My apologies for this lateness! This chapter was not an easy one to write, let me tell you that!
It felt like life was determined to see this one fail unfortunately, with my work hours changing and a sudden big project, goodness me.
Still, we've made it now and I'm very sorry for my delay and lack of updates, I apologise if people thought I had abandoned our story!
I would like to both thank and apologise to everyone who left such lovely and motivating comments on my story as well recently, I've read all of them but simply haven't had time to reply to them individually. But thank you so much! They kept me moving and are really the sole reason this chapter got finished, haha!
From here, we can finally relax and get settled back into a lighter bit of writing, I hope you enjoy!
The Later Chapters: Chapter Seventeen
There had at least been a valiant attempt to reach Freddy's room first, Ben would later swear.
He'd made it halfway across Rockstar Row and had just barely made out Freddy through the thick glass, seemingly talking to his own chest on the sofa before the janitor had been blindsided. Of course, it was his own fault for assuming that he could pass by the Monty's room uninterrupted, while still injured no less.
Ben had crept through with barely a sound, still nursing his crooked nose with Map Bot guiding him along. Despite the steadily growing number of maps and leaflets padding the pockets of his overalls, the man was appreciative of the Bot's presence in the quiet hallways.
Rockstar Row had been surprisingly, or perhaps not-so-surprisingly quiet. The evacuated Atrium had almost immediately refilled with Crowe's departure, nosy guests from across the building that had missed the spectacle had hurried in to ogle the mess they had left behind. All the hustle and bustle had left a fair few areas barren. Ben usually wouldn't have given it much thought if the silence hadn't felt so overwhelming, mind and body dead set on checking on the younger human and his weepy-looking father figure.
Of course, life rarely listened to a single man's wishes, and his plan was quickly derailed by a very large and very upset arm wrapping around his torso like a steel trap. With barely a second to give Map Bot a final morose wave, Ben had let himself be carried off into the dark and hidden depths of Montgomery's Green Room, where he found himself being doted on as gently as a heavy handed machine could.
Which sadly, was not very gentle.
"Ow."
"Hold still."
"Ow."
"I said hold it!"
"… Ow?"
Monty slammed his massive claws down on the arm of his couch, frustrated beyond belief and jutting out his impressive jaw. The alligator knelt on the carpet before his partner's battered body, the man squashed into the seat by his larger torso and struggling to hold still while Monty poked and prodded at his face. Tapping his claws against the leather in a quick and impatient pattern, he lifted his hand once more to gingerly grasp at the shorter male's jaw and hold it still.
"Argh yu shure yu chan du dis?" Ben attempted to ask through the grip, his bones feeling weak as cardboard when the gator gently squished his cheeks and jaw.
"Course I can!" Monty hissed, offended. "Ain't nobody gonna take care o' you better than I can."
As though to prove his point, Monty raised his other hand back to his human's face and gently ran the claws of his thumb and forefinger against the ridge of his broken nose. Or at least, as gently as Monty could manage.
"ARGH-" Ben yelped again, his grunting only becoming more indignant as his fussing companion continued his well-meaning assault. "NO- No, no no. This isn't working, I'll fix it myself-"
"WHAT? H-*** no! I can do it just fine! You're just movin' too much!"
"I'm moving 'cause you're doing it wrong!"
"I'm doin' it wrong 'cause you're movin' too much!"
"Well stop doing it wrong then!"
"Why you lil'-"
The argument devolved from there, both males hunching up their shoulders to look bigger as they bickered, the arguments losing more and more words until eventually the only sounds escaping from the closed off Green Room were angry grunts and short shouts of anger.
"Momma?" A young girl tugged at her mother's coat from beside Chica's Green Room, small eyes drifting from the pink interior towards the harsh grunts from behind the curtains next door. "What's that sound?"
Glancing up from her phone, the mother took a second to listen and felt her face redden as the noises clicked in her mind. At the angry bark of 'Get those fingers away from me, it's sore!' she quickly lifted her child into her arms and beat a hasty retreat from Rockstar Row. On her way out, she couldn't help throwing an incredulous glance at the Montgomery Gator's friendly smirk on every poster she passed.
Rock n' roll, indeed.
Back in the Green Room, the 'argument' had wound down to an anticlimactic bluster. Unable to manhandle or roughhouse with him as he usually did, Monty's claws poked and pestered Ben's face uselessly as he cupped his nose and leaned away. The gator scowled, determined to be the one to 'look after' his partner after the tension and danger of the afternoon. His programming wouldn't allow anything else.
