Chapter Twelve
Flash
When Gregory entered the elevator to the arcade, Freddy stopped. He said, "I must stay here. I wish I could join you, but after tonight's stage incident, I am not allowed to perform. When I step onto the West Arcade dance floor, I cannot stop myself. It is a programming bug."
Gregory sighed and pressed the elevator button. "Okay." It whirred as it went down.
Freddy continued through Gregory's Fazwatch, "Head to the security office in the utility hallway. You will find another security pass there." His voice brightened. "If you see the DJ, say 'Hello.' He is such a nice fellow."
The first thing Gregory noticed upon stepping out was the giant golden statue of Freddy and Friends, Freddy standing on top of giant speakers.
Neon lights and arcade screens threw multicolored light across the floor, walls, and arcade cabinets. The shiny, dark dance floor ate the light that glowed over it.
Gregory stepped out onto a futuristic hallway. To his left was an arcade. To his right was a dancefloor. A giant, tear-shaped robot lay on the stage. Six limbs ending in hands attached to its huge body. His squarish head lay on two of his hands, his black circle eyes staring into nothingness as he "slept." A massive set of headphones sat on his head. As Gregory approached, he saw its huge row of teeth modeled after a keyboard.
Pinks and blues colored his otherwise white face and red and gold headphones sat atop his head. His were black and white like keyboard keys, but the inside of his mouth varied in color, changing like light shimmering off a dark pool with antifreeze. So, this was DJ Music Man. Man, he made the little things in the vents look like actual bugs!
Beside the robotic DJ was a platform with a metal safety railing interrupted by a short set of stairs. A breaker switch clung to the wall. He stepped back and walked to the arcade, where a set of spiral stairs led him up to a landing with arcade cabinets and then another set of stairs leading to more arcade cabinets set up to make a winding pathway. Behind him was a round platform with dining tables and chairs sectioned off with faux walls. However, he didn't need those. Probably. Instead, he walked to the other end past all the arcade cabinets and a few rooms dominated by a single color with a mic near the end.
He stopped upon hearing a voice and hid behind the arcade cabinet.
A familiar feminine voice puffed, "Look, I don't know where it is!"
…
Officer Vanessa let out a quiet growl. However, she sounded more exasperated than irritated. "Do you know how many arcade games there are?"
Gregory stared at his feet. Was she… talking to someone? Oh no. Was Monty here? Roxy?
…Vanny?
Gregory shut his eyes. Come on, stop being a wimp! You're faster than her. You're the one with the Fazerblaster. You escaped them both once. You can do it again. Besides, Vanny had that weird ability to mess with his senses. That wasn't happening right now, so he was good.
Gregory got up and walked around the arcade cabinets. He just caught Officer Vanessa walking through a door at the end of the hall.
Once he got to the last door past some games with chairs and a door that was out of order, he escaped the lights and colors and emerged into a poorly lit brick-walled hall. A metal security door cut into the bricks on the left with a long, small window beside it looking into the hallway.
She rounded a corner.
He followed on his tip-toes, head down and eyes on her.
"I'll find it eventually."
Officer Vanessa walked between arcade cabinets. Dusty screens and metal siding glinted in the light as she passed.
Then, she stopped.
"I have the second key."
Gregory looked over her shoulder. She stood before a solitary arcade cabinet. "Huh?"
She turned around. Her flashlight fell on Gregory.
"Hey!" he called. "Wait, wait! Before you say or do anything!"
Officer Vanessa closed her mouth and watched him with wide emerald eyes.
"I need your help. But first, you have to promise me that you won't try to take me anywhere. Not to call the cops or take me to Vanny or anything."
Officer Vanessa turned to him completely. "Of course not! Gregory, I'm trying to help you. I wouldn't try to hurt you."
Gregory wrinkled his nose. "Really? What about the whole 'Lost and Found' deal?"
"I don't know what happened," Officer Vanessa admitted. "You fainted, I think. But you were safe in there."
"No, I wasn't! Some crazy lady in a rabbit suit tried to kill me! And I was trapped!"
