Author's Note: The Dream idea is by deimus4527 on Instagram. Check them and their FNAF Theories out!

Now onto the Story:

–

A blonde-haired princess with a sword is fighting shadows in the dark. She's exhausted though, wondering how much more of this she has to take. How long more does she have to fight for? She pants exhausted and gazes at the wall, which was dimly lit by torches, next to her. On the wall, her shadow starts to warp into something unusual, transforming into the shadow of a Purple Guy who had two white dots for eyes.

She swings her sword at it but the shadow doesn't budge. She can't hurt something that can't be hurt. It grins at her with an inky black smile.

She then tries to run away but a black tendril grabs her leg and drags her towards the terrifyingly tall Shadow. She gazes up at it.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" She screams.

The Purple Guy answered by transforming into the shape of a Giant Bonnie costume with purple eyes and then, suddenly taking on a more physical form, it jumped on her, consuming her entire body.

"LET ME OUT!"

—

Vanessa's eyes shoot open, she gasps for air. It's that dream again. She's been having it for the past several nights but is unsure of what it means at all. Sometimes it has different variations but the same thing often happens: She's consumed by darkness.

Now awake, she looks around her and recollects what she was doing and who she was with.

Oh No….The boy! Gregory! Where did he go?!

The boy she had in her grasp. He vanished the moment she passed out.

"Argh!" She screams in frustration, "Goddamnit."

She'd been having these random migraines at her job for a while. While some were tolerable, others had caused her to pass out. She didn't even know what was triggering them? Seizures? Epilepsy? She saw a Doctor but he couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong with her body after multiple tests.

"Take the meds. You'll feel better."

Then she wondered if this was a symptom of stress and so, she decided to start seeing a therapist but they just gave her the same advice.

"Carry on with the meds that were prescribed to you." The therapist said while scribbling down notes, "The less stressed you feel, the less migraines you have. Also, maybe try to stay off your phone more often, yeah?"

If these annoying migraines kept up, she'd lose this job and she wasn't willing to risk that. This night shift security guard job was all she had. She gets up and dusts herself off, re-igniting her determination to find that child before he caused or got himself into trouble.

Staring at the exhibit in front of her, she decides to walk into it as she remembered the boy was in there for a while gazing at one of the photographs on the wall. She recalls the boy was standing in the corner to the right and goes to see what exactly he was so fixated on.

It was a portrait of one of Fazbear's Original Founders: William Afton.

Vanessa turns the portrait around. There was nothing behind the frame but the backing board and the boy hadn't unlatched it. Was there something inside it he was looking for?

She unlatches the image from the frame that held it only to reveal…nothing. There was nothing inside. She fixes the image back into place and takes two steps back away then, perplexed. Why? Why was that boy so fixated with and getting his grubby fingers on this image for several minutes?

Vanessa leaned in to get a closer look at the portrait and smirks a bit. The Founder in the fancy blue suit was kind of handsome and had a charming smile. He seemed the kind of man she would have tried and failed to flirt with or maybe he would have been the type to flirt with her? Who knows?

Come to think of it, I don't know much about the original Founders of this Business. Nobody ever seems to talk about either of them.

Vanessa recalls last year was one of Fazbear's Milestone Anniversaries. There were drinks and food and big speeches but strangely enough, they seemed to skip any mention of the two people who founded the company. They simply mentioned how the business had its humble origins as Fredbear's Diner and how it gradually evolved into the thriving merchandise driven empire it was today, thanks to the efforts of everyone. It was almost like an unspoken rule, a mutual understanding between all employees, to never speak of The Founders.

I wonder why no one talks about them….Ah what do I care? I have a job to do. I have that Boy to —

Her thoughts were cut short. Thinking of Gregory while simultaneously continuing to gaze at William's portrait, she had an…odd realisation: The boy and William Afton had bizarrely identical features, namely golden brown hair and hazel eyes.

Were they related somehow?

No that sounds dumb…Just because he has the same eyes and hair doesn't mean that he's related to a guy that's probably 100 years old and dead. And if he was…why would he come here. To steal some of his artefacts?

