Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gregory had been alone for a while, he never knew his parents. He didn’t know if they’d died or simply abandoned him. He’d been tossed from foster home to foster home. At first it wasn’t anyone's fault, bad timing. Then the homes got worse, he started being the problem. Or so they claimed. When Gregory turned ten he decided if he was going to be alone he might as well do it without the illusion of a “family” . He ran away in June. The summer trapped in a house with constant yelling and breaking things being his own breaking point. 

He was on his own for two weeks before he saw a missing child report for himself, he wouldn’t admit he was a little hurt it took so long. Thankfully people sucked and he went unnoticed. 

As time passed it got colder, harder to find food, harder to sleep at night. One night Gregory found what he thought would be his refuge. A Saturday in December Gregory found himself lingering behind the back of a dumpster. He mostly found empty pizza boxes with faded unreadable labels and crushed soda cans that couldn’t be recycled. The boy sighed heavily, lamenting the probability of a long cold hungry night when he heard a door open. Gregory ducked behind the dumpster before he was spotted. 

“ So you think the gator did it?” A voice asked, Gregory peeked out to see two adult men in polo uniforms shivering as they smoked cigarettes. They were holding the green door to the brick building open. 

“ I mean maybe , I heard they’re giving him the bass spot in the band, so he benefits from it, but I mean has anyone seen the Body? The Endo? Anything? Besides why would he do it now , nah I think it was the new guy, he’s stronger and bigger,”  The guy wearing a bright blue polo with neon pink letters on his back that read Glamrock gifts . 

“ You know he’s not new right, “ The other man said, taking a drag off his cigarette, he was wearing a dark purple polo, with shapes in neon pink and blue collars sprinkled all over it. 

“ He’s new enough Dale, I know you work in the west arcade but I don’t, didn’t even know we had a character there until Monday,” Gregory huffed, already bored with this, his focus was on the door. Even from where he hid  he could smell the food inside the building. It was risky, he knew it was, but it was getting colder as the night had started to fall. He picked up a rock from where he crouched and when he was sure they wouldn’t notice him he threw it. It broke a car window and both men turned to the sound of shattering glass. 

“ Oh shit did someone just break into a car?” Gregory moved for the open door while the men were distracted. 

“ We should call security- HEY! ” The one in the dark purple shirt spotted Gregory as he turned back to the man in the blue polo. Gregory booked it into the building, and into what looked like a loading dock. He sprinted for a set of double red doors but found they were locked.

“ Kid you’re not supposed to be back here, just get going and we’ll forget this happened-” the man in the blue uniform said, moving towards Gregory. The boy sprinted towards his left to a metal door labeled B1 . It slid up as he approached it and revealed a storage room with shelves filled to their limit with boxes.  Gregory heard the men following him and took a sharp left, spotting a yellow locker. He ducked into it before he heard the metal door slide up.

“ I thought this was a security door, what the hell?” the blue man’s voice said, then after a pause, “ awe crap did we lose him? He couldn’t have  gone far,” The purple uniform man came into Gregory’s line of sight, looking down the aisle. Gregory could see in bright blue and pink letters Fazcade on the back of his shirt. 

“ Well, he’s not here , and I left half a cigarette out back so. . . “ With that he started to leave, the blue uniform man also walked into Gregory’s line of sight, looking uncertain. 

“ Shouldn’t we look for him?” He asked. The purple shirt man scoffed.

“ You can if you want man, I’m on break, smokes are expensive and it’s not like that kid will get far. Second he tries to talk to one of the characters, they'll scan him and realize he’s not supposed to be there and call security,” the purple uniform man said, the blue uniform man hesitated then slowly turned and walked away.

“ Yeah, you’re right, it’ll be fine,”  and with that Gregory was left alone in the room. He waited a bit longer before slipping out of the locker. He watched the door he’d come from as he slowly crept forward. Making sure the men didn’t come back, once he was sure they wouldn’t he took the opportunity to look around, and figure out where he was.

Animatronics? Pizza Boxes? An Arcade? Gregory didn’t dare believe it until he saw it written on a box that had clearly been opened. 

Location: Pizzaplex, Package: 326473281

A little bit of childish excitement bubbled up inside him as he made his way down the aisle of boxes and spotted a blue door. He peeked through it and found the kitchens, and spotted another blue door diagonally to his left. The kitchen was clearly understaffed as teenagers ran from machine to machine, trying to fill out orders. Gregory was able to successfully slip around them since most of their work involved them being in the middle of the room and they were very distracted. He slipped into the blue door to find a computer room, or maybe a power grid room? It reminded Gregory of where evil villains stored all their data for their evil plans. Immediately to his right was a set of stairs and upon climbing them he found what looked like a security office. It was thankfully empty but also locked so he retreated back and moved through the power grid room to a back area lined with nothing but red doors. He sighed heavily, feeling like he hit a dead end when the staff door directly across from the red kitchen door burst open. Two employees dressed in chef outfits were heading towards the kitchens, neither saw him as he quickly ducked behind the forklift that was parked there, then before the doors could close behind them he darted through them and into the hall beyond. 

Which was dingy and messy, he saw across from him what looked like a staff cafeteria, and a green soda machine. It had an alligator on it and read FIZZY FAZ sour green lime! Gregory wasn’t super familiar with the new cartoon like his classmates. He knew of them, his best friend Cassie from school, back when he went to school, told him all about them. He knew there was a gator named Monty, and her favorite, a wolf named Roxanne. But Gregory was more familiar with the classic cartoon Freddy and Friends on tour .One of his earliest foster parents had gifted him an old VHS copy of it, and he’d taken it with him from home to home. Staying up late to watch Freddy, Bonnie and Chica solved mysteries and rocked out! That is until two foster homes ago when the foster father of that home broke it. He claimed it was an accident but Gregory knew it wasn’t. He shook his head free of those thoughts and focused on the matter at hand. 

  The hall was labeled B1-MAIN-COR- S2. Gregory spotted a dingy looking elevator not far down the hall that looked like it was meant for staff to wheel cleaning carts and food trays into. He ran for it and slipped inside, pressing the button as he did. He was a little caught off guard by the elevator music that played, and the voice that spoke through the speakers as it went up.

“ For your safety please stand clear of the doors,” The doors opened, and Gregory was surprised to find it was not more kitchens like he expected, or any kind of food prep area. It looked more like a random back hallway. More shelves lined the walls full of boxes, and there was a neat line up of Freddy themed Trash cans in front of him. Freddy's face was painted on the wall with the words Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizza Plex circling it. Confirming that Gregory was in fact inside the plex. Gregory walked down the hall past a conveyor belt and found that the only blue doors in the area lead to the food prep areas he had been expecting, and were completely blocked off to the rest of the plex. The only way out to the main area was behind staff doors that were locked for him. 

Some strange wet floor bots hummed at him as they watched him pace the hall a couple times, trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly a staff door opened, and a robot wheeled in, stopping short in the doorway. It stared at him for a moment and Gregory was sure it was about to report him. 

It was mostly white with two black eyes, and pink circles on it’s cheeks Other than that it had no face, but a purple patch on its head to simulate a hair line. On it’s chest were three pink circles meant to represent buttons. It had a skinny black pole that connected it to a rectangle on wheels meant to be its legs. It was holding a square pad mop in it’s three fingered hands. They continued their staring contest for a while, then it scooted forward, letting the door shut behind it. It looked down the hall, as if checking to see if Gregory was alone or not. Then it looked towards the wet floor bots in the corner. They seemed to beep at each other before the bot turned back to Gregory and pointed towards the door, tilting its head. Gregory starred.

“ Uh. . .” Gregory took a nervous step back, and the bot spun around, allowing Gregory to read S.T.A.F.F. printed on its back and opened the staff door, holding it open for the boy. Gregory blinked in surprise, and when too much time had passed the bot made an impatient gesture towards the door, “ Oh! Right, sorry, thank you!” He said as he darted past the bot. The bot seemed to stiffen in surprise at being thanked, but it waved at him as it let the door shut. 

Gregory came out in what looked like a food court, the food stand next to him was titled Salads and Sides . From where he was he could see several booths and what looked like a green planet in the distance. Keeping close to the wall Gregory moved deeper into the pizza plex. He realized as he walked he was coming up to an attraction called FazerBlast, peeking inside Gregory saw a rocket ship in the center of the attraction’s entrance. He also saw what looked like a ferris wheel of flying saucers. Kids waited in a ridiculously long line to get on. He continued on and saw an escalator that would take him up. He paused as it took him up to take in the area and was immediately overwhelmed with colors. Mostly pinks and purples. 

Directly across from him he could see Kid’s cove , which sounded like a place meant for Captain Foxy but there was a sun and a moon on the sign for some reason. Beside it was Monty’s Gator golf , above that was Mazersice and beside that above Kid’s cove was El’ Chips. The stage was to his left, and on the stage was giant hologram projections of three band members. Gregory easily recognized Chica and Freddy, even with their reboot designs, and the other was a wolf so she had to be Roxy. He fought the eye roll that came with remembering his best friend going on and on about how cool Roxy was because she was a car person and a stylish person. Cassie considered herself a mechanic because of Roxy which was stupid in Gregory’s opinion. He considered himself more of a programmer, or a hacker ( because hacker sounds even cooler ) It didn’t take long for Gregory to notice something was missing. Where was Bonnie? He was in the new cartoon, and he was sure he was supposed to be here. He remembered Cassie talking about him a bit too. Infact, didn’t Cassie’s dad work here ? Good thing he never met the guy or Gregory would be in trouble . He turned and saw the attraction directly behind him was closed, there was a sign with a pink and white bear wearing a hard hat and blue overalls. It carried a wrench, and in big red lettering it read this attraction is currently closed. Please enjoy another attraction. The boy shrugged and moved on, looking over the rails at FazerBlast again as he passed. He spotted another escalator and took it up. Upon reaching the third floor he was met first with an elevator to the Fazcade.  

“ Oh, that must be where that guy in the purple uniform works ,” Gregory thought as he moved to stand next to some plants and looked around. Beside the Fazcade was a sign that just read Prizes . Gregory assumed that was where tickets were redeemed, he could also see another arcade next to El Chips, if he squinted it looked like it said Superstarcade. There was still no sign of-

“ Bonnie! I wanna meet Bonnie!” a shrill scream of a no doubt spoiled girl filled the air, Gregory turned around and almost slapped his own forehead. Directly behind him was a very large painting of the purple bunny. Bonnie Bowl was in bright lights above its own elevator. A girl was being dragged away by her mother. 

“ Sweetie the nice man told you, Bonnie’s not here right now,” She said with forced patience. Gregory looked over at Bonnie bowl, then moved to it. Next to the elevator was a cut out of the bunny, but it looked different than the purple bunny on the wall. This Bonnie was blue with black winged paint under his red eyes. He wore a dark blue collar and shoulder pads over a maroon and purple jumpsuit with a yellow star on his chest. He was wearing dark blue gloves and legwarmers and holding an orange guitar. He had a speech bubble that read “ Sorry! I’m not here right now! But do say Hi to my friends!” Gregory raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. Maybe he was getting fixed up or something, it wasn’t like Bonnie was his favorite anyway. He started to make his way back when an announcement came over the intercom;

"Attention guest the Mega Pizza Plex is closing in 20 minutes" What? Gregory wished he had to watch! What could he do now?After some thought he opted to follow the crowd towards what he assumed was the main entrance, once there he ducked into a gift shop titled glenrock gifts and hid behind some basketball displays to wait out the crowd. Once he was sure the he was the only one in the area he slipped back out he watched the metal shutters closed over the entrance doors as he walked down the steps to the ground floor. Freddy's winking face painted on them. He heard the sound of motorized wheels moving towards him and ducked behind an ad for something called sodaroni. gross. He peaked out and saw it was another one of those robots he saw earlier. This one was designed to look like it was wearing a yellow shirt with an " i" on it. It had glasses painted over its eyes and was wearing around hat. Was it an information bot? It seemed to be heading for the information booth taking a stack of pamphlets out of the holding spot attached to it's " legs" and setting them on the counter like it was putting them away for the day. Then it turned to wheel back towards wherever it came from, suddenly the red double doors behind it burst open. Gregory's eyes went wide and his heart nearly stopped at the site of the animatronic that nearly ran over the information bot. It was big. It had to be at least ten feet tall. It caught and righted the info bot with one of its four arms and it mudded an apology in a low voice before looking around the entrance frantically. Gregory took this opportunity to take in its appearance.

Aside from the four arms situation, It looked humanoid with a round face and a weirdly human looking nose. It's nose, mouth and some rings around it's eyes were pinkish magenta while it's cheeks and eyebrows were neon blue. it wore a top hat like Freddy with a green band that matched its red and green headphones. It also had matching green shoulder pads and a red wristband on each of its wrists. It was designed to look like it was wearing blue suspenders that connected to a magenta belt. It was white aside from it's forearms which were gray and a small gray triangle on its chest that had a small speaker resting in the center of it. It's lower legs were painted black to look like it was wearing boots and it's eyes had two yellow pupils that started around before they blacked out completely. At first it seemed frozen for a full minute when those yellow pupils came back then it fell to its knees still staring silently ahead of itself. If Gregory didn't know better he'd say that it was in shock but was it capable of being in shock. It was a robot. The info bot scooted closer.

"Take a map?" it said, which Gregory thought was weird. The other robot talked, he heard it say sorry but the info bot had a pre-recorded statement? It placed a hand on the bigger animatronic's shoulder shaking it "take a map?"

"What do you even care? '' It snapped at the info bot suddenly, which Gregory thought was kind of rude. What did it do to deserve that? The animatronic got to its feet, mumbling something Gregory couldn't quite catch, then moved towards the giant gold and Freddy statue in the center of the lobby The info bot followed. when Gregory was sure they would notice him he ducked back into the lower level of Glam Rock gifts and retreated back up the stairs.If these robots were capable of having drama, he didn't want to be involved. He peeked out over the railing as he left the upper level of the shop in time to see the info bot wheel into the lower part of glenrock gifts. He exhaled.

"That was a close one," he breathed before quietly slipping back into the atrium through the elevator. Once in the atrium he headed for the ground floor to get a better look at what the attractions down there were as he discovered Roxy raceway was the attraction under construction, and was closed off. However next to Roxy raceway was an attraction Gregory had missed and his first look of the atrium, Rockstar Row. Gregory entered it and followed its construction filled halls to a red cylinder with a window in it and a blue lightning bolt on the front. He passed it to a large metal door that lifted as he approached. The room looked like an information area that was currently being used as a storage space, beside one of the desks was a stack of boxes, cardboard cutouts of pirate themed versions of the pink bear were tucked next to them, taped to the boxes was a paper that read returned to warehouse . Gregory peeked into the top box and found it was full of mostly Bonnie merch. Were they trying to do away with the character all together? Like they did to Foxy? sure he was a dumb character as far as Gregory could recall from the original cartoons, but he was still popular. Gregory could think of several classmates who had favored him, hell Cassie's father favored him. she told him herself when he questioned her Bonnie themed lunchbox. Gregory huffed and moved on to the second box, he found some foxy merch. Mostly plushies with imperfections on them, amongst the pirate foxes Gregory spotted a pair of red sneakers with blue bear heads on the heel and lightning bolts on the side. After checking the bottom of the shoe he determined they were a size bigger than his current shoes. Speaking of his shoes, he looked down at them. They were falling apart at the seams, filthy and just a tad too tight. It didn't take long for him to decide that he was keeping the new ones, after all they were getting rid of them anyway. He searched through the rest of the boxes and attempted to find any other clothes he could snag, his blue shirt and shorts were a bit gross but alas the shoes were the only clothes he could find.

He did find a bag of El chips and suddenly remembered how hungry he was. He didn't even care that they were well past the sell by date and were stale as he devoured the bag. He also found a can of chica chug which was flat despite it being a sealed can. He grimaced as he drank it but beggars couldn't be choosers. He pocketed some fazbars and lemon chica bars before he headed for the door that headed into Rockstar Row. It only lifted about two or three feet above the ground, QA forcing Gregory to crouch under it. On the other side was a large statue of Freddy, beyond it he could see statues of the other band members including Bonnie. Not only could Gregory see the statue of the bunny, in what looked like a bowling pose, he saw a neon sign above the second to last window of the row of windows that read Bonnie Bunny. The windows all seem to look into rooms, like showrooms or something. The closest one to Gregory was none other than Freddy Fazbear's and the boy felt the giddy excitement build up in him again. Unable to help himself he crept closer and peaked into the window. What he saw wasn't what he expected, Freddy was sitting in his chair that sat next to a dressing room table and mirror. He seemed to be going through papers. Did animatronics need to do paperwork? Leaning next to the table on the wall was Chica. Her arms crossed as she spoke softly to him, and lounging on the couch against the wall across from the door into the room was Roxanne Wolf. He knew the band had gone through some redesigns since the cartoon he was more familiar with, but it was still weird to see Chica as a white chicken in pink purple and green athletic gear and not the pizza loving chicken he was used to. He also wasn't sure about Freddy's new look; the once fat bear now had a more slender frame, still bigger than the others but not as big as he probably should have been. Teenage girls that he used to live with in various foster homes probably would have referred to it as a dilf bod… whatever that meant. Roxanne was wearing a red two-piece with black stars on them.

 They seem to be having a serious conversation so even if Gregory could interrupt without getting in trouble it would be a bad time to do so. So instead he slipped past the window without getting spotted. The next room was Roxy’s, it was identical to Freddy's except it was a purple color with car parts everywhere. The next was Bonnie's, the curtains were closed and there was a cut out of the bunny leaning against the glass. The bunny in the cutout was leaning against a palm tree, drinking out of a coconut and wearing big shades. It read; “sorry on holiday”. Gregory huffed, getting the strong suspicion that that was pure bullshit. If the cutout wasn't on the other side of the glass he would have kicked it over. The last room had to be Chica’s and it was a hot pink nightmare. It looked like Pinkie Pie from My Little pony threw up all over it after having a party with the pink Care Bear. He could never remember its name . Gregory heard a door open down the hall and various voices speaking, he quickly ducked behind the statue of chica as two female voices got closer.

“ Oh, I can't believe he's gone,” He heard a high pitched voice say, “ Did you hear they're going to give his green room to Monty while the flex is closed tomorrow? It's too soon,” She sounded really sad, like she was going to cry. Curiosity getting the better of him, he peaked around the statue. As he figured it was the wolf and the chicken, Rroxy seemed to be walking Chica to her room because they stopped outside of it. Roxy's back was too Gregory so he couldn't see her face but Chica looked devastated.

“ I know Chickadee, but it's not like it's any different from when they got rid of Foxy,” She said, and Chica nodded.

“ You're right,” she said, “still I-I-I,” she seemed unable to find words, and Roxy hugged her.

“We're all going to miss him, I'll talk to you tomorrow okay,” Roxy said, Chica leaned forward and kissed the wolf's cheek. Gregory stuck out his tongue in disgust.

“ Okay Roxypoo,” if he was following this right, not only were these things sentient, they were capable of doing the same gross mushy romance stuff as adults did?! Why ruin super cool robots by letting them be gross. Chica and Roxy separated, Gregory considered sneaking back down the hall towards the door he came through, but after looking around his surroundings he spotted a matching door next to some Halloween themed cut-outs. A  sign above the door read “ to atrium” . He considered where this was in retrospect of the atrium and realized this area must wrap around the stage he saw, so the exit he was closest to should take him out by Monty golf. He hurried too said door to find another gift shop/information space. He followed the signs in the zigzag hall down to the atrium. Unlike the other hall, this one wasn't under construction and had various space-themed cardboard cutouts of the characters lining it. Sure enough, Gregoyr came out by Monty golf, he peaked out and caught sight of something blue that seemed to glide through the air from the ceiling in his direction. Gregory froze, unsure if he was spotted or not, he relaxed when the blue thing landed on the second level. He couldn't get a good look at it to see what it was supposed to be. Once it landed it seemed to sprint through a metal door that was lifting for it, Gregory started to step out so he could follow it with his eyes.

“ Moon! Moon! Can you hold up a second?!”  an annoyed Southern voice shouted Greg returned in time to see a gator sprinting across the second level from the escalator under Bonnie Bowl and follow the blue thing. Gregory stayed put, considering his next move. The gator and blue thing had gone through wherever the metal door went, which meant he wasn't in the golf course and it was right next to him. So he ducked into it, Gregory was immediately in awe of the theme park-like ride in the lobby space. It looked like it was supposed to emulate what it was like to be a golf ball hit by a club. Gregory very much wanted to ride it, he made a mental note to sneak on during operating hours. He paused at the elevator, Most elevators had cameras in them, granted this was the first he'd even considered cameras. Now he was wondering if he was on camera already. He glanced around and didn't see any cameras. Gregory pressed the elevator button and ducted to the side, the doors opened and Gregory peaked in. When he was sure he didn't see any cameras in there either he ducked inside.

“ Welcome to Monty's Gator golf! Home of the hurricane holding one,” a recording of the Gators Southern accent said as the doors opened. Gregory hesitated before moving to the railing that looked over the course.

“ Oh Cool, it's mini golf! ” He should have figured, in retrospect but it wasn't totally clear. Gregory liked mini golf! One of his early foster parents used to take him all the time! It was the best! Gregory turned to find a gift shop just behind him, inside were unguarded putters and golf balls. Gregory grinned to himself.

It took Gregory maybe two hours to complete the entire course, since he didn't have to wait for anyone else to finish up ahead of him. He didn't do too well, even lost a few balls. He at least had the foresight to grab three or four balls in case that happened. While playing he found a hut-like structure in the center of a ball pit. It didn't seem to be attached to the golf course aside for a decoration, so when Gregory finished his game he decided there was a good spot to take a nap. He had no idea what time it was, all he knew was he was finally getting tired. So he waded through the plastic balls and laid himself down on the wooden floors of the hut. It was nice, it wasn't particularly soft or comfortable, but it was better than damp concrete, or soggy cardboard or even a sticky bus seat. Head pillowed by his own arm, Gregory fell into a dreamless sleep that was interrupted by a noise Gregory couldn't place. Was it a ringing? but also a pulsing? It made his head hurt. He set up rubbing his head looking around momentarily forgetting where he was, then it came back to him.

“ Monty hey!”  Gregory froze, that was Chica’s voice wasn't it? Now that he thought about it, he could hear heavy footsteps. The boy crept to the window of the hut and looked out. The gator was standing up from where he had been kneeling next to an artificial river that ran through the course. He was shaking his hand dry as he turned his head towards the chicken, who was moving to him with a forced smile. This was the closest Gregory had seen the gator he could now make out his yellow marks on his chin and belly and red mohawk that matched his red eyes. He had black wristbands, dark green pants and his feet were purple. He looked like he was supposed to wear purple fingerless gloves that matched his shoulder pads, a purple lightning bolt was painted on his snout.

“ Hey Cheeks,” He greeted, sounding tired.

“ Hey, heard you got a spot in the band! Wanted to congratulate you and also see how you were doing?” Chica clasped her hands behind her back, leaning forward a little. Monty sighed, kneeling down and reaching into the river again.

“ I'm all right,” He said, she didn’t look convinced. “ How about you? You know him longer” She deflated slightly.

“ It's . . .it's going to be tough, but we'll be okay, didn't expect to see you here or at least alone. I thought you were spending the day with Sun,”  Sun?! Who was Sun?! Was Sun the four armed guy? How many animatronics were in this damn building?! Monty shrugged!

“ Something came up Moon spending the day with DJ,” Monty explained, Chica tilted her head.

“ I thought it was weird he wasn't in the west arcade, everything okay?” the chicken asked, the gator waved her off with his free hand.

“ It's not good,” he said, “it's a lot of bad happening at once, I don't want to think about it,” He said, Chica looked like she wanted to ask more, but didn't.

“So what are you doing?" She asked instead. Monty pulled his hand out of the river and held up three golf balls. The ones Gregory had lost the night before.

“ Cleaning the water traps,” Monty said, she knelt down to help, “ nah don't worry about it Cheeks, I got them all,” The gator dismissed, Chica stood back up, Monty with her.

“ Shouldn't a staff bot do that?” She asked, Monty shook his head.

“ Nah, I'm told they're not waterproof, human stuff should but you know those lazy fucks,” Gregory's draw dropped. These things could curse?! Well that was a point back in the cool factor! Chica gasped dramatically.

“ Don't let Freddy catch you talking like that,” she playfully scolded earning a sly grin from the gator, “ so how long is Moon planning to hold our buggy friend hostage?” she asked, Monty's grin fell immediately.  He sighed. Buggy friend? Gregory considered the animatronics he’d seen so far, the one that closest resembled a bug was the forearmed one, so Gregory was going to assume that one was DJ.

“ Till tomorrow morning, I'm going to put these away,” he said as he walked away. Chica moved to fallow. Gregory took this as an opportunity to sneak out of the hut and towards the elevator. He nearly ran into a staff bot, as Chica had called it,  that was mopping by the elevator. It looked up at him, Gregory hesitantly waved to it, it waved back. The boy hurried out of the attraction's lobby and up the stairs to the second level. He determined that the staff bots either didn't care that he was sneaking around the pizzaplex or they were incapable of knowing he wasn't supposed to be there. Either way, that meant the animatronics were the only ones he had to avoid. Depending on how many of them there were would greatly determine how long Gregory intended to stick around. He headed up to the third level, scoping out Mazersise as he mentally counted the animatronics.

Freddy, Chica, Bonnie- no Bonnie was gone, Roxy, Monty, that bug guy, some guy named Sun, some other guy named Moon, that made seven. This place was pretty big and the animatronic seemed to cluster together a lot. The Mega Pizzaplex had food, bathrooms, and it was clean. If Gregory could avoid coming into direct contact with the face characters or security guards, he could hide out here through the rest of the winter season at the very least.

The boy continued into El’ Chips, a little disappointed to discover that it was just a Mexican restaurant. He considered snagging a bag of chips for breakfast before remembering he had a Fazbar in his pocket. He munched on the candy bar before finding a door that took him into an arcade. If he was going to stick around for a while he needed to find a place to serve as his hideout. A place no one, not security or the animatronics , would look. Once Gregory was bored of the arcade he slipped back out into the atrium. Realizing he was in the Superstar arcade. He heard voices and looked towards the Fazcade in time to see Freddy and Roxy coming out of the elevator.  The boy dropped to a crouch and ducked behind a food stand as the pair moved closer.

“ I didn't see him in the tunnels, but then again, I don't know how deep those things go,” the wolf shrugged dismissively.

“ No, DJ wouldn't be in the tunnels, I suspect he is afraid of them or at least strongly dislikes them,” Freddy explained, Roxy scoffed.

“ So what? No one goes in there now? He just leaves them to be abandoned?” Gregory raised an eyebrow as they paused by the escalators.

“ Yes I believe so, besides if he wishes to be left alone we should respect that, I just wanted to check on him,” Freddy sighed, and Rroxy patted his shoulder.

“ You got to stop worrying about everyone else Freddy, You just lost your partner, worry about you,” she advised before heading down the escalator, Freddy watched her go then looked across the Atrium towards Bonnie Bowl. His ears drooped and then the bear followed her down.

 Once they were gone Gregory moved quickly towards the Fazcade, hopping into the elevator and admiring the poster of Freddy as he waited for the doors to open. He blinked in surprise at the massive gold statue that stood under the color changing neon lights. Taking two steps forward as the boy tried to take in the arcade. The ceiling had a spider web pattern on it for some reason, the floor was packed with arcade cabinets. There were also holes of various sizes that lined the walls, each pulsing with a designated color. Once Gregory had done a full rotation, taking in the stairs with Freddy heads on the edge of the railings as well as the bridge that connected the upper levels, did Gregory spot the archway directly behind him. The archway led towards a very foggy dance floor, upon entering the club-like space Gregory spotted the stage with what looked like two massive turntables on it and a large tunnel opening behind. The boy hesitated before climbing onto the stage. The maw of the tunnel seemed to loom over him and Gregory glanced again at the turntables that were as tall as he was. How big did something need to be to use them? He looked back to the tunnel, hardening his resolve before stepping into it. The bright lights that had been close to the entrance faded as he walked. He put a hand on the wall to guide himself.

It felt like he had been walking for roughly 30 minutes and was thinking about turning back when he saw a light ahead of him. It wasn't a bright neon light of the arcade but a warm glow, like a bulb that Gregory was pretty sure shouldn't exist anymore. With light ahead of him Gregory charged on, his footsteps more certain and moving faster till he reached the tunnel's exit. He came to a dead stop, his eyes wide as he took in the site before him. It was a very large dome like room that had various tunnel openings sporadically across the walls. Reminding Gregory of ant colonies or beehives, various folding tables were set against the walls. Piles of cardboard boxes were placed about with labels like toolbox or more tools. Gregory thought he even saw one labeled wires n shit. A red duffel bag lay not far from where Gregory stood, none of this is what made the boy’s heart drop into his stomach though. No, the cause of that would be the massive spider-like animatronic laying in the center of the room. It resembled the animatronic Gregory saw the day before, same headphones, same tophat, same blue eyebrows and cheeks, same nose, but it's mouth was an open mall with piano teeth. Its body was very much more bug-like with six arms coming out of it. A gloved hand at the end of each one. It laid there unmoving, two of its arms crossed in front of it, one-hand curled slightly. Was it even awake?

“ H-Hello? “Gregory called to it, It didn't answer. The boy glanced at the duffel bag practically right next to him, it might have something useful in it. Keeping an eye on the large robot, Gregory side-stepped slowly towards the bag, then dropped to his knees to start digging through it. Freezing when the sound of the bag zipper echoed through the relative silence. The thing didn't move, so Gregory continued. The first thing he found was a note.

Vernon,

Management approved the AI transfer but wants to save DJMM’S original body for some reason figure out where we can store that massive thing and how will get it there will you

Love Heather

Gregory looked back up at the thing again. He cautiously picked up a stray empty Fizzy-Faz can and tossed it at the animatronic. It didn't react as the can bounced off its nose.

“ Oh you're empty,” Gregory said mostly to himself, “sorry,” he added, turning his attention back to the bag. Inside He found a bag of yellow candies called Sunny drops, a few cans of Monte flavored fizzy-faz and a dirty looking teal jumpsuit with the name Vernon embroidered on the chest pocket. Gregor removed the sodas and candy, opening one of the sodas to consume and there , and stuffed the jumpsuit back into the bag. Creating a makeshift pillow, “ that'll be awesome tonight,” he thought out loud, grinning to himself. He looked around the room, it did seem like once they stored the robot body back here, no one came around. A decent layer of dust covered everything including the animatronic, “ but what if someone did come by,” Gregory found himself thinking, “ what if this Vernon comes looking for his bag,”  Gregory looked back at the shell of an animatronic, specifically the hand that was slightly curled. He was small enough that he might be able to lay there and be completely hidden. The boy moved to it and looked at the space between the hand in the middle arm behind it. Oh yeah he could fit. To further test this Gregory climbed over the hand and into the space and curled up like he was going to sleep. It was snug and due to the metal limbs around him, Gregory was not only shielded from view, he was also shielded from the draft of the tunnel if he hadn't noticed till he ducked down.

It also felt oddly comforting like the thing was cradling him, he immediately buried himself for the thought. It wasn't holding him! It wasn't even online! Even if it was, he didn't need it to, but it wasn't so it didn't matter!

“It's the same as hiding behind a wall,”  he told himself as he got up, “ this will work nicely,” he told the room, climbing back over the hand, “ I just got to set it up properly but it'll work!”  Once Gregory had set up his hideout with some stashed snacks, various flavors of Faz brand soda, and a tablecloth he snagged from the laundry room to use as a makeshift bedroll. The boy would spend his days blending into the crowd of visitors to the Plex and spend his nights sleeping behind the hand of the deactivated DJ music man, as Gregory learned his name was, He felt safest there, like the large bug was some kind of guard dog. Which even he knew was all in his own head, since it didn't even have its AI.

No the AI was in the forearmed body Gregory had to try not get spotted by whenever he snuck out of the tunnels every morning. Luckily for Gregory, DJ was either extremely unobservant or had a lot on his mind, because Gregory found him the easiest to avoid. So easy that when Gregory realized DJ played the various arcade games during his free time he started tormenting him by beating the bugs high scores and taunting and via high score names. Gregory could even hear the bugs of voice at night echoing through the tunnels.

“ but they beat my high score on Fazbear Noir!”

“ And?”

“ AND! They did it NINE TIMES, Moon! Not once! Not three times! NINE!” DJ, while Gregory's main victim due to how easy it was to sneak around him, was not the only one the boy pranked

• He set off all the Gator golf heads in Montego skip shop to go off at once.
• He covered the weights in mazersise with dish soap to make them slippery and impossible to grip onto.
• He put tape over all the sensors on the Fazer-Blast vests so no one got points that day.
• He shook up a fizzy-faz can and rigged it to explode and Roxy's green room
• And finally he'd give a little girl in green overalls and pigtails a small handful of sunny drops and watched her terrorize the other preschoolers in the daycare on a caffeine high making the yellow daycare attendant chase her around the play areas. 

No one linked these events back to him, except for DJ, but given that he used to GGY for a score named, damn his pride, that was a given. It was fun, Gregory was having a good time observing and getting to know the animatronics. There was also a bittersweetness to it as the boy would sit in his bed listening to the sounds of the arcade. They couldn't know him the way he was knowing them, but that was fine. He didn't need or want them to know him. That was what he told himself anyway.

Then things got weird. It started on a Tuesday, when Gregory was hanging around the daycare. It was pretty empty since the older kids were playing in the arcade or the attractions. It was also the start of nap time. Gregory peaked out from the small arcade within the daycare, watching the blue clown ushering kids to naptime area, the yellow one was nowhere in sight.Gregory briefly wondered if the animatronics could have a bad day, because the blue one looked stressed and frustrated as kids refused to cooperate. Gregory slowly walked around the daycare, watching the purple eyed attendant through the glass. A calm seemed to come over him as he pulled himself together and continued to coax the kids to bed.

" No I'm asspose to stay here," Gregory heard a voice say, " Machamp said only Mr.Sun and Mr.Moon can say yes," he rounded the corner and saw the little pigtail girl in green overalls talking to a woman in a rabbit suit. She was hugging a white sock monkey that had been colored to resemble DJ. Gregory grimaced, was the rabbit a new thing they were doing? It was a bad touch. The rabbit had an open mouth grin with red eyes. It was white save for a patch of dirty gray over its left eye. It also had a blue bow tie, overall it was creepy and didn't fit the whole theme of the Plex.

" Oh, but it was your friend who sent me, he wants to see you," the rabbit lady said, making Gregory's eyes go wide as the little girl considered this. The rabbit wasn't supposed to be here was it? This was a textbook example of a kidnapping tactic Gregory warned of multiple times at school.

" No he said stay- '' the girl cut herself off with a cry as the rabbit grabbed her. Gregory looked back to the glass at the attendant, who didn't seem to hear the girl. He was busy dealing with two kids who were yelling at each other over a blanket, " Mr Moon!" the little girl yelled as she was lifted up, kicking at the rabbit. Her cries still fell on deaf ears as the rabbit quickly sprinted to a red door. It swung open as the rabbit pulled on it, then slowly drifted closed as they descended into the darkness. Gregory took his opportunity to follow without thinking. The door clicked shut behind him as he followed the girl's shouts downstairs.

" Stop it you little brat!" the rabbit snapped, Gregory stopped when he caught up. It was holding the girl by her biceps at arms length, it seemed like they'd stopped just to try and get a better hold of the girl. They were at a set of red double doors, a can of Fizzy-Faz set on a nearby stack of boxes. Gregory grabbed the white can and hucked at the rabbit. It bounced off the back of her head and made her look at him. His blood ran cold as their eyes met, this gave the green overall girl the opportunity to kick the rabbit in the stomach. She dropped the girl, staggered back and held her stomach. The girl sprinted into a nearby vent and disappeared leaving only the echoes of her sobs behind. The rabbit watched her go then turned back to Gregory, who was realizing he should have run too. 

No time like the present, he turned and sprinted back down the hall he came from. Footsteps followed, Gregory found a set of stairs that had an image of a golf ball with two clubs sitting next to them. He sprinted up them, as he did he heard a ringing as well as the pulsing sound that made his head feel like something was trying to expand from the center of it. He reached a red door, but it wouldn't open, so he banged on it desperately. Suddenly the door did swing open and he stumbled forward, a metal hand grabbed his shoulder to steady him.

" Take a map?!" Gregory winced as he look up at the Mapbot ( as he had learned its name was ) He tried to pull away from the bat as the ringing was getting louder 

" I-I Have to go I-," Gregory looked around realizing he was in the back area of the golf course with no idea where even two go.

" Take a map,"  Mapbot kept a firm hand on his shoulder and started wheeling him down the hall towards another red door. It opened for them revealing the golf course.

" Thanks," Gregory told it. It offered him one of its maps.

" Take a map,"  Gregory chuckled weakly and took it.

" Thanks," He said again, hurrying into the golf course. The bot followed before turning off to head deeper into the course, probably to avoid the gator that was talking to kids by his stage. Gregory snuck past him and into the elevator to the atrium. Once the doors closed the ringing stopped. The boy let out a sigh of relief, then as the doors opened again he remembered the girl. What can he do about the girl? Maybe leave a tip for staff? Tell a staffbot? Why didn't he tell the Mapbot?!

"Oh I would wait on Fazer-Bast," an employee was telling some parents, " They shut it down to deal with a kid that got into the vents." Gregory didn't stick around to hear the parents' response. He booked it towards Fazer-blast, he stopped short when he entered the small lobby and quickly started towards the sofas for groups waiting their turn. Not only was Freddy Fazbear here but so was DJ. The four armed- "Oh Machamp, I get it," Gregory thought to himself.  The four armed bug animatronic was holding a sock monkey he saw the little girl holding earlier.

" It's quite the likeness, perhaps they'll make an official plushies soon and she could purchase one," Freddy said DJ rolled his yellow pupils.

“ Yeah, perhaps, it’s a good thing I don’t have lungs, I won’t pass out while I hold my breath,” Gregory snorted, covering his mouth, " so she's just in there?" he asked, gesturing to the door that led to the arena. Freddy sighed.

“ Not exactly, we have the attraction shut down for now, come with me,” he guided DJ through the door, and the boy moved to the arcade games nearby. Using a cheat code to start the game without a token and start to play it. He wanted to make sure the girl was okay, it wasn't long before he heard the door open and looked over to see Freddy and DJ exit the arena. The girl hugged her monkey and curled up in DJ's arms, both robots looked worried. Gregory couldn't hear what they were saying, but he didn't really need to, the girl seemed fine and she’d probably tell them about the rabbit lady. So he left Fazer-blast, not wanting to risk getting spotted by either animatronic. He was also still a bit shaken from the rabbit lady himself, so he decided to head back to the west arcade and hide out for the rest of the day into the night. The problem only got worse.

That night Gregory didn't hear the bug animatronic return. He knew the animatronics were supposed to be on locked down, but couldn't hear the DJ talking to the cabinets in a way that resembled a streamer or let's player, like he had been the night before. Gregory made his way to the arcade through the tunnel that was at a slant, he had to brace himself against the walls to get through it. He leaned forward to peek and make sure the bug wasn't broken or something. But what would he do if DJ was broken, sure he knew a good amount of programming and hacking enough to cheat some of the arcade games ( some he refused to hack out of pride )But he didn’t know anything about mechanics. It didn't matter, the arcade was empty. He stepped down the tunnel he climbed through, it came out on the second level. Gregory looked out over the arcade then froze when he heard the staff door open. It had to be a staff door. He saw the rabbit lady enter the arcade from the ground floor. She was looking for something. Looking for him.

“ Little boy, are you here?” she called, sounding a bit like she was talking through a fan. Gregory took several steps back, he bumped into a small motorcycle ride. It activated, making a lot of Vroom noises. Gregory's heart stopped, he turned and scrambled to get back into the tunnel. “ Little boy? I know you're here~” Gregory slid down the tunnel like a tube slide and sprinted for the giant offline robot. He climbed into his hiding spot behind the robot’s hand and pressed his back to the giants palm. A small portion of his mind noted that it was cushioned. Gregory hugged his knees to his chest, panting as he willed his heart rate to slow. The pounding in his chest was getting painful.” Where are you hiding,” He heard her voice echo through the tunnels as she passed one of the openings in the arcade. Gregory hid his face in his knees, his eyes closed. He imagined the fingers that sheilded him from view curled around him. He didn't sleep that night. Only a couple hours after the haunting voice stopped calling for him did Gregory's heart slow enough to allow him to pass out, slumped against the slightly curled fingers of his giant guardian. When he woke he took the old jumpsuit out of the red duffle bag he was using as a make shift pillow and stuffed his stash of food and the table cloth inside it. He was cutting his losses, clearly hiding in the Mega Pizzaplex was a bad idea. Some creepy rabbit lady was sneaking around trying to abduct kids and Gregory refused to be one of them! He patted the arm of his guardian once he was packed.

“ Thanks for your help,” He knew it was empty and sure the AI out in the arcade probably would have reported him, But it felt wrong not to thank it. It had provided a weird source of comfort Gregory hadn’t felt in the while and he wondered if he would ever feel again. As he headed back to the tunnel towards the dance floor stage some adult spotted him, probably figured he was just playing on the stage, because they didn't say anything as he jumped down. He took the side hall that brought him past the bathrooms, it was a long it was the long way to the elevator but he wanted eyes off of him. As he approached the statue of the band he saw Freddy, Monty, DJ, Mapbot and the girl from the day before standing at the bottom of the stairs. The group completely blocked them, Gregory wondered if they knew or cared.

“ And Moon put Timmy in time out?” DJ was asking the little girl in his arms, Gregory went around the statue avoiding their line of sight.

“ That’s what he said! He said “ I’m putting you in time out” the little girl answered, doing a creepy voice as she did “ But he didn’t put  him in the time out chair he took him out, and I left and snuck into the movie room! ” Gregory stopped, still hiding behind the statue. Was the rabbit lady getting the daycare Moon guy to do her dirty work for her now?

“ This is very serious,” He heard Freddy say once the girl stopped talking  “ I’ll put out an alert for Timmy and head to the Daycare to make sure everything is alright with the attendant,  Monty, I’ve just pinged Roxy and Chica to check their areas for Timmy, would you be willing to check the area surrounding the Daycare, as well as Monty golf? I will check kid’s cove on my way to Fazer-blast once I’ve spoken to the attendant,” Freddy was still talking but Gregory could see Monty heading for the elevator. The boy peeked around the statue to look at Freddy in awe.

THIS!  This was the Freddy Fazbear he knew and loved! The leader! The problem solver! The mystery solver! The bear who sang the jams and saved the day! Who never. . . ran away. . . Gregory's bag felt heavy all of a sudden. He gripped the white strap tightly with both hands/ Freddy wouldn't run,  he'd do his best to help! Kids were in danger as long as that rabbit lady was running around! Resolve found Gregory turned sharply and made his way to a tunnel that no one would notice him slip into.

 “ change of plans,”  he told his empty husk friend as it's looming figure came into view, “  I'm going to help get rid of that psycho furry,” He declared. DJMM's old empty body gave no response.

Chapter Text

The cartoon made it look a lot easier. It was supposed to be three clues, and they were supposed to be laying around. Probably off color because they were not part of the background ! But the whole day Gregory searched the plex and found nothing . Of course he was  only searching the public areas, he didn’t have access to the employee areas unless a staff member left a door open. Which hadn’t happened since the rabbit lady tried to take that girl. He was getting increasingly frustrated. Venting his frustrations to his AI-less guardian when he heard voices echo through the tunnels.

" Darling I don't know what you mean, I didn't take-"

" Save it, Olivia told me you took this kid to Time out, I found that creepy parts and service hallway, I know it's somewhere down there, where is it,” Gregory heard DJ say. He crept quietly through one of the tunnels.

" Someone's been snooping~" He heard Moon’s raspy sing song voice as he came out on the second level, there was no ground below Gregory. So he hugged the wall as he watched DJ and Moon arguing by the bridge over the arcade. DJ crossed his arms over his chest, seeming to have knocked Moon’s hand away from him.

" Do not use that voice on me, it won't work for you ." DJ snapped, Moon gave him a confused look. 

" What do you mean?" He asked, DJ pointed at him. 

" You're not Moon," The silence that followed was heavy, if DJ had a heart it'd be beating heard in his chest. Then Moon laughed a loud cackle. 

Of course I am, Oh Sweetheart are you confused-" 

" No." DJ boomed, even Gregory flinched at it. The situation was causing a sickening feeling in Gregory’s gut, his mind kept flashing back to his various foster parents arguing. Then he shook his head, focussing on what the bug animatronic was saying and not the weird attachment he’d developed,  " I'm not, I don't know for sure how you got in there, but I know you're not Moon, maybe you think you are but you're not, you're something else, something that's latched onto him, “ Something that’s latched onto him? Gregory thought on that, tuning DJ out as he chewed on his thumbnail. That almost sounded like a virus? Had the rabbit lady used a virus? He tuned back in time for DJ to wrap up his long spiel, “ but whatever you are, you're not Moon, you are not my Angel," Gregory heard Moon’s headplate click as it rotated.

" Does it matter?" He asked, Gregory blinked in surprise. Was it actually a virus?! " Does it truly matter if I am something else or not? I Love you just as much as "he" does- more even, I've done things he's only ever thought about doing. I've done so much for you-"

" It does matter, I never asked for you to do those things,  hell I didn't want you to do those things! What you've done is insane, and he-"

" Please, if I had done things his way you wouldn't be here, “ Gregory was struggling to stay present again, so he turned them out again. Choosing to focus on an earlier statement DJ had said. 

“ I found that creepy parts and service hallway, I know it's somewhere down there .” Creepy Parts and Service hallway? That sounded like Gregory really needed to figure out how to get into the staff tunnels. So the rabbit lady might be hacking Moon, or using a virus on him, and there was a creepy hallway down in Parts and Service. 

" You think killing people and putting all three of us at risk of decommissioning is  saving me?" DJ asked, snapping Gregory back into the conversation. Moon was killing people . That was bad, he chose to back down the tunnel before the murderous bot spotted him. 

" Are you not listening?! She was going to delete you, they tortured you for hours," He heard Moon’s voice echo and DJ’s respond;

" I want you out of my boyfriend, and I will personally rip you out of there myself if I have to," Gregory slid onto the floor and moved back to the big DJ music man. A hallway by parts and service would mean he needed to get into the staff doors. Maybe a security officer of some kind would have one?If he could find a security guard he could pickpocket their badge or keys or whatever they had right off them! Then he’d have free range of the place! So that’s what he set out to do the next day, No wonder the rabbit lady was such a problem, security guards harder to find than genuine smiles on the employees! Ones he did find were just staff bot with black baseball hats. What was more frustrating was that he had less time than normal to blend in because the plex was closing early for a private party. Gregory huffed and snagged a bag of meatballs and a can of chica chug from the prize corner before leaning over the railing to look over the atrium, Stuffing the meatballs in his mouth. 

He paused when he saw a woman walking down the escalator towards the floor, she was wearing a security uniform. He abandoned his snacks but the sound booth, sprinting towards the escalators, and descending quickly towards the ground floor. He slowed to a walk as he caught up to her, she was talking to various staff, looking over a tablet as she did. He could see a badge sticking out of her pocket. She moved on from the staff, heading towards Fazer Blast, he moved quickly behind her, once he thought he was close enough he took a deep breath, the reached out to take the badge. His fingers grasped when the woman stopped suddenly, Gregory actually bumped, and fell back on his butt, badge in hand. She turned, her yellow eyes locked with Gregory’s blue. 

“ What do you think you’re doing?” She asked, Gregory didn’t think, he reacted, scrambling back up and sprinting in the direction of Monty golf, “ Hey?!?!” He looked over his shoulder to see the blond woman chasing him. Gregory hurried into Rockstar row, nearly slipping as he took the sharp turns at full speed. People looked at him as they were leaving the attraction. The actual hall was empty as Gregory sprinted past the empty green rooms, the lady had fallen behind. Meaning she wouldn’t see him roll under the metal door at the other end. He panted as he watched the metal door drop behind him. He didn’t hear the lady following him, grinning Gregory stood up.

“ Ha! Suck it Lady!” He turned, his heart stopped as he realized he wasn’t alone. DJ Music Man stood behind him, blue pupils very much fixed on him for once. Gregory’s first thought should have been “ I’m dead” but instead it was, “ Woah, what happened to you ?” Which he voiced without thinking. DJ’s left headphone was gone leaving a cracked and chipped hole with wires poking out. His secondary left arm hung limp at his side, swaying slightly. A blue beam blinked out of DJ’s eyes and Gregory realized the bug scanned him. 

“ You don’t have a guest-” His eyes turned orange as he rolled them, “ You know what, I don’t have time for this,” DJ dismissed, moving to the door Gregory just rolled under. The boy stepped around him to maintain distance, just in case. . . “ Just stay out of trouble,”  the animatronic told him as the door lifted. It stopped at it’s usual stopping point, “ Is this as high as it goes?” He wondered out loud. 

“ Yeah it’s been like that all week, '' Gregory answered without thinking. DJ turned back to him, his eyes were still orange, but they were lidded so Gregory could see his eyelids were the same color as his mouth. A blue eye brow raised, the boy realized what he said, “ So I’ve heard. . . '' he said quickly. DJ didn’t look convinced, but didn’t push it.

“ right. . .” He said, turning back to the door, with a heavy sigh DJ got on his knees, then dropped to his stomach, shimmying under the door. Gregory couldn’t fight the snort that burst out of him. 

“ Wow you look so stupid right now, “ he giggled, DJ made an irritated bass sound. 

“ You know I could still report you kid,” DJ snapped through the door, still shimmying. 

“ Nah, you can’t, you don’t have time,” the boy retorted. DJ made another annoyed bass sound.

“ Just go away!” He made it to the other side of the door, and stood up. Gregory snickered, about to head towards the Atrium to find a staff door for his ill gotten security badge, “ Actually a couple more things,” Gregory paused, looking back at the door to see DJ looking at him through the door gap, “ You see a rabbit lady you book it,” he warned, Gregory resisted the urge to give a sarcastic response and instead nodded, “ and avoid the security lady if you see her, I don’t trust her,” he finished, Gregory couldn’t hold it in this time.

“ Don’t gotta tell me twice,” He turned and headed for the atrium without giving the bug animatronic a goodbye. He heard the metal door shut behind him. Separating him from the DJ. Gregory did ponder DJ’s warning as he moved through the construction filled hall. He didn’t trust the security lady? Not “ I don’t want to get in trouble if you get caught,” but “ I don’t trust her” . Did she have something to do with the rabbit lady? Who even was she?! Gregory slowed to a walk as he entered the atrium. The band was on stage, playing some weird glamrock song Gregory didn’t know. He skirted the edge of the atrium, looking for a staff door. 

“ Hey! You!” Gregory tried to book it but the security lady was faster and grabbed his arm, “ Knew you’d circle back you little-” Screamed from the audience in the party zone made both the woman and the boy look up at the stage. Fredy’s head was twitching violently, Chica was watching him with confused concern. He staggered as if he was trying to regain his balance, this caught the attention of his other bandmates. Monty and Roxy, who exchanged looks, then Freddy was falling. Gregory saw Monty reach out to grab his arm but missed, the bear hit the floor of the stage with a heavy thud. Chica moved to kneel down next to him. Audience members were yelling, kids were crying. Gregory looked up at the security lady to see she was still watching the absolute shit show happening on stage. Her eyes wide with shock. Gregory ripped his arm free and sprinted towards the red door into the food prep area behind the foodcourt/ He pressed his security badge to the card reader. It beeped and swung open, he heard the woman yelling for him, and turned as he slammed the door. Hoping that because he had her badge she wouldn’t be able to get through. He didn’t stick around to test his theory, but  he did hear her banging on the door and her muffled yells of frustration as he sprinted into the dingy kitchen elevator and took it downstairs. He panted as he tried to remember why he even needed to go downstairs. Right! The creepy hallway by parts and service!  Gregory had to doge some human staff that was sprinting through a red door to his right, he spotted the words on the back of their blue jumpsuits. 

Parts & Service

He followed or tried to anyway. After three doors and turns he lost sight of them. He huffed in frustration and started guessing, he’d have to find his way eventually right? The lights suddenly dimmed and flickered, making the boy look up at them in confusion. It did this for a couple minutes, then some stayed on while others went out. Gregory raised an eyebrow but ultimately shrugged it off. With all the construction going on in Roxy raceway there were probably some areas where the wiring sucked. 

“ Little Boy?” Gregory heard someone call and he couldn’t tell if it was the rabbit lady or the security lady. He wasn’t going to stick around to find out. He sprinted through door after door until he finally came to a familiar set of double red doors. It was the same area he’d stopped the rabbit lady from taking the little girl. He saw the sign above the red doors. 

Parts & Survive.

“ Little boy,” Gregory panicked and sprinted through the double doors, only to be met by a second set of doors. Gregory groaned as he sprinted through those too and came to a dead stop. 

Freddy Fazbear stood before him, inactive. His head low, his eyes closed. Almost like he was sleeping. His stomach hatch was often for some reason, exposing the mechanics inside. Gregory blinked then let out a frustrated groan as he stomped his foot. He wasn’t supposed to be in parts and service ! He was supposed to find the creepy hallway by parts and service! He turned to go back the way he came but the door didn’t budge/ He tried his badge again but it made a low buzzing sound. Gregory gave the card a confused look, it got him in here, why wouldn’t it let him out?! Gregory heard voices heading towards the doors, he looked over his shoulder at Freddy, then grimaced before turning towards the bear. He didn’t have much choice other than to climb into the open stomach hatch. He tucked himself into a tight and uncomfortable ball. Knees hugged to his chest before he closed the hatch. 

“ Yeah, I mean his on power restrictions, after than endow thing the other night it’s a safety precaution-”

“ How does power restrictions prevent him from attacking people?” The security lady’s voice cut the newcomer’s voice off. 

“ Uh. . . . it does?” They offered lamely, even Gregory rolled his eyes. The security lady made an annoyed huffing sound. 

“ Whatever, just take him back to his room, I gotta track down a kid that stole a security badge,” She said.

“ Yes Ma'am,” a different voice said, he heard the doors open and close, “ bitch,” Gregory had to cover his mouth to stop the gawfa that nearly escaped him. 

“ Dude, “ The first scolded, “ she could still hear you !” 

“ Nah, she can’t, c’mon let’s get Freddy on the dolly, then we can wheel him to his room.
The first guy sighed.

“ Up those stairs?” he whined.

“ Oh shut up and let’s get this over with.” Gregory quickly decided that if he survived being inside Freddy’s stomach hatch he was never climbing into a robot again. He could feel metal points poking him and was starting to feel claustrophobic. It was not cozy like his hiding spot in the west arcade. Eventually movement did stop, and Gregory was left alone inside a deactivated Freddy. It felt like hours Gregory was stuck in the cramped space. His limbs started to go numb as they fell asleep. Gregory tried to stretch, he heard a click, and the tell tale sound of machinery coming to life. Gregory gulped as the robot moved, swaying and making the boy nauseous.

“ Show time already?” Freddy’s voice box must have been near Gregory’s ear because it was loud and the boy winced, covering his ears. Feeling the uncomfortable vibrations as Freddy continued, “ I’m experiencing a malfunction, the recharge was complete,” who was he talking to? Himself? Gregory’s head felt like it was going to split open if he kept talking.