"… Wait. Hold on, do you even have medical programming?" Ben's voice was distorted slightly by his own hands, making the gator smirk in reflex before he caught himself.
"Uh naw, I ain't got that. Don't know if you noticed, but ain't nobody comin' to mean ol' Monty for first aid, little guy."
"I'm shocked." The janitor deadpanned dully. "So how exactly do you plan to fix my nose when you don't know how?"
Monty deflated slightly at being called out, mutedly continuing his pestering to dodge the question. An annoyed slap at his claw forced his jaw to move, irritated that he had to stop and explain instead of just acting.
"… 'M takin' care o' you."
Ben blinked, not expecting a serious answer.
"What-?"
"Didn' make it in time… T'stop that f-***** hurtin' you n' I ain't lettin' anybody else near you t'night. Ain't nobody else touchin' you." His accent became thicker when he was upset, Ben noticed unhappily. His hands lowered at last and he leaned his face closer to the gator's with a firm pat on his forearm to get his attention.
"It's alright Monty, you don't need to uh, 'fix' it. You did everything right tonight." He assured quickly, tired brain scrambling for the right words to say. "You got angry, but you kept it together like you're supposed to, and you didn't even break any Bots… No wait… Actually, there was that one Bot."
The short snort Ben got in response was gratifying, the tall man happy to collapse into the weight of his friend's stronger build when he didn't make another grab for his nose. Still slightly sour at his 'help' being rejected, Monty put his restless claws to better use, carding them through the shorter male's hair to smooth it down as best he could.
Politely ignoring the thick jaws casting a looming shadow over his head, Ben allowed the clumsy hands to further ruin his hair as he tried to relax. His nose hurt like a bitch and he couldn't deny it, but he refused to make a fuss while his ornery partner was still eyeing him like a dying pet.
"… S'it hurt still?"
"… No."
"… F-****** damn awful liar, Ben."
Ignoring the look the man gave him, Monty ran through his protocols for any action he could perform that didn't involve the injured little mutt on his couch leaving his Green Room. Unhappy with the pitiful results his search got, Monty grumbled and sulked at the least irritating protocol.
"Gonna get you fixed up, brat. Called somebody, since you're too chicken to let me help."
"You literally pulled it- Who pulls on a broken bone?!"
"It was workin'!"
"It was coming off!"
A quiet jingle echoed around the curtained room, getting louder and approaching at rapid speed.
"… When you said that you called somebody..?"
"Yep."
"… I hate it here."
"BEEEEEEENNNNNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
With a cacophonous clang of metal on linoleum, the vent on the wall exploded outwards and across the room, followed by an enormous yellow blur of anxious energy. Subtly, Monty leaned his jaws down to the man's ear.
"Be strong."
"I'll try."
"NOO HOO HOO!" The attendant threw a skinny arm over his unblinking eyes as he 'wept' at the sight of the battered man, who could only grimace and brace for impact. True to form, the overbearing mass of worry and smiles almost crushed the other males as he scurried over, hands contrastingly gentle when they breezed over the human's face.
"Poor boy! Poor Benny! Monty told me all about it, what an evil man, making you cry like that!"
"Wait-" Ben threw a filthy glare at the gator, who immediately turned away to hide his shit-eating grin. "I didn't cry-! Monty, tell him! I didn't cry!"
"Like a baby." Monty easily lied, plastering on a sad face to really sell the tragedy. "Might'a even peed himself too."
"I hate you so much-"
The man's mortified scowl was stolen from Monty's gaze when the Sun's giant head eclipsed it, the attendant leaning in close to get a good look at the broken nose. Monty hissed low, but grudgingly allowed the contact. Even knowing that it was the best chance his partner had at proper medical care, anybody touching him while he was injured scratched at something dark and restricted in the back of his processor. Channelling his restless and increasingly violent hand gestures into something useful, the gator extended a massive hand and firmly grasped the man's entire forearm, assuring himself with the knowledge that he could pull him away at any time.
"It's okay Benny, my protocols have coding for this!" The Sun assured brightly, with a happy pat of his hand on the tired man's cheek. "I can fix this up right away!"
"Thank you Sunny," Ben closed his eyes in anticipation for the pain, feeling the silicone fingers place themselves against the ruined cartilage. "Just make it quick, would you?"
"Of course, of course! I don't want to hurt you! No, no, that would be naughty."