Officer Vanessa jolted as if he'd slapped her.
Gregory sighed. "Whatever. We're not talking about that. Vanessa, something's wrong with Moon. Sun and Moon are sick. At least Moon is. But Sun's not acting right, either. I turned on the lights so that Sun would be able to follow me to Parts and Services."
"You turned on the lights?" Officer Vanessa interrupted. "That wasn't a malfunction?"
Gregory puffed. "Are you gonna let me finish?"
"Right, sorry. Go on?"
"Yeah, so, I turned on the lights, but Sun still wouldn't leave. He said he needed a staff member to bring him out. He's not allowed outside of the Daycare otherwise. Since you're the only other human here…"
Officer Vanessa nodded. "I see. Gregory, I need to get you out of here. I know that Sun isn't working…"
"I'm not leaving until he's fixed!" Gregory snapped. "How many times do I have to say this?! I'm not leaving until Sun and Moon are all better!"
Officer Vanessa thought for a short moment. "Okay. I get it. I'll help Sun." She winced and set a hand to her head. "Yeah. I'll help. Look, um… I'll… I'll help you, Gregory."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. This night's giving me a headache. Heh." She shook her head and squinted.
Gregory bit his cheek. "Hey, actually, I want to… go to that room over there." He nodded to the end of the hall.
"The security room?" Officer Vanessa asked.
Gregory nodded. "Yeah. I'll be just a moment!" He turned and ran off. But, when he turned the corner to go into the room, he heard Officer Vanessa let out a quiet growl.
He stopped by the door and looked back. Officer Vanessa had a hand to her head. She saw Gregory looking at her and let go. "Sorry. Why did you want to come here?"
Gregory eyed her. "I wanted the security badge, duh." He flitted inside and ran to the desk.
"Wait, kid!" Officer Vanessa ran into the room.
Gregory stopped and turned around again. "Yeah?"
She took out her card. "I have security clearance, you know. I can go anywhere in the building."
"Well, yeah," Gregory said. "But I want to, too."
"You already run around like you own the place!" She puffed and then hesitated. "Wait. You've been collecting security badges, haven't you? It makes sense now! That's how you're able to go into secure areas!"
Gregory nodded. "Mhm. I… what's that look for?"
Officer Vanessa blinked. "What? Oh, it's nothing. Just…" She took a deep breath. "That's dangerous, kid. You could get yourself hurt. I'll help you with Sun, just… Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"
Gregory shook his head. "No. I don't want to go with you."
He could see the grip of paranoia and anxiety ease just a little bit. Her hat made her green eyes, flecked with lavender, difficult to see.
Lavender, like the animatronics.
Gregory stated, "Actually, I think I should go now." His eyes flicked around the room. A vent on the floor led to an unknown location. A single door led outside. She stood between him and the door.
Officer Vanessa shook her head. The anxiety was back. "Hey, hey. It's okay. Look, I'll meet you at the Daycare. I won't force you into anything. I'll go meet you in the Daycare and we can fix your friend. I'll try my best. Just promise me you'll be there. Please."
Gregory nodded, refusing to move his hard gaze from hers.
"Okay. I'll see you there, Gregory. I'm not trying to scare you, alright?" She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her emerald eyes before leaving.
Gregory watched her go. He shrugged and turned back around.
A large repair machine with a slot in the front metal part stood about a yard and a half before the door. A box of S.T.A.F.F. parts sat in a bin beside it. A security desk armed with electronics and empty food boxes lined the left walls. A vent entrance cut into the wall left of the door.
He grabbed the security badge off the far desk. Behind it was an open pizza box with an empty soda can on it! He plucked off the can and opened the box. His excitement turned to disappointment. Stale. He tapped the nose of the Freddy security badge holder. It slowly opened, let him take the card, and then snapped shut again.
The lights went out.
The computer bot who helped him in Parts and Service called, "The West Arcade was not shut down properly. Some data may be corrupted. Initializing start-up sequence. Before proceeding, reset the audio manager circuit breaker, located next to the dance floor."