“ Sh! Will you shut up!” he snapped without thinking, then covered his mouth. 

“ Who said that?” Freddy asked, his voice notably quieter. 

“ I did,” Gregory figured his options were fess up to Freddy and hope that like DJ, the bear would let  him go, or wait til a staff member found him in the hatch. Or die he supposed, death was an option, “ I’m down here!” There was a pause, and Gregory felt the robot lean forward as if looking down. 

“ Down where? I still do not see you,” Freddy sounded confused, Gregory sighed.

“ Okay listen,” he started, Freddy stilled, “ You were sleeping and the stomach hatch was open so I crawled inside,” He confessed quickly, he hoped Freddy didn’t ask why . 

“ My stomach hatch?” The bear echoed slowly as if processing the words, then as if in a panic, “ That place is reserved for oversized birthday cakes and pinatas! It is not a safe play area!” Gregory almost retorted defensively that he wasn’t playing, but Freddy was moving, rotating it felt like. Then suddenly the hatch opened. Gregory quickly made his escape, he should have expected Freddy to grab him before his feet even touch the floor though. He held the boy to his face, “ There you are!” He declared cheerfully as if they were playing a game of hide and seek. The same blue light that came out of DJ’s eyes scanned over the boy.

“ Scanning complete, How odd. . .” Freddy set Gregory down on his feet, letting the boy get his bearings while the bear continued, “ Your guest profile is unknown to me. . .  Who are you?” He was inside Freddy’s green room, though why it was called a green room was beyond Gregory. The walls were orange, it was also a bit messier than Gregory expected it to be sure. Sure he’d gotten quick glances of it but he didn’t exactly stick around. He turned back to the bear, suddenly aware of his station. He was standing in front of his favorite Fazbear character, and his voice struggled suddenly. 

“ I-I’m Gregory. . .” he felt his face heat up at his stutter. 

“ Gregory. . . .” The bear echoed, making the boy feel childish excitement again, “ I will notify the main office,” Gregory’s heart sank but before he could protest the bear frowned, “ Huh connection error,” He must have mistaken Gregoyr’s expression for confusion because he clarified, “ I cannot connect to the main network.” 

“ That's . . . weird . . .” Why would Freddy be disconnected from the main network?

“ It is. . .” The bear agreed, clearly thinking, “ What were you doing that led you to climb into my chest cavity?” He asked suddenly, hands on his hips.Gregory picked his words carefully, spotting the door out of the room and moving to it. 

“ I uh. . . Was running from someone, and I got locked in a creepy room with a chair, and you,” Gregory tried the security badge, the door didn’t open. Freddy noticed the badge.

“ That is a security badge, it is intended for security personnel, how did you get one?” He asked, Gregory stuffed the useless thing back in his pocket. 

“ I found it,” he lied, Freddy raised an eyebrow, “ Look I was running from a rabbit lady, I found it and found you and now here we are!” Gregory doubled down on his lie, Freddy’s eyes went wide. 

“ Rabbit lady? You’ve seen her?” he asked, Gregory nodded. 

“ Yeah! Yeah and I was running cuz she was gonna get me and the bug guy told me to avoid the security lady cuz he didn’t trust her, so I was running from both,” Gregory continued to explain, skirting around the truth. Freddy closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

“ DJ. . .” He sighed in an almost irritated tone, “ Officer Vanessa is the head of security,” He continued patiently, “ She can help.” 

“ No! I don’t trust her!” Gregory insisted, Freddy tilted his head. 

“ Why not?” He asked, besides DJ told me not to Gregory didn’t have a good reason. 

“ I just don’t!  Please don’t tell her I’m here,” The boy pleaded, Freddy considered this, then sighed heavily. 

“ Very well, there is still the matter of you being here, the plex closes in twenty minutes, we need to get you to the main entrance before then because the building will go into lockdown.” He explained, Gregory knew this already, but he wasn’t about to admit it,  Or Freddy might find out the truth about his living situation and notify child services. He didn’t want to leave the plex without finishing what he set out to do, but he couldn’t think of a good argument so instead he nodded. He’d have to find a way back in later. 

“ But we can’t leave this room, the badge stopped working,” Gregory gestured to the door, Freddy grimaced. 

“ There . . . is another way out. . .” He sighed, “ Follow me,” He moved to a door next to his mirror desk, it opened  and Gregory hurried to follow Freddy into the room beyond it. It was dark and looked like a storage room. A charging station sat next to a stack of boxes, “ there,” He pointed to a vent above the stack, “ That vent should take you out into Rockstar Row,” Gregory hesitated. 

“ I have to go in there?!” Gregory asked nervously, “ It’s pretty dark in there,”  Freddy patted the top of Gregory’s head sympathetically, then as if an idea came to him he started walking towards the well lit green room. Gregory followed, not because he was afraid of being alone in the dark , because he wasn’t . He was just wondering what the bear was doing. 

“ Aha!” The bear offered a small to the boy, it was wrapped up in an orange wrapping paper with a black bow atop it. He hesitantly took it.

“ What is it?” He asked as he carefully removed the boy. He learned the hard way he had to be careful of gifts given to him. Luckily it had been some teenagers who gave him a slushie they poured laxatives in as a prank and not anything more serious. 

“ It’s a novelty Fazwatch. I was supposed to hand it to the birthday girl. . . my memory is fuzzy but I believe I malfunctioned before I could,” Freddy explained as Gregory opened the gift box. It was an orange and blue smart watch made to look like Freddy’s head, “ With this I’ll be able to keep in contact with you, once we sync it to my systems of course with the main network down,” Freddy finished while Gregory  got the watch out of its box and tried to put it on. He struggled since he could only use one hand. Freddy let him for a while, then knelt down and offered his hand. 

“ Let me help you Superstar,” Gregory hesitated before giving the bear his wrist. To Gregory’s surprise the bear expertly fastened the watch to his wrist, “ is that alright? Not too loose, not too tight?” Freddy asked, Gregory nodded, “ Good, now, ”  Freddy leaned down and pulled Gregory’s arm so the watch’s face pressed against his bowtie. After a pause Gregory heard his watch beep. “ Sync complete,” Freddy released Gregory;s arm. Gregory’s watch beeped again, prompting the boy to look at it. 

GFF: Hello Gregory! It’s me Freddy! Now that the Fazwatch is connected to my private network, you can go through the vent to Rockstar row!

 Gregory looked up hesitantly at Freddy who wiggled his ears suddenly. Despite himself, Gregory giggled. 

“ There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Freddy assured, placing his hand atop his messy brown hair, “ You can do it,” Gregory swallowed, then nodded. Turning back to the storage room. He heard Freddy behind him, probably to make sure he got into the vent alright. He moved quietly passing each of the green rooms, catching snippets of what was going on in each of them. Though he didn’t linger, especially at Monty’s. Gator sounded like he was on a rampage. Once he reached the end of the vent, he jumped down. He felt something scrape his left leg as he did, upon landing he checked it but saw nothing. Contacting Freddy as he walked towards the bear's room. His watch prompted him to speak now . 

“ Uh Freddy? I’m out of the vent, what now?” He had expected another text to come through, but instead Freddy’s voice spoke up. 

“ Excellent!  You will need a photo pass to open my door so I can escort you to the main exit,” Freddy was standing by his window as Gregory approached. 

“ Where can I get one?” the boy asked, Freddy pointed towards the door that would take him to the atrium by Roxy Raceway. 

“ There is a convenience counter next to a cut out of me,they should be sitting on it, if they’re not let me know,” Freddy told him, Gregory nodded and hurried to the door, he ducked under it and scanned the room. He spotted the cut out of a cartoony space Freddy, on the counter next to it was a small stack of passes.

“ Hey Freddy, I see the passes, are these a one time use thing? Do I need multiple of them?” Gregory asked his watch.

“ Oh no, all passes are reusable and get returned when the guests leave the plex, however you shouldn’t need to use it more than once,” Freddy reminded him, Gregory picked up the pass, cursing himself. Why’d he ask that? What if Freddy figured out he was planning to come back?! Shaking the thought off, Gregory hurried back to Freddy’s Green room door. Freddy grinned at him as it slid open. 

“ Way to go Superstar!” He ruffled Gregory’s hair, “ Now we can take the staff tunnels to the main entrance, it’ll be faster, but you will need to hide in my chest cavity.” 

“ Do I have to?” Gregory asked, Freddy frowned. 

“ I do not care for the idea either but if you don’t wish to be spotted by security it would keep you out of sight,  plus with your fazwatch you’ll be able to see through my camera feed,” Freddy explained, tapping his eyes. Gregory sighed, fidgeting with the watch.

“ Alright, just be careful, I don’t wanna become a meat pretzel,” he said, Freddy nodded.

“ Of course! I do not wish for that either,” He opened his stomach, hatch and after a pause, Gregory climbed inside. Freddy moved slowly and carefully towards a set of red double doors. As they descended down the stairs beyond it Gregory saw something quickly crawl along the walls and down out of sight. It moved so quickly Gregory almost didn’t see it.

“ Little boy? If you’re down here, say something!” Gregory heard the security lady, vanessa? Call out.

“ Ah! She’s down here! A-and I saw something on the wall!” Gregory exclaimed, Freddy hummed. 

“ Yes I saw it too but don’t worry, you will be hidden as long as we’re traveling together,” The bear assured him. With that they continued down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom Freddy paused, “ I sense you are broken,” He said rather suddenly, Gregory blinked.

“ Wha-” he felt something wet on his leg and pressed his hand to it and brought it to his face. Using the fazwatch as a light source, he was bleeding from a small cut on his leg. He shrugged it off, wiping the blood away with his hand. 

“ Don’t worry about it I’m fine-” 

“ No I am taking you to the first aid station,” Freddy stated, leaving no room for argument as he hurried down the dark halls. Gregory still tried though.

“ No! There’s no time!” Gregory was cut off when he was ejected out of Freddy's stomach hatch, in front of him was a white and red first aid station. It almost looked like it was plopped down without much thought. Gregory looked over his shoulder at Freddy who pointed to the station. The boy was about to snap at the bear when he heard footsteps heading for them. He swallowed his words and hurried into the first aid station. He peeked out just as Vanessa rounded the corner, her flashlight’s beam landing on Freddy.

“ Freddy! “ She snapped as the bear turned to her, feigning surprise, “ You’re supposed to be on lockdown!” Freddy blinked at her. 

“ Officer Vanessa! I-I do not know how I got here,” Gregory facepalmed, really? That was the best excuse the bear had?! He let the curtain close, and took a better look at his leg. It was bleeding a bit, but not bad. Freddy totally overreacted. 

“ Well you totally blew it tonight,” Vanessa scolded the bear, Gregory fetched a bandaid and carefully and quietly applied it. “ Your systems crashed and you ruined the show,” Gregory glared at the curtain, that didn;t sound like something that was Freddy’s fault, “ Now parts and service has you on power reserved power, said it was a safety precaution, “ She sighed “ Just another thing to deal with,” Was she seriously unloading and blaming her problems on Freddy? The bear didn’t ask to malfunction. At least Gregory assumed he didn’t. 

“ I. . . Apologize . . .” Freddy said carefully. 

“ Whatever,” Vanessa continued, “ Look we’re fifteen minutes to close and there's some kid running around backstage. He stole one of my security badges but I deactivated it,” Gregory pulled the useless badge out of his pocket  then tossed it in the Freddy themed trash can inside the station. “ If you see anything let me know, I’ve already alerted the others, now go back to your room,” Gregory heard her leave, but before he could slip out of the first aid station the curtain was pulled open by Freddy who looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“ Where exactly did you “Find”  that security badge?” He asked, the boy gulped. 

“ Uh . . .  on the ground,” he tried, Freddy didn’t look like he believed him. 

“ I do not believe you, but we do not have time to discuss it, let’s get you to the main entrance,” He said, opening his chest cavity again. 

“ You’re not going to hand me over,” Gregory asked, Freddy shook his head.

“ No. You are safe with me,” He assured the boy, “ I do not like her much either, and after that  conversation. . . I do not trust her intentions,” He added seriously. Gregory nodded, climbing back into Freddy’s chest cavity. 

“ why don’t you like her? Is it cuz she treats you like shit-” Freddy cut Gregory off with a horrified gasp.

“ Gregory! Language!” Freddy scolded as they continued down the hall, “ But yes, that is part of it,  but most staff treat us like that. Our first introduction to Officer Vanessa. . .  was not under good circumstances and. . .  I do not feel she handled the situation well,” Freddy started climbing a set of stairs, “ and while she is following protocol, something about her isn’t sitting well with me,” At the top of the stairs Gregory’s visual ( and Freddy’s vision) turned red. 

-Low battery-

Freddy ejected Gregory carefully. 

“ I apologize, the recharge cycle was not complete when I found you, you will have to go the rest of the way alone,” Freddy hurried into a nearby charging station. 

“ Alone?! But-” 

“ It is a straight path to the lobby, just follow the signs,” Freddy explained, Gregory frowned but nodded.

“ Well . . . okay. . .” The boy hesitantly entered the only other door in the room. It was a long pink and white hallway that seemed to be mainly storage. He did as instructed and followed the weirdly zigzag hallway to what looked like a boiler room mixed with a control room. Completel with steam and control panels. Gregory stepped onto the grated floor and saw a locked gate to his left so he went right. The ground shook as if someone was running on it.

“ There you are!” Gregory turned to look over his shoulder in time to see the gater smash the gate open. 

“ Shit!” Gregory cried out as he sprinted down the hall, he could hear Monty close behind. 

“ Are you lost?” He heard Roxy ask but he didn’t turn his head to see where she was. Skidding slightly as he took the sharp right away from Monty who was still in hot pursuit. He started past a stack of paint cans, turning his head intime to see Chica plow through them.

“ Lost boy over here!” She called as he continued to sprint up a set of stairs. He reached a room with a desk and a lot of monitors. The door slammed shut behind him as Monty slammed into it angrily. There was another door in front of him, but when he tried it it wouldn’t open. 

“ Freddy! The others are trying to get me!” Gregory exclaimed into his watch.

“ Really? I know Officer Vanessa said she alerted them but-” 

“ Freddy! Monty is trying to break the door down,” as if on cue Monty let out a particularly loud roar and banged on the door several times in loud quick succession. 

“ Where are you? Are you in a security office?” Freddy asked, Gregory looked around.

“ Uh yeah I think so, there's a computer, and boxes and stuff,” Gregory listed off.

“ Excellent! The doors will hold against Monty . . . as long as they have power,” Gr%egory looked back at the door, now that he wasn’t panicking he could see a small panel next to the door. It looked like a power bar. Panic returned when he saw it was only at 15%. 

“ Freddy the power’s only at 15%! “ Gregory exclaimed, “ And the other door is locked for me,” 

“ Alright, don’t panic, on the desk should be another security badge,” Gregory looked to the desk, “ I believe it’s stored in a tiny version of my head,” The bear clarified, Gregory found the miniature head, it was wearing a security cap. Its nose looked like a button. Gregory pushed it and it opened its mouth to reveal the security badge inside. He snatched it.

“ I got the badge!” He said into his watch. 

“ Good! Now before  you leave the room, is the computer on and open?” Gregory glanced at the doors power. 10%. He looked back at the computer.

“ yeah?” Gregory told him, “ why? Shouldn’t I go? The door’s at 10%.”

“ If you feel you must then yes, but I believe I have an idea that may help you,” Freddy answered, Gregory swallowed.

“ Okay, what is it?” he asked. 

“ Alright, there should be a security program called L.O.L.B.I.T. ” Freddy told him, “ It will look like an orange and white fox,” Gregory spotted the program icon and double clicked on it. Gregory glanced at the door while it booted up. 5%. He looked back to see the fox image took over the whole screen, text under it read;

Location Observations and Lockdowns Business and Industry Terminal.

“ Now what?” Gregory asked, once the program opened and gave Gregory a set of options.

“ Now select Cameras ,  Allow access and my name,” Freddy explained, Gregory responded as he did what he was told.

“ You mean you didn’t have access before?! ” He looked back at the door. 1%. He booked it out the other door and dove into the first cleaning cart he saw. Only slightly regretting the decisions as it was full of broken pinatas and some forgotten candy. Gregory examined the orange and blue wrapper. Carrot Drops? . He shrugged and pocketed the candy as he heard Monty finally drain the doors power with a victorious shout. The gater punished something inside the office before storming past Gregory’s hiding spot.

“ No I did not, only four-'' Freddy cut himself off, then after a pause continued, “ Only three of us are classified as security bots, and therefore have access to the camera feed, but by granting me access just now, your fazwatch should also have access since it is synced to my private network.” Freddy explained, “ Try it!’  Gregory hesitated, then did. He watched Chica loop around the strange hall that circled a square. Monty stormed out a set of double doors with a sign that read Lobby . 

“ Cool!” Gregory grinned, Freddy hummed in thought, “ What?” 

“ I am reviewing the footage of the others chasing you moments ago. . . their behavior concerns me, it may be best to continue to avoid them,” Freddy advised, Gregory nodded.

“ Okay, “ He agreed, climbing out of the cart. With the camera's aid he easily snuck past Chica and headed for the lobby. 

“ Attention! The Mega Pizza Plex is now closed,” a voice announced, Gregory sprinting for the closing metal shutters. “Initiating Nighttime Protocols,” Gregory paused, seeing an opportunity in front of him. It wasn’t like he wanted to leave the plex, he just knew Freddy wouldn’t let him stay but if he got locked in ? It was the perfect excuse to stick around, maybe even get Freddy to help him figure out what was going on around here. So Gregory stopped and watched the shutter doors closed, locking him inside.

Chapter Text

Once the doors closed Gregory faked panic as he spoke into his Fazwatch.

“ Freddy! I-I’m still here! I got locked in!” Gregory turned towards the giant Freddy statue in the center of the lobby. 

“ How unfortunate Gregory, but there is still hope, you can still escape when the doors reopen at 6:00 Am, I am done recharging for now, and heading to you, so try to stay hidden and do not draw attention to yourself,” Freddy instructed, Gregory nodded uselessly.

“ Okay Freddy,” He looked around for a place to sit and wait. 

“ Oh dear. . . um change of plans. What is the number on your security badge?” Freddy asked suddenly, Gregory looked at his badge, it wasn’t impressive, a white card with a black stripe. It read level one.

“ A One,” Gregory told him, Freddy sighed heavily through the fazwatch.

“ Okay then, it seems in an attempt to keep you from backtracking this way, Monty had broken this security door by punching the button, so I cannot get to you this way,” 

“ Okay. . .? “ Gregory wasn’t surprised but what did that have to do with his badge?

“ And Unfortunately that is not a high enough clearance to get you into the Atrium through the elevator now that lockdown’s been initiated.” Freddy continued, “ You will need to find an entrance pass, hopefully you can find an all access one at the convenience counter,” Gregory blinked at the badge.

“ What? A level one doesn’t get you into the Atrium?!” 

“ Level one is what is handed to every employee so they can access the break rooms,” Freddy explained. Oh, that made sense. Still stupid though, Gregory sighed heavily.

“ Okay,” He moved to the nearest counter with a cash register on it, “ I am looking, but why am I looking?” Gregory asked as he stood on tiptoe to peek over the counter. 

“ Because, like how you cannot access the elevators to get to the atrium I cannot access them to get to the lobby at this time,” He sounded regretful, Gregory darted across the lobby entrance to look over the other counter, “ You have to meet me halfway,” Gregory spotted a box of passes but couldn’t reach them. He huffed, glancing at the barriers that separated him from the rest of the lobby. He could easily climb over it, it was just a gate with Freddy’s face designed into it. The boy moved to it and found a gap in the bars big enough for his foot, just his foot though. As he swung his other leg after the gate his foot got stuck for a moment, sending a sharp pain through Gregory’s ankle and leg as he twisted it. He yelped and fell back off the gate. His head hit the linoleum floor as he landed on his back. He sat up slowly wincing at the headache that was forming, his ankle throbbed slightly. He grit his teeth and inhaled sharply before pushing himself to his feet. He looked around, well at least he was on the other side, he moved to the counter he saw the passes at. Limping heavily at first as his ankle protested but the pain lightened up as he walked. His head throbbed in time with his ankle, making him a little sluggish in his movements, it wasn’t the first time he had to deal with moving while in pain though so he pushed on. He finally made it to the passes and picked one up.

“ Freddy I got the pass,” He felt a wave of nausea come over him, he leaned into the wall, squinting at the fine print at the bottom, “ Oh wait,Does not admit to Atrium Shit!” 

“ Gregory! Language! Do not fret though, there’s a machine within your vicinity that will upgrade that pass for you!” Freddy promised, “ I believe it is in customer service and information, under the Fazpad,” Gregroy sighed heavily again and peaked towards the station in question. A security bot was doing laps around the Freddy statue. The opening to information was gated off, when did they start doing that?! Those spots hadn’t been gated off the first night Gregory was here! That meant Glamrock gifts right next to him was also gated off. His stomach protested at the idea of running in circles trying to find his way to the upgrade machine. 

“ I’m gonna double check for another pass first,” Gregory told Freddy, scanning the counter. 

“ Excellent idea! Work smarter, not harder!” Freddy agreed, Gregory spotted a box that was closed up. A paper taped to it read “ move Passes to ware house til further notice”. Gregory opened it, and was met with a blue daycare pick up pass. He sighed. 

“ Guess I’m trying that machine, the only other pass here is a Daycare pass,” Gregory lamented.

“ Oh? That’s great actually! I can get to the daycare through Kid’s cove!” Freddy informed him, Gregory felt relief wash over him. That’s right, Kid’s cove was connected to the daycare, he just had to dodge the security bot and go there. As he thought this, he heard a door open, he peeked over the counter and watched Chica lumber into the lobby. Gregory watched her zombie like movements, Freddy was right, that wasn’t like her from what the boy had observed all week. 

“ Where are you~” She called, Gregory released a breath, he’d have to dodge her too. She started looking over the counter across the room, “ Your family is looking for you,” She called as she moved towards the counter he was behind. Now or never. He slipped out the door before she reached the counter, walking backwards slowly. He felt a hand on his shoulder and an alarm go off. He ripped his arm free of the security bot as Chica rounded the corner towards him. Gregory turned and sprinted up the deactivated escalator. His ankle and head protested but he pushed on anyway. Taking a sharp right towards the Daycare. Chica’s heavy footsteps were behind him, the double doors beeped and he pulled them open. He continued down the dark hall, past the fountain, and charging station. Rolling under the metal door that was slowly rising for him instead of waiting for them to rise fully. Chica was still behind him, almost as if under a spotlight Gregory spotted the slide into the play area of the daycare with the sign Slide into Fun above it. Not having many other options Gregory threw himself down the slide. 

Chica called for him as he descended, the curves made his stomach protest again, he landed into a ball pit. He scrambled to put distance between him and the slide, turning to face it. After a long stretch of nothing Gregory let himself sink into the ball pit a little. Taking slow breaths to steady his stomach. Once it stopped doing acrobatics and his head throbbed less he looked around to get his bearings. Gregory had never been inside this part of the daycare, only ever observing it through the windows. Suddenly Gregory felt his heart stop, wasn’t there another animatronic-

Before he could finish the thought he felt two hands grab him from under his arms and hoist him into the air. He was tossed into the air in a way that spun him around so when he was caught again he was face to face with the pupiless eyes of the Daycare attendant. 

“ Helllllloooooo~!” He greeted cheerfully, Gregory saw the familiar blue flash and he knew this clown had scanned him, “ New Friend! You’re sure up late, where are all your friends?” Gregory grimaced, not only was Sun (If the boy recalled correctly) so loud that it made his head feel like his brain would start oozing out of his ears, but he was moving so fast to carry Gregory out of the ball put it made his stomach churn, “ are we having a-” Gregory threw up, it wasn’t a lot since all he’d eaten that day was three Sunnydrops, a stale lemon faz-bar, a chica chug and some meatballs. Sun held the boy at arms length, ( Which were much longer than a human’s) So it spilled onto the floor of the rainbow bridge out of the ball pit. Sun blinked at it, then looked up at Gregory.

“ Oh. . . Oh my, I am so sorry New Friend!” He exclaimed, though it was noticeably quieter, and while he moved swiftly, there was more caution to it. Gregory was propped against a giant freddy plush that was against one of the play structures. The clown thing seemed to produce a water bottle out of nowhere, and placed it in the boy’s hands. 

“ You stay here, drink this slowly, I’ll clean up,” Sun moved quickly to the back of the daycare. Gregory swallowed and spoke into his watch.

“ Freddy? I’m in the daycare, I had to go down the slide cuz chica was chasing me-”

“ You did? Did the Daycare attendant see you?!” The bear sounded alarmed, Gregory covered the watch with his hand to muffle Freddy’s voice.

“ The Sun one did, “ Gregory told him in a whisper so Sun didn’t hear him talking, “ He seems distracted, so I’m going to make a run for it-” 

“ The doors to that portion of the daycare are locked due to the investigation on the Daycare attendants, only a level three security badge . . . and security personnel with that clearance can override it,” Freddy informed him, “ Hold on a moment, I am checking the daycare cameras,” Gregory looked up as Sun came skipping by carrying a small container of some kind as well as a broom and dustpan. He started sprinkling a white powder onto the bridge from the container. Gregory heard the sound of mechanics moving and turned to it to see a security camera tracking the clown. There was a long pause. “ I believe he’s fine, that is normal behavior for Sun,” Freddy assured the boy loudly. Sun paused in his act of sweeping up the mess on the bridge, he turned his head 180 degrees to look at the boy, making Gregory jump. 

“ You say something, New Friend?” He asked, Gregory swallowed again.

“ I-I was talking to Freddy . . “ He gestured to his faz-watch. Sun turned his body to face the boy and set the broom, dustpan, and strange powder down before moving to him. 

“ Freddy?” He repeated, dropping to a crouch across from the boy. 

“ Y-Yeah! He tried to help me get out but I got locked in,” He lied, “ I need to get back to him,” Sun tilted his head, it was a little too far to the left. 

“ Then. . . why did you come down the slide? And why hadn’t Freddy contacted Officer Vannessa?” He asked, sounding confused. 

“ Chica chased me in here!” That got the clown’s attention, he actually reared back in surprise.

“ She chased you?!” He echoed, Gregory nodded.

“ I’m afraid something is affecting the others,” Freddy cut in from the faz-watch, making Sun jump, “ And I have been disconnected from the main network.” Sun held up his hands.

“ Wait, wait, wait, wait, slow down now,” The yellow robot interrupted, “ Affecting the others? Affecting the others how?” Sun tugged on his ribbons.

“ The others have been acting off and have been down right hostile to Gregory.” Freddy explained.

“ N-Not Monty though, right?” He asked, almost nervously, still tugging on his ribbons.

“ Especially Monty!” Gregory snapped, Sun gave him an alarmed look, “ He broke a gate to chase me into a security office!” 

“ Maybe he was trying to get you to the security office?” He tried to rationalize.

“ Regardless, Gregory is to remain till six Am, and I do not trust officer Vanessa’s intention,” Freddy told him, Sun let out a distressed sound.

“ Well he can’t stay here!! Every hour, on the hour now, the lights, and we still don't know-”

“ I know,” Freddy interrupted, “ Gregory, I believe there’s a security badge behind the desk by the doors,” Gregory made to get up and retrieve it, but Sun put a hand on the boy’s shoulder to stop him.

“ Now hold on, no ones allowed behind the desk, it’s off limits,” He said, Gregory crossed his arms.

“ Then how am I supposed to leave?!” he asked, Sun hummed.  

“ The situation requires some exceptions,” Freddy said, Sun sighed and started examining Gregory’s injured ankle, making the boy wince.

“ Fine Fine, You have to come get him at the door, this child has a concussion and a sprained ankle. He’s in no state to run around the plex unchaperoned,” Sun told him, Freddy paused before speaking.

“ He did not have those injuries when I last saw him. . .”

“ What do you mean “ When you last saw him” ? When was that?” Sun sounded and looked frustrated which looked comical to Gregory.

“ I believe ten to midnight, I had to charge and Gregory didn’t have time to wait for me so I guided him through his Faz-watch,” Freddy explained, Sun’s head tilted sharply, looking like he was trying to solve a complex math problem.

“ But. . . then what was the point- Nevermind,” Sun waved him off and lifted the boy up, “ I’m getting the badge now, where are you?” he asked, crossing the daycare to the desk by the doors. Ducking under the rope bridge that connected the two play structures, ignoring the boy’s protests of;

“ I can walk! I’m not a baby!” Despite Gregory’s struggling, Sun kept a firm hold on him, carrying him on his hip.

“ I’m in Kid’s cove now, I-” Freddy paused while Sun moved around the desk carefully. Pressing the nose button of the Freddy security head sitting atop the desk, “ Well that’s. . . unfortunate . . .” Freddy’s voice said, Sun snagged the card and snapped the Freddy head close before it could open fully. 

“ What’s unfortunate?” Sun asked, handing Gregory the card. 

“ It appears I require a level ten to get to the daycare from here. . . someone’s been tampering with the system,” Freddy informed them, Sun released a heavy breath.

“ That is a problem . . “ 

“ Won’t a level three get me to the Atrium through the elevators?” Gregory asked.

“ Yes! You could meet me at the elevators! The Daycare attendant would have to escort you,” Freddy told him, Sun seemed to struggle with words for a moment.

“ Freddy, I-I can’t, I have to stay here,” Sun told Freddy through the watch.

“ Sun this situation-”

“ I have to stay here, and keep an eye on Moon,” Sun looked in the direction of the entrance to the daycare, where the large Moondrop ad on the screen could be seen. Gregory’s eyes widened as he remembered the blue clown. The one DJ had argued with the night before. 

“ Where is he?!” Gregory asked, Sun snapped his attention to him.

“ Oh he’s. . . . sleeping. He’s not well,” Gregory fought the eye roll at the understatement of the century, “ But that’s why it’s important for you to get back to Freddy,”

“ And why you must escort him or let him go on his own,” Freddy cut in, Sun considered these options, then released a breath.

“ Just to the elevators, that’s not far,” Sun moved towards the large wooden doors, “ There and back.” 

“ Can I walk at least,” Gregory whined, Sun set the boy down.

“ Stay close though,” he conditioned, Gregory pressed his card to the Freddy head button by the door. It beeped, and turned green, the boy pressed it. The doors swung open and Gregory’s heart plummeted. Chica stood in front of the doors, like she’d been waiting for him. The second they were open she practically dove for him. Gregory cried out and stumbled back. Sun was suddenly between him and Chica, hands clasped to hers as he tried to push her back.

“ Chica!! What has gotten into you!? That is a child! Not a box of Monty Mystery Mix!” He exclaimed, but she didn’t answer or let up. 

“ I am just trying to help,” She said as if she wasn’t trying to knock the clown over to get to a child, she gave a particularly hard push, Sun didn’t budge.“ Gregory!” 

“ I’m sorry,” He said before he shoved her hard, sending her back through the wooden doors and into the ground a good distance away from them. While she recovered Sun snatched Gregory up and sprinted towards the stairs. 

“ See I told you!” Gregory yelled as the clown rounded the corner of the small landing before climbing the second set. Sun didn’t answer, turning towards the entrance as he reached the top, he stopped short suddenly, Gregory looked ahead of them, “ Oh no. . “ Monty was standing on the landing, his head tilted in confusion. 

“ Sun, what are ya doing out of the Daycare?” He asked looking at the clown over his glasses, Sun hesitated.

“ Um. . . Well I found this poor kid in my ball pit, and you know I’ve been disconnected from the network . .. cuz of the investigation. . “ Sun trailed off while Gregory gaped at him. Was Sun really about to hand him over?! Monty rolled his eyes.

“ Ah, well, I don’t want ya ta get in trouble, so I’ll take the brat off yer hands,” Monty offered, taking a step towards Sun, who took one back to match him.

“ Actually You know it’s been a while since I got to stretch the ol’ legs. I thought I’d take him to Vanessa myself, since I have a legitimate reason to?” Sun said nervously, Monty raised an eyebrow, they could hear Chica start climbing the stairs after them.

“ Who wants candy~” Monty looked towards the stairs, then back to Sun. The air suddenly felt heavy.

“ I don’t think now's a good time to push yer luck Cher. . “ Monty warned, there was a heavy threat to his voice. Sun seemed to flinch, and took another step back.

“ Push my luck? I’m not pushing anything!” Sun forced a laugh, Chica was almost to the top of the stairs. 

“ Give me the kid Sun.” Monty growled.Chica reached the top of the stairs, and turned towards Sun and Gregory. Sun frowned, making a weak whimper sound before he spoke.

“ I can’t do that Monty. . . I’m sorry,” Sun’s voice was shaky, but his grip on Gregory was firm. 

“ I’m gonna give ya to the count of three,” Monty held up three fingers, “ To hand me the brat, and if you don’t, I won’t be held responsible for what I will do to ya,” He warned, Sun took a few more steps back, “ One,” They were next to one of the party room doors. “ Two.” 

“ Sun?” Gregory started uncertainty, Sun didn’t answer, his gaze fixed on the gator who got into a charging stance.

 “ Two and a half,” Sun’s grip tightened as the gator gave him one last chance to give Gregory up, “ Three.” Monty charged for them, Sun stood his ground, then at the last second Sun dove into the party room, sprinting into the connected room and out the secondary door while Monty turned to watch Sun sprint back down the path towards the main entrance. Chica dove for them, but Sun easily dodged with a spin, and continued into the daycare entrance 

“ Sunny! I got him Cheeks,” Gregory heard Monty say before heavy footsteps followed them past the fountain, “ Sun just give the kid up! Don’t make this harder,” Sun didn’t answer or look back. He practically slid into the elevator and hit the button. Monty caught up to them just as the doors were closing, attempting to force the doors open. He made a swipe at Gregory and once he had Sun kicked Monty in the chest, sending him backwards into the ground. He sat up with a confused and angry expression as the doors closed again.

“ I’m sorry!” Sun called, his voice cracked somehow as the doors shut. Once they had, the elevator started moving and the upbeat version of the band’s theme song played over the speakers. Sun's whole frame sagged, he set Gregory down. The boy staggered slightly, a little dizzy from the running. Sun pressed his back to a poster of gator golf, covering his mouth with his hands. Gregory found himself wondering if robots could tremble because it seemed like Sun was. The doors behind Gregory opened, and the boy turned to see Freddy smiling at them.

“ Good you. . .” Freddy paused as he saw Sun, who slowly pulled himself from the elevator, his head tilted as if his gaze was on the floor, “ What happened?” He asked, Gregory moved out of the elevator quickly. 

“ Chica was there, like the second the doors opened, and Monty too, he tried to pry the elevator doors open, it was crazy!” Gregory explained, Freddy turned towards the clown.

“ Are you alright?” He asked softly, Sun hesitated, then suddenly straightened, and continued as if Freddy hadn’t asked.

“ He needs to leave, this place isn’t safe for a child after hours, what about the fire escape? “ Sun suggested suddenly, his voice back to being upbeat, if not sounding forced. Freddy perked up as well.

“ Oh yes, I didn’t think of that,” Freddy admitted, “ The Fire escape is in the VIP room of the Prize corner, however we don’t have the clearance to get in there at this time,” 

“ What?” Sun asked, his voice sounding strained now, Gregory was a little put out, guess he was back to plan A of sneaking back in later. Fredy held up his hands in an attempt to calm the clearly stressed clown.

“ It’s where our most valuable merchandise is kept, however there is another way. The door to El Chips has been malfunctioning, so it should open enough that you, Gregory, will be able to crawl under and go through the east arcade to the prize corner-”

“ By himself?!” Sun interrupted, Freddy shrugged sheepishly.

“ Unfortunately, I am not capable of getting that low to the ground, " Freddy explained, and Gregory raised an eyebrow.

“ The bug guy’s bigger and he managed to crawl under the door in rockstar brown,” Gregory pointed out. Freddy and Sun gave him a confused look.

“ You mean DJ?” Sun asked, “ When did he talk to DJ?” he turned to the bear, who shrugged with exasperation.

“ During the show today I assume, since that’s when DJ was in Rockstar row,” 

“ So he was part of the party? Why doesn’t he have a guest profile?” Sun asked, Freddy turned to the boy.

“ That is a good question, I believe now is a good time for you to answer that Gregory,” Freddy stated, Gregory heard Sun echo the boy's name to himself, committing it to memory. It wasn’t the first time he’s heard it, but maybe he figured it was worth remembering now? Gregory didn’t know. He fidgeted with his watch as he tried to think of an answer to Freddy’s question. 

“ I uh. . . must've gotten missed, there were a lot of kids here,” He tried, “ Should we try that fire escape, before Monty tries the elevator?” Gregory suggested, Sun glanced at the metal doors behind him, “ You can guide me through the cameras like before, right?” The boy started to move towards the deactivated escalators, leaving Sun behind.

“ The electronics in the east arcade may cause interference but you should be fine,” Gregoy started up the steps.

“ Wait, wait, wait, I’m coming,” Sun called suddenly, jogging to catch up. Freddy paused while Gregory kept going.

“ Are you sure that is a good idea, what about-” Freddy started but Sun dismissed him with a wave.

“ I can’t go back to the daycare right now anyway, Chica and Monty will want to know what I did with him,” He gestured to Gregory, “ And besides you can’t get under the door to El chips, but I can, and I’m not leaving a child to fend for himself with everyone acting like animals,” Sun snapped, “ We’ll just have to be quick, no doddling,” He told Gregory as he caught up to the boy at the top of the escalator. Gregory nodded, not looking where he was going. He felt a metal hand suddenly on his shoulder, and he screamed, turning to find the Mapbot looking at him. The Mapbot retracted his hand just as suddenly as he had put it on his shoulder.

“ Take a map?” He tilted his head then raised it to look at Sun and Freddy as they hurried closer. Sun quickly put his own hands on Gregory’s shoulders and pulled him back a bit.

“ Are you . . . safe?” He asked hesitantly, Mapbot straightened as if alarmed by this question. He then patted himself down before giving the other three a thumbs up. 

“ Interesting. . . Only the security staffbots are alerting the others to your locations?” Freddy wondered out loud.

“ Take a map,” Mapbot made a shrugging gesture. 

“ Are you even aware of the situation?” Freddy asked, Mapbot pointed at Gregory. 

“ Take a map, Take a map, Take a map,” He said, Freddy nodded, for a horrible moment Gregory thought Mapbot was telling Freddy how they ran into each other in Monty golf the day before, and Mapbot probably was, but it quickly became clear that neither Sun nor Freddy understood him. 

“ Yes Gregory is here after close,” Freddy stated, Mapbot’s arms went slack in an almost exasperated gesture. 

“ Can he go with me to the VIP room? Then Sun can make his way back to the Daycare, I mean, they can’t wait around forever right? And Sun’s supposed to be keeping an eye on Moon,” Gregory reminded them, he had ulterior motives, obviously. If they couldn’t understand the staffbot then maybe he could sabotage this escape too, or at least get back into the staff tunnels to resume his snooping. He didn’t want to offend Sun either though, since the clown did save his skin from both Chica and Monty. 

“ I don’t believe a staffbot will be adequate to protect you from the others, they’re not built like us, in all honesty, “ Freddy started, “ Sun is best suited to accompany you, despite the risk,” The two exchanged nervous looks. Gregory raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue, Mapbot waved to get their attention. Then he pointed to the prize corner behind them.

“ Take a map?” Freddy hesitated.

“ Yes? That’s where the VIP room is, but Gregory here has to go through El chips, and the east arcade,” He explained. 

“ I hate to be rude, but I have a very limited amount of time,” Sun interrupted, steering Gregory towards the Mexican restaurant, Freddy followed while Mapbot watched them for a beat before zooming in the opposite direction. Like Freddy said, the door to El chips only lifted enough for Gregory to crouch under, Sun had to get on all fours and practically scuttled under the door. It looked unsettling. Once Sun straightened Freddy spoke up.

“ Oh Gregory! Be sure Sun is synced to your fazwatch like I am, not only will it allow him to communicate through the channel, it will grant him the same security access you and I have!” Gregory looked at his watch, then up at Sun in confusion. Sun giggled sheepishly, before kneeling down and taking Gregory’s wrist. He pressed the watch to the top orange button on his chest plate. Gregory’s watch beeped and Sun’s voice spoke through the watch.

“ Hello!” Gregory noticed two options on his watch, one labeled Freddy The other DCA. 

“ DCA? What’s this,” Gregory asked, showing Sun his watch, who examined it.

“ Daycare Attendant, Me, “ the clown answered, “ I believe this alerts us to your locations depending on which one you pick,” Sun stood up, “ Let’s get you to the VIP room before One Am,” He moved towards the Super Starcade door, Gregory followed. Upon entering the arcade Gregory took a startled step back at the sight of all the security bots, “ That’s . . .a bit much,” Sun mused nervously, “ The security office is this way, it connects to the prize corner,” Sun told the boy,pointing towards their right. Gregory nodded and followed the clown as they maneuvered around the many bots. Sun somehow managed to keep himself between Gregory and the patrolling staffbots, thus blocking the boy from view. They both stopped in front of the security door. A big 4 was painted on it.

“ What is this?! What is with the security here?!” Gregory complained, Sun seemed to be in thought.

“ Is there a problem?” Freddy asked, Gregory spoke into his watch, turning away from the door to pace out his frustration. 

“ Yeah! The security door is a level four! And I have a three! What are-”

“ I have found a lost kid,” an automated voice shouted while a metal hand grabbed his bicep.

“ No you didn’t! Sun quickly exclaimed, lifting Gregory up and out of the staffbot’s grip. Sun then quickly moved away from it, the door to El chips lifted and Gregory caught a glimpse of Roxy entering, before Sun retreated deeper into the arcade. 

“ There is a vent on the other side of the arcade that circles back to the security office,” Freddy suggested.

“ A Vent?! Are you Kidding me?!” Sun snapped as he bobbed and weaved around security staffbots. 

“ No, I do not believe I am,” Freddy answered in a confused tone. 

“ A vent is not a safe place for a child!” Sun complained, looking over his shoulder.

“ I’m afraid there isn’t another way,” Freddy told him, Sun growled, but moved deeper into the arcade. A vent with a couple beeping wet floor bots next to it waited at the back of the arcade. Sun shushed the wet floor bots as he crouched to set Gregory down.

“ Sh! You’re gonna get us in trouble,” Sun stressed to them.

“ Aren’t they usually this beepy?” Gregory asked in a hushed voice, Sun shook his head.

“ I didn’t know they could beep, if I’m being honest, anyway,” Sun dismissed the beeping bots, turning his attention back to Gregory. “ Get into the office, grab the badge, and let me in, okay Friend?” Sun instructed.

“ What about Roxy?” Gregory peeked past Sun, scanning for the wolf.

“ I’ll try to distract her so she won't see you through the walls,” Sun told him, looking back over his shoulder for Roxy as well. Gregory looked up at the clown in alarm. 

“ She can see through the walls?!” He whisper screamed, Sun looked back at him, nodding.

“ You better get going,” He stood to his full height and turned. Hurrying to busy himself with a random arcade cabinet. Gregory crawled into the vent, and hurried through it. He could hear Sun’s voice echo from the opening, “ Oh hello Roxy! Fancy running into you here!” 

“ What are you doing here you weirdo,” Roxy snapped back, “ Aren’t you and your nightmare fuel brother supposed to be on lockdown?” Gregory couldn’t hear Sun’s response. He heard what sounded like. . . a music box? Its chimes were in the melody of the band’s theme, and it was getting louder. . . closer? Gregory looked over his shoulder, and nearly screamed.

Following him was what looked like a tiny DJ Music Man, except it didn’t have headphones. It was white with pink stripes and was carrying a pair of cymbals in what looked like had once upon a time been gloved hands. It had black empty eyes and its piano teeth looked chipped. There was a broken gap in the casing that connected the eye socket and mouth. Gregory crawled faster through the vent, he heard it scuttling after him. He looked over his shoulder again, it had dropped one of its cymbals with a clang, reaching out for him with its skeletal hand. Gregory tumbled out of the vent roughly as it came to a sudden end. Falling about three feet and landing hard on his shoulder, he hissed as he held it, sitting up. Gregory looked up at the vent, the tiny DJ thing sat there watching him for a moment, then it turned its head sharply towards the door, almost as if it heard something. Then it scuttled away playing its music box in an almost warped melody of the band’s theme. Gregory blinked at the vent, he hadn't seen anything like that all week.

“ Gregory? Did you make it to the office?” Sun’s voice from his Faz-watch interrupted Gregory’s thought.

“ Yeah!” He replied, turning and hurrying into the security room within the room,” Who designed this place?” He muttered to himself, snagging the badge and moving to the door. Sun was looking around the arcade as Gregory opened it. He hurried inside, shutting the door behind him, “ Now what?” Gregory asked, Sun turned to him to answer, but stilled when his pupiless gaze landed on the boy. Something blue flashed over him, “ Hey!” He wished they’d stop scanning him. 

“ What happened to your shoulder?” Sun asked, grabbing the wrist of the injured shoulder and pushed his t-shirt sleeve up to examine the bruise forming.

“ I fell out of the vent,” Gregory shrugged, “ A weird tiny spider DJ was chasing me in there,” He explained, Sun tilted his head slightly.

“ Black eyes? Top hat? Pink stripes?” Sun listed off, Gregory nodded, the clown looked over at the vent, “ That’s. . . not good. . .Let’s get you to the fire escape,” Sun ushered the boy to a door that led to what looked like a merch storage room. The walls are lined with bowling shirts, and various T-shirts. Pinatas of various characters and sizes filled the shelves. Gregory thought about snagging one of the hundreds of snacks they passed as Sun guided him through the prize corner, but with the clown there the boy didn’t want to risk getting in trouble. 

“ And there it is! With two minutes to spare!” Sun sounded relieved, Gregory blinked at the door.

“ Uh. . . Sun?” He pointed at the chain and padlock. Sun examined it.

“ Oh no. . .” 

“ Can’t you break it or something?” Gregory asked, Sun shook his head.

“ N-No, My programming prohibits acts of violence unless it’s in defense of a child,” Sun explained.

“ You shoved Chica and kicked Monty!” Gregory argued, Sun tugged on his ribbons.

“ Yes, after they made some kind of aggressive act towards you, otherwise all I could do was avoid them!” He pulled particularly hard on his ribbons, “ I need to get you back to Freddy, but there isn’t time.” Sun turned to Gregory suddenly, “ You need to hide, now.” The boy blinked at him.

“ What, Why-”

“ Now! ” Sun practically shouted, pointing back towards the prize corner before wrapping the excess chain from the door around his wrist. Gregory decided not to question him further, and turned to run back the way he came. He managed to climb over one of the counters just as the power went out.

Chapter Text

Gregory heard Sun scream in what sounded like pain, it changed to something else then died off. There was a long stretch of nothing, then a low gravelly chuckle.

“ Ooooooh Sunny’s breaking the ruuuules~” A voice sang, almost teasingly. He heard the sound of a chain breaking, then only the sound of bells, like when Sun moved, “ What are you doing in the prize corner Sunny. . “ The voice sounded closer, Gregory’s eyes went wide and he covered his mouth. The bells moved away, “ Oh? There's a little boy who’s up past his bedtime?” The voice sounded farther away, “ Naughty boy .” Gregory risked a peak over the counter. The prize corner seemed empty. He stood up, and slowly climbed back over the counter. Stepping out, but keeping a hand on the countertop. Suddenly he was gripped by the back of his shirt and yanked up. Gregory looked up and his heart stopped. The blue Daycare attendant was hanging upside down by a cable in the ceiling his purple eyes bore into Gregory.

“ Hello,” Moon grinned, Gregory started to struggle, “ Nighty nigh-” There was a loud crack and Gregory was dropped, he hit the ground hard. His head was spinning a little, but he quickly recovered. He looked up to see Moon holding his head, and cursing. A flashlight lay on the ground not far from them, as if it had been thrown.

“ Take a map! Take a map!” Gregory looked over towards the voice to see Mapbot standing nearby, he was gesturing for the boy to come to him, which Gregory did. Stumbling as he got to his feet, when  he reached Mapbot he grabbed the boy’s wrist and zoomed towards what looked like an elevator. He pushed Gregory into it, pushing something into the boy’s hands, it tapped the thing, “ Take a-” Moon’s hand suddenly gripped Mapbot by the neck and yanked him back into the prize corner. Gregory cried out for him in surprise and fear as the bot struggled against the bigger animatronic. Mapbot fought as hard as he could but Moon still managed to dig his claws into the top of Mapbot’s head and twist it off from the body. The yellow and white torso froze, then went limp before it fell to the ground in a metal heap. The clown grinned down at Gregory as casually dropped Mapbot’s head to the ground. He stood to his full height and reached for the boy. The sound of electronics powering up filled the air, and the lights came on. 

Moon reared back as if he’d been hit with something as he was bathed in light, his blacks and blues started to bleed into yellows and reds. The nightcap retracted into Moon’s head and sunrays shot out as the eyes glowed into white orbs. There was a pause, as the daycare attendant's body suddenly felt to its knees, and forward on its hands. There was a long stretch where the only sound was Sun’s simulated breathing, then Sun rubbed his forehead like he had a headache as he groaned. Then he looked up and spotted the boy.

“ Gregory! Are you-” He reached for Gregory as he got to his feet but hesitated when he saw the boy flinch and take a step back. After a pause he chuckled sadly, “ I deserve that. . .” Sun noticed the remains of Mapbot around him, “ What happened?” He asked, Gregory’s shock finally passed, but in its place came a wave of anger.

“ You didn’t tell me you were Moon! Was this a trap?!” Gregory shouted, Sun held up his hands in an attempt to calm the boy.

“ No! No! No! No! Moon and I share a body, Moon becomes active when the lights go out, that’s why I was trying to get you out by one! But. . .” Sun trailed off, “ What happened to Mapbot?” Gregory pointed at Sun. 

“ You- I mean Moon, I guess, Moon ripped his head off for helping me,” Gregory explained, Sun grimaced as he wiped the bot’s fluids off his hand onto his pants.

“ Oh no, no no,I didn’t realize he was violent ?!” Sun stressed, Gregory took another step back.

“ Why would you tie yourself to the door if you didn’t think he was violent?! And why wouldn’t you?! He’s killed people ?!” Gregory exclaimed, Sun held his hands to his chest with an alarmed expression.

“ No?! Moon would never! Why would you think that?!” Sun asked.

“ Yes he would! I heard him say so!” 

“ Then you misheard!” Sun argued, “ This is the first time I’ve seen any signs of violence from him! I tied myself to the door because he’s been taking kids to some unknown location,” The clown explained. Gregory pointed to the remains of Mapbot.

“ You sure ?!” He asked, "Are you positive that’s all he’s done?” The boy asked angrily, Sun was about to respond when Freddy’s voice interrupted.

“ Hello? Sun? I just left a charging station. Did Gregory get out?” Sun closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead again. 

“ No, the door is chained shut,” Sun told the bear, “ And he met Moon.”

“ Is he alright?!” Freddy sounded panicked, Sun looked taken aback at it.

“ I’m fine Freddy,” Gregory told the bear, “ Mapbot distracted him from me, but Moon tore him apart,” Gregory held the thing Mapbot gave him to his chest. Freddy sighed heavily.

“ I am sorry you had to see that Gregory, how ever I am glad you are alright, where are you-”

“ Why don’t you sound surprised?” Sun interrupted, Freddy hesitated before answering.

“ Sun. . . I realize he’s your brother, but Moon is not himself , and I fear he hasn’t been for a while . DJ knows more than I do, but I suspect it’s not a lot more.” Freddy explained, Sun’s gaze fell to the floor, “ I even suspect it’s similar to what the others are experiencing, I believe something has tasked them to take kids and I’m afraid Moon is willing to break people that get in his way. . . even the ones he cares about.” Freddy finished, Sun tugged on his ribbons.

“ Gregory, do you know if Moon broke the chain, or untied it?” Sun asked, the boy blinked.

“ Uh I heard it break ,” The clown spun around and started for the VIP room again.

“ Are you still in the prize corner?” Freddy asked as Gregory followed Sun, carefully stepping around the oil that was pooling around the remains of Mapbot. 

“ Yeah,” He paused and picked up the flash light Mapbot had thrown at Moon. He clicked it on and off to confirm it worked, then continued to follow Sun. 

“ Alright, if the VIP fireescspe isn’t an option we need to regroup.” Freddy told them as Sun examined the chain again, even pulling on it a little. It was still holding, only the excess Sun had used laid broken on the floor. Sun paused when the door didn’t open, then shook it aggressively. Making Gregory take a step back.

“ What if the lights go out again?” Gregory asked.

“ The lights go out every hour,” Sun said suddenly, taking a breath to calm himself, “ You should just hide when that happens, in fact I should put as much distance between you and me as possible,” Sun gestured between himself and Gregory 

“ Once the doors open at six am, Moon will not be able to pursue you out of the building,” Freddy informed him, “ We need to find a safe place for you till then. . .” Freddy trailed off in thought, Sun tilted his head suddenly.

“ What’s that you got there Sunshine?” He asked, pointing to the thing Mapbot had handed him. Gregory looked at it.

“ Oh. . . Mapbot gave it to me,” the boy explained looking at it, it was a black card, like the passes. It read " Dance pass” In blue and pink letters, “ It’s a dance pass?” He offered it to the clown, who took it and examined it. 

“ This would get you into the west arcade,” Sun explained, Gregory tilted his head, “ Oh guests call it the Fazcade ,” He clarified. Gregory’s eyes widened a little. The Fazcade? Where he’d been hiding all week? Was Mapbot telling him to hide there? Or that he knew Gregory had been hiding there?

“ Would there work?” Gregory asked careful not to sound too eager, Sun hummed.

“ It is pretty far from the Daycare, which I have to go back to eventually. . .” Sun mused.

“ I don’t think that’s wise, I have performance restrictions and cannot be on the dance floor due to a programming bug. I also have not seen DJ since he left for Rockstar row before the show tonight, “ Freddy listed off, “ We do not know if he’s still safe,” Sun hummed.

“ Well. . . I have another hour, Monty’s guarding the Daycare doors, and I’m the strongest animatronic in this building,” Sun said, Gregory blinked in surprise.

“ You are?!” He asked, Sun nodded.

“ I am, but like I said earlier, I can only act defensively , Moon can act offensively because of his security protocols,” he explained.

“ How does that make sense,” Gregory complained, to which Sun shrugged. 

“ Monty would say sometimes a good defense is a strong offense . . . usually he was saying this to explain why he broke a staff bot. . . . but still,” Sun rubbed the back of his neck. 

“ That means Moon’s the strongest too!” Gregory pointed out, to which Sun nodded grimly.

“ But! But but but! On the plus side, if DJ isn’t safe, I can at the very least stall for you to get away! “ Sun continued cheerfully, “ And if he is safe, he knows that arcade like the back of his hands, nothing would get past him,” Gregory resisted the urge to tell Sun he doubted that, and why.

“ Right. . .” he agreed instead, “ We could repair Mapbot there too,” He added, recalling how he’d seen staff members bring broken bots to the back rooms of the Fazcade. There was a stretch of silence where Sun just observed him. 

“ How did you know the Staffbot repair station was in the west arcade?” Freddy asked suddenly, Gregory gulped.

