Recommended Songs

[1] Better Days - Neiked, Mae Muller and Polo G

[2] La La Land - Adam Jensen

Chapter 5 – Memories Never Stay Dead

Elena's POV

It was getting a little chilly when I finally came out of that damn restaurant. Some creep tried to have his way, but I let him know his lesson very well before he could touch it. I guess I got a little frightened as I stayed in the bathroom longer than I thought. Mostly trying to get my hair right. Let me say that it is really hard to try to keep a double braided ponytail together when you move around too much. Not all strings are even.

I wondered why I decided to go that s***ty place in the first place. While the food was great – you gotta know they deep fried their chips compared to fast food outlets – it is meant to be also a club and a bar, welcoming too many perverts. I could just go to a calmer diner, but I felt that I should try something older since I was going to be a young adult soon.

Ah geez. Nothing has caused the world so much trouble than criminals.

There are three types of bad people.

We have those who are manipulative and greedy.

We have those who are just crazy and looking for things to make them sane.

And we have those we are misguided. To be fair, I'm misguided, though it's my own fault.

I hadn't kept in touch with my school friend Sonia. We hadn't been talking with each other much ever since graduation. She still had my phone number. We sent some texts and pictures to each other, but…I was the one who was falling back. She kept sending me what had been going on with life, but I just…sent weak responses back like 'yeah', 'good job' and 'OK'.

I really miss Sonia. To be honest, I felt like I should try to go on my own for this one. She helped me a lot in exploring myself and letting go of my emotions, but I got choked up by her kindness to me. I never really have that many friends. She appeared intimidating, but she was really kind. However, we didn't plan to meet up as she pursued her dreams of becoming a graffiti artist.

And despite my claims and ideas of what I want to be, I realized I didn't know where I wanted to go. I didn't want to go on my own.

I felt that Sonia wasn't the right person to be around with.

We took a break and while she kept texting me, I felt rather disconnected. Maybe it was the fact that my mother and stepfather decided to take me to Canada since Mum lost her job. It was a huge pain as we had to move again and I was feeling a little tired of moving places even though I should be in college.

Despite the uncertainty and the thought of no expectations, I decided to test myself for my art skills. I tried to create the place I once called home. The same place I could wander around yet only in my mind and not officially created for me to properly remember. I kept this drawing book with me and let my creativity flow; spit out every single thing I wanted to draw about.

From worries, to fears, to happiness. They became as rich as diamonds, but they appeared to be more…red. Like flesh trying to find skin to cover itself with.

Ew. That sounds gross actually.

I tried song-writing to let it all out, but the feeling of loneliness just asked me to make more and explore more that I never knew. Thinking about the topic of love or hate or power, the tone of happiness, seriousness or sadness, the slowness of ballad or the fastness of Rock. I let almost everything out, but I was still curious for more.

I tried listening to more songs, but I selected listening to Rock Music. The energetic and aggressive music that spelled out my entire life. Not good for anyone, but it helps you to rock the f*** out.

Dancing continued to be my own personal journey. To set me free and fly around my own small world. Sometimes, I would just randomly dance around when nobody was watching. Be myself and take me on this adventure of new moves and exotic poses. [1]

In fact, I felt the need to at the moment, but it was a little dangerous in the dark. Despite the provision of several light lamps around the other exit of the restaurant, the roads were bathed in darkness.

I resorted to jumping on one of the lamp poles and swung around it. I felt the air brushing through me like flying on a plane. The flight needed to break me free from the cage. A gentle and calming trip that would be short but everlasting.

The door behind me clicked open. The cloud around me disappeared as I quickly jumped down back onto the ground. Right there was that…purple-haired girl I saw earlier and her two male comrades; one with a dark blue Mohawk and the other dressed in all black.

And oh, I was a little too close to her.

"Oh, hi there," she said, offering a genuine smile. " I saw you...throwing that guy into a tall cake."

I raised an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to know you?"

"Melody Aria Song. Vigilante of Vancouver."

I shrugged. "Never heard of you before. I'm Elena Chaser."

"You're not going to ask for our names?" said the brown-haired boy.

"I got to go now," said the Mohawk guy. "I have to check on my uncle. See you later."

"Yeah. I have an appointment with my boss. A little bit of an abbreviation."