She grabbed her smartphone and tapped a few buttons which brought her to the footage of the security cameras in the exhibition area. Going through it, she observed that the boy really hadn't touched anything except William's miniature portrait. So that second guess was out of the question.

Before she can come up with more wild theories, she gets a call on her walkie talkie attached to her hips.

"Hello?"

"Freddy is in Parts and Service." The goblin-esque voice of the Daycare Attendant informed her. "Monty tore him to pieces".

"What? Why?" Vanessa exclaimed, "Did he have another tantrum again?!"

"Most likely." The Attendant grumbled before he cut off contact with her.

Vanessa wondered why the company had to make the Moon animatronic look and sound like some unsettling sleep paralysis demon. It was unsettling to criminals but also to those working around the clock like her….

Right. I'd better go down to the Parts and Service. Maybe Freddy might know what's going on or who that boy really is.

Vanessa brings up footage from earlier on her phone and rewatched footage of the child going in and out of Freddy's stomach hatch.

He's working with Gregory…I'm sure of it now.

She wasn't sure whether Freddy was hacked by the child into helping him or not but Vanessa hoped she would get to the bottom of this mystery soon.

Location: Tunnel to the parts and service room

Time: 12:15am

The creaking of the wider lift as it moved downwards into the depths of the mall.

Unconsciously, Gregory starts to preen his hair which had gotten messy since he was running a lot. Usually Vanny would be the one to comb his fluffy hair downwards, make it look neater with a brush but without such a tool, Gregory had to make due with his own hands, using his fingers to rake through it.

He noticed Henry gazing at him from the side. He seemed to have developed that downcast, nostalgic gaze again.

"What are you looking at?" Gregory tilts his head quizzically at the Ghost.

"Nothing. Just spacing out."

DING!

The lift brings them down into large, dark brown corridors. Some of which split into various paths. There was no sign of which direction the Attendant or Freddy could have gone in at all.

"Mike's soul is to the left so we need to keep ourselves going in that direction." Henry advises Gregory, "His soul is getting further so let's keep moving."

Heading deeper inside, they come across several boxes and metal fences and on the walls were these cutesy murals of metal endoskeletons with children. Some even had what looked like Purple Bunny ears drawn on them.

'So those are what's within Freddy and the other animatronics?' Gregory muses, 'That's creepy but it makes sense that Animatronics have skeletons too…'

Gregory and Henry then turn right (they had no choice as it was the only path ahead) and find that they've entered a very long, dimly lit corridor that was different from the others. On the left were three doors and on the right, were two. They seemed locked though so Gregory didn't bother to try to open them (It didn't help that they were also in a rush to get to Mike and Freddy). Furthermore, another unique aspect about the corridor was the fact that several boxes were strewn about haphazardly while three endoskeletons stood creepily in the middle in some kind of semicircle. Why weren't they stored away somewhere like the other Endos? It was weird…

"Gregory."

"Hm?"

"Earlier, when you were asleep. You had a dream inside Freddy. You were calling for me, telling me to not leave you alone?"

"I don't fully remember it but yeah, I suppose I was. I was dreaming of the fire. You were there I think. The man behind the glass?"

"Yeah. I remember that. William was trying to break it but the glass was reinforced. Tell me, did…William really think of me as he died?"

Gregory focuses on the memory and tries his best to retrieve it. Within that memory were emotions of fear, rage and grief, "Yes. He seemed upset that he couldn't reach you...but I'm not sure if it was because he wanted to kill you himself or because he wanted to die with you".

"Thank you for telling me that." Henry lowers his head, "I must have passed out or died before I heard him scream that. Still, I don't think hearing that would have changed anything at the time. He was already a monster so warped by malice that it was hard for me to even see him as the old friend I knew anymore and I hated him so much because of what he took away from me".

Gregory looks at him fearfully, wondering if he should run again or keep his distance. Henry notices that he's afraid of him and pats his head...or tries to at least as his hands kept phasing through it.

"I don't hate you though. You aren't that man or monster. I don't see you the way Mike does".

"But...why?"

"It's because you are proof that I'm not wrong. You are proof that William wasn't entirely heartless, that he was human and capable of empathy. A long time ago anyway…"

Gregory feels relieved and a little flattered at Henry's words. Mike still hated him but at least he had the trust and support of one other person besides Freddy. Henry kept gazing at him with that sad look in his emerald eyes. It annoyed Gregory slightly but at the same time, he wanted to know why the man looked so depressed whenever he took so much as a glance at him.