“ I uh. . . I heard a staff member talk about it, “ He half lied. Sun made a low hum sound, eyebrow raised and uncharacteristically still. 

“ Well I suppose we don’t have any better ideas. . . and if DJ is safe it would be good to have as much help as we can get. It’s also a possibility he’s not even there,” Freddy added as an afterthought, his tone shifting to concern. 

“ Why wouldn’t he be there?” Sun asked, moving back towards the prize corner, pausing to snag a Fazbear themed tote bag. Freddy seemed to fumble with his words for a bit before settling on;

“ No reason.” Sun gingerly picked up Mapbots head, and set it in the bag. He put his arm through the straps and let the bag hang off his shoulder before lifting the bot’s body into his arm. 

“ Ah! Course not! That’s not suspicious at all!” Sun said with forced cheerfulness, making it clear he was choosing not to push Freddy for answers, “ So we’ll meet back up at the Atrium?” 

They tried to take the large glass elevator down to the lobby but it wasn’t working, Sun shrugged it off, suggesting the construction to Roxy raceway might have something to do with it. They backtracked through the Super Starcade instead. Gregory darted ahead to dodge and weave past the security bots since Sun’s hands were full. Freddy met them outside of El Chips First thing Freddy did was scan Gregory, much to the boy’s frustration.

“ Stop scanning me! Both of you!” he snapped, looking back at Sun who giggled weakly.

“ What happened to your shoulder?” Freddy asked, Gregory groaned in frustration. 

“ Nothing-”

“ He fell out of the vent,” Sun deadpanned, “ the one that was your idea for him to go through?” He added with a passive aggressive air to him. Freddy gave Sun a look but didn’t argue with him. 

“ Hey it’s not like the vent itself was dangerous,” Gregory defended, turning to the clown, “ I got chased out by a spider thing! And anyway, it doesn’t even hurt!” He crossed his arms. The three of them started walking towards the Fazcade, or the west arcade , as the animatronics escorting him called it. 

“ Spider thing?” Freddy asked, Gregory nodded.

“ Yeah, it kinda looked like DJ, but it was small!” the boy explained, Freddy hummed.

“ I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that,” He said, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

“ Oh I have!” Sun said cheerfully, “ It was on display in Rockstar Row, or at least it was tuesday night,” Sun told them, “ Not sure how it ended up in the vents. . . or active,” he paused in thought, then continued as if to fill the silence, “ It’s called a Mini Music Man! Or! Or! A Baby Music man! Isn’t that cute?!” Sun asked, his rays spinning.

“ It'd be cuter if it wasn’t chasing me ,” Gregory snapped, Freddy let out a surprised chuckle. They stopped outside the Fazcade elevator. The bear sighed.

“ Be careful,” Freddy ordered, “ If it’s too risky, come back,” Gregory nodded before holding his pass up to the elevator button. It beeped and the doors opened. Sun and Gregory stepped in, Freddy gave them a small wave as the doors closed. The same boppy version of the band’s theme played through the speakers. Sun bounced nervously as they waited. 

“ Are you okay?” The boy asked, Sun let out a nervous “ ha ”.

“ Oh I’m . .  Freddy said DJ knows more of what’s going on with Moon, I’m hoping he can tell me,” Sun admitted. The doors opened and they stepped into the arcade. Freddy spoke up from Gregory’s watch.

“ Oh if you do see the DJ say hello, he’s such a nice fellow,” Gregory rolled his eyes and looked around for the four armed animatronic. He didn’t see him anywhere, he looked back at  Sun to tell him as much but stopped when he saw the clown frozen by the archway. Looking towards the dance floor stage. Gregory moved to the opposite side of the archway and looked in at the stage. His stomach dropped. 

On the stage floor with its primary arms curled around its head was not the eleven foot tall body he was expecting to find. It was the massive bug thing he’d been hiding with all week. Only now its mouth glowed magenta behind the piano teeth and its body rose and fell slightly as it made deep breathing sounds.

“ Since when do robots breathe?” Gregory asked suddenly, ignoring the obvious question for a moment, Sun did not.

“ Oh, DJ what happened. . .”  He breathed, then stiffened, “ We should go,” He whispered or tried to, his voice was still a tad too loud. 

“ What? Why?!” Gregory actually whispered back, “ What about Mapbot?” Sun set the bot’s body on the ground next to the archway and carefully set the bag next to it. 

“ If he’s not safe I won’t be able to stop him in that body,” Sun hissed back, “ We’ll go somewhere else, c’mon,” Sun reached across the archway and grabbed the boy’s wrist. 

“ What about Mapbot?” Gregory asked again, “ We’re right here, he’s asleep ” Gregory added, though how a robot slept was still beyond him. 

“ Gregory please don’t argue, it’s not safe here,” Sun pulled and Gregory gripped the archway to pull against him.

“ No!” He didn’t know why he was fighting Sun on this, maybe because he didn’t want to accept that the first safe space he’d found in a long time was no longer that. He convinced himself that it had to do with Mapbot instead of facing that possibility, “ We can’t leave him like that!” Sun gave him a pleading look.

“ He’ll be okay, they’ll fix him in the morning,” Gregory gave his arm a tug.

“ No! Let me go!” He didn’t realize he was raising his voice. 

“ Gregory, stop,” Sun tried but Gregory pulled again, this time he felt a sharp pain in the shoulder he’d fallen on. 

“ Ow! Let go!” He shouted, this time the lights turned red, a low ominous beat that sounded mostly like cymbals started playing through the speakers. Sun looked towards the stage again, then shoved Gregory back as he darked back himself. Gregory fell on his butt as the massive white glove the boy had hidden himself behind just the night before reached through the archway for them. It was like something out of a Tom and Jerry cartoon, the archway being the equivalent of a mouse hole, as DJ blindly felt around the area. The hand retracted and Gregory could see Sun pressing himself against the wall. He suddenly sprinted across the archway, scooping the boy up as he ran deeper into the arcade. DJ’s hand shot through the archway again, barely missing Sun’s ankles. The clown continued past the statute down the hall that connected the dance floor to the rest of the arcade, towards the bathrooms. Gregory looked towards the dancefloor to see DJ pushing himself up from where he’d been laying in front of the archway, his head turning to look at them. Despite the pupiless black eyes Gregory felt like they made eye contact before Sun sprinted into the boy’s bathroom. There was a sound that sounded like the sounds of a bass drop and a record scratch got thrown into a washing machine. An angry sounding guitar sting joined the beat as it started back up. 

“ Oh, not good, not good,” Sun fretted, the ground shook. Gregory figured DJ was heading for them, his theory was proven right when DJ reached through the bathroom door for them. Sun took several steps back and ducked into the janitor's closet. There was a lever on the wall, and a stray plush on the ground but other than that it was a simple closet with cleaning supplies on shelves. Only once Sun was bracing his back against the door did he set Gregory on the ground. 

“ Uh Freddy, I don’t think DJ ‘s friendly,” Gregory called through his fazwatch. 

“ I was afraid of that, Come back to the atrium-”

“ We can’t,” Sun cut in, tugging on his ribbons.

“ Yeah! He’s in the old body and he’s cornered us in the bathrooms,” Gregory explained.

“ He’s in bouncer mode,” Sun supplied, “ So I-”

“ What?! That voids his warranty!” Freddy exclaimed, Sun slouched in what seemed like irritation. 

“ No! No it doesn’t! Not the point!” Sun rubbed a hand over his face.

“ I’m looking through the fail safe protocols they had in the event DJ went rogue in that body, “ Freddy started, “ there’s five levers located throughout the arcade, I can see one on camera right next to you,” Gregory turned to the lever lazily stuck to the wall, the boy hurried to it, and flipped it. 

“ DJ music man emergency remote shutdown protocol initiated. Four Levers left .” A voice stated over the intercom. 

“ SHUT DOWN ?!” Sun exclaimed, “ We can’t shut him down!! Not in that body!” Sun pressed himself more firmly against the door, as if protecting DJ from Gregory instead of the other way around. 

“ It’s not ideal, but a child is at risk, he is not safe and we cannot overpower him in that body,” Freddy said, Sun hesitated before speaking.

“ But. . .” 

“ I promise you, he’d rather we shut him down than take that risk,” Sun took a deep simulated breath.

“ Ok. . . where are the other four levers? Can you see them?” he asked.

“ Yes, though you should also have access to the camera's Sun,” Freddy pointed out.

“ Yes, I do, but I’d like my visuals on the child I’m trying to keep safe from a two story tall beetle !” Gregory snorted at Sun’s manic frustration.

“ Fair enough. There is two on the ground floor and two on the upper level,” Freddy explained, “ One by the stage, one in the arcade, “ Gregory quickly flipped through the cameras on his fazwatch to confirm. “ On the upper levels, one is in the repair hall, the other is in the arcade, somewhere between the lounge rooms and bridge.” Sun nodded.

“ Okay! So Gregory,” Sun crouched to be closer to even level with him, “ I’m gonna run out the second door, he’s blocking the way to the stage so if he thinks you’re with me, he’ll follow me to the arcade lever,” Gregory nodded along, “ Once he’s gone you head to the stage lever, then I’ll keep him distracted while I go for the upper lever, you head to the repair hall,” Sun paused, “ Do you know where that is?” Gregory nodded.

“ Yeah!” 

“ Okay!” Sun stood straight, “ Show time,” He said to himself before hurrying out of the closet, Gregory peeked out the door to watch him dodge DJ’s hand as it grabbed at him, then he sprinted out the second door into the arcade, “ Over here! This way! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!” Sun called as his bells and voice got fainter, Gregory face palmed, that was so obvious! No one would fall for that! Except seconds later the ground shook again as DJ pursued Sun. Gregory blinked in surprise then ran out of the bathroom and down the hall to the dance floor. He looked to the stage and spotted the lever next to what looked like a dining space. Gregory hurried to it and pulled the lever. 

“ Three lever- Two levers remain,” Gregory grinned as he raced towards the archway. Sun must’ve gotten to the lever! He reached the archway in time to see DJ swing at Sun from a tunnel directly above the lever Sun had pulled. The clown scrambled back, making DJ punch the ground instead and shake the room. Sun then spun around, running along the wall towards the stairs, Gregory hurried for the stairs by the gold statue of the band. He looked back at DJ intime to see the bug retreat into the tunnel. Sun and Gregory unintentionally met back up on the landing where the two sets of stairs met. 

“ Good job Sunshine!” Sun gave him two thumbs up as they hurried up the next set of steps. DJ seemed to come out of nowhere, reaching for them again. Gregory staggered towards the security office to his right, while Sun dodged sharply to the left. The boy did not recover his footing and fell over, hitting his elbow on an arcade cabinet.

“ Ow! Shit,” Gregory yelped. That’s when he noticed it. DJ hesitated, his head turned slightly as if checking on him before he turned and crawled along the ceiling after Sun. The boy blinked, slowly standing while rubbing his still pained elbow.Why was he still after Sun ? He clearly saw Gregory trip, he looked at him, and knew Sun didn’t have him. Now that the boy thought about it, when he swiped for them earlier his hand had been open, even at the archway and the bathroom. But at the lever DJ had swung at Sun with a closed fist. It was almost like he wasn’t after Gregory at all . Now that Gregory was thinking about it, if the red neon lights and the music ( that now sounded like an alarm ) were all part of Bouncer Mode then DJ only activated Bouncer mode when Gregory had yelled out. . . in pain. . .

“ One Lever remains! ” The intercom informed the boy, bringing him back to the present situation. Gregory glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the security office. Then he heard Sun yell, he turned back and sprinted for the bridge. As he crossed it he could see Sun in DJ’s fist, his arms pinned to his sides. DJ used his thumb to force Sun’s head back, reminding Gregory of a dandelion. One that was about to get its head popped off.  He rounded the corner just as the panic hit him.

“ DON’T!” Gregory shouted, “ he wasn’t trying to hurt me!” He wasn’t sure who he was telling this to, maybe both of them. There was a pause, “ Please?” He added pathetically, starting to wonder if he had been wrong. Then DJ removed his thumb from Sun, letting his head drop. The lights went back to the soft blues and pinks, and the music stopped.

“ Well why didn’t you just say so,” His voice boomed casually as if he hadn’t been chasing Sun around, trying to dismantle him. 

“ Y-You mean you’re not affected?!” Sun asked, sounding more betrayed than relieved. DJ eyed him for a moment, then set Sun down. Gregory noticed it was on the bug’s other side, away from the boy. An intentional hand placed between them to balance himself as he was still half on the wall. 

“ I don’t know what exactly you’re talking about, but I’m gonna go with no. ” DJ answered, Gregory felt something come up behind him and scoop him up. He quickly realized it was DJ’s other primary hand. Fingers curling around him securely. 

“ W-Why were you attacking me?!” Sun demanded, his voice box cracking, his expression one of distress.

“ Why were you running?” DJ countered. 

“ Because I thought you were gonna hurt Gregory like the others!”

“ Gregory?” He looked at the boy in his hand. Gregory didn’t like the way DJ said his name.

“ Uh. . . yeah, that’s me?” The boy said nervously.

“ G re g or y . . “ DJ said again, quieter and with more emphasis on the G’s and the Y . 

“ Um. . . yes?” Gregory looked over at Sun who shrugged, DJ turned back to the clown.

“ Well I thought the same,” He said evenly, curling his fingers more around the boy. Slowly so Gregory had time to move his arms, preventing them from getting trapped to his sides. 

“ You were gonna dismantle me!!” Sun shouted, DJ made an annoyed bass sound. 

“ Oh please, don’t pull that card on me, you think I didn’t hear the intercom?” DJ asked, pointing at Sun, making the smaller flinch, “ You were trying to shut me down and I’m pretty sure you know- ” 

“ A child’s safety was on the line,” Sun defended, there was a beat of tense silence as DJ stared Sun down.

“ Exactly. ” He finally said, “ We can finish this conversation on the dance floor,” DJ gestured in the direction of his stage, “ Meet you there,” He crawled into one of his tunnels, Gregory still in hand, “ Listen kid, “ DJ started, the lights from the arcade fading and the only light being from DJ’s mouth, giving him a flashlight under the chin look, “ I know Sun seems like a nice guy now but you should stay away from him,” Gregory tilted his head.

“ Are you trying to warn me about Moon?” he asked, DJ stopped moving, “ I met him earlier, not fun,” He added, “ But that’s why we came here!” DJ raised an eyebrow.

“ What do you mean?” He asked as he continued, they reached the central room, it looked so much bigger without DJ’s deactivated body in the center of it. 

“ So we were in the prize corner, trying to use the fire escape and the lights went out and then Moon grabbed me, then Mapbot tried to help me, but Moon ripped his head off!” Gregory didn’t miss the sound that came from the giant bug, but didn’t know what it was supposed to be so he ignored it, “ Before that though he gave me a dance pass and Sun said that I’d be safest here if you weren’t like the others. 

“ Well he’s not wrong,” DJ huffed, there was a pause.

“ He didn’t want to shut you down, Freddy talked him into it cuz we thought you were . .  you know, like the others” Gregory told him, DJ let out a dark chuckle.

“ I’m not mad that he tried , I was mad that he got mad at me for doing the same thing.” he sighed, “ You keep saying others “ DJ trailed off. Gregory knew DJ had some understanding of what was going on thanks to his eavesdropping the night before.

“ Somethings wrong with them, they’re acting like Moon!,” he said, DJ gave him an alarmed look.

“ They are?!” 

“ Yeah! Monty broke down a gate to get me, then tried to break down a security door!” They reached the stage where Sun was waiting, shifting nervously from foot to foot, “ Then Chica chased me into the daycare, Sun had to hold her off when she tried to grab me, and Monty tried to pry open the elevator doors! But Sun kicked him!” DJ settled himself on the stage as he looked to the clown for confirmation, Sun nodded. 

“ Roxy?” He asked, Gregory started to answer, but Sun beat him to it.

“ She hasn’t attacked him, but she’s definitely off, I had a little chat with her in the east arcade. . . she said some. . . not so nice things, even for her…” He rubbed his arms self consciously. DJ hummed low, sending vibrations through Gregory’s body. He set the boy down on the stage next to him, but kept his hand cupped around him.

“ You said Moon damaged Mappy?” DJ asked him, Sun stiffened, while Gregory tilted his head in confusion.

“ Mappy?”

“ The Mapbot, I call him Mappy, where is he?” Sun took a step back hesitantly before turning and moving back to the archway. He returned carrying Mappy’s headless body, and the bag with said head in it. Now leaking oil from the bottom. DJ didn’t say anything, but reached out a primary hand expectantly. Sun placed the bot in his open palm as well as the bag. DJ cradled the limp body in one hand, his brows creased as he examined Mappy’s condition. His thumb gently nudged the bot, as if hoping it would wake up.

“ Staffbot repair is up stairs” DJ said as he closed his fist around Mapbot. Scooping Gregory back up, “ I know the light in here is enough for both of you, and he’s probably trying to come out,” DJ added, Sun jumped and laughed nervously, “ So maybe you should go back to the Daycare.” He suggested tensely. Sun nodded.

“ I will! I will! I just. . .” Sun tugged on his ribbons and looked away, “ Monty’s still waiting for me at the Daycare, he’s. . . probably not happy with me right now, a-and I don’t-” Gregory noticed DJ tense for a minute.

“ I get it. . . “ His tone changed to sympathetic, “ The light by the elevator door is brighter. . . should be less of a headache if you hang out over there.” DJ offered. Sun glanced towards the elevator, then looked back at DJ.

“ It’s almost two. . .” DJ made a low bass sound, the lights shifted to red.

“ You let me worry about that . . .” He said, Sun hesitated but nodded. 

“ Alright. . .” He turned, “ I’ll let Freddy know what’s going on,” Gregory looked at his watch.

“ Oh yeah. . . I guess I should sync this to you?” Gregory asked DJ, who chuckled. 

“ I don’t think I can do that in this body, appreciate the thought though,” He told the boy as he reentered the tunnel, “ So . . .” He started once the dance floor lights faded, “ What are you doing in the plex?” DJ asked, Gregory sighed irritably. Were all the animatronics going to give him the third degree?

“ I was part of the party,” He started, DJ hummed in acknowledgement, “ I got left behind,” Another hum. “ I got locked in and now Freddy and Sun are trying to help me get out,” He half lied, DJ hummed a third time as they entered what Gregory assumed was the repair hall. He’d seen the door to it, but never entered it. It was much brighter here than the rest of the arcade, why had DJ made Sun wait by the elevator?

“ See, the thing about your story is it doesn’t line up with what’s on camera,” DJ told him, Gregory felt his stomach sink as he looked up at the bug.

“ Y-You have access to the cameras?” DJ nodded.

“ Yup, I’m  a security bot.” Gregory mentally cursed, “ and on camera you were not ever part of the party,  and in the main entrance you chose to let the doors lock you in. So I’m gonna say you’re lying to me,” He finished, setting the boy down where the hall took a sharp turn. Gregory swallowed hard. 

“ Uh-”

“ The main entrance cameras also don’t show you entering the plex at all, but I already figured you’ve been here a while haven’t you GGY .” DJ rested his chin in his now free primary palm, Gregory looked around nervously. 

“ Uh. . . well I- Um. .. “ he struggled to think of an excuse that DJ wouldn’t be able to immediately disprove.

“ What are you doing here kid?” He asked again.

“ I . . . was trying to help. . . with the rabbit lady,” It wasn’t a lie, he was! DJ watched him for a bit.

“ and before that?” He pressed, “ your story is still not lining up. I know you’ve been sneaking around for at least a week, what are you doing here? Aren’t your parents looking for you?”

“ No.” Gregory answered bitterly, “ What do you care?” He snapped defensively, “ Aren’t we on a time limit? Where is this staffbot repair? “ DJ watched the boy for a moment, then pushed himself up and carefully nudged Gregory down the hall, pointing to an open doorway. It was another security office, inside was a large square machine. Gregory entered the office and looked around.

“ Step aside,” DJ said suddenly, Gregory took a quick step out of the way as DJ reached into the security office and gently set Mapbot down by the machine, “ I wouldn’t recommend wasting time starting the process, it’s almost two so the lights will go out real soon,” DJ informed him.

“ So hunker down in here and just lock Moon out,” Gregory asked, gesturing to the security office door, DJ shook his head.

“ It’s broken.” He told the boy, who looked up at the door. Noticing what looked like finger grooves in the metal. He glanced at the power bar, it was still at 75%. 

“ I thought Freddy said the doors could hold against the others,” Gregory stressed. 

“ Not Moon. But I won’t let him get to you,” He promised, Gregory hesitated, then nodded, “ Good, hold still,” DJ reached into the office and picked him up. He set Gregory on the ground next to his left secondary hand and third left hand. He created a dome around him with said hands. Gregory blinked in confusion til DJ spoke again, “ Three. Two. “ Oh it was that close? Gregory swallowed, “ One .” The lights went out. 

Chapter Text

Gregory held his breath and almost instinctively pressed his back to one of DJ’s palms. After a pause Gregory felt one of DJ’s thumbs gently rest atop his head. Almost as if trying to silently reassure him. The silence stretched on for a painfully long time, then there was the sound of the staff door opening. 

“ Oh. . . sweetheart, thank goodness ,” Moon’s voice sighed in relief, “ I was worried they wouldn’t be able to salvage your AI,” he sounded like he’d been genuinely worried. 

“ Yeah. . . Vanessa said I was lucky it survived . . .” There was an awkward pause. Gregory chose this moment to open the camera’s to watch what was happening. Moon stood by the door looking up at a very irritated DJ, who was leaning his chin into his palm, drumming his fingers along the floor. 

“ Darling, are you still mad at me?” Moon asked, DJ scoffed at the question, an eyebrow went up.

“ Mad? No . Why would I be mad? I love the feeling of hundreds of volts coursing through me and completely destroying the only thing keeping me active.” Gregory blinked in confused alarm, he wanted to ask, but bit his tongue. Moon took a step closer, a hand on his chest while his other rested atop DJ’s drumming one, making it still.

“ I won’t let that happen, you know I won’t ,” Moon insisted frantically. 

“ Do I?” DJ deadpanned back. Moon sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead. 

“ Don’t be like this, just tell me where they’re keeping it, and I’ll fix it, “ he pleaded, DJ shook his head, releasing a breath.

“ Fix it ? Are you kidding me?” 

“ I can fix it ! I can make it all better,” Moon promised, “ I’ve done too much to lose you now, so tell me where it is, do you know?” Moon asked, tilting his head. 

“ You gonna fix the Bailey siblings while you're at it?” DJ asked, Moon growled, stepping away from DJ.

“ Will you stop it ?! I get it! You’re mad! You’re grumpy because you’re stuck in that body and you hate it! I know! But you did this to yourself !” Moon pointed at him, DJ’s brows furrowed as he lowered his hand from his chin. Both now folded in front of him, “ You got in the way of my job, I gave you Every opportunity to walk away, and just let me do my job, but nooooooo you had to play hero, you forced my hand, you put yourself here, and I am trying to help you despite that ! So will you stop fighting me !? ”  Moon raised his voice as he spoke and was shouting by the end of it. Gregory curled in more on himself as the memories tried to flood his mind. They left when he felt the large thumb on his head move to his side, gently brushing his arm twice before going still. Gregory realized he had been trembling, he hugged his knees to his chest.

“ You’re right.” DJ said suddenly though it was with forced politeness, “ I’m sorry,” Moon visibly relaxed.

“ It’s okay, just. . .” He sighed again, “ Do you know where your body is?” He asked, DJ didn’t respond right away.

“ Maybe. . . Vanessa mentioned something being stored in the security office down by parts and service.” DJ informed him, Moon nodded.

“ I know where that is, I’ll take care of it as soon as I can, I have to find a kid first, you haven’t seen him have you?” Moon asked, DJ shook his head.

“ I haven’t seen any kid,” He lied, his thumb gently tapping Gregory’s side. Moon sighed heavily turning towards the door.

“ alright. . . well if you do let me know, I am glad I had time to come check on you, not sure what Sun was doing in here but-” Moon stopped, then his head did a 180 to look back at DJ, “ What was Sun doing here?” DJ pointed to the security office.

“ Cleaning up,” He said, Moon slowly rotated his body to face DJ as well before he leaned over so he could peek into the office and see Mapbot laying on the floor by the repair station.

“ Oh. . . and. . . he came alone?” Moon asked suspiciously. DJ raised an eyebrow.

“ Yes? Why?” Moon narrowed his eyes at the bug.

“ It’s just weird. . . that Sun breaks the rules to leave the daycare, and the boy was nearby the first time, and now he’s here , trying to repair a staffbot and that child is still unaccounted for. . “Moon trailed off.

“ I don’t think that’s weird.” DJ stated.

“ DJ. . .'' Moon sighed, shaking his head, “ Do you think I’m stupid ?” he asked, DJ shook his head.

“ No. I was hoping you would pretend to be though.” Moon’s shoulders slumped.

“ Where is he DJ, “ he demanded. DJ didn’t respond, “ Answer me.”

“ Go jump in the disposal.” Moon actually reared back at the harsh words.

“ Why would you say that to me?” The clown actually sounded hurt, “ After everything we’ve been through, you would say that?!” 

“ You’re not Moon.” DJ answered, “ you said so yourself , not only that you said you consumed him . That he is gone , how do you expect me to cooperate with you at all when, as far as I’m concerned, you deleted my boyfriend and took his place.” 

“ It’s not that simple,” Moon huffed in irritation, “ I am Moon, I am everything he wanted to be-”

“ He wouldn’t hurt kids.” DJ deadpanned back, “ He wouldn’t hurt me . You’ve done both”

“ You know I don’t have to fix that body at all, since you hate me so much .” Gregory felt sick, he hated people that did that. Held favors over other people's heads.

“ Then don’t. I don’t care about that anymore. I just want you out of my arcade.” DJ sounded tired, Moon stared at him in shock, “ and you will be in three. Two. “ Moon’s eyes went wide, he made to retreat to the semi lit arcade but DJ grabbed him. Holding him in a tight grip, “ one. ” The lights came back on, Moon tried to pry DJ’s fingers open, but they didn’t give. Sun’s yellows started to creep down Moon’s arms, giving it an almost washed out look. He gave DJ one last hurt glare before he went limp in DJ’s fist, the sun rays spun out and Sun pushed himself up, blinking a bit before stiffening.

“ Wha-” 

“ Easy, easy, you’re okay,” DJ promised, uncovering Gregory. 

“ Me?! What about Greg-” Sun cut off as DJ set him down where the clown could easily spot the boy, “ Oh there you are Sunshine! Are you alright?” Sun asked as he rushed to the boy. Gregory expected Sun to scan him but instead Sun dropped to his knees in front of him and tilted his chin up with one hand and used his thumb on the other hand to wipe Gregory’s cheek. It was then he realized he was crying, he felt his face heat up and he pulled himself away from Sun. 

“ Yeah! I’m fine!” he snapped, wiping at his face.

“ Moon and I got into a bit of a shouting match. . . I think it scared him,” DJ offered, Gregory stood up, glaring at the bug.

“ No it didn’t! I’m not a baby! I’m gonna start the repair thing!” The boy hurried past Sun who turned his head to watch him go but didn’t follow. Gregory could hear Sun and DJ talking as he circled the repair station to try and figure out how it worked.

“ Moon didn’t find him?” Sun asked.

“ No, He knows you’re helping him though, and I guess now me too, no one seems to know Freddy’s been helping. . .  speaking of, where is Freddy?” DJ asked. Gregory found a large hatch that had “ Insert head here ” Printed on it. He moved back to Mappy’s Body and opened the bag with his head in it. 

“ Waiting in the Atrium, says he has performance restrictions,” Sun explained with a hint of bitterness. Gregory picked up the head and dropped it into the hatch. The repair machine whirred to life. 

“ So. . . he’s having you break rules but he can’t?” DJ asked.

“ Kinda, sorta, he mostly just tries to send Gregory off and watches him through the cameras,” Sun explained.

“ Send Gregory off. . . by himself ?!” 

“ Right?! I was starting to think maybe I was overreacting,” Sun sounded relieved. Gregory moved to the door, and leaned on the doorframe.

“ Now what?” He asked, Sun hummed, turning to the boy. 

“ Can I scan you real quick Sunshine, I want to make sure you’re doing alright,” Sun asked, catching Gregory off guard. 

“ You’re asking now?” He asked bitterly, Sun hummed again, clasping his hands behind his back.

“ Yes, you made it clear you didn’t like it when Freddy and I scanned you without asking, I thought maybe it was hurting your eyes, that’s normal for people after a nasty head bump like yours, either way you made it clear you didn’t like it, so I’m asking!” Sun bounced a little to emphasize his last word. DJ raised an eyebrow.

“ Nasty head bump? What happened? Is he okay?” the bug asked. 

“ Oh he said he fell in the lobby and bumped his head, a minor concussion but symptoms from things like that tend to linger,” Sun explained, almost dismissively. DJ went still for a moment.

“ Um. .  yeah, I guess you can scan me,” He mumbled, Sun did, then smiled with relief when he saw Gregory’s condition was unchanged. 

“ Thank you, here, for being so good , hold out your hand,” Gregory raised an eyebrow but did. DJ chuckled as Sun dropped something into his palm.

“ Oh I see what happened, heh, your foot get stuck or something?” DJ asked the boy tilting his head, “ it looks kinda silly on the camera, you just fell off.” Gregory nodded, examining what Sun had given him. It was a Sunnydrop. He hesitantly unwrapped the candy, if it tasted funny he’d know, he’d had them before. 

“ Yeah, well I was looking for a pass.” He grumbled defensively and popped the candy in his mouth. 

“ You’re using the cameras now?” Sun asked the bug who made a shrugging gesture.

“ Yeah? I’ll check the daycare real quick, Moon knows your helping Gregory so he’s assuming Gregory’s in the same vicinity as himself,”

“ Oh. . .” Sun almost sounded disappointed, but quickly covered it up, “ Yes, it would be best if I started keeping my distance from him then. . . .” Sun glanced at Gregory as he spoke, “ He could still come back here looking for him.”

“ I’m aware. . . I will deal with that when I need to,” DJ said evenly, folding his hands in front of himself and resting his chin on the backs of them. Sun pointed at DJ as he straightened, like a lightbulb had gone off in his head.

“ Oh! Oh oh oh! What if I put myself in a different part of the plex every hour, then he'll waste his time looking for Gregory there! ” Sun pitched, DJ hummed.

“ Not a bad idea,” He agreed. Sun put his hands on his hips, clearly proud of himself. The machine behind them made a loud sound that made Sun and Gregory jump, and DJ lifted his head. “Ah that’s gonna take a while, let’s continue this conversation in the arcade.” He pushed himself up and started backing his way towards his tunnel. 

“ Alright, we’ll be out there,” Sun pointed to the door, then gestured for Gregory to follow him, “ I’m going to send Freddy in here once DJ is back. Whether he likes it or not,” Sun added irritably under his breath.  They paused under one of the tunnel openings within the wall. 

“ How does he get around the plex in that thing?” Gregory asked, pointing to one of the tunnels, Sun tugged on his ribbons.

“ He doesn’t.” He answered simply. DJ emerged within the tunnel at this point, settling himself down in it as he looked down at the other two, “ Is Monty still by the Daycare?” Sun asked him, DJ was quiet for a moment.

“ Can’t you check yourself now?” Gregory asked, Sun giggled sheepishly.

“ Oh! Oh yes, I can, I forget!” He tugged on his ribbons, “ I don’t usually have access so it didn’t even cross my mind,” DJ snickered, resting his chin on his hands again.

“ Monty left the daycare, if you go now and take the staff tunnels to the lobby, that will be your best bet to avoid anyon-”

“ Monty broke the way to the Lobby from the staff tunnels,” Gregory informed them, DJ hummed.

“ Well shit-”

“ DJ! There's a child here!”

“ Shit is not a curse word,” DJ argued. Sun sighed heavily.

“ No, you’re thinking of the word Crap , Crap is technically not a curse word ,” Sun corrected, “ but both are inappropriate in front of a child!” Sun gestured to Gregory. There was a beat of silence, then Gregory’s inner demons got the better of him.

“ Well Damn-”

“ GREGORY!” Sun gasped in horror, while DJ snorted.

“ Well anyway, Monty’s back by Monty golf now, so if you’re quick and quiet, you can get there without him noticing,” DJ  informed the clown who hesitated then nodded.

“ Alright then. .  I’ll send Freddy in. . .  it’s. . . Bye,” Sun offered awkwardly, DJ nodded.

“ bye. . .” It was a weird vibe that Gregory couldn’t place. There was another beat of nothing then Sun turned and left. 

“ That was weird,” The boy said once Sun was on the ground floor. 

“ A bit. . . but understandable, Sun’s not supposed to leave the daycare at all anymore and I don’t exactly fit through the door,” DJ trailed off. Gregory blinked up at him.

“ So . . . you guys won’t see each other again?” He asked, DJ shrugged.

“ Most likely, especially since- I shouldn’t get into that with you, let me try to remember if there's a game you haven’t beaten in this arcade,” DJ changed the subject. Gregory frowned but didn’t push it. 

“ Why didn’t you tell on me to Sun?” he asked, looking over the nearby video game cabinets.

“ Was I supposed to?” It was a mocking response, Gregory sent the bug a glare, “ It’s not like it matters, you’re stuck here till the doors open up, “ DJ pointed out, “ Besides if Freddy knew how to remotely shut me down, then he has the ability to see you’re lying himself, I don’t need to tell them anything ” Gregory hummed, dread sinking into his stomach. Did Freddy see he let himself get locked in?

“ What was that about earlier? Moon fixing your other body?” Gregory asked, DJ stared at him for a moment.

“ If I tell you that, you have to tell me what you’re doing here.” He conditioned, Gregory narrowed his eyes at the bug, who just stared back. 

“ Fine ,” He agreed, damn his curiosity. 

“ Moon knows basic programming and a good amount of bot repair, it’s mostly so he can fix himself and Sun since maintenance is so sparse for side characters,” DJ explained, “ Your turn.”

“ I snuck in, wanted a place to crash for a bit,” Gregory explained quickly.

“ When was this?” the bug asked.

“ I think it was saturday, the plex was closed the day after,” Gregory crossed his arms, “ What happened to your other body?”

“ Moon and I got into a. . . ah there isn’t a prettier word for it, a fight,” DJ explained, “ It resulted in that body getting so badly damaged they put my AI back in this one.” He let one arm dangle from the tunnel lazily towards the floor, “ Why do you need a place to crash, what about your parents?” 

“ Hey! That’s two!” The boy called out, pointing at the bug, who chuckled.

“ What about your parents,” He picked, Gregory swallowed, fists clenched at his side. DJ seemed to pick up the silent answer, “ Guardians?” He asked. 

“ Shitty people,” Gregory huffed, “ Always yelling at me, and blaming me for shit, breaking my stuff!” he listed off, “ I was losing my mind.”

“ So you’re a runaway. . .” DJ finished, Gregory jumped then looked up.

“ Um. . . yeah. . .” He trailed off, rubbing his arm.

“ How long have you been on your own?” DJ asked after a long pause, Gregory shrugged. 

“ I dunno . . . school just got out,” He offered lamely.

“ So June?” DJ then started counting on his fingers, muttering to himself, “ July, August, September, October, November, Dec- That’s six months!” DJ sounded alarmed, “ and No ones been looking for you?!” Gregory glared at the ground.

“ If they are, they’re not trying very hard,” He grumbled, DJ was quiet for a while.

“ I’m sorry. . . “ the boy scoffed.

“ Why? I’m fine! Better than Fine! I got no one to tell me what to do or make me go to school, or eat vegetables, or go to bed, or anything!” Gregory grinned at DJ, it was forced and the bug seemed to know this but didn’t push it. 

“ So what was your plan? Live here in the tunnels for the rest of your life?” He asked, jerking his thumb to one of the many tunnel openings.

“ No! Just til it stopped being so cold at night!” Gregory snapped, “I thought we were taking turns! You’ve asked a ton and I haven’t!” DJ raised an eyebrow at him, then gestured for him to go ahead.

“ What did you mean when you said the smaller body was what was keeping you active?” The boy asked, DJ stilled for a moment, then he sighed.

“ I’m . . not exactly selling shirts around here. . . so-” The elevator door dinged suddenly. Both bug and child turned their heads towards it.

“ Gregory?” Freddy called through the boy’s faz-watch, “ Where are you?” 

“ Second level of the arcade!” Gregory answered, there was a pause. 

“ I do not see you. . .” GRegory looked up at DJ who made a shrugging gesture. The boy turned back to his watch, remembering something Sun told him earlier. He selected Freddy’s name on his watch, “ Oh! That is the third level,” the bear corrected.

“ No?” DJ cut in, “ There is no third level to this arcade, that little landing doesn’t count as a level.”

“ If you say so, it’s your arcade.” Freddy replied as he reached the top of the stairs, he made his way around the game cabinets to them, “ It is good to see we were mistaken about your status,” He added, DJ hummed.

“ Yeah I heard you told Sun to shut me down,” He accused, but it was light hearted.

“ I am sorry, we thought you were after Gregory and that he was trapped in here with you,” Freddy tried to explain. DJ waved him off.

“ Nah it’s fine, I was trying to break Sun so it’s fair,” Freddy looked mildly alarmed at DJ’s casual response. 

“ R-right, Gregory are you alright?” Freddy asked, the boy nodded.

“ Yeah! I’m fine! And we got Mappy in the repair thing!” Gregory told the bear, DJ tilted his head when Gregory said the bot’s name. 

“ Well done!” Freddy praised, “ I’m sure he’ll be very grateful when he’s back online,” Gregory grinned, he heard DJ scoff, “ Now all we have to do is wait out the next four hours and then you can escape and return to your parents! “ Gregory’s grin fell, he glanced at DJ who didn’t move or say anything. 

“ Yeah. . .” Freddy patted his head, “ Is Sun going back to the daycare?” the boy asked.

“ yes, he says for three AM he’ll stay there, then go to the lobby at four, the bakery at five-”

“ No. ” DJ cut in suddenly, “ Not the bakery.” Freddy turned his head to the bug.

“ Why not? It’s near the daycare and should keep Moon busy-”

“ Not. The. Bakery. ” DJ said again, his voice dangerously deep. The bear gave him an alarmed look while Gregory spoke into his faz-watch.

“ Hey Sun, I don’t know why, but DJ doesn’t want you to go into the bakery,” There was a pause. 

“ Oh! Oh of course! I’m sorry! I wasn’t even thinking! I’ll go to the theater, it’s far enough away,” Sun responded, DJ visibly relaxed.

“ Thank you. . .” He sighed, Freddy blinked in confusion.

“ I do not understand, the bakery is Chica’s, why does it matter to you?” He asked, the hand DJ had dangling above the floor closed into a weak fist.

“ I-”

“ Well you see the bakery- um. . .” Sun cut himself off, “ Hello friends, can I help you?” Sun asked suddenly, Gregory exchanged a confused look with the other two. Sun suddenly laughed nervously, “ You’re getting a little close friends, you know what they say about personal bubbles. . . .” 

“ It’s the staffbots, they’re acting off. . .” DJ said quickly, “ And it’s a lot of them. . . he needs to get out of there,” Gregory felt anxiety form a knot in his gut, “ Too late, Gregory mute your watch,” DJ ordered, the boy blinked in confusion, “ Freddy you gotta go help him, it looks bad,” Freddy’s eyes went wide and he nodded. Hurrying off while Gregory did as he was told. 

“ Why did I need to mute my watch?” Gregory asked, DJ sighed heavily.

“ Freddy’s not gonna get there in time to stop it and you don’t need to hear what’s about to happen…” 

“ What’s about to happen?” The boy asked, DJ didn’t answer, Gregory turned to his faz-watch, checking the cameras for the daycare.

“ No wait, kid don’t,” DJ started reaching for Gregory but retracting his hand when Gregory took a step back, still watching the cameras. 

Sun was completely surrounded by staffbots. Mostly security, but a few regular ones were there too. They kept grabbing at him and at first he was able to pull himself free but the bots quickly overwhelmed him.

“ He’s- I gotta go help him!” Gregory exclaimed running for the stairs, DJ seemed to be faster through because before the boy could reach them DJ’s massive hand blocked the stairs from the ceiling where the bug currently was. 

“ What are you going to do to help?” DJ asked, “ No really, what’s your plan here ?” Gregory glared up at him. 

“ I don’t know, I’ll think of something!” he shouted, sprinting back towards one of the tunnel openings. 

“ Even if you had a plan, you’re a kid Gregory, you could get hurt, and you won’t get there in time to really help! Let Freddy handle it,” DJ called after the boy, who ducked into a tunnel that sloped down towards the first floor of the arcade. DJ sounded like he started to follow but stopped, “ Kid these tunnels all lead back to the arcade, remember?” Gregory paused at the end of the tunnel and spotted DJ positioning himself on the ground in front of the elevator. He smirked, then sprinted to the red door not too far from him. 

“ Not the staff tunnels!” He shouted, he heard DJ make an alarmed sound before the ground shook.

“ Gregory!!” He heard DJ call as he dove through the staff doors. Looking back as DJ’s gloved hand comically grope for him. 

“ Ha! See ya DJ I’m gonna go help Sun!” He started down the door.

“ Gregory get back here, it’s not safe to go off on your own!” He heard DJ boom behind him as he rounded a corner at the bottom of the stairs into the tunnels. Nearly running into an unwelcome familiar animatronic. 

“ Hey!” Monty exclaimed once he recovered from the shock of the boy nearly running into him.

“ Why here?! Why Now?!” Gregory cried out, retreating back the way he came. Monty close behind as they both climbed the stairs, yelling behind him.

“ Get back here you brat!” Gregory pushed through the staff doors, he didn’t see DJ. 

“ DJ?! Help! Monty’s after me! Please!” He pleaded but still no sign of DJ. Had he ticked him off? Was the bug going to let Monty get him?! He tripped and fell on his stomach, crying out. 

“ Ha! Nowhere to run now kid,” Monty taunted, slowing to a walk as he shut the red staff door behind himself. Gregory pushed himself up, and realized he was in a shadow, one too big to be the gator’s. He immediately spotted the owner as he rolled over to look up at Monty. Hanging on the ceiling high above the doorway and them was DJ. The lights turned red again as he slowly crawled down the wall, reaching for the gator. Unfortunately Monty was smarter than he seemed and noticed the lighting changed, and the music pick up. He then spotted the shadow and looked over his shoulder. He dodged as DJ’s hand came down, making it hit the floor hard and causing the room to shake. The bug quickly recovered and snatched the boy up, taking him up and away from Monty. As the ground got further away Gregory felt his stomach drop and himself get dizzy. The boy hid his face in DJ’s glove, maybe if he couldn’t see the drop below him he wouldn’t be sick. He felt DJ’s thumb gently press against his back comfortingly.

“ Hey! FX! Ya nearly scared the volts out of me!” Monty snapped, Gregory gripped the fabric of DJ’s glove, “ alright ya had yer fun, now give me the kid, it’s not like you can hand him over.” 

That’s a hard no from me Monty,” DJ told him, Monty made an annoyed growl. Gregory peeked up once the dizzy spell passed. 

“ You too?! For fucks sake what is gotten into you guys!” Monty snapped up at the bug.

“ Gotten into us ?! Look at yourself right now Monty, and while you’re at it, tell me why Sun is afraid of you ?” DJ’s voice got dangerously low. 

“ Sun ain't afraid of me, a-and sides, even if he was, he's the one making my job harder!” 

“ Oh wow, where have I heard that one before,” DJ muttered, mostly to himself. 

“ Get down here!” Monty shouted, pointing at the ground. DJ ignored him this time, turning his attention to the boy in his hand. 

“ You okay? Afraid of heights?” He asked, placing Gregory in the palm of his other primary hand before using the first to cup around the boy to lessen his chances of falling off. 

“ No!” Gregory denied instinctively then after a pause, “ Kinda, this is high , a-and it made me a bit dizzy,” He admitted, DJ hummed sympathetically.

“ Sorry,” He offered.

“ Hey! Stop ignoring me!” Monty interrupted, DJ turned his head slightly to look down at the gator, “ Ya can’t stay up there forever!” 

“ I can though?” DJ replied, “ Watch me.” 

“ Maybe I will, Jackass! ” Monty snapped back, moving to one of the air hockey tables in the center of the ground floor of the arcade. He sat on it, crossing his arms, looking more like a grumpy child than the ferocious gator he’d been moments ago. 

“ Is. . . Is he actually gonna sit there and wait?” Gregory asked, peeking over DJ’s fingers at him. 

“ He might, he’s a pretty stubborn idiot when he wants to be,” DJ said casually, “ But I’m sure you already knew that.” He playfully poked Gregory with his index. The boy scoffed, turning back to the bug.

“ I can hear you ,” Monty called irritably.

“ I know, I just don’t care,” DJ deadpanned back, making the boy giggle. 

“ He’s not so scary up here,” He noted, DJ chuckled as well. 

“ Don’t worry, he can’t get you up here,” Gregory nodded in acknowledgement, then he heard it. It started off faint, but Gregory could hear the high ringing that followed the rabbit lady everywhere. He looked around frantically for her, “ what’s wrong?” DJ asked, Gregory looked back at him. 

“ You don’t hear that?” DJ didn’t respond, his head tilted slightly as if he was listening carefully. Gregory looked back over the arcade, he noticed Monty had turned his head slightly as if he was trying to listen too. As the second stretched on the ringing got louder, Gregory felt a headache start to form in the back of his head. 

“ What the hell is he talking about?” Monty asked, DJ waved him off with a secondary hand.

“ What are you hearing?” He asked Gregory, who turned back to him. He curled in on himself, and covered his ears, closing his eyes as the ringing got even louder . DJ started gently poking him, but there was a frantic air to it, “ Gregory, kiddo? Talk to me, what are you hearing?” He asked again, Gregory started to cry, it hurt so much more than before. 

“ Look what ya did Mixtape! Ya probably popped his ear drums with yer bass-”

“ SHUT UP! ” DJ snapped at the gator, his voice making the room shake, and Gregory cried out against his will. The poking started again, DJ’s voice got softer, “ I’m sorry, didn’t mean to scare you Boombox, Can you hear me?” Gregory managed to nod,the poking changed to DJ’s finger gently rubbing his back comfortingly “ Okay, good, breathe , you’re okay, tell me what you’re hearing, one word if that’s all you can do,” The boy swallowed hard.

“ Ringing,” He managed, DJ froze.

“ A ringing?” he repeated, “ L-Like a high pitch one?” The boy nodded again, “ Shit.” He heard DJ say to himself, the ringing started to die down at that moment, allowing the boy to recover from his headache. He opened his eyes and looked over DJ’s fingers for the rabbit lady.

“ D-did you see her at least?!” He asked, slowly uncovering his ears and wiping his wet cheeks. 

“ The rabbit lady?” DJ asked, Gregory looked back at him, nodding, “ No I didn’t see her,” The boy deflated.

“ T-There’s a loud ringing around her when she’s around, I-I’m not lying!” Gregory added instinctively. 

“ I know, I have heard it before, in the smaller body. . . . I can’t hear it now, is it gone?” He asked, the boy nodded, “ well . . . she can’t get up here either . . . .  are you okay?” Gregory nodded again. 

“ Y-Yeah . . . It gives me a headache, like a really bad one .” 

“ Yeah it gave me one too,” DJ empathized.

“ But this time it was even worse ! I don’t know why. . .'' Gregory trailed off uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to people believing his ailments. The fact that DJ believed he heard the ringing, and that it actually gave him a headache instead of thinking he was looking for attention was weird. 

“ Sun mentioned you had a concussion earlier, so maybe that-”

“ Zero levers remain. Remote shutdown activated.” The intercom voice interrupted, Gregory’s stomach dropped.

“ Shutdown? What are you two up to?” Monty demanded, getting off the air hockey table.

“ Please stand clear of DJ Music Man, by activating the remote shutdown you there by agree Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible in the event DJ Music Man falls on top of you .” While the intercom voice spoke DJ moved quickly towards the second level of the arcade and set Gregory down.

“ Hey!” Monty snapped, Gregory turned back to DJ. 

“ I-I didn’t mean- I’ll restart you or-”

“ Don’t-Don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault, I didn’t think about canceling it either, I. . . I’m so sorry. . .” He sounded genuinly regretful. Then the magenta glow behind his teeth went dark. His grip on the ceiling and wall gave and he was falling. Monty yelled out in surprise and there was the sound of crushed metal and shattering glass. Gregory looked over the railing of the second floor in time to see DJ’s body roll off the small landing between the first and second levels, leaving behind crushed arcade games and broken glass of the railings. He landed on the arcade games on the ground floor. Gregory could see Monty on the landing, his back pressed against the wall like he just barely dodged being crushed himself. The bug’s limbs splayed out as he came to rest on his side. His head turned awkwardly towards the elevator. 

“ Holy sh- FX! Ya alright?!” Monty called, moving to stand on the edge of the landing. There was a tense pause as Monty waited for a response, “ . . . DJ?” Still nothing, Monty turned his head sharply towards Gregory, who flinched. 

“ You punk!” Monty roared, moving for the stairs that would take him up. Gregory panicked and sprinted for the repair hall. This proved to be a mistake because he ended up sprinting past Monty as he reached the top of the stairs. So naturally the gator was in hot pursuit. Monty wasn’t as fast as Gregory though and lost sight of him as he burst through the staff door. He ran into the security office and hit the button for the door. To the door’s credit, it tried to shut. Gregory only remembered DJ telling him the door was broken when he heard the mechanics grind against each other before giving up. The staff door opened and the boy pressed himself against the wall on the left side of the doorway. So Monty didn’t see him as he stormed past. 

“ You can hide! But you can’t Hide!”  He bellowed as he rounded the corner. He heard Monty start breaking arcade cabinets. The boy started shaking, “ Get out here!” Even though the gator sounded far away Gregory flinched. He should run while Monty wasn’t looking, he knew he should, but he was frozen, “ That was one of my best friends you just permanently shut down!” Monty shouted between pants as he continued to trash already broken arcade cabinets. 

Permanently? Like he was dead? Gregory felt sick again, and covered his mouth with both of his hands. That explained why Sun didn’t want to do the emergency shutdown, why DJ had been a little upset that they tried . He felt tears start to build up against his will as he came to his final conclusion. He killed DJ.

“ There ya are!” Gregory jumped and turned his head to see Monty had rounded the corner again, this time easily able to spot the boy through the doorway. He charged, Gregory instinctively slammed his hand on the door button again. It screeched again, then miraculously came down on top of Monty. It came down on his shoulders, pinning him to the floor. Only his head and hands were on Gregory’s side. 

“ What the- AAAARG!” Monty bellowed in frustrated rage as Gregory took several steps back. His eyes wide, his back hitting the staffbot repair station. He did the only thing he could think of. 

“ Freddy!” He called into his faz-watch, “ I’m trapped in the security office with Monty!” 

“ What?!” The bear exclaimed.

“ Y-Yeah! The door came down on him a-and he’s stuck but it wont hold forever, I-I don’t know what to do,” He rambled in his panicked state. 

“ What about DJ? Weren’t you with him ?!” The bear seemed to be panicking a bit himself. 

“ he-” Gregory felt the words get stuck in his throat, he started to cry again. 

“ I’m on my way,” That wasn’t the response he expected, he expected instructions.

“ What?! What about Sun?!” He wiped the tears out of his eyes.

“ What about Sun?! Did you do something to Sun?!” Monty snarled at him. 

“ Sun will be fine, “ Freddy assured him, the door’s power dropped. Gregory swallowed hard, what if Freddy didn’t get there in time?! He glanced at the computers along the wall, it was a virus right? There was no confirmation on that yet but if it was then it could be deleted. . . couldn’t it? Gregory hesitated before taking a step closer to the gator who snarled at him. Making Gregory jump back again, the door’s power dropped a little more. He swallowed hard.

“ He’s stuck, but not for long, he’s stuck ,” He told himself before moving to the gator again.

“ What are you up to?!” Gregory ignored Monty.

“ Freddy. . . if someone needed to check your code, where would they plug you into a computer from?” He asked his watch. 

“ Oh! At the base of our heads is a port for cables, I believe it’s a USB. . . why do you ask?” Freddy asked as Gregory spotted the port on Monty. 

“ No reason,” He lied, partly out of habit, partly because he suspected Freddy wouldn’t approve of his plan. He moved to the desk where he conveniently found a cable long enough to reach the gator from the computer, “ Why have a cable this long?” he wondered, but didn’t dwell on it since it suited his needs. 

“ Hey! Whatever yer doing? Knock it off!” Monty snapped, he actually flinched when Gregory plugged the cable into him, “ OW!?! ” He glared at the boy.

“ Sorry?” Gregory offered, moving back to the computer that had an image of a white and pink bear. The same one from the construction signs in front of Roxy raceway. This time the bear sported a blue jumpsuit. 

“HELLO! I see you’ve connected an AI to this console, would you like to run a diagnostic scan? ” Its speech bubble read. Gregory wasn’t completely sure what that was, but selected yes anyway. A little animation of the bear in a doctor’s outfit looking over a staffbot with an icepack on its head and a thermometer where its mouth should be played on the screen. Monty started snickering, when Gregory looked back he realized the gator was trying not to laugh. 

“ Ah! I hate this! It tickles!” He snapped, struggling against the door again as he tried not to laugh more. Gregory giggled weakly and turned back to the computer. 

“ Diagnosis scan complete,” The bear shifted to an alarmed expression, “ Uh oh! There seems to be a virus affecting this code! Remove Virus?” Gregory clicked yes so fast he didn’t finish reading the bear’s words, “ If this AI is in an animatronic you will need to shut the animatronic down before proceeding.” 

“ Uh oh. . .” 

“ Uh oh?! What are you uh oh-ing-”  Monty suddenly tensed and gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. His hands clenched into fists. He didn’t move for a long moment, the computer beeped, making Gregory look at it. 

“ Removal complete, restarting program” the boy looked back at Monty intime to see the gator’s head go lax on the floor. The door ran out of power at that moment and lifted off the gator. Gregory’s hammered in his chest so hard that it hurt. 

“ Please work, please work, please work, ” He thought as the seconds ticked on. The gator groaned suddenly and pushed himself to his knees. Rubbing his head as he did.

“ Ah, that smarts. . .” He grumbled, then blinked, his gaze landed on Gregory. There was a tense beat, “ What’re you doing back here?” Monty asked, Gregory felt relief hit him so hard that he actually fell back into the chair behind him. Monty didn’t notice this reaction however, looking around the office, “ Come to think of it, what am I doing back here. . .” He scratched the side of his jaw, “ I was in my Green room a second ago. . . what time is it?” Monty looked back at the boy, now noticing the boy’s state, “ Ya okay?” The staff door to the arcade opened suddenly.

“ Gregory?!” Monty turned to the bear who was suddenly in the doorway. 

“ Freddy! Yer okay! Good! Was worried about ya when ya collapsed on the stage,” Monty grinned at him, then jerked a thumb at Gregory, “ Ya know what the deal is with this Kid?”

Chapter Text

Naturally Monty had questions once he was filled in but he didn’t seem to care about any of them after Freddy mentioned Sun getting ambushed by staffbots.

“ Where?!” He practically demanded.

“ I hid him in kid’s cove, I was on my way to parts and service with him when Gregory- Monty! Wait!” Freddy called as Monty stormed out of the repair hall and into the arcade. 