Melody smiled. "Well, see you later, boys!"

After sharing a kiss with the Mohawk guy, the two men walked away. It was just me and Melody. She continued her own business, heading towards a silver and black motorcycle.

"Have you been around here?" she asked, taking out a red and pink helmet.

"No," I said. "First time here in Vancouver. This restaurant sucks ass by the way."

"Wait, you just moved here?" said Melody. "Me too! My friends moved to this country."

"What a charming coincidence," I said flatly.

She tried turning on her motorcycle, but it sputtered. Black smoke coughed out from the exhaust pipes.

Melody frowned. "Funny. I thought it was working earlier."

"Hold on a minute," I said, spotting something sticking out from the motorcycle. "It must be a minor malfunction."

Bending down, I checked on the machine of the motorcycle. I took off one of the shells and saw all the gears that make this bike ride. Along with craving for more, I even took an interest in machinery. Inventing is a good hobby, but I like to explore more on machines. The biggest one was checking my step dad's car, but never before I got close to a motorcycle.

"Here's the problem," I said, using my fingers to fix some gears and wiring. "There is something clogged in between them. It must have been very dirty. Need a wash and a check over. And done."

Melody tested it and the motorcycle growled.

"Wow!" she said. "Nice work! I wish I could be a mechanic so that I won't have to pay for motorcycle insurance."

I snorted. "Maybe if you took a class in machinery, then you can know how to."

"It would have been a great ability for my night guard job."

Wait a minute. Night guard?

"What job?" I said.

Melody turned to me with an innocent smile. "Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza Plex."

I knew about the new pizzeria being built. They had all the money in the world to create a mall-like pizzeria that NO ONE would be willing to enter due to the company's bad reputation. And how come it chose Canada out of all countries? This was pretty absurd to me and it felt really unsafe. Why hang around with creepy-ass animatronics when they could skin you alive?

"You mean that s*** hole?" I said. "Better find another job than be stuck in hell."

Melody frowned. "Don't be so cynical. It isn't that bad."

I rolled my eyes. "C'mon, Melody. Don't you know who you're working with?"

She huffed as she placed her helmet on. "Hell yeah, I do. I'm working to protect a great place that aims to entertain the kids. It must be really special."

"'Special' leads to 'hiding up unwanted truths'," I said, poking her in the stomach. "Fazbear Entertainment is known to have a history of deaths. And the animatronics are really suspicious, don't you think?"

"Look. I know everybody has been talking about this and that and blah, blah, blah. But I will be fine. I don't need any warning. If anything, I'll just swing in and perform Kung-Fu on them."

"That is if you don't lose the element of surprise," I said, crossing my arms. "Those animatronics might be like the one in Brooklyn. Those ones are thought to haunt the pizzeria and creep up onto the night guards. And stuff them into suits. Who knows if they will do the same."

"The Canada location has a huge mall that fits an entire school and I'm a she-wolf," said Melody, snarky. "What are the odds?"

I growled a little. "You don't have any ideas of what you are going into. That place might be dangerous for all that God knows. And believe me; once you go dead, they will place a fake missing poster and your family will never know what happened to you! Do you want that to happen?"

"That is expected of cops who don't do anything useful. I can do better than hiding away."

"Look, sister," I said, coming close to her. "I can tell your heart is in the right place, but don't you think you are on the wrong side? Sure, you're protecting property, but it isn't worth it if its company is known for pathetically covering up murders and disappearances! You are just going into a losing battle."

"If I lose, then I will lose like a real man would," said Melody, unmoved. "I just want to keep everyone safe, that's all."

Hearing that didn't make me feel better. I remembered back to my father. A former night guard. A guy who wanted to do things right. And when he went to Freddy's? Big mistake and he never came back.

I narrowed my eyes. "You might think that you are strong, white girl. You think…you can be a hero when you don't actually know what to expect there? You think you are powerful just because you have your own achievements? And let me tell you what you would say; maybe you would partake in a sword fight with one of the animatronics that would rather cheat on you. Or you would get dared to jump into a pizza oven. Or have a one-night stand with the large male alpha until he goes bleeding. It's common sense, whitey. Something you need to have and sorry if you lacked that. But you aren't really aware of Freddy's despite being known all over the state."

