Chapter Thirteen
Peek-a-Boo
Gregory leaned against the wall of the elevator to catch his breath and let his fluttering heart calm. Okay. So, he got what he wanted. He got his new security badge. He found Officer Vanessa. It was time to go back to the Daycare.
Freddy… wait. Where was Freddy? Huh. Eh, guess they'll meet up at the Daycare.
"Hey, kid!" Monty's voice erupted from further down the walkway.
Roxy growled to herself just loud enough for Gregory to hear, "You will find him!"
Gregory bristled and looked around. So, both of the animatronics now blocked his exit. But that was fine. He would just need to wait. They would clear out on their own. Oh, but he didn't have time! It would get dark, and Gregory would miss his chance to help Sun and Moon!
"There you are!" Roxy yelled, her glowing lavender eyes on him. Monty's head snapped to the side. Gregory couldn't see Monty's eyes behind his star shaped shades.
Gregory jumped into a food cart stand and shut the shutters.
Footsteps thumped closer.
He tried to press the orange button on his Fazwatch but, as the cart shook when one of the animatronics grabbed it, his finger pressed the wrong button.
A set of purple claws poked out from under the shutter. Light leaked into the otherwise dark space through the tiny gap.
The shutters tore upwards. Monty laughed. "Game over, kid!"
"He's mine!" Roxy snapped and shouldered Monty aside. Her bright lavender eyes trained on the terrified boy. She gasped and stumbled to the side.
"You vain dog!" he snapped. "I'm takin' the little guy."
"He's mine! I found him first! I found him first! I'm better at finding him than you!"
As the two argued, Gregory sent a look at the other pair of shutters across from the ones Monty held. He pushed them open a little and squirmed through.
"No, you don't!"
Gregory squealed as a metal and plastic hand grabbed him by the ankle and yanked him back.
The cart tipped as Gregory held on with all his might. He kicked at the manicured hand that had him by the ankle.
Roxy took a step back and yanked him out of the cart.
Gregory yelped and let go. His elbow struck the cart and his fingers on the other hand scraped an edge.
Roxy's growl wavered. She pulled the dangling boy up a little farther upon seeing the hand he held to his chest with a shaking arm. She blinked her shiny orange eyes. "Blood?"
A pair of footsteps–these ones not as heavy as the animatronics–rushed up the stairs. Those shoes didn't belong to Vanessa.
"Oh no, no! Look at him!" Sun squealed and darted up to the two. He took Gregory while Roxy was distracted and held him tight to his chest. "He's hurt! You're holding him wrong! You could hurt him even more!"
Roxy shook her head and glared at him with harsh lavender eyes. "He's mine!" she snarled and struck.
Sun bounced back. "Uh-uh-uh! No! You could hurt him! No!"
Monty ran around to block his exit from the stairs. "Hand him over, clown. That kid's not going to the Daycare."
"You'll hurt him!" Sun turned around so he faced Monty, and then hopped back again to avoid Roxy's claws.
His heels touched the glass half-wall acting as a safety rail.
Gregory winced and clung to the Daycare Attendant as tightly as he could. He opened one of his eyes. "Aren't they supposed to be afraid of you?"
"N-no! They're not afraid of me. No one's afraid of me!" Sun answered.
Monty laughed. "That clown?"
Roxy hissed, "Shut up! Hand him over or I'll rip him out! I found him first. You should be at the Daycare. You're not allowed to be out. You're breaking the rules."
Sun shook his head. "No. This child was hurt and scared and needed my help and comfort. Look at him! His finger's bleeding. This needs immediate attention." His head twitched from side to side.
The only exit was blocked by Monty.
Welp, this was the end. At least Sun was there. He was nice.
Sun stamped his foot. "Now, you stop right there!"
Roxy stopped and flicked her ears forward at the new tone he'd taken.
"You are scaring him, and I can't let you do that!"
Roxy started to speak, but he cut her off. "He's just a little kid! You have no right to scare him like that. No right at all. You're supposed to be nice."
The wolf rolled her eyes and flashed a look at Monty, who scoffed. "Just take the kid, Roxy."
Sun clutched Gregory tighter. Sun whispered, "I'm so sorry, Moony." When he spoke, again, it was not Sun's voice they heard. "You must go back to your stations. I have the child."
Roxy's ears flattened upon hearing Moon's voice. Monty flinched.
She glanced at her alligator friend, who had already moved back a few steps, and growled. Regardless, she gave him a foot or two. They did not move any further.
Sun let go of Gregory with one hand. Something clicked. Then, the ground fell out from under them.
