreme, even more than Freddy’s due to his job of watching over babies and toddlers. He clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late—Michael’s head swiveled in the direction of the echoey intake of breath, and as he squinted hard he could see the vague outline of a lanky figure illuminated by the bright overhead lights that tried to pass through the plastic tube. Michael could crawl in and tag Sun… but with a side-eyed glance towards the tendril inching near his arm, he realized there was another option that saved him from going in the enclosed space altogether.

“Hey Ennard, why don’t you help me out and get your new friend?” Mike suggested, pointing towards Sun’s hideout.At Michael's request, Ennard seemed hesitant to comply. Then again, they supposed that now that they were found, technically Ennard was on his team! This was going to be funny...

Ennard silently maneuvered their way towards the construct with the intent to scale it silently. Squeezing in past the bars and safety netting, they quietly snuck behind Sun inside the tube, then gently tapped his shoulder. “FOUND Y-Y-YOU!”

At the terrifying prospect of Ennard finding her next, Charlie skedaddled and went to take cover behind the service desk for now. Luckily no one would think to check where someone else was found recently.

“Oh!” Sun’s head whipped around 180 degrees at Ennard’s tap, though he seemed more surprised at being discovered than the animatronic itself. Having already made Ennard laugh once before, Sun already recognized the disjointed chorus of staticky feedback for what it was. Chuckling as well, Sun began unwrapping himself to follow Ennard out into the open, lamenting: “Aww, and I thought I had a great spot...”

While Ennard got their prize, Michael set his sights on finding the others. Despite her indecisive tendencies towards selecting a hiding place, somehow Charlie had managed to evade him for now. Mike padded along the floor slowly, trying not to give his position away. When he got to a suspicious opening or tunnel in the jungle gym, he’d jump out from around the corner in hopes of catching one of his friends unaware. It wasn’t long before one of these sneaky attacks was a success. Upon finding an unassuming slide and peering in the bottom, Michael noticed a distinctive pair of little red sneakers.

“Gotcha!” he exclaimed, grasping Gregory’s ankles and yanking him out of the of the slide feet first, holding him upside down as he gloated in his victory. “Good hiding spot, kid—but not good enough!”

“NO! NOOO!” Gregory lamented, shouting and clawing the inside of the tunnel as he was dragged. Dangled unceremoniously, Gregory found himself swinging as he cried out. “My spot was SO good! How?!”

“For you? Brotherly intuition,” Michael stated with a grin, setting the kid down. There wasn’t a chance Mike would reveal the discovery had been pure luck. “Right, now onto the last two…,”

“Maybe they’re hiding together?” Gregory brought up, helping Mike out despite losing the game to him. Charlie crawled, trying to be careful and quiet before reaching the far side of the desk and further away from the group. Wherever Puppet ran off to, she was certainly fast and thorough with her hiding spots.

“WE HEAR SOMETHING...,” Ennard told the group in an almost intimidating manner, though they likely meant nothing by it other than hearing Charlie crawling mutely across the floor.

Michael co*cked his head, listening intently. For a moment, there was nothing but the ambient sounds of the Pizzaplex. And then, the faint sound of fabric rustling was picked up by the android’s sensitive hearing. Without a word Michael turned on his heel and marched back to the security desk as the rest of the group tagged along behind. Just as he’d done with Ennard, Michael pushed himself up to peer over the top of the desk to find Charlie huddled into a ball and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

“Charlie Emily!” Michael exclaimed, mild offense in his tone. “And you accuse me of cheating?! You can’t use the same spot as someone else!”

Charlie could've jumped higher than the moon. Her face even flushed with the accusation as she stood with a bashful grin. “What—Huh? Since when was that a rule?”

“Oooooh, cheater!” Gregory jeered. Looking around in a grand spin on his heel, he tried to spot a dot of black and white amidst the sea of color. “Guys—Puppet's too good at this game! Where could she even hide that she wouldn't stand out?”

“YOU HAVEN'T... THE PLAY PLACE...” Ennard’s voice glitched helpfully as they pointed towards the rainbow jungle gym.

“Hmm…” Michael reached out to Gregory, hoisting him up to sit on his shoulders. The boy’s new height still wasn’t a match for the lanky Daycare attendant, but it was definitely closer. Looking at Gregory upside-down, Mike advised: “Keep an eye out for stripes.”

“Oh my goodness. These dorks...” Charlie sighed, watching as Michael took off in a high-speed bolt that made Gregory grasp onto his head for security. Soon, screams evolved into laughter as Charlie and the others followed in their silly game. The Puppet, who wasn't one to wait around in such times, began to crawl out from behind Roxy's cutout cartoon face.

Carefully climbing through the bars and timing it just right, she dropped right onto Gregory’s back. The boy let out a higher-pitched scream of surprise. Where did she even come from? Gregory couldn't deduce it, but began to laugh when he realized what was happening.

“Whoa—hey, we didn’t even get a chance to look for you!” Michael laughed as one of the Puppet’s long limbs brushed his arm while she got settled. His body had no trouble stabilizing itself with the sudden added weight, and after one more round past the jungle gym Michael halted at the edge of the ball pit. He felt like he should be out of breath, but true to these bodies’ wonderful capabilities he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“Puppet, hold on tight!” Michael said, grasping Gregory by the underarms.

“Oh goodness—careful, Michael!” Sun called, sensing what the man was about to do mere seconds before it happened. With a heave Michael tossed Gregory and the Puppet into the colorful river, causing a wave of plastic balls to rise up from the impact.

It was like the two brothers had been in sync their whole lives. Gregory had expected the throw, but was uncoordinated when being tossed up. Thankfully the Puppet squeezed around him, lessening the chances of Gregory being hurt further. Not that it was likely he would be hurt—it was only the ball pit, after all.

Laughing from the sidelines, Charlie watched Gregory's splashdown, plastic flung from his loud and crashing impact.

“Do that again! Fling me into the pit again!” Gregory begged as he popped back up with stars in his eyes. The Puppet still clung on for the free ride, her hugs reassuring Gregory and keeping him calm. Charlie had placed a hand on Sun's arm, patting him gently.

“It's okay, Sun! They do this stuff all the time. No worries,” she attempted to soothe. The poor guy was probably used to kids roughhousing too much and children being hurt all the time. Charlie found his reaction justified, but there was no need to stop—especially because she was sure that Gregory had a hard time being hurt anyway.

“Well… they do seem to be having fun,” Sun relented, placing his hand on the back of Charlie’s and squeezing gently. As long as he was assured no one was being harmed—especially the child—he saw no reason to stop their activity. With a cheerful laugh, he added: “It is super fun to jump in there! I understand why Gregory loves it!”

Charlie leaned into her friend. She'd been meaning to pop back to the Daycare to see how he was doing—especially after their less than friendly last encounter of being kicked from Sun's home. She felt awful leaving Sun as alone and scared as he was.

After the fifth or sixth toss, one could see Gregory’s energy wearing down. It was true that his last nap seemingly only lasted two hours before he was charged up again, but surely Gregory still needed more sleep as a growing kid.

“You getting sleepy, little man?” Charlie asked playfully, watching as he lugged himself from the ball pit with the Puppet's arms tied over his shoulders.

Gregory, who could hardly hold open his eyes now shouted back a defiant: “Nooo..!”

This time when Michael picked him up, he tossed Gregory straight into the air, listening to his burnt-out giggles as he landed safely back in his arms.

“Oh yeah, he’s spent,” Michael announced. He could feel Gregory gearing up to argue, so he rolled his eyes. “Relax;you'll thank me later."

“Oh! I could help with a nap!” Sun perked up eagerly, lightly bouncing from foot to foot. “Well, Moon could—if you’re up for it, sunbeam.” His tone softened, fully understanding if Gregory was still hesitant. “We can set up a little sleeping spot and turn the lights off.”

“Uh… maybe not all of them?” Michael suggested, to which Sun quickly shook his head.

“No, no, certainly not! We only turn the lights directly over the play area off during nap time,” the Daycare attendant explained, pointing to the ceiling waiting to come alight with glowing constellations. “The only reason the whole place would go dark is if a breaker was flipped! If you ever get too nervous with Moon and aren’t near the light switch, just walk into a bright area—he won’t follow. I promise he’s fine though!”

While Michael and Sun discussed Gregory's sleeping arrangements, Charlie moved to Mike's side to gently play with Gregory's hair. Charlie had found Gregory's more sudden bout of fatigue to be both interesting and... Maybe a little cause for alarm? For all she knew, irregular sleeping patterns and fatigue could all be a part of the side effects from his Remnant injection. It would be something to discuss with Freddy and Mike later, but for now Charlie watched as Gregory struggled hard to keep his heavy eyelids open.

“Moon..? Yeah... Yeah I'd be fine seeing Moon...” Gregory hoped that Moon may scare him enough to be pulled from his tired stupor, but if Sun was sure his counterpart was back to his original personality then he didn't have a chance at staying awake. Ennard hung back behind Sun, gently brushing him with their carpet-covered body.

“WE WILL GRAB PILLOWS...” they offered. Those huge sleeping pillows provided in the Daycare had all been organized meticulously by Sun's high standards earlier that day, so Ennard was more than familiar with where everything was now.

“Thank you, friend!” Sun said cheerily, turning around and giving Ennard a brief hug around their shoulders. “I’ll get blankets—give us a minute!”

The Daycare attendant bounded away towards a little section of cubbies that held blankets, stuffed animals, and other such things the little ones would need during nap time. As he and Ennard gathered supplies, the others moved to the security desk where the light switch was located. Michael believed Sun when he said his counterpart was fine, but a small part of his mind warned to be cautious. Even with the lights off, the security desk would be a safe space with its back-up illumination.

“Okay, we’re all set!” Sun exclaimed a minute later, gesturing to a spot in the midst of a plethora of pillows that’d been decked out with cozy blankets and various Glamrock stuffed animals. Sun stopped a few feet back from the security desk, clasping his hands as he looked at Gregory. “Aww, he’s all tuckered out…”

“Yeah...” Charlie agreed with Sun's assessment. She gently stroked Gregory's bangs from his face, reading his peaceful and sleepy expression. “He hasn't been sleeping well; he probably needed this.”

From there, Puppet gently climbed down from Michael's tall frame to scamper towards the pillow pile, immediately getting lost in the soft, embroidered cushions. There she would wait for her friends to join her, and Charlie headed over to investigate the soft-looking pile as well.

Over at the desk, Ennard found the naptime switch. Flicking it dimmed the lights, prompting the glow in the dark stars to come out and coat the sky in a gentle neon. Upon the overhead lights dimming completely, the Puppet's music box began to play Grandfather's Clock gently on instinct.

No longer was Sun afraid of the transformation into his night-themed counterpart. Contrary to the screaming and frantic mask-tearing he’d shown last time, in this instance Sun simply gave a cheery wave and ducked out of sight, knowing that sometimes the change distressed the children—even if Gregory wasn’t conscious enough to notice, Sun wanted to make this experience as easy as possible. In seconds, his thin fingers had taken on a blue-tipped hue as Moon hoisted himself up to peer over the edge of the desk.

“…Hello,” he said in that soft, raspy voice, eyes locked onto Gregory and Michael. Unlike their last encounter, Moon’s tone was soft and calm, the almost-staticky undertone meant to soothe instead of distress. There was a faint red glow to his eyes, though it wouldn’t brighten unless he perceived a security threat.

“Hey, Moon,” Michael replied, holding Gregory close. To his relief, he didn’t sense an ounce of maliciousness from the robot—and Mike knew a threatening animatronic when he saw it. He cracked a smile, curiously examining the stark difference in color palates as Moon moved fully into view, notably staying out of the lights from the security desk. “Nice to formally meet you.”

“Yes… I’m sorry about before,” the Daycare attendant apologized, wringing his hands exactly as Sun did when nervous. There was a distinctive crouch in Moon’s posture, but now that his coding wasn’t going haywire it was easy to see how the two were indeed the same animatronic at their cores. Moon went on, still in that easy tone tinged with genuine apology: “I don’t know what came over me… Like Sun told you, we don’t remember much, but I think I caused Freddy and his little starlight a lot of trouble.”

Charlie was surprised at the calmness Moon portrayed. It was quite the opposite of what she’d seen when he chased them through the Daycare with possessed-looking abandon. The way his voice no longer contorted to something nightmarish and twisted made her feel better about the character that supposedly took care of sleeping children.

“It's not your fault,” Charlie gently reminded, her first words to Moon kind and gentle.

In Michael's arms Gregory rustled, willing himself to snap out of his sleepy state for all of three seconds, long enough to glance up to the smiling Moon and to feel a sense of safety under his gaze. Squished against Michael's chest, Gregory muttered a tuckered out, “Hello, Moon...”

“Hi Gregory, ehehehe…,” Moon let out a quiet cackle, far from his raucous, demented laughter the other night. With a sweeping gesture, he motioned towards the pile of pillows. “Let’s put you to bed, hmm?”

Michael nodded in agreement, finally taking a step into the darkness where Moon was free to snatch the boy up if he so desired. The Daycare attendant remained calm and collected, swaying slightly as he tracked Mike across the padded floor. That was definitely an unnerving sensation… Or it would’ve been had Michael not already been used to multiple sets of eyes locked onto him at once. Sure enough, as he neared the bedding he heard Moon and Ennard shuffling behind him.

“There you go, kid,” Michael said as he set Gregory down in the plush cloud next to Charlie and Puppet.

Gregory didn’t have time to cover himself with the chosen blanket, Puppet was quick to cover Gregory up and snuggle against his side. To Charlie, it reminded her of when she was young. Taking naps in her father’s office while using her Puppet as a pillow…

Charlie smiled, telling Gregory: “Goodnight, kiddo.”

There was a soft kiss pressed into Gregory’s hairline, and he Gregory was out like a light once more. This smiling angel sleeping on a cloud was a far cry from the hyperactive maniac she watched run from the ball pit and towards his brother so many times.

Moon’s instinct was to help Gregory get settled, but he resisted the urge—his siblings and music box-playing animatronic clearly had that covered. Instead, he turned to the amalgamation at his side, grinning behind his mask. “Hi, Ennard—I’m glad to finally talk to you myself. Sun always hogs our friends…”

Ennard was fiddling with a knob at the side of their head, lowering the volume of their voices as to not disturb Gregory.

“MOON… VERY GLAD TO MEET…” they murmured, opening their arms and enveloping the Moon in a slow but unavoidable hug. Ennard swayed him slightly as they embraced, the joy of having two new friends noticeable in the Funtime conglomerate’s voice.

Michael grimaced at the tall animatronics’ interaction, sinking into a cross-legged position at Charlie’s side. Resting his head against her shoulder, he murmured in a quiet, sarcastic tone: “At least there’s someone for Ennard to bother with besides the ghosts while I’m not here…”

Charlie would chuckle quietly at this, barely audible and only noticeable from her shoulders bouncing slightly. She reached over, gently holding Michael’s cheek as she sympathetically touched her forehead to his.

“You're doing that thing where you worry too much,” Charlie warned, urging him to relax and follow his own speech. Ennard was leaving him alone! There was something in that to be grateful for. Charlie wrapped her arms around her friend and dragged him to lay down beside her, more or less trying to force him to not be on the defensive right now. She trusted the guardianship of Puppet and Moon to keep them all safe. Even if Michael never 100% trusted Ennard, they weren’t defenseless.

“Take it easy; listen to the music,” Charlie advised. Puppet's softly playing music box could nearly put Charlie herself to sleep. It surprised herself how she wasn't immune to its tempting lullaby even after all these years.

“I always worry too much,” Michael grumbled, a bit too much rawness in his voice for the confession to be taken as a joke. Still he did as Charlie instructed, curling up with his back to her.

“You can rest, Michael,” Moon offered, catching the man’s watchful gaze. He pressed a hand to his chest, standing up a bit straighter. “I’m designed to protect anyone who decides to sleep in my Daycare—you’re all safe, I promise.”

Michael muttered something unintelligible that sounded slightly mocking, but he allowed himself to sink a bit further into the pillow mountain. He wasn’t still wasn’t going to sleep here though.

…Of course, all it took was another few minutes of listening to the Puppet’s now-comforting song before Michael too was passed out, his face finally relaxed into a peaceful mask that matched Gregory’s. Moon cackled softly and gestured for Ennard to follow him a little out of the way so they could talk more without disturbing anyone. As was his design, Moon would never be far when he had a sleeping child under his care, so if Gregory or his family needed anything he’d be at their side in a few hops.

With the tough guy finally fallen asleep besides her, Charlie could in turn relax. She threw her hand into a thumbs-up for Puppet and Moon before it limply fell back on her chest. Having wormed her way into Michael’s side, she began to doze off with the light of the glowing sticker stars guiding them to sleep.

***

The room must’ve been set on an automatic timer. Once the switch was pulled there was only a limited time before the “Sun” was to come back up and wake the children within the Daycare. A rooster crowed, alerting the residents of the coming day, and Gregory was the first to wake under the bright light again. Groggily, he lifted himself up and rubbed at his eyes. He was well-rested, sure, but Gregory thought he could stand to sleep a few minutes more.

“Hi, sunbeam!” the Daycare attendant greeted excitedly, sounding much too cheery for those who’d been asleep moments prior. Sun was crouched at Gregory’s side, all smiles as usual as he checked in on the boy. “How’d you sleep? Did you have good dreams? Were you comfy enough?”

“Mph... Morinin', Sun..." Gregory yawned before unabashedly reaching over to give Sun a quick hug in greeting, feeling like he got a pretty relaxed few hours of sleep.

“Why are you so loud…?” Michael groaned, awoken by the bright voice of the Daycare attendant. He tried to shift but felt something at his side. Glancing down he saw it was Charlie, to which he smirked and tapped the crown of her head repeatedly. “Chaaarlie… wakey wakey; if I have to get up, so do you.”

“I'll bite you.” Charlie tossed the empty threat to Michael, letting out a yawn herself and stretching obnoxiously in his space before even thinking about sitting up. It got her thinking as she finally sat up and looked around how much this place could really warp one’s perception of time. “How long were we out..?”

After a cursory glance to his Fazwatch, Gregory tried to remember the last time he looked at it before finally dozing off. “I think, like... Less than three hours?”

“Yup! Two hours and forty-seven minutes, to be exact!” Sun clarified, still glowing with happiness from Gregory’s hug.

“Oh geez, that long?” Michael said, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, then attempting to comb fingers through his hair to get rid of the frizz as best he could. “We must’ve all been exhaust—sh*t!”

The curse escaped in a yelp as his gaze fell upon Ennard standing much too close for comfort. In Michael’s pleasant dreams the amalgamation was nowhere to be found, so to see them right there was startling.

“Michael!” Sun gasped, pressing his hands over Gregory’s ears. Mike winced, feeling the robot’s glare through his mask. “We do not use that sort of language in the Daycare, especially around impressionable children!”

“Sorry!” Michael quickly apologized, holding up his palms in deferment. “I was just surprised—can you move back a little?"

This last part was snapped at Ennard, Michael’s embarrassment at being scolded coupled with his sleep-addled brain making him lash out at the robot out of habit.

Ennard’s eyes widened ever so slightly at Michael’s outburst. He found the man to be silly for being so startled when they’d been here this entire time!

“WE WERE W-W-WAITING FOR YOU TO WAKE UP—” they admitted, hands held innocently behind their back. “—WANTED TO PLAY MORE GAMES…”

To save Michael the headache of answering Ennard without cursing him out, Charlie stepped in politely.

“Sorry big guy,” she said, seeing the disappointment in Ennard’s drooping shoulders and head. “We gotta get Gregory back to his dad… And probably go job hunting?”

Charlie thought more about that. Someone had to keep Gregory fed and clothed, and expecting Sammy to pay for a child that wasn’t his would be selfish of her. He had enough to worry about without them thrusting that responsibility on him, too.

“MICHAEL AND FRIENDS… BACK TOMORROW..?” Ennard asked, getting their own hopes up once more.

“Sure!” Gregory answered this time. Now that the Pizzaplex was safe again, he could settle back into returning most days. “We’ll play tomorrow, Ennard.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Michael confirmed, rolling his eyes at Ennard’s eagerness. Really, he was looking forward to returning to see his family again and check in on the progress Sammy made in fixing up the other animatronics. Speaking of which…

Charlie’s mention of a job had given Michael pause. The only jobs he’d worked were related to Fazbear Entertainment. He’d never experienced what it was like to do anything else, and honestly Michael just couldn’t picture it. Maybe he could talk to Sammy about letting them work a little bit in the Pizzaplex—that way they could make some money and keep watch over their families at the same time. But did Michael really want to work in this place?

…That was a discussion for later. As he stood and helped Charlie to her feet, the walkie on his hip crackled to life.

“Michael?” Freddy’s voice came through. “Are you there?”

“Hey, Freddy!” the android answered with a grin, holding the walkie up to his mouth. “We were just about to check in on you—everything good?”

“Yes, everything is wonderful!” The smile was clear in Freddy’s voice. “Samuel and I will meet you at the front entrance in about ten minutes, alright?”

“Sounds good; see you then.” The static clicked off and Michael slipped the device back into its holster. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Sun bouncing much more energetically than ever before.

“Freddy’s back in commission?!” the attendant squealed. He would’ve recognized that voice even if Michael hadn’t said the bear’s name. “Ooh, he should come here and visit! I miss him!”

“Yeah! He's all better but... Well—” Charlie answered with a smile, wondering how exactly to explain Freddy's new situation to such an old friend of his. So she went for the most easy to digest answer. “—you just might not recognize him right away. He looks a little different now.”

She was sure that Sun wouldn't hold any qualms about Freddy’s appearance. The Daycare attendant wasn’t the type to judge people in such a way. Gregory reached up and unhooked the walkie talkie from Michael's hip, happy to accommodate for Sun's request.

“Hey, Dad? We're in the Daycare and Sun wants to see you!” he called over the radio waves, hoping both Sammy and Freddy would be fine with the pit stop.

There was a moment of dead air before Freddy’s voice came through again. “Hello, superstar! That is fine—we will be there shortly.”

“Dad?” Sun questioned with a curious tilt of his head. “So it isn’t Freddy Fazbear…?”

“No, he definitely is,” Michael replied, only adding to the poor bot's confusion. Reaching up as high as he could, he gently patted Sun on the small of his back. “Look, there’s a lot of stuff that’s been going on around here that, honestly, I think you’d be happier not knowing about… But I’m sure Freddy will tell you all the details soon, okay?”

“Oh… okay,” Sun relented with a nod, not one to argue on topics like these. Instead he clapped his hands, looking to the group. “Well then! How about we play a game while we wait? Maybeeee… red light, green light? I can be it!”

“Works for me,” Michael said, alright with the game so long as he wasn’t being the one snuck up on. He looked down at Gregory with a raised an eyebrow. “What do you think? One more game before your dad gets here?”

“Heck yeah!” Gregory censored himself, fists balled excitedly in front of his chest. “Where's the starting line?”

“Start at the security desk, finish on the other side of the jungle gym,” Sun instructed, bounding over to the finish line to demonstrate. He waved to the group and then turned his back, calling over his shoulder: “Let me know when you’re ready!”

After a bit of shuffling, everyone was poised in front of the desk. Michael indicated they were good to go, and the game began.

***

They played almost three full rounds before the sound of the metal garage door opening caught Sun’s attention.

“Red light!” he called, whirling around without much time to give everyone a chance to stop. Sure enough he caught Gregory swaying on his feet, arm outstretched mere inches from tagging him. Laughing brightly, Sun scooped the boy up into a gentle hug. “So close, Gregory! But I think we have to cut this round short—we have more visitors!”

“Hello, everyone!” Freddy called with a wave, grinning as he and Sammy made their way to the play area. He looked just the same as when they’d last seen him, without even a hair out of place. Whatever Henry did in order to check out the whole “eating human food” thing was completely undetectable.

Sun could feel Gregory start to wriggle at the sound of Freddy’s voice, so he was quick to set the boy down. He watched the men approach, rather confused but going with the flow as usual—surely someone would explain in time.

“Dad!” Gregory shouted, excited to see his favorite member of the Glamrocks again. Though he no longer wore the bear costume, his voice was unmistakable. Waving Sun goodbye, he ran for Freddy and jumped him in a hug. “Oh! Dad, Sun's been waiting for you to show up! He said he missed you.”

“FREDDY HAS BEEN GIVEN A NEW MODEL...” Ennard whispered, having sluggishly moved across the room to inform his friend of the recent life changes Freddy was going through. “HE HAS ADOPTED GREGORY AND THEY LIVE INSIDE A HOTEL.”

Charlie smacked a palm to her face, wishing she could’ve given Sun a more nuanced version of the events that took place before Ennard chimed in with their blunt explanation.

“Oh, um… hmm…” Sun muttered weakly, for once at a loss for words. It wasn’t the body change itself that was hard to process, but the suddenness of it all. Also, from the cursory health and safety scans the Daycare attendant performed, Gregory was definitely human… so how in the world did he wind up being Freddy Fazbear’s adopted child?

“Hello, Sun; I am sorry for the abrupt change,” Freddy apologized as everyone made their way over to him. Gregory rested on his hip, held securely in one arm as he hugged onto Freddy’s shoulders. He chuckled softly, inclining his head towards the multi-eyed conglomeration. “Ennard explained the situation quite succinctly. I will spare you the details tonight, if that is alright.”

“No problem, Fred; as long as everyone’s okay and happy, so am I!” Sun assured, leaning down to get a better look at his old friend’s new body. Used to Sun’s hands-on nature, Freddy didn’t bat an eye as the lanky animatronic twisted a lock of bright hair in his hand, then pressed gentle fingertips against his cheek to feel it’s warmth. Sun’s eyes would be shining in childlike astonishment if they could.

And then as his curiosity fully peaked, the line of rambling questions began, directed towards both Freddy and the CEO at his side. “Wow… this is amazing! Are you sure you’re still a robot?! Did you make this, Sammy? Ooh, do we all get human bodies? Hmm, I’m not sure if I’d want to totally give up this one, though… Oh, would Moon get his own, or would we still share?!”

Everyone getting their own robot? Sam grimaced. Oh man—his poor ghostly father would have his work cut out for him. At the barrage of inquisitions Samuel floundered some, flustered but smiling nevertheless at his first original creation.

“Sunny!” He laughed, coming forward and grasping the giant’s hands to pull his attention to him again. “Ah... Yes! That's a project I'd be happy to work on. However, there's only two of us who know how to work with them. I need to hire more techs and then we'll make something for all of you in the meantime!”

Christ—Samuel now had another obligation to fill. This is what he got for being such a people pleaser with a tight enough schedule as it is. He needed to hire people, and fast.

Gregory had been happy that Freddy's new look was being accepted so quickly by the others, especially when Freddy had once been a little concerned about it. Soon the Puppet was crawling up to sit on Freddy's shoulder, missing her disguised ursine friend.

Mention of Sammy needing workers gave Charlie an idea, though she wasn't sure how much Michael would like it. She nudged him from where they stood beneath the jungle gym and asked quietly: “Do you think we should ask Sammy for stuff to do? He seems a little strapped for employees...”

“You read my mind,” Michael whispered back, flashing Charlie a grin. For the first time, he wouldn’t be working in a restaurant designed by his corrupted father—this one was made with loving, attentive care from the mind of Sammy Emily, a man who took after his own father in the best of ways. Taking Charlie’s arm, Michael led her over to where the others were talking. “We should bring it up before we leave tonight.”

“Have you all been having fun?” Freddy asked, leaning his head to rest against the Puppet’s side.

“So much fun!” Sun replied, jumping from foot to foot . “We chatted a little bit, played some games, and some of us even took a nap! Oh, and Moon got to say hi!”

“It sounds like you all were quite busy,” Freddy commented with a smile, giving Gregory a little squeeze. The boy seemed very awake now, and Freddy assumed he’d been a part of the napping group that Moon quietly watched over.

“Michael said we should come back tomorrow—can we?” Gregory tugged on Freddy's sweater eagerly. He may have been officially over his fear of the Pizzaplex now... Though maybe it wasn't best to leave him alone in this place just yet. “I wanna bring the other kids up to the Daycare! They'd love this place!”

Evan and Liz had told Gregory a bunch of stories about the old diner and how it used to look. Their vivid storytelling is what made Gregory want to check it out earlier. He impressed them in turn with his description of the Pizzaplex as “Fredbear's playground on crack,” and the pair simply had to see it. Hopefully Sam would be fine with them all hanging out in the shutdown Daycare, at least until the week was up. Coming over to Sam's side, Charlie hooked an arm around her twin's shoulder.

“We couldn't help but overhear you need experienced staff members,” she mentioned, much to his surprise.

“You're serious? You two actually want to work here after all... The...” Samuel didn't want to mention the unpleasantness of the past, though the implication was clear.

As Charlie offered her brother extra help around the building, Freddy tuned into their conversation with hesitant eagerness. If Sammy allowed them to help out, perhaps Freddy could make himself useful as well. After all, he arguably had more knowledge of the Pizzaplex than most of the human staff…

“Sam, this place is a marvel,” Michael added, slinging his arm around Sammy’s other shoulder to rest on Charlie’s. “And even if it was just a tiny little diner, it'd be far superior to anything my father built.” He flashed a trademark grin, pointing a proud thumb to his chest. “Besides, don’t you want the best mechanic and night guard Fazbear Entertainment’s ever seen in your arsenal? I can help you get all those animatronics back in shape in no time.”

That was true; Sam did need a new night guard. And like usual in this businesses history, both the security and mechanics departments were severely understaffed. So much so that Sammy really only trusted himself to be working on all the severely busted Glamrocks.

“Michael—if I could get you to come in and do both, I'll start you off with a decent paycheck,” he said, looking to Charlie then and knowing he could count on his sister to help out in the Pizzaplex where they may be short-staffed. “Seriously, I'll need all the help I can get come morning—” Sammy even looked to Freddy. “— and if I could hire you back, I would, too.”

“You’ve got it, Sam,” Michael told him, giving his old friend a brief side hug before finally letting go.

Though he wouldn’t voice this out loud, Mike realized he would’ve come back to this place no matter what. Fazbear Entertainment was ingrained into his very soul whether he liked it or not, and despite all the horrible things his previous technician and guard jobs led to, a small part of him enjoyed the work itself. As he told Sam, the Pizzaplex was a far cry from anyplace he’d worked in before—in the best kind of way.

“Wait! You can't allget jobs. What am I supposed to do when you're gone all day…?” Gregory asked with widening eyes, concerned at being left alone again. Unless they planned on sending him back to school...

Anything but school...

“Do not worry, Gregory,” Freddy reassured with a soft smile. “We still have many more things to sort out in our immediate future before we can consider leaving you on your own; I will stay with you while Michael and Charlie help around the Pizzaplex.”

No one put up a fight to this—if there was anyone who should be watching over Gregory 24/7, it was undoubtedly Freddy.

“Don’t think you’ll be rid of us that easily,” Mike added, reaching over to ruffle Gregory’s hair. “Charlie and I will hang with you when we’re not working!”

At that moment, almost as if summoned by the notion of the new night guard, Sammy’s walkie talkie came to life with Vanessa’s unmistakable voice.

“Um, hey… Mr. Emily?” she began, and everyone leaned towards the CEO to listen. “I’m sorry about yesterday—I know you didn’t technically fire me yet, but I’m sure you’re about to so I’m heading to your office to get it over with and turn in my stuff.”

Vanessa sounded completely resigned to her fate, not even entertaining the thought of a simple demotion after the sh*tstorm she’d caused. There was barely a pause in the static before she added: “I also just wanted to tell you that there’s some lady at the front door; I told her the Pizzaplex was closed but she insists on talking to you. It’s… something about a missing kid.” There was an obvious wince on the last word. “I managed to keep her from actually getting in, but you might want to see her soon.”

Oh Vanessa, Sam thought, scrabbling to answer. Helpful, even when self-depreciating.

“You really think I can afford to fire you, Ness?” Samuel asked playfully. No she wouldn't be rid of this place; not yet. “Why don't you stay at the office for a little? I have a new assignment for you, and we've got a few things to discuss.”

Still, the talk about addressing one of the missing persons made a nervous chill run down his spine. “I-I'll handle the parent. Just relax...”

Samuel dreaded what this conversation would entail. He was getting dangerously close to remembering all those times the police had showed up to question his own father and William—

No, those kids weren't dead because of him, Samuel had to keep telling himself.

“Charlie? Michael? Mind coming with me? Freddy and Gregory, you two should just hang tight until we get back.” Samuel would entrust the walkie with Gregory, handing it off to the kid as he headed for the garage door and out into the atrium.

Freddy nodded at Sammy’s instructions, waiting until the trio reached the doors before turning back to the companions that were left.

“Well now,” he started with a warm smile, running a soothing hand through Gregory’s hair to quell any worry that might be building up in his young mind. “How about we play another fun game while we wait?”

***

Michael and Charlie were right on Sammy’s heel like some sort of android guard dogs. Like Sam, Mike had been through his fair share of distraught parents begging for something—anything—that would help figure out where their child was. They mostly ignored him when he was younger, but as Michael aged into his father’s face he’d been confronted a few times by angry, screaming guardians. One notable moment involved a mother actually pounding on his chest and yelling for him to:

“Take some f*cking responsibility for your f*cking restaurant, you heartless bastard—if she died here, you’re responsible! You might as well have killed her yourself, MURDERER!”

She’d only been venting at the time, but little did anyone know how close to the truth she really was. However, this was not one of those situations.

Michael reminded himself of this as they reached the front doors, noticing a figure under the harsh lighting of the Pizzaplex entryway. He grasped Charlie’s hand for mutual comfort, following Sammy outside to greet this mysterious visitor.

Steadfast and with a neutral expression, Samuel held the doors open for the two. While them holding hands in front of the woman didn’t seem the most professional, Sammy wasn’t about to scold them for it. It was likely the lady wouldn’t even mention it. Charlie wove her fingers together with Mike’s as her stomach twisted with anxious bubbles.

Inside the inner lobby sat a woman. She looked like the standard clientele of the Pizzaplex: a middle-class mother type, though her expression was grim.

“Hello, ma’am. I’m Samuel Emily; I was told you needed to speak with me?” the CEO greeted with a tone of understanding, his best customer service voice on display. After all, he was trying to preemptively minimize how badly this woman was prepared to scream at him.

Charlie could feel the animosity for this place plastered in the woman’s gaunt expression, years of anger already apparent in the harsh lines between her brows. She seemed to be worrying a missing person’s poster in her palm.

The woman stood at the group’s approach, dark brown eyes locked onto Sammy. Her ink-black hair tied in a stylishly-frazzled bun and barely there makeup made her look like the perfect example of a distraught mother trying to keep it together.

“Mr. Emily,” she said curtly, offering a hand to shake. What used to be French-tipped nails were now chewed off from anxiety, and she was quick to hold up the paper for the group to examine as she explained her situation. “My name’s Rita Smith. I’m looking for my son, and I have reason to believe this is one of the last places he might’ve been… His name is Gregory.”

Her fingers tightened around the frayed edges of the poster. “Have any of you seen him?”

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Michael’s heart dropped to his stomach. Out of all the missing children, it had to be Gregory’s parents that came calling?

The image on the poster was unmistakable—the spitting image of Evan, Gregory’s smiling face stared out at them with his formerly deep brown eyes. Although, Mike noted he seemed to have a little more baby fat in this picture than he did in real life. It was a small detail and certainly didn’t prevent anyone from recognizing the boy, but Mike wondered why they’d used a clearly out of date image for such a thing.

Based on everything Gregory had said or implied about his foster family, Michael didn’t trust this woman’s intentions one bit.

Samuel swallowed the lump in his throat. Yep, he’d seen this missing kid alright—the only one still alive, and who’d already been adopted by one of his formerly Glamrock stars. Sam glanced from the paper up to Rita, meeting her gaze with a practiced smile.

“Not to my recollection, no—however, my staff and I can review our footage from… Uh, when did you say he went missing?” Sammy asked, trying his best to be thorough with the lie. He’d learned how to craft a good poker face from his friend Michael as they grew up. Though Sammy didn’t feel good about lying to this woman, he had no choice at the moment. He passed the poster with the information to Charlie, who studied the page intently.

Gregory Smith

DOB: 08/08/2010

Last seen on wandering south side Hurricane. Any information regarding the case can be referenced with the local police department’s number listed below.

Leaning over, Charlie let Michael see the poster, unsure of how well she was hiding her true volatile emotions when thinking about Gregory being taken away from them.

There was a slight downwards twitch of Rita’s mouth at Sammy’s question. Her gaze shifted to the floor for only a second before returning to his face while she answered.

“July 5th. The last time the family saw him, he was walking with these twins from down the street.” She huffed a sigh, looking away again and shaking her head. “They’ve gone missing, too. I can only guess what trouble they led my sweet boy into…”

Michael clenched his jaw to keep from verbally lashing out. July 5th?! The date had just crept its way into August! No way they could’ve been looking for Gregory almost a month and not checked the mega mall every kid and their cousin hung out in whenever they could… Something just wasn’t adding up.

“We’ll be sure to keep an eye out, Mrs. Smith,” Mike managed to say eventually with a wry, bright-eyed look of barely-contained fury. It was an expression that said Michael was not to be trifled with, and anyone who dared risked his immediate wrath. Hopefully, Rita would take this as empathy for her lost child and determination to locate him.

“Ah, thank… thank you,” she said, almost flinching back at Michael’s face. Looking to Sammy again, she pulled out a folded-over sticky note from her jacket pocket and handed it to him. “You can keep the poster; here’s my personal number. If you find any information, please give me a call. We just want our boy home safe as soon as possible.”

Sammy and Michael pulling off their good cop, bad cop routine seemed to keep the mom from asking too many questions. Charlie was simply trying to hold back from asking how she knew her “sweet boy” wasn’t dead by now?

To not sound the alarm for the better part of four weeks… Were they just hoping Gregory fell off the face of the planet?

Charlie was willing to bet they were asking questions around town now in light of the random Pizzaplex shutdown. That inevitably brought the conversation of missing kids to the forefront, and surely people were curious as to where the twins had gone—where nine damn children disappeared to. With the security cameras having been “faulty” or completely turned off from their scheduled recording thanks to a glitch in the system, there would thankfully be no proof that the children, including Gregory, were ever here.

Samuel carefully took the note, committing the number to memory before folding it back up to set inside his own jacket pocket. “Yes, Mrs. Smith—and on behalf of the company, I give you our condolences. I'm sure you'll find your son soon; boys run away all the time...”

He downplayed the situation's severity, feeling somewhat sick as he lied. It felt wrong to just tell someone they would find their "missing" kid eventually when Sam knew where he was at that very moment.

Is this how William felt when he spoke to these distraught parents face to face?

No, Samuel thought, swallowing the bile in his throat. If that monster felt this way, he wouldn't have done what he did in the first place.

“Thank you,” Rita said, offering Sammy a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked to Charlie and Michael with the same sad expression, then to everyone’s relief turned to leave. “We’ll be in touch.”

To Michael’s credit, he waited until the woman made it out the front doors before losing his cool.

“Almost a f*cking month he’s been gone?!” he hissed, turning to the Emilys with fire in his eyes. “What the hell have they been doing this whole damn time?!”

They’d been neglectful to the kid—that had been obvious from his appearance and the little details Gregory let slip out. But this was a whole other level. To not sound the alarm that your child was missing after a day was suspicious enough, let alone randomly kicking up the search after all this time. And so close to Gregory’s birthday, too… It made Michael queasy to think about what Gregory must’ve gone through at the hands of these people.

“We can’t let them take him, Sammy. That woman is bad news—I just know it.” Deflating slightly, he thought aloud: “sh*t, what are we going to tell him and Freddy? They’re going to be upset…”

“That lady's a stone cold bitch,” Charlie snapped, glaring at the door after Rita’s departure. Though she liked to believe the best in people at heart, there was something wicked about her that Charlie could practically smell. Maybe it was the way Rita withheld information about Gregory, or how she never thought to check or call the Pizzaplex the weeks her son had been missing. “There's no way you're going to rat on him, right?”

“No—absolutely not. Gregory's not going back with her. God, she doesn't even care. You can tell...” Sam spoke with a manner of disgust in his voice, not entirely able to believe his own words. “Can you imagine what’d happen if we sent that poor kid back with her? He could wind up on drugs, or out on the street! Or, god forbid—”

Dead. For good.

Rita was the kind of mom that didn't care when you scrapped your knee, or whether you had a mysteriously dry cough. Ironically, Gregory would be worse off in the care of a mother who had no maternal instincts than the mechanical bear designed to be a rockstar...

“We'll be gentle and assure them we have a plan,” Charlie said, squeezing Michael’s hand and making Samuel tilt his head curiously at his sister.

“We have a plan?” he asked, making his twin shrug in turn.

“No,” Charlie replied with a lopsided grin. “But we'll think of one! We just can't have either of them stressing about it. Alright?”

“Agreed,” Mike said with a nod, returning the hand squeeze. He spared one last look at Rita as she hopped in her car and drove off, sneering at her back. Then he took a deep breath, gathering himself before heading back to the Daycare.

Once everyone had composed themselves, they returned to the cheerful, rainbow-studded room. The irony they’d have to deliver such unpleasant news in this place didn’t escape Michael. Of course, Sun spotted them as soon as they entered, always attuned to the sound of the door and the arrival of new guests.

“They’re back!” the cheery animatronic announced, waving to the trio. He was quick to make his way over to the door, eagerly wanting to spend as much time with his new friends and his good pal Sammy as he could. Freddy, Gregory, and Ennard weren’t far behind, soon crowded around Sun just in time for Michael and the Emilys to walk into the play area.

“Wow—did you guys really miss us that much?” Michael joked, ruffling Gregory’s hair while taking in the sight of the little crowd. He’d managed to plaster on a semi-convincing smile—at least enough not to immediately alert the others of anything amiss.

Mike may be able to fool people, but where Samuel could lie out of his ass to strangers, just like his sister he wore his emotions on his sleeve to those he was close to. Unable to help the frown settling in, Sam kept his head turned from the kid who seemed to stare right into his soul.

“OF COURSE WE MISSED YOU,” Ennard remarked, closing in as Gregory scrutinized the group. Charlie gingerly patted Ennard’s mask as they leaned towards her and Mike.

Gregory stood with his arms crossed. The mood was off. He didn't know why, but the group was hiding something. It was becoming increasingly obvious as Samuel rubbed his neck and cleared his throat.

“So—gang, uh... I have some news to break to you all. Just know that it's no cause for alarm.” He started off gently, as per Charlie's advice. This sent a shiver of worry down Gregory's spine, only looking fully panicked once Samuel asked him directly: “Son, tell me... Do you know a Rita Smith?”

For all they knew, this could be a total stranger trying to cash in on a payout of finding their “lost kid.” It was a disgusting tactic, but unfortunately wouldn’t be the first time the old CEO had seen it. Only in this case, Sam was hoping this was true.

Now it was Gregory's turn to lie.

“Huh? Rita who? Pft. I don't... know anyone named that. Dumb name if you ask me...” Gregory scoffed, pushing his emotions under the figurative bed with the mention of that dreaded, loathsome person. He suddenly turned on his heel, facing the Pizzaplex that’d become his new home with all its fun attractions. Now that he made it safe in here, there was no reason to face the danger out there.

“This conversation’s boring; let's play more, guys!” Gregory urged, starting off for the jungle gym.

“Gregory, wait.” Freddy's tone was soft but commanding as he expertly snagged the collar of Gregory's shirt, holding him in place. His gaze swiveled between the boy and his surrogate siblings, a distinct crease of worry between his brows. Rather than chiding him for lying about a topic that was obviously distressing, Freddy turned his attention to the adults. “What is going on?”

“Well... like Sam said, don't worry,” Michael began, trying to quell the rising tension. Even Sun seemed nervous, wringing his hands together and somehow already knowing this conversation was beyond his current level of understanding. “But that woman Vanessa mentioned? That was Rita Smith. She's looking for her kid.” At this, his gaze flickered to Gregory, and suddenly Freddy understood.

“Gregory's mother?” Freddy questioned, his voice straining ever-so-slightly. He shifted his grasp from the boy's shirt to his shoulders, pulling Gregory in to lean against his leg. It was a poignantly protective gesture, clearly showing Freddy's need to keep him safeat all times. Looking down at the boy in question, Freddy asked gently: “Is she really your foster mother? Please, superstar, you can tell us the truth—you know we only want to protect you.”

As all eyes watched Gregory with pleading stares to open up, he glanced away. He was soothed by Freddy's gesture of protection, keeping him caged in by his arms where he felt it was safest to tell the truth.

“…Fine. Yeah, I lived in her house with her husband and their kids. She’s got two of her own, but I’m the only adopted one. She's no mother,” Gregory said with a look of distain and hatred that Charlie certainly never saw before. At Gregory's ankles the Puppet imparted a hug, as she could tell that the poor kid really didn't care to speak on it. It was painful, but they needed to know what was happening. Gregory took in a deep breath and continued.

“I lived there for, like... two years now? No one else wanted me from the foster home; the Smiths were the only people that kept me for more than a few months. I can't—c-can’t even remember my stupid birth parents... Just them. Their ugly faces—” Gregory sniffled, hands clenching at his sides until his knuckles were an icy white, nails digging deep into his palms to ground himself as he felt anger rising. “Their stupid real kids and that ugly f*cking house—”

The poor boy was shaking now. He was submitted to neglect and heartache there that no child should have to endure.

“Gregory...,” Charlie chided gently, knowing he was upset but that those words would distress Sun in turn. Ennard already had them covered by folding their hands over where Sun should have ears, were he a real person. “We won't let her get you. I—we promise you that.”

Sun had let out a little gasp at Gregory's harsh curses, but to everyone's surprise otherwise kept his mouth shut. His protocol to protect and comfort the child far outweighed any coding that would make him lecture the boy for swearing. However, despite his intense desire to pick Gregory up and hug him close, he reasoned it best to step back and let the others discuss. To keep himself from reaching out he wrapped his arms around Ennard, keeping a tight grip on the amalgamation as he watched the others with a worried tilt of his head.

“She, nor anyone from that household will ever lay a finger on you, Gregory,” Freddy said with resolute determination. The mere thought of a child being mistreated was enough to enrage the normally-docile bear, so the fact this was his boy who'd suffered at the hands of these horrendous people made him want to march right to them and give him a piece of his mind. Instead, he lifted Gregory into his arms and hugged him close. “You are my son and nothing is going to change that. I will always keep you safe, and so will everyone in this room.”

Were his words a bit possessive? Maybe... but no one was in a position to knock Freddy for wanting to protect Gregory with every fiber of his being.

It was a fierce sensation, to love someone so much you'd risk everything to keep them safe—but to Michael, it was also a familiar one. It's what he'd been doing for decades after all, spurred on by the desire to right his wrongs and make up for the protection he couldn't provide before.

This case was no different. Rita and her family might not be possessed animatronics or murderous, British mechanics, but they meant Gregory harm... and that was something Michael absolutely couldn't stand.

“We'll figure something out,” he reassured, stepping closer to wrap his arms around the embracing pair. “You're safe with us.”

Charlie saw how frightening Freddy could be at the mere thought of someone taking his son away. As perturbed as that made her, she understood the obligation and love the animatronics had for children in the first place when programmed correctly. Her Puppet for example: it was designed with its first default function to protect anyone with a green bracelet should its facial recognition fail. In the event that she might be hurt, the robot was designed to even ruin itself to keep Charlotte safe.

“I already have a plan,” Gregory murmured, his thoughts becoming sharper with his anger. Even so, Gregory could get himself to stop shaking as floods of awful memories attacked his psyche. “And... I’ll need Cassidy's and the other ghosts’ help. We’re gonna scare Rita and Terry so hard they’ll crap blood.”

Charlie made a face at the crass wording, though she supposed it was par for the course for boys his age. She'd certainly heard Michael say way, way worse by the time they were teenagers.

“Gross—but so far, I'm loving the plan,” she answered with a laugh.

“Me too,” Michael said, fully on board with anything that involved scaring horrendous parents. “We'll get them off your tail for sure.”

“Let us not be too hasty,” Freddy warned gently, his own spike of anger fading in light of the shift in tone. It was all well and good for the adults to make the threat go away, but when it came to children—even immortal and undead ones—Freddy was hesitant to put them in the potential line of fire. Still, he had to reason that their help might not just be beneficial, but necessary for such a monumental task as making foster parents go away.

“Come on, Freddy,” Michael couldn't help but groan, looking at the former bear imploringly. “Having them all help out would be super useful!”

“Oh no, do not misunderstand—I am not opposed to the idea,” Freddy clarified, his bright eyes meeting Michael's. “I simply meant that we need to discuss things in depth before we put any plan into action.”

Mike patted his back warmly, pleasantly surprised the former animatronic had been so easily convinced to do something that involved messing with humans in a non-friendly way. He couldn't help but wonder if there was still a little bit of his rebellious disposition snagged in Freddy's personality chip, even after moving to a new body...

“Um, I... I'm sorry to say I don't think I can help much with this situation,” Sun piped up in an unusually soft voice. He'd let go of Ennard to clasp his hands in front of his chest, looking between the humans. “But I still want to do something! So... feel free to use the Daycare as a safe space to rest, or regroup, or plan, or... whatever you need! Oh—as long as Sammy's okay with that, of course.”

He tilted his head, static eyes fixed on the rather gaunt CEO. “Are you okay, Sammy?”

“C... Cassidy?” The crew turned to Samuel, who seemed to shake at the thought of more than just the Afton children and his father haunting the Pizzaplex. “You all never told me—how many kids are...? Oh man...”

A clammy hand clasped over Samuel's mouth as the bile rose through the pit that formed in his stomach. Sam wobbled a little, but Ennard was fast in helping the CEO to sit on the floor. Charlie bit at her nails, hurrying to her brother’s side. She hadn’t yet tried to explain what had happened in that nearly inaccessible backroom.

“Hey,” Charlie reached out for him “It's fine—”

Flinching away, Samuel looked to Charlie and asked his sister “—Fine? Charlie there's more dead children I didn't know about and you're telling me things are fine? I mean—f*ck, I guess I knew deep down but—”

His voice never raised, but wobbled with sadness as Charlie fretted over her mistake of not telling him right away. Samuel tried to square his breathing before speaking again.

“I... I don't know. Sure, if those ghosts want to help—let them help Gregory. The poor kid needs it,” he conceded, merely needing to come to terms with the idea that there were plenty of ghosts haunting this place that prevented him from truly escaping the past.

Gregory could see why the man was upset, and told him: “It's going to be okay, Sam. Trust me—I mean, Charlie and Mike are ghosts, and they're pretty happy people. Right, guys?”

“God, Sam, I... I'm sorry,” Michael apologized, sinking down to the floor next to his old friend. To everyone but Samuel the concept of ghost children running around was merely a sad but inevitable fact. Mike was so used to the idea that he'd forgotten poor Sammy had only become aware of the true horror of Fazbear Entertainment's past the day prior... Honestly, Michael was amazed this latest revelation hadn't caused a full-on breakdown. His friend had gotten so strong over the years, despite everything.

“We should've told you sooner,” he admitted, placing a hesitant hand on Sammy's back, almost afraid he might reject the gesture. When he wasn't shoved off, Michael gave his friend a little smile and shook him gently. “But Gregory's got a point—Charlie and I are technically ghosts too, but we're okay. And what about your dad? You wouldn't even know he's one; he's just like his old self!”

There was a pause in which Michael's expression shifted to something unintelligible, and then he added in a soft voice: “Look, I've been chasing after ghosts since I was a kid. I know which ones are happy and which ones are vengeful, and trust me—the ones we've encountered in the Pizzaplex so far definitely lean towards the nicer side of spirits... Everything's going to be okay. We'll figure it out.”

We'll figure it out...

It was the mantra of his childhood. For a moment, Sam was transported somewhere far and distant. A time passed so long ago it felt like he was watching it inside of an old analogue television set. With every tragedy Samuel faced, he was met with the same philosophy.

Things never exactly turned out fine. Far from it, actually. Sam was so tired of all the cursed blood attached to the Fazbear IP. Tragedy was sure to follow whatever establishment bore the franchise name.

“I'm not mad, you guys. Or scared... I'm sad. It's not right what he did. I... I think I need to sleep. Yeah... Sun? Be a doll and lower the lights?” Samuel could feel a migraine coming on, and thought he should rest. “Know that the Pizzaplex is at your disposal however you need, guys. And the kids? As long as they're good, they’re free to visit, too.”

It clearly bummed Samuel out to think of them as dead. The survivor’s guilt triggering once again, and feeling like he had unintentionally trapped these children by making another death trap for William to build around.

Before completely falling into unconsciousness, Sam had enough wherewithal to lift his walkie and murmur into the mic: "Vanessa? Can you hang tight for another hour or so? I got a little held up."

"I don't really have anywhere else to go, so sure," the former night guard crackled back through the static.

Luckily, Gregory's little pillow cloud hadn't yet been disassembled. Sun cared for all the employees at the Pizzaplex, but he had a soft spot for the ever-tired CEO and was always glad to let Sam rest in his protective care. He was at the light switch in a few long strides, flipping it down with deft fingertips that would soon shift from white to blue as he instinctually ducked behind the desk to hide his transformation. Michael couldn't help but let out a soft huff at this, curious as ever to see what exactly happened to the Daycare attendant when darkness fell. For the moment though, he was content to let Sammy rest against him, rubbing his upper arm soothingly as he held him in a side hug.

“I'll take him from here,” Moon's low voice rasped. The second Michael released Sam, Moon was quick to lift him up to cradle him like a child, ignoring whatever protests the CEO might make as he was carried over to the fluffy cloud of comfort. He placed Sammy directly in the center, giving his head the gentlest of pats before stepping back. Moon's faintly-glowing eyes settled on the rest of the group as he told them: “I'll watch over Sammy, don't worry—you all should rest as well. We'll see you tomorrow, after all, ehehehe...”

“...Right,” Mike replied, getting to his feet with a sigh. He hated leaving Sammy in such a state, but it was getting late and he wanted to make a good impression tomorrow morning.

“Thank you, Moon—we greatly appreciate it. Have a good night,” Freddy said, still carrying Gregory as he gave the attendant a gentle smile, then made his way for the door with the others not far behind.

“Night, guys,” called out Sammy. Despite his chagrin, Moon was quick to put Samuel to bed. Sam didn't know if he’d have pleasant dreams, however—so tonight he was more inclined to talk with Moon until he grew too tired to speak.

When Gregory went to walk away with his family, Puppet's protective arms seemed to tangle up the kid's legs. She didn't want Gregory to go—what if that lady they were talking about found him? She was going to hurt Gregory, Puppet knew it. Unfortunately she couldn't communicate any of this, and Gregory bent at the waist to hug her.

“I'll be back tomorrow, Puppet.” Gregory smiled before easily relocating the Marionette, making her wring her hands together nervously.

Gregory hadn't realized the same was happening to Michael; Ennard practically breathed down the back of their “friend’s” neck as they followed him across the playground floor. As Gregory trailed after his dad, he was pretty sure he overheard Sam asking if Ennard was made out of ripped up carpeting and old endos, hoping his friend the Moon would know. Gregory snickered to himself at Sam's confusion, the only thing that could cheer him up in the moment.

“Ennard, stop,” Michael said upon realizing the animatronic was not going to back off on their own.

Even after all the time they'd spend together, it would be a lie to say Mike was at peace with Ennard—or frankly even that he was fully comfortable in their presence. That wasn't going to happen for quite a while, if ever, though it certainly wasn't for lack of trying on Ennard's part. There was simply too much residual trauma lurking in the depths of Michael's mind to process that the creature could truly not be a threat to him in some capacity.

Still, the fact that the rest of his family seemed content enough in Ennard's presence did ease Mike a little. He was able to resist the urge to lash out as he used to, even managing to lower his voice into a normal, almost understanding tone as he added: “I'll be fine. So will everyone else, okay? Just chill and stay out of people's sight while we're gone.”

Instead of turning on his heel and leaving immediately, Michael crossed his arms over his chest and waited for a response. Coupled with his raised eyebrow and stern expression, it looked like he was trying to explain object permanence to a child who hadn't grasped the concept yet, instead of telling a years-old conglomeration of metallic wires and AI that their friends would return to play another night.

It made sense in theory. And Ennard knew they could easily overpower Michael and keep him there with them if they really wanted to. It would be easy. Though that wasn't the type of person Michael could stand to be around, it seemed.

Sometimes doing things the right way was worth it in the long run, they'd learned.

“GOODBYE, EGG,” they said like a secret joke between the two of them. Maybe one day Mike could appreciate the typo as much as they could. Ennard opened their arms, waiting for a hug—though, as Sun explained it once, sometimes people just don’t want to be touched. Ennard wouldn't hold it against Michael should he choose to just leave—they never really blamed the former night guard anyway.

“Oh, for fu—” Michael caught himself just in time to avoid activating Moon and Freddy's swearing protocols at once. With a heavy roll of his eyes, Mike uncrossed his arms to let them hang loosely at his sides. He looked up at Ennard with a scathing expression, surprised they even thought Michael would hug them at this point.

The pair stared each other down before Michael oh-so-slowly raised a hand. It looked like he was about to smack the robot, but he simply gave the back of Ennard's left hand one single, swift pat.

“Alright, let's go,” he said quickly, turning his back on the amalgamation and leading the charge out of the Daycare.

To Ennard, there was no way of misinterpreting that response: he and Mike were indeed “besties,” as Sun would say. In Ennard’s twisted head, that was undisputed.

As they reached the exit Gregory squinted through the tinted glass doors, concerned people he knew would be waiting for him outside. There was no convincing him that the outside was totally safe, so Charlie lifted Gregory up and held him in a way that made it easier to bury his face away in her shoulder. Gregory had voiced that hiding his features made him feel a little more hidden as the family traveled onward back to their paid room. As Charlie hauled their precious cargo back to their temporary home, she asked Gregory what he wanted for dinner.

“Pizza…,” he replied in a forlorn fashion.

Charlie would shake her head and suggested gently: “Maybe something different? You ate a lot of pizza recently, kiddo.”

It was clear Gregory needed variety in his diet. Who knows how they used to feed him at his old house anyway judging by his eating habits…

“How about a salad?” Freddy offered, though he had a feeling this option wouldn't go over well. Sure enough, Michael scoffed at the very notion.

“Geez, Freddy, I thought you were supposed to be a nice robot—don't torture the kid!” he griped, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I am doing no such thing,” Freddy replied with slightly narrowed eyes. “Vegetables are a healthy part of a balanced diet, and Gregory certainly needs one.”

“Yeah, but a salad?” Michael shook his head, then looked to Gregory and Charlie for their opinions. “What do you guys think? Salads for everyone, yay or nay?”

Charlie would probably agree with Freddy, even if she could stand to eat anything unhealthy for days at a time considering it would never affect her health. Gregory answered first shrugging it off.

“Salads are fine—as long as they have grilled chicken or those ham and cheese wheel things!” he said, hoisted up better into Charlie’s arms as she chuckled at him.

“Little carnivore... I’m sure we can find something good on the menu,” she added as they entered the parking lot area of the tourist trap hotel.

Despite Michael’s earlier protestations, he made no qualms when it actually came time to order—like Charlie, he realized the value of getting something green in Gregory’s system that wasn’t Monty-themed Fizzy Faz. While Charlie was on the phone, Michael took the opportunity to snatch Gregory up the second his feet touched the ground and toss him onto the couch, eliciting a surprised laugh.

“So, Freddy,” Michael began. “You never actually told us what Henry said about us eating.”

“To be frank… Henry does not quite understand what is happening either," Freddy replied, perching on the couch as well.

Michael tilted his head with a downturn of his lips. “…What do you mean?”

“He and Samuel opened up my body and looked around, but there was no evidence of me having eaten anything,” Freddy explained. “It was as if the food simply disappeared into thin air. I brought up the concept of converting it to energy like normal humans do, which Henry said made sense… if he designed that capability, which he did not.”

Freddy gave a little shrug, bright eyes filled with wonder and mirth. “Henry said, and please excuse my language as this is a direct quote: ‘Whatever is happening is a freaking supernatural miracle!’”

Hearing Freddy say something considered crude by the animatronics standards left Charlie in a fit of giggles. She held her stomach as Gregory burst into laughter as well—though he did have to force it some even if he was genuinely happy. When he'd heard Rita’s name, Gregory felt as though he was slipping back into the notion he wouldn’t be safe anywhere. Wherever he went, it was as if people were out to get him. The fact his foster parents even noticed that he was gone both astonished and scared him.

“That’s good, though! You can still eat burgers and try a bunch of new stuff!” Gregory would encourage, reclining back with his big brother.

Charlie was a little more skeptical. “It’s just gone? Inexplicably?”

It was just so peculiar to her. And yes, Charlie could definitely see how the supernatural murder victim thinking their robot vessel strange was a pot calling a kettle black, but her point still stood.

“Like your dad said—it’s a miracle! Nothing’s wrong so there’s no need to worry. Maybe it’s like… Magic, you know?” Gregory suggested. It wasn’t unlikely, given this crew’s eclectic circ*mstances.

“I would like to think so,” Freddy said with a smile, never one to quash a child’s imagination.

Besides—what else could it be, really? He used to be a huge, animatronic bear that worked from a knowledge bank of databases and logical thinking. Now, his consciousness had been transferred into a scarily humanlike android that reflected his scarily humanlike personality... Plus, his son was immortal and his other surrogate children were literal ghosts in their machines. Who’s to say there wasn’t a bit of magic floating around in the universe as well?

***

The night was blissfully uneventful, at least by their standards. To work off Gregory's burst of adrenaline and food-fueled energy, the group visited the arcade and spent a good while facing off against each other in various games. Even Freddy joined in on some, though his AI gave him a weird knack for being almost too good, making him step back in deference to letting the others enjoy the games in his stead. He much preferred to keep a watchful eye on his family anyway.

Once returned to the room, the group showered and prepared for bed, then chatted a while longer about happy plans for the future until Gregory drifted off to sleep, followed shortly thereafter by Michael and Charlie. Freddy still hadn't gotten used to the concept, but even he managed to doze for a few minutes here and there.

At some point during the day Michael slipped out to meet Sammy, leaving a note on the kitchen table to let the others know where he'd gone. He suggested it best for them to wait until nightfall to join him due to the recent development with Gregory's foster parents, and no one put up a fight to this. When darkness fell over the town the group set out, one of Gregory's hands in Freddy's while Charlie held the other.

“Hey!” Michael greeted them just inside the front doors of the Pizzaplex, seeming rather chipper. He was still dressed in casual clothes, although the disheveled state of his hair and grease-stains on his shirt and face indicated he'd been hard at work helping Sammy fix up some animatronics. “I missed you guys! How was life without me for a day?”

“Charlie and me hung out at the arcade and we built a pillow fort with Freddy!” Gregory recalled, abandoning his father’s and Charlie’s hand to give Michael a hug. Ushering them further inside, almost for fear of someone recognizing Gregory from the many more missing children posters she’d noticed now that she was allowed outside, Charlie agreed with a nod.

“We left it up—mostly because there’s a back to back marathon of Immortal and the Restless on later and I wanted Gregory to see the first episode,” she planned. It was weird but welcomed to see Michael back at it with the mechanic work.

Down one of the staircases Samuel jogged with a shopping bag in hand. He looked a lot happier than when they left; he’d really needed that nap after the horrible news he'd received.

“Gather ‘round, you guys. It’s present time!” he called enthusiastically, barely able to contain the surprise he had in store for them. “I went out and thought I’d get you guys something useful. I think you’re going to like the colors I picked out.”

“That is very kind of you, Samuel,” Freddy responded, settling himself at the man's side and giving the CEO a warm smile. “You have already done so much for us...”

“And we're eternally grateful for everything,” Michael added quickly, flashing his old friend a grin. “So what's in the bag?”

“Check it out! I got us a family plan!” From the white shopper’s bag Sam produced a dark green rectangle, first presenting it to Charlie. She gladly took the gift, looking happy—even though she was completely lost on what it was, exactly. It looked expensive though.

“You get one—here Michael, I got you the black one, and Freddy gets a red one!” Samuel had taken the liberty to plugging in the SIM cards, but left the personalization up them. “We should have each other’s numbers already synced, too. So now we can always be in touch.”

Looking up to Sam, Gregory pulled on his shirt with a bullishly bright stare. “What color’s mine?”

“Uh… Sorry, kid, you’re still a little too young,” Sam said, silently breaking Gregory’s heart. Though he dug inside the bag anyway with an air of excitement. “Aw, don’t look so sad—of course I didn’t forget to get you something, too. Here’s your present!”

Into Gregory’s hands, a little digital drawing tablet in a bright blue case was entrusted. It wasn’t a phone, but Gregory was still appreciative as he flashed Sam another bright smile. “Thank you!”

“Holy crap!” Michael exclaimed, not even feeling Freddy's quick glare due to the shock of receiving such a gift. “Sam, these are like... are these the latest models?!” Upon Sammy's nod, Mike blinked a few times, before reverently pressing the phone to his chest and pulling his friend in for a brief but meaningful hug.

Freddy was turning his own device over in his hand, letting out a little “oh!” as the screen suddenly lit up, nearly blinding him with its brightness. Unsure of how to make it stop, he simply flipped the phone over so the display faced the floor, where it turned off a few seconds later. When Freddy tentatively raised it back up, he was blinded yet again. Sure, he'd seen a million of these things during his time as a rockstar, but handling one himself was a new experience.

“Freddy, you can adjust that!” Michael laughed, quickly moving over to help as he saw the former bear's confusion. Slipping his own phone in a pants pocket for the time being, he took Freddy's and began walking him through how to set up his account profile, then adjust the light and sound settings. He spared a quick glance at Charlie, but by the look on her face Michael knew she'd require a lot more time and guidance to get her up to speed...

With a start, Mike realized that while he'd been gallivanting about the real world and keeping up with the times, all Charlie's exposure to technology had been confined to the Pizzerias—more specifically, the animatronics within. The last time she'd really interacted with a cell phone had been the 80s... No wonder she looked completely lost. God, Evan and Lizzie's eyes were going to bug out of their heads when they saw these things, too.

“Oh! Mine’s lighting up when I move it…,” Charlie said, confused when she touched the screen, only to have the screen say hello. Wondering about the capabilities of this square robot’s AI, she greeted with a cheerful: “Oh… Hi! My name’s Charlie.”

Gregory snickered, shaking his head. “Nooo, Charlie it can’t really understand you. It’s AI can only remember stuff you tell it to remember.”

Charlie would shrug, hugging her brother as repayment for the gift. “Thank you for the… The uh—” Charlie had to admit now that she didn’t know what exactly her brother gave to her, but it was pretty and green—her favorite color.

“It’s a cellphone, you goof!” Samuel laughed, patting his sister’s back as he knew she really did mean that she loved her gift, despite ignorance on what it really did. “I figured they'd work better than walkie talkies. Plus, Mike deserves it for helping me go the extra mile today—Freddy, I know I promised you I’d find Bonnie and fix him up…” Samuel began, though the look on Freddy’s face made it apparent that he knew just what the man was going to tell him.

“You did not...,” Freddy whispered, looking to Michael for confirmation. After all they'd been through, he thought Mike would want to avoid any contact with Bonnie for the foreseeable future.

Though they all knew it was William's soul controlling the normally-friendly rabbit to make him say and do such horrible things, Freddy would've been completely understanding if Michael never wanted to lay eyes on Glamrock Bonnie again. He was already out of the lineup, so while Freddy would've been sad at the confirmation his best friend was well and truly gone, he would have accepted it. But now, Sammy was implying something completely different...

“We did,” Michael replied, expression soft and understanding. As blue eyes met blue, Michael hoped his unspoken feelings would translate to the kind-hearted bear.

He'd been resistant to the idea of recommissioning Bonnie so soon, but Sammy had convinced him that if everyone else could get their old friends back from the dead, Freddy deserved to have his, too. With a smile, Michael clapped a hand on Freddy's shoulder and squeezed. “He's still got to go through a lot of tests before we can consider letting him out on the floor—extra precaution, and all that—but we managed to get him online about an hour before you guys showed up. He's hanging out in the bowling alley as we speak.”

“Oh my goodness... Michael, Samuel, I—I do not know what to say,” Freddy admitted, his last words muffled as he pressed a hand over his mouth, trying to keep his emotions in check. The first and only time he'd ever cried was when he initially left the Pizzaplex, but as his vision blurred with the realization that Bonnie was okay, Freddy wondered if this was about to be his second experience with his own falling tears.

This pure act of love and selflessness had brought tears to Charlie’s eyes as well. When she saw the telltale lip wobble of someone else about to sob, she looked to Michael and pressed back her own. “I can’t believe how fast you guys fixed him!”

Samuel would snort at that, fixing his oil-smudged glasses. “Oh his programming was a mess! Just completely jailbroken—I had to wipe the endo and start over from his last saved data point. Took hours. The body wasn't too damaged, though; just needed some touch-ups and a few replacements. Bon seems fine now, but Michael’s right. Gotta test him before he’s debuted again.”

There was sadly no room for him in rockstar row right at the moment. But Bonnie Bowl was the place that the old bunny happily took up residency for the time being. With a smile, Sam patted Freddy’s shoulder. “Want to go see him, Fredbear?”

Charlie reached out to hold Freddy’s hand, shaking it excitedly and subconsciously encouraging him to shake off the tears. Tonight had started off great, despite the hiccup in their happiness they had the previous day.

Freddy nodded without hesitation, rubbing at his face with a sleeve. Thankfully, Charlie caught him just in time to stop any liquid from escaping, and a bright, eye-crinkling smile settled on Freddy's face.

“Yes, please,” he replied to Sammy, then held out a hand to Gregory. “Superstar, Bonnie is going to love you.”

“Oh yeah, that's for sure,” Michael confirmed, crossing his arms as the group began moving to the bowling alley as one. “He's super friendly—it's no wonder he and Freddy get along so well.”

If Gregory could push the violence that Monty and Moon forced upon him far from his mind, then he was positive that he could get along great with Bonnie, too. This was Freddy’s best friend. There was no other animatronic he could trust Gregory with more now that Bon was in the right mind.

Freddy chuckled, feeling like he was about to overflow with joy. The situation with Gregory's foster parents was a blot of darkness in their lives that they'd need to address sooner rather than later, but at least for the moment he could pretend like everything was alright... Like things were back to normal.

A new normal—and a much better one, in Freddy's opinion.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Down in Bonnie Bowl, the hare himself lined up a winning shot. The strike sailed straight and true down the lane, causing Bonnie to fist-pump the air when the pins fell aside.

“Righteous!” he exclaimed, ecstatic to play again after all this time away.

“Bon-Bon!” shouted Sam from the entry doors. “Come meet everyone!”

Looking over his shoulder, the lanky lagomorph sent a smile to the group of humans. They even had a kid with them this time!

An… Oddly familiar kid.

But a scan to the group from afar would indicate the only person he met prior besides Sam was Michael—descendant of his own original creator and a pretty solid mechanic.

“Hey, y’all!” the bunny called, springing towards the group with a happy-go-lucky stride. “You folks trying to play a few games with me?”

Freddy's face had fallen ever-so-slightly at Bonnie's lack of acknowledgement, though he was quick to cover up this speck of disappointment. Of course Bonnie wouldn't recognize him... he didn't exactly look like Freddy anymore.

“Hey, Bon; yeah, we're here to hang out for a bit!” Michael confirmed with a wave.

Whereas the other animatronics were aware that something had gone down over the weekend, Mike still wasn't entirely sure what Bonnie remembered. As Sammy said, they'd had to pull his AI from an old save file dated before recent events—around the time Bonnie had officially been declared “replaced” instead of just “missing.” Without any sort of context for why Freddy would make such a drastic change, there was no telling how easily Bonnie would process his friend's transformation.

“Let's do some introductions,” Michael continued. “Obviously you know me and Sam. This cute little monster is Gregory—” Here Mike would pinch the boy's cheek, much to his dismay, then move on to clap Charlie on the arm. “—and this is Charlie; she's an old, old friend of ours. And this, if you can believe it...”

Placing a hand on Freddy's back, he gently pushed the redhead forward a few steps. “This is your old pal, Freddy.”

“Hello again, Bonnie,” Freddy greeted, still wearing that huge, infectious grin. He'd never wanted to reach out and hug the rabbit as much as he did in this very moment, but felt he deserved a tad more explanation first. “Despite how this may look, I am in fact still a robot—my AI was transferred to this body for reasons that will take a bit too long to explain at the moment. However, it is still me! It is so good to see you, old friend.”

Bonnie looked highly confused at the declaration that this random human was Freddy Fazbear. He certainly didn’t look like him… but when the guy spoke, Bonnie was very inclined to believe him. Oh, the urge to tackle his friend was far too real! One could see the excitement grow inside Bonnie before Freddy was scooped up and tossed gently in the air. Bonnie was quick to catch him in a hug, messing up Freddy’s hair with an oversized paw.

“Ol’ sport!” that twangy southern accent drawled, nuzzling the side of his face against Freddy’s affectionately. “You thought you could hide from me in that little people costume? Sooorry, Fredbear! You can’t get rid of this bunny so easily.”

The others could only stand and witness the rabbit maul Freddy with affection. While Bonnie had an idea of how long he'd been decommissioned for, he had no frame of reference for why. All he was sure of was that he’d severely missed his animatronic pals—and the bear earned a selfishly tight hug as Bonnie swayed with his friend to and fro.

Only when the excitable rabbit finally eased up did Freddy reach up to playfully rub the top of Bonnie's head—a gesture which made his expressive ears flop every which way. Freddy's smile only widened, having almost forgotten how wonderful it was to see his best friend's smiling face not just on a poster or in his memory banks.

“I missed you so much, you silly rabbit,” the ursine man said, giving him one more squeeze. He then looked towards the ground briefly before meeting Bonnie's bright gaze. “Although, I will need to be set down one of these days, if you do not mind. You must meet the others!”

“So—you got a haircut, right?” Bonnie teased, gathering so far that Freddy’s new form had to be an animatronic of some type. Coming to stand beside Freddy was the small kid—Gregory, as the young Afton introduced. Bonnie squatted with a curious tilt of his head to be more on his level.

“Oh, and you’re Gregory!” he cooed, reaching for Gregory’s hand to shake heartily. “I am the one, the only, Bonnie Bunny!”

From his squat position the eccentric rabbit took Charlie’s hand as she too approached, crossing his arms over his chest to reach both her and Gregory at once. “Charlie! Such a neat name; I love it!”

Whatever prior hesitation Gregory and Charlie may have had, there was no doubt that Bonnie in his true form was nothing short of charming. Now that he and Freddy were together again, it was almost like watching the old TV show. Gregory could see the familiarity with how Bonnie acted to how he was in the original Fredbear and Friends.

“Another surprise for you, Bon-Bon—" Mike chimed in, garnering the rabbit's attention. "—you know how your scan of me kept registering weird? Like I said, it's not a malfunction; Freddy, Charlie, and I are all robots! Close your eyes, Gregory.”

When the boy did so, Michael reached up to pull back the flap of skin on his neck revealing his access port. He moved over so the astounded bunny could examine it closer before hiding it away again.

“Henry Emily created these bodies,” Freddy added, pointedly not including the timeframe for these technological marvels. Later he could sit down with Bonnie and explain all the sordid details. For now, he just wanted to focus on the happy reunion. “Over the years he moved on from creating animals and strove to make lifelike androids—this is the result! And would you like to know something amazing? The other day, I was able to eat a hamburger... without it clogging up all of my systems!”

Michael couldn't stop a snort from escaping at this proclamation. The way Freddy described consuming a burger was like he'd discovered the eighth wonder of the world. Although, to robotic AIs who never thought they'd get a chance to do such a thing, he reasoned the feeling was probably similar. He just hoped Bonnie didn't get jealous and want a body of his own anytime soon.

With fists resting over his hips, Bonnie popped up animatedly to stare at Freddy with intrigue and amazement. “Hold up—the Henry Emily? Goodness gracious, what I’d give to meet my creator! You’re lucky, Fredbear!”

He’d pay his kudos to Freddy, happy for him regardless of whether or not Bonnie would ever get his own human form. Though it would be nice, walking around like all the people do…

“Oh man… I want to eat a burger! How’d it taste? What’s tasting even like? Haha!” the jolly old rabbit inquired, laughing at the absurdity of Freddy’s new life.

Gregory was sort of blindsided by how Bonnie moved. It was mesmerizing in the way Sun or Moon moved, every movement fluid like a nimble dancers. It was certainly more human than Roxy or Monty’s animation cycles. Then Gregory remembered that the same thing happened to Freddy when exposed to human souls… Gregory chose not to dwell on this as Bonnie came over and inspected the nearly undetectable slit in the back of Michael’s neck, looking at him and Charlie with awe.

“Well aren’t y’all a couple of technological marvels! That’s really something…,” he murmured.

“You know I would only do such a drastic thing as move bodies for a good reason,” Freddy said, his tone a bit softer than before as he placed a hand on Bonnie’s arm and squeezed. He too could sense the subtle changes in the bunny’s movement and emotional capacity.

Like Freddy, Bonnie was still clearly himself at his core—thank god William Afton’s murderous personality hadn’t rubbed off on him—but he just seemed… more. More expressive, more fluid, more alive.

“Yeah, so… I told Bonnie that a lot went down while he was out,” Michael piggybacked on Freddy’s comment with an exhausted grin. “I figured we’d let Freddy spill all the details later, but I’ll just tell you, Bon—your friend is quite literally one of the kindest souls we’ve ever met.”

Freddy chuckled softly, and if his cheeks reddened slightly with joyful embarrassment, who was to say? He lifted Gregory into his arms, setting the boy on his hip to face their latest animatronic companion.

“A detailed explanation will be provided in time, yes,” Freddy began, then pressed the briefest kiss to the top of Gregory’s head before looking up at Bonnie with the utmost pride a papa bear could muster. “But all you need to know for the moment is that Gregory is my boy, and I have taken on this form to care for him as best I can.”

Gregory slung an arm around his dad, looking up to the bunny. Bonnie’s head was tilted as Freddy explained, and Gregory witnessed as he processed the information faster than a falling anvil.

Bonnie felt something weird. It was an odd emotion he’d never experienced before, or was designed to at all really. It was the sharp knife of what Bonnie could only assume to be... jealousy? As fast as that odd, stabbing metaphorical pain was, it left even faster. The emotion never registered on the animatronic’s face. But when sanity hit Bonnie he reminded himself that being jealous of a 12 year old was… Pretty silly.

Bonnie would quickly chalk this weird glitch to the suddenness of it all. Coming back online after so long with things being so different… This was probably a normal feeling to have in the current situation.

“Shucks, Freddy—the little guy must mean a lot to you!” To Gregory’s relief and happiness, Bonnie reached out to pat Gregory’s head without any violent or weird intent. “Anyone who’s got Fred that wrapped around their finger is a friend of mine! And that means y’all are gonna visit me whenever you can, ya hear?”

He’d not take no for an answer; the family would be dropping by as often as they could.

“Of course!” Freddy replied, grinning from ear to ear. Now that Bonnie was back online and functional, it would be a monumental task to keep the pair away from each other. Looking to the rest of his companions, Freddy posed the question: “Well, since we are already here... how about a round of bowling?”

“Oh, you're on, Fazbear!” Michael exclaimed, glad for the chance to do something besides stand around talking. He'd been still and focused for most of the day with Bonnie's repairs, and while he was glad the rabbit was up and running again he was admittedly tired of staring at him. Looking too long at those red eyes reminded Michael of who used to be inside... which was a topic he didn't want to think about.

Besides, Bonnie—the real Bonnie—was the kind of guy you just loved to hang out with, and Michael wasn't going to give up that chance.

“Gregory, you and me are going to smoke your dad,” Michael said when Gregory was set on the floor, meeting the boy's gaze determinately. Whether they played individually or added up their scores in teams, Michael knew Gregory was the best “human” player they had. Putting up a bet against the bowling alley's namesake was a lost cause, but maybe they could beat Freddy with Gregory's new skills...

Gregory stood separated from his father now, running to high-five Michael.

“We're totally smokin' them!” he agreed. Bonnie cracked his knuckles at that.

“Did you hear that, Fred? I think these fella’s don’t even know what they’re in for.” The duo were naturals at the game, and Bonnie’s winning streak began anew starting tonight. He’d make a show of stretching, as if working out his joints to limber himself up for their game. Sending a wink to Samuel, he told the man: “Boss, you’ll be on our team. Right?”

Sam chuckled nervously. He wasn’t the best at bowling, but with Freddy and Bonnie’s skill, he might be able to skate by with letting the two of them take the helm of the game.

“Sure! Why the heck not?” he agreed, somewhat bashful as the group made their way for the lanes.

“Excellent. They do not stand a chance,” Freddy said with a grin, mirroring Bonnie's attempts to stretch out his limbs. When they settled at the lanes Freddy turned his wide smile on the opposing team, wishing them a simple: “Good luck—you will certainly need it.”

“Oh—you've got sass now, Fredbear. Okay.” Michael sneered back, hands on his hips. “Don't get too ahead of yourselves... you might be surprised at our amazing skills.”

It didn't take long for the teams to devolve mostly into smack talk, all in jest as they continued to playfully poke fun at each other too much to finish a proper game. At one point it was less of a bowling competition and more of a demonstration for Sam, with both Charlie and Freddy instructing him on the proper way to hold his wrist, and with Bonnie telling Gregory the worst knock-knock jokes either he or Michael ever heard. The group would simply have to find out who the true bowling champions of the Pizzaplex were another time.

“Hey, Gregory—what do you say you and I take a field trip?” Michael asked, sidling closer as Bonnie was called over to judge Sammy's latest attempt at a strike. “As thrilling as Bonnie's jokes are, I think if I hear one more 'knock knock' come out of his mouth I'm going to knock myself out. Besides—” He grinned, raising a questioning eyebrow. “—I think it's time we give Evan and Lizzie a little tour of the Pizzaplex. How about it?”

Michael looked over at the quartet by the lane and let out a snort. “Or, I guess I should ask—do you think you can convince your dad to let you out of his sight for more than five minutes?"

Mike had charismatically convinced Gregory to split from the group with the promise of seeing his friends again—and Gregory did promise them he’d be back to hang out for longer tonight. Besides, he hadn't even seen the other kids in a few nights. Without much of a fight on his part, Gregory nodded and ran to Freddy’s side.

“Dad! Dad—” Gregory said, having to repeat himself. Normally Freddy was fairly attentive, but now that he was distracted by his best friend, it took two tries to get his father to glance at him.

“—Dad,” he said a third time, followed by the pressing question: “Michael and I wanna go see the others downstairs. That's cool, right?”

“The others?” Freddy repeated, looking to Michael as he stepped over.

“Yeah, I thought I could take Gregory down to see them,” Michael clarified. “It'll give you guys a chance to catch up too, while we're at it.”

“Well, I suppose that would be alright—I am sure they miss your company, superstar.” Freddy smiled down at his son, smoothing out his hair. With a little exclamation of pleasant surprise, Freddy patted his front pocket. “Now that we all have cell phones, it will be easy for us to keep in touch! Please call me when you are on the way back so we know when to expect you.”

“You got it, big guy.” Michael gave Freddy a salute, then called to the others. “Hey, Gregory and I are heading out for a little bit—see you guys later!”

“Don't do anything stupid!” Charlie laughed after them, watching her brother throw an easy gutter ball that nearly had her into stitches from the disappointed look on Sam's face.

Gregory would argue… except she kind of had a point. He and Mike found themselves in stupid scenarios all the time, though it seemed more or less that stupidity followed them rather than them seeking it out actively. With a roll of his eyes and a spring in his step, Gregory called to Charlie in a sarcastic manner that only further served to fuel her laughter. “Don't worry, we probably will anyway!”

“Take it easy, youngsters!” Bonnie waved, taking his place again by Freddy's side with unabashed interest as they caught up on life.

***

Now that the path to the basem*nt was a familiar one, the trek downstairs seemed shorter each time. Before they knew it Michael and Gregory were at the door to Henry's workshop, which was cracked open invitingly. As a courtesy, Mike knocked before entering. “Uncle Henry? You in there?”

“Michael!” Henry's tone was surprised, and there was a hurried bit of shuffling papers and slamming drawers before the door was pulled fully open. The pair were greeted by Henry's smiling face and his hands moved to rest casually on his hips. “What brings you guys to the depths?”

“We're looking for Evan and Lizzie,” Michael explained, peering around the room suspiciously. For all he knew, they could be waiting to ambush him somewhere; he hadn't forgotten Liz's threat from the last time they'd seen each other. Upon finding no sign of plotting siblings, Michael turned his gaze back to Henry. “Any chance you've seen them?”

“Hmm... can't say that I have.” Henry gave a shrug, although from the mirthful light in his eyes it seemed like he knew more than he was letting on.

For a moment Gregory was worried. Where could they have possibly gone?

Little known to him that their friends were waiting to prank Michael so hard, he'd double-die of embarrassment. That's what Lizzie would proclaim anyway. After having Cassidy steal a fair amount of whipped cream from the bakery, Liz and Evan were sitting out of sight with the canisters at the ready.

“Oh man—come on, Mike. I think I know where they're at.” Gregory said knowingly, starting into the darkness of what Henry so lovingly referred to as the depths. “They're inside the dinner.”

“Alright, I'm following your lead” Michael replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. They walked even farther down towards the diner, which sat quiet and empty.

Well, at least it looked to be empty. The silent, shoulder-shaking laughter of the youngest Aftons would say otherwise. Evan and Lizzie hid just around the corner of the front doors, lying in wait for their prey to walk through. There was one sibling on either side, positioned for maximum pranking. Right on que Michael stepped past the entryway, not even getting a chance to call out before he was met with a sudden attack from both sides. He let out a rather high-pitched shriek and tried to cover his face, but unfortunately for him Evan was able to float and together with Lizzie they were able to completely cover their brother in sticky sweetness in no time flat.

“Aw, for—you got it in my hair, man!” Michael griped once the cans had been emptied and discarded on the floor. He wore a sour expression as he listened to surround-sound giggles, huffing a put-out: “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up...”

Even Gregory pointed and jeered. At first the ambush had shaken him due to the amount of times he’d been scared in the dark. Realizing the attack was on Michael for a change, he was able to see the smiling, happy faces of Elizabeth and Evan Afton proudly accosting their brother with four cans of aerosol dairy. With hands braced over his knees, Gregory was struggling to catch his breath as he laughed heartily with the little prank they played. This would serve Michael right for messing his hair up with all the noogies...

“Oh NO—your face, Michael!—” Liz tried to explain, wiping away a tear from the stress of laughing.

“His face?” Gregory asked, finally able to suck in a breath as he moved to help clean the whipped cream off Michael’s shirt. “His voice! Bro, tell me how you got your voice that high!”

Michael grumbled something unintelligible as he desperately tried to shake the whipped cream out of his hair. Even if he was annoyed, he had to admit they got him good.

“Even you, Evan?” Michael lamented when he felt tiny hands combing through the back of his head. There was only one of his siblings that could get that high, and sure enough Evan was floating just to the left of his face. Michael sighed dramatically, running a hand through his brown locks and grimacing when it came away full of dairy. “My own little brother, turning against me...”