My sour words left a mark on Melody as the bravery and fierceness slowly faded away. It seemed to turn to lost hope. Doubt. Some pity on herself. But yet, she tried to keep up a face.

Eh. Weak.

I scoffed and turned my back. I didn't have time for this.

"Dumbass," I said, but not lower than loudly.

I thought Melody was going to say something back, but I only heard the sound of her sitting on her motorcycle and revving it up. More growls coming from behind. Walking away, I didn't acknowledge how close the motorcycle seemed to be. When I heard its growl intensified, I decided to turn around…

…Melody's face was nearly right up to me. [1s]

I screamed as she pressed the brake, the front wheel of the motorcycle an inch away from my feet. Her hair was already more messy than before, clearly due to the brief period of speed.

Her dark purple eyes appeared menacing.

I could see her gritted teeth.

"Don't call me a dumbass," she hissed.

As if I will. "Don't run over me."

Melody sighed. "You know, one day you're going to regret what you say to people. The thing you're lacking is manners."

I scoffed. "OK. Fine then."

Without wasting time to get away from her, I walked across the road and onto the pavement. I dug into my vest pocket to find my phone and plugged in my earphones. Just before I placed them into my ears and welcomed the sound of Rock, I heard Melody's last words before she rode off in the opposite direction.

"Pessimistic prick," she grumbled. [2]

It had been a few minutes ever since I left the restaurant, but it felt like more than an hour. I was worried I might get lost since this was the first time I had to travel around on my own without needing anyone's help. However, with good tracking skills and memorizing every road I saw so far, I managed to find my way back home.

I arrived on the streets, looking up at the dark blue sky. There were several white dots in the sky, twinkling from above. Some of them were flying through the sky as if they were on fire. I started to think as if they were wishing for stars.

As I walked across the street, I kept wishing for three stars. One of them was that I would be able to see Sonia again. Two, I will feel satisfied for once. Three, my life would turn back to normal. All three wishes repeated as the stars flew by.

So many of them.

Must be an asteroid shower, but I decided to play along.

I finally arrived back at my house. Well, it wasn't technically my FAMILY'S house. You see, while we already made it to Canada, we didn't plan things out. Mum wasn't able to find a job around this area, so we couldn't waste money on a home yet. Fortunately, my stepdad had a friend who was willing to let us stay at her house until we could find a suitable home to stay in. We need one that would be close to my Mum's new workplace if she managed to find one.

Making my way in, I was greeted by my mother. A tall, fine-looking woman. Well, she looked like me, but older. And she decided to dye her whole hair silver then try to recolor it to black.

"You're finally here, darling!" she said, pulling me into a hug. "I was wondering what took you so long."

I rolled my eyes. "It is only 5 minutes late. I'm fine."

Even though I adored Mum, I was feeling uncomfortable being pulled in too close. I pushed her away a little.

"Where is Mr. and Mrs. Cooper?" I asked. "And where is Dad?"

"They already went out," said Mum. "We found a company looking forward to hiring me, but it's in another city. That means we have to stay in that city for a week until we get the job. And because hotel reservations are running out so quickly, they had to get there at the last minute."

That was new. They must have searched all of Vancouver and they found nothing that suited my mother. I guessed that meant time to pack my bags and go, but that meant staying away from the Pizza Plex.

"Well," I said. "Please give me time. I haven't decided what I want to bring."

"Oh no, no, no," said Mum quickly. "It will be just the Coopers, me and your Dad."

I was taken aback by this. "What?"

"I'm sorry, dear. The Coopers are more familiar with the city we are going to and you know that we are still new to Canada. However, Gregory doesn't want to come along."

She muttered under her breath, "Must be something to do with the new penalties they have there…"

"So…that means I'm staying with him?"

"That is up to you. I know this is a first, but you have taken care of yourself several times. And I know you had your own experiences of being a babysitter. If you aren't ready, then we will call Mr Cooper's brother since he is also ready for anything."

"Is that the reason why Mr. Cooper kept asking me what I would do if I lived alone?" I asked.

"You can say that." Mum rubbed the back of her head, looking guilty.

"I-I think I want to stay," I said. "I can definitely take care of Gregory. Like being a good parent. There is no question."

"Are you sure?"