"Why do you keep looking at me so sadly?"

"It's because when I do, I remember how he and I were like when we were kids. You are the splitting image of him. Then again, it's because you are." he chuckled, "Would you like to know how he and I first met?"

"Sure." Gregory shrugs.

"It was at a carnival. I remember it was summer break. I believe I was 8 years old then and I wanted a Candy Apple. However, when I queued up and opened my wallet, I realised I didn't have enough coins to pay for them. They were pricier than I thought. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw this boy with a dark-purple and white striped shirt. He stole two Candy Apples from one of the barrels before slipping away into the crowds. I shouted at the shopkeeper that there was a thief but he'd slipped away before he could even notice and so, I chased after the boy and found him by himself, sitting on a lone bench on a hill that faced the sea. He didn't seem fazed by my presence though and just sat there, as if he was waiting for me somehow…"

"Caught you." Henry said to the thief, panting. The boy simply turned his head, his brown eyes giving off a dark vibe. In contrast, under the light of the setting sun, His gold hair looked bright and framed his almost blank, doll-like face.

"You want one?" He shows Henry the two Candy Apples in his hands and grins wide, "If you don't snitch, I'll give you one."

Henry looks at him, uncertain of what he's planning.

"I'm not gonna bite." He tries to stretch his hand more towards Henry, "My offer is simple: I'll give you a Candy Apple if you don't say a word about what I did to anyone. I know you want it. You eyed it back there but couldn't afford one could you?"

Henry stares at the delicious Candy Apple shimmering under the sunlight in the boy's hands, salivating from the inside. He knew it was wrong to steal but…he really did want what was in the boy's hands as Candy Apples from that stall were delicious but, indeed, much too pricey for him to afford. With the offer far too tempting to turn down, Henry takes one of them from the brown haired boy.

The boy's Cheshire smile somehow widens even more, "Good choice."

"Who are you?" Henry asks the mysterious boy.

"Now why would I tell you that?" The boy takes a bite into his sweet treat, "You wanted to snitch on me earlier. Who's to say you won't snitch on me once I give you my name?"

"That's true."

"How about we get to know one another first. Then maybe one of these days, I'll tell you who I really am…You don't have a lot of friends do you?"

"No." Henry is astonished by his quick observation, "How could you tell?"

"Don't think of me as creepy but I've watched you for a while." the boy waving the partially-eaten Candy Apple stick in his hands like a magic wand, "It's sad. You come here everyday and yet nobody follows you. Why is that?"

"I…I have trouble making friends." Henry twiddles his fingers, "I'm shy so I haven't been able to make many…I only have one or two…"

"I see…How about I become another friend then. You can call me 'Will'".

"And you are….?"

"Henry," the dark-haired boy answers.

"Henry…I like that name. It's pretty like mine." Will uses his hand to dramatically flick some of his messy hair out of his face. Henry then sits next to Will, the two getting to know one another until it was time to go home…

The memory stops there.

"I'm not sure why you trusted me–erm– William. He seemed shady as Hell."

"What can I say? I was a dumb kid and he had Candy Apples. The worst part was that I later learned he was from a well-off family and he didn't even have to steal those apples in the first place…"

"So why did he do it?"

"I remember him telling me that it was for the thrill of it. Seemed he had a knack for wanting to get into trouble ever since he was young".

"Mmm… What happened after that?"

Whirr whirr whirr

Gregory turns around and looks behind while Henry stares ahead. Nobody was in either direction. There were only the three deactivated Endoskeleton bodies standing still and upright. So where did that noise come from?

"What do you think that was?" Gregory asked Henry.

"I don't know. Maybe it was nothing." Henry shakes his head. "Still, be vigilant."

"I know." Gregory nods, "So you were going to continue with what happened to William?"

"Yes." Henry returns to being nostalgic, "We spent summer holidays together usually as we went to different schools. Usually it would be by the beach or at carnivals. Other times, William would suggest and drag me into some insane ideas he had like stealing things and playing pranks on strangers. I rarely went through with them even though William would always strongly insist that we should. Eventually, after 4 years, he told me that he was moving back to London".