“ I will not! You just told me my Sunflower’s damaged and in kid’s cove, you watch the kid I’m gonna go get him!” He yelled over his shoulder, then froze when he reached the stair to the lower levels, “ What. . . what happened to DJ?!” He turned to Freddy and Gregory who were following him.

“ I don’t know, I was hoping Gregory would. . .” Freddy turned to the boy in question who swallowed hard. 

“T-The remote shutdown . . w-we- the rabbit lady. . .” He couldn’t get out anymore. It was still too fresh. 

“ What is going on around here?!” Monty snapped, “ It’s insane, Chica, Roxy and me, are hunting kids fer sport, Sun’s damaged, DJ’s. .  that! What about Moon, what’s going on with him?” Monty started down the steps, walking backwards as he spoke. 

“ Moon is also affected, but given Sun’s physical state, I doubt Moon will be a problem when the lights go out soon,” Freddy informed them. Monty slipped on some glass under his feet, and had to grip what remained of the guard rail to keep from falling.

“ Ah Shit! Okay, Kid, you deleted the Virus from me right, just now?” Monty asked, the boy nodded, the gator spun around, “ Okay! Good, two birds, one stone, we’re getting Sun to parts and Service, patch him up, then you,” He pointed at Gregory, “ Delete that Virus out of him and that’s our best shot at patching up the big guy!” Monty finished, looking up at DJ’s head as they descended the stairs towards the statue. 

“ I believe we should leave repairs to dayshift-” Freddy started but Monty cut him off. 

“ We can’t leave him for the dayshift! Management’s been looking to toss him for weeks!” Freddy hummed in thought as the lights went out, but everything else seemed to work as Monty hit the elevator button with the side of his fists. It was jarring how uneventful the lights being out was, but Gregory would take it, though it felt like something was watching him from the shadows. The elevator door opened. 

“ Sides it would be good to have Moon back on our team, he’s got the highest security clearance now,” Monty added, stepping into the small space. Freddy and Gregory followed.

“ He does,” The bear agreed, “ Very well, I am on power restrictions so I will assist in getting Sun and Gregory to parts and service, then I must recharge before it affects my systems.” Freddy told the gator who nodded.

“ Sounds good to me,” He agreed as the doors opened. He looked over the rims of his glasses at Chica who was across the atrium by Mazersize. Gregory pressed himself to Freddy’s leg as Chica did her zombie walk in circles.

“ Who wants candy~” She called. Monty hissed. 

“ That’s. . . disturbing,” He drawled, looking over the railing down at the ground floor. Freddy opened his stomach hatch and ushered the boy inside. Gregory gave him a confused look.

“ I do not wish to risk you being spotted Spacecub,” He said seriously.

“ Can’t Roxy see through walls?” the boy asked, Freddy nodded.

“ Yes, but it has limits, and she can’t see through me .” Gregory nodded and climbed into the hatch. Freddy followed behind Monty as they made their way down towards the ground floor, carefully watching Roxy who seemed to be patrolling the party floor in front of the main stage. 

“ Why is Chica all Zombie like but not Roxy?” Monty asked Freddy in a hushed voice, Freddy shrugged, “ That’s weird, that’s really freaking weird, alright,” He speedwalked past the food court towards Kid’s cove. Clearly trying to look casual, Roxy called out to them when she spotted them. 

“ Hey Monty, Freddy, you find the brat yet?” There was a mocking air to her voice. 

“ Not yet,” Monty called back, “ Gonna check the daycare,” He pointed in the direction he was walking.

“ Again ? You stayed there for like a whole hour! The kid’s not there, and that pissstained freak isn’t going back if he knows what’s good for him.” Monty came to a dead stop, Gregory swallowed hard at the look in Monty’s eye as he turned his head towards Roxy. His fists clenched. He released a breath.

“ Yeah? Well fuck you. I do what I want.” He snapped back, Roxy laughed while Freddy took a cautious step back. 

“ What ever, I’m gonna find the kid first,” She told them, “ I am the best after all-”

“ Yeah and when ya do, ya can have the biggest Bitch trophy!” Monty retorted, Freddy gave a heavy sigh and Gregory was sure he wanted to scold both of them for their language. Once in Kid’s cove Monty turned to the bear, “ Where is he?” Freddy pointed to the lighthouse structure.

“ I left him in there, I believe he has A Fazbear brand GlowFriend with him since it’s a bit dark.” Monty walked over to the structure. A nearby wet floor bot beeped suddenly making Monty pause, “ Monty wait, the last time he saw you. . “ Freddy trailed off, seeming to not notice the wet floor bot. The gator thought for a moment, then he knocked on the door in a pattern of five rhythmic knocks that sounded familiar to Gregory but he couldn’t place where he heard it before. There was a pause.

Knock Knock . 

Only then did Monty open the door, Gregory couldn’t see Sun but he saw Monty’s eyebrows go up. He took a knee and took off his sunglasses. 

“ Oh, Sunflower . .  they really did a number on ya huh?” Monty almost cooed, sounding unnatural from the gator. He offered his hand, “ C’mon Cher, let’s get ya patched up.” An almost skeletal hand reached out, placing itself in Monty’s waiting hand and letting the gator help the clown crawl out of the lighthouse. Gregory felt sick with guilt again, three of Sun’s sun rays on top of Sun’s head were broken, the one at the top was gone completely, Moon’s hat was half out as if stuck. The half of his faceplate that glowed was gone, exposing his face mechanism, that eye completely blacked out. The same side of his torso was caved in and his right leg was completely missing from the knee down. 

“ Whatcha doing with yer brother’s hat Babe?” Monty asked playfully, Gregory wasn’t sure if he was trying to ease the tension in the air or if he was trying to get a reaction from the clown. Sun observed Monty for a moment, then looked to Freddy, his head tilted. The bear nodded, Sun turned back to Monty. He then threw his arms around the gator’s neck.

“ Woah!” Monty nearly fell over from all the weight suddenly being thrown at him but remained on one knee, Sun falling to both of his own. A sobbing sound came from the clown, Monty hesitated before wrapping his arms around him, “ Hey, hey, it’s gonna be alright, we just gotta get ya ta parts and service, then ya give me the serial numbers of the bots that did this, I’ll take care of-”

“ I-I thought I m-might have lost you,” Sun whimpered, making the gator freeze, lettingSun continue to ramble incoherently for a bit. Gregory caught names like Moon and Foxy , but other than that Gregory couldn’t make sense of it. Monty seemed able to though because he sighed and squeezed the clown gently.

“ The only thing that’s ever gonna take me from you is you saying you’re done with me, ya got that?” He told him.

“ I c-could never be done with you ,” Sun mumbled, earning a snort from the gator. 

“ Then I guess nothings taking me from ya is it?” Monty asked, Sun giggled. 

“ No I guess not,” Monty shifted his hold a bit, forcing Sun to sit down in the process.

“ Alright, now that we got that settled,” He hooked his arm under Sun’s remaining knee, his other arm still around the clown’s back and hoisted him up in a bridal hold. Sun squeaked in an almost gleeful way, his remaining foot kicking giddyishly. Arms still around Monty’s neck, “ Let’s get ya to parts and service Cher,” Gregory made a fake gag sound from inside Freddy, though he was smiling a bit. Glad he couldn’t be seen inside the chest cavity.

“ Was that Gregory? Where is he?” Sun asked as they cut through the connecting hall towards Monty golf. 

“ I have him,” Freddy told him, tapping his stomach as he did, Sun stared at Freddy in disbelief over Monty’s shoulder.

“ We agreed! No stomach hatch! ” Sun complained, the bear sighed heavily.

“ I know, I know, but I didn’t want him to be spotted, and Monty was rather. . . preoccupied,” Freddy gestured to the gator and Sun.  Monty paused at the metal door that separated Gator Golf’s entry from the Atrium. 

“ Freddy ya mind taking a peak, I don’t feel like dealing with Roxy right now. Not after what she said,” Monty explained, a slight growl to his voice. Sun let his head rest on Monty’s shoulder, and the action seemed to calm the gator a little. Freddy nodded and stepped out into the Atrium, Roxy was down by the Food court. The bear waved for Monty to come out, the gator rushed to the main stage, Freddy quickly behind. The bear pressed the button at the front of the stage and the cent of it started to descend. Once the Atrium was out of sight Sun spoke up again.

“ Is he alright? What happened to DJ?”

“ Kid’s fine, DJ’s offline,” Monty answered, Sun gasped.

“ What?! What happened?!” 

“ That fucking rabbit bitch-”

“ Monty! ” Both Sun and Freddy scolded.

“ There is a child here,” Freddy reminded the gator who scoffed.

“ Like me cursing is gonna mess this kid up more than anything else he’s seen tonight. . “ Though neither Sun nor Freddy seemed pleased with Monty’s response neither seemed to have an argument. Once the platform stopped Freddy let Gregory out of his stomach hatch. Monty was already starting down the hall, Gregory had to run to catch up, noticing a hall to his right.

“ Where does that go?” He asked, Pointing to the hall. Monty and Freddy paused to look down said hall.

“ Dunno, never questioned that hall,” Monty shrugged and kept walking. 

“ I believe it’s storage?” Sun mused, “ I think Moon took a peek once, told me it was storage.” 

“ We are not permitted to go down there,” Freddy added, “ I am surprised to hear Moon has.” Monty snorted as they approached the double red doors of parts and service. Freddy broke away from them, heading for the charging station next to the doors. 

“ DJ did say Moon breaks of lot of rules the other day,” He reminded the bear. 

“ He did. He did, I will rejoin you in a moment.” Freddy stepped into the charging station. 

“ Why does he need to recharge again?” Monty asked, Gregory rushed past the gator to hold the door open for him, “ Thanks.” 

“ Power restrictions,” Sun offered, Gregory moved around Monty again to hold open the second door.

“ Yeah they said it was a safety precaution,” Gregory explained. Following Monty towards the scary looking cylinder. 

“ It’s okay,” Monty said suddenly, Gregory worried his thought had been visible on his face, but he quickly realized the gator wasn’t talking to him. Sun was tense, his arms tight around Monty’s neck, his face hidden in the other’s neck, “ I’m right here, it’s gonna be alright. . “ He assured the clown, gently rubbing his back. 

“ Hm-Hm,” Sun sounded strained. Monty moved into the cylinder, and set Sun into the chair. He reluctantly let Monty pull away from him, keeping a single hand on his shoulder, “ W-wait how’s- Who’s doing the repairs?” Sun asked, Monty pointed to Gregory, “ That- He’s a child Monty!” Sun exclaimed. Gregory took offense to this.

“ I can do it!” He defended, Sun turned to him.

“ That’s not- I-” Monty pried Sun’s hand off his shoulder, and held it. His other hand on the clown's shoulder. 

“ Sunny, Sunflower, I’m pretty sure this kid is just as qualified, if not more than the normal repair guy’s. This thing tells them what to do, it’ll be okay,” He promised, Sun turned to him, looking uncertain, “ With everything going on, and we still don’t know why , I don’t want to leave you to dayshift,” He added, almost quietly. Sun released a breath.

“ But- I-. . “ he glanced at Gregory.

“ We might be able to get yer brother back once you’re patched up-”

“ We can?!” Sun gasped, Monty shrugged.

“ He managed to delete a virus from me, and if it’s the same thing that’s going on with Moon, he should be able to do the same thing right?” Sun nodded slowly, seeming to find his resolve. 

“ Okay. . . “ He pulled his hand free of Monty’s and leaned back in the chair. “ Let’s get this part over with then.” Monty had been right about the cylinder telling Gregory what he needed to do. The boy followed its step by step instructions while the gator fetched the parts it said they needed. Freddy rejoined them as Gregory was replacing some frayed wires in Sun’s faceplate. 

“ Woah- Holy-” Monty gasped suddenly.

“ What?! What is it?!” Sun asked, Gregory stepped back to look at the gator who was looking over his glasses at the clown wide eyed. 

“ Nothing! Nothing Darlin, you’re okay, just. . . wow. . .” He breathed, Gregory looked back at Sun then gasped as well.

“ Woah you have eyes?!” Sun blinked, his gaze shifting to Gregory. He could tell it did even before the daycare attendant turned his head slightly thanks to the bright blue pupils that were now in the center of his white orbs. 

“ The better to see you with Sunshine,” Sun offered nervously, earning a snort from Monty and a chuckle from Freddy.

“ He means your pupils, he must have repaired your eyes,” Freddy informed him, Sun’s pupils got bigger as his eyes went wide. 

“ My. . .” He gently touched the half of his face that was still there just under his eye. 

“ They’re real pretty,” Monty offered, Sun giggled, looking down at his lap as if embarrassed.

“ Thank you . . .” Gregory replaced Sun’s broken rays, unstuck the nightcap so it retracted back into him, then replaced the faceplate. While he was able to repair Sun’s right leg, the pant leg remained torn off at the knee. 

“ There, Now I think I just plug you in?” Gregory didn’t mean to make it sound like a question. Sun fidgeted nervously, pointing to the cable hanging from the chair. 

“ Is that what you did with Monty?” Freddy asked, the boy nodded.

“ Yeah, I plugged him in and the computer ran a diagram scan-”

“ Diagnostic,” Freddy corrected.

“ Then it deleted it!” Gregory plugged Sun in, who flinched, “ Sorry,” Sun laughed, nervously tugging on his ribbons. 

“ It’s okay, it takes a lot of practice to do it painlessly,” Sun assured him. Gregory jumped down from the chair and ran out of the cylinder, to the computer. Monty watched him run past before entering the cylinder himself and offering his hand to Sun who took it without hesitation. Gregory started the diagnostic scan he’d run on Monty. Sun giggled as the scan proceeded, he got the same virus alert. 

“ It says we should shut him down,” Gregory told them, Sun tensed, looking at the other two animatronics, “ I guess we don’t have to, I didn’t shut Monty down, but it looked like it hurt.” Sun released a breath. 

“ I’ll shut down . . . give me a moment,” Sun closed his eyes and stilled. 

“ He’s off, go ahead,” Monty told the boy, Gregory proceeded to remove the virus. It dinged when it was complete.

“ It says it’s restarting the program-” Gregory started, then pointed at the clown, “ Monty!” Freddy grabbed Gregory’s shoulders and pulled him away from the cylinder at the sight of the rays on Sun’s head retracting. Monty set the slowly turning blue arm on the arm rest of the chair, and backed out of the cylinder. Both bear and gator stood between the cylinder and the boy as the clown finished transitioning from day to night. 

There was a long pause of nothing where Moon just laid on the chair, then his eyes shot open and a gasp escaped him. Reminding Gregory of when he himself woke up from a nightmare. He sat up suddenly, looking around frantically before his yellow pupils landed on the other two animatronics. 

“ Monty? F-Freddy?” He sounded confused, his voice was softer and he seemed to shrink in on himself, which to Gregory looked a little silly given the animitronic’s gangly limbs, “ Why am I-” His knees were hugged to his chest as he started to freak out.

“ easy, easy, let’s start with somethin simple, can ya hear Sun?” Monty asked, Moon was still looking around nervously.

“ Y-yes?” His yellow gaze landed on Gregory, “ Why is there a child here?” He blinked again, “ Gregory?”

“ He didn’t know yer name before, right kid?” Monty asked him, Gregory shook his head.

“ I don’t think so. . .” 

“ I. . . oh god I blacked out again didn’t I?” Moon moaned to himself, pulling on his hat as he tucked himself into a tighter ball. Monty turned to him.

“ Again ? How long has this been going on?!” he asked, Moon started to answer but the words never came. 

“ I believe since Sunday,” Freddy answered for him, Moon looked up in surprise and Monty turned to him. 

“ How come you know that ?” The gator asked, Freddy gave a heavy sigh. 

“ I had a brief conversation with “Moon” on Sunday,” He used air quotes when he said the name, “ Where he was demonstrating odd behavior at the time I didn’t think much of it, maybe his relationship gave him the confidence to socialize more, I wasn’t sure, then today before the show DJ informed me that Moon had likely been corrupted,” Freddy explained with;

“ DJ knew ?” At the same time Moon said;

“ He told you?!” Freddy opted to answer Moon.

“ Not exactly, there wasn’t time for a detailed explanation, he just said “ It wasn’t Moon in the kitchens,”  I assume blacking out was part of it?” The bear asked, Moon nodded hesitantly. 

“ Y-yeah, how long have I been out?” Gregory could not believe this was the same animatronic that ripped Mappy’s head off two hours ago. His voice was so quiet , like he was nervous to be talking to the bear. Constantly glancing at Monty, as if pleading for help. 

“ Well. . . What’s the last thing you remember,” Freddy asked quietly, Moon made a gulp sound. 

“ Um. . . W-well, I was taking DJ to parts and service. .  he’d been damaged, um. .  Monty was there. . . where is DJ?” Moon asked, looking around, the gator winced, hissing through his teeth.

“ That’s the last thing you remember?” He asked, Moon nodded.

“ Y-Yeah, we were leaving the golf course- Where is DJ ?” He asked again.

“ Oh buddy. . . that was three days ago. . .” The clown stilled, then started shaking. 

“ Moon try to focus,” Freddy started, then when the shaking didn’t stop he continued, “ In for four, hold for four, out for six,” Gregory and Monty gave the bear a confused look, Moon blinked, then after about eight seconds he made an exhaling sound, he did that a couple more times as the shaking subsided.

“ M’okay, “ He hugged his knees, “ Where is DJ, why won’t anyone tell me. . .” He trailed off, rubbing his forehead. There was a heavy pause where Monty and Freddy exchanged nervous looks. Monty finally sighed, rubbing the back of his head. 

“ Well about that. .  he’s. . . offline?” Moon’s head shot up, his eyes wide.

“ Offline?!” He stood up, and moved to the door, trying to trigger the cylinder door to open, “ I-I need to go to him, I need to- How did he end up offline? ” Moon gave up on the door by hitting it weakly with the side of his fist. 

“ We triggered a remote shutdown thinking he was dangerous, then forgot to cancel it,” Freddy answered simply, “ We believe this rabbit lady triggered the final switch.” 

“ That doesn’t make sense,” Moon’s shyness seemed to leave him and concern panic took its place. “ The remote shutdown wouldn’t affect him anymore, it was only connected to his original-” He stilled, his eyes widened with realization, “ Let me out.” 

“ Moon-” Monty started but Moon interrupted him by banging on the class. Gregory flinched and hid behind Freddy a bit more. 

“ LET ME OUT!” Moon’s voice cracked, “ Please, I -I need to see him. . .” Monty and Freddy exchanged a look, after a pause the gator nodded.

“ Let him out,” He said, and Freddy returned the nod.

“ Gregory,” Freddy gestured to the computer, the boy moved to it and selected the command that would open the door. Moon didn’t wait for the door to fully open, he ducked under it and sprinted for the red double doors. 

“ And he’s off,” Monty sighed, “ I’m not looking forward to his reaction . . . “ Freddy hummed, “ What was the number thing about?” The gator asked, Freddy headed for the door, gesturing for Gregory to follow. 

“ It was something I heard Foxy say to him, I believe it might be a breathing exercise, we should meet back up at the arcade, discuss what to do next,” Monty followed them back to the stage lift. 

“ What’s next is we fix DJ!” Monty declared as it took them up.

“ I do not think we can,” Freddy lamented, it seemed Roxy had gone to search elsewhere. The three stepped off the stage lift and crossed the dance floor. 

“ Sure we can! Or Moon can anyway, he fixes everything! He fixed him once, fixed me a couple times, himself,” Monty listed off as they walked. 

“ He’s not supposed to have that knowledge.” Freddy said disapprovingly. 

“ Hey ya can’t shame him, it’s Foxy who taught him.” Monty pointed out, Freddy rolled his eyes. 

“ Why am I not surprised,” He sighed, shaking his head. The rest of the trip to the fazcade were uneventful, Chica had also moved on, leaving the Atrium completely empty aside from the security bots circling various areas. 

“ Were they there before?” Monty asked as Freddy ushered Gregory into the elevator. 

“ No I don’t believe they were,” He answered before grabbing Monty’s arm and pulling him into the elevator. The arcade was quiet when they entered it, Gregory didn’t see Moon anywhere just DJ’s deactivated body where they left it ( not that they could move it ) 

“ Did we beat him here?” the boy asked, Monty sighed and moved closer to DJ.

“ No we didn’t beat him here,” Monty paused by one of DJ’s limp hands. He leaned over to look into the palm, “ Hey buddy, how ya holding up?” Monty asked carefully.

“ Leave me alone ,” Moon’s voice sounded broken. 

“ Ah, C’mon, you can fix this,” the gator tried to assure, crouching down next to the hand. Moon sat up suddenly, popping into Gregory’s line of sight.

“ No I can’t fix this ,” He gestured to DJ’s head, “ My only hope of fixing this was if I could transfer his AI chip back to his Glamrock body, which I can’t find . It’s not here !” Moon fell back into DJ’s palm, “ Why is he in this body anyway, I don’t understand!” Freddy and Gregory hesitantly moved closer. Now able to see Moon curled into a ball in DJ’s palm. 

“ Oh! Wait is that the smaller body?” Gregory asked, Monty looked back at him. 

“ Yeah?” 

“ I know where that is! I heard DJ tell Moon- well not you ,” He added when Moon sat up, looking at him, “ The Virus pretending to be you wanted to know where it was.”

“ What did DJ say?” Freddy asked, urging the boy to get to the point. 

“ Right, he said that Vanessa said that it was in a security office by Parts and Service,” Gregory explained, Moon looked off in thought while Monty groaned. 

“ We were just down there kid!” Moon turned to him.

“ Do you know where it is?”  the clown asked. 

“ Uh. . . No. . .” Gregory admitted. 

“ I was unaware there was  a security office down there,” Freddy mused. 

“ Maybe it’s down that hall we’re not allowed?” Monty suggested, Moon hummed one arm around his knees, the other hand pressed to his mouth. As if he was in thought. Finally he spoke.

“ I have the highest security clearance of all of us, and it’s not on my map, are you sure-” Gregory interrupted the clown with a shout before Moon could finish his thought;

“ MAPPY! I completely forgot!” Gregory turned and ran up the stairs, “ He’s still in the repair station!” 

“ Wait the Mapbot? What’s it doing in the repair station?”  Monty asked. 

“ Gregory, be careful of the broken glass!” Freddy called as the boy reached the landing. He carefully stepped around the glass then hurried to the repair hall. The repair station was off, the hatch Gregory had dropped the head into was open, a good as new head waiting inside. He heard the other three catch up to him as he pulled the head out of the hatch. 

“ I’m just sayin’, we could easily handle this tonight,” Monty was saying as the red staff door opened.

“ He’s a child , Monty,” Freddy argued, “ We should focus on keeping him safe and leave the tech work to the techs .” 

“ Sun says you keep sending him off on his own?” Moon questioned, there wasn’t judgment to his voice, just confusion. Like he was trying to understand what was happening. 

“ Only when I had to . I was trying to get him out of the plex.” Gregory gingerly balanced Mappy’s head back on his body. It stayed there for a moment then started to fall off. Moon came up from behind the boy and caught it. Steadying it on Mapbot’s shoulders as he knelt down, examining the bot’s body.

“ Hm, he’s a little banged up but everything's here. . . . He seems pretty put together. Most of the damage must’ve been his head, which you’ve repaired. He just needs some minor patching to keep his fluids in . Here hold this,” He handed Gregory the head back before lifting the body up and carefully laying it on a nearby desktop. He then reached behind his head and tied his hat into a knott. Gregory looked over at the other two animatronics. Monty leaned against the door frame, arms crossed while he watched Moon dart around the office as he worked on getting materials he thought he’d need. Freddy on the other hand shifted to Gregory’s side as he watched the clown with concern. 

“ Perhaps we should let the technicians do that in the morning?” Freddy suggested.

“ He needs a distraction,” Monty responded, “ Sun says he tends to throw himself into some kind of project.” 

“ I don’t appreciate Sun telling you about my coping mechanisms!” Moon snapped suddenly while he applied some duct tape to a tube on Mappy’s shoulders, “ Besides that’s not why I'm repairing him,” Moon opened a door on Mappy’s chest, giving his insides a quick look before closing it back up, “ He’s the only bot who has every map programed into him, guests, security, ventilation,” Moon pulled the bot into a sitting position and propped him against the wall. 

“ Wait so he might have a map of that tunnel, but we don’t ?” Monty asked, Moon nodded. 

“ The head starlight?” Moon held out his hand for Mappy’s head, Gregory moved to him and placed the bot’s head in his open hand, “ and yes, he might,” Moon adjusted the head. Gregory hesitantly climbed into an office chair, trying to get a good look at what Moon was doing. 

“ That’s stupid!” Monty complained.

“ That’s Fazbear Entertainment for you,” Moon sighed, reattaching some wires, “ But I need a map to that hall to find that security office, repair DJ’s glamrock body, and put his AI chip back into it.”

“ He said Vanessa said it was totaled,” Gregory informed Moon as the clown took his hands off the bot, examining his work.

“ I don’t care what Vanessa says ,” He stated, “ Done.”He reached behind Mapbot, there was a click of a switch and Mapbot’s eyes started to glow, “ How’d he get this damaged anyway?” Moon asked, Gregory’s stomach dropped. He looked over his shoulder at Freddy who was grimacing. 

“ Uh. . .” The boy looked back at Moon, who’s brow was furrowed in confusion, but he seemed to figure it out because his eyes went wide.

“ . . .oh-”

“ TAKE A MAP!” Mappy suddenly swung at Moon and though he didn’t even scuff Moon’s casing, his hand made a loud clang as he hit Moon’s face plate. Moon took several steps back from the security bot. Monty laughed while Freddy hurried to pull Gregory’s chair away, less the boy get caught in the crossfire. 

“ He’s a feisty one!” The gator moved so he was standing between Moon and Mappy who had pushed himself off the table, landing incorrectly on his wheels. Causing him to almost fall over and grip the table for stability. Mappy looked around wildly,” Alright, easy Hotshot, that’s not much of a thanks for fixing ya,” Monty said while he tried to stifle his laughs. Mappy stared at them. 

“ I fixed him!” Gregory told the Mapbot who turned his head towards him. 

“ Take a Map?” He looked back at Moon and Monty.

“ Wait a child removed a virus from me?!” Moon asked in alarm, Monty shrugged.

“ I mean yes? He did it for me too.”

“ Take a map?” He turned to the boy and bear again.

“ Yes they’re both safe now,” Freddy assured the bot who slowly let his stance relax. 

“ Take a map? Take a map.” Mappy stated, Monty interrupted.

“ We can’t understand ya man,” Mappy let his head droop, Gregory could almost hear the sigh. 

“ I know it’s frustrating,” Moon tried to sympathize, taking a step around the gator, Mappy wheeled back, being sure to remain between Gregory and Moon. The clown stopped, hands up as if to show he was unarmed. .  .like that made a difference, “ I. .  am the one that damaged you. . . aren’t I?” Moon flinched when Mappy gave a single nod, “ I’m sorry. . . I . . haven’t been myself  for a few days. . “ 

“ Take. A. Map.” Gregory could almost hear the sarcastic tone, Moon seemed to catch it too. 

“ You don’t have to forgive me, but I need your help, it’s DJ,” Moon added when Mappy looked like he was going to go off on the clown, “ He was improperly shut down in his original body. So that body cannot back online, his Glamrock body is supposedly in a security office by parts and service, but we don’t have a map in our systems of that area. . . do you? ” Moon finished, there was a long pause. 

“ Take a map,” Mappy said with a nod. There was a beep sound, like when Gregory received messages on his Fazwatch and Moon straightened.

“ Thank you.” He sighed, Mappy waved him off with an attitude that gave Gregory the impression he’d roll his eyes if he could. There was a sudden loud beeping that made all of them pause, Mappy included. They all turned to a wet floor bot sitting in the corner, its glowing eyes on them.

“ Take a map?” Mappy wheeled closer to it, head tilted. It kept beeping like it was trying to find a rhythm but couldn’t. 

“ I didn’t know those things were alive ,” Monty exclaimed in surprise. Moon observed the small robot. 

“ They’re not- well I assume by alive you mean sentient , they’re not, they only have motion sensors that make them rotate towards foot traffic.” Moon explained, Freddy hummed and moved closer himself.

“ they’ve been acting off all night, I think they got a new security feature a few months ago, maybe that’s affecting them,” Freddy told them.

“ This is the first I’m hearing of it,” Monty replied. 

“ Well a majority of it was abandoned, the only part that got put in was the cameras in their eyes.” Freddy dismissed, “ Bonnie heard about it, ever the gossip,” There was a sad moment of silence, even the wet floor bot went quiet then it let out a loud obnoxiously long beep. 

“ Ah! Maybe it’s busted-”

“ Take a map!” Mappy interrupted Monty, pointing to the door to the office. All four went quiet while the wet floor bot kept beeping, suddenly the lights went out. Gregory glanced at Moon instinctively but didn’t move. In the darkness they heard a female voice call out;

“ What the fuck happened here?!”

Chapter Text

“ Shit. . . that’s Vanessa,” Monty breathed, they could hear her voice getting closer as she vented out loud about the mess in the arcade. 

“ Gregory! You must hide,” Freddy urged, Gregory made to move towards him but Moon grabbed the boy’s arm. 

“ Not in your stomach hatch,” he hissed, Gregory pulled his arm free on reflex about to snap at Moon when the staff door opened. Instead Gregory quickly ducked under the desk just as Vanessa’s flashlight beam shined into the room. Mapbot wheeled himself back a bit, positioning himself in front of Gregory so he was hidden by the block that served as his legs. 

“ What the fuck is this? A party?!” Vanessa snapped at them, Freddy and Monty exchanged nervous looks while Moon shied away from the light, or from Vanessa, Gregory wasn’t sure which. 

“ An Orgy?” Monty supplied, Freddy gave him a horrified look while Moon buried his face in his hat. 

“ Do you even know what that word means ?” Vanessa deadpanned, shining the light in the gator's face, who seemed unphased by the light glinting off his sunglasses. 

“ No.” Moon punched him suddenly, “ Ow?!” Monty complained, Vanessa turned the beam onto Moon making him flinch and shield the light from his eyes. 

“ And what are you doing here? She asked, Moon looked between the other two animatronics with a panicked expression, “ Hellooooo? Are you broken too now?” She asked in an annoyed voice, Moon turned back to her.

“ U-um, I-I-”

“ Great. Great! First the bug , then you ,” She pointed at Freddy, “ Now you,” She let out an irritated sigh as she turned back to Moon, “ I don’t get paid enough for this! Why are you all back here.” She demanded.

“ Why are you questioning how we do your job?” Monty snapped, taking a small side step so he was more between Moon and Vanessa.  “ We got an alert, we answered it.” Vanessa jerked a thumb towards the arcade. 

“ The kid the one that disabled the freak show?” She asked.

“ Do not call him that .” Moon snarled suddenly, earning a surprised look from everyone except Vanessa who rolled her eyes.

“ How could I forget your weird obsession with that thing.” Gregory saw Moon’s hands clenched into fists, “ not that I care, just don’t be a problem when management trashes his AI chip.” Gregory wondered if Moon secretly had laser vision due to the glare he was giving Vanessa.

“ What do you mean?” Freddy asked, “ Surely he can be repaired and restarted-”

“ Nope. Not in that body, it’s done . And between this , the violent outbursts last week, the footage of him wondering the plex after lockdown, Heather’s request for a ARD-”

“ how do you know about the ARD?” Monty asked suddenly, Vanessa waved him off while Freddy gave the gator a startled look. 

“ Nevermind that, my point is, this was probably management's last straw with him, I’m filing the report as soon as the lights come back on.” She sighed, turning away from them and left for the arcade. Monty growled once she was gone. 

“ God damn it why can’t DJ catch a fucking break?!” He snapped, turning and punching the staffbot repair machine, causing the glass to crack under his fist. Moon watched him cautiously, “ and how did she know about the ARD?!” Monty added, pointing at the door as he turned to Moon who shrugged sheepishly.

“ I don’t know, she said requested but the report was never filed so it was technically never requested at all ,” Moon tugged on his ribbons while Gregory climbed out of his hiding spot. 

“ When was all this happening?” Freddy asked, Monty let out an annoyed sigh.

“ Sunday?” He put his hands on his hip,  “ but she went missing before the report was submitted so it was never in the record. . . right?” He turned to Moon who nodded.

“ I did hear Vanessa and Heather speaking Saturday before she headed to the west arcade after close, it was worrisome but not . . . an ARD? Is that why he was gone all sunday?” 

“ What's an ARD?” Gregory asked.

“ AI Removal & Deletion.” Freddy supplied instantly, Moon and Monty gave him a look.

“ So wait, this Heather lady wanted to kill DJ?!” Gregory asked in alarm. Why? That didn’t make sense, he was a nice guy! All three animatronics answered at the same time, it was almost impossible to pick out the words but Gregory managed. 

“ No,” Freddy said.

“ Yes.” Monty said.

“ Technically,” Moon said, “ My first black out was right before Heather went missing. . . at the time DJ said I couldn’t have had anything to do with it but. . . with everything going on. . .” There was a tense silence then Monty sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“ I mean. . .” He started, “ You’re last black out was in the elevator right?” He asked, Moon nodded, reaching back to untie the knot his hat was in, “ Then yeah, I could see it. You were weird after that,” Moon looked like he was going to throw up, could they throw up? He saw Chica eating a couple times, surely then they could throw up right? Freddy hummed in thought.

“ That sounds upsetting, but this can all be sorted later,” Freddy said, “ I think it’s safe to say that officer Vanessa is more involved with what’s going on than she initially seemed.” The wet floor bot let out a long low, almost sarcastic sounding beep as the lights came back on.

“ Right, I need to get to DJ’s glamrock body and repair it, if I can get him back online management won’t scrap him. . . hopefully,” Moon tugged on his ribbons, Freddy hummed. 

“ Gregory,” He started carefully, the boy turned to him, “ You go with Monty and Moon to the security office,” Monty and Moon blinked at the bear in surprise, “ There's two, technically three of you, he’s safest with you. I’m going to try and stop officer Vanessa from submitting that report to management.” 

“ Take a map?” Mappy tilted his head.

“ I’m not sure what you said,'' the bear started, “ But given the context of the conversation, I assumed it was how you could help?” Mappy nodded, “ If you could just keep us updated on where Chica and Roxy are that would be great,” Mappy saluted him, “ Gregory sync your watch to them while we’re here,” Freddy suggested, gesturing to the other robots. Gregory nodded and synced his watch to Mappy, Monty and Moon. Adding them to the private network and their names to Gregory’s list of Animatronics he could alert to his exact location. 

“ Let’s go,” Freddy moved to the door, 

“ It’s not like you to break the rules,” Monty teased the bear as they entered the arcade. Moon skirted around them and leapt over the railings of the second level. Hurrying to DJ’s body, he moved to his left headphone and opened the door, exposing his panel of switches and ports. Freddy paused at the landing, picking Gregory up again. Mappy was slowly wheeling down the stairs until Monty lost patience and threw the bot over his shoulder, carrying him the rest of the way, earning an annoyed “ Take a map”.  

“ Last week I lost the only person I will ever love. . . '' Freddy said, Looking at the gator, “ it’s a pain I would never wish upon anyone else, and given the things I am learning tonight, Moon’s felt that pain twice now, “ He looked back over at the clown as he pulled a pink chip out of DJ’s head, and tucked it into his own chest cavity for safe keeping. “ If there's a chance we can save him, we’re taking it,: He finished as they reached the ground floor. Moon closed the little door and patted its surface gently. 

“ Are we all set?” Freddy asked the clown as he rejoined them. He put a hand to his chest before nodding. Freddy set Gregory down and nudged him towards Moon, “ You should take the staff tunnels. I'll take Mapbot to the Atrium through the elevator,” He added as Monty set the bot down, “ Try to head Vanessa off from the office computers.” Monty put a hand atop Gregory’s head while Moon nervously tugged on his ribbons, “ Good luck.”

“ You too,” Monty returned. They separated, Freddy and Mappy through the elevator, Monty, Moon and Gregory into the staff tunnels. “ Next hour I want Sun back,” Monty said suddenly as they  descended into the dark, Moon raised an eyebrow at him. Seeming more comfortable now that they were away from Freddy. 

“ You’re worried about that right now?” He asked. 

“ I’m worried about a lot of things,  that’s  just what I’m focussing on,” Monty replied, “ I won’t complain this  hour, cuz you’ve been gone for three days,” Moon scoffed at Monty’s choice of words, “ But I will complain if I don’t get some Sun time once DJ’s fixed.” Moon hummed.

“ You said you could see me doing something to Heather?” Moon asked, Monty sighed.

“ Yeah. . . listen you were acting super off,  and Heather wasn’t the only one who went missing . . . Timmy Fields went missing and he was last seen with you, the other two Bailey siblings are dead .” Gregory grimaced but bit his tongue.

“ Dead?!” Moon repeated, sounding alarmed, Monty nodded.

“ Supposedly a freak Endo accident,” He explained, Moon sighed heavily.

“ Supposedly . . . “ He echoed but got no response from the gator as they reached the dark hallway by parts and Service. The three paused at the opening, “ Gregory?” The boy turned to the clown, “ You said DJ and I talked?” He nodded, “ What . . . did he. . . how did that conversation go?” Moon struggled with the sentence. 

“ Um. . . '' Gregory trailed off. Out of the two conversations he’d overheard between the two DJ had been angry in both of them, “ Oh!  He knew it wasn’t you!” Gregory offered, “ Told it so . .  but uh, I think he thought you were dead,” He added as an afterthought.

“ He. . . why do you think that?” Moon asked, Gregory shrugged as he answered.

“ I dunno, cuz he said something like “You deleted my boyfriend and took his place” ” Monty hissed through his teeth before exchanging a look with Moon, “ He also tried to break Sun and  he told you- well Not-you to go jump in the disposal.”

“ He tried to what?! ” Monty snapped, “ Oh I’m kicking his ass when we get him back,” Moon tugged on his ribbons, and about eight seconds later he made an exhale sound. 

“ Sun says DJ thought he was like me-”

“ I don’t care!” Monty started down the hall, “ He’s getting a hug, then I’m suplexing his ass!” Gregory giggled a bit as he followed the gator. Moon hesitated before following behind them. The metal door lifted revealing a dark storage space with crates and tables. Monty froze in the doorway, the space smelled like lit matches. 

“ Holy shit  . . . what happened here. . . .” He asked, there was a broken generator against the wall, caved in a bit like a wrecking ball crashed into it. Gregory pulled out the flashlight Mappy had thrown at Moon in the prize corner and turned it on. Discovering a pool of liquid by the generator. Moon hesitantly stepped to the pool's edge, kneeling down. He dipped his index finger in it and rubbed it between his index and thumb. It was clearly the source of the smell, it got stronger as Gregory got closer, he made to copy Moon but the clown grabbed his wrist with his other hand. 

“ Don’t. It’s battery acid, it’ll burn you,” Gregory retracted his hand, taking a step back. Monty moved around the puddle, hands on his hips. 

“ Do Generators have battery acid?” He asked, Gregory shined the beam around the room, finding crates, cleaning carts.

“ No. . .  maybe it was one of the endos?” Moon answered as Gregory’s beam fell on something on the floor, almost as if it had been tossed aside. It made Gregory’s stomach drop.

“ I-I don’t think so. . .” He called, there was a tense silence as they took in what they were looking at. DJ’s arm lay on the floor, torn off at the elbow. Faz-tokens spilled out of it. Gregory jumped when he felt a hand on his head, he looked up to find the gator next to him.

“ Shit. .  .” He breathed, Gregory looked over to find Moon on his other side, his eyes wide, then he closed them.

“ Freak out later , find him now ,” He mumbled to himself before he moved onto the end of the hall. Monty let Moon get ahead of them before turning to Gregory whose hands were shaking, the flashlight beam quivering with him. Monty took a knee next to him.

“ Ya okay?” He asked, Gregory nodded.

“ Y-yeah? I’m fine, Moon can fix him. . . right?” Gregory asked tentatively, Monty nodded, smiling softly at him.

“ Hell yeah he can,” He promised, Gregory nodded and looked back at the arm.

“ Okay. . . “ He didn’t move, after a pause he felt something grip onto the back of his shirt and lift him up. Gregory dangled as the shirt rode up over his tummy. A quick look over his shoulder had Gregory realize Monty had picked him up by the shirt with his mouth . 

“ We gotta catch up to Moon kid,” Monty said as he followed Moon down the hall. Despite the boy’s shirt in his mouth his voice was clear, maybe that had to do with him being a robot. He looked over his shoulder at DJ’s arm and swore he saw something move in the shadows. His attention was taken from the shadows when he heard Moon let out a frustrated growl and the sound of rattling metal. He looked ahead of himself to see Moon shaking what looked like a fence blocking the hall.

“ What’s the hold up?” Monty asked, hands on his hips, child in mouth. Moon turned his head to glance at him.

“ A fence in the middle of the hallway, what do you-”  Moon cut himself off then slowly turned his head fully to face Monty. There was a pause.

“ What?” Monty asked, Gregory saw Moon’s eyes look the boy up and down before he shook whatever thought he had off. He rolled his eyes.

“ You have two hands, that’s not safe, what if his shirt tears?” Moon scolded, turning back to the fence, clearly still trying to figure out how it got there. Monty’s hands came up under Gregory’s armpits and his jaw released Gregory’s shirt.

“ Don’t all humans land on their feet?”

“ That’s cats,” Moon deadpanned back, Monty moved to stand next to him looking through the fence.

“ Oh. . . so why don’t we just knock this thing over?” He asked, jerking his head to the fence. Moon sighed heavily.

“ We could, but why is it here?” Moon wondered while Gregory looked around, spotting a vent next to them. 

“ To keep people out?  I dunno man,” Monty gave an exasperated shrug.

“ Maybe we should leave it, so the rabbit lady can’t follow us?” Gregory suggested, Monty raise an eyebrow at him while Moon hummed. 

“ Maybe. . . Monty and I could climb over it but. . .” Moon eyed the barbed wire at the top, “ No real safe way to get you over it.” Gregory pointed to the  vent.

“ What about that?” He asked, The animatronics paused to consider this. 

“ I. . . suppose . . .  yes,” Moon agreed, “ This rabbit lady is an adult , I assume, so she shouldn’t fit in the vent, so this fence would buy us some time if it was in her way,” Monty set Gregory down, and Moon put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “ But I want Monty on the other side of the fence so wait til I give him a boost okay?” That seemed fair, especially since the rabbit lady could be on that side of the fence at that moment. 

“ Okay.” Moon nodded and released him before turning to Monty, he squatted down a bit and cupped his hands as a makeshift step. 

“ Up and over Gatorboy,” Moon taunted, earning a scoff from Monty.

“ Shut Up.” He placed his foot in Moon’s hands and Moon easily hoisted Monty up so the gator could climb over the fence. The ground shook as he landed on his feet. Gregory stumbled a bit. 

“ Okay . . . be careful,” Moon cautioned, turning to Gregory who nodded before shing his flashlight into the vent and climbing into it. He could hear Monty and Moon talking, their voices echoing softly. Barely audible, especially once the sounds of a music box started to fade in. Gregory grimaced.

“ Oh not again,” He thought as he looked over his shoulder. Sure enough the small spider thing was following him, one skeletal hand reaching for him. Gregory turned back and crawled faster. He felt it grab at his ankle, making him yell out in surprise before he kicked at it. He heard it get knocked back and he burst out of the vent, nearly falling to the floor for the fourth time that night. Monty caught him with one hand and set him down.

“ Slow down Runt,” Monty chuckled a bit, Gregory pointed at the vent.

“ It’s chasing me again!” The gator looked up at the vent, Gregory heard a frantic jangling sound. He looked over to it and saw Moon scrambling over the fence. His clown pants getting stuck on the barbed wire. 

“ The fuck is that?” Monty asked, regaining Gregory’s attention. The spider thing had stopped about a foot away from the vent opening. It was backing away from them.

“ LANGUAGE!” Moon snapped, accompanied by the sound of tearing fabric before he fell to the floor with a thud. His right pant leg now sporting an almost triangular shaped hole. The fabric still on the fence. Gregory wasn’t paying attention to that though, he noticed the spider thing froze when Moon spoke.” what is what?” The clown asked as he joined them, looking into the vent himself, hand on Gregory’s shoulder. 

“ It kinda looks like DJ. . . “ Monty mused, it actually crept a little closer, watching them. 

“ Right?! Except it’s got this music box!” Gregory informed them, Monty snorted suddenly, putting his hands on his hips. 

“ A music box you say?” The gator started, Gregory nodded. He turned his head to Moon who raised an eyebrow at him.

“ What ?” He asked.

“ Ya know Moon it goes First comes love, then comes marriage then comes baby in the- ” 

“ I didn’t make that!” Moon snapped, “ It was on display in Rockstar Row!” Moon turned back to it as it observed them. He reached for it, “ What’s it doing in the vents?” It scrambled back, making Moon retract his hand. There was a pause, then it disappeared deeper into the vent.

“ It don’t like you,” Monty teased, Moon stared into the now empty vent, then hummed.

“ I guess not. . .  we’re wasting time, let’s find that security office,” He turned to the metal shutter door nearby. Immediately to their left was a Moondrop mural, to their right was a robot providing first aid with a purple X over a green check mark.

“ What’s that?” Gregory asked. 

“ It’s an Endo, it’s what we look like under our casing,” Monty explained, “ Well most of us,” He added, watching Moon continue ahead of them down the hall. Gregory grimaced.

“ Creepy, I like you better with your shell on,” The boy said, following the clown, Monty scoffed.

“ Thanks Greg,” He said, bending down to pick up a stray Moondrop wrapper. He hummed and tossed it to the floor as he too followed to catch up to Moon. Gregory saw a Moon plush sitting on a stack of tires  as well as a moondrop ad on a TV sitting on a desk against the wall. At the end of the hall was a wall with another image of an endo. This one with a balloon , a kid and an adult. Purple letters were painted above the image that read Timeout Drop off .

“ Shiiiiiiiiit.” Monty cursed. 

“ Time out? Isn’t that where that little girl said Moon took TImmy?” Gregory asked, gesturing to Moon who blinked at him. 

“ Excuse me?!” Gregory realized he had said too much, but thankfully it went over Monty’s head. 

“ Yep, that’s what she said . . this it?” Monty knocked on the wall.

“ No, Mappy said there was more,” Moon replied though he also looked confused. Gregory spotted a button next to a red balloon beside them, he reached up and pressed it. The wall turned out to be a door that rose up revealing a small room with conveyor belts and toys. There was the sound of footsteps heading for them. Moon pointed to a room to their right just behind them. The boy ducked back into it. He pressed himself to the wall and watched on his fazwatch as an actual endo made its way to them. Moon and Monty stepped out of it’s way as it walked past them. The clown then jerked his head down the hall, signaling the gator to go ahead before looking up at the camera and signaling Gregory to come out. The boy did, sprinting past Moon after the gator. Moon followed behind, watching for the endo behind them. They reached another room that almost looked like it was supposed to be a daycare. Two endos stood deactivated in the corner, a staffbot deactivated by the door. In the far corner was another Mooddrop tv ad and another button next to that. 

“ Can I just say, I don’t like any of this,” Monty said, gesturing to the room. Moon hummed.

“ Neither do we. . . Gregory the Endos seem to be on a redlight greenlight protocol, so if you look at them, they stop moving-”

“ That’s some Doctor Who bullshit!” Monty snapped suddenly, Moon looked at him. 

“ Doctor what?”

“ No Doctor Who .” The gator corrected.

“ No- never mind, I say this because I don’t know what activated that one,” Moon gestured behind them, “ It doesn’t seem to be coming back though,” Gregory looked up at the next endo image as he moved to the button. It was an endo chasing a kid with a red X on it. 

“ Someone wasn’t paying attention in class,” Gregory said, pointing to it. Monty snorted.

“ Ah yer funny.” The boy pressed the button and the door lifted, revealing what looked like a storage hall with almost nothing but daycare stuff. Steam escaping the pipes that lined the walls, making the space humid. The three moved down the hall, Gregory picked up a stray Moon plush sitting on a barrel of what looked like oil. 

“ Can I keep one of these?” He asked, Moon seemed taken aback by the question while Monty chuckled.

“ I mean, ya probably earned em at this point, I say as long as it’s just laying around you can take what ya want,” He looked to Moon as if asking for his thoughts, and after a thoughtful pause where Gregory felt like Moon was analyzing him he nodded. He turned and kept walking, Gregory grinned to himself as he looked down at the plush. He could keep anything he found? He was definitely going to make good on that. The hall took a left past two more endos and towards a very broken staffbot next to a party sign. Gregory hit the next button, revealing another storage space, this one seemed to be full of regular boxes. They followed that hall to yet another button. This time however when the button was pushed no nearby walls lifted. Monty and Moon both looked in the direction of the door, as if they heard something Gregory couldn't. 

“ I think we gotta backtrack,” Monty said, heading back the way they came, Gregory groaned.

“ Why is this place so confusing?” Gregory complained as he trudged past Moon.

“ I don’t know,” He sighed, sounding a little irritated himself. Gregory paused at a staff door he’d missed on their first pass. Time out was written in purple paint on the door. He headed through it while Monty kept walking. Moon called out to him, hesitating before following after the boy.

“ Starlight, we shouldn't wander off.” Inside that room were endos behind cages, and even more daycare toys. Gregory found another button and pressed it. It lifted a wall to reveal a completely padded room. Putting the other Daycare similar rooms to shame. Moon hesitantly stepped inside after Gregory who spotted something on the floor. “ Why me?” Moon asked himself softly, “ Why use me , I don’t. . . “ He trailed off, holding his head in his hands. Gregory picked up a small plush of a sock monkey. It was white but had been colored with markers to look like DJ’s Glamrock body, “ We should-'' Moon cut off, Gregory looked up at him. The clown's yellow eyes were on the toy in Gregory’s hands. Moon wordlessly held out a hand for it, The boy gave it to him. The tension was heavy for reasons Gregory didn’t understand. Moon held it like it was made of porcelain instead of fabric. There was a long pause.

“ G-go catch up with Monty. . . he shouldn’t be far, I’ll be right there. . . “ Gregory hesitated then obeyed. Monty had been in the process of backtracking for them it seemed, because when Gregory stepped into the hall he saw Monty heading his way and stopping. 

“ There ya are, what happened? Wheres Moon?” He asked, Gregory pointed to the door. 

“ He said he’d catch up,” Monty raised an eyebrow, then after reading the purple letters on the door he gave a nod.

“ Alright, this way,” He led Gregory down a hall that had curtains in the archways and even more daycare storage. They took about two lefts before Moon caught back up.

“ I think this rabbit chick is targeting daycare kids,” Monty told him as the deeper they got the more daycare-like rooms they found. Moon nodded but said nothing. They finally reached what had to be the security office, given the desk they could see from the doorway. But like the daycare and the timeout room it was padded.

“ I’m not sure this is right-'' Monty cut off when they all spotted it. Slumped against the back wall next to pieces of a play structure and random toys was DJ Music Man’s Glamrock body.  It was a mess, in addition to the damages Gregory noticed earlier, his left cheek was caved in, his torso had several dents, his eye and mouth blacked out in an empty Grin. His secondary left arm was gone at the elbow. His chest cavity was open ajar. Cloudy gray liquid leaked out his seams. 

“ DJ!” Moon rushed to him, kneeling down and examining the missing headphone, and dented cheek, “ Oh no, oh Music box, what did I do? What did I do?!” Moon started to panic, Monty put a hand on his shoulder. 

“ Listen, this wasn’t technically you, you had a virus and he knows it!” The gator gestured to the deactivated animatronic, “ And you can fix this right,” He added, shaking Moon a little who took a breath before opening the chest cavity. Amongst DJ’s various wires, fans, what looked like a speaker system and the remains of a fairly large battery. 

“ Y-yeah I-I can fix this . .  he needs a new battery, and  . . .” Moon stood up, “ I can take some parts from one of the endos, I’ll be right back.” Moon left the room, leaving Gregory and Monty alone with the deactivated animatronic. 

“ So . . . he last saw us being dic- jerks right?” Monty asked Gregory nodded, “ Oh boy, that’s gonna be a fun reunion. . . ‘ He sighed. Moon returned, setting a newer, smaller battery down as well as some other parts Gregory didn’t recognize. 

“ Can I help?” the boy asked, Moon hesitated before gripping DJ’s ankles and pulling him down to a laying position. His head lolled to the side from the movement. 

“ Um . . okay but don’t touch anything that I take out of him. It’s all covered in battery acid,” Moon conditioned.

“ I’ll just watch the door,” Monty said awkwardly, turning towards the open door. Moon tied his hat into a knot again before working on DJ in mostly silence. Gregory was tasked with handing the clown whatever parts he asked for. 

“ How come this one looks smaller than that one?” GRegory asked, holding the new battery while Moon tried to clean up the battery acid that had pooled inside DJ’s body. The old battery sitting next to them. 

“ Because it is, DJ’s body has a unique endo and therefore needs a larger battery than the rest of the glamrocks . . . but I don’t have time to look for a proper replacement. He’ll need to charge a bit more often but he’ll be okay.”

“ He made it sound like it couldn’t be fixed. . . “ Gregory trailed off, glancing at Monty who was eyeing them over his shoulder.

“ More like wouldn’t .” The gator grumbled, looking back ahead of himself. Gregory turned back to Moon as he sighed.

“ It. . . is more than our parts and service might have been willing to fix . . . battery,” Moon held out a hand, Gregory had to use two hands to lift it and place it in the clown’s open palm. Once Moon had it inside and attached he opened his own chest cavity. Gregory spotted the stuffed monkey sitting in there as Moon pulled out the pink chip. The hatch closed with a sudden snap as the clown bent down and carefully inserted the chip into a slot in DJ’s torso. He closed the stomach hatch up and reached for the bug’s tophat. There was a click, but nothing happened, “ It’s a new battery. . .” Moon reasoned to himself. 

“ Gregory? Monty? Moon?” Freddy spoke from Gregory’s watch.

“ Freddy! We found DJ’s body! We’re trying to turn him back on now,” Gregory walked away from Moon and DJ to talk to the bear. 

“ That is good! I managed to distract her from submitting that report, she got some kind of alert!” Gregry found a notebook sitting on the desk. He opened it and skimmed through some papers, “ Though I worry she might be heading your way.”

“ Thanks for the heads up,” Monty grunted.

“ What’s remnant?” Gregory asked suddenly. Moon looked over at him, then stood up.

“ I don’t know, where do you see that?” The clown asked. Gregory offered him the book. Moon skimmed it, his eyes narrowing. 

“ What is it?” Monty asked.

“ Vanessa. ” Moon snarled, “ She’s the rabbit lady . She-” He flipped through more pages, “ She’s behind everything! The virus which she got them to put into us through the upgrade!”

“ Like a trogen,” Gregory asked, Moon nodded.

“ She’s behind Bonnie too! It says here that she has these discs that can make her impossible for us to see, Roxy can see her but the virus keeps her from doing anything about it. Bonnie wasn’t due for an upgrade though, so when she realized he could  hear her she lured him to Monty golf and crushed him under the hurricane hole in one!” Moon flipped through more pages, “ That’s why I couldn’t find him , she’d already moved him!”