"I won't mind what I might miss out on. Besides, I haven't got into university yet and the jobs you and Dad do don't really catch my eye." [2s]

Truth to be told, I wasn't sure of staying at home with Gregory. And because that day was the start of his week-off from school, I wasn't sure what he would want to do. But I let my own pride take control of me. I think I could handle Gregory well and I had limited time to spend with him. He wasn't a bad kid.

"I just have to make sure first," Mum said.

"I'll be fine," I said. "Mrs. Cooper already gave me a list of what Gregory should do and not do. It won't be that hard."

"OK then. Just be a good sister, OK?"

"I promise."

She gave me another hug. One as if it would be the final one before she goes into war. Her arms were already warmer than I thought they would be. She gave me a gentle kiss on my forehead and stroked my cheek in affection.

"Take care of yourself, Elena," she said softly. "I won't be long. I won't get into any trouble. Be safe, my dear."

"Wait a minute," I said. "That means nobody will be around to help me braid my hair."

"You can ask Gregory for help."

"He doesn't know how to braid hair!"

She chuckled. "Maybe he knows."

Before I could even commit to this idea, Mum was already gone. I watched as she pulled her holiday luggage and went inside her red car. She looked back one last time, staring at me as if pleading for me to come over. I only nodded, telling her that I can handle Gregory myself. After what seemed to be the longest hour, she finally started her car up. I nearly felt like crying as she drove away and turned around the corner.

I felt a little empty.

It was night time already. Checking my watch, it was already getting late. Maybe I should find Gregory first and see if he was in bed already.

Instead, I found him sitting on the kitchen bench. He was fiddling with a phone, rubbing the black screen. A small child with messy brown hair. At about 7 years old, he looked adventurous and brave. He was already in his pajamas, showing that he was ready to go to sleep. He was just waiting for me.

"Hey, Elena!" he said cheerfully, looking at me. "I thought you got lost in the woods."

I laughed flatly, feeling a little moody. "Nearly got run over by a motorcycle."

"Ooh. That bad, huh? You could have been dead."

I groaned. "Ergh. Talk that to your own face."

And then, I spotted a bandage on his right cheek. I didn't notice it, but it just appeared right there.

"Oh s***," I said, nearly forgetting not to swear in front of the kid. "There is something on your face!"

Gregory chuckled. "You should have seen the other guy. It was awesome."

"Did you get into a fight?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, laughing sheepishly. "I saw the school bully stealing someone's lunch. I stepped in and we punched each other. I somehow managed to make his nose bleed a little by accident."

"And you bruise yourself by tripping over?" I snarked.

"No. He scratched me."

Wow. Now, that is nasty. It had been a little strange ever since I started to stay at Gregory's house. And since I didn't have a job or any plans to go to college for full-time employment, I mostly hung around with him. I'm not one to talk to kids. I don't mix with them. I feel like they are out of my league. I'm not even a teenager anymore. But Gregory was a little different. A little more perceptive and…understanding. He respected me and I gave that respect back to him.

But of course, he could get bratty and sassy whenever he wanted to.

"Is that necessary to fight back?" I said.

"You don't know him like I do," said Gregory. "He's such a meanie. Teachers don't really try to do anything until you decide to take action."

"Please don't…follow those movies we watched together," I said nervously.

Gregory sighed. "OK then. So, have you heard about the new Pizza Plex?"

I leaned against the bench, taking a breath. "Yeah. It looks fine…I guess."

"I heard that it's going to open tomorrow!" said Gregory. "Can you believe it? I told my friends about it and they thought that it would be cool!"

The sad thing with Gregory was that he was too young to understand the horrible things Fazbear Entertainment did or went through. He didn't know about the horrible deaths and disappearances or what triggered it. It was only me who knew about it because my father was a night guard and he didn't return. That gave me a bad impression on Freddy's ever since.

"I don't think it would be cool," I muttered.

"You got to be kidding me!" gasped Gregory. "Jeff told me that he wants to see Glamrock Freddy! This new version of Freddy is said to be more cooler and like a superhero! Can you think of that? Dave wants to enter the golf course and play with Montgomery Gator! Do you think that might be possible? And Lisa wants to hang in the green rooms with Roxanne Wolf and Glamrock Chica to take selfies. Nothing like a girl's night for her, right?"

