Chapter Text
"Gregory, you have a choice to make. The door is open, and you can go. Or you can continue to investigate the secrets of the Pizzaplex. I feel there is something going on besides Vanny, something… very dark." Freddy has his hand on my shoulders. I could tell by the sadness in his voice that he wanted me to stay. The thought was tempting.
~Morning~
Today is the same day as any other day. Wake up. Find food. Survive. Steal money. Find food again and sleep. Ever since mom and dad died, I have been living in the streets, but then I found the Pizzaplex. During one of my searches, I saw a shadow of a woman standing at the end of the alley. I was curious so I went as quietly as I could to get a good glance at what she was looking at and to the wall to the right of where she was standing there was a flier promoting the Pizzaplex.
In hindsight, maybe sneaking into the Pizzaplex hadn’t been a good idea, but in my defense, I was hungry, thirsty, and cold.
All I would have to do is sneak with a group and it'll be easy.
Two hours later, I was proven wrong.
I snuck through the front door with a group of kids my age to make it look like I was a part of their group. The Pizzaplex was a busy place with families going to different places, and most of the security guards were stationed near the glam-rock concert, sneaking past them was a breeze. As soon as I saw no one was paying attention to me, I made a beeline for the kitchen. I should be fine.
That's what I thought until she showed up.
As soon as I closed the door, I heard footsteps from the other side. I ran to hide behind one of the counters but my footsteps gave away my location.
One of the doors opened and I heard a woman's voice. "Hello?" She called, beginning to walk towards the counter as I heard her footsteps. "Who's there?" I couldn't move, I was afraid she would catch me and turn me to the police. I was so close to getting the pizza, why did she have to ruin everything ?
"There you are!" The guard found me from the other side of the counter and glared at me. "This area is off-limits, you aren't supposed to be here, kid!" My instincts honed from years of living at my own screamed at me to run, run away from her . I bolted across the room, running as fast as I could.
Unfortunately, she was taller and faster and was catching up to me. As I ran, I could hear her calling out in a dark tone.
"You should come with me, kid. There's something really cool you'll want to see." Her voice sounded weird. "Come on kid, I'll promise you'll be safe."
I ignored her, and ran even faster through the Pizzaplex, a few people eyed me as I bolted past them. My legs burned but luckily I found an open vent that was big enough to fit me, but not her. I crawled into the vent just as the guard came behind me. I pushed myself to crawl faster.
As I moved farther and farther away from her, I could hear her distant laugh. " Don't worry, we'll see each other soon enough. I'll find you eventually."
That security guard that I think Freddy called Vanessa when I first saw her glaring at me. Something about her felt wrong, and I didn't like it.
~ Sometime later~
Being in the vents really sucked.
The walls of the vents were covered in dust and grease. I could feel it clinging to my skin as I crawled through the vents. The air was damp and mushy and there was barely any room in the vents, it really sucked .
Voices from the vent near me caught my attention.
"I can't believe Freddy broke down mid-performance…"
I peered through the grate, seeing two technicians below me standing beside a limp Freddy. They appeared to be fixing him, one of them is working on something on a computer, and the other was fiddling with the exposed wires at the back of Freddy's head.
"Yeah, that one mom was super pissed. Did you hear her saying that she'd sue the company for ruining her kid's birthday party?
The other technician laughed. "Shit, really?"
"Yeah, and there's some kid who snuck in."
I felt a jolt of fear going through me.
"How the hell does a kid sneak in here? There's so much security, it's honestly ridiculous."
"Dunno 'bout that. But Vanessa has been losing her shit over it. Heard that she found him in the kitchen, but he bolted and now she's got everyone on the lookout."
"Heh, no wonder the higher-ups wanted her to be a guard. She probably won't stop till she finds that kid."
Oh, great. Now that crazy guard is looking for me and the rest of the Pizzaplex too. She also saw me going through the vents… great. I need a good place to hide-
"Okay," said the technician on the computer, interrupting my train of thought. "I've got Freddy on reduced power and on safe mode. He shut down 'cause his systems detected some sort of malware trying to override his systems so it triggered an automatic reset to stop it."
"We should check on the others to make sure they don't get anything too…" The other technician trailed off.
"I've gotten him disconnected from the main server temporarily till we work this out, so all precautions should keep the virus out."
The technician shut the computer, standing up. "Time to check up on the others." Quickly, the technicians packed up and left, leaving Freddy to sit up by the mirror. I waited until I couldn't hear their voices anymore, and I let out a quiet sigh. Time to get moving then.
I glanced down towards the limp form of Freddy and paused. The animatronics' stomach hatch was open, forgotten by the technicians in their haste to leave.
I grinned to myself. Looks like I've found the perfect hiding spot .
Then once Freddy woke up, he agreed to help me leave the Pizzaplex; then throughout the night the animatronics tried to get me and so did a weird rabbit lady who I think is named Vanny. Throughout the night, I decommissioned the animatronics and eventually, the doors opened at 6 am just like Freddy said so.
~Present~
I looked at Freddy and I said the hardest words I have ever said in my life.
"I- I… have to go." My voice sounded quiet as I looked down at the floor unable to look Freddy in the eyes as I said it.
Freddy lowered his head when I said this and he slowly looked me in my eyes and nodded.
"I understand. I will never forget you. Stay safe, superstar." Freddy's voice sounded as if it broke while he was saying this. I could tell that he was heartbroken.
"Goodbye, Freddy." I say while trying not to cry but I am unable to hold back my tears. A few tears fall down my face as I look at Freddy. Freddy looks at me sympathetically and he raises his arm and starts patting my head.
"Now's your chance, Gregory. I… hope I'll see you again." I slowly walk out the door and I look back at Freddy as he stares at me from inside the lobby. He turns around and walks further into the Pizzaplex with his body sagging.