“It's payback,” Evan responded simply, though payback for what would be something no one but him could answer. In response, Michael's forlorn expression flashed to a wicked grin and he suddenly shook his head like a wet dog, flinging whipped cream all over the diner floor and, more importantly, all of his siblings.

“So was that!” he responded, laughing at their shocked expressions.

The children had to raise their arms to block the barrage of foam flying through the air. It proved to be unhelpful as the kids were covered in the specs of froth in no time flat. Elizabeth growled, though no real anger was in her tone of voice when she said: “Quick! Do plan B!”

“What was plan B?!” Gregory asked, concerned and confused as he wasn't even told about this supposed back-up plan.

Crouched and poised for attack, Elizabeth told Gregory to: “Tackle him!”

What a betrayal, being attacked so ruthlessly by your own family members. As predicted, Gregory and Liz went for the legs as Evan had the highest vantage point to latch onto Michael and knock him off-balance.

Mike went down immediately, arms pin-wheeling for balance as he fell back onto the dusty floor. While Gregory and Lizzie tackled his legs, Evan went right for his chest, pushing against it with a round of uproarious laughter. As soon as Michael was down for the count Evan perched on top of him, grinning down at him with unbridled satisfaction.

The whole event ended up with the quartet in a messy pile on the floor, their fading laughter stilted as they tried to catch their breath. Eventually Michael turned his head to take stock of the aftermath, lifting up one of Lizzie’s strawberry-blonde curls and letting it fall back against her cheek with a gross splat! Michael snorted in amusem*nt, satisfied his siblings got pulled into their own prank. “Serves you all right, thinking you can one-up me. Amateurs…”

Far before they’d gotten cruel, Michael’s pranks had been infamous in their little hometown. He could pull them off by himself just fine, though sometimes he’d rope Charlie or Sam into it… if they weren’t the intended victims. Evan and Lizzie picked up their skills through long-term exposure and osmosis of watching Michael work.

After all this time, Mike still hadn't lost his edge. Still as rambunctious and cunning as he was when they were children, Liz would grimace as her perfectly coiffed curls saturated with heavy whipping cream. It reminded her of the breakfast in bed fiasco on Father's Day... Her and their mother spent hours cleaning the resulting mess out of their clothes and the entirety of the kitchen.

“Liz,” Gregory said, pulling her from the now bittersweet memory—and thankfully so. “Your prank sucked.” This earned him a handful of whipped cream smushed across his nose.

“Silence, dork,” Elizabeth chirped back. “Besides, it was Cassidy that gave Evan the idea...”

“Hey! You’re the one that was all excited to get Mikey back for the other day!” Evan deflected, then blew a raspberry at her when she rolled her eyes.

“Alright… I hate being the grown up here and say it’s time to move on, but since clearly none of you are up for it I guess I have to,” Michael remarked, sitting up with a heavy sigh. Evan was shifted into his lap, upon which the ghost wrapped his arms around Michael’s torso and squeezed.

“Okaaaaay… Whatever you say, Mike,” Evan relented, gazing up at his brother with the most innocent eyes and smile as his tight hug forced some lukewarm whipped cream to completely soak through Michael’s shirt.

“Little sh*t!” the man gasped. As he pried his brother off, he couldn’t be too mad—Evan learned from the best, after all. Once free of clinging siblings, Michael looked down at himself with a grimace. “Okay, well, Gregory and I were going to bust you guys out of here and show you the Pizzaplex, but I think we need to take a detour to the Gift Shop first… and the bathroom.”

Evan might be able to “reset” his ghostly form and rid himself of dairy remnants, but the others needed to wash up and change before the stuff had a chance to fester.Gregory stiffened up at the mention of entering the public bathroom to wash up.

“Psh. I'm fine. I don't need to clean up.” He would brush it off, like being covered in diary wasn't going to be an issue after a half an hour when it starts to warm. Liz looked at him, a glimmer of amusem*nt in her jeweled eyes.

“Oh yeah? You like smelling of curdled milk, then?” her posh tone inquired facetiously, earning her a sharp glare. He wanted her to let it be, yet something told Gregory that Liz wasn't the type to easily back down or take back the things she says.

“Yes,” Gregory stated firmly. “I love it. That's my favorite smell.” It was said so straight Liz might believe the lie, were it not so ridiculous.

Michael instantly realized his mistake, and mentally smacked himself for putting Gregory in an awkward position. Of course the kid would be terrified of public bathrooms after what happened last time he’d gone in one…

“You know what? Change of plans—we go to the Gift Shop, grab some new clothes, then head to the Daycare,” Michael said, getting to his feet and trying to brush off as much excess whipped cream as he could. Hopefully Henry wouldn’t mind the mess in the diner until Mike could come back and clean it up. “This stuff’s gnarly, but as long as we get it off soon I think it’d be fine if we don’t immediately take a sink shower. I guarantee Sun has a stockpile of stuff to clean up after the kids.”

“Oh, I think Puppet’s there! She’s got some new friends,” Evan piped up, following along behind as Mike started the walk back to the surface. With a quick full-body shake, Evan returned to his original dairy-free self. Not for the first time, he was glad he’d chosen to forgo his android in deference to his ghostly form.

Gregory looked to Evan with controlled jealousy. Gregory hadn't been positive, but he was sure that night in the bathroom had killed him... Only he was forced to stay in this body, and not given an incorporeal form like Evan. It still tethered him to this world and the messes he created within in. Still, Gregory would count his blessings that his heart restarted eventually. Trading that for having a mess-free life wasn't the best idea anyway.

“Yup—” Gregory agreed. “—Sun and Ennard are becoming fast friends with her.”

Liz's smile grew tight. So that was where that petty amalgamation went to. She wasn't fine to hang out with, but the spooky Puppet and the creepy old Daycare attendant were?

“Reeeally now? You don't say,” Liz asked through grated teeth. After clapping her hands together in one enthusiastic motion, she forced a grin. “Let's go visit! We need to clean up anyway. Why not?”

Michael smirked at Lizzie’s tone. Any opportunity to keep the amalgamation away was just fine with him. On their way out they stopped by the workshop to let Henry know the Afton’s were going upstairs for a while. Henry was all for it, and Michael couldn’t help but notice his poorly-contained laughter at the state of them. Apparently the old ghost had more knowledge of the plan than he let on.

With an eye roll and a sarcastic, “Thanks for the heads up, Henry,” Michael ushered the kids up to the surface. The back passageways they emerged into weren’t of great interest, but when they reached the main atrium Evan and Lizzie stopped dead in their tracks. Evan floated up next to Michael’s shoulder, gazing in awe at the flashing neon lights and signs.

“Welcome to the Mega Pizzaplex,” Mike said with a grin, sweeping his arm in a grand gesture.

“Whoa…,” was all Evan could get out, deep brown eyes reflecting the rainbow of colors around him.

Elizabeth was holding onto Evan's arm like a lifeline, her own eyes catching the neons. It was like a mall—but so much larger. All of the strip malls in the 80s were puny compared to the vision that Samuel had in mind. It was clear to Liz that despite all the time that had passed, sweet Sammy Emily was still very much a kid at heart. He knew what would captivate and amaze the masses to the point of returning again and again.

“No way...,” Liz chimed in softly. It wasn't long before she felt a tug, Gregory gently pulling the two kids forward and further into the atrium.

“Come oooon!” Gregory beckoned playfully. “There's so much to see! Let's go!”

Evan barely registered as he was moved, too entranced by the sheer size of this place and the loving nods to Sammy’s childhood. The heavy 80s theme created a weird dichotomy in Evan’s mind. He knew many, many years had passed since ‘83—though admittedly he’d stopped counting long ago—and being surrounded by such familiar colors and patterns brought him right back to the malls of his youth. Yet when he looked closer everything had a sort of sleek, technological feel to it like nothing the ghost had ever seen before.

“Hey, uh… what year is it anyway?” Evan asked, his voice small as if afraid of the answer.

“It’s 2023,” Michael replied with a soft, understanding smile. Evan’s jaw dropped, expecting the response but still not ready for it.

“Al… Almost 40 years…,” he whispered, expression twisting as he tried to process the information. He wasn’t necessarily upset about the lost time—at least, not too much—he was just shocked that things seemed to have both changed and remained the same. Although, he figured the Fazbear franchise was probably an exception to the passing of normal time. It always was.

“It looks like Back to The Future in here,” Liz compared with wide eyes. Did Evan ever watch that movie? Probably not. She only remembered watching it once when Michael was finally in a better mood. She supposed it was for the best that things looked this way. Anything beyond her comprehension would only serve to throw Elizabeth into a panic. This place—these sounds... They tightened something in her chest, winding it up and strangling what she thought was her heart.

She missed so much. How could Dad do this to her?

She, Michael, and Evan should be old together. They should be experiencing this through the eyes of nostalgic adults—yet Liz only felt like she was truly coming home for the first time after a long, stressful road trip. That was the only way she could comprehend it, by comparing it to a movie that hardly fit the description of the retro-aesthetic technological marvels she saw around them.

Gregory weaved his hand into Liz's. She had a long stare that made Gregory uncomfortable with the road she appeared to be slipping down. Even then she nearly didn't notice the kind gesture until he squeezed her hand hard.

“Yeah—but Back to the Future doesn't have pizza slushees," he remarked, earning a disgusted look from Liz.

“Oh, that’s foul!” she gasped, seeming completely serious until a smile finally broke through to show her pearly white teeth. “Where can I get one?”

“The bowling alley, but that’s our last stop because all the boring adults are hanging out there with Charlie,” Michael informed them, completely ignoring the fact that technically he too was a boring adult.

“There’s a bowling alley in here?!” Evan piped up, and it was Mike’s turn to grasp his hand and be his earthly tether. It seemed that the more excited he got, the higher he was apt to float.

“And a go-kart arena, and a mini golf course, and laser tag—not to mention a billion arcades,” Michael added with a grin. He took Lizzie’s other hand and pulled her along as well, not wanting them to get too distracted from their current destination. “Don’t worry, we’ll check everything out after we get cleaned up. You guys are going to be blown away with all the merch this place has!”

With that Michael managed to get his little group to the Gift Shop with only a few more pauses to point out interesting things. He released his sibling’s hands when they walked through the doorway, telling them: “Have at it! There’s changing rooms near the clothes. You might as well use whatever you’re wearing to squeeze what you can out of your hair—everything needs to be washed anyway…”

It took a lot to get Liz and Evan to focus. Right now the two kids were all riled up and eager to see the playground that Samuel had concocted. He always said that when his dad finally let him work at the locations, he had big plans for the place. Lizzie never quite understood everything that Sam would rattle on about, but his passion for it made her listen intently every time he spoke of his dreams. It was one of the things to admire about the Emilys. They were quiet people from afar, but get them talking about something they loved and you could watch them go on for hours...

As Liz wandered around the shop, she found accessories and trinkets that caught her eye and pocketed them for later. She had only needed a shirt, as miraculously the skirt that Henry fitted this android with was otherwise pristine. Everything stayed true to the old merchandise that once sat by the crate full in their garage, though the quality was much better than the cheap things her father made as their first round of toys and shirts. It wasn't too long before Liz found a pink shirt. With the cutest Chica logo she’d ever seen, how could she refuse?

Gregory decided to go for a shirt he had seen earlier—a muscle tee that came tumbled and “worn” in appearance. When he reached for the garment, he was surprised to find another, similar hand attempting to tug it off the rack as well.

“Oh! Good choice!” Evan laughed when he realized who he was having a mini tug of war with. Evan didn't need the shirt, but that didn't mean he couldn't admire it. Maybe he could pick one up later—he still technically had an android if he ever got tired of floating around, and he'd certainly need a variety of outfits. It was like his own soul-powered dress-up doll. He released the fabric in deferment to Gregory, grinning widely. “This stuff's so rad! Not like what they sold before—this is like... the good stuff!”

Meanwhile, Michael had swiped a similar muscle tee off the adult size rack, along with a pair of dark wash jeans with iron-ons of all the Glamrock's grinning faces down one leg. Bonnie was noticeably absent, which wasn't unexpected, although now that he was friendly again Mike wondered if he could find a loose patch that he could add himself... For now though, he rushed into a changing room and preformed the fastest quick-change the world had ever seen, not wanting to take his eyes off his siblings for a second. He emerged in his new attire, using the back of his old shirt to soak up whipped cream remnants from his hair. Lizzie's shoes could be seen in the crack under the next changing room door, so Michael focused his attention on the lookalikes.

“Find anything good?” he asked, bumping Gregory with his hip as he sidled up next to them.

Gregory teetered with the bump, but laughed it off while gesturing to Evan. “We were going to grab the same shirt—apparently the stuff here is better than it used to be.”

With the changing rooms close by, Gregory quickly slipped into the one that Michael just came from.

“No, you don't even know—” Lizzie snorted from the stall next to him, remembering when their father nearly had a nervous breakdown to find a shipment of plushies with their faced printed on the butts of all the dolls. “—Evan, remember when Dad cried because of the butt-faces?”

“The butt-faces!” Evan and Michael exclaimed in unison. They glanced side-long at each other, then simultaneously burst into laughter.

“He was yelling at that guy for hours!” Evan reminisced through giggles, vividly recalling how he'd peeked into his father's office only to find William screaming into the phone, clearly having a major communication issue with the poor soul on the other end.

At that time, William's anger hadn't been scary—no more than a typical stressed-out father's wrath was apt to get. Will had caught Evan peering around the corner with wide, terrified eyes, and only then was he able to regain his composure. After telling the man in not so kind words that he didn't think they were getting anywhere and to expect a call from his business partner tomorrow, William had moved to Evan's side and taken him out for an apology ice cream for clearly freaking the kid out. This trip had been extra special in Evan's mind, for it was one of the rare times he actually got to spend some quality time with his dad without at least one other kid hanging off his other side.

“Evan? Hey, buddy?” Michael's voice broke through the ghost's reverie. Evan came to with a start only to realize everyone was staring at him, Gregory and Lizzie having long-since emerged from the dressing rooms. To his surprise, Evan felt cold tear streaks running down his face.

“O-Oh...,” he murmured, then gave a big sniffle and wiped his face. Why did even the happy memories make him cry? He shifted his gaze to the floor, the pallor of his pale cheeks darkening the smallest bit in embarrassment. “Sorry... I'm okay, I promise. Can... Can we go to the Daycare now?”

It was so easy to be lost in the better memories, a time when things made sense and their dad had been more present. Gregory wouldn't push it, or even point out that Evan was crying—instead he slung his arm around Evan's shoulders with an encouraging grin.

“The Daycare is ridiculously fun. I don't even care if it's made for toddlers, it's like a giant playground!” he said, trying to hype Evan up now for what was likely going to be a fun time in Sun and Moon's little kingdom. “And you get to see how Puppet's doing!”

Where Gregory saw the Puppet as a guardian and friend, Liz had mixed feelings on the doll. It wasn't the Marionette's fault for not getting to Charlie in time, but for a while Lizzie resented the animatronic and wouldn't even visit the ticket counter anymore due to the secondhand shame and anger she felt when looking at it. Little did she know that if she’d just visited once, she would be visiting Charlie as well...

“Yeah! Let's go!” Evan urged, his mouth flipping into a little smile as he slipped an arm around Gregory's back, walking with his “twin” side-by-side.

Michael watched them for a moment, his face pinching with regret the second Evan's back was turned. Someday they'd sit down and have a long talk about things—about what happened in '83 and how Evan existed from then until now, unpacking decades of hurt and anger. However, at the moment they were headed to the Daycare, which was sure to perk up their spirits with its bright colors and even brighter attendant.

“We can't let those two out of our sights, Liz,” Michael murmured, slipping his hand into his sister's and gently tugging her along. “I bet they're already plotting something...”

It really was such a good feeling being able to hold hands with a family member you haven't seen in a while. It was so easy to fall back into old customs and rituals, too. Liz could almost hear their mother now, asking that Michael hold her sister's hand while they were out in public. When Mike asked why, their father would chime in to say that people would want to kidnap Elizabeth—but no one wanted to steal him. He either was too annoying or not cute enough. The joke now was supremely less funny than it was forty years ago, but the memory of being happy fueled Lizzie’s will to become happy again. So, in the spirit of celebrating how good things used to be, Liz swung their arms a little in their gait.

“I don't know—can’t say I trust new Evan,” Liz begun to scheme, thinking out loud as the boys in front seemed to get on like a house on fire while the actual dangerous combination plotted the twins’ downfall right behind their backs. “We need to strike preemptively.”

“Agreed,” Michael replied with a nod, then leaned down to whisper a suggestion in Liz's ear that had her nearly choking as she tried to hold back her laughter.

The group continued in their happy pairs, following Gregory's lead to the Daycare. The upstairs pick-up area greeted them with bright overhead lights, letting them know that Sun was currently out and about. Michael peered through the netting and caught sight of the Daycare attendant on the opposite end of the play area, seated on one of the foam blocks and gesturing wildly as he recounted stories of the little sunbeams placed under his care. Puppet and Ennard were lingering nearby, watching Sun attentively and seeming entranced by his over-exuberant way of speaking with his entire body to make up for his lack of facial expressions.

“Hey, Sun! You've got visitors!” Michael called, and Sun whipped his head in a 180 so fast it was a wonder his neck didn't snap. Mike glanced down at Lizzie, then made a split-second decision to lift her under the arms and swing her feet-first into the wide opening of the slide before she had a chance to protest.

“Be a good sis and chase Ennard away, will you?” he murmured, knowing she didn't need a bribe for such a fun opportunity. With that he gave her a little push, sending her plummeting into the darkness of the plastic tube.

“WAH!” Liz didn't expect to be thrown fast down slide. With gravity increasing her speed, Liz shot out of the tube at the other end squealing half from adrenaline and half from fun. Gosh, when was the last time she could say she'd gone down a slide right into a massive ball pit?

When she surfaced again, who else would she make direct eye contact with but the elusive Ennard themselves? Without warning, Ennard let out a high pitched and garbled shriek. Their voice positively pierced the sound barrier, its fear-soaked tone the interlude for Ennard’s escape. They flipped their body, turning all the way around to scale the wall and run for Sun's room for cover. It wholly confused both the Marionette and her newest friend. In fact, the odd-frequency Ennard emitted had her jump from her seat to cling to Sun as they watched them escape.

“Oh, that wasn't hard at all!” Liz would laugh to herself, regaining her composure and breath from the exhilaration. It wasn't long before Evan and Gregory fell in behind her. Evan would technically be the first to enter before Gregory, but the other boy was clinging to Evan's back so they could argue that they fell into the pit at the same time.

“I so made it first!” Evan exclaimed with a giddy laugh, disentangling himself from Gregory so he could wade through the ball pit, enjoying the satisfying click of the plastic.

“My goodness!” Sun exclaimed, his tone a mixture of surprise and concern as his head swiveled from the children in the ball pit, to his little room Ennard disappeared into, then to the wooden door as Michael pushed it open. “What just happened?! Our new friend's never acted like that before!”

“Oh, don't you know? Ennard's a total scaredy-cat,” Michael said with a nonchalant shrug, unable to resist the jab. Now that the amalgamation was temporarily out of the picture, he could actually enjoy some time without constant metallic breathing over his shoulder. Mike reached out for Puppet as he neared the Daycare attendant, allowing her to slither around his shoulders in greeting. “Anyway! Sun, I've got two new kids for you to play with—meet Lizzie and Evan.”

As always, Sun's attention was quickly pulled to the children in his Daycare. With a loud gasp, he pressed his palms against the sides of his face.

“Gregory, I didn't know you had a twin! What a cutie you are!” Long arms reached forward to scoop Evan up. They grasped him under the shoulders and began to lift, when suddenly—the boy was nowhere to be found. Sun stared at his empty hands, tilting his head in utter confusion. “Um... hmm. Where did you go, sunshine?”

“I... think you freaked him out,” Michael muttered, looking around as well. He should've warned Evan about Sun—or better yet, told the Daycare attendant that the kid probably wouldn't appreciate an animatronic going for his face, no matter how friendly they may be.

“I'm okay!” Evan's soft voice piped up from a completely different location, and everyone glanced down to see the little ghost fade into existence behind Mike, clinging to his leg as a shield against the touchy Sun. Despite his words, he stared at the animatronic with a wary expression.

“I'm sorry, little one—I didn't mean to scare you!” Sun apologized, deciding it best not to ask how the child had teleported at the moment. Instead he turned his attention to Lizzie, asking her tentatively: “Do you like being picked up?”

“If you try, she'll probably yell at you,” Evan added helpfully, still half-hidden behind his brother's leg, then let out a little giggle. “Or bite you. You never know with her.”

What was the point in even correcting Sun? Evan and Gregory were practically twins at this point. There was no denying it. To Gregory, it would be a little bit funny that Evan would choose to run away. He and Liz were far scarier than anything left in the Pizzeria, being actual honest ghosts.

Laughing, Gregory filed in to Michael's side, patting Evan's shoulder reassure the poor kid. It was amazing how ghosts still kept their self-preservation skills even when they had nothing left to preserve...

Elizabeth eyed the jester somewhat skeptically at first, though the rapport he had with her brother put her at ease. She would hold up her hand, symbolizing that she was willing to touch his palm in a high five as greeting for now.

“I think it might hurt my teeth if I bite him, Evan,” Liz giggled, happily touching her hand to the Sun's. “Gregory told us you love to play games!”

“Oh yes, yes!” Sun exclaimed, happy to receive positive affection from at least one of the new kids. His static grin seemed to widen as he stood up to full height, pressing long fingertips against his chest. “Games are my specialty, after all! Well, that and arts and crafts—but I love both of them equally! Do you all want to play a game?!”

“...Hide and seek?” Evan ventured, no longer cowering thanks to Gregory's reassurance. He was still a tiny bit wary simply due to the sheer size of this thing, but the attendant really did seem nothing but nice.

“Of course!” Sun agreed with a vigorous nod. “Hide and seek it is! Who wants to be the seeker first?”

“Doesn't matter to me, as long as Evan doesn't use those invisibility powers—or the teleporting,” Mike said, looking down at his brother with a raised eyebrow. “That would totally be cheating.”

“I won't!” Evan replied in a sing-song tone, hands clasped behind his back and staring at Michael with the innocent grin of an angel. Only Gregory could see the fingers crossed behind Evan's back as he made the promise.

Gregory was both equally impressed and thoroughly surprised at Evan's mischievous streak. All the Aftons had one, which meant that Gregory fit in perfectly with the rowdy bunch of kids. Gregory would keep this secret, as Evan may be kind enough to share some of that cheater’s magic with him later on.

Much to their surprise, the Puppet waved from the top of Michael's shoulders. After garnering their collective attention, she pointed to herself—since she happened to be the last one to be found last night, she would get her turn as seeker over tonight! Besides, the Puppet was very meticulous. She could find a razorblade in a grosser’s dozen of cupcakes.

“Oh no!” Liz laughed, knowing this fact to be true. “No way! You'll find us all so quickly, Puppet! I'll seek first.”

“Technically Puppet won last night,” Michael piped up with a shrug, lifting the Marionette up and down with the motion. “We were never able to find her hiding spot, so... she should seek first.”

“I can count down for her!” Sun offered with a little wave of his own. “Just give me ten extra seconds after I finish to find my own hiding spot, okay?” At the Puppet's agreeing nod, Sun clapped his hands together before reaching out to take her from Michael's shoulders. “Alright, everyone—to the count of thirty! One... two...”

And just like that, the game began. Michael didn't even have time to wish his siblings good luck before they shot off like rockets to various corners of the play area. Not wanting the mortification of being the first one found Mike did likewise, mentally grumbling at the fewer choices he had with his larger frame compared to that of the kids'. Hopefully he could find a good spot that even the Puppet would take a while to locate...

Those kids were faster than lightning. Gregory followed Evan; rules said they couldn’t hide in the same place. Carefully, Gregory would stack a large pile of those play cans that rested in towers around the Daycare. He did this as quickly as he could and with time to spare, locking himself inside a little prison of colorful stacking cans. He’d do his best to keep still, and hopefully Puppet wouldn’t notice the freshly made tower and decide to knock it down. Inside his tiny fortress, Gregory watched as Elizabeth made her way slowly and carefully into the ball pit. Her outfit was so colorful it might as well serve her as camouflage.

Lowering herself below the threshold of the pool side, Liz would slip under and wait patiently under the surface. She was happy to do so—this pit was a lot cleaner than the old Fazbear diner’s ball pit. Maybe it was awful to keep thinking of him, but Liz could almost hear her father telling her, “Sweet pea, no; it’s filthy in there. Go play elsewhere,” before being gently pulled from her excellent hiding spot.

But her father wasn’t here anymore, and wouldn’t be ever again…

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to be alone right now. So far, Elizabeth hadn’t had a moment to herself to process everything that'd happened just a few days ago. Quietly, Liz wrapped her arms around her legs and hugged, self-soothing as she remained by her lonesome for now.

Ten seconds after Sun stopped his counting, an eerie silence fell over the Daycare.

It was not something Liz had noticed, depersonalizing where she was in the moment. Gregory sure had, though. The Puppet moved so quietly there was no way to tell where she was unless crawling in plain sight. However, it was clear that she wanted to surprise them when Gregory caught her sneaking and scaling up the sides of the jungle gym.

Michael managed to wedge himself in one of the plastic tubes at the last second. It was admittedly tight fit—he wasn’t nearly as flexible as Sun. Thank god he didn’t have a human body, or his back would certainly be sore tomorrow from being so twisted.

Meanwhile, Evan used the rare moment of not being watched to do a little exploring. He hadn’t explicitly been told that Sun’s room was off-limits… Besides, if anyone would be able to find him no matter where he roamed, it would be Puppet. Evan also had a second reason for his chosen hiding spot—he wanted to finally get a look at the mysterious Ennard that was obsessed with one of his siblings, yet terrified of the other.

He knew what Ennard and Liz had done to Michael. His sister told him the whole sordid truth during one of those dark, horrible nights they’d still been trapped in animatronic shells. Lizzie hadn’t wanted Evan near the unstable amalgamation, using its fear of her to shield her brother from its presence. And while he hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Michael about that incident, it was understandably clear he hated Ennard, too.

Still… Evan was an Afton, notoriously curious despite his timid nature. He knew of Ennard’s help in stopping their father, and their willingness to protect not only Mike but Gregory and Charlie as well (even if it was only at Michael’s request). Plus, Puppet liked them! Surely they couldn’t be that bad, right?

The recent escape from Sun’s clutches gave Evan a little burst of confidence—just enough for him to float up to the little stage when no one was looking and peek into the room behind. The area warmly lit by string lights was quite organized and clean, though notably empty of animatronics. However, the faintest shuffling let Evan know Ennard was still around, likely keeping tabs on the Daycare situation. Steeling his nerve, Evan clenched his little fists by his sides and whispered:

“Ennard? Hey, my siblings are gonna be SUPER mad if they know I’m here, but I wanted to say hi…”

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

The clown was sitting in a pile on the floor. It was hard to tell where the carpet covering their body began and the decorative plushies and pillows lining Sun and Moon's room ceased. Ennard had collected anything soft and with a colorful pattern for their new friend. Everything clashed and gave off colors in such high saturation it may terribly strain the eyes of a person to look at—still, Sun told Ennard it was wonderful and soon it became Ennard's safety spot, too...

Then again, they didn't have a problem resting inside the vents from time to time. Being cramped inside tight spaces felt like home.

Alone and calming down from the recent fright, one of the clown-faced animatronic's eyes shot to the boy peering in from the balcony. All Ennard knew of the child was that he was a relative of Circus Baby—Elizabeth, and Mike.

“HEL—LO?” asked the robot, wondering if the boy was lost or had become separated from his older brother somehow.

“Hi!” Evan replied, still in a low voice but now with a tiny smile added on. Ennard didn’t jump at him, didn’t move to attack, no sharp nightmare teeth anywhere to be seen… That didn’t necessarily mean Ennard didn’t have nightmare teeth, but as long as they weren’t bared in aggression towards him, Evan wouldn’t mind. He’d seen far worse over the years than a robotic jaw full of jagged metal.

“Um… I’m Evan! I just wanted to say hi and thank you for helping the other night.” His eyes shone with the light of decades-old understanding. “Mike can be really mean sometimes, but I know he’s thinking the same thing. So’s Lizzie. But since they’re not gonna say it, I… I thought maybe I should.”

He paused, but only for a second, peering at the animatronic with a curious tilt of his head. He didn’t even give Ennard a chance to respond to the thank you before starting off on a tangent of childish wonder. “So… is it true that you’re like three robots mixed together? ‘Cause that’s kinda cool!”

Mike could be really mean. Deep down, Ennard knew they deserved it sometimes. Every once in a while, a more coherent thought made it through their scattered minds and they’d briefly come to the conclusion that everyone was frightened of them. Even Mike was, sometimes... That fear translated to anger, and Ennard would take it.

One day they’d make amends, but the road to forgiveness would be hard fought. Perhaps they could start by making friends with one of the little Michaels.

“THAT IS TRUE! WE WERE FOUR, ONCE... CIRCUS BABY WAS OUR LEADER...” Ennard explained, happy for the company but constantly looking behind the boy for fear of his big sister rearing her new, fresh face. “MICHAEL WILL NOT BE MAD FOR LONG. WE ARE MAKING AMENDS.”

Evan gave a bright nod, any tension that still lingered in his ghostly body relaxing as Ennard conversed with him. The robot was definitely weird and Evan could see why people thought they were creepy… But he could say the same thing about Sun, and he was nice, if a bit overzealous about hoisting kids into the air.

“Mikey will get over it,” Evan confirmed, then let out a small laugh. “Besides, even if he’s being a jerk, you’ve still got Puppet and Sun to hang out with! Puppet really likes you; so does Sun, from what I heard. Oh! And Gregory and Charlie do, too!”

While Evan was listing all the new companions Ennard had, Michael was desperately trying to avoid being captured by the Puppet in question. As she diligently crawled across the lattice of the safety netting, her shadow would overlook the bright neon tube. Atop the structure was where her long fingers scraped the sides, clinging to the hiding spot Michael hid beneath. If the Marionette was capable of speaking her mind, she would’ve asked the eldest Afton if he found this scenario nostalgic. Knowing exactly where he was, she created a tense scene before trailing off and away, her shadow climbing just out of sight again. After a moment, just when the warm illusion of protection fell back over, Mike would feel the Puppet's pointy fingers grasping for his sides.

As the familiar sound of Michael screaming reached the balcony, Ennard glanced behind Evan while they conversed.

“PUPPET FOUND MIKEY...” It was obvious from the shout.

Evan giggled, looking over his shoulder to see his brother scramble out of the tube, seeming rather frightened until he registered his attacker had been the very being he was hiding from. Only when Michael laughed did Evan turn back to Ennard, floating further into the room to perch on a neatly stacked pile of wooden crates and avoid the prying eyes of his brother.

“Yeah, he acts tough but Mike’s always been a scaredy-cat deep down,” Evan admitted, leaving out the fact that in the last few years of his life Michael had been the one doing all the scaring. Cupping a hand over his grinning mouth, Evan leaned towards the animatronic conspiratorially. “One time, Liz and I hid this huge fake spider under his sheets, and he—” The ghost paused to snicker at the memory. “—hee hee… Mike screamed so loud he woke up the neighbors. Our parents were so annoyed.”

Ennard, while laughing as quietly as physically possible for them, had begun to invest themselves into their conversation with Evan. While it was renowned to the whole of their strange little alliance that Michael was a bit on the sensitive side, Ennard never considered him a scaredy-cat by any means. For the sake of this very interaction, Ennard would agree.

“HE IS... A SOFTIE...,” they replied with a loving certainty.

Out in the playground, Puppet swung carefree along the structure. With no one else hiding inside of its confines, she joined Michael on the ground floor with anticipation of finding the rest.

In the ball pit below the balcony, Elizabeth laid paralyzed at the bottom. She felt as though she’d been laying there so long she may as well have become one with the floor. Though this was just a dramatic way of saying she'd become bored of sitting and waiting. Luckily, her wait was soon to be over as the Puppet and Michael trailed over to the plastic-lined pool of colors. Liz saw the shadows pass over her, but true to the game remained as stiff as a plank of wood, not even daring to flinch when the Puppet suddenly smacked the surface of the rainbow river. The plastic balls flew and clicked loudly upon collision with one another, and Puppet banked on that scaring one or more children into revealing their hiding spots.

“Hmm… I don’t trust it,” Michael said, gazing into the pit with narrowed eyes. Upon seeing nothing, he decided to take a more physical approach. Wading into the plastic pool, he began slowly walking towards the other side, making sure to take long strides and canvassing the bottom with his legs. It didn’t take long for his foot to collide with something hard, which he quickly determined to be Lizzie’s torso. With a satisfied grin Mike reached under the rainbow layer to hoist his sister up by the shoulders, holding her high into the air as he proclaimed his victory.

“Gotcha!” he laughed at Lizzie’s pout, throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. A humiliating defeat.

“That's not faaaair...,” she protested. “You had to have been watching me hide! Admit it!”

Even if she had genuinely accused him, Lizzie was aware he'd ignore it like he always did. Puppet reached up and pinched her cheeks, eager to check out the next hiding spot. She’d been certain that the larger can structure wasn't anything Sun would make. His towers always stood in the same uniformed line, where as this one formed a pyramid. Gregory sure didn't know how to be conspicuous when he hid...

As they passed it by, she startled Gregory from his spot by removing one of the bottom cans on the stack. They fell over in a mighty pile over top of the boy, causing both her and Liz to laugh at his high-pitched scream.

“No way! How?! That was such a choice hiding spot!” Gregory complained. This caused Elizabeth to roll her eyes as she lay defeated and limp over Mike's shoulder.

“Mine was, too. Mike and Puppet are cheaters.” Which happened to be her excuse for every game she had ever lost to her older brother or their friends.

“YOU laid down in a pool of plastic balls! I created a structure!” Gregory countered, gesturing wildly to his broken fortress. The Puppet didn't have the heart or the voice box to tell him that she'd noticed his hiding spot the moment she saw it. Instead, she crawled past Gregory in search of her new best friend, the Sun.

Silently she shifted through the playground like a snake in search of field mice. It wasn't long before Puppet slipped quietly into the foam pit and come into contact with the harder exterior of the Daycare attendant. Light hardly escaped the pit after descending past the first layer of foam blocks, but it was the unmistakable and pointed shape of Sun's head that she could feel that gave them away.

“Oh! You found me!” Sun exclaimed, popping up like a jack in the box and scattering foam blocks every which way. He pulled Puppet into a brief hug, getting his overly-programmed affection out wherever he could.

“Now that was a good spot,” Michael conceded, now focused on finding their last player. “Okay, where is that little sneak?”

Evan was thoroughly distracted by the amalgamation of Funtime animatronics, though eventually the noise trickling in from the Daycare proper gave him pause. With a surprised gasp, he realized he could hear everyone talking… meaning he was the last one left.

“Uh-oh,” he murmured, looking to the doorway as he floated off the stack of boxes. “I should probably go down there…” He glanced back at Ennard with an apologetic smile, giving him a little wave. “Thanks for keeping me company! I’ll tell Mike and Liz not to be such jerks, but no promises.”

Ennard had been sitting in front of the crate, their knees pulled up to their chest as they regaled Evan with fanciful stories of their short times as children entertainers. Though at the commotion outside, it was clear visiting time was over. Still, there was a clear sense of gratitude in Ennard's body language. They had made a new friend, which meant being stuck in Sun and Moon's room was worth it in the end.

“WE WILL SEE YOU LATER...” Ennard easily let go of the conversation, their fear of missing out slowly going away the more their friend group grew. Surely Puppet and Sun will fill them in later on the excitement down below. “TELL... MIKE... WE SAID 'HEY'.”

With a blink, Evan had gone completely invisible. He floated down towards the ball pit, settling himself just inside the tube slide that connected to the drop off area. When his body returned to its usual opaqueness, the bottom of his shoes could just be seen sticking out while he gripped the slick plastic in order not to fall all the way down into the ball pit.

“Wha—aw, no way!” Michael exclaimed as he caught sight of the shoes appearing out of the corner of his eye. He stomped over to the ball pit, swiftly yanking Evan out and holding him up by his ankle. “You cannot tell me you were in there the whole time!”

“I was just hiding!” Evan said innocently, then laughed louder when Michael shook him gently.

“A likely story, but I don’t buy it.” Michael walked Evan to where the others had gathered, still holding him upside-down. Looking around the group, he asked with a raised eyebrow: “Innocent or no? Don’t let the face fool you—Gregory has the same one, and he’s a terror.”

With faux offense taken, Gregory would gasp and furrow his brows. “This is profiling, you know!”

Were the both of them mischievous? Maybe. Though Gregory wouldn't argue that was because they just so happened to look very close to one another... and has similar inclinations for trouble, even if Evan rarely showed his. Neither one could help it; the boys had even wondered out loud if they happened to be twins displaced by time at some point—though they’d both come to the agreement that such a notion was impossible at the end of the day.

“I believe him,” Gregory said firmly, even if he didn't really buy Evan's story.

This caused Liz to put her hands over her head, proclaiming. “You're right, Mikey! They're in cahoots!”

It was so clear now. At the accusation, Gregory took the chance at her distraction to push her off balance. With a surprised cry, Liz toppled over into the foam pit and into its depths while Gregory laughed at Elizabeth's very dramatic fall.

“Avenge me!” was all she could yell before pantomiming a drowning motion in past the lip of the pit. How was she going to survive with three brothers?

It was very quickly becoming clear that today, it was Gregory and Evan against Michael and Lizzie. After watching his sister unceremoniously thrown into the foamy sea, Mike let out an anguished cry. “Noooo! Arr, you’ll pay fer that!”

“WAH!” Evan shrieked as with a heave, he was sent flying into the middle of the pit.

The way Mike flung him had Gregory in stiches. The throw would’ve shaken a living kid to their core; if this foam pit was made of water, Gregory felt as though Evan would’ve skipped across the surface. As Michael turned, Gregory could feel the impending doom close in around him.

Suddenly it wasn't so funny—well, it was really funny. But if Gregory didn't want to be thrown into the pit too, he would have to run. It was hard not to let out of squeal of adrenaline, especially with Sun and Puppet cheering him on from the sidelines. Even Liz was laughing, trying to wade through the foam blocks to retrieve her younger brother.

“Hahaha—Evan, oh my god, you really ate it!” she laughed quietly, throwing the blocks around to try and get to him.

“Shut up, Liz!” Evan explained jovially, popping up and lobbing a block at her.

For now, Ennard would just be a quiet observer in their merrymaking. As long as they could see what was going on for the most part, they would rationalize that all of them were hanging out this way. Even if Liz and Michael didn't totally want to see them all the time. So hanging their retractable eye off the end of the balcony, they observed the fun and games and pretended that they too were chasing the group without fear or anxiety.

Gregory was faster than any normal kid his age, that was for certain. The stamina he possessed was out of place, though not unwelcomed in times like these. He huffed, jumping over the obstacles of his once proud fortress now laid scattered on the ground. Gregory would laugh, totally evading him Mike—

Until he landed directly on a can upon touchdown. The cylinder rolled and tossed Gregory forward, making the kid roll head over heels. Inertia had betrayed him and sent Gregory tumbling across the soft mat without much injury or worry. His hubris grew too big, and now Michael was upon him.

“Evan help! Do something!” Gregory shouted to his twin, the smile never wavering even when he tripped and nearly busted his neck in the tumble.

“Oh gosh, this is why we clean up!” Sun exclaimed worriedly, rushing over to help. He was able to perform a quick health scan as he approached Gregory, though when the boy appeared free of injury Sun opted to focus on stacking the cans to avoid another slip, which also allowed the others to continue their game.

Evan acted fast, practically warping to Gregory’s location just as Michael reached down to snatch the boy up. Michael’s fingers brushed the edge of Gregory’s shirt, his lips curled in a triumphant grin… when suddenly he felt two cold hands on his shoulders. He was yanked backwards, stumbling from the sudden attack and landing with a cushy thud on the mats.

“HA!” Evan cheered, throwing his fists in the air as he stood light as a feather on Michael’s chest. “Victory!”

Michael could only glare up at his traitor of a brother, the wind temporarily knocked out of him.

Gregory's deft hands brushed the dust from his new clothes. Laughing at Michael’s fall, Gregory came to his side and raised his hands in solidarity with Evan. After the short celebration, he nudged Mike with the toe of his sneaker.

It was never a good idea to let your guard down around Michael Afton—especially if you were his sibling. Before Evan could reply he was yanked down by a sharp tug of his shirt, landing flat against his big brother. Michael cinched an arm around Evan’s waist while simultaneously taking Gregory down using the same method, and soon he was rolling around with his brothers clutched in a death grip and cackling all the while.

Liz was content in watching the brothers wrestle each other at a distance. She'd learned long ago that wrestling Michael was an exercise in futility given how much bigger and more experienced with fighting he was than her. Watching how easily he took down Evan and Gregory reminded her of that fact. Instead she sat inside the pit with Puppet, juggling the foam blocks and throwing them at each other playfully instead of engaging.

“You’re such a sore loser, dude!” Gregory laughed.

“Pot, kettle,” Mike snapped, tightening his squeeze like a boa constrictor until it was almost painful. Then he released his brothers and sat up, letting them roll to the floor and right themselves.

“Well, with that out of the way—” Michael continued with a grin, acting like this whole venture had been planned. “—we should do some more exploring; there’s a lot more Evan and Liz need to see!”

“Thanks so much for visiting!” Sun chimed in, moving to help Michael to his feet. This was simply a ruse however, for as soon as the man was upright Sun bent to squeeze him in a tight bear hug. “You’re welcome to come back and play games anytime!”

“Oof—thanks, Sun!” Michael chuckled after the initial surprise of the grab. He did his best to pat the Daycare attendant’s side until he was released, upon which Sun turned his attention to Gregory. The boy got a slightly different treatment, being picked up and held against Sun’s chest as he rocked him back and forth a few times.

Sun’s hug was calming in the way an old friend would be. Gregory rested his cheek against the robot's metal chest plate and shut his eyes. “We'll come back soon.”

Meanwhile, Puppet was having some problems separating from Liz in the foam pit.

“I'll tell Charlie you said hi! We’ve really got to go now, Puppet...,” Liz said, prying the doll off her person with many reservations. It wasn't as if they'd be strangers again; for the foreseeable future they’d all live here in the same complex.

The Puppet dithered at her words, sinking further into the pit but mutely waving to the group. She missed them already; things felt wrong without Charlie being around ever since their separation.

Once Sun put Gregory down he offered Evan a wave, which the boy returned enthusiastically. He already felt much more comfortable with the Daycare attendant—not to mention the shy amalgamation watching from afar. Evan glanced up to the stage jutting from the wall, giggling when he saw Ennard’s eye staring down at him. He waved at this, a gesture which Michael caught out of the corner of his eye.

“Who are you—oh no.” Without warning Evan was hoisted into his arms. “Nope, you’re not interacting with them anytime soon. Let’s go.”

“But Mike, maybe they’re not as bad as you think!” Evan insisted, allowing himself to be handled with a pout. They both knew he could simply phase away if he got too annoyed, but for now he opted to being carried.

“Ha! Yeah, right.” Michael rolled his eyes, making his way towards the exit. As he passed by the ball pit he flashed the Marionette a smile, calling to her: “Bye, Puppet! I’m sure Charlie will come visit you later tonight!”

“Yeah—” Gregory agreed as Elizabeth caught up to the group. It seemed she overheard the conversation and came to put a stop to Ennard’s spying. She sent a jagged glare to the balcony and watched as the tethered robotic eye reeled itself in once it caught the sight of Elizabeth’s venomous stare. “—I think you’re forgetting how they totally saved our butts from Roxy, Mike.”

How could he forget that? Besides Monty actually getting his claws into Gregory’s back Roxy had been the closest to legitimately harming them. Were Ennard not waiting in the shadows, the wolf would have torn Gregory and Mike limb from limb. Ennard saved them without so much as a thank you needed.

Elizabeth on the other hand waved this off dismissively. She knew them—they were like her in many ways.

“That’s sweet, Gregory. Really,” she said, trying not to hurt his feelings as she actively disagreed with the boy. “But you don’t know them like we do. They’re a mess…” She wasn’t sure if she could even elaborate what that meant right then. “Look—I can’t hang around them. I was a bad person when I was with Ennard. I… Did things I don’t like thinking about. So it’s best if we just move on.”

Liz spared a look behind her. Ennard was standing in the archway of the balcony now, their stare fixated on the group as they headed for the exit. For a moment, Lizzie felt a twitch of empathy, though forced her sentimental limbs to keep herself moving. “Besides… They have friends here! They’re not alone.”

Gregory didn’t seem satisfied with this answer, judging by the way he twisted his mouth into a frown. Liz was a fairly closed-off person, and Gregory knew extracting more information about Ennard from either her or Mike would be like pulling teeth.

From over Mike’s shoulder, Evan performed a series of wild hand gestures that involved waving to get Gregory’s attention, pointing to himself, the little stage, and giving a thumbs-up. He was trying to let Gregory know that he knew some more things about Ennard that he could share, although whether this pantomime translated accurately he was unsure.

“Relax, will you?” Michael griped at all Evan’s shifting. Even so he released his brother when they reached the Daycare exit, allowing him to float over and take his place by Gregory’s side. “So… where to next? Gregory, you pick—you know what’s cool around here.”

Gregory may have seemed confused at first as Evan rejoined, though deciphered his little game of charades pretty quickly. He had known for a while now that Ennard was benign. Whatever weird things they’d been up to in the past were left in the dust.

“We could bowl! Or, we could visit Monty in the golf course!” Gregory suggested, but figured the guests they had should make the final decision. Looking to Liz, he flashed her a smile. “The bowling alley’s the place with the pizza slushee I was telling you about.”

Liz's pupils dilated as if she could imagine its taste, the anticipation giving her an adrenaline rush.

“What are we waiting for? Show us the slushees, Gregory!” she commanded, hooking her hand around his and pulling him to walk faster at her side. “Did you have one yet? Are they as amazing as they sound?”

Squished into her shoulder, Gregory laughed at how aggressive she became at the thought of food. It seemed that they had that in common, but he answered her truthfully. “The texture is so weird! But I think you'll like it, Lizzie...”

“Bonnie Bowl it is,” Michael laughed, ruffling Evan’s hair as he floated into step next to him.

It was a quick walk to Bonnie Bowl at Gregory and Lizzie’s pace, and soon the quartet were entering the brightly-lit attraction. The others were still there, though they’d moved to sit in some relatively more comfortable chairs around one of the party tables.

“Oh! Hello, everyone!” Freddy greeted, the first to catch sight of the Afton crew. He smiled brightly, gesturing for them to come over. “How has your exploring been? I thought you were going to call me when you were finished!”

“We’re not yet—this is just a pit stop to get some more of those gnarly slushees,” Michael informed him, using “gnarly” with the utmost affection.

Popping up from the seat in front of Freddy, Bonnie deeply inhaled a gasp at the sight of the kids. Oh dear; he’d been so wrapped up in conversation, the bunny forgot his primary objective: greet the guests who come into Bonnie Bowl!

“Howdy, kids! Welcome to Bonnie Bowl!” the chipper lagomorph greeted with a cheerful wave. He loved seeing new faces; Bonnie's favorite pastime was companion-creating when he wasn't showing off his skills at the bowling lanes. “Y'all said you wanted slushees? No problem-o!”

With Charlie busy teaching Sammy how not to completely suck at bowling, Bonnie was happy to go fetch the drinks from behind the concession counters.

“Where are you guys hanging out next?” he asked, keeping it light and friendly as he juggled a few cups out of their stands before activating the swirling slushee machine behind him.

“We're thinking Gator Golf. With Monty feeling better—” Gregory begun to say, only being interrupted by the reasonably excitable rabbit.

“HOLY SMOKES! Montgomery Gator's back in town? Shucks, I need to drop on in and see if he'll jam out with us!” Bonnie whipped around, slushees overflowing and spilling over onto his hands. “Freddy! You feel like gettin' a little band practice in?”

Evan couldn’t help but giggle at Bonnie’s excitable nature. This model was certainly a far cry from the rotting golden suit oozing with corruption from William’s evil deeds. By contrast, the Glamrock’s personality seemed more like the original—the one before William completely went mad. While Bonnie turned his attention to Freddy, Evan and Mike worked in tandem to slip the drinks out of the rabbit’s hands and wipe off the excess slush before it created a sticky film that wouldn’t do any favors for the articulated finger joints.

“Ah, well…,” Freddy began, trying not to let his face betray his hesitation. It wasn’t his best friend he was worried about, since Bonnie clearly had no memory of anything going down that fateful night in the golf course. Monty was the focus of Freddy’s concern, for even if the gator didn’t remember the event either, he at least knew what he’d done.

During one of their conversations, Freddy had been able to give Monty a high-level run-down of what happened with William and Vanny… including the fact that he’d been forced to decommission Bonnie. Monty was understandably distraught—he’d heard the whispered rumors between staff ever since he took his place as the band’s official bassist, although he couldn’t believe they were true. Monty was loud, sure, but he wasn’t violent—especially not to a fellow animatronic! He and Bonnie were friends, and when Freddy confirmed that he was in fact physically responsible for the bunny’s downfall, Monty needed some time to process. He’d returned to his usual self by now, though none of them expected Bonnie would be back from the animatronic graveyard for a visit so soon, if ever.

It was times like these Freddy really wished he still had his connection to the internal Pizzaplex network… Then he could at least give Monty a heads-up. For now, all he could do was smile at Bonnie and Evan’s expectant faces and give them a nod.

“Yes, we can certainly visit Monty,” Freddy said, placing a hand on Bonnie’s arm. “Although, he may not be up for band practice tonight. However, I am sure he would appreciate the company for a round of golf.”

Clenching his hands, Bonnie seemed to shake a little at the excitement of chilling with two of his best friends. Everyone else was stuck in the Parts & Services department. That was no fun, but Bonnie couldn't hang out with any of them until their maintenance was over.

Liz felt nostalgic when hearing the name Montgomery Gator—a guest character on the old Sunday morning cartoon her father and Henry used to act and write for. For some odd reason, William’s idea of an American accent was speaking in the richest southern twang he could muster. These voices accompanied by practiced banjo playing could be heard from the workshop whenever he and Henry were recording themselves and the instruments for the band. Monty wasn't a main character before, but Liz was happy that Sammy gave the old gator his time to shine.

“Evan—are you excited to play golf?” she asked, wanting to see if her brother was on the same level of hype as Bonnie and herself. With pizza slushee in hand, she was all pepped up and raring to go.

“Heck yeah!” Evan exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement like the rabbit.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Michael said, ushering the group forward with a light push to Gregory and Liz’s shoulders.

Freddy fell into step with Bonnie at the back of the line, waving to Charlie and Sammy as they left with the promise to meet up later. He and Bonnie walked and talked, still catching up on life and things the rabbit had missed out on—only the good things for now. The closer they got to Monty’s attraction the more nervous Freddy became, though he did his best not to show it.

Everything would be fine; he had to learn to stop fretting so much.

The kids entered Monty Golf, some in search of the character, the others ecstatic to play golf for the first time in ages. Bonnie grasped onto Freddy's upper arm, grinning like mad. Monty's attraction only seemed to grow in popularity since he’d been away. The renovations were obvious even from the outside of the. Bonnie wondered if that was why it took them so long to fix him—were there other plans Sam had in mind first?

This would be a question for the old CEO later; Bonnie had something more pressing for Freddy now.

“Buddy... Amigo... What's with the jitters?” he asked gently. Bonnie hoped that he wasn't putting his friend on the spot, but he could see through Freddy's calm and collected exterior with ease. It was the tense way he carried his shoulders. Bonnie’s coding made him blessed as a people-person and could see hesitancy from a mile away. “You nervous about all of us hanging out again? I can understand that... But I swear it's gonna be just like old times!”

“Ah, yes, I… I am just thinking that it is still a bit strange to spend time with you all in this form,” Freddy replied with an easy smile, skirting around the truth and trying to put the focus on himself more so than Monty. Goodness knows the gator was about to get the shock of his life…

Speaking of which—

“Hey, squirt!” The bellow was sudden and loud, quickly followed by an equally raucous laugh as Monty hopped out from around a corner. He’d spotted Gregory first, instantly honing in on the boy from his voice. Hands on his hips, the gator flashed the little gaggle of kids a wide grin.

“I wasn’t expectin’ a visit so soon!” he continued cheerfully, his tail swaying as he took stock of Lizzie and Evan. “But any friends of Fred and his lil’ guy are always welcome! And hey—y’all didn’t tell me Gregory had a twin!”

“Uh… um…” Evan suddenly wasn’t able to speak, staring up into the star-shaped glasses perched atop Monty’s snout. He seemed nice, but damn was this guy big.

“He’s a little shy,” Michael explained, picking Evan up to set the boy on his shoulders. The added height certainly helped, for Evan apparently also forgot he could float. Now that they were a bit more level, Evan offered Monty the smallest of smiles.

“H-Hey…,” he said in a tiny voice, coupled with a hesitant wave.

“Hey!” Monty laughed, throwing his head back and accidentally making the poor ghost jump and grip onto Michael’s hair like a lifeline. While Mike tried to dislodge his brother, Monty turned his attention to Liz. Crouching down, he hummed as he fixed his gaze on Elizabeth. “Hmm… Lemme guess: secret lil’ sister? Naw, wait—definitely older than those two guppies, right?”

He was a lot different than the old Monty in the cartoons, but he’d kept his easygoing personality, just with an upgraded look. Liz glanced up to the gator, stars in her eyes. Where Evan was predictably frightened, Liz was curious.

“Older, yes,” she confirmed, a shy smile tugging the corners of Elizabeth's mouth. “But I am their sister! I'm Elizabeth, and that's Evan!”

Outside the attraction it took a little confidence boosting from Bonnie to get Freddy to even consider going inside. Little did he know it was much more than that, it was stalling to prepare for what could be an inevitable breakdown between the three longtime friends... Once inside, Bonnie saw that Monty was turned around and speaking to the little girl.

Ooooh, this was going to be the perfect opportunity to get the drop on his pal.

The bunny was quietly sneaking. To anyone who saw him, Bonnie placed a finger over his snout, asking for their silence in exchange for the scare he was about to give to one of his favorite bandmates. Bonnie's arm wrapped over the front of Monty's chest, the other fist gently nuzzling the side of the Gator's head as Bonnie's “headlock” felt more like a backwards hug.

“Old top! It's sure wild to see you again! How's my rockin' Gator friend?” Bonnie questioned enthusiastically.

Monty’s reaction was the complete opposite of what one would expect. Instead of bursting into surprised laughter and immediately tackling Bonnie to the ground in a good ol’ fashioned wrestling match, the gator simply… froze.

“Ah, Bonnie wait—!” Freddy was far too late, his human legs no match for the rabbit’s long strides. He made it to the pair just as Monty was embraced, and he could see the gator‘s entire body instantly tense.

“Hey guys, how about we go start a game?” Michael suggested, figuring the trio of old friends needed to be alone for a moment. With Evan still on his shoulders and hands on his other siblings’ backs, he quickly ushered Gregory and Liz towards the check-in area where they could grab neon golf balls and clubs. “We’ll catch up with the others later!”

Freddy couldn’t even flash him a thankful smile, his focus completely on Monty. The gator wasn’t even simulating breathing now, truly looking like he’d shut down on the spot with every joint locked in place.

Except for his eyes, that is. Even behind the dark shades it was clear to see those red irises slowly shift to where Bonnie’s face rested on his shoulder. In a soft, almost whispered voice, Monty managed to squeak out: “Bonnie, you…. You’re back?”

“A'course I came back! Always do, chum,” Bonnie answered, laughing nervously. There was a light squeeze before Bonnie gave up on the ambush embrace he planned for his pal. Where Freddy and Bonnie reconnected so instantaneously, this felt stilted. Awkward.

Bonnie waited, watching as the kids reluctantly waved goodbye to start their game with their eldest chaperone. When they were out of sight beyond the ticket booth, Bonnie let go to fidget nervously with his hands. After clearing his throat, Bonnie had asked in a subdued voice: “What's wrong, sour-carrot? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

Maybe that was the wrong euphemism. Evan and Liz were wonderful kids despite their recently deceased status.

Monty didn’t answer for a moment, simply staring at Bonnie with an indecipherable, wide-eyed expression. Inside, his thoughts were a jumbled mess. The last time he’d encountered his old friend had ended with Bonnie in a broken heap on the golf course green, soon to be carted off by Vanny and used for William’s evil purposes.

Of course, Monty remembered none of this. All his information was provided secondhand by his former ursine band leader. Even so, he swore he could feel the remnants of purple outer suit casings in his sharp claws.

“Monty?” Freddy prompted when the gator failed to respond. Reaching up, he clasped one of Monty’s hands in-between his own, squeezing tightly. “Bonnie was recommissioned by Michael and Sammy yesterday. Unfortunately, he has lost a bit of time due to when the last copy of his AI was saved. I have been filling him in with all the good things he missed.”

Red eyes rolled to meet Freddy’s, trying to comprehend what he was saying. Bonnie… didn’t remember either? Not only that, but judging by the greeting Monty just received, the rabbit didn’t even know what happened.

“Heh… ‘s that so, Bon?” Monty asked. The guilt inside was intense, but he did his best to push past it. He certainly didn’t want to be the one to tell Bonnie what happened the last time he set his paws in Gator Golf. Monty slipped his claw out of Freddy’s grasp to clap it on Bonnie’s shoulder with a chuckle. “You sure picked a heckuva time to take a nap! Glad you’re back, though—once the others are up and runnin’, we can all golf together again. Then I can have a real challenge!”

There was a pause. Bonnie tried to shake the feeling of Monty being condescending—because that wasn't really what was going on. No, Monty was happy to see the old bassist back from the workshop, looking brand new and fresh-faced. Batting his eyes in confusion, Bonnie looked to the firm hand on him shoulder and let out a singular, dry chuckle. His hand came up, affectionately resting over Monty's gloved palm. Everything seemed fine until Bonnie asked them:

“Y’all must take me for such a silly rabbit, don't you?” Hurt and confusion laced his tone more than anything. His voice shuddered, as if he was afraid to rock the boat of their social hierarchy. “You're keeping secrets. I can tell you're hiding something...”

The grip tightened over Monty's hand, nearly uncomfortably so. Bonnie's large and expressive pink eyes blinked at him before looking away. After all this time, did they seriously not trust him with the truth? What did he have to do to prove that he was just as capable as the other bandmates?

“I see what's really going on here...,” Bonnie said with a hurt scoff. For a moment, he didn't quite sound himself. Then, the look of hurt banished itself and Bonnie glanced up to Monty with a wryness in his grin. “You're both planning a party without me, aren't you?”

For one heart-dropping second, Freddy thought they’d failed. Somehow William was still in there, lurking in secret for the best time to strike—

But upon Bonnie’s pure suggestion of a secret party, Freddy’s artificial heart instantly began to relax. This was Bonnie, his old friend. His best friend. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone a child.

“Oh, darn… you were always a good guesser, Bonnie,” Freddy replied with a laugh, a bright grin spreading across his face. Brush past the bad feelings and move onto the next good thing—that’s all they could do to go forward. He looked to Monty with a sigh. “It seems we still cannot keep anything from this silly old rabbit.”

“Sure can’t!” Monty agreed, just as eager as Freddy to move on. It’d take some time to get totally comfortable interacting with the former bassist again, but at least Monty now knew Bonnie didn’t hold anything against him. With a wide, sharp-toothed grin, he placed his hands on his hips and added: “But even if we were plannin’ somethin’, we can’t very well tell ya if it’s a surprise, can we?”

Bonnie’s hands flew up, touching his cheeks as he stared on with unbridled delight.

“A surprise party?!” he gasped, then quickly folded his hands over his mouth at the connotations. He’d have to be quiet if they didn’t want the kids to overhear. How exciting! Bonnie couldn’t remember the last time he’d thrown a surprise party! Why, it must have been ages… Turning to Monty, Bonnie raised and lowered his eyebrows in an attempt to be charismatic.

“So who’s getting the party? I think Freddy mentioned his little boy’s turning thirteen this month, right?” he replied in a whisper, nudging the gator softly with his elbow.

“Hmm… suppose we might as well let Bonnie in on the fun,” Freddy murmured with a sly grin, hooking an arm through his friend’s elbow. He repeated the amiable gesture with Monty, using the leverage of their arms to pull his friends into a conspiratorial huddle. “Yes, we are hosting a party for Gregory! It is in the very early planning stages, but we are going to throw him the best one he has ever had!”

It may be the only party Gregory’s ever gotten, for all Freddy knew. There would be many logistics to work out, and they’d definitely want to make sure his foster parents were off their backs before the event, but once all the animatronics were on board—not to mention any androids and ghosts they could rope in—it was sure to be a party like no other.

Monty seemed to echo most of these thoughts, his tail sweeping excitedly across the floor as he added in a low timbre: “Yeah, me an’ Fredbear are on the plannin’ committee! I can make an awesome party on my own, but with y’all helpin’ it’ll be the coolest one the Pizzaplex has ever seen!”

At the proclamation Monty slung an arm around Bonnie’s shoulders. The gesture was still hesitant, and clearly the gator wasn’t using his typical strength—he simply rested his arm around his friend, not daring to pull him close or even squeeze for fear of accidentally causing damage. Still, he was making progress already… slow and steady, but progress nonetheless.

Bonnie on the other hand squeezed himself in close; he really missed the guy. Ever since Samuel made Monty, Bonnie thought of himself like a mentor to the younger animatronic. He'd nod to them as he listened to the incredibly loose plan. Though Bonnie clearly had gears turning in his head.

“Gotta wait for the others to be back in the saddle,” he remarked, referring to their friends currently still in the shop. “Chica's the best with party planning. Besides we couldn't do this without Roxy or music from the DJ...”

When the children weren't here, he'd have to start conscripting the help of all their companions. After all, Gregory was a special guest. Surely Sam wouldn't mind if they go all out for their newest friend.

“We should see how the game is going,” Freddy suggested. “Perhaps we can join in—or at the very least, root for a winner.”

Bonnie perked up at that. It might ease things better for himself and Monty. The gator could just be stressed from his own recent repairs; being out of commission was no joke.

Not to mention the inexplicable nightmares Bonnie remembered getting while he was out.

He wondered why exactly Sam had programmed them to dream. It was an odd choice, but maybe it was to keep them stimulated mentally for the next time they woke up? Or perhaps it was likely just a result of being offline for so long. Bonnie would ask about this later, after he's done hanging out with his pals. For now he followed the former Glamrock leader, finding the group of kids bickering at someone cheating.

“Evan used his ghost powers to move it up the incline!” Liz huffed, a scrunched look on her face as Gregory shook his head.

“Maaaaybe you'd know real skill if you had any, Lizzie,” Gregory brushed off, making Elizabeth gasp at the accusation with her hand over her chest in a look of over exaggerated offense.

“There is no way that ball went all the way up that incline when hit from that angle,” Michael pressed, one hand on his hip while the other held a golf club loosely dangling from his fingertips. When he caught sight of the animatronics he perked up, waving the huge gator over. “Perfect timing! Monty, we need a judgment call!”

“My spec-i-a-lity!” Monty replied with a grin, dragging the word out in his languid drawl. He moved around to stand at the beginning of the putting green, analyzing the situation. “Alright, what’s up? I heard somethin’ about cheatin’?”

“Lizzie and Mike think I can’t hit the ball from here up over the hill!” Evan said, an annoyed pout on his face as he pointed out areas of interest.

“Not without using your powers,” Michael clarified, sounding a bit haughty. He just knew he and Liz were right about this. “That’s the important bit.”

“Powers, huh?” Monty hummed, scratching his chin. “Well, I don’t know nothin’ about that, but it’d be pretty hard for a squirt like you to smack the ball outta the park from that angle…”

Evan let out a shocked gasp not unlike Lizzie had, while Michael cheered and gave his sister a high-five. The little ghost huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Okay, so maybe he had nudged the ball just a tiiiny bit to make it crest the hill—but the others weren’t supposed to know that.

Gregory gave up a similar pout when Liz stuck her tongue out at the duo. Elizabeth was wise to Evan's tricks. Cassidy's own moral greyness rubbed off on him throughout the years, and Liz could see him being obvious when messing with their environment.

“There's no need for cheatin',” Bonnie reminded the group, laidback and casually leaning his elbow on Freddy's shoulder as he told the kids “As long as you have fun, the score doesn't matter!”

Which was easy for Bonnie to say. When he and the others got into bowling matches then it was a different story. It's about principal and having a reputation to uphold then...

“Fine. Call the score then!” Gregory said, replacing the flag back at the 8th hole. He casually held out the special glowing golf ball to Evan and keeping his own back in his palm.

Grumbling slightly, Evan took the ball from Gregory and placed it in the tee-off zone. Picking up his club from where it’d been discarded on the ground, he lined up his shot and smacked the ball as hard as he could. This time, it sailed right over the hill!

…And well past it, too. There was a collective groan from the twins as the ball plopped into the ball pit “river” with a light smack. Monty laughed heartily at this, going so far as to pat Evan on the back with enough force that he pitched forward slightly in mid-air.

“See?! Ya don’t need to cheat to hit the ball hard enough!” the gator pointed out with a grin. “You’ve just gotta get riled up! A kid after my own heart…”

He pressed a claw to his chest, and Evan chuckled at the gesture. Monty was definitely growing on him, that was clear to see. The gator’s tail swept the floor and playfully smacked Gregory’s ankles as he gestured for the boys to follow him over to the faux rainbow water. “C’mon—I’ll help ya look for your ball so you can beat those sore losers fair and square!”

With a short spin of her putter, Liz wacked her ball in hopes of sending it as true as Evan had previously. Her pure skill managed to send it just short of the hole.

“My money’s on the little pink spit-fire,” Bonnie whispered as not to discourage the other children as they played.

Freddy hummed, tracking the ball’s movement with an approving nod.

“I would default to Gregory as my top choice, although Liz certainly provides some fierce competition,” he added, leaning into Bonnie conspiratorially. “They have Michael beat for sure.”

“Hey! I can hear you, Freddy!” Mike snapped, although based on Freddy’s grin he was well aware of that fact.

“Michael—” spoke the rabbit with a thumbs up. “—I believe in ya, sport!”

He may not know the kid well, though there was a strange urge to give him encouragement more so than usual. It didn't exactly seem out of the ordinary at the time, which led Bonnie to lean into the idea.

“Alright!” Monty exclaimed, walking back to the group with a huge grin and a twin clutched in each claw. They hung by their ankles, looking quite content and laughing as they swung to and fro. “I caught the missin’ ball and two lil’ squirts! Had to get ‘em outta my river ‘fore they get feisty and start goin’ after guests, y’know?”

“Montgomery, please put Gregory down…,” Freddy chided with fond exasperation, though his glare sharpened as Monty only lifted them higher in response.

“Heck naw! Look at ‘em—they’re havin’ the time off their lives! Right?!”

Evan could only manage a thumbs-up between gasping breaths and laughter, enjoying this predicament wholeheartedly. Now that the animatronics couldn’t hurt him, they were actually super fun—even the biggest, scariest ones.

Freddy sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Monty loved to roughhouse, and coupled with Gregory’s new immortality the boy should be fine, but Freddy couldn’t help but worry.

“See, Bon? I can’t do nothin’ fun without Fredbear on my back!” Monty griped, then let out a dramatic sigh as he looked between the boys, obviously plotting his next move.

“Shucks Monty, it's a good thing I got back when I did. Ol' Fredbear needs to wind down a bit,” Bonnie remarked, indicating that his friend was worrying far too much around the safest robots ever designed.

“Sure does—here, catch!” With an absolutely wicked grin, Monty chucked Gregory up and forward, sending the boy cartwheeling through the air to land right in Freddy’s waiting arms that reached up to frantically snag his son. Monty had no doubt Freddy would make the catch, his AI having calculated the perfect trajectory and his simple trust in the bear making up the rest.

“Montgomery Gator!” Freddy snapped in a tone that said, you’re lucky I’m not going to decommission you for that. Monty threw back his head in a raucous laugh, though before he could try the same with Evan the boy popped out of existence to plant himself atop Monty’s shoulders.

“Wha—yer fast, little guy!” the gator exclaimed, feeling the sudden lightweight of a child sitting on him, small hands gripping his mohawk to steady himself.

Gregory was still laughing. Gone were the days of apprehension with Monty; the giant alligator had made a friend for life now.

“Sorry, Dad! I’m fine, though; seriously!” he reassured. It wasn't long before Gregory settled comfortably in Freddy's arms, the giggles from his sugar rush coming to a slow end as he admired the speed and mastery Evan was gaining over his ghostly powers.

He felt proud when watching him have fun. From what Evan told him, neither he nor Liz have had any fun for a really long time. Gregory was glad in that moment; all of the terrible things that'd happened to them led to this single, unpredictable and strange time to be in. For the first time he could remember, Gregory felt like he was in a big family without being completely forgotten about.

Despite how the gator could vex him, Freddy couldn’t stay mad at Monty for long. Within seconds his glare had softened to an affectionate smile, letting Gregory rest on his chest as he practically felt the boy’s energy leave his body.

“Perhaps we can postpone the rest of the game for today,” Freddy suggested gently, brushing Gregory’s bangs out of his face.

“Aww, leavin’ already?!” Monty lamented, looking upside-down at Evan who shrugged in response.

“Mm, yeah we should check in with Sam and Charlie,” Michael said, glancing at the time on his phone. They still had a few hours before dayshift, but there were some things they wanted to get done and discuss before leaving for the day.

“Alriiiight… well like I said, y’all are welcome anytime!” Monty reached up to pluck the little ghost off his shoulders with careful claws, setting him on the ground next to Liz. He crouched down, tail swiping lazily across the ground as he told Evan: “And next time, I’m definitely havin’ you and Gregory on my team!”

Sleepy and calm, Gregory held a single fist up in solidarity as he yawned out, “Dreeeam teeeam...,” before his sudden narcoleptic attack brought him to gently lower the fist back onto his chest.

Liz seemed sad that they couldn't finish their game—especially when she and Michael were clearly going to kick the butts of the twins.

“Right—” Liz said, pointing over at their newest animatronic friend. “—if you're ready to lose at your own game, so be it.”

This wasn't over, and she was hoping Monty would bring the same energy back to their new game when next they met. Though for now she was content to wiggle her hand into both of her brother’s palms and grasp onto them for safe keeping.

“Those are fightin’ words, little lady…,” Monty warned, his tail moving faster with the prospect of a challenge. As he stood to full height he offered her his most playful, sharp-toothed grin. “You’re on.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself, gator,” Michael said in Lizzie’s defense, gripping her palm tightly as he made an “I’m watching you” gesture with his free hand.

“Come on, let us go; if you keep making Monty pontificate, we will be here for hours,” Freddy said with a chuckle, holding a fist up for his animatronic friend to bump. “I will speak with you again soon.”

“I’m waitin’ with baited breath,” Monty replied, rolling his eyes but returning the first bump all the same. He then looked to Bonnie, his expression faltering back to one of poorly-hidden guilt. “I’ll see ya around, Bon. I missed ya—I really did.”

Bonnie seemed to beam at that. It helped eased the weird anxiousness he felt earlier when hanging around Monty. After opening his arms and dramatically pulling the gator in close, he'd tell him, “Dang, we'll have to hang out for a little bowling later! Just you an' me, ol' friend.”

Maybe he could find out what's got his friend so down in the dumps while they were at it. It seemed Monty was content to hang by himself now for the time being, and Bonnie felt it fine to give him the space. He let go as soon as he attacked Monty with the nearly crushing hug, and waved his friend goodbye. Away they went, leading out of the ambient themed lighting of Monty's world to that of the main atrium. Its neon haze did not disguise the fact that morning light was beginning to break through the scattered skylights throughout the Pizzaplex ceilings.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Bonnie’s approach was lackadaisical, strolling casually beside Freddy as he watched the kid doze off completely. The sugar and adrenaline crash hit Gregory hard, and by the time they piled into the elevator for the attraction the boy was practically asleep in Freddy's arms. Curiously, Bonnie reached out and brushed the shaggy hair away from Gregory’s face, asking Freddy when out of earshot from the others: “So… since when did you want to be a Papa Bear, ol’ sport?”

The rabbit was still somewhat confused by the whole thing. Their AIs desired the safety and protection of all kids, this was true—but Freddy became so devoted to this sole child so fast…

“Oh… it was a rather sudden decision,” Freddy murmured, his gaze moving slowly between Gregory and his old companion. Taking a seat at a table near the lanes, Freddy patted the empty chair by his side with a soft smile. “You and I need to have a long conversation about what you missed, old friend. But for now I will say that it was a combination of many factors that led to the situation Gregory and I are in now. He is such a brave boy and helped with things you cannot even fathom at the moment.”

As he explained, Freddy absently ran his fingers through Gregory’s hair. “Michael influenced my decision greatly. He and I were, ah… bonded, for lack of a better term, and his humanity rubbed off on me—which only heightened my desire to protect and care for Gregory.”

Looking up at Bonnie’s absolutely confused gaze with a measured one of his own, Freddy could see him desperately trying to understand. He didn’t like keeping his friend in the dark, but he also didn’t want to overload his circuits. Still, he could at least give him something to dwell on before they got to talk one on one.

“You have seen and accepted that Evan is a ghost. This may or may not come as a surprise, but so are Michael and Charlie. However, before they got these android bodies they needed other vessels, and Michael happened to pick mine. It is a wonder what a human soul can do to a simple piece of coding.”

Bonnie sat and listened, absorbing the words Freddy told him. He wished to understand how people had souls that could imprint their marks into machines and computers... Was Freddy different now?

Bonnie seemed off-put for a mere second before dismissing the thought entirely, his bunny nose twitching. Freddy was the same as before. But what he felt was real.

“A human soul really made you feel this way?” the rabbit asked tentatively, eyebrows scrunched. It was an incredible thing to come to understand. “When did you realize? Y’know, that you felt human?”

“When did I know?” Freddy hummed, tilting his head. “Hmm... that is a good question. I suppose it was more of a feeling than an exact moment. The night I met those three, there came a time when Gregory and I were in a bit of distress.”

Freddy grimaced slightly at the memory of Monty chasing them on the catwalks. It was a far cry from the friendly gator they'd just encountered in the golf course not thirty minutes before. “Of course my goal was to protect the child, but when I saw Gregory in such a dire situation something in me just... snapped. I realized that this urge to protect far exceeded anything my programming would allow, and I was thinking with my heart instead of my head.”

The redhead smiled down at the boy in his lap. “It was not long after we were safely out of that situation that Gregory first called me 'dad,' and then I could deny it no longer: I felt things—emotions. True emotions. I wanted to care for him and keep him safe, and I wanted to do the same for Michael and Charlie. I felt happy at the thought of protecting them, thinking of how wonderful things would be when set to rights again. After that it was simply a matter of timing and fate as to how I ended up in this body, holding Gregory as I am now.”

Bonnie listened, the look on his face uncharacteristically stoic and unanimated as he absorbed the meaning of what Freddy was talking about. He clenched and unclenched his hand against his bowling shirt. A brief flash of thought crossed his mind; a vague question of, ‘Can I feel things?’ as he watched the small family by the bowling lanes begin to wrestle. He didn’t quite feel all the emotions that Freddy described to him when watching the kids, though Bonnie felt himself becoming closer—but that could be chalked up to simple prolonged exposure.

That didn’t explain the weird stints of unmistakable jealousy he felt when others appeared to be getting along better with Freddy than him, though. He wasn’t programmed for jealousy; the emotion was ugly and unnecessary for entertaining robots.

“A human soul…,” Bonnie repeated wistfully. He looked on as Liz practically tackled both Charlie and Michael to retrieve her brother from their clutches. He chuckled at this display and unhealthily pushed down the false 'emotions,' ignoring them and hoping they would simply scatter with time. Still, it begged Bonnie to ask curiously: “Do you ever feel… bad?”

Freddy’s gaze sharpened, locked onto his old friend’s face as if searching for something. After a moment Freddy let out a small sigh.

“Yes,” he admitted softly. “I feel bad things, too. That is the trouble with these silly emotions—the good ones are amazing, but you must also contend with the negative ones. I have felt anger before—a white-hot, burning thing that I previously could not even comprehend. I have felt scared, annoyed, and anxious, among many other things.

“But regardless of how these emotions might make me feel about others, you are still my dearest friend,” Freddy reassured with his signature grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes. After a moment’s pause, Freddy’s brow furrowed slightly, a knowing light in his bright eyes. “I have been meaning to ask: how are you feeling, Bon? Besides what your internal diagnostics tell you, that is. Or, I suppose I should say—can you give me an answer to that question right now? It is perfectly alright if not, I am simply… curious.”

How did he feel? Well, besides from the sudden tight—grateful?—wave of emotion he got from Freddy's assurance, he was feeling strangely. Could Freddy tell there was something wrong with him? Bonnie could sense something wrong. Yet with every background diagnostic test he ran that turned up negative, he wondered if it was all in his head.

“I’m… weird, Fredbear,” Bonnie answered, glancing to others to see they’d moved down the lanes to be fully in the company of the Emilys. “I've been running diagnostics for two days and found nothing wrong. But I swear I feel things, too... Things never in my programming. Not like you, though; you get all the nice things. The best thing my database can liken these to are… self-doubt and jealousy.”

When his eyes shifted back to see a worried expression on Freddy’s face, Bonnie elaborated with wide eyes. “I'm fine! Really, I know these are just programming bugs. Something I'll have to tell Boss-man about later. I'll be alright, Fred.”

Maybe Michael’s soul did something while he was working on his decommissioned body? Though Freddy said they had to be bonded, whatever that means, for those emotions to imprint upon him.

For just a second, Freddy’s worry slipped into an ache of sympathetic hurt. He’d been lucky—Michael was a good soul, and therefore had seemed to transfer mostly positive emotions. It wasn’t that Freddy couldn’t feel jealousy or self-doubt too, and Michael’s anxiety certainly seemed to take a toll on Freddy’s already amped-up concern for others. But the boy was nothing compared to his father. Who knew what sort of influence William’s soul would have on an animatronic, even as sweet a character as Bonnie?

Freddy didn’t doubt they could work through anything in time, but he hated to see his friend grapple with such confusion.

“There is nothing wrong with you, Bonnie,” Freddy said once he’d composed himself, his face once again a mask of serene calm. His voice was low and soothing, coupled with a tight squeeze of the rabbit’s paw. “And I am certain you will be just fine. Tomorrow, you and I are going to have a long chat about what happened while you were out of commission—just the two of us. Hopefully things will start to make more sense afterwards, but until then please try not to worry so much. Fretting about things is my job.”

The ursine man finally cracked a grin, slipping his hand out of Bonnie’s to lightly push the rabbit’s shoulder.

“Just what do you have to be jealous about anyway? The new friends I have met are wonderful, but they are no comparison to my best friend of unquantifiable years.” A light chuckle escaped his lips. “I came running straight to you when I heard you were back online, you know.”

Bonnie couldn’t help but laugh as he shrugged off Freddy’s playful shove. “You came runnin' huh? Aw, shucks.”

It was less of a way to tease his friend and more of a reassurance that Freddy didn't forget about him. No one did. Everyone still loved him and people were probably hoping one day for his joyous return back to the Glamrock crew.

“Yeah, that sounds so silly when you put it that way... And you know what? I should be happy Monty's got a whole big attraction for himself now! He deserves it for how hard he works,” Bonnie said, the dopey, sweet bunny returning the more he worked through those negative emotions. It wasn't long before he gently rested the side of his head on the top of Freddy's own. “Thanks for listenin,' Fredbear.”

“Anytime,” Freddy promised, chuckling as Bonnie aggressively nuzzled their heads together. Seconds after the pair sat up straight Michael appeared, huffing as he pulled out a chair across the table from them. With a raised eyebrow, Freddy asked: “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Mike replied, a grin twitching up the corner of his mouth despite his attempt to keep an exasperated expression. “They’re all ganging up against me, so I left them to their own devices; hopefully they’ll harass Sammy instead.”

“I see; how gracious of you,” Freddy commented, clear sarcasm in his voice. Michael flashed a real grin and leaned his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his palms.

“Thank you! How’s Gregory? He looks totally passed out.”

“He is alright. You know how erratic his sleep schedule is—he probably just had a bit too much excitement at once,” Freddy said, running a hand through Gregory’s hair once more.

“We really need to fix that…” Michael grimaced briefly, then let out a snort. “He looks so calm and peaceful when he’s asleep; not like a little terror at all. Don’t you think, Bonnie?” Pale blue eyes flickered to the rabbit’s, showing he hadn’t been forgotten about.

Gregory's chest rose and fell deeply as they spoke. The kid was in such a deep state of sleep that a thing line of drool began to seep from the corner of his mouth. It was adorable—though worrisome that his schedule had been interrupted so frequently. It seemed the only time he could truly rest was when he completely ran out of energy, his mutated stamina still no match for the very nature of exhaustion.

“You kiddin' me? Look—that kid's plotting our destruction as we speak,” Bonnie replied, pointing down at Gregory with a rounded purple finger. “I think we may be dealing with some form of criminal mastermind here...”

“Mm, good point,” Michael conceded, narrowing his eyes and staring hard at the sleeping boy. His pensive expression only cracked when Freddy noticed the drool and wiped it away with his sleeve and a soft click of his tongue.

“Oh, hush you two,” Freddy chuckled, looking between the pair with a grin. He was so happy to see Michael and Bonnie getting along it was infectious. Tilting his head in question, Freddy asked: “What time is it, Michael? I feel as though we may need to leave soon…”

“You’ve got a phone now, you know,” Mike said, though he didn’t hesitate to take his out and check the display. “Yeah, I think I should take Liz and Evan back down to Henry so we can head out.” He stood, stretching out his arms before glancing at Freddy with a slight frown. “Oh damn; we didn’t get to talk about Gregory’s situation.”

“Hmm.” Freddy glanced down at his son, then let out a small sigh. “As much as I hate to disturb him either, this is an important topic. How about I come with you?”

“Sounds good,” Michael agreed, then stepped over to Bonnie and clapped the rabbit on the shoulder. “It’s good to finally hang out with you, Bon; we’ll touch base again when I come back for my next shift, okay?”

Excitedly, Bonnie curled his paws into fists and held them by his chest as he looked to Michael.

“It's going to be so fun workin' with ya!” he predicted.

When the end of the week was up and the Pizzaplex returned to normalcy after a period of strangeness, it was be obvious his new coworkers would provide some much missed fun to Bonnie Bowl. Upon looking over to said ghost children, it seemed they’d overpowered the Emilys, with both Charlie and Sam being bullied by the two after Sammy dared to call them runts. Liz was still too fast for them and had Sam's arm in a lock behind his back.

“Lizzie! Lizzie, come on! Sam is actually old! You can't rough him up like that!” Charlie attempted to separate them with much difficulty.

Sam shot her a glare, griping to his sister with a bellow: “I am not old! I'm middle-aged at most, but I don't look it!”

“No—” Charlie answered, trying to hide her laugh as she told her twin. “—it’s worse: you just look like Dad...”

“What?!” Samuel shouted, causing Liz to let go as he nearly tumbled into Charlie and Evan.

Michel had moved to the other group for damage control, snagging the Aftons by their shirt collars before they could launch another attack. With a raised eyebrow he asked Sam: “They giving you trouble?”

“Nooooo!” Evan insisted, wriggling in his brother’s grip. He knew full well Michael sent them after Sammy intentionally, but before he could call his brother out Mike went on.

“Uh-huh. Well, Sam, you’re about to be saved—time to go back to Uncle Henry.” Michael released his siblings, then jerked a thumb over his shoulder to where Freddy and Bonnie were saying their goodbyes. “Freddy and Gregory are coming with us to see you off. You want to join, Charlie?” His gaze flickered to Sam with a wry grin. “You’re welcome to come too—if you can handle it, grandpa.”

Completely unaware that Michael had been the one to set the dogs of war loose upon him, Sam looked to his good friend with gratitude. He wasn’t the same relatively meek and stoic kid he had forced himself to grow into. Being with Michael and the others reminded him of what a hell-raiser he used to be with the others.

“Again with the old man crap—” Sam tutted, cracking the aching knuckles on his hands as he rejoined the group. “—aren’t you a month older than me?”

“He's right, Mikey,” Charlie pointed out, willing to stop picking on her biological brother to turn the tide on her best friend. “You are the oldest, technically.”

Michael narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared between the Emilys. “Oh sure, rub it in on me, why don’t you?”

“I mean, you are suuuuper old,” Evan added with a sh*t-eating grin, not unlike his big brother’s. “Like… ancient!”

“Okay, okay, chill out!” Michael snipped, shoving Evan unsteadily off his feet… though he did feel a minor swell of pride at his little brother’s sass. “You’re only a few years younger than me, damn.”

“Come on, everyone!” Freddy called as he walked over, now with his other arm wrapped around Gregory. “Let us get going before Henry starts to worry.”

“Honestly Sammy, you should take a rest,” Michael said, his tone softening as he amiably patted his back, though his lips were still quirked up in a smirk. “Anyone needs to recover after dealing with the Aftons all day.”

This was what made all the jeers and jokes worth it, knowing his friends really did have his best interests at heart. Sam scratched at his growing beard and reasoned silently about getting a few hours of sleep in his office before the dayshift showed up. If Samuel could see himself now, he might ask his own reflection who the old insomniac was and what they were doing inside his Mall...

“Heh—” Sam laughed, fixing his glasses as if hiding the heavy bags there. “—alright, I could squeeze in a few hours of rest. Then it's back to work.” Sam quick leaned on Michael, giving him a rough hug to communicate his thanks where words wouldn't suffice.

“Make sure Charlie doesn't pick her nose too much while I'm gone,” he asked of Mike, earning a slap on the shoulder from his sister. She gasped at the accusation while Lizzie just raised her finger to laugh at the group.

“Ew, Charlie you don't still pick your nose, do you?” Liz managed to ask through her giggles, which led to Charlie shaking Liz by her shoulders.

“I never did! He's a dirty fibber!” she asserted, throwing a glare Sam’s way.

“Oh no, she totally does—eeevery day,” Michael added, then turned fast on his heel and dashed towards the exit with Charlie in hot pursuit.

“Goodness…,” Freddy chuckled, shaking his head at their antics. He looked to Sam, offering him a smile. “I hope you get a solid nap in, Sam—and thank you again for these!” A pat of his pants pocket indicated the slim outline of his phone. “We will be sure to stay in touch.”

“Bye, Sammy!” Evan piped up, giving his old friend a quick hug on his leg before pulling Lizzie after Charlie and Michael. Freddy lifted Gregory’s rag doll-like hand in a little wave to the CEO then followed after the young Aftons, flashing Bonnie another gleaming smile as they piled into the elevator.

Samuel would retire to his office, heading off after parting ways with Bonnie—though that rabbit was no longer content to stay in Bonnie Bowl either. Without a guard to tell him otherwise, the distracted bunny would travel aimlessly through the Pizzaplex as he used to.