"I'm not one to discuss the topic of furries," I said bluntly.

"But it's going to be fun there I bet!" beamed Gregory, nearly getting into my face. "Can we go there, please?"

I frowned. "No way. I'm not going to waste money on a mall that just hides things you won't understand. And I don't want to lose you in the mall as well."

While I was trying to lie, I was telling the truth to him about my fear of the Pizza Plex. Not only could I easily lose Gregory, but he might be hurt by the animatronics themselves. Or found something he should never come across.

"I'm just telling you about a free-day-off!" he said. "I heard that there is no need for a ticket to get into the mall for its grand opening. Only prices for the rides and foods, but no need for payment to get in."

I hissed, rubbing my forehead. Gregory was always one for adventure. Whether owned by Fazbear or not, a pizzeria made as a fun family entertainment center, I thought of it as a place where Gregory's parents might want to stay away from it. Or probably just as boring like the one back in Brooklyn. It didn't really appeal to me. I was already done with going to amusement parks. And let's not forget I wasn't one to see a circus or carnival.

Despite my better judgement, I thought about it as Gregory stared at me with begging eyes. Not the puppy type. He wasn't lean to close or holding his hands together like he was praying or making his black pupils bigger. He didn't move, but his eyes were filled with something. The eyes that were craving for something new. The hunger of interest of the new Pizza Plex. And he could only rely on luck to help him.

Well, I might as well give him that luck.

"Well…I don't need to spend extra money for an hour to stay around that trash...ing mall," I said to myself. "And it does sound like fun."

I finally gave in. "Fine then. But just to let you know, if you want to go, then you have to follow my rules. Your parents ain't going to be happy if you get into trouble again. Understand?"

"Got it, mission control!" he said, saluting.

"OK. Now go to bed."

"Wait. How's your day today?"

I didn't want to talk about that. "Go to bed now or I will sell your toys."

Gregory chuckled as he hopped off and ran up the stairs.

I chuckled a little. Kids. No matter how hard you try, they can be hard to control.

While I have a different sleep pattern, I had my own sleep curfew and it would occasionally be the same time as Gregory. Can't always wake up late everyday. I quickly slipped into a simple baggy jumper, black shorts and some grey socks to help me for the cold night. After brushing my teeth, drinking a cup of milk and checking if Gregory turned off the TV properly, I made my way back to bed.

But before that, I decided to do something.

I made my way to the guest room where I temporarily rested. On a nearby table, there was an old radio machine where it could play tapes. I picked up one that was labelled 'Riskin Chaser's Night Shift #7'.

That was two weeks before my father's disappearance. When he was working at Freddy's, there was no guarantee if they would do anything to protect his wellbeing. And when he went missing, the company didn't try to find at least his body. However, some workers were able to snatch some of his phone calls, record them on tapes and send them to my family. Most people got confused when he made it. Thought to be in 2015, but I know that it was in 2011. They were found a few years too late after his disappearance.

We only had one so far. It would have been enough to tell the world the truth behind Freddy's, but they would keep covering it up. It wasn't worth trying to use this tape. For one, my father might be hallucinating or making stories as well. Despite my paranoia on the animatronics, I couldn't help but think that he might be insane.

I slowly placed the tape into the radio and pressed play.

"Hello? Hello, hello! Uh, I wanted to record a message for you, to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm...finishing up my last week now as a matter of fact so...I know it can be a little overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you: there's nothing to worry about. Uh…you'll do fine! So...let's just focus on getting you through your first week. OK?"

I smiled a little. His young and trusting voice. The spirit of light to guide me home. I could hear him more clearly than ever. It had been a long time since I heard him.

"Hello, Dad," I said softly.

"Uh...let's see. First, there's an introductory greeting from the company I'm supposed to read. Eeh…it's kind of a legal thing, you know. 'Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria: a magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon the discovery of the damage or death has occurred, a missing person's report will be filed within ninety days or as soon as property and premise have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached and the carpets have been replaced.'"

Yeah. Like me, he wasn't so enthusiastic about working in a cheap kiddy restaurant.

"Blah, blah, blah. Now that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about! Uhh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No! If I were forced to sing...those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too. So remember: these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and you need to show them a little respect. Right?"

Funny thing with showing them respect when they didn't. Dad used to like Foxy the Pirate Fox, but who knew how everything went down between them?