The boy shut his eyes and pressed his forehead against the Daycare Attendant's chest.
A cable whirred and then stopped and clicked.
"There we are!" Sun announced cheerfully. "First floor! Safe and sound!"
Gregory tipped his head a little and opened one eye.
"I, um, I do a good impression of my brother, don't I?" Sun chuckled nervously.
"Um, yeah."
Sun said, "I need to check your hand. Is it okay if I put you down? We won't be needing to fly, anymore!"
Gregory nodded and shifted in his arms. Sun set him back down. Gregory said, "I never saw you fly at the Daycare. Even when I climbed up the slide to the top."
"Um… the cable is more of… Moon's thing," Sun said. He pulled a bandage and a bottle of something from a compartment in his chest.
Gregory held up his injured hand.
Sun went on as he took it, "We both like and dislike different things, after all! Moon likes using the cable. He isn't fond of needing to 'take ten steps for a two-step move'." Sun said that last statement in Moon's voice before switching back. "I like feeling my feet on the ground! Being on the ground is fun! You're not supposed to climb on the play structures, after all. The only time we've ever been off the ground is when Moon is patrolling," Sun rambled. "There's no reason for me to be way up high! I mean, I need to get to my room, but that isn't up high and it's above the ball pit. So that's fine. But Monty wouldn't let me pass. He wouldn't be scared by my impression for very long. A-and I don't like scaring people. Especially by impersonating my brother. He's not normally scary. So, it's really mean. It's really mean to pretend to be someone to scare other people."
Sun let go of Gregory's cleaned and bandaged hand.
The Moon he met last time was "normal" Moon. Normal Moon wasn't scary. Well, whoever wanted to make Moon scary had another thing coming to them.
Gregory gasped. "Oh! I just remembered! I found Vanessa." He pressed a few buttons on his Fazwatch. "We can meet Freddy and Chica here and all go to the Daycare! Then we'll meet Vanessa and she'll be there to help. We can finally go to Parts and Services!"
"Oh, that sounds f-fun!" Sun clapped his hands together.
He heard Chica and Freddy before he saw them.
"Hey, Chica?" Gregory asked once they gathered.
"Yes, Gregory?"
"Um, I found Vanessa," he said. "I'm meeting her at the Daycare. You don't have to come with. But just in case something goes wrong, could you kind of… hang around? To help Freddy? I mean, we have this under control. But in case Freddy needs help."
Freddy said, "Gregory certainly is resourceful. But yes, I may need help if things do not go according to plan."
The elevator opened for them. It shuttered under them, but no emergency lights went off, so it was probably fine.
Chica hesitated and then nodded. "Of course! Heh! I can help back you up. I know that you are very nice, Sun, but this is a… difficult time. I'm sure with Officer Vanessa there, though, nothing can go wrong. She's in charge of us, after all! She's even done repairs all on her own!"
The elevator stopped and opened.
Gregory led them both through the balcony of the front area and down through to the Daycare.
The lights of the Daycare blended in with the lights everywhere else.
The S.T.A.F.F. he expected to see on the walkway still rolled. But they avoided them.
One of the giant doors was held ajar. Before Gregory could investigate, the door closed.
Gregory hummed and narrowed his eyes. Still, he had Freddy and Chica on his side. So even if Officer Vanessa turned Sun against him, or stopped Sun from helping, Gregory was going to be perfectly fine.
Don't jinx yourself!
The boy shook his head and knocked on the giant doors.
When nothing happened, Sun opened it wide open and hopped to the side so he could make way for them.
Officer Vanessa stood behind the security desk.
Officer Vanessa chuckled. "You're not nearly old enough to be wearing that." She gestured to the security hat Gregory wore.
"Well, I am wearing it. What are you going to do about it?" Gregory countered with a smug smirk.
"You know, I think they're offering a junior training program," Officer Vanessa pointed out.
Gregory puffed. "Pssh, yeah, right. A job as a security officer? Pass. Anyway, you said you could help! Sun! Can you go to Parts and Services now?"
Sun, playing with his fingers and standing quite still, said, "Yes. If I am supposed to go to Parts and Services, then I will."
Officer Vanessa nodded. "Yep. And, kid. I know you're scared. This place…" She bit her cheek and glanced at the other animatronics before turning back to Gregory. "They won't stop hunting you, Gregory. You need to leave. I can help you out by morning. Six AM isn't that far away."
"Only after you fix Sun and Moon," Gregory stated curtly. "I meant what I said."