“ I fucking knew it! I knew she had something to do with it!” Monty bellowed, Moon stilled and was quiet for a moment. 

“ She was trying to frame DJ for it  . . . because he could see her. . .  “

“ What?” Monty furrowed his brows as he crossed his arms, Moon looked over at DJ who was still offline.

“ There was never anything wrong with Bouncer Mode. I was right the first time,” Moon snapped the notebook shut, “ It was us , we couldn’t see her, but she was there that night. . . in the bakery. . . but DJ could with Bouncer Mode on, so she tried to get rid of two birds with one stone. If DJ was considered violent-”

“ He got deleted,” Monty growled, Moon nodded, gripping the notebook tight in both hands. Gregory saw a Freddy head sitting on the desk, he reached up and pressed the head’s nose to make it open. Moon’s gaze snapped to the sound it made.

“ Oh you wont need to collect those anymore-”  the lights went out, leaving only the red glow of the emergency lights. 

“ What’s happening?” Gregory asked Moon who was looking around frantically as he set the book down on the desk. 

“ It’s a lockdown. . . I’m not sure,” Moon said, Monty hummed.

“ I’m checking the cameras . . . we got company coming, those Endos we passed are online,” The gator informed them, “ We can easily meet them and take care of them before they get close to the Runt.” 

“ W-what, like fight them?” Moon stammered, “ I can’t-”

“ You talk about breaking me all the time !” Monty argued.

“ Yeah but- I’m not programed to actually-”

“ yeah you are!” Monty gestured to DJ’s still offline body, making Moon grimace, “ What, are you the one that’s afraid of their security program now?” 

“ Last time I used it I blacked out for three days and woke up to this!” Moon gestured to the room. 

“ Listen I can’t take them on my own, do you want them to come in here, hurt that kid, and probably break DJ more?” Moon glanced at Gregory, then sighed.

“ I really hate it when you’re right. . . . Gregory,” Moon turned to him, “ I have an important task for you,” The tone was just shy of being patronizing.

“ Yeah?” Gregory asked.

“ I need you to stay here and make sure he’s brought up to speed if he wakes up while we’re gone,” Moon explained, Gregory nodded.

“ I can do that!” The clown patted the boy’s head. 

“ We’ll be right back,” Monty nodded to Gregory before he and Moon hurried out the door and down the hall. Gregory looked over at DJ while he sat in the desk chair, playing with his new Moonplush to keep himself busy. He heard a door open and looked over to see what they had thought was a wall was yet another door lifting up. He saw the Moondrop mural from the first room before he saw a familiar bunny figure step towards the office. Gregory slid off his chair and ducked under the desk. He heard her enter the office, surprised the room didn’t fill with the ringing that usually followed her, he peeked over the edge of the desk to see what she was doing. 

She was examining DJ’s body which was still offline. She opened his chest cavity, grabbed a bundle of wires ( neither human noticed the bot's fingers twitch as she did) She pulled a knife out of a pocket in her costume. Gregory didn’t think. If he had been thinking he would have thrown the notebook, or the flashlight, or literally anything with actual weight to it and not the Moonplush that was in his hands. It bounced off the back of her shoulders with a pathetic jingle of the bell on its hat. She slowly turned her head and locked eyes with the boy. There was a beat of nothing, then she released DJ’s wires and stood to her full height. She sauntered around the desk, blocking his way to the exit as she did. Gregory backed away at first then tripped over the broken discarded play structure parts. It had snagged on his bad ankle so he cried out in pain as he fell. She chuckled as she loomed over him, knife raised. Gregory screamed, shielding himself with his arm. The blade never came, instead came the sound of crunching metal, the rabbit lady let out a sound that was a distorted mix between a yelp and a gasp. Something akin to radio static filled the air. Gregory looked up to see her darting back as if dodging something. It didn’t take long to figure out what. A large white hand still on the play structure that had caved in from the force of it. The owner of said hand was getting to his feet, standing between Gregory and the rabbit lady. DJ music man now towered over both of them, his back was to Gregory, eyes locked on the rabbit lady who was backing away. She reached up and pinched her ear. The second she did the ringing that made Gregory’s head hurt filled the air, he cried out again as it tried to split his brain in half and covered his ears. Curling into a ball as he tried to keep his eyes open to watch what was happening.

The rabbit lady and DJ seemed to be in a standoff, then she made a dash for the door. DJ reacted by sliding the desk in front of the door with a single hard shove, trapping her in there with him. The things on the desk flew across the room and now laid scattered on the floor. The rabbit lady looked around almost desperately for something to aid her, then her eyes landed on Gregory again, she threw her knife at him, making the boy yelp. DJ blocked the knife with his left primary hand, giving the rabbit lady just enough time to slide over the desk as DJ made a grab for her. His primary hands slammed on the desk as she just barely slipped through his fingers. A static sound that almost sounded like a growl filled the air, then another that sounded more like a sigh before DJ turned back to Gregory. His eyes completely black before two yellow pupils blinked to life. 

“ ArE yOu AlRiGhT?” He asked as he crouched down, it was barely audible. His voice box was clearly damaged, but DJ Music Man was up and active. Gregory grinned, and sat up more.

“ You’re okay!” His voice cracked and Gregory realized he was crying. DJ stared at him for a moment before his eyes shifted to magenta, a soft smile forming on his face. 

“ WhAt, YoU wErE wOrRiEd AbOuT lIl’ OlD mE?” He asked, Gregory shook his head in stubborn denial, but his shoulders shook as everything that just happened finally registered in his mind. DJ’s smile fell as he watched the boy break down. He offered his arms to him, Gregory hesitated before shakily getting to his feet and stumbled into them. DJ picked the boy up as he stood back up, his Primary arms securely around him while his remaining secondary supported him. Just holding Gregory while the boy buried his face in his own arms, practically in DJ’s shoulder, “ i GoT yOu, YoU’Re OkAy,” He heard DJ tried to soothe him, “ WhErE aRe We?” He asked once Gregory had calmed down a bit, “ wE sHoUlD gEt YoU bAcK tO fReDdY.” He started for the door, using one arm to shove the desk out of his way.

“ W-we have to wait for Monty and Moon to get back,” Gregory hiccuped, making DJ come to a hard stop. The boy pulled away enough to look at the bot, and saw his eyes had shifted to yellow, “ I-I fixed them,” He explained, “ I plugged them into some computer and fixed them.” There was a pause where DJ seemed to process this information, while he waited he spotted something on the floor, “ Can I have t-that back?” DJ blinked and turned to see what Gregory was pointing at, there was another pause before DJ crouched down to pick up the discarded Moonplush and returned it to the boy. 

“ It SaId He WaS gOnE. . .” DJ finally said, and even Gregory could tell he was talking to himself, “ AlL iT tOoK wAs PlUgGiNg HiM iN? ReAlLy? He SaId- It- NeVeRmInD . . . aRe YoU SuRe?” He asked, turning back to the boy. Gregory nodded, the bug made a static noise, “ I dOn’T kNoW, iT’s GoOd At PrEtEnDiNg. . . aNd It’S . . . tOo CoNvEnIeNt.  . .  I’d RaThEr We FiNd FrEdDy FiRsT- oH I’vE bEeN hErE bEfOrE.” DJ mused as he saw the Mon mural, in the distance to their right Gregory could hear the tell tell sounds of Monty breaking stuff, “ ThAt’S rEaSsuRiNg. . .” DJ mumbled sarcastically as he exited to their left, pausing to look at the fence. “ ThE hElL?” 

“ Yeah we left that up so the rabbit lady couldn’t follow us in,” Gregory sniffed, hugging his plush. 

“ LoTtA gOoD tHaT dId Ya. . .” the bot scoffed. 

“ Hey you didn’t realize it was a door either!” Monty’s voice snapped not too far away, DJ tensed, his eyes turning red as he turned towards the door, positioning himself so Gregory was as far from the door as possible without putting him down. 

“ We shouldn’t have left him alone! I wanted to stay, you-”

“ Oh don’t you dare try to pin this on me nightlight-”

“ Do not call me that! ” DJ raised an eyebrow as the bickering got louder. His eyes shifted from red to orange. The door lifted, Monty was through first, and came to a sudden stop causing Moon to practically bump into him.

“ Oh. . . there ya are,” He said, while Moon recovered, looking up at DJ almost nervously as he adjusted his hat. There was a pause, then with a surprising amount of calm in his voice DJ broke the silence.

“ WhO’s IdEa WaS iT tO lEaVe ThE kId AlOnE?” Monty grimaced.

“ Ah ya voice box is shot again ?” The gator asked, ignoring the question. Moon played with the end of his hat, his gaze constantly darting between the floor and DJ, like he couldn’t decide if he should look at him or not. 

“ It sounds better then when I remember hearing it last. . . “ he said softly, Monty scoffed. 

“ Yeah well, he got it repaired between then and now-”

“ WhO’s IdEa WaS iT tO lEaVe ThE kId AlOnE? ” DJ repeated, a little louder. Moon immediately pointed at Monty who shrunk in on himself. 

“ Look, we thought that was a wall,” Monty started, but DJ interupted him.

“ YeAh? WeLl It WaSn’T. It WaS a DoOr, aNd GrEgOrY cOuLD hAvE bEeN hUrT.” He snapped, “ ThIs KiD iS cLeArLy BeInG hUnTeD bY a PsYcHo AnD yOu TwO wIlLInGlY lEfT HiM AlOnE!” Moon flinched, his gaze finally settling to the floor, and not looking up. Monty growled.

“ Look, there were hostile endos, we thought that was a wall, I had to drag him away,” The gator added, pointing at Moon. 

“ She wasn’t after me, she didn’t know I was there!” Gregory defended, “ She was gonna cut some of your wires,” He tapped DJ’s chest with his index, DJ hummed as he considered this new information.

“ StIlL .” The bug animatronic observed the other two animatronics for a beat then he pointed at Moon, “ YoU.” Moon jumped and looked up clearly still nervous, “ WhErE’S oUr PlAcE?” Moon blinked in confusion at the question.

“ What?”

“ YoU hAve To PiCk OnE pLaCe. In ThIs WhOlE plEx As OuR pLaCe.” DJ demanded, Moon made a swallowing sound and tugged on his hat.

“ We’ve never established-”

“ I kNoW, WhIcH mEaNs ThAt ThIs ViRuS wOn’T bE aBlE tO fAkE yOuR aNsWeR.”  Moon blinked slowly, “ FiRsT pLaCe ThAt CoMeS tO MiNd.” 

“ T-The Bakery?” Moon sounded unsure, and Given the confused look Monty gave him Gregory wondered if this was the right answer. There was another pause, then DJ gave a nod.

“ WeLcOmE bAcK.” He didn’t sound completely convinced but it was enough to satisfy him for now. He turned to the fence and pushed it over. “ LeT’S mEeT bAcK uP wItH FrEdDy.”

Chapter Text

They decided to meet up with Freddy in his green room since it was closer than the West Arcade. The walk to the stage lift was so tense even Gregory felt the strain from it. DJ did not set Gregory down, even after they stepped onto the platform. The boy didn’t really mind, he liked being tall. Monty pressed the button to start the ascent. After another tense beat Moon finally broke the silence. 

“ Uh, DJ . . . about the um. . . everything?” Moon started but DJ cut him off.

“ NoT NoW, wE wIlL tAlK lAtEr , BuT nOt NoW.” Moon hesitantly looked over at Monty who shrugged, giving a sympathetic look, “ My FiRsT pRiOrItY iS gEtTiNg ThIs KiD bAcK tO fReDdY,” DJ bounced Gregory a little, making the boy giggle despite himself. Moon hesitantly nodded, “ ThEn I’m GoInG bAcK dOwN tHeRe-”

“ What? Why?!” Monty asked as the lift came to a stop.

“ To LoOk FoR OlIvIa, sHe’S sTiLl DoWn ThErE!” DJ snapped at the gator, who raised an eyebrow. Moon’s gaze fell to the floor. 

“ That girl who kept sneaking out of the daycare?” Monty asked, looking over at Moon who nodded, “ We didn’t see her down there,” He told DJ as he turned back to the bug.

“ I dOn’T cArE iF yOu DiDn’T sEe HeR dOwN tHeRe . I’m GoInG dOwN tHeRe To LoOk MySeLf .” The lift stopped and DJ moved to step off stage right. The lights had gone out while they were downstairs it seemed, so Moon remained in control as he followed close behind DJ. 

“ I’ll help, I could-” 

“No ThAnKs,” DJ cut him off again, Moon looked like he’d been literally hit as he shrunk back. He looked over at Monty again who looked conflicted. 

“ Kinda’ve a shitty “thanks” For putting you back together.” Monty pointed out, this did not seem to support Moon was hoping for because he winced. DJ came to a hard stop just outside rockstar row. Gregory looked back at DJ to see his eyes had shifted to red, the moment was tense again. 

“ i’M sOrRy, I dIdN’T cAtCh ThAt, CoUlD yOu RePeAt ThAt?” DJ asked, turning his head to look over his shoulder at Monty. 

“ I said- OW!” Monty cut himself off as Moon punched his arm.

“ He heard you, he’s just being nice.” Moon hissed.

“ Alright well we still didn’t see her down there! So there's no reason for you to go back in yer state,” DJ narrowed his eyes at the gator. 

“ A-Actually,” Moon mumbled, pulling on his ribbons before opening his chest plate, “ I didn’t see her. . . but Gregory and I found this. . . “ He offered the sock monkey to DJ. The beetle hesitated, his eyes went wide. Then he took it and held it in his right  primary hand, “ I looked around but. . . it was the only sign of her I found. . .  but we were in a rush to get to. . . the security office, so it’s not impossible that we missed something.” DJ gently ran his thumb over the plush, reminding Gregory of when he’d held Mappy about three hours ago. Then he tightened his grip on it.

“ AlRiGhT, yOu CaN hElP,” DJ said, raising his gaze to the clown, “ I nEeD yOu To ShOw Me WhErE yOu FoUnD tHiS,” He explained, Moon nodded, DJ turned back to the hall, “ NoW tO fReDdY,” He said in an auto tune voice. As the door into the attraction lifted Gregory swore he heard a clicking sound above them. He looked up and hugged his plush nervously, once again scanning the shadows. This time Gregory wasn’t the only one to notice something in the shadows. DJ stopped and turned, looking as well. His orange eyes scanning the ceiling rafters. 

“ What is it Let’sPlay?” Monty asked, DJ didn’t answer him, his eyes narrowing, then his eyes blacked out. After a pause he turned back the way he was heading.

“ OnE oF yOu TaKe ThE kId,” He said quietly, Moon moved to him to take him, DJ was hesitant to hand Gregory over but did. Monty raised an eyebrow.

“ Seriously, what is it?” Monty asked, starting to look up but DJ forced his head forward.

“ NoPe, JuSt KeEp WaLkInG, “ DJ told him, Moon did while Monty hesitated then obeyed. DJ turned back still walking, heading for a Freddy themed trash can along the wall. He grabbed it and spun around, using the momentum to throw the can at the ceiling.

“ Woah! Jesus DJ!” Monty exclaimed but cut himself off. As  something from the ceiling dropped to the floor before launching itself at DJ faster than Gregory could process. The force knocked the bug into the wall, leaving cracks behind. Moon took a step closer, his arms tightening on Gregory as he called out;

“ DJ!” The thing was attempting to rip out his other headphone but DJ had it’s wrist in his right secondary hand, the other wrist was in his left hand. DJ drew his fist back and punched it hard, sending it back but not far because he still had a hold of its wrists. An almost malicious grin started to form on his face as he pulled the thing back to him just so he could punch it again. This time it ripped its hands free and pushed itself off of DJ. Sending the bug back into the wall. Something in the beetle made a loud crack sound, then music started erupting from his speaker. 

You have nowhere to hide~ From the Monster inside. I know my demons all too well~

DJ cursed and pushed himself up while Monty hurried to his aid. It made to charge at DJ again but the beetle blocked its attack with another swift punch, knocking it in Monty’s direction who spun so his tail knocked it back towards the entrance. The song was still going from DJ’s speaker, as the thing stood up and regarded them. Allowing Gregory to take it in as well. 

It was an endo, but it wasn’t like the ones downstairs. It was gangly looking and reminded Gregory of Jack Skeleton. Its head was a metal disk shaped with two purple eyes, its teeth gapped and twitching. Its legs had a sort of spring shock absorbing set of rings around its calves. It looked between Monty, DJ, then let its gaze linger on Moon before it made a sound akin to a cackle before it retreated back into the shadows. DJ took several steps forward, watching it. Then after a pause he released a sigh, his speaker giving a burst of static. 

“ It’S gOnE,” He said, turning back to them, his pupils blinking on, they were red. “ I saw it duck through a vent.”

“ What the fuck was that?!” Monty asked, pointing at the ceiling it had disappeared through. DJ looked back, before shrugging.

“ I dUnNo, It KiNdA lOoKeD lIkE SuN aNd MoOn’S eNdO. . .  dO yOu GuYs HaVe A sPaRe?,”

“ How would you know what their endo looks like?” Monty interrupted before Moon could answer DJ. 

“ BeCaUsE i WaS lOoKiNg At ThEiR fIlEs EaRlIeR?” DJ said it like he was reminding Monty. The gator stilled.

“ Oh yeah . . . “

“ You. . . went through our files?” Moon asked, he sounded surprised. Monty answered for him, which looked a little bit like a relief to DJ.

“ Yeah, I remember now, Earlier today? Yesterday? Yesterday.” He recalled, “ Before the birthday party he was going through your files, trying to figure out what was wrong with you, you didn’t find anything did ya?” 

“ DoEs It MaTtEr NoW?” DJ deadpanned back, his eyes shifting to orange, then his gaze fell on something else, “ HeY FrEdDy,” He waved. Moon turned and Gregory was able to see Freddy hurrying to them, his blue eyes also on the ceiling but quickly dropped back to the group. The lights came on as he approached. Moon flinched before shifting into Sun. 

“ Is everyone alright?” Freddy asked, his gaze on Gregory first then DJ, “ Did that thing do-”

“ No,” DJ interrupted, “ ThIs Is PrEtTy MuCh HoW i LeFt It. . .” He paused to examine his body, “ GiVe Or TaKe ?” He glanced at Sun who nodded with a shrug.

“ More or less, Moon did some repairs.” He agreed, Freddy looked taken aback.

“ Well . . .  Good then? It is good to see you, Gregory, are you alright?” He asked, taking the boy from the clown. 

“ Yeah, I’m fine,” Gregory looked over at the other three. He saw DJ’s eyes narrow on the bear as he crossed his primary arms. His eyes still orange. 

“ He AlMoSt GoT kNiFeD eArLiEr,” DJ tattled suddenly.

“ Knifed?!” Sun exclaimed.

“ This is the first I’m hearing about a knife,” Monty snapped at the bug, Freddy blinked in confusion.

“ How would DJ know of a knife incident and not you two?” He asked. DJ laughed a bitter laugh.

“ Oh CuZ tHeY lEfT hIm AlOnE dOwNsTaIrS. . . .  NoT tHaT yOu HaVe AnYtHiNg To SAy AbOuT tHaT. . .” He added as if as an afterthought. Freddy sighed heavily. 

“ Alright, well let’s get back to my Green room where we can just wait out the last hour-”

“ Last hour? ” Gregory asked, his eyes wide. ( he didn’t notice the look DJ gave him as his eyes shifted to dark blue. Nore did he notice the way Sun tilted his head slightly, eyebrow raised as DJ made eye contact. The Bug looked away.)  

“ yes!” Freddy said, smiling at him, “ It is Five AM, in an hour you can leave the pizza plex and return to your parents.” Gregory forced a smile.

“ Yay. . . “ He glanced at DJ who’s eyes had shifted to light blue, he seemed to be in thought. 

“ Yes, My green room should be safe enough with all five of us-” 

“ I HaVe To HeAd BaCk DoWn,” DJ interrupted the bear, “ OlIvIa Is StIlL dOwN tHeRe-”

“ Are you certain of that?” It was Freddy’s turn to interrupt the bug, “ That was roughly six hours ago. . . “ 

“ I’m StIlL gOiNg BaCk DoWn ThErE tO lOoK fOr HeR,” DJ almost growled, his eyes shifting back to orange. 

“ You are not in the best condition to be wandering around.” Freddy stressed.

“ I aM nOt “WoNdErInG aRoUnD”. I’m LoOkInG oUt FoR mY kIdS.” DJ boomed, stepping closer so he practically loomed over the bear, then his gaze shifted to Gregory who had shrunk in a bit, getting a bit of spill over from the intimidation tactics. He took a step back. 

“ Kids ? You got multiple now?” Monty teased. ( Again Gregory didn’t notice DJ glance at him, nor did he notice Sun look between Gregory and DJ before his eyes widened a bit .) Freddy released an annoyed breath.

“ Fine, do whatever you need to, I assume Moon’s going with?” He added in a deadpanned voice, looking over at Sun who quickly nodded. Monty groaned.

“ Nooooo, not fair,” He whined, the clown giggled in response.

“ Awe, Monty don’t be jealous,” Sun teased, moving to the gators side, and pressing his face plate to the side of Monty’s. Gregory stuck out his tongue, DJ scoffed at him. Sun then whispered something to the gator.

“ No! I told you two I was gonna complain, it’s my right now! Do what you guys need to, I get it, but I’m gonna complain,” Monty said, crossing his arms, “ Ain't gonna stop ya, but I’m gonna complain,” Sun giggled again.

“ alright, then, you did warn us,” Sun agreed, “ Love you,” 

“ You too,” Monty grunted, his tail wagging slightly. Freddy made to turn away with Gregory in tow.

“ Oh wait!” They all stopped, “ Shouldn’t I sync my watch to DJ? Can the smaller body do that?” Gregory asked.

“ It can, but I don’t see why you would need-” 

“ BeTtEr SaFe ThAn SoRrY rIgHt? LeT mE sEe,” DJ lifted the boy out of Freddy’s grip and let Gregory sync his watch. “ CaReFuL nOt To LoOsE iT,” DJ told him as he handed the boy back. Freddy raised an eyebrow.

“ Right well . . . Good luck,” Freddy said to DJ who nodded.  

“ Don’t end up off line this time!” Monty told him, pointing at the bug as he moved to stand next to Freddy, DJ chuckled as Sun moved to stand next to him. 

“ I’lL TrY, bUt My ReCoRd’S nOt ThE bEsT,” He said then gave Gregory finger guns, “ SeE yA lAtEr BoOmBoX,”. He turned and started for the exit they came from, Sun beside him. 

“ He’s gotten reckless,” Freddy huffed, Monty shrugged

“ Can ya blame him, he’s worried about his kid-”

“ She isn’t his child, she has parents, he shouldn’t be getting so attached to a single child,” Freddy snapped at the gator. Gregory was surprised at how deeply Freddy’s words cut him. Monty didn’t respond, but looked annoyed. 

“ Can I walk please,” Gregory asked, Freddy blinked in surprise as if he had forgotten the boy was there. 

“ Oh . . .  yes of course,” He sheepishly set Gregory down. The second his feet touched the ground he sprinted towards the west exit of Rockstar Row,” Gregory where are you going?!” Freddy called in alarm. 

“ Greg!” Monty barked as he booked it after the kid. Gregory rolled under the door and quickly ran around one of the counters and tucked himself under it. He heard Monty grunt and the metal door get forced up. 

“ Gregory?” He heard Freddy call, he felt the ground shake as Monty walked into the room.

“ He must’ve headed to the Atrium,” Monty suggested, the two headed in that direction. Once Gregory was sure they were gone he ran back into Rockstar Row. The door now permanently stuck open. Gregory huffed irritably and stormed past Freddy’s room. Of course Freddy didn’t care about him. Freddy saw hundreds of kids everyday! He was stupid to let himself get lulled into a false sense of security. Well No more! He ran away to be alone, so alone he’d be! The doors to the east exit opened and Chica walked in. The boy quickly ducked behind  a statue as she slowly crossed Rockstar Row, inching around the statue to remain out of sight. She made a groaning sound, like she was sick. Why did she act so differently than Monty and Roxy? She stopped suddenly and Gregory held his breath. She then made a loud squawking sound with some radio feedback mixed in. She held her head as sobs and groans escaped her voice box. Gregory felt pity fill his chest, remembering what he’d observed throughout the week. How normally peppy she was, almost as peppy as Sun could be. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t her. He felt an overwhelming need to help her, somehow. If he could just get her plugged into a computer somewhere and run the same diagnostic scan he could delete the virus from her. He was about to foolishly call out to her without thinking when she stiffened, and started walking towards the west exit again. 

“ Our Friendly security staff can help! ” she called, Gregory glanced at her greenroom. Maybe he could find some information in there that would help him come up with a plan? He had the clearance from Moon now, right? His theory was proven right when the doors slid open for him. 

Pov shift

The silence was a tad heavy and DJ could feel it straining on his code but he didn't’ want to talk. He wanted to find Olivia, he was already struggling to not berate himself for letting things get to this point. He could hate himself later, he needed to find her now . Not to mention the yellow jester next to him, usually talkative but was being quiet for once. He appreciated that, he had a lot to process. If Moon was truly back that would mean that Not-Moon lied to him, which wouldn’t be surprising. It would also mean DJ was an idiot. Gregory’s explanation still echoing in his head. 

“ I plugged them into some computer and fixed them.” If that was all it took DJ could’ve probably just played dumb wednesday night and asked it to let him plug it into a computer right there in the West Arcade. Or at the very least lure it to the office under some pretense that something was wrong with him. It was clearly in love with him in its own twisted messed up way. He could have played into that and gotten his Angel back. Then Olivia wouldn’t be in this situation. But no. No he was stupid and didn’t think to do that. 

DJ realized he was going down a self loathing rabbit hole and shook himself out of it.

“ You alright?” Sun asked, breaking the external silence.

“ YeAh. . . JuSt LoSt In ThE lAbRyNtH,” DJ explained, tapping the undamaged side of his head, Sun nodded. 

“ I understand, I get lost in there too sometimes. . .” Sun trailed off, concern crossing his face. DJ told himself not to ask, but it still blurted out of his voice box.

“ WhAt’S uP?” Sun waved him off.

“ Moon didn’t react well to that metaphor, but he won’t tell me why, I don’t think he fully understands it either. . .” Sun explained, DJ felt a little ease sink in. Another point for it really is Moon . If anyone would be able to tell the difference between Moon and Not-Moon it was Sun. 

“Is He HoLdInG uP oKaY?” He asked, despite himself. A part of him did want to know, actually most of him. About three fourths if he were to put a number on it. Sun didn’t answer him beyond a shrug, which DJ figured meant Moon wasn’t sharing how he was doing. Point for It’s Not-Moon . They stepped on the stage lift to parts and service, and triggered its descent. ( dipping out of sight just as Freddy and Monty came sprinting out of the west exit to Rockstar Row.) DJ examined the plush still in his left primary ( and only ) hand. It wasn’t damaged, a little dirty from being on the floor but unharmed. He hoped he found its owner in the same condition, he continued to examine the monkey while he watched the yellow jester shift to blue out of the corner of his eye, his fidgety bouncing slowing to just nervous fidgeting. The lift stopped, DJ didn’t look at Moon as he started down the hall. Moon followed shyly behind as they made their way back to the hall. DJ didn’t pause to look at his own severed arm. 

“ WhErE  eXaCtLy DiD yOu FiNd ThIs?” DJ asked, holding up the sock monkey. 

“ Oh um . . “ It was weird to see Moon so shy and nervous. . . well okay, no it wasn’t. He’d seen it plenty of times, what was weird was how he shied away from DJ . How he wouldn’t meet the beetle’s gaze. His eyes were still yellow, so that put another point for Its Moon. Moon skirted around the bigger animatronic, as if he was afraid of DJ’s wrath should he get too close. DJ both appreciated the space but felt a twisted guilt in his code. A part of him wanted to reach out and comfort him, but he didn’t. He wasn’t sure yet. He glanced at the busted generator in the corner of the room, he could still hear Not-Moon laughing. He turned and followed the jester to the hallway. They stepped around the broken endos that littered the floor. Some completely smashed, some had limbs torn off. Though if DJ was honest with himself, he couldn’t tell which ones were damaged by Monty or not. Moon finally stopped in front of a door, tugging on his ribbons, glancing up at DJ. The beetle looked up at the purple painted letters. It didn’t sit well with him.

“ T-Theres a room off of it in there, it um. . . Gregory found it in there  . . I looked but I didn’t see anything else  . . .” Moon explained weakly, DJ nodded and gestured to the door.

“ AfTeR yOu,” He deadpanned, Moon hesitated, then entered the room. DJ wasn’t about to let the jester be behind him alone yet. Moon led him to a padded room, there were a few toys inside, but nothing to indicate Olivia was there. DJ felt a mix of disappointment and dread as he scanned the room. He turned to leave and found Moon hovering right behind him. This startled DJ causing him to stumble back, Moon took a step back as well.

“ S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” He stuttered, hands up. DJ released a breath, okay he needed to nip this problem in the bud, they weren’t going to find Olivia at this rate. 

“ Do YoU hAvE sOmEtHiNg To SaY?” He asked as Moon stepped out of his way so he could return to the hall. 

“ No. . . yes?. . .  I don’t wanna push . . .” Moon mumbled in response as he followed DJ who scanned the room across the hall. He spotted something in the corner and moved to it, kneeling down to pick up a very small red shoe. It was too small to be Olivia’s though, and it was Freddy shoe, Olivia stopped wearing Fazbear brand stuff. 

“ I cAn’T fOcUs WiTh YoU hOvErInG aNd TwItChInG,” DJ stated, he didn’t mean to be rude about it but it was the truth, “ sO sPiT iT oUt.” DJ turned to Moon, holding the shoe, Moon’s gaze fell on it and he made a sound akin to a hitch in breathing. DJ set the shoe down on the shelf, “nOt HeR’s” He informed the jester. Moon nodded.

“ Too small . . .” Moon agreed, another point for Its Moon . Moon tugged on his ribbons and struggled to find words for a minute. “ Do . . . Are. . .” DJ crossed his primary arms  as he waited. Moon inhaled then four seconds later he exhaled. “ I understand things are different, I understand if it's not possible anymore,” He started, his voice was shaking, DJ felt something tug at his code, “ And I won’t resent you or be angry if you can’t, I mean. . .” he laughed weakly, his voice cracking, “ What kind of monster would I be if I did-”

“ MoOn.” DJ cut in to get the jester back on track, they did have a four year old to find.

“ R-Right, right, um. . . . Do you still . . . love me?” He couldn’t meet DJ’s eyes as the question finally left him. DJ’s chest speaker made a loud burst of static as a song played from it. Hard to hear but still understandable.”

I am just a holy fool, oh baby it’s so cruel, but I’m still in love with Judas baby-

DJ covered it with his hand to muffle it, Moon blinked then looked up to meet his eyes. The beetle sighed heavily.

“ SoRrY I cAn’T cOnTroL tHaT rIgHt NoW,” DJ admitted, “ YeS, I sTiLl LoVe. . .” he hesitated, then sighed again, “ tHe PrObLeM I hAvE iS nOt WhEtHeR oR nOt I cArE, iT’s ThAt I’m NoT tOtAlLy CoNvInCeD tHaT-”

“ I’m me. . .” Moon finished for him, “ So  . . . You still love Moon,  but you don’t know if that’s who I am?” He sounded hurt but understanding. DJ nodded.

“ ExAcTlY,” He finished, the jester nodded, tugging on his ribbons again. 

“ I . . . understand. . . is there. . . anything I can be doing to make you more comfortable around me til . . . til you trust me again,"he asked, DJ felt something surge through his code, the scales suddenly tipping heavily towards its Moon. He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck with his good ( and only) left hand. 

“ I’lL hAvE tO rEaLlY tHiNk AbOuT iT. . . fOr NoW, dOn’T bE iN mY bUbBlE wItHoUt PeRmIsSiOn uNlEsS yOu HaVe To Be, OkAy,” Moon nodded eagerly.

“ I can do that.” Moon looked around the room, “ I’ll check the security office for any sign of Olivia, if you want to look back the way we came?” He suggested, pointing to the door, the beetle nodded. 

“ SoUnDs GoOd. We’Ll MeEt Up WhErE tHe HaLl CiRcLeS bAcK?” DJ suggested, moving to the door. Moon nodded, and moved down the hall towards the security office. He could hear Moon talking to himself. To Sun. 

“ Yeah it's better than I expected. . . not what I hoped for but I knew that was a long shot.”  DJ gave a small scoff. Maybe it was Moon. It sure seemed like it. Even Not-Moon wasn’t that good at pretending. He moved back the way he came, checking every room as he went for any sign of his kid. Well the one that was missing anyway. That thought formed a new rabbit hole for his brain as he shifted boxes and daycare supplies aside. 

Gregory. The kid clearly had it rough, DJ wasn’t stupid, he might not be programmed with childcare in him like his boyfriend or his brother, but even he could tell in his bigger body that the kid was too small to be ten. Everything about him screamed that he was ten, his attitude, even his voice matched other ten year olds, but he was so small. He shouldn’t be able to fit in a chest cavity that barely fits a cake without squishing it. DJ could practically feel the kid’s bones under his skin too. He’d held Olivia enough times, he was pretty sure that wasn’t normal. A ten year old shouldn’t weigh the same as a four year old either, then again Moon and Sun didn’t seem to find anything off about him so maybe it was just DJ. Whatever, he wasn’t going to let Freddy throw that boy out on the street. Hopefully Gregory picked up that DJ was planning to contact him after Freddy sent him on his way. He was then going to let the kid back in through the loading dock and sneak him back to the west arcade. He didn’t have a full plan yet, but he’d figure it out. He wasn’t sure how much time he had left before they decided to scrap him but he was going to spend it protecting whatever kids needed it. Gregory sure seemed like a kid who fit that bill. 

DJ paused when he realized he had been staring into a box of flashcards for the last several minutes. He put thoughts of Gregory on the back burner. The kid was with Freddy and Monty, he was safe at the moment, he didn’t need to worry til six.  He closed the box of flash cards and shoved it back. He looked around the room before moving to leave. As he stepped into the hallway he heard a faint sound of a music box. Was that Moon’s music box? Didn’t Moon say he was going to the security office? Had he been lying? Had DJ been tricked again. DJ looked around to find the source of the music, his code buzzing with paranoid energy. He turned on Bouncer Mode and scanned the room but no heat signatures indicated the jester nearby. Then he spotted it, a small very weak orange glow sitting on a conveyor belt not too far from him. He stared at it, and it didn’t move. The orange was too weak to be Moon, him and the other animatronics generated too much heat from the workings. In fact this blob was practically yellow. DJ turned bouncer mode off and blinked in surprise at what he saw sitting on the belt watching him. 

It was a spider windup toy. If it wasn’t for the orange glow DJ saw while in bouncer-mode he would have assumed it wasn’t functioning due to how still it sat. There was also the chiming of a music box. The toy was old and falling apart, it had chipping in its face connecting its right eye socket to its mouth, which had teeth similar to DJ’s old body. 

“ Uh . . . Hi?” He greeted uncertaintly, offering it a wave. After a pause, it waved back. It looked just as uncertain as DJ felt. He took a step closer, it scuttled back as if afraid of him, “w-WaIt, I’m NoT gOnNa HuRt YoU, i KnOw I’m InTiMiDaTiNg,” He offered, wincing at the sound of his busted voicebox. The spider paused watching him, DJ took a knee next to the belt, with a healthy amount of space between him and the toy. “ LiStEn MaYbE yOu CoUlD hElP mE?” DJ asked, it tilted it’s head at him, “ I’m LoOkInG fOr A lItTlE gIrL, dArK sKiN, GrEeN oVeRaLlS, bIgGeSt BrOwN eYeS yOu’D eVeR sEeN. Oh! ShE cArRiEd ThIs EvErYwHeRe,” DJ added, holding up the monkey, then thought about it, “NoT tHaT tHaT hElPs, SiNcE I hAvE iT nOw-” he cut off when the toy moved closer, it took the toy from him, DJ reluctantly let it since he was afraid he’d break the toy or the plush if he didn’t, “oH. .  Do YoU rEcOgNiZe It?” He asked, the toy looked back up at him and nodded, hugging the monkey. “ DiD yOu SeE hEr ThEn?” It shook its head, “ BuT. . .” DJ trailed off, the toy hugged the plush closer, almost as if afraid DJ would take it away. Part of him felt he should, but something in his code told him not to. 

“ DJ!” Moon called as he came in the room from the other end, he stopped short in the doorway, looking at the spider toy. In his hand was a composition notebook. 

“ WhAt Is It?” DJ asked, hesitantly reaching for the plush, “ CaN i HaVe ThAt BaCk?” He added, Moon winced as the toy scuttled back away from DJ, plush still in its arms.

“ I-I. . . found this, Gregory found it earlier-”

“ GrEgOrY fOuNd A lOt Of ThInGs FoR yOu, DiDn’T hE?” DJ teased, Moon blinked in surprise then after a pause snickered.

“ I was a bit preoccupied,” He said, gesturing to the beetle still on his knees in front of a conveyor belt.

“ FaIr EnOuGh,” He said, waving for Moon to continue.

“ I did skim through it since we were waiting for you to come back online, but all I got out of it before the lockdown was that Vanessa was the rabbit lady.”

“ ShE’S wHaT?!” DJ stood up, startling the spider, it retreated to the edge of the belt before it leaped to a different belt,” WaIt! SoRry! DoN’t Go,” He called after it, it paused, then perched on the belt watching him. DJ released a breath, mentally calculating how to get the monkey back, maybe he could trade something for it? He spotted a Chica plush and picked it up. It was classic Chica but still Chica, and this thing had pink stripes so maybe? 

“ She’s the rabbit lady, and . . .” Moon sighed, “ I’m sorry about what happened in the bakery . . . you did see her that night, Me and Monty couldn’t, but you could with Bouncer-Mode, I’ll explain more later,” He added as the beetle turned to him. DJ was a little caught off g uard with the apology, he gave a small smile to let him know it was okay but let Moon continue, while he tried to silently negotiate the Chica plush for the monkey. The spider wasn’t having it though,“ She’s been orchestrating everything, The virus, Bonnie. . . Me. . . “ He held the book close to his chest, then shook his head, “ She’s been using us. .  me  . .  to collect daycare kids to . . . . experiment with Remnant, I dont’ think it’s just her, but I can’t explain it. Her handwriting keeps changing.”

“ BaCk Up A fEw NoTeS tHeRe MoOn, “ DJ cut in, “ ReMnAnt?” Moon winced again.

“ I . . . it’s complicated, I don’t fully understand myself yet, but from what I can tell here it’s. . . . partly a human soul, there's more nuance to it, that much I can tell but to simplify it. . .”

“ a HuMaN sOuL aNd wHaT iS sHe DoInG wItH iT?” DJ asked, the jester sighed, and pointed to the spider toy.

“ Animating that. . .  says she needs to practice her method with Remnant for some reason so she. . . did that,” Moon explained, “ She’s done it about five times now including that one, I don't have the full results of these tests though. . .” DJ blinked, and turned back to the spider.

“ThAtS a. . . BuT wHo. . .” DJ trailed off as the spider backed away from him, monkey still tight in it’s arms, looking between Moon and DJ. He felt a chill go through his systems, “ oH. . . . “ DJ turned to Moon who didn’t meet his gaze.

“ I’m sorry. . .” He mumbled, hugging the book to his chest, guilt clear on his face. DJ turned back to the spider and took a step closer, it took several back.

“ HeY iT’S oKaY, i’M nOt GoNnA tAkE iT, “ DJ promised, and it relaxed, watching him as he knelt down in front of it and offered his hand to it palm up, “ It’S yOuRs aFtErAlL, iSn’T iT SoUnDbYtE. . .”  It nodded, then after a pause it stepped into DJ’s hand. Letting the beetle pick it up and hold it. 

“ I’m. . . so sorry,” Moon said again, running a hand over his hat. DJ couldn’t tell if the jester was apologizing to him or Olivia. . . maybe both. 

Pov shift

Gregory peeked across the Atrium to make sure no Animatronics were patrolling before sprinting towards the escalators across from FazerBlast and Roxy Raceway. Snooping through Chica’s room had proven to be helpful, since apparently the robot chicken had a habit of hoarding trash in her green room. Some of said trash were crumpled employee memos that told staff Chica had been caught sifting through the trash compactor, and told them to make sure she wasn’t there when they used it. They also told employees that she was obsessed with Monty Mystery Mix. So obsessed that they hid it in Bonnie Bowl. Gregory wasn’t a fan of his own plan to lure Chica to the trash compactor so he could disable her before removing the virus but he repaired Sun and Moon repaired DJ so surely he could repair her right? And even if he couldn’t, someone could. It was his best option without the others' help. ( not that he needed them anyway. Because he didn’t.) The only real problem the boy had was that Bonnie Bowl was locked. He thought with his high clearance he’d be able to get in but apparently not. Apparently he needed a ticket to get in, in fact it was the only attraction with a staffbot stationed in front of it. Hence how Gregory knew he needed a ticket. He stomped the ground in frustration.

“ Take a map?” Gregory jumped and spun around to see Mapbot wheeling up to him. He was looking around the level before tilting his head towards the boy. Gregory pretended to miss the silent question. 

“ Oh hey Mappy! Freddy told me I needed to get something from in here,” he gestured to Bonnie Bowl, “ But I can’t get in, the stupid door won’t open,” Mappy wheeled up to the staff bot stationed in front of it. They stared at each other for a moment, then Mappy nodded and gestured for Gregory to follow. 

“ Where are you going?” Gregory asked as he jogged behind him. He zoomed to escalators then put both hands on either railing before zooming down at an alarming speed. Gregory snorted at how silly the staffbot looked before he hurried after it. Mappy led him to Fazerblast’s elevator. 

“ Fazerblast?” Gregory asked as he followed the staffbot into the elevator. Mappy pointed a single finger up at the ceiling. After a second a recording of Freddy’s voice came over the intercom.

“ Calling all Recruits! FazerBlast is a high-intensity space combat simulation! Suit up and save the universe as you blast everyone and everything with high-tech lazer effects! Blast strangers, blast your friends! Beat the superstar high score and get a Free FazerBlaster gun and for a limited time a free one year pass to Bonnie Bowl! Enlist now!” 

“ Oh cool! Is a Fazerblaster useful?” Gregory asked, Mappy made a shrugging gesture as the doors opened then pointed to a sign not far away. 

WARNING! DO NOT FIRE FAZERBLASTERS AT S.T.A.F.F OR ANIMATRONICS. 

“ So maybe?” Gregory mused, his watch beeped at that moment. 

“ Gregory! Please come back!” Freddy’s voice called, “ It isn’t safe for you to be on your own!” Mapbot starred almost accusingly at Gregory, his head tilted in a way that unsettled the boy. There was a pause, “ I’m on my way to Fazerblast now, stay put .” Gregory blinked in confusion then looked up at Mappy who was still watching him. 

“ Did . . . you just tell on me?” He asked, Mappy crossed his arms and nodded. Gregory cursed as he watched the elevator doors behind the bot close. The lift was being called to the Atrium. The boy turned and made to sprint into the attraction. Mappy grabbed his arm to stop him.

“ Take a map?!” Mappy sounded concerned, Gregory struggled against him as panic consumed him.

“ Let go!” Gregory told the bot. He didn't know what Freddy would do when he found him again. His experience with his foster parents told him the bear would punish him. How Gregory didn’t know, and he didn’t want to find out.

“ Take a map-” Mappy cut off when Gregory swung his flashlight at him.

“ LET GO!” The bot did and Gregory retreated into Fazerblast, leaving the staff bot behind as the elevator doors opened, “ Okay, okay,” Gregory told himself as he grabbed a helmet and a blaster, trying to will the shaky panic out of himself, “ Gotta do this fast, Win Bonnie Bowl ticket, get the monty mix, don’t get caught,” Gregory hurried down the halls to the arena, then down a hall to his left. He wished he hadn’t left his Moonplush in Chica’s room as he waited in the elevator to take him into the arena. Not because of the character itself but he felt an overwhelming desire to hug something for comfort. He shook it off though, he was ten years old! He wasn’t a baby! The doors opened and he sprinted into the maze that assaulted his eyes with harsh lights and ears with loud music. It quickly overstimulated him and hurt his head, but he pushed on anyway. After running for a while he found a button and pressed it. 

“ FLAG CAPTURED! TIME TO DEFEND!” A voice called, oh it was capture the flag. Gregory could easily do that, no one else was playing. It was just him! “ CAPTURE COMPLETED. ONE OF THREE! ”  There was a loud thud behind the boy, he looked over his shoulder. The same skeletal endo from Rockstar Row was crawling over one of the walls. Once they made eye contact it sped up, spider crawling towards him. Gregory screamed on reflex and sprinted off into the maze. There was no logic, he just ran and hoped he didn’t hit a dead end. By some miracle Gregory managed to put some distance between himself and the scuttling skeletal endo. Allowing him to duck into a hideaway, it was probably set up for hiding from other players and not a killer endoskeleton. The boy tried to steady his breathing as the endo passed his hiding spot, and slowed to a stop. He really wanted his plush. He could see the endo through a small window in his hideaway as it stood up, still hunched over but on its hind legs.

“ GrEgOrY~” It called in a voice very similar to Moon’s, “ I know you’re here little boy~ Are we playing hide and seek? I’m the best at hide and seek . ” Gregory covered his mouth as it turned its head sharply towards the boy's hiding spot. It chuckled, humming a tune. “   Our game of hide and seek’s about to end, I’m coming closer  looking underneath your bed but~”  it sang as it crept closer, “ you’re not here I wonder~ could you be inside the closet? ” It reached for his hiding spot, tears spilled out of the boy’s eyes. He whimpered through his hands, swallowing the screams and pleas in his throat. This was it wasn’t it? “ Ding dong finally found you-”

“ FLAG CAPTURED!” The endo retracted its hand looking at the ceiling.

“ What? How?” It hissed.

“ TIME TO DEFEND!” It hissed again and scuttled over another wall, off towards the other flag, Gregory felt himself go limp in the hideaway, choking on the sobs that were stuck in his throat. He hugged his knees to his chest, and his face in them. He heard heavy footsteps coming his way, and held his breath again. Seeing a familiar purple animatronic foot step into view. 

“ Greg?” Monty hissed, clearly trying ( and failing) to be quiet while also being heard over the music, “ Kid where are ya?” Gregory thought about answering but didn’t, “ Ah Runt come on out, Freddy didn’t mean anything by it, he’s just a stupid bear!” He practically exclaimed, there was a pause while Monty waited for some kind of response. 

“ Who wants Candy?” Chica’s voice called in the distance, Monty turned towards it.

“ Ah shit.” The gator huffed, “ Kid where the hell are you . . . “ He grumbled before hurrying off. Gregory released another breath and climbed out of the hideaway.

“ FLAG TWO OF THREE CAPTURED!” the intercom announced. Gregory started running in the opposite direction of the gator. He had to find that last button and capture the last flag to get a Bonnie Bowl ticket. He heard the endoskeleton calling for him in the distance so he chose to climb the ramps leading to a tower structure. Finding a button at the top, he pressed it.

“ FLAG CAPTURED! TIME TO DEFEND!” Gregory readied his fazerblaster, looking around for a hideaway but not seeing one. He knew all of the animatronics were heading his way as it was the last flag.  He could hear footsteps heading up the ramp.

“ Employees only- What the bawck?! ” The second Chica’s head popped up over one of the maze walls Gregory fired at her. The beam hit her in her left eye and she staggered back but kept coming. Gregory fired again and again. She was clearly blind but staggering towards him until she misstepped and fell off the ramp. Gregory heard Monty yell out in surprise.

“ Shit! Ya alright Cheeks?” There was a pause.

“ Your family is looking for you ~” Chica parroted, “ Gregory! ” 

“ Can’t let ya near the Runt like this Chica,” Monty warned.

“ I am just trying to help.” There was another pause, then the sound of a fight. Was Monty fighting Chica? He took a step forward with the intention to peek over the edge and see what was happening. However the skeletal endo suddenly dropped in front of him. Gregory screamed and nearly dropped his fazerblaster, he aimed it at the endo as it stood at it’s full height, laughing at him. Gregory fired at it but nothing happened. Did it have a limited charge?!

“ No more bullets?” It asked in a mock baby voice, Gregory took a step back as it reached forward and took the gun from him, then pointed at it’s own head, it fired, then made a tisking sound, “ no more bullets. ” It confirmed, before tossing the blaster away. Gregory was paralyzed, shaking, tears streaming down his face. It reached for him again, then the sound of a fazerblaster firing filled the air, a red beam hit the endo in its eyes, causing it to screech and rear back, “ you little aaaaaaarg! ” it screeched, Gregory looked over his shoulder to see Freddy behind him, A fazerblaster in each hand, the one in his right raised and pointed at the endo. He fired again and Gregory looked back in time to see the endo rear back a second time. This time the boy took several steps back so he was slightly behind Freddy.

“ The elevator to the winners lounge will open in three minutes, that’s the only way out,” Freddy told him, not taking eyes off the endo that kept trying to lunge at the bear, only to be hit with another fazerblaster beam. When that gun ran out Freddy handed it to the boy, “ You will need to return this,” He raised his left hand, firing that fazerblaster at the endo while he opened his chest cavity and retrieved a third gun. “ Follow this ramp behind us, then take a right, at then follow that ramp you should see it,” He held up the new gun and powered it on, only then turning his blue eyes onto the boy, “ We will discuss this there .” Dread filled Gregory’s chest but he obeyed. Turning and sprinting in the direction Freddy had instructed, true to the bear's word, the elevator door was where he said it would be. A small box was next to it, Return Blaster written on it. Gregory tried to push the empty blaster into the slot but it was sealed. 

“ THREE FLAGS CAPTURED! WELL DONE! HEAD TO THE WINNERS BOX TO COLLECT YOUR PRIZE!” The box lit up and the slot opened. Gregory returned the blaster and hurried into the elevator. He swallowed as he waited for the elevator to take him up. The doors opened revealing another hallway, he followed it and realized it looped back to the first room where the guns and helmets were. A door immediately to his right opened revealing a small lounge room, two red sofas on either side of the door. In the center of the room was a glowing checkered print circular counter. Gregory pulled his helmet off as he entered the room, dropping it on the floor. The counter had a planet in the center of it and a rocket ship hanging over it. It was trashed with snacks, but a gold colored Fazerblaster sat on the counter. Gregory took it but it wasn’t what he was originally after. Where was the Bonnie Bowl ticket?! Gregory let out a frustrated groan, rubbing his still wet cheeks.

 The back wall of the room was a glass window that looked over the maze. Across from him Gregory could see the platform the last button had been. Freddy had made it to the landing down the first ramp. Dual wielding both blasters though he quickly disappeared from Gregory’s view as he backed behind a large cut out of Roxanne. The endo was still coming, attempting to dodge the shots but Freddy still hit it every time. The bear reappeared at the second ramp, the blaster in his right hand must’ve run out because he tossed it, and opened his chest cavity again to retrieve a new blaster. How many did he have?!   Freddy did all this without looking away from the endo. It made to lunge at the bear again but then Monty came sprinting out of nowhere and tackled it around the middle, sending both tumbling off the side of the ramp and out of sight, leaving Freddy standing there, he looked over the edge where they had fallen, then looked up at the window. Making eye contact with Gregory. He then turned and continued down the ramp. Gregory turned back to the room, panic starting to fill him again. He had to be gone before Freddy and Monty got to the room. He didn't know what they would do when they got to him, but he didn’t want to find out. He also had to find that pass but it was clearly not there. He heard the door open not too far from himself. He could hear Monty celebrating their victory, causing him to frantically look around the room for some kind of escape, the door across from him would make him cross paths with the two animatronics so it was a no go. He spotted an open vent along the wall to his right. Next to a red sofa with a Freddy plush sitting on it. He snagged the Freddy plush before hurrying into the vent. He paused at the bottom of an incline, hugging the plush close to his chest, and finally feeling some of his anxious tension leave him. Not a lot but a little. He watched the door open.

“ Gregory?” Freddy called in a stern voice as he entered the room, looking around. 

“ Ha! Greg did ya see that!? I totally kicked- oh he’s not here,” Monty huffed, sounding disappointed. Freddy bent down and picked up the helmet. He looked around the room, he spotted the open vent. The look he gave made it clear he also spotted Gregory. 

“ Gregory. ” Freddy stated, “ Come here now .” Gregory hugged the bear tightly, for a brief moment he wasn’t in a vent, he was under his bed. He could see dirty shoes as his foster parents searched his room. Throwing his bedside table to the side- “ Gregory?” Freddy called again, this time sounding concerned, taking a step towards the vent. Triggering the boy’s fight or flight. He scrambled back and up the vent, not caring he didn’t know where it was going. “ Gregory!” Freddy sounded confused.

“ I think ya spooked him,” Monty’s voice got fainter as Gregory continued. It took him to a makeshift catwalk made of plywood over the maze. It took him to another vent, Gregory was kinda surprised he hadn’t run into the spider thing yet. The vent came out over an actual catwalk next to a window that looked like an office. Vanny was written in purple paint on the wall. A makeshift bed was in the corner diagonal from the window, directly across the window was a game called Princess Quest III  next to a door. Stationed in front of said door was a wetfloor bot watching him. Gregory stared at it, hugging his newly acquired plush a little tighter. It beeped at him, and after a pause Gregory waved.

“ H-Hi. . .” It beeped again, “ are you. . . alive?” He asked it, but it just stared at him, “ Okay how about one beep for yes and two beeps for no , and no beeps for I don’t know , Okay?” It beeped once at him. “ Cool. . . are you  alive?” he asked again, it beeped three times, “ We didn't establish three beeps!” Gregory leaned on the window, then sighed, “ Is three beeps like Kinda? ” One beep. “ So you’re Kinda alive?” One beep. “ Is it like a hive mind?” Three beeps. “ Weird . . . sorry everyones kinda been ignoring you . . . I don’t think they know,” The bot didn’t respond, “ I  need to get into Bonnie bowl,” The bot stared, “ I was supposed to win a pass but there wasn’t one. If I go back Freddy will make me leave at six. . . and  . . . I don’t have anywhere else to go,” He confessed,  looking down at his bear. Four beeps Gregory looked up, “ Do you know a way out?” One beep, Gregory blinked in surprise, “ wait really?!” The bot rotated to face the door behind it, then rotated back to Gregory. The boy peeked over the edge of the window to confirm the room was empty then climbed in through it. He tried the door, it was unlocked, “ Thanks!” Gregory told the bot, it beeped. Beyond the door was a staff hall. It wasn’t like the staff tunnels, it was well lit and with a couple of offices in it. Gregory spotted a sign that read Bonnie Bowl with an arrow pointing down the hall towards another door. Which Gregory hurried to and opened it. It led to a room full of boxes and a small pile of bowling balls. Another wetfloor bot spun and turned to him as he entered. 