"OK. So just be aware: the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uhh, they're left with some kind of 'free-roaming mode' at night. Uhhh...something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long? But most importantly, they're all tied into some kind of criminal database, so they can detect a predator a mile away. Heck, we should be paying them to guard you. Uhh...they used to wander during the day too, but then there was the Bite of '87. Yeah... it's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, ya know?"

I wondered how he managed to get all of this information, but again, he had access to Freddy's darkest secrets by staying in one place at night-time.

"Now concerning your safety: the only real risk to you as the night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters...uhh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person. They'll p-most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without it's costume on. Now since that's against the rules here at Freddy Fazzbear's Pizza, they'll probably try to...forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit."

"Thinking about it," I thought to myself. "Do they have suits at the Pizza Plex? Would they use it as costumes? But…they only use robots this time,"

"Um, now that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires and animatronic devices especially around the facial area. So, you could imagine having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort... and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask, heh."

He had a fondness for gore. Shocker.

"You might need to go ahead and peek at those cameras. Just to make sure everyone is in their proper place, ya know? Uhh, interestingly enough, Freddy himself doesn't come off stage very often. I heard he becomes a lot more active in the dark though, so…I guess that's one more reason not to run out of power, right? Also: check on the curtains in Pirate Cove from time to time; the character in there seems unique in that it becomes more active if the cameras remain off for long periods of time. I guess he doesn't like being watched. I don't know."

From how I saw it, he struggled to keep the animatronics away from him. Poor Dad. What was he thinking before he got killed?

"There's a music box over by the Prize Counter and it's rigged to be wound up remotely. So just, every once in a while, switch over to the Prize Counter video feed and wind it up for a few seconds. It doesn't seem to affect all of the animatronics, but it does affect...one of them. The Puppet. I'll be honest; I never liked that puppet thing. It was always…thinking and it can go anywhere. Just don't forget the music box."

Did he have the feeling that the animatronics were alive? Or was something controlling them? Was there more behind their masks?

"Uh, just as a side note though, try to avoid eye contact with any of the animatronics tonight if you can. Someone may have tampered with their facial recognition systems. We're not sure. But the characters have been acting very unusual, almost aggressive towards the staff. They interact with the kids just fine, but when they encounter an adult, they just...stare."

Good thing I was planning to try to stay away from the Pizza Plex as long as I could. While I wasn't really an adult yet, I doubt they would tell if I was just a young girl.

"Y-Yeah they don't tell you these things when you sign up. But hey, first day should be a breeze. I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, goodnight."

I smiled. "Goodnight, Dad."

But there was no response. After all, it was just audio of my father trying to warn any new night guards about the dangers of Freddy's. However, I missed my father very dearly that I was willing to listen to meaningless audio to hear his voice. I know that it was useless making a conversation, but I wanted to be with him again.

I missed him a lot. It took me time to accept that my mother remarried and I had to try to live on without knowing what happened to my father. Every time I remembered him, I felt hurt. It was like I was nothing without him, like something broken inside me. The fact that we were still trying to find a new life didn't help with my grieving.

As I reached out to turn off my radio, I heard somebody knocking on my door.

Gregory.

"Is anything alright, Elena?" he asked.

I sucked in my breath. I didn't notice I was nearly on the verge of crying.

"I'm fine," I lied. "Just getting a little…emotional."

"You were listening to that radio," he said. "What was that voice? Does it mean…something to you?"

I sighed. I didn't want to break it to Gregory since he really loved the Fazbear franchise and it wasn't worth showing him the harsh realities at this age. Here, he was so desperate to get into the Pizza Plex that I felt that he shouldn't miss out on what might be just a harmless new pizzeria. If he knew the truth about my father's death, then he might be shattered.

"I just miss my father," I admitted. "That's all."

"You still think about him?" asked Gregory. He was aware of my loss, but he chose not to bring it up to my family. However, this was probably the time for him to do so.

"Yeah," I said. "I just miss him. That's all."

He frowned as he walked towards me. "I'm sorry about that. Is it really sad for you?"

I sighed. I didn't know how I wanted to tell him about this. A kid younger than me who might not understand how I really feel.