"I know you did." Officer Vanessa looked up at the Daycare Attendant. "Alright, let's get down. You two can come with us."
With that, Officer Vanessa opened one of the doors and led them out.
Gregory walked side-by-side with Freddy. Chica stumbled but managed to keep the pace. Officer Vanessa led them. Sun trailed behind, staring at his feet.
Weirdly, they didn't go to the elevators. Instead, they headed down toward the front doors.
Gregory asked, "Where are we going?"
Officer Vanessa threw a short glance back. "Utility tunnels. It's much faster to go there then through the main stage or Rockstar Row."
"Aren't there supposed to be other engineers?"
Officer Vanessa nodded. "There are, but they're off shift."
"Why hasn't anyone helped Sun and Moon, yet?"
Officer Vanessa shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm not one of the engineers. Gregory, I do want to warn you: I'm not an expert with the Daycare Attendant's design. Only a handful of people are, actually. So, if I can't find or fix something, then… well, I'll try. I promised you I would, so I'll try."
Gregory narrowed his eyes. "Sun said something about a Mr. Remington. Can't you ask him for help?"
"Maybe in a few hours, if he's here," Officer Vanessa said. "Our shifts very rarely overlap. He clocks out a little while after I check in. He should be very busy, being Head Engineer. Especially since he rarely works on any of the functioning bots. But I'll call him, if worse comes to worse."
They retraced Gregory's steps through the tunnels and the door in the security room Gregory could've sworn got stuck and then past the dirty restroom. Chica sent an interested glance at the garbage pile but didn't act on her desires.
Rather than going past the recharge station to the stairs, they took a left.
Gregory kept his arms around himself and his hand close to his Fazerblaster.
After some more of what Gregory could swear was wandering later, the lights went out with a whine.
Sun stopped so suddenly he nearly tripped over himself.
"No, no, no!" he squealed, clawing at his mostly retracted spokes and his face. "Lights on! Lights on! They're supposed to be on!"
Gregory turned around and backed away from him. Freddy and Chica watched as well, neither making any effort to move.
Officer Vanessa glanced at Gregory.
Sun took a few unsteady steps back and curled up into himself. Unfortunately, willpower alone wasn't enough to override their programming.
Gold and red turned to blue and yellow.
His spokes retracted, replaced with a floppy night cap.
His fingers relaxed so he no longer attempted to damage himself.
A weird, quiet noise slithered out of him. He slid out of his tense stance into a slightly more natural hunch and crouch.
Gregory managed, "Moon? Are… you're okay, right?"
Moon lowered his hand and cocked his head. His glittering red eyes concentrated on Gregory. "It's past your bedtime…"
Officer Vanessa stated, "He's with me, now, Moon."
Gregory looked back at her. The security officer stood beside him. Though she looked tense and shifty–just like Roxy–upon seeing Gregory nervously edging toward Freddy, she took a breath and held her head high.
Moon looked at her and cooed. "Oh, you found the boy, I know. It is time for him to–"
Officer Vanessa snatched something from her pocket and held it out.
Moon, one foot up as if to attempt to move forward, froze and stared at her hand.
Freddy and Chica backed away and looked at each other.
Gregory looked up at her and then the squarish object she held.
Officer Vanessa stated, "Leave him alone. That's not a suggestion. We're taking you to Parts and Services."
Moon let out a quiet growl. "It is not time for that. He is an intruder. A naughty boy."
"And I am your superior. Now shut up and follow us. One step out of line, if you make me think for even a second you'll become aggressive or unstable, and I'll make Freddy and Chica drag you with us. Understand?"
Moon growled but set its foot down. "Yes, Officer Vanessa." He hissed her name and title like an insult.
"Good." She stuck the tool back into her belt and continued walking.
Gregory hurried to her side. He sent a glance back. Freddy and Chica followed, Moon slinking behind them. Chica had her hands together and shoulders up and stared ahead. Freddy kept his arms by his side. His glowing blue eyes didn't move a centimeter.
Gregory looked up at the security officer. "What did you do?"
"Moon can be stubborn," she answered simply. "He's very smart. Sometimes, a little too smart. Stubbornness just comes with the type. But he tends to listen to staff and do what he's told. It's easier to get him to do something if he understands what the purpose of it is. But he doesn't believe me and doesn't want to do what I'm asking him to. And… kid, any one of the animatronics could do some serious harm. All appropriately leveled staff are given equipment to stop an aggressive animatronic."
"Sun couldn't break his rules," Gregory pointed out. "So, isn't that the same for Moon?"