Upon arriving in the basem*nt, it seemed the other children had been running around and leaving their mark while Henry worked tirelessly. Scorched items from the old dinner had made their way around the hidden workshop. Torn, half-melted plushies and collectors’ items were scattered haphazardly with evidence of being abandoned after the ghosts grew bored of their novelty. As soon as they crossed the door, Charlie was quick to ambush her hardworking father with a bear hug.

“Dad! Whatcha working on?” she interrogated.

“AH!” Henry was so focused on the schematics he was working on he hadn’t heard his daughter’s stealthy approach. He would’ve jumped a few feet in the air if her firm grip hadn’t cinched him in place. “Christ! I oughta put a bell on you guys!” He chuckled, giving Charlie a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hey, Uncle Henry!” Michael greeted with a wave. As he stepped up to the Emilys, Henry was quick to shuffle a few papers around, causing Mike to raise an eyebrow. “What are you working on?”

“Oh, I’m thinking of repurposing some earlier drafts of your androids so others can have bodies, too,” Henry explained, wrapping his arm around Charlie’s waist. He grinned, swinging Charlie around to show her the workbench of papers. “You’re going to like this one—take a guess who it’s for.”

The schematic on top showed two images side by side: one of the generic inner workings of an android, and the other a distinctive “outer casing” that showed a sketched overview of what it would look like. The body was short and lanky with a bob of wavy black hair. Upon closer inspection the face seemed to take inspiration from Charlie’s, sharing almost all the same features except for the eyes being a smidge larger for even more expressive capabilities.

Charlie speculated for a bit. The design for the animatronic looked so darn familiar. She co*cked her head to the side as she let go of her father in contemplation before grasping Mike’s shoulder and shaking him with a gasp. “Look! It's the Marionette! Doesn't she look good?”

The design Henry gave her was so cutesy. With Henry's plans to retrofit the old AIs into newer bodies, she marveled at the possibilities. Would the public need to know that she was just a robot? Did it matter? After all, Puppet could probably pass for a college girl starting her first internship were she to hang around the Pizzaplex.

“Dad, your genius is showing,” Charlie warned him in a joking manner, soaking in the blueprints and designs for her longtime animatronic friend.

“Is it?” Henry said with a slightly embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Really, making another android isn’t going to be too hard—it’s really just a matter of retrofitting a model you’re not using, finessing the outer casing, then uploading the AI. Although, Freddy already proved that was a big success!”

“Puppet is going to love this,” Freddy praised, peering down at the drawing as well. Gregory was sure to get a kick out of this, and seeing as they needed to wake him up anyway Freddy reasoned this was the perfect opportunity. He gave the boy a light squeeze, speaking softly. “Wake up, superstar; we have something exciting to show you!”

With every step and jostle, Gregory didn't move an inch on his own. It was oddly adorable that Gregory only stirred at the sound of Freddy gently beckoning him back to the waking world. The little man rubbed his eyes, groaning that he’d fallen asleep so easily when he tried to fight it so badly. Barely remembering the last half an hour of their fun in the Pizzaplex, Gregory smacked the drool from his lips with a grumpy look on his face.

“Huh? Wuzzat?” he muttered, glowing eyes blinking unfocused at the plans on the desk.

Charlie offered a smile, speaking a little louder to try and wake the boy further. “It's going to be Marionette's new model! She'll be able to talk to us now. Isn't that cool, Gregory?”

Charlie burned to know what he thought. Even though she technically designed the first Puppet, she felt bad with how many kids were scared off by one of her best friends. Hopefully this design didn't freak Gregory out too badly—ironically, she noticed how stand-offish he became around humans.

Tilting his head to the side, Gregory scanned the blue paper and accidentally murmured out loud: “It's Charlie, but cuter—”

Which Charlie was quick to react to. She pinched his cheek and shook his face, thoroughly waking him up now as she asked: “What?! What's that supposed to mean, you little twerp—”

Michael snorted, quick to snatch Gregory out of Freddy’s arms and save him from Charlie’s attack. Setting him down and taking on the role of human shield, Mike held out a palm for Gregory to high-five behind his back. “Nice one.”

“I’m glad she has your approval,” Henry said, crossing his arms and leaning casually against the workbench while he watched the interaction with a grin. “I haven’t even showed Mari yet, so you guys were the first opinions I got!”

“Mari?” Michael quirked up an eyebrow, and Henry nodded.

“Mm-hmm; I tried out the nickname last time she was down here and she seemed to like it—I thought it would suit the new look.”

Michael looked at the drawing again, then gave his own nod of approval. “Yeah, it does! She’s going to be really happy, Henry.”

Gregory snickered, sticking his tongue out at Charlie as his brother stepped in to save him from her onslaught. He peeked around Michael's back to glance back at the blueprint. “She was just supposed to be a security robot, right?”

Gregory was heavily attached to the Puppet. She and Charlie had protected him more than a few times. Though he always wondered if it was Charlie's selfless attitude that rubbed off on Mari, or if it was the never-ending protocol of a robot's design that kept them fervently fighting for him when they were bonded... Now, Gregory and the rest could finally pick her brain.

“Oh, she was the best!” Charlie answered for her father. Beaming at her one and only creation and contribution to the Fazbear Family line, she reminisced on the fun they had together. “I don't care if the other kids thought she was creepy! She kept the diner pretty safe. She could play a music box and give out prizes, and she was the first model that could think and react.”

Charlie was attached to the toy in more ways than one. It had become her comfort friend after Evan's passing. Those few months shutting everyone out and just hanging out with the Marionette had turned out to do her more harm than good in the end...

“That she was,” Henry confirmed, patting Charlie’s shoulder. “I think she turned out pretty damn well, all things considered. Oh, oops—pretend I didn’t curse, kiddo.” He flashed a grin at Gregory. “Next time Mari comes down here, I’ll get her approval. Then it’s just a few minor tweaks and we can start working! I’d love for you to help, Mike.”

“Of course!” Michael readily agreed, more surprised his uncle would consider the possibility of him not assisting with something like this. “Gregory can help with the transfer part, too—we’ve got to keep those skills up!”

Freddy listened to the conversation with a smile, glad to see Gregory included. He knew his son would jump at the chance to give more of his robot friends a body just like he’d done for Freddy.

Right—my son.

A slight frown crossed Freddy’s face as he recalled the looming topic at hand. Upon a lull in the conversation, the redhead cleared his throat. “There is another topic we need to discuss tonight before we leave. It involves the children, although I think Henry should be made aware of it as well. Superstar, can you please grab your friends and bring them over?”

Michael ran another hand through Gregory’s hair, though this touch was much softer and soothing. He’d seen the boy tense up at the mention of the pressing topic that, frankly, scared his entire family more than Gregory realized.

For all that Gregory had been preparing for, he felt a self-doubt for one single moment. That was before he felt Michael’s encouraging hand brush through his hair. The look he had been given by his family had bolstered his courage and Gregory gave them a silent but strong nod before running off into the darkness.

“I’ll be right back!” he promised, knowing he could find them even in the blackest shadows.

As his body and mind went through changes, Gregory knew he wasn’t normal anymore. His enhanced eyesight made it easier for him to make out shapes and faces in the dark. It was in one such corner where he found the majority of his spirit friends had gathered. They were hanging around outside the employee entrance in the back of the burned diner.

“Look who finally decided to wake up!” shouted a cheeky Elizabeth, nudging both Evan and Cassidy who resided on either side of her. It only mildly interrupted their game of pretend with the plushies where it looked as if the all the Fazbear characters they gathered had ganged up on the bunny in the middle…

“It’s about time!” Cassidy jeered, looking at Gregory with a short-lived sneer. “We need someone to play Bonnie. Wanna join?”

Gregory spared a laugh at the odd session of pretend. “Hard pass—I actually came to ask you all a favor. Where’s the others?” He stepped closer, looking around for Hannah and the other ghosts he was told had found their ways into their little group.

“Inside; gimme a sec!” Evan volunteered, hopping to his feet and running to the back door. Instead of actually opening it he simply stuck his head through the metal, calling out: “Hey, guys! Gregory’s here!”

Hannah was the first to emerge from the diner, phasing through the door and looking around. Spotting Gregory, her face lit up in a huge grin and she walked over to give him a quick hug. “Hi! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Hannah—” he said, feeling an involuntary and goofy grin pull at his lips while trying to explain himself. “—I wanted to see you sooner. We had a lot of stuff to do and I couldn’t find you.”

That was when he caught Cassidy whispering into Evan’s ear. Paranoia briefly took hold of him, wondering if his friends could see what Gregory felt was obvious to everyone. But it was really just the old ghost warning Evan about the twins coming by to hoist Gregory from the ground by each arm.

“Hey, Smith, you forgot about us, too!” Quinn gripped, taking an index finger soaked in an odd ectoplasm from being in his mouth and shoving it roughly into Gregory’s ear canal—thoroughly embarrassing him as Gregory attempted to shake from their grasp.

“GROSS! sh*t—I’m sorry guys! Kn-Knock it off!” the smaller boy griped, flailing harder with no avail as his face turned a bright red from the shame of still being bullied by the neighborhood goons.

“Stop that!” Hannah snapped, raising both hands and giving the twins an identical smack to the backs of their heads. “It’s not Gregory’s fault any of this happened—it was those psycho bunny furries. We’ve been over this, morons.”

Evan stood between Lizzie and Cassidy, wringing his hands nervously. He liked Hannah—she was sweet and friendly and in a vague sort of way reminded him of how Charlie was in their youth while they were all still alive.

Cain and Quinn, though? They made him anxious. While Hannah reminded him of his kind friend, the boys reminded him of his brother in the prime of his tormenting phase. The twins had quickly been curbed of any real desire to harass Evan after their first “prank” ended up with the boy nearly hyperventilating on the floor, crying as Cassidy lost her absolute mind. She’d only been prevented from beating the ever-loving sh*t out of them by Hannah and Liz literally holding her back—although they did allow her one solid punch each for them to really learn their lesson. Since then Cain and Quinn were wary of the company Evan kept, and while they didn’t actively go out of their way to avoid him they definitely made a point to only play nice lest his guard-friend attacked again… or worse, they somehow incurred his siblings'wrath.

“OW! Hannah, don’t hit so hard!” shouted Cain, rubbing the back of his head. Neither experienced pain after their deaths, unless it was a corrective smack from one of the other ghosts. As Gregory was dropped to his feet, he furiously rubbed the gross goop leaking from his ear.

“Serves you jerks right! I didn’t even do this to you…” He huffed, cursing himself mentally. They’d never help if he kept insulting them. With a grateful glance sent towards Hannah, Gregory’s head whipped around to hear Lizzie speak up.

“Guys—Gregory was about to ask us something,” she reminded the group, curiously invested in whatever adventure the kid had in store now. He thanked Liz with a curt nod.

“I need your help. It’s… real serious. Those jerks that made me live with them are looking for me.” Gregory spoke with a rare tightness to his voice. Looking back on the twins, their combined sh*t-eating grins fell into what Gregory assumed was genuine worry. They were annoying and mean, but not heartless.

“You mean Rita and Terry, right? f*ck, dude…” Quinn rubbed the back of his neck. He wouldn’t have picked on Gregory so hard just then if he’d known what was going on. They’d seen firsthand the sh*t Gregory went through at the hands of his foster parents, and their pranks were literal child’s play in comparison.

At Gregory’s nod of confirmation, Cain spoke up after his brother. “What can we do to help?”

Perking up, Gregory’s smile grew back into a recognizably evil smirk, one that Cassidy picked out right away—as the girl had slowly become the patron saint of mischief within their ranks. “Follow me, and we’ll make a plan together.”

Herding them together, Cassidy couldn’t wait to unleash terror onto Gregory’s old family. They began their short trek back to the workshop portion of the basem*nt towards the only trustworthy adults the group knew.

***

“Alright, while it’s just us, fill me in,” Henry said once Gregory left the room, keeping an eye on the door he’d disappeared through. “What’s going on?”

Freddy let out a heavy sigh. “Gregory’s foster parents have come looking for him.”

There was a heavy pause, in which Henry seemed to be waiting for a follow-up. When Freddy remained quiet, the man scratched his beard, a deep crease between his eyebrows. “Wait, so… this kid you adopted actually has a family?! What the hell were you all thinking?!”

Charlie’s brows flew up to her hairline, waving her arms to garner her father’s attention. “No! Well—yes? Kind of? They’re his foster family and he ran away from them almost a month ago, Dad. They just now decided they wanted to find him…”

She gulped, hoping her father would agree with their admittedly felonious idea of kidnapping Gregory. Clasping her hands together to appear meek, she implored to Henry's heart. “Please hear us out—we don’t trust the Smiths. When we first found Gregory, he was covered in cuts and bruises…”

Henry crossed his arms, the epitome of paternal suspicion. “I’m certainly not one to judge questionable life choices, but this is kind of a big deal, guys.”

“They’re neglecting him, Henry—and god knows what else,” Michael spoke up, gaze cold. “At first we thought the bruises were from him running around the Pizzaplex, but most of them were not fresh. Gregory’s been cagey when we try to ask about his home life, but his foster mom showed up looking for him the other day and he finally told us just how sh*tty they were. He’s just a paycheck to them.”

“We cannot let him go back to them,” Freddy insisted. “He will be terribly mistreated, and we fear for his safety.”

“sh*t, guys…” Pulling off his glasses momentarily, Henry rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I get where you’re coming from, but you can’t just take a child.”

“He’s going to die in that house,” Michael whispered, looking at Henry with hardened eyes. “I don’t care if he’s immortal or whatever now—if they already mistreated him so badly before he ran away, imagine what they’ll do when they finally get their hands on him again.”

There was another moment of silence, in which Henry replaced his glasses and looked between the three set expressions of his daughter, nephew, and creation-turned-genuine friend. Charlie seemed like she might drop to her knees and beg for help if her dad still said no, Michael had a dark edge behind those pale blue eyes, and Freddy… Henry let out an involuntary shiver. The normally serene man looked like he was about to march into that foster home himself and take matters into his own hands, which were clenched so tightly in a poor display of controlled rage the knuckles were white.

“Okay… okay,” Henry finally relented with a heavy sigh. He placed a firm, reassuring palm on Freddy’s shoulder as he told the group: “Fine. I can see how serious this situation is, and I’d be a heartless bastard to send the kid back to such a place… so before Freddy makes headlines for committing double homicide, tell me this plan of yours.”

“I would never—” Freddy began, though before he could proclaim his intent the gaggle of kids arrived in the doorway. He recognized all but two, yet another set of twins to add to their rag-tag band of lost souls. Freddy rightfully assumed these to be the other missing kids Charlie and Michael pulled from the depths of the Pizzaplex with Hannah.

Hannah herself initially brightened at the sight of more friendly faces, although when her gaze fell upon Freddy the expression slipped. She didn’t recognize this guy, though she could only presume him to be a friend. Still she leaned into Gregory, lightly tugging his arm. “Who’s the redhead in the sweater?”

Gregory saw the unease on her face and decided to pat her shoulder, pointing at Freddy with a jut of his thumb.

“That's Freddy! Long story; he's my dad now,” he made sure to clarify, though it probably only led to more questions. Unaware of the tumultuous talk they all just had, he reintroduced the groups. “Okay so, now that we're all here, I have something to ask you guys...”

He separated himself to stand alone. He hoped to get everyone's attention easier this way. It started with a deep breath and eyes staring ahead like headlights to focus on how he wanted to explain this.

“I won't go home. Not back with my foster parents. I'd run away again and again until I'm eighteen or something happens to my legs.” Gregory spoke with a straight face, utterly serious. “If they find me, chances are something would happen to my legs. So I need everyone's help to get them away from me. Please...”

“...They hurt you?” Evan's small voice was the first one to break the silence. He wore an uncharacteristically blank expression, save for the little crease between his eyebrows.

“Badly,” Michael clarified, arms crossed as he leaned back against Henry's desk. It may have seemed like a casual pose, but it was really to keep him from bouncing his limbs in an anxious rhythm. Evan's gaze shifted between his brothers before he gave a resolute nod.

“I'm in,” he said, offering his twin a little smile. “I can do all the ghost stuff too, so just tell me what you need, Gregory.”

“Same here,” Hannah offered, raising a hand. She couldn't imagine anyone wanting to harm Gregory, let alone his supposed parents... It made her queasy to think about. “I wanna help, too.”

Freddy slipped a hand into Charlie's and squeezed, silently reassuring—and needing a bit of reassurance himself—that they were doing the right thing. He hated putting children up for such a task, but for now this really was the best thing they could think of that was both fast and effective. Who knew how much time they had before the Smiths called in some real authority to come poking around the Pizzaplex?

“Of course I'm in, obviously,” Lizzie added, shoving herself aside Evan in solidarity. Cassidy joined in wordlessly besides her friends, as any plan of revenge was something she could get behind. All that was left was the twins, both whom looked at each other with a resolute nod.

“We already said we’d help,” Cain replied, shrugging simultaneously with his brother.

“Yeah—” Quinn agreed, knowing they wouldn't have anything better to do. The Smiths deserved whatever was coming to them anyway. If they just treated Gregory right, the kid wouldn’t have tried to sneak away and then he and Cain would never have never followed him into the Pizzaplex. “—what's the plan, Smith?”

The planning phase was where Gregory drew a blank. “I-I was thinking of scaring them. You know? Like, maybe even make them think I died—then there’s no reason to keep looking for me, right?”

“Just scare them?” Cassidy asked. She’d begun doing that thing Gregory hated, where her face flattened and turned the slightest bit uncanny when she spoke, intentionally adding fear to any conversation she was having. “You're thinking small—let’s hurt them so they never come sniffing around here again.”

Gregory was unsure on how to feel about the suggestion, answering honestly as he crossed his arms.

“I'd be lying if I said I never thought of that. But... I...” He trailed off, unable to think of a reason why he shouldn't when they’d hurt him so much over the years.

“Hurting them is definitely going to bring on some unwanted attention,” Michael chimed in, trying not to be unnerved when seven sets of little eyes turned on him. When some of them started to glare he held up his palms, adding: “I'm not saying you can't rough them up a little if you need to, but you can't seriously injure them.”

“Michael's right,” Henry spoke up, surprising everyone with his apparent willingness to go along with their little scheme. “No grave harm or injury—that's not up for debate. As for how much you can scare them, well... we want to make sure they think Gregory’s beyond recovery, so however we can do that without also sending them running for police would be ideal.”

“Um... I'm not totally sure how we'd do that yet, but maybe I can pretend to be Gregory?” Evan suggested with a questioning tilt of his head. “I can look pretty scary if I want to—like Cassidy and the others.”

Michael tried to hide the involuntary wince as he thought about what that “scary” look would be. If it was like the twins, then that meant it would be a spitting image of the moment Evan was as good as dead after being pulled from the jaws of Golden Freddy. If Gregory's foster parents saw their son looking like that, Michael doubted they'd want to stick around...

Gregory rubbed his chin in thought, nodding to Evan. Time would tell if pretending he'd been horribly murdered would work out, though he doubted Terry and Rita would go to the police in Gregory's honor should they draw that conclusion.

“If you could pretend to be a dead me, then could the rest of you guys scare them out of the Pizzaplex?” Gregory asked, looking towards Hannah and the rest. “If they show their faces here and all.”

Raising an eyebrow, he wondered how someone like her could be scary. The twins were scary even without having to change their appearances, though for completely different reasons. Those two psychos would chase you down the street with lit roman candles aimed at you head just for looking at them weird. Hannah might be too sweet and docile for this operation. “Hannah quick—what’s the spookiest face you can make right now?”

All it took was a blink for Hannah's sweet face to change. The features underneath remained the same, though there was a sudden rush of dark, dripping blood that leaked out of the corner of her mouth, along with identical streams of red from her eyes, irises bloodshot and cold. Her throat turned dark and bruised, imprinted with the thin metallic fingers of the endoskeleton that choked the life out of her. It had shaken her for good measure, which added a crick in her neck that caused the expanding blood trails to drift slightly to the right.

“How's this?” she murmured in a voice gravely from torn vocal cords. Her stringy hair was still in a ponytail, though it now appeared greasy and unkempt. Coupled with her greyish pallor, she was most definitely dead.

“f*ck...,” Michael whispered so quietly only Henry standing right by his side could hear. His uncle was quick to slip an arm around Michael's shoulders and pull him close, looking to the ground with a pained expression. Seeing one of the ghost children like this brought back the feeling of dark hatred and regret deep in their souls for everything William had done that led to this moment.

When a warm droplet fell upon Gregory’s lip he knew the stress of seeing Hannah in turn had given him a nosebleed. Feeling the warm red trickle down his face, Gregory quickly wiped at his mouth and fervently nodded.

“Yep—that’ll definitely—oh man... Hannah, holy crap that's good,” he praised despite the shiver of terror racing up his spine.

If the scares from Cassidy and Evan taught him anything, it was that none of them were in any pain no matter how grotesque it looked. Knowing Freddy might freak out, Charlie had risen fast on her tiptoes to quickly shield his eyes before the image of Hannah broken and bloodied flooded his vision. Gregory came forward, unafraid after forcing himself to stare at her twisted neck and battered face he patted the side of her now damp feeling hair.

“Okay bring back normal Hannah, you're going to make my brother sick,” he laughed, trying to keep it light despite the content of their plan-making. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to feel uncomfortable because of the things he asked his ghost friends to do.

Another blink and Hannah was back to her usual self, albeit with a tinge of red to her cheeks from Gregory's comment. Choosing not to address it right now, she glanced towards where Evan stood next to his sister, looking completely unfazed by her transformation. “Huh? He's fine!”

“Our other brother,” Evan clarified, jerking his chin to Michael's gaunt face.

“Oh. Uh... sorry,” Hannah grimaced, realizing that, ironically, the adults seemed more disturbed than the kids about this whole thing.

“It's fine, you're... you're all good,” Michael reassured with a shaky smile, disentangling himself from Henry. “That's definitely going to be perfect for what we're trying to do, though.”

Meanwhile, Freddy murmured his thanks to Charlie for saving him from such a horrific sight, squeezing her hand that was still clutched in his own. Focusing on the kids now that the traumatic image was past, Freddy told them: “This plan is starting to come together, I believe—Evan will be Gregory's doppelganger to convince the Smiths that he is deceased, and the others can be staged at certain points. That way, we can assure they only go where we want them to go.”

Cassidy raised her hand with a valid point to make.

“Okay, sure! We can scare them no problem. But what are you guys going to do?” Cassidy asked, resting a fist on her hip as she and using Evan's shoulder as a rest for her opposite elbow.

Removing her hands from Freddy's person, Charlie cleared her throat and garnered Cassidy's attention easily. “Either keeping Gregory safe somewhere, or helping out in the scaring! As long as one of us is following them, we can guide them through the Pizzaplex and back out again in no time.”

Gregory had a devious smile on his face. “I really can't thank you guys enough—”

When the twins ambushed Gregory, this time a little less roughly. Quinn's arm squeezed Gregory around his shoulder while Cain messed with his hair.

“Don't thank us yet!” Cain warned him, though he was grinning even as he said it.

“Yeah,” Quinn agreed, matching his brother’s expression. “The only ones allowed to wail on you should’ve been us, anyway...”

“Alright!” Michael clapped his hands, finally flashing the group a real grin. “Ideally they won't show their ugly faces around here again, but if they do then the plan is on.” He spared a glance at Charlie and Freddy. “We should fill Sam in—think he's had enough time to rest?”

“I hope that boy isn't overworking himself again,” Henry sighed, raising an eyebrow at Charlie for confirmation.

It was Michael that answered brightly. “Oh, he sure is—but I'm trying my best to force him to take naps here and there. He's not nearly as young and spry as the rest of us! Anyway, speaking of rest, we should head back to the hotel.”

It was no doubt that Sam was hit with another wave of insomnia, spurring on yet another restless night of work inside his office. Though it would be assumed he would love to see his family and friends before they headed off to their hotel room again. And if Gregory was promised that they would return tomorrow night for another round of fun, then he would easily part with his friends for now. Gregory was put down by the twins, awkwardly saying goodbye to his newest and unlikely allies before feeling Liz’s arms wrap around his chest from behind.

“Take care, Gregory! You can show Evan and I the rest of the Pizzaplex tomorrow!” she said with a wink, relinquishing him after a hearty squeeze.

While Cassidy wasn’t a touchy person even with people she was extremely close with, only seeming to latch to Evan from time to time, she bumped her fist to Gregory’s with an excited smile. It was Hannah’s turn now, and Gregory opened his arms to give the girl a short embrace goodbye.

“You can come hang out tomorrow too, you know… If you want to,” Gregory said, pulling back to scratch the back of his head.

“Sounds like fun!” Hannah replied, clasping her hands behind her and rolling back on her heels after Gregory pulled away. “See you soon, Gregory.”

“Bye!” Evan piped up next, popping out of existence and reappearing directly in front of Gregory, where he’d jump the boy in an embrace that nearly knocked him over. When he stepped back there was a hard light of determination in his eyes. No one messed with his family and got away with it unscathed. “We’re gonna get this taken care of, don’t worry.”

Henry had been saying his own goodbyes, grabbing Charlie in a tight hug and pressing a kiss to her head. He repeated the gesture with Michael, although he had to force the boy down in a bit of a headlock to reach his crown. To Freddy and Gregory he offered a firm squeeze without the added kiss. After a few last farewells, the group started making their way back to the surface.

“Let’s go, Romeo,” Michael murmured when Gregory lingered in the workshop doorway. Silver eyes snapped up to find Mike wearing a knowing smirk, though he’d been sure to speak soft enough the other kids wouldn’t hear as they broke away to start another round of tireless games.

Gregory was thankful for Evan's assuring words. He was a lot like their older brother in the way he was considerate of others feelings—even if Michael hadn’t always acted that way, it appeared to be something that ran in the family. Then, Gregory was beckoned away by the very same man. With his eyes widening and a bright pink flush apparent still on his cheeks he shushed Michael as if he hadn't already spoken quietly. As he caught back up to his father and Charlie, Gregory waved goodbye to Mr. Emily. Then it was back to slipping his hand into someone else's for comfort once again—this time it happened to be Charlie's and she turned to look over her shoulder at Michael, then back down at Gregory. It was time to pick on their little brother again it seemed.

“So Hannah's pretty cool, huh?” She asked, trying to gauge a reaction from Gregory. Taken aback by her question, Gregory stuttered then quickly recovered to answer her.

“Huh? Uh... Yeah? Hannah's super cool. All of my friends are.” He cleared his throat, looking around for something to change the subject. “Can we get waffles when we go back home?”

Michael snorted, amused by his little brother’s horrible attempt to deflect. Even so he decided to go easy on Gregory for now because of his stressful situation—though not without slipping in one final quip.

“Waffles sounds good—and this isn’t over, kid,” Michael both threatened and promised. Though Gregory’s crush on a ghost girl was morbid and unfortunate, it was also kind of sweet. Reaching out, Michael aggressively ruffled the boy’s hair, much to his chagrin.

Before long they’d reached Sam’s office, where the CEO could be heard busily shuffling around inside. Michael knocked on the door with a frown, calling out: “That doesn’t sound like sleeping, Sam!”

At Sam's door, there sounded to be the banging and subsequent falling of metal onto a rubberized floor. Sam's office/workshop used to echo with the clattering of metallic parts until he coated his floor in liquid rubber. Having been thoroughly startled like a child caught playing video games late on a school night, he shouted back.

“Uh—just straightening up, Mikey!” Sam replied, attempting to straighten the endoskeleton he was working on and to shove it away in hiding.

“I’m not your dad, Sam, relax!” Mike laughed, entertained as always by his childhood friend. Although he really did wish Sam would take better care of himself—Michael had only been partially joking with the comment about Sammy being legitimately old compared to the rest of them. When the door was opened a minute later the group stepped into a room that looked in quite a state of disarray. “Damn, Sammy, if this is ‘straightening up’ I’d hate to see it before the bomb hit…”

“Michael, leave him be,” Freddy chided gently, having a soft spot in his heart for Sam and his messy workshop. Like father, like son it seemed, for Henry’s wasn’t much better. Addressing his creator, Freddy offered a smile. “We have spoken with the other children and made a plan for dealing with the Smiths if they come around searching again, so you do not need to worry about that, Samuel.”

Sam couldn't say he blamed Mike for his reaction to his workspace. It seemed he was falling into his father's old habits of hoarding spare parts and broken things he’d promised to fix whenever he had the time.

“It's a pigsty, I know...,” Samuel said with a sort of defeated laugh, as if rhetorically asking, 'Well what can ya do?' He rose from his workbench and did some light stretching to relieve the ache he now felt in his joints. “I got a quick fifteen minutes of sleep in before the stress of this deadline woke me up again.”

This was his life now—the path he'd chosen when deciding to take up the family mantle. No wonder his dad needed Uncle William in the beginning. Doing it all by himself felt impossible some days... Though Samuel did physically relax when Freddy relayed that there was a plan put in place for Gregory's so called “parents.”

“Good—see? Told you that you're in good hands, kiddo,” Sam said to their shared responsibility, Gregory, before glancing to Mike. “If they come around, they'll likely want to talk to me. Can I trust to have my Security Guard slash Parts & Service manager around to help?”

He already knew his friend had his back. If Michael was more versed in the plan, he could take care of the Smiths should they show up again.

“Of course; I'll try and stick close by, but if you ever need me and I'm off on an adventure just give me a call,” Michael replied, patting the pocket where his phone rested. His mouth quirked up in a grin. “Luckily for you, this guard doesn't need nearly as much sleep as his boss.”

Freddy breathed out a relieved sigh, pressing a hand to his chest. Now that Sammy was on board with the plan to an extent, the ursine man realized he'd been holding in a lot more tension than initially anticipated. He leaned down to pick Gregory up, doubting his son would protest the affection as they shared a hug before Freddy rested the boy on his hip.

“Thank you again for all of this, Sam,” Freddy said, unable to fully express his gratitude. He wasn't just talking about the help with Gregory's foster parents, but for accepting their story and building the Pizzaplex in the first place. Without Sammy, this Freddy wouldn't exist. “We are indebted to you—truly.”

Samuel listened to them, leaning on his desk while trying to hide just how tired he really was before waving his hands meekly in front of his chest.

“No no, I-I'm just trying to make things right. No one's indebted to anyone here,” he protested in the most polite way possible.

The generosity of the Emilys really knew now boundaries; all of them would give up the shirts on their backs and the roofs over their heads if you asked nice enough. Sam saw that his security measures failed—many children's lives were ruined because of his negligence. If he could make their afterlives better along with Gregory's then maybe he could still manage to sleep at night.

If he found the time...

“Still... You work too hard...,” Charlie said, sounding worried for her brother. He wasn't a young man anymore, and the stress he was pushing himself for just didn't seem healthy to her.

“Charlotte,” Sam told her firmly, there was no arguing with him, he was simply too nice to want to draw that line in the sand. “You are a good sister, but I'm fine. Look at me!”

To which Charlie looked him up and down with wholly unconvinced expression.

“Well that's clearly bull, but I don't want to offend Freddy's sensibilities by arguing,” Michael joked, though there was an edge in the harsh pat he gave Sam's shoulder. “Just make sure you're taking care of yourself, alright?”

“Yes, I would be more than willing to assist where I can as well!” Freddy piped up, feeling a strange twinge of inadequacy. He'd been expected to do so much as the ursine leader of the Fazbear band, and yet now that he was human it seemed like his current existence had devolved into watching over others.

Not that he minded, of course—that'd been his favorite thing to do as an animatronic bear, to look after the children that came to see him. But he just knew he could be doing more...

“Freddy, you're amazing—trust me,” Michael assured, flashing him a grin. “None of us would be where we are right now without you, either. Give yourself a little more time to relax before jumping back in. And you—” He whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at Sam. “—better get some sleep, or I'm going to turn the lights off and sic Moon on you to drag you to the Daycare.”

…That actually didn’t sound too bad.

“Freddy,” Sam laughed, flashing his extended family a tired smile. “If you ever want a job, I could use a new stage director. You’ve got all the cues and controls programmed in your head already so I wouldn't have to train anyone.”

Actually, that would clear up his schedule even more. With the youthful and accusing face of Mike staring him down, Samuel stood and cracked his aching fingers.

“You're right. I'll go hit the hay. Maybe sleep until noon... Day shift should be able to handle the salvage project and get everyone's parts together,” he grumbled in thought. “I hate to send you off, but my manager thinks it's best to sleep before I keel over.”

He laughed, coming around to pat on Freddy's shoulder. Sam would say his goodbyes, and the moment his family was gone he'd exit his office and lock the door behind him. No one needed to see what he was working on in there, and he didn't need the opportunity for someone to come by and mess with his ongoing creations. Sam went down to the Daycare and slid into the ball pit, happy to see the lights were already off and waiting for him.

With Freddy ecstatic at the prospect of working at the Pizzaplex again, the family set off for the hotel in high spirits. There they would get a multitude of plates piled high with waffles and laugh the rest of the night away until they drifted off to sleep one by one, safe in each other's company.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

The group parted ways as soon as they entered the Pizzaplex the next evening. Finding Michael waiting by the front door, as he'd slipped out early to do some mechanical work, Charlie hooked their arms together to track down Sam.

Meanwhile, Freddy took Gregory to the basem*nt so he could play with the other kids—the tour of the Pizzaplex would be continued later with Hannah in tow. After parting ways with his son, Freddy made a beeline for Bonnie Bowl. To his pleasant surprise he found the bunny already wandering the central atrium, so it was a short walk to Rockstar Row where the old friends would settle on the couch in Freddy’s room to discuss everything Bonnie missed… This time focused on the bad things.

Freddy told the rabbit everything he knew, the information coming out in a steady stream like water from a fountain. He revealed events in chronological order when he could, starting with Evan’s birthday in ‘83 that triggered it all. There were certainly areas he was lacking information for, but Freddy did his best to tell Bonnie all the details. The rabbit needed to have as much context as possible before the big reveal of why he’d been feeling these human emotions since being powered back on.

“…And therefore Henry burned the diner to the ground, trapping William and taking the Aftons, Cassidy, and Charlie along with them,” Freddy said, bringing the penultimate chapter of the child murderer to a close. He watched Bonnie carefully, trying to gauge his stress level before he revealed the most harrowing part of the saga—at least with regards to the rabbit himself.

Patting his old friend’s shoulder, Freddy asked: “How are you feeling, Bon? There is one more part to this whole debacle, but I must warn you that it will be far less pleasant for you to hear than everything else, if you can believe it.”

Turns out you should never meet your heroes—or in Bonnie's case, even hear about your heroes. The man who made him murdered children. The most disgusting part was the feeling it gave Bonnie in retrospect, how that blind worship of a man he'd never met before made his mechanical chest ache like there was a ton of bricks bearing down upon it. After the long explanation, Bonnie looked as if he was still gathering his thoughts before he could even register that Freddy had yet one more thing to tell him—and that it was going to be the worst bit of information he'd hear. Bonnie twiddled his thumbs in his lap, careful and collected as he thought of the poor kids and dwelling on the fact that Gregory was nearly an equation inside a messed up science experiment.

“S'pose so, Fred. I doubt it's worse than any of that mess...,” Bonnie said with a raised eyebrow. Surely it couldn't be worse than any of that. It took everything in him not to sound shaken up and scared from the mere thought of more kids going missing.

Freddy's heart ached watching his best friend struggle with so much horrible information. Whereas the bear had a few days to learn things in piecemeal, Bonnie was essentially being force-fed the information in one go. Perhaps there was a better way to approach this, but at the same time Freddy knew the rabbit wouldn't leave him alone until he knew everything. Taking a deep breath, Freddy clenched his fists atop his knees, steeling himself for delivering the final blow.

This was going to hurt.

“Obviously I am telling you this for a reason, and that reason is to explain how we got mixed up in everything,” Freddy continued somberly. “Unfortunately, Henry's plan failed. William escaped and was somehow able to digitize himself, essentially becoming a virus that could infect computers and humans alike. He gained influence over a staff member employed in the Pizzaplex and forced her to do horrible things...”

Here the ursine man paused again, looking into Bonnie’s eyes. He didn’t want to reveal Vanessa’s name just yet, though he was sure Bonnie could figure it out eventually.

“She sent out malware that infected all the animatronics, causing them to become... to become bloodthirsty, willing to attack anyone who opposed them—even children—as soon as night shift began.” Freddy winced, thinking of Gregory's close encounters at the hands of his former bandmates. “Though William had another goal in mind first: he wanted a new body, and a very specific one at that. He was the reason for you being decommissioned. William’s virus worked its way into Monty’s systems, causing him to summon you to the golf course under false pretenses and attack so he could—”

Freddy’s voice broke off, the fact of what William had done still so terrible after all this time. However, it was clear by Bonnie’s expression that the swift rabbit was putting the pieces together.

Bonnie’s hands lifted to his mouth, unable to explain why he felt nauseous when he didn’t even have a stomach to throw up from. But he didn’t need to justify it; Freddy had already done that for him.

He is—no… was William Afton, if only for a few nights. It explained far too much, and Bonnie took to pulling on his ears to relieve the stress. He tugged on them harshly, looking back to Freddy. It was clear whatever evil he was capable of when he was in a coma-like state hadn’t been too bad, though. Surely, Freddy would tell him if it was…

“N… No more. I-I get it, old hat…,” Bonnie replied, shuddering out the unshakable notion he still had that evil lurking inside him somewhere.

Just out of view of his friends, and undetectable by his virus scan, Bonnie feared William Afton’s return to take his body and use it for his nefarious deeds. Worst of all, that man who was supposed to be their loving creator had turned and hurt Freddy, Gregory, and all the others in ways that could never fully be repaired.

“I surely can’t believe it… You all went through too much,” Bonnie said, fighting the self-doubt in his head. Had he put up a fight up until the end, or had Bonnie's mind been torn from his body kicking and screaming? Either way, he failed to protect any of the children.

“Did... Did I hurt any of y'all…?” Bonnie meekly asked.

Freddy opened his mouth to answer, then let it slowly shut. Bonnie hadn’t laid a finger on them, but William hurt Michael and Charlie on multiple occasions, and nearly jabbed a Remnant-infused needle into Gregory’s neck—which he’d indirectly succeeded in doing in the end.

“…It was not your fault,” was all Freddy could say, voice slow and measured as he got to his feet. He couldn’t lie to Bonnie and say everything was fine, but he could at least reassure that his friend’s consciousness was innocent.

Moving to Bonnie’s front, Freddy wrapped him in a hug. Their heights were more equivalent now with the rabbit still seated, so Freddy easily slipped his arms around the lagomorph’s neck and held on tight.

“You did absolutely nothing wrong, Bonnie,” he went on. “No animatronic was safe from William’s influence—the only reason I was spared is because Michael latched onto me. If he had picked someone else, it likely would not be me sitting here telling you this. But I can assure you that William is gone—we made sure of it.”

Now Freddy pulled back, offering the tiniest smile. “The fact that you are powered on and back to your old self is proof we trust that horrible man was rid from the world and my dear friend is back. Please do not doubt yourself, as hard as it may be. No one blames you for anything.”

“But why ME?” Bonnie asked, raising his voice just slightly. He covered his mouth, smacking his paws over his snout as he forced his voice box to manually reset, the outburst only serving to feed his paranoia that there was something wrong with him.

Bonnie forced himself to sit still, but only for a few seconds. He crossed his legs and anxiously bounced his foot over the edge of his knee, a habit now birthed from his new nervous disposition. Is that where those awful emotions were coming from? The man who previously possessed his body and computer system had given him complexes, and all Bonnie wanted to do was give himself a hard reset when they made themselves known. Bonnie ran his hands up his face, massaging it as if stressed skin and muscle were there instead of wires and fur.

“I'm not a bad bunny...,” Bonnie reinforced like a mantra, shutting his eyes. “I'm not a bad bunny...”

Freddy would never lie to him just to spare his feelings, he reminded himself. Most of all, Bonnie just felt violated; being burdened with consciousness only amplified these feelings.

“Bonnie, relax,” Freddy soothed, gripping the rabbit’s paws and stilling them before they did actual damage to his newly-refurbished face. Freddy was thankful yet again for his robotic strength, as he could feel Bonnie’s wires pulled taught as he strained to relieve the internal stress.

“You are not a bad bunny,” Freddy repeated, meeting Bonnie’s flighty gaze when he could, holding his hands in an iron grip between them. “You are a wonderful rabbit, and everyone knows that. I know that, and I trust you implicitly. You are not a danger to anyone.

“As for why it was you, I am afraid I do not have an answer for that. We were all simply caught up in one man’s delusions. I am sorry you bore so much of the burden, but… all we can do is move past this and look to the future.” Releasing one of Bonnie’s paws, Freddy gently patted the top of his head. “We had a discussion yesterday about what it was like to have human emotions—now you know why you have been feeling so strange. Yes, not all of them are pleasant, but so many of them are—and we will be here to help you through them. Alright, old friend?”

Bonnie couldn't find it in him to answer Freddy. While it felt like the end of his whole world not a few seconds ago, Bonnie was reeled back to reality by his pragmatic friend. He’d always been a little melodramatic—though his current outburst was justified. He may dwell of this for a long time, but at least Freddy and the others were here to help him navigate this sea of emotions and lead him back to the shores of sanity.

Bonnie too was happy for Freddy's android strength. It made it less awkward when he leaned into his friend in the world’s laziest hug.

“My chest feels heavy,” he admitted, still holding onto the burden, though less loud about it now. “But... thanks for bein’ here, Fred.”

Everything would be alright eventually. And when it wasn't alright? Bonnie could call Freddy, or Monty, or anyone that would listen—anyone who’d remind him he wasn't insane and that he wasn't going to hurt anyone again.

Freddy kept the embrace as long as he could, though eventually he pulled back. The action was slow, trying to assure Bonnie that his new feelings were all understood and valid. Only when they were fully disconnected did Freddy realize there was one more thing he wanted Bonnie to know before the night was out.

“Bonnie, I have one final thing to tell you, and then I promise I will drop the topic until you wish to talk about it again,” Freddy said. “It is about Monty—I know you could tell he was acting off yesterday, so I wanted to reassure you that it is not because he is afraid of you. He… he does not truly know what happened, save for the fact there was a malware attack that caused everyone to act out.”

The ursine man’s smile slipped the tiniest bit. “I will leave it up to the two of you to have a conversation, but I can at least say that Monty seems strange because he knows he was the one who decommissioned you. He does not remember anything—none of the animatronics will. But there were rumors from the beginning that he was the cause of you going missing, and when he found out the truth he was beside himself. He is simply afraid of hurting you again.”

When it came down to it, Monty and Bonnie shared at least that much in common—the fear of slipping back into an uncontrolled state and lashing out at those they care for.

Bonnie, strangely enough, didn’t seem so upset about it. Like Fred mentioned, it wasn’t as if anyone was in control of their full mental faculties these past few months. Honestly, Bonnie was more upset that Monty was able to beat him at their game of wrestling…

Still, at some point, it became less of a game and more of Bonnie fighting just so his face wasn’t ripped from his body, or his limbs torn off one by one until he was an incoherent mess of wires, parts, and broken casing.

“Aw, shucks, that’s Monty for ya, huh? He makes one mistake and now he’s gonna hold it against himself forever…” Bonnie sighed with a shake of his head. It was something he was gonna have to talk to the old gator about. Hopefully they could sweep all this unpleasantness under the lily pad with a few rounds of golf or bowling. “He’s such a sensitive lug… I’m fine now.”

“Monty will be pleased to hear that, I am sure,” Freddy said, the usual brightness returning to his demeanor now that the initial unpleasantness of things was past. With a grin, Freddy tugged the rabbit forward, urging him to his feet.

“Now, as I said I will move past this topic until you are ready to speak about it again,” the redhead reassured. Once Bonnie was upright, Freddy released him and checked his phone, noting the time. “I promised Gregory that I would take him and a few of his friends on a little tour of the Pizzaplex tonight. I am sure they would be ecstatic if you joined us.”

He glanced up at the comparatively tall rabbit questioningly. “There is a good chance we will run into Henry Emily when I pick them up—but I guarantee he will be kind to you, as that is his nature. Would you like to come along?”

Bonnie couldn't look happier. He’d take anything fun to distract him from the horrible truth he just learned. He just knew the moment he saw Gregory and those poor kids, he'd give all of them a great big hug! He couldn't mention knowing the truth about their shared demises and various tortures, but he'd try to help ease the pain with one of his famous hugs.

“I sure would, Fred! I think that's a swell idea.” He beamed, slipping his arm around Freddy's shoulders to get their journey going. His jolty movements made it clear he was a little shaken and quick to push everything back into the closet of his mind again. The next time he'd speak of this dreadful incident would be when he talked it all out with Monty, then no more for a long time.

“Besides, I couldn't possibly pass up the chance to meet THE He—nry Em-Em-ily...” Bonnie found his voice box needing another manual reset. There goes that weird tick again...

Freddy spared a raised-eyebrow at the glitch but said nothing, simply slipping his arm through Bonnie’s as an anchor. He had to admit, he was just as relieved that their conversation was over for now; he hated dwelling on such topics, too.

It was a slower trip down to the basem*nt than usual due to Bonnie's inclination to pause every once in a while and look around or comment about how he never knew such things like the old, burned down diner even existed in the Pizzaplex. When they finally made it to the workshop door Freddy dislodged himself, flashing Bonnie a smile. “Henry is just inside this room. Let me get him.”

“One sec!” the jovial voice called after Freddy's knock. After some shuffling and heaving, Henry managed to push the android he was working on refurbishing into a corner of the room, away from potentially sensitive eyes. He soon threw the door open, grinning up at the kind-faced creation he'd put so much heart and soul into. “Hey, Fred—oh.”

There was a pause, in which Henry stared up at Bonnie with a slightly lax jaw. However, he was quick to slap himself with a gentle swat of his cheek, mouth flipping back into a smile before the robots could even register his minor internal crisis. “Well, well! If it isn't Bonnie the Bunny!”

That was him. It was really him. Wow...

Bonnie himself was in quite the tizzy. Grasping his head and making his ears flop to the side, he let out a short, albeit star-struck laugh, the expression on his face matching Henry's own micro-crisis.

“Mr. Emily, I presume?” Bonnie asked, feeling his voice box cut in a strange way again. His thick country accent sounded clear, though a tad forced. “I really don't believe my scanners, but it's you! Wowee—it's an honor!”

The normally charismatic bunny was abnormally shy, trying to make himself a little smaller as he talked. Henry knew the man that possessed him; knew what he did. Hopefully he could look past that and accept the paw Bonnie jutted out for a somewhat awkward handshake.

Henry let out a jovial laugh, shaking Bonnie's hand thoroughly. Honestly, he praised Sam for making this version so far removed from the golden springlock suit Henry had come to associate with his former business partner. It was easy for him to see Glamrock Bonnie as just another animatronic; despite William's possession earlier that week, Henry had been assured by multiple sources that his “old friend” was gone for good.

“You can just call me Henry; everyone does. I even got Fredbear to, after a bit of needling,” the ghost said, releasing Bonnie's hand only to playfully jab Freddy in the side. He ushered the pair into the workshop proper, closing the door behind them. “The kids are playing in the diner with Puppet, so we have the place to ourselves for abouuuut—” Henry mimed looking at his nonexistent watch. “—five minutes before they bother me again.”

“We will take some of them out of your hair in a moment,” Freddy assured, settling near the workbench.

“Oh, I'm only joking; I love those little terrors,” Henry chuckled, then glanced up at Bonnie. “It's good to meet you, Bon! How are you feeling? Er, is 'Bon' okay? I guess I should be asking you all these things...”

He scratched the back of his head, mumbling this last part to himself. He'd gotten so used to Freddy looking human that it was easy to forget the Glamrock line was known for its sentience—and Bonnie in particular had much more human qualities than most due to extenuating circ*mstances.

“Oh, Bon is just great! Bon, Bonnie, that big ol' purple Bunny—” The rabbit laughed, warming up well to their original creator. “—you can call me anything ya like!”

The amiable rabbit offered a smile and a wink. He hoped that it didn't come off in the way he spoke to Henry, but there was an odd need for Henry to like him. Though it didn't seem to be something he'd have to vie for so desperately; Henry was a nice guy, and Bonnie could tell already that they'd make great friends.

The way he spoke about the kids reminded him of the way Freddy talked about them. It was the warmth in his voice, he reckoned. He and Fredbear seemed to share that affinity.

“I'm feeling ter—iffic!” His voice box glitched out, trying to change its pitch all on his own. Bonnie laughed again, scratching lightly behind an ear. “Well! That keeps happening, but besides that I’m all better now!”

“I can take a look at that, if you want,” Henry offered with a questioning tilt of the head. “Sounds like something might've slipped out of place; shouldn't be a hard fix. I'm quite the mechanic, if I do say so myself.” His faux-haughty demeanor softened as he looked at the rabbit's confused mix of facial expressions. “Only if you want—no pressure.”

Bonnie didn't feel afraid; who else would be a more perfect candidate to look over his functions besides from Sam himself?

“Well if you'd kindly, I'd appreciate it.” Bonnie hopped onto the workbench faster than two shakes of a lamb's tail, then laid down to relax his neck joints and his disconnecting jaw. He laid still, disabling his mechanical features to allow Henry easier access to his voice box. After a series of humming and what appeared to be squinting in measured frustration aimed at his odd wiring, Bonnie was then given free range to sit up and click his face plating back into position.

“So what's the prognosis, Doc? My head screwed on wrong?” he teased, batting his eyes playfully to let Henry know he was just joking.

“Only a bit,” Henry joked right back, gently knocking a fist against the top of Bonnie's noggin right between the ears. “Really, though, I do think it's just a few wires that slipped out of place—not a major repair, but it might take a few minutes to fix up. Honestly, Mike or Sam could probably get it done faster than me; hate to say it, but I'm not as familiar with the Glamrock line!”

“We can ask for their assistance later tonight,” Freddy suggested, although before Bonnie had a chance to respond a tiny voice sounded from the recesses of the basem*nt.

“Uncle Henry!” Evan called, floating into the room and making a beeline for the elder ghost's side. “Uncle Henry! Can we bring Puppet up with us tonight?!”

“I don't see why not,” Henry responded, his eyes softening as they always did when talking to the (usually) sweet-tempered Evan. Besides, he had no doubt Puppet would go anywhere she could if the kids asked her to. He gestured to Freddy, who the boy had completely skipped over in his focused mission. “Good timing, too—you're chaperone's here.”

“Oh! Hey, Freddy!” Evan gave the ursine man a bright wave, then did the same to Bonnie when he realized the rabbit was staring down at him from the workbench. Since their time at the bowling alley last night, Evan had no more fear of the purple bunny. “Lemme go get the others. Gregory! Your dad's here!”

With that the boy took off like a rocket, phasing through numerous walls as he headed back to the old diner to gather the crew for tonight's tour, now including Hannah and the Marionette. Henry shook his head with a chuckle, arms crossed in front of his chest. It was good to see the kid in high spirits after so long.

Gregory was walking with the lanky Puppet draped across his shoulders, her wrist limp in his as he gestured her hand wildly at Hannah. As they laughed together, walking through the door at Evan’s call, he waved Marionette’s arm at the group.

“Hey, Dad! Puppet wanted to come and look at Henry’s blueprints!” he shouted, prompting the Puppet to slip off his frame and slink towards the work table.

Bonnie marveled at the silent animatronic. Her movements seemed advanced for her apparent age as she made her way over, unabashedly using Bonnie to climb up onto the workbench besides him with an aura of excitement.

Gregory, now that his hand was freed up, decided to take Hannah’s instead. Not for his own gain—though holding her hand like this was certainly a special occasion in itself for him. Gregory just gleaned that Hannah wasn’t the most comfortable around new people—whether that involved new animatronics she hadn’t met before was unclear, but judging by the way she clutched his palm back, Gregory knew she didn’t mind.

“Bonnie! This is my friend Hannah; come say ‘hi!’” he beckoned, leading her further into the workshop. Bonnie hopped away from the table, fixing the collar of his shirt and pretending to check the smell of his breath as he walked up to greet the kids. The silly rabbit knelt to one knee to meet the children on their level and said

“Howdy, guys! It’s sure swell to meet you, Hannah. Aren’t you two just little peas in a pod?” Bonnie remarked at the close knit friend group he found oh so adorable. In the peripheral of his vision, the strawberry-blonde girl he’d met yesterday with a huge red ribbon in her hair peaked from behind the door, currently glaring holes into Bonnie’s head.

Lizzie was hiding her scowl around the corner, wishing she could simply explode the rabbit with her mind. She hadn’t given Bonnie much thought last night, too wrapped up in the magic of the Pizzaplex itself and their rousing game of Gator Golf. However, now Lizzie had time to think on things—and as usual, when her thoughts were left to wander they also tended to fester.

Looking upon Bonnie now, she came to the conclusion that everything about him irked her, from the heavy accent to his quirky mannerisms. It all reminded her too much of him, and immediately soured her good mood. The dumb bunny must have felt her weak attempt at a psychic onslaught, because he glanced up to look at Liz with a bewildered expression.

“Uh—howdy, little lady!” Bonnie greeted with a wave. “Lizzie, right? You were smokin’ Monty at golf yesterday!”

“Lizzie…” Attuned to his sister’s distress, Evan clung to her shoulders like Puppet had done to Gregory moments before, pressing his cheek against hers as he eyed the rabbit and murmured in her ear. “I don’t sense anything weird, Liz; I think he’s okay… He was nice last night, remember?”

Hannah, on the other hand, seemed a bit star-struck. Bonnie had always been her favorite, starting from his part in the old cartoons she’d watched as a little kid, but by the time her parents actually took her to the Pizzaplex, Bonnie was decommissioned shortly after. She’d only gotten to see him live once, performing on stage with the rest of the band. Never did she think she’d get to have a personal conversation with him—her parents could never afford such a luxury package.

In retrospect, it’d been far too easy for Vanny to lead Hannah away with the promise of an encounter with the rabbit. Her fingers clenched tight around Gregory’s, pushing down the memories under a little smile as she directed the animatronic’s attention back to her. “Hi, Bonnie! It’s super awesome to meet you! I’m like… your biggest fan!”

Something so simple shouldn't have made Bonnie's heartstrings pull like that. It was a sentiment he heard a hundred times by other fans, and normally he'd give them one of the usual responses without deeper thought. Coming from this girl—a ghost if he wasn't mistaken—it felt more real than before he’d gained consciousness. He was someone's favorite member of the band, their first choice and a star in her eyes.

“That's a good thing I get to come hang out with y'all today! I can get to know my new friend better,” Bonnie said to specifically hype Hannah up, trying his best to ignore Elizabeth's more abrasive response.

She screwed up her nose and muttered under her breath. Gregory at least looked happy at his offer to come play with them. While he was sure it was due to their previous day's bonding, Bonnie might not’ve caught on that his huge grin was because of how tight Hannah was gripping his palm still. Bonnie leaned into the mixed group slightly, pointing to the youngest ghost.

“And you’re Evan! I remember—you look just like your lil’ twin over here! And my biggest fan is Hannah,” he reiterated, making sure he knew their names by memory. Then, his index finger pointed to Liz, who still glared at him in hopes he would soon burst into flames. “And miss sour-patch is Lizzie.”

“Yup!” Evan confirmed, absolutely no fear or hesitation in his demeanor. He moved from Lizzie’s shoulders to her side, grabbing one arm with both hands and trying to tug her forward. “Come on, Liz! Stop being a grouch!”

“Evan, do not push her,” Freddy gently warned. When Evan opened his mouth to protest, Freddy continued with an understanding smile. “Everyone processes things differently—you know that. I am sure she will warm up in time.”

This last sentence was partially directed to the girl herself, who turned her narrowed eyes on Freddy. However, the ursine man was completely unfazed by her fierce attitude. After a few seconds Evan released Lizzie’s arm, though he stayed attentively by her side. Freddy had a point—though they both knew their father‘s rabbit obsession forever tainted Bonnie the Bunny, it was easier for Evan to separate his grudge against William from the animatronic in front of them… Much more so than Lizzie, it seemed.

Despite the tense reaction from Liz, Hannah was still entranced by the rabbit. He was even friendlier than she’d imagined! Lightly swinging Gregory’s arm, she asked Bonnie:

“So you’re gonna hang out with us in the Pizzaplex?!” At his conforming nod, she clenched her fists excitedly, squeezing Gregory’s hand in the process as the smile on her face grew impossibly wider. “Yessss!”

She was coming to realize that being dead and stuck in the Pizzaplex wasn’t all bad… Getting exclusive time with the animatronics was certainly one of the best perks.

Henry had been listening in on all of this of course, though only with one ear as the rest of his attention was directed to Puppet who meticulously scanned the blueprints.

“So, what’s the verdict?” the old ghost intoned, giving her a gentle pat on the back as her slim frame crouched over the workbench. “Think you can deal with this body, or does it need any tweaks?”

Puppet gently picked up the blueprints and held their intricate designs to her chest, swaying excitedly. To be able to express these new feelings and thoughts she had would be amazing, if just for a little while. Mari was careful not to crumple the papers before placing them down and showing her gratitude through a gentle hug squeezed around Henry's shoulders. Right now, she appreciated him more than he could know. The design was perfect, and soon she’d understand completely how Charlie and Michael felt in their androids.

Despite Liz's unwillingness to cooperate, she tried to wipe the frown off of her face. She’d simply have to avert her gaze from the rabbit to avoid feeling so blue. Bonnie's image made her heart hurt, and she couldn't help but lash out in a silent anger—anger that indented her nails into her synthetic skin as she clenched her hands.

“So what's our first destination, pals?” Bonnie asked, hands placed confidently on his hips as he stood.

The kids looked at each other expectantly, waiting for one of them to speak up. It was Hannah who talked first, finally releasing Gregory’s hand with the tiniest blush to clasp her palms together behind her back.

“Evan and Liz, where do you guys wanna go?” she asked, tilting her head questioningly at the Aftons. The siblings shared a look, before Evan shrugged.

“I dunno… What else is there to do around here?” He posed the query to the room, knowing someone would be able to provide an answer. “We already checked out mini-golf and the bowling alley… Oh, and the Daycare!”

“I believe you would be most interested in Roxy Raceway or Fazerblast,” Freddy suggested, though his gaze was fixed on Gregory. The boy had traumatic experiences in both attractions, so it was up to him whether he was ready to tackle them. A slight frown creased the redhead’s face. “Although I do not know if the raceway is functional yet… So perhaps Fazerblast? Or an arcade… We could also simply wander and stop by whatever area catches our fancy.”

“What do you think, Gregory?” Hannah inquired, also wanting his opinion. The two of them had the most experience at the Pizzaplex out of all the kids, so she was curious as to what he thought would be a good place to check out first.

Oh, the Raceway. Gregory seemed to have a particularly nonplused stare as he remembered their close call, Michael bleeding all over him and using himself as a fleshy shield... If it weren't for Ennard, they wouldn't be here to make the choice of where to hang out today. In a way, it would be a triumphant return to the very place they had conquered. And while he heard Hannah, it took him a second of thinking to decide.

“Maybe we'll check out the arcades?” Gregory suggested. “Then we can swing around the Raceway and see what's going on with it.”

Bonnie rubbed the side of his head with a broad paw, smiling at the thought of racing their little karts around the track. “Ah, Roxy Raceway—brings back such good memories. Right, Fredbear?”

How Monty and Fred laughed when Roxy's naturally competitive nature made her cross with Bonnie, who only wanted to take a leisurely drive around the track.

“It's a Raceway,” Roxy had argued to the brick wall of a bunny. “We're not taking your grandma shopping. Put the pedal to the metal, rabbit!”

Bonnie couldn't wait to see them all again. Thankfully Michael, Sam, and Henry were hard at work as they spoke tuning up their friends—and currently restoring old ones.

“It does indeed,” Freddy agreed with a soft smile, then gestured for the little band of ghosts and animatronics to follow him. They’d wasted too much time thinking over the past when they could be having fun already. “To the arcades it is; we will see you later, Henry!”

“Have fun!” Henry replied, feeling Puppet dislodge herself so she could slink over and latch onto another friend who’d be making their way upstairs. Clapping Bonnie amiably on the back, he grinned up at the rabbit. “It’s good to meet you, Bon; we’ll definitely catch up more another time. Oh, and don’t forget to ask Mike and Sam about that voice box of yours!”

“Oh you know it, Henry!” Bonnie told him, now brave enough in front of his hero—his good creator—to reach for a quick hug around his shoulders. Weirdly enough, it felt... homey. Familiar and comforting in the way it was when showing Fred quick bouts of affection.

He didn't think about it too hard, merely focusing on one of the good feelings and letting go when that synthetic serotonin wore off. The children were already being wrangled by Freddy, and the former bear looked like he needed help with the rambunctious children. So with a wave goodbye Bonnie met them by the door, happy to hold it open and let everyone through.

Evan was currently being wrapped up in Puppet's hugging arms. She clung to his shoulders as the shortest Afton unintentionally dragged the lower half of her body behind them.

“Don't drag her like that, Evan! Her legs will catch on something,” Liz gently scolded, bending at the waist to pick up Puppet’s limbs while speaking. Gregory couldn't help but crack a smile at them.

“She survived the garbage chute, 'Lizabeth. Mari's tougher than a jawbreaker,” he praised, much to the Puppet's joy.

“Yeah—besides, if she wrapped all around me I couldn’t walk, so what else am I ‘sposed to do?” Evan deadpanned, though his grin showed he appreciated Lizzie’s help nonetheless. Puppet was certainly a long animatronic, apt to converge around a child completely when all her limbs got involved in an embrace—all the better to protect them with her own body if necessary, as was her design.

While the Aftons chatted, Hannah hung back slightly to fall into step with Bonnie. It was still hard for her to believe he was up and running after all this time. With a questioning tilt of her head and hands still clasped behind her back, she inquired: “So, Bonnie, are you gonna be back in the band now? I know Monty took your place, but like… can’t you both play the bass? Or one of you go on drums or something?”

Freddy had slowed his pace as well to better watch the kids, and he glanced over his shoulder briefly at Hannah’s question. He felt strongly inclined to speak up on Bonnie’s behalf, wanting to save his friend from potentially thinking back to any negatives… but as hard as it was to stay quiet, Freddy knew it was best to let Bonnie answer for himself. Now that his old friend knew everything, there was no need to respond for him. Besides, one way for Bonnie to get used to his new emotions was to deal with them head-on, just as Freddy had.

“Huh, you know what? I didn't rightly get to thinking about that,” Bonnie replied, scratching beneath his chin. It'd sure be nice to perform in front of a crowd again! It was just a question on whether management wanted that from him or not.

Maybe now was the time to start flexing his creative muscles—to go back to his roots and practice for an instrument they've been needing in their little ensemble. Bright pink eyes glanced down to Hannah and the expressive robot smiled with them to her.

“I've been meaning to pick up a new instrument! Heck, I might take Fred's old job! Singin' has always been my secret talent.” He mentioned that last part specifically as he saw Freddy listening in, knowing the bear would appreciate the joke.

“Say Hannah, do you play any instruments?” Bonnie asked, offering the girl his hand as they walked. The younger kids liked to hold onto his paw, and though Hannah was a little older he figured being cordial to his biggest fan was only good manners.

Hannah was over the moon at this gesture, her feet floating off the ground slightly in her excited haste to latch onto her favorite bunny’s paw. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but Bonnie’s grip was comfortingly soft for such a big metallic robot.

“Um… I was actually trying to learn guitar,” the little ghost admitted, sounding a bit embarrassed. She hadn’t wanted to learn just because Bonnie played—at least, that wasn’t the only reason. A slight frown crossed her face. “My big sister was super good at it, and he started to teach me a little before—”

She cut off with a distant stare at the ground. However, the motion of her arm swinging along with Bonnie’s quickly perked her up enough to give a small laugh, pushing away the memories of her old life as was becoming a habit. “I’m not good at all though!”

“I am sure with more practice, you would be a wonderful guitarist,” Freddy commented, and Hannah beamed up at him. Freddy’s blue eyes flickered to Bonnie’s, a smile turning up his lips. “Perhaps we can find an extra guitar around here and someone could give you a few pointers…?”

Bonnie knew exactly what she was getting at. She must miss her family so much... Bonnie's empathy was going haywire, and he firmly squeezed her hand to garner her attention.

“Heck—I'll teach you guitar! I know a little thing or two about it. But we gotta get you to meet up with Chica. Boy howdy, she can really rip on the strings!” he offered, simultaneously praising their friend's talents for the electric guitar shredding she often was want to do. He refused to let this girl be sad on his watch. The next time they swung by the stage, Bonnie was sure Sam wouldn't mind them taking a guitar or two to teach Hannah how to hone her skills a little more. “You and I could start our own little band if the Glamrocks don't take me back!”

In the group ahead, Lizzie had asked Evan quietly: “Do you think Hannah's going to write a song about Gregory?”

She said it just to tease their newest friends. Though it earned her a well-placed elbow to the side from Gregory, making her shriek out in a bubbly laugh as she successfully got under his skin.

“That’d be awesome!” Hannah gasped, her eyes shining with the thought of playing with the Glamrocks. She loved them all, but Chica was definitely her second favorite without question, so the chance to have a jam sesh with her and Bonnie was filling her cold little heart full to bursting. She shook Bonnie’s arm, floating higher and completely unaware of the conversation happening a few feet away. “You’ve gotta tell me as soon as Chica’s back so I can meet her, too!”

Snickering at Gregory’s reaction, Evan leaned into his sister conspiratorially and replied: “Hannah’s gonna write him a song, and Gregory’s gonna draw her a picture on that electric notepad thingy Sam gave him.”

Gregory had shown off his tablet briefly the other day, though Freddy opted to take it for safe keeping when the kid started running around. The ursine man might not know exactly how much it cost, but judging by Michael’s reaction to the cell phones he reasoned the CEO spent a pretty penny on family gifts. The last thing they needed was for it to get broken in a prank gone awry…

“You promised you’d show us that again, Gregory,” Evan reminded eagerly. The years of being stuck inside outdated Pizzerias—and even more outdated animatronics—were starting to reveal their effect the more time Gregory spent around the old ghosts. “I still don’t believe it’s a computer! It’s waaaay too small!”

Gregory had taken a cursory glance behind them, content to know that Hannah was preoccupied with her conversation with Bonnie to even recognize her name was being said repeatedly. Though their affection was quickly becoming mutualized, Gregory still hadn't had the guts to say anything to Hannah yet. Evan's playful jeer did give Gregory an idea though—making Hannah something would show her that he thought she was special to him.

What to draw her, though? Maybe something with Bonnie... He'd have to use the rabbit as a model.

Gregory sent the Aftons exaggerated glares before raising an eyebrow to Evan. His sister and brother were robots, plus they themselves were ghosts—and Evan couldn't believe that computers could be small? Then again, these two came from a strange world of technological marvels. Recreational computers just weren't anything like the things they had now. Still, a smile eventually found its way to Gregory's face and he told them:

“I'll show you guys when we get to the arcade! I... I should draw her something though.” He laughed, admitting what the group already knew without actually having to say it out loud. “All of us can draw and play video games together.”

They opted for the East Arcade, allowing Music Man to rest another night without being awoken to blast some more tunes for screeching children. The attractions had all been opened up to allow staff easy access wherever and whenever they needed, so the slated garage doors rose automatically upon the group's arrival. While Hannah tugged Bonnie forward towards her favorite console, Evan stopped dead in his tracks. The flashing neon lights reflected off his huge eyes as he stared around in jaw-dropping wonder. This place had nothing on any Fazbear restaurants he'd seen before—and it was apparently just one of several arcades throughout the building. Sammy had really outdone himself.

“Whoa,” the ghost breathed out, not even sure where to go first. At least the arcade cabinets themselves were familiar, although surely most of the games were new to him. Plus, there were just so many of them! As his gaze swiveled rapidly around the room, Evan noticed a massive prize counter stuffed to the brim with plushies and other gifts to be won with an exorbitant amount of tickets. He tapped the Puppet's arm with one hand, pointing the prize counter with the other. “Look, Mari! You can hand out a buttload of presents from there!”

Elizabeth was frozen solid, her eyes unblinking before she could wiggle herself free. The nearly endless feeling of all the game titles and challenges was making her head swim with all the possibilities. Watching Gregory draw would have to wait; Liz simply couldn't keep all of these games waiting for her. It figured that a former child raised within the confines of the Fazbear diners would have a vision so grandiose.

“This is only the east arcade?” Liz dared to ask Gregory, amazed that there were more of these goliath entertainment centers around the Pizzaplex with even more challenges and titles to test their skills at.

The Puppet slowly slunk off of Evan in favor of performing her little programed tasks. She may partially have a human's consciousness now, but there was something about the simplicity of handing a kid a toy after a hard day’s work of earning tickets that felt satisfying.

“Yeah! We won't get through all of them today, so we got to do the classics and THEN do the new ones,” Gregory said, walking towards Freddy to tug on his shirt. “Dad? Hey, do you have my tablet?”

“Ah—I believe I left it in Sam's office since it was inconvenient to carry,” Freddy replied, patting down his pockets just in case the device would magically appear. With an apologetic smile, he ruffled Gregory's hair and told him: “I can fetch it for you; it will only take a moment. Bonnie?”

The rabbit had already been pulled to a far corner of the arcade by his superfan, who'd finally released his paw so she could show him her talent at her favorite Pacman-like iteration. Freddy's expression softened at the display and he placed a hand on Gregory's back, gently urging him towards the still overwhelmed-looking Evan. “Go play, superstar; I will be right back.”

When Gregory moved towards his surrogate sibling, Freddy headed towards Bonnie and Hannah, stopping at their side and reaching up to tap the rabbit's shoulder. Hannah was fully engrossed in her game, barely acknowledging Freddy's presence as he told the lagomorphic robot: “I am going to grab Gregory's tablet from Samuel's office—do you mind watching them for five minutes, old friend?”

Bonnie had his attention pulled from Hannah for just a short moment. With the confidence and experience to watch groups of kids, he didn't have a worry in the world. With a lazy smile, Bonnie waved him off.

“Sure thing, Freddy! Tell the Boss-man I said 'Howdy', will ya?” he asked, turning back to place a hand on Hannah's shoulder as she played her game. She was impressing the old bunny with her skill on the old joystick and button console. “How are you this good at Balloon Pop?! You're going to make the high score roster for sure!”

A cursory glance over to the Afton kids let Bonnie know the kids were still adjusting from the shock of the more modern Pizzeria. Gregory meanwhile began to shake both Elizabeth and Evan from their stupors.

“GUYS! Come on! We should play bug stomp before Freddy gets back!” he tried to encourage, only managing to move them a few inches before they loosened up on their own accords. He needed to get some gaming in before his dad returned, or he'd likely not get a chance to play at all tonight with the picture he wanted to make for Hannah.

Evan finally got the wherewithal to start forward, following after Gregory as the boy directed them to the game in question. Evan tried his best to take in all the new titles and artwork of these modern day machines, but everything blended together in a big blur. He vaguely registered Puppet's slim frame lounging in the netting above the prize counter, relaxing in a pile of plushies until her first “customer” came over to trade tickets for gifts. A wistful little smile crossed the ghost's face at this. At least Mari was happy; she deserved it, after everything she'd done for them.

Mari was a relatively carefree animatronic on the surface, her lackadaisical repose inside the netting giving her the air of a sentinel amidst the various toys and gadgets. She waved to the kids as they frantically passed her by, happy to watch them from the sidelines to make sure everyone was safe.

It's why she did everything. First and foremost, her central programming was to make sure Charlie was safe. But with every missing child that came after her, Puppet had slowly righted every tragedy. Her Gifts were finally being enjoyed to their fullest extent, and those children could relive their happiest days forever...

Yet it always seemed something wanted to place themselves in the way of that perfect, picturesque life.

Hardly anything got past the Puppet. Not one sound or motion that wasn't analyzed critically. And the shadow passing just outside the hall had drawn her attention quickly. It could be Monty, but the shadow itself was smaller—Freddy was a rather tall man in his human form, and even with this stretched-out darkness just lurking quietly outside, she could see it wasn't their friend. Her music box clicked, starting out of old habit. Above the sounds of various arcade games being played, the old melody played as she slowly slunk down from her precarious perch to investigate.

Bonnie had hardly noticed. His attention was either fixated solely on Hannah, or having called out in asking what game the others were off to go play.

There was that music box again. It played for various reasons—to soothe, to help a child drift off to sleep, to announce when a big prize was won... But it could also play when the Puppet was curious.

Having spent so long by her side, Evan was particularly tuned into Mari's lullaby. Cassidy was the same, but seeing as she was nowhere in the vicinity it was only Evan who turned his head, watching the slim, striped Marionette slink across the floor in a fluid search. He started to ask what she was looking for, but a tug on his sleeve from Gregory distracted him enough.

Puppet would let them know if there was danger about, he was sure of it. There was no need to stress; he was here to have fun, and that's what he was going to do.

***

Meanwhile, Freddy arrived at Sam's office only to find it locked. He must be off gallivanting the Pizzaplex with Michael and Charlie. Freddy sighed, wishing he could connect to one of them in an instant like he used to be able to do with his bandmates... Until he realized that he could, in a way. Finally, he'd get to use this cell phone Sam so graciously provided.

Slipping it out of his pocket, Freddy scrolled through the few contacts Sam preinstalled until he found the CEO, upon which he'd press the “call” button as Michael showed him the other day. He held the device up to his ear, thankful to hear it ringing on the other end and even more relieved when Sam's familiar voice picked up.

“Hello, Sam,” Freddy said, speaking a bit louder than he needed to with the microphone so close to his mouth. “I would like to get Gregory's tablet from your office, but it is locked; I apologize for the inconvenience, but would you be able to meet me here? It should only take a moment!”

Sometimes Sam wondered if he designed Freddy far too politely. It didn't grate his nerves by any means, though he hoped it eventually didn't lead to some kind of complex. Regardless, he answered with a happy sounding: “Fredbear! No, it won't be a problem. I was just showing Mike the newest upgrades in the security system, but he'll be fine while I'm gone.”

Sam would give the guard in question a thumbs up in case he was wondering why Freddy called. It was by no means an emergency, but that didn't mean it didn’t require Sam's attention.

“I'll meet you there,” Sam said decisively, briefly looking down at his nails before wishing him goodbye and hanging up. Oil and dirt came clean from under the whites of his nail bed, and he flicked the dirt to the floor with the dismantled Chica parts. Another robot was almost ready to go, and the more Sam worked with Michael the more thankful he was to have the guy back in his life. He had so much experience inside the company, Mike by all means should be running it with him.

“I'll be right back—Gregory needs his tablet and it's inside the office.” Sam raised a bushy brow towards his friend at the security desk. “You're going to be good while I'm gone?”

Whether he meant ''good' as if fine mood and work wise, or 'good' as in no causing harm or mischief seemed to be left up to Michael. Now clad in the standard white button-up and black pants of the Fazbear security uniform, Michael leaned back in the swivel chair and tipped his hat with a jaunty grin.

“I’ll be fine, Boss,” he replied, still amused that his childhood friend was now technically his employer. Gesturing to the multitude of camera feeds on the monitors, Mike added: “I’ve done this a thousand times—trust me, I know what I’m doing. If there’s any trouble on either end, we’ve got walkies and cell phones to contact each other. Just leave it up to your night guard to keep things running smoothly.”

Was this mild pontificating a way to cover up his nerves at being left alone at a security desk again?

…Possibly, though Michael would never admit it. For literally the first time since he’d started working security guard positions, he would not be on the lookout for possessed, bloodthirsty animatronics. In fact, everyone he’d able to see on the cameras—robotic, ghostly, or human—was his friend in some capacity. Well, except Ennard, though they clung to the vents and would be hard to spot on camera anyway.

With a grimace, Michael glanced up to the grated vent opening in the wall in front of him, hoping he wouldn’t get a surprise visit. No promises he wouldn’t instantly taze the now-helpful amalgamation due to traumatic flashbacks…

Flipping his expression back into a casual smile, Michael kicked his feet up on the desk and gestured lazily for Sam to go. “You’d better meet Freddy before he starts freaking out because you’re thirty seconds later than he expects you to be; we’ll be in touch.”

“You're the best, Mikey.” Sam smiled, throwing up another thumb in the air as the pneumatic hiss of the security door whooshed up and over his head. Samuel walked leisurely, checking his phone on his walk to the office. There was never a break for work for him; when not actively tightening bolts on an animatronic, he was always checking emails or texts from business suppliers and partners.

As Samuel arrived to his office in search of the drawing tablet, Mike would probably notice the movements on the other cameras. With several sections of the mall to flip through, he could catch glimpses of their friends in Daycare. Charlie was currently blowing up his phone with memes she'd found from 2008, now fully entrenched in the culture of that time.

Scrolling through the feeds, something struck Michael as odd: the sound of a familiar music box, growing closer and closer no matter which camera he checked.

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

The old nursery rhyme, Grandfather’s Clock... It persisted and slowly grew louder and louder.

The vent behind Michael’s head echoed with the harsh memory-inducing sound. Not five seconds after it stopped completely, who else should fall into Michael's lap but Mari? The Puppet seemed just as alarmed as the guard was judging by her aggressive wiggling and thrashing.

Michael was embarrassed to admit that even after all they’d been through, his immediate instinct was to throw the Puppet off and try to kick her out the door, earning himself a few more seconds of perilous freedom from the vengeful bot and soul inside. However, this passing thought only lasted a millisecond—too fleeting for him to even consider acting on it. Instead of punting Mari like a ragdoll, Michael held her close in an attempt to calm her down.

“Whoa, whoa, relax!” he exclaimed, doing his best to pat her on the back. “Why are you so freaked out?! I can’t understand if you don’t chill!”

As the Puppet started to slow her wild movements, Michael gently held her by the shoulders at arm’s length as he tilted his head with a pinched expression of worry. “What’s wrong, Mari?”

Being addressed by her new name seemed to ground her enough. Puppet furiously tapped Michael's arms, then pointed to the security cameras with a thin finger. There was a threat inside the building—explaining how she knew would be impossible and time-consuming, so she sought to gently break free from one of Michael’s hands and finagle the controls for the monitors, head swiveling until she found the East Arcade’s security feeds.

Just in time, as they crossed over a camera where the shadow of a man snuck into a nearby bathroom, its door still shaking from the force he seemed to push it with. Repeatedly, Mari pointed to the screen, tapping it furiously until Michael got the message that she needed his help.

Michael’s mild concern instantly narrowed into sharp-focused fury. “Who the f*ck is that?”

Someone was in the Pizzaplex after hours, and that meant that someone was near his family. Someone was a potential threat to everyone he cared about, who all happened to be in the building this very second. Even if it weren’t for Mari’s reaction, Michael could tell this stranger wasn’t welcome; no one would be sneaking around like that if they had good intentions.

With a cold jolt of fear, Mike also realized this uninvited guest was way too close to where Gregory and the kids were for comfort. Though he trusted Bonnie to look after them, there was only so much one robot could do when trying to keep so many kids safe from a currently unknown threat…

As if Michael had been in this scenario many times before, in one smooth movement he slung the Puppet around his shoulders and stood, patting his work belt down to assure he had his guard supplies. Upon exiting the office, he unclipped his walkie and tuned it into Sam’s. “Hey, Sam? Don’t freak out, but I think there’s someone in the Pizzaplex near the East Arcade. I’m going to check it out right now; I’ll keep you posted.”

The Puppet was quick to grasp on to Michael. If not only seeing a security guard was enough to scare whoever this was, the animatronic with the dead-eyed stare clinging to Mike's shoulder could help put some fear into the intruder’s heart. There were still children to protect, whether they were alive or not.

“Let me know if you need back up, Mike,” Sam answered after a beat, tone sounding worried as he’d just sent Freddy off with Gregory's tablet. He had a feeling that Freddy may react proactively should he see someone sneaking around the Pizzaplex.

Sam made sure to lock his office again, checking the hall corners as he jogged towards the security office. He could still do something—in place of Mike, he could check out the camera's feed and give him help where he needed it.

***

This wasn't happening the way Terry intended.

The sounds of kids playing had led the man with a sloshing beer gut towards the East Arcade. As soon as he caught sight of that mechanical rabbit he recognized as a character from many people in Hurricane's shared childhood, he dashed. Terry was smart enough to know those things had security features since the 90's; there was no way he could get close to his son with that thing around.

So now here he was, trying to call his wife for the tenth time in hopes of simply bailing on the plan to find Gregory. Who needed that little sh*t's government checks anyway? They already reported him missing, so the blame was hardly on them.

It was his fault for running off in the first place...

***

Michael was rushing towards the restroom he’d seen the man sneak into, face a mask of steely determination. On the way he ran into Freddy, who was expectedly concerned at the situation when Mike filled him in. Freddy wanted to help, but the guard said his assistance would be best utilized in the arcade with Bonnie and the kids.

With Gregory’s tablet clutched tightly in his hand, Freddy made a beeline for the game room. The kids were scattered throughout the arcade when Freddy arrived, but he didn’t want to call more attention to them by yelling out. Instead he rushed to Bonnie’s side, managing to snag a wandering Evan along the way and tuck the little ghost under his arm.

“Bonnie, help me gather the children and take them to the security office behind the prize counter,” Freddy instructed, still remembering the safe rooms. Even if he wasn’t connected to the Pizzaplex network anymore, his mental map of the building was still intact.

“Freddy? What’s happening?” Evan asked, instantly growing worried, though he allowed the fatherly figure to carry him around for now. With a hitch in his breath, he asked: “Did… did Puppet see something? Is she okay?!”

“She is with Michael; she is fine,” Freddy replied, not fully answering the boy’s question. To Bonnie, he urged: “Let us not waste time.”

Bonnie, who was the king of being nonchalant, came besides Hannah and scooped her up playfully into his arms at Freddy's request. Sure, he pulled her away from her game, but he distracted her by tossing her gently upwards in the air.

“Hoo boy! We gotta mosey for now. But we'll be back later!” the bunny loosely promised, glancing around as he began his search for Elizabeth and Gregory and gently bouncing Hannah in his arms; despite her ability to float or become incorporeal, he felt like it was important. Little things like that helped a kid like her feel normal, he assumed.

Gregory was spotted with Lizzie—the rabbit caught them in the act of trying to jump the prize counter in hopes of substituting their meager amount of tickets for a better prize.

“Hey, kids! We gotta go to the security room and get ourselves some snacks now!” he said, keeping his worry locked behind a mask, finding himself almost too good at pretending to be fine in the moment. He'd wave his free arm at the kids to make them follow him. “Quit all your cheatin' and come on! Freddy's waiting for us.”

Despite the annoyance of being pulled away from their games, it seemed the kids knew when it was time to go. Freddy’s concerned expression—not nearly as hidden on his human face—was the final prompting they needed to head to the security office without a fuss.

As they walked, Freddy allowed Evan to float alongside so he could slip his hand into Gregory’s, silently reassuring his son that everything would be alright. They didn’t know if this intruder had anything to do with his foster parents, but a twist deep in Freddy gut told him the timing was certainly a strange coincidence.

***

Along the way, Michael encountered another unexpected companion: Monty, emerging from Gator Golf just as the guard rushed past. He’d snagged the large robot and urged him to follow, feeling more confident with a bodyguard at his shoulder. Though Monty’s programming should be docile now, he was still an intimidating figure.

“Wait here, big guy,” Michael instructed in a whisper as they approached the bathroom. After being assured by Sam that the worst the animatronics would do was capture the threat and bring them to security—which, in this case, was standing right there—Michael opted to let Monty tag along as backup. The android was confident in his abilities to defend himself in a physical fight, but who knew if this psycho had any weapons on him? They couldn’t risk the kids being put in more danger.

“You got it, Mike,” Monty replied, flashing a sharp-toothed grin and punching a fist into his palm. “Lemme know if you need me to go after ‘em.”

Michael patted the gator’s arm and then turned to the bathroom, opening the door with a harsh kick of his heel. He stepped inside, calling out in a slow, deep voice tinged with barely-concealed annoyance: “Hello? Security! Look, I know you’re in here—we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

The jig was up—whoever was working here at night already saw him. So, hanging up the dozenth call he made to Rita, Terry sighed. What were his options? Security might let him go with a warning if he told the guy he was only looking for his son.

Looking through the cracks in the colorful plastic stalls, Terry gulped. There was a short pause before he surrendered, figuring that if he made himself compliant now, there might be time to slip away later. Terry didn't see this as an encounter that would hinder him; he always found himself worming his way out of messes and responsibility.

Slowly, he opened the stall door and put his hands up. Terry Smith had a seemingly permeant crease in his brows, glaring up to the perceivably younger man for having caught him.

“Alright—just be cool...,” Terry said, his voice like bike tires on gravel. Low and rough like you'd expect from the voice of a two pack a day smoker. For now, he'd bide his time. It wasn't like this guy was a real cop.

Good news: the man looked like a normal human, albeit a pissed off one. Still, Michael wasn’t going to take any chances. He was cinch his hands behind his back, holding his wrists together as best he could with one hand while reaching for his walkie with the other.

“I got him,” Michael said into the device, informing his boss of his success. “Let me know where I should meet you.”

As he waited for Sam to respond, Michael locked gazes with the man in the mirror. Clamping his wrists tighter, he narrowed his eyes. “Who are you? Why are you here after hours?”

Regardless of the fact he’d broken in, something about this guy just gave Michael a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Oh, come on! Really? I'm an old man, kid. I'm not going to do anything,” Terry fibbed, rolling his eyes with an annoyed glared pointed at Michael over his shoulder. He spoke down to the guard to cover up the fact that he was clearly up to something. He even tested Michael's strength, finding him much stronger than he looked. “My name's Terry—and I know I'm trespassing, but I have a very good reason for it.”

His explanation was cut short as a voice chimed in over the walkie.

“I'll come to you you—” Sam told Michael, noting everyone present and accounted for inside the nearby security office. “—you're in the East Arcade bathroom?”

“You can't detain me like this. You're not even a cop...” Terry rolled his eyes with a heavy loll in his neck. The more this man spoke, the more he couldn't hide his self-entitled personality.

“I can do whatever the hell I want to do,” Michael snapped back, grip tightening to border on painful. With his name revealed, it was abundantly clear who this man was: Terry Smith, Gregory’s foster father come to take his son back. Apparently, he decided to try a less savory route of doing so since his wife’s attempt failed.

“Don’t bother thinking you can slip out,” Michael remarked when he felt Terry start to squirm. Good—the bastard deserved to suffer as much discomfort as possible for the trauma he put Gregory through. The night guard wore a grin, though it didn’t meet his cold eyes. “I’ve got a biiig friend waiting just outside, and I guarantee he won’t be nearly as nice as I am if he gets his hands on you.”

Monty might be overtly docile now, but Michael knew how scary it could be to see a gigantic gator running at you. Hopefully that’d be enough to quell Terry’s thoughts of escape, since it was making Michael’s skin crawl the longer they touched.

“You’re lucky, though—you get to meet the CEO!” Mike spoke in an exaggeratedly excited tone. “Once he gets here, you can explain to both of us why you’re sneaking around the Pizzaplex.”