"He is just…gone," I said. "Like a page ripped from a book and left flying in the air for people to steal. He's…far away from here and now. It…makes me sad sometimes."

Gregory stared at me with a look of sympathy. He slowly placed a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it gently. I placed my hand on his, trying to take it off. However, I didn't have the strength to do so. My head was already spinning from hearing the tape's voice.

"Why don't I sleep with you tonight?" he offered. "I can bring you some company."

"Y-You don't have to," I said. "That's my job."

"But it's night and I don't feel safe around without Mum or Dad around. But I feel safe around you. I just want to see if you feel safe. That's all."

I stared at him, curling my lips. I wasn't one to sleep with anyone for comfort or something to hug as I cuddled up in blankets. Usually, it would just be me and myself and my pillows. And when I had a nightmare, I would bite on my pillow and hug my blanket until I felt no more fear. The same s***y cycle and it still goes on.

But here, Gregory seemed to understand that I was in pain. And he responded to it immediately instead of walking away to leave me dealing with it. He was surprisingly patient. He never dared to leave me. For a young kid, it would take such bravery and commitment to help a hapless sac like me. And he was ready to mean his words.

I smiled a little, shaking my fist a little. "Crap. You really know how to make everyone feel better."

Gregory smiled. "I do."

With the lights off, we all got into bed together. I was the first to rest before Gregory crawled over and rested his head against my chest. Right underneath my chin. I sighed as I wrapped my arms around him, feeling his small hands touched mine. It was actually nice to have someone around with me. Like being with a real teddy bear.

I closed my eyes as I let the big sleep take over me.

And it turned out, I really needed it for the next day because I was going to need a lot of good luck for the things both of us were going to face.

"Wait a minute. Melody? Augustina? Why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry…(sniff)…it's just so…beautiful!"

"Bravo! Bravo! There's sand in my eyes."

"Hmph. Can we please go on? This isn't a good time to get sad. We aren't up to the emotional parts yet."

"Right, right. We know."

"Anyway, with that wrapped up for the night, we think that luck was going to help us. But what we didn't know was that this luck wasn't going to be nice to all of us."

"Especially with Vanessa who already signed up to be a night guard. And on the next day, some s*** was about to go down."

"What? Don't give me that look, dude! I just swung in to help. That's all."

AN: You think I was going to leave Gregory out of this one? Actually, I got something from him and I think I may have changed his personality a little, even though we haven't seen the game yet. And how he will get himself in trouble with the Pizza Plex might be for a different reason.

Elena Chaser is made by AzureStriker2014 and is actually a character I used before. A few years back, AzureStriker2014 let me use the character named 'Elena' for a story called 'Bendy - The Ink Catastrophe'. However, the story-writing for it didn't go well due to how poorly it is. Ever since, I wasn't sure what else I'm going to use Elena for. When I started looking on how I can continue with my FNAF stories, I saw that there was one more character needed before I met King Halloween. Elena was the character needed to complete the trio with Augustina and Melody as she has this weariness in this colorful story. AzureStriker2014 gives me the thumbs-up to continue using her and place a few more details to her. She is like an experienced war veteran. Once again, she is similar to some of the cynical characters from 'Raging Wind', especially Mark and Michael. Her voice actor would be Zendaya.

It would have been unwise for Gregory's parents to leave him with Elena. Not because she is not trustworthy. It is because of what is going to happen! You know if you are close to Fazbear, then the trouble will reach you!

There has been a little bit of a change and with the reveal that Phone Guy is actually Elena's father. I believe that in 'Raging Wind', I placed in that he died in 2015 after five years after the deaths of the missing children. However, because I realized a few mistakes I did in 'Road to Royalty', I am now confirming that he died in 2011. Apologies for the lame change here.

Melody's chat with Elena takes inspirations from Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey - where Black Canary first meets Renee Montoya - and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - where one gets pushed off a cliff. Gregory convincing Elena to come along to the Pizza Plex takes inspirations from 'Harvest Moon Festival' from Helluva Boss and Elena listening to the tape of Phone Guy takes inspirations from the movie Onward.

Thanks for reading the first chapter! The story is still in-progress, so be ready for more updates. If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. Make sure to review this chapter on what you think about this chapter. I'm OK of hearing improvements from you (please no flames).

Until next time, keep on rocking!