Honestly ever since it was revealed that they were trapped with the kid in here until morning, Mike knew it'd only be a matter of time before the more personal side of this situation was revealed to Gregory. Thankfully the kid didn't seem to be mad about Mike still keeping secrets, just curious about what he had overheard.
"Unfortunately he wasn't lying," Mike sighed heavily, feeling the weight of his family's history. "He was once my father, though I stopped considering him worthy of that title years ago, even before I found out he was a serial child murder."
"That sucks," Gregory replied easily, getting a snort out of Mike with his bluntness. Gregory was no stranger to adults that fell far sort of the caretakers they were supposed to be, so Gregory didn't hold it against Mike that his father just happened to be one of the worst ones.
"We were happy to welcome him into the Pines family when our paths crossed," Dipper added, a nostalgic smile appearing on his face. "Though it did take Mike a while to realize we had basically adopted him, which did become official later."
"I'm still not sure what about me screamed "invite this total stranger into your home it'll work out just fine" when we first met," Mike chuckled fondly. "But I've just accepted it as part of the Pines family weirdness which is a lot more welcoming that the Afton family insanity."
"Afton… Michael…" Freddy said more robotically than normal, drawing everyone's attention as those words brought something to the surface the of the bear's memory banks. "Part of the Founding families of the Fazbear company, involved in the incident of 1983, reported missing 1986, no other information after that time. (Freddy blinked and went back to his normal voice once the automatic report was finished) I was not aware you had such long connections with the company Mike."
"It's not exactly something I advertise," Mike grimaced, hoping the bear would not reveal more about Evan's accident because he was not in the mood to talk about that right now. "If I had my way I would have stayed as far away from this company as I could as it brings me nothing but grief."
"How can that be you?" Gregory asked in confusion. "You aren't old enough to be from the 80s!"
Now that Gregory thought about it, Mike didn't look old enough to be Chief Engineer of this place, looking to be in his early 20s at most. And if it weren't for the fact that Mike always acted like the older sibling and they had made references to Mike being the older one, Gregory would have actually guessed that Dipper was the older of the two brothers. Sure it could just be a case of good genetics on Mike's part but not enough to look decades younger than he should be.
"It's complicated…" Mike replied, subconsciously rubbing the scar on his stomach. "I didn't just go missing in 1986, I was killed, but I stuck around afterward and made it my mission to stop William and free his other victims that, like me, had gotten trapped on the mortal plane. I was like that for decades."
"Then he came to Gravity Falls, which is a hotspot for all sorts of supernatural weirdness," Dipper picked up. "That's where he met me and my family and during one of our summer adventures… he ended up getting resurrected."
They did not need to go into the details of Weirdmageddon as Gregory already had a lot to deal with between, ghosts, magic, and killer animatronics they didn't need to bring up demons and how the world nearly ended. Thankfully Gregory didn't push for more details as he decided he needed to process everything he'd just learned.
As Mike would be working on Roxy for a while, Dipper decided to take a quick look around the nearby area for anything useful, Moon going with him as a backup. Freddy decided this was a good opportunity for Gregory to get some rest, much to the boy's annoyance. They had a short argument that ended with Gregory sitting on the couch wrapped in a fluffy blanket, stubbornly trying to stay awake despite how much his eyes were drooping. Helpy had joined Freddy in trying to get Gregory to sleep and was slowly piling more and more plushies around the boy. Mike had to stifle his laughter at the sight and forced himself to focus on Roxy.
Mike eventually finished clearing out Roxy's systems and set her to reboot, disconnecting his tablet. He sat on the edge of the couch, giving most of the space for Gregory who looked like he was about to pass out any second, and began checking the cameras. A sudden weight against his arm nearly made him jump and Mike was surprised to see that Gregory had fallen asleep on him. Moving slowly so as not to wake the boy, Mike carefully maneuvered his arm out from under Gregory's head, allowing Gregory to be tucked more comfortably against Mike's side. With minimal other options, Mike draped his arm around the sleeping boy and went back to work.
"I managed to find some-" Dipper began when he and Moon came back only to be hushed by Mike, Mike gesturing to the sleeping Gregory. Dipper nodded and lowered his voice as he continued, "I found some food for Gregory, though it's only junk food and soda. Better than nothing though especially since we have no idea when the kid last ate."
"Honestly he'll probably need the extra energy boost," Mike agreed as Dipper put his loot down and came closer to Mike. Moon joined Freddy in watching over Roxy and the two began conversing quietly. Mike continued saying, "Things are bound to just get more intense, especially if Willam catches on to what we're doing."