That breaker by the DJ!
Freddy chimed in, "Gregory, the security system knows you are here and has locked you out. Reset the breakers and restore power to the West Arcade."
Nothing had moved, no one had entered–that he could see–but the backup lights came online. Gregory ran, glancing around at his surroundings now dipped in blood.
"Where are you?" Chica called.
Gregory bit his cheek. Okay, so, Chica was supposed to be fixed. She was supposed to be on his side. But on the off-chance the alarm did something weird, he kept his head down. He kept a lookout but didn't see the chicken as he moved to the stairs.
On the little raised platform by the stage on the dance floor, the breaker switch's light glowed red. So, he pulled it down. It clicked and the circle and lightning bolt glowed green. The lights went out completely and the neon walls turned on bright. Electric music boomed through the arcade. Something shuffled rather quickly. He looked beside himself.
The DJ was gone.
The computer voice said, "Great job. Safety protocols deactivated."
Oh, come on!
"Pram zapped. Brun DJ protocols. Reticulating splines. Please reset the breakers to all zones. Three zones remain: Janitorial service. Arcade. Arcade."
Neon lights and arcade screens threw multicolored light across the floor, walls, and arcade cabinets. Still, the darkness was harsh, and Gregory absolutely needed his flashlight here, especially on the shiny, dark dance floor. He heard Chica say something above him.
He ran through a wall and checked the girl's bathroom. Nope. He checked the boy's bathroom. A door led off into a janitor's closet. A breaker clung to the wall. He pulled it down immediately.
"Two zones remain: Arcade. Arcade."
Gregory stepped out into the bathroom and froze. The bathroom door opened, revealing DJ Music Man's head cocked to the side so both eyes could stare in. His head retreated, replaced by a gloved hand reaching in. Gregory ran around to the other door. When DJ Music Man's arm extended fully inside, the boy darted out straight under his legs and toward the arcade.
He ran around to the lower arcade, searching the walls.
Then, a roar blasted nearby, and a huge green and purple shape rushed out of the bowels of the arcade and landed before him.
Gregory yelped and shot his Fazerblaster into Monty's face.
The alligator caught his balance and barked out a laugh. His lavender eyes glowed in the confusing mix of light and shadow. His cracked star-shaped glasses shielded his eyes. "Game over, kid!"
Gregory bolted. The alligator roared and gave chase. Though he was faster than Gregory, he didn't nearly take the turns Gregory did around the arcade machines as well and quickly went back to calling for him.
Gregory wanted to hate this atmosphere, but surprisingly the music and the glaring lights were way better here than anywhere else in the once dark and still boring mall.
Still, he gathered his wits and ran to the breaker. It clicked on.
"One zone remains: Arcade."
Gregory looked up to see DJ Music Man crawling out of a giant, lit-up hole in the wall.
Welp, time to move.
Gregory bolted for the spiral staircase. He couldn't see Chica, despite waving his flashlight around, so he continued onward.
"Gregory!"
The feminine hiss came from right in front of him.
Gregory turned a corner, only to run straight into Chica.
"Gregory, it's okay!" Chica held up her hands, one almost bare of her shell. Her beak looked rather out of place on her broken face, only made worse by the shadows and lights. "You already activated two of the breakers. The third is past the bridge. I-I'll try and talk to Monty and see if I can get him to leave, okay? Hurry!" With that, she ran past him.
Gregory nodded but said nothing. Instead, he ran deeper into the arcade, away from the repair bot tunnel. He found the next breaker across the bridge. He grabbed the breaker a couple of feet away.
Computer bot announced, "Rerouting encryptions. Almost done. There is a software update available. Reset the final circuit breaker located at the south end of the arcade maintenance hallway."
That was the place with the security office and S.T.A.F.F. repair station, right?
Gregory ran back over the bridge and wove through the arcade cabinets. He burst through the door, ran down the hall, and turned. Arcade cabinets and equipment sprinkled through a long hallway with a giant circular hole at the end wall. At the end of the hall, he spotted a lonely arcade cabinet pressed against the wall. Princess Quest II.