As Henry told his story, it blended together with new memories that were being unlocked within Gregory's mind….

William and Henry lie under the stars in an empty green field, a gentle night breeze tickling their faces. All around them, the crickets chirped, having their own open air concert.

"Hey Will, If a shooting star went past us right now. What would you wish for?"

"I'd wish happier moments like these would last forever." William states, releasing a mournful sigh, "I really don't want to say goodbye to you tomorrow."

"Neither do I." Henry sits up,"I can still mail you letters but it won't be the same….When do you think you can come back?"

"I'm not sure but I will. I promise you that."

William then sits up and turns to face Henry's, an idea forming in his head. He pulls out a knife from his pockets, playfully slashing it twice in front of Henry.

"AH!"

He laughed childishly as if he hadn't just tried to stab him and just made a harmless joke, "Relax, I'm not going to stab you. I'm just gonna take a bit of blood from your wrist…"

Grgeory recalls that he did something similar to Freddy some hours ago, playfully flicking the knife at him. He feels a bit embarrassed by it now.

"William and I, we made a blood pact and we agreed we would meet again one day and, after that night, we went our separate ways. I went to study business but I'm not sure what you got up to in London. Do you remember what he did from that time?"

"No. I don't recall much. Sorry." Gregory shook his head, "I think I need something more specific to remember what I did in London".

"I see…"

Clunk Whirr Clunk Whirr

The two of them pause again. The two look behind them to see where the source of the noise had come from but seemingly, there is nothing. However, Henry notices something off instantly.

"Gregory, don't panic but I think one of those endoskeletons moved slightly." Henry tells him.

Gregory looked behind at the Endos and squinted to authenticate Henry's warnings. Nothing looked different as far as he could tell. Or maybe the near darkness made it difficult to tell properly.

"Are you sure?" the boy questions, "I think that Endo has always been in that position".

"Right. Maybe I'm just imagining things."

They both look away.

"Okay…where were we?" Henry wondered aloud, "Oh yeah, so we did meet again…after 9 years. As I said before, William had inherited his Father's business after he died and was planning to bring it to America permanently. He wrote to me in a letter that he would be in town in a few days and told me that he would meet me at my house for a nice chat."

Henry's melancholy expression changes to a wistful smile for once. "I still remember that day. The doorbell rang, I opened the front door and there he was: My old friend, more handsome than he ever was in his youth."

He laughs, "You know, for a moment, I thought he was one of those door-to-door salesmen at first but if it weren't for that wide grin he had, I would have hardly recognised him".

"Henry old friend, it's good to see you." The well-dressed man greeted him confidently.

Henry stares at him in disbelief. His friend looked different from the last time they met. Then again, it had been several years, of course he changed! They both had. William especially as the first thing Henry noticed was their difference in height. He had to crane his head upwards slightly to look William in the eyes.

In the past, William had been the shorter, 'messier' one of the both of them but here he was now, towering over Henry by what had to be at least 3 inches (Henry was 6'2) and decked head to toe in an elegant navy blue suit. His hair was also more neatly brushed and straightened but still curled at the ends.

Gazing at Henry, William's usual signature grin started to manifest on his face as he also picked up on their current difference in height, looking down on best friend.

"Heh. Guess I ended up having a larger growth spurt than you did huh?" he teased Henry, ruffling his hair "I feel oddly proud about that".

"I like that you're taller now too to be honest." Henry blushed, still looking up at his friend, "It fits your ego."

William raised an eyebrow at Henry, "Was that an insult or a compliment?"

"Haha um I meant that as a compliment." Henry assures his friend.

Acknowledging that, William laughed at his friend's sense of humour. "Ah I see…"

Then, unexpectedly, William outstretched his hands and pulled his best friend into a warm embrace. Henry's face lands on William's shoulder near the crook of his neck.

"Anyway, it's good to see you again." he whispers, "I kept my promise Henry. I came back…"

"So we sat down, talked about our lives and well, that's when I told him about my idea for a Family Diner. It was inspired by the summer carnivals we used to go to as children and William loved it a lot, told me he was willing to invest in this idea since we were good friends and he had the money to pay 'the right kind of people to help us' as he put it back then and that's what he did. He had a way of just swaying people with his words and that irresistible British accent of his."