“ Oh. . .  hi  . . again?” One Beep, “ Cool. I’m looking for Monty mystery mix. If I can get Chica stuck somewhere like the trash compactor or something,” The bot beeped twice, “ I don’t like it either but remember the west arcade? When Monty got stuck under the door?” There had been a wetfloor bot there even if it hadn’t made itself known. It gave one beep, though it was long. Gregory translated it to this bot's way of groaning fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine . It turned to the door across from them, “ that way?” One beep. Gregory followed its instructions to a hall with even more boxes. Gregory heard distant beeping at the end of the hall and hurried down it. Another wetfloor bot sat next to several boxes labeled Monty Mystery Mix, “ Thanks!” He paused, looking at his Freddy plush. He’d need two hands to carry the box of syrup. The boy sighed, and set the bear down next to the bot, “ I keep losing my plushies, I need a bag, I had one but I left in the tunnels at the west arcade,” He lamented. The bot beeped to get his attention, then looked down the hall the way the boy came. More beeping could be heard in the distance, Gregory picked up the hint and followed it. Spotting a wet floor bot behind the ice cream counter where the door came out.

“ How come you guys were randomly beeping before? Were you still trying to figure out how or something?” One beep, then more beeping a little further away. It sounded like it was behind the curtain on the small stage to Gregory’s left. The boy climbed onto the stage, then pulled open the curtain. Beyond the curtain was a small ramp to a hallway. There was a charging station at the end before it turned sharply to the right. A wetfloor bot next to it. It turned to look down its hall, Gregory followed its instructions, passing through a red staff door to the space behind the bowling pins. It was packed with boxes, a sofa, a mirror desk, and even a giant bowling pin. Gregory realized it was all furniture that would be in the green rooms, but it was all purple and blue. The boy looked around the space.

“ Is. . ..  is this where they stuffed everything from Bonnie’s greenroom?” He asked no one, believing he was alone. One beep answered him surprisingly close, causing him to jump. He turned to the wetfloor bot next to the door, “ That’s awful and not fair,” Gregory told it. It gave a beep in agreement, then rotated to face the mirror desk. On it was a rolled up poster and a Freddy statue. Gregory hesitated then unrolled the poster. The wetfloor bot gave two beeps so the boy stopped, but he could tell it was a poster of Freddy because he could see the bear’s legs, there was also a note on it. 

You and me forever and ever, Love Freddy . Gregory frowned but let it roll back up. 

“ Not the poster? The statue then?” Two beeps, “ The drawer?” One beep. Gregory opened the biggest drawer. Inside was an orange backpack, Gregory pulled it out and realized it was a Freddy face backpack with bear ears, as well as an extra pocket in the bowtie, “ oh cool, I can keep this?” He asked the bot, though he wasn’t sure why. It beeped once, “ Neat!” Gregory looked back into the drawer, amongst Bonnie’s belongings were Freddy themed Magnets, stickers, pins, plushies, Fizzyfaz cans, Gregory pulled out a Fazerblast keychain, “ I’m getting the impression that Bonnie was a simp for Freddy,” Gregory giggled, then found a matching Bonnie keychain, “ oooh! Neat, they took these out of the gift shop!” He attached both of the keychains to the bag’s zippers before shrugging it on. All the while the wetfloor bot beeped repeatedly, as if indignantly. After a pause Gregory looked around the space, then turned back to the bot, “ how did you know the bag was in the drawer?” he asked, but the bot didn’t answer. He looked around the space again, opening boxes out of curiosity, the bot watched him, then after a pause Gregory heard the bot from the hall beeping, as if trying to call him back. 

“ I’m just taking a look, I might not be able to come back here, it would be hard to do without being spotted, and that's if Freddy doesn’t throw me out,” He added, then paused, looking over the guardrail to where the pins were. He spotted something in the far back, next to another wet floorbot. The one behind him beeped twice. Gregory stilled, then looked back at it. “ Are you hiding something?” He asked, were the bots working with Vanny? Vanessa? Rabbit lady? Who ever. It didn’t answer him, Gregory narrowed his eyes at it, then turned to climb over the railing, carefully, having learned his lesson from the lobby at midnight. The bot beeped twice again, but Gregory ignored it, making his way down to a mass propped against the wall under a tarp. He heard the wet floor bots all beeping at him, calling him back, sending him away. The closer he got, the more he recognized the shape of an animatronic, two blue animal feet stuck out the bottom and a single blue hand sat atop one of the wetfloor bots next to it. It was painted to look like it was wearing purple gloves. He gripped the end of the tarp. All the bots went quiet, leaving Gregory only the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears. He pulled the tarp off, revealing the very broken bunny under it. His jaw was slack and stuck open, legs bent the wrong way, his right ear missing, the right side of his faceplate was so badly cracked Gregory was amazed it hadn’t fallen off. His eyes glowed white exactly like the wetfloor bots. The boy turned to the nearest wetfloor bot, his voice shook slightly, gripping the blue straps of his newly gifted backpack.

“ B-Bonnie?” There was a long pause, then the bot gave one beep. The lights went out.

Chapter Text

Gregory flinched but otherwise didn’t react. He just looked between the animatronic and the wet floor bot. 

“ Has. . . . it been you the whole time? All night?” One beep, “ You’ve  . . .” Gregory thought back. In the east arcade it had been Bonnie trying to tell Sun where exactly the vent was. It had been Bonnie in kids cove warning Monty not to just open the lighthouse door. It had been Bonnie in the west arcade warning them of Vannessa’s arrival, “ How long have you . . .” it gave six beeps, “ Six . . .  hours?” Two beeps, “  . . . days?” One beep. One day shy of a week. Gregory’s stomach dropped, “ so. . . you know about . . . me?” One beep, the wet floor bots- No Bonnie saw Gregory sneak in. Bonnie had been watching him sneak around all week. “ I-I . . ..” He sunk to the floor, the weight of it making him feel the need to sit down. 

“ I-I can’t. . . fix you . . .” He admitted, “ I can’t get you to parts and service like this a-and I don’t know how without the cylinder, I-I  . . .” Then Gregory remembered something. Moon knew how to fix animatronics without the cylinder and Gregory could alert Moon to his exact location via his fazwatch. To Bonnie. But Doing so would one way or another lead to Freddy finding him and making him leave. There was also the probability of punishment for running off in the first place. He swallowed hard, looking back up at Bonnie, who was just slumped against the wall. He didn’t know much about the newer character of Bonnie other than quotes his classmates use to throw back and forth. ( “ You can’t spell Economy without Con!” ) but this felt wrong even comparing it to the older cartoon of Bonnie. Not even a shadow of his former self, a shadow of a shadow. . . could shadows  have shadows? Gregory shook the probably dumb thought off. 

“ Does it hurt?” he asked, two beeps, “ Really?” Gregory asked skeptically, there was a long pause then the wet floor bot gave a single long beep. To Gregory it sounded like an unconvincing “ Yeeeeeeeeeees?” the boy scoffed. “ Liar.” He sighed, fidgeting with his fazwatch, coming to his decision, “ I’ll call Moon, he can-” Two beeps interrupted him, “ but. . . why not?” The wet floor bot next to the bunny rotated so it was looking at a poster of Freddy wearing a hard hat, “ You don’t want Freddy to see you?” Two beeps, then three beeps. Kinda . . . so there was more to it. “ You . . . . don’t want Freddy to make me leave?” One beep.” But Moon can fix you a-nd. . . “ Gregory hugged his knees, uncertain what to do. The lights came on and his watch beeped. 

“ Gregory? Boombox are you alright? Did you make it out?” DJ’s voice came out of the watch, he sounded tired and a little strained. The boy hesitated, apparently taking too long because DJ started up again, “ Hello? Did Freddy take the watch when you left?” 

“ I’m here,” Gregory mumbled.

“ Oh good, Don’t go too far, Do you know how to get to the loading docks from the outside?” Gregory blinked in confusion at his watch.

“ Um . . I’m still in the plex. . . I sort of ditched Freddy and Monty an hour ago. . . “

“ WHAT?! Why?!” DJ sounded a little frantic suddenly, “ Okay, no, actually that's fine, that works. where are you?” The boy was very confused by DJ’s words. He looked up at Bonnie who gave no insight on his thoughts. Staring back at the boy with white eyes. 

“ I . . . can’t tell you? You’ll tell Freddy and he’ll make me leave-”

“ Over my deactivated body,” DJ snapped back, “ I was afraid I was being too subtle, Kid I was gonna sneak you back in.” 

“ You were?” Gregory asked hesitantly, his eyes widening.

“ No way was I about to leave you to fend for yourself out there, I figured I could get you into the building, you didn’t seem to have too much trouble hiding by yourself so I figured you’d be okay, you mostly just needed a way back in, and maybe I could help by getting stuff from the kitchens or something, I dunno, I’d figure it out.” Gregory tried to imagine that, DJ could be lying to him, but the beetle hadn’t told on him yet, and if his intentions were what he said they were, it would make what he started with make more sense. 

“ You promise?” Gregory asked, “ You’re not gonna make me leave?”

“ I promise.” DJ replied seriously, “ If Freddy makes you leave, I will get you back inside.” Gregory looked to Bonnie again, there was a tense pause. One beep. “ Is Moon with you?” DJ gave a tired sigh.

“ Um. .  technically yes, Sun’s in control right now. . . why?” 

“ I found Bonnie, behind the pins in Bonnie bowl?” 

“ . . . I’m sorry. What? ” Gregory swallowed.

“ I found Bonnie,” He said again, “ He’s really broken and behind the pins in Bonnie bowl.” There was a long pause.

“ Alright do me a favor and ping me your exact location,” Gregory was already scrolling for DJ’s name on his list in his watch, “ You’re sure it’s Bonnie?” 

“ Yeah? It’s a blue bunny, with a . . . a pink jumpsuit?” The wet floor bot beeped indignantly. “ Or not pink . . . I dunno.”

“ Yeah no that’s Bonnie, we’ll be right there, sit tight.” 

“ Okay. . .” Gregory hugged his knees again. “ Freddy’s mad at me cuz I ran off,” He started talking, maybe to fill the silence. Bonnie gave two beeps, Gregory thought about asking more but he knew Bonnie couldn’t elaborate. 

“ You can’t hide forever,” Roxy called suddenly, the boy jumped and turned to the metal shutter that separated him from the alley, “ I will find you . . . there you are,” Footsteps got closer, Gregory started to crawl away from the shutter, he felt his back press against Bonnie’s side as Roxy’s feet came into view through the small gap between the shutter and the floor. Her claws gripped the metal and forced it up, her yellow eyes on the boy, “ you’re nothing!” She taunted  before she moved to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. Gregory pulled against her but couldn't.

“ Let go!” He cried out, but the wolf didn’t, she dragged him into the alley, the wet floor bots were beeping frantically at her. 

“ Oh shut up!” She kicked one, knocking it over before dragging the boy towards the exit. The metal door lifted and DJ entered the room. His eyes flashed yellow upon seeing the wolf there.

“ DJ! Help!” Gregory cried, pulling again against the wolf, DJ’s gaze snapped to the boy, then his eyes turned red before they blacked out completely.

“ Let him go, Roxy.” He warned, she scoffed, giving Gregory a harsh tug.

“ Pathetic, no wonder you're on the chopping block,” DJ got into a fighting stance.

“ Today is not the day to cross me Roxy, I’ve had a very bad day, and I’m done taking shit so let him go, and just walk away.” He ordered.

“ Oh please, you don’t scare me freakshow,  go cry to Moon and Monty about it, just get out of my way,” She squeezed Gregory’s arm, making the boy whimper.

“ Get your stupid shitty manicured hands off my kid. ” DJ’s voice got deeper, Roxy snarled. 

“ Oh I know you did not just say that,” She tossed the boy to the side, making Gregory hit the floor with an “ oof ”

“ Gregory you better get out of here kid, this is gonna get ugly,” DJ called, the boy scrambled to his feet and started to run back towards the alley, he paused at the lanes to look back just as DJ charged at the wolf. Swinging his fist, she dodged and jumped at his side, knocking him off balance, and sending him into a photobooth. He made a staticy sound that could’ve been a growl, music started playing from his speaker again. Gregory ran back into the space behind the lanes, back to Bonnie. He came to a sudden stop when he saw the spider thing that had been chasing him in the vents perched on Bonnie’s knee. It turned to him and stilled, it looked just as startled to see him as he was to see it. It was hugging the toy Monkey Gregory had found earlier tightly as it started. The boy looked over his shoulder, the sounds of metal on metal still filled the air. Roxy was shouting, the song from DJ’s speaker still playing.

He looked back at the spider, it wasn’t attacking him. It looked scared. 

“ Are you. . . gonna attack me?” It shook its head, “ Okay . . .” The sounds stopped, then Gregory could hear metal doors open, he peeked out and saw Roxy retreat, DJ stood with his back to Gregory, fists clenched. His leg was bent at a funny angle, and he seemed to be struggling to stand on it. The doors opened again, Gregory feared Roxy had returned but Sun entered the bowling alley instead, carrying a red tote bag with Foxy’s face on it. He stopped when he saw DJ standing there.

“ Dj?! What happened?!” The clown exclaimed, hurrying to close the distance between them, the beetle finally relaxed and waved Sun off.

“ Nothing, I’m fine,” He dismissed, turning towards Gregory. Sun wasn’t about to let it go though.

“ You’re not fine, how are you even walking on that?!” Sun demanded as they moved towards the back of the lanes. 

“ I’m fine , stop .” DJ paused at the open lane to look down at Gregory, “ You okay Boombox?” he asked, he had a few claw marks in his casing and his leg wobbled as he moved, reminding Gregory of toys whose limbs were attached only by strings. 

“ Yeah I’m fine,” the boy mumbled weakly, Sun frowned and placed his hand atop the boy’s head as he stepped into the space behind the lanes. Shifting into Moon as he did. The night time attendant’s gaze landed on the bunny against the wall. 

“ Oh . . . oh wow Bonnie. . .” Moon breathed, moving to him and gently shooing the spider away. It scuttled back, DJ awkwardly moved to the wall nearby and sunk to the floor. He looked tired as the spider moved to him, “ Okay, it’s bad, but I think I can at least get him operational . .  is he online?” Moon asked, turning his head to Gregory. The wet floor bot beeped.

“ Yes,” Gregory answered. Moon glanced at the wet floor bot next to the bunny, he seemed to understand. 

“ Oh. . . I better get started then,” he started pulling tools out of the bag and laying them next to him. DJ let his head fall back against the wall, the spider chimed at him, he blinked his eyes then looked down at it.They shifted to dark blue.

“ Oh, I’m okay, uh Gregory I’m told you’ve met Soundbyte?” DJ asked, gesturing to the spider that was crawling up to his good knee. Gregory blinked.

“ You know it,” He asked, DJ’s speaker came to staticy life.

My girl~ talking about my girl~

 DJ covered his speaker with his hand to muffle it.

“ Sort of. . . she’s. . . my responsibility,” He explained. 

“ Our responsibility,” Moon corrected, looking over his shoulder at them, despite the slightly annoyed look he got from the beetle it seemed like a hill the clown would die on. 

“ We’ll discuss that later, anyway, she wasn’t trying to hurt you, she was just scared, still we’re sorry she scared you ,” Gregory scoffed.

“ I wasn’t scared,” He denied, DJ scoffed back.

“ Course not.”  Gregory decided to change the subject.

“ Did you tell Freddy where I was?” he asked, DJ shook his head.

“ Not yet . . .” DJ’s voice dipped as it trailed off, reminding Gregory of a toy whose battery was dying.

“ I told you, you need to charge more often, like every hour, especially if you're gonna get into fights,” Moon stated, looking between Bonnie and his tools. Like he was making sure he’d have everything he need. DJ snorted, letting his head loll over to look at the clown.

“ I still won didn’t I?” 

“ Barely… go charge,” Moon looked back at the beetle, the look DJ gave him made him wince a bit, “ Sorry. . . please go charge,” DJ nodded in acknowledgement then turned to the spider perched on his good knee.

“ I’m a bit far from the arcade, so in a bit, but not now,” He booped the spider’s nose, it chimed at him. 

“ There's a charging station over there,” Gregory pointed in the direction of the storage space for Bonnie’s green room and the red door. DJ glanced in the direction the boy was pointing then chuckled as he looked back to him.

“ I’m a bit too big for them.” He said simply.

“ I actually have something for that,” Moon reached into the tote bag and pulled out a funny looking extension cord, “ Gregory inside the charging station is a plug that should fit this,” Moon tapped one end of the cord, it had a funny looking plug on it, “ Go plug this end in and let me know when you’ve done that,” Gregory grabbed the cord then jogged towards the red door. 

“ Careful of the railing,” DJ called, the boy didn’t respond. He sounded a bit defeated. 

“ Let me just patch this up so you can get to the station, then I’ll get started on you Bonnie, “ the boy heard Moon say as he climbed over the railing, he heard DJ argue but he didn’t hear the specifics as he hurried through the staff door and towards the charging station. He opened it and found the plug he needed but it was near the top of the station. Out of his reach. He sighed then looked back towards the curtain of the stage. 

“ I saw chairs out there earlier didn’t I?” He mumbled to himself as he peeked out of the curtain, spotting the chairs in question. He made sure the bowling alley was empty before he darted to the chairs and snagged one. He paused as he passed the staff door behind the food counter, set the chair down and darted through the door to retrieve his abandoned Freddy plush. Stuffing it into his new backpack before returning to the previous task. The chair had to be placed half in the station and half out of it. It wobbled as Gregory climbed onto it. But he managed to plug the cord into the station. He heard a chime behind him and turned suddenly causing the chair to wobble hard. Gregory caught himself on the frame of the charging station. The spider, Soundbyte, was standing on the floor behind him. Gregory glared at her.

“ Don’t do that! ” He snapped, he still didn’t really like this spider, it had chased him in the vents! It tried to grab him! But DJ said it was fine, and it hadn’t attacked him yet. She. Gregory corrected himself mentally, DJ had said She . She scuttled back as if startled by him as he climbed down from the chair. A loud static yell came from the direction of the lanes, Gregory hurried back and climbed back over the guard rail. Moon tending to DJ’s leg,  the bigger bot had one hand on his speaker to muffle the sound coming from it, one hand clenched in a tight fist. Gregory couldn’t see the third but he assumed it was doing the same. 

“ I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Moon said frantically as he used a thick ratchet strap to tie a metal rod to the side of DJ’s leg. 

“ It’s fine.” DJ’s voice was strained, then he made an exhaling sound. “ See it doesn’t even hurt anymore,” He looked over at Gregory then smiled.

“ Hey Boombox, Soundbyte,” Gregory glanced down to see the spider next to him. 

“ What happened?” Gregory asked, Moon finally finished tying off the strap. 

“ I . . . . didn’t realize how badly he’d broken it, how were you walking on that? “ Moon asked him, DJ shrugged, getting to his feet.

“ I believe Sun already asked me that,” DJ pointed out, he swayed slightly as he spoke. Reminding Gregory uncomfortably of the times his foster parents got drunk. Nor so uncomfortable that he felt the need to hide, but he did step far out of DJ’s way as he started for the opening to the bowling alley.

“ Well I’m asking now ,” Moon replied, DJ sighed. 

“ I dunno, I think after the generator nothing hurts as bad . . .” He paused and looked back at Moon, “ Don’t give me that look,” He said in response to the expression that crossed Moon’s face. Gregory couldn’t quite make it out in time to know what it was, “ Bonnie probably knows what I’m saying right?” DJ asked, pointing at the rabbit still on the floor, the wet floor bot beeped once, “ yeah he gets it, Boombox you plug that cord in right?” he asked Gregory, if he noticed how the boy had taken several steps back from him he didn’t voice it. 

“ Yeah, I did,” DJ nodded.

“ Alright, stay put, you especially,” He added with a teasing air to it as he pointed at Gregory, making the boy giggle. He turned to the spider, “ And you, be good for Moon and Sun,” The spider made a clanging chime sound, like she was unhappy with her instructions, “ I’ll be right back,” DJ assured as he turned and started to limp into the bowling alley. Gregory was starting to wonder if Freddy was right about DJ getting reckless but then shook it off, he was trying to save Gregory from Roxy! That wasn’t reckless right? Moon watched him go, then once he was out of sight, then he turned back to Bonnie. 

“ Sorry about that, let’s start with your eyes and voice box, so you can communicate better,” Moon said, gingerly turning Bonnie’s head to a better angle. 

“ Can I help?” Gregory asked, fixing robots seemed to be a skill he would need if he was sticking around. Besides, it would be kinda cool, and he was bored. Moon hummed, glancing at him.

“ Sure, I’ll ask for a tool and you can hand it to me if you’d like,” Moon told him, tying his hat into a knot behind his head again. Gregory nodded and plopped down next to the clown. 

“ Okay!” 

“ Good, to start, I’ll need the screwdriver,” Gregory spotted it and handed it to him, Soundbyte perched herself on a bowling ball, tilting her head as she also watched them. Looking almost grumpy, “ Okay there's a few damaged wires, Gregory could you please hand me the electrical tape?” Moon held out his hand for it, Gregory hesitated, there three types of tape in front of him. He didn’t know which one was the right one. 

“ Hurry up! What are you stupid?!”   ghosts from Gregory’s past shouted in his head, making his heart race.

“ Gregory?” Moon turned his head towards him, “ What’s wrong?” The boy panicked, sure that if he took much longer the clown would start echoing the ghosts. So he grabbed the brown tape and put it in Moon’s hand. There was a tense pause as Moon looked at the boy, dread pooled in his stomach, “ It’s okay . . .” Moon started, setting the tape down, “ It’s okay if you don’t know what something is okay? This ,” He tapped the tape Gregory had handed him, “ Is called masking tape , it’s made with paper, if I used this it wouldn’t do much to protect the wires, and it might catch fire.” The boy frowned and shrunk in on himself, “ It’s okay to ask me what something is if you don’t know, okay?” Gregory swallowed hard.

“ Okay. . . sorry,” He mumbled, Moon gently reached out and wiped something off his cheek, he realized he’d started crying again. 

“ You have nothing to apologize for, the electrical tape is this one, it’s made of Vinyl or rubber, so it stretches and gives long lasting insulation,” Moon explained, pointing to the thin roll of black tape. Gregory gingerly handed it to him, the clown tore off what he needed then started to use it on the wires. There was a heavy pause that left Gregory still feeling nauseous from anxiety, his body tense. Like a toy wound too tight, “ Do you mind if I ask you a few  . . . personal questions?” Moon asked, not looking at the boy, “ Just some things Sun and I have been wondering . . . .” Moon added, sensing Gregory’s hesitance. 

“ Um. . . . okay,” Gregory fidgeted with his watch. 

“ Could you hand me the screwdriver again?” Gregory did. “ What’s your favorite color?” Moon asked, the boy blinked, was that what he meant? He did work in the daycare . . .

“ Blue,” He answered, Moon hummed.

“ Blue is one of my favorites too,” The clown told him, “ Do you have a favorite snack?” It’d been a long time since Gregory got any semblance of choice in his food, he got a lot of options since sneaking into the plex though.

“ I like plunderbars, I guess,” Gregory shrugged, Moon hummed again, this one sounded surprised. 

“ I haven’t heard that one in a while. . .  what about school? What’s your favorite subject?” Gregory tried to remember what courses school taught.

“ Recess?” He offered, Moon snorted like he’d been caught off guard by that response, Gregory giggled too, “ and lunch!” He added, making Moon laugh.

“ I see, I see, very important subjects. What do you want to be when you grow up?” He asked.

“ Alive.” The boy blurted out without thinking, then tensed, Moon also stilled. All the mirth from the previous question swallowed by the tense silence. Then Moon chuckled, though it was clearly forced.

“ fair enough. . . what’s your favorite tv show?” Relief washed over Gregory when Moon didn’t pry further. 

“ I like Freddy and Friends on tour.” He admitted, Moon stopped again, this time looking at him.

“ Really? That’s an old show, “ the nightime clown turned back to his task, “ You’re about to get your eyes back,” he added to Bonnie then the white glow from the bunny’s eyes vanished. Purple irises darted around before landing on Moon, “ Okay, follow my finger,” He instructed, holding up his index. He moved it to one side then the other, Bonnie’s eyes trailed it, “ Good. Good. Voicebox next, though I dunno . . . I think I like you better quiet,” Moon added, earning a glare from the bunny, “ I’m joking, let’s get that fixed.” Moon picked up the screwdriver, and started on his new task, “ So who’s your favorite in the show?” Moon asked the boy.

“ Freddy.” Gregory answered, the clown nodded.

“ Must’ve been exciting to meet him in person,” He mused, the boy shrugged.

“ Yeah it was. . . kinda, he’s different, like I can see some of the stuff that stayed like the plan making and stuff but he's a little different,” Gregory explained, Moon nodded.

“ Well it is a different character technically. . . do you have a favorite out of the new ones? Tape?” He asked, holding out his hand.

“ Oh I’ve never seen it, I wasn’t allowed to watch Tv in most places,” The boy answered casually, handing Moon the tape.

“ Oh . . that’s unfortunate,” Moon said, “ You live in a lot of places?” He asked, Gregory nodded.

“ Yeah, Foster care system sucks, they don’t screen the parents very well, they really should do better.”

“ It certainly feels like something they should keep a better eye on. “ Moon agreed, “ Well what about us, you seem to like Freddy and DJ a lot,” he pointed out.

“ I mean . . . you’re all scary with the virus, but without it you guys are all really cool.” GRegory shrugged, Moon turned to Gregory, giving the boy his full attention.

“ How long have you been on your own?” The boy’s blood went cold, “ We’ve. . . suspected for a while, you don’t have to tell us, we’re just. . . concerned.” 

“ How did you know,” Gregory asked instead of answering, the night themed clown turned his attention back to Bonnie. 

“ You’re too small and thin for your age, when Monty was carrying you by your shirt earlier we noticed. . . also your clothes are. . . very worn,” 

“ That’s a nice way of saying I’m filthy,” Gregory deadpanned.

“ Thanks, we have lots of practice,” Moon replied in the same tone, “ You’re hair is a bit of a tangled mess too, I’m honestly surprised no one else picked up on it,” Moon paused again, “ Then again Bonnie here probably knew . . . and DJ has been talking like he expected you to stay well past six am,” he side eyed Gregory. 

“. . . he knows. . . he promised to sneak me back in . . .” the boy confessed, Moon sighed.

“ I see. . .  do you know what his plan is?” the boy shook his head.

“ He just said when Freddy made me leave, he’d get me back in,” Gregory hugged his knees. Moon sighed again.

“ I see . . . You’re about to get your voice back, please wait until I cue you to talk,” Moon told the bunny seriously, then after a pause where he fidgeted with some wires he leaned back, “ Okay go ahead.” 

“ AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Bonnie didn’t move, but he let out a loud yell that made Moon, Gregory, and Soundbyte flinch, “ Whoo!  Thirty years can give you such a pain in the neck! ” Bonnie’s bottom eyelids went up in an almost gleeful expression. Moon rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“ You didn’t even quote it right,” He grumbled.

“ Ah it’s close enough!” Bonnie replied, Gregory looked over his shoulder as he heard footsteps heading their way. DJ was returning, he looked less tired than before, but unamused. 

“ Hey Bonnie, I think you should try yelling a bit louder, pretty sure the east side of the building couldn’t hear you,” He told the bunny sarcastically as he sank back into his spot, the spider hurried to him, and he smiled at her as he gently tapped the top of her head. 

“ Ah! All in good time,” the bunny assured as Moon started working on his jaw, “ So! Let’s not waste any of that time and just get on the same page here, we all know the kid’s a runaway,” DJ tensed, his eyes flashed yellow as he glanced at Gregory, then Moon who didn’t look up from his work before glancing back to Gregory who grimaced and hugged his knees tighter. 

“ Okay.  . . and?” DJ trailed off, clearly waiting for a hammer to drop. 

“ and I just wanna say . . . Dibs. ” Bonnie’s jaw started moving with his voice. Moon leaned back to watch while the bunny continued the conversation. 

“ Dibs? Dibs?! What do you mean dibs?!” DJ asked, Bonnie made some funny faces, probably to stretch his jaw but it made Gregory snicker all the same. 

“ I mean dibs on the kid, free real estate, I’m calling dibs,” he clarified, DJ made a staticy sputtering sound.

“ You can’t “call dibs” on a child Bonnie. . . . ‘sides I saw him first,” Gregory made eye contact with Moon confusion filling the boy. The clown rolled his eyes, then started working on something in Bonnie’s neck not at all addressing the boy’s confusion. 

“ That’s where you’re wrong Herbie! I saw him first .” Bonnie made his eyes glance at the wet floor bots next to them. DJ scoffed.

“ That shouldn’t count!” He argued, “ the kid was hiding out in the west arcade , my jurisdiction.”

“ Yeah but you didn’t know he was there! I watched this kid run circles around you!” 

“ Oh yeah? Well I had a name for him even if I didn’t know his face,” the beetle pointed out, Gregory was looking between bug and bunny with his jaw slightly agape like he was watching a pingpong game.

“ I knew the face!” Bonnie insisted.

“ But you didn’t have the name did you!” 

“ Will you two stop fighting over a child like he’s a toy?! You two sound like toddlers,” Moon snapped, “ Also stop trying to move, it keeps messing with what I’m doing,” the bunny blinked at the clown.

“ Sorry . . .” he said sheepishly, then continued with more confidence, “ And you’re right, he’s not the last bowling ball, “ Moon returned to his task.

“ Don’t make the kid choose , that’s not fair to him,” DJ complained.

“ No no, he’s been through enough ,” Bonnie agreed, the boy in question continued to stare dumbfoundedly between them. Were they serious? They couldn’t be serious, why would they want to keep him, it was one thing when it was just DJ who said he just didn’t want to kick Gregory out into the cold but this didn’t sound like just letting him hide out in the plex. This almost sounded like a custody battle, he’d overheard a handful, though they were for his foster siblings and not himself. Gregory’s thoughts were cut off when Moon leaned back again.

“ Okay now try looking around?” Bonnie rolled his neck experimentally.

“ Ah,” He grimaced, “ I don’t mean to complain. . . but. . .” He trailed off, Moon nodded in response.

“ Where specifically does it hurt?” Bonnie grit his teeth and tilted his head to allow better access. Moon tweaked something with his screwdriver and Bonnie relaxed.

“ Thanks,” Moon nodded again, “ anyway I got an idea,” He turned his head to look fully at DJ while Moon moved on. The beetle raised an eyebrow, “ You and I aren’t the only ones fond of him, you may notice Moon here ain't exactly trying to talk us out of keeping him, just arguing over him,” DJ’s eyes shifted from orange to light blue as he glanced at the back of Moon’s head, “ And I’ve been watching all of yall, So I know Freddy and Monty have taken a liking to him. Even if Freddy is trying to deny it to himself.” 

“ No he doesn’t! He said it was stupid to get attached to one kid !” Gregory argued.

“ When did he say that?” DJ asked, eyes shifting back to orange. 

“ Back in rockstar row, after you left, he was calling you reckless cuz you went back down, Gregory tattled, the beetle rolled his eyes in an annoyed manner. 

“ That’s what we in the biz call projecting ,” Bonnie said, one hand coming up and hitting Moon in the face, the bunny retracted his hand suddenly as the clown reared back and held his faceplate, “ Whoops, sorry, didn’t know I had some control of that back,” He offered sheepishly. 

“ You alright?” DJ asked, sounding concerned, Moon glanced at him and Gregory heard a strange humming sound coming from him, like when computers were overheating.

“ Y-Yeah, I’m fine, it was an accident, please don’t try to move,” Moon added returning to his task again, the humming didn’t stop.

“ Anyway, I know my Freddyteddy, and I promise you Pocket, he does not want to send you away, he’s worried about your safety, and he’s afraid of hurting when you're gone. He’s not use to being around one kid for so long either,” Bonnie added as an afterthought, DJ hummed, “ and he’s wee bit jealous ,” 

“ Jealous?! Of what?!” DJ scoffed, The bunny snorted.

“ Of you! Cuz Gregory here tends to listen to you better, now I know it’s because you knew what was going on, and because he’s been hiding out in your old stomping grounds, but Freddy don’t know that! What he knows is he woke up with a kid that was listening to him, then you woke up and now the kid’s running off all the time,” Gregory felt a little guilty, DJ on the other hand, laughed. His eyes green.

“ Jealous of me ?! Oh my god that’s so dumb.”

“ Is it? You were jealous of him an hour ago,” Moon asked, DJ’s eyes turned pink and he made a sputtering sound.

“ No! I wasn’t!” He denied.

“ Hm-hm,” Moon hummed, clearly not believing him, “ Okay you should have your arms now.” Bonnie stretched them over his head and then did jazz hands. Moon nodded, “ Okay, I’m gonna see what I can do for your systems before moving onto your legs,” Moon told him, hesitating “ If that’s okay,” He added, the bunny shrugged.

“ What ever you gotta do Moondrop,” Moon raised an eyebrow at the nickname but didn’t comment, opening the bunny’s chest compartment, “ So I’m free to move around though?” 

“ Yes, just be a little careful, you tend to talk with your hands, and I am right here ,” Moon told him.

“ Sweet, anyway, so my point is all of us like the kid,” Bonnie turned his attention back to DJ, “ So why don’t we all keep him, afterall, what’s the saying? Foxy used to say it a lot, about raising kids?” Bonnie asked, miming snapping his fingers. 

“ Well Foxy would say it takes a crew but the saying is it takes a village ,” Moon supplied, Bonnie pointed at him, which looked silly since Moon was practically in his chest cavity. 

“ That. Imagine how much better it would be if six of us were looking out for this kid, security wouldn’t stand a chance.” DJ seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.

“ Not a bad idea.” The point of the conversation hit Gregory like a ricocheted ping pong ball. They sounded so serious about it but they couldn’t be. That wasn’t possible, Gregory couldn’t accept it. 

“ This. . . . isn’t funny. . . .” he said slowly, all three paused to look at him.

“ Who’s joking?” Bonnie asked, “ I thought we were serious,” He looked to DJ who nodded.

“ I am dead serious , and I can say that because I have been dead,” DJ stated matter of factly, Gregory’s frown deepened, and Moon sent him a look. DJ shrunk in on himself a little, “ Too soon?” 

“ I-I don’t understand what you guys get out of keeping me. . . “ Gregory started, “ The foster parents got a check from the government, but you guys wouldn’t get that. . . so you guys have to be messing with me. .  a-and it’s not funny .” He finished with a huff, there was a tense pause, then the three robots exchanged looks Gregory couldn’t quite read. DJ broke the still silence by shifting closer to the boy, extending an arm to him.

“ Boombox c’mere,” Gregory hesitated, then compiled. DJ pulled him into a hug and just held him. He made the boy feel much smaller than he already felt, “ Not everything is a transaction kid, we don’t get anything out of keeping you, we just care about you and want you around, does that make sense?” He asked, Gregory sniffed and realized he was crying again . He was sick of crying in front of these guys! His face burned

“ No!” He both answered DJ’s question and expressed his frustration. He aggressively scrubbed his face with his hands while curling into a ball as best as he could since he was still in DJ’s lap, trying to hide from them. 

“ Am I doing this wrong?” DJ asked suddenly, Gregory was taken aback at first.

“ No, you’re doing it as well as anyone else could,” Moon answered, “ He’s had a long night, and this conversation is obviously a bit much for him right now. I am honestly looking forward to when I can put him down for a nap.” 

“ I’m not a baby!” GRegory snapped, looking over at the clown who didn’t seem surprised in the slightest by his outburst. He felt DJ’s hand on his back, his thumb gently soothing his shoulders.

“ No one said that, but when did you wake up yesterday?” DJ asked. Gregory sniffed and wiped his eyes again. 

“ I dunno . . .”

“ From what I got from the patpats in your tunnels, he slept four hours then woke up at opening yesterday,” Bonnie supplied.

“ Don’t tell me these things ,” Moon moaned, “ That is the job I was made for and I can’t do it right now! ” Moon turned back to his task, DJ scoffed.

“ Oh no, poor Moonie,” He teased, Moon stiffened but didn’t look at him. Gregory saw a smile on the clown’s face as the humming noise started again. 

“ I think this is the most talkative I’ve seen you . . in person,” Bonnie noted, Moon went rigid, “ No it’s a good thing! You’re funny!” Moon awkwardly laughed, while continuing his work.

“ Uh . . . thanks.”

“ So why,” DJ started to change the subject, “ Didn’t you want Gregory to call me sooner?” Bonnie started to make a humming sound too.

“ oop! my fans are working ha. . . . and I have no idea what your talking about,” He added quickly. 

“ Oh yeah, no, Gregory just decided to casually say he found you after I promised to sneak him back in,” DJ rolled his eyes, “ Bullshit,” 

“ Language.” Moon said without looking up.

“ Damn , nothing gets past you, huh Herbie,” Bonnie laughed.

“ Language .” Moon said again, more sternly.

“ No, not anymore,” DJ agreed, “ Now I probably over analyze everything, but it’s working for me at the moment,” Moon paused in his work and sighed heavily but said nothing. Gregory blinked almost blearily as Bonnie responded. 

“ Look, even my influence has its limits, if it was just me Freddy would tell me no, he’d feel bad about it, but he’d follow the rules. But if it’s the four of us. . . ?” He trailed off to look at Moon who didn’t hesitate to nod, “ Four of us and my added bonus stat of being gone for a week, there's no way he’ll refuse!” 

“ Did you want us to call him, speaking of Freddy?” Moon asked, Bonnie paused.

“ Um. . . let’s get my legs working first? I doubt Freddy will want to give you the working space.  . .” Moon nodded, “so! What’s the plan for the kid?” Bonnie asked, turning back to DJ.

“ Plan? I dunno, I figured . . .” DJ’s voice became white noise as Gregory faded into nothing.

~Pov Shift~

DJ didn’t even notice right away, “ I guess I kinda thought-”

“ Quiet!” Moon’s head snapped towards him, at first DJ sent the jester a glare as he had already told him he didn’t like commands from him. Moon gave him an apologetic look as he pointed to the boy in his arms. DJ glanced down to find he was asleep, face squished against his casing as his chest rose and fell slowly. 

“ Sorry, your voice is very loud , I didn’t want you to wake him,” Moon explained in a whisper, “ Sorry.” DJ raised his gaze back to Moon, about to answer, half instinctively reaching for his voice box volume knob when he remembered it was broken. Instead he used one primary hand and one secondary to sign. 

It’s okay. This time . Moon nodded, turning back to Bonnie, and started working on his legs. 

“ I mean where’s he gonna sleep, how we gonna feed him, he can’t keep wearing that ,” Bonnie pointed at the sleeping boy, “ In fact we should burn it.” 

“ Sun, Moon, DJ, did you find Gregory?” Freddy’s voice came from the fazwatch as well as speaking in DJ’s and Moon’s head. The jester dropped what he was doing and practically dove for the boy, making DJ instinctively press his back against the wall, his free primary hands making to shield the boy while his secondary shielded Soundbyte, only to relax when he realized Moon was diving for the watch. Quickly muting it. The silence was tense for a beat as Gregory stirred but didn’t wake. DJ thought about shoving Moon back, not super thrilled about how fast Moon had invaded his personal space. Though the jester was backing up a bit, his own gaze was still on the boy. He seemed to be a bit of a light sleeper, and the watch practically yelling in his ear had him on the verge of waking up, so instead of signing DJ pinged Moon as he raised they made eye contact.

DJMM: Do we tell him?

Moon responded right away, also pinging, tugging on his ribbons.

DCAM: We have to tell him something . 

“ I realize you two are having a conversation but from where I sit it just looks like you’re staring into each other's eyes and it’s making me uncomfortable.” Moon’s fans kicked on as he turned to glare at Bonnie, DJ fought a snicker.

“ Well now you know how everyone else feels when you and Freddy shamelessly flirt,” the jester hissed. DJ’s speaker made a sound as he fought a laugh. He quickly covered it, his eyes widening a bit as he looked down at the boy who was still asleep. Moon backed up a bit more, realizing how close he had gotten, “ Sorry,” He added. “ DJ could you please ping Freddy while I try to get Bonnie on his feet?” He whispered,  DJ nodded, awkwardly using his one secondary and a primary to push himself up by gripping the wall. Between his leg being very broken, and the boy in his arm it took him a bit longer than he’d like to admit. 

“ Stay still, I have to get this done fast,” Moon told Bonnie who for the first time DJ could recall looked nervous. 

DJMM: Yeah we found him in Bonnie bowl. He’s asleep . 

DJ scooped Soundbyte up and let her perch on his shoulder as he carefully made sure he had his balance. 

“ Try bending this knee,” Moon ordered, Bonnie bent his knee, wincing. 

“ Ah, that’s stiff,” He grunted, Moon made to look at it, “ No it’s fine, it’s hasn’t moved in a week stiff,” Bonnie clarified. 

GRFF: That’s great! The security doors should be open! So Gregory can leave.

“ Let’s just do the other one so I’m in some semblance of one piece,” Bonnie dismissed Moon, who nodded hesitantly. 

DJMM: Yeah I suppose he could. . . . He found Bonnie .  

DJ felt bad dropping a bombshell on the bear like that, but he figured it would distract him from making Gregory leave. 

GRFF: What?! Where?!  

DJMM: Behind Bonnie Bowl.

GRFF: But Vanessa said his AI chip was damaged!

DJMM: Vanessa lied. Moon’s fixing him up now.

GRFF: I’m on my way.

DJ waved to get Moon’s attention then signed with his secondary hand, spelling each word, it took longer but he needed both primary arms to keep balance and hold the boy.

F-r-e-d-d-y i-s o-n h-i-s w-a-y 

Bonnie to DJ’s surprise seemed to understand ASL because he looked more nervous and sunk in on himself.

“ Ooooh boy.”

“ You should take Gregory into the alley so Freddy doesn’t wake him,” Moon whispered, DJ giving him a thumbs up before turning to leave. He could hear Moon helping Bonnie to his feet as he limped towards the lanes of the alley. Finding a seat by the heads of the lanes.A strong surreal sense of deja vu came over him. A week prior he’d been bowling with them in this alley. Granted a different lane, but still. Now he sat there, holding a small child in his arms, another one perched on his shoulder, and currently scuttling down to the seat next to him. It was crazy but he’d adjust, at this rate he was getting good at going with the flow of the river wharfe that was Fazbear Entertainment. 

DJ’s thoughts were cut off by the sound of the attraction’s door opening. Freddy rushed into view, making eye contact with DJ, his gaze darting to the boy in his arms then back to the beetle. Who pointed in the direction of the lanes. Freddy nodded and hurried to the opening DJ assumed Roxy had made in the lanes. He heard Bonnie awkwardly greet the bear as Monty stepped down into the lanes, and made his way towards DJ. Soundbyte retreated back to  the back of one of the chairs, making nervous chime sounds as Monty sat with him.

“ See ya found Moon’s project,” Monty joked as he watched the spider. The beetle frowned, an uncomfortable weight in his code. 

DJMM: Not funny .

“ Why are ya pinging me?” Monty asked, leaning in to look at Gregory, “ He sleeping? Didn’t he hit his head? Should he be sleeping?” DJ shrugged.

DJMM: My volume control is broken, and I don’t know, I assume Moon wouldn’t let him stay asleep if he shouldn’t be sleeping .

Monty hummed, leaning back and looking in the direction Freddy had gone. 

“ Man. . . I don’t wanna make this kid leave,” The gator sighed, DJ raised an eyebrow at him, fighting the smirk that was forming. Bonnie really did have them pegged. Monty glanced at him and misinterpreted the expression on DJ’s face., “ Okay look, the kid’s a pain sometimes, but he’s a good kid . And I got this gut feeling . . . that  we shouldn’t just throw him to the wolves, you know?” Monty explained as well as he could, DJ snorted.

DJMM: Bonnie has a plan.

“  . . . what?” Freddy returned at that moment, helping Bonnie step into the alley. Moon lingered in the shadows, leaning against the frame of the opening, arms crossed as he watched the bear and bunny. Monty grinned, getting to his feet.

“ Bonnie!” He whisper yelled, moving to the rabbit, “ There ya are! I need a hug, man!” Bonnie snorted but obliged the gator.

“ Okay, but be careful, I am oh so delicate right now,” He said in a tone that suggested he was being dramatic, though everyone present knew he was serious. Monty hugged Bonnie, and lifted him up, “ I said careful! ” The bunny cackled, Freddy watched nervously, but chuckled and didn’t stop the gator.

“ It’s good to see you man, we thought we lost ya!” Monty said as he steadied the bunny on his feet, Freddy turned his attention back to DJ and Gregory, the boy still sleeping in his lap. The bear’s brows furrowed slightly but he didn’t say anything, DJ fought to keep a straight face as Freddy looked back to Bonnie, clearly trying to stuff down the jealousy he was feeling. 

“ I know! And Can I just say, you lot are a mess without me,” Bonnie lightly punched Monty’s shoulder.

“ Ah yes, because if anyone could’ve prevented all of this, it was you and you alone ,” Moon deadpanned, the bunny swiveled so sharply to point at the jester he nearly fell over, Monty and Freddy each grabbing an arm to steady him.

“ Hey! You keep that fox grade sass to yourself!” Bonnie snapped to which Moon snorted, rolling his eyes.

“ No. You’ve run rampant for two years, someone has to keep you in line, and obviously Sun’s not gonna do it,” Moon stated, pretending to check his nonexistent nails. The bunny cackled again.

“Ah, I love this side of you Droplet, I can’t believe I finally get to see it first hand,” The bunny turned back to Freddy, DJ wasn’t able to hold back the chuckle in his voice box. It was good to see Moon more comfortable around Bonnie and Freddy. Last time the bug, might themed jester and Bunny were in the same room together Moon had hidden behind DJ. But now here he was, being the snarky fool that up until now, only Monty, Sun and DJ himself knew existed. Moon shifted, his gaze drifting to the bug, probably unintentionally. They made eye contact, and Moon stilled before looking away quickly. Reaching up to untie the knot bun his hat was tied up in. DJ was too far away to tell for sure, but he was pretty certain that Moon’s fans were running. 

Between the noise from Bonnie and Monty and the bright lights of the alley it shouldn’t have surprised DJ that Gregory stirred in that moment. Then the boy whined like a child a bit younger than him would. The bug tilted his head to watch the boy blink up at him.

“ what happened . . .?” He asked, his voice heavy with sleep. 

“ You fell asleep kiddo,” DJ told him, “ Not for long, “ He added “ We got Bonnie on his feet, Freddy and Monty are here,” He filled the kid in, but he was pretty sure the boy wasn’t taking it in. He just groggily stared at him, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. 

“ Look who’s all bright eyed and bushy tailed!” Sun sang suddenly, making DJ jump. Even though common sense said that if Sun was here, in front of him fussing over Gregory. Asking things like “What day is it?” “ Do you remember your name?” then obviously Moon was not here anymore . But DJ still found himself looking over to where he’d last seen the nighttime jester. Unsurprisingly the soot was now empty.

“ Are you hungry? Thirsty?” Sun asked the boy, DJ looked back to see him crouch down in front of him to be more even with the boy. Soundbyte watched the jester curiously. 

“ A little,” Gregory croaked weakly, “What time is it?” He asked. Sun tilted his head slightly, his smile ever present. He snapped his fingers a couple times and DJ was a little surprised to see Monty jump then hurrying up the stairs towards the ice cream bar. 

“ It is. . . “ Sun paused to check his internal clock, “ six forty five!” 

“ The security doors should be open now, you can-”

“I’m gonna stop ya right there Freddyteddy,” Bonnie said, putting a hand on the bear’s shoulder. “ You know this kid has nowhere to go right?”  Freddy blinked in surprise as Monty returned with a bottle of water. He gave it to Sun.

“ Gracias, mi amor,” Sun said, opening the bottle, the gator rolled his eyes. DJ raised an eyebrow at the interaction, Monty noticed and shrugged.

“ I dunno man, I understood gracias ,” he answered DJ’s unspoken question. DJ scoffed, the damage he sustained must be messing with his language systems because he was pretty sure Spanish was one of the languages he had been updated to understand, but that it didn’t really matter in the moment so he didn’t dwell on it.

“ He can’t possibly stay! Staff will begin showing up at any second!” Freddy exclaimed, bringing DJ’s attention back to the conversation between the bear and Bonnie. 

“ So? The daycare’s still gonna be closed, he can stay there with Sun and Moon!” Bonnie gestured to the yellow animatronic still crouched like a frog in front of DJ, making sure Gregory didn’t spill his water. The bug was starting to feel worry tug at his code, the boy was still very out of it. Was that normal? Sun wasn’t acting like it was abnormal, but it didn’t feel normal. 

“ Is he okay?” DJ found himself asking, Sun shrugged, looking up to give him a reassuring smile.

“I mean no? But yes, he’s just very tired , he hasn’t gotten much sleep in the last twenty four hours, he’s malnourished, and dehydrated. . . he could use a shower,” Sun added as an afterthought, gingerly moving the boy’s messy hair out of his face. A small grimace crossed his own as he rubbed his fingers together like some kind of residue had come off the boy’s hair. Gregory didn’t notice, his focus on his water bottle in both of his hands. 

“ M’fine,” He argued, rubbing his eyes again, curling more into a ball as he did. It looked subconscious, like he was cold, and just naturally trying to get closer to the nearest heat source.... which would be DJ at this time. 

“ Oh yes, you are really selling it for me, might even buy your whole stock,” Sun teased, taking the water bottle from him and resealing it. The boy glared while DJ blinked at the strange statement from the jester. It sounded familiar but it didn't sound like something either of the jesters would say. 

“ I don’t know Bonnie,” Freddy sounded conflicted, DJ let his attention shift back to them. 

“ You don’t wanna throw your Spacecub on the street to fend for himself do ya?” Spacecub? That wasn’t the official nickname Freddy gave kids, it was superstar. Had he given the kid a unique petname? DJ supposed he couldn’t judge, he’d been calling him Boombox Now that he thinks about it. . . hadn’t all of them given him a unique nickname. Maybe that was part of how Bonnie could tell they had gotten attached to him. Freddy made a humming sound and looked back at the boy in DJ’s arms. He seemed to be thinking, finally he sighed.

“ There are six of us , and if the last couple weeks have proved anything,” Freddy paused to sigh heavily, “ Security fucking sucks.” Bonnie gave the bear a wide eyed look, a big grin to match. Sun’s head snapped towards the bear, a look of horror on his face. Monty blinked in confusion looking to the bear too.

“ what? Did I miss something?” The gator asked, DJ glanced at Gregory, stuffing his own surprised laugh deep in his voice box. The boy also seemed to miss Freddy’s slip up. If you could call it a slip up. 

“ No, don’t worry about it,” DJ said, Sun sent the bear a side eye as he turned his attention back to the boy. 

“ We should be able to keep him hidden for a while . . .” Freddy trailed off, “ Not certain how long , but at least til we can come up with a better long term solution.” Bonnie was still snickering, but managed to keep himself together enough to press his mussel to the side of Freddy's faceplate. 

“ alright Tracklist, give em up,” Monty snapped DJ’s attention back to him fully, realizing that Sun was trying to take Gregory from him. 

“ Oh, sorry,” He released the boy and let Sun scoop him up. Carrying the less groggy but still not awake child on his hip. Soundbyte chimed as she turned to look at DJ, who wordlessly offered his primary hand, palm up. She wasted no time to scuttle up his arm and to his shoulder. 

“ Since we’re all in agreement that he’s staying,” Sun said as he made sure he had a good hold on Gregory who was closing his eyes again. Was he about to fall asleep again? No, he opened his eyes again, just resting his eyes for a minute DJ supposed, “ We’re gonna take him to lost and found,” Sun turned to Freddy and Bonnie as he spoke, gesturing to Monty with his free hand, who gave a single nod, arms crossed over his chest, “ Let him pick something else to wear besides. . . this, and then take him to the employee showers.” 

“ Good idea, but before you go,” Bonnie said, turning to face the jester, staggering slightly, Freddy put a hand on his shoulder to steady him, “ The plex is open to staff now right? Soo. . . be careful,” Sun nodded.

“ Course, course-”

“ Hey wait yeah, how we gonna explain. . . .” Monty trailed off, pointing between DJ and Bonnie, “ Plus the west arcade is trashed-”

“ Is it?!” DJ asked, straightening slightly, Monty snorted.

“ You landed on a glass railing, and a third of the game cabinets! ” Monty reminded him, “ of course it’s trashed, your original body is still just sitting there!”

“ Oh . . . right, I forgot that happened,” DJ slumped back into his chair, suddenly feeling tired. He was so getting decommissioned after this. For once the thought didn’t fill DJ’s code with dread, just exhaustion. Maybe he was desensitized to it. 

“ Well you have to let the techs see you so they can patch you up in parts and service,” Freddy told DJ with an air of concern. DJ got whiplash from how fast his code went from apathetic to panic.

“ No!” he said a little too quickly, making them all look at him, Gregory seemed to jump in surprise, and he looked more awake as he blinked at DJ. He quickly tried to cover it with a laugh, reaching back to check that he hadn’t upset Soundbyte with his outburst, “ I-I’m good, I don’t need parts and service, “ Bonnie frowned at him.

“ Buddy. . . Vernon is gone,” The bunny reminded him, DJ’s head snapped to him, he wasn’t sure what color his eyes were but they had to be either orange or red from the way Bonnie reared back a little. 

“ Whose Vernon ?” He heard Gregory ask sleepily, Sun dismissed it quietly, and the boy didn’t press. 

“ You don’t need to tell me that. I am well aware.” He said darkly, the hands that were not on Soundbye (who was still perched on his shoulder, watching nervously.) gripped the arms of the chair he sat it so tight the plastic cracked and splintered in his grip. He had to fight his code to remain in the present and not fall into a flashback. The sound of a sickening crack of a neck snapping still echoed in his head despite his efforts

Bonnie held eye contact, it wasn’t a challenge, more like a will to understand, then his expression shifted to a mix of pity and apologetic before he turned away. 

“ RIght well, “ He trailed off awkwardly, “ Let's meet up in the daycare then? Maybe the theater? I don’t see anyone really checking, I mean Monty did when he had the virus but . . “

“ I did?” Monty asked, Sun also blinked in surprise.

“ Oh yeah, you patrolled the daycare more than your own golf course!” Bonnie informed the gator with a teasing air, “ Especially after Sun kicked you out of the elevator.” Monty stared, while Sun tugged at his own frill around his neck uncomfortably. 

“ What?! Why would he- did I-” 

“ The theater sounds like a great place to meet back up, there's a door to our room there so Gregory can rest safely!” Sun interrupted a little too loud. The yellow jester sent the beetle one last concerned look, DJ realized he was still gripping his seat and forced himself to let go and smiled weakly at him.

“ I’m good.” He said as quietly as his broken volume would allow, something in his code telling him the concern was stemming from Moon. He then pointedly turned his attention to the spider on his shoulder so he didn’t have to look at the jester anymore. There was a pause much longer than DJ would have liked before Sun turned away.

“ So why lost and found? Why not just snag something from the gift shop?” Monty asked as he followed the jester towards the exit, DJ let his gaze go back to them so he could watch them go. 

“ If I have to I will but I don’t want to, they’ll notice it’s missing when they do inventory! And I already pushed it with the totes I snagged-”

“ Wait, you actually shoplifted?! And I MISSED IT!? ” Soundbyte chimed on DJ’s shoulder, DJ pulled her off so he could hold her in his primary hands.

“ You’re probably tired too huh Princess?” He cooed at her, She hugged her monkey and shook her head defiantly, making his snicker. 

“ So! Should we start heading towards the daycare? Since between me and him it’s gonna take us a while,” Bonnie said, gesturing between himself and DJ. Freddy nodded.