Terry's eyes had gone wider. There wasn't any way he could worm out of this right now, so he'd try getting sympathy from this aggressive night guard before the CEO dared show his face.

“Please—Sir, I'm looking for my lost son. He loves this place. I-I just want to get him home safe and sound.” He squirmed uncomfortably. This security guard’s hands were like a vice grip, tightening the more he threatened to wiggle loose. “Look... Understand it from my perspective. You've got a family right? Wife or... Or kids or something? I just want my son back...”

He attempted to illicit an empathetic response from the guy, but he wasn't entirely sure that he was dealing with the most empathetic person around. But Terry was a parasite at heart; feeding off of other's kindness was the only way he knew how to get by.

“Yes, I have a family,” Michael responded through clenched teeth.

Along with some good friends he had three younger siblings, two of which had been around since the 80s and one he’d acquired recently. Gregory was his brother, and Freddy was certainly a better father figure to all of them than William ever had been. The former co-founder of Fazbear entertainment had neglected his children due to his madness, which was certainly no excuse for his behavior… But Gregory’s neglect had been intentional, and that made Michael want to punch out the man he was holding.

“If you’re looking for your son, might I ask why you’re sneaking in at night to do so?” Michael asked. He could take an educated guess, but he was really stalling for time until Sammy arrived to give further direction. Although, if the CEO didn’t show up soon Michael was growing increasingly tempted to throw Terry out to deal with the likes of Monty and anyone else roaming around in wait for him to pass by.

The tense statement Michael made sounded so definitive that Terry clamped his mouth shut, more worried now that the security guard had found a hole in his plan. Though, to Terry, it sounded better than the situation looked at first glance. He swallowed, mouth becoming nervously dry as he went to explain.

“My wife—she came here a few days ago. W-We hadn’t heard anything from the CEO about our son. Rita, she uh—s-she has it in her head that our son’s somewhere in here,” the man explained, having to swallow again to lubricate his crackling voice. “I came here to put both our minds at ease and—HEY! You're hurting me, bud!”

Terry yelped dramatically, trying to wiggle loose just in time for a very tense looking Samuel to walk through the doors. Scowling, Sam crossed his arms and leered down at the intruder.

“Okay—what the hell is happening here?” he inquired. Where Terry went to explain, he was immediately silenced by the CEO, who held a dismissive hand to his face. “I'm talking to my guard, not you.”

“Says his name is Terry, and he’s looking for his son,” Michael informed, careful to leave out extraneous details. To Terry, they needed to make it seem like they only knew what he told them—they couldn’t let on that Gregory was a part of their wild, adoptive family. Mike raised a skeptical eyebrow at Sam as he continued. “He told me his wife—Rita, I think?—stopped by the other day and met with you, but you weren’t able to tell her anything.”

With a final warning squeeze, he slowly released Terry’s wrists, smirking with satisfaction as the man rubbed the now-tender skin. Michael’s violent temper had quelled with time, but seeing the man in clear discomfort gave him a sick little sense of satisfaction. Looking to Sam, the guard asked, only half-joking: “So, what do you think? Should we sic Monty on him for trespassing?”

“Rita...” Samuel blinked, fixing the round frames on his nose. If she had proof that Gregory was in hiding at the Pizzaplex, Samuel had a feeling at this point Rita might be desperate enough to call the authorities. However, without solid evidence they couldn't conduct a search without probable cause if Sammy pushed back hard enough. So, she must've sent the idiot she married to come and look for traces of Gregory himself.

“Yes, Rita Smith; I remember now.” Samuel's voice was calm, but the man wore his emotions on his sleeve just like his twin. With his nails digging into his jacket and a contemptuous gaze, he was much less friendly with the Smiths this time around. “Sir, I'm positive I already told your wife there’s no evidence of your missing son being in the building. The head of security and I were looking over the tapes day and night and found no trace of Gregory Smith.”

Well... More like doctoring the footage ahead of time. It was another white lie, and Sam felt his line of sight dither from Terry's. As a con man himself, Terry raised his hand and pointed a stubby index finger at the CEO.

“Bullsh*t, you must’ve seen him! This is the only place he could’ve gone! There has to be outside footage somewhere—” Terry shouted, argumentative and rude. “You can trick all the new f*ckin' rubes in this town, but people like us remember what happened forty years ago! Weird sh*t happens here; kids go missing…”

“You shut the f*ck up!” Michael hissed, overcome with a dark flash of anger that made him grab Terry by the front of his shirt. He lifted the man up on tip-toe as he sneered down into his face, much less obvious at lying than Sam. “You have no clue what you’re talking about. We haven’t seen your kid—if we did, we’d tell someone. Do you really think we’d still be in business if sh*t like that was still going down? And—”

“Hey, y’all good in there?” Monty’s voice cut through Michael’s rant, the gator’s protocol for protecting staff amping up along with the raised voices.

And not a moment too soon—the last thing Mike wanted was for his emotions to overwhelm him and let slip something that would prove they knew more than they were letting on. He took a deep breath, setting Terry back on solid ground as he let out the air in his artificial lungs.

“We’re fine, Monty; just stay put,” the guard called through the closed door. His eyes shifted to Terry, now even colder than before. “I suggest you get the hell out of our Pizzaplex before you really piss us off, got it? If we find any information on your son, you and your wife will be the first to know.”

Samuel looked rattled. The rant Michael was about to go on could’ve jeopardized everything. Thankfully, with Monty’s interruption Sam pulled himself from the shaken daze of Terry having touched a nerve and could now intervene. Standing at Mike’s side, he decided to play good cop.

“We'll gladly escort you instead of calling the police. I understand why you did what you did.” Samuel tried to sound understanding, taking Terry by the shoulder as he spoke. He began guiding them through the bathroom door to kick him out at the entrance, a slick smile pulling at his lips. “Do it again and I’ll be contacting the authorities to hit your ass with a civil suit.”

Michael had successfully intimidated Terry into a more passive behavior. It turned passive-aggressive when Sam mentioned suing him, but Terry lacked the resistance to fight either of them right then and there.

Especially when he saw just how big Montgomery Gator was up close.

“Monty, buddy!” Michael greeted the animatronic warmly. “Mind tagging along while we show Terry the door?”

“‘Course not!” the gator replied loudly, his long tail swaying slowly to and fro. To the inexperienced it might seem like just a standard pre-programmed movement cycle, but in reality it was a predatory gesture meant to keep Monty focused on potential prey. He wouldn’t seriously hurt the guy, of course—now that the malware was gone, he was physically unable to do such a thing. He could certainly intimidate, though… and even rough the guy up if Sam or Michael tweaked his aggression settings a bit.

Heavy footsteps shook the floor as Monty began following along beside the trio, his grinning maw widening when Terry spared a quick glance at him out of the corner of his eye. In his rumbling voice, Monty remarked: “I’d go along with whatever they say, if I were you—you don’t want to see anyone around here really mad!” His smile got impossibly bigger. “‘Specially not any of my friends…”

This isn't happening, Terry thought, trying to keep his gaze forward and to ignore the mechanical freak show that was currently following him and the CEO down the halls. I’m not being threatened by a f*cking robot...

“Thank you, Monty,” Sam told in an appreciative tone as the gator held open a door for all of them to pass through. When Terry slowed, Sam was the one to nudge him into walking again. As they approached the exit, Terry attempted to plant his feet again in resistance.

“W-Wait! Could I come back when you're open again? Come on, this isn't fair...,” he practically whined, attempting to pull at everyone’s heartstrings—though maybe it was futile. That robotic alligator likely only listened to its masters without free will of its own.

“I'll think about it. Monty? Could you help our friend here get moving again, please?” Sam asked with another closed-off body stance, crossing his arms disapprovingly.

“You got it, boss!” Monty replied, taking a big step forward and hoisting Terry into the air by his underarms. The man was lifted like a pillow, clearly no match for Monty’s extreme strength. It was Michael who held the doors now so Monty could carry Terry all the way to the exit. Only when they reached the front entrance did Monty set him down with a laugh, crossing his arms over his chest when the man scrambled away from the imposing gator. “Alllright, ride’s over! Time to go!”

“Remember—sneaking back equals instant lawsuit,” Michael piped up, glaring at Terry with hands on his hips. One set of fingers tapped the taser at his belt in a not-so-subtle threat. “And that’s only if I’m feeling nice.”

Sam relocked the doors as they slammed on Terry, leaving the man in a tizzy. Once out of earshot and only after lowering the exit shields, Samuel put his hands on the top of his head.

“You two—” he laughed, only able to breathe and joke about the situation now that it was over and out of sight. “—nearly made him crap himself. Wow... We need to be more careful with our security protocols.”

Sam rubbed his eyes as the stress of it all came down upon him. To completely fix the security systems, they’d need to being the rest of the Glamrocks back online. It was an upside and downside to having the walk-around characters themselves be a part of the security network. Having the gang wandering around to protect Gregory was their best option now that they knew the Smiths were actively sneaking. And with the souls of the dead wandering this place, Sam felt like they might not only have the police to worry about should Terry or Rita complain to them. If one of those cheesy ghost-hunting shows got word of haunted animatronics, they’d be all over this place…

Samuel begun to pull out his phone and send a text to the whole family:

Cost is clear. I put the front end on lockdown so no one set off the alarms, okay?

“Good thing all we have to do now is fix Roxy—then we can turn the system back on,” Sam remarked absently as he typed.

“That guy’s a piece of work,” Monty murmured, looking to the doors as he flexed his claws. Sammy’s last comment piqued his interest, and he turned to the men with a spark of hesitant hope in his eyes. “Wait, if y’all just gotta fix up Roxy… Does that mean Chica’s ready to go?!”

“She’ll be ready by the start of night shift tomorrow for sure, if not tonight,” Mike replied, running a stressed hand through his hair. The encounter with Terry really jarred him more than he’d like to admit, and he was mentally kicking himself for almost losing his cool.

However, Sam had a good point. Once all the animatronics were up and running, they could reactivate that mysterious “internal network” Michael had been hearing so much about and act as their own security/relay system.

“Actually, Sam, we should probably finish up with Chica asap,” Michael thought aloud. The faster they could move onto the wolf, the better. He opened his mouth to speak, when his phone buzzed with a text from Freddy responding to the group message.

WE WILL STAY CLEAR. I AM TAKING THE CHILDREN BACK DOWNSTAIRS FOR THE NIGHT AS AN EXTRA PRECAUTION. ARE YOU ALRIGHT? DO YOU NEED ANY ASSISTANCE?

Michael snorted, and indicated for Sam to check his phone when the man gave him a questioning look.

“Silly bear got stuck on caps lock,” Michael chuckled, replying that they were just fine and Freddy had a good plan. He paused, then glanced up at the gator. “Monty, mind going with them just for extra security?”

“Nope,” Monty replied easily, as if he could even deny such a request. “I’ve been meanin’ to take a trip down there to see where all the lil guppies hang out anyway. I’ll make sure nothin’ bothers ‘em.”

“Thanks; I’ll go back to the security office and watch the cameras while you work on Chica,” Michael told Sam, simultaneously relaying this plan to Freddy and Charlie. “I doubt he’d come back tonight, but we don’t know what this psycho’s capable of…”

Freddy Fazbear had no clue how to type on a phone and it was precious. The worried text message had stamped a smile onto Sam's mouth. He worked on texting back the group chat, but asked Michael: “You think you're going to need Charlie's help tonight? It could get hairy if Terry shows up again.”

Samuel brought it up, not meaning to rhyme as he spoke before going back to compose his text to Freddy. “We'll be fine. Gonna send Monty down with you. How are the kids?”

Before he could press send Charlie had sent them all something—a moving picture of a cat tackling a baby in a backyard. She captioned the oddly timed meme: The Cat is Sam and Terry is the baby lol

With a roll of his eyes, Sam ignored the text as he suppressed the urge to laugh at something that dumb. Michael snickered at Charlie’s message, texting back:

Lol so true… you want to stick with me in the security office for a bit? Mari’s welcome too but she might want to go with the kids

Aloud, he told Sam and Monty: “Yeah, I’ll hang with Charlie. Sorry this is such a huge mess—”

There he went again, apologizing as if all of this was somehow Michael’s fault. Charlie had been on his case about not doing that for the past week, though it was a hard, decades-ingrained habit to break. With a heavy sigh, Michael shook his head and looked to the pair.

“Anyway, we’re good for now; come on Monty, you and I are going in the same direction.” Before heading back into the depths of the Pizzaplex, Michael squeezed Sammy’s shoulder in friendly acknowledgement, his usual grin quirking up the corner of his mouth. “Thanks for the backup, boss.”

Sam didn't quite understand what Michael had even been apologizing for to begin with. But still, he was glad to give Mike a reassuring glance.

“I've always got your back, buddy,” he replied, waving off both Monty and his friend in favor of heading to his office.

So much to do, Sam thought, and only so much time. It was nearly the weekend, and their scheduled re-opening needed to have everything working again. Sam just had to keep telling himself that everything was going to work out in the end if he managed to work long enough...

***

Down below, the troupe of children had made it safely to the inner workshop and what Gregory had now been affectionately calling the Ghost Diner. In the darkness, Gregory made himself busy by showing the spirits how the drawing tablet worked. Currently, with Bonnie posing on the workbench in a thinker's position, Gregory sketched what he saw.

“Yeah, so when you want to color it, you can just switch to a new layer under the line art you just made,” he explained, making sure there was enough room to show the other kids as they all hid inside the burned out diner. Freddy didn't really want to leave them out of sight, but it was safer if Gregory and the others were completely hidden from view.

“Hey guys, I’ve got another friend for you to hang with!” Henry’s voice sounded bright and calm from the workshop entrance. A few minutes earlier Monty had appeared in the hallway just outside per Michael’s direction, where Henry happened to be keeping watch. After some introductions and brief marveling at each other—Monty in awe of his friends’ creator and Henry astounded by Monty himself—the old ghost led the way to where the children gathered.

“Hey, y’all!” Monty greeted with a wave, taking in the little band of kids. A quick health scan indicated that Gregory wasn’t distressed despite the situation, to the gator’s relief. He also noted that this scan only worked on Gregory, meaning all the others weren't quite human.

At this point, Monty had stopped questioning things in favor of trying to go with the flow, as was his usual nature. As long as everyone was safe and happy, who cared whether they had real heartbeats or not?

“Monty, thank goodness!” Freddy said, moving to hug his animatronic friend around the waist. “Thank you so much for helping.”

“Aw, no worries Fredbear!” Monty replied, throwing back his head in laughter as he ruffled Freddy’s hair aggressively. He acknowledged Bonnie with a wink through his purple shades, though he was quick to direct his attention to the kids. He was still a bit wary of the rabbit. “What’cha doin’? Hey, that’s a great drawin’, squirt!”

***

Michael just got to the office when Charlie and Puppet came banging on one of the security doors. After confirming their identities on the cameras Mike let them in, then sunk into the chair with a heavy sigh.

“Well, we guessed as much but I can now confirm: Gregory’s foster dad is a sh*thead,” he announced, drumming his fingertips on the desk in annoyance.

Charlie stayed by the door for a second longer, taking in what Michael said and silently wondering what had happened while Marionette quickly slunk inside. Mari was quick to curl up the length of the chair and flop her arms around Michael in a hug.

“What even happened? I was downstairs almost all night,” Charlie said, closing the door behind her as she joined the pair inside.

Henry asked that she stayed downstairs when the chaos began—something about Charlie rushing into danger set him off these days. While he worked on Mari's newest android upgrades, Charlie acted as his assistant despite her very busy mind. The fact that Michael potentially got to beat up Gregory's foster dad without her had put a deep frown on Charlie's face.

“Oh, you know—just gave him the ol' one-two,” Michael joked, as if reading her thoughts. He mimed punching an invisible person before settling back into the chair with a huff, wrapping an arm around Mari's plush frame as she hugged him. “Really, the coward was hiding in the bathroom—Mari caught him and ran to tell me, and when I saw him on the security cameras I alerted the others.”

He let out a humorless laugh, rolling his eyes. “Bastard tried to act like he was concerned about Gregory, and the reason he was sneaking in was because he and his wife hadn't heard anything since she tried to get info. We quickly showed him the door with Monty's help, so I doubt he'll be back tonight.”

Michael's gaze shifted to the cameras, nearly all of which were still and quiet since most of the members of the Pizzaplex were down in the basem*nt where feeds wouldn't reach. The only movement he could see was Sam shuffling around with Chica's prone body, as well as Sun talking animatedly with his new friend in the Daycare. With a sigh, Michael added: “Still, it's not a bad idea to keep an eye out for the rest of the night... we need to be extra vigilant over the next few days, too. Sam's working to get Chica and Roxy fixed up so he can activate the animatronics' extra security protocols.”

It figured that both of the Smiths turned out to be giant assholes. Charlie and Michael expected nothing less from the people that wanted to take Gregory from them and back into harm’s way. While Charlie was the one that seemed to support others, the thought of others coming to take away their little brother had begun to really worry her. Charlie bit at the sides of her nail, following Michael's line of sight to the security feeds. She could sit here and worry, sure. Or she could help to keep Gregory safe.

So Charlie wandered her way to the desk, standing beside Michael as he performed his job. The security outfit certainly looked more familiar on him the longer she saw him in it. Before Michael could catch her gaze, she glanced up and watched both Ennard and Sun playing together. If only they could give Gregory that sort of carefree life...

Sighing, Charlie decided to voice her biggest concerns. “Do you ever wonder if we're going to mess him up? Like... He's going to be like us because of all of this?”

Charlie finally could look at Michael, hoping for reassurance from her friend as she gently worried the sides of her arms with a self-soothing hug. “I like to think we're helping him out by protecting him from everything. But, I don't know sometimes... I-I just know we can't lose him.”

What a loaded question. Michael stared hard at the camera as he gathered his thoughts, a heavy crease forming between his brows. Puppet was still clinging to him, though she'd moved to wrap around his neck in a backwards hug so she could watch the feeds, too. .

“Charlie... the kid decided that he'd rather have a robot bear as a dad over anything else,” he said slowly, gaze flickering up to his friend's for a brief moment. “I think he was already a little messed up before we found him. But...”

He paused, swallowing hard. Mike just wanted one sibling to have a normal life—extended family included. That's really all he'd hoped for. He'd always known it was a fever dream, but with every horrible thing that happened to Gregory over last weekend along with the foster situation, Michael was now a hundred percent sure he was a curse to anyone he chose to call “brother” or “sister.”

“If you mean 'is he going to be mentally scarred and would probably benefit from some serious therapy', then yes; absolutely,” Michael continued, knowing Charlie would understand the self-deprecation this time. “And I have no clue what that Remnant will do to him down the line... God, I wish I'd have saved him from that. f*ck, I'm such a—”

He broke off suddenly, the guilt and regret coming over him like a wave. He'd gotten good at pushing down the feelings over the past few days, for if he thought over everything that he'd been through Michael worried he might go insane. But sometimes, in moments like this, it was all too much. Blindly, he reached out for Charlie's hand while he used the other to furiously swipe at approaching tears.

“All we can do is watch over him and make sure he's as happy as possible, Charlie. I agree—we can't lose him. We can't lose anyone again. I... I don't think I can take it.” The confession was quiet, only meant for Charlie and her protective Puppet to hear.

The sound of Michael fast-approaching apathy and sadness pulled Charlie's vision from the screens to their connected hands. She refused to let Michael say horrible things about himself any longer. While of course she enjoyed poking fun at her friend with only the intentions of making him laugh, when he tried to do it to himself she was quite hard on him. Subsequently, Charlie was pulled closer and she rested her head on Michael's shoulder.

“I heard somewhere it's good to cry,” Charlie told him, shutting her eyes as she felt the same sadness for Gregory. “You can. I'm not going to tell anyone...”

They grew up in a time where crying too much got you yelled at—specifically, Michael's dad despised crying. All of them still had so much to work through, and Charlie knew it was silly to hope that all their shared issues would be solved overnight. It simply wasn't realistic. They would all deal with their personal horrors for the rest of their existences...

After pausing to think over the words without her voice being garbled by her own tears, she was able to tell Michael: “We'll do everything we can, but blaming ourselves won't help Gregory or the others at this point.”

“I know, I know, I just... it's hard,” Mike said, appreciating her presence after all these years of being alone. He let out a mirthless laugh that soon became choked up with the tears he'd been holding back for so long. “Man... our lives really went to sh*t, didn't they?”

Now things were finally starting to look up, yes, but they'd suffered for so many years trapped in their own physical and mental prisons. With this thought in mind, the stalwart Puppet wrapped around him, and his best friend's head on his shoulder, Michael finally allowed himself to cry.

It was quiet at first, still getting used to the fact that he could let the tears flow without anyone scolding him for not being strong enough. However, soon he was sobbing openly, the camera feeds all but forgotten as he slipped an arm around Charlie's waist to pull her closer. Puppet had to accommodate her reach to include Charlie who was now smushed into Michael's side, both of them apparently needing the comfort. Charlie felt like a pot of water about to boil over. The crying may not help every sad feeling automatically go away, though it was a relief to get every excess emotion out.

Something about watching the strongest boy you knew growing up—someone you had admired to an extent for their apparent bravery—break down sobbing... Well, it gets to a person.

Charlie couldn't help the few speckles of water she left on his shirt. When the two of them could breathe normally again, Charlie refused to leave his side. Pushing everything away and trying to forget was hard. Especially when everything reminded you of what happened. It was both her greatest comfort and heartbreaking to know that Michael felt the same as she did.

Before long Charlie was playing with Michael's hair in the way she found he liked, blankly watching the video feeds with Mari.

“Puppet—” Charlie said, trying to lift her friend's spirits now. “—if you tell anyone we were crying in here, I'll be sooo mad.” She spoke sternly, a smile cracking her lips as Puppet shook her head fervently. Motioning a zipper being pulled over her static mouth, Mari mimed throwing away a key to tell them that their little secret was safe with her.

“Watch her actually be a total chatterbox when she gets her new body,” Michael remarked with a small upturn of his lips, playfully jabbing Charlie's side. “Just like the one who designed her.”

His face felt heavy and splotchy. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried like that, though it must’ve been decades ago. Even the minor breakdowns over the past weekend had nothing on what just transpired in this tiny security office. Despite this, after letting it out Mike did feel better in a way. Not great—he didn't think he'd ever feel great about things. But at least Charlie was here for him, and vice versa. They'd been ripped apart when they needed each other the most, and now they could finally make up for all they'd lost, no matter how slow the process was.

The guard let out a sigh, allowing himself to relax as Charlie continued idly messing with his hair. He was still on alert, but he really didn't think Terry would show his face around again tonight. Hopefully the man wasn't that stupid.

“...You think the kids are giving Freddy a run for his money?” Michael asked, if only for a topic change. “I know he's literally made to handle groups of them, but surely he wasn't designed for prolonged exposure to the likes of my sister and Cassidy...”

Charlie laughed at the sentiment, now sliding her arms around Michael’s shoulders to try and help dry off his face. All his tears seemed to collect under his chin, so Charlie whisked them away with the long sleeves of her shirt.

“Those twins, too—oh my god,” Charlie brought up. Nearly all of the children down there were a handful to take care of. The only one who you practically never had to worry about was Hannah; even Evan had his moments. After controlling her giggles, egged on by the quick jabs to her ribs, Charlie laughed: “He's got Bonnie and Monty! I'm sure they're holding up. My dad's patient but I doubt he's getting much work done.”

Still, it was her hope that once Mike's shift was over, Puppet would have a way to talk to them come dawn. Before when they shared a connected consciousnesses, Charlie was completely in sync with her toy friend. Now it’d become only slightly hard to decipher exactly what she meant all the time. And while Mari had personality, it would become much clearer with the ability to speak soon enough.

“Oh yeah, he's getting zero work done,” Michael agreed with a nod, leaning back in his chair to cross his arms over his chest and set his feet on the security desk. He grinned with the thought of wrangling all those excitable kids. “You're right, though—at least they've got help. Bonnie's good at entertaining, and I have a feeling Monty would just throw them over his shoulder if they get too obnoxious...”

As Charlie imagined the chaos happening below, a faint smile lit up her face.

“You'd do the same thing if you were watching all of them,” Charlie replied, as if she herself was a total saint. Whenever she babysat the little Aftons with Michael, she remembered it being an uphill battle for them to not mess up the house or have anyone actively hurt when Mike's parents came home...

***

Michael's guess wasn't too far off. By this point most of the kids had gotten tired of sitting around talking or watching Gregory draw and decided to pursue other venues of entertainment. Freddy chose to be a monitor, observing the whole room and being available to those that needed or wanted to hang out with him. His gaze was currently fixated on Monty, who much to the former bear's annoyance was currently tossing Cassidy, Cain, and Quinn as high as possible and seeing who could get the most air time. Freddy couldn't really complain, as if they got to close to the ceiling they could simply phase through it... However, the thought of Monty doing this with more corporeal children caused Freddy to let out a preemptive sigh.

Henry was actually able to get more progress made with Mari's android than he'd expected, despite being interrupted what seemed like every five minutes for a kid to show him something interesting or ask him a random question. The old soul loved the attention, though; it reminded him of the days back in the original diner when life was good.

In the bowels of the Pizzaplex, Gregory was helping Bonnie find a relic from the past. The rabbit could practically see the old guitar in his mind. It was technically his—just an older version of himself owned the thing. When a sooty, filth-covered Gregory emerged from the backdoor holding a guitar up by the neck, he flaunted it in front of the old rabbit and Hannah.

“Is this the one?!” Gregory called as he strutted for the rest of the group.

“THAT'S the very one! Here, here—bring it over so I can tune it,” Bonnie shouted excitably.

Running between his legs ducked Liz, who was currently playing a game of tag that'd lasted well over an hour now with Evan. The high energy of all the children was being handled well by all four responsible figures thus far. After Gregory handed off the instrument, Bonnie was quick to employ his automatic tuning system as he expertly plucked the strings.

“Here, Hannah!” Bonnie larked, handing off the guitar after making sure the strings wouldn't just snap on her from their age. “Why don't we practice chords? Maybe we'll learn a song tonight!”

“WHOA! Seriously?!” The sight of Bonnie's original guitar, even more special in Hannah's eyes due to its clearly old vibe was enough to send her into an excitable fit. She jumped up and down, unable to contain her glee as she reverently took the instrument from Bonnie's paws. After looking around for a moment, she settled against a wall in a quieter corner of the room, already re-familiarizing herself with the strings and few chords her brother had been able to teach her before her fateful trip to the Pizzaplex.

Gregory, having no real musical talent to speak of, ran towards Monty now with the full intention of being launched in the air.

“MY TURN! My turn, please!” he exclaimed, arms up in the air and waving to gain the gator's attention.

“Well hurry up, squirt, 'fore your dad freaks out!” Monty called, bending down to grab Gregory at the maximum throwing angle.

“Monty, do not even think about it!” Freddy warned sure enough, eyes narrowed as he took a step towards the rampaging gator. However, Gregory's speed was no match for his dad's, and before Freddy could blink he watched his son get launched high into the air, the top of his shaggy brown hair only missing the ceiling by mere inches.

“He's fine!” Monty insisted with a hearty laugh, backing away with Gregory clutched in his arms as Freddy started towards them with fire in his bright blue eyes. The gator knew full-well this could have dire consequences, but he couldn't resist adding on: “Get the stick outta your butt and loosen up, Fredbear!”

Being launched in the air willingly left Gregory shouting—a fun, carefree shriek that garnered the attention of the twins and Cassidy. They could relate after having Monty throw them for the last twenty minutes. When Gregory touched back down in Monty's arms he was giggling. His poor dad was going to blow a circuit, or have a simulated heart attack if Monty did that again. But Gregory felt the need to reach out and tell him: “Dad! I'm totally fine! Do you wanna throw me instead?”

Maybe the issue was that Freddy still didn't quite trust other people not to hurt him? The bear couldn't protect him forever; even Gregory knew that, but he loved his Dad enough to at least try not to give him a stress-induced coma. Which reminded Gregory to ask Henry later—could his robots get grey hairs?

“Y'all, let’s not fight! It's s'pose to be a little party down here!” Bonnie called, always the peacemaker, helping Hannah keep time with her chords as he tapped his foot to the beat.

Gregory's reassurance and smiling face worked surprisingly well to get Freddy off Monty's case tonight. Freddy knew he was being overly protective, but he couldn't help it—the whole situation with the foster family was something completely out of his knowledge base and left him deeply distressed, especially when he couldn't do anything but hide away with the kids. He wanted to go out and actively help, but he understood it was best to let Sam and Michael handle it. There was a whole other side to this slippery slope of their “adoption” of Gregory that Freddy hadn't the faintest idea how to work through, and he couldn't risk jeopardizing anything. Even so, taking a backseat after literally being the leader of a band for years was a hard concept for Freddy to wrap his head around...

But right now, Gregory was just trying to have some fun. He did trust Monty implicitly, despite how it seemed. Bonnie's words were the final trigger Freddy needed to snap him out of his seeing-red funk. He blinked a few times, then his expression softened into its usual kind smile. Instead of taking Gregory away, he leaned forward to press a quick kiss to the top of the boy's head, then backed off with a slightly embarrassed laugh. “Sorry, you two—do not mind me. Have fun! Ah, Monty, just... please throw him a little lower, will you?”

“Can do, Freddy!” the gator replied with a jaunty salute, then proceeded to toss Gregory again without warning, eliciting an even louder shriek than before. He was careful to make sure the boy's head didn't come nearly as close to the ceiling this time around, if only to save his old pal the stress.

Gregory had been taken off-guard and paid the price of trusting Monty completely. He yelled as he was thrust upwards, positive there'd be room for a flip—though Gregory wouldn't dare try it for fear of breaking his neck from the height. Falling back into Monty's waiting arms made him miss the ground after the second throw despite how fun it was, eyes squeezed shut as he laughed regardless; it was more adrenaline he felt in lieu of fear.

At the other end of the room, Bonnie was sure to give Fredbear a positive thumbs up. He wouldn't leave his friend hanging as he watched the two come to an agreement everyone seemed happy with.

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

The group played for a good few hours, while their counterparts upstairs watched the camera feeds and laughed over good memories of the past. Eventually Henry's smiling face appeared, coupled with a clap of his hands to get everyone's attention.

“Ladies, gentlemen, rabbits and gators, I have an announcement to make!” the old ghost proudly announced, grin straining his cheeks so much they hurt. “We're ready for the final touches on the next android!”

There was a collective gasp from the room, although the Pizzaplex kids didn't quite get the hooplah of Henry's reveal. Freddy and Gregory seemed the most excited, with the former bear clasping his hands in front of his chest as he asked: “The Puppet is ready?!”

“You bet—all we need is Mari herself! Gregory, I'm requesting your help with that one.” Henry winked at the boy, then turned his gaze to the gator. “Actually... Monty, would you mind getting her? I'd send Freddy or Gregory, but it'd be suspicious and I want Mike and Charlie to be surprised!”

“Oh, sure!” Monty agreed, transferring Gregory to his dad's waiting arms. “Just lemme know where to find her, and I'll be back asap!”

After some instructions, Monty was sent to fetch her from the security office. He made sure to keep an eye out for Terry or other intruders along the way, but the only thing detectable moving through the area was Montgomery himself. As he neared the security room, he attracted the attention of the night guard and his current helpers as he passed through the camera feeds.

Puppet seemed more excited than worried as Monty jogged by his lonesome through the otherwise empty corridors. He passed a few powered-down security bots, careful not to bump their sleeping forms as Puppet tapped the glass of the screens to warn the guard of the approaching animatronic.

“Huh—would you look at that... I wonder if something's happening?” Charlie asked aloud. It was clear by Monty's gait that he wasn't in a particular hurry, so Charlie kept her tone optimistic.

Curious, she rose from her cross-legged position on the floor and lazily walked to the magnetized doors. After a quick press of the button, she stuck her head out in the direction she predicted Monty would come rolling on through. When the giant green gator finally came running around the bend, Charlie waved. “Heya, Monty! Where's the party at?”

“Heeeey, Charlie!” Monty drawled, his voice lax and chill as he halted just outside the door. “The party's downstairs; that's actually why I came all the way up here—Puppet, you're requested as a special guest! The kids've been beggin' for ya to come down and play. Nearly drove ol' Fredbear up a wall with all their yammerin'...”

“Wha—and what about us?!” Michael said in mock offense, pressing a hand to his chest. Monty threw his head back in a laugh, then gave a shrug.

“Sorry, Mike—ain't you s'possed to be workin' a little longer, anyway?” Monty questioned with a tilt of his head. According to his internal clock, night shift didn't end for another 47 minutes and 23 seconds. Hopefully that'd be just enough time to get Mari up and running in her new body.

Michael narrowed his eyes, then turned back to the camera feeds with a huff. “Fine. But tell Lizzie and Evan I'm crashing the next one for sure.”

“I'll pass along the message,” Monty snickered, then held out an arm for Puppet. “Here—climb on up and I'll give ya a ride, free of charge!”

Puppet curled her hands to her chest, so touched that the kids wanted her to come to their little party so badly! In no time flat she scaled Montgomery's arm to rest on his shoulders, giving him a squeeze and nuzzling the side of his head in an appreciative gesture. She had no idea that she was the guest of honor, and probably quite late to the shindig. She had an inkling over what this whole thing may be about, though didn't want to jump the gun and get her hopes up...

Charlie reached up and squeezed the Marionette's hand goodbye, but not before pointing a finger at Monty.

“You have her back by sun up, you hear?” she said with a smirk, as if a chiding mother sending her child out in the world with a friend. Puppet gave her hand back after quickly touching it affectionately to her cheek. Then she was fully braced on Monty's back and ready to head off.

In response to Charlie, Monty pulled down his glasses to give her a wink. Once Mari was settled he turned on his heel, tail swaying to and fro to counterbalance as he threw a wave over his shoulder.

“You're gonna be real happy when we get down there, I guarantee it,” the gator murmured once certain he was out of earshot, gently knocking his head against the Puppet's before picking up the pace. His eagerness got them to the basem*nt in record time, only to find the little crowd had split into two groups: Gregory, Freddy, Evan, and Liz were waiting in the workshop proper with Henry, while the rest of the kids were left in the diner under Bonnie's care.

Puppet held on tight to Monty as they ran; heaven forbid she go flying off his shoulder's like a plastic bag caught in the wind. Upon their arrival, all the kids there waiting to greet her with a rousing cheer—all except for Gregory and Freddy... She wondered if they were part of the surprise?

Regardless, Mari was happy to see Henry and happily flung herself off Monty's shoulders into his waiting arms. She gave him the same treatment she gave to Monty when she saw him. Greeting her creator with a squeeze around the shoulders, she could see where Freddy and Gregory were then...

In the back, the charging pod they'd used to trap William was being hooked up to the remote computer set up that Gregory had made. Now, it was being modified. With all its various output chords loaded into the laptop, the other side had one singular cable. There, it led to the delicately framed body of an android girl, her large eyes shut as if she were napping on the ground.

The Puppet was stunned into a frozen position. With her hands now pulled over her mouth, the sight of it finally being done had shocked her. Equally excited and nervous, Mari pulled on Henry's shirt as if needing a lifeline—something to grab onto while she seemed to vibrate in his arms.

After turning to see the arrival of the guest of honor, Gregory waved them over. With the computer in his lap and a victorious smirk on his face, the boy called: “Hey, I've got it figured out! Bring her over!”

Henry chuckled as he gave Puppet a tight squeeze. Though her rudimentary features seemed inexpressive at first glance, somehow the Marionette figured out how to translate her thoughts through gestures alone. However, even that had its limits. But now she'd never have to play charades again after tonight, if she so desired.

“We're going to transfer your AI over just like Gregory did with Freddy,” Henry explained as he carried Puppet over to the hot-wired setup. “Just a few connected wires here and there, a little code run through Gregory's software program, and voila! Hopefully it won't take more than a few minutes, and then you'll have a brand new body to walk and talk with!”

“It is just like going into sleep mode,” Freddy offered with a soft smile, just in case Mari was nervous about the transfer. She seemed more excited than anything, but then again it was hard to tell all the emotions she was hiding under that static mask.

When they reached the designated spot, Henry glanced down at his arguably most prized creation. In a way, he'd be sad to see the lanky Marionette without a consciousness after he'd just fixed her up, but he knew this would be better in the long run. With a raised eyebrow, he asked: “Ready?”

The Puppet waited just a moment. As Henry held her up, she could just barely make out her own reflection in the dark, soot-tinted glass of the charging pod.

Was this really what she wanted?

Looking around, she saw so many friendly faces. And while the Puppet knew she was loved just as she was by everyone around her, she wondered if it would be the same if she wanted to change?

But then Puppet’s gaze fall on the painstakingly pieced together android. With a pixie face and features that reminded her of her favorite human, Puppet felt her heart soar—as if this was who she was all along. Who she was meant to become after her conscious fused with Charlotte's so long ago...

Just when Gregory was about to ask if she was alright to go, the Puppet nodded, helping Henry by grasping the door and heaving the heavy metal slab ajar. Gregory knew to begin the program after Henry lovingly placed her inside. With the press of a few buttons and a rapid-fire typing of a command prompt, Mari was asleep inside the pod before she could really comprehend it. Her music box's key slackened, falling out of her back with a short clatter as her body relaxed into a wireless slump. Everything she was and could grow into was now traveling through the cables and ready to be downloaded into her newest model.

Gregory began to run the program as soon as the download was complete. The computer fan became hot with its CPU usage, and he had to hold the overheating device off his lap to give himself a break from the heat, keeping the laptop from melting in the process as phase two of the transfer begun.

“Okay... ETA is like a minute thirty seconds,” Gregory assured those waiting with baited breath around him.

Many of the kids couldn't hold in their excitement. Watching their friend waking up for the first time in her new body would be the highlight of the week; who could fault them when Liz and Cassidy relaxed knowing the download was going well, and their friend wasn't just lost inside a file somewhere in the old computer?

Then, it begun. A twitch in her hand, and a crinkle of her nose, Mari began to stir as her internal systems booted up. Before she opened her eyes, Mari rubbed at them and stretched her arms high above her head, working out her limbs. Then, straight ahead Mari glanced to the group. Her eyes were large and dark, an echo of Charlie’s yet bigger somehow, searching in the dim workshop and catching its meager light as she looked all around.

Then, she was up like a flash! Running and skipping to meet Henry, the considerably shorter android nearly knocked him over with the force of her hug, unable to stop the weird warm feeling that coated her face. It was tears that ran down her eyes and now stamped the front of Henry's shirt as she embraced him—actual tears, not merely painted onto a jester’s mask.

“Hi, sweetheart!” Henry couldn't help but laugh, the term of endearment slipping out completely of its own accord. She was like Charlie in so many ways, he couldn't help it—he'd designed the Puppet from Charlie's vision, and when fused together they'd been one and the same.

Now separated again, they had their own distinct personalities, although Mari would always have a little bit of Charlie in her... and vice versa. Really, she was just another kid in Henry's ever-growing adoptive family. Now, she had a human body to match!

The old ghost rubbed Mari's back in soothing circles until she finally pulled away, completely ignoring the wet stains on his shirt. He'd shed a tear or two himself, though he was quick to scrub those away before the girl saw lest she start crying anew. Instead he gently cupped her face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe off the excess liquid from underneath Mari's large eyes. Henry smiled down at her, knowing he'd made the right choices in tweaking what used to be Charlie's predicted elder-teen face that the girl unfortunately never got to experience. If one were to look at his old and new daughters side by side, there'd be no question in anyone's mind that they were sisters.

“How do you feel?!” Henry asked, smiling as he finally released the tiny android.

The room waited with baited breath for Puppet to finally speak after so long. Henry knew what her voice box was supposed to sound like, but that didn't mean it would be exactly as predicted. Freddy's, for instance, had taken on a much deeper timbre than originally programmed to match the human-soul-influenced AI that now controlled his body.

Everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats as the moment they’d all been waiting for had finally arrived. The former Puppet's eyes crinkled at the edges as she gave Henry a large grin, her voice coming out in note-like chimes to stick with Marionette's wholesome music box aesthetic.

“I'm so happy!”

There was no doubt that Charlie had an impact on the Puppet. While their voices were distinct from one another, she definitely had the same cadence as her ghostly counterpart.

“It's... everything I ever hoped it would be,” Mari admitted with a small sniff. Every feeling and sensation she had was so much more intense than experiencing it in her previous model. No more plush stuffing to mute the faux nerve endings. She turned slightly, wanting to look over the full group with her enhanced vision.

“I have SO much to tell everyone! I-I don't even know where to begin! Golly, I haven't been this wired since the 80s!” she said, bouncing in place with her new, more articulated joints. And then suddenly, she remembered—despite her immense love for those around her, Mari needed her other two favorite people around to celebrate as well.

“Ohmygosh! I need to get Charlie and Mikey! They're going to be so jazzed when they see me!” she buzzed, ready to zip off and rescue them from working the rest of the night.

Henry placed a hand over his heart as he listened to Mari speak. She was absolutely adorable, and he could feel the honesty and happiness in every word of that lilting voice.

“I'm so glad you love it, Mari,” he told her. With another chuckle he thought of Charlie and Mike sitting in a security office, not having the faintest clue about what just transpired below their feet. Rubbing the side of Mari's upper arm affectionately, Henry confirmed: “Bring them down here—I'm sure Sam won't mind if Mike slips out early for such a special occasion.”

Looking over her head, the paternal ghost locked gazes with Freddy and his son. “Fred, Gregory? Mind going with her? It'd be good for Mari to have back-up in case one of them passes out from shock.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Freddy agreed cheerfully, grinning as he helped Gregory to his feet. Approaching the freshly-commissioned android, he held out his elbow for Mari to wrap her arms around if she so desired. “Shall we go?”

Gregory bounded to his feet besides his father, laughing at how fast Mari rushed to cling to him.

“Thank you, Freddy! I'll be back soon, Creator,” she said, waving to Henry and the others as she hugged Freddy's arm. Then she looked to Gregory, smiling kindly an taking his hand in one of hers. She pulled him close and bumped him with her hip in a genial manner. “Gregory... Thank you for your help. You're such a smart kid.”

Without him, who knows when they would’ve figured out how to transfer her! Or if they’d even still be around to do so…

“Say, Gregory?” Mari asked the now flustered boy. “Do you think we should prank them? They won't recognize me! I've always wanted to join in on the pranks, but there's never been a good time...”

Blinking, Gregory couldn't believe that this was the same person that’d been slinking around in that eerie Puppet’s body this whole time. It was funny how used to the masked figure he was. Now that a normal girl was speaking to him, it was like he didn't know how to answer her for a moment.

“Uh… duh! We always look for reasons to prank Mike and Charlie,” he said with a chuckle. He hoped that Mari couldn't recognize his inability to socialize, as she seemed far too happy to notice his sudden awkward disposition.

“I will pointedly look the other way,” Freddy said as they began walking up the winding hallways, expression shifting into a rare grin of what could only be considered wickedness. “That is, unless you would like some help with this particular prank of yours...”

It was all in good fun, and he knew whatever Gregory and Mari planned would only end in happiness and laughter for the group of friends. Besides, earlier that night Freddy had been accused yet again of being too uptight—this was a perfect opportunity to have some genuine fun with the kids he adored so dearly.

Mari held a look of barely contained excitement as she leaned on her friend. Freddy was always so supportive, thought the Puppet. So, together they began their scheming on the way up to the surface of the Pizzaplex…

***

Upstairs, Michael was slumped forward on the security desk, chin resting heavily in one palm as he flicked through camera feeds.

“You know—” he began slowly, gaze shifting to where Charlie was once again seated on the floor. “—I can't believe I'm saying this, but I totally forgot how boring this job could be when nothing's actually happening. Don't get me wrong; I'd take dead silence over killer animatronics any day, but man...” He let out a wistful sigh.

“It’s probably a good thing nothing’s happening though, right?” Charlie asked with a laugh, gently kicking the underside of his chair as she spoke. She’d been laying on the floor, giving herself sun spots in her vision by staring at the fluorescent lights. She craned her head now as Michael spoke to her.

As the camera feeds slowly cycled at Michael’s attentive clicks, one thing soon stood out: a girl, thin and with short, shaggy hair could be spotted in the atrium by the Daycare. She was standing in the middle of the fountain, carelessly splashing away at the water. She even seemed to be collecting the loose change she found in the shallow waters before deciding to climb even higher on the structure towards the roof of the waterfall.

“Uh... who the hell's that?” Mike asked, instantly honing in on the movement. With another sigh, he pushed his chair away from the desk and stood, patting down his security belt in a habit that was still ingrained after all these years. Well, he'd just complained about a lack of action, so this must be the universe's answer.

“Alright, let's go—you're my back-up,” he announced, hoisting Charlie to her feet. He unlocked the security door and began walking swiftly to the atrium, thinking aloud as they went. “Looks like a kid to me—maybe a teenager? Not sure, but whoever it is I don't recognize them...”

Michael grimaced slightly, shooting a look at his more supernaturally-inclined friend over his shoulder. “Think it could be another missing kid that found their way up on their own? This place is locked down tight now…”

“No clue,” Charlie replied with a shrug, a little worried in case a teenager did somehow make her way into currently locked down Pizzaplex. Unless she snuck in the same time as Terry, she could’ve been here even longer. This town had a serious problem with watching where their children were…

It wasn’t a very long trip towards the Daycare. Hiding around the corner, Freddy and Gregory waited in the shadows, occasionally laughing to themselves and quickly shushing the other for fear of being heard by any passing night guards. But it was hard not to laugh! Watching Mari dramatically pick quarters and the occasional half dollar from the fountain like a kid who’s never even seen a penny before had them in stitches. When Marionette saw the guards fast approach from the corner of her eye, she pretended not to notice until Charlie called out at the base of the large water feature.

“Yo, kid! Get down! You’re going to get hurt up there!” she exclaimed, firstly concerned for the severe lack of sense this kid had for standing precariously at the top of the fountain.

To which the kid turned around and asked innocently, “Get down? But all the best coins are up here!”

“Down. Now.” Michael's tone left no room for debate. He clicked on his flashlight to shine it near the girl, careful to avoid her face in case the blinding light knocked her off balance. He placed his other hand on his hip, trying to stand in the most authoritative posture he could. “You see this uniform? I'm security. It's literally my job to make sure troublemakers like you don't knock their heads open falling off fountains. Now please get down so we can call your—wait a f*cking second!”

The last past of Michael's speech was breathed out in a hiss, his eyes growing wide as dinner plates. With the flashlight's beam shining a low-light on the girl's face, Michael was able to make out her features—

Features that looked suspiciously similar to his best friend standing at his side.

“Oh my god... No f*cking way...” The night guard seemed unable to form full sentences, his mind trying to process who exactly this girl might be. He'd thought Henry still had a few more days to go on his latest android creation, but... perhaps the man turned it into a rush job? Taking a step closer, Michael asked the girl in a hesitant voice: “...Mari?!”

“Oh, Mikey!” tutted the Marionette, pressing her index fingers into her cheeks as she shook her head at him. “You still curse like a sailor!”

She giggled, thinking it was funny how she’d disarmed them both so easily. They way Michael came in and thought he was going to tell her what to do had made a huge grin grow on her face. It warmed her heart too that Michael recognized her, and the girl would bat her heavy eyelashes at the pair.

Besides Mike, Charlie blinked at the sight of her favorite toy now come to life. It was like she was looking into a mirror that sent her about 40 years in the past, and Charlie nearly choked up over it. Mari looked amazing, and she would clamber into the pool of water to help her friend down from the top plateau.

“Mari?! Were you sneaking around on purpose? Oh man—you… You look—” Charlie stuttered, feeling Mari’s heavier body flop into her waiting arms.

“—I look spectacular? Amazing? As cute as a bug’s ear?” Mari said, knowing she did indeed look like her best friend. She was glad she got to copy her, as Mari thought Charlie was the best girl in the whole world and wanted nothing more than to emulate everything good she saw in her.

Freddy decided it was finally safe for he and Gregory to emerge. Leading his son by the hand, the pair stepped out of their hidden corner and walked over to the fountain.

“I see you found our friend!” Freddy called up to them, and Michael whipped his head around at the voice. With a raised eyebrow, the ursine man added: “I heard you by the way, Michael.”

“Aw, come on—you can't fault me for that!” Michael groaned. “I didn't know Gregory was around!”

Never mind the fact that if Mari had been just some random kid, they'd been subjected to a firsthand dose of Michael Afton's sailor mouth. To distract from being chewed out by the bear, Michael pulled the Puppet close to press his cheek against hers, making her face Freddy as well.

“Anyway—look! Henry outdid himself again.” A slight pause, where Michael's lips twisted downwards. “Wait... you were in on this, weren't you?”

“We didn’t expect you to recognize her so fast!” Gregory replied, wanting to stretch out the joke for as long as possible. “Oh man, Mike! You looked piss—angry! You looked so mad!” Gregory raved, nearly slipping up and cursing in front of his dad in the process.

Charlie squeezed the former Puppet, pulling her back as she found Michael bogarting the mini-version of herself. “Who wouldn’t recognize her? It’s obviously Mari!”

Suddenly being held up by the underarms like the doll she used to be, Mari found herself heating up in the face. She wasn’t used to the attention, usually taking to quietly soak in the parties and get-togethers in the background. Now that she was the center of the everything, she had the sweetest little smile and sparkles in her eyes at all the positive focus on her.

Freddy ruffled Gregory’s hair a bit more harshly than usual, but that was the only consequence the boy received for the near-curse. It was too joyous of an occasion for Freddy to worry about his son almost taking after his big brother’s potty-mouth.

“The others are all waiting for us downstairs,” he announced, releasing Gregory’s hand to move closer to the fountain. “Mari was so excited to get you two in on the fun that we did not have time to properly celebrate!”

“Oh, well that’s no good.” Michael shook of his head, then proceeded to yoink Puppet out of Charlie’s grasp and carry her down the fountain, cautious of her dangling feet just above the water. Once clear of the puddles Michael set the girl on solid ground, then pulled out his phone. To his relief it was 5:56, so he didn’t feel bad about technically skipping out on his night guard duties early. Still, he sent Sam a private text reading:

Ur dad got Puppet into her new android!! We’re going to the basem*nt to hang out; sorry to cut out 4 minutes early lol… coast has been clear all night since we last talked. How’s Chica?

While Michael typed, Freddy used his tall stature to help Charlie down from the fountain, giving her an amiable side hug afterwards. She and the Puppet’s happiness had always been infectious, so the two of them combined were a force to be reckoned with that made Freddy’s cheeks hurt from the unflappable grin he wore.

Charlie was happy to embrace the old bear. She’d missed him and Gregory in her escapades tonight, and took to messing up the boy’s hair with both hands much to his dismay. Gregory playfully smacked away her palms, which resulted in a low velocity slap-fight. When Mari was set down on the ground, Michael may have found it hard to text as she wrapped her arms securely around his waist and clung to him as if she were still her tall and lanky self.

“I missed you guys so much…,” the old security bot proclaimed in her melodic voice. As she spoke, a text message alert would sound on Michael’s phone.

Ball joint. Chica’s head. I have to find a soft mallet to smack her head back on right. She’ll be up and running soon.

You could practically feel Sam’s frustration with what should’ve been a simple project. He sent another as Michael finished reading the last one.

Have fun! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do

Giving Michael his blessing to clock out and go hang out with the others. Mari in the meantime had detached herself and put her hands way above her head.

“Guys! I can do cartwheels like Charlie now! Watch! Watch me—” she said, tipping over and whipping herself over to do a handstand. Though this seemed to be her first time at attempting one; when her arms gave out from actually feeling the weight of her body, she crumpled into a small heap with her legs over her head.

“OOPS!” she groaned, laughing when she found herself pulled upright by Charlie’s helpful hands. “Oh… Maybe not! Hehe~”

“Be careful!” Freddy chimed in, quick to assist Charlie in pulling the smaller android to her feet. He brushed some wayward dirt off the back of her shirt as he gave her a look of understanding. “A new body may take a bit of time to get used to.”

Michael snickered at the former animatronic’s acrobatic attempt. “Yeah, now you’ve got to deal with proportionate limbs. Kinda sucks sometimes—oof!”

The guard nearly toppled over as Mari latched onto him in another hug, though whether this was due to her overwhelming emotions or simply to shut him up, he hadn’t a clue. Even so, he wasn’t going to complain. He’d gotten used to the long limbs of Puppet wrapping around him, but it was admittedly nice to feel something a bit more… solid. It was different being clung to by a robotic security doll versus what for all intents and purposes was “human”. Leaning his elbows on top of Mari’s head as a resting place, Michael texted Sam back:

You sure you don’t need help?? I could swing by on the way to the basem*nt… maybe take Fred and Gregory, if you want

He paused, then with a sh*t-eating grin added:

I don’t want u to stress yourself out & keel over, old man; please let me know if I can help

He’d never be able to get away with treating any other boss like this, but Sam was a special case. Plus, he hoped his sincere offer of assistance cut the harshness of the jibe, if only slightly.

With Mari content to be used as a stand for Michael's phone as long as he let her hug him, she rubbed her head into the side of his ribs. This old habit of greeting people and showing her love would be a hard one to kill given nonverbal cues were her only ways of talking until now. Anticipating his text messages, a typing bubble had popped up on Sam's side and he was quick to retort.

Ha ha very funny, geezer. I'll take it easy when I'm dead lol. I just ask that you, Fred and Charlie stick around for when the morning shift shows up. I have this whole itinerary planned involving introducing you guys.

How Sam ever found the time for any of this was beyond the comprehension of his loved ones. The Devil worked hard, but Samuel Emily works harder when he has a deadline and sixteen consecutive hours of sleep over the past four days.

Apparently Charlie had gotten tired of Michael hogging Mari again, and slowly slipped her very pliable arms from around him. Unhooking her grip and picking up her old friend into her arms as if she were some giant doll, Mari very much tolerated being held like this and even laughed as Charlie stole her back.

“We have a lot to talk about, Mari,” Charlie said affectionately, hoisting her friend up and swinging her gently, limp legs sweeping a foot from the tiles as they walked.

You got it, boss. We’ll meet you in your office at 7; give staff some time to show up

After finalizing plans, Michael slipped the phone in his pocket and glared at Charlie’s retreating back. She may have snatched Mari away but there was another, even more malleable person around for Mike to carry. Gregory was subsequently snatched under the arms and flung into the air, then transferred to Mike’s shoulders when he came down.

“Charlie, Freddy—Sam wants us to stick around for a bit before we head back to the hotel so he can introduce us to dayshift,” Michael announced.

“That is fine,” Freddy said, noting Gregory clearly having the time of his life towering over everyone. “Superstar, perhaps you can stay in Sam’s office while we are busy? I do not think it wise to show your face just yet, and it will take a while to retrieve you from the basem*nt if you remained there…”

Not that anyone thought Gregory wanted to be around so many people right now anyway—especially strange adults. The only two he’d know were Sophie and Vanessa, and he didn’t have the best track record with either of them.

Gregory tapped the top of Michael's head, sitting on his shoulders and wondering if they could sneak into a movie like that—it reminded him a little of the old cartoons. Gregory himself even wondered if he was just especially aerodynamic, making throwing him around irresistible to the others.

“Please,” Gregory said, clearly not up for meeting anyone new. If they were a ghost or a robot, he'd be more into the idea. But no more people, and certainly not now. “I was gonna ask to stay behind, honestly.”

“I'll watch him! I love Gregory,” Mari announced, able to tell the boy was becoming cagey at the thought of meeting new people. You didn't have to look at her to hear the smile in her voice. “I'm the best security ‘droid around! Well, besides from Mikey.”

“I’d gladly share the title with you,” Michael snickered

Hearing raucous voices approaching outside the workshop, Henry had stepped into the hallway to greet everyone, arms crossed and eyes sparkling as he took in the happy group.

“Glad to see Mari found you!” he laughed, clapping Michael on the shoulder as he passed. The guard had to crouch upon entering to avoid smacking Gregory’s head on the doorframe, and once inside it appeared the whole crowd was still hanging out.

Evan, Liz, and Cassidy were sitting near Hannah as she practiced her guitar under Bonnie’s watchful tutelage. Meanwhile, in the other corner Cain and Quinn were using Monty as a jungle gym, clambering up his side, over his shoulder, then down his tail and repeating the process. What made this game special was the gator’s penchant for randomly snapping his tail in a whip-crack motion, flinging whichever boy was unfortunate enough to be on it in an unspecified direction. Monty found that not only did these twins match perfectly with his roughhousing tendencies, but their ability to not get hurt meant they could play in ways that would probably make Freddy tear his hair out if he tried with a non-ethereal kid.

“Hey, y’all made it back!” the gator greeted with a friendly wave. “We were startin’ to think we’d hafta ditch the party before it got started.”

“We’re here for an hour,” Michael told the room, finally setting Gregory on solid ground. “Then some of us have boring work stuff to do upstairs.”

If Gregory was lucky, Quinn and Cain would now be too tired out from messing around with Monty to come and bother him. Not that the boys were that mean to him anymore. Then again, Gregory hadn't done much to provoke them lately... When Gregory heard the guitar playing, he attempted to steer Michael into walking by Bonnie's open guitar lesson.

“She's already getting better,” Gregory whispered to Mike, surprised at the progress she made. Maybe as a ghost she didn’t need callouses to easily press down on the frets of the guitar. He admired her playing from afar, watching Hannah and the others as his head rested on the top of Michael's like a pillow.

Mari had wormed her way gently out of Charlie's grasp and ran to the boys. She’d seen Quinn being launched back towards the darkness and found nothing at that moment more delightful. First, though, she’d stop to greet Henry; the man who made all of this possible for her deserved the attention. She would slide into Henry's leg and latch on tight, squeaking slightly from the effort.

“Hiiii!” she sang, her eyes shut tight.

“Hey!” the old ghost laughed, scooping the little android up into a proper embrace. When Charlie came within grabbing range he snaked out an arm to catch her, reeling her into the group hug. Noticing that Freddy was now alone, Henry called to him with a grin. “Get in here, Fredbear!”

There was no choice but for Freddy to oblige, falling onto the Emily's with a chuckle and basking in the warmth.

What an odd family, Charlie thought to herself. Still, it was better than being alone inside a rotting diner. She counted herself lucky as she was squeezed around all sides.

“Creator—” Mari cooed affectionately, sandwiched between Henry and Charlotte in their group hug. “—what are you working on next? Charlie and Michael have been severely pranked. Michael cussed so hard at me!”

“I think that’s enough practicin’ fer today, carrot-cake,” Bonnie said as Gregory and Mike made their way over, leaning forward on the bending milk-crate he chose for a throne. “Just remember to practice your chord progression. And really make it dynamic! Speed it up, slow it down. It’s all about trainin’ your hands.”

Gregory listened to Bonnie talk; he’d never thought the dopey Bunny would make such a good teacher. As if reading his mind, Bonnie hid his mouth with his hand and said as a little group secret to all the kids and Michael: “You know, I’m the one that taught Montgomery Gator how to slap a bass! Shhh, he doesn’t know I tell people that—”

Of course, Monty’s advanced hearing—tuned into the rabbit especially now that he was up and about—picked up on Bonnie’s comment.

“I can hear ya, cotton-tail,” he murmured, though his tone was nothing but playful. Having tired the blonde twins out sufficiently, Monty ambled over to the musical group and placed a hand on his hip, grinning down at Hannah as he jabbed a thumb to his chest. “Bon mighta taught me a few things, but I know my stuff, too! You call me if you ever get bored of the ol’ purple chatterbox here, got it?”

“Got it,” Hannah giggled, a bit overwhelmed by all the attention. She got to her feet, the guitar clutched tightly to her chest as if she never wanted to let it go. She did set it down after a moment, only so she could wrap her arms around Bonnie’s neck in a tight hug, burying her face in his shoulder. She felt happy, she really did… but things were still overwhelming sometimes, and Hannah had a feeling they would be for quite a while.

But Bonnie? He felt safe, and Hannah would cling to that any chance she got.

“Thanks, Bonnie,” she said quietly, squeezing tight. “I’m super glad I got to meet you.”

Bonnie hands sort of hovered hesitantly over Hannah’s back for a moment. Sure he received sentiments of affection from children frequently. Then, there was Hannah and her sweet and mellow words. She was somewhat of an odd kid out here—too demure to catch up with the rowdy twins, and too new to really know the old ghosts. She seemed to have most in common with Gregory—though he wasn’t always here…

Hannah needed someone. A mentor! Bonnie could be like that…

It was funny, as Bonnie finally accepted the hug and put what he thought of as his soul into it: it felt warm. Like he’d been away from home for a week and just found it again.

“You need anythin,’ you come find me or Monty now, you hear me?” Bonnie asked of her gently. “You’re my friend now, Hannah. Please take good care of my ol’ guitar. She’s very special to me…”

Sensing this was a bonding moment for the two of them, those in the immediate vicinity wandered off to different parts of the workshop. Evan trailed along as Michael took Gregory back to the newly refurbished Mari and her group, where Henry was currently telling the android in a jovial tone: “You can just stick with ‘Henry,’ you know—no need for all that ‘Creator’ stuff!”

“Oooops!” Mari said feeling sort of embarrassed. Maybe calling him that was sort of putting him on a pedestal. But he was a person worth doing that to, in Mari’s opinion.

“What are you up to, Henry?” she tried it out, though it almost seemed like the first time Charlie had used his name aloud.

“…We’ll work on that, kiddo,” Henry chuckled at Mari’s strained attempt. He shook his head lightly, musing on how pleasantly strange it was for what had been a silent, masked animatronic for forty-odd years now, in a way, seemed like a kid experiencing the world for the first time.

“As for what I’m doing—” the old ghost continued, suddenly reaching out and pinching one of Charlie’s cheeks with a triumphant grin. “—I’m currently annoying my adorable daughter. But if you’re wondering what my next project is…” Henry’s deep eyes flickered to the approaching Afton’s—specifically Michael. He looked back at Mari with a wink. “That’s a secret for now. Maybe I’ll fill you in then we’re not in mixed company.”

“You talking about me?” Michael asked with an accusing glare, suspicious of the man’s side-eyed glance.

“Of course, Mike—I’m spilling your deepest, darkest secrets,” Henry responded in a deadpan so serious, for a second Michael’s eyes started to widen until his uncle cracked another grin. “No, we’re talking about something else. Although I did hear you cussed up a storm in front of Mari’s innocent little ears?”

With eyes rolling to the sky, Michael replied: “Look, I was surprised, okay? My filter disappears when I’m surprised. Also, hate to break it to you, but she is not innocent despite that fresh new face.”

Mari knew exactly what Mike was referring to when he claimed she was a little less than innocent. Not that Henry would know the extent she’d once intended to take her revenge. She chose to plead the fifth, not saying a word. She was supremely content to have Henry believe she was a perfect creation incapable of doing any wrong. Though to err was human, and Mari was one of the more human AIs to come out of Fazbear Entertainment.

Charlie could feel like her cheeks might bruise with her dad’s pinches. Laughing, she would playfully push his hand away and exclaim to the group: “Oh! Are we telling embarrassing Mike stories? I have a bunch of embarrassing Mike stories.”

This caught Gregory’s attention, and he looked to Charlie with intrigue. He leaned in over Michael’s shoulders and asked her “What?! You’ve been holding out on us!”

Charlie raised her hands and shook her head in response. “Unfortunately, I can’t spill any of them—Mike knows all my embarrassing secrets. That wouldn’t end well if I told you anything…”

“Yes, Charlotte, did you forget we have enough dirt on each other to fill the Grand Canyon?” Michael threatened with a wide grin.

Though their human lives ended much sooner than they should’ve, the pair had gotten in enough trouble over the years to form bonds and memories that surpassed time and space. Now that things had returned to a sense of normalcy, it was admittedly nice to joke about such things.

“Oh?” Henry crossed his arms, giving his daughter a look of paternal suspicion she hadn’t seen in a very long time. “And I’m guessing much of this information would be news to me, too?”

“Uh… sorry, Henry; best friend code, and all that!” Michael gave a nervous sort of laugh. If Henry knew the sort of trouble he’d gotten Charlie into, they’d both be grounded for eternity.

“That’s alright,” a tiny voice chimed in. Evan, silent and observant as ever, floated up next to Mari and wrapped his arms around her shoulders for a change, gazing up at Mike with bright eyes. “You guys might’ve hung out all the time, but Liz and I lived with him—I know sooooo much stuff you wouldn’t be able to dream of!”

Michael let out an offended gasp, his expression twisted in shock. “Traitor! You better keep that little mouth shut, or—”

“Or what?” The smirk on Evan’s face rivaled the one Michael usually wore. He clung to Mari tighter and added in a sing-song voice: “Good luck catching me! I can float!”

“I’ve got dirt on you too, you know…”

“Not nearly as much as I’ve got on you, Mikey.” The little Afton’s grin turned positively wicked. “Remember the George Michael poster…?”

This shut Michael up immediately, jaw clenched tight as he glared daggers at his little brother. Whatever happened between him and that poster was for them alone to know—and Evan too, apparently.

Gregory looked at Evan with a peculiar glance. Obviously whatever he said was lost on the kid and voiced that confusion. “Who’s George Michael and what did you do to that poster…?”

“George Michael? You know, the guy from Wham! He sings Careless Whisper?” Charlie said, focusing less on what Michael may have exactly done to the poster to begin with. When Gregory still looked confused, Charlie sighed and really felt old in that moment. “Kids these days don’t know who George Michael is. Wow…”

“But,” Gregory interjected, now looking to Evan. “What did he do to the poster—”

Thoroughly interrupted when Charlie gently yanked Gregory from Michael’s shoulders, she told him “Hey! I think you should go play with your friends! We’re going to be leaving in a little and you need to get some sleep soon.”

“Unbelievable,” Michael griped, though he flashed Charlie a thankful look for ending that line of questioning. As she took Gregory away, Michael watched as Evan dislodged himself from Mari before grabbing the ghost in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles fiercely against his short brown hair. “And you are getting waaaay to co*cky!”

“Ugh—Mike, nooo!” Evan wailed, trying in vain to free himself from his brother’s iron grip. Then in a blink he was gone, only to reappear behind Michael’s back and use the imbalance of his sudden disappearance to shove his brother forward. When Michael hit the floor with a grunt, Evan pounced on his back with a triumphant laugh, and the pair devolved into a mini-wrestling match right there on the floor.

“Goodness…,” Freddy murmured, at the same time Henry breathed out:

“Honestly…” in the same mildly exasperated tone. The pair shared a look, in full agreement that the Afton’s were all trouble in one way or another.

“GO EVAN, GO!” Gregory shouted over his shoulder, watching as Charlie clutched her sides. She wheezed out a laugh, unable to help herself as she saw Michael be swiftly taken down to the floor.

Over by the front of the defunct diner, Bonnie was standing against the wall, his arms crossed then dramatically whipping his palms out whilst pantomiming strumming something.

“C'mon Monty. You should pick up the banjo! You'd be the best one to learn how to 'hammer claw' anyway,” Bonnie was currently attempting to convince. Apparently banjos weren't very Glamrock...

Lizzie even agreed with Monty, laying on the floor and staring towards the ceiling with an annoyed expression plastered on her face.

“No one uses banjos in rock music, dumb bunny...,” she muttered.

“Like the lil’ lady said, I’m not playin’ a dang banjo!” Monty reiterated with a shake of his head. “We hear enough twang from that accent of yours—we don’t need those strings addin’ background music!”

Hannah tried to suppress a giggle, as well as the urge to point out that Monty’s accent was just as pronounced, albeit from a different part of the south. She held her tongue on that matter, though was still quick to point out: “Isn’t there another instrument you can learn?”

“We can learn anything if given the proper software update,” Freddy’s low voice chimed in. After Henry assured him that this “fight” between the Afton brothers was nothing more than playful, Freddy chose to let them be and join his best friend and their companions. Crossing his arms, the ursine man leaned casually against Bonnie’s side as he smiled up at Monty. “Perhaps you can pick up the accordion, Monty? I think it would suit you.”

The gator stared at him with a dull expression, slowly pulling down his glasses with the tips of his claws in an exaggerated gesture of incredulity. “…If you’re serious, Fredbear, then you’ve got a few screws loose in your fancy new head. I ain’t playin’ the banjo, and I sure as heck ain’t playin’ the accordion.”

Freddy shrugged, chuckling at Monty’s reaction. It was nice to joke around with his friends again without fear they’d turn into monsters when the clock struck midnight. He hoped Chica and Roxy would be up and running soon—then he’d get to hang out with all his companions. Looking down at Gregory, his smile softened. Roxy would undoubtedly take a liking to the spitfire kid, and Freddy knew Chica would think he was the most adorable thing. He really couldn’t wait for them to all meet again under better terms.

Bonnie kept a straight face, both Lizzie's and Monty's words didn't faze the happy-go-lucky rabbit. Then when Freddy mentioned the accordion, Bonnie had let loose a howling laugh. He could picture Monty playing the accordion! And that picture in Bonnie's mind made him cover his mouth.

“—Wait! Fredbear's onto somethin'.” Bonnie snorted, the children all gathered around now to watch the three interact. “We'll pioneer a new genre! Experimental Glam Folk. It'll be our side gig. Hannah! Do you wanna be our guitarist?”

Gregory laughed at the big rabbit. Who would think of something like that? He did have some faith in Bonnie that if he actually got his band to do this, there was a good chance he could find a way to make it sound good.

Meanwhile, an unsupervised Mari was digging around in the charging pod. After finding her old model resting peacefully on the ground, safe and sound in the still puddle she fell over in, she took hold of its mask. After a few tugs and a gentle twist, the cosmetic face panel came loose. It would make a neat mask, she thought. Besides, it was familiar in what seemed like a totally new world for her.

Monty held the side of his head as he shook it. “Naw, y'all are crazy—I'm supposed to be a rock star, not in a folk band! Get Chica to play with ya—she'd probably be into it.”

With another hearty laugh from Freddy and Bonnie, the pair began talking logistics of forming a folk band with Hannah, Chica, and Monty—completely disregarding the gator's reluctance, of course. The kids listened with rapt interest, feeling very much like they were watching a live-action version of Fazbear and Friends. Michael and Evan eventually made their way over after agreeing that they'd postpone their ongoing wrestling battle for another time. Henry and Mari watched from afar, chatting about all the things they'd never gotten to.

Well, Henry had been able to speak to Puppet quite a lot over the years, but for the first time she could actually talk back.

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

Far too soon, a group message buzzed Freddy, Michael, and Charlie's phones in unison. It was from Sam, alerting them that dayshift had all arrived and it was time for their grand introductions. After a round of parting hugs and goodbyes, the trio headed back to the surface with Gregory, Mari, and the other Glamrocks in tow. Monty and Bonnie went their separate ways once they'd reached the top, leaving the rest of the group to walk to Sam's office. It seemed the CEO had successfully gathered all employees in one location, as the coast was clear of any humans along the way. Still, the group was cognizant of Gregory's position and made sure to keep him in the center of their huddle, away from any potential prying eyes.

“Sam?” Michael called, knocking on the office door. “We're ready—Gregory and Mari are going to hang in your office for a bit, if that's cool.”

“Come in!” called Sam, who once again was cleaning up around his office. All the spare parts he gutted and repurposed were put away in a recycling canister and Chica was standing, propped up on a barebones recharging station. Its fun casing was removed and a rudimentary stand kept her upright as her battery refilled slowly.

Sam had worked hard; now all that was left was Roxy. Tomorrow night, he’d get around to finishing her up. Then came the next project he planned on proposing at this morning's meeting.

Mari with her mask on had entered first, making Sam jump slightly, unable to recognize who was wearing the Puppet's face like that. That was until his sleep-deprived mind relaxed when the rest of his strange family wandered inside. Samuel rubbed his head, laughing to himself for being so silly. Who else would it have been?

“Yep! Make yourselves at home, you guys—I'll bring everyone back here in no time!” Sam might need to grab a coffee from one of the break rooms, unless he really didn't want to make it to the end of his own meeting...

Freddy had momentarily stalled at the sight of Chica upright and refurbished, hand pressed to his heart. He knew Sam had been working on her, but he hadn't expected her to be ready so soon. The Emilys were full of surprises tonight, it seemed. “Chica looks wonderful, Sam. I am sure she will be ecstatic to be active again.”

“Yeah, awesome job,” Michael praised, gently knocking shoulders with his old friend. He then reached up to pat Freddy's back, simultaneously to reassure him that he wasn't dreaming while also steering him back towards the door. “Come on—we can see her later.”

“Of course,” Freddy agreed, turning slightly to call for Gregory. “Superstar, have fun with Mari! Call Michael on his walkie talkie if you need anything, alright?”

There were a ton of spares lying around the office that the boy could use if necessary, though of course the group hoped there would be no further Gregory-related drama today.

Sam gathered a pen and a clipboard from his desk, grabbing for his own walkie. He was slightly embarrassed at how little sleep he’d gotten, and hoped the others didn't realize how exhausted he was. He had a plan to deliver to everyone and couldn't let them down. After all the chaos over the past week, the staff of the Mega Pizzaplex needed some direction.

“Thanks you guys; nothing some WD-40 and a soft mallet can't do,” Sam remarked said, really thanking his equipment more so than his own abilities. Quickly, he rose the walkie in his palm and spoke to the all-staff channel. “Meeting in 10 minutes, everyone—in front of the main stage.” Clicking off the mic, he patted Gregory's hair. “Be good. If you want to take a nap, there's the couch and a TV. Have fun, you two!”

Samuel tried to put an emphasis on be good. After all, this kid had quickly adopted a lot of Michael's habits and inclination for mischief. He gave Mari the same treatment, ruffling her soft hewn hair in his hands.

“Don't worry, Sammy! Gregory's under my watchful eye,” she said, lifting her mask and winking up to her old friend.

“I'm expecting a full report when we return, Miss Security Bot,” Michael told Puppet with hands on his hips. Then he realized she might take this seriously and added: “Uh, not really—just have fun and keep the kid out of trouble. Don't let him do anything I wouldn't do.”

“Ah, correction—do not let him do most of the things Michael would do,” Freddy remarked, raising a finger as he spoke to emphasize his point. Mike scoffed in offense, batting the redhead's arm.

“The he—eck, Fred, did Gregory give you an attitude update while I was working?” he muttered, barely catching his curse in time.

“I am happy; now that everyone is getting either refurbished or receiving new bodies, I feel as though everything is becoming right again,” Freddy replied simply, never one to shy away from speaking his positive feelings aloud.

The room was silent for a moment, before Michael let out a little sigh and hooked an arm through Freddy's, leading him out of the room before he could spout more pleasant commentary that vaguely made him feel like he wanted to cry.

“Let's go, sappy bear,” the guard said, a little smile on his face as he pulled his friend along to follow after Sam.

“Awh...,” Charlie murmured, thinking of Freddy still as a big teddy bear when it came to his more sensitive side. He cared so deeply for his friends; she was glad Freddy was beginning to feel better about everyone’s recovery. She gave both Gregory and Mari one big hug as she was able to fit the two comfortably in her arms before following the crew out.

***

Samuel felt a little nervous introducing everyone. In reality, not that many people came into work while they were closed. There was no need besides from a few shift managers and some specialized techs to help repair all the messed-up functionality around the Pizzaplex. Really, he wanted this staffing change to mostly spread by word of mouth.

Once arriving to the stage, the idle chatter around the group of people settled and Sam attempted to sound as unbothered and well-rested as humanly possible.

“Morning, everyone! Wow, what a weird few weeks, huh? It's almost time to reopen. And with the system repairs nearly complete, I've decided to hire a few more helping hands for plans going forward!” Sam spoke confidently, showing off the group that followed him. “This is Mike Afton, General Manager and new Head of Security. He’s also taking on some night guard duties. Before any rumors start—no, Vanessa is not fired. She's currently on a wellness retreat and won't be back for some time.”

Clearing his throat he moved onto Freddy, realizing he had no last name to introduce him with. “This... is... Fred Fitzburgh. New stage manager! He'll be helping out with detecting further issues in the band and coordinating the shows. And lastly, Charlie Emily! She'll be helping me out closely, so any questions or concerns you may have for me, you can always direct to Charlie.”

As Sam looked around the room, he felt that some people were confused with the abrupt staffing change—especially Sophie, who thought they already worked at the Pizzaplex.

The terms “stage fright” and “social anxiety” weren't even in Freddy's databank. Completely at home with all eyes upon him, he was the first to step forward with a winning smile, pressing a hand to his chest and giving the meager group of staff a small bow.

“It is wonderful to meet you all,” he said once fully upright again. It felt strange to be re-introducing himself to people he'd worked with, some of them for years. However, that'd been in a completely different capacity and while his animatronic friends might understand and accept the concept of data transfers and android bodies, he knew this would be a lot for most humans to handle. Regardless, he took the situation in stride, sweeping his gaze over the room. “I look forward to working with everyone to make sure that our shows and animatronics run smoothly. Also, please do not hesitate to ask me if you need extra assistance at any time; I am always happy to help!”

There was a hushed murmuring from the crowd as they stared up at the redhead, noting the confident stature and formal way of speaking. His formality was a bit unnerving, but he seemed like a nice person; reminiscent of one of their Glamrocks, in a way...

Before the crowd's attention was lost to speculation, Michael stepped up next to Freddy with a tinnier smile of his own. Unlike the bear, Mike disliked feeling as though he was on display with a passion. He didn't necessarily have a problem speaking to groups of people, but circ*mstances like these where he was literally forced to be the center of attention got under his skin.

“Hey, everyone,” he greeted with a wave, and the crowd instantly went silent. Whether it was his accent or the fact that he was an Afton that shut them up Michael wasn't quite sure, though he guessed it was a combination of the two. “Like Sam said, I'm here to keep things safe around here, though you can come to me with any issues you have. It's, uh... good to meet you all.”

Charlie gave a small wave before stepping forward next to her friends and brother. Easygoing, she gave off a similar energy to Freddy with her short and sweet speech that got right to the point. “Happy to be working here with all of you!”

She felt a little too closely inspected as the group watched her. She wondered if they were trying to figure out how exactly her and Sam were related. To Sophie, who knew the most out of everyone, Charlie was Samuel’s daughter. It wasn’t a secret that Sammy rarely spoke on his personal life. The Pizzaplex staff simply accepted that, while their CEO was nice for the most part, he wouldn’t get chummy enough with anyone to spill the secrets of his existence outside the neon-lit walls. Sure, the fact that he had a fully-grown daughter was a bit shocking, but with how odd Fazbear Entertainment had been from the get-go, it certainly wasn’t the weirdest thing about the company and its management.

“So—going forward, it’s going to be real busy,” Sam continued, scrubbing at the stubble coating his chin. “After making a deal with a few sponsors, I’ll be working on some new animatronics with my mechanics. I know a lot of you wanted a reintroduction of classic characters. So, in the spirit of trying to keep my own promises—” Sam let out somewhat nervous chuckle. “—we’ve already restored Bonnie to his former glory after his sudden decommissioning. Just know the vandal who ended up breaking him has been taken care of.”

He finished off strong and confidently, flashing his team a grin. “Any questions?”

Sophie immediately raised her hand. Sam was banking on no one wanting to ask in the group setting, but of course there was always one.

“I do—many, actually. Uh—” Sophie began, coughing into her fist to clear her throat. “I thought these guys already worked here?”

Charlie spoke up, giving lying another shot. “We were brought on to help out with the mess of last week. Then, Sam asked us if we wanted more permanent positions.”

co*cking her head to the side, Sophie raised an eyebrow. Considering how odd this meeting was and the timing of everything in general, she felt as if something was fishy about the whole debacle.

“Right…,” Sophie replied, pretending to believe them. “And the vents? Are we allowed to go near them again?”

“No, we’re still working on that rat problem,” Michael replied, unable to stop his eyes from flickering to one of the ducts high up on the far wall. To Sophie’s increasingly disbelieving gaze, he added with a shrug: “They’re really giving us a run for our money.”

Now that Ennard had Sun to spend time with, Michael hoped they wouldn’t track him as much… but he had no doubt in his mind he’d be subjected to the usual stalking at least once a night. Michael realized it would probably be in everyone’s best interest to have a conversation with Ennard at some point about how things were going to change once the Pizzaplex officially reopened—specifically, absolutely no wandering out of the basem*nt when there were children present during the day.

“Just steer clear of vents for a bit longer,” Michael reiterated, managing to relax enough to flash the group an easy smile. “We’ll give you a heads-up when everything’s clear.”

There was another moment of silence until another employee spoke up with a half-raised hand. “So… you said Bonnie’s back?”

“Bonnie and Monty are back in commission, yes,” Freddy replied with an eye-crinkling smile, recognizing this man as one of the techs that often helped with animatronic repairs. “Samuel is working hard to get the others restored soon as well.”

Sophie blinked at this, unable to fully process that Bonnie and Monty were already up and running. The progress that Samuel had made in the past week would probably cripple a lesser man.

“Boss, have you been... sleeping? There's no way you did this all in a week,” Sophie remarked with a slight laugh to punctuate her sentence. The look on Sam's face told her everything.

With a slightly pinched expression and tapping the back of his clipboard, Sam responded with a shrug. “Oh no, not a lot.”

No need for his employees to worry about him, even if every time he shut his eyes Sam saw Redbulls and socket wrenches dancing in his vision.

“I aim to have Roxy finished by the end of the night Saturday; Chica's already on her way to a restart one she finishes charging. We should be ready to re-open next Monday without a hitch. Oh a-and Parts & Services is off limits for the time being. There's going to be some construction work as we move the department to a more convenient location...” Sam warned, knowing he was putting off the most important thing for last: finally sealing off that awful room.

“Like Sam said, any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us,” Michael chimed in, unsure if Sam had anything else he wanted to announce. If not, he was ready to get off this stage and away from the confused and mildly terrified gazes currently turned upon him. “If the person you speak to can’t help, they’ll direct you to someone who can.”

“We are so happy to be working with you all—” Freddy began, though Michael gripped his shoulder warningly. He didn’t want the sweet bear to lay it on too thick, lest the employees think the situation was fishier than they already did. He could tell that Sophie was very suspicious, although he couldn’t blame her.

“Anything else you wanted to cover, boss?” Michael intoned, glancing towards Sammy across the stage.

Sam answered with one last item on the agenda. After flipping through his clipboard, he held up two pictures from security footage for all the crowd to see.

“Yes—these two are named Terry and Rita Smith. Under no circ*mstances are they allowed inside the Pizzaplex. They're currently under a ban,” Samuel explained, though Sophie's eyes widened considerably once she recognized the couple from the local cable news.

They’d lost a boy—a younger kid with hazel eyes and brown shaggy head of hair. Sophie couldn’t remember the picture clearly as it’d only flashed for a second, but his visage tugged at her subconscious. Terry and Rita claimed that neighbors last saw him and a pair of twins heading towards Main Street. It led them to wonder if they were going to the Pizzaplex...

A murmured affirmation issued from the crowd. Banning people from the Pizzaplex wasn’t a common occurrence, but it happened enough that this wasn’t too strange. Of course some people recognized the Smiths just as Sophie had, but they weren’t going to question Sam’s decisions.

…At least, not to his face. There would be a lot of chatter in the break rooms over the next few weeks, that’s for sure.

“We greatly appreciate your understanding with all of these changes,” Freddy chimed in with his easy smile, though there was a hardness in his eyes imperceptible except to those standing right next to him. The mention of Rita and Terry made him uneasy, though he was glad that now Michael had legal reason to take serious action should they come traipsing around again.

“Absolutely,” Mike agreed, simultaneously clapping Freddy on the back and flashing his own confident grin. “Here’s to a successful reopening!”

With that, most people dispersed back towards their posts. It was going to take a few more days for everything to be as spotless and finely tuned as it once was. Come Monday, everything was going to at least look perfect enough for guests.

“Sam? Could I use the card to buy some hair scissors?” Charlie asked seemingly out of the blue. She’d recognized that some of them may have seen Gregory's wanted poster. So, she had an idea.

“Uh... Yeah—I suppose,” Sam replied, whipping around to look at her strangely. “Can I ask why?”

“I'm going to give Gregory a makeover! It'll make him less... noticeable,” his sister stressed.

“Charlie that is a wonderful idea!” Freddy praised, expression relaxing back into its usual calmness. Everything would be fine. Gregory would be fine. There were so many people looking out for him at this point—living, dead, and something robotic in-between—that it was hard to imagine a scenario where he wouldn’t be alright.

Still, while Freddy always tried to look on the bright side, he was rational and had a penchant for worrying. Changing Gregory’s appearance where they could would certainly help the situation.

“We should see what trouble those two got into… hopefully your office isn’t trashed, Sam,” Michael remarked with a snicker, starting the walk back to Sam’s office.

In the half an hour that the group was gone, Sam's office wasn't so much destroyed as it was a little unorganized. Gregory's drawing pad was in the middle of the floor. The TV played mutely inside the office as he and Mari sat inside a pillow fort made out of couch cushions. They’d created a mighty battlement with it, lining the bottom of the fortress with throw blankets Sam kept for long nights at work. At some point, Gregory had decided to curl up and fall asleep to the sounds of Freddy and Friends. Mari had tried to change the channel out of curiosity, but the remote needed fresher batteries to accomplish such a task...

The little bot still was sitting up, Gregory using her legs as a pillow while she watched the old reruns with a fixed gaze until the door began to crack open. Her head snapped to the sound, always alert.

“Hey, it’s just us,” Michael reassured, slipping into the office with palms raised. The look Mari gave the would-be intruder was calculating and menacing, despite the cherubic face. Mike laughed, taking in the pillow fort. “Wow, you guys have been busy!”

“Thank you for watching over him, Mari,” Freddy told her, stepping up to the pair and running his finger gently through Mari’s hair. His smile widened as the stalwart guardian seemed to lean into the gesture, then turned his attention to his sleeping son. With a gentle shake of Gregory’s shoulder, Freddy quietly tried to wake him: “Superstar, we are back. It is time to wake up so we can return to the hotel shortly.”

Just her friends. Mari's aggressive look dithered out and a smile replaced itself on her face. Leaning into Freddy's hand, she blinked up at him with an innocent look.

“It's no trouble; he's an angel,” Mari assured Freddy before he gently shook Gregory's shoulder's awake.

Gregory startled a bit, not quite used to falling asleep without Freddy around these days. Only when those glowing silver eyes batted themselves to full awareness did Gregory greet them all.

“Guys... Hey...,” he murmured in a groggy voice. With his eyes unfocused and sleepy, he raised a fist to rub the tiredness away. When he could finally see well again, he reached over and hugged Freddy around the shoulders. “How was the meeting thing?”

“I believe it went well,” Freddy replied, hooking an arm under Gregory’s legs and around his back to lift him up, letting the boy settle comfortably on his hip. “Samuel introduced us to some of the staff.” An amused smile crossed his lips. “Apparently I will be known as ‘Fred Fitzburgh.’”

“Yeah, we probably should’ve thought of an alias beforehand…,” Michael remarked, though he had to give the guy credit for coming up with a name on such short notice. “Some people are definitely a little suspicious of the sudden staff changes, but they probably just think it’s nepotism at its finest.”