Ben snapped his eyes open in slight alarm at the raspy drop in tone, but the sight of Sun's finger extending some kind of sharp medical tool shuttered his lids straight back down with a chill. Some things were simply better unseen.
From there, the trio was silent and mostly still as the Daycare Attendant worked through the treatment. At some point Ben registered his sleeve pulling up, and a sharp claw gently running along his inner forearm, tickling the skin something terrible. Trying to nudge him away before he twitched, Ben flexed his hand against the metal arm above it, pushing as much as he could without moving the rest of his arm and shoulder. The claw paused for a moment, before continuing on with another claw joining in. The tired man couldn't help the way his eyebrows lowered, annoyed to discover that the gator could make even the sensation of touch itself feel smug and irritating.
"Still like this'n the best."
Ben couldn't exactly nod or speak, so he settled for a quiet hum in his throat for acknowledgement. He could feel the claws again, this time tracing an itch along the inked lines of his forearm. Once Monty had 'discovered' the dogs on his chest, the gator had been thorough in checking the rest of his torso for more ink and had quickly picked a favourite on his right arm. Ben remembered getting the tattoo right after he'd left college, a very long and very thin snake that wound along his inner forearm and up to the top of his bicep. Ben loved it for the intricate pattern of the scales. Monty loved it because he knew it tickled horribly when he traced it with his claws.
With a sudden sensation of cotton in his nostril, Ben's space was suddenly Sun-free. The animatronic in question gave him a hasty thumbs up before whipping a packet of wet wiped from his small stomach hatch, rapidly wiping off the flecks of blood he's accumulated on his fingers during the treatment. Ben wasn't surprised, the poor guy had somehow appeared to wince with an immobile faceplate every time a drop that had touched him. And like clockwork, the vacated space was instantly invaded by eight feet of fussing alligator, inspecting his now reset and bandaged nose as though he was the residential expert.
"It'll do." Monty concluded with a superior nod, easily ignoring Ben's unimpressed frown. "You live another day, Sunny-boy."
"That's great! I love living, it's one of my favourite things to do besides my super-special Christmas-exclusive puppet shows!"
"… Uh huh."
"Right… Thanks for the fix, Sunny." Ben moved the topic swiftly along, spotting the way the smiley animatronic reached for his storage hatch again, puppets at the ready for show and tell. "If we're done here, I have to go check on Gregory. The poor boy's probably scared shi- badly. I said badly."
The room fell silent as Sunny's stomach hatch clicked shut firmly. If Monty was also unnerved by the sudden stillness of their third member, his blank face didn't show it.
"… We're not supposed to talk badly about our guests…" Sunny spoke, his slightly guilty tone not at all matching the eerie coldness the animatronic froze into. To Ben, it felt like all the colour and warmth in the room had been shut away and replaced with ice. Without moving an inch from his spot, Sunny's head made a perfect 180 degree turn to stare down at the still kneeling pair. "But I don't like Gregory's daddy. Monty told me what he did too."
"O-oh?" Neither man nor gator moved, lizard brains paralysed in what could have been fright when the Sun's eternal, static, unmoving smile twitched. Ben shot his partner a wide eyed look of 'what the FUCK', to which Monty could only raise his hands, equally baffled. Before them, Sunny finally relaxed from his rigid posture and began stomping around the Green Room. They could only watch him go through the motions of his very mild tantrum, repeatedly picking up plushies and motioning to throw them, only to suddenly stop and put them back down with an apologetic pat.
"He is banned from the Daycare! 'No hurting children', that's our number one rule! And-and that- That- That nincompoop!" Sunny squeaked out a gasp, clapping a hand to his bared teeth. "Oh no! I shouldn't curse, not at guests! Even if they are- … Sorry Benny, that was very rude-bad-naughty of me!"
"I thought the big rule was 'keep the lights on?'" Monty asked with a glance at Ben, unconcerned with the Sun's ongoing breakdown or the manhandling of his room's merchandise. It wasn't as though the Sun could do worse than he already had at one point or another.
"It's the same rule, just different wording!" Sunny corrected, oblivious to how horrifying his words were from a psychological horror standpoint. "We can't let anybody hurt our little stars! Not in the Pizzaplex and certainly NOT in the Daycare! I don't usually agree with Moon's ideas of 'punishments', but if that bad-mean grown-up ever comes back then we'll just have to-"
Mercifully, whatever traumatic statement the Sun was about to inflict upon them was interrupted by a metallic clang against Monty's door. Before a second could pass, there was a beep of the door lock and a flood of flustered machines poured in at once.