I couldn't take it anymore. I ran away from the Pizzaplex and as I ran I had more tears in my eyes. Eventually, I get to an alley that looks at least a little clean and I lean against a wall.
I should’ve stayed back. Am I scared of Vanny? What if Vanny did something to Fred-?!
I shook my head. No, Freddy would never die against Vanny. Never.
~2 weeks later~
It had been 2 weeks now and I felt miserable. Ironically, my time at the Pizzaplex didn't go as planned but I was able to relax a little and get something to eat. But why is that? I was hunted down by all the animatronics and that rabbit lady! Was it because of Freddy?
Freddy was the only one to help me. He protected me from the other animatronics. He was the reason as to why I was able to live until 6 am. I wonder what Freddy is doing now; is he still thinking about me? Or has he changed and now he is like the other animatronics and would attack me if he saw me again? Whatever he is doing now I still miss him. Over the time I spent at the Pizzaplex, I've grown attached to Freddy… he's so much like my dad before he died.
Either way, I will never see him again. So does it even matter now? But no matter how much I try to convince myself to forget about Freddy I keep thinking about him and I can't stop myself from crying about him.
I curl up in the box that I was lucky enough to find in a dumpster and I try to get more comfortable. I was using a newspaper as a blanket, and on it had the pictures of 9 missing kids who had disappeared while they were at the Pizzaplex. I know that it was probably Vanny. How many more will go missing at the Pizzaplex, will it ever stop?
It is so cold and I shiver as I think about the disappearances. I move the newspaper a little to try to make it cover more of my body. As I did this I heard footsteps coming toward my box. I glanced in their direction and my eyes widened.
***
It has taken a while but I have finally found him. There he was, lying lonely in a box. How good it felt to finally have him at my disposal again! I specifically chose him when the master told me to. Master said it was my chance to be like him and to make my mark. While at the Pizzaplex, I was watching the kids to see which one would be the easiest to pick off, but they all had parents that were watching them! How did the master do it? He killed so many kids! How did he manage to get five at once and I couldn't even find a way to get one?!
But on my way home that night I was walking down the street and there in the alley was a boy sleeping on the ground. He was perfect! No one would miss him! I spent the rest of the day planning on a way to get him to the Pizzaplex but before I got him I wanted to do my first job the way the master did his. So I went to the Pizzaplex the next morning and I was determined to find kids that were easy targets.
Eventually, I see a kid alone and it looked like he had just finished up playing an arcade game. I went up to him in my security guard uniform and I told him that something happened to his parents and that I had to bring him to my office. Then once he was there I raised my knife and I did the job. Master was pleased with my work.
I repeated the process and before I knew it, I had gotten 9 kids. I knew I was ready for the kid in the alley after that. So, I went back, and luckily, he was still there. I purposely let him spot me and then I put a flier on the wall promoting the Pizzaplex in the hopes that he would come. And to my relief he did. But he avoided me the whole time he was there and he even managed to decommission the animatronics!
After the doors opened, he left. I have been looking for him ever since then and finally, I have got him! I smirk under my mask and raise my knife.
But then a headache suddenly tears through me and I clutch my head in my hands.
I can't do this! What am I doing?!
Obey! I am close to my resurrection, Vanny. You don't want to upset your master now, yes?
N-no, master.
The headache was beginning to go away.
I was about to continue walking towards the box, but because of my pause, Gregory spots me and his eyes widen.
He has seen you! Don't let him escape!
Yes, master.
Gregory at this point has started running and I start chasing him. Why is he so fast? He's only a kid?! Luckily I checked to make sure there were no people nearby, the master wouldn't like witnesses being alive. I couldn't afford to be caught, if that happened then the master would not have anyone to help him finish his body.
It feels as if I have been chasing him for over an hour now. And we are now outside the city. The boy was still ahead of me running into the thick forest that surrounds the mountain. At least, hiding the body and harvesting his remnant won't be hard.
I've been running for minutes, my legs numb and breaths haggard. That kid must've been miles ahead of me. This forest isn't really doing me any favors. I need to track him down fast!
Heh , the kid really is panicking, he forgot to hide his tracks. Now, where are you kid? As I observe the direction of the tracks. They lead to the mountain in the middle of the forest. What was it called again? Mount Ebott? There was local legend surrounding it but I can't recall it. All I really know is that it involved monsters. Tch, how unreal.
My train of thought comes to an end when I observe a distant shape of a kid running up the mountain. I squint my eyes through the mask to see that it is Gregory running for the mountain.
Got you in my sights now! This time I'm not letting you go.
I quickly made a dash in the direction of the mountain. As I'm running up the mountain behind the kid I can't help but smile at the prospect of having ten kills. Master would surely be proud of me!
***
She has been chasing me for miles. I can barely feel my legs from all the running. I can't believe she chased me up this mountain! The moment I saw a cave at the side of the mountain, I ran into it in a panic and hid behind one of the big rocks.
A few small rocks were pushed back and I turn around to see them dropping into this huge hole in the ground. I then heard heavy breathing and turned back around to see Vanny catching her breath and holding her knife.
She removes her mask and my eyes widen in fear. S-so it really was her?! As if reading my mind, she sneers with an evil glint in her eyes.
"Did you have fun running from me?!" She shouts in an angry and distorted voice. She then twirls the knife in her hand and makes a mad dash for me. I scream and I try to run past her but she grabs me.
"You were a fun target but now sadly the fun has come to an end!" she says looking at me with her knife raised.
"NO!" As I thrash around in her grip, but before she can stab me I instinctively kick her leg which causes her to fall, and to my terror, I notice that we are right next to the hole in the cave.
I scream as me and Vanny both fall into the hole.