As Michael spoke, Freddy wandered over to Chica’s resting form. Careful not to dislodge Gregory, he peered close to the meter on the side of the crude charging port. His eyes widened as he realized the bird’s power was at 97%. Looking to the CEO, he asked hesitantly: “Sam, is there a chance we can speak to Chica before we go? It is alright if not, I… simply wanted to ask.” His eyes flickered to the boy in his arms. “As long as it is okay with Gregory too, of course.”

Samuel wasn't super happy with how his staff might be viewing him right now. Then again, it was better than to have them know the strange, terrifying truth of what happened here this past week—not to mention the dark inception that’d started since Vanessa’s sudden “promotion” from beta-tester at a contracted company to a top position in the Pizzaplex.

As Freddy spoke, Samuel watched Gregory hide his face away in the man’s shoulder. He didn't seem too bothered by the prospect of Chica’s reactivation, too tired to really care. If Monty and Bonnie of all the characters were just fine, then Gregory could surmise the rest were purged quite expertly. With Sam's caring hand, the robots were free of this all-encompassing virus.

“Oh! Yeah, of course. She's probably almost done resting! I'll go power her on,” Sam agreed, careful not to step on Gregory's drawing tablet on the way over to the bird. With a swift hand he found her main power button, feeling under a panel at the side of Chica's neck. After pressing down and holding for ten seconds, Sam stepped back to watch the magic happen as she woke up.

Unsurprisingly, a few seconds passed by with no signs of life. Gregory peeked away from Freddy's shoulder with curiosity. Then, two bright blue eyes snapped open and immediately pierced back to Gregory's own silver stare.

"BA-GAWK!” Chica crooned, caught off-guard at the people watching her. Normally she would’ve woken up alone in her room...

But this was just totally weird. Why was she in Sam's office on the repair rig?

“Oh geez! Sorry there!” she apologized, blinking as she carefully moved her limbs off the sturdy structure. She gripped her head as if nursing some robotic hangover. “I must be out of it, man... I remember I was in my room last...”

“It is wonderful to see you back in commission, Chica!” Freddy was quick to speak up, pushing down the twisty feeling in his gut when she turned an utterly confused pair of eyes on him. He’d come to expect his old friends wouldn’t recognize him, but that didn’t make their blank stares any less hurtful. She’d understand his interest in her soon enough, but Freddy figured it best to give her a moment to wake up before regaling her with his body-swapping ordeal.

“You’ve been through quite a bit,” Michael informed the bird, stepping up next to Freddy. He gazed up at her with a satisfied smile, happy to see Sam’s efforts come to fruition. As a testament to how unafraid he was of the Glamrocks now, he thrust out a hand for Chica to shake. “I’m Mike, new head of security. I’ve been helping Sam fix you and the others up. It’s… been a crazy time around here, but everything’s getting sorted out now.”

He gave her a second to process, before adding on: “You might have some memory loss, but all your systems should be functional. How are you feeling? Any problems your internal diagnostics can detect?”

This was a lot to take in. The new guy was named Mike, Chica got that. But who was this dude with the little chick on his hip?

Wait—speaking of the chick...

She’d seen him before. The boy was definitely in her facial recognition bank, but strangely with no profile to match it.

Curious...

Chica shut her eyes, quietly running her maintenance folder before perking up. “Yeah, I'll be fine. Just, like... Totally out of it. Phew.”

She fanned a hand in front of her face dramatically. Her entertainment protocol was kicking in now that she recognized there were two kids in the vicinity. She bent at the waist slightly, looking down to both Gregory and Mari with smile in her eyes.

“And how are you two enjoying the Pizzaplex? You guys must be new pals of my good friend Sam!” she said, recognizing there must be a reason she was here with two tikes and the new staff members.

Gregory wasn't shying away from her, but seemed just a little hesitant before speaking. “Y... Yeah, Sam's my friend. My name’s Gregory...”

Chica co*cked her head to the side. Gregory... She searched the name up in her internal hardware folder. A search on just the first name showed that, at one time, someone with that name was previously blacklisted. However, nothing came up in the present.

Weird. It must’ve been an error that was fixed by now. Even if she couldn’t actually recall meeting this kid, Chica reached out and gently patted the top of his head affectionately.

“It's tubular to meet you, Gregory!” she gushed regardless of his previous status in their computer system. It might not even have been for him, anyway—it was rare that children themselves were banned. Usually their parents were the troublemakers.

Freddy could feel Gregory’s tension at the sudden focus Chica gave him, made worse when the bird reached out to touch his head. Gregory flinched but didn’t give any indication of wanting his dad to whisk him away to safety, so Freddy allowed the interaction to take place. When Chica pulled back and Gregory did not look like he was either going to pass out from fear or punch Chica in the beak, Freddy allowed his own tension to ease. Things were going better than expected.

“Okay, I suppose introductions are in order.” Mike chuckled, giving Gregory’s hair a little ruffle of his own. He was proud of the kid for sticking his ground in the face of the things that previously tried to kill him—it was something Michael understood firsthand and made him appreciate Gregory’s resilience even more.

“You obviously know Sam,” the guard continued, gesturing to the older man who looked like he was about to fall over. As soon as this meeting was done, Mike was marching Sam straight to the Daycare for an extended nap… and if he refused, he’d get Sam’s loving animatronics to strong-arm him there.

Pressing a hand to his chest, he went on. “I’m Mike, that’s Gregory, and those are all the names you know. Now this is Charlie—” He pulled the girl to his side, gesturing to her smiling face. “—and she’s also a new employee. The girl with huge eyes staring up at you is Mari, and this is…”

Michael paused, looking to Sam and Freddy for direction. He didn’t want to overwhelm the bird and fry her circuits, although he could see Freddy practically vibrating with the need to let her know that her good friend was right here.

“Freddy,” the redhead piped up, his eyes shining brightly. “My name is Freddy.”

Perhaps she’d pick up the clues on her own and accept him immediately like Bonnie… or perhaps like Monty, she’d need some more convincing—and vouching from Sam—that this was indeed Freddy Fazbear personified as a human.

After waving hi to the girls, Chica was looking between Michael and the man that called himself “Freddy.” Then, she looked from the child on his hip right back to him, her eyes darting as it was clear the gears were turning hard in her head. Her first guess as to why he seemed so familiar didn't make sense.

He acted like Freddy Fazbear. Sounded like the bear, too. But Freddy wasn't a person...

That just couldn't happen. Not that Sam wasn't a genius—but how could Freddy suddenly become a human?!

Chica's hands were raised now, looking like she was halfway between pulling Freddy into a hug or pinching him to see if he was actually real.

“F... Freddy?!” she asked, eyebrows high on her head now as she tried to put it all together. “Like... our Freddy? Are you really real...?”

One of her oldest friends had changed seemingly overnight. But why? Chica would never tell Freddy what he could and couldn't be; only he could decide that for himself. She just wondered why and how he’d done it!

She ran her health diagnostics on the room. Only two people had a health signature profile pop up onto her interface, and that was when she finally nodded her head in somewhat of an understanding.

“You're all robots like me! Wow...,” Chica said, raking a hand through the lush feathers on the top of her head.

“I apologize for the unexpected change,” Freddy said, handing Gregory over to Michael with a grateful smile. As Mike set his little brother on his shoulders, Freddy stepped forward to slip his arms around Chica’s torso, squeezing tightly. Despite his tall android form, for the first time Chica beat him in the height department.

“So much has happened while you were asleep,” Freddy continued, clinging to his feathered friend as long as he could. He loved Monty and Roxy dearly, but there was just something special about finally having almost all the original quartet back that made his heart soar just a little bit higher. “I will explain everything over the next few days, I promise. I needed to take on this form to care for Gregory—as you can probably tell from the people he is around, he is quite a special child.”

“We’ve got a good friend that specializes in robotics who whipped us up a couple of androids,” Michael elaborated. “The rest of us also have, um… extenuating circ*mstances that necessitated these things. But we can guarantee that the guy hugging you right now is one hundred percent Freddy Fazbear.”

Chica sighed a simulated breath of relief. It was Freddy. She recognized the crushing hug style anywhere. No matter his size, Fred still managed to give bear hugs. Her arms gently slipped around Freddy's shoulders and hugged him close in turn.

“Freddy,” Chica crooned, happy that her friend was okay. Now that she was in her fullest mental faculties, Chica was able to finally express how worried he made her and the rest of the band that fateful night.

“You had us scared, you know—with your gnarly malfunction on stage. I'm glad you're okay...” she said truthfully, then let out a bright laugh. “And as for the kid? Freddy, that's so like you to take care of a little chick in need.”

She sounded so proud, always loving the chance to see the best qualities in her friends shine through, like Freddy's deep empathy for any and all people. And ever since Bonnie had been decommissioned, she was so fearful of Freddy being scrapped next and replaced with something new...

“You have to do what you have to do,” she said, knowing what that meant. Freddy had to leave soon and take care of Gregory. She didn't want to let go... Yet she made herself slowly unclench her hands from around his shoulders to hold him at an arm’s length and really look him over.

“You know, Roxy’s going to be bouncing off the walls when she sees you like this!” she laughed. The wolf might even be a little jealous knowing that Freddy could probably make it outside in such a form.

“I do not doubt that,” Freddy replied with a smile so wide his entire face hurt. “Monty did not put me down for some time when he saw me! And as for—”

Freddy cut himself off, eyes growing wide with excitement. Though he’d need to part with Chica far too soon for his liking, he could leave her with a surprise that would certainly distract her from any negative feelings she might have from his temporary departure. When Chica finally released him he took a step back only to grasp her hand between both of his own.

“When Samuel gives you the okay to free roam, I suggest stopping by the bowling alley. You will be very happy with the recent addition he and Michael have incorporated.” With a final knowing wink like they were kids sharing a secret, Freddy let Chica’s hand slip from his grasp and moved back to Mike, who returned Gregory into his waiting arms.

“It’s great to meet you, Chica,” Michael said, and he meant it. “Any mechanical or technical issues, you can come straight to me, okay? For the next few days we’re all working the night shift, though I show up a couple hours earlier to help Sam out. You let me know if anything feels funky, and I’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

Chica already knew she was going to like Mike. Sending him a thankful grin, she flexed her articulate hand in a wave to the “humans” and watched as the rather sleepy child was transferred back into Freddy's waiting arms. The way he immediately reached for Freddy, dependent like the patrons were for their parents told Chica everything she needed to know that their whole deal was for real.

“Thank you, Mike! I'm feeling pretty good—you and Sammy did a great job!” she praised, thinking that she'd have to go see what was so important down at Bonnie Bowl.

After all, she typically tried to avoid the whole place these days. She wasn't specifically designed to feel pain. Still... When she thought about Bonnie, her throat felt tight as if she just couldn’t sing or move in the ways she usually could. It was sadness—something she wasn't programmed specifically to feel, but had become a learned emotion over time.

“I'll probably head to Bonnie Bowl after I catch up with my good friend Sam!” she replied energetically. Too bad Sam was currently leaning into her like he was going to pass out. “Or... Maybe I'll take him to see Mr. Moon in the Daycare first!”

“I think a trip to Moon is exactly what Sam needs,” Michael murmured, his tone indicating that it wasn’t meant as a suggestion. He gave Sam a brief hug, speaking into his ear: “Get some damn sleep, okay, Sammy? I’ll be back to help with Roxy before night shift.”

Feeling it was time for their departure soon, Mari came over to the group, first silently hugging Michael goodbye around the legs and then moving onto Charlie and Freddy. She took Gregory's hand in hers and rubbed his palm on the top of her head.

“I'll miss you guys. Come back soon~” Mari asked of them, her voice sad to see them go. This must always be what she felt when she sees them leave, as though they'd never come back...

Discreetly, Mari slipped a little green band on Gregory's wrist. She’d insisted Henry make an extra before working on her new body and was determined to use it properly this time. Gregory was too tired to notice it, but was awake enough to rake his fingers gently through her hair in quiet response to her affection.

“We will see you tomorrow, Mari,” Freddy assured the little security bot, offering her his kindest smile.

“Hey, quick request—” Michael piped up as they set out. “—can we swing by the gift shop? I was looking around for cool merch during one of my breaks and I found something good.”

There was an eager shine to Michael’s eyes that was impossible to deny. Whatever he found must have amused him greatly...

“I am fine with that, as long as we do not take too long,” Freddy replied, holding his son close. “Gregory is already falling back asleep…”

“Five minute detour, tops,” Michael reassured with a grin.

Charlie had perked up at this. What on earth was Michael up to? She knew that grin well enough to know it could either be something that made him die laughing at some point, or something he wasn't expecting them to take seriously. Either way, Charlie was dying to see it.

Sam told them with the last remaining brain cells floating in his sleep deprived mind: “Go ahead; you know you can take anything you need—”

As he was interrupted by a yawn, Chica lovingly scooped Samuel up into her arms. She shushed him, and Mari went to get the door for everyone.

“Goodbye, everyone! We'll see you real soon,” Chica bid, happily waving farewell to the group with Samuel's limp hand.

***

When they reached the gift shop, Michael rushed to the storage area and pulled out the box he’d hidden away at the back of a far shelf. He was starting a little collection of things—some items he found cool, but mostly merch he thought his friends might like. It was always good to have a stash of surprise presents; you never know when you might need them!

Soon Michael emerged with a piece of clothing. Freddy instantly recognized it as his color palate, and his old databank of Fazbear merch pulled up exactly what this item was. He let out a little aww as Michael stretched out his prize, revealing one of the limited edition Glamrock-themed zip-up hoodies. This one was of course Freddy’s model, mostly orange with a cream oval on the chest and the signature blue lightning bolt in the center. The thing even had faux red shoulder pads, though arguably the most noticeable—and adorable—feature was the hood designed to look like Freddy’s head, complete with bear ears and a little black and blue top hat.

“Oh, Michael, how sweet!” the former bear exclaimed, his eyes wide with mild surprise. “I thought this sold out months ago!”

“Well, that explains why this was the only one I could find,” Michael replied. “Our biggest concern is Gregory’s face being recognized, so I figured if we can cover it with the hoodie it’ll be a little less stressful for all of us waking to and fro. If he’s in your arms like right now, you’ll just have a mini-Fredbear and no one will question it!”

“That is brilliant,” Freddy praised, and Michael rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed laugh.

“Okay, okay, it’s not that smart… Now come on, kid—” The eldest Afton lightly jabbed a finger into Gregory’s side. “—sit up so I can put this on. Then you can pass out for as long as you’d like.”

Gregory opened his eyes again, half attempting to pay attention to the conversations being had inside the waking world. When he processed what he was looking at, Gregory seemed excited to curl up comfortably with the fleece-lined hoodie.

“That's for me?” he asked in a groggy manner. Charlie chuckled at him; the poor kid was so sleepy he couldn't quite pay attention long enough to know. Still, he was good and stretched out his arms to allow himself to be dressed up.

After zipping the hoodie up himself, he flung the heavy hood forward. Then Gregory went right back to stuffing his face into his father's shoulder to try and catch up on some shut-eye. It was hard being a kid without a real sleep schedule sometimes, but Gregory made do.

“Alright, night...” Gregory yawned, grasping the front of his dad's shirt for comfort as he drifted back off to sleep. Charlie reached up, gently tugging the hood further in front of Gregory's face before giving the group a little thumbs up.

“This was a good idea, Mike,” she said, impressed at his little hidden plan to put aside the merch that would help Gregory in the long run.

“I figured he’d like it, what with his Freddy obsession and all,” Michael joked, though it was clear he found the whole thing endearing. No matter what form Freddy wore, everyone would always have a soft spot for the original animatronic bear look. With a chuckle, Michael patted the hoodie’s top hat on his way to the door. “He’s super cute though, I’ve got to admit.”

Thank god Gregory was too exhausted to fight back… Under normal circ*mstances Michael would’ve been attacked for such comments. For now though, the boy was content to rest in the safe warmth of his father’s arms as the group traveled back to the hotel.

Once they all got to the hotel room, safe and sound without any prying eyes to watch the family's every move, they entered and Charlie immediately went to draw the blinds for Gregory. The sun was far too bright outside, and might intervene with his nap. When she turned around, watching Freddy nestle Gregory on the bed beneath the covers, she couldn't help but smile.

“Look—he's a baby bear cub,” she remarked, knowing if Gregory heard her call him that, there would certainly be hell to pay. Though it was kind of true, being Freddy's kid and all.

Charlie had learned how to use her phone fairly quickly in the past 48 hours. She raised her camera and snapped a quiet picture to remember him like this: peaceful and sleeping in tranquil bliss before he was awake and running around everywhere again. “When he wakes up, I'm going to ask if he wants me to cut his hair...”

Freddy simply nodded in acknowledgement, a faint smile on his face as he ran his fingers through Gregory’s hair. They were both underneath the covers, Gregory still in his hoodie and curled up to Freddy’s chest as his dad rested on his side, one elbow on his pillow to keep his head propped up.

“M’kay, I’m going to follow Gregory’s lead and pass out for a bit,” Michael announced in a hushed voice, kicking off his shoes and hopping into the other bed. He didn’t even bother removing his security guard uniform, suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion as the day caught up with him. Even these android bodies had their limits, it seemed. Still, it’d be nice to get some actual pajamas in the near future…

But Michael didn’t have time to worry about that right now. Dreamland was calling and he didn’t want to miss his appointment. With a huge yawn, he patted the empty spot next to him.

“You should guys should try and get some rest, too,” he advised, then promptly rolled over so his back was to the others, leaving it up to Charlie whether she’d take his suggestion and crawl into bed as well. Within a minute, Michael’s breathing slowed as he quickly drifted off to sleep.

With everyone having a fully messed up sleep schedule, Charlie had to agree with Mike. It wasn’t long before she was kicking off her shoes as well and flinging herself in beside him. There was hardly any time to argue; her robotic body needed some way to recharge, and sleep was the best answer right then. She made sure to cover them both with the cushiony comforter and took one last look over to her friends in the bed besides them.

She may be overthinking it, but the way Gregory slept had changed a little since that first night in the hotel. Where he was once curled in on himself and huddled in a tight ball Gregory now laid sprawled out, usually with one fist curled into his father's shirt for comfort. It brought a smile to Charlie’s face knowing he was becoming more comfortable. With all the stress in their lives, she could count her blessings that at the moment Gregory—for the most part—appeared to be just fine.

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

Amazingly, Michael slept until the crack of 3 pm. He left the land of sleep in a daze, barely registering he was awake at first. Rolling onto his back, he stretched his arms out and accidentally smacked Charlie’s face with the back of his hand in the process. It was her retaliating punch to his ribs that fully brought Michael to reality and with a mumbled apology he got out of bed, rubbing his side like it was now a bruised as he meandered to the shower. Clean and refreshed a short while later, Mike headed off to the Pizzaplex. Thankfully he didn’t need to eat and was therefore able to head straight to Sam for an update on the day and to see what was on the docket for tonight’s tasks.

Meanwhile, Gregory stirred a few minutes after Michael left the hotel room. Freddy had been dozing, getting more used to the concept of sleep as time went on, although he immediately perked up when the boy next to him began shifting.

“Good morning, Gregory,” Freddy said, pressing a quick kiss to his son’s forehead. Amazingly, the hoodie was mostly still on, having shifted only slightly during Gregory’s deep slumber. Bleary silver eyes peered up at Freddy from underneath the set of bear ears, making the ursine man’s heart absolutely melt.

Charlie was lucky Sam didn’t want her in “officially” to work until Monday. That’s when she was supposed to be settled to help Sam out; invoices and directing his calls sounded fairly easy when it came to her more logic oriented brain. For today, Charlie was content to sleep with her now-bruised cheek facing the ceiling.

Gregory had been mindful of Charlie’s slumber in the bed next to them as he quietly greeted Freddy. “Morning, Dad…”

A fast smile returned to his face. He was the luckiest kid—not just statistically. Today he felt good. With no hide nor hair of his foster parents around, Gregory was relaxed and happy to wake up with people who actually cared about him. He rolled over, throwing his arms around his dad as he thought of how close he was to never having a life like this.

***

Sam looked a lot better. The bags under his eyes were beginning to clear up nicely thanks to those strange melatonin candies Moon carried around, the natural sleep aids doing wonders for Samuel’s complexion. Outside the Daycare, Sam met with Michael and instructed him on what this shift was going to look like this afternoon.

“I was going ask you to help me get started on Roxy’s restoration, but Sophie’s going to meet you in the main security hub first,” Sam said, refilling a coffee thermos in a break room behind a Staff Only door. “She’ll show you the security route and protocol stuff. You know, newbie training and everything. It would be kind of unfair if everyone but you had to do orientation and all." Grimacing, Sammy leaned in close and cupped a hand over his mouth. "Plus, between you and me, she's the most suspicious about you guys—best not to give her any reason to make it worse.”

“I understand,” Michael replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. He raised an eyebrow as Sam inhaled the coffee, recalling the days when he too survived mostly on pitchers of the stuff. “I’ll meet her now then, I suppose?” When Sam hummed in confirmation, the guard nodded and headed off to the security hub. He wondered what Sophie thought of all this…

Would she still be mildly terrified of him as the Afton heir, like she’d been during past interactions? Thankfully Mike could now do away with that stuffy persona modeled after his cold-hearted father, although he knew the personality change would probably throw poor Sophie for a loop.

And speak of the devil—she was waiting for Michael right where Sam indicated, staring off into space.

“Hey!” Mike greeted as he approached, giving Sophie a little wave. He lowered this hand and offered it for her to shake with an apologetic smile. “Sammy said you wanted to show me a few things? I, uh… I’m sorry if we got off on the wrong foot earlier this week. I promise I’m not a complete asshole.”

Inside the room, Sophie had paused the video feed she was reviewing. Michael didn’t ask why, so she didn’t explain her reasoning for looking over the tapes. She tried hiding her jump when Mike began to speak, and his suddenly friendly demeanor had her very confused.

This was the same Michael Afton with the sh*tty attitude and muscle shirts, right? Sophie decided for the sake of their jobs, it was best to throw that mess under the bridge.

“Oh, it was a stressful week for everyone, Mr. Afton. No worries!” she replied with an easy going shrug before reaching out and taking his hand. She shook it firmly, and felt more at ease when she could feel him respond and match the strength of her grip. “But hey! Now that you’re here, I can start your tour!”

“Sounds good,” Michael responded, although he grimaced slightly at the name. “Oh, and no need for all that formal stuff anymore—Mr. Afton was my father. Just call me Michael or Mike; whichever you prefer.”

“You got it.” An easygoing smile returned to Sophie’s face. Perhaps the off-putting behavior had all been caused by stress. Intrigued, Sophie stood and began explaining the typical duties of a Fazbear night guard. “So—if you're doing nightshift, the first stop is making sure the auto locks go off at twelve at night. Starting from there, I'll show you the route we normally take! I personally just like taking a walk down the atrium from the front doors. Then it's just checking the backrooms in the fastest way possible before making it back to the security room.”

Gathering her flashlight and walkie, Sophie was sure to log out of the computer before hitting the door button on their way out of the room. No one needed to know she was snooping through video surveillance...

Michael instinctively patted down his work belt as he watched Sophie get her supplies. Everything was intact and accounted for, as usual. The day Michael Afton forgot or misplaced a piece of security guard gear would mark the failing of his mental capacities—after everything he’d been through, he’d never lose a potential weapon unless it was from throwing it at an animatronic that was after his blood. Hopefully they’d never have to worry about that again, though.

As Sophie continued speaking, Mike managed to pull his thoughts back to the present and follow her out the door. “Auto locks go off at twelve, then case the back rooms and return to the security office—got it.”

His gaze swiveled around as they walked, really trying to take in the building he’d be working and half-living in for god knows how long. “I know there’s multiple offices, though the one by the stage is the central hub. Does the night guard switch between them, or are the others more so there for back up or extra dayshift security?”

“Daytime security mostly. We used to have... More night guards. And day guards.” Sophie subconsciously reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Yeah, Vanessa had scared off a few newbies trying to learn the ropes. Honestly she was glad that Ness decided to take a wellness trip. Someone that high-strung sorely needed it, especially if she was keeping other people from doing their jobs.

When they hit the atrium, Sophie explained it a bit more thoroughly. “Usually if we had more staff, they’d be helping you out by watching their own sectors while you do rounds. Not many people want to work here these days... Go figure.”

Sophie spoke honestly, maybe even against her better judgement as she knew Mike and Sam must be friends of some kind. Still... Everyone knew this place had a weird history. Sophie was aware before even taking the job, and yet—probably against her better judgement—she still signed the employee contract.

“Speaking of which...,” she began, slowly drawling her words as she carefully meandered around the subject. “Why did you want to work security anyway? It doesn't exactly have the best reputation as a fun job...”

A wistful smile crossed Mike’s face.

“No, it certainly doesn’t,” he agreed, pale eyes flickering to Sophie’s briefly before looking away. “I’ve got personal stake in this place, for one thing.”

He might as well flaunt the Afton name even though he hated it. Maybe he could even reclaim it in time. While he’d never be rid of the dark blot of terror William created that forever loomed over Fazbear Entertainment, Michael could at least do his best to convince his coworkers that not every Afton was evil… or dead.

Kind of.

“Also, like we told you before we came to check in on this place per Sam’s request,” Michael went on as he and Sophie meandered casually through the Pizzaplex. “When I saw the state of things and the clearly overwhelmed night guard, I had to stick around to help. I might not look like it, but I’ve got a fair amount of security detail experience under my belt.”

He stopped himself from rambling more, not wanting to say too much. Michael got the strangest sensation that Sophie might actually understand some of his sordid past if he told her—or at the very least accept it. But that wasn’t a fair burden to put on anyone, let alone someone so young just trying to do their job. For now, Michael would remain the enigmatic Afton willing to help his family friend Samuel anyway he could.

The pair meandered through the Pizzaplex, chattering idly as Sophie explained the standard duties of what security here entailed. Eventually, their trip took them to the Daycare. The closer they got, the more Mike realized that this might not be the best idea. So far, Ennard had done a great job of avoiding dayshift staff, although they’d never been so close to Michael as they would be in the Daycare…

Of course, it was entirely possible that the amalgamation was chilling in the basem*nt with Henry, though with technically two new friends if counting Sun and Moon separate, Ennard was spending most of their time in the rainbow room of fun. It would be too suspicious if Michael asked Sophie to wait outside while he scouted the area. Instead, he opted for loudly announcing their presence, hoping the knowledge that he was with someone else would be enough to send Ennard running for cover if they were around.

“Sophie, have you gotten the chance to visit Sun since he got all fixed up?” Michael asked, speaking a bit louder than might be necessary as they ducked under the garage door leading to the drop-off area.

“Oh yeah! I visited him this morning,” she answered in a perky way, figuring he was just making conversation. She approached the slide, which was honestly one of her favorite ways to enter any of the attractions. “Dude, I felt so bad. I tried asking Sun what was wrong but he just sort of covered his mouth and screamed? I think Sam said he was stuck between personality matrixes. And because he's sort of scared of the dark, it left him freaked out for like the whole weekend!”

Standing aside, Sophie waited for Mike to go down first. “Have you ever taken the slide into the Daycare? It's so much more fun than it looks.”

Inside, Mari was currently having the time of her life. Running around and chasing after both Sun and Ennard in one of the more enriching games of tags she's ever played, mostly her and Sun were the ones shouting over any attempts at signaling those robots inside the Daycare.

Well, sh*t. Michael caught a flash of movement—three shapes, and that’s all he needed to know. Sun and his new friends were playing and clearly didn’t hear his warning. Mari he could explain away: Charlie’s little sister, come to visit the Pizzaplex and Sam. The CEO needed to get some work done, and therefore dropped her off in the Daycare for Sun to watch over. Ennard though… now that would be a tough one.

Michael ran a stressed hand through his hair. As usual, that thing was the bane of his existence. Thinking quickly, he flashed Sophie a grin and took her offer of going first down the slide. Wasting no time, he practically threw himself down feet first, landing in a crash of plastic that instantly caught the yelling robots’ attention. They had about ten seconds max before Sophie made it into the ball pit, and as Michael scrambled out of the way he hissed frantically: “Dayshift guard right behind me! Ennard, GET OUT!”

Ennard briefly caught that flash of muted white and black of the security guard uniform. They were excited to see the human man and shouted a greeting to him.

“MIKEY! I AM WINNING TAG!” They stopped right by the ball pit, leaning over to loom over Michael, excited to finally talk to his friend after some silence for the past few days. But when they felt Mari's strong little hands shove them hard into the ball pit, they knew they were out of the game for now.

“TAG!” Mari shouted at the big old mess of wires and gears. “Now stay hidden you big goober!” She said, clapping the dust from the grody carpeting she had to touch.

Behind Michael there was a shout of joy from Sophie as she slid face first down and crashed into the ball pit, unaware what was lurking just out of sight in the plastic pool.

“Wooo... Man, that never gets old!” she laughed, shaking her hair out as she resurfaced. Though confusion quickly over took her as she saw Mari standing before Michael at the edge of the pit. “Oh—hey? What's your name? Are you lost...?”

Mari was quick to answer, her only downside being that she was a very truthful person by nature.

“No ma'am! I'm not lost; I'm Mari!” she protested, a cheeky grin on her face. Very cute, but Sophie did not quite like being called ma'am. It made her feel far too old. Standing up and wiping invisible dust off her pants, Sophie slowly made her way over to the young girl.

“Well, sweetheart, we've been closed for the past week. Do your parents know you're here?” she said, taking a very gentle approach to helping her. Although Mari looked kind of old to want to hang out in the Daycare area...

“This little angel is Charlie’s sister!” Michael quickly chimed in, scrambling out of the ball pit before a wiry tendril under the surface could fully wrap around his ankle and lock him in place. Once on the padded floor of the play area, he snaked an arm around Mari’s shoulders and pulled her into a side hug. “She came to visit Sam, but he must’ve needed to get some work done and dropped her off in the Daycare. Right, Sun?”

Michael shot a glance over his shoulder to where Sun was stooped, gazing at the interaction with rapt interest. It was a good thing his static face was stuck in a permanent smile, for the way he wrung his hands together indicated his nervousness at the situation. However, he immediately latched onto Michael’s direction, shifting his hands to clap them together.

“Oh yes!” the lanky animatronic exclaimed, bells on his wrists jingling as he swayed from foot to foot. “I’m watching over her until Sam or Charlie comes to pick her up! Ooh, but isn’t she just the cutest little ray of sunshine?!”

In a fit of what could only be described as cute aggression, Sun bent at the waist and reached forward to pinch both of Mari’s smiling cheeks at once, much to the girl’s chagrin.

“Sun?! How could you!” she said, feeling betrayed that her friend played along a bit too well as to treat her like a small child. She reached up, grasping his wrists and silencing the golden bells there. “You’re it now…” Mari said, reminding them that they were still playing a game. Sophie cracked a smile, believing them right off the bat due to the sheer resemblance she saw between all the Emily’s.

“Yes—” Sophie laughed, watching the maliciously compliant little girl interact with Sun. “—she’s cute. Looks just like the boss and Charlie. Are you having fun, Mari?”

“This is my second favorite place to be. But Sun’s one of my best friends…,” Mari admitted, now rubbing her face into the soft fabric of Sun’s stripped pants in a way that made Sophie's heart melt.

It took literally all of Sun’s willpower not to scoop Mari up and squeeze her until she was out of breath from the affection. To be called one of her best friends was the highest praise in Sun’s book. He patted the top of her head, slightly mussing up her shaggy waves in a way that framed the cherubic face even more adorably.

“Like Mari said, we’re playing tag!” the Daycare attendant exclaimed, looking to the guards expectantly. “Do you want to play with us?! It’s always more fun with more people!”

“Uh, well we're kind of on a schedule,” Mike explained. It’s not that he didn’t want to play tag—he was more worried about Ennard’s weird obsession that might entice them to stick an eyeball out of the ball pit to watch the fun. If Sophie caught sight of the creature lurking in the depths below, she’d probably freak out. With an apologetic smile, Michael shrugged up at Sun. “Next time, for sure; I’m technically in a tour right now for my new job, but we wanted to check in on you.”

“How sweet!” Sun gasped, completely unfazed by Michael’s denial of playtime. “I’m doing just great! And so is Moon! I’m sure he’d say hi to you both if he could!”

Under the pit, Ennard's wires shuttered and stalled with having almost gotten their prize. It was like Mike had developed a sixth sense when it came to their attempts at grasping for him. Despite his wishes not to play, Ennard knew he would be back later. Then they could chase each other down like old times once more…

As Sophie rose herself out and carefully over the lip of the rainbow river, she told the Daycare Attendant: “I’ll be back before my shifts up, Sun! I’ll bring some Fizzy-Faz to make up for it. We still have to get back to the security office for midday clearance.”

It was a rule from the start that all personnel that clocked in had to be accounted for by midday. A safety precaution that Mr. Emily took very serious. She was hardly worried about the boss’s daughter. The girl was in the safest part of the Pizzaplex. With its own lockdown features and 7 foot tall animatronic, people were hesitant to break rules under their charge.

“WAIT!” Mari shouted, jumping and grasping onto Sophie’s arm which had nearly been enough to make her panic right then and there. “I need your walkie talkie, please!” Before Sophie could answer, the communication device was slipped off her belt loop.

“Dad? It’s Mari! Do you copy?” she asked over the thick static.

A short pause followed by some feedback static was the only barrier between Sam's confused-sounding answer. “Uh—Mari? Yes, what’s wrong?”

“DRINK SOME WATER! You’ve been drinking too much coffee,” she shouted knowingly into the receiver. There was a long pause then after, followed by a heavy sigh on the radio.

“I’ve got water. Thank you, sweetheart,” Sam replied, probably relieved there wasn’t a real issue.

Mari then clipped the walkie back onto Sophie’s belt, leaving the security guard slightly dazed at the young girl’s responsible demeanor. Hell, she might make a good security guard when she’s older…

Michael had to stifle his laugh by turning it into a rather furious coughing fit. It was sweet to see Mari still fully invested in her role as the security bot of her earlier days, but imagining the look on Sam’s exhausted face when she called him “dad” so casually was enough to set off a fit of poorly-disguised giggles. Sophie would never know how absolutely bizarre their whole twisted “family” situation was…

“Thanks for helping keep your dad in check, Mari,” Michael eventually managed to say with a roll of his eyes. “God knows he needs it…”

“She’s so thoughtful!” Sun praised, jumping on the opportunity to shower his new friend in even more affection. This time he did pick her up, gently rubbing his face against hers while being careful of the bright spokes signaling his sunny disposition.

“Best mini-security guard around, that’s for sure,” Michael agreed, flashing a grin up at the pair. He then stretched his arms out, miming the action of cracking his joints as he looked to his coworker. “I guess we should head for that check-in?”

“Yes, yes, you don’t want Sammy to worry!” Sun encouraged, setting Mari back on the floor so she could say her goodbyes. Before she got the chance to though, the Daycare attendant crossed his arms overtop each other and grasped one of Michael and Sophie’s hands in his own, shaking them vigorously. “It was soooo good to see you! We have to play a game next time you both come around!”

Mari looked over the moon. She seemed to love the attention from others, and especially from one of the animatronics she chose to spend a lot of her time with. Until very recently, she couldn't express herself much. A living doll limited to its mask. Thanks to her creator, she could experience the world as the others did and finally share all that she knew.

Sophie, none the wiser to the twisted monster in the pit could eagerly shake Sun's hand carefree. There was nothing amiss at all in the Pizzaplex today. Sam would be happy to hear that after so many nights of constant stress... which might give her some the opportunity to do some snooping without anyone watching too closely. Though Michael knew his stuff—she would have to be careful around him when maneuvering the security cameras and other employees later.

“I'll bring a board game next time I come on by, Sun,” Sophie promised, knowing soon it would be her turn to watch the Daycare. Turning to Michael, she nodded her way to the door with a casual smile. “We're making pretty good time today—how are you liking the Pizzaplex so far?”

“It's growing on me,” Michael replied with a little smile that was hard to read. With a final wave, he followed Sophie to the exit. As he crossed the threshold of the doorway, he swore his slightly advanced hearing picked up on plastic shuffling from the ball pit, as well as a near-imperceptible “Wait, silly!” from Sun. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes with all his might, Michael picked up the pace until they reached the entrance lobby, upon which he slowed again for Sophie to take the lead.

It wasn't yet time to come out, Sun and Mari had to practically wrestle him back below the plastic balls. Sophie would look over her shoulder at this display with the expectations of seeing them messing around playfully. As Ennard sucked Mari into the pit below, making her break into a giggling fit, Sophie smiled at how much Mari was enjoying herself. Completely clueless as to the happenings of the Pizzaplex, she was quick to guide Mike back out and into the main atrium where people remained busy in order to have the place opened on schedule.

“It sure is eventful around here though,” Michael commented as he saw some staff members bustling around. He knew it was nowhere near what it'd be like when the place was actually open for business, and admittedly he was glad he worked mostly night shift. Over the years he'd gotten used to the relative quiet of darkness.

...Well, when he wasn't cursing in terror from bloodthirsty animatronics at the office window, that is. Soon enough they'd made it to the check-in location, where a few other staff members were milling about. Michael looked around for Sam, wondering if he'd make an appearance—clearly he was awake from Mari's recent short, chiding call.

Currently, something huge was being taken on a dolly and into the freight elevator by a few workers and Mr. Emily himself. Whatever it was had been covered by a large canvas sheet, wrapped in hooking bungee cords to keep the canvas from slipping off the odd shape. Samuel was currently holding the elevator, allowing the people helping it upstairs to fit inside the lift without it shutting on them. When Sam spotted the pair walking in tandem, he waved to them.

“How's the tour going, guys?” he asked, seeming in a better mood than the last week as a whole.

“Good!” Michael replied, staring at the elevator curiously as the large object was finagled inside. Another animatronic, perhaps? There were still a few more to get up and running, after all…

“Sophie’s been taking me on her daily route,” Michael elaborated, sticking his hands on his pockets and slouching casually to the side. “We stopped by all the animatronics to check in, too—DJ, the Glamrocks and Sun. They seem to be doing great!” A corner of his mouth twitched up in a knowing smirk.

“Also, Sophie got to meet your daughter—Mari’s certainly keeping Sun entertained.” Mike tilted his head. “How’s the coffee to water consumption ratio by the way, boss?”

Sam should’ve known that was the reason he received such a strange call coming from Mari; it’d really thrown the employees he had asked to help him for a loop. One remarked how they didn't know he had a daughter, while the other had spoken up to say they thought he had two. It made answering Mari just the slightest bit difficult. Then again, he was so tired, he could deadpan a lie fairly easily.

Sam chuckled, finding it weird how he had to pretend he had two kids—one being his sister, and the other a robot designed to protect both himself and said girl...

“Was she being good? And I'm drinking more water than I was before, if that's helpful,” Sam replied in a cheeky way.

“Oh, she was just fine. The Daycare attendant loves her, predictably,” Sophie said with a shrug. Sun loved all the kids, of course, but she reckoned he probably had a soft spot for his creator's daughter.

“I think she’d live in the Daycare if she could, to be honest,” Michael chuckled. If Mari could have a permanent slumber party on that padded floor surrounded by all her friends new and old, he just knew she’d be the happiest little robot in the world. While he couldn’t offer her that, Michael could give her a chance to experience something potentially just as exciting… He’d have to stop by on his way out to see if she’d be up for an adventure.

“Anyway, am I allowed to ask what you’re up to, or is it top secret?” Michael inquired, tilting his head towards the elevator as Sam let the doors close after staff finally got the mysterious object inside.

Sam looked around him and as the handy men loaded his project into the lift, he would let the door shut before saying anything—leaving quite the suspenseful beat for Sophie and Michael to endure. Then, he waved them closer and whispered just for their ears only. “It was a project I’d been working on for a while before this whole fiasco started. You guys remember Foxy the Pirate, right?”

Sophie’s eyes couldn’t get any bigger. Another employee passed them by to make use of the lift and Sam gently herded them both away while Sophie asked in awe: “Wait—was that why we couldn’t go to Parts & Service?”

“Mhm; partly,” Sam said, dodging her eye contact by pretending to look at his watch. “We are switching the department, however. I don’t know what we’re going to use that room for next. Maybe a break room—we just need more space for the newest animatronic line.”

The explanation eased Sophie’s conscience a little. The more she learned, the more most of this sounded like it was in the works for a very long time, and not just a spin on last ditch cover up.

“I’ll be powering him on shortly, but he needs to charge. I think someone accidentally left his roaming mode on sometime last week… You guys think Roxy’s ready to meet her brother?” he asked, hoping Roxy wouldn’t take it harshly to have a family member performing in the band with her.

“Holy sh*t,” Michael murmured under his breath, followed by a whispery chuckle. He knew it was coming, yet somehow the announcement of Foxy the Pirate Fox in the official lineup was still surprising. A bright smile lit up his face as the initial shock wore off.

“Sammy, this is awesome! And I think Roxy’s going to be just fine.” He snickered, lips twitching into more of a smirk. “She’ll have someone else to get into trouble with."

As way of explanation for his reaction to a refurbished children’s character, Michael told Sophie: “Foxy used to be my favorite as a kid.”

Sophie could see the way Michael brightened when speaking about the character and his hardwired personality. It gave away exactly who Mike’s favorite was. Sophie was interested in seeing how the animatronic was going to stack up against the already established cast.

“Foxy was so cool—” Sophie agreed, seeming to be a big of a fangirl herself of the rowdy cartoon pirate. “—did you tell any of the Glamrocks yet?”

With a finger pressed over his lips, Sam made a soft shushing sound.

“No, keep it a surprise until tonight. I’m going to get the band all together then introduce the old Fox. Mike, come up to my office after you’re done with check-ins.” Sam flashed him a self-satisfied smirk, taking pride in the thing he had created for the brand new line up. “I want you to be the first to see his design. I think you’ll appreciate the work I put into it.”

“Will do, boss-man,” Michael replied with an overzealous salute. He was desperately trying not to laugh, his movements seeming a bit manic for no apparent reason. It was simultaneously so ironic and entertaining that Mike already knew about the Glamrock Foxy model in a more intimate way than anyone but its AI would ever get to. He'd have to explain—and apologize on everyone's behalf—to Sam later this evening why the fox had disappeared from its hidden storage and “free roamed” over the weekend...

But even though they'd been bonded for the better part of twenty-four hours, Michael still hadn't gotten to meet Foxy's programmed personality like he'd done when hitching a ride with Freddy. A flush of childlike excitement filled his eyes as he thought of meeting what was sure to be the friendliest iteration of the fox to date. He had a few more things to do first, though.

“So it's back to the security office after this, right?” Michael asked Sophie, not intending to rush her but simply to indicate he'd like to get a move-on now that they'd confirmed they were still alive and well (to Sam's satisfaction, at least).

Sam may have given him a co*ckeyed glance. Michael's sudden bursts of mania usually meant there was something strange afoot. Though with nothing else to go by, he departed with an equally ironic salute to his two guards. With Sophie's attention back fully to Mike and her job, she grinned.

“You want to go see the Fox, huh?” she asked almost teasingly. Before he could answer her, seriously or otherwise, she raised her phone from her pocket and checked the time. “Yep—so looking around everywhere, if you're not distracted, should take about an hour.”

It was time to head on back to the main office. Sophie made conversation as she led them back to home base. “I don't blame you, though. You're lucky to be helping Sam work on those things. And I mean you... made it so far; so to speak. He must want your opinion on it as a mechanic.”

Clearly Sophie had paid attention to their introductions during the meeting and was fairly aware of the vast number of safety protocols they normally need for doing work on an animatronic.

Michael's enthusiastic smile slipped into one that was a little more subdued as he followed after his new coworker.

“Well, unlike most franchises, the owners of Fazbear Entertainment have always been rather hands-on,” he said. Contrary to his chipper personality moments before, Michael's tone was relatively flat. Not wanting her to perceive this as him being haughty, he was quick to add: “I learned a lot from my predecessors; probably more than ever wanted to know, honestly.”

He gave a short laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “But it's definitely useful when animatronics go on the fritz like they did this weekend. I really don't mind helping out with that sort of stuff if anyone ever needs it. To be honest, it can get kind of boring sitting in that security office all night...”

Not that I want any action—PLEASE let things stay calm for the foreseeable future... Michael silently prayed to whoever was listening.

Sophie nodded, taking in what he said. It would probably be useful to listen to him about the history of this place given how vested he was in the company from what she assumed was a young age. He was related to the original owners, too.

“Tell me about it. For the most part, the band and everyone else reminds people to behave. The day shift is here pretty much for making sure dads don't get into fights at Monty Golf and throw a putter through the set props...,” Sophie remarked so specifically, one would probably think she was speaking for a real experience. “But usually people behave. Unless they want to get shaken down by a bunch of giant robotic animals dressed like the Twisted Sister front-man...”

“Mm, yeah, I'd hate to be on any of those robots' bad sides,” Michael responded with a little hum. His eyes shifted around, unable to stay on Sophie for a moment as the previous weekend flashed through his mind in rapid succession. Oh how far those animatronics had come from their dirty, broken shambles as they chased down an innocent child with the intent of ripping him apart limb by limb...

A small shiver ran through his body, though Michael ignored this as they stepped into the safety of the central hub yet again. He stretched out his arms with a sigh, then plopped down in one of the swivel chairs and used the momentum to do a 360-degree spin, braking with his foot to grin up at Sophie.

“Thanks for showing me around,” he told her, already stealing a glance at the security feeds as was habit. When there was a set of monitors and live camera feeds in front of him, Michael had to watch them. Managing to reign in his gaze, he leaned casually back in the chair and looked to his coworker again. “I'll be sure to reach out if I need while I adjust to things around here.”

“No problem! I look forward working with you, Mike,” Sophie replied with a thumbs-up, before grabbing her coat from one of the storage lockers. Her footsteps disappeared down the hallway while Michael's phone buzzed in his back pocket. Charlie had been trying to reach him through text. There were several photo attachments.

Mike it's Charlie. How do you use clippers?

Like the electric ones for hair

OK I figured it out never mind.

OK maybe not. duck

I meant Duck not duck

The texts became decreasingly verbose as Charlie panicked. Then, there was an album, a photographic progression of a haircut Charlie was apparently giving to Gregory. There was hair everywhere as a shaggy mullet was now cut into the kid’s head. He stood on the bathroom sink, glaring into the camera as Charlie took pictures of him. She eventually figured out how to take a selfie in the ending photo, managing to get the boy to smile after styling the old school cut.

“No f*cking way,” Michael chuckled to himself as he scrolled through the pictures. They were ridiculous, the lot of them...

Out of all potential hairstyles, she'd gone with a mullet? Well, it'd certainly be hard for the Smiths to recognize Gregory at first glance, that's for sure. Plus, Michael couldn't deny his soft spot for the style... Pulling up the virtual keypad, he typed a response as quick as his fingers would go.

Sorry, was getting a tour from Sophie; all done now. Gregory looks adorable... don't tell him I said that

I'm hanging out for a bit then coming back w/a surprise... be there in 1-2 hours, & we can go to the Pizzaplex together for night shift later

With that Michael slipped his phone back in his pocket, though he'd barely gotten to roll his chair into the prime camera-watching position before it buzzed again.

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Just over an hour later, Michael decided it was time to gather his security bot friend and head back to the hotel before his actual job began. A few staff members had already left as the evening light waned, Michael offering those that remained a wave as he walked to the Daycare. Along the way he pulled out his walkie and tuned it into Sammy's.

“Hey, Sam? Just fyi, I'm taking Mari to see her sister—we'll all be back for night shift and then you can introduce me to you-know-who.” He chose his words carefully, unsure of who might pick up on the frequency or be in the room with Sam when he got the message. This was the quickest way to reach him though, as Michael had no idea when Sam would get a chance to breathe, let alone check his cell.

Static feedback filled in the short gap of silence before Sam’s cheerful tone answered. “Okay! She should still be in the Daycare. I'll see you all soon.”

Mari had promised Sun and Ennard that she would stay for the afternoon and play the game that Sophie dropped off on her way out, snagged from the employee break room—no one ever had enough free time to play it anyway, so she felt no harm in taking it. It was something called Monopoly, but one thing led to another and Ennard had angrily torn up all the paper money in retaliation. When Sun began to stress over the messy paper litter, Mari offered to help clean. Though to her it sort of looked like confetti pieces, and she soon started throwing handfuls of money over the three of them.

“What the hell have you guys been up to?!” Mike asked as he saw the state of the play area. Clearly they'd been playing a board game, though part of it was in tattered pieces that Sun was frantically trying to clean up while his friends danced around in the rainbow paper rain.

“Oh! Michael, language please!” Sun gently chided, pausing his action of scooping a handful of play money off the floor to wag a finger at him.

Michael rolled his eyes, though he offered a mumbled “sorry” as he shut the door behind him. Mari might look like a child, but she was older than both of her new friends. Speaking of the little bot, Mike waved her over with a smile, pointedly ignoring Ennard as he did so—he didn't doubt the amalgamation would be bounding over to his side in a matter of seconds, so the less time he could acknowledge their existence the better.

“Mari!” he called cheerfully. “I've got a question for you!”

“Mikey!” the Marionette gleefully chirped back, waving her hands above her head as Ennard slunk behind Michael in slow pursuit. “I have an answer!”

Mari wasn't shy either, coming up and helping herself to hugging Mike’s leg unabashed before attempting to clamber up him as she did in her old form. Though this model had real weight to it now, and found it hard to seat herself on his arm or over his shoulders.

Ennard came then to stand directly behind Michael, a little jealous of how close Mari was to their best friend—both in a figurative sense and literal. It wasn't long before they were watching him bend to pick Mari up, and given Ennard's recent mood they were surprised to not immediately turn green with envy.

“For f*cks' sake, what got you so riled up?” Michael said in a hushed voice, turning around to face the amalgamation. To his relief Sun was now thoroughly engrossed in cleaning up the remnants of their game, so he wasn't able to snap at him again for his choice words.

“And you—chill out!” Michael added a bit louder, almost wrestling with Mari as she insisted on scaling him like a jungle gym. They managed to settle for her latched on piggy-back style, her arms wrapped around his neck while her legs cinched his torso. He held these for extra support, though by the tightness she squeezed him with Michael had no doubt of Mari's ability to keep herself from falling off.

Mike stared up at Ennard, the unnerved feeling he always got around them amped up more than usual. He'd thought he was getting more used to the creature, but somehow Michael could just sense their annoyance as they stared down at him and Mari. Ennard was going to be pissed if they knew Michael planned to take Mari away without asking them to come along...

“Uh... hey,” Michael said, narrowing his eyes at the amalgamation. Worried that a tendril would snake around his leg and pull him down at the most inopportune time, Michael decided to bite the bullet and offer Ennard a stiff hand.

To an outside observer it looked like the guard was thrusting out an arm to make a business deal, and Sun couldn't help but giggle quietly to himself as he observed from afar. It might not mean much to Michael, but Sun knew Ennard would be thrilled that his “bestie” initiated physical contact, no matter how minute it was.

It didn’t take long for a very dainty tendril to rise until it could wrap around the proffered hand. There was a slight shaking maneuver as Ennard tilted their head to the side curiously.

“WE HAVEN'T SPOKEN LATELY... MONOPOLY... MADE US... ANGRY,” Ennard explained, holding onto Mike just a slight longer before deciding not to push it today and let their favorite boy go.

“I took all their railroads and they're angry they don't know how to play!” Mari giggled, poking gentle fun at Ennard. Their pneumatic sigh filled the empty air of the Daycare as they gave up their attitude in a heap.

“I HAVE GOTTEN RID OF THE MONEY... NO MORE MONEY FOR MARI...,” they replied, only fueling Mari's giggles.

“What's your question anyway, Mikey?” asked the somewhat hyper girl, gently tugging the shirt fabric draping Mike's shoulder to gain his attention.

“Huh? Oh, right.” In trying to process the pair's explanation, Michael momentarily forgot why he'd come here in the first place. Glancing over his shoulder, he asked Mari: “I came to find out if you'd... like to play a round of golf with me and Sam!”

The lie wasn't too bad—certainly plausible, especially as Michael added on: “Your 'dad' needs to take a break from reading documents and tinkering with animatronics. We can shove some water down his throat while we're at it, because I just know that man's had another pot of coffee since you talked to him last... What do you think?”

He just needed to get Mari out of the Daycare so he could tell her the real reason he stopped by without Ennard breathing down his neck in the most literal sense...

“Ooh, that sounds exciting!” Sun chimed in, finally finished cleaning up the mess and striding over to them on his gangly legs. He clasped his hands together, jingling as usual. “You should go, Mari—we can always play more tonight!”

“And before you ask, no you can't come Ennard,” Michael quickly added, looking back up at the clown-masked wires sternly. “Dayshift staff is still around patrolling the whole building.”

Ennard sort of melted further towards the floor, a bit deflated that Michael was on their case so early tonight.

“WE... WILL VISIT DOWNSTAIRS... AFTER WE HELP SUN CLEAN...,” Ennard said as if to put Mike's mind at ease on where he was going to be all night. “WE STILL ONLY USE... VENTS... WHEN NECESSARY....”

“Oooh! I always wanted to play golf! How do you play? Can I swim in the water? I heard there’s lakes in the golf course,” Mari replied a bit chaotically. This place had a lot more stimuli than the older locations, though certainly Mari would let them know should she become overwhelmed. She rested her head on Michael's shoulder, pretty jazzed that Sam wanted to hang out as she waved goodbye to her friends. “I'll be back later, you guys! Goodnight for now!”

“See you later!” Sun exclaimed, already slipping his arms under the semblance of Ennard's shoulders to help his friend back on their feet. As Michael and Mari traveled towards the Daycare exit, the attendant's voice could be heard growing fainter. “Silly! How are we supposed to clean if you're all over the floor like that? Do you want me to get a broom and sweep you up, too?!”

“My god, Sun is an absolute saint...,” Michael muttered, shaking his head as they passed through the garage doors. Although, thinking on it further he supposed the pair's personalities both synced up and acted in a strange dichotomy that just made their friendship work somehow.

When he and Mari reached the entrance lobby, Michael made his true intentions known. Instead of turning for the elevator that'd lead them to the golf course, he veered left towards the front doors. “So I have to admit—I told a little fib back there. We're not going to play golf right now... I'm busting you out and taking you to the hotel to meet up with Charlie and the others. I know it's sudden so it's completely fine if you're not ready but I figured you might want a chance to go outside now that you have a fancy new body. How about it?”

Mari gasped. She hadn't been outside in so long, it was just the thing she needed. Somehow until this point, she hadn't even considered leaving with her newly enhanced form. The possibilities were endless now that she was traveling with her friend Michael. Hugging her arms tightly around him, Mari practically spurred him on with her calves as they begun to leave the lobby.

“Oh my goodness! Really?! Mikey, you're too nice to me,” she exclaimed unintentionally betraying strong emotions for the nice gesture. “I can't wait to see everyone at the hotel! Is it nice there? How is everyone settling in? Gregory told me something about a pool—can we see that?”

“Wow; yes, good, and maybe,” Michael laughed, holding her legs tighter to keep her from wriggling.

The Marionette had always been clingy and a bit excitable, though in the early days that'd been reserved mostly for Charlie. After their decades-long bonding and subsequent separation those tendencies were enhanced greatly, but it still entertained Mike to see just how excited the security bot could get. She honestly did seem like a little kid experiencing the world for the first time, and it was very sweet.

After a few blocks of walking and near-constant chatter—mostly from Mari, since Mike barely got a word in edgewise as she rambled about everything she saw—the pair finally reached the hotel. One elevator ride later and they stepped up to the door to room 717. He rapped on the wood in a special code he and Gregory developed to signal his arrival.

“Hey guys! I'm back, and I have a surpriiiiiiise!” Michael called, finally setting Mari down so she could latch onto the first person to cross her path.

Puppet had never been in such a placid place before. The diner and the Pizzaplex were hectic even without children there; the sudden under-stimulation eventually left Mari speechless. She wondered how Mike stood the lack of fun patterns and lights. No music playing either... It’d stopped past the lobby. Behind the door, there were rapid, tiny footfalls that drew closer with every second.

“Is it pizza?!” Gregory shouted through the door. After throwing it open he had no time to react before Mari unceremoniously tacked him. The boy fell to the floor with a tremendous grunt.

“No pizza! I'm better than pizza!” the little bot laughed, hugging her friend with a powerful squeeze.

“MARI!” Gregory gasped, arms locking around her and strong enough to roll her off of him. “Don't scare me like that, dude!”

Charlie, who’d been cleaning up locks of stray hair in the bathroom, completely abandoned her responsibility when she heard the familiar voice.

“Mike! Does Sam know she's here?” she asked, both happy and worried that her robotic other half was actually out and about for the first time in forever.

“Of course he knows!” Michael exclaimed, scoffing in mock offense. “I’m not that irresponsible.”

“Hello, you two,” Freddy greeted warmly, coming out of the bathroom where he’d been helping Charlie clean up the insane mess she made of the countertop and floor… and every other visible surface. He chuckled when Mari latched onto his leg, bending down to wrap his arms around her as best he could. “How was your walk over here? It looks like a beautiful day outside!”

Meanwhile, Michael had helped Gregory to his feet and was examining his new hairstyle like a jewelry appraiser trying to see if a diamond was real. Hands on his hips with one set of fingers tapping on his tool belt, he walked around the boy in a slow circle with squinted eyes.

“Hmm… Charlie, I appreciate the attempt, but the kid doesn’t have nearly enough hairspray in there,” he said eventually, then gave a resolute nod. “Look, you want to go for the 80s rock star aesthetic, you’ve got to commit. Come on—let me work some magic.”

He ushered Gregory back into the half-tidied bathroom, already searching for the barely touched can of hairspray. Michael had styled his hair in more ways than he could count as a teen, and he was happy to have the unexpected chance to work with someone else’s after so long.

Gregory had no choice in the matter. Michael pulled him in and expertly groomed the somewhat limp mess on his head. Despite the considerable amount that Charlie lobbed off, the weight was replaced with how much product sat on his scalp. Gregory coughed a few times with the artificial scent in the air. When the misty mango hairspray dispersed and Mike stepped out from the view of the mirror, Gregory finally got to see the results. He thought he looked—

“Badass…,” he said, completely forgetting his father, who’d gone back to meticulously picking stray hairs around the bathroom. Gregory touched the teased ends gently, wondering exactly how Mike got his hair to stand up in such a way.

“Language, Gregory,” Freddy chided gently, though he couldn’t help but hum in appreciation for the work. “You could give Roxy some competition, Michael!”

“Thanks!” the android laughed, reaching for the sink to wash the caked-on hairspray off his palms. The sticky hands were nostalgic, but something better reminisced on through memory alone. He flashed Gregory a grin in the mirror, proud of what he’d managed to accomplish in record time. “You can thank what probably equaled decades in the bathroom styling my own hair as a kid for that. Man, Lizzie would get so mad…”

Michael snickered at the memories of her beating on the door aggressively for him to let her in. Sometimes she’d get Evan involved, though he didn’t care nearly as much as she did and more so joined in her attempts to pry the bathroom door off its hinges simply to stop his siblings from fighting. All it took for Mike to make it up to Lizzie was taking her out for an ice cream.

Gregory was enamored with the new style. When Charlie had messed up his hair and cut the front short as her natural go-to, she went for the sides of his hair as well. The ends in the back stuck out in jagged spikes that left Gregory feeling tough... He always already a little rebel, but Michael and Charlie may have accidentally kick-started something in him.

“Can you help me do my hair like this every day? You know, until I learn how to do it on my own?” Gregory asked, meeting Michael and Freddy's reflection in the mirror. He wondered how his friends were going to like it. He knew that Liz, Evan and even Cassidy would appreciate the ode to their youth. Most importantly, if Hannah didn't like his hair he might just shave the rest of it off in despair... Or, he'd find a way to get over it.

Still—he tried not to think of it negatively. Of course his friends were going to rip on him either way. After all, that's what he was starting to learn that true friendship involved: the ability to be just as annoying with each other as affectionate.

“When do you guys start your shifts? We're all going to play manhunt in the basem*nt today,” Gregory said, like these plans were very important to the integrity of their group. Michael pulled out his phone to check the clock.

“Technically I don’t start for another five hours, but I told Sam I’d stop by his office beforehand. You guys aren’t going to believe what he’s refurbishing right now…” He shrugged, mouth quirked up in a smirk. “But I’ve been running around all day, so I’ve got some time to chill here. Plus, we’ve got to show Mari what life is like outside the walls of Fazbear Entertainment!”

“Yes Mari, you must come in and see the rest of the suite!” Freddy remarked, having cleaned up all he could in the bathroom and gone out to join the girls in the hallway. He offered a hand to the security bot, urging her further into their temporary dwelling with a bright smile. “It is astounding they can fit so much in such a space!”

In the hall, Mari wiggled loose from Charlie's death grip to follow the demure sound of Freddy's voice. She jumped into the kitchenette area, her tiny legs splayed shoulder with apart as she took in her very surroundings. She happily noted that Gregory didn't yet take off his little green bracelet—a high-priority color that demanded her attention. With it, she could locate them whenever...

Just in case.

“This is where you live?!” Mari asked incredulously. The place was immaculate, even if it was painted in a stark white with touristy, floral accents. “This is kinda rad! Where’s the ice cream machine?”

“There is no ice cream machine, but we can call downstairs and ask them to bring some up whenever we would like!” Freddy explained, clear excitement in his tone. Was this was he looked like the first time he’d left the Pizzaplex, wide-eyed and awestruck?

Another surprise. Gregory seemed giddy now, as it could mean anything from new attractions to new foods. It was Gregory's best hope that Sam would let him play test any new game or ride that he thought of opening to the public. The kid seemed to vibrate with pent up energy that was screaming to be released.

“Something new? Is it a secret?” Gregory asked, tugging on Michael's work shirt as he passed to replace the can of hairspray on the bathroom counter.

“It’s not a secret from us,” Michael was telling his little brother with a grin, walking out of the bathroom to rejoin his friends. “Sam’s adding Glamrock Foxy to the lineup!”

“What?!” Freddy whipped his head around, in the process of lifting Mari up so she could see over the high countertops. He quickly set her down in favor of pressing a hand to his chest, looking at Michael with a hopeful gaze. “Foxy is coming back?”

“You bet.” Slouching casually against the wall, Michael shrugged. “I’m sure he won’t mind if you all tag along to see him, too.”

“Oh this is just wonderful!” Freddy’s eyes crinkled with happiness. First he got Bonnie back, and now Foxy as well?! Sam was certainly outdoing himself. “Do the other animatronics know?”

“Nope; we get the first look,” Michael replied. “So if you do run into someone on our way in, keep your mouth shut.” He raised an eyebrow at Charlie and her little lookalike, the most likely culprits to spill the beans.

Gregory never had the privilege of growing up around Kid's Cove with Foxy's story times and intermittent songs sprinkled throughout the day. Meeting him would be like meeting a legend that people only spoke highly of. Clearly Sam loved the classics, romanticizing the best parts of their shared childhoods. Maybe even wanting to relive the old times that were snatched away swiftly by tragedy.

Gregory was only shaken from this line of thought by Mari, who asked him: “This is so exciting! Do you know Foxy?” She shook her head, face scrunched. “No, he wouldn't know Foxy—Mikey, your robot is going to be back!”

She wondered if by odd supernatural magic, Foxy would remember Michael.

“Did you guys miss him? I missed Foxy...” Mari sounded almost melancholic for a second before the feeling passed like a ship in the night. Charlie came over, content to snatch the rambling puppet from off of the poor overwhelmed boy and shook her.

“Yes! We all missed him—but we should go and play before we see him. You are so wired right now!” Charlie then looked to Freddy and Michael for suggestions on what to do.

The boys glanced at each other, then in unison responded: “The arcade.”

While the hotel was a great place to stay, it’s amenities as far as fun things to do were limited. That’s what the Pizzaplex just down the street was for, after all! Even so, while the hotel’s arcade would never compare to the massive neon arenas of the mall, it served as good entertainment for a few hours.

“One of these days we’ve got to go to the pool,” Michael remarked, patting down his pockets to make sure his room and security keys were still there. “Though we need bathing suits first…” He frowned, looking at Freddy’s still unchanged outfit. “Actually, I think we just need to go clothes shopping in general…”

“That can definitely be arranged,” Freddy readily agreed. While he was certainly content staying in their fancy suite when not visiting friends in the Pizzaplex, the former bear was excited for the opportunity to explore somewhere new. With a questioning tilt of his head, he posed a suggestion. “Perhaps we can visit one of those Targets I have heard so many guests speak of?”

“Oh my god,” Michael laughed, clapping Freddy on the back. Sometimes it was easy to forget the guy was really just a robot at his core with limited knowledge of the outside world. “Yes, we can go to Target—we’ll take Mari, too.”

Looking at the wriggling girl, Michael vaguely wondered if they might want to invest in one of those animal backpacks with the long leash-tails so they wouldn’t lose her… But he quickly realized that if anything, she’d be the one to find them if anyone wandered off. For as hyper as she seemed, Michael noticed how she never strayed too far from anyone’s side.

“Well then, to the arcade for now,” Freddy prompted, placing a gentle hand on Gregory’s back to signal it was time to go. “We can play for a bit and then order dinner right before we leave for the Pizzaplex, how does that sound?”

Gregory looked to the group. For the first time in a week, he realized how genuinely happy everyone made him... There was no faking happiness when around his family now. And at the prospect of getting new things, he was even more excited for the rest of the day.

“Arcade!” Gregory cheered. For the first time in a while, Gregory seemed truly happy. His life, while strange as ever, finally started to seem "normal" to the kid. It was funny how the only way to achieve that was to officially become a missing person.

As usual, the trip to the arcade was full of fun and laughter. How could it not be, when everyone was with those they cared for the most?

Michael of course joined in on the games, challenging Gregory to yet another bet that ultimately ended in a stand-off to be picked up next time when Freddy announced it was time to get some food. Tonight was burger night again, and Freddy even managed to get his son to agree to eat at least half a side salad if he got one of the gnarly slushees from the bowling alley later in return. It would be best not to immediately counteract the slim amount of healthy food Gregory ate with a cup of sugar and artificial flavors, but Freddy couldn’t help spoiling the boy just a little bit. It was simply his nature to make sure children were happy after all, and his own kid was top priority.

The group crowded around the dining room table while Freddy brought over the food. Setting it down, he noticed Mari staring at the selection curiously. She hadn’t spoken up about wanting anything, so Freddy had been on autopilot ordering the second they got back up to the room so it’d get there as fast as possible. But as he saw her eyes track Gregory’s burger when Freddy handed it over, the ursine man remarked:

“Mari… you have not gotten to try consuming food yet, have you?” Bright blue eyes shifted to Michael and Charlie. “I think she should be able to eat if I can—what do you think?”

“Yeah, I say go for it,” Michael said, speaking through a mouthful of food as he’d already shoved the biggest bite physically possible of his double-cheese deluxe into his mouth. “Worst case, Henry’s got to scoop out some gunk from her insides.”

Mari laughed at the weird image such a scenario brought to mind. Charlie was the one to slide her burger and fries towards her friend. “Go ahead! Mine’s got blue cheese on it.”

As if that meant something to her. Mari knew such a thing was supposed to taste good. She looked uncertain. Picking up the toasted sesame seed bun, she inspected the way all of the toppings folded over the patty. Mari tried to imagine how to eat this, but the mechanics were lost on her.

“So I bite it, then let it slide down my throat?” she said confidently, but Charlie chimed in to correct her.

“You should chew it before you swallow it. It'll get stuck otherwise.” Charlie tried to refrain from laughing at how similar Freddy and Mari were upon their first encounter with food.

Then it was even harder watching Mari's attempt. Sauces and grease ran over her fingers as she bit into the side of the sandwich. Following Charlie's instructions was easy—but then the sensation and the new concept of flavor hit her. No words, just wide eyes as she set the food back down, afraid she'll eat the whole thing in one bite. Mari tilted her head back to swallow to a minute degree and asked them all: “What was that?!”

“It's a burger—are you gonna be okay?” Gregory asked between laughs as Mari put her head down on the table. The burger must have been too good for words, because for the first time tonight, Mari was contently silent.

Michael laughed too, amused that such a simple action could seem like such a big deal. Then again, he’d never forget years of being unable to eat—and unlike the robots, he knew what the sensation was like. Now that he was able to indulge in his favorite meals, especially without worrying about the consequences of not eating healthy, Michael would never take that for granted again.

The family practically inhaled their food in an effort to get back to the Pizzaplex as fast as they could. Well, except Freddy who insisted on taking reasonable bites despite everyone’s goading to move just a little faster. When the last bit of his meal finally disappeared and he lifted his napkin to wipe the greasy remnants off his mouth, Mike and Gregory shot out of their seats like rockets to get ready. For Gregory this involved grabbing his tablet, while Michael’s task was to give his brother’s hair one last touch-up before they hit the road.

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

As a close-knit unit, they walked back to the Pizzaplex. In an effort to preserve the volume of Michael’s work, they’d opted not to pull the hood of Gregory’s new sweater down. Instead the boy allowed his dad to carry him, burying his face in the warm comfort of Freddy’s shoulder so no one would recognize him. Despite his new ‘do, the paranoia that the Smiths were lurking around the corner was too great to ignore until they crossed through the Pizzaplex’s entryway. Dayshift staff had long-since gone home, so it was eerily silent as everyone made their way to Sam’s office. With a hard knock, Michael called: “Sammy! I’m back and I brought the fam—is it okay if they come in for the big reveal?”

There was a few knocking and thudding sounds that seemed to shake the room slightly. Sam was kicking old parts and tools away from the door to throw it open with a fairly excited look in his eyes.

“I've been waiting for you guys! Come on in—he's finished charging!” Sam invited, patting the taller members of the group on the shoulders as they passed through the threshold as if to hurry them along. Charlie pretended to not even know the design already, managing a surprised expression. She let out a low whistle and shoved her hands deep into her pockets as she admired the newest installment to the franchise.

“You've outdone yourself, Sammy. A one-armed drummer is going to be so cool,” she remarked, understanding the reference with the obvious nods to a certain hair metal band in Sam's design of Foxy.

Sammy clapped his hands together, thankful for the positive criticisms. Looking to the rest of the group, he inched towards Foxy and unplugged him from the barebones charging stand. There, he flipped the robot's power switch into the 'on' position and stepped back to watch him boot up.

“Right—test run number one, here we go,” he said, seeing Foxy's bright eyes light up underneath his shut lids.

The fox blinked and looked around curiously, his slow gaze dragging over the members of the group. The faces of each employee already being downloaded into his mainframe, there was no need for most introductions. Though that wouldn't stop the friendly bot from introducing himself. He raised his hook, combing some of his mane from his face as he dramatically scanned the group a second time, personality chip taking hold as he felt a wholesome connection the people standing before him.

“Foxy the Pirate Fox, reportin' for duty!” he finally managed to say with a dramatic salute. The oddest part was his distinctly Brighton accent under the pirate façade, and how similar it sounded to someone else in the room.

Sam's jaw dropped and he immediately looked to Michael. Did he mess with his robot somehow? It’d certainly be a good if annoying prank, if so.

“Oh, no way…” Michael gave a short, stunned laugh. He pressed his fingertips to his lips, which soon curved up in a wry smile. “No effing way…”

Well, he’d managed to avoid triggering any profanity filters, though the close call made Freddy shoot him a sharp glare. This quickly morphed into a look of confusion as he gazed back up at Foxy, remarking curiously: “I did not realize you would be changing his accent, Samuel.”

“Uh, I don’t think he did,” Michael spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew this conversation would go right over the newly-activated animatronic’s head, but he remembered another piece of their weekend adventure they’d neglected to tell the CEO. “So… I think this was my fault—unintentionally!”

Michael was quick to throw his palms up, looking to Sam with wide eyes. “I promise I only messed with your animatronics when I had to! But speaking of that… You know how I told you I was trapped in Freddy’s head, which is how he got all that human sentience mixed in with his AI? Well… there was a step in between Freddy and this android I’m in now.”

Michael gestured to Foxy with ostentatious hands, as if to say ta-da! “I… might have rubbed off on him too, somehow.”

“Oi—” Foxy interrupted, confused by the nature of the conversation happening in front of him. “—be you some manner of imposter? You’ve got me voice, laddie.”

The fox carefully took one of Michael's hands and inspected it with his good eye. He then shook his head, deciding that Michael was fine, though dressed a bit too stuffy for his liking; not first mate material for sure. However, the kid with the mullet was certainly someone worth having aboard his pirate crew. With his entertaining protocols activated at the sight of both Gregory and Mari, he dropped Michael's wrist and waved to the children admiring him from afar.

“AHOY, children! You two must be friends of the good captain Sammy!” he compartmentalized, downloading their faces into his memory banks. The two kids were left giggling as Foxy approached, finding his mannerisms and way of speaking endearing. He bent down low, tail swishing and sweeping the floor as he stared the two down.

“Between you and me, he won't be captain for long,” he whispered theatrically, lifting his eyepatch to wink with his white, unlit eye. “We'll be startin' a mutiny by daylight. Stuff the captain in the brig and take all the Fizzy-Faz and pizza for ourselves! Then we'll rock out on stage and party until the sun goes back down!”

Sam hadn't said a word, taking in the fact that it'd been ONE minute and Foxy was already plotting to overthrow him on top of dealing with the fact that two Michael Aftons may be running amuck in his Pizzaplex. Gregory and Mari seemed pleased, raising their hands to give Foxy a crowded high five. Then, moving down the line Foxy spotted Freddy and saluted him.

“And you! Don't think you can fool a ship-spotter. I may be old, but my eye is as sharp as ever!” He pointed an accusing finger in Freddy's direction before sauntering up to the man, expression softening. “... It's good to see you, Fazbear.”

Though this was their first time actually meeting in the Glamrock iteration, Foxy knew he and Freddy were best mates in a past life. Those special eyes could see what was inside, and his soft spot might be the most surprising thing from the rough and tumble pirate.

“Hello, Foxy; it is wonderful to see you,” Freddy replied with his usual warmth, not hesitating to wrap his arms around the cerulean coat and give his old-yet-new friend a hug. It was brief but poignant, the surprisingly strong squeeze to Foxy’s waist letting him know that even though he’d been powered on not five minutes before, he was accepted into the Glamrock band with open arms.

“The others are going to be absolutely thrilled!” Freddy continued after pulling back, grinning up at the amiable pirate. “I think Roxy especially will take quite a liking to you—though they will all be happy to have you on stage with them, of course.”

“Well, he seems pretty great, all things considered,” Mike murmured, leaning sideways to bump Sam's shoulder. What part of the sea-faring fox’s personality was preprogrammed and what was due to Michael’s temporary residence within was anyone’s guess, though Mike liked to think the amped-up rebellious streak was solely his influence. Laughing as he caught the pale look of mild distress on Sammy’s face, he slipped an arm around the man’s shoulders so he didn’t fall over. “I’ll personally keep an eye on him, how’s that?”

It was a nice gesture on the outset, but the mischievous light in Michael’s eyes betrayed his true intentions—to make a new friend he could get up to trouble with. He might not have met Roxy yet, but Mike knew that together with her old counterpart they’d be an unstoppable force… especially if they roped Monty and Gregory into their antics.

Sam locked a strong arm around Michael in turn. He really couldn’t blame his friend for inhabiting the robot, especially if lives were on the line. He just sighed and told Mike in a half-joking manner: “That’s it—you’re responsible for anything he does.”

Across the room, Foxy was almost mirroring Michael unintentionally, his arm hooked around Fredbear and swaying slightly on his peg leg as he brightened to the thought of all the buccaneers he left in his absence.

“Those poor scalawags!” Foxy replied in a bark of laughter, his thoughts roaming now to their friends. “They must have all been so lost without me! Don’t you worry your fuzzy little head, this band will get whipped back into shape with someone to keep the timing now!”

He couldn’t wait to perform with them again. His skills were so obviously needed—or rather, he just assumed they were. “I’ll be excited to meet the new members of our crew as well! I’m sure together we’ll rock the heads off of our admiring fans.”

“Oh man, Roxy’s going to love him,” Charlie remarked with a laugh. Apparently Foxy was unaware of their names, and he had given Charlie a questioning, sideways glance. “You know… your sister?”

“I HAVE A SISTER?!” Foxy bellowed, eyepatch flipping up comedic ally as his ears stood up to straight points. “Goodness gracious! A little sister!”

Freddy’s heart warmed at Foxy’s obvious excitement. There was definitely a hint of Michael in there, he was sure if it—if the random accent swap wasn’t proof enough, the look of joy at having a younger sibling to care for certainly was.

“Roxanne Wolf,” Freddy clarified with a smile. “She is… well, a wolf! She plays keytar in the band and also has a raceway where guests can challenge each other around the track, as well as a beauty salon. Oh!”

Freddy let out a small gasp. He was getting really excited now, wanting to whisk the fox away right then and there and give him a tour of the Pizzaplex. He managed to keep his feet in one place, though he couldn’t resist gripping Foxy’s arm just above his hook and shaking it slightly.

“I am sure you have information about the Pizzaplex pre-downloaded, but we must give you tour once you are ready!” Freddy continued with a jovial laugh. “Your mental map does not do the place justice… Ah, and you must also meet Monty! His full name is Montgomery Gator and…”

Michael chuckled as Freddy rambled on. They’d witnessed him happy to see an old friend before, but this was a different kind of joy. With Bonnie and Chica, he’d also been flooded with relief—and disbelief, in the rabbit’s case—that they were back in commission and ready to return to all the fun they used to have. But with Glamrock Foxy being a totally new addition, Freddy got to take on the “mentor” roll tenfold and make sure he got acclimated as fast as possible.

“Guess he’s always had that streak in him,” Michael murmured, watching Foxy’s predictably dramatic reaction to the description of a huge, bass-playing alligator. Glancing side-eyed at Sam, Michael nudged him with an elbow. “So is Roxy going to be up and running tonight, too? Because we’ve definitely got to meet her sometime, if so.”

Foxy's attention was pulled constantly by the group. Now as Charlie and Gregory explained the group dynamic and where to bring Foxy first on his official tour of his new home, Sam was already smirking over at Michael. The boss crossed his arms and adjusted his glasses, vision drifting back to Foxy and watching how he interacted with everyone so fluidly—like he'd always been here...

“You'll be pleasantly surprised to know that Roxy's recovered and resting inside her room at Rockstar Row,” he said with some self-satisfaction, feeling he earned the right to be a little smug.

Turns out Roxy was a surprisingly quick fix overall. All of her parts seemed to more or less be pulled apart at the joints. Very little spares were needed, and after a wire-job here and there along with some final touch-ups, she was perfect again.

Foxy had to stop Gregory as he and Charlie ranted about their adventures—not that he wasn't interested, but their talk of the fun they had around the Pizzaplex made him yearn for the same.

“You two are torturing me! I need to see this place!” he said, snatching Gregory up when he strayed too close. There was no worry with Foxy—Michael had made it certain that Gregory wouldn't fear the old character when he had possessed him. Absently, the fox kept Gregory perched and giggling on his good arm. Another thing he wasn't quite programmed for, as parents didn't quite like the idea of the robots snatching up their kids...

“Well then, let us not waste more time!” Freddy exclaimed, though he made sure to pause when he neared Sam and give the man a strong hug. In his ear, he murmured his gratefulness for all his creator had done for them. “Thank you for fixing everyone up, Sam; I really cannot express my gratitude enough...”

“Fred, give him a break before he keels over,” Michael joked with a gentle tap to the redhead's shoulder. It was obvious that Sam basked in the praise, but even more obvious that he was in desperate need of another nap. Michael took it upon himself to hook his arm through Sam's, pulling him towards the doorway with the others. “Right—we'll stop by the Daycare first then head over to Rockstar Row.”

Moon was getting an ample amount of time out and about with the CEO's completely f*cked up sleep schedule, that's for sure. As an excitable unit, the group left the crowded office and made a beeline for Rockstar Row, Freddy and Foxy in the lead—with Gregory still perched on his new friend's arm, of course.

Sam was barely keeping his eyes open by the time their group had gotten to the home of the main artists. It took some maneuvering, but the friendly Moon had taken the liberty of meeting both Michael and Sam at the edge where Rockstar Row met the exit to the Daycare. Carefully, the CEO was passed along into the waiting arms of his creation, nearly passed out already. The poor man needed to curl up in the theater room with some cartoons, a blanket and his favorite pillows...

“Oi, take good care of the Captain. He's still got his sea legs,” Foxy said in a hushed voice, mindful of Sam who looked asleep standing up. Mari quickly went inside with Moon to help put Sam to bed and to say hi to her friends, as they’d been sequestered the whole afternoon without her.

“Goodnight, Sam!” Gregory called, waving from on high. Only then did Sam show signs of life, waving lazily to the group and taking his leave.

“We'll make sure he gets a good rest,” Moon assured in his quiet, raspy voice. His head tilted ever-so-slightly as Mari slipped past, but otherwise he gave no indication of seeing the tiny android, his focus solely on Sammy who he'd lovingly picked up to cradle in one arm despite the man's weak protests. They'd have time to play games as soon as he put the nearly-passed-out CEO to bed. With a slow wave of one hand and a low cackle, Moon backed up into the Daycare.

By the time the door closed the group had already moved on, reaching Rockstar Row in a matter of minutes. Michael was pleased to see signs of Chica and Monty moving about in their rooms—now he wouldn't have to go searching the Pizzaplex to check on them before holing up in the office the rest of the night. Unbeknownst to Sophie and all the other staff members, there was a whole level to the gigantic mall that the animatronics could roam to... So far only Monty and Bonnie had been down to the old diner, but Michael didn't doubt the others would find their way into the burnt-out structure soon enough when they learned there was a group of excitable kids just waiting for a chance to play.

It was the night guard who knocked on Roxy's door, slipping between Freddy and Foxy to stand in front of them. He felt like he was probably the best one to lead the charge, as hopefully Sam had been able to upload his employee profile into the wolf's databank just like Foxy's. Now that he was officially working for the Pizzaplex, Roxy should recognize Mike right away...

“Roxy?” he called through the door. The curtains were drawn, so they weren't able to see what the wolf was doing, though she was definitely in there. “It's Michael—new head of security. I wanted to introduce myself and a few others you'll be seeing a lot around here.”

Roxanne had been fairly contemplative at her vanity, going through various metallic paints as she decided which ones to keep and what products for her mane were running low. The knock at the door interrupted her inner monologue and derailed her train of thought. She whipped her head around and called out to the person she recognized as familiar now that his employee profile was uploaded.

“Door's open!” she called, her more approachable demeanor a stark contrast from the outright unfriendly mask she wore when infected with William's virus. Roxy quickly teased at her mane with her claws, trying to prepare herself for people coming in as first impressions were very important to the wolf.

Outside the door, Foxy set Gregory down to wait. He wanted to go last and really think about what he wanted to say to Roxy. Maybe he should wait for First Mate Michael's signal before entering?

Was he overthinking this? Probably. Something in him wanted to impress her, to appear as a daring and lovable big brother. What if she ended up hating him…?

Foxy couldn't think like that! They were made to be family! Surely they’d get along just fine.

Michael strode into the room, immediately catching sight of Roxy at her vanity. Now that the bloodthirsty look was gone from her eyes, he could really appreciate how cool her design was. It certainly fit the profile of a speed-racer with a penchant for always looking her best.

“Nice to officially meet you, Roxy!” Mike told her with a smile, moving out of the way so the others could enter. Freddy was right on his tail, Gregory's hand now clutched in his own. By this point, Gregory was used to meeting the animatronics that'd been hell-bent on his destruction a few nights prior. Still, Roxy's attack and subsequent decommissioning had been pretty brutal—just like the others'—so Freddy took it upon himself to offer whatever small comfort he could. Squeezing Gregory's hand, he grinned at his former bandmate and opened his mouth to introduce himself, but Michael beat him to it.

“Your employee profile database says this is Fred, the new stage manager,” he began, having been through this spiel many times before. Despite the repetition, Michael's voice was measured and calm, unsure how easily Roxy's level of disbelief would be overcome at the human state of her friend. “That's true—but not the whole truth. He's actually your old pal Freddy Fazbear, just transferred to a new body. Check us out with your special eyes if you want—a startling number of us are robots, actually.”

“He is speaking the truth,” Freddy chimed in with a soft laugh, gently swinging his and Gregory's arms as they awaited the wolf's reaction to the news. “It is good to see you again, Roxy!”

Roxy's face was amazingly expressive just like the others—pure confusion took hold as Freddy sauntered inside the room. Well—it was Freddy, but not Freddy?

“Wait, is this a prank? Am I on camera?” Roxy asked, knowing that was definitely the unmistakable voice of Freddy Fazbear without the bear attached. She stood and went to inspect the redhead, noticing the child holding his hand was quick to scoot behind him at her approach. “Freddy?! Why are you a person now? They're not doing this to everyone are they—”

Taking notice of Gregory's fast glare from behind Freddy's thigh, she co*cked her head in a confused way.

“...Did you steal a baby, too? What the heck is going on here?! How long have I been out?!” Roxy couldn't help but laugh as all the questions that seemed too ridiculous to be asking spilled forth from her muzzle.

“'m not a baby,” Gregory pouted, looking down and resisting the urge to nervously bite the skin around his nails. It was the first time the urge really hit him since last weekend.

“Ah—I think he needs a bit of space,” Freddy said, first and foremost putting Gregory's comfort above everything else. He took a step back while Roxy simultaneously did the same, not wanting to upset the clearly amped-up kid further.

“He has been through a lot recently,” Freddy added as way of explanation. The statement was vague, yet said all the wolf needed to know for the moment. Bending slightly to run his free hand through Gregory's hair, Freddy kept his smile prominent and his eyes trained on Roxy. “I haveadopted Gregory as my son. I could not care for him as I needed to in my old form, and when an opportunity presented itself for me to transfer into this vessel I simply could not refuse.”

“Also, to ease your worries, Sam's not suddenly going to port you into am android, too,” Michael chimed in, a corner of his mouth quirked up in a smirk as he rested one hand casually on his hip. He was watching the interaction closely, ready to step in as a barrier between Gregory and his current stressor even though he knew Freddy was perfectly capable of handling things.

“Freddy's a special case. Er, I guess Charlie and I are, too.” Michael's blue eyes flickered to his best friend lingering in the doorway. “Oh, that's Charlie, by the way—I'm sure she'd love to get a makeover sometime. She definitely needs it...”

The last comment was muttered under his breath, although by the look on Charlie's face she heard him just fine. Despite his apparent death wish, his smirk widened at literally offering his friend to the wolves—well, wolf.

Roxy took her time scanning everyone in the room now, her eyes darting between them as they rattled off explanations for their strange states. When Freddy told her why he was like this, she smirked at him. “Oh, Fred, you’re such a softie… That’s really sweet.”

How could she blame him for adopting a skittish kid in need? Hell, Roxy knew that she wanted to whisk away every mistreated kid that wandered through the Pizzaplex. She just never thought they could until now…

Roxy decided it was best not to scare the kid any more than necessary—he’d come to her when he was comfortable. Instead she circled to the only girl in the room, Charlie, who socked Michael in his arm while unable to hide the grin at her friend’s joke. Feeling eyes on her, she stood upright at the inspection Roxy was doling out.