"WHAT- Get outta here! Why're you always comin' in my room!?" Monty bellowed in anger, entirely ignored by his bandmates as they bee-lined for the secondary human of their strange little family.
"Oh, sugar-plum!" Chica cooed as she hauled the man into her chestplate, swaying him like an limp infant. Ben could only clench and prepare for lift-off as she picked him up by his armpits to stare at his face. "Your poor face! Your poor neck..! Oh, our poor Benny!"
"Chica, I'm a grown-ass man."
"Mind your language at the Pizzaplex, Benjamin!"
Freddy's voice stuck out amongst the other scolding catchphrases, Ben's ears perking up like a dog at the sight of the bear and more importantly, his stomach hatch. Floundering his way back to earth, Ben was quick to escape Chica's flapping hands and rap a knuckle against the singer's solid chest. But there was no knock back, not even a sound. The janitor turned his chin up to the taller male, eyes expectant as he waited for an explanation.
"Gregory is unharmed, superstar." Freddy assured with a protective hand rising to his chestplates. "He is simply… Overwhelmed from today."
"I bet… Did you get a chance to talk to him, or..?"
"I did, but I do not think he wishes to speak with me right now." The bear confirmed, his ears drooping with guilt as he continued. "I have attempted to apologise for frightening him, and for my dangerous actions today. I could not help myself, I do not know what happened…"
"Don't blame yourself Fred, you can't help what your programming forces you to do."
"Y' didn't say that when I was fixin' your nose!" Monty cut in, outraged at the perceived favouritism.
"That's cuz you don't even have that programming, you big bast-!"
The incoming squabble was derailed by throaty laughter, Foxy watching the interaction like it was his favourite daytime soap-opera.
"Looks like the lad'll live, Chica." The captain snickered, relaxing now that he'd gotten a look at their only other human. "If he be pickin' fights, n' he be fine in my book, even if the man looks like a washed up bilge rat!"
"His voice sounds awful though," Roxy jumped in on the roast, verbally merciless as always. "Sounds like you gargled dirt or something, janitor."
"The f-*** did you just say, kennel club?" Monty stood from his partner's side, less protective and more eager for an excuse to kick his nosy bandmates from his private room.
"Why did I take this job again?" Ben complained without any bite, knowing that was as close to concern as the canines were planning on showing tonight. He sent another glance towards Freddy, who usually would have stepped in to pacify the unrulier animatronics' attitudes by then. But the bear still looked disheartened, his hands strangely empty when they weren't being held by his ward. Ben's eyes flickered down to his chestplate, wondering why the boy was still absent from their circle. It was just their group now, why was he still scared?
After catching his third questioning glance, Freddy seemed to deflate a little before unsubtly whispering down to his chestplate. Ben had to strain his ears to catch the words over Monty trying to manhandle the smug pirate from his quarters.
"… Gregory? I know you are not speaking to me right now, and that is okay. I… I simply wish to inform you that Benjamin is in the room, if you would-"
It seemed he'd said the right thing, as the sound of his chestplates unlocking filled the room before his words could. There was a blur of brown and peach, and Ben was suddenly aware of a boy-shaped weight clinging to his overalls like he'd float away upon letting go. Entirely lost to the situation now, Ben looked to Freddy for help, only to see the saddened bear looking downright heartbroken at the speed Gregory had darted from him.
When his eyes turned to the rest of the crew, they could only stare back, equally confused. Feeling suddenly very put-upon, the janitor awkwardly patted a flat palm against the boy's shoulder, nose twinging with his attempt at a comforting smile.
"Hullo Gregory," Small brown eyes flicked up at him, a good sign. "… You uh, you doing alright?"
Fist fighting serial killers, no problem. Basic conversation skills, inconceivable.
"… Yeah." The younger human replied, ducking his head from the others' stares in blatant discomfort. Catching on quickly, Ben kindly put a pin in the issue for later. It wouldn't help anyone interrogating the boy tonight, he only wanted him to feel safe after the terrible events that day.
"Today was a bit much, huh?" He aimed for friendly, ignoring Monty's unimpressed frown at his downplaying. Gregory however, gave a small nod. "I think I want to sit down and watch a movie, do you want to join in?"
He kept his tone light as he extended the invitation, not wanting the child to feel pressured in any way. The poor boy was still a little shaky, even then. A guttural snort from his left told the older man that Monty shared his sudden desire to hunt down Gregory's bastard of a father.