Free of danger for the moment, hopefully, Gregory ran to the breaker. He took a few deep breaths and stayed still long enough to regain some energy. Then, he grabbed the last breaker and pulled it down.
The music reached a crescendo and then paused as if holding its breath.
The ground shook and from the giant hole in the wall emerged DJ Music Man. His hand-feet stomped as he emerged, causing the very ground to shudder.
The beat dropped.
Gregory ran.
Arcade cabinets fell over and stuff fell from the ceiling or walls to block his path. He still managed to find one, but with each turn he had to make or time to slow down, the DJ got closer.
Finally, Gregory broke free of the hall and took a turn. As he ran to the security door, he glanced behind him to see the DJ in the hall.
Gregory shut the door behind himself.
…
The noises within the hall died down. The lights came on–enough that he no longer needed his flashlight.
He breathed a sigh of relief. He looked to the repair receptacle, and then beyond that at the vent. Well, he had the security badge. May as well, right?
"Where does this vent go?" he wondered aloud as he crawled through the dark space. No little music man vent bug thing crawled in behind him. Which was for the best considering how long this vent was–and sloped downward, too!
Then, he was on a catwalk.
He got up and looked down at his feet. Below him, the Fazerblast arena glowed and whirred with all sorts of lights and noises. Small, orange lights only bright enough to be seen and guide whoever was on the catwalk glowed at specific intervals. At a few points, a dull purple light shone from the ceiling. Well, the catwalk was purple with the safety rails and beams crossing the grates a sharp blood red so, it fits in with the spontaneous colors of the neon and blacklight arena below him. It took a turn and ended in a gate. He looked over the gate, seeing a spiral staircase down. As much as he wanted to jump down, if he twisted his ankle or broke a leg or something, he was done for.
He ran back the way he came. Only then did he see that beside the vent was not a blank wall, but a wall with a window. He stopped and peered inside. He couldn't see much but did find a door that was out of order opposite him, a stack of boxes, a flashlight recharge station… there was a cot opposite what he assumed was a computer with a ton of notes scattered about. He could assume that as no other computer was in the room, but he still heard the gentle buzz of electronics. Spraypainted on the wall, violet words detectable by the blacklight stationed below it on the wall next to the cot, was "VANNY". Subtle.
Gregory reported, "Freddy, Vanny's in a secret room above Fazer Blast. It looks like a hideout." An arcade cabinet with something about "Balloon World" sat at the foot of the cot. The screen was full of static. Maybe that was the electricity. Maybe there wasn't a computer terminal, though it would be weird if there wasn't.
"'Vanny,'" Freddy repeated, his voice slow. "It is very similar to Vanessa… and also Bunny. That cannot be a coincidence."
Yet another reason to not trust Officer Vanessa. Even if Officer Vanessa wasn't Vanny, he couldn't take the risk. If she was Vanny, then she was already out and about, and he could confront her!
But he needed her. Urgh! Why was this all so confusing and messed up?!
He had to trust Officer Vanessa. If he wanted to fix Sun, he needed to trust her. If he had a few animatronics on his side, maybe they could make sure Officer Vanessa didn't kill him! Brilliant plan! He already enlisted Chica's help and Freddy was already his friend. What about Roxy and Monty? Maybe he could get their help, too!
With no other way down, he made his way back up the vent system and to the West Arcade security room. He didn't bother to replace the vent register once he was back on two feet.
Gregory started to leave when the memory of the game came back to him. He passed by the wreckage and approached the aforementioned game. Again, it felt… out of place. Weird. Like it was supposed to be here, but also not. That weird feeling came over him again. It needed to be there, but it should be gone. Or should it be here but it needed to be gone? The sideways pirate Bonnie sitting next to it was also odd. Bonnie didn't live here. Not anymore.
On impulse, Gregory took a picture of the game.
The arcade cabinet did nothing. However, Bonnie's eyes glowed.