“Her? She doesn’t need makeup!” Roxy said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “But I really can’t pass up the opportunity to give anyone a makeover if they want one.”

“I’ve never really worn makeup before—” Charlie laughed; even when Liz wanted to give her makeovers, it was like pulling teeth to get her to agree. When Roxy grasped her shoulders and scanned her face, Charlie gulped nervously.

“I have 76 potential styles that would fit that cute face of yours! Just let me know—I’m itching to use my new brushes,” Roxy told the girl with a grin and a wink, tail wagging gently behind her.

Slowly, Foxy snuck inside the open door. His sister’s room was pretty cool. Why did she get an awesome pad like this and he had to stay at Kid’s Cove?

Roxy’s ears perked up at the sound of Foxy’s peg leg tapping on the tiled ground. When she whipped around, this strange fox character was sniffing around the stuff on her vanity.

“WOAH! Woah! Hands off my things, big fella!” Roxy protested, dashing over to stop the pirate from touching her hair gel or her perfumes. Foxy looked like a deer in headlights, turning around and stopping Roxy in her tracks as she was once again floored with confusion.

“I’m just lookin’, party-pooper!” he laughed, making Roxy’s head tilt with intrigue.

“What the heck’s going on here?” she asked again, recognizing the animatronic shell as a very familiar structure. Immediately, the concern they were replacing her next shot through her core.

“Roxy, Samuel has decided to bring back some of the older characters,” Freddy piped up, placing a hand on her forearm. The way her tail slowly flicked back and forth showed her suspicion at the intruder and Freddy wanted to assure her there was no threat immediate or down the line for her character. “Remember the mascot for Pirate’s Cove? Well, Sam has revamped him into a Glamrock style!”

“Think of him as your brother,” Michael added, placing a hand on Gregory’s shoulder as if to demonstrate what a sibling bond looks like. The kid clearly wasn’t totally on board with her yet, though Michael couldn’t blame him—that golden stare was intense…

“Foxy will be joining the lineup and staying in Pirate’s Cove for the time being,” Freddy said, already seeming to know the plan without having to ask. “But we wanted to introduce you first before he meets the rest of the band; he was just powered on tonight!”

At first, the air was tense. Like an unstoppable force meeting an immoveable object, the two stood defiantly until Foxy made a slow move. Roxy moved opposite, both animatronics circling each other carefully, two pairs of special eyes raking the other for any reason not to like their counterpart. In a way, it was like watching two dogs meet for the first time.

Then, Foxy side-eyed Michael and Gregory, learning quickly what it could mean to be family with someone. He scooted in closer, invading Roxy's space who passively allowed him to walk next to her.

“Frankly, I don't know what to say other than it's terrific to meet you, Roxy!” He smiled at her, not meaning to put her off by almost touching her things. This seemed to win the keyboardist over, the ghost of a smile pulling at her fang-filled maw. When Foxy hooked his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug, she reciprocated it in kind.

“Yeah, yeah, you're not too bad, either...,” she replied, looking away as she attempted to appear cool and calm about the sudden change.

She had a brother. And now Freddy had a son... Things were different, but she couldn't see a reason to fight the changes.

As the two stopped in front of the glass panel, a flash of purple sped past the viewing port. Bonnie Bunny was scampering through with what appeared to be an armful of wrapped presents and balloons in his arms.

“BONNIE!” Roxy shouted, at the window in a flash as she pounded the glass to get his attention. The scare issued to the poor rabbit had made him throw the presents and balloons into the air, losing the helium toys to the skylights.

“DANG IT, ROXY!” Bonnie cursed, jumping to try and save the balloons before they floated out of grasp, but it was already too late when he regained his composure. “Why'd you go and do that?!”

As Bonnie turned to scold the wolf, he got the full sight of Foxy standing beside his sister, laughing at him. “FOXY! Old boat, you’re here!”

“Oh goodness… alright, everyone into the hallway!” Freddy directed, grabbing Foxy’s hook—carefully—and leading him out first to meet Bonnie. It was far too cramped already in the room, and trying to add another animatronic would only increase the sardine effect.

Once fully in the cavernous museum hall of Rockstar Row, Freddy took his hand back only to throw his arms around Bonnie in a brief squeeze seconds later. The man’s face hurt from smiling so much, but he couldn’t help it. As of this moment, his whole family was here—his old friends were back in commission, and his new ones were as happy as could be in whatever bodies they chose to inhabit, ghostly or robotic.

“What in the world are you up to, you silly rabbit?” Freddy asked, a slight crease in his brow the only piece of his expression that changed as he started picking up the haphazardly thrown presents now scattered on the floor. Michael and Charlie had meandered out in the hall as well, though the guard’s focus was on the balloons far out of anyone’s reach.

“Wonder if Sam will want me to get those down… probably,” he murmured, crossing his arms as he tried to calculate how tall of a ladder they’d need to get. Then a thought occurred that had him snapping his fingers. “I bet one of the kids can do it! Float right up to the ceiling and grab them…”

He glanced at Charlie with a satisfied grin. “How do you feel about being a babysitter tonight? Maybe we can grab the kids and have them help before setting the little monsters loose; I’m sure you can rope some animatronics into helping you watch them while I’m working. Plus I’ll be keeping an eye on you through the cameras, so if you get into any trouble, I’ll know.”

He tapped his temple in both a promise and a warning. Any sign of trouble either towards or from the group, Michael would be on them like a hawk.

Bonnie returned the hug with enthusiasm, head knocking his friend’s ever so slightly until he pulled away to help with the scattering of presents. Some boxes heavy, some light. Others wrapped expertly, and some with a clear smattering of pizza grease on the outside... One noticeably had purple glitter glue closing its paper tabs. The tags on them read GREGORY in various handwriting styles.

Bonnie's guilty expression coupled with his eyes darting around for the unseen boy had the rabbit leaning in to whisper to Freddy. “Monty, Chica and I've been plannin' the surprise party! We were going to put these in your room.”

The excitable bunny was left giggling. He loved parties, and had always been a meticulous planner when it came to these things.

“It's the wee lad’s birthday?” Foxy asked, looking back over his shoulder to where he saw the kid inside Roxy's room by his lonesome. He didn't seem distressed, though. Maybe a tad bit tired as he laid on the ground, alternating kicking his legs up and letting them flop to the ground. If anything, he looked pretty bored.

Freddy sucked in a little gasp, eyes wide and sparkling as he immediately started towards his room with the armful of presents he’d collected.

“Yes, of course you can store things there!” he said in a hushed whisper, urging Bonnie to follow. Oh, Gregory was going to be so happy once this party came to fruition, he just knew it.

It took only a minute for Freddy and Bonnie to slip the presents away, making sure the curtains were closed so the boy couldn’t see the surprise they were cooking up for him. When they returned to the group, Foxy and his new sister were chatting quietly while Michael poked his head into Roxy’s room.

“Hey, kid—time to see your friends!” the guard called with a grin, gesturing for Gregory to get up and follow him. “I’ve got to start my shift soon; Charlie’s going to stick with you guys tonight.”

“I will go with you as well,” Freddy offered, raising a hand slightly. He looked to the other animatronics, explaining to those not in the know: “There are some children staying here with, ah… alternative circ*mstances. Sam has allowed them to remain with their guardian, though they may not all be in your guest profile list yet. We are going to visit them and see who would like to explore the Pizzaplex tonight—I am sure they will want to meet you both!”

Charlie popped into the room, having agreed to babysit tonight. After all, she was sure Cassidy and Liz were getting pretty fed up with her running around and not playing with them. So, she’d be the one to take the apparently bored Gregory away for another tour of the Pizzaplex with all of his friends. Hopefully, years of being attached to the security puppet's insides rubbed off on her and she could reign in all the kids well enough like Freddy or Michael did.

“You ready to go see Henry and your friends?” Charlie asked to hype Gregory up. At that, Gregory quite impressively pushed off from the floor and bounced up to his feet faster than a blink.

“Man, I thought we were NEVER going!” he said dramatically. With his tablet in hand, Gregory smiled down to the flat screen. “I finally finished that picture for Hannah.”

Bonnie had been curious to see, as he was the subject of the art piece. Carefully, the bunny knelt down behind the boy and looked over the colored sketch of himself holding a guitar.

“Wowee! You made my good side look even better!” Bonnie exclaimed, only adding to Gregory's smug look. He gave the boy a hug—hoisting him up, only to hand him off to Charlie.

Gregory at this point in his life just expected to always be passed around like a ragdoll between his robotic friends. Though it was hardly a bother, especially when bouts of sleepiness hit him.

Charlie walked over towards Freddy and told her brother: “Say bye to Mike and your Dad, kiddo!”

“See you later!” Michael said, giving the kid a high-five. “Remember—any problems, just wave at the nearest camera and I’ll come running.”

“Bye, superstar; have fun with your friends!” Freddy stepped in with a soft smile. Since the top of Gregory’s head was currently piled high with hairspray, his dad opted for pressing a quick kiss to his forehead. He then moved to Foxy and Roxy’s sides, slipping an arm through each of their own as he looked up at them with a bright grin. “Come on, we must go see the others!”

With that, the group parted for the time being. Michael headed for the central security hub, where he was quick to lock the doors and check all vents before settling in one of the swivel chairs. He ran through all the camera feeds, taking note of everyone as he scrolled. Freddy and his friends were now gathered in Chica’s room, where she and Monty were celebrating the reinstatement of Roxy and the concurrent arrival of her sea-faring sibling. A flash of Moon’s red eyes could be seen in the dark theater where he watched over Sam with quiet adoration, occasionally shooing away a cleaning bot that got too close and risked making a ruckus.

And then there were Charlie and Gregory, making their way to the basem*nt where they’d soon disappear from camera view as they traipsed down to the old diner. Once satisfied he had tabs on all those he could, Michael leaned back in the chair with a sigh. Hopefully, tonight would actually be relatively calm… though his hope was minuscule at best.

***

At the sound of approaching footsteps Henry had quickly shoved the blueprints on his work desk into the nearest drawer, as was becoming habit. He was never sure if the visitors would involve Michael, and he wasn’t about to take any chances of his nephew seeing his latest project before it was complete. However, to their relief it was only Charlie and Gregory, who the old ghost immediately went over to greet.

“Hi, sweetheart!” A quick kiss was placed to Charlie’s cheek, then Henry chuckled as his eyes fell upon the boy in her arms. “And hi, Gregory—wow, nice ‘do! Very retro. Mike’s work, I presume?”

“How'd you know?” Charlie asked with a smirk. She lowered Gregory down from her hip, figuring she would let the kids all meet and mingle for a moment before taking the troupe of children above. Besides, she wanted to catch up with her dear old dad for a moment.

“Thanks, Henry!” Gregory smiled, not a care in the world as of recently. So far, Gregory had no idea just how actively his foster parents were looking for him—and really, there was no way to explain it in a way that wouldn't stress him out. It was better, in Charlie's opinion, to keep him blissfully ignorant of this fact. He scampered off to the back of the basem*nt by the diner, hurrying to get inside as he knew that was where all of his friends were hiding.

“I'm back guys!” Gregory called, thinking how much easier it was to break into the diner than the first few times he’d attempted. In the darkness of the burned down interior, he saw a shadow creep out of sight.

“Oh my god,” he could hear Cassidy say with a laugh. “What year is this? And WHO did your hair?”

“My brother. Duh, who else?” Gregory asked, flipping the longer back ends of his new style out with emphasis.

“Yup! That’s Mikey’s work, all right.” Evan’s confident voice suddenly popped up next to Gregory’s ear as the ghost faded into existence, and he couldn’t help but giggle at the childhood memories the over-styled mullet brought up. Despite his laughter, Evan was genuine when he told Gregory: “I like it! It’s super rad.”

“Gregory got a haircut?” Hannah asked, peering out from a side room curiously. She took in his appearance with an appraising eye as she walked closer, humming and tapping a finger to her chin. She seemed like an art critic analyzing a piece to see if it was worthy of being in a museum collection or was simply utter trash. After a moment of tense silence, her lips quirked up in a little smile. “It’s cool! How’d you get it to spike up like that?”

In the workshop, Henry grinned widely as he pulled the blueprints back out of their temporary hiding spot. Splaying them out on the work table, Charlie got a firsthand view of just how much progress he’d been making with his latest android.

“Check this out,” Henry told her as their eyes roamed over the multitude of scribbled out drafts. “We’re almost done with the initial design, then I can really get to work! It’s been a little… tough getting a consensus of opinion though.” The ghost chuckled with a soft shake of his head. “Though I’m working with three distinct AIs here, so it’s to be expected… Still, take a look and let me know what you think!”

Charlie overlooked the blueprints with a curious hand, scanning all of the design aspects rather than the mechanical specifications.

“This is a really intricate design—did Ennard pick this out?” she wondered. Henry had a penchant for making the nicer-looking animatronics in Charlie’s opinion, and she didn’t doubt he’d be able to tweak Ennard’s base model into something good.

“For the most part, yeah,” Henry replied with a nod, happy as always to get a favorable review of his designs—especially from Charlie. Flipping back to the first page, he pointed out the original design he’d whipped up. The body type hadn’t changed very much from then to now, as it was the features that’d gone through dozens of iterations, tweaked less and less each time until they'd settled on what was hopefully the final draft pending Ennard’s approval.

“I started out with a base model, but I had a feeling Ennard would want more input on their design than Fred or Mari,” Henry explained, pointing to the original sketch. “Good thing I asked, because they definitely had some opinions! Once we got a rhythm going it’s just been a matter of me reworking the look from our last brainstorming session while they’re hanging with Sun, then tweaking whatever else I need to when they come down for a visit.”

“This is so cool, Dad!” Charlie said with a toothy grin, smiling at the consideration Henry had put into making Ennard feel more comfortable in their own skin. “So—we’re not going to tell Mike who this is, right? We'll just... Let him figure it out on his own?” She knew very well how pissed he might be at first when realizing everyone was helping Ennard slip into society in a way. “I hope he realizes we're doing this because it'll make the chances of them hurting someone else a lot slimmer...”

Henry gave a short, barking laugh.

“HA! Yeah, telling Mike’s out of the question for now.” He sighed, folding the papers back up and arranging them with the newest design on top. “I certainly can’t blame him for how he feels about Ennard—honestly, it’s a wonder he tolerates them well as he does right now. Still… that boy has a big problem getting stuck in the past.”

His face pinched into a grimace, knowing how ironic that statement was coming from a man who’d been making androids of his dead daughter for decades. Besides, Michael’s hatred and underlying primal fear of the amalgamation had been deserved. Too bad no one realized that by the time Ennard stumbled their way into Henry’s mock diner, they’d already come to terms with the fact that what they’d done to Michael was very bad… It was simply the guard’s instinct to slam the vents in their face and shock them with a taser if he thought it necessary.

Now though… Ennard had proven themselves to be trustworthy overall. Did they have some dark, underlying tendencies evolved from their original purpose that Henry was acutely aware of? Most certainly—hence the new body. As Charlie said, hopefully with this human form Ennard’s desire to blend in with society would be appeased and they wouldn’t go looking for alternate routes.

In the diner, Cassidy seemed excited about something other than revenge for once in her afterlife.

“I'm going to get the twins and Liz, then we can head out!” she said, eager to leave and explore with everyone. It sure beat the dour demeanor she normally kept.

“Uh—hey, Hannah?” Gregory cleared his throat, holding up the little digital art board. “By the way, I made something for you…”

Evan sensed that perhaps he should follow Cassidy to grab the others. Gregory had made it very clear to him in a whispered conversation yesterday between just the duo that this picture was specifically for Hannah… and while the image itself might not necessarily be private, the act of showing it to her was. With a lingering brush of his fingers on Gregory’s shoulder for good luck, Evan quietly floated away to follow his old suitmate in rounding up their companions.

“For me?” Hannah questioned, shifting to stand next to Gregory’s side and leaning in close. The red tint to her cheeks deepened as she took in the picture of her favorite animatronic holding his favorite guitar.

“Oh my god, you MADE that?!” Hannah gasped, clenching her fists and holding them up to her chest. The words could’ve been taken as condescending if not for the humongous smile that spread across her face. “Gregory, that’s so cool! Thanks!”

With a little squeal of joy, she slipped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed him in a grateful hug. And there it went—Gregory's ability to breathe, right out the window.

“I'm really glad you like it! I-I wanted to make you something because you're so nice to me...,” he said, managing to give her a fairly tight hug right back to match her energy as he spoke into her shoulder.

It seemed like Gregory and Hannah might never let go of each other. They stayed locked in a hug until the loud voices of the other kids cut through the air, upon which they quickly parted. Hannah let out a small, embarrassed laugh as she needlessly adjusted her ponytail, turning to the doorway as Evan led the group through.

“We’re ready!” the littlest Afton proclaimed, pointing towards the ceiling as if about to lead an army into battle. “To the Pizzaplex!”

Gregory cleared his throat, reluctantly letting go of Hannah. When he rose his eyes to finally meet the group and say hello, Liz gave Gregory a hug next.

“Love the hair, Mini-Mike,” she snickered, making Gregory roll his eyes as he patted her back.

“Good to see you too, Lizzie,” he replied, taking the comparison to Michael in a more flattering tone. He’d never admit it aloud, but in a way the boy had begun to idolize him just a tad. Following Evan's excited lead out of the diner, Gregory posed a question to the group. “Where do you all wanna go first? I'm down for whatever!”

“Ummm… the Daycare?” Evan suggested, knowing that was as good a place as any to start with.

“Oh, looks like the cavalry’s arrived,” Henry commented when the group filed into the room. He raised an eyebrow, noticing that all the kids were together this time. “You’re all going up tonight?”

There was a murmur of agreement, and Henry’s gaze shifted to Charlie. She’d barely gotten a week off and now she was the sole babysitter again… Her dad knew she didn’t mind, though. The look on her face made it clear that she loved watching over the little rascals, regardless of how much trouble they might be. Henry’s expression softened along with his heart—that was his daughter, caring through and through.

“Well, I couldn’t stop you even if I wanted to,” Henry laughed, stepping out of the way and gesturing to the door. “Have fun, and listen to Charlie! Make sure you’re back by dayshift.”

“You got it, Uncle Henry!” Evan sang, hugging the old ghost around the waist before moving to the door and eagerly awaiting Charlie’s signal to go. He couldn’t wait to show Cassidy all she’d been missing!

Cassidy caught up to Evan, instinctively putting her palm against his. She’d started out having to comfort Evan all those years ago, much to her dismay of feeling like she was “babysitting” him. Now, she just really liked his company. Joining hands when they walked just felt natural.

“Is the Daycare as lame as it sounds?” she asked, figuring there was a bunch of dumb baby sh*t there. Building blocks, toys made for learning versus having fun...

“Do you think we'd go to babytown to hang out if it wasn't fun? There's the biggest ball pit I've ever seen there! Plus it's got these two huge climbing gyms,” Elizabeth explained with a shake of her head, and that seemed to win Cassidy over.

Charlie watched as they started to wander up to the surface, following the lead of both Gregory and Evan for now. She felt safer walking in the back and keeping all of them in her sights. Even if most of the kids were dead, she knew they could still get into trouble...

“I'll see you later, pops,” Charlie said as she gave her dad a quick hug goodbye. An extra squeeze around the shoulders before letting him go, and she was off to herd the flock of kids towards the surface of the Pizzaplex.

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

Michael spotted the group about thirty seconds after they'd breached the surface. He was a bit surprised to see Cassidy and the blonde twins, though if there was anyone who could handle them all it was Charlie. Leaning back in his chair, Mike kicked his legs up on the desk and continued his routine of scrolling through the feeds.

The Daycare was bustling with its usual activity. Tonight the three friends were involved in a heated game of red-light, green-light, and were currently debating on whether one of Ennard's tendrils twitching constituted as them “moving” or was simply an uncontrollable action. At the sound of the metal door, Sun let out a cheerful gasp and watched the group of kids pouring into the room.

“Hello, hello!” the attendant greeted enthusiastically, waving both arms. He recognized a good chunk of them, although the little girl clinging to Evan's hand was unfamiliar. He also thought he'd seen the blonde twins before, but he needed them closer to scan for his internal databank. Sun rushed to the edge of the ball pit, ready to greet them as they all slid down. “Ooh, and we have some new friends! Come in, come in!”

“Hi, Sun!” Evan called from the top of the slide, then released Cassidy's hand and urged her to go first. As soon as she sat on the edge of the plastic tube she would hear a sudden burst of giggling before being unceremoniously shoved forward into the depths of the rainbow river below. Evan plunked down next to her seconds later, telling Sun through his laughing fit: “This is Cassidy!”

Normally, Cassidy would be the one pulling such a devious trick. She screamed most of the way down the slide, but they were screams of thrill and amusem*nt rather than fear. However, the sight of Sun was something that changed her attitude and sent her eyebrows flying up near her hairline in surprise.

“Oh crap, you’re a lot bigger up close!” she said, caught off-guard at Sun’s appearance.

The twins were next, silently judging the play area and its saturated colors. This didn’t last long, as throwing the plastic balls and whipping them at each other provided them entertainment for the time being. Liz, ever the daredevil, ran from a distance to launch herself into the plastic tube slide. Diving head first, she came skidding out across the surface of the river, sinking below its surface after her third skip.

Above on the platform to enter the Daycare, Gregory watched his friends already enjoy themselves. Charlie clapped her hands to garner both his and Hannah’s attentions.

“Come on, you two!” she said, an impish smirk on her face as she herded both of them to the tube at the same time, even if Gregory protested slightly. “Fun and adventure awaits!”

“Oh dear—we must watch our language, Miss Cassidy!” Sun chided with a little finger wag, though he was quick to move past his anti-swearing protocols in favor of reaching into the ball pit and scooping the familiar Liz and Evan onto solid ground. “You've brought so many friends to play with tonight!”

“Mm-hmm!” Evan nodded, flicking off a piece of dust that clung to his shorts from the depths of the ball pit. He then pointed to where the twins were throwing the multi-colored plastic projectiles at each other. “That's—”

“Quinn and Cain!” Sun chimed in before Evan could reveal their identities. The Daycare attendant laughed brightly at Evan's questioning head tilt. “They're registered on the guest list, so they must have visited the Pizzaplex before; all animatronics have access to it, even if we haven't personally met each child.”

“Oh... like that facial-recognition thingy?” Evan's face scrunched as he recalled one of the franchises' failed efforts to avert more tragedy. All it ended up doing was making the non-inhabited animatronics go haywire too, allowing them all to team up and harass the night guards...

Quinn and Cain momentarily stopped their waring to wave at Sun. Even if they didn’t really visit the Daycare often, it wasn’t their first time meeting with its attendant. Surprisingly enough, they were familiar with the rules.

“Hi, Mr. Sun!” the two boys replied in tandem, and without looking Cain tossed a ball hard that ended up smacking Quinn between the eyes. Laughing, Quinn retaliated by pushing Cain over and the pair promptly started wrestling.

Pulling on Sun’s striped pants, Lizzie was curious. “Where’s Mari? Is she still around?”

As soon as he spotted the short-haired girl, Evan waved her over. “Mari! How was the hotel?! Was it super awesome?!”

The small bot came running up at Sun’s call. She thought she heard everyone, and that was exactly why Ennard stayed hidden for the most part. With Liz in plain sight, Mari sadly couldn’t get the carpet-covered monstrosity to move from Sun and Moon’s room.

“Hey guys!” she asked, throwing her affection onto the Aftons in a shared hug. “We’ve just been playing! Making sure Sammy’s getting enough sleep; Ennard got him some more pillows to lay on.”

“Poor Sammy's exhausted,” Sun sighed, shaking his head. “We've all been working extra hard to make sure he's as rested as can be.”

“Ooh, where is Sammy?” Liz asked, taking a cursory glance about the Daycare as she spoke. “We're not going to wake him, are we?”

He must have only been sleeping for a short time, given Charlie and Michael only just got to work. As for the other kids, right now they were entertaining themselves in the pit, or in Cassidy's case, exploring the labyrinth-like play structures in the middle of the Daycare.

Hannah crashed into the ball pit with a shriek of excitement, though she wasn't quite fast enough to avoid Gregory's impact—he ended up falling onto her legs as she tried to swim through the unyielding river. It only made her laugh harder, clutching her stomach as she slowly sunk deeper under the surface with each gasping breath. She was just so happy to be out of that basem*nt; Henry was such a nice guy and her new friends were cool to hang with, but she was starting to get antsy being down there all day.

When Gregory fell over Hannah’s legs, he grunted and shut his eyes, the wind knocked out of him. He wheezed a hard laugh that hurt as he clutched over his ribs.

“Why are you so boney?!” he complained with a pained expression, only opening one eyes just to look at her reaction.

“I'm boney?!” Hannah exclaimed, wriggling free only so she could toss a ball at Gregory. “Your ribs are like sticks, dude! I think my knee's busted!”

“Wow—you don’t even care that you pretty much almost kicked me in half,” Gregory joked, flicking a ball from the surface of the river to skim across and barely miss his friend as he retaliated against her.

“I almost kick you in half, you almost break my legs... let's call it even,” Hannah suggested, throwing one last ball that intentionally arched high over Gregory's head. Her point made, she held out a hand for him to shake with a toothy grin.

Gregory extended his hand in what seemed like a treaty. As soon as her fingers grasped firmly onto his palm, he pulled her forward to stumble further into the plastic toys. While he really did put Hannah up on a pedestal more than his other friends, that didn't exclude her from being picked on. He couldn't help it—though the action made him fall over and lose his own balance slightly.

Hannah shrieked in surprise at Gregory's betrayal, though she was quick to right herself and snatch her hand back. As the boy recovered from his unintentional slip up, Hannah whirled around and threw a yellow ball that hit him square between the shoulders. What ensued was an epic battle that eventually got Cain and Quinn involved, as they couldn't resist such an exciting event for long.

The war only stopped when Charlie foolishly slid down right in the middle of everything, earning a plastic sphere right in the forehead. Everyone screeched to a halt, their eyes flickering between Charlie and each other until as one they decided the best course of action was to run. Hightailing it out of the pit, the kids split to scramble around the Daycare, knowing Charlie couldn't catch them all...

Charlie's eye twitched involuntarily as the ball smacked her in the face. A dramatic beat ensued, the ball pit-turned-battle arena growing tense with the silence. Then, suddenly, Charlie popped beneath the surface and came back with an armful of plastic spheres to whip at her friends.

“Cowards!” she shouted, laughing as they were chased off. Only one soul remaining... Poor Gregory was caught like a deer in headlights, corporeal and slow. His attempts to flee were stopped when Charlie promptly tackled him.

“No! NO WAIT, HELP, GUYS!” Gregory laughed, shrieking when Charlie picked him up, only to suplex him back into the river.

“I knew you still had it in you!” Cassidy shouted from the very top of the play structure, legs hanging off the side as she rooted for her longtime friend's somewhat violent streak. The twins popped up next to her, giggling about how Gregory deserved what was coming to him. Though Charlie obviously wasn't going to try and hurt him; she just loved picking on her little brother.

“Hmm...,” Sun hummed, observing Charlie and Gregory for a moment before making a decision. Stooping forward, he hoisted Evan and Liz up under each arm and stepped into the ball pit himself. He waded through the river and plopped the Aftons down near the action with a triumphant exclamation, Liz closest to Charlie while he stuck Evan at Gregory's side. Gregory and Charlie had momentarily paused to look at him, to which Sun responded:

“This looks like fun! I thought we should all join!” Turning to the rest of the Daycare, he called to the others: “Who wants to make the teams even?! I'll be referee—just no hitting each other in the face, or you're out!”

“...Does that mean Gregory's out already from that gnarly hit to Charlie's forehead?” Evan asked, tapping Sun's leg.

The bright animatronic shook his head, then leaned over the little Afton to pat Gregory on the back. “That was a practice round—the game officially staaaaarts... now!”

The rules of this “game” might be lacking, but Sun didn't doubt the kids would have fun.

Charlie would hold Gregory up now like a human shield, further serving to make her brother squirm harder. Kicking his legs in a vain attempt to free himself, Gregory told them: “Don't throw anything! Don't—”

There was hardly any time to react. Cassidy was fine with Charlie using Gregory like a human shield. He was just being belted in the stomach by Liz and Cassidy. Though their victory was celebrated too early—Cain popped into view just behind their babysitter, tossing a ball dangerously close to Liz's shoulder.

“Cain! Don't use Charlie as a shield!” Lizzie giggled, trying to sound madder than she really was.

Gregory pulled a long face and waved his arms at the girl. “WHAT ABOUT ME?! I'M AN ACTUAL MEAT SHIELD RIGHT NOW!”

Gregory wanted to be mad. But really, the circ*mstances were far too funny to be actually pissed over it. Besides, no one but him could probably feel the pelting to the extent that he, a living human could.

It was Evan that came to Gregory's rescue, the kinship formed from their lookalike appearance too great to ignore. He faked Charlie out by throwing a ball at her, though when she moved Gregory to deflect Evan disappeared and reappeared below his surrogate twin. With a firm grasp of Gregory's legs and an angled tug, Evan finally freed him from Charlie's grip and sent him crashing into the ball pit below.

“Nice, Evan!” Hannah cheered, clapping until a ball whizzed past her ponytail at close range.

“Too close, Quinn—careful!” Sun warned from his perch on the edge of the pit, swinging his legs idly as he watched the action. Hannah of course took immediate recourse, grabbing an armful of plastic and throwing it as hard as she could at both twins, not caring which one she hit as long as it hit one of them.

***

In the darkness of the movie theater, the sounds of screaming children began to filter through the cool air. The room might be fairly soundproof, but it was by no means an isolation chamber. With the increased shrieking from the play area as the Battle of the Ball Pit reached a new high, it would be hard for anyone to rest forever...

Sam smacked his lips and slowly cracked his eyes open. After of moment of lying there he jolted upright, wondering if he fell asleep for days instead of hours. Why were there so many laughs coming from the Daycare?! He couldn't be seen sleeping in the theater!

He quickly looked to his smartwatch from force of habit. When Sam found that it was still Friday night, he let out a sigh of relief. Thank GOD he didn't miss their reopening. He could lay back down and catch a few more Z's... Sam slid further into the comfy pillow pile that Moon fixed up for him, shutting his eyes and momentarily ready to slip back into dreamland. Then, he cracked his eyes open a sudden, second time.

Why were there so many children's voices?

He was aware that Evan and Liz were around. But there were plenty of screams that overlapped one another, too many he didn't recognize. Same got up, hurrying to grab his glasses and head out of the cozy theater. He couldn't rest until he knew who was out there.

Mari was quietly watching the kids from the jungle gym, when in the corner of her vision she spotted Sam walking over while rubbing his eyes.

“You guys! Sammy woke up!” she called, hands cupping over her mouth to announce the arrival of the second half of her favorite twins.

“Oh goodness... Sorry, Sam!” Sun called, quickly jumping up and rushing to where Sam stood frozen in apparent shock. “We tried to keep it down, but you know how kids are... we've been having so much fun, though!”

There was a slight pause, in which Sun tilted his head curiously. Sam looked... off. Like someone who'd just been unceremoniously woken up, but more. Clasping his hands in front of his chest, Sun realized Sam looked worried—and also like he might be sick. Luckily the CEO was close enough for Sun to conduct a health scan, and the attendant quickly concluded that Sammy was definitely distressed.

“Sam, why is your heart racing?” Sun asked in a soft, soothing tone. Something spooked the man, and they needed to get to the bottom of it. “Did you have a nightmare?!”

The kids had long-since stopped playing. They were all watching the CEO with varying levels of curiosity as Sam looked over the group of kids... Dead kids.

He recognized Cassidy from the diner, distress slowly over taking him as he looked over the other children. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; coming to terms with it meant that it was real—and Sam wanted nothing more than for the trapped souls to just be a f*cked up nightmare.

“Please tell me these aren't more ghosts...,” Sam said, voice barely above a whimper, his hand half raised as if he wanted to wave and console them, but was too overcome with sadness and anxiety.

They're dead because you let this happen. You're just as bad as your father and William. The intrusive thoughts made his face scrunch involuntarily..

Charlie had placed Gregory down, hurrying to Sam as fast as she could.

“Keep playing, everyone! It's all good—Sun? Mind watching the kids while I'm gone?” she said with some urgency, hoping that her friend could read the room.

“Sure thing, Charlie,” Sun readily agreed. The Daycare attendant might have a robots’ naïveté about some things, but he could tell when a situation was getting out of his control—and right now, Sam needed Charlie far more than him. Sun turned to the kids, clapping his hands a tad aggressively to garner their attention with the loud noises of his palms and jingling bells.

“Okay everyone, get in a straight line by the security desk—we’re going to play taaaaaag!” He looked around, pointing to Cain. “The desk is the starting line, and Cain’s it first!”

Cassidy was never one to wear her emotions on her sleeve. Often she kept her true thoughts to herself. But with Evan, the one she shared a physical form with for so long, it was hard to hide such things. Her hand gripped to his fast, finding it hard to see Samuel in distress.

And why? It was because of them…

Gregory was thankful for Hannah’s reassuring tug towards the new game. In the last week, he'd been forced to mature quite a bit. Putting on a smile for their sake was imperative, so he swung Hannah’s hand in his once he caught up to her pace. The twins, Cain in particular, tried to forget Sam’s equally disturbed and saddened face.

Mari’s first instinct was to run after the Emilys as they retreated back to the theater, though she knew anything she had to say may only serve to fluster and upset her friend more. No, it was best to leave Charlie and Sam to talk it out. She had human a way of calming people down that Mari couldn’t fulfill.

***

Michael had been watching this whole interaction, of course. He tried not to spy on his family the whole time, but he couldn’t help his eye being drawn to them since that’s where most of the camera moment was from. When Sam appeared bleary-eyed from the theater, Mike had a feeling it’d be best to stick with that feed for a bit and see what happened.

And boy was he glad he did. The guard was currently speed-walking his way to the Emilys, wanting to provide back up for Charlie. Yes, she was perfectly capable of comforting her brother, but Michael just had a gut feeling this was going to be a tough conversation. He managed to slip into the Daycare undetected by the kids. Sun clocked his presence but smartly kept his mouth shut, letting Michael enter the theater and track down his friends where they huddled in Sam’s makeshift bed.

“…Hey,” Mike greeted awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I uh… it looked like something went down so I… came to check on you guys.” His pale blue gaze settled on Sammy. “…You okay?”

Sam looked like he'd just previously conquered the peak of a hyperventilation episode. Nervous, he wasn't yet in the position to speak and tugged on the roots of his hair as if to ground himself enough to answer. Charlie tapped his shoulder, reminding him that he needed to drink from his thermos she found.

“I told him when he's calmed down and drank some water, he'd be okay to talk,” Charlie informed Mike, speaking in a gentle manner as her brother was freaked out too much for her to want to raise her voice by accident.

Sam had gripped the insulated metal can and drank from its hidden contents, slow as to not hurt his scratchy throat further. When Samuel put the bottle back down, he still hadn't released the grip on his own hair. “It's my fault. Guys, it’s my fault... If I didn't open this place up—if I never even tried, they'd all still be alive...”

“No, Sam, it's not—” Michael began, then let out a heavy sigh and raked a hand over his face. He'd seen this reaction countless times before—though usually when looking in a mirror. It was survivor's guilt at his finest, and for as bad as Mike felt all these years leading up to now, he realized that Sam might have it even worse.

Though Mike wasn't really dead until the fire, there was no way for Sammy to know that. The poor man literally watched every single person he loved disappear, and then countless children on top of that. No wonder he was beside himself at the sight of Hannah, Cain, and Quinn.

“Okay, first of all—none of this is your fault,” Michael said, placing a hand on Sammy's forearm. “All the horrible sh*t that's gone down with these kids is William's doing—all of it. Even if you hadn't built the Pizzaplex, someone would revive the franchise and he'd just have another location to carry out his sick plans.”

Michael squeezed Sam's arm, trying to meet his gaze. “Sam, listen to me: you are not to blame. If it weren't for you making the Pizzaplex over the old diner, Charlie and I wouldn't even be here right now—and William would still be loose. So just think of it that way—it's because you tried to make things right that we defeated my father once and for all.”

It wasn't an excuse for nine children losing their lives, and Michael knew that. He just hoped putting the bigger picture into context might help alleviate a small bit of Sam's stress.

A few errant tears fell down Sammy’s cheeks, beside himself with the grief of having those poor kids trapped inside here. He couldn’t bear to look at Michael, too much the epitome of William in that moment. Heavy eyelashes collected his tears, where they subsequently dropped before Sam could swat them away. The man still found an excuse to blame himself and feel awful about an already bad situation.

“They’re here, though—they don’t have robot bodies where they can just roam around as they are now. Oh my god, their families—” Sam squeezed his eyes shut. “—and I can’t tell them a god damn thing! They’d blame it on me and put me in jail; even if they did believe me, the Pizzaplex would be ruined and then they’d have no place to go…”

It was guilt, fear, and anxiousness mixing into brutal turmoil inside poor Sam. He had to sip more of his water while Charlie attempted to comfort him.

“Sam… It’s bad, I won’t sugarcoat it. But… You made this place really fun.” Her try earned a half glare from her brother. “It’s true! Those guys are crazy for your robots and games. They still love it here, even after what happened. And I think they’d probably be upset to lose their new home…” Charlie watched as Sam deflated once more, contemplative as his head leaned on his sister’s shoulder.

“…I guess so,” Same replied blankly, eyes forward, clearly lost in the throes of anxiety and unable to show it.

“Charlie's right,” Michael insisted, latching onto the line of thought that seemed to be working in coaxing Sam out of his anxiety attack. “They don't shut up about this place! And the animatronics?” He laughed, a genuine smile reaching up to his eyes. “Holy sh*t, they're crazy about the Glamrocks—and it’s clearly mutual. I think Sun would keep them all in the Daycare forever and ever, if he could.”

There was a pause in which Michael carefully chose his next words. He spoke slowly, gaze shifting between the Emily twins. “Look, in all seriousness... no, this shouldn't be their resting place. They all died too young, just like everyone else involved in this f*cking mess. But honestly, now that William's gone for good I can't think of a better place for a kid to be stuck in. They've got so many people to care for them. They're going to be as okay as they can be in this situation, Sam—and Charlie and I are right here for all of you.”

They were right, in a way. Sam couldn’t keep blaming himself or else he’d put himself into an early grave. He finally managed to let go of his greying hair and took another emboldening sip of his water, the scratchiness in his throat dying down now that it wasn’t so tight from holding back tears. The sensation of swallowing barbed wire faded with the help of his friends’ comfort.

“I know you are… I… I’m so grateful I have you both back—the others, too,” he said, unsure if he’d told them that recently. Charlie’s grip on her brother seemed to tighten at this, now more encompassing. She gripped his shoulders and rocked him gently like when they were upset as kids.

“I can’t thank you all enough,” Sam continued. “Not just for my sake, but for the kids as well…”

Charlie shushed him, knowing he needed to save his voice and just take the time to recover from his panic attack. She reached over upon Samuel’s shaking dying down and pulled Michael into their hug.

“We never left, Sammy. You’re okay… We’re going to be okay,” she reminded him gently.

“A-okay,” Michael confirmed, smiling as he was pulled into the embrace.“And hey, remember—you’ve just hired the best security guard Fazbear Entertainment’s ever seen. Not to toot my own horn or anything…” He made a show of examining his fingernails like he hadn’t a care in the world, hoping the minor theatrics would help pull Sammy out of his slump.

Sam’s arm came around Mike’s shoulder as a pained laugh escaped his chest. To Sam, Mike always had to sneak in a humble brag. His confidence and happiness was slightly contagious and Samuel told him, “You know, throughout all the locations’ history, you technically have the record for ‘longest period without injury.’”

Sam had gone snooping through hundreds of previous employee profiles after Mike told him his past aliases. His arm wrapped around the other’s neck, roughhousing and pulling Michael towards him in a loose headlock. “You also stunk really bad! Admin’s words, not mine.”

This made Charlie snort with laughter, hiding in her brother’s shoulder to try and mute the laughter ripping from her chest.

“Woooow. You’re a jerk, Sammy!” she managed, not trying to completely betray her best friend.

“Hey, that was not my fault!” Michael griped, struggling to free himself from Sam's grasp. The effort was all for show, since Mike knew he could easily throw the older-looking man off in two seconds flat. It was just nice to pretend like things were relatively normal sometimes, even if only for a few seconds.

“I still got the job done, didn't I?” the guard huffed, eventually giving up and letting Sam harmlessly harass him. However, Michael couldn't let Charlie get away with laughing at his predicament either, so he balled up a fist and slugged her playfully on the arm. “Rest assured—from now on I'll only come to work smelling fresh as a daisy. Promise.”

Sam looked towards the door, distracted momentarily by the sound of Gregory shrieking, it’s mirthful tone followed by more like his. Samuel no longer seemed burdened, though the melancholy lingered in his gaze.

“Hey, with your first paycheck, you can always buy some cologne,” he replied, playfully disengaging the hug before offering his hand to his best friends to help them to their feet. “I’ve got an idea—tell the kids we’re doing movie night!”

Rubbing the arm where Michael impacted it with his fist, Charlie beamed. “Oh, they’d love movie night! Let’s go tell the others, Mikey!”

“Hell yes!” Michael exclaimed, quick to follow Charlie out of the theater. The kids were still involved in their game of tag, screaming with joy as they chased each other around the colorful arena. Michael walked up to the netting, cupping his hands over his mouth as he called down to them: “Hey! Pause the game for a sec—we've got an announcement!”

“What is it?!” Evan asked, curious to know what sort of “announcement” he and Charlie had in store.

Michael simply grinned, waiting for the rest of the kids to settle. Once all eyes were upon them, he gestured to Charlie at his side. “Sammy had a great idea for something fun—Charlie, want to tell them the surprise?”

Charlie looked as if she would explode if she didn’t get a chance to speak. Waiting until all the kids quieted down and gathered near her and the other caretakers, she took in a big breath. “Sam asked that everyone join him in the theater for movie night! He’s going to play the old Fredbear cartoons for you!”

She didn’t expect Cassidy to grip onto Elizabeth and vice versa, both shaking the other as they let out a giddy shriek. Gregory was throttled by the twins as well, the boys unable to contain their excitement either. Gregory was practically hoisted into the air as they looped their arms in his.

“No wait! Put me down—CHARLIE! Mike!” Gregory managed to laugh out, but there was no room to argue. In tandem, Quinn and Cain rushed for the theater with him in tow.

“Cartoons?” Mari replied with a squeak in her voice, placing her hand in Sun’s and pulling him along.

“Oh, I love the old cartoons!” Sun exclaimed as he walked upstairs with Mari. Releasing her hand at the doorway, he confirmed the kids were already getting settled before stepping into the darkness. The transformation was quick: sun spokes being replaced by a blue sleeping cap; pants changing color in the dim light to their star-studded counterpart; eyes gaining a faint red glow.

“You’re going to enjoy them, Mari, ehehehe,” Moon cackled, finishing Sun’s thought from earlier. He was quick to take his friend’s hand again, keep easier pace with her short stature due to his slumped posture. Once they’d entered the theater proper, Moon took stock of the room. He allowed Mari to grab a seat as he instructed: “Everyone, find your places; once you’re settled, we’ll start the show!”

With everyone calm and gathered in groups, Sam dimmed the lights to near complete darkness. Sam cleared his throat and announced to the entirety of the theater with a confident voice. “Ladies and gentlemen—now presenting Fredbear and Friends: Foxy’s Treasure!”

The TV special was already locked into the projector. With a flip of the power switch, the old reel began to roll, bursting color and sound from the big screen. Sadly, the special was only 45 minutes. At the rate that these specials came out they might never make a full movie… Still, judging by the cheers of the kids, they were happy with what they had.

That was enough for Sam. He rejoined his place in the theater with Charlie and Michael and sat to enjoy the cartoon with them. It appeared that Gregory and the twins were a bit chummier now than before, huddled close together and whispering while looking around the room as the movie played, attention half on the screen and half on each other.

“Boys, good god, shuuuuush!” Liz scolded quietly.

For a split moment, Sam was transported back to 1981. Watching TV on the Afton’s couch, all of them huddled close to fit on the worn in sofa—hell, he half expected Ms. Afton to bring in some sweet tea and popcorn for them at this point. Though just being here with the “kids” right now felt like enough already.

The movie ensued, telling the tale of a lonely Fox set to guard a well-kept treasure off on the magical land of make-believe, where Freddy and his friends Bonnie and Chica were marooned after a storm…

Everyone clapped when the credits rolled. Even Moon’s raspy chuckle could be heard from the back of the theater, wrists jingling as he expressed his appreciation for the classics. Even if the Glamrock line hadn’t been around for that long in the grand scheme of Fazbear Entertainment, they knew a quality show when they saw one.

“I bet Freddy gets a kick out of these,” Michael murmured to Sam with a laugh, perfectly content to stay here for the night binging old cartoons.

…Unfortunately, his new job didn’t afford him that luxury. Stretching his arms above his head, the guard let out a sigh. “I hate to leave the party early, but if I want to keep up my reputation as ultimate night guard, I should probably get back to the office.”

He slung an arm around Sam’s shoulders, unable to leave him in good conscience if he was still in the throes of a secondary anxiety attack. “You going to be alright, Sammy?”

For now, at least, was the unspoken end to that question. None of them would ever be completely alright, but they’d just take things night by night if they had to.

Sam seemed to have calmed down for the time being. He was about to answer, chest puffed with a profound ‘yes’ locked and loaded—but Cassidy spoiled it, coming by to garner Sam’s attention by pulling on his shirtsleeve.

“Thanks for the movie night, Sam! It kicked ass!” She was over the moon with joy. “It’s been so long since I watched that one.”

Though she wouldn’t admit that she had to hold Liz’s hand towards the end, when it looked like Foxy sacrificed himself to save his friends. It would always make her tear up, it seemed. For the first time in a while, Cassidy displayed affection by hugging Sam tight. It confused him, seeing a ghost so tangible…

“Uh—Yeah! I’m glad you had fun, Cas,” he replied, remembering the girl well from her Missing Person’s Posters. It was almost nice to see her—not in the circ*mstances that she was in, but seeing her genuinely happy before zipping away to go back to the group of children still buzzing with excitement.

“Yeah… I’ll be fine, Mike. Have fun on your shift,” he said with a pinched smile.

The guard nodded, giving Sam one final squeeze around the shoulders before standing up. After giving Charlie a parting fist-bump Michael slipped out of the theater before any of the kids could register his absence. Samuel would follow suit, following behind Mike to get some paperwork done now that his nerves were settled.

“Alright, dorks—” Charlie announced, garnering the kids’ attention again. “—we still have a lot to see and only…” She paused to check the time on her phone. “Three hours to do it! What’s next on the agenda?”

“Monty Golf?” Evan suggested, latching onto Gregory's arm.

“Ooh, yeah!” Hannah chimed in, hooking her arm through Liz's and walking towards the theater exit. However, she paused after a few steps with a little gasp, whirling around to the darkness. “Thanks, Moon!”

“Anytime, ehehehe,” Moon replied, already starting the process of setting whatever cushions the kids had tossed around during movie time to rights again. “Have fun golfing—tell Monty hi for me if you see him...”

Gregory seemed a tad calmer, happy to walk hand in hand with Evan. The twins lagged behind, and Cassidy, with all the pent-up rage inside her, shoved them forward with the flats of her palms.

“Guys let’s move; I wanna kick your butts at golf already!” she said, knowing their more competitive nature would will them to start walking. Snickering, together the group finally moved as one unit with Charlie leading the fray. Mari was outside in the play area, looking under cans for some odd reason.

“Hey! Everyone, wait!” She popped up upon seeing the group of kids, wired and frightened. “Has anyone seen Ennard?! They’re not in their room or in the ball pit! Oooh, they know I don’t like when people disappear—”

The words sort of pulled at Charlie’s heartstrings, knowing exactly why Ennard’s sudden disappearance was frightening her. Charlie came over and touched the top of Mari’s head lovingly.

“Have you checked the basem*nt? Maybe they’re with my dad; or they could be bothering Mike!” she suggested. This didn’t seemed to help the little security bot, as she fretted and pulled the tight sleeves of her shirt.

“M-Maybe. I’ll go look—oh this is just great…,” she moped, glancing around a quick second before sprinting into the theater to find Moon before starting her wider search.

“Oh yeah!” Hannah murmured, having temporarily forgotten all about Ennard's existence. She hadn't actually interacted with the thing since the night Charlie brought her back, though she'd caught glimpses of them in Henry's workshop from time to time. “They're... weird. But not bad, I don't think."

“See?!” Evan piped up, shooting a glare at Liz over his shoulder. “I told you they're nice now! Even Hannah thinks so!” He may have sounded a little smug, but he'd been trying to get validation for his secret interaction with Ennard the other night for a while. He just knew the amalgamation didn't mean any harm—at least, not anymore.

Gregory laughed, remembering all his interactions with Ennard to be pleasant if not a little awkward with Mike always putting himself between him and the big jigsaw puzzle of a creature.

“Oh yeah, Ennard’s a big puppy dog,” he agreed, much to Elizabeth’s ire.

“No,” Liz disagreed firmly, shaking her head at such a notion. “Ennard is a big, dumb jerk. Self-involved prick…”

Her words tapered off, sounding quieter the more she thought on the last time she truly interacted with them. Their big fight. No wonder Ennard avoided her with the way she spoke about them. It was hard to like the last people who abandoned you, especially when it was a reoccurring theme in her life.

“You’re still upset about that?” Cassidy asked in a rather oblivious fashion, which earned her a laser-focused glare. “I’m just saying! It was forever ago. Maybe you should just let it go.”

Elizabeth scoffed, loud and dramatic as she touched a hand to her chest. “Um, what? You have no room to talk. You and Charlie are the queens of holding grudges.”

Her smarmy look just begged for Cassidy to debate her on this. Where Cassidy was bound to argue, Charlie cut her off with a well-timed laugh. “Cas, she’s so right. Don’t even argue.”

She’d urge her to just let Liz be angry. Really, sometimes she thought that the middle Afton child thrived on her own rage.

As the group shuffled into the atrium, bellowing laughter could be heard echoing through the room. Striding over on a course destined to cross their path were a set of animatronics: Monty, leading the way and joking loudly about some anecdote from the past, followed by Roxy, Foxy, and Chica. The gator spotted them instantly, pointing with a loud exclamation as his tail rapidly swished from side to side. “Hey! Good to see you kids up top! Y’all takin’ a tour of the Pizzaplex?!”

There was a chorus of “hi Monty’s” from some of the kids, while the others stared at the other animatronics with wide eyes. Gregory, Hannah, Cain, and Quinn were familiar with all the Glamrocks of course, but the older kids had only met Monty before—and Glamrock Foxy was a new addition to everyone.

“Whoa… is that Chica?!” Evan muttered under his breath, amazed by how much of a transformation the bird had gone through over the years. This variation was definitely the most different, and even though her posters were all over the building nothing compared to seeing her in person.

“Oi, children off the port bow!” Foxy said to the girls, gathering their collective attentions as the entertainment modules in the Glamrock’s brains begun to activate. The vastly different-looking Chica beamed, latching onto Foxy’s arm and shaking him ever so slightly.

“Oh, Foxy, this is your chance to practice with the kids before the big opening night!” she suggested, both Roxy and her pushing the pirate forward. He stumbled uncertainly for a second with his hands folded and tail between his legs, before working up the courage to leave behind his stage fright.

“Ahoy there, kids!” he managed to say with a friendly demeanor. “And well, well, ain’t it my own first mate, Gregory! Have you all been exploring the mall?”

“Yeah! I’m showing all my friends around. Actually, we were heading for Monty golf!” Gregory told the fox, bringing Evan with him to the front of the group. Cassidy popped towards the front, waving to the big gator.

“Moon says ‘hi’ by the way!” she thought she would mention. Not that Moon would be upset if she had forgotten. Still, it would be a nice gesture regardless.

“Moon?!” Monty gave a low whistle, hands on his hips. “Man, I haven’t seen that guy in forever… guess I should stop by the Daycare sometime, huh?” He chuckled to himself, the question rhetoric, before his grin seemed to widen. “And I’d be more than happy to get y’all set up for a game!”

He glanced to Roxy at his shoulder, jabbing a playful elbow into her side. “My attraction’s the best, after all.”

“You wish it was the most popular, Gator.” With an exaggerated roll of her eyes, Roxy crossed her arms. Though it seemed to be all in jest, as a smile begun to reach her eyes when replying to her favorite alligator.

“It’s nice to meet you, Foxy! I’m Evan,” the boy chimed in, beaming up at the swashbuckling pirate. Though he’d long-since learned not to associate every Foxy model with his brother and that horrible mask, this Glamrock version gave him a weird feeling—like there was a bit of Michael in there somehow. Recalling Freddy's current predicament and the tale of Michael's robot-swapping soul, Evan realized this might actually be the case.

“You’re so cool!” the little Afton remarked in awe, stepping up to get a closer look at Foxy’s shining hook. Glancing to Roxy and Chica, he made sure to add: “You’re all super rad!”

Though he’d seemingly gained quite a bit of confidence over the past few days, he noticeably kept his hand locked tightly within Gregory’s.

“We’re the raddest!” Foxy insisted, his toothy grin matching Evan’s own. Foxy liked this kid; he found his outdated use of slang charming. He leaned in, as if keeping a secret between him and the boys. “They asked me to be drummer—someone had to keep Chica in time for her solos.”

This caused the chicken to squawk with hands defensively on her hips. “Excuse me! At least I have the option to play guitar.”

“Alright, alright, enough jabberin’!” Monty bellowed. He walked right into the group of kids and snatched Cain and Quinn under each arm, carrying them like footballs as he made his way towards the elevators. “We’ve got a game to play!”

Hannah giggled at the gator’s enthusiasm, seeing it was the perfect match for the excitable twins. She chose to go to Roxy’s side, tapping the wolf on the leg to get her attention.

“Roxy? Can we all go race sometime?!” Hannah asked excitedly. She’d never got to try out the racetrack during her short visits to the Pizzaplex before and she’d always wanted to see what it was like to feel the wind in her hair.

“Uhm? Is that a real question? Of course we can race!” the spunky wolf replied in a chipper tone. Looking around to the remainder of the ghosts, Roxy glanced to Chica. “How about... now, in fact? Girls’ day?”

In her mind it would be better to split up, as it looked like the boys were already heading to Monty golf. All with the exception of Charlie, who stopped Foxy for just a moment.

“You guys will be okay watching Gregory, right?” she asked in an easy going way, wanting to hit the racetrack with the rest of the girls, including some of the friends she hadn’t truly hung out with since returning. Foxy patted the top of Charlie’s head with the flat of his hook.

“Don’t you worry that noggin’ of yours, Charlie. The boys are safe with us,” he assured, confidently winking his one lit up eye at her in a way that reminded her of her old friend.

And so, the groups went their separate ways: boys to the golf course, girls to the racetrack. Both sets of twins had a grand old time with Monty and Foxy, and the crew spent half the night actually playing golf while the other was spent roughhousing. This mostly consisted of the kids being tossed into the ball pit rivers from varying areas of the golf course, always landing safely in the colorful plastic exactly where the animatronics calculated they should.

The girls at the racetrack were quickly suited up and ready to go, Chica and Roxy guiding a few go-karts to the starting point before securing their own helmets. Luckily no one needed a driver assist bot, for even though Cassidy and Liz looked a bit small Charlie vehemently reassured the animatronics that they couldn't get hurt, even if there somehow was an accident. Luckily, due to the special circ*mstances of the ghosts and androids, Roxy and Chica were able to override their child safety protocols on this occasion—at least as far as the assist bots went. Helmets were non-optional, though. Soon enough the girls were racing around the track at high-speed, shrieking at the top of their lungs and having the time of their afterlives.

***

While the children had fun with their respective babysitters, a set of intruders were lurking just outside one of the Pizzaplex's numerous back doors. They'd cased the joint beforehand and found the weakest entry point—a door with a manual lock that would be easy to jimmy open. With a determined nod to each other, the Smiths got to work. They were going to bring that useless child home tonight one way or another.

***

Normally, Michael would've spotted the break-in the second it happened, as such a strange movement on the camera would instantly attract his attention. At the moment though, he was turned away from the monitors, glaring at a rather unwelcome visitor in his office.

Ennard decided it’d been high time since visiting their friend Mikey. After swinging by Henry’s workshop, Ennard decided to bother their best friend as well, successfully pulling Michael’s attention with a low, gravelly tone.

“MIKEY! ENJOYING… THE JOB? DOES… THIS REMIND YO—YOU OF OLD T-T-TIMES...?” they joked darkly, slowly leaking from the vent and into the office space.

“f*ck off!” Michael snapped, quick and alert as he whirled around in his chair. His hand had instinctively flown to his tool belt and reached for the taser, though upon realizing who was calling for him the guard resisted the urge.

Oh, he sure wanted to taze Ennard alright, simply for scaring the sh*t out of him. They out of all creatures should know Michael's dislike of robots popping out of the vents... although the amalgamation clearly saw it as some form of weird bonding time, not a personal hell of reliving past trauma. Deflating back in his chair with a grumpy expression, Michael glared at the intruding bot.

“I was enjoying the job until you shoved yourself in here.” His eyes narrowed and he puffed up again, trying to seem as authoritative as possible. “By the way, this whole 'sneaking up on me through the vents during my shift' scenario? It's not going to become a thing—if I taze you on instinct, that's your own damn fault and I'm not fixing you.”

Ennard made a noise like a laugh. Or, as close to a laugh as they could conjure in this form. They had doubts that if Mike wanted to actually hit them with anything, it would be fast enough to impact them successfully. As Ennard straightened back up under piles of carpeting, they nodded in agreement.

“NO… NO MORE SNEAKING THROUGH VENTS FOR US,” they said, rather proud of the work coming along on their new body. It felt right—like they’d soon be something that could actually feel normal standing beside their friends. “YOU WON’T HAVE TO WORRY AB—BOUT US FRIGHT—ING ANYONE. WE HAVE IT ALL… FIGURED OUT…”

“...I hate when you say stuff like that, you know,” Michael remarked, his glare deepening to levels he didn't even think possible. When Ennard simply stared back at him with that eerie clown grin, he sighed heavily and massaged the bridge of his nose.

“Oh my god, I think I'm getting a headache...” He looked to Ennard again, his expression now annoyed more than anything. “You're actually giving me a headache—can you go away and let me do my work in peace?”

He wasn't really hurting—Henry had made sure they couldn't feel pain, and that feature hadn't seemed to change despite the androids' supernatural inhabitants. Still, Michael remembered what it felt like to have a migraine and he knew that if he could get them he surely would have a raging one right now.

Ennard stayed as quiet as a mouse. They promised Henry not to ruin the surprise and tell Michael exactly what they were doing down in the basem*nt together. All according to plan, their new body would be ready soon. Then Mike could stop being so grumpy all the time…

“WE PROMISE YOU’LL LIKE OUR SURPRISE, MIKEY,” they replied with figuratively tight lips. Ennard shifted loudly, leaning on one side as their head tilted in an attempt to look non-threatening.

“BECAUSE PRETTY SOON—” Their voice shifted in pitch and tone, clearing attempting to mimic those “normal humans” who worked around the facility. “—we’ll be just like you…”

Ennard's words sent a hot spike of worry down Michael's spine. Everyone insisted he could trust Ennard—that they were good now, and they wouldn't harm anyone. They'd learned from their mistakes and genuinely just wanted to be friends with as many people as possible, like the non-murderous part of their original coding entailed.

But Michael would never forget what they'd done. No matter how many people proclaimed Ennard's new good-nature, they'd never be completely innocent in his eyes.

“Ennard, you listen to me—” Michael began in a low, serious tone. “—if this surprise involves touching a hair on someone's head, I'm going to be very, VERY pissed.”

He paused, wanting to say more, but he knew it wouldn't be satisfying since Ennard would just stand there and take it. Instead Michael let out a sigh, gesturing to the vent they'd initially slunk through. “Now, I have to get back to work, so will you kindly leave me the f*ck alone?”

***

Unbeknownst to the guard, behind his back two figures stealthily slipped past one of the camera feeds. The Smiths were officially in the Pizzaplex now, heading for the central atrium. That was as good a place as any to start their search—that's where all the attractions were after all, so if their troublesome child was having some late-night fun this was their best bet to find him.

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

Terry and Rita tried to keep silent in each other’s presence. The acts they were committing here were felonious and could get them into big trouble—but the risk was worth it against the stakes of not finding Gregory. While his presence at the house was unwanted, it got the family more money at the end of the year. And now that there were eyes from the foster organization on them, having a solid answer for what the hell happened to him would also kept the Smiths out of jail for child neglect. A lot rode on finding evidence that Gregory was kidnapped and taken to this place… even if that evidence wasn’t entirely true.

Whatever happened, happened.

Terry couldn’t say he felt entirely bad for the kid. Gregory was a troublemaker and an attention-seeker in his eyes. He couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for the kid’s disappearance, but honestly he’d be okay on a personal level if they didn’t end up finding Gregory; in that case, all he and his wife could do was pick up the pieces and learn to forget about the horrible kid that used to live with them.

“Do you see anything?” Terry asked impatiently, poking his head around a corner.

“Not yet—and keep your voice down!” Rita hissed, shooting a glare at Terry over her shoulder.

They were on the second floor now, having bypassed the lower attractions of Fazerblast and Monty Golf. From the map they'd studied before their tryst, these attractions had elevators leading down to the main areas, which the Smiths did not want to get stuck in. Their plan was to check all the rooms on one level first, then move onto those more complicated ones.

So, the pair found themselves outside Roxy's Raceway, quickly slipping under the first garage door and out of the main atrium. Taking a minute to gather their bearings, Rita tilted her head to the side.

“Hey, do you hear... engines?” she asked tentatively, unsure if her mind was playing tricks on her. Despite the neon lights, this place was weirdly freaky at night. She raised an eyebrow at Terry. “...You think someone's on the racetrack?”

Terry slipped his hand over her back, right in the middle of Rita’s shoulder blades as he bent to look around a corner. Those were for sure the distinct sounds of engines roaring along the track.

“They have dummies to drive; they’re probably just doing some after-hours testing,” Terry mentioned. Though not a second later, the famed holler of Roxanne Wolf broke the monotonous sound of engines and tires skidding on the track. As the humans cautiously approached, Terry could plainly see Chica waving a little flag in her hand with Roxy’s face on it from the sidelines.

“GO, ROXY! Show those kids how to redline it!” Chica laughed, watching as the group of girls competitively flew across the freshly paved blacktop.

“What the f*ck?!” Terry pulled his wife back, pressing themselves flush against the wall. “There are other kids here! Is this actually where they’ve been going?”

“What the hell are they doing around this place?” Rita murmured, though she knew her husband wouldn’t have an answer. This Fazbear conspiracy might go deeper than either of them expected. With a little click of her tongue, she shifted back into the shadows. “I knew this franchise was still f*cked up..."

She pursed her lips, thinking of their options. It was impossible to tell what the kids racing around the track looked like due to their high speed and helmets covering most identifiable features.

“Hmm… that little sh*t would probably enjoy a high-energy sport,” she mused aloud, then stuck her head around the corner again to take stock of the situation. “Ugh, that stupid chicken’s sitting right there. Do you see anywhere else we can hide that's closer?”

It was a good question. Peering past where Glamrock Chica was waving her rally flag in the air, Terry noticed how the pit area curved back towards what looked to be a storage space for parts and tools. Careful with Rita’s freshly manicured hands, Terry grasped her wrist and nodded his head for the wooden dividers.

“We can sneak past the bird,” he suggested. How hard could it be? It was a robot, likely without peripherals. Slow and clunky, just like the old ones.

Terry started them off, hunkering down when the whir of tires and engines grew closer. Didn’t need one of those snotty kids ratting them out.

As soon as the Smith’s ducked out of sight, Chica’s head snapped up. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like shouting. She felt very aware that there were background sounds happening that didn’t make sense to the old bird. Turning at the waist, she looked towards the pit, bewildered.

Could it be Michael, checking up on them? Perhaps Sammy woke up from his nap?

But why would they hide? It one of the worst places to plan a surprise…

Chica could no longer stave away the curiosity. She staggered forwards, her legs seeming to have a mind of their own.

As Chica stalked the sound, Terry helped his wife get into a canvas cart, its insides stuck with oily rags to hide under. He chose the lockers nearby as a place to hunker down. When Terry heard the sound of mechanical feet stomping closer, he shut the metal door fast. Unfortunately, it was far too cramped to look through the holes in the locker and see what was happening—but he sure heard the robot’s approach.

“Hello? Is someone there?” Chica asked, wandering through the backroom and looking for anything out of place.

Rita held her breath underneath the rags, the intense smell of oil and grease making her lightheaded. How the hell had the bird noticed them?! Terry said the last time he snuck in, the alligator was completely at the night guard's beck and call—the robots shouldn't have minds of their own, let alone enough wherewithal to look for people...

Maybe Chica thought there were more kids around? It was clear to Rita the robots were being used to keep the children in check for whatever weird games whoever was behind this whole thing had planned. However, all the woman could do was stay silent, slowly pressing a hand over her mouth to muffle the noise of her breath when she couldn't hold it anymore.

Out on the raceway, the girls had finished up their last round and decided to take a break. After Roxy ran down the row of cars and gave everyone a high-five for their effort, Hannah took off her helmet and shook out her now-frizzy ponytail. Glancing to the sidelines, she was surprised to see the excitable chicken no longer waiting for them.

“Hey, uh... does anyone know where Chica went?” Hannah questioned, her gaze sweeping over the empty arena.

Roxy was the first to jump into action and investigate where her friend might be, sniffing the air as if that would actually help. Cassidy held her helmet under an arm, pointing out the dividers past the pit stop.

“Guys, she wandered back there during the last lap,” she elucidated, sounding somewhat confused as she said it. The chicken seemed invested in the race and had specifically sat out this round to play lookout, and it was odd that she chose to miss the very last portion and wander off. Roxy seemed to scoff at that, crossing her arms disapprovingly.

“I swear, that girl’s attention span needs a little tweaking,” she joked after a short sigh. “I’ll go check on her—Bonnie’s probably around and trying to get the big party all set up.”

In the meantime, as Roxy went to look for her friend, Charlie decided to keep the girls’ attentions by making small talk about the aforementioned party. Everyone in their rag-tag group was invited and expected to attend, after all.

***

Terry begun to feel sweat tickle the back of his neck as the bird repeatedly stuck her beak far too close to his hiding spot for comfort. If Chica found him, they’d be ruined. Not just socially, but financially as well with all the lawsuits they’d have to pay out for trespassing after being banned.

Chica didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, but when a hand grasped her by the shoulder she whipped her head back up in surprise. Roxy was smiling at her, brows pinched together slightly in concern.

“Chica?” she asked, back turned from both the lockers and canvas cart. “What are you doing? Party’s back that way, missy…”

Chica let out a relieved sigh, thankful that Roxy broke the cycle of thinking she heard the minutest creak and trying to investigate it.

“It’s so weird. Totally thought I was hearing someone walk back here. If it was Mikey, I was gonna ask him to play with us!” she replied with an embarrassed laugh.

Oh my god, just GO! Rita screamed internally, listening to the conversation between two animatronics way too close for comfort. Although, it seemed like the wolf had only shown up to find Chica, so at least they had that in their favor...

Unfortunately for Rita, it was becoming very stuffy in that cart. The fumes were getting to her, and the last thing she wanted to do was pass out. They would definitely be in trouble then—her husband wasn't adept enough to sneak in by himself, so there was no way he'd be able to maneuver the Pizzaplex and worry about her too. No, he needed her guidance to get through this whole fiasco.

And then, a rather unfortunate thing happened: unbeknownst to Rita, a rag that Terry had precariously shoved over her face had been slipping down by millimeters with each intake of breath. It finally shifted far enough that the end—stained black with gross oil—tickled the tip of her nose... and to Rita's horror, she let out a sneeze. It was a small, muffled sound, but by the sudden silence from the robots' chatter she knew she'd been found out.

Both girls tensed, Chica noticeably scooting closer to Roxy whose hair begun to stand on end at the sudden noise. Charlie didn’t sneeze, and the ghosts were incapable as far as they were aware. The bird’s eyes couldn’t see very well in this unfiltered darkness; Roxy on the other hand…

“Okay…,” she growled out with a frustrated huff. Whoever was sneaking around back here made Chica miss out on seeing her win the race! This had inherently enraged her. After making sure Chica could stand unassisted, Roxy dislodged from her and moved to the center of the room. With paws poised on her hips in an authoritative stance, she glared right at the canvas cart. “I want whoever is hiding to show their face. Now.”

When there was no answer or movement Roxy crouched lower, stalking towards the cart as she saw the heated mass hiding in plain sight. It was almost laughable how she’d missed it before.

“I’m going to start counting. You better be out here by the time I reach three,” she warned, coming closer.

Well, sh*t. This was probably the worst outcome Rita could've foreseen. Well, no—the worst would be if she let that wolf get her hands on her.

When Roxy's snuffling came just a bit too close for comfort, Rita acted. Jumping up with a scream for extra jarring effect, she threw a pile of dirty rags directly in Roxy's face. The woman barely had time to wonder why the hell a robot needs so many sharp teeth before she'd vaulted over the edge of the cart and made a beeline for the exit. She didn't doubt the robot would be able to catch up with her eventually, so rather than trying to run until Roxy lost her scent, Rita planned to slip out of sight as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

In her mad dash back through the raceway, she was able to sneak a quick glance at the people staring at her with mouths agape. They all had long hair, or short hair that wasn't the proper shade of her problem child—that immediately clocked them as not being Gregory.

Okay. One attraction down, a hundred more to go...

With a huff of determination Rita pushed herself forward, hoping Terry had enough sense to keep his big mouth shut so they didn't spot him, too.

Do not get up, Rita. Don’t f*cking move—

Judging by the subsequent squawk of Chica and a low but frighteningly loud howl of the wolf, Rita had scared them both. Terry betted she was currently booking it and abandoning her husband for fear of those freak machines catching her.

“SECURITY ALERT!” Chica shouted, a domino effect taking hold of the entirety of the Pizzaplex’s new, updated security system.

First, any and all doors to the outside locked, their magnetized bolts latching and falling closed to keep the intruders inside. Next, the other robots were notified via their shared network. Now on high alert, they would act in accordance to their newest default settings: all banned civilians were to be held in the main security office—the same one where Michael received a bright flashing text on one of the flat-screen monitors.

TRESPASSER IN ATTRACTION: ROXY RACEWAY

With Roxy and Chica taking off in pursuit, Charlie knew what her duty was immediately.

“Girls, get to Monty Golf—you’ve got to find Gregory!” she ordered, standing in front of the gaggle of confused kids while Rita booked it to the door. “I’m going to help Roxy and Chica. If you see Mike, tell him the Smiths are back!”

There was no plan; no time to think. They just had to find Gregory before they did.

Elizabeth held onto Hannah’s hand, who in turn grasped Cassidy’s palm. Unquestioningly, Liz tugged them along and out of the attraction.

***

“Oh for—can I not have one calm night?!” Michael yelled, slamming his hands on the desk as he launched out of his chair like a rocket. His eyes had already been drawn to the movement of a very un-childlike figure dashing past multiple security cameras when the alert came seconds later. Bright red and flashing, it told Michael all he needed to know: there was a threat, and it was his job to help contain it.

Rita wasn't bothering with the whole “sneaking” aspect at the moment, so Mike was able to get a clear view of her face as she passed a camera directly outside the raceway. His jaw set in a hard line and he shoved away from the desk, slamming the release button on the security door.

“Those bastards...,” he snarled, moving as fast as he could towards the central atrium. Wherever the Smiths chose to go, Michael would be right behind.

***

Mini Golf just got weird…

Foxy, who’d been cracking wise with Monty and unabashedly cheating at golf to make the challenges harder for the kids, was now making sure the security gates to the attraction were pulled down and latched. Monty in turn was now circling the group of kids in an oddly defensive way, and it was clearer and ever to see that Sammy definitely took their animalistic into account when programming the Glamrocks.

“Oi—you lot ever play the quiet game?” Foxy remarked with a nervous laugh, teal coat swishing around his legs as he whirled to face them. “You win by being very quiet. We’re going to play that for a little bit…”

Gregory knew what that meant. That worrisome chiding sounded like something Freddy or Michael would tell him when they didn’t want to explicitly state the problem. Why did it feel as though something bad was about to happen?

“Evan?” Gregory whispered, his turn to hold onto his brother’s arm a bit too tightly now. “This is weird, right?”

He tried not to sound scared. Though Quinn and Cain looked equally puzzled and cautious, he'd rather they not make fun of him should this all be a false alarm.

Evan let Gregory cling as much as he wanted to, his focus on the suddenly hyper-aware animatronics. Monty in particular attracted his gaze, as the gator circled the boys with a menacing expression aimed at anyone who dared come near those currently under his protection.

“Someone bad is here,” Evan muttered, leaning in close to Gregory. He'd seen this reaction in animatronics many times before, although they'd usually been directed towards one man with a certain unfortunate face. “Their security protocols are activated... one of them probably sent out an alert and the others are reacting to it.” His eyes hardened into quite an unnatural expression for the usually good-natured boy. “I'm sure whatever it is, Mikey's on it.”

“Yeah, no need to worry a hair on your little heads,” Monty reassured, patting Gregory's shoulder as he passed during his rounds. “We'll get this all nice and sorted so ya can keep on playin' like before.”

With a high alert cranked to 10, it would be impossible for the Smiths to reach Gregory without facing off against at least two vicious animatronics. And while Gregory trusted in his new friends, he simply didn’t trust that things would be okay in general. The worst case scenario seemed to happen with every rough event at the Pizzaplex.

“Yeah! Captain Mike must’ve seen the alert; I’m sure once he’s done looking over the threat, he’ll swing on by to tell us it’s over,” Foxy assured the kids, standing like a stalwart statue by the entrance as he looked for any maniacs running down the halls.

The twins glanced at each other; fear of strangers just wasn’t in their brain chemistry, especially after they died. Not a moment later did the girls appear, Elizabeth leading the fray down the halls as their sudden appearance made Foxy jump a little.

“Girls—thank Neptune you’re all here!” He lifted the security gate, ushering them inside while counting heads. Concerned, he grasped Cassidy’s shoulder in passing. “Where’s Charlie?”

“She's chasing that lady who broke in; it’s awesome!” Cassidy replied, finding the chaos just a little bit enjoyable.

“It’s the Smiths! They’re back and looking for Gregory,” Lizzie revealed.

“Got it; come on in and join the party, girls,” Monty announced, trying to keep things light despite the way his jaw ground together. He was never programmed to maim anyone—unless a virus worked his way into his system, that is—but he was certainly able to rough people up, especially those on BANNEDlist. His claws flexed, itching for the chance to go at Terry’s weasel face.

Though the animatronics might not have the full picture of the depravity the Smiths put Gregory through, they knew these people had no business around children… and if their security protocols had been coordinated to amp up extra high for Freddy Fazbear’s kid, no one was going to comment on it.

Evan still kept his fingers laced through Gregory’s, though he was quick to slip an arm around Lizzie’s waist and hug her tightly. Hannah went to Gregory’s other side and held onto his forearm, a determined expression on her face.

“We’ve got a plan, remember?” the girl reassured, looking around to the other kids who nodded their agreement.

***

Mike had just entered the central atrium when he nearly ran headfirst into Freddy. As expected, the man was frantic with worry, wringing his hands together with nervous energy.

“Michael?! Bonnie suddenly announced a security threat and I heard the building go on lockdown!” he exclaimed, his eyes wide with great concern. “He ran off to search for the intruders—is it the Smiths?!”

Not for the first time, Freddy wished he was still connected to the internal network. He felt strangely inept right now, unable to get a full picture of the issue without asking security for details. Bonnie had just started pacing the outside of Bonnie Bowl where he and Freddy had been speaking. No words, just a hyper-vigilance that he hadn’t seen before in the bunny. Once Bonnie explained the situation, the old rabbit wasn’t surprised to see Freddy bolt away to find his family.

“Yup,” Mike replied simply, jerking his head indicating for Freddy to follow him. “I saw Rita hightailing it out of the Raceway, though Roxy and Chica were hot on her tail so I’m going back to case the area—I have a feeling they’re both around tonight, and I’m thinking Terry might still be camping out somewhere…”

“Did you guys see where they went?!” Charlie shouted, racing down a powered-off escalator two steps at a time. “The kids are at Monty Golf now, but we need to get them downstairs if our plan's going to work.”

She tried to remain at least a little cryptic in case someone was listening in on them. For all they knew, Rita or Terry were hiding just out of sight trying to see if security would mention their sweet, lost boy.

“No, I just saw Rita run out of Roxy’s place,” Michael reiterated with a shake of his head. “I was on the way over to check if Terry’s still there.” He glanced around the atrium, spotting Bonnie pacing on the top floor. Thinking over all their options, the night guard quickly whipped up a plan.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” he said, gesturing for Freddy and Charlie to come in close. “You two help Monty and Foxy get the kids downstairs. I’ll grab Bon and see if we can track down Terry; Chica and Roxy are already on Rita’s tail, so they’re covered. If either of the Smith’s wander into the Daycare, well…” He let out a dark little chuckle. “I’m sure Moon and Mari can handle it.”

As per security protocol, when the alert sounded the Daycare had gone dark, thus allowing Moon free reign to stalk anyone who dared intrude on his domain.

“Keep in touch with your phones,” Michael added, already beginning to move towards the bowling alley. “We’ll lead the Smiths to the basem*nt when everyone’s in position!”

Looking around the group, Charlie nodded her understanding.

“I'll text you when we've made it—only call if it's an emergency!” she said as they parted ways. Her and Freddy split, heading down to find the others and lead them to the safety of Henry's workshop.

In front of Bonnie Bowl, the former bassist spotted Michael right away. He looked as if he’d been chewing nervously on two of his fingers, waiting anxiously for anyone to show up and let him know what was happening.

Right now, unbeknownst to the others, Terry was attempting to move from his hiding spot at Roxy Raceway in search of his now missing wife. This plan of theirs was quickly turning sour, and Terry wanted nothing more than to bail and go back home before anyone else realized they were there.

It'd be impossible for them to sneak home now. The band knew this—yet there was still a worry in Bonnie's mind about what the horrible humans might do to Gregory if they saw him.

“Mike! Ol' sport, it's good to see a friendly face! What's going on?” Bonnie asked, running up to meet with the head of security.

“Hey, Bon—security threat, as you know,” Michael began, wanting to make the explanation as fast and concise as possible. They could go over the sordid details later; right now, Mike just needed to make sure his little brother was safe. Grasping Bonnie’s paw, he tugged him towards the escalators to get him moving.

“Terry and Rita Smith are running around,” the guard continued, releasing the rabbit once assured he was following close. “Check your watch list of suspicious individuals if you need visual references. Long story short, they’re after Gregory—but we have a plan to get rid of them.”

The night guard glanced over his shoulder to flash Bonnie a brief, confident grin. The rabbit was clearly stressed more than he should be thanks to that pesky human soul influence, so Michael didn’t want him to get even more riled up. “You and I are looking for Terry, last seen at Roxy’s attraction. We’re going to find him and guide him to the basem*nt, ideally by scaring the sh*t out of him—although we’ll use force if necessary. Got it?”

Bonnie clenched his hand in Michael’s, trusting him and his judgement before letting go. He pulled up the customer profile, finding Terry Smith’s name and face in a banned list, along with an associated profile for his wife, Rita.

“Force if necessary,” Bonnie replied, a bit calmer now that he knew the main issue and could help out with escorting this Terry fella. “It's only a matter of time. Do you think he was smart enough to use the backrooms to get around?”

Turns out he wasn't. If all of them were going after Rita, then Terry should be fine taking the normal way, right? If they caught her, then he'd pay for it later when—if—she made it home.

Right now, Terry had to get out and tell the police what he saw. Kids, all of various ages just hanging around unsupervised and clearly unrelated to the owner. Something weird was going on in this franchise, and Terry knew for certain that Gregory was caught up in all of it. It was the perfect distractor to cover up their own neglect of the boy.

Finding the fire exit locked, Terry cursed and knew he'd have to try for the front doors.

Michael answered Bonnie’s question by throwing out an arm to stop the bunny in his tracks. There was the man in question, trying to sneak through the shadows in the main atrium towards the entrance lobby. He still had a ways to go before he reached the exit, as his options were to either cross the main stage and be completely exposed to any robot or camera watching, or stick to the outskirts of the room and hope no one caught sight of him.

“Bonnie, keep an eye on him,” Michael instructed in a whisper, pulling out his phone. He opened the texting app to a group message between himself, Charlie, and Freddy, quickly typing:

We got eyes on T. Let me know when ur in position & we’ll lead him to u

Before slipping the phone in his pocket he made sure to turn up the vibration so there was no chance he’d miss an incoming message. It was imperative that everything go according to plan now.

As Michael and Bonnie waited for a response, they stalked closer to Terry. If he got too close to the exit they’d act regardless of where the others were, but hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

***

Freddy was in the process of leading the kids down the twisting hallways to the workshop. He felt his phone buzz but was far too preoccupied with holding Gregory as tight as comfortably possible in his arms as they sped down below to answer.

No one was going to take his son. That was simply a fact, and the Smiths were about to come to terms with that once and for all.

“Charlie, did you get a message from Michael?” the ursine man called, speaking over the kids’ heads as Charlie brought up the rear along with Monty and Foxy. “I believe he may have texted the group.”

This is what they used by default, so it’d make sense for Michael to text them all at once—especially in this case.

“Texting him back!” Charlie replied in a shout, making certain with Foxy that no one in the group was lagging behind. Everyone was to be involved in their master prank, and they couldn’t afford to leave anyone in the dust.

It sure was hard to text and jog through this largely unregulated part of the building. Charlie nearly ran into a few support beams in passing before managing to send out the short message.

bring him down in 5 mins

Gregory clung onto Freddy, watching the trail of missing child's posters being kicked up from their escape below. If this all went well, Gregory would never have to hide again. He would be dead to the world with a new life waiting for him afterwards...

***

Terry himself wasn't confident at all in what he was doing. He knew the way, but there was no telling where those things were. Man, he swore he saw something, too. It made him hesitant to take the shortcut across the stage, though it’d afford him some valuable escape time. He eventually settled with his back against the wall, trying to maneuver around and keep his eyes on the room.

“I reckon I could catch him from here,” Bonnie murmured, low and slow for Michael to understand him.

Michael checked his phone, seeing it'd been just over a minute since Charlie texted him. With the time it'd take to actually get Terry down there, he figured this was as good an opportunity as any for action.

“Alright, buddy—I'm right behind you,” Michael said, giving Bonnie a nod. “Chase him down to the basem*nt!”

***

“What's happening?! Is everyone okay?!” Henry asked, poking his head out of the door as he heard the cavalcade of footsteps approaching his workshop.

“The Smiths are in the building—we are putting our plan into action,” Freddy explained succinctly, and Henry's eyes widened.

“Oh! Okay, yes, go ahead! I'll wait in the wings in case you need back-up.” As Gregory passed in his father's arms, Henry was sure to brush his hand over his head in a reassuring gesture.

“Ooh, this is gonna be good...,” Monty growled with a wide grin, excited to see what these kids had in store.

***

Bonnie could act mean and vicious, even if he was a cuddly bunny rabbit by nature. The lumbering animatronic’s footsteps were suddenly audible when barreling towards Terry at a speed that made him freeze at the sight. In the middle of nearly pissing himself, Terry couldn’t even fathom which hulking creature approached and let out a shriek. “WHAT THE f*ck IS THAT—”

Like something out of the old cartoons, he ran in place for a moment due to the freshly waxed floors. He barely got five feet before Bonnie snatched him up painfully by the back of his shirt. There, Bonnie would hold Terry above the ground, the man listening to the hem of his shirt tear and stretch as he kicked his legs. There was no escaping, as Bonnie was quick to hold Terry across the chest.

“f*ckING LET GO!” the man cried desperately. “Give me back Rita and let us go!”

Bonnie thought it was pretty rude of Terry to try and boss him around. He shook him slightly, only serving to rattle the man further.

“Ill-mannered brat!” Bonnie scoffed, some form of strange ire peeking through his cheery façade that he refused to acknowledge. With Michael catching up, Bonnie begun their stride down to the basem*nt. “We're gonna show you what happens when you don't behave around here.”

***

Roxy and Chica had been trailing the fairly clever Rita for some time now. Every now and then she made a noise that lured both of them ever closer to the Daycare entrance. Chica had been worried at first, as Moon and Mari were down there—though Roxy had to remind her there was a reason the Daycare attendant was in charge of the youngest kids here. No one really wanted to mess around with the hyperactive giant that liked to scuttle up the walls...

Moon was on hyper alert—even more so than the other animatronics due to his nature of caring for toddlers that could barely recite their name, let alone even fathom the concept of someone trying to hurt them. Right now, he'd clambered up one of the play structures and was clinging to the side, searching with glowing red eyes. Like Roxy, the Daycare attendant had special vision activated under certain circ*mstances—namely when a security breach had been announced. Whereas the wolf could detect body heat and movement, Moon was equipped with the most exceptional night vision technology this day and age could provide.

As he gazed around the Daycare, it looked to Moon as if he was seeing the room in the brightest overheads. Therefore, when Rita literally slid underneath the garage door Moon spotted her instantly.

“Well, well... Mari, we have an unwelcome visitor, ehehehehe...,” the attendant purred, his cackle no longer endearing. It had shifted to a tone of menace and he flexed his fingers in preparation to grab the intruder.

With Chica and Roxy in hot pursuit, Rita quickly took stock of the room and decided to throw herself face-first into the slide. Even if the play area was technically enclosed, at least there were many places to hide. Plus, she wasn’t too worried about that lanky Sun guy posing a legitimate threat. She fell into the ball pit with a heavy exhale, the remaining air in her tired lungs knocked out in a rush. Maybe she could just sink to the bottom and lay there for the rest of the night—

“WHAT THE f*ck IS THAT?!” she screeched, ironically echoing her husband in his simultaneous encounter with the no-longer-friendly Bonnie. Something was crawling along the jungle gym, eerie pinpricks of red locked on and staring into her very soul.

Mari could make out the shape at the slide entrance. A lady popped on through to their Daycare home! And not just any lady—she was Gregory's terrible foster mom. Mari may actually rip her apart before letting her get down to the basem*nt, despite the plan. After all, there would be less chance in them finding Gregory if one was dead...

The little bot appeared behind Rita as if from thin air, having already been relaxed and lazing about the ball pit on her own when the security protocols were activated. Two arms latched around Rita’s shoulders and the unblinking Mari threw her whole weight onto the woman at once.

“Yay! Someone new to plan with me and Mr. Moon!” she giggled, pulling Rita down into the pit through sheer force of gravity. “You must want to stay with us real bad if you're here after hours!”

“What the f*ck—huh?!” Rita was totally confused, her attention pulled away from Moon's stalking figure as a child wrapped herself around her shoulders.

Was this one of the kidnapped kids?! If so, she could totally use this girl to her advantage...