"William seemed like quite the charmer." Gregory comments.

"Very."

Walking past the halfway point of the long corridor, he notices Gregory slowing down and clutching his head more with his left arm.

"Gregory, you alright? Do you need a break?" Henry asks with concern.

"I'm sorry." Gregory apologised, "I get a headache whenever I have these memories and I think I need a break from remembering."

"There's something else that's bothering you, isn't there?" Henry senses with his naturally intuitive empathy, "If you wish, I won't say a word to either Mike or Freddy so please, don't hide your worries from me".

For a few seconds, Gregory is silent but then, he confesses: "I'm think I'm also scared...Scared that if I recall too much of William's memories, I'll just end up more like him."

"Oh...If it disturbs you that much then, I'm sorry, I won't talk about the past anymore".

"But," Gregory adds, "A part of me is curious about why he turned out the way he did though which is why, I still want to try recall more of his past. It's like...It's like...umm"

Gregory stutters, trying to find the right word. It was a complicated word but one he could now know and speak due to presently having more memories of his previous life.

"...It's like a complicated Paradox." Gregory finally finishes his sentence.

Henry pats Gregory on the back although he knows his hand still can only phase right through the boy and decides to change the topic, "Hey, why don't you tell me about your memories instead: What's the first thing you remember?"

Gregory describes his first memory: "When I woke up, I was surrounded by water. I felt like I was suffocating and wanted to get out but was some kind of barrier in front of me so I pushed myself against it. The barrier broke but afterwards, I found myself cold and alone on the floor. There was no one around and I couldn't move, talk or open my eyes. Not at first. I didn't know how long I lay there but then a woman's voice started speaking. She picked me up, placed a blanket over me and took me away from the cold place.

"A woman?"

"Yeah. You saw her earlier. The Rabbit lady that called me Will? That's Vanny".

"She took care of you?" Henry says incredulously, "Dressed in that?"

"Yes. I didn't find her creepy. Not at first anyway because she was the only person I knew and she took care of me, teaching me how to eat and sleep and she gave me books and toys. But I think it was only because William told her to. Still, the only happy memories I've had were all with her".

"What is your favourite memory?"

"I remember asking Vanny for a hug once and she let me hug her." Gregory smiled before hugging himself to recall what it felt like, "I liked that warmth but she didn't hug me back and she just pushed me aside after a while as she needed to leave the room to talk to William I suppose…I never did quite figure out why she left the rooms until now…"

"What do you mean?"

"I think Vanny is a security guard at the mall called Vanessa but for some reason, Vanessa acts completely different from Vanny even though they are the same person. I met Vanessa earlier but she didn't call me Will. She doesn't seem to know I'm a clone and thinks I'm just a lost child. Only Vanny seems to know who I really am".

"I still don't understand how–"

CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK

Another noise. This time it was much closer.

The two of them look around again. Behind them, Gregory finally notices that Henry's observation from earlier was right. One of the endoskeletons had indeed gained on them and was now a metre away from him. And now that it was closer, Gregory could also see that this one had glowing purple eyes.

"William? Is that you?" the child glared at the Endoskeleton, trying to show him that he wasn't afraid of the trick he was trying to pull, "You were trying to kidnap me while I was unaware, weren't you?"

"Awww you figured out my plan too early Will." William's annoyed voice emerged from the endoskeleton. "I was hoping you wouldn't but…you did. Ah well, How about I change the game then?"

The doors in the corridors abruptly burst open and, out of them, marched out 3 Endoskeletons each with similar glowing eyes. A total of around 20 active Endos were now gathered together in the corridor, staring straight at Gregory.

"Let's play tag." All of them spoke in creepy unison with William's voice, "If you can't outrun us, you know what happens."

William doesn't even bother to give Gregory a headstart as the bots immediately start charging right at him like a pack of starving wolves. Gregory turns on his heel and goes down the corridor which is littered with various carts, props and boxes.