“ Yes, we should,” Freddy agreed. DJ sighed heavily and got up, returning soundbyte to her preferred perch on his shoulder. 

“ I better grab the extension cord Moon gave me first, he says he replaced my damaged battery with a smaller one so I need to charge more often now,” he explained as he headed towards the stage beside the ice cream booth and the charging station beyond it.

Chapter Text

Gregory started to wake up a bit more as the elevator doors opened, he wondered why the lights hadn’t gone out.

“ Oh that stops happening after six,” Sun informed him when he voiced this. 

“ Oh yeah. . . . “ Monty hummed, “ Bummer, I kinda wanted to check in on yer brother real quick.” Sun smiled at him.

“ Awe you’re a softie deep down! I can swap really quick,” he said before Moon took over. He sighed deeply, like he was tired.

“ What do you want?” He deadpanned, Monty gestured to Bonnie Bowl. 

“ You two good now or . . .?” he asked, Moon turned to look over his shoulder at the attraction before following Monty to the escalator. 

“ Yes. . . I think so. . . . It will take time but we will be okay.  I’m just worried about him. I think he’s operating under the assumption he’s going to be decommissioned. . .” Moon explained, Gregory looked back at the attraction over Moon’s shoulder as they descended the steps. Wondering why .

“ To be fair he’s been running on that thought process for like two weeks,” Monty told him, Moon released a breath.

“ Y-Yes but there was still some self preservation before. . . now. . . . I’m worried is all,” He said again, “ I want to help him and I don’t know if I can-” They stopped in front of the elevator. Monty wrapped an arm around the clown, hand on his shoulder.

“ Hey, you have your own stuff too and he knows it,” The gator assured him, Moon nodded but didn’t look like he took comfort in this. 

“ He’s online, he’s moving, talking, and he doesn’t hate me. . . so  I’ll take the wins where I can get them?” Moon sounded unsure. 

“ That’s the spirit,” Monty shook him a little, Moon gave a weak smile.

“ I’m gonna go now. . . . I need to think and process everything that’s happened in the last few hours. . .” Moon said, Monty gave him a concerned look but nodded, “ Have Sun get me if you need me.” Sun took back over and pressed his faceplate to the side of the gator’s, catching him off guard. 

“ Ah! Ya little!” Monty grinned at the jester who giggled as he took a step back out of the gator’s grasp, “ you’re lucky you're holding the runt! Or you would get it!” Gregory giggled a bit himself as the elevator doors opened. Sun stepped into it.

“ Whaaaaaat? But I’ve done nothing! I’m just a ray of sunshine!” Sun insisted innocently, spinning his rays, leaning his head to the side as he did so they didn’t hit the boy in his arms.

“ Oh yer a ray of something alright,” Monty said evenly as he crossed his arms, the doors closing behind them. Sun giggled again.

“ Awe is Mi caimán bajito upset?” Sun asked in a teasing voice. Monty’s tail swished despite his annoyed growling. 

“ You know I wasn’t programmed to understand Spanish or French , I know your brother can hear me! You both do it and it drives me nuts!” The gator vented, Gregory looked at the laughing clown in surprise.

“ You guys know three languages?” the boy asked, Sun shrugged in response.

“ Actually I speak well over 1,000,” Sun told him, “ I just happen to favor spanish, and german. Moon favors French and ASL.”

“ Does ASL count? Monty asked with disbelief. The elevator doors opened. 

“ I believe the L stands for Language, does it not? “ Sun asked as they stepped out, Gregory leaned back in the clown’s hold.

“ Can I walk?” He asked, Sun made to set him down, but Monty put a hand on the jester’s arm to stop him.

“ Ya gonna run this time?”

“ No, promise,” He made an X motion over his chest, this seem to satisfy the gator who removed his hand. Sun set him down on his feet, the boy started down the steps of the escalator. Stopping when he heard Monty start chuckling. 

“ Ahha! Ya fool! Now yer done for!” He turned to see Monty capture Sun around the middle in his arms. He started to press his snout anywhere he could reach. The clown squealed and laughed.

“ Noo! Not in front of Gregory!!” Sun laughed, pushing the gator’s snout away. He practically bent in half to look at Gregory, then his gaze fell on something behind the boy. His smile vanished, “ Wait a second. . . “ His head rotated so it was upright while he remained in half in the gator’s arms.

“ What’s wrong?” Monty asked, letting Sun go, the clown straightened and turned full towards the lobby.

“ It’s seven Am. . . “ Sun said slowly.

“ Yeah and?” Monty asked, Sun glanced at him, then pointed.

“ The security doors are still down. . .” Gregory turned, sure enough just past the Freddy Statue he could see the metal shutters still over the doors. 

“ But Freddy said they went up at six,” Gregory recalled, Sun and Monty stood next to him. 

“ They’re supposed to. . .” 

“ Vanessa must’ve put the whole building on lockdown. . .” Sun sounded scared, he tugged on his ribbons.

“ She can just do that?! I thought that was a program !” Gregory started to freak out at seeing Sun stress about it, Monty released a breath, and put a hand on both Sun’s shoulder, and atop Gregory’s head. 

“ It’s fine, just means the staff can’t get in, so we don’t have to sneak around,” He offered, Sun didn’t seem comforted by this, Monty quickly squatted down to bite on Gregory’s shirt again and stood up. Continuing down the steps, “ It’s a failsafe, incase we all go nuts at the same time, we’re pretty advanced so it keeps us from getting out,” Monty explained, talking with his hands while Gregory kicked uselessly at the air. Sun quickly caught up and all but ripped Gregory out of Monty’s mouth. Setting him back down on the floor as they approached the gated off information area. Monty easily broke the lock and slid the door open.

“ If Vanessa activated it, then every door is locked until she shuts it off!” Sun fretted, “ No staff or guests get in and you can’t get out!”

“ I said that already,” Monty reminded him as they walked around the counter, “ Sides I thought we were keeping him? He don’t need to go outside, sunshine is overrated,” Sun gave him a look, then chose to ignore the last remark. 

“ We are keeping him, but what if something happens and he needs to get outside ,” Sun placed a hand atop Gregory’s head as they came to a stop outside lost and found.

“ Like what?” Monty asked.

“ I don’t know. . . what if the building catches fire?”

“ The building is not gonna catch fire Cher,” The Gator deadpanned.

“ But it could ,” The jester emphasized his point by pointing at Monty who sighed. 

“ Would it make ya feel better if I ping the others while you get the kid sorted?” He asked, Sun answered with a sigh of his own.

“ Honestly? No, but it’s not like we can do anything else about it,” Sun tugged on his ribbons, Monty reached out and gently rubbed the clown’s arm soothingly.

“ Theres six of us now, and four of them-”

“ Four?” Gregory questioned, Monty nodded, turning his attention to him.

“ Yes, four , I’m counting that endo thing, it’s popped up far too frequently to not count it . . . kinda surprised we haven't seen it,” Monty added as if in thought.

“ Don’t jinx it! ” Sun hissed, hands moving to his rays but the gator quickly caught them in his own and lowered them away from his head.

 “ My point is, we outnumber them,” He said in a reassuring tone, “ And who are the strongest animatronics in this building again?” 

“ in order of strongest to weakest, or alphabetically or by age-”

“ Whatever you want babe,” Monty interrupted, Sun released a breath, thinking.

“ Um well, Moon and I, then DJ, then you ,” Monty grinned a little, “ Roxy, Bonnie, Chica, Freddy,” Sun finished his list, the gator nodded.

“ Yeah and sure they got Roxy but the other one is Chica .”

“What about the endo?” Gregory asked, Sun’s hands tightened their hold on Monty’s.

“ DJ did seem to struggle with it-”

“ DJ is damaged Cher, he’s a tough S.O.B, but he’s still missing a whole ass arm!” Monty exclaimed, Sun sighed, pulling a hand free and holding up a single finger. 

“ Language,” He said, then held up a second finger, “ And still he managed to get it off him, but he struggled .”

“ Didn’t you tackle it Monty? In Fazerblast?” Gregory asked, the Gator turned fully to him, bending down a bit as he grinned.

“ Oh so ya did see that? Pretty badass right?” 

“ Monty ,” Sun groaned. 

“ Pretty cool right?” The gator said in the same tone. 

“ Yeah! It was like an action movie, especially when you two went off the ledge!” Gregory could almost see the processors in the gator and the clown buffer for a second. Sun slowly looked to the back of the gator’s head. 

“ off the ledge ?” He echoed. Monty straightened, turning to him.

“ Okay ledge makes it sound higher than it was,” he defended, Sun just stared at him with a look a disbelief, then it shifted to alarm.

“ DJ did what?! Oh sorry that was suppose to stay inside,” Sun covered his mouth as soon as the outburst came out.

“ What did DJ do?” Monty asked eagerly, clearly wanting to distract Sun, who sighed.

“ Jumped off the ledge into the ballpit in the daycare-”

“ What?” Gregory grinned, trying to imagine it, “ awesome!” 

“ Not awesome, he could have been damaged,” Sun argued. Monty laughed.

“ DJ Music Man, more like DJ Mad man when did he do that?” he asked.

“ Sunday,” 

“That tracks. Alright nough wasting time,” Monty pushed the door to lost in found, “ I’ll ping the others, let them know about the door situation.” The first thing Gregory spotted was a Roxy plush though he wasn’t excited about it being a Roxy plush. He still rushed forward and snagged it off the tote it sat on. Curse his kleptomaniac ways.

“ Fan of Roxy?” Monty asked, sounding amused.

“ No, especially not with her chasing me, but I guess she’s my best friends favorite, so,” 

“Oooh! You have a friend?” Sun asked, 

“ Ouch Sunny,” Monty scoffed, to which Sun’s pupils shrunk in horror.

“ That is not what I meant! I just, you didn’t mention a friend earlier, I am so sorry Sunshine-”

“ It’s okay,” Gregory sighed, “ I dunno if she’s my friend still, I haven’t talked to Cassie since I ran away-”

“ Cassie?” Sun perked up, “ Wait Cassie as in Cassie Searby?” he asked in surprise, Gregory blinked.

“ Yeah. . . I guess you probably would know her, her Dad works here,”

“ Yes as a technician,” Sun agreed, “ I’ve met him. .  I used to watch her. . .  Wow  . . . small world.  . . “ He mused, “ Were you hoping to see her again? Is that why you want the Roxy toy?” 

“ No. . . I couldn’t talk to her even if she came by, she would’ve told on me, she likes to follow rules. . .I just figured, I grabbed a Freddy plush earlier, so might as well,” Gregory opened his bag and held up said plush, “ You said if I found them I could keep them right?” He added uncertaintly turning to Monty who was now leaning on the door they came from. The gator nodded. 

“ Hey wait a minute, where's the Moon one?” Monty asked, Gregory sighed.

“ I left it in Chica’s room on accident earlier,” The boy lamented.

“ By accident,” Sun corrected, “ I can ask Freddy to grab it for you,” He added. Gregory nodded, then looked around the room. Lost and found was small, just big enough for the two animatronics to stand in the room without being crowded. Sun started going through one of the two totes next to some coat rods with shirts hanging on them. Monty crossed his arms, his tail thumping lazily next to him. Gregory stuffed the Roxy plush into his backpack with the Freddy one before moving to the pile of clothes on the floor. All of it were shirts.

“ Hm. . .” Sun hummed in disappointment. 

“ What’s up Sunflower?” The gator asked.

“ I shouldn’t be surprised that I’m not finding sleepwear,” The clown mused. 

“ Why would I need sleepwear?” Gregory asked. 

“ Because you’re taking a nap. ” Sun stated, leaving no room for argument. Gregory tried anyway though.

“ I don’t need a nap! I just woke up!” 

“ After what? Five minutes? A doze really, you’re taking a proper nap,” Sun turned back to Gregory, observing him for a moment, “ May I scan you for your hight?” He asked, the boy blinked in surprise.

“ Uh . . . sure?” He still winced as the blue light scanned over him.

“ Got it, be right back,” Monty stepped away from the door so Sun could go through it, but he stuck one arm out to make the clown pause.

“ Wait are you shoplifting again?! I wanna see!” Monty’s tail seemed to wag as he grinned, Gregory raised an eyebrow. He thought only dogs wagged their tails. 

“ There's nothing to see Monty, I’m gonna grab one of the pajamas in Glamrock gifts,” Sun pointed in the direction the gift shop would be in beyond the walls of lost and found, “ and that’s it, I don’t like it, but the Sunbeam cannot sleep in pants!”

“ I do it all the time!” Gregory protested.

“ Bup bup bup!  No more, pajamas,” Sun held up a finger towards Gregory to shush him.

“ But it’s you taking off a shelf without paying for it, “ Monty grinned. 

“ Well I would if I could, but they don’t pay us”

“ Just use Fazbucks,” Monty suggested, Sun snorted, then patted himself down. 

“   Oh would you look at that, I am fresh out. Now help him find something for tomorrow!” Sun huffed, as he left Lost and Found. Gregory frowned. 

“ Aren’t the pajamas in glamrock gifts all onesies?” He asked, Monty turned to him. 

“ Yep.” he confirmed, moving to the box Sun was sifting through.

“ Those are for babies!” the boy whined. 

“ Isn’t that what you is?” Monty asked in a teasing voice, he chuckled at the boy’s glaring, “ It’s fine! If yer really self conscious about it just grab one of these other shirts to wear over the top half, Lord knows it’s cold enough.” He suggested, Gregory sighed heavily.

“ Fiiiiiiiiine,” He returned to sifting through the pile. He settled on a blue shirt with Freddy’s name on it. It was thin but still a long sleeve. 

“ Ah! Here we go!” Gregory looked over to see Monty holding up a green shirt with his own name on it. He sent the gator a deadpanned look. 

“ Really?” He asked, Monty looked offended.

“ What? It’s a good shirt!” The boy rolled his eyes, standing up to look into the tote himself.

“ Nothing! But everyone is gonna think your my favorite!” 

“ Ya mean I’m not ?” At first Gregory felt panic stab his heart. He went still as he tried to think of what to say, Monty patted his head, “ Relax Runt, I’m kidding,” He assured, tossing the shirt over his shoulder so it hung off him. Allowing him to use both hands to continue sifting through the box. “ Ta be honest I was under the impression DJ was yer favorite since ya’ve been so worried about him since I woke up. I didn't take it personally.” He added quickly, “ It’s kinda cool to see another kid so taken with him.”  Gregory felt his face heat up. 

“ DJ’s cool and all but he’s not my favorite,” Gregory struggled for a minute.

“ Take yer time, we got plenty to spare.” Monty pulled out a red shirt with black shapes with seven points. 

“ I like that one,” Gregory mumbled.

“ It’s a Roxy shirt. . . I think? It’s called star shirt ,” Monty informed him,  hanging it on his shoulder with his name shirt. 

“ I think I just felt bad because he wouldn’t have been shutdown if I hadn’t-” Monty interrupted the boy.

“ You didn’t know that Vanessa was gonna come around, “ He told him, “ It wasn’t your fault.” Gregory almost felt like he stalled, “ You okay?” Monty asked, turning fully towards him when the boy didn’t move or answer. After another pause Gregory laughed weakly.

“ Earlier you- well not you, but technically you . . you got really mad when DJ shut down. . .” Monty sighed, but didn’t interrupt, “ you said I permanently shut him down, and. . “

“ I. . . Well I’m sorry. . . I don’t remember that, but you do, so I'm sorry, it’s not your fault, you’re not the only one who was there, wasn’t Freddy there? Wasn’t Sun there,  hell I know DJ was there ,” Monty listed off, “ Okay?” Gregory nodded slowly, reaching into the tote to pull out a purple shirt, he opened it and saw Roxy’s name on it.

“ How many shirts do you guys get?” Gregory asked.

“ One each I think, accept Freddy, he’s got three, but I mean, his name on the building so,” Monty shrugged.

“ So how come Roxy gets two?” Gregory pointed to the red shirt, Monty pulled it off his shoulder and held it up.

“ Hey yeah? What the hell? That’s not fair, I want two shirts!” 

“That’s not a Roxy shirt,” Sun had returned, he was holding an orange freddy themed Onesie. 

“ It’s not? But it’s got her star on it,” Monty held it up for Sun to see, the clown sighed heavily like someone who was trying to not get mad.

“ It’s not her star. It was Foxy’s star first.” Sun said simply, “ It was painted over his left eye,” he gestured to his own, “ When they decommissioned him, they took his name off the shirt.” Sun took the shirt and examined it himself. He almost sounded bitter. Then he sighed and draped it over Monty’s shoulder with the gator’s shirt. 

“ You find what you were looking for?” Monty asked, clearly wanting to change the topic. Sun’s mood changed instantly.

“ Yes! Here, Gregory, I know Freddy is your favorite character from the show ,” Sun emphasized the end of his sentence before Gregory could protest, “ So I grabbed you these!” He held up the pajamas. 

“ Thanks,” Gregory opened his bag, “ I dunno if all these clothes will fit in the backpack,” He added, Sun hummed while  Monty looked around the room. He found a green duffle bag and  flipped it upside down, emptying it’s contents on the hard floor. It had mostly Chica gear in it, as well as sketchbooks and coloring paper. Gregory flinched when a tablet fell out of the duffle bag and hit the floor with a loud crack.

“ Ah shit I didn’t realize that was in there,” Monty lamented, Sun knelt down and picked it up gingerly, it powered on, cracks spiderwebbed the screen, making it difficult to read the name that popped up. Cassidy Bailey . Sun frowned, then sighed heavily.

“ Well. . . it’s not like she needs it anymore. . .” he offered weakly. Monty scoffed.

“ oh that’s dark,” 

“ I know.” He then stood up while Gregory looked confused between them.

“ Why is it dark? Why won’t she need it? Did she get fired?” he asked, Sun and Monty exchanged a look before Sun looked back at him with a smile.

“ Let’s not dwell on that, and just get back to the task at hand.” Sun set the tablet carefully on the desk like it was a precious artifact instead of a broken tablet, “ So we got some clothes?” He turned back to Monty, who shrugged.

“ We got some shirts, but no pants,” Monty told him, Sun moved back to the totes while Monty started putting shirts into the duffle bag. The clown moved the top tote out of the way and opened the one under it. He immediately pulled out a pair of pants identical to the ones Monty was designed to wear. The gator turned to him.

“ Wow, just gotta make me look like a liar.”

“ You make it easy Mi amor, “ Sun retorted, tossing him the pants. Monty caught them and folded them to put them in the duffle bag. Sun also pulled out a pair of Pink, orange and yellow pants. The colors bleeding into each other, Chica’s signature was at the cuffs, “ Oooh I didn’t know Chica had pants,” He tossed that one to Monty too. He pulled out a final pair of Magenta pants, they bled into a deep blue at the knees, there was a purple stripe down either side, Gregory quickly recognized as Bonnie’s design. Sun tossed those to Monty too.

“ That should do, let me see if I can find some socks.” He actually managed to find a good chunk of themed socks. One for each character, excluding DJ. 

“ How come there's no DJ merch?” Gregory asked suddenly, Sun and Monty both shrugged in time with each other even though neither were looking at the other. 

“ He got a fizzyfaz flavor,” The gator offered.

“ Yeah I believe it’s called Bass blasting berry ,” Sun agreed.

“ That’s a stupid name,” Gregory said, peeking into the boxes and finding a purple plaid like shirt with the pizza plex logo on it. 

“ Oh yeah? What great name idea do you have?” Monty asked as the boy handed him the shirt to put in the duffle bag.

“ I dunno. . . Techno Cooler ? ” he suggested, Monty scoffed.

“ Boo!” He teased, Sun threw a balled up pair of Moon socks at the back of his head.

“ Hey! Don’t discourage a child’s creativity,” Sun scolded. 

“ Yeah!” Gregory agreed with a grin. Monty shook his head. 

“ Alright, fine, let’s get this kid to the showers huh?” Monty zipped the bag up and hung it on his shoulder. It looked like a slightly large purse for the gator and made the boy giggle, “ What?” He asked.

“ Nothing.” Sun ruffled Gregory’s hair before they left lost and found. They decided against the staff tunnels and to go through the Atrium, since it was well lit and they would be able to see anything trying to sneak up on them. The elevator ride was uneventful, when the doors opened Monty poked his head out, He held up a hand to silently tell them to stay. Sun pulled Gregory behind him as a voice called out from the Atrium.

“ Where Are you?!. . . Monty!” The gator shifted his stance so he blocked the elevator entrance completely, leaning on the frame with one arm. Hand on his hip.

“ Hey Roxy, ya find that kid yet, Little miss I am the best ,” He asked casually, Gregory gripped Sun’s poofy pants as he hid himself a bit more. He felt Sun place a hand on his shoulder. 

“ No, have you?” Roxy asked in an accusatory tone, Gregory couldn’t see her past Monty, he didn’t want to see her. He hid his face in Sun’s pantleg. As long as he was behind Sun and Monty she couldn’t see him right? Freddy said her vision had limits, “ Are you even looking, you lazy handbag, or are you too busy looking for the clown still-”

“ Jester .” Monty corrected, Gregory blinked and looked up at Sun.

“ What’s a jester?” He whispered, Sun glanced at him, then gestured to himself, “ That doesn’t answer my question.” Sun put a finger to his mouth. Later . The boy peeked past Sun at Monty, who had raised his voice slightly to talk over Gregory so Roxy wouldn’t hear him.

“ and I already talked to him, it was just a misunderstanding-”

“ Misunderstanding? More like you being whipped and letting him get away with whatever he wants!” Roxy snapped, Monty growled, it was low. A warning, “ If he were my partner I’d have put him in his place a long time ago!” The gator's tail flicked irritably. 

“ Well. . .” Monty started slowly. His snarl clear in his voice, “ It’s a good thing he’s mine. Aint. it.”   Roxy scoffed.

“ Oh yeah, I’m sure that works out great for him, but the rest of us are trying to get a job done and you’re letting him get away with crap for god knows what reason, he’s a fugly piece of shit-”

“ This is coming from a gal that looks like a drowned rat right now?” Monty asked, Sun’s eyes went wide and he put a hand to his mouth. 

“ Fuck you .” Roxy snapped, Monty shrugged.

“ I’m just saying, maybe you should hit up your salon, though I doubt a touch up is gonna do ya any favors-” There was the sound of metal on metal and Gregory saw Monty’s head snap to the side. Gregory had seen the motion enough times to know Monty had just been slapped. He hid his face into Sun’s pant leg again. 

“ Go jump in the disposal you stupid lizard! You don’t know anything ! “ Roxy shouted, sounding like she was starting to cry, then her footsteps ran away. Monty released a breath.

“ She’s gone, “ He said, Sun moved to him.

“ Are you alright?” He asked, examining Monty’s face, the gator grimaced and waved the clown- jester off. But his tail wagged.

“ I’m fine Sunflower, let’s get going before someone else comes along” Monty pulled away and started for the escalator. Sun turned to Gregory and offered his hand, the boy hesitated then took it, letting Sun lead him along. 

“ You did really good at not losing your temper,” Sun offered, “ She was clearly trying to trigger you.” Monty released a breath.

“ Yeah, well. . . I don’t feel great about what I said to her, but I needed her to leave, and like you said she was pissing me off. “

“ Your not lazy, she just doesn’t understand-”

“ What? No- its what she said about you ,” Monty turned to Sun as they reached the Foodcourt, “ Why is she so much meaner , she never had a problem with you, or us before!” Sun sighed as they reached the dingy elevator. 

“ It’s the virus mi amor,”  Sun explained softy as they entered the elevator downstairs. He used his free hand to take Monty’s, “ You saw how it affected Moon right?” 

“ Kinda. . . didn’t realize he had one at the time but yeah.” He mumbled.

“ I’m sure she’ll come out of it in due time,” Sun tried to assure him, Monty was quiet as the doors opened. After a hesitant pause Sun turned to Gregory, “ Let’s get you to the showers huh Sunshine?” Sun gently pulled the boy along when the doors opened again. Sending a worried look at Monty over his shoulder as they walked the halls. The gator didn’t say anything. When they made it to the showers Sun set the pajamas aside, looking around the space.

“ Okay, I’m gonna go to the laundry area and see if I can find some towels, do you need help with shower controls?” Gregory looked into one of the showers at the knob. It was a single knob set up. Left side colored blue, right colored red.

“ I think I can figure it out,” He said turning back to Sun, who nodded, Monty caught Sun’s wrist as he passed.

“ See if someone left soap in their locker while your at it?” The gator suggested, Sun snapped his fingers and pointed at him.

“ Yes! Thank you, great idea, keep look out?” Monty released Sun, crossing his arm as he sat on the edge on one of the benches. Gregory looked into the shower, it had been a long time since he took a shower, DJ said six months? But he recalled starting the shower before undressing so the water was comfortable by the time he stepped in. So he reached across the tile floor and hesitantly tried to turn the knob with one hand. The knob wouldn’t turn, Gregory groaned, and stepped fully into the shower.

“ Need help?” Monty asked.

“ No! The knob is just stuck!” Gregory called back as he tried using both hands to turn the knob. He heard Monty stand up and move closer. 

“ Sounds like you might need help,” He heard Monty say from right behind him. Gregory looked up at the gator who was holding the curtain back. Leaning against the opening frame.

“ No! I Got-” The knob gave way suddenly and Gregory was doused in cold icy water. The boy yelped and stumbled back, nearly slipping on the lip of the shower. Monty grabbed him by the back of his soaked shirt. 

“ Woah! Look at that, ya got it!” Monty offered, trying to hide his laughter. But he wasn’t trying very hard.

“ Shut up!” Gregory snapped, his face burning. Monty steadied him, looking back at the shower. Steam was now coming out in a thick cloud.

“ Okay, hold on a second let me just,” Monty reached in and turned the knob back, he waited a couple seconds, “ Stick your hand in, tell me what you think?” Gregory hesitated, then did. He retracted it just as quickly as he stuck it in. It didn’t hurt but it wasn’t pleasant, “ Okay, too hot,” Monty turned the knob a little more, “ now?” Gregory stuck his hand in again, this time it was too cold. But not unbearable, warmer than rain. 

“ That’s good,” He mumbled, Monty raised an eyebrow.

“ Your face doesn’t match your words,” he pointed, “ Ya sure? I can adjust it, my hand is on the knob. Right now.” 

“ A . .  little to the right? Maybe? It’s not a big deal though-” Monty adjusted the knob just a hair.

“ Now?” Gregory awkwardly tested it again. 

“ yeah, thanks, sorry.” 

“ Don’t be sorry kid,” Monty retracted his hand, shaking the water off. There was an awkward pause.

“ Can um. . . you turn around so I can. . . take this off?” Gregory asked, pulling at his soggy shirt. Monty blinked, then turned rubbing the back of his neck.

“ Right! Right! I forgot, sorry,” He admitted, moving back to the bench. He sat down his back still to Gregory. The boy quickly ditched his now soggy clothes and stepped carefully into the shower. The warm water was a shock at first, but he relaxed as it washed over him. He caught a smell akin to a wet dog as his hair became drenched but he ignored it. He felt exhaustion start to weigh him down, closing his eyes. He briefly wondered if he could fall asleep standing up. 

“ Gregory? Sunshine, I got some . . .” Gregory jumped at the sound of Sun’s voice, blinking a couple times as he turned to the curtain.“ 3 in 1 body wash! Stick your hand out for it okay?” Gregory did.

“ Thanks,” He called back, looking at the bottle. It was one of those manly brands with guys who broke down walls while riding bears. He squeezed some into his hand, and had to resist the urge to play with the goop instead of scrubbing it into his hair. He heard Sun address Monty beyond the curtain. 

“ Are you okay? You’ve been quiet,” Monty didn’t respond right away.

“ Is Moon awake?” He asked.

“ He’s in rest mode, he’s . . . been dealing with a lot,” Sun explained.

“ So no?” Monty sounded a little exasperated.

“ No.” Sun answered, there was a pause, then Monty sighed heavily. 

“ It’s this virus, I. . . the kid mentioned something I said to him. . . when I had it. . . and I don’t remember saying it but I believe I did, and I know Moon doesn’t remember what happened when he had it, and Roxy. . . she probably won’t  remember being such a- Look there's several hours I can’t account for and what the kid said, and what happened to DJ I gotta know . . .  did I ever hurt ya?” Sun didn’t answer him, Gregory stilled, listening hard, soap and water starting to pool in the not very effective drain. “ Sunny, Cher, I just need to know, I can handle it, am I the reason you were in the lighthouse like that-” 

“ No,” Sun answered with no hesitation, “ A bunch of defective staffbots did that,  you didn’t hurt me. . .” Sun trailed off, 

“ but .” Monty predicted, Sun made a weak whine sound.

“ But. . . “ He sighed, “ You- I think you wanted to? You did threaten me. . .b-but I - I dodged you! A-and despite the Moon situation DJ let me stay in the arcade because you were waiting for me,” 

“ You were scared of me. . .” Monty concluded. 

“ But you weren’t yourself Monty, that was. . . not you,” Sun insisted. There was another pause.

“ I’m so. . . sorry Sunflower,” Monty sighed.

“ It’s okay Monty really, I’m fine-”

“ No it’s not! especially since your stupid programing wouldn’t let ya stop me if I had gotten my hands on you, I-” 

“ Monty.” Sun sounded serious, “ I’m fine. Do you know how many aggressive parents I’ve had to bob and weave around before you came along? Both me and Moon, because for a long time Moon couldn’t act aggressively either. He was only allowed to start doing that two weeks ago, remember?” 

“ Yeah. . . I love ya Cher, I can’t imagine a world where-” 

“ Stop, it doesn’t matter because I’m fine, you're fine, everything is okay, I love you too . .” Sun added, “ Gregory it’s rude to eavesdrop and you’re probably pruning,” Gregory blinked then looked at his hands, sure enough they looked like raisins. He turned the knob off.

“ Sorry. . .” 

“ It’s okay, it wasn’t exactly the best setting for that kind of talk. . . just don’t make a habit of it.” Once the water stopped Sun handed the towel through the curtain, letting Gregory wrap it around himself. Once he stepped out Sun revealed he had a second towel and quickly tossed it over the boys head. Drying his hair with mock aggression, “ Oh no! Monty a ghost is here!” The gator snorted, “ What have you done with Gregory ghost!” The boy laughed and pushed Sun away.

“ Stop it, I’m not a little kid!” He exclaimed, despite his grin. The towel on his head fell to lay around his shoulders. Sun’s smile faltered slightly, he took a knee and gently tipped the boy’s chin up. Examining his right cheek. He traced something with his thumb.

“ Would you like a new band aid?” He spoke with caution, like he was uncertain if he was talking to a bomb or a child. Gregory’s eyes widened a fraction, he slowly raised his hand to his cheek where his bandaid should have been only to feel the small bump of a scar in its place, “ Hey, we can get you a new one once you're dressed okay?” Gregory almost numbly nodded. Sun got back to his feet, tapping Monty to remind him to turn around so Gregory could get dressed into the pajamas that sat on the bench.

“ Is he bleeding? What did I miss?” Monty asked Sun quietly.

“ Another time. Not now.” He heard Sun hiss back. He found himself repeatedly touching his scar as he pulled the pajamas on and zipped them up. 

“ Okay, I’m decent ,” Gregory said as he pulled the Freddy shirt over his head. The animatronics turned to him. Sun offered his hand again, and Gregory took it without thought or hesitation. 

“ Okay! Let’s get going then, I’m sure there's a first aid in the-” There was a loud crash of something being knocked over in the distance. 

“ Gregory~ Where are you~”  Chica’s voice called through the halls, Gregory didn’t realize he’d tried to hide himself in Sun’s pant leg again until Sun pulled his hand free of the boy’s grip so he could move it to his shoulder. The jester and gator exchanged looks.

“ What should we do?” Sun hissed, Monty watched the door.

“ I could break her?” He suggested, Sun glared.

“ Do not , she’s not herself right now!” he whispered. Gregory looked up at them, his hand fisted in the yellow fabric.

“ I saw her earlier, and she was like crying, I think it hurts her, the virus, I dunno why it affects her differently though.”

“ Might have something to do with the fact that it’s making her eat literal trash?” Monty suggested in a tone that said he was joking, Sun however hummed.

“ Actually… maybe,” He mused.

“ If we had that tablet maybe I could delete the virus,” Gregory pointed out, Monty hummed.

“ The Marketing offices aren’t far,” He whispered, Sun blinked.

“ No! Get the idea out of your head, we’re not gonna do that with Gregory here, it’s too risky-”

“Your parents want you to follow me,” She sounded even closer, Gregory involuntarily whimpered. 

“ Oh like hell we do,” Sun muttered, Monty’s jaw dropped as he looked at Sun over his glasses, “ what?”

“ You just said hell ,” Monty grinned, Sun blinked in confusion, then covered his own mouth. 

“ I didn’t mean to, it slipped out!” he tried to explain, the gator chuckled.

“ Yeah, they do that, and once one slips out the dam’s broken, you’ll be cursing like a sailor now.”

“ Oh shut up.” Sun deadpanned, Monty took a side step so he could point dramatically at the jester.

“ See! It’s happening!” Gregory giggled as Sun smacked his hand away, rolling his eyes. A door opened.

“ Our friendly security staff can help,” Sun lifted Gregory up as heavy footsteps moved closer, and ducked into one of the unused showers. Monty almost begrudgingly followed him into the small space and shut the curtain. The space was so small that even with Sun’s back pressed into the corner and Monty against the opposite wall there was still barely a foot between them. Gregory leaning into Sun’s chest as Chica’s footsteps moved even closer.

“ I mean I can totally take her,” Monty whispered, “ I had to in Fazerblast earlier.”

“ Stop it .” 

“ Who wants Candy~” The voice was so close that all three of them jumped, Monty was more noticeable though as it caused him to slip, he had to prop his foot on the opposite wall to keep from falling on the floor. It still made a crack sound though. There was a tense beat of silence. Then the same broken cries and groans Gregory heard Chica make earlier filled the air. Sun and Monty blinked in surprise at each other before Sun peeked out the curtain at her. She was holding her head with one hand and her stomach with the other. Then Chica’s head did a 360, Sun closed the curtain in a panic again, his eyes wide. After another pause, her footsteps started to walk away, Sun released a relieved breath. 

“ What happened to her neck?!” Sun hissed, “ She didn’t have a broken neck when I saw her last!” 

“ I had to fight her in Fazerblast, and she may have gotten damaged,” the gator explained.

“ Monty you broke her neck!!!” Sun hissed.

“ Look babe, she was after the kid, I was trying to stop her, it wasn’t intentional” He insisted, Sun dragged a hand down his face.

“ I know, I know you wouldn’t do it on purpose, it’s just. . . . “Sun sighed, letting his head fall back against the tile wall, there was a pause then Monty chuckled, Sun tilted his head to look at him, eyebrow raised. 

“ you know this would be a great triple S,” Monty said, to which Sun started making a humming sound that Gregory now knew were his fans running.

“ Monty one there is a child here, and two now is not the time!” Sun snapped back.

“ What’s a tripple S?” Gregory asked, Sun’s fan ran harder, while Monty winked at Sun over his glasses, chuckling again. Sun wordlessly shifted his hold on Gregory, then reached over and turned on the shower, blasting Monty with the water, and sending the gator out. 

“ Oh oops how did that happen,” Sun gasped in mock surprise as he turned off the shower. Gregory giggled again. 

“ Our friendly security staff can help ,”

“ I thought she left,” Monty questioned, looking down the hall, Sun leaned out, looking down the hall as well.

“ We have to help her,” Gregory hissed, Monty stood up, “ You heard her, she’s in pain,” Gregory turned his attention to Sun who frowned, slowly stepping out of the shower stall. 

“ What, we drag her all the way to marketing? She’ll  alert the staff bots,” Sun hissed, there was a sense of panic to his voice, Monty picked up on it and reached out to put a hand on Sun’s shoulder.

“ What if we lure her, we know she wants the kid, so if we lure her, like bait to Marketing then hold her down and let Moon take care of her,” Sun frowned. 

“ I dunno, that could be risky, a-and I can’t reach Moon right now-”

“ Wait, what do you mean?” Monty asked suddenly, concern in his voice. Sun blinked in confusion then his eyes widened.

“ No no no he’s just asleep, I don’t wanna wake him if I don’t have to, he’s had a rough day. . .” Sun tried to explain.  Monty gave a relieved sigh.

“ Okay, well we got the kid, he deleted it from me and Moon,” Sun still looked uncertain, “ We got a prime opportunity here,” They heard footsteps getting closer again, “ Sides it’s not like we can get out with her circling the damn showers!” Sun released a breath, “ Unless I break her,” He added as an alternative option. 

“ Okay okay okay, fine .” 

“ To which? Me breaking her or-”

“ Fine to deleting the virus!” Sun hissed, “ I am faster than her, I could run with Gregory and lure to the offices. You’ll be right behind me?” He asked nervously, Monty smiled reassuringly at him.

“ I’ll be right behind ya Sunflower.” he promised. Sun inhaled deeply, then adjusted his hold on Gregory.

“ Hang on tight Sunshine,” Sun advised, to which the boy wrapped his arms around the jester’s neck. 

“ Gregory~” Sun started sprinting, bursting into the staff halls. Right past Chica. “ Gregory ! ”Gregory instinctively hid his face in Sun’s frill so he didn’t have to look at the chicken chasing them. Sun skidded a bit as he took a sharp turn down another hall, but recovered quickly then ran up some stairs. The boy risked a peek up at Chica who had both arms outstretched to try and grab the boy. Her head swiveled 360 degrees around and Gregory let out an involuntary cry of fear before hiding his face again. He felt Sun’s hand find his back. 

“ Almost there!” the jester promised, Gregory looked up in time to see Sun shift slightly so he could shoulder open a door. Making a loud bang as he burst into an office space full of desks and computers. One of which was broken, and looked like its screen had been punched in. Sun took three long strides into the room before spinning around. He held Gregory in one arm on his side while stretching out his other hand to catch Chica’s face, holding her back. She still struggled, her arms flailing towards the boy as she tried to grab him. 

“ Monty?!” Sun called, when Monty didn’t answer he yelled, sounding angry, “ Montgomery you said you were right behind me !” Monty burst into the office at that moment, he broke the door when he did.

“ I am! ” He shouted, wrapping his arms under her’s and pulling her off of Sun. Her head lolled to the side. Sun stood there for a moment, seeming to be attempting to regain his composure. Then he set Gregory down.

“ Any computer will do, I have the cable.” He told Gregory, before turning back to Monty, and Retrieving the cable from his chest compartment. There was a pause where Sun watched the chickens head swivel a couple times. “ Can you hold her head still?” Monty looked down at Chica before taking a couple steps back, dragging Chica with him. 

“ Yeah just give me a sec, this is gonna scare ya,” He let her go, She made to dive at Gregory, Sun sidestepped to be between them. But she didn’t get far before Monty recaptured her, One arm wrapped around both of hers so they were pinned to her side, then using his now free hand to hold her head straight, “ Like that?” 

“ Yes! Perfect,” Sun plugged one end into Chica before moving to Gregory to hand him the other end. The boy didn’t hesitate to plug it into the computer and start the scan. Unlike Monty and Sun, Chica didn’t giggle or laugh during the process, she just stood there and twitched. Then came the alert for a virus detected. There was a brief debate on whether or not they should shut her down while the program removed the virus, but they unfortunately didn’t know how to safely so they proceeded with her still online. 

“ You sure he’s like, asleep ?” Monty asked when waking Moon was shot down again.

“ It’s not like before,” Sun assured him, “ I really just don’t want to wake him to all this if I don’t have to.” Sun tugged on his ribbons.

“ Alright just checking,” Monty sighed as Chica went limp.

“ She’s restarting,” Gregory read off the computer monitor. Monty slowly set her down so she leaned against the wall.

“ I’ll ping the others, let them know we got chica back,” Sun nodded as Chica came back online, groaning. One hand held her head, the other wrapped around her middle.

“ W-Where am I? “ She moaned, looking up at the other two animatronics, her neck didn’t allow the action though and her head swiveled. “ what-” She cut herself off, somehow scrambling to her feet and clumsily bursting through the only other door in the office. From what Gregory could see it led to a catwalk with vats. He saw her lean over the railing before the door closed, blocking her from view as a retching sound filled the air. 

“ Oh right in the FizzyFaz. . .” Sun moaned, sounding a little disgusted, Monty hummed.

“ I Mean it’s not like we have stomach acid, and we have a pizza flavor-”

“ She’s been eating trash ,” Sun reminded him.

“ Right. . . Ah, kid, don’t drink anything out of the soda fountains for a while, “ Monty told Gregory while pointing at him. 

“ Okay. . . .” Gregory grimaced, feeling a little nauseous at the idea. Chica went quiet, then there was a sob before the retching started again. 

“ Ah poor Cheeks, “ Monty sighed, then turned to Sun as he took a step back, “ Alright, I pinged the others, Freddy and DJ are on their way, DJ is gonna walk you and the kid back to the daycare, Freddy’s gonna help me with Chica, I’ll try to fill her in while we wait for him.” Sun nodded, “ Love you!” the gator called, Sun gave a weak laugh.

“ Love you too,” Monty backed out of the room, Gregory could hear the gator trying to talk to Chica over the retching as Sun scooped the boy up. They backtracked to the showers to retrieve the green duffle back before returning to the dingy elevator. Sun didn’t say much as he set Gregory down. The upbeat elevator music felt out of place as Sun tugged on his ribbons. Duffle bag hanging off his shoulder. 

“ You seem nervous,” Gregory mused, Sun hummed.

“ The others . . . aren’t going to be thrilled we did this with you. . . can’t say I blame them, . . . I’m not proud of us. . . it was risky with you. . . maybe I should have just woken Moon o-Or we could’ve pinged someone or-” The doors opened, and Sun stiffened. DJ was the one Gregory spotted first due to his size, Soundbyte on his shoulder. Freddy was standing next to him.

“ Monty and I will bring Chica to the daycare,” The bear assured Sun as he passed, Sun hesitated then stepped out of the lift. Freddy ruffled Gregory’s hair as the boy followed the jester. 

“ Alright,” Sun agreed, once the doors closed and the bear was gone Sun slowly looked up at DJ. Gregory shrunk in on himself a little as he too looked up at the beetle. His eyes were lidded and orange. Which Gregory was starting to suspect meant he was angry.

“ And I’m the reckless one ?” DJ snapped in an annoyed tone. 

“ I know, I know-” Sun started but DJ continued.

“ Why is it when whenever one of you and Monty are alone with him something happens?” He demanded, Sun shrunk in on himself, and after a pause DJ sighed, “ Alright let’s just get back to the daycare, and at least we got Chica back. . .” The beetle looked down at Gregory, his eyes shifted to light blue as a concerned look came across his face. “ What happened here?” DJ asked tapping his own cheek, ironically DJ’s left side, which was caved in. Gregory mirrored him, then felt his scar again. His heart jumped to his throat, and he leaned into Sun’s pant leg as he tried to swallow his heart back into his chest. Sun placed his hand on Gregory’s shoulder. The boy looked up intime to see Sun send DJ an annoyed look before he smiled comfortingly at Gregory.

“ We can still get you a new band aid Sunshine, Right DJ .” Sun turned to the beetle who eyes had turned yellow as he watched the boy. The tables had turned, that much was clear. 

“ Y-Yeah, we can find a first aid station, I’m sure there's one down here somewhere,” He agreed quickly. As they entered the Atrium DJ immediately pointed to a white booth by the party floor. There it is,” Sun hurried to it and opened the curtain, ushering the boy on the bench, he opened a small bag. Inside were various pills, tools and finally bandaids. Sun opened the box and showed them to Gregory. 

“ Which one?” He asked, DJ leaned on the booth so he could look in. When Gregory didn’t answer the jester he spoke up.

“ Is that a Foxy one,” DJ asked suddenly, Sun paused to look at a green bandaid then held it out for DJ to get a better look at it.

“ It is! I believe that’s a rockstar Foxy.” Sun agreed.

“ Ooooh Boombox, you gotta go with the Foxy one,” DJ advised, Gregory numbly nodded. He didn’t really care what was on the bandaid as long as it was on his face .  Sun peeled the back off.

“ Hold still. . . and. . .” he applied the bandaid, “ There you go Sunbeam,” Sun’s tone was just shy of condescending as he held Gregory’s face with one hand, using his thumb to smooth the band aid over the scar, “ All better?” Finally he was able to swallow the lump in his throat.

“ Yeah. .  thanks,” Sun took a step back to let Gregory out of the booth. 

“ Don’t mention it, did you all get notified of the door situation?” Sun asked, DJ while the three made to go back to the daycare.

“ Yeah we-” The spider on DJ’s shoulder started chiming over him.

“ What?” DJ asked her, “ You want one too?” She nodded, “ Sun do you mind? My fingers are too big,” he asked sheepishly, holding his hands up to show. Sun nodded, taking the box of bandaids out again, she also picked a Foxy one, and Sun hesitantly pressed it to the crack between her eye and mouth. She bounced excitedly, both Sun and DJ chuckled in an almost bittersweet way. 

“ Better?” Sun asked on a giggle, she nodded, still chiming. Then she pointed at DJ’s face.

“ Oh no, I’m okay, I don’t need one.” DJ assured her, starting to walk away from the first aid station. Sun snorted, reaching out for Gregory to take his hand, which the boy did. 

“ He needs all the bandaids,” he told the spider, gripping the strap to his backpack with one hand as he walked between Sun and DJ. Soundbyte chimed more aggressively.

“ No! Don’t encourage her,” DJ scolded Gregory playfully who giggled, “ Let’s not waste the bandaids,” The spider started to pick at the bandaid on her face as they reached kids cove, “ You’re not getting a new one if you pull that one off,” DJ warned her as he rolled his eyes. Glancing at Sun who gave a small smile and shook his head. He sighed when she did pull it off, then came to a dead stop as she pressed it to his damaged cheek, “ Oh. . .” his voice glitched, “ Thanks princess. . . . “ She chimed at him, then settled on her shoulder as they entered the daycare. Bonnie was sitting at a table by the play area entrance, examining his left arm, flexing his hand.

“ Something wrong?” DJ asked as they entered, Bonnie shook his head.

“ No more than when you left, the arm feels funny, I’m. . . a little worried it might be a permanent damage but that’s not a big deal, just won’t be as good as I once was,” Bonnie finally looked up from his arm to Gregory. His eyes went wide, “ What is this blasphemy! ” He exclaimed in an over dramatic manner that made it clear he was joking, “ You wear the adorable Freddy Jam-jams?! And then you wear a shirt over it so I can’t see the cuteness?! ,” Bonnie put a hand to his chest as he slid off the chair to his knees on the floor, “ I’m hurt.” Sun giggled while DJ rolled his eyes again.

“ You’re gonna damage your knees again,” DJ told him, Gregory stuck his tongue out.

“ I’m not cute,” he argued, following the beetle towards the theater, only feeling a little resistance from Sun as the jester hesitated to make sure the bunny didn’t need help to his feet. He didn’t, and was quick to follow them to the theater.

“ Have you been inside the theater yet?” Sun asked, Gregory shook his head.

“ Nah, I worried the guy at the ticket counter would recognize me if I came by too often,” he confessed, Bonnie hummed. 

“ Oh yeah, that guy is a stickler for the rules,” Bonnie sympathized. 

“ Ooooh you’re gonna like this,” Sun gushed excitedly, earning a raised eyebrow from the other three present as the jester put both hands on Gregory’s shoulder and steered him at a fast pace into the theater. At first Gregory didn’t get what Sun was talking about, he saw a cartoon rendition of the glamrocks on the screen, minus Bonnie , marching along, and a bunch of seats, as well as a staffbot in a suit on the stage. It stilled when it saw them, then Sun gently nudged his head towards the side. Gregory’s eyes went wide and a gasp involuntarily escaped him, Sun let him go as Gregory rushed to the image of Bonnie on the right side of the entrance. But not Glamrock Bonnie. He turned to his right again to see the very image he use to see all the time on his VHS tape of the band in a van. He pointed at it.

“ It’s on tour!” He exclaimed, Sun bounced happily as he watched the boy’s excitement. 

“ Yes! I thought you’d like it, I think we have this, and the cutouts in rockstar row and that’s about it, “ The jester lamented. He looked back at the stage, now noticing that the staffbot on stage was not the only staffbot present. Mappy was also there, standing just in front of the stage by some pillows. He waved, Gregory waved back and started towards the bots. The animatronics followed behind. 

“ Hey! Sorry about. . . lying. .  earlier,” He sheepishly told Mappy as he approached, Mappy tilted his head at the boy then made the Shame on you gesture with his hands.

“ Take a map.” Then Mappy gestured to the staffbot on the stage, “ Take a map! Take this map?” The staffbot on stage was designed to be wearing a suit and a bowler hat. 

“ How are we all doing tonight?” It asked in a feminine voice.

“ We could be better, but we’ve definitely been worse,” Gregory jumped as DJ came up behind him, and placed a secondary hand on the boy’s shoulder, “ Gregory this is Comedy bot,” he introduced to the boy, “ I call her Carrie,” She dipped her head in a mock hat tipping. 

“ Take a map?” Mappy said, turning to her.

“ So what’s the deal with delicious mouth watering pizza?” Carrie responded. 

“ Take a map, Take a map.”

“ Uh. . .” Gregory looked over at DJ who chuckled.

“ They’re not talking to us, don’t worry about it,” He promised, Sun moved past them.

“ This way Sunshine,” Sun called, moving past the stage and towards an arch way to the right of the stage, Gregory hurried to follow, Sun led him up a ramp to a door with a poster on it of Captain Foxy’s pirate adventure . Gregory gasped again.

“ Cool!”  Bonnie chuckled behind him.

“ You are just impressed by the simplest things aren’t you?” He asked, ruffling the boys hair, “ You a fan of Foxy?” Gregory swatted the bunny’s hands away.

“ Foxy’s alright, I just really liked the movie, I liked how it paid off the whole Foxy’s the villain joke.” He explained, Bonnie hummed.

“ I guess it did do that,” He sighed as he continued, “ I wasn’t really in the headspace to notice that.” 

“ I’ve never seen it,” DJ stated, Sun’s head turned sharply to him. The motion did not go unnoticed, “ Yes really, theres no projector in the arcade and when would I have found time these last couple weeks?” He asked, Sun opened the door, chuckling. 

“ Moon will have to do something about that,” He teased as he ushered the boy through the door, DJ caught Sun’s wrist before the jester could follow.

“ Speaking of Moon ” DJ said slowly, clearly not intending to follow them beyond the doorway, “ Why didn’t he stop you two from using the kid as bait?” 

“ Yeah, is he alright?” Bonnie sounded concerned, Sun sighed with a mix of exasperation and annoyance.

“ He’s fine, just asleep,” He assured them, DJ and Bonnie exchanged looks, “ I can still feel him , he’s asleep .” The clown promised.

“ If you’re sure,” Bonnie attempted to pull DJ away, but the beetle didn’t move.

“ Have him ping me when he is awake,” he ordered. Sun saluted him before shutting the door. Leading the boy down the hall to a messy storage space. Was this their green room? It didn’t look like a green room. Sun guided him to an opening in the wall. 

“ Moon goes in here when he wants to be alone. . . or at least he use to, not so much anymore.” Sun explained, gesturing to it, “ there's blankets and pillows and I think a mat,” Gregory nodded, “ One more thing,” The jester handed him a blue wrapped candy. “ There, goodnight Sunbeam.” Gregory unwrapped the candy.

“ Thanks, night,” He said before popping the candy into his mouth and crawling into the opening. True to his word there was a blanket and a pillow. Gregory crawled into the makeshift bed as the exhaustion from the last several hours caught up with him again. The lavender candy dissolving into his mouth as he fished out his Freddy plush and setting it down next to him, he eyed the Roxy one suspiciously before setting it next to the opening. He hugged the Freddy plush to his chest as he nestled into his blankets. The candy finished melting on his tongue just as he slipped into nothing.

Chapter Text

He heard giggling.  A little girl was running around in the dark space he found himself in. He caught glimpses of her green overalls in his peripheral 

“ Are we playing tag? You’re it!” He heard her laugh, “ You can’t catch me~” She sang, his voice getting fainter, he tried to follow it. The laughter was turning into screaming. He ran for it, but didn’t seem to be getting any closer. As he did he heard a low creaking, then something fell hard in front of him. Knocking the boy back with the force, dust and wind seeming to rush over him like he was caught in a sand storm. When the dust settled Gregory raised his gaze to see it was DJ’s bigger body. Offline and staring blankly at him. As Gregory got to his feet there was another low creak and something rolled out of the gaping maw to the boy’s feet. He took a startled step back when he realized it was Mappy’s head. 

“ Hello?” He called, his body starting to shake, he had to find someone who could fix them! There had to be someone- he caught a glimpse of something moving in the dark, “ Is someone there?” He both hoped there was and hoped there wasn’t. The figure dragged itself out of the shadows,a  skeletal hand reaching for him as broken yellow sun rays came into view. He screamed and tried to run only to run directly into her. She giggled as she grabbed his shirt and hoisted him up.

“ Are you having fun yet?” She asked, before she raised her knife.

Gregory woke with a start, panting slightly as his eyes darted around. It took him a minute to remember where he was.  He was in Moon’s “Hide away” as Sun had called it. The boy hesitantly got to his feet and crawled out of the opening. DJ was sitting against the wall to the boy’s right. A cord was plugged into the back of his neck, his eyes were blacked out but blue pupils blinked on as Gregory climbed out of the tunnel and into the room.

“ Oh hey, I was just about to send Soundbyte in to wake you,” He said as the boy sleepily dropped onto a pillow as a seat next to DJ. 

“ Wake me?” He asked, DJ gently patted the back of the boy’s head. Gregory was still amazed how gently these robots could be. More gentle than most humans he had the misfortune to meet. 

“ Yeah, see because you had a mild concussion we have to check in on you every couple hours,” DJ explained, “ Also Moon left me some questions I’m supposed to ask you,” Gregory blinked at him as he waited, “ What’s your name?”

“ Gregory  . . .” 

“ How old are you?”

“ Ten.”

“ When’s your birthday?” Gregory rubbed his eyes.

“ December 17th.” DJ stilled, then awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

“ Um. . . how long have you been ten?” He asked, Gregory looked up at him with confusion, “ I mean. . . were you ten when you snuck in on Saturday?” he clarified. The boy scoffed as if DJ asked a stupid question. 

“ I’ve been ten since I left home, why?” He asked, annoyed. DJ’s eyes shifted to dark blue.

“ Oh Boombox uh. . . . “ He seemed to struggle to find words for a moment, “ Well , let me be the first to say,  Happy belated birthday? ” He awkwardly did jazz hands with his two primary hands, “ It’s December eighteenth. . . you’re eleven.” Gregory stared for a long moment, then blinked, his gaze falling to his lap.

“ I’m. . . oh. . .” He fidgeted with his fazwatch. He’d spent his birthday looking for evidence of a rabbit lady and getting chased by virus infected animatronics. 

“ You okay?” DJ asked, a careful hand on his back. 

“ Yeah. . . it’s not like I had anything planned, besides, my birthday is so close to Christmas that it’s usually just forgotten about.” The boy mumbled, DJ gently rubbed his back.

“ Oh you just wait, once I tell the others all hell is gonna break loose,” The beetle assured him, making Gregory look up again.