“H-Hey, are you... I mean, it's late for you to be here, too! Where are your parents, honey?” Rita asked, grasping the girl's forearms and trying to tug her off. She didn't use much effort at first but soon found herself legitimately struggling—why the hell did this kid have such a strong grip?

Rita thought she was real! Sophie had, too—as did any of the other staff she came across. Mari chalked this up as a testament to Henry Emily’s genius. She would answer Rita, honest to a fault and a bit proud as she revealed: “Oh~ I live here!”

There was no issue where she stayed, so long as she protected her target. Mari invaded Rita’s personal space, chin resting on her shoulder as she formulated a plan to lure Rita down to the depths below.

“O-Oh. Okay, uh, well—I'm looking for my son. I think he might've gotten lost in here some time ago,” Rita continued, voice straining from the effort of trying to rid herself of the sudden baggage. “I need to find him before he gets hurt, so it’s really important that you let me go—”

“Lying is against the rules, Mrs. Smith...”

The gravelly voice made Rita shriek and try to whip her head around, though she could only turn so far with the little parasite on her back. However, it was enough to notice that the tall, lanky figure had made it right to the edge of the ball pit and was staring down at her with an intense, terrifying grin.

“We don't take too kindly too rule-breakers, do we Mari?” Moon asked, glowing red eyes flickering to the little girl.

“What’dya say, Mr. Moon? Should we show her where the others are?” Mari giggled, like it was a little secret between them. Maybe this secret place would have Rita’s problematic son, living and breathing in a room waiting for their unwelcome rescue.

Or, his body could be stacked against the wall, cold and lifeless with other children just like him.

“Wait a sec!” Mari let out a sudden gasp, lips curling in a dark smile of faux innocence as her eyes grew dark. “I think I know where your son is~ Let me guess: fluffy brown hair? Hazel eyes? Covered in bruises and terrified of adults by default?”

For a moment, Rita felt like her heart legitimately stopped. The f*cking kid was in on this, too? Although, pushing through the haze of panic Rita could see the resemblance between Mari and the CEO…

sh*t. Somehow she’d ran right into a trap. All pretenses of being a concerned mother were gone. With a snarl of rage, Rita set her hand into a claw and reached behind her, aiming to grab the girl by her cute curly hair and throw her off. Pointed, manicured nails brushed the top of Mari’s head and—

She was stopped mid-action by thin fingers cinching around her wrist in a painful grip.

“How DARE you try and harm one of my friends?!” Moon hissed, giving her arm an experimental tug. It prompted a little moan of terrified discomfort from Rita, but otherwise she stayed intact. Excellent.

“Mari, my dear, please let go,” Moon instructed, and as soon as Rita was released he hoisted her in the air by the arm. The woman screamed as she felt the strain in her limb, sure that something was going to snap at any moment. However, William’s virus was gone—Moon wasn’t capable of seriously injuring a soul anymore.

Instead, he threw Rita over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, stalking his way to the exit where he could see Roxy and Chica watching the show. When he reached the girls, Moon shifted the kicking and screaming woman to hold her by the shoulders, staring deep into her eyes.

“You are BANNED from the Daycare—and the Pizzaplex! GET OUT!” he yelled, then casually tossed Rita at them knowing one would catch her.

As Mari fixed her immaculate curls, she enjoyed the show Moon made of tossing Rita to the wolves… And by extension, the chickens as well. Mari pulled down one of her bottom eyelids and stuck her tongue out at the neglectful mother to mock her. After watching Roxy grasp hold of her, Chica assisting her friend by holding up her legs, Mari shouted as the gates were closed.

“You get what you deserve~!”

“What now, Roxy?” Chica asked, none too bothered to help relocate the creep who snuck in here to begin with. She followed Roxy’s lead in keeping Rita restrained while she walked her backwards for one of the employee hallway doors.

“Charlie told me: take her down to the basem*nt. We’ll hear them and know when to drop her off,” Roxy explained, grunting slightly when Rita struggled and treating the woman to a dramatic eye roll. “Hey, ma’am? Yeah—I’m trying to talk to my friend here, so can you please shut up? Rude…”

***

In the basem*nt, the children were all in position. Henry had taken Freddy and Gregory into back room of the diner where they could hide—they might not be able to see the action, but they could sure listen in… and if they were careful, they could peek through the doorway and see the scared-sh*tless Smiths run past. The kids formed a gauntlet of terror, starting from Henry’s workshop leading all the way to the useless emergency exit of the burned-down restaurant

The basem*nt was deathly silent, quiet enough to hear a pin drop… So it was abundantly clear when Bonnie and Michael appeared with the struggling Terry.

“Oh, will you stop screaming?!” Michael snapped, placing a hand on Bonnie’s arm to still his progress. They were just outside the workshop now, waiting for Rita’s arrival to release the horrendous foster parents into the worst haunted house of their lives. Rolling his eyes to settle on Terry with an eerie grin, Michael added: “Look, I’m not totally heartless… You wanted to find your son, right? He’s right around here! I’ll even give you and your wife the chance to look for him; isn’t that nice?”

Terry really wanted to stop screaming—god knows he didn’t want to die like this. A coward, even if that’s all he really was at the end of the day. Still, the animatronic gator and fox that’d started following them kept making scary faces over Bonnie and Mike’s shoulders.

f*ck! Terry felt like a scared kid and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

“I can’t—I can’t!” Terry shouted with a cracking voice, hyperventilating between words. “TELL HIM TO STOP MAKING THAT FACE!”

When Bonnie turned to see what the human was talking about, he saw the old pirate fox hanging his jaw open, eyes rolled completely back as he twitched unnaturally. Bonnie let out a chuckle before dropping Terry on his ass, watching as he scurried to press his back against the wall.

“Stop your fussin’, now,” Bonnie chided impatiently. “The real fun will start when your wife gets here.”

“No more—please, we’ll leave and never come back! I promise!” Terry bargained. It seemed to be too late for that now. Foxy moved aside in the doorway as he heard two more sets of clanking footsteps against the tight-packed earth.

“Captain Mike! Our friends are back with another prize!” he alerted with a dutiful salute.

“Fantastic!” Michael flashed Roxy and Chica a smile. With one hand on his hip, he gestured with the other to where Terry cowered against the wall. “Set her down right there, ladies; thanks for the help.”

“f*cking get off me!” Rita shrieked, still fighting after all this time. She managed a pretty good kick to Chica’s sternum as the bird set her down, which caused Monty to suddenly lash out in a surprising burst of speed and grab the woman by the wrist, preventing her from running when she was set upright.

“HEY!” the gator snarled, tightening his grip as Rita started babbling nonsense in the face of the huge reptile. “Don’t be damagin’ the equipment, lil’ lady!”

Chica attempted to furiously wipe away the grime of Rita's footprint from her chest as Roxy inspected her for dents, briefly swatting away Chica's panicked hand to investigate the damage for herself. There was no impression made, but there was certainly a small scrape.

“Yeah, watch the merchandise!” the wolf snipped.

“Guys, relax,” Michael soothed, giving him a pointed look. “It’s time for them to look for what they came for.”

Monty sneered at Rita once more then let go with a shove, upon which she ran to the wall Terry leaned against and slouched next to him, trembling with rage and fright as she laced her fingers in his.

“Well, this is where we leave you,” Michael announced, pointing to the workshop door with a menacing grin. “The only way out is forward—unless you’d like to try and make it through all my friends back here…”

Jerking a chin over his shoulder to the line of animatronics, Michael indicated that this would be a very bad idea.

“T-Through there?” Terry asked, clenching Rita's hand tightly in his own. Who knew what was going to happen to them the minute they got up? In his eyes, they were all but kidnapped right now. “Wait—you sick f*cks keep the kids down here?!”

“Shh!” Chica harshly scolded. The twinkle in her eye was sharp, implying she enjoyed messing with these guys as much as the others did. “Yes—and they have sensitive ears. No cursing... They might not like it.”

“Go on,” Mike prompted, raising a brow at the couple. He was getting tired of their whining and just wanted this to be over with. “If you need help getting up, I'm sure one of these lovely animatronics would be happy to assist you.”

For a moment, neither of the Smiths moved. Then, slowly, Rita got to her feet. She kept her hand tight within Terry's, not willing to let him go now that they were together again. At least if they died here, they'd go down together.

“I-I don't know what the f*ck you guys are up to, b-but—”

“Cool it with the threats, will ya?” Monty chimed in, making a show of cracking his knuckles as he glared at the humans. “And get a move on—ya interrupted my golf game with all this mess...”

It was ridiculous. This whole thing was ridiculous. Whoever was behind this fiasco couldn't hold Terry and Rita against their will... Although the woman didn't miss the irony that she and her husband had done quite a bit of technically illegal and harmful things behind closed doors. Setting her jaw tight, Rita turned on her heel with a determined set of her brow.

“Just move as fast as you can and keep an eye out for... whatever the hell might be down here,” she murmured, leaning her head to Terry's. Feeling the glares of many pissed off robots on their backs, the Smiths finally stepped through the doorway into Henry's workshop, trying to imagine what horrors awaited them in the bowels of the Pizzaplex.

Chapter 19

Chapter Text

It's funny how people worked when they were afraid. Terry had been scared for the past forty-five minutes and did nothing but act irrationally. He and Rita’s shared lack of thought in this plan was painfully obvious now. They were taken and kept against their will to find Gregory alone in a dimly lit basem*nt, now with the added guilt of it all.

How could they let him come to a place like this? If Gregory was really down here, then Terry thought whatever came from this misadventure, he and Rita could very well deserve it.

It was too late for hindsight as the couple marched forward past the heavy door, entering what looked like an old maintenance room lit sparingly with bulbs along the edges. The only distinct shape either could officially make out was a girl, a lone spotlight in the middle of the ceiling shining down upon her.

She was sobbing on her ground nursing a wound on her leg, desperately trying to keep pressure on her ankle and moving strawberry blonde hair from her face as her body shook with cries. When the door moved, she was quickly pulled from her lament and reached her hand out.

“Don't—Don't let the door shut!” the unfortunate girl warned in a posh English accent, right before the large security door was latched from the outside.

“Holy sh*t...,” Rita breathed, her hold on Terry's hand turning into a death grip.

What the hell were they doing in this place?!

Terry and Rita had seen their fair share of ailing kids—though of course neither would own up to the fact that they were the cause of most of these issues—but they'd never think to kidnap a child and torture them... They got their fosters the legal way, and only when they were officially dubbed a “Smith” could the neglect begin.

“Uh... h-hi, honey,” Rita said, though her tone had lost most of the sweet edge she'd used on Mari in the Daycare. A person with normal maternal instincts would immediately try to help the sobbing girl—check her out and see what was wrong, patch up the wound, offer a soothing shoulder to cry on and words of comfort... If Rita had ever possessed these qualities, they'd shriveled up in her black heart long ago. She and Terry were in way too deep, and all they wanted to do was get out.

“Don't worry, we're going to help you,” Rita said, urging Terry to skirt around the edge of the room and give the child a wide berth. “We... we just need to find a way out, and we'll be back with police and your mom and dad to come pick you up...”

Please just let us pass, Rita thought. If that girl tried to crawl after them, she was getting punted across the room with no hesitation.

Terry was petrified. At first, he couldn't even tell that Rita was trying to move him. His grip held her hand near flush to the side of his body, but eventually he found that Rita was attempting to figure out the way to leave. If this girl knew how, wouldn't she have gone already?

When the young stranger removed her hand from her leg, it was clear she couldn't do such a thing on her own.

“I know the way out...,” Liz sniffled pitifully, snot convincingly running down her nose as she showed them her snapped ankle. It was disgusting, blood-coated in filth from the workshop floor and a sharp looking “bone” just barely breaching the skin. So horrific was the injury, the bone appeared almost grey in the harsh light. “I-I can't move, though! P-Please, I don't want to die here...."

“Sweetie—” Terry attempted to bargain, trying to fake an optimistic approach. His only instinct now was to keep his wife close as they tried to case the room for an exit. “—we can get you help. Just show us the way out.”

“She won't let us go! N-Not until—” Liz paused, breath hitching dramatically as she seemed too frightened to speak, eyes going wide with horror. “Did you hear that...?”

A moment passed, and Terry couldn't say he heard anything. And then, suddenly, an ear-piercing screech followed the poor child's query. From out of the shadows several tiny hands grasped onto her, nails digging hard into her flesh as she fought to free herself. Incoherent and flailing with wild abandon, the girl was pulled into the darkness, a messy spray of blood left on the floor where she was dragged away.

“f*ck THIS!” was the only thing Terry could wheeze out, conserving the rest of his breathing for what might be a very long run ahead. He didn't hesitate, pulling his wife along to stumble into a full sprint towards a back door they were too terrified to notice had mysteriously opened of its own accord.

Next was Hannah's turn. Waiting in the rubble-coated hallway that connected the workshop to the diner, she stood in near-complete shadow, stock-still and staring at the approaching adults. Her outline looked fairly normal—except for the intense crick in her neck that no person would be able to survive.

Rita and Terry nearly tripped head over heel in their haste to avoid colliding into her. To their credit all they suffered was some gnarly scrapes to their hands and knees, their grip on each other faltering for only a second before they frantically latched on again. As they scrambled to their feet Hannah let out a gurgling moan, her throat and lungs full of blood.

“H-Help... me...” she called, reaching a hand out like Lizzie as she staggered closer under a hanging light. Rita and Terry finally got the full picture of her injuries, all bloody-faced and broken-necked, bruises on her throat and oily fluid staining her hair and skin beyond repair. “Please... i-it hurts... my throat hurts...”

Rita couldn't even speak anymore. There was no room to run around this girl without getting uncomfortably close, but it seemed to be their only option. That is, until Hannah's breath suddenly picked up, her lifeless eyes flicking quickly to the left where the shadows were the darkest.

“No, NO!” she screamed as the little hands grasped her by the ankles, roughly jerking her onto her stomach and pulling her into the blackness. Her nails left deep indents in the dirt, but soon she too was gone. After only a moment's hesitation, Rita tentatively started forward again.

“Holy sh*t we're going to die—” Terry breathed out, too full of adrenaline to really take in the weight of his words. Fight or flight was kicking their asses, and before them laid a gauntlet of horrors to test their mettle.

While Terry contemplated trying to figure out where they were, his hand was abruptly jerked out of Rita’s once more as his foot snagged on something. He hit the ground hard, face crashing into the dirt as he attempted to kick off whatever was holding his legs. To his absolute shock, it was none other than the boys from down the street...

Only the one was nearly unrecognizable, face half-peeled and full of decay. The other—the names escaped Terry—screamed as he crawled towards the Smiths alongside his brother. “Stop running! They're gonna get us!”

Beyond all shadow of a doubt, Terry believed these children had already been got. No one looked like this and lived—certainly not scrawny kids like them.

The faceless one gurgled, spitting blood up onto Terry’s pants before he was able to violently kick the boys away.

“Son of a bitch—let go!” Terry shrieked, pleading more than commanding them. He had no power, no control over anything happening. Whatever was in this place was going to get him and Rita too if they didn't hurry the hell up!

Rita just managed to avoid getting caught by the second twin, her sense of self-preservation completely taking over as she stomped down on the grabbing hand as hard as possible.

“Little sh*tS!” she screeched as the kid narrowly avoided her foot in favor of crawling after Terry. When Terry managed to kick the faceless one off Rita grasped his arm and tugged, sending them stumbling together for a few feet before they were able to right themselves.

“Christ, how big is this f*cking place?!” Rita exclaimed breathlessly as she and Terry now ran full-pelt towards what looked like... a building? “W-what...?”

There was a pizzeria under the Pizzaplex. Decaying and burned, the façade loomed dark and ominous. Rita did not want to go in there—but then again, it was a restaurant, right? Surely it had emergency exits, or a fire escape or something.

With a faint glimmer of hope, Rita picked up her pace—

—only to be stopped by yet another small figure. A fifth child standing in the dim light just outside the doors, probably a girl as evidenced by her little pigtails.

Though did it really matter when they were all horrible monsters?

“Oh god, not another one...,” Rita choked out, grinding to a halt. A quick glance behind showed that at least those horrible twins had stopped following—for now.

Cassidy looked normal for a split-second, even jumping slightly at the sight of them like they’d scared her. Terry held Rita back by the shoulders, too paranoid of the kids to let his wife near them, even if this one seemed okay at first glance.

“This is all your fault, you know,” Cassidy whispered faintly, standing there frozen in fear. And then, she reached up to her face.

Grabbing herself firmly under her chin and the back of her head, she yanked her jaw to the side. The sickening crack was enough to make Terry woozy, feeling hot in the face as he watched the little girl snap her own neck cleanly and efficiently. Her open eyes looked up to them as her head fell forward into a heap on the ground.

That was when Terry began to pound on the diner, not seeing any other option for escape. The burst of adrenaline didn’t last long, strength waning quickly after seeing such horrors as he promptly spit up nervous bile and stomach acid onto the closed doors of the old forgotten building.

Terry's exhumation of his dinner caused Rita to immediately do the same, heaving up the contents of her stomach in a corner. She wiped her mouth with a shaky hand, catching a glimpse of the head—

—holy sh*t it was still staring at them how was it still staring—

—which prompted her to let out a faint scream, voice box already worn out. She joined Terry's redoubled efforts to bust through the doors, the pair gaining another burst of raw energy in a last-ditch attempt to make it out of this forsaken place.

All of a sudden, there was a faint click and the doors swung inwards. The fact that they'd opened of their own volition did not ease the Smiths' nerves in the slightest. However, there truly was no other way unless they wanted to face the previous decaying children. With a wide-eyed glance at each other, they hooked their arms at the elbows and scrunched in as close as possible, walking into the building together.

The main party room of the diner was unnervingly empty. The deep void of silence seemed to stretch on forever while Rita took stock of the area, noting the employee only rooms, private party areas, and a disturbing lack of fire exits. In fact, this whole place looked like it'd been through the wringer of flames a thousand times over, tiled floor and cheaply painted walls scorched black. At least the place was empty though—

“Hi.” The tiny voice made the Smiths whip around instantly. Standing in the middle of the room was another child, looking as normal as one could get save for the disturbingly blank expression on his face—a face that was all too familiar.

“H-Holy sh*t...,” Rita whispered, her gaze locked onto the boy she’d recognize anywhere. “Gregory...?”

This was it—maybe god would be kind to them. He'd let them leave this forsaken children's cemetery with their foster son and they could forget the trauma endured here. Terry wiped his mouth off on his shirt and fell to his knees, raking Gregory over with his hazy vision for any sense of humanity. When Terry found nothing, he tried desperately to ignore all the voices in his head telling him to run.

“Gregory—” He nearly sobbed out, shoulders shaking. “—we're getting the hell out of here. C-Come on, little guy...”

He tried to wave his son over, holding his arms open. It would be easier to run if Gregory wasn't holding them behind, just another twisted obstacle like the rest of the damned. As soon as they were out of here, Terry would drop the little sh*t and never look back. He didn't know if he could look at another child without seeing gore for a long while.

When Gregory didn't move, a woman—another familiar presence, older than the others—put her hands softly on the boy’s shoulders.

Wasn't that one of the girls that worked here? Terry could hardly remember. Her sudden appearance behind Gregory only served to freak him out and make him scramble back to his feet. She whispered something in Gregory's ear before looking back to them.

“Sorry... He belongs here now, with the others,” she murmured, her identity only clear to Terry now that he heard her speak: none other than the daughter of the CEO herself. One of the masterminds behind this whole sordid experiment. With a cruel grin, she told the two: “He's ours now.”

From behind Gregory's small frame she pulled a long confectioner’s knife, sharpened to a high gleaming point as it was pressed to his neck.

Rita would like to claim she felt a tug at her heartstrings when she saw the knife aimed at her son's throat. She'd like to claim she was sorry for all she'd done, for the terrible ways she and Terry had punished Gregory for the smallest infractions until he was an angry shell of the confident boy he could've been. She like to claim that she cared... but the only feeling that flooded through her mind was an odd sense of ice-cold relief.

He's not our problem anymore. None of this is our problem. We can get out; leave this all behind and—

“This is your fault,” Gregory said, voice soft and melancholic. He seemed resigned to his fate, big brown eyes now full of tears that streamed freely down his cheeks. The knife hadn't moved, yet a small trickle of blood started to dribble from his hairline.

“Shut up...,” Rita hissed through clenched teeth, her frightened gaze tracking the red trail. If it wasn't from the sharp blade, what was causing it?

Slow and steady, another drip seeped down next to the first one as the boy continued in that tiny voice. “How could you? How could you do those things to me...?”

Terry knew it didn't need to be said, but Gregory was on the verge of another infamous outburst even as he was resigned to his dying fate. He grasped hold of Rita once more, ready to book it from the sight of their son’s impending murder.

“Sh... Shut the hell up, boy...,” Terry attempted to menace, though something in Gregory's eye told him that he wasn't about to listen to them anymore.

There was no more fear to control the boy. The wound on Gregory’s head came into focus, though there was no way Terry and Rita could’ve accidentally missed it. Terry clammed up, watching the line bleed steadily in a jagged oval around the boy’s matted hair.

The taller girl began to laugh quietly, watching them with unblinking eyes that snapped to their every movement. They weren’t even eyes anymore, really—just pinpricks of light in the black voids of her sockets. Her hand slowly lowered to open Gregory's palm, gifting him the knife she pulled on him just moments before.

“Make them hurt, Gregory,” she said, calmly moving his grimy hair away from his face in a startlingly affectionate gesture. “It's what they deserve.”

This is where she would expect them to run, if they still had the will to live after seeing every gross and traumatic thing the kids had in their arsenal. Vaguely, Charlie wished they’d given their murderer the same treatment—but the louder part of her psyche was just glad they’d gotten rid of him quickly. He’d been a blight on their lives long enough, and now it was time to pass along the torch of who got to be subjected to the ire of vengeful ghosts.

“Mm-hmm,” Gregory responded in a dreamlike manner, slowly transferring the knife from one hand to the other. “First though, I think they need to see what they've done...”

“Stop!” Rita yelled, already backing Terry towards the door. “Just STOP, you little sh*t! W-We'll go a-and forget all about t-this, just—”

“Shut the f*ck up.”

Suddenly, the boy's eyes hardened into pinpricks of darkness. In no more than a blink, the steadily growing gash in his head opened, revealing it to be much more than a simple slice. Whatever caused this had demolished the boy's skull, taking a chunk out of it that left his face a mangled, bloody mess. Rita dry-heaved as she saw bone and brain fragments smattering his clothes, yet despite this the child still managed to talk.

“If you ever mention what happened here, my friends and I will hunt you down and kill you,” he said in a tone that left no room for argument. The knife blade glinted in the dull light as he held it high over his head, now advancing towards the pair at a steady pace. “Forget the Pizzaplex, forget the kids, and forget me. Call off the search, and tell anyone you’ve roped into it to do the same. Do you understand?”

Rita managed the barest of nods, feeling like she might pass out due to how fast she was hyperventilating. Despite her former son coming closer and closer, she couldn't seem to move.

“T-Terry...,” she choked out, holding onto him like a lifeline. “Terry, g-go... we've... we've g-gotta go...”

Terry was haunted by the glimmer of the blade and the terrible lifelessness of his son's glare. No one else could save them as more shadows seemed to close in and darkness enveloped them. There was no escape...

Then, Terry saw it buzz to life: the flicker of a busted old fire exit sign by an employee's only door. With one last burst of energy to save their skins, Terry took it and hoped that it really led outside. Anyway to leave this place and forget everything that happened here for good. Though he knew deep down they’d never wipe this from their minds; they’d simply never speak of it again until it ate away enough to ruin them forever.

With lungs burning from the chase and fear, Terry barely managed to get him and his wife through the door. The long dirt tunnel sloped up, leading to a concrete hall that opened to a loading bay. In the far corner, a single door was outlined with the golden glow of soft morning sunlight.

They made it—but only by the grace of the dead.

***

Slowly, Cassidy got up from her position on the floor, her head moving back to place with a slow and grotesque crunching sound as it righted itself.

“So why couldn't we just stab those guys again? I'm not complaining! Just sayin'...,” she asked when the coast seemed clear enough. Gregory laughed at all of them, running from a side room to pull Cassidy into a crushing hug.

“OH MY GOD! That was amazing, guys! Holy sh*t—I'm sorry for cursing but HOLY sh*t! I almost burst out laughing when you told Terry to 'shut the f*ck up,' Evan!” Gregory raved, reaching over to lasso an arm around his doppelgänger’s shoulders and squeeze him into the group.

“It was super satisfying, I've gotta say...,” Evan admitted, quickly blinking back to the picturesque form of a gore-free little boy. And not a moment too soon—here came Michael bounding through the doors, having trailed behind watching the action from afar.

“You. Guys. Were. AMAZING!” he cheered, circling his arms around them and managing to lift them off the ground despite Cassidy's protestations.

“Yes, well done, kids!” Henry remarked, tugging Freddy out of the back room. He'd smartly hidden Evan's injury from the former bear's sightline, knowing he'd probably short-circuit at seeing his son's lookalike so mangled—especially knowing that it'd been his previous model that caused it. Thus, Freddy was wearing a bright grin as he rushed over to join the excitable fray with the others, none the wiser of Evan's less than perfect image.

“I do not think those horrendous people will think of sticking their noses around here ever again,” Freddy said, grabbing the closest pair to hug first, which happened to be Gregory and Evan. “Wonderful job, Evan! You sounded so convincing!” His gaze traveled around the room, looking to the doors as the other ghosts made their way inside. “You all did!”

The twins came barreling in, Quinn with Liz on his arm as he helped her walk with her more realistically busted ankle. Due to her robot body, she'd asked the boys to snap it. Though judging by the rate it was fixing itself, without help it would probably heal over the next day. Still, the boys felt somewhat responsible and decided they’d help Liz get around. After all, they got to play the best prank ever!

“You totally got kicked in the face,” Cain said to Quinn, who lingered in the doorway to hold it open for Hannah. Quinn’s response was a roll of his eyes, more focused on making sure Liz didn’t damage her leg further. Gregory shook Evan, though noticed that Charlie was being distant as the group celebrated.

“Charlie? You okay—?” he wondered, as she’d been watching the door for some time now.

“Just… making sure they’re gone.” Charlie didn’t know what she'd do if they’d lingered, though she couldn’t deny how cathartic the whole situation had been.

“You did wonderfully, sweetheart,” Henry said, slipping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a side hug. He knew it must've been torture seeing those kids looking like that again after Charlie worked so hard to save them. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, murmuring into her hair: “Like Freddy said, I doubt they'll be bothering anyone around here again.”

“Okay... that was kinda fun,” Hannah relented when she reached Cassidy's side, elbowing the girl in the side. Hannah certainly hadn't developed a mean streak, but it felt so satisfying to take out some pent-up anger over Gregory's mistreatment—and her own death—on such despicable people.

“Yikes, Liz—you sure you're okay?” Mike asked when he caught sight of his sister stumbling into the room. Henry's androids were miracles, sure, but that was a pretty nasty injury all things considered...

Moving to her side, Henry inspected the wound with an appraising hum. The special synthetic skin was healing up at an even better rate than he expected, so with a nod of approval he informed the group: “I think she'll be just fine by tomorrow night—though I'd suggest taking it easy until then, just in case. No roughhousing, missy—got it?” Though his tone was a bit stern, Henry's wink detracted from any real notion of a parental lecture.

Liz gasped at the suggestion, gripping onto Quinn’s shirt to keep herself from toppling over.

“Uncle Henry! Me? A roughhouser? Never,” she fibbed, knowing he saw right through her. “But yes—I’ll be okay. It doesn’t really hurt; there’s just an annoying pop up reminding me my leg’s broken.”

All of them deserved a god damn Oscar for their performance in the workshop. Even after Freddy let go of Gregory, the boy didn’t seem to want to release either Evan or his dad yet. He was just so relieved and thankful he was free of the Smiths’ clutches, there was nothing else that could make this week better.

Freddy certainly wasn’t going to complain about affection from his son. In one smooth movement he lifted both Gregory and Evan up, holding one in each arm so he could hug them both equally.

Lacing his fingers through Gregory’s around Freddy’s shoulders, Evan felt the sudden urge to cry again. He was very confused, as he wasn’t sad at all—in fact, he hadn’t felt this happy since the night that’s gotten rid of his dad.

...His dad.

Ah. That explained it.

Looking up at Freddy’s serene face, Evan realized that he was overwhelmed with the sheer paternal affection radiating from the android. Henry was wonderful in his own way of course, but it wasn’t quite the same. Tonight’s events and emotions had been a lot for everyone to deal with, so Evan didn’t feel too bad about letting a few more tears escape as he snuggled comfortably into the crook of Freddy’s neck.

The Smith’s presence lifted from this place like the black clouds after a rainstorm, and Charlie felt a true sense of relief akin to Gregory. Pulled from her solemn thoughts, Charlie found herself smiling once more as Mike bumped her with his hip in congratulation for a job well done. Knocking back lightly into her friend, her arm mimicked his as she rose her hand to meet Michael’s.

“Would you believe the first draft of the plan was just me stabbing everyone?” she asked with an impish quality to her voice. Soon, she rested the side of her head on Mike’s shoulder. “You really showed them too, mean old security guard.”

She laughed, feeling oddly at peace, a serenity falling over her soul at this warm scene before them. Though the thoughts of Mike’s current job did bring her back to reality for a moment.

“Maybe we should wipe the last few hours from the security tapes? You know, in case someone wonders where those people that got dragged to the basem*nt went,” she mentioned to the gang.

“Ooh—good call,” Mike agreed with a nod, brow furrowing as he thought about all his tasks for the night. Tapping his fingers on his walkie, he thought aloud: “I’ve got to take the Glamrocks off high-alert now that the threat is passed. I should also fill Sammy in on what went down so he doesn’t wear a hole through the floor pacing… Oh, and give Mari the all-clear, too. Speaking of—”

Michael turned to Freddy and his brothers, seeing them laughing at some joke one of them made. Walking over, he leaned his chin on Gregory’s shoulder. “Not to break up the party, but I’ve got to do a few things up top to cover this mess. Gregory, you and Freddy mind swinging by the Daycare? Mari’s probably freaking out since you’re not in her sights…”

“I’m guessing we need to stay down here, Mikey?” Evan asked, and Michael ruffled his hair with a nod.

“‘Fraid so, kid,” the guard replied. “I have to clear a lot of camera footage and want to make sure I scrub all traces of anything funky—including random kids here after hours. But tomorrow at midnight, the Pizzaplex is all yours!”

Gregory reached around, turning in Freddy’s grip to roughly hug Michael around the shoulders.

“Sure, Mike,” he said, giving him a smile that finally reached his cold, glowing eyes. “Mari and Moon are probably so lost.”

He wondered if either of them were really aware of what’d been going on for the last hour. Gregory remained wholly unaware of the planning that the Glamrocks were staging just beyond the door. His birthday was so close, and with only a few days to prepare the event would surely sneak up on him soon…

The twins came over to Michael, tugging at his uniform to gain his attention.

“If there’s cameras down here,” Quinn begun to point out, pointing then to Cassidy. “Keep the part in where Cassidy snapped her own neck! That was metal as hell!”

“So metal,” Cain agreed, seeing how Cassidy took the compliment with her usual lack of humility.

“You mean this?!” she called before making her head fly 360 degrees around her neck, skin folded and wrinkled at the unnatural bend. It made Gregory bust into a laughing fit.

“Gross! HAHA—” he shrieked, watching as Cassidy lit up due to the recognition she was getting. It wasn’t easy scaring folks, but she was doing that before she was even dead; now she just had an extra set of skills to do so.

“Ugh…,” Michael groaned in an opposite reaction, looking very much like he wanted to vomit. Turning away, he could see Freddy wearing a similar expression and was quick to press a firm hand on his back.

“Okay, that’s our cue,” he announced, gently urging Freddy and Gregory forward. As he passed Cain and Quinn he let them know: “Thankfully there aren’t cameras down here, but clearly Cas is willing to show off her skills anytime…”

“I’ll clean up down here,” Henry said as his nephew passed by, making sure to flash Gregory a calm smile. The terror of the night was over, and hopefully all Gregory would have to worry about from now on besides his potential Remnant powers was simply growing up.

“Thanks.” Mike flashed the room a grin. “Thanks, everyone. Charlie? You coming with?”

Charlie seemed lost in thought, but was quickly pulled to reality by her friend's voice. “Huh? Oh yeah! I should go check up on my 'little sister.’”

Charlie could never forget about her dear Puppet. Without the combined efforts of the Pizzaplex, they wouldn’t have gotten rid of the Smiths for good. After offering her hugs goodbye for the day—and making sure to impart an extra tight squeeze to her old friends and father—she caught up to the family in no time.

With his hand laced inside Freddy’s, Gregory waved with the other. “I'll see you guys tomorrow!”

He was a little sad to see them go after such a perfect victory. Still, Gregory was beat. Even just watching his friends contort their forms into horrific visions made him sleepy; he couldn't imagine how they felt actually doing it. Then again, ghosts probably didn't get tired like people did. Hence the 'restless spirit' phrase...

Climbing back to the surface and towards the Daycare, they set their course. Up on the ground floor, right by Rockstar Row, all the Glamrocks were crouched around a sheet of paper. Markers and pens, sticky notes, and glitter glue surrounded them as they spoke in hushed tones. This was probably why the Glamrocks needed a guard at night, as the mess they made in the hallway was the exact sort of thing Sam wanted to avoid.

“So it's settled. Monty's preparing party games. Chica, you're getting food and drinks. Roxy you're going to help DJ with the music and I'm in charge of presents,” Bonnie whispered, capping up his marker as they finished a shared list of things they'd all need for Gregory's party. “Foxy? You'll be the one to distract Gregory while we set up.”

“I'll, like, totally put in a special order for his birthday cake too—he loves blue icing, from what I hear!” Chica said excitably, but covered her mouth when Roxy gently elbowed her, silently telling them that the birthday boy was just around the corner.

“Heeeey, little guy!” Monty greeted as the family rounded the corner, giving his bandmates a few extra seconds to scramble the surprise out of sight. Hands on his hips, Monty grinned as his gaze roamed over the group. “I’m guessin’ everythin’ went well?”

“Better than expected,” Michael replied, reaching up to give the gator a fist-bump. He peered around him with a raised eyebrow, but chose not to ask what they were up to. As long as he didn’t have to clean up their mess, they could plot all they wanted.

“We are making our rounds before heading out for the day,” Freddy said, smiling at his friends. “Thank you for all of your help tonight.”

“Aww, it’s nothin’, Fredbear—you know we’d do anythin’ for you and the little squirt.” Monty reached forward to gently pat the top of Gregory’s head, chuckling at his sleepy expression. “‘Night, Gregory!” He paused, tilting his head. “Or… is it good mornin’?”

Gregory gave Monty a tired smile, shrugging.

“Dude, I have no clue anymore,” he answered honestly. Like a tired bird that someone forgot to put a blanket over its cage, he trudged along with his family as the others waved goodbye. With Bonnie holding all the plans and lists behind his back, he wiggled his free paw.

“Y'all come back soon!” he shouted as they all made their way for the Daycare. He was silently relieved as they left; Bonnie would be awfully upset should this not go according to the plan. Freddy's kid deserved to have a nice day all dedicated to him after the things he went through.

Inside the Daycare, Mari paced nervously. She could feel Gregory was getting closer with his bracelet GPS. Her, the Daycare attendant, and Ennard were anxious to know the outcome of this strange security breach...

“Ehehe, I see them!” Moon announced from his perch atop the jungle gym, pointing to the entrance as the family unit made their way through. He jumped down just as Mike manually flipped the power switch, plunging the room into light once more. Within seconds Sun sprung to his feet, waving them over. If the night guard let the lights on, that must mean the security threat was past!

“Here, superstar—why don’t you go see your friends?” Freddy suggested, placing Gregory in the lip of the slide and giving him a gentle push down. He could tell the boy was exhausted, but this was the second to last stop before they were home free—the last one being a visit to the CEO, of course.

“You guys can relax,” Michael called to the robots as he made his way to the wooden doors. “The threat is gone for good, thanks to your help—I don’t know what you did, but Rita was terrified!”

Gregory went limp, mostly to be dramatic as his dad gently started his flight down the slide. With a halfhearted, “Wheee,” Gregory descended, splashing limply inside the pit in a way that made Mari burst out in a fit of laughter. Poor Gregory looked beat to bust, but managed to get a hold of his narcoleptic tendencies better than before.

“I think I scared her too badly. She was about to throw me like a ragdoll if Moon didn't do anything!” Mari said with wide eyes, as if she still couldn't believe the whole situation took place. “Thank the stars it's over... And how are you feeling, Gregory?”

“Peachy—pretty peachy.” Gregory threw up a thumb of approval from where he laid half-submerged in the rainbow river. He couldn't complain, a content smile on his face. For the first time in a few days, the anxiety of being him wasn't as strong. He was dead to the world now, and one would ever be after him again.

Well, except maybe his own family—the one he chose.

Gregory sat up with a laugh, recounting the events to Sun and Mari. “I wish you guys could’ve seen it! They were all like, 'Nooo, please don't kill us!' and all my friends were like 'Haha—no, die.' They left anyway, but they totally thought they were dead for a few minutes.”

“Sounds like quite an adventure!” Sun remarked with a laugh, unclear on the details but not entirely sure he really wanted to know them. His long arms reached into the ball pit without hesitation to lift Gregory up and hold him close against his chest. “We’re just so glad you’re safe, sunshine.”

“As are we,” Freddy remarked as he strode into the play area, though of course the thought went without saying. Michael and Charlie were right at his heels, the guard looking around with appraising eyes for anyone else who might be lurking around. Ennard hadn’t been in the basem*nt, so besides following Michael this was the next likely place they’d be…

“You are a wonderful security bot, Mari,” Freddy praised with an eye-crinkling smile, pulling the girl into a little side hug when he reached her. “Certainly an invaluable addition to the Pizzaplex!”

“Geez, Freddy, no need to lay it on so thick—she’s already staying,” Michael remarked, though his chuckle showed it was all in jest. He could tell by the sparkle in her eyes that Mari absolutely basked in the praise. She certainly deserved it all, after everything she’d done—and not just for Gregory.

Mari's hands touched the sides of her face, as if unable to handle all the attention she was receiving. With a bright smile on her face, she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Just doing my job!” she laughed out, surprised as Charlie bent down and tossed the girl on top of her shoulders to sit victoriously.

“Don't be so modest, Mari!” Charlie said. Watching the pair interact, it was almost disconcerting how they mirrored each other perfectly sometimes. One could really forget that they weren't really blood related.

Gregory felt a rumbling beside him in the pool before cold metal tendrils subsequently wrapped around his body. Easily, he was lifted and raised high. It was a little far off the ground for Gregory to feel completely safe as he heard a grating voice in his ear. “GREGORY... YOU ALL DID IT... WE SAW YOU SCARE THEM OFF.”

To Ennard, it seemed like a waste of time. Just killing them might’ve saved Michael and the others from that headache—though the nuance of things had never been their strong suit.

“Hey, hey!” Michael yelled, pointing to Gregory and then the floor. “Put him down.”

“I will take him!” Freddy offered, holding up his arms for his son.

“Aww, Ennard’s just excited,” Sun remarked in a gentle tone, not entirely privy to the dark thoughts that lurked underneath the surface of his new friend’s mind. Still, the attendant could see the distress Ennard’s actions were causing the others and hoped they’d listen to Michael as they usually did.

“O...KAY,” Ennard said, feeling Gregory's hands brace over the prehensile metal tubes they wrapped the kid in.

Slowly, with slight reluctance, Ennard brought Gregory closer to the earth to place him into the waiting arms of his father. Though Gregory wanted to roll his eyes at Mike, he knew whenever Ennard showed up his brother tended to get a bit grumpy.

“I'm all good,” Gregory remarked. Ennard's head tilted to the side in a slight jerking motion, their old parts becoming more and more rusted with age. They’d be glad to get rid of this body soon. Its mode was outdated, its parts nearly scrap...

“YOU WILL BE BACK TO—MO—MO—RROW... YES…?” Ennard would ask the group, the question making Mari and Charlie both raise their eyebrows at the amalgamate.

“And every day thereafter—we work here now, remember?” Mike replied with a suspicious quirk of his brow. “Why?”

“Because we barely got a chance to play tonight!” Sun chimed in, attempting to deflect Michael’s attention. The Daycare attendant had a good feeling he knew what Ennard’s pointed question was about, but the amalgamation had asked to keep it a secret. With a spring in his step, Sun jumped from foot to foot and clasped his hands together. “You all have to come by for a game tomorrow! I know you work, Mike, but you should join too if you can!”

“I mean, I have to do rounds at some point so I’ll be by to check in,” the guard reassured with a slight frown. He got the weird sensation that he was missing something—like everyone was in on a joke that he was completely unaware of. “…Anyway, we should get going—I’ve got some stuff to do before I clock out, and we need to visit Sam."

Jumping down from Charlie's arm's, Mari hugged Michael's leg in a tight squeeze, naturally wanting to help his mood before they all left.

“We'll see you around, guys!” she promised, moving onto Freddy and waving goodbye to the tired Gregory.

Ennard figured tomorrow they’d find Gregory ask for his help. Besides from Henry, he was the only person they trusted to download their AI into a new model. They’d need his assistance if they were ever going to be taken seriously by Michael and the outside world.

“B-BYE. GET H-HOME SAFE...” They departed, sinking below the surface of the pit to once again hide in its depths.

Mari's affection worked like charm, giving Michael a little energy boost as they exited the Daycare. One short walk to Sam's office later and the night guard was knocking on the door. He felt like this was becoming a nightly habit, though he'd never pass up the chance to see his old friend.

“Hey, Sam?” Michael called through the door. “Just fyi, I'm removing the lockdown protocols—the security threat's gone. We wanted to stop by before I head back to the office and fill you in.” A slight pause, and Michael pressed an ear to the door. “...You there?”

Sam had fallen asleep, head in his hand as he reviewed the week's schedule. Snapping back to reality at the knock, Sam immediately sobered up and beckoned his family in.

“Wait—there was a lockdown?” he asked, making sure to wipe the drool from his jaw and the corner of his mouth. Apparently Sam had been out of the loop for the last two hours.

“Uh... yeah,” Michael laughed, though there was a hint of concern in his tone. This guy could sleep through anything. “Chica activated a high security alert and the entire place shut down. Not to worry though—like I said, we got it all sorted.”

“The Smiths broke in again,” Freddy explained, feeling like Sam would appreciate some more context. He was still holding Gregory, whose energy from the earlier adrenaline rush was nearly depleted, his form limp in his father's safe grasp. There was a hard, weirdly satisfied light in Freddy's eyes as he continued the explanation. “Everyone played a part in making sure they never set foot in this place again, nor search for Gregory.”

“Yup—and I'm about to go scrub the past few hours of security footage,” Michael added. He gave an apologetic shrug. “Sorry about your malicious compliance, boss—but just think about it this way: whatever happened, Gregory's safe and sound. Plus, you don't have to worry about the Smiths sticking their dirty noses around here again.”

While this was news to Sam, he didn't seemed entirely phased. In fact, as he looked over the invoices and bills piled neatly in a stack to his left, he knew that these guys were only helping cover his own ass in the end.

“Actually—the less people around here asking questions, the better. It’d be unfortunate if we were placed under investigation right as we reopened...,” he explained bluntly. When his eyes scanned over and saw Gregory fast asleep in Freddy's arms, he managed a smile. “At least he's okay. Finish whatever you guys have to do, and I'll see you all later.”

So close to the reopening. Everything had to go smoothly for the sake of the Pizzaplex...

It took less than thirty minutes for Michael to scrub the tapes. With Charlie and Freddy’s watchful eyes over his shoulder to assure he didn’t miss anything, they got the job done and soon headed back to the hotel. They’d all had a stressful night, so after taking just a moment to decompress with some quiet conversation in the living room, the trio passed out in their beds right alongside Gregory.

Chapter 20

Chapter Text

Michael walked into the Pizzaplex that night with a sense of determination. While scouring the camera footage for the Smiths, he couldn’t help but notice another pattern of odd behavior: Ennard constantly traveling to and from the basem*nt. Normally Michael wouldn’t give this a second thought, but the amalgamation was going there a lot—more so than ever before. The seasoned night guard couldn’t shake the feeling that the animatronic was up to something… and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Thus, after checking in with Sammy, Michael’s first stop in his rounds was the Daycare. Charlie joined him to check on her “little sister,” though Freddy and Gregory seemed to have other plans and had parted ways on arrival. Mari and Sun were playing as usual, but Ennard was noticeably absent.

“Hey guys!” Mike greeted, though his piercing eyes scanned the room looking for anything amiss. “Where’s the third part of your trio?”

Mari clamped her mouth closed. She knew exactly what Ennard was up to, yet she’d been sworn to secrecy. Sun knew she was a horrible liar, and as the night guard caught them playing tea party Mari raised her pastel plastic cup to her mouth.

“Mikey—” she yipped, speaking into her cup before taking a frantic pretend sip. “—you’re here a little earlier than we expected! Ennard’s… Out? I think they’re in the vents.” Though she sounded unsure, like she was making excuses without really knowing the full extent of what was happening.

“Sun?” Mari asked across the table, lowering her tiny cup to her mismatched saucer. Batting her eyes, she silently asked Sun to help cover for their friend. “Did they tell you were they were heading?”

They may have mentioned something about intercepting Freddy and Gregory on their little adventure to come help them… Not that Mari would know.

“No idea!” Sun said, shaking his head. He mimed Mari’s action of taking a sip of tea, though it was a bit disconcerting when the plastic cup clinked against his wide grin. “I’m sure they’ll be back later! Do you guys want to play a game?!”

“I’ve got to finish my rounds—I’ll check back in a few hours though,” Michael replied, his expression growing even more suspicious. The pair were hiding something, he was sure of it… maybe he could get some insight on the cameras. Turning to leave, he waved over his shoulder: “Maybe Charlie wants to stick around? Or you can come with—I’m fine either way.”

“I have to help Sammy out with some paperwork biz—learning the new job and all that,” Charlie replied with a shrug. She’d love to hang out with all of them, but tonight seemed a little tight schedule-wise.

“I get it…,” Mari sighed out, visibly deflating. “We’ll see you both later.”

“I’ll walk with you to the offices,” Charlie offered, holding out her arm for Michael to hook his through. As they passed the threshold of the Daycare exit, Michael glanced up to a nearby vent.

“Ennard’s up to something,” he answered Charlie’s unspoken question. “When we were looking over the footage last night to get rid of the Smiths, I saw them going back and forth to the basem*nt all night. I thought maybe they were trying to help with the plan, but… they weren’t a part of it.”

Not that he was complaining about that—if Ennard was involved, the Smiths would definitely have perished.

Charlie walked along with Michael, silently soaking in what he was saying. Now she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Being truthful to her best friend was really important to her... yet despite Ennard’s plan being outwardly benign, she wondered if it'd make Mike angrier to tell him now or wait for the reveal as planned?

“Are you sure it’s something bad?” Charlie asked, not quite skeptical, but not jumping to conclusions about Ennard’s intentions. “I’ve seen them talking to Dad a lot lately. Maybe they’re just keeping each other company?”

The look on Mike’s face told Charlie everything she needed to know. He wasn’t going to drop this tonight. Who knows, Charlie thought; Ennard could be halfway through their “plan” by now. After a short sigh, she remarked good-naturedly: “If you’re not going to drop it, I’ll help you investigate.”

Someone had to be there when Mike eventually flipped his sh*t anyway.

“…Thanks, Charlie.” Michael offered her a little smile, amiably nudging her shoulder with his own. If there was anyone in the world he felt comfortable sharing his concerns with, it was her. With a little sigh, he looked to the vent again. “I’m just worried they’re plotting something. I know Uncle Henry and everyone else in this damn place doesn’t think they’re a threat, but I just can’t trust them. And they’ve been saying some weird, cryptic sh*t lately and I have no idea what it means, but every time I press them they just make things more confusing…”

He looked to Charlie then, his eyes holding a hint of genuine fear. “I think they might be thinking of trying to get a new body. Like… like how they got mine.”

Charlie had been well aware of this rising tension. With it all laid out in front of her straight from Michael’s anxious thought-train she could easily see how it was causing him a great deal of fear not knowing what Ennard was up to.

“You don't know that for sure, Mike,” she said, walking up the stairs to the main security hub. Sam would be patient with Charlie’s absences and delays, knowing that she was the unofficial babysitter to all the ghosts. “We should try to find their last location on the cameras. Then we’ll go and see what they’ve been doing.”

“Yeah… you’re right,” Michael relented with a nod. He took a seat in the chair, swiveling it 360 degrees before settling in front of the monitors. He flashed a grin over his shoulder, gesturing for Charlie to come closer. “Help me scope them out, will you?”

***

Down below the Pizzaplex where no cameras could be found, Ennard was indeed talking to Henry. They were in the ghost’s workshop, standing around Henry’s latest creation. Gregory and Freddy had been summoned down as well, and the quartet examined the sleeping android with great interest.

“Okay, Ennard, last chance: any more changes, or are you happy with this model?” Henry asked the amalgamation. “I can always alter things later, though it’ll be a more laborious process.”

Gregory, who'd never minded being near Ennard that much, was currently helping them peel away those grimy unwashed carpet samples they wore everywhere. All the while, Ennard meticulously scanned over their newest body to host.

“IT IS M-MORE THAN PERFECT…,” they insisted. As normal as a form as could be without sacrificing too much for some stylistic choices. “THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING US…”

Ennard commemorated the moment by actually bending to give Gregory a limp hug—knowing they weren’t exactly the cuddliest, but still craving to show appreciation. Patting their arm a bit awkwardly and holding a cable in his free hand, Gregory escorted them to the charging pod.

“Dude, whatever to get my brother to stop worrying about you trying to kill people,” the young programmer said with a friendly shrug. After plugging into a power and datalink outport on Ennard’s arm, Gregory told them: “You’re going to get a restart prompt. Accept it and I’ll begin the download…”

Ennard did so eagerly as Gregory quietly closed the door on the pod. No longer would they have to fear breaking down or becoming the deadly thing they used to be. This was a fresh start for them; a new identity. They closed their eyes, collectively agreeing to transfer over as their power drained into the android on the ground.

“Man I hope this works,” Henry murmured, biting his nails in a rare show of genuine uncertainty.

“It did for myself and Mari,” Freddy pointed out, placing a comforting hand on Henry’s back. His creator needed to understand what a miracle he’d built, to transfer AIs with consciousnesses into bodies that suited them.

“Yes, but we’ve never tried it with multiple animatronics at once…,” the ghost retorted, and Freddy conceded that he was right about that fact. Even so—

“I think it is a success, Henry; look!” With a hushed exclamation, as if afraid to startle their freshly-transferred friend, Freddy pointed to Ennard’s android as it twitched a finger.

Ennard’s face twitched to life, nose scrunching as new sensations with realistic appendages allowed them a full scope of their surroundings. Their audio systems managed to boot up just in time to hear Gregory’s victorious shout.

“IT’S ALIVE!” he proclaimed, excitedly skipping over to examine Ennard a bit closer. “Henry—they’re so cool looking! I like the asymmetrical eyes…”

Ennard swallowed, feeling a bit under the microscope, but not uncomfortably so. The eyes in question—one blue, one a bright hazel bordering on gold—scanned over the room, taking everything in from the new perspective. Unfurling their lanky limbs, they got up from the floor and dusted themselves off. Base model repurposed from one of Henry's previous creations that was no longer needed by its intended host, the mechanic had been happy to add some more height to the limbs and remold the facial prosthetic to custom order.

“Only one thing left to do now…” Ennard’s voice was surprisingly calm and smooth. No stutters or skips in their speech now that everything was new and well-tuned, nor garbled static feedback now that consciousnesses had finally become one (for the most part).

“Firstly, thank you, Henry. I feel much better now.” They worked on rolling their sleeves up and down, trying to find a comfortable middle ground on where they liked the fabric to hang. “Freddy? Will you and Gregory help me find Michael? I’d like to see him now!”

Despite the excitement peeking through their words, Ennard’s face was still rather static—like Mari, there would be a learning curve in learning the finer mechanics of how to use their facial muscles.

“Of course we will!” Freddy replied without hesitation, a huge smile on his face. This was such a wonderful development! He just hoped Michael appreciated it as much as the rest of them.

“Congrats, Ennard—your new life starts now!” Henry laughed, stepping forward now that the android was officially up and running. The ghost moved slowly, not wanting to spook them as they got used to the new sensations. Ennard certainly had the biggest adjustment from his old form—arguably more than Freddy, since there was more than one soul-bonded AI in there that had to get along to make this work. Taking Ennard’s hand, Henry turned it over in his own.

“You look good, but let me know if you have any problems, okay? Also—” His expression became strained and he gave the hand a little squeeze of both reassurance and warning. “—take it easy with Mike. You know we kept this a secret for a reason. He’s… probably still not going to react well, but he’ll get used to it in time.”

“We will be right there with you,” Freddy reassured, reaching up to pat Ennard’s back. Now that the android was upright, Freddy realized he now had some competition in the height department. Of course, nothing like Ennard’s previous form, but that was obviously a feature the bot couldn't bear to part with.

“Yeah, luckily you have plenty of backup,” Henry added, almost feeling like he was sending one of his kids off to a playdate for the first time. “Good luck.”

“We’ll try our best not to frighten him,” Ennard assured. An odd, simulated feeling of being touched rippled through the synthetic nerve endings on their hand. It caused them to flex involuntarily, and Ennard’s mouth pulled up into a lopsided smile.

“Well, would you look at that…,” they marveled, experimentally scrunching their eyebrows while focusing where Henry’s and their palms met. Ennard tested their grip, lightly holding on for a second or so. Then they let go and turned to Gregory and Freddy. “We’ll follow your lead.”

***

Armed with flashlights and their walkie-talkies, Charlie and Mike trekked towards the backrooms. With Mike clearly on edge now that he saw Gregory and Freddy follow Ennard down into the depths of the basem*nt, Charlie resisted the urge to sigh.

“I’m sure they’re fine,” she reminded her scowling friend. “Freddy would be flipping out if Gregory was hurt—Mari too, probably.”

“I know, but…” Michael let out a frustrated sigh. Something was going down that he wasn’t privy to, and it made him extremely antsy. Of course he trusted Freddy to keep Gregory safe, but the former bear was also a bit too amiable for his own good—especially when it came to other animatronics. Ennard had wormed their way into Freddy’s heart since day one, and Michael had a feeling he and Gregory could be coerced by the animatronic to do quite a few things.

As they neared the entrance to the basem*nt, Michael caught sight of movement. He thrust out his arm to stop Charlie in her tracks, narrowing his eyes as he took in the figures. Freddy, Gregory… and an unknown. Tall, with jaggedly cut, soft white hair that trailed down their neck in what could only be described as a random set of layers. Wearing a sort of floaty expression, the person looked around the Pizzaplex with clear fascination in their mismatched eyes.

“Who the f*ck is that?” Michael snipped, the hairs in the back of his neck standing on edge.

This was weird. Super weird. Why the hell were they walking around with a stranger?

And why hadn’t Freddy called or texted him about it?

Gregory didn’t seem to take notice of either Charlie or Michael as they ducked behind a corner for quick recon. However, the heterochromatic gaze of the unknown interloper had peered down the narrow hall at the sight of movement.

“So what are you gonna do first as a person?” Gregory asked in a curious manner, taking notes on how Ennard was adjusting to having a real face. Attention was brought back to the boy, they touched a hand underneath their chin in thought.

“I think I should like to try ice cream,” Ennard remarked quietly, attempting to blink in the synchronized way that humans often did. It didn’t come naturally or automatically at first—which was probably why Ennard never saw Mari blink much, either. This didn’t stop a smile from crinkling the corners of their eyes. “Cotton Candy looked like a good flavor to start with…”

Charlie squinted in the darkness, barely able to relate the person walking with their family to the blueprints her father showed her.

“Only one way to find out—” she whispered, content to let Michael hide while she jumped out and called down the hallway. “Fred! Gregory! What are you guys doing?!”

She noticed how the stranger’s glance snapped to her before she even yelled—almost like they knew she was there from the start.

“Charlie! God damn it—” Michael hissed, quick to follow. He grasped Charlie’s hand and gently tugged her to stand behind him. His eyes narrowed at the stranger, taking them in. At first glance, they seemed pretty normal—nothing outwardly amiss from a physical standpoint. However, the more Michael stared the more off they seemed.

The way they swayed ever-so-slightly in place.

The clear excitement spreading across their face as they stared at Michael with that unblinking gaze.

Those mismatched eyes—

“Oh.” The word escaped Michael’s lips in an exhale. His breathing hitched, speeding up as he started to tremble. “Oh… oh no…”

He knew those eyes. Somehow, he just knew there was only one creature that could possibly be behind them. Michael pressed a hand over his mouth as if he was about to be sick.

“Ennard… what did you do?” he asked in a soft voice. Then, Michael’s entire stance shifted to one of absolute rage. “What the f*ck did you DO?! WHO IS THAT?!”

Ennard’s shoulders flew up instinctively, shrinking at Mike’s harsh words. Confusion, then some slight offense taken at the accusation formed silently over their face. Though Ennard wasn’t an idiot; they understood exactly why Michael thought they’d hurt someone else…

“It’s me!” Ennard attempted to say, hands up in surrender. “The body’s mine! Please don’t be mad with me, Mike; I just couldn’t stand living in the shadows anymore. I didn’t hurt anyone…”

Gregory stepped forward, standing between them. He still didn't have the full context for why Mike freaked out at the idea of Ennard's new form, but that explanation was absolutely horrible for calming the guard's nerves.

“Ennard’s telling the truth. Watch!” Gregory stressed, turning their latest addition to the android army around and pulling Ennard to kneel at the floor. They seemed obediently pliable to Gregory’s touch, perhaps not wanting to appear resistant for fear of stoking Mike’s ire. Despite any protests Mike may have about the pair making contact, Gregory lifted the flap of skin on the back of Ennard's neck to show a familiar set of input and output ports.

For a moment, all Michael could do was stand there as a wave of rage-filled confusion settled over him. Ennard was now… an android?

“So… that’s just a robot,” Michael said slowly, trying to process everything. He had the strongest desire to wrench Gregory away, but Freddy seemed perfectly content to let his son handle the creature. Well, Michael supposed Ennard wasn’t really a creature anymore. Now they were just as "human" as the rest of them. Michael groaned, raking a stressed hand down his face. “For f*ck’s sake, why didn’t you tell me? I thought they’d—I thought someone got hurt.”

“We are sorry we kept it from you, Michael,” Freddy apologized, holding a hand out and helping Ennard to their feet. He then linked their arms together, showing that they truly weren’t a threat. “We planned to reintroduce them with a bit more, ah… tact, but you surprised us.”

Gregory shrugged, looking up to Michael with an honest expression of remorse “I just found out the plan the other day. But I figured you'd be pissed either way. We were still going to tell you.”

Ennard’s eyes and mouth pinched into a smile as they leaned into Freddy, comfortable and happy to be accepted into the group by the friendliest member so far. Though Ennard kept their eyes ahead, gauging Michael’s reaction with cautious hope. “What do you think, Mikey? I don’t have to stay in the vents anymore! ...Right?”

Michael heaved a sigh. Gregory had a point—he’d be upset with anything involving Ennard, that was just a fact. Admittedly, he felt bad putting his family in such an uncomfortable position, but if they knew what he’d been through at the hands of that thing… well, they’d probably be a little more wary. Still, it was clear that Freddy and Gregory were perfectly content with Ennard’s new form. Really, taking a good look at it Michael realized they could do far less potential damage than in their old state.

“No, obviously you don’t have to stay in the vents,” Michael snapped with a bit more venom than he meant. “It’d be even harder to explain why a ‘person’ was crawling around in there.”

Tentatively, Michael stepped closer—not quite within hugging range, but near enough to check out the android in more detail. As usual, Henry’s work was impressive; no one would think the person standing in front of them was anything more than a normal human.

Like Mari, they could stand to blink just a little more. Ennard’s gaze raked over Mike’s face, actually beaming when he told them they could finally come out with the general public (at least, that was the long-term goal). Still inclined to try and get into Michael’s good graces they put out a hand, encroaching into Mike’s personal bubble as they waited to shake on it.

“We’re sorry we didn’t tell you. We were… sort of afraid about your reaction,” they said with some regret. After realizing Michael wasn’t going to touch them, Ennard instead used their hand to brush away pale locks of hair from their face. “We promise to try and be on our best behavior.”

With their tone of voice, it was hard to tell if Ennard was being facetious or mocking. Though judging by their excited shaking in Michael’s presence, they truly meant every word they said.

“I think you should totally still climb around the vents,” Gregory laughed, then looked to Mike. “We had to figure out how to get all their personalities to download. Ennard, if you feel like you’re lagging, tell me; I can get you a better processor.”

Ennard smiled, kneeling down to meet Gregory eye to eye and patting an appreciative palm over his hair. “You’ve helped us a lot already. We’ll take it from here, Gregory.”

“So… what are you going to do now that you look like us?” Michael asked with a raised eyebrow. “Because if you think you’re sticking with me every night that's a definite no—although I’m watching you tonight to make sure you don’t glitch out or something…”

Freddy smiled as Mike took on the role of begrudging babysitter. Clasping just hands behind his back, Freddy peered at Ennard questioningly. “I believe they mentioned something about getting ice cream? Although I know Sun and Mari would love to see the new you, Ennard.”

Ennard was shaking again. Tonight, for the first time in a while, they could hang out alone with Michael. They missed their little one-sided chats, as there was only so much the guy could say after Ennard unintentionally and partially paralyzed the guy’s vocal chords. Then again, their own speech had been stunted for a time, too. Up until recently, Ennard found themselves unable to fully articulate themselves. Maybe tonight would be their chance to explain everything to their friend.

“If you take me to get ice cream, I’ll go right back to the Daycare!” Ennard suggested as a deal. They smirked, wryly holding their arms behind their back, the somewhat unnatural posing making them seem vaguely suspicious. “Mari, Sun, and I can finally hang around in plain sight, too. Won’t that be nice? Especially with the part—”

Ennard stopped themselves, glancing to their shoes and voice cracking as they remembered they couldn’t mention the upcoming festivities. “—time job I’ll be applying for in the Pizzaplex.”

“Okay… okay fine,” Michael sighed, looking around the expectant crew. He was still annoyed at the turn this night had taken, but at least Ennard was a familiar threat unlike the Smiths. If Ennard acted up, Michael could deal with it easily. “We get you some ice cream and then I drop you off at the Daycare because I have to do some work tonight.”

The schedule wasn’t up for debate. Stomping a little harder than usual, Michael began walking towards Bonnie Bowl where the ice cream parlor was. As he passed by Ennard he grabbed one of their arms and dragged them along, getting out some of his frustration with this simple action. “Let’s go.”

The others waved them off, Charlie whispering to Freddy with some concern in her voice. “How long do you think before Mike tries to dismantle them?”

To Ennard, Michael’s tough grip on their arm only came off as assertively friendly. Tugged forward and made unsteady by the sudden upkeep in their pace, Ennard eventually latched an arm around Mike's in return. Ennard could keep a better reign on him like this anyway; there were important things to discuss before the guard could slip away.

Instead of going straight for the tough topics, Ennard asked in an upbeat attitude: “What’s your favorite ice cream, Mikey?”

After all, in case they turned out to hate cotton candy, Ennard wanted a backup. Meanwhile, Michael’s phone buzzed, the family group chat going off with an alert from Charlie.

so does anyone else think Ennard looks a little like David Bowie now??? or is it just me?

“Huh?” Michael was currently distracted by checking his phone with one hand while trying not to shove Ennard away from where they clung. As he read Charlie’s comment he paused, holding Ennard still for a moment while he looked them up and down.

“Oh my god… she’s so right,” he muttered, unhooking his arm so he could type back his agreement. Only after slipping the phone back in his pocket did he fully register Ennard’s question.

“My favorite ice cream?” Michael’s brow furrowed, trying to remember. “Um… chocolate, I think.”

A wistful smile crossed his face as he recalled trips to the ice cream parlor with Lizzie and Evan. Cotton candy was his sister’s favorite and it’d grown on him over the years as a close second, too. With a raised eyebrow, he addressed Ennard again. “Why? Trying to figure out what you’d like?”

Ennard smiled, dimples forming in their cheeks as they answered Michael back. “I remember when they sold it at the restaurant. I always wanted to try the cotton candy flavored one... I’ll try all of them eventually.”

Ennard was pretty giddy and unable to hide it with their incessant fidgeting. They missed their more fluid state, being able to spill through small areas and change their shape to will. Though Ennard saw this as a fair trade off; a small price to pay to be able to walk freely amongst the living. Entering the parlor, Ennard broke away from Michael to go look at the flavors protected under a case. There, they tapped the glass with enthusiasm and almost psychotic happiness.

Michael watched Ennard curiously as they ran through the bowling area. They were forced to move completely differently in this new body, yet somehow it was clear they were still Ennard. When they frantically started tapping on the glass, Michael gave a resigned sigh and went behind the counter. The usual service bots were turned off for the night to conserve power and Bonnie was MIA, so there was no one around to serve ice cream but the two of them.

“Cone or cup—you know what, never mind,” Michael said, realizing that since Ennard had never actually eaten before, the less messy he could make this the better. Flipping up the plastic covering to the freezer, Michael grabbed a nearby ice cream scoop and rolled one ball of cotton candy up, soon placing it in a little paper cup. With the added touch of a plastic spoon, he reached over the counter to hand it to fresh android. “You’ve seen people eat, but in case you need a refresher you pick up the spoon, get a little ice cream on it, put it in your mouth, then swallow it. Don’t just… let it sit there. Got it?”

Ennard gratefully took the little dish. Firstly, they could already kind of smell the frozen treat, which was a new sensation they were still getting used to. It wasn't anything they could compare to before, as their functionality in their designs never involved the need for aromatic sensors. Despite the cool, air conditioned parlor's climate control, the ice cream beaded up slightly before they even got a chance to try it. So with eyes wide and unwilling to waste the frozen treat that Mike so nicely procured for them, they began their feast.

To no surprise, Ennard didn't eat ice cream like a normal person either. The bit the sweet, sectioning off a large chunk in their mouth and chewing as if it were mostly solid. Ennard found the flavor to be above excellent—with a thankfully soft texture. When they swallowed the first taste, it looked as though they just recently had an epiphany.

“We didn't expect ice cream to be this... wet. That's strange,” they remarked with an easygoing smile. “It's good, though!”

Michael had been staring at Ennard with a look of mild concern as they figured out how to handle the sweet. Of course they ate it like a weirdo—though Mike really hadn’t expected anything less. At least they took his advice with regards to how to get the food to stay in their system.

“Uh… yeah,” Mike responded, his brain trying to process that this “person” in front of him was the same thing that’d so brutally murdered him all those years ago.His lip curled slightly at the odd description. Ennard was still a little crazy, that’s for sure. But they were also, if one squinted... maybe a little nice?

Mike didn’t know if this was just some latent shock from the body transfer, Ennard trying to win his favor with good behavior, or if this was just… them, finally coalesced into one being.

The guard had to remind himself that Ennard didn’t start out being the stalking, psychotic abomination that tore him to shreds. It’d been a combination of latent Remnant and abuse from the technicians that sparked their desire to be free—not to mention the influence of children’s souls that left an invisible but potent residue.

Did this mean Mike would suddenly forgive them now that they could start acting more like a human?

Of course not. But maybe he didn’t have to be so aggressive all the time.

Grabbing a tiny white tasting spoon, he opened the ice cream case again and got a sampling of chocolate, which he held out over the counter. “Here—try this next.”

Excite by Michael's sudden willingness to share, Ennard smiled with teeth that seemed just a little too pointed to be considered natural. Another personal design choice—a trait that the robot collective simply could not part with. Instead of taking the tiny testing spoon, Ennard leaned their tall, wiry frame over the top of the counter and stick their mouth at the end of the spoon. When they pulled back, there were gnawing marks on the plastic utensil.

“That's chocolate?! Man, have we been missing out!” It was incredible, nearly indescribable with the happiness it provided.

“Ugh!” Michael reeled back, face twisted in surprised disgust. Trust Ennard to do something freaky just when Michael was kind of starting to get used to them. “Don’t do that! If someone hands you something, you take it.”

God, he’d have to teach Ennard a lot more about being human than he initially thought. Well, no—Charlie was going to help. He was not about to spend every waking moment with this thing by his side.

“Also—” Michael narrowed his eyes, having noticed the strangeness of their teeth. “—I’ve got to know: how much of… this—” He gestured from top to bottom of Ennard’s new android. “—was your choice and how much was Henry’s?”

Ennard was wholly nonplussed by Michael's reaction to them. After all, it wasn't anything far from their normal interactions. They were just happy to hang out and answer Michael's questions; finally, they could converse uninterrupted and with a clear voice box.

“A considerable amount! The hair, eyes, skin... Henry would ask our opinion on things, and then we’d tell him exactly the direction to take.” Ennard tilted their head. “Do you like it? I think it's an improvement. More... approachable this way now. I'd like to start being a people's person.”

“It’s, uh… different, that’s for sure,” Michael, roaming over Ennard’s features with a critical eye. Still, he had to concede— “Not nearly as freaky as your old form, so at least you’ve got that going for you.”

With a little sigh, Michael slouched forward and leaned his arms on the countertop.

“Look… you just make me nervous, Ennard,” Michael admitted in a serious tone. “I just can’t trust you after what you and Liz did to me—I mean, that was literally life-altering.” He grimaced, staring towards the floor though his vision was far off in the past. “I… I know why you did it—at least, I think I do—and I’m… sorry you were made that way. But I can’t risk you hurting someone else, and even if your body is different you’re still you.”

Finally, Michael’s heavy gaze lifted to the robot’s once more. “Your original purpose was to capture and kill children. How do I know you don’t still have those urges?”

Now that their body and its functions had changed, Ennard couldn't help but hide how hurt they looked when Michael told them this. Their fun ice cream time came to a halt fast at the guard's confession.

“We knew this was coming...” With a frown and a stare that met the floor tiles, Ennard sighed, self-soothing by rubbing their arms. “Mike... We get it. You can forgive your sister because... she's your sister.” It was an understanding approach that also called out the hypocrisy they saw at the same time. “And we get that you still don't fully trust us. We don't think we could trust us very fast either.”

Then, their mismatched eyes found the courage to look up to Michael, trying to put their thoughts together. It didn't take long, Ennard's hands gently coming now to rest on the glass of the counter. “We're in a different body now—the old models, it... it was a compulsion to capture kids whether we wanted to or not. We most certainly didn't want to kill children.”

Ennard's line of sight almost looked sharp for a moment, as if Mike’s implication that they’d collectively transferred to a new body simply to kill more was going to set them off. However, Ennard had more self-control than that. The feeling faded as fast as it appeared, no more than a twitch across their face.

“Circus Baby may be gone, but we remember that day... What she felt when your sister came to play with her. She never wanted to perform again after that. It was why he put in those remote controlled shocks...,” Ennard explained, the trauma of speaking about such a thing making their face scrunch in a flinch at the memories.

Mike was waiting for the pin to drop. Watching Ennard with a hawk-eyed gaze, he searched for any sign of deceit in their manner or tone. They’d lied before, and they could do it again.

But, to Michael’s surprise… it honestly seemed like they were telling the truth. If their compulsion to do harm was tied to their physical form, it made sense that getting a new one would essentially eradicate the issue. And they really did sound regretful…

The guard chewed his bottom lip in deep contemplation. Then, slowly, he reached out a hand.

“…Alright,” he said in a strained voice. Never did he think he’d be having this conversation, let alone saying what he was about to. “Fine. I’m calling a truce—for now. You take it easy around new people until you get a handle on acting more human, and I’ll… try to work through some of my own stuff. Deal?”

Whatever Ennard felt for Michael, it certainly wasn't hate. Not long after they started inhabiting his body did they realize that they scooped the wrong man. Their disdain for the technician soon twisted; Michael felt comfortable and familiar to Ennard in a world full of things they didn't understand—but they understood him enough.

Ennard's expression softened, and they moved carefully not to scare the person they considered a friend. Their fingers wrapped gently around Mike's, shaking it as if the man would fall apart at their touch.

“I'll make myself scarce; don't worry,” Ennard said, deciding to try mimicking Michael's blinking pattern. Fourteen times a minute was what they could calculate in their head, and a genuine smile crossed their face. “Please, come by the Daycare whenever you want. Feel free to shout at me, too; I know it makes you happy.”

“What?” Michael quirked a confused eyebrow. “I don't yell at you because I enjoy it—I do it because you annoy the sh*t out of me!” He pulled his hand back—gently, he was going to try and be gentle—and used it to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“I meant what I said when I’d keep an eye on you for the immediate future,” Michael said after a moment, glancing down to make sure all the ice cream fixings were put away. “Besides, Mari basically lives at the Daycare too, so I have to stop by anyway.”

Walking around the counter, Michael gestured for Ennard to follow him. “Speaking of, I’ve got to take you there so I can get back to the office. If you want more food, ask Freddy to bring you a pizza or something—wait.”

Michael stopped in his tracks, a sudden thought occurring that made him glance side-long at the lanky android. “Does Sam know about this? And if so, has he met the new you? I don’t want him running into you and flipping his sh*t because he thinks another stranger got in…”

Touching their hands to their chest, bunching up their clothes in the process, Ennard claimed: “Sam helped put this all together! Oh, I can't wait for Sun, Moon, and Mari to see me. Their processors are going to explode when they see my... Glow up.”

Ennard shut their eyes, envisioning the praise they’d receive.

“…Of course Sam knows,” Michael muttered with a twinge of annoyance, abruptly starting forward again. He knew Ennard would follow, so he felt no need to check behind him for proof. He rolled his eyes at Ennard’s comment, then lapsed into silence as they moved swiftly to the Daycare. The lights were bright overhead as they entered, and Michael heard the faint jingling of bells.

“Sun? Mari? I’ve got a—”

Gift? Surprise?

“—a something for you!” Michael called from near the entrance to the slide.

“Ooh! What is it, what is it?!” Sun exclaimed, rushing to the edge of the ball pit. Mari was on his shoulders to see better, holding on tight as Sun wriggled excitedly. Spotting the tall figure trailing behind the guard, he let out a gasp. “New friend?!”

Ennard followed on Mike's heels, close but not close enough to touch him and acutely aware of when he stopped and turned. Once inside the Daycare, Mari came rolling out from underneath an arch of stacked cans, rushing to the attendant. She remained wary of the newcomer, sticking to Sun's side like glue as Mike introduced the something that just walked through those doors.

“Wrong!” Ennard shouted, arms open wide and giddy with the reveal of the surprise he had for them. “Old friend! It's us—it’s Ennard!”

“OH MY GOSH! You look incredible!” Mari shrieked, running full speed and slamming into them with such force they knocked out the wind Ennard wasn't aware that they had.

“Oh wow!” Sun cheered, bouncing excitedly while he waited for Mari to finish her greeting. Ennard was only released for a few seconds before Sun scooped them up in a bear hug and swung them like a doll.

“You’re so light, friend!” the Daycare attendant laughed, holding the android out by the shoulders to get a good look at them. “And look at you—amazing! Everything suits you so well… Do you love it?!”

Michael hung back near the door, a little smile on his face as he watched. It was clear that Mari and Sun loved Ennard despite their eccentricities, and Mike was just glad the former amalgamation had someone besides him to entertain them.

Ennard laughed; Sun's insistence on hugging left them in a vulnerable position. Now that they were free from the confines of their slowly deteriorating body, Sun was the strongest robot in the Daycare. Denying him his daily intake of affection was not an option—though Ennard always seemed happy to revel in it.

“I'm not light! You're just strong!” Ennard laughed out.

Mari excitedly downloaded this new face for her security profile. Waving to Michael, she bounced on over to quietly ask him: “You're okay with all of this? I know how you feel about them.”

She was mildly concerned for Michael's safety, as he and Charlie's conversations did not go unnoticed by the suppressed Puppet inside. She was well aware of the things that Ennard did. While there was hardly a chance of relapse now that Ennard finally had a body to truly call their own, it may not always be 100% safe to trust them...

“We made an arrangement—we’re both going to try and… chill out in our own respects,” Michael said cryptically. He reached forward to ruffle Mari’s curly hair.

“Mike!” Sun exclaimed, rushing over to him and dragging Ennard along by the hand. “Ennard says they’re staying in the Daycare—is that true?!”

“Yup.” Michael nodded. “I’m asking you guys a big favor: watch over them for me when I’m not here, okay? Especially Mari—I’m sure you’ll be a big help with the whole android thing.”

“Yaaaaaaay!” Sun cheered, releasing Ennard so he could clap his hands together. “You get to live with us now—it’ll be like a permanent slumber party! Ooh, I’m so excited!”

What Michael didn’t know was Ennard’s gradual, long-term plan. When they figured out how to blend into society better, they would eventually follow the new family home, perhaps taking up residence in the attic (provided they were in a house, of course). But for now, Ennard was more than happy to kick it in the Daycare with all his new friends.

“We can even help out on Monday when everything opens up again! But… just for moral support. We shouldn’t actually be seen yet…,” Ennard said, as a part of their little verbal agreement.

Mari jumped excitedly, tugging on Michael's sleeve. “You can count on us! I’m so good at watching things! And Ennard’s the most watchable thing I know.”

Whatever that meant. Perhaps Mari meant that she found the animatronic interesting to be around—which certainly wasn’t a lie. Despite Ennard’s smile, they tilted their head in a confused way.

“Thanks, Mari?” they said with a pleasant uncertainty.

“This is going to be so fun!” Sun exclaimed, reaching forward to give Michael a hug as well.

“Oof—yeah, yeah, glad to hear it,” Michael murmured, wiggling a bit until he was set back down. His eyes roamed over the trio once more before he gave a satisfied nod. “Okay, well, I've gotta go back to work—I told Ennard I'd come by later to check on you guys, though. Any problems, just wave at one of the cameras and I'll see you.”

“Will do, Michael!” Sun replied with a vigorous nod. “Try not to work too hard!”

“No promises.” The guard flashed a grin, then after a final lingering narrowed-eyed gaze turned to leave. “Be good, you three.”

“Best behavior,” Ennard murmured, echoing their promise from earlier with a strategic hand over their heart.

Left to their own devices, the Daycare staff buzzed to finally have a coherent conversation with Ennard. Sure, Ennard and Mari were stunted in their social norms, but luckily Sun was patient—an excellent teacher to help them find some semblance of normalcy.

Chapter 21

Chapter Text

After an uneventful walk back to the office, Michael found it somewhat alarming to find Charlie and Freddy inside waiting for him. Alone and without Gregory, Charlie was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed a worried expression on her face as she listened to their resident Papa Bear. Her pinpoint focus was distracted only when Michael’s familiar shape fell over the doorway.

“Speak of the devil,” Charlie remarked, interrupting Freddy’s quiet train of thought.

“Hey,” Michael greeted with a wave and a curious tilt of his head. “You gossiping about me behind my back? My office isn't exactly the best place to do that, y'know."

“Hello, Michael,” Freddy responded with a chuckle, expression softening at the appearance of the trustworthy night guard. “We were not talking about you specifically, although you are a relevant part of the conversation. We were discussing Gregory's future.”

“...Ah.” With a low exhale, Michael plopped into one of the swivel chairs. Just one thing after another tonight. At least this was far less stressful than trying to wrangle Ennard through the Pizzaplex.

Hopefully.

“Well, the kid's got a long future ahead of him,” Michael remarked, crossing one knee over the other. “Anything in particular you're fretting over right now?”

“For one,” Charlie said, her voice gentle as she didn't want to particularly stress out her family. Well—not overstress them. “His sleep schedule. The kid's eyebags have bags at this point... It’s just one more thing that could attract unnecessary attention.”

Numbering the items off on her fingers, she moved onto the next from her mental list. “His eyes glow now. You can kind of see it in the light, too, so… We should be prepared if more things change about him.” She grimaced. “Not just physical stuff, either.”

It was something she’d feared since the incident in the bathroom: if Gregory's mental state may begin to deteriorate just as William's had. She'd like to pretend that Gregory was strong—that he could fight and suppress any unhinged thoughts or urges. Michael had seemed to be alright in the end, if a bit more melancholy than she remembered... but those subjected to Remnant were so few and far between, they only had case studies to work from rather than standard bullet points of what to expect. It scared Charlie not knowing exactly what this Remnant serum was going to do to their little brother in the long run.

“...You guys noticed the eyes, too?” Michael asked.

“Yes.” Freddy nodded, unease returning to his features. “At first I thought it was just a trick of the light, but there is definitely something otherworldly about them. It does not bother us, of course, though it is certainly something to be wary of if we wish to reintegrate him into society someday.”

“Freddy... I think that kid is as far from 'reintegration' as one could get at this point,” Michael pointed out, and the ursine man had to concede with a sigh.

“I am aware. However, we can at least try and give his life some semblance of normalcy—as Charlie pointed out, his sleep schedule is a good place to start.” Freddy idly glanced at the cameras, catching sight of the Glamrocks yet again huddled together making plans. A faint smile ghosted over his lips. “On a side note, as much as I would love to provide him with a standard education, I simply do not think that will be in anyone's best interest. I have heard mention of 'online schooling', which I will look into. Tangentially, as far as his sleep schedule goes... until we figure out a few other aspects of all our lives, I believe he may be better suited to fully commit to a night-shift schedule.”

“Yeah?” Michael perked up at this. He'd been gearing up to accept only seeing his brother in passing, but if Freddy deemed the nightlife was Gregory's future, that would be fantastic.

“There is really no reason for him to be awake during the day—Charlie and I will soon be working come next week, so he will either be only with you or alone,” Freddy explained. “It is not safe for the children to roam during the dayshift, and since everyone except Sam and Gregory himself are robots or ghosts, we do not have to worry about sleeping nearly as much as he does. Therefore, I feel it would be more beneficial to his well-being to come here at night like we have been—at least for now.”

Charlie had agreed somewhat, though she was biting her lip in anxiety. She was clearly off-put by something but refrained from speaking of it until now so Freddy could get his thoughts out first.

“About the online school thing,” Charlie said, clearing her voice as she looked between the boys. “So, this is going to sound hypocritical and weird. Trust me, I know, but... We should try to encourage Gregory to make friends like him, and thatmight be a good way to do that."

He was already shaping up into an oddity, but what Charlie saw earlier that day had legitimately brewed worry in her, causing her to strike up this conversation with Freddy in the first place.

“I noticed he plays very roughly when he's with the twins. Cassidy, too. They can't feel pain so I’m not worried about their safety or anything, but... I just don't want Gregory getting the impression that hurting people is some kind of game. I don't know; maybe we can talk to him about being a little gentler?”

…What an awful time to be accidentally eavesdropping.

Gregory stood like a stone, back pressed firmly against the wall near the office door. He strained to hear everything they were saying with their hushed voices, and managed well. He almost wished he wasn't really hearing it though; it felt like he should just walk back to his friends and continue their hang-out session. But the way Charlie spoke about how he played made him feel like some sort of monster...

“...Ah. Right.” Freddy's face twisted in worry. “I am sorry, I got so caught up in the idea of trying to make things easy for him... but you are right. He must understand that he cannot interact with other children the way he does with those living in the Pizzaplex.”

He paused, chewing his lip in thought. “Perhaps we can shift his schedule so he does get a bit of interaction time with normal children, through whatever means we can. I will speak to him about roughhousing with the others.”

“I can try and talk to the kids, too,” Michael added, trying to help. “Or at least ask Henry to talk to them—not sure how well they'll listen to me.”

He gave a half-hearted laugh, though it only garnered a small smile from Freddy. Putting his feet flat on the ground, Michael leaned forward and grasped his hand. “Hey. It's gonna be okay, Freddy. We might not know exactly what that stuff's going to do to him down the line, but we can handle it. Alright?”

“I know,” Freddy nodded, squeezing the reassuring grip. “Of course I know we can. I just do not want Gregory to feel as though he is... not normal—not more than he already does.”

That cemented it. If he wasn’t a freak, they wouldn’t even having this conversation. Gregory needed to chill out. With no one to calm him down and run their fingers through his hair, it left only himself to do the job and attempt to self-soothe. Though it really didn’t feel right; maybe he was becoming too dependent?

They loved him now, he didn’t doubt that. But based on past experience, “love” generally came at a price. What would happen if his condition got worse? If it morphed into something they couldn’t deal with?

Inside the room, Charlie agreed with Freddy. “Yeah! Baby steps, you know? One day, Gregory’s going to want to be more independent. It’s our job to make sure he’ll be fine on his own when that time comes. But for now, we’re going to show him how much he means to us and be there as a family.”

It won’t be a long time from now, Charlie could see it. In four years, he’ll be able to drive. In six, he’ll legally be an adult. Soon enough, Gregory might not even need them anymore.

Charlie tried not to think this way. If they treated him well and raised him right, Gregory would always be their friend.

“Of course,” Freddy agreed immediately, frowning as an unfamiliar emotion burrowed itself in the base of his heart.

Charlie was right—Gregory was a child, and that meant that he was going to grow up someday. That had been their goal last weekend, after all—to keep him alive so he could have that opportunity. It was what they all wanted, and even though Gregory might not be “normal” anymore, he was still just a growing boy deep down. It was clear he cared for his surrogate family, of that Freddy had no doubt, and he loved the boy more than life itself.

So why did he feel a dull pang of hurt in his chest when he thought about the future?

It wasn't that far off—according to his records, children technically reached “adulthood” when they turned eighteen. That didn't necessarily mean they were all ready to set out in the world on their birthday, but it did for some. And Gregory was already such a resourceful, smart boy...

Freddy had literally given up his old life and body to take care of his son. Would there ever come a day when Gregory didn't... need him anymore?

“Fredbear? You okay?” Michael asked, watching the man have what appeared to be a major internal crises. Freddy had been staring at the ground for quite some time, looking utterly distraught. When Michael spoke he glanced up with a gasp, though he quickly composed himself.

“Yes, I am fine; my apologies,” the ursine man reassured.

No more thinking like that—we have many happy years together ahead of us.

Suddenly, a sound attracted Freddy's attention: the unmistakable squeak of sneaker against linoleum floor. His eyes flicked towards the open doorway, through which a tiny shadow could be seen ducking out of sight. “...Superstar? Are you out there?”

Wipe that sad look off your face now, Gregory thought to himself, pretending someone else was shouting at him to push down those emotions. You weren't about to see your dad and sister cry because of you. You were just walking over to ask for a few bucks for chips.

Gregory sure could play the part when he wanted to, poking his head around the corner and forcing an easygoing smile; he would pretend that he wasn't walking in on the most emotionally turbulent conversation he'd witnessed from his family.

“Heeey, can I get a few bucks for the vending machines? No one else had money on them.” Them meaning the dead friends his family seemed to suddenly have an issue with. “Surprisingly. Hahaha...” Gregory laughed at his own joke, throwing away the key to his feelings on this one.

The trio simply stared at Gregory for a moment, all of them looking very guilty. How much of that had he heard?