Gregory finally gave a tiny nod, eyes still turned away from the others without explanation. Without another word, Ben lifted the child into his arm and set to work arranging the rest of the evening. Sharing a sad look with Chica when Gregory hid his face in his shoulder, she quickly agreed to dig up some treats for the movies. Roxy and Foxy were sent to scout out the Pizzaplex and see what management had done with the customers. The Sun was sent straight back into the vent to set up the Daycare Theatre. Monty simply gave the janitor a blank, empty look at any mention of leaving his side, and Freddy-
Ben cringed a little, Freddy's usual job of 'Gregory guarding' dying on his tongue before it could escape his mouth. The bear seemed to wilt even further, big blue eyes riveted on the back of his charge's head from across the room.
"Freddy, you uh- Why don't you… Uh… Hm."
Monty gave a long suffering sigh and took over before his partner hurt himself, shoving the broad singer out of his room with a drawled command of "Go check our path to the Daycare's clear, Fazbear" and glaring until the bear had disappeared from sight. Tilting his head in an 'it'll do' gesture, Ben threw the gator a thumbs up and fished out his phone. As bland and joyless as Netflix's selection usually was, Ben had more hope in finding something watchable there than in the Sun's 'Fazbear Family Films™' collection. Hiding a shudder, the janitor handed off his phone to the boy in his arms and swiftly slipped away into the nearby staff-only door.
X
Ben sighed happily from his seat on the cushioned theatre floor. Mapbot turned to look at him in what could've been curiosity, ComedyBot leaning around it's slim torso to do the same. His group had run into the pair almost immediately upon arrival, MapBot standing eerily still in the dimly lit audience area while the ComedyBot rapid-fired his routines without even a pause for a simulated 'breath'. MapBot had informed him in very few words that it had been assisting the ComedyBot in 'practicing line delivery'.
It had been a surreal experience.
Now as he rested his sore head on the Daycare Attendant's surprisingly padded jester trousers, Ben was finally able to relax after the long and troubling day. Gregory had proven himself worthy as 'film picker' when he'd suggested 'Labyrinth' with David Bowie, the quiet child brightening a bit with the 'HELL YEAH' his uncle had roared while helping the Sun connect his phone to the projectors.
The others clearly had no qualms with the movie either, Foxy loving the gristly look of the goblins and unashamedly pointing out which ones he'd plagiarise for his 'Captain's Tales of the Sea'. Chica and Roxy lounged together on some padded shapes, the hen delighted by the romantic fantasy of it all and the wolf extremely interested in the action as well as surprisingly, the Goblin King's outfits. It was so peaceful, he could almost ignore the morose bear sitting slightly away from them all, or the way Gregory was still keeping a nervous eye on the rest of the group. Luckily, he had Monty's possessive grip on his ankles and the Moon's absent hand stroking his short hair to keep him from re-stressing himself.
But by the increasingly annoyed hiss coming from the alligator arresting his legs, Ben knew Moon's rare show of affection wasn't distracting him alone. Well aware that the mischievous half of the Attendant was likely doing it on purpose just to rile up his partner, he also knew the movie would not keep the coveted peace for long and his sleep-addled mind was quick to provide a distraction. Tilting his chin, Ben looked up at the side of the Attendant he rarely got to see in the day.
"Y'know what, Moon?"
"Whaaaaat..?"
"You remind me of the babe."
Moon tilted his faceplate, confused.
"What 'babe'?"
"The babe with the power."
"What power?" Roxy cut in, distracted from the movie.
"The power of voodoo…"
"Who-doo?" Monty butted in then.
"You do!"
"Do what?!" The gator snapped, impatient.
"Remind me of the babe!"
"… Shut the h-*** up, dog brain."
It was only when the film caught up to the Goblin King's song that the band got it, and Monty's patience finally snapped with Ben's smug laughter at his gobsmacked face.
"Oh, that does it- C'mere!"
Gregory's anxious demeanour finally, finally broke into a loud laugh as the older human leapt from his spot on the floor, dodging around the gator's grabbing claws to make his escape up the Theatre's halls. The Moon was on his slippered feet in seconds with a croaky giggle, following after the fleeing janitor and starting an impromptu game of 'Keep Away' with the infuriated bass player. The remaining band shared a fond and relieved glance at the child's innocent laughter, as well as the decidedly less innocent cackling ringing out from the balcony above.
Despite everything, their group would get through it as they always did.
With laughter, family and annoying Montgomery Gator.