"Speaking of William… how are you holding up?" Dipper asked, his voice and eyes filled with concern. "You've been hiding it pretty well, but you've been rattled ever since you tried to hack the Loading Bay door. I'm guessing it's more than just William trying to infect you with his virus."
"That still plays a big part of it," Mike confessed, unable to look Dipper in the eye. "You know how much I hate being mind controlled… but it was also what he said for the brief moment he was in my systems. He called me his heir and Moon confirmed that is what William's thinking of me as."
"Mike, you aren't going to turn out like him," Dipper began only to cut off as Mike shook his head.
"That's not what I'm worried about, I haven't really worried about that since I chose to burn down his legacy," Mike clarified, his hands clenching into fists. "I'm worried that I'm not going to be given the choice. William has a computer virus now and I'm part animatronic. Sure, Ford and I have done a lot of upgrades to my systems and added several safety measures, but the basic foundation is still my father's original programming. He still knows it better than anyone… and you know what he said when I burned him this last time…"
And Dipper did know, how William had ranted and raved that Mike would never escape him. That no matter how far Mike ran or what he did, he would always belong to William. If William was still that obsessed with Mike, which everything pointed to the fact he still was then Mike could not afford to fall into William's hands. There was no doubt William would find a way to reprogram Mike into the perfect son and heir he wanted and Mike wasn't sure if Ford would be skilled enough to help bring the real him back.
The solemn silence between the brothers was interrupted by Gregory grumbling in his sleep, his face scrunching up in stress. Mike began running his fingers through the boy's hair in an effort to calm him and it seemed to work as Gregory relaxed and burrowed himself more snuggly into Mike's side. Dipper immediately zeroed in on the interaction and a mischievous grin spread on his face.
"So… am I going to be called 'Uncle Dipper' sooner than I was expecting?" Dipper teased, not even bothering to keep the mirth from his voice.
"What!?" Mike jumped, barely keeping his voice low. They froze for a second as Gregory stirred again and relaxed as he settled back down. Mike sent Dipper a glare and whisper shouted, "Dipper you can't be serious! I had a panic attack a the sight of him! That doesn't exactly say 'reliable adult'. I'm sure there's someone else in the family that he'd rather have as his primary caregiver."
There was no question for the brothers about whether or not Gregory would be joining the Pines family, it was a definite yes. They had both seen the empty parking lot when they had snuck in, meaning either Gregory didn't have parents looking out for him or he did have some but they were super neglectful. Whichever it was didn't matter though as it was clear the kid would fit right in with the Pines family.
"Well Gregory might disagree with that," Dipper smirked, gesturing to the boy's current position. "He seems pretty attached."
"That's just the adrenaline from being in a life-or-death situation," Mike reasoned, purposefully ignoring how one of Gregory's hands was clutching his shirt. "Once we're out of here and he has a chance to meet the others, he'll be able to make a more reasonable choice."
"You're just in denial that someone's adopted you again, this time as a father figure," Dipper snickered. "Just wait… I bet by the time this adventure is over with, you'll accept the fact that you have a child now."
"We'll see," Mile huffed, letting his arm drape over Gregory again. Don't get him wrong, he liked the kid, but Mike knew he wasn't the most stable person and his perspective on what was safe for children to do was pretty skewed (never mind that the rest of his family had the same problem). The point was in Mike's mind, Gregory would have a lot of trauma to deal with after this night on top of whatever circumstances lead him to be here in the first place and Mike was sure there were better choices than himself to provide the comfort and healing Gregory would need.
But that wasn't a decision that needed to be made right now as they needed to focus on surviving this night first.
Roxy let out a groan as her systems came back online, immediately drawing everyone's attention and putting everyone alert. Gregory seemed to sense the change in atmosphere as he too began to stir, rubbing his eyes as he sat up (apparently unaware of just who he had been using as a pillow).
"What's going on..?" Gregory yawned, feeling more safe and comfortable when he slept than he had in a long time. As he took in the room, memories immediately came flooding back and he watched tensely with the others as Roxy sat up.
"Why'd I come out of a hard reboot?" Roxy grumbled as she rubbed her head, opening her eyes to reveal they were their normal amber color. She looked startled and taken aback by all the others being in her room before glaring at everyone.
"Why are you here?! Haven't you heard that you should never interrupt a girl's beauty sleep? Get out!"