Soon, their gazes turned to each other. United in the face of not upsetting Gregory further, they telepathically agreed that Freddy would be the best one to handle this.

“I can get you a snack, Gregory,” he said in his gentle tone, pulling out a few bills from a back pocket that Sam had lent him earlier for this exact situation. Freddy didn't hand the money over though, instead holding it close to his chest with a questioning tilt of his head. “Do you mind if I come with you? I feel as though I have not seen you in a while, since you have been having so much fun with your friends!”

He gave a soft laugh, hoping the boy would agree to spend some much-appreciated alone time with his dad.

Gregory did tell the ghosts he'd be gone for a minute to catch up with Freddy and whoever else the bear may have been hanging out with. They shouldn't be expecting him back soon, but the kid couldn't help but think this might be a ploy for some lecture.

Gregory then thought that maybe he should trust his dad more, considering all they’d gone through together. Yet how could he when the things he was hearing behind closed doors was suspect?

The boy gave Freddy a pinched smile.

“'Course you can, Dad,” he said, attempting to be playful. Gregory hadn't heard a thing. “I was feeling one of those ready-to-eat taquitos by El Chip's?”

“Whatever you would like,” Freddy said amiably, pressing a gentle hand on Gregory's back to urge the boy forward. He sent a quick wave over his shoulder to Mike and Charlie, who gave him an encouraging thumbs-up when Gregory turned away.

The pair walked in silence for a short while. For once, the quiet was strained. They both knew that the other knew something was going on. Of course, it was Freddy who broke the peace, glancing down at his son while they strolled idly towards the main atrium.

“Gregory... I do not know how long you were standing out there, but I can guarantee you heard something of our discussion,” he remarked slowly, not wanting to push too much, too fast. Gregory had a tendency to shut down or turn his feelings inwards when pressured—it was something they were working on together, even if neither of them said it outright. Instead of being angry or upset at him for listening in, Freddy's gaze held only inquisitive concern. “May I ask what you were privy to?”

I'm a weirdo with no friends. I'm going to grow up and be a monster, and there's nothing anyone can do to help me. I'll be like my sh*tty foster dad. Or like William... Or WORSE.

Gregory appeared to gather his thoughts, when it was really just him trying his best not to shout the intrusive ones aloud. He didn't want to freak out his bear-dad. Gregory didn't even know if he had something to really worry about to begin with. When it came to his health, everything they mentioned seemed like a concern.

“I'm... different. Too different to have living people around,” Gregory said, not sugar-coating what he overheard. Gregory's arms came up to hug himself as he repeated what he interpreted from the chat he'd barged in on. He spoke with a powerful melancholy in his voice, like he already accepted that one day, he might wake up different or straight up dead altogether. “I might not live long as a real person, 'cause of that dumb purple stuff I was shot with...”

Freddy pursed his lips. He hated hearing Gregory talk like this—plus, some of his interpretations were just wrong.

“...Follow me,” Freddy said, leading the boy into an alcove nearby. Perching on a bench, he patted the open spot next to him. “Sit with me for a moment, superstar.”

As Gregory did as instructed, Freddy thought over how best to explain this. The last thing he wanted was for Gregory to feel unimportant or that he was a burden.

“First and foremost, please know that we were only talking about what is best for you,” Freddy reassured, grasping one of Gregory's hands in his own. “And I also want to assure you that I will never make major life decisions for you without consulting you first. Your siblings and I were simply discussing 'what ifs.' And speaking of—” His face melted into a kind smile. “—you are not too different to have living people around. That is not what we were saying. Yes, the Remnant altered your body in ways we do not fully understand yet—but that does not mean you are unable to be around others. It simply might be a bit of an adjustment interacting with 'typical' children due to your strength. That is all.”

Gregory was a little confused, so sure they’d been speaking as if he was too strange to be kept around less “specialized” kids. Not only was that the opposite of the truth, but they weren't planning on separating him from his old friends either. In that moment, it really hit Gregory just how much he may be overthinking things because of his former living arrangement...

“I... I think I get it now.” Gregory nodded his understanding to Freddy, his trembling hand clutched tight around his dad’s. Tears threatened to break as his lip wobbled while trying to work his way through his next question. “You promise you guys don't think I'm weird or that I'm going to turn into a monster?”

Freddy's face ran through a range of emotions in quick succession: confusion, understanding, regret, compassion.

“Oh my goodness... Gregory, you are not a monster,” he reassured, reaching over to scoop the boy into his lap and wrap him in an all-encompassing bear hug. “We love you so much and we would do anything to make sure you are safe and happy. No one thinks you are 'weird' or 'evil' or whatever other negative word you might come up with to describe yourself. And also—” He tightened his hold, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Gregory's head. “—you are going to live a long and prosperous life. If anything, you will live longer than expected due to the Remnant—so please do not speak of... of dying anytime soon.”

It was hard for Freddy to say the word aloud, as if that would somehow manifest the concept into existence.

Gregory relaxed against his dad quietly, time passing where it was merely him just trying to calm his breathing down. Freddy wouldn’t lie to him—in fact, he was almost certain that Freddy was incapable of leading him astray.

“I’ll be fine…,” Gregory said, speaking it out loud. He was fine physically, especially when he had his robotic guardian here to tell him that he was going to be a-okay. Even so Gregory didn’t know how to feel about the future. It was slowly approaching—soon he would be thirteen. While the changes in him had slowed down after the initial night he was injected, who knew what’d happen when teenage hormones were mixed with the chemicals flowing in his veins.

Still, Gregory had to let go of those fears for now if he was ever going to have hope.

“Thanks, Dad,” he murmured into Freddy’s soft sweater. “I feel a lot better…”

“Good; I know it is hard to talk about these things, but I am always here to listen,” Freddy let him know. “And I am sure anyone would lend you an ear, especially Charlie and Michael. They absolutely adore you, you know.”

For another moment they lapsed into silence, simply enjoying the company of family neither thought they’d ever have. Eventually, Gregory’s patience for sitting still was nearing its end, and Freddy smiled when he felt him start to wriggle.

“Alright—let us go on a little adventure,” he announced, shifting Gregory to his feet and grasping one of his hands. He shot the boy a look of playful chiding—

—not anger. Never anger when it came to Gregory’s curiosity.—

—and asked: “Now, were you actually hungry, or was just that an excuse?”

Most kids his age might be embarrassed at their parents trying to hold their hands. Gregory was just elated that he had one who cared enough to keep him at his side. Gregory wouldn’t ever complain about it; it showed him that Freddy cared.

“Oh yeah, I came up to ask for money for real,” Gregory insisted with an excitable nod. He was starving. “I have to get back to my friends right after. We’re playing Manhunt and they think I suck right now.”

Freddy chuckled, glad that Gregory was having fun with the others. Though it’d be good for him to make human friends as Charlie suggested, at least he’d always have the ghosts of the Pizzaplex to spend time with no matter what. As they climbed one of the powered-down escalators to reach El Chips, a flash of turquoise whipped out in front of them.

“Oh! Hello, Foxy!” Freddy called brightly. The animatronic had slipped out of Bonnie Bowl and was walking in their general direction. With a smile, Freddy waved him over. “I am sure you are busy getting the run of the place, but would you like a small break? I was just taking Gregory to get a snack—care to join us?”

Freddy knew the real reason the fox was rushing about, but he figured the party planning would be okay without him for a few minutes. Plus, Freddy had barely gotten to spend any time with his new-old friend without the Glamrocks, and was curious to know how he was coping with everything—especially with Michael’s influence ruminating in the back of his mind.

Foxy jumped, as if he was scampering about doing things he wasn’t supposed to. Which, technically, was true. Sun wasn't aware that Foxy plundered a lot of his candy or his Fizzy Faz supply. Though Foxy was sure that if he knew it was going as a contribution to Gregory’s party, Sun wouldn’t mind at all! Hiding the fat stack of soda and candy inside his chest compartment before turning on his peg, Foxy opened his arms wide with excitement.

“Absolutely! You’re both heading to Chip’s?” he asked, curious and trying to distract from the fact he was hiding something. If Foxy could get them to avoid walking through Music Man’s dance floor, the better. They didn’t need Gregory asking questions they simply couldn’t answer…

“We are,” Freddy replied with a nod. “Speaking of—here, superstar.” He pulled out a few bucks from his pocket and handed them over before sidling up to Foxy. He patted the pirate’s arm in a friendly gesture, grinning up at the animatronic brightly. “How are you adjusting to life at the Pizzaplex? I hope the others are not giving you too much trouble…”

Gregory was excited to see the familiar fox. While he knew that Michael no longer resided inside of the animatronic, Foxy had already proved himself to be a loyal friend. As the kid gave his leg a quick hug, Foxy carefully patted Gregory’s back while speaking to Freddy.

“Adjusting for certain! Been havin’ a few night terrors... Though Bonnie’s apparently been havin’ them, too,” Foxy replied with a casual and wholly unstressed shrug. “I think it’s my nerves! Having to perform on Monday and all—it’s going to be my first big gig!”

“Ah… I am sorry to hear that,” Freddy said empathetically. He felt a weird sense of guilt about the whole possession thing, especially the after-effects. Though he knew it wasn’t his fault in the slightest, Freddy’s intense involvement in the situation gave him an extra sense of responsibility towards those friends that were so greatly affected.

“Well, I am always here to talk if you need—but like you said, I am sure it is nerves,” the ursine man added calmly. Someday they’d tell Foxy what happened, but for now he could focus on his impending debut. Freddy patted the back of the pirate’s hook with a hearty laugh. “I know you will do fantastic, though!”

Talking about the band’s impending performance made him realize there was another factor he’d been meaning to discuss with Sam: what in the world were they going to do with his old model? They couldn’t just take Freddy Fazbear out of the line-up…

“It's fine—nothing more than my CPU keeping things interesting while I'm charging,” Foxy chalked it all up to be. Even if the deceptively smart robot had an inclination that the dreams really weren't normal, he was being coy about it.

Foxy walked beside his old friend, traveling with him as Gregory chose to run up ahead in search of his highly sought-after taquitos. He and Freddy moved at a leisurely pace, watching Gregory scamper in the distance.

“By the by, Fredbear...,” Foxy muttered quietly, lifting up his eyepatch to wink an unlit eye. “Make sure Gregory avoids the Dancefloor and DJ's place while we're setting up. We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.”

“I can’t wait to hear you play drums!” Gregory remarked, Foxy’s attention snapping to the child mirthfully. He didn’t realize how quick it took Gregory to get back with his snacks, already pocketing Freddy’s change for himself and unwrapping the hot and ready taquito.

“I am excited as well!” Freddy said, his little smile signaling he understood the pirate's warning perfectly. “We have not had a drummer in the Glamrock Band yet, so I am very curious as to how things will work out!”

Yes, technically “working things out” on stage would soon be Freddy's job. But according to his employee log he'd only been hired a few days ago, so he was slotted to be trained for a little bit before he was given full creative control—despite the fact that Sam knew the former lead singer of the band could put on a better show than all the previous stage managers combined.

Sam had sort of found the dream team he always needed for the new admins of the Pizzaplex. With Michael and Charlie there to help, along with Freddy still leading his band from behind the thick velvet curtains, he'd have a lot less to worry about. After all that seemingly went wrong in one weekend, he couldn't risk another major loss.

“We'll have tomorrow morning to practice and figure it out! To be honest, Bonnie's had his head wrapped up in recent activities,” Foxy said with a flick of his wrist. “So we haven't been able to practice much! Aside from that, we're still technically missing our front-man.”

All this didn't help Foxy's nervousness, but he was programmed to be the best drummer ever conceived for the Pizzaplex.

“Roxy let me play her keytar! The ol' wolf got jealous over how much better I am than her at it. Now I'm not even allowed to look at it,” he half-joked, and Gregory could've sworn he'd heard this same story before though with the name changed from Roxy to Lizzie. Gregory found himself laughing at Foxy like he would at his brother for antagonizing their siblings.

“Sounds like you deserve it!” Gregory pointed out, munching on his taquito.

“—Yeah, you've got a point,” Foxy conceded, following the family on their lazy hike through his new home.

Freddy chuckled at the anecdote, happy that Foxy seemed to be doing just fine with his new companions. Michael's influence was strong in his personality, and Freddy idly wondered if Foxy would be able to sense the connection before it was blatantly pointed out.

“Ah, speaking of your missing front-man—” Freddy began, his brow creasing ever so slightly. “—I should speak to Sam about what exactly we are going to do come Monday. I do not know if he will have another animatronic up and running by then...”

It was weird to call the lead singer “Freddy,” and the ursine man knew it'd be even weirder when the bear was functional again. Looking to Gregory, Freddy inquired: “Do you want to come with me, superstar? I have a feeling Sammy may enlist your help when it comes time for it—this will be a slightly different process than re-activating the rest of the Glamrocks.”

Gregory had balled up the paper wrapper that the taquito came in, aiming for a nearby trash can as they passed. “Sure; if Sam needs my help, I'm there.”

“I'll tag along, too; that way I can report to the others later,” Foxy said, using his claw to brush through the long mane of hair on his head. Freddy was always the leader—even if this iteration of Foxy was new, he knew this intrinsically. It brought him to a state of unease not knowing what they’d do if they didn't have someone up there singing. Certainly they wouldn't let such a thing happen on opening day—that would just be irresponsible on Sammy's part.

“Of course—the more the merrier!” Freddy replied cheerfully. Now satisfied they had a direction, he led the charge to Sam's office. The door was closed as usual, which either meant Sam was working on something inside or he was out.

“Sam?” Freddy asked, knocking a few times. “Do you have a moment? I would like to ask you about something work-related!”

“Door’s open,” Sam called. This time he sounded wide awake, wired even. As the small group peaked in, Sam was clearly in the middle of something, though he wasn't so engulfed that he was unable to greet them with more than a passing question tossed over his shoulder. “Everything alright, Freddy?”

Sam was bent over the small work desk stowed into the corner of the larger office space, tinkering on the inside of a virtual reality headset. It looked as if he’d gutted the thing and moved on to reintegrating it's components with new parts.

“Yes, everything is fine.” Freddy led the others inside, making sure the door was closed behind the trio. He eyed Sammy's back curiously, wondering what in the world he was thinking up now. “Since the re-debut is fast-approaching, we wanted to ask you about your plans for my old body? I am assuming he will be up and running at some point, though I know it will be a different effort to get him to that level since I am no longer available...” He paused, tilting his head. “...What are you working on, if I may ask?”

Sam let out a small sigh. He was once again reminded of their deadline, and the clock was unforgiving.

“Remember when I said I was going to get some sleep?” Sam answered them with a question, finally turning around to scan the group.

“Yes?” Foxy answered, vaguely remembering Sam having to retire to his office to get some shut-eye. His sleep schedule was just as messed up as poor Gregory's at this point.

“—Right, well, I didn't.” Sam shrugged, heaving the half-conceived invention in his hands. “This is a Virtual Reality headset; it’s from an old venture that never panned out. I thought that maybe by taking some of its adapter capabilities and retro fitting it into Freddy—not you Freddy, but old Freddy; your old body—maybe you could control the empty animatronic!”

He spoke in an excited manner, which melted back into frustration with how long it'd taken him to even get this far. He sacrificed a lot of time on it—too much, really.

Sam carefully put the headset down on the workbench, eyeing it with a frustrated huff. “It's taking longer than I expected, though. The goal was to let you control your old body from offstage... If I can't get it working decently by tomorrow afternoon, I'll have to resort to plan B.”

Gregory raised his eyebrows, worried as Sam seemed to sway a little on his feet. He knew the feeling of nearly falling asleep while standing up all too well. Gregory helped steady his friend, and Sam looked surprised for a split-second before Gregory asked him: “What's plan B?”

Sam gritted his teeth and looked away, maybe a little worried about bringing it up. “Well! Uh... It would be re-downloading Freddy's old, basic programming back into the model. The issue with that would be obvious: two Freddies.”

“Samuel... you are a genius,” the redhead breathed, looking over the headset with wide-eyed fascination. If he could still control his old body and perform on stage that would be amazing.

His bright grin fell ever-so-slightly when Sam mentioned he was nowhere near done though. The man was right—it was a great concept, but they needed to have something Freddy-related working by Monday or there might be a riot from the patrons.

Helping Gregory steady his hard-working creator, Freddy listened to the alternative. There was a pause in which everyone looked at the ursine man, clearly expecting him to speak on the matter first. It would be his body double wandering around, after all.

“It... would be a strange circ*mstance, that is for certain,” Freddy said after a moment, his words slow as he processed his thoughts aloud. “But... our AI is made to learn and adapt to the world around us. Each day we are powered on, the more distinct our personalities become.” He gave the room a soft smile, pressing a hand lightly over his heart. “I think I can safely attest that due to my extraordinary experiences, I am nothing like the bear I was when first given life.”

Would it be bizarre to interact with what was essentially a past version of himself? Absolutely—but Freddy thought he could get over it. However, he wasn't the only one that would be weirded out by the situation. Sparing a glance down at Gregory, he asked: “Would you be alright with another Freddy wandering around, superstar? Our base temperaments are the same, though he may be rather, ah... stilted in the ways of dealing with people until he gets some practice in. It may be a bit jarring to interact with him.”

Gregory didn't really know if he could answer that. With everyone staring at him and waiting for an answer, he turned inwards to think. How would that make him feel? Two people who were essentially the same, only one doesn't know who he is at all. The other is the same guy, but also Gregory’s dad?

“Uhhh...” Gregory gave up a shrug. It would be cheesy for him to say it in front of everyone, but to him there would only ever be one real Freddy Fazbear. “Whatever you have to do, I guess! I’m cool with it.”

Foxy crossed his arms and shook his head. “No way! There can't be two Freddy's running about doling out orders!”

Besides, there’d be less opportunity to sneak around. Word has it that Fredbear used to be a real stickler for the rules.

Sam would give Foxy a playful role of his eyes. “Yeah, but then there's another bear for your pirate crew.”

Foxy considered this, scratching his chin in thought. “Aye, maybe then... Maybe...”

Freddy's lips had pursed at Foxy's mini-rant, somehow knowing the underlying meaning was that he wouldn't be able to cause as much trouble. It's not like Freddy wasn't any fun, though—he just wanted to make sure everyone was safe while doing so. It wasn't his fault Sam had given him the strictest child-safety protocols besides the Daycare attendant...

When Gregory and Foxy had given their agreement, Freddy looked back to Sam with a nod. “Then that seems to be the solution we must go with—for now, at least.”

They could always try the VR thing once it was up and running, although who knew how long that would take Sam to finish up once the Pizzaplex was actually open for business. Sparing a glance at his phone, Freddy's eyes widened at the time.

“If we do this, Sammy, when were you planning to port over my old programming?” the redhead asked. “If possible, I would like to be there to assist.”

And to assure everything is alright, he left unspoken. If there was going to be another Freddy walking around, the original wanted to make sure it was up to his standards.

“At the latest, noon on Monday. That's about as long as I can keep any kids from seeing you—er, him,” Sam replied, glad to see Freddy and Gregory were mostly unfazed by such a drastic change. He was also curious to see how the two bears would end up getting along. “From there, we can see what needs to be worked on; make sure that there's nothing screwy going on with his motor functions or programming.”

After all, it would be a real problem if even a smidgeon of William’s twisted soul was still hiding somewhere in a character profile... Sam and Gregory did a deep, comprehensive wide-scale purge of the Pizzaplex's entire data system, and while the chances of the old f*ck hiding in there were very slim it didn't hurt to be careful.

“Hmm... alright,” Freddy mused, thinking of the timing of everything. “Perhaps we can port him over tomorrow night? That way you will not have to worry about such a big task during opening hours, even if the guest count is low. We may be able to get some of the other children to help test his interactions as well before letting him out on the floor come Monday morning!”

Some of the mild-tempered children, at least, like Evan and Hannah. Maybe Lizzie, if she begged to come along. Besides, Freddy would prefer he and Gregory have a little time to get used to his old-new counterpart before getting swept up in the hustle of entertaining kids and their demanding parents.

Seeing this place bustling again was what Sam wanted more than anything in the whole world. Foxy did in a way too, nervous the more that their afternoon shows went unpracticed for.

“The sooner he's awake the better,” the fox remarked, seeming just a little worried as he gently tussled the hair at the back of his head.

Without Freddy here all the time, the group barely wanted to get together and practice. While it was fun to slack off, playing video games and planning for parties, Foxy was aware that if they didn't run through the set list at least once before the real show they might eat it out there. Even if they were programmed to play perfectly, he’d yet to get a chance jamming with the band.

“You guys are gonna do great on your gig,” Gregory assured, reaching up to hold Foxy’s hand without a hint of the shyness he’d shown Monty and Bonnie.

“I sure hope you're right, bucko.” Foxy gave Gregory's hand a firm squeeze of appreciation, trying not to infect the others with his issues.

“Foxy—” Freddy began, one eyebrow quirked up to go along with the smile on his face. He'd had a similar thought to the pirate regarding the band's practice time, although he was a bit more confident they would do just fine. All the same, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a test run. “—you do realize that I can still perform as I am now, right? It will not be quite the same as having my old body on stage with you, but my voice is still intact—and I guarantee I have not forgotten any of the dance moves.”

They still had some time tonight; maybe he could corral his bandmates and run through a song or two, for old times' sake. It would almost be like a send-off, in a way—not that Freddy couldn't ever perform with them again, but someday they'd be programmed with new routines that he wasn't privy to unless he specially requested Sam upload them into his android brain as well.

Yes... running around the stage with his old friends was just what Freddy needed to work off the lingering melancholy from earlier.

“FREDDY! That's why you're the leader—why didn't I think of just asking you?” Foxy laughed to himself, slapping a hand over his eye as the patch flipped up of its own accord. Holding his arm out for Freddy to latch onto, he offered to lead him to the others. It was about time they all hung out together without the kids around, anyway!

“Hey—I gotta go back to playing Manhunt anyway,” Gregory announced, knowing Freddy liked to be aware of where he went. Hopefully his dad would be cool with him dipping out for a few hours to finish the game he’d started with the ghosts. “See you guys back at the stage in the morning?”

“Of course, superstar,” Freddy replied, crouching down and pull his son into a hug. He let the embrace linger a bit longer than usual, silently reminding Gregory that he loved him unconditionally no matter what happened in their futures. When he pulled back it was with a wink and a grin. “Feel free to bring your friends by the stage tonight if you would like to watch part of the performance.”

With this out of the way, Freddy slipped his arm into Foxy's. “Alright, let us go round up the others. Goodness knows where they have all wandered off to... But first—”Before he started for the door, he was sure to grab onto Sammy's hand, sounding not unlike Mike when Sam refused to settle down despite how absolutely exhausted he was. “—we are taking a detour to the Daycare so you can get another rest in. And no, that is not a suggestion. Let us go.”

“Ooooh, you're in trouble, Sam!” Gregory teased, goading them on as they parted ways and Sam was forced to keep up with his creation’s pace.

“Yeah, yeah—have fun, Gregory!” Sam bid, waving a hand dismissively and ultimately deciding to listen to Freddy. He was certain that no one looking at him assumed he had his eyes open; they were squinted so bad behind his glasses that anyone would have reasonable suspicion to ask whether or not he was sleepwalking.

By the time they got the Daycare, poor Sam was practically being held up by Freddy, most of his weight slumped into the former bear's side. It seemed like all his exhaustion had hit him at once on the way over, and Freddy was happy he'd forced the CEO to take a break. After dropping him off with a quick check-in with Mari and Ennard—who were practicing “human conversation” over a plastic tea party, Freddy figured the best place to start looking for the rest of the crew would be Rockstar Row.

“So, Foxy—” Now that Gregory was no longer around, Freddy was free to ask: “—how is the party planning, by the way? I regret that I cannot take a more active role, but I need to be available in case Gregory needs me to keep up appearances.”

Foxy knocked a hand against his chest plate, watching it open and revealing the large cache of snacks and beverages he'd been smuggling throughout the Pizzaplex for Gregory's party.

“We've nearly got all the supplies ready! But no sweat, Fazbear—” Foxy replied, closing himself back up to clap his friend's shoulder in a supportive manner. “That's the reason why we're doing it! Bonnie said you, Mikey, and Charlie are all busy with everything, and we happen to have the time! We are professional party animals, remember?”

It only came natural to want to throw a huge shindig the moment that they heard a child's birthday was taking place, especially one so important. Foxy peeked inside Roxy’s room to see her doing nothing that he considered particularly important. Roxy was putting her hair into curlers for the night, carefully and strategically rolling the very last plastic tube into place before taking her silk cap and stretching it over her scalp (she didn't need to do any of this, of course, but it made her happy). Foxy looked bored just by watching it, so he quickly hoofed it over to her door and kicked it in, making the wolf jump and shout at the intrusion. Apparently this wasn't the first time Foxy had done this; Roxy even looked to be half expecting it.

“Foxy, get OUT OF MY ROOM!” she shouted, standing up and wholly embarrassed as they saw her nightly beauty routine.

“Band practice is in fifteen minutes!” Foxy shouted back, ignoring the wolf coming at him threateningly with a curling iron. Roxy gasped, yellow eyes flicking to Freddy and widening at his nod of confirmation.

“I'll be ready in ten!” she yelled, pointing the iron at Foxy's nonplussed head. “Now leave so I can get ready!” She may have sounded mad, but Roxy was fighting down the urge to smile very badly.

Having lived with the Glamrocks for his entire existence until a week ago Freddy had seen it all before, though some of their little quirks never failed to amuse him. While Roxy pointlessly curled her always-perfect hair, Monty was busy sitting on the couch in his room practicing his solos. This wasn’t necessary either, as he was literally programmed to play perfectly every time unless there was a major malfunction. Still, it made the gator feel better about usurping Bonnie as the bassist if he at least pretended to try and improve.

“Huh?” The sick guitar licks came to a sudden halt at the knock on the gator’s door. “Door’s open—come on in! Fredbear!” After placing the bass reverently in its stand, Monty stomped forward to give the ursine man a big hug.

“Hi, Monty!” Freddy laughed, doing his best to pat the gator’s arms until he was released. “We are getting the band together in fifteen minutes for a practice session at the main stage.”

“Oh! Well I shouldn’t’ve put my bass down then,” Monty remarked with a raucous chuckle. He snatched up the instrument and hooked it over his shoulder before following Freddy into the hallway.

Catching sight of Chica through her half-open window, Monty knocked a claw against the glass to get her attention. When she turned to him with a curious squawk, he pointed to his guitar and mimed playing it, then jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the vague direction of the stage. Freddy watched the pantomiming with amusem*nt, wondering if Chica would have any idea what Monty was trying to tell her.

Chica herself had been doing jumping jacks. Exercising was… pointless. At least to her it was. No matter how much Chica ate, or how inactive she was, she would stay the same unless she was majorly junked up by some bad pizza. Still, Chica had to set a good example. Former versions of herself framed childhood binge eating as something to aspire to—and in turn, Glamrock Chica was given an interest in healthy habits despite her continued love for pizza.

Pulled away from her cardio, her eyes widened at what she was pretty sure Monty was asking of her. Ceasing her activities, she ran to grab her guitar. She’s been itching to jam with the band for a hot second. She held up her axe to make sure that was what Monty was actually asking for. Upon receiving an enthusiastic thumbs up, Chica’s smile brightened. With her guitar strap securely around her shoulders, she was the first to bolt out of the hallway, heading off to go tell Bonnie that they were putting on a show.

“Alright everyone!” Freddy said once they'd all gathered together, projecting his voice to be heard in the echoing atrium as he hopped on stage. The rest of the band lulled around in front where the crowd would stand, tuning instruments and chatting until Freddy made his appearance. Naturally, all eyes turned towards their stalwart leader.

“First, before we get to practicing I have an announcement to make,” Freddy said, grasping the wireless mic at the front of the stage and unhooking it from its stand. It felt both familiar and foreign in his hands—he’d been using a variation of this same mic forever, but it’d always been held in paws. Without a dragging cord, Freddy was able to pace the stage freely as he spoke.

“I am sure you all are wondering about the elephant in the room—or should I say bear.” There was a collective groan at the lame dad joke, though Freddy thought he heard a distinctive snicker from Bonnie and Foxy’s direction. “I spoke with Sammy about what we are going to do now that I am in this body. Unfortunately I cannot switch back and forth at will, so my old form will need something to keep it running to entertain the guests and put on shows with you all.

“We toyed with a potential idea where I would still be in control behind the scenes, but it is not quite ready yet. So… We have decided to upload the base coding of my original personality into the animatronic instead.” He paused a moment to let this sink in, awaiting the inevitable flood of questions.

Bonnie was the first one to respond. Perched atop a backless stool that he nearly fell off of with the news, the wide-eyed rabbit gasped at the idea of there being two of his best friends walking around.

“Wowee, Fredbear,” Bonnie exclaimed, all bushy-tailed and chipper. “That'll be neat!”

“I don't know, Bon-Bon,” Chica remarked, idly thumming the frets of her electric guitar. “It's sounds kinda confusing to me. Like… Two? How are we going to know which one's which?”

Roxy gave her friend an incredulous glance, holding in a laugh. “…Are you kidding me? One's going to look like a bear, and the other one is a human man, Chica!”

Freddy gave the group an easy smile, but when he opened his mouth to speak Monty chimed in.

“So... does that mean you're gonna be hangin' with us, or... not you?” The gator scratched his head, clearly in a similar boat to Chica.

“We will both be around,” Freddy tried to explain. “But as Roxy said, I—the Freddy you are familiar with—will retain this body, while the new one uses my old animatronic.”

“Huh...” Monty looked contemplative for a moment, the tip of his tail flicking ever so slightly from side to side. Then he shrugged, tapping an idle claw on the bass around his shoulders. “Alrighty then—as long as y'all don't team up to get on our cases, we'll be good!”

“If you do not cause trouble, we will not have to,” Freddy pointed out with a stern eyebrow raise.

Monty just huffed and looked away with a grumble to the effects of, “...still annoyin' as heck, that's for sure...”

“Aw heck, Montgomery.” Bonnie bumped the big gator's arm with his own, feeling that Freddy's tendencies to overthink and care about the wellbeing of his friends were a blessing in disguise. “Freddy's just a good pal! Making sure none of us get in trouble with the Boss, always keepin' us safe and up to code... In fact, where would we be if not for Freddy and the kids today?”

“Yeah!” Chica agreed, co*cking her head to the side as she remembered the times Freddy had personally helped her out. Too many pizzas and the cheese could easily gunk up a girl’s voice box controls... “Like what Gregory says: he's got total 'Dad Energy!’”

Roxy and Foxy were a little smarter than to put in their two cents. Yes, they loved Freddy dearly, but those two always thought they could handle themselves regardless of whether or not Freddy was present. Still, it was obvious to everyone how much they always wanted Fredbear around!

“Alright, alright!” Monty held up his claws with a laugh. “I'm not sayin' it's a bad thing to have two Fredbears—'course I love him just as much as y'all, even if they're both lecturin' me in stereo!”

“Thank you, everyone,” Freddy chuckled once the commotion had died down. He had one hand pressed over his heart and a big smile on his face. He knew they all cared for him, but it was still nice to hear aloud. “I just wanted to let you know what would be happening so you are not confused when the bear starts wandering around and I am not in it.”

A tiny crease formed in his brow. “We will need to upload a base personality that had not been exposed to guests so it may take a bit of adjustment, which I am hoping Gregory can help with—and you all, of course. I am trusting you to show new Freddy the ropes!”

“Oooh man! Freddy's not going to know what's even going on! It'll be like when we first got activated...” Roxy reminisced, back when things were just a little more simple: few stores and places to eat, with one big stage to perform on. Now things were so hectic. They were local celebrities with a legion of fans now dedicated to them. “Hope we don't overwhelm the guy.”

Foxy gave an exaggerated shrug. “Doubt it; Freddy will know exactly what to do! It'll just take a second for him to get to know you all again. Just like me, remember?”

Only a few days ago did Foxy really “wake up,” yet he felt like he'd been here for a long time already. Accepted so instantaneously by his peers, Foxy was sure that new Freddy would fit in just fine.

Bonnie leaned back, paws behind his head as he thought aloud to himself. “I hope he likes bowlin'...”

“I am sure he will, Bon,” Freddy said with a bright smile. He clapped his hands together, wary of the mic still in his grip that he now spoke into. “Now, onto the real reason I gathered you here—just because my old model is currently deactivated does not mean I cannot practice with you!”

“Aw, heck yeah!” Monty exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. “I've been itchin' to perform again!” He jumped to his feet, grabbing the closest robot and tugging them forward—which in this case happened to be Roxy. “No time to waste—let's goooo!”

“Bonnie, would you mind activating the sound booth?” Freddy asked as everyone took their places. While the rabbit might not be back in the lineup yet, he could still help them out in so many ways. Freddy looked down at his old friend with a preemptively thankful grin. “Pick whatever showtime set catches your fancy, and we will work from that lineup!”

“It'd be my honor!” Bonnie hopped up quickly from his seat, doing a little half jog to make his way off the stage—but not before smacking Foxy's good arm as he passed. “Break a leg out there, Foxy!”

“Too late, bunny-boy,” Foxy pointed out, sticking out his peg leg as he began to unscrew the hook attachment on his arm. He was quick to replace it with another tool: an attachable drum stick that made it a little bit handier as a drummer. That way he didn't have to sacrifice skill for speed while keeping the beat.

Bonnie threw back his head in laughter as he climbed towards the top of the sound stage, readying the lights and the fog machine to give it the appearance of a real show. Speaking into the microphone, he directed his friends. “Alright y'all—everyone's instruments tuned?”

Chica gave her guitar a quick strum before finding the right power chord for her amp, then sent Bonnie a thumbs up to the sound booth above. There was a test of the mic, and Foxy experimentally smacking the electric drums at the very back of the stage while Roxy warmed up her finger joints over the keys of her synth. Then, the sound of live music finally filled the long empty halls of the Pizzaplex...

It was a wonderful feeling to sing on stage again. Wonderful... and bittersweet. Freddy knew he could always have late-night performances like this with his friends, but it'd never be the same as before.

He wasn't the same as before. And while he'd certainly improved for the better, this truly felt like the final step in accepting that his life as Freddy Fazbear, official mascot of the Mega Pizzaplex, had come to a close.

But hey—he'd gained a family out of this whole adventure. And really, that's all he'd ever wanted.

Chapter 22

Chapter Text

Michael perked up when he heard the music, turning into the camera feed of the main stage just in time to see Freddy grab the mic with an ostentatious twirl. He might look human now, but he still had the programmed moves of his ursine counterpart. The guard smiled, elbows on the desk and resting his chin on the back of his hands. It was like watching a TV show, only he knew all the performers on a personal basis. He made sure to check the other feeds, mainly the Daycare to keep an eye on Ennard and co., but tonight all seemed quiet except for the performance filling the place with life.

***

Gregory had stopped his search for a moment. In the corridors he swore he could hear them now—the Glamrocks were playing! It was a cover of a song from the 80s, his only exposure to the scene being through the set list itself, as well as Mike and Charlie’s recent influence. If he didn’t hurry, he and his friends might miss the chance for a private show, plus the debut of Foxy, the Pirate Drummer.

Looking inside a trashcan, Gregory found nothing. Did everyone just up and disappear?! He knew they did that as ghosts, but this was getting silly for how long he’d been searching. It almost made Gregory paranoid as he looked for everyone. What if they were waiting to scare him?

A shiver of fear briefly ran down his spine. He wasn’t afraid of Evan and Hannah, but everyone else had a love of tormenting their once-skittish friend. Especially Cassidy…

Humming along to the music, Gregory sung lyrics he happened to remember sporadically while searching high and low for his buddies before calling out through the empty atrium. “COME ON! I need a hint, guys!”

Evan was peering down at Gregory from a hanging light fixture. Lying flat against the top surface, it was near-impossible to see him against the harsh glare unless one looked really close. He'd watched his brother pass back and forth underneath him a few times, and when Gregory finally called out in frustration Evan decided to end some of his torment.

“Look up...,” his soft voice called as Evan peered down with a grin; the only things visible were his face and his fingertips where they gripped the edge of the light.

Just hearing that meek tone that seemed to echo miles above Gregory’s head made the boy jump slightly, the hairs on his neck and the back of his arms standing to attention as he quickly glanced upwards. Upon seeing the top of his brother’s head, Gregory began to laugh. These guys weren’t playing fair in the slightest.

“Dude, how would I even see you up there?! I can’t fly!” he chuckled, stretching his arms up and out to exacerbate how impossible it was for him to reach. “So not fair…”

“Soooorry,” Evan replied as he floated down with a bright grin. Looking idly around the room, Evan tried to remember the directions he’d seen the others run off in. “I think everyone’s still around here. They might be hiding in a closest… I dunno exactly where though.” His gaze drifted towards the direction of the main stage where the upbeat music could he heard. “Hey… is the band playing right now?!”

“That’s why I’m trying to find everyone! The band’s practicing,” Gregory said, opening a nearby closet at Evan’s suggestion to find nothing notable. Cleaning supplies and buckets, but no ghosts. Gregory narrowed his eyes, vision raking the darkness as he shut the closet and started for the storage room besides it.

“Of course everyone’s spread out,” he sighed, hoping they could find all their friends before practice was over. The sound of Gregory’s footsteps and the door swinging open echoed in shelf covered room. This must be where they keep all of the seasonal merchandise—plushies and thematic items like water bottles and shirts lined the racks.

“Ooh, I really want to see the band!” Evan continued scanning the area with a bright smile. “Let’s split up... I might be able to track down some of the others faster.”

Not that Gregory wasn't a good seeker in his own right—it's just that everyone but Liz currently had supernatural abilities that allowed them to fly and disappear at will. Evan just happened to find a tough place for Gregory to see, but he made sure his brother could technically find him if he looked hard enough. The others, though... they were probably playing dirty.

***

Up in the second floor of the vast mall, Lizzie and Cassidy were messing around in Roxy's Salon. With Elizabeth sat in a chair, Cassidy had gone through the trouble of altering her friends hair to Liz’s specifications: two pigtails with a bow decorating each one, then teasing out the ends for her.

Evan and Gregory found the twins, but having no luck on ground level for any of the girls, on a hunch the ghost rushed to the salon to find two of them in the middle of Liz's transformation. Popping up behind his sister, Evan put his hands on her shoulders and leaned into whisper in her ear.

“Boo!” He giggled when Liz jumped, then quickly backed up before he could face the wrath of her or Cassidy. “Hey, how come Hannah and I are the only ones actually playing?! Cain and Quinn gave up in the arcade and you guys are... getting makeovers?”

Cassidy knew they were going to face the ire of those still playing the game. With Evan stepping up and playfully challenging them for their shared decision to leave, she laughed heartily.

“You guys stayed to play?! Gregory was gone for-like-EVER!” Turning the salon chair around for Liz to escape, Cassidy leaned on it as she looked to Evan. “We got bored. Plus we’ve had the same look for like… 40 years now. We thought ‘why the hell not?’”

Cassidy found changing her hair permanently was impossible, but she had better luck experimenting with cosmetics. Though she found that going incorporeal phased the make up right off her face again, she batted her now heavy looking eyelashes at Evan while speaking. Elizabeth, meanwhile, was joyfully enamored with the volume of her hair. She played with it in the mirror until it sat just right, then hopped up from the salon chair.

“What do you think? If you say we look like clowns, I’m hitting you,” Lizzie warned in a cheery tone.

Evan opened his mouth to speak before closing it rapidly, pretending like Liz took the words right out of his mouth. In reality, he couldn't care less whether they caked on pounds of makeup or not. To Evan, they'd always be his older sister and dear friend no matter how uncannily doll-like they appeared.

“You look... cool, I guess,” he said with a noncommittal shrug. Honestly, he was surprised Cassidy could open her eyes with the amount of mascara coating her lashes... though he smartly kept that comment to himself.

“Anyway—” Evan perked up, grabbing Lizzie's hand and trying to drag her off the chair. There was a notable air of excitement in his voice now. “—I came to get you because we're all meeting up to watch the band practice! Everyone else is probably already at the stage by now, so let's go!”

“Oh my god! What are we waiting for?!” Cassidy gasped, leaning over to pull Liz away from her ministrations in the mirror. With a hard yank, Liz was lifted in the air, held underneath her arms as Cassidy floated her friend to get there as fast as possible.

While Elizabeth wasn’t a fan of floating at all, she figured that she owed Cassidy for doing her hair so nicely—they certainly looked concert-ready.

***

Hannah had been located hiding out in the backrooms, squeezed into a locker. Mention of the live show pulled her from her spot and she rushed to the stage with Gregory at her heels. Joining Cain and Quin in the front row, Gregory snickered at how the twins immediately began dancing as if no one was watching.

“Jesus, it’s a two man mosh-pit,” Gregory remarked, seeing how little Cain and Quinn cared. Though when he came closer, the twins pulled him into their little group to dance violently with them.

Evan decided to help his sister by carrying her legs, and with the combined effort of him and Cassidy they made it to the stage in no time. As they set Lizzie down next to Hannah—who was giggling at the boys' frantic dancing—the current song ended with one final, righteous chord.

“Well, well—hello, everyone!” Freddy said, clutching his microphone as he centered himself on stage. His smile was as inexhaustible as his energy—thank god for robotic bodies, for he'd be sweating up a storm if he was human. However, his face remained clear of anything save for his bright expression.

“It seems we have gathered a little crowd tonight for our impromptu performance!” Sparing a glance over his shoulder, he looked to the Glamrocks with his enthusiastic grin. “I think that means we must give our special guests a show they will never forget!”

Bonnie was moving on queue in the sound-booth, centering the stage lights and bringing the colored filters down. At Freddy’s mention of a special performance, Foxy smacked his symbols to rile up the crowd. Cassidy leaned over and shook Hannah by the shoulders, needing something to reflect her excitement off of.

“FOXY’S ON DRUMS!” she gushed. It might be a surprise to many, but Cassidy was once a super-fan of Freddy Fazbear Entertainment. Only after her horrific murder did she begin her smear campaign.

Who could blame her, though?

Recently Cassidy had been a little more optimistic, her mood changing with the freedom from oppression her soul finally felt. Her murderer was gone—body and digital copy of his soul. Cassidy could feel content to enjoy the characters once more.

With Roxy and Foxy leading with a beat and an intro on the keys, the Glamrocks got back into the song line up. For the others, finally getting to see the show that they were robbed of the night they had disappeared had been fulfilling. Cain and Quinn had only stopped dancing briefly, yet Gregory had already worked up a sweat from moshing with the brothers. Despite barely being able to compete with the ghost’s endurance, Gregory kept moving to keep up. The drawbacks to being human still, he supposed—but he supposed he couldn't totally complain.

***

Michael couldn't help himself. With such a rousing performance gracing the Pizzaplex, there was no way he was going to sit in this stuffy office and watch from a tiny monitor. Besides, he needed to do some rounds anyway. This was a performance he didn't think anyone should miss, if they could help it.

First, he stopped by the Daycare. The play area was lit up but Sun was nowhere to be found, meaning that Moon was still watching over a slumbering Sam in the theater. However, as Michael waltzed straight through the wooden doors he saw a few others seated around the little table, partaking in the “tea party” from earlier.

“Oh wow, I didn't get an invite?” Michael griped with a playful roll of his eyes. Charlie had joined in on the fun now, seated between Mari and Ennard—whose disconcerting eyes were tracking Michael intently, of course. “Thanks a lot, guys...”

With Mari distracted by the lecture that Charlie had been in the middle of, Ennard was the first to perk up at Mike’s entrance. Only when Ennard straightened and scooted over at the tiny table, silently inviting Michael to come and sit with them did Mari start bouncing in her seat.

“Hey, Mikey! Are you here to help Charlie?” she asked.

“We're learning how to be human! It’s a lot to take in, if we're honest,” Ennard admitted, though there were noticeable changes in them already. Their speech was less stilted, as though all the personalities in their head finally agreed on who the speaker should be with only one voice box to use.

Either that, or Charlie had made significant progress with her lessons. She put a hand on Ennard’s shoulder and squeezed. Although she wasn’t a huge fan of Ennard, she figured working with them was better than working against the former clown.

“But you’re doing really well,” she encouraged, “The both of you are! Come and sit with us, Mike.”

Mari had already been making strides towards blending in with humans, but Michael was admittedly surprised at how much Ennard seemed to have taken in already. They were still unnerving, of course—though Michael had a feeling their fixed, near-unbroken gaze would stay on him forever. But they did sound a little better...

“Maybe later; I actually came to get you guys,” the guard went on, rolling his eyes at how the lanky android perked up even more. “Yes, that includes you, Ennard. The band’s practicing and I figured you’d all want to see! The kids already formed a mini-mosh pit by the stage.” He spared a glance towards the Daycare theater. “Think Sam would want to come, or should we let him live in dreamland a little longer?”

Mari slammed her palms down to the table, rattling their tea cups and the soda they used for tea. “I’m there! I’ll go get Moon!”

She didn’t wait for an answer. Being quite a fan of music, she jumped up and ran across the tiny table just to leap off it in search of her other friend.

“Everyone’s at a concert? That sounds like fun—I’ve never been to a concert before!” Ennard remarked, standing now and offering Charlie a hand.

When she took the assistance, she gave Ennard’s palm a squeeze. “Oh, it’s fun! You’ll enjoy it for sure.”

Sometimes Charlie felt a little held hostage by Ennard’s affection, though was empathetic towards them as they laced their fingers between hers. Since merging with their friends, Ennard had been very lonely. The more they interacted with everyone, the more acclimated Charlie could see them getting.

“Yeah! Go wake Sammy. I bet he’d love to mosh,” Charlie laughed with Mike, remembering Sammy’s love for concerts well. It was apparent in the theme of the Pizzaplex after all.

“On it—Mari, wait up!” Michael called with a laugh, rushing after the little android as she made a mad dash for the theater. It didn’t take long for them to find Sam snoring away in a fluffy pile of blankets and pillows. Moon was lingering nearby, his red eyes glowing bright in the darkness. By the time Michael reached the group Moon was already nodding enthusiastically at his friend’s request.

“Oh, yes, of course we’d love to see the band play!” the Daycare attendant was replying with a bit of wistfulness in his tone. “I can’t remember the last time we saw a live performance on stage…”

“I’ll wake up Sam, if you want to bring out Sun and meet us by the Daycare entrance,” Michael suggested. “Not that we don’t want to hang out, Moon, but I think it’s too bright for you…”

“It usually is; I don’t mind, ehehe.” Taking Mari’s hand, he led her towards the exit. “See you two in a minute!”

“Sam? Hey, buddy, we’ve got something cool to show you!” Michael said softly as the pair exited, gently judging his old friend’s shoulder. “We’re taking you to see the band up and running!”

Sam was in his perfect little dream world. Charlie found it strange, whenever he wasn't awake that her brother seemed just a little more youthful. The stress of life and everyday business would put lines in his waking face, but this looked more like the young punk that used to hang around her living room, terrorizing her along with Michael... She would gently nudge him along with her friend, getting him to finally sit up and open his eyes.

“Huh? The band's really practicing right now…?” Sam asked, sounding out of it. It made him feel leagues better knowing that they were all still getting along after their reprogramming. “I just need a second to wake up...”

“Charlie?” Michael raised an eyebrow towards his friend, and as one they grabbed Sam under each arm and hoisted him to his feet. After letting him get his bearings, Michael was sure to keep a tight hold on him as they led him out into the Daycare proper.

It’d been so long since the Marionette heard the bands at Freddy's play. Just the thought of standing there, a part of the crowd and not as a separate fixture brought her butterflies. Ennard struggled to keep up with the small android, her energy outmatching their relaxed pace and causing them to bend in an effort to stay attached to her hand.

Michael couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Mari tugging her two much taller companions along as if they were nothing but air. Ennard was doing pretty well in the new body, all things considered. By the time they reached the stage Sam had been let go, as he'd found the energy to move by himself. The kids were still in an excited huddle, though there seemed to be less moshing going on in favor of just... jumping up and down from sheer joy.

“More guests!” Freddy announced as the group approached. The band was taking a second to reset, making sure all instruments were still in tune and lining up the next batch of songs in their heads. They'd already finished one set, though due to an uproarious cheer for an encore decided to go through a whole second performance just for their special party. At the sight of a very unexpected friend heading towards them, Freddy let out a little gasp and waved. “Sun! Oh, I am so glad you could join us!”

“Me too!” the lanky animatronic responded, practically trembling with excitement. The last time he'd been out of the Daycare for good reasons had been quite a while ago, so this was quite a treat. Usually he was simply too busy during the day to even fathom stepping away, and at night there wasn't much happening to warrant him leaving the comfort of his little rainbow palace. However, with all the new friends he'd made Sun had a feeling he'd be doing a lot more exploring nowadays.

Since those strange malfunctions had been taken care of, Sam would be more than happy to allow Sun a little bit of leeway with where he spent his time while the Daycare was closed. After all, even artificial intelligence needed socialization and new perspectives.

During the brief break, Chica strummed and plucked at her strings quickly to show off for the newbies in the crowd.

“Now it's really a concert!” Roxy exclaimed, her voice picking up on Freddy's microphone while everyone convened. In the crowd, Gregory found Michael and gave his brother a light shove to get his attention.

“Hey!” Gregory huffed, a little sweaty from all his dancing, truly looking the part of an exhausted concert hooligan. “Do you know how to mosh?”

Charlie answered for Michael out of sheer shock. “Do you know who you're talking to? I've never seen another dude take so many flying elbows in the concert pits.”

She laughed, Samuel joining in on the shared memory of the sketchy music festivals that used to travel throughout Utah back in the days.

“Give me a little credit, kid!” Michael griped in mock offense, sidling his way to the front. When he found the perfect place he cupped his hands around his mouth and stared up at the stage, transported back to the happy days when he’d heckle the band for the hell of it.

“Please tell me you’ve got some more 80s classics in that lineup!” he called, and when Freddy turned his gaze upon him it felt like he truly saw the boy Michael used to be. Fresh-faced and eager, Mike would be at the front of the crowd with his best friends, jamming out to rock songs without a care in the world.

“Of course!” Freddy replied, and Michael’s responding smile could rival the sun. Glancing up to the sound booth, Freddy gave their temporary DJ a tentative thumbs-up. “Bonnie, are we ready to go?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Pizzaplex is proud to present…” All the way up in the sound booth, Bonnie leaned into a microphone and led up the suspense. Then he brought down the house lights to focus on the stage, queueing Freddy and the band. “The Glamrocks!”

It was easy to get all the kids riled up—even Charlie and Sam seemed ripe with excitable energy as they crowded around the front with the kids. Thus ensued the best concert that Charlie had ever seen at a Fazbear venue. The lineup were classics, songs that Charlie forgot she’d obsessed over back in the day, now here to be stuck in Gregory’s head for weeks at a time—just the way his adoptive siblings suffered after shows.

Tonight served to be Gregory’s first real concert, and he’d been glad to spend time with all the friends he made so far. Besides, how many people could brag that their dad was in a popular band?

***

Freddy didn’t want this show to end. But, as he was far too familiar with, all good things eventually came to a close. Much too soon the band was striking the final cord, and Freddy slid to the front of the stage on his knees like the rockstar he was meant to be, mic held high over his head as he belted out the last note of their epic performance. As his vocals faded, the stage lights were shut off briefly. Backed by the rousing cheer of the crowd, Freddy stood and ushered his bandmates—his wonderful, wonderful friends—to the front of the stage with him. When the lights came back on they were poised to take their bow.

“Thank you for coming out tonight!” Freddy yelled to the crowd, smiling so wide it hurt. “And, from the bottom of my heart—” His gaze drifted over the crowd to settle on Gregory, Michael, Charlie, and Sam in turn. “—thank you for everything!”

With the most dramatic of flairs, Bonnie directed the softer beams of light to the family in front. They illuminated Charlie, who’d been holding a tired Gregory up. The kid battling to enjoy the last of his dad’s show raised his fist in solidarity as Charlie jostled him by jumping at Freddy’s thanks. With Michael and Sam beside her still completely jazzed from the concert, the ghost kids from the crowd roared into applause. There was a few excitable strums from Chica, Foxy hitting his symbols as his ego inflated from the wild screaming coming from their small audience.

“You’ve been a great crowd!” Roxy shouted before Bonnie turned down the stage lights, now lifting the house ones again.

Ennard’s first concert was spent hanging around Evan and most of the kids. Surprisingly enough, Elizabeth was compliant to their presence today—though they wouldn’t want to overstay their welcome and ruin the vibe that was going on. Near the back of the crowd, it was easy for Ennard to rejoin Mari and Sun as soon as the lights flicked back on.

“That was a doozy of a show, Fredbear! You still got it!” Bonnie called with a surprised laugh from the sound booth before beginning his descent back down to the stage.

“Thank you, Bon!” Freddy called with a grateful wave, hopping off stage with the others. Feeling an exhilaration he didn’t know was possible, he made a beeline straight for his family and immediately scooped Gregory into his arms. Still wearing an inexhaustible grin, Freddy murmured in his tired son’s ear: “What did you think, superstar?!”

Gregory perked up like a freshly watered flower once Freddy got ahold of him. With arms squeezed tight around his dad’s shoulders, he exclaimed: “You’re amazing!”

Once again, Freddy proved exactly why he was Gregory’s favorite character out of the Glamrocks. Was it possible to be starstruck by family? Gregory wasn’t sure, but if so that’s definitely what he was feeling. To get rid of the irrational butterflies, he joked: “Could I get your autograph, Mister Fazbear?”

While the other kids were enamored with the Glamrocks, Evan had his eye on a different set of robots. Michael saw his brother start moving towards the trio hanging back, and after giving Freddy’s shoulder a firm squeeze and reiterating how amazing the band was, Michael trailed after him.

“I’m glad Mikey grabbed you guys in time!” the little ghost said brightly, grabbing one of Mari’s and Ennard’s hands without hesitation. Now that Ennard looked more presentable, Evan had no fear expressing his favor of the robot’s company. Lightly swinging their arms, Evan remarked: “That was like… the coolest show ever!”

Evan having sought out both Ennard and Mari brought huge grins to their faces. While Mari’s wild hair suggested she was head-banging nearly the whole show, Ennard still looked fairly pristine. They gently squeezed Evan’s hand and agreed: “I’ve never seen a show quite like it! Even Funtime Foxy couldn’t compete…”

“I kinda wish I’d been able to see one of your old shows,” Evan admitted, and he meant it—aside from the whole “potential for children to get captured after the performance” thing, of course. Keeping this in the back of his mind, Evan tugged Ennard more insistently to keep their attention. “But you look awesome now! And I bet you could still perform if you wanted to.”

“You’ve still got the programming in there,” Michael remarked with a shrug. Admittedly, he already felt much better letting Ennard interact with people in this new form. “Who knows, maybe Sam can find you a little stage and you could… do magic tricks or something.”

He was trying, at least. They had to give him credit for that.

“Ooh, yeah!” Evan agreed, jumping on the idea. “And Mari can be your assistant!”

Ennard cast the optimistic ghosts a sideways grin. In this new body, they were becoming more confident again. As a whole, finally, the amalgamation felt like they came to an agreement.

“A magician? Me?” They laughed scratching the back of their head at Sun’s compliment. “I guess I can do a lot of things I couldn’t before, huh?”

The possibilities of this new lease on life seemed endless now. With their terrible creator gone, things were looking so much brighter. But then they caught something from the corner of their eye: the familiar shade of Elizabeth looming just far enough away. She didn’t look quite ready to join them with Ennard around.

She couldn’t be angry with them; not right now. She could tell Ennard and her brothers were having fun without her. Defeated, Lizzie turned from the group and pretended to be interested in the way the band packed up the equipment on the stage.

“Deal—” Mari agreed with a peal of bell-like laughter at the thought of being Ennard’s assistant. “—just promise not to really saw me in half! Okay?”

“Oh, they won’t,” Michael both assured and warned with narrowed eyes.

While Michael bonded with his sibling and friends, Monty had noticed Liz meandering over to his side of the stage. Slinging his guitar off for a moment, he crouched down to her level with a wide grin.

“Hey, lil’ lady!” he greeted, tail swaying across the floor with the aftershocks of their enthusiastic performance. “Sooo what’d you think?! Best show you’ve ever seen, right?”

Across the floor, Freddy was finalizing plans with Sam and the others.

“So Gregory and I will stop by your office first thing tomorrow night so we can port over my old profile,” he reiterated to make sure everyone was on the same page. “That way, Freddy can have as much time as possible for a ‘test run…' Does that work for you, superstar?” He glanced down at his son still held loosely in his arms. “You can play with your friends the rest of the night after we complete this task.”

“I'd appreciate it if Freddy 2.0 could run a rudimentary scan on Gregory, too,” Sam interjected. “Just to make sure all his systems are working fine! He’s been offline for a while, after all.”

Sam glanced to Gregory, looking for the okay from the young ward of the Pizzaplex. The boy shrugged, knowing he’d already be helping with the data transfer. It wouldn’t be any trouble to hang around new Freddy and make sure all his child safety features worked.

“That’s fine with me, Sammy,” he confirmed. Then, a bit more shyly, Gregory asked: “So… The Pizzaplex is going to be full of people again soon?”

Sam looked a little surprised. Reading Gregory’s expression made him think the kid was hoping to have the place all to himself for a little while longer. If only Sam could do that for him. But there were bills to pay, parties to throw… Sam couldn’t hold off on his investments anymore.

“Of course. The show has to go on, doesn’t it?” he replied with a gentle understanding. “You still get unlimited access, Gregory. But think of all the friends you’ll make here!”

“Friends can be made at your own pace,” Freddy reassured, seeing the anxiety wash over Gregory’s face like a wave. “But I must admit, it will be wonderful to have the Pizzaplex back in action.”

It’d been far too long since Freddy was able to enjoy his “job” without worrying what was going to happen to his friends when 12 am hit. And with Bonnie back in commission now, as well as the addition of everyone’s favorite pirate fox, the reopening was sure to be a roaring success.

“Hey guys,” Michael said as he stepped over to his little family unit. With a smile, he slung his arms around Charlie and Sammy’s shoulders. “You plotting stuff without me again?”

“Dang, just when we thought that we got rid of you,” Sam remarked with a roll of his eyes, the remnants of his sarcastic teenage self-shining through as he ran off the nostalgic high.

Charlie laughed at her brother's joke, resting her head against Mike's shoulder with a playful lilt in her voice. “Don't worry Mike, we totally weren't planning on pushing you in the hotel pool later.”

“Oh, fantastic,” Michael griped with a roll of his eyes, then looked to the redhead imploringly. “At least you’re on my side, right, Freddy? You wouldn’t let them plot against me, would you?”

“…I cannot say one way or the other,” Freddy replied cryptically, a playful smile twitching up the corners of his mouth.

“Oh my god…” Michael pressed his hands to the side of his face in mock horror. “I can’t believe they already corrupted you—poor, innocent Fredbear…”

Freddy chuckled and gave Mike’s hair an amiable ruffle. They all knew full well Michael could take a good prank as well as he could dish one out.

“Anyway—” the guard checked his phone before looking to Sam. “—my shift’s almost over, boss-man. Need anything else before I close up for the night?”

Sam relaxed an arm around Michael's shoulder as his friend spoke. Anything that Sam needed could wait until tomorrow; Gregory certainly looked about ready to go back to the hotel for some shut-eye.

“Just do me a favor and get home safe, alright?” Sam asked. “Text me when you get to the hotel. And maybe after your first paychecks we'll see about getting you guys a real place to stay…”

While rent could be plenty expensive, it certainly wasn't as expensive as the nightly room service charges Sam had been getting.

“We'll definitely text you,” Charlie agreed, eyes widening at the prospect of their little family getting a place of their own. She reached over, quickly hugging her brother with a caring grip around his back and squishing Michael in the embrace by proxy. “Get some sleep before opening, please.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Freddy said as he leaned himself and Gregory into the hug as well.

“Oof—yeah, you’re a real lifesaver when you aren’t crushing me!” Mike remarked, trying to wriggle free. After a moment he was granted a chance to escape, which he’d use to walk to the stage and call up: “Hey everyone, we’re heading out for the night! Say your goodbyes now before Gregory passes out!”

After basking in the attentions of the Glamrocks, Liz stood to the edge of the stage and waved goodbye to Gregory along with the band, who waved and blew kisses to their adoring audience with a dramatic flair. Before the other kids could convince them to do an encore, they came over one by one wishing them a good morning and that they’d all see Gregory and his family tomorrow. Ennard came by to gently pat Gregory’s hair, lifting Mari up to say her own personal goodbyes.

Gregory had once been hard-pressed once to let the animatronics and others wrangle him into hugs—now he’d progressed to the point of allowing the Marionette to nuzzle the side of his head with affection. Farewells complete, they begun for their egress of the building. The sound of that hotel bed was calling his name, and Gregory could no longer refuse sleep as he quietly fell unconscious in Freddy’s arms once more.

Another successful, fun night well-spent.

Chapter 23

Chapter Text

It was officially reopening day at the Pizzaplex. Mike and Charlie had headed out early to help with the chaos; with no stage shows scheduled in lieu of their missing front man, Freddy and Gregory were given a pass to skip the morning rush. However, they couldn't stay cooped up in the hotel for long and headed out to join their friends at lunchtime. As usual, they went straight for Sam’s office to check in, snagging Mike and Charlie along the way who'd come to greet them at the entrance. Freddy was admittedly a bit nervous as he knocked on the CEO’s door—a feeling that he wasn’t a fan of at all. But he had his family by his side, so he knew everything would work out in the end.

“Afternoon, boss!” Michael called through the door. “Hope the day wasn’t too chaotic?”

Things were looking up for the Pizzaplex. With the large number of cars lining the parking lot, it was clear the morning shift was a success. Most of the families visiting were already at attractions and party rooms, so running into a huge crowd was unlikely. Even so, Gregory found himself scanning the halls they trailed down as if it was his first night here. Following directly behind, Charlie made sure he got to Sam's office feeling a little safer than he might have walking alone.

“Hey everyone! No—nothing too crazy yet. The day's still young, though,” Sam joked, knocking against the wood of his desk with a superstitious rap. “Sophie’s been busy. Bonnie Bowl has been pretty popular today! And Foxy's been a huge hit with the older kids, too.”

“That is wonderful to hear!” Freddy exclaimed, eyes shining with excitement. He was itching to go out and pace the floor, greeting guests every chance he got… but in his current form, he’d only come off as an over-enthusiastic employee. He’d just have to settle for the next best thing: watching over his doppelgänger in his stead.

“I’m glad things are turning out so well.” Mike clapped Sammy on the shoulder. “Any animatronics giving you trouble? Malfunctions, weird responses… being places they shouldn’t be?”

This last part was a clear dig at Ennard, who should have remained in the attendant’s little room above the stage all day. Until they got an official okay, they were only meant to observe, not interact. It was a win-win: they got to watch how humans acted, and Michael got to keep from tearing his hair out for the next few days with anxiety.

This little arrangement kept everyone happy overall. Ennard was oblivious to Michael's deep-seated hatred—or in denial; Sam really couldn't tell. Should Ennard have already broken his promise, it would be awkward for all the patrons to watch the security guard scold a grown man for trespassing on the first night of their reopening.

Sam thought for a moment, then told Mike with a sigh: “Bonnie—that bunny has ants in his pants about something. I found him smuggling a chest full of whole inflated balloons through the backrooms this morning.” The harried CEO shook his head. “Could one of you go check and make sure the party schedule in his internal calendar is working right? Just ask him what the day and time is. I don't want him filling up a room with extra party favors when there’s no birthday.”

“On it.” Michael gave a salute, then turned on his heel to search for the rabbit. The last thing they needed was an over-enthusiastic animatronic worrying Sam and spoiling Gregory’s birthday surprise…

“Is my old body ready for the personality download?” Freddy asked. Running a hand through Gregory’s hair, he looked to Sam with a soft laugh. “Have the children been asking for him? I was hoping Bonnie and Foxy would be a good distraction…”

He didn’t mean to sound conceited at all, and it was clear from his tone. It was a simple fact that Freddy was the most popular—he was still the face of Fazbear Entertainment, after all.

It was time to get to work again. Sam rolled up the sleeve, nodding to Freddy.

“Yes!” he answered, a bit frazzled and frayed due to the stress of people asking him where Freddy was. “Constantly. The kids are getting a little suspicious—either that or I’m just being paranoid."

In the animatronic stand beside the workbench and computer, Freddy’s old empty model was propped up under a canvas sheet. Sam carefully pulled the sheet away, proud of his work for polishing and fixing Freddy’s paint job. He looked as pristine as the others now; all that was left was to download him again.

Gregory had quietly slipped next to the workbench as Sam booted up the computer. Of course there was no way to replace his dad—Gregory couldn’t idolize a Freddy more than the one he called ‘father’ and went to for comfort. Still, he was excited that the whole band would be reunited soon.

“Let’s not keep them waiting, then!” Gregory exclaimed, quickly checking the cable connections before booting up the personality folder and beginning its data dump.

Freddy stood with Charlie, watching the bear carefully for signs of life. The redhead’s face was pinched in concentration. There was no way this shouldn’t work, but he couldn’t help but worry.

It happened like all the others—gradual movements that worked up to full awareness. First, a subtle twitch of a finger. Next, a wiggle of an ear. Then a slow blink of those ice-blue eyes as the bear perked up and automatically scanned the room to assess the situation. There were four people present. The face of Samuel Emily, his creator and CEO of Fazbear Entertainment was recognized instantly. However, he didn’t know the others: a man with red hair and a bright, fixed gaze; a younger girl with dark brown hair standing at his side; and a little boy sitting by the computer workstation.

The man’s children, perhaps? Although the girl looked a bit like Sam, in all honesty… They were all watching intently, clearly waiting for something.

“Hello!” the bear greeted after flexing a few more limbs. He scanned the room with a wide grin on his face, mainly focusing on the unfamiliar faces. Guest protocol dictated he acknowledged new patrons first and foremost, especially if there was a child present. “It is a pleasure to meet you! My name is Freddy; what are yours?”

Charlie held her breath. The other animatronics waking up was routine—predictable. No one knew how much this Freddy knew. She hoped that the extra data wipe Sam had done to this particular model kept untoward memories at bay, especially over the past few weeks. Gregory would be the first to test this, getting up from the chair besides the computer with a confident strut. He had faith that this Freddy model would be just like the one he first met, friendly and endearing.

“Freddy? Can you hear me?” he asked curiously, wondering if his audio systems were online. Sam took a more silent approach, an amiable grin on his face as he came around to observe the interaction. The animatronic turned at the voice, his smile bright as he crouched down to be on Gregory’s level.

“Hello, superstar!” he said, that familiar voice once again undercut with robotic feedback. It was a subtle difference, but those who knew the original Freddy would be able to tell which one was talking without too much effort.

As programmed, the animatronic bear performed a cursory scan of the child in front of him. He blinked once—

Accessing guest databank…

—twice—

Performing facial recognition cross-reference…

—and then his eyes focused again and he held out a claw.

Match. Guest profile: male, 12 years old, name—

“Gregory Fitzburgh—that is a name fit for a rockstar!” the bear said cheerfully, waiting to see if the child would take his proffered shake or if Gregory was less hands-on. If so, he’d adjust his interaction accordingly.

Freddy’s shoulders sagged with relief at the confirmation that both the facial recognition software worked and Gregory was officially in the guest book under their new last name. Now, to see how his son responded to the friendly bear…

Gregory met his hand with a warm and receptive shake. All systems seemed good to go from the outset. His dad never needed to worry about how the Glamrocks were going to perform without him.

“Heck yeah! Thanks, Freddy!” Gregory exclaimed, excited that his favorite animatronic could continue bringing joy to the other kids at the Pizzaplex. Naturally, he was trusting of Fazbear—but that didn’t mean he wasn’t watching the newer version of Freddy scrupulously.

Charlie could finally let herself breathe, or rather simulate the action. Freddy was never infected with the virus—but that didn’t mean there wasn’t still a smidgen of William’s viral footprint anywhere. Everything seemed alright to her, and she allowed herself to smile. Sam, satisfied so far, came around to the newest iteration of Freddy.

“It’s good to have you back online,” he welcomed warmly. “I’ve got a few surprises for you, buddy!”

Sam would act as if Freddy was powered off for routine maintenance and upkeep. Nothing strange had happened in the past few weeks since his last update.

“Oh? I am excited to hear!” Freddy 2.0 responded, getting back to his feet. When his gaze swept around the room, Fred thought it only prudent to greet the other new faces. Performing a quick scan of the girl and the redhead by her side, he was surprised to note they were in fact new employees!

...They were also not human, but it seemed like none of them thought to point out that fact so Fred decided that was a question to ask Sam when they were alone. Or, perhaps some of the other animatronics could give him some insight later.

“How nice to make your acquaintances!” the bear said kindly, reaching out both paws for Freddy and Charlie to take. “Charlie Emily...” He paused, sparing a questioning glance at the CEO. “I did not realize you had a daughter, Samuel.”

And there was that ever-learning AI at work, giving him a hint of distinct personality. With a hum of acceptance the bear turned back to acknowledge the other man. “And... Freddy Fitzburgh.”

That tilt of the head was back, coupled with a definite question in those illuminated eyes. The android watched carefully, shaking his hand with a slow greeting. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Freddy. I am a big fan of the name, by the way.”

The bear's expression shifted at his voice. It was... weirdly similar to his, but again, he wasn't going to question it—not right now, at least. He already had much to catch up on without worrying why this man seemed so disarmingly familiar.

“As I am of yours—and the pleasure is mine,” the bear responded, and it almost seemed like the pair had started a contest of wary formality. Turning back to Sam, he acknowledged his creator with a nod. “Now, what were these surprises you wanted to show me?”

For a brief moment of unease, Gregory swallowed thickly as he watched them interact. Only when his dad complimented his bear counterpart did his shoulders relax, a soft sigh exhaling through his nose. There was nothing to fear here; two of the friendliest guys ever manufactured were standing in the same room. There would be no hard feelings between people so warmhearted and good of nature.

Catching their bear friend up to speed on things might take more than a night, given his special circ*mstances. Sam would take it slow, knowing the more he lied the harder it was going to be to tell Freddy the truth... If it ever needed to come to that.

“Oh—how rude of me. Yes, this is Charlie! She should be uploaded into your employee file. Right along with her sister, Mari.” Sam placed a hand on her shoulder as Charlie extended her arm with a wide grin. Sam cleared his throat, moving on from the subject of family and why everyone was here to watch Freddy wake up. “The surprises! Yes—” He moved for his desk and dug through his coat pocket for the security tablet he kept. “—you're going to love this. It's something you were asking a lot about...”

Soon, a security feed was presented to Freddy 2.0, showing the front of Bonnie Bowl where an official-looking guard was chatting with his good friend, Bonnie Bunny.

“Mari... ah, yes, I see now,” the bear responded, staring into space for a moment as he accessed the employee database. There were a surprising number of new recruits, and it led him to wonder what in the world happened while he was out... However, this train of thought was soon derailed as Sam pulled up the camera feed. Freddy 2.0 gasped, eyes growing wide as he looked upon the familiar rabbit and one of the new employees he'd just read about.

“Is that... Bonnie?!” he asked in awe, glancing up to Sam in disbelief.

According to the last data point in his memory banks, Bonnie had been out of commission for a few months. It'd been a sudden replacement, his removal and transfer of bass-playing status to Monty, but to Fred it was just a sad but inevitable fact of being an animatronic performer.

“May I see him?” he asked eagerly. “I know there are still some tests we must run before I can be released onto the floor, but... is there time in Bonnie's schedule for a quick hello?”

Sam couldn't say no to that face. He supposed that was his fault for creating, in his own opinion, the sweetest iteration of Freddy Fazbear. “Of course you can! Feel free to free roam today; I freed up your schedule for you to better acclimate.”

Sam figured it would be a nice treat for the kids, too—if Freddy wasn't tied down to a party, anyone that might've missed him could get a free moment with their favorite cartoon bear. It wouldn't hurt Freddy either to get as much socializing in as possible.

“I bet you won't even guess the next surprise...” Sam laughed quietly to himself, switching the camera feeds over to Pirate's Cove. A few clicks and he was there, turning the tablet back around to show who else had joined their Glamrock crew.

Foxy stood tall with his peg leg perched on the very point of the bow, watching over a few of the older kids as they ran about the play area. A few parents took pictures, flashes from their cameras temporarily causing Foxy to appear woozy. Sam scrunched his eyebrows together at the sight.

“Ugh. Poor Foxy...,” Sam muttered under his breath, knowing he'd have to find those people later and ask them to stop flash-bombing his robots.

“Oh dear...” the Freddy's murmured in unison, then quickly shot a glance at each other.

“Come on, then—no time to waste!” the original soul laughed brightly, hooking his arm through the bear's. “We will accompany you to help control the crowds. You have been sorely missed!”

If there was anyone who knew how to handle the inevitable mob that was about to surround Freddy, it was the old bear himself. Looking to Gregory, he asked: “Superstar, are you going to stay with us for a bit, or would you like to find your friends?”

The animatronic glanced side-eyed at the redhead clinging to him. That was his term of endearment for children... although he supposed anyone could use the phrase. It's not like it was a branded trademark of Fazbear Entertainment.

The look that Freddy 2.0 gave his dad did not go unnoticed by the teen, and Gregory had to suppress a laugh. Gregory didn't want to wade through a crowd of kids that would probably tear his head off to get to see Freddy Fazbear, live and in the mechanical flesh. With a mock salute, he told his dad: “I'm gonna go find Evan and see what he's up to. Later Freddy! It was nice meeting you!”

When he turned to leave, Charlie stopped him with a grasp to his shoulder.

“Before you go—take some cash. Get a water before and try to lay off the sodas; they're bad for your teeth, kid,” she reminded, cramming a few bills into Gregory’s hand.

“And I can also get cake with this…?” he asked with raised eyebrows, trying to persuade one of his caretakers into letting him indulge in one snack.

“You can totally have cake later. But eat some actual food first,” Charlie said before opening the door for the rest of their little group. She was confident that Gregory could navigate the Pizzaplex by himself now. With friends at every turn, he would be a-okay. As Gregory passed through the door, she found herself checking his wrist and making certain he still had Mari's bracelet secured.

“Bye, Gregory!” the bear called after the excitable kid. He'd barely talked to him for ten minutes, but he liked him already. Turning to Sam, he gave him an appreciative little bow. “And thank you for the repair, Sam—I will be sure to check in later tonight.”

With Freddy and Charlie also bidding Sammy adieu, they took a collective deep breath and led the bear out into the Pizzaplex. As expected, it was chaos on sight. Most patrons were simply happy to see an animatronic up close and personal as Freddy weaved through the crowds with the two rather strong employees by his side like robotic guard dogs. The guests would shout and wave to try and get the bear's attention, but kept their distance overall.

Then, there were the ones who'd come specifically to see the lead singer. These kids—and some of their parents—swarmed the trio instantly, and it took a combined effort to push through the crowd little by little with short greetings and photos. Freddy had to lecture a few parents for flash photography, happy in the back of his mind that he was no longer affected by such an issue but knowing it threw his old body for a loop when the lights spiked in front of his eyes.

Eventually, they were riding the escalators up to Bonnie Bowl. It seemed like its namesake and Michael had retreated into the attraction, which was fine—less people around for the meeting of old friends. Soon the bear was stepping out of the elevator with Charlie and Freddy on his heels, searching for the rabbit. Upon spotting him still speaking with the man from earlier, he let out a gasp.

“Bonnie!” The bear waved brightly as he rushed over, not hesitating to pull the bunny into a tight hug. “Oh my goodness, I have missed you, old friend!”

Bonnie managed to turn Michael's lecture into a free bowling lesson somewhere around ten minutes ago. It started as a way for Bonnie to sort of escape the consequences of being caught with random party favors for Gregory, the charismatic bunny now nonchalantly standing beside the lane as he coached Mike on the way he flicked the heavy ball down the alley.

When Bonnie heard the familiar, garbled voice he jumped a little. He nearly told them that this seemed like déjà vu, but quickly held his tongue and came around to meet Freddy in the middle of the bowling parlor. Arms were held open wide, and Bonnie hugged his best friend-2.0, giddy with excitement over seeing Freddy the way he always remembered him.

“Fredbear! You've finally come out of hiding. I missed you too, ol' sport!” the friendly rabbit drawled, floppy ears resting against the bear's head and directing a wink to the original. “Thanks for bringing Freddy here, you two!”

“Well, well!” A voice that 2.0 didn't recognize spoke, and over Bonnie's shoulder he could see the man in the security guard uniform striding over. Mike tipped his hat, grinning widely up at the bear. “Good to see you up and running, Freddy. I'm Michael—new head of security and night guard. Although, you should already know that.”

“Michael...,” the bear murmured, pulling back from the rabbit's embrace to stare down at the guard quizzically. A quick scan proved his words to be true, and the usual smile lit up his face. “Ah, yes! Michael Afton, Jr. It is wonderful to make your acquaintance—I believe we will be seeing a lot of each other from now on.”

“You bet." Mike laughed, reaching up and giving the bear a firm pat on the arm. Even it wasn't his true friend in there, it was relieving to know the animatronic was still just as sweet.

“We thought we would take Freddy to see the new additions to the line-up,” the redhead explained, catching Michael's attention. He frowned slightly, recalling what he'd seen on the camera. “...Perhaps you should join us—there are some people taking flash photography in Pirate's Cove and Foxy looked a bit unsteady.”

Michael heaved a sigh. “Yeah, I'll come along... Wrangling the crowd is part of my job, after all.”

“Good thing, too; I know I’m supposed to help manage things, but I don’t think people will listen to me very much,” Charlie remarked, walking beside her old friend with a flash of disappointment that quickly turned into a teasing smile. “They're way more scared of Mikey over here!”

Bonnie couldn't exactly leave Bonnie Bowl when there were customers enjoying the games, and he’d already gotten in trouble for wandering today. With one lasting squeeze around his friend's hand, he felt that dull aching inside his chest—knowing full well that the inseparable human part of him wanted to ditch the bowling alley to follow his friends. “Come back soon, pal.”

“It's because you're too nice, Charlie,” Mike remarked as the group walked off, jamming the elevator button to take them back to the main area. “You've gotta put your foot down a little more—show people who's boss, you know?”

After a beat of silence, Freddy 2.0 looked down at the android inquisitively. “Michael, you are a head of security and night guard?”

The silent question clearly being: How in the world do you sleep with two equally taxing jobs?

“Mm-hmm,” Mike responded, stepping out as the doors opened with the animatronic close behind. “I'm kind of an insomniac, so—hey! Hands off the bear, ma'am!”

Michael's explanation was cut off as a rather enthusiastic mom tried to rush the bear and he physically stepped in her path, barring her from practically throwing her kid into Freddy's arms.

“Sorry!” Charlie said to the very impatient mother, the good-cop to Michael's bad-cop while proving his point from earlier. “Freddy's not doing photoshoots right now!”

It was so odd how popular all the Glamrocks were, to the point that her and Michael had to strong-arm people from knocking into the heavy robots and hurting themselves. After they shooed her away, much to the apparent chagrin of that particular mother, it seemed Michael's official guard outfit warded away the crazies in the crowd. Charlie made sure to tell the disappointed parent that both Foxy and Bonnie were available to play, and quickly rushed to move Freddy along towards Pirate's Cove. There, at least they could introduce Freddy to more kids in little increments.

Arriving to the attraction, one thing was obvious—Foxy was walking very strangely. Uneven in his gait as he finished up a story, even seeming somewhat twitchy to other kid's movements. His one eyepatch was flipped up, and the glow in his eyes was uneven. He’d clearly been flashed recently and was just trying to work through it, his optics unable to adjust to the ambient lighting in the room now.

“And that's the end of my tale! I hope you enjoyed it—I can't tell if you did. I also can't tell if anyone stayed or listened! 'Fraid my sight's gone with the tide...,” Foxy told the small gathering of youngsters who laughed at what they thought was just a quirky joke.

“Oh god…,” Michael groaned at the sight of the shambling pirate. He quickly hopped on the little dock that served as a stage, spouting instructions. “Freddy, take care of Foxy—uh, both Freds, please. Attention!”

Cupping his hands over his mouth, Mike yelled to the crowd. “Flash photography is not permitted in the Pizzaplex! It damages the animatronics and then they can’t mingle with the public! Plus—” A rather threatening smile spread across his face. “—anyone caught disobeying the rules is subject to be fined for repair costs!”

“My goodness…,” Freddy 2.0 murmured as he and his counterpart moved to Foxy’s side. “He is rather, ah… ruthless, is he not?”

“He is good at his job, that is for certain,” Freddy responded with a laugh, finally latching onto the pirate’s shoulder and looking up at him. “Hello, Foxy; it is Freddy and… Freddy! Let us lead you into the backroom while you regain your sight and we can introduce you properly…”

Anyone at that point who had their phones out was quick to shove them away inside a purse or pocket. The kids watched as both Freddies came to help Foxy down from the large boat back to the ground floor. Foxy raised his hook in the air in agreement with the security guard.

“Yeah! My eyeballs are sensitive, ya scallawags!” he confirmed, nearly doing a double take at the two sets of arms. He hoped that through combined intimidation, Foxy and Mike cemented the rules yet again for the few misbehaving parents.

Charlie was surprised at the odd amount of inconsiderate mothers and fathers. It was as if this place brought out their inner children in the worst ways. She heard one say as she passed them to help guide Foxy backstage: “We paid—we should be able to take as many pictures as we want…”

Which made the normally calm and reserved Charlie inhale sharply through her nose. Mike had already explained the situation to them, but she did mention to the father in passing: “Interacting with animatronics when they’re stationed in their attractions is free, sir. You just can’t take flash photos of them; as our head of security said, it hurts them.”

Charlie found that she and the others had to hurry Foxy along as quickly as possible before she fought the guy, the attitude rolling off of him as he openly complained about the policy of the store. Though she tried her best to ignore everyone and focused solely on helping Foxy to the backrooms. Once inside, the pirate gently felt around for both Freddies—his heroes for helping him down.

“Freddy? Thank you for being my seeing-eye bear… And Human. Heh heh…” He chuckled gratefully to himself. The blinded fox reached around once they stopped to hug the animatronic, happy to finally meet the bear version of his dearest friend.

“I am here to help anytime, Foxy,” the bear reassured, quick to hug him back. Though this was their first meeting, he too felt like they’d been friends for years. “It is so nice to make your acquaintance; I am happy Samuel brought you into the lineup!”

“These people…,” Michael grumbled as he slipped into the back rooms shortly after the others. “I swear, if there’s trouble the parents are worse than the kids most of the time.”

His thoughts echoed Charlie’s, and Freddy had to concede as well. Ironically, despite the kids usually being the ones to physically cling to the animatronics, it was often their guardians who got the most aggressive when things didn’t go their way.

“We can take a rest back here until you reset, Foxy,” Freddy reassured, patting the pirate’s hook arm before looking up to his bear counterpart. “Then perhaps we can roam the Pizzaplex and try to find the other animatronics?”

Foxy was feeling a might dizzy after the paparazzi-like flashing he received upon his public debut. Though he wouldn’t lie, the blatant harassment did make him feel like a rockstar. “Thanks for the help—my optics will reset fully in just a few, then I can go back to my adoring fans.”

He certainly sounded like Roxy’s brother—even if he shared the same voice as Security Guard Mike…

“Oh, Fred! If you see Roxanne, will you tell her I stole her comb? She’ll be angry, but just say it was important. I didn’t have a teasing comb and needed one badly.” Despite being unable to see, Foxy plumped his long mane up with his more articulate hand. Soon, he was blinking in time again, lights in his eyes turning off and on again to signal his full reset. “Thanks you all! I feel much better now!”

“I will do my best to spare you from Roxanne’s wrath,” the bear laughed, watching to make sure Foxy reset properly.

Michael was doing the same, observing even more closely. He rocked back on his heels with a satisfied smile with the fox blinked in the familiar pattern. “Perfect! Ready to go back out? Oh, and feel free to tell people off if they try to use flash again. Note their faces and names too, if you would.”

Foxy stood, amazingly balanced with one inarticulate peg leg. He straightened up and made sure to pat Freddy's shoulder on his way past the small group.

“Aye—we'll all catch up after closing,” he assured his ursine friend. Looking to Michael, Foxy relaxed some with the express permission to speak his mind, and a surprising amount of self-awareness considering his short lifespan so far inside the Pizzaplex. “It's indeed fortuitous that I'm equipped with a profanity filter, First Mate Mike...”

Charlie laughed at this, attempting to hide her mouth slightly. “Just getting their customer profiles should be enough, Foxy. If you get really mad, go take a break—play the drums a little.”

Foxy smiled appreciatively, thanking the little team before heading back out into his Cove. With arms opened wide, he'd kick the swinging door open to catch the attention of the kids. Their cheers could be heard from down the hall now.

“I'm down to help Freddy acclimate to the Pizzaplex again! Where do you wanna go first, big guy?” Charlie asked the rockstar bear.

“Hmm…,” Freddy hummed in thought, tilting his head as he shuffled through all the attractions and animatronics he could visit. He wanted to see everyone in time, but one name stuck out from the rest in order of preference. “I think I would like to visit Chica, if that is alright.”

He’d never claim to like anyone more than the others, though it was no secret there was something about the original quartet that just had a special bond those made for the Pizzaplex wouldn’t quite understand.

Charlie quickly checked her phone, looking over the downloaded work schedule for all the characters at the Pizzaplex. “Roxy's doing make up tutorial's in the Salon for another 40 minutes. That'll give us enough time to swing by Mazercise and Monty golf!”

In agreement, the group quickly hurried for the door before the kids noticed he was leaving. Following behind the bear and Michael, Freddy slipped his arm through Charlie’s and grinned down at her.

“I think this is going quite well, do you agree?” he murmured under his breath, leaning close as they stepped into the ambient noise of the Pizzaplex’s atrium. There was a hint of fondness in those ice blue eyes as Freddy gazed up at his double. “He seems to be performing without a hitch, all things considered…”

All things considered, Charlie wasn't surprised at how well Freddy was acclimating. He was an agreeable person too, happy to listen to the management of this place. It shouldn't have been such a huge change for the last updated version of Freddy anyway—to him, the Pizzaplex only made some management updates and additions to their character lineups.

“Agreed,” Charlie whispered back. “Hopefully he doesn't ask too many questions about Vanessa or Sammy's 'kids' showing up out of nowhere... not to mention, y'know—us."

Charlie always felt a little weird when lying. Though this was obviously for Freddy's best interest to keep him in the dark. Eventually, when things were a little calmer there might be a good time to explain things. For now, they would be tight-lipped and give politely neutral answers for hard to answer questions. She loosely held to Freddy's arm, happy to walk beside him through the backrooms and reveling in how much better the Pizzaplex looked with patrons to populate its fun-filled corridors.

Freddy had a feeling his counterpart wouldn't pry too much. Without anything to be concerned with, nor a ghost subconsciously whispering in the back of his mind, the robot was quite amenable to whatever changes management dictated appropriate. Arm in arm with one of his dearest friends and a soft smile on his face, Freddy trailed along after the animatronic bear as he reacquainted himself with the Pizzaplex.