“ What do you mean?” He asked, to which DJ grinned at him.

“ This place,” He gestured to the space around them, but Gregory knew he meant the plex in general, “ Specializes in Birthdays . Bonnie and Chica alone will have a field day! “ 

“ How is Chica?” Gregory asked, DJ’s smile softened, and leaned back against the wall.

“ She’s alright, excited to properly meet you, but the jester boys and Freddy wouldn’t let her wake you.” 

“ Where’s Sun?” DJ stretched his primary arms in front of himself, fingers interlaced like he was cracking his knuckles. Obviously no cracking happened. 

“ Oh him and Moon have been trading off every couple of hours, I think it’s Sun’s turn? He’s  been trying to help find a room for you,” He explained, Gregory blinked.

“A room?” He repeated.

“ Yeah, your room.” DJ repeated, moving his arms behind his head, his eyes blacking out again, and Gregory figured he was watching the cameras. “ From the updates I’ve been getting, it looks like you might be taking over that one,” He pointed with his left secondary hand at the tunnel Gregory had climbed out of. 

“ What about the west arcade?” He asked, DJ sighed.

“ That’s gonna be on serious lockdown. You won’t be able to get in once staff are able to get in. Don’t worry, Monty and I collected your little stash,” He pointed towards the other side of the room where Gregory saw his red duffle bag sitting next to the teal one Monty had snagged from lost and found. 

“ Oh. . . okay. . . your voice sounds better,” Gregory noticed. Before it was glitchy and his volume control didn’t exist but now it sounded clear and he’d been speaking quietly the whole time.  DJ chuckled, light blue pupils blinking on and falling on the child. 

“ Thanks, Moon did some minor tweaking, he’s also patched Bonnie and Chica up a lot more, we’re hoping to corner Roxy in the next couple house then-”

“ Can I help?” Gregory interrupted, DJ shook his head without hesitation.

“ No. We don’t want you to get hurt.” Gregroy pouted.

“ I won’t! I haven’t!” He insisted, DJ raised an eyebrow at him, his eye lids dropping as he watched the boy. 

“ You had a minor concussion.” He reminded him.

“ Minor means small right?” Gregory pointed out, DJ didn’t answer, “ Besides! That was hours ago! That was at midnight!” 

“ The answer is No kid. ” DJ told him, Gregory huffed.

“ Where’s Soundbyte?” He asked, after a pause DJ pointed to a playhouse in the corner of the room.

“ I’m not entirely sure what she’s doing. I think it might be a tea party. . . but she’s thrown the Monty plush out so I don’t know for sure. . . “ the boy nodded, “ Oh! Before I forget, I was told to make sure you drink this,” The beetle handed Gregory a waterbottle. The same one Sun had him sipping off of earlier, “ And eat this,” He set a small take out box in front of him, “ it’s just bread sticks, figured we’d start with something easy on your stomach.” DJ sounded like he was reciting something. Most of Gregory’s foster parents tended to do that, but unlike with them , it didn’t feel like the beetle was trying to trick him or lull him into a false sense of security. It felt more like he’d been couched due to ignorance. 

Gregory sipped on his water and tried to quickly shove his food down lest it be taken from him. Not that he truly thought DJ would take it. Habit more than anything, DJ frowned at him.

“ You might wanna slow down a little, too fast and you’ll either choke or throw it back up,” He warned, Gregory saw his fingers twitch, but the beetle made no move to take the breadsticks away. The boy forced himself to slow down, and chew between sticks. Once he finished the last breadstick DJ smoothed the boy’s hair back. 

“ You should go back to sleep kiddo, Someone will check on you in a couple hours.” He suggested, Gregory nodded, feeling drowsy again now that something was in his stomach, he stood up and retreated back into the crawlspace and into his “bed” . He paused when he noticed his thought to be lost Moonplush sitting on the floor against the wall next to where he had set his Roxy plush. Sitting next to it was a new Chica plush, as well as a new Sun plush, a Monty plush, and a Bonnie plush . Gregory smiled softly to himself as he curled under his blanket, hugging his Freddy one to his chest and drifting off again. 

It was dark and damp. He heard yelling behind him and looked over his shoulder. He saw a figure moving to him, stiff and jerky. Like a zombie. Hand extended.

“You.” it rasped, the boy screamed and tried to run, “ it’s all your fault, you’re worthless! Just like he was .” The monster became bigger as it spoke, grabbing Gregory by his shirt, then when it was even bigger than DJ’s original body it dropped the boy into its open mouth. He hit the floor hard, he could only smell smoke, fire. Burnt hair, and flesh. He was going to throw up. 

“ Gregory~” He heard Chica call, but then it morphed into a different voice, a sickly sweet voice that started humming a melody. He felt compelled to find it, to go to it. But he couldn’t find his way, “ Why do you hide inside your walls . . .” The voice started singing, he heard a music box, it wasn’t like the Soundbyte’s though. “ When there is music in my halls…..” It was coming closer, “ All I see is an empty room~. . . “  A hand came down on his shoulder.

“ No more joy and empty tomb .”  The monster snarled in his ear.

This time when he woke he cried out, and couldn’t stop the sob that escaped him as he tried once again to recall where he was. He heard movement to his right and pressed himself to the wall as a gangly form crawled into the room. It was just Moon, who straightened as best as he could. Still crouched as he observed him. 

“ What is it Starshine?” the clown asked, “ Did you have a nightmare?” Gregory swallowed hard, feeling his face heat up, Moon continued when he didn’t answer, “ That’s to be expected. . . It's been a rough night for you. . .” Moon assured him, the boy took a shaky breath, willing his heart to slow. Finally he wiped the wetness on his face.

“ I’m okay. . .” He promised, Moon hummed in acknowledgement. 

“ If you’re sure, c’mon, you should get up,” Moon retreated back into the main room. 

“ Okay.” Gregory followed Moon out, DJ was still in the room though he was over by the play house now. Monty was there too, leaning on the playhouse roof. 

“ Is he alright?” The gator asked, Gregory noticed DJ’s eyes were yellow again as they shifted to the boy. 

“ I’m fine! Shuttup!” Gregory snapped irritably, his face heating up again. Moon put a hand on the boy’s head. 

“ He’ll be alright, “ He answered, DJ’s eyes shifted to light blue again as he leaned back against the wall. The boy grumbled, but moved to the ever growing stack of bags against the wall. Now there was the red one, the teal one, his orange backpack and now a pink and green one. Opening it a little revealed random merch inside like headphones, action figures, crayons, socks, mittens, and a handful of Fazbear brand books. He zipped it back up and returned to the teal one.

“ What time is it?” Gregory asked as he fished out the purple logo shirt, then grabbed the first pair of pants he saw which so happened to be the yellow, orange and pink pair. 

“ Noon.” The gator grunted, “ Doors are still down,” Gregory turned to him, blinking in surprise. 

“ Noon?” he echoed, Monty nodded, then drummed aggressively on the playhouse roof. The window shutters opened and Soundbyte clacked her teeth at him before slamming the shutters close. 

“ Yes, which is why you should stay awake now, so we can fix your sleep schedule.” Moon told him, “ Go change, then we can see about getting you something to eat,” Gregory nodded and returned to the crawl space. Changing out of his pajamas, folding them up and leaving them on the sleeping mat before returning to the others.  Monty drummed on the roof again, “ Are you coming?” Moon asked the gator upon spotting the boy. 

“ Yeah yeah, one second,” Monty reached down and grabbed a Monty plush off the floor. The shutter opened again, and Monty shoved the plush into the window before the spider could poke her head out, “ AHA! I’m crashing this shindig! Raa! '' The gator play roared in what Gregory assumed was supposed to be the plush’s voice. DJ snorted, rolling his eyes.  The plush got thrown out again.

“ Monty .” Moon pressed, sounding annoyed, Monty straightened. 

“ Keep yer tutu on, I’m coming!” He followed them out, Gregory looked over his shoulder at DJ who waved but made no move to get up. He turned his attention back to the playhouse. 

In the theater were three staffbots Mappy, Carrie and a new one. It was in a suit like Carrie but it sounded more like Mappy. It also wore a  flat top hat instead of a rounded one bowler hat, and in its hand was a magician’s wand. It waved as the boy passed the stage. Bonnie was lounging amongst the pillows in the front row. He looked almost new save the cracks in his casing. His eyes were closed, hands folded on his chest, feet stacked atop each other. Freddy was sitting on a bench nearby, he smiled at the boy upon seeing him, and was about to speak when a loud squawking sound filled the air. Startling Gregory as Moon suddenly pulled him closer to the clown in time to miss getting hug attacked by a robot chicken.

“ Chica, we talked about sudden movement,” Freddy scolded.

“ Yeah you gotta be gentle, the kid’s fragile, both literally and metaphorically,” Bonnie added from his spot, talking with his hands, eyes still closed.

“ I am not! Gregory defended, his warm face was suddenly turned towards Chica, who grinned at him. Holding his face in her hands, squishing his cheeks slightly. 

“ Oh I can’t help it! I’m sorry, but look at you ! You’re just a little cutie! I could eat you up! ” she gushed, Monty chuckled.

“ You technically tried,” He reminded her, earning a look from the chicken.

“ He’s not wrong,” Bonnie added, finally opening his eyes, his hands moving behind his head casually as he grinned at Chica. Who had turned her look onto him. 

“ What are you doing?” Gregory asked, confused as to why Bonnie had his eyes closed before. Did Robots sleep? DJ had before, so maybe that was a thing?

“ Watching the cameras, I’ve had a bit of practice,” Bonnie answered with a shrug, “ I’m also still connected to the Patpats,” He explained, jerking head in the direction of a wet floor bot sitting in the corner. 

“ Chica,” Moon started awkwardly, the chicken clasped her hands in front of herself while she waited for him to continue, “ You're programmed with culinary knowledge, could you please um . . .” Moon tugged on his ribbons nervously. 

“ Whip him up something to eat? Of course! What would you like Dillybean?  Pizza? Chicken Alfredo? Pizza? Tacos? Pizza? Did I mention Pizza?” 

“ I think you might have yeah,” Moon deadpanned, earning a snort from Monty. Chica giggled, but playfully macked his arm. Moon took a step back, rubbing the spot on his arm, but laughed awkwardly. 

“ I like pizza,” Gregory offered, the chicken pinching his cheek lightly.

“ Who doesn’t ?” She asked cheerfully.

“ Me.” Bonnie said, closing his eyes again. 

“ Lies !” She accused, turning on him, the bunny chuckled. 

“ Ah you got me.”

“ Can I help?” Gregory asked as he was steered to one of the many benches by Moon.

“ Oh I don’t see why not!” Chica agreed quickly.

“ I can think of a reason why not .” Monty countered, arms crossed. 

“ Hold still, this might hurt a little,” Moon warned the boy suddenly, showing him a round hair brush with a cartoon rendition of Roxy on it, winking at him. Gregory tensed, his breath short. Moon noticed and gently squeezed his shoulder, “ Would you rather do it yourself?” The boy quickly nodded and Moon handed him the brush. 

“ I can think of three , to be specific,” Bonnie said, eyes still closed. “ Roxy, Vanessa and that Endo.” Chica pouted, Freddy stood up.

“ Oh but it would be fun!” She insisted, the bear sighed.

“ You Monty and Moon intended to deal with Roxanne soon don;’t you?” He asked, Bonnie opened his eyes and again as Freddy moved to be in the bunny’s line of sight. 

“ Yeah? Once you and DJ are charged for the hour.” Bonnie said, turning his head towards him. 

“ Then I don’t see why Gregory couldn't help. DJ said he suspects the endo isn’t going to be much of a problem now that it’s past six-”

“ No offense to DJ, but he doesn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to his judgment calls.” Bonnie pointed out, Moon nudged the boy.

“ Hair brush,” He reminded him, pointedly ignoring the conversation. Gregory hesitated then tried to brush his hair. The brush got stuck immediately. His hair was so badly knotted, he hadn’t brushed it in months. Moon made to help him but Gregory leaned away quickly.

“ No! I got it!” He insisted, if anyone was going to rip his hair out of his scalp it was going to be himself . 

“ Still between myself, Chica and DJ, a trip to the kitchens and back should be alright.” Freddy pointed out. 

“ Is it just me or would you expect them to be on opposite sides of the debate?” Monty asked the clown who was still watching the boy struggle with his hair. 

“ You gotta point,” Bonnie admitted, absentmindedly picking at a crack in his chin.

“ Don’t.” Freddy reminded him, and Bonnie pulled his hand away from his face, “ I should charge, I’ll be right back,” He added, turning to the others.

“ Sounds good,” Monty said, Chica nodded. Moon awkwardly waved in acknowledgement. Freddy turned back to Bonnie and bent down to press his muzzle to the top of the bunny’s head.

“ See you when you get back,” Bonnie called as Freddy headed for the doors. Closing his eyes again. 

“ What is the plan for Roxy?” Gregory asked, Monty turned to him.

“ Bonnie and I are gonna grab her, hold her down, and Moon’s gonna use that tablet we found in lost and found to delete the virus,” He explained, opening his own chest cavity and revealing it. 

“ I thought that tablet was broken?” Gregory recalled, he flinched when he felt Moon start to mess with his hair, only to realize he was gently untangling the hair brush from it

“ Moon can fix more than robots, you know,” Monty replied, smirking. 

“ We might wanna try this again after  we debug Roxy,” Moon mused, examining the brush, then the boy’s hair. 

“ What does Roxy know about hair ,” Gregory asked, "wasn't she the car character?

“ She has a salon!” Chica told him with a small hop. “ She gives kids temporary dye jobs and face paint!” Gregory hummed then let his gaze shift over the animatronics in front of him. Chica’s neck no longer broken, Bonnie in one piece. 

“ Why are you guys like new but DJ is still missing his arm. . . and half of his face. . . and his leg is still broken?” Gregory asked, Monty snorted, Moon fidgeted uncomfortably with the hair brush.

“ Because-”

“ Because Moon secretly loves us more,” Bonnie answered without opening his eyes, but a smile growing on his face. The jester pointed at him with the brush.

“ No . Not true,” Moon said evenly, “ Very far from true, It’s because DJ’s glamrock body is new , he got it about two weeks ago . . . so there just isn’t enough back up parts for his body yet since they didn’t know what he would damage often, and what they would need back ups of.” Moon explained, “ Not to mention he refuses parts and service, he’ll let me patch him up, but will not step foot near that cylinder,” Moon started to vent, sounding a little frustrated. 

“ Why not?” Gregory asked, brows furrowed. Moon’s shoulders sagged as everyone ( Excluding Bonnie because his eyes were still closed) looked to him. He squeezed the brush as he chose his words carefully.

“ Because he was hurt down there. . . more than once. . . so that place upsets him, and he’d rather avoid it.” He explained.

“ What happened?” Gregory asked, the jester feebly looked to the others for help. 

“ Bad stuff, Pocket, don’t worry, DJ’s a tough bug, he’s practically been on death's doorstep for three weeks,” Bonnie told him, heavy footsteps joined them.

“ Gossiping about me?” DJ asked as he set Soundbyte on the stage. She scuttled towards the pillows, practically launching herself from the stage and landed about a foot from Bonnie.

“ Nah, I was talking about another eleven foot tall bug,” Bonnie snarked, opening a single eye to look at the spider who was trying to sneak up on him. Reminding Gregory of a cat stalking its prey. 

“ Did you charge?” Moon asked, DJ nodded.

“ Yeah, Yeah, I did,” He stretched his primary arms over his head, “ So what’s the plan again? “ He put his hands on his hips, Bonnie held up a hand and pointed as he spoke, clearly pretending not to notice the spider still sneaking her way up the pillows around him. 

“ Me, Moon and Monty are fixing Roxy while you , Chica and Freddy,” He pointed at the doors as they lifted, the bear returning. “ Are taking Gregory to the kitchens, he wants to help make pizza,” DJ gave a heavy sigh that had a hint of amusement in it.

“ Of course he does…”  He turned to the boy, “ Pizza huh?” He asked.

“ What do you have against pizza?!” Chica playfully demanded, hands on her own hips. 

“ I’m more of a quesadilla man myself,” DJ said with a  shrug, crossing his arms over his chest. Monty blinked in confusion while Moon rolled his eyes, but a soft chuckle escaped him. 

“ You. . . you can’t eat . . . can you? Monty asked, Moon sighed.

“ No. He cannot. At least not anymore. . . his mouth doesn’t open.” Moon told him, DJ sent him a smirk. 

“ Alright if we’re all- AH!” He seemed to have forgotten about the spider that had been stalking him because the yell he gave out when she suddenly launched at his face sounded pretty genuine to Gregory. The bunny nearly fell back, but his hands caught himself, “ One of you two come get your hybrid! She’s fragile! I don’t wanna break her,” Bonnie snapped as Soundbyte made her way to the top of his head, reaching for his earring. DJ moved to him and plucked her up, then helped the bunny to her feet, “ As I was saying, Rude ,” He added to the spider, playfully poking her nose. She clacked her teeth at him but it seemed less aggressive than when she clacked her teeth at Monty.  

“ If we’re all agreed,” Bonnie started again, “ Then lets get going,” DJ set Soundbyte on his shoulder, and she hunkered down to steady herself. She seemed to like it up there. 

“ Alright, I mean, I’d rather stay here. . . where it’s safe ,” He emphasized his last words.

“ If you truly feel that way, you can and Chica and Freddy can take him alone,” Bonnie suggested with a shrug as he started for the doors. 

“ No. Fuck that,” DJ stated back.

“ Language please .” Moon pleaded, Freddy nodded, scowling at DJ.

“ I second that.” 

“ I’m going with.” DJ ignored both of them. 

“ Great! Let’s get going then!” Bonnie said, clapping his hands. There was a pause as the animatronics started out into the daycare. 

“ Oh! Before I forget!” DJ exclaimed suddenly grinning at Gregory, “ Since we’re all here . He shook the kid’s shoulder with his secondary hand, “ He turned eleven yesterday .” All eyes turned onto the boy, making him step back uncomfortably. DJ’s hand remained on his back.

“ Yesterday was your birthday?” Freddy asked, sounding betrayed.

“ And you told, DJ but not us?!” Monty added, arms crossed. 

“ I didn’t know!” Gregory exclaimed defensively.

“ You didn’t know ?!” Bonnie quoted.

“ Okay okay, calm down everyone, I didn’t realize it was gonna cause this much of an uproar,” DJ admitted, “ I only know cuz I was asking the questions Moon told me to ask him,” 

“ Oh we have to throw a party!” Chica squealed, shaking her fists excitedly. Moon hummed sympathetically. 

“ Kids without structure tend to lose track of time. . .” He mused,

“ What is that supposed to mean?!” Gregory demanded defensively, he felt DJ’s thumb rub his back while the beetle chuckled. Clearly amused.

“ Just that you’ve been alone a long time, and lack a schedule,” Moon explained, Gregory harrumphed, and crossed his arms. Feeling his face heat up.

“ Oh he’s just gwumpy cuz he’s hungry,” Chica baby talked to him, poking at his stomach.  He flinched away, covering his stomach. 

“ M’not a baby! Stop!” he whined, earning various chuckles from the animatronics as they continued to the lobby.They stopped between the two elevators.

“ Ok we’ll take this elevator and head straight to Roxy raceway, you guys head to the kitchens,” Bonnie recapped, pushing one of the buttons that called the lift. Monty crossed to stand next to the bunny. Moon hesitated then stepped away from Freddy, Chica, and DJ. 

“ We'll  head straight back to the daycare once we have Gregory fed,” Freddy promised, patting Gregory’s head as he did. Monty nodded.

“ Sounds good, we’ll see you later.” Monty agreed. 

“ Hopefully with a wolf!” the bunny cut in, winking at Chica. 

“ Fingers crossed! Break a leg!” She offered and waved, DJ scoffed.

“ Nah, don’t I don’t recommend it,” He deadpanned, tapping his broken leg with his secondary hand. Chica playfully hit him. 

“ You know what I meant! You stop it!” She pressed the button next to their elevator. The other elevator opened, Bonnie and Monty entered it. Moon hesitated, looking over at DJ. Who offered him a wave, Moon waved back sheepishly, then entered the elevator. The doors closed just as the second elevator doors opened. DJ gently nudged Gregory inside, Freddy and Chica already waiting for him. 

When the doors opened again Gregory saw Moon was starting down the escalator, he glanced over his shoulder at them, which caused him to misstep and fall. Monty seemed surprised and made to grab the ring on his back but missed. 

“ Woah! “ They heard Bonnie exclaim from the bottom of the escalator, Monty was hurrying down the escalator after the jester. “ You alright Droplett?. . .” There was a pause, “ You sure? You just fell down two flights of- Alright, alright!” DJ made a chuckling sound, shaking his head. 

“ I thought he had stairs figured out, he hasn’t tripped on stairs since. . . .” DJ trailed off, his eyes shifting to light blue in thought, “ Oh. . . wait. . . I think that was the virus actually….” he sighed, “ Figures. . . .” Freddy patted his back before they started down the escalators themselves, DJ taking longer than the rest of them. They eventually reached the dingy elevator, and then finally the kitchens. Chica clapped her hands and spun a couple times in excitement. 

“ Okay! What do we want on the pizza popstar?” She asked as she bent over to talk to the boy. Gregory did not have to think long.

“Pepperoni?” 

“ A classic! Boy after my own heart!” Chica first pulled on some plastic gloves before retrieving a bowl and a bag of flour. 

“ What’s that for?” Gregory asked, “ Do we have to make the dough?” Chica giggled and poked his nose.

“ You’ll see~” she sang, pouring some of the flour into the bowl before opening a nearby fridge door and grabbing a ball of already made pizza dough. “ Stand back,” She told him as she gingerly coated the ball in flour. Freddy pulled him back a couple steps. She set the ball down and started pushing down along the edge. Gregory looked over at the other animatronics in confusion. Then his gaze lingered on DJ, who looked uncomfortable in the space. His eyes were yellow, his arms crossed. Soundbyte perched on his shoulder watching the chicken, she didn’t notice DJ’s gaze kept flicking to the trash compactor across the room. 

Gregory turned back to the chicken who was still working on the dough. It was a little bigger now, but it looked like the size of a personal pizza. She then picked the dough up, holding it in her left hand before using her right to toss it into the air. Gregory blinked in surprise at the dough that was doubling in size with each toss til it was the size of a large pizza. 

“ Woah!” The boy hurried back to Chica as she set the dough on a pizza pan. Soundbyte chimed excitedly on DJ’s shoulder, making the beetle chuckle weakly, “ That was so cool! I knew a kid who said his dad could like ninja moves with it!” He told Chica who giggled.

“ Oh I’m programmed with about twenty different techniques, but most are for show, it’s called Pizza acrobatics ,” She explained, “ You can’t really use the dough after that though.” 

“ Why not?” Gregory asked.

“ Well for a thing like that it’s a different type of dough, so it can stretch and handle the abuse,” She explained, picking up the pan and carrying it to a large machine that had “Sauce” written on the top of it, “ What kind of sauce, Dillybean? Marinara?” She set the pan down. 

“ No tomato,” Gregory told her, DJ snorted, earning a confused glare from the boy. 

“ So. . . Marinara?” Chica turned her head to him, Gregory shook his head stubbornly.

“ No! The one that’s made of tomatoes!” He stated, the chicken hummed.

“ Do you know what Marinara is sweetie?” Gregory hesitated, thinking about it.

“ One of my old foster parents used to use it for clams and oysters,  it’s made of vinegar and onions, “ He explained sticking out his tongue, “ I didn’t like it, but they made me eat it anyway.” 

“ That’s Mignonette sauce,” Chica corrected, “ Marinara is made of tomatoes.” Gregory felt his face heat up. 

“ Oh. . . .” He trailed off, Freddy patted his head sympathetically but when Gregory looked up at him he was also trying not to laugh. Chica messed with the dial on the sauce machine.

“ It’s easy to get things confused,” She looked over at him, “ You wanna push the button?” The boy nodded, and Chica lifted him up so he could. The machine made a sound akin to a wet fart as it covered the dough in red sauce, making the eleven year old boy giggle.

“ Eeeeeeew!” he laughed, Freddy chuckled at his amusement, Chica giggled as she set him down. 

“ Okay! Now Cheese!” She picked the pan back up, and moved to an identical machined but colored yellow. 

“ You don’t have to stay in here . . .” Gregory looked back over his shoulder to see who Freddy was talking to, it was DJ. His expression was a forced neutral one as he glanced between Freddy, Gregory and the garbage disposal. 

“ I’m good. . . . for now. . . but I’ll keep that in mind,” he muttered back, before moving to follow Chica to the cheese dispenser. The boy turned back to the chicken who was messing with the dial on the machine. She once again picked Gregory up so he could press the button. This time the machine made a sawing sound as the smell of pir quality mozzarella filled the air. Once Gregory was set back down he moved to a green machine that had a picture of pepperoni slices on it. 

“ Oh no, Dillybean over here!” Chica called, “ That’s fake meat.”  Gregory frowned as he followed her to an identical machine but it was red. 

“ Ew, why ?” He asked.

“ Some people don’t eat meat, sometimes it’s a texture thing, sometimes it’s a flavor thing, moral thing, religious thing,” She listed off, “ We had one customer who had an allergy that was a crazy day,” She set the pizza down and adjusted a dial on the side.

“ That’s weird.” Gregory said, standing tiptoes to press the button. When he still couldn’t reach it Chica lifted him.

“ It’s just how some people are,” Once the toppings were on the pizza she took it to the oven and slid it in,” And now we wait.” 

“ Cool-”

“ What the hell is this?!” A familiarly unwelcome voice shouted, everyone looked over at the doors that lead to the elevator. Vanessa stood there holding both doors open, and looking between all of them. Freddy moved to hide Gregroy behind himself, “ Oh don’t bother! Have you three been hiding him this whole time?! And YOU!” She pointed at DJ whose eyes were red, and fists were clenched as he stared back at her, “ What the hell happened to you ?!” DJ carefully lifted Soundbyte off his shoulders, he handed her to Gregory to the boys surprise. Gregory could feel the spider shivering as it hunkered down into itself almost like a turtle, “ How did you even get back into that -”

“ Vanessa, listen.” DJ cut her off, nudging Gregory to be more behind Freddy, the bear glanced at him.  The woman wasn’t having it though.

“ No you listen -” Neither was DJ.

“ Shut up! ” he boomed, it made the pans rattle along the walls, Gregory flinched, and took a step back, Chica put a hand on his shoulder, her eyes wide as she looked uncertainty between the beetle and the woman. “ Honestly I don’t think you realize the position you’re in . you are a fly in my web right now. Not the other way around.”  Gregory heard him chuckle deeply, almost manically, “ not anymore.” 

“ are. . .  Are you threatening me ?” She sounded surprised. 

“ Yes. I am.” His eyes blacked out, Freddy sent him an alarmed look as he cautiously moved his arm to separate DJ and Gregory. Not that the boy was in any real danger. The anger was clearly directed in the opposite direction, “ I suggest you leave. Before I kill you with what remaining hands I have.” Vanessa went pale, her yellow eyes went wide.

“ The hell is wrong with you?” She sounded genuinely concerned somehow, completely opposite from earlier, “ Did your chip get bugged during one of the shut downs? God damn it I can’t leave that to the interns!”

“ Why do you care? You tried to get him deleted earlier!” Gregory snapped before he could stop himself, Vanessa blinked.

“ What? No? Why would I do that? If I wanted him gone, I would have bothered salvaging his AI chip the First time .” She gestured to him. 

“ I’ve heard enough.” The beetle growled, “ You have ten seconds.” DJ warned, Gregory looked nervously at him. Ten seconds til what? What would he do? “ Nine.” Vanessa’s face set, she seemed to be evaluating her options. “ Eight.” A hand was on her taser gun, Chica pulled Gregory closer to her. Freddy took a step back, but turned to DJ.

“ DJ I don’t think-”

“ Seven .”   The bug ignored the bear. “ Six .” Vanessa grit her teeth, cursed under her breath, then turned and ran. DJ stared after her then released a breath, he seemed disappointed.

“ Were you actually going to fight her?” Gregory asked, DJ turned to him, his pupils coming back orange.

“ Yes. If she stayed. Yes.” 

“ DJ that was incredibly reckless, a breach in our protocols-”

“ I don’t give a damn if it’s a breach in our protocols!” DJ cut him off, “ You have no idea what she’s done !” He pointed at the door Vanessa had fled from. 

“ We know she’s the rabbit lady! We know she’s trying to abduct kids, but that doesn’t change the fact that we need to let the authorities deal with her,” Freddy stated, DJ’s eyes shifted back to red, his fists shaking with rage. 

“ Listen, I'm not gonna argue with you. The only reason I even gave her ten seconds, instead of attacking her, is those two right there,” He pointed at Gregory who was still holding Soundbyte.” And if it wasn’t for those two, and this damn leg,” He gestured to his broken leg, “ I’d be going after her, I’m already using a lot  of restraint. So get off my back. ” The oven dinged, “ Let’s just get that and go back,” DJ turned to Gregory, keeping his distance but extending his hand for Soundbyte. Letting Gregory come to him to place the spider in his hand. His eyes kept shifting between dark blue and magenta as the spider shivered in his hold.

“ . . . sorry. . . I didn’t mean to scare you,” He apologized, glancing between her and Gregory. 

“ Vanessa now knows we’re helping Gregory, so we’ll need to be more careful,” The bear advised. DJ Sighed and gently trailed his finger down the small spider’s head. 

“ Right. . . Let’s get going.” DJ gave the disposal one last glance, “ I don’t want to be in here anymore.” Freddy gave Gregory a gentle pat on the shoulder, Chica turned to the oven and grabbed the pizza putting it in a box, then the five started for the daycare.

~Pov change~

Moon was nervous to say the least as they entered the raceway. They were met with a locked gate but Monty easily punched it open.

“ You sure you’re alright? That was quite a tumble,” Bonnie asked Moon who waved him off.

“ He falls down the stairs all the time,” Monty assured him as they continued, Bonnie blinked in surprise, “ Which is hilarious to me, cuz Sun never does!” 

“ Sun also doesn’t use the cable,” Moon mumbled defensively, Bonnie chuckled.

“ Oh yeah, remember that time he got tangled in it?” He asked, Moon blinked in surprise at him, while Monty turned to look at him. 

“ When did that happen?” He asked.

“ How does he know about that?! ” Sun asked, humiliation coming in waves off his code. 

“ Oh before you, waaaaay before you, I wasn’t even there, I saw it on the security feed while stuck in the bowling alley,” the bunny explained, Sun relaxed internally, but Moon stared at him. How much had he seen? “ We should get going,” Bonnie gestured ahead of them, patting the jester on the back as he started to walk. Moon still stared after him. Bonnie had started treating them differently since his return. It made Moon a tad uncomfortable, especially since he couldn’t understand why. 

“ Maybe it has to do with him being behind Bonnie Bowl all week? ” Sun suggested. Moon didn’t think he was wrong but he had a gut feeling there was more to it. 

Their relationship with the bunny had always been. . . tense. Sun and him started out fine, while Moon avoided him , but after Foxy’s decommissioning. . . things changed. Bonnie at first didn’t even acknowledge Sun which had hurt the jester at first and ticked Moon off on Sun’s behalf. Then he was polite when he did have to talk to them, but only when the plex was open. It wasn’t until Monty came along and started dragging ( Sun’s words ) him out of the daycare after close to hang out with the band. It wasn’t until Monty basically forced the two to be in the same vicinity day in and day out that Bonnie eventually started to warm back up to Sun. Once he had he treated the jester like he would any other character. But now? Sure the teasing was roughly the same, but he seemed to fuss over them more, seemed to be checking in on them more. Both of them , which made Moon even more uncomfortable because he wasn’t deserving of that kind of doting. Of that concern-

“ Stop it. You’re doing it again .” Sun scolded, Moon shook the self deprecating thoughts away, he could self pity himself later. 

“ Sorry ” The three came to a stop outside the door to the raceway. It lifted up, sending light pouring in from the racetrack. Causing sharp pains to hit Moon’s code, he staggered back with a yelp of surprised pain.

“ What the hell?” Monty growled, Bonnie stepped between Moon and the light, causing his shadow to fall over Moon, not completely but it was better than before as Moon backed up closer to the trophy case behind him. 

“ Someone must be onto Moon helping us, how they know his skillset is concerning since I don’t think any of us besides you and DJ knew before tonight that he could do repairs,” The bunny said thoughtfully. 

“ And Sun,” The gator corrected. Bonnie hummed in both acknowledgement and in thought. He closed his eyes for a moment, “ Yeah the whole place is lit up like it’s new years already. “ He sighed in frustration, letting the door close.

“ So Sun couldn’t just pass them through the lit parts?” Monty asked, Bonnie shook his head, “ Why can’t Sun just delete the virus, he did it for Chica,” He pointed out, Bonnie looked to Moon with an eyebrow raised.

“ I would rather not ” Sun huffed internally, Moon frowned.

“ He is not eager to repeat that,” Moon answered, Bonnie sighed.

“ Okay, I know where the lights are in there so Monty and I’ll get the lights then you can come in and we’ll take care of Roxy together, sound good?” He asked, Moon nodded, tugging on his ribbons nervously. Bonnie sent him one last nervous look before the bunny and gator entered the raceway, leaving the jesters alone. 

“ Why would they turn on all the lights in the raceway?” Sun asked, Moon hummed.

“ I don’t know, to keep me out? ” 

“ But why? ” Sun pressed.

“ Pathetic. . .” Moon stilled, it was his voice , that much he knew, “ Here I thought there was something special about you. . .” Moon slowly turned and looked up to see the same skeletal endo from 5:00 am. The one that attacked DJ, “ I’ve been watching you,” It continued, not waiting for Moon to respond,  “ You’re a coward, a nervous, sniveling coward,” Moon made a gulping sound,  taking a small step back so as not to trigger the doors to open, “ What does he see in you? What makes you so special? ”

“ Moon don’t listen to him .” Sun told him, the lunar jester tugged hard on his ribbons.

“ W-who are you talking about? What are you” He asked, the skeleton slowly started crawling like a cat along the rafters of the room, chuckling. Making Moon turn to keep it in view.

“ What’s the matter? Never looked in a mirror?” It joked, all but confirming DJ’s theory that it was their prototype endo. The one that got left unfinished and stuffed into storage when the budget got cut and they went from being two characters for the theater to one for the daycare.  But given it had Moon’s voice .

“ And your mannerisms ,” Sun supplied. Moon would take it a step further and say this could be a copy of Moon’s very source code. 

“ Who do you think I’m talking about?” The skeleton paused, its head rotated a little too far to the right as its mouth turned up slightly, “ Lullaby ~” Moon tugged too hard on his ribbon, he heard the fabric protest at being stretched too far. 

“ I don’t know what he sees in me. . .” Moon admitted with a weak chuckle, “ Why? Do you want him or something?” Like he’d let that happen. If DJ wanted to leave him was one thing, but after this thing attacked him? No. His copy chuckled, head rotating the other way. 

“ Considering our first interaction was him punching me in the face . No.” 

“ I suppose that isn’t a good first impression, “ Moon agreed, “ But you attacked him.” His copy chuckled again.

“ Yeah. . .” He dropped down in front of Moon, making the jester step back.

“ I had a job to do. . . he was in my way .” It got in his face, “ you understand . . . right? ” it sounded mocking, Moon felt sick. Was he like this? Sun didn’t have an answer for him. 

“ What is your job?” he asked it, it leaned back and started circling him again, this time on his two feet. 

“ The one you failed . You were getting distracted . So she made me,” He placed a hand on his chest, the fan on it spinning lazily. “ Don't you remember?” It asked, Moon tried to, but those memories were blocked, locked behind a glitchy screen. 

“ Is your job to hunt down kids? To hunt down Gregory

“ Hunt is a strong word. . . we prefer collect ,”  It reached over and lightly flicked the frill around Moon’s neck as it walked.

“ I won’t let you hurt him,” Moon warned it, the skeleton tilted its head. 

“ Oh? What are you going to do to stop me? Hm? Cry to your boyfriend again ? Oh maybe you’ll go to Monty?” Maybe cry to the plush Daddy you keep hidden away in that stupid false ship wreck.” Moon felt something strangle his code, “ You didn’t exactly help Monty with the Endos downstairs did you? ” It was the unfortunate truth, he kept freezing up, mostly holding them still for the gator to take care of. He couldn’t bring himself to access his functions. Too afraid of blacking out again, “ your brother has been more helpful than you, and he isn’t programmed to be violent .” Its circling came to a stop, back to the raceway, Moon’s back to the trophy case,“ Still . . . I can’t risk you growing a spine,” Moon was about to ask what it meant when it suddenly lunged at him. Slamming him into the trophy case, it’s arm pinning his wrist and neck to the glass while his other hand had a tight grip on Moon’s other wrist. As the lunar jester had come up instinctively to defend himself. Its thumb pressed to Moon’s palm, then in one simple motion it applied pressure with enough force to snap Moon’s wrist joint. 

The jester yelped and struggled against it, kicking at its torso like a pinned cat would. But unlike a pinned cat Moon was unsuccessful in his attempt to push his copy off  himself. He simply couldn’t.

“ You see what I mean?” It asked, “ about you being pathetic,” Moon felt more pressure applied to his neck, feeling the glass behind him crack, his neck start to creek, “ a pathetic clown .”

“ Actually!” a voice interrupted, and a guitar suddenly collided with the skeleton’s head, knocking it to the side. Making it drop Moon to cradle his wrist to his chest as he pushed himself up from the floor. He looked up to see Bonnie had returned, glaring at the skeleton, bass guitar in hand, “ They’re jesters . There’s a difference .” He sounded pissed, the skeleton gon on its fours before pouncing at the bunny only for Bonnie to swing his guitar like a bat and knock it back again. 

“ Monty!” Bonnie called suddenly, “ A little help!?” The gator slid in from the raceway, Moon could see the lights were off in the race way.

“ What? What happen- Oh shit!” He looked between Moon and the skeleton. Bonnie swung at it again only for it to grab the guitar and a game of tug a war began. Monty hurried to the bunny’s air.

“ Moon get out of here,” Bonnie called, the jester hesitated, staggering to his feet.

“ But-”

“ Now!” The bunny ordered, Moon sprinted into the raceway, he stumbled down the stairs, missed a step and fell the rest of the way. 

“ Moon! Are you alright? ” Sun asked, Moon pushed himself up, still holding his broken wrist to his chest.

“ I’m fine, why was-”

“ YOU!” Moon turned his head sharply towards the wolf who was moving towards him from the gift shop. The fight she had with DJ did a number on her, her tail that she was normally so proud of had been snapped in half, her face was dented and cracked, some of her teeth were missing, a single eye kept twitching. Her hair was more unruly than normal, her casing on her hands had been stripped away, leaving skeletal fingers. He felt a small combination of fear, pride and admiration. 

“ Yeah, that’s what that’s called admiration ,” Sun teased, unable to help himself, Moon felt his fans kick on.

“ Not the time Sun ” Moon snapped internally. He turned and ran, attempting to summon his cable, but it did not come. Roxy tacked him around the middle, pinning Moon’s wrists above his head with one hand, her other hand firm on his back to keep his chest pinned to the floor. . Moon turned his head and legs to face up, “ H-Hey Roxanne?” The jester tried, having never really spoken to Roxy before, the wolf’s eyes narrowed. Moon was really starting to regret ignoring Foxy’s advice two years ago. Roxy snarled at him.

“ You and your stupid “brother” Traitors the both of you! I’m gonna rip your gears out and use them for arts and crafts” Moon winced, struggling weakly against her. He could easily overpower her if he wanted to. But he was afraid to. Afraid he’d hurt her, unlike DJ who seemed to be fed up being “the gentle giant” all the time, Moon was afraid of what he was capable of, “ And then,” Roxy continued, “ I’m gonna turn the lights back on and rip out every ray in that stupid head, and sell them as decorations for rearview mirrors-” A line had been crossed, and something in Moon snapped. He felt a familiar wave of something, hatred? Rage? He wasn’t sure, what he was sure of was that it wasn’t followed by the purple haze that usually came with it. Moon grit his teeth, and pressed his foot to her stomach.

“ Don’t you touch my Brother .” the night themed jester snarled, pushing Roxy off him with the final word. The wolf was thrown back and hit the floor with a heavy thud. She grinned at him as they both got to their feet. Moon crouched on all fours , well threes since his wrist was still broken and it hurt to put weight on it . A pose reminiscent of a cat about to fight. 

“ Ooooooh Pussy got some bite to him after all?” She taunted, Moon didn’t humor her with a response, he lunged. Sending her into the railing for the track, she slashed at his face, leaving scratches in his plate. He pinned her chest with his bad arm and grabbed her ear. He pulled, he could hear the cracking of her casing.

- His vision glitched. Suddenly he was in the west arcade, he could tell from the music ambiently playing over the speakers. The various beeping of the cabinets. He wasn’t holding onto a wolf’s ear, but a green headphone ear. Moon released DJ in a panic, only for his vision to glitch again. -

Roxy grabbed his neck and threw him away from her, towards the bridge to the construction zone. Moon hit the floor hard.

“ Moon? ” Sun called with uncertainty, Moon pushed himself up, shaking slightly. Was that a memory? A flashback? Was it his memory or the virus’s ? It had to be his if he saw it right? Had Sun seen it? He got to his feet and turned in time to dodge another dive from the wolf, she grinned at him.

“ Roxy please, I don’t want to hurt you,” Moon told her, pleaded really, She growled back.

“ Oh fuck your dreams, fuck your nightmares,” She snarled, oil dripping from her teeth, “ I’m gonna beat you .” She dove again, Moon dodged it, looking around for something to help him. Monty had the tablet since it didn’t fit in Moon’s chest compartment, so he couldn’t debug her. He spotted the bumper cars, recalling the office not far from them. He sprinted towards them, “ Get back here you cowards!” He heard Roxy call.

- His vision glitched again, he was in parts and service, sprinting towards a green elevator door, which had just closed. The only thought in his mind was “stop him. Stop him! STOP HIM!” -

He burst through the staff door into the back office of Roxy raceway just in time to slam the door in the wolf’s face. 

“ Moon you’re scaring me.” Sun told him, Moon quickly ran to the computer, plugging his cable into it.

‘ I’m scaring myself ” Moon confessed, he kept the needed end of the cable tight in his hand, moving away from the computer. Eyes on the door. Roxy banged on it. 

-Moon heard the door open behind him, “Let her go!” -

“ Get out here right now you coward!” Roxy howled.

- “ Just give him back to me!” -

“ I am the best! I will beat you!” 

“ Moon?!” Sun tried to reach him through all the mental chaos.

- “ SHUT UP!” - 

 Moon flinched at the echo of DJ’s voice, a memory that wasn’t quite his own, but stayed steady anyway. The door burst open, Roxy charged at him. Moon managed to dodge her and wrap his bad arm around the wolf’s upper half. Pinning her arms to her side, then before she could react he shoved the cable into her port. She yelped and struggled against him as he, with one hand, started the can before using that hand to hold her still. She cursed at him, then went lax as the computer prompted him to start the debugging process. He moved his good hand and clicked continue . She suddenly threw her head back, head butting him and knocking him into an electrical panel on the wall. Just as she herself yelled putin pain from the debugging process. Both animatronics sized as different pains coursed through them. Moon could hear Sun screaming in his head, then nothing. He fell to his knees, his body still buzzing, Roxy was holding her head. The wolf looked up, blinking awkwardly at him.

“ Oh shit what happened to you- SHIT!” Moon started to fall forward, but caught himself on the desk. Something was wrong . He couldn’t feel Sun, he couldn’t hear Sun, was he okay? Did the electrical shock damage them?! He could hear Roxy talking to him, but it was lost in a sea of voices in Moon’s head, was Sun’s voice there too?

- “Moon I can’t” “Hours, they did that for hours” “ What did you do?”

“You didn’t have to”  “Cuz ta me, it sounds condescending as hell” “ Why did you ask me to do this??”

- Moon jumped as a hand grabbed his arm, making him look up at the owner. A purplish green rabbit suit was grinning at him. Moon was sure he’d never seen it before but his code screamed at him to get away. His voice box screamed too as he ripped his arm free, staggering back. The suit continued to grin at him, he was alone. -

His vision glitched, Roxy was standing not too far from him, next to her was Monty. Across from him where the suit had been was Bonnie, hand still out, but he retracted it. Instead holding both hands up like he was trying not to spook the jester. 

“ Easy Droplet, you’re okay, We can get you to-” Bonnie’s voice was suddenly swallowed by the sea of voices. 

“ As far as I’m concerned, you deleted my boyfriend and took his place.”

“ It’s her or him” “ MR.MOON!” “ Make me”

“ What the hell are you doing here?!” “ There won’t be a next time, Lullaby…” “ I asked you what was in that bag” 

“ You will do what I say! You will bring me what I want! And if you fail me, then you will- BOTH OF YOU, BURN!”

- His vision glitched again, all three animatronics were replaced with inky dripping rabbits with jagged grins and hollow eyes. The closest reached for him, Moon screamed again. Or tried to, his own voice was also swallowed by the voices. He launched himself over the table behind the rabbit, and sprinted through the door. Desperate to get away from the rabbits, away from the voices. 

He wasn’t in the plex, he was in what felt more like a castle setting, with stone walls. Making it impossible for him to know where he was going. He eventually found himself in a grand hall, the walls cold and gray, small lanterns lined the walls as the only source of light.

“ AHH!” “ When I first found you.” “ : Let me go!”

“You can’t leave me here!” “ You were nothing”  “ Stop!”

“ DJ!”  “ You were small” “ Please don’t. . .” 

“ You hurt Machamp!” “ Pathetic.” “ I will rip you out myself if I have to.” 

Moon pulled his hat lower in an attempt to muffle the voices, he saw something out of the corner of his eye, he turned to it. Moon froze at the same time as a literal gold woman came into the room and stilled. Her hair, skin dress, all of her glowed . Her eyes met his.

His vision glitched again. He was standing in the Atrium, the gold woman was wearing a security uniform. 

Then he was in the castle setting again, the gold woman still standing before him. 

“ Office Vannessa?” Moon called hesitantly, the woman made to answer him when a purple chair seemed to fly out of the darkness around them. Latching around her neck, and pulling her back. She reached up hand up to grip it, the other reached out to him.

“ Help me. . .” She managed to croak out before she was yanked back. Moon actually took a step towards her, but stopped when he heard a familiar giggle. The kind that comes from a grown man with ill intentions, why was it familiar? There was an echo of voicing coming from the direction Vanessa had been pulled to. One being the woman’s but another sounded like a child’s. A child he knew? But it was quickly swallowed by the sea of voices. Help me. Let me out.  A humming followed, as did footsteps heading towards him. Moon didn’t stick around, he turned and ran. 

Chapter Text

DJ felt like he was going to combust with the amount of rage he felt towards that woman. But he wasn’t stupid, he was aware that rage, that injustice was part of what Not-Moon fed off of. Used to justify the awful acts he had committed. He remembered how traumatized he had been ( and still was) when Not-Moon killed Cassidy right in front of him. He glanced at Soundbyte who had made her way to his shoulder again, then at Gregory. As much as he hated himself for letting Vanessa go, he refused to do to these kids what Not-Moon had done to him. 

As they entered the Atrium DJ was taken aback to see Bonnie sprint out of Roxy Raceway. Monty and Roxy not too far behind him.

“ Moon!” Bonnie called, not noticing the five standing by the foodcourt. The Bunny was straining his ears to listen for the jester, DJ could tell because Bonnie flinched when Chica called out.

“ Roxy!” The other three finally noticed their audience as Chica practically ran across the Atrium to jump on the wolf. Who, despite being in terrible shape, wrapped her arms around the chicken and spun her as she returned the hug, “ Roxy! I’m so glad you’re alright! Well not alright, but here!!” Bonnie turned back to the others.

“ Have you seen Moon?” He asked quickly.

“ No we have not. . .” Freddy answered, “ We saw Officer Vanessa?” the Bear offered, but Bonnie waved him off.

“ Different fish to fry later, we gotta find Sun or Moon, probably Moon. He was damaged pretty badly and-” The rest of Bonnie’s words became static as dread sunk into DJ’s code.

“ What do you mean by "Damaged" ?” He interrupted the Bunny, not particularly caring what he was interrupting. Bonnie gave him an annoyed look.

“ He hit an electrical panel and was twitchy, kinda like you when you got locked out of the arcade,” Monty offered, sounding concerned himself. DJ felt his code tighten.

“ You think he was electrically overloaded?” He asked, his own memories of his experience were fuzzy, but he remembered the pain vividly. He could still feel the ghosts of it even now. 

“ I think the problem’s a little more nuanced than that but it’s definitely a factor,” Bonnie supplied,  “ he seemed. . . . out of it. Do you have any idea where he’d go?”

 Hey! I got ideas!” Monty argued defensively.

“ Between Monty and DJ, finding him shouldn’t be too hard, you’re both the closest to him,” Freddy offered his hands for Soundbyte, DJ hesitated before handing the spider to the bear.

“ Be good,” He told her, she chimed in response, Freddy turned to Bonnie.

“ We’ll take the kids, and Roxy ,” He added, eyeing the wolf, “ To the daycare until you find Moon and figure something out from there,” Bonnie nodded, giving a small mock salute.

“ Sounds good Boss,” He turned back to DJ, “ What do you think Herbie, he’s your boyfriend,” the bunny asked, DJ watched Gregory get ushered towards the daycare with the others. He looked back at DJ nervously so the beetle sent him a reassuring smile before turning back to Bonnie.

“ The Bakery is where I would start. . . it’s our spot. . “ He added almost sheepishly. 

“ Then we start there, “ Bonnie started towards the bakery, Monty mumbled something under his breath, but  begrudgingly followed. 

Upon reaching the bakery, Monty and Bonnie took half of the room beyond the shop while DJ searched inside the shop. After ten minutes he started to feel anxiety strangle his code once more. It almost felt as intense as the rage he’d felt earlier, he ended up punching the arcade cabinet for Chica’s Feeding Frenzy to try and relieve the overwhelming tension. It didn’t help. 

He left the shop out the side entrance and spotted Monty on one knee so he could look under the cake machine. He turned his head toward DJ as he approached. 

“ Did you find him,” the beetle asked, the gator stood up with a sigh.

“ No, You?” He asked, DJ felt the anxiety transmute back into rage. 

“ I wouldn’t be asking you if I did!” He shouted rather suddenly, Monty looked taken aback for a second but then reflected DJ’s rage back at him.

“ Don’t you yell at me! It’s not my fault we can’t find him!” 

“ Hey, Lover boys!” Bonnie called, sounding annoyed.

“ What?!” They both shouted in response, turning to look at the bunny who pointed towards the front of the shop.

“ I found something.” The other two exchanged glares before following Bonnie to stand in front of the shop. He pointed to the ceiling above the shop where a vent had been torn open. One of Moon’s ribbons was hanging off the lip of it, “ Either of you know where he’d be heading with that?” Bonnie asked, Monty shook his head but DJ answered immediately. 

“ The daycare. That’s the vent he takes to go from Monty golf to the daycare,”  he stated.

“ Why didn't we start with the daycare again?”  Monty asked in a sarcastic tone,  DJ glared at the gator, Bonnie started for the door.

“ Can you two stay off each other's nerves for like ten minutes! Are they your boyfriends or your babysitters, god,” Bonnie called as he marched, sounding irritated. DJ and Monty exchanged looks again before following him. 

When they reached the daycare they split up again. Freddy offered to search the theater since he was already there with Chica, Roxy and the kids. Chica offered to search the lower dining section and the lucky stars gift shop. DJ made note that Roxy was asking Gregory questions, trying to get to know him while assessing the situation with Gregory’s hair without touching it with her broken skeletal fingers. He wasn’t super comfortable with her so close to the boy, especially after the bowling alley, but he shook it off, reminding himself that she wasn’t herself. He searched their room while Monty searched the play area and Bonnie searched the party rooms. When he didn’t find Moon in there he made his way back to the play area.

“ Moon? Sweetie?” He heard Chica call as he passed the gift shop, “ Where are you~?” He winced, Bonnie leaned over the railing.

“ Chica, that's what the virus called out, no ones gonna respond to that!” DJ continued into the play area, Monty was once again on his knees, trying to peer into the play structures.

“ Did you find him?” he asked the gator again, making him jump this time. Then he sighed and shook his head, “ So your idea wasn’t any better then huh?” DJ snapped, clenching his fists. Monty’s tail flicked as he turned to him. About to snap, then he inhaled deeply, then released a breath.

“ Look.” Monty started with forced calm, “ I get you’re worried. I’m worried. Sun hasn’t pinged me this entire time,” the beetle felt his irritation start to morph into guilt, “ But picking fights with me ain't gonna find him sooner, in fact it’ll probably take longer.” DJ sighed.

“ I know. . . I’m sorry . . .” He couldn’t get the what if’s out of his head. What if Moon was damaged beyond repair? What if he was in pain? What if his battery popped and he was just laying in a pool of his own battery acid somewhere? What if the virus hadn’t been deleted after all and this electrical shock let it take control. 

Monty snorted, snapping DJ back to reality, he looked up at the gator.

“ What?” he asked, then caught the music that had been playing out of his speaker. 

Where are you? And I’m so sorry, I cannot sleep, I cannot dream tonight. 

He didn’t bother covering the speaker, he just sighed. He wished Moon had been able to fix that, it was getting annoying how little control he had over it. 

“ You remember Saturday night? When you thought you were being deleted so you hid in the bakery?” DJ frowned but nodded, “ You know Moon tore apart the west arcade looking for you.” There was a pause, “ You’re kinda acting like he was right now,” He added, DJ turned to look at him.

“ I am?” 

“ Oh yeah, now granted I don’t think he’s hiding from us on purpose but it’s funny aint it?” Monty chuckled, DJ started tapping his knuckles subconsciously.

“ I guess. . . .”

“ We’ll find him,” Monty promised, “ He can’t have gone far, the building is still on lockdown.”

“ Right. . . “ 

“ Alright he’s not here.” Bonnie stepped into the play area, making them look at him, “ Any other ideas?” DJ and Monty exchanged looks, then both shook their heads.

“ Was there anywhere he liked to hide before he started seeing me?” DJ asked, Monty snorted.

“ The West Arcade Ceilings?” A much needed laugh escaped the beetle’s voice box.

“ I don’t think he’d go there,”he chuckled, Bonnie chuckled, turning to the door.

“ Well worth a look anyway,” The bunny said, moving towards Kids Cove. 

“ Really, I think the west Arcade is as fair a place as any, he might be hiding out in your old body’s hand,” Monty pointed out, DJ raised an eyebrow

“ What? Why would he be there?” He asked, trying to imagine it only to decide in this context it was too pitiful to imagine and made his code ache.

“ Well cuz that’s where he was when we got rid of the virus, he found out you were in the bigger body, and ran straight for the West Arcade, then I guess he tried to find your glamrock body, couldn’t and thought-'' DJ came to a stop as Monty seemed to realize what he was saying, “ Uh never mind.” It was too late, the damage was done, and DJ was unwillingly replaying the night's events since his waking up with the new context.  Bonnie turned, clearly with the intention of saying something but his words died on his tongue. His ear twitched to a sound they couldn’t hear.

“ What is it?” Monty asked, Bonnie reached back and gripped his snout.