Okay, this was getting weirder and weirder. Just… play the creepy game, have that weird feeling go away, and leave. He pressed the start button. The game flickered on without needing a coin.
The princess was outside. An older, red man stood before her. He wielded a cane and crown. A black box appeared at the bottom of the screen and white text silently appeared.
"You are alive. That is good. Take the sword of light and go."
This time, the princess had a sword. She could light the braziers with her sword if they needed lighting. The goopy bunny heads and bipedal bunnies died on her sword, though the bipedal ones needed three swings than the round ones who died after two. At one point, she walked into a room, black save for an aura of light around her and single white orbs with pupils scattered in the dark. When she got close, they spat glowing white balls at her. These were a little difficult to dodge, but she managed. Those little turret bunnies took one hit. At one point, there was a room with purple, red, and gold braziers. When he hit the yellow one, the fire died almost immediately, when he hit the red one, a "shadow" princess, the same as the one he played with save for being purple, appeared. When the princess moved, the shadow princess moved in the opposite direction. Both braziers had to be lit at the same time to create the bridge necessary to proceed. The shadow princess blinked out of existence once the puzzle was completed. There was one similar, but instead of lighting the trio of braziers on either side of a red one, they had to be lit in a certain order to move them into a certain pattern. Well, all of them had to be lit, but then a hidden yellow and a hidden purple brazier would be revealed and would un light itself each time it was hit after moving the other three braziers. In the last room after that was the old red man, presumably the king, standing close to her bed.
"Congratulations! Your quest is done. It is time to sleep."
But the stone door at the end… was covered in purple pixels scattering and changing positions. Was it glitched? When the princess entered, the screen immediately changed. Now, she stood in a security office, like the first one Gregory had been in when fleeing Monty in the utility tunnels. She stood, unable to move. Then, the game ended, and the arcade cabinet shut off.
The weird feeling was gone. The arcade cabinet was okay, now. It still did not belong, but it no longer needed to be there.
Gregory shook his head and walked off. It was weird to have a princess and castle-themed game and end up in a modern security office… much less one exactly like the one Gregory was once trapped in. That was after running from Monty, Chica, Roxy, and Vanny… the white rabbit…
Silence reigned over the brightly lit arcade. Still, he stayed on his toes. He ducked his head under the arcade cabinets and hurried to the stairs. He paused on occasion. Where was she?
Did Chica get to Monty? Did Officer Vanessa meet them? Did they leave?
He peered around the corner of the machines. Nothing moved.
"F… Freddy?" he whisper-yelled.
"There you are~!" a light, feminine voice called. Laughter hitched her sing-song voice.
Gregory paled and hid behind the arcade cabinet. Still, a headache started to form, and static filled his ears as whatever she had on her tried disconnecting his brain from his senses. Bright red eyes shined in the light further into the arcade. She skipped along with near-silent, fuzzy feet, pausing to look around every corner. She bent down and pulled up the shades of a baby stroller. Upon finding it empty, she dropped it and continued moving.
"Gregory! I know you're he-re~! Come out, come out wherever you are!"
Gregory shut his eyes and covered his ears. The headache didn't ease. It just got worse. Still, he couldn't stay here. He would get caught and killed. He had to move!
The boy squinted open his eyes and moved around so he hid around the end of the line of arcade cabinets. Big red eyes set on a white face peered around the corner. After a long moment, the face turned away and her body followed as she kept walking.
He scooted past the arcade cabinets to the stairs. His vision slowly returned, and he could hear his surroundings again. Unfortunately, as he looked back to be sure he wasn't being followed, he ran straight into a beam of bright light on the landing.
The S.T.A.F.F. bot yanked him into the air with a scream and loud, short alarm. Gregory darted down the rest of the stairs once it dropped him. The near-silent footsteps now thumped over the ground as Vanny ran back through the arcade. Gregory didn't look back, even as the static returned, and he had to squint past the morphing lines and colors in his vision.
He escaped into the elevator. He just caught a glimpse of the DJ standing on his stage, dancing to the music he played. Vanny's feet hit the smooth tile, but not fast enough.