Gregory gets an idea, seeing a carpet with paints up ahead on a box and pulls it. The paint cans that were on it fall downwards. He hoped it would stop the Endos, cause them to slip and fall but only a few do and the rest simply leap over them, continuing to give chase.

'Slowing them down is better than nothing I guess…'

"Henry?" Gregory breathes heavily, "You there?"

"Yeah." The older man talks from the Fazwatch "You are going in the right direction. Just follow whatever I say and we'll hopefully get to Freddy and Mike before they catch up with us.

Henry gave instructions as they darted left and right, past corridors and more items but it seemed the further they went in, the fewer items there were for Gregory to use and worse, Gregory was already starting to feel muscle pains in his legs and chest.

"Don't tell me, you're tired already?" Henry observes Gregory suddenly stopping in the middle of being chased in disbelief, "Don't kids have more energy than this?"

"Sorry but unlike other kids, I'm only *huffs* two weeks old and *huffs* I have never exercised at all until today in my short lifespan." Gregory retorted while out of breath.

"Sorry." Henry tried to be understanding.

"Ugh I don't think I can make it any further."

"You're going to have to try or you're going to get captured. They're going to come here at any moment".

Henry looks around them and realises that there are two deactivated Endos just ahead and near to Gregory. "Hmmm. I may have an idea".

Henry jumps from Gregory's Fazwatch into one of the deactivated Endoskeletons closest to the boy. It's eyes glow green as Henry possesses it and it walks up to the child. Gregory looks up at Endo moving quickly towards him.

"Henry?" Gregory asks to make sure that he was speaking to the right person.

"Yes. It's me".

"Thank you." Gregory says gratefully, "I really don't think I could run anymore".

"Not a problem." Henry says as he lifts the clone of his former friend into his arms and runs forward.

Unlike Gregory's body, the Endoskeletons body didn't seem to tire out and Gregory used his time in Henry's arms to catch his breath and let his body recover for a bit. The swarm of Endos were still tailing behind them which was a cause for concern still but at least Henry was managing to outrun them all.

Gradually, they entered an area where there was only one walkway forward in a circular tunnel. To the left, there were several sewage (?) pipes.

"Will we be out of here soon?" Gregory groans impatiently.

"Maybe. I can still sense Micheal's soul. It stopped moving and we are definitely getting closer to them." Henry comforts Gregory triumphantly. However, in the distance, Gregory spotted something. Two red glowing dots emerged at the end of the corridor along with the shape of a very familiar figure.

"Vanny! She's at the end of that corridor!" Gregory shouts at Henry.

"Will~ There you are!" Vanny's sweet voice calls out to him and she, the red eyes in the darkness getting brighter.

"We're trapped." Henry starts to slow down.

"No. There has to be another way out." Gregory denies Henry's statement. He searches around, gazing left and right before eyeing the top right corner of the area.

"Throw me up there." Gregory commands while pointing to the small, rectangular open vent entrance above them.

"What?"

"There's an open vent. I think I'm small enough to get through it and there's enough space for you to toss me there".

"You sure!?" Henry anxiously asks the boy.

"We don't have a choice. Throw me".

"Sounds crazy but alright…" He didn't mention that this felt like some insane stunt that William and him would have pulled in childhood. Henry throws Gregory at the rectangular vent above using his metal endo arms and, before he's immediately ambushed by a tidal wave of the other Endos, he quickly jumps back into the Fazwatch.

Landing in the vent, Gregory barely avoided a concussion on the head as his hair brushed against the top of the metal vent when he'd jumped inside. Just when he thought he was safe however, a soft paw grabs his left leg. Distressed, Gregory kicks at the wrist of the rabbit woman with his right leg and manages to lay a blow on her fingers. She yelps in pain, letting go as he scurries deeper into the small vents like a rabbit burrowing itself further into its den. From that point on, Henry kept guiding Gregory towards the direction of Michael's soul and, as they did their best to navigate through the vents, both of them hoped that their companions were alright.

Chapter 17 End

Chapter 18 Title: ?

Summary: Mike and Freddy await Gregory and Henry's arrival in the Parts and Service room and meet Vanessa who questions. Mike has some bad PTSD when Vanessa threatens Freddy with being scooped if he refuses to cooperate.