"Yeah. Like I said, he's stubborn. And… and he isn't acting as he should be. Even before all this, if he didn't want to do something, he'd find or craft some loophole to squeeze himself through. If he wasn't a robot, I'd think he'd make a good lawyer." She scoffed at her own joke.
Gregory looked back. Moon's head twitched as it looked between them. Gregory hunched his shoulders and stared ahead.
Officer Vanessa passed through a gate and then soon enough another hall to a door into a familiar hall.
Gregory perked up upon seeing the double doors leading to Parts and Service.
Now Moon faltered. It stopped following them just outside of the double doors.
Officer Vanessa said without turning around, "Come on, Moon. We need to do this."
Moon hissed to itself and played with the bells on its wrists.
Officer Vanessa sent a look behind herself. "Come on, Moon. We don't have all day."
"We are at Parts and Services," Moon stated. "I am not broken. I do not need to be repaired. A report has not been filed for modifications."
Officer Vanessa rolled her eyes. "See what I mean, kid?"
Then, Chica stepped up to it. "Um, Moon." She flinched when the Daycare Attendant looked at her but kept talking. "I know you're not happy, especially if we're all here and you want to be left alone. And that Gregory's here not doing what he's told. But actually, Officer Vanessa told him to come with her. So, he is doing what he's told. Also, we're here to help. Freddy and I, we want to help you and Gregory."
Moon stated, "No, he is not doing as he should, and you are not here to help. You want to get rid of me."
"What? No, who said–?"
"You don't need to say it," Moon stated. Its eyes flickered blue, but settled on red. "Even… before. You rather liked Sun. You were not scared of him. You believe it would be better if it was just him."
"I wouldn't say scared."
Moon bristled.
She squeaked and then closed her eyes. "Okay." She sighed and opened them again. "Okay. I'm sorry. That was mean. We never visited you because we don't belong in the Daycare. We didn't want to when we had our own things to do. That hurt you. I'm sorry for being mean."
Moon still kept to itself like an angry cat. Both trying to shrink back and puff up.
Chica opened her broken arms. "Apology hug? I know you can't eat cupcakes. Cupcakes always make me happy. But Freddy says the hugs also make things better."
Moon played with the bells on its wrist. It hesitated and then reached out and patted her head. It immediately withdrew its hand as if burned but didn't hiss or back away or try to run off.
Chica lowered her arms. "Aw, that's nice of you! It's okay if you don't want a hug. Sometimes it's nice to let people have their space."
Officer Vanessa sent a look at the door and then at Gregory, who watched them.
Gregory glanced at her and shook his head. Let them have this! Maybe Chica could help Moon as a friend. Moon didn't want Gregory's help, but that's because it was Moon's job and Gregory was breaking the rules. He had no responsibility for or over Chica. Since Roxy and Monty were scared of Moon's voice and Freddy didn't look like he wanted to even move, and Officer Vanessa probably didn't think of him as anything more than a robot…
"Do you want to come in with us?" Chica asked. "We're really trying to help."
Moon bristled and hissed, "You are being nice to me to get me in there when I do not need to go. That is very mean! Very mean!"
Chica gasped. "Oh, no! No, no! I promise I'm not trying to trick you." Chica shook her head. "Here. If you don't want to go, I won't make you." She crossed her arms. "I wanted to help you. Officer Vanessa said that's the best way to help you, but if you think differently, then I'll be respectful of that. Friends help each other when they're hurt or scared. But if you think this will hurt you, then I don't want you to go, either."
Officer Vanessa hissed, "Chica! You're just riling him up!"
Gregory elbowed her in the ribs.
She sucked in her breath and held a hand to her side.
Moon, who had shifted his feet in preparation to hop away and vanish into thin air, relaxed a little. "You… are sure?"
"Absolutely positutely. I don't want to see you scared, Moon. I just want to help. If helping you means leaving you alone, then I guess I'll do that." After a moment's pause, she asked, "Do you think that's the best thing to do? That you're truly okay?"
"…I am unsure." Moon's voice was so small. His head bowed.
Chica let go of herself. "It's okay to be scared." She patted him on the shoulder. "I know it sounds silly, but I get scared, too! Do you know what always helps me when I'm scared? When I'm with Freddy or Roxy or Monty, I know that even though I'm scared, I'll be a-okay when I'm with my friends!"
"…okay."
Officer Vanessa let out a silent sigh and a roll of her eyes but opened the door regardless.
Officer Vanessa stopped by the computer terminal. Moon needed one more order, and encouragement from Chica, before slinking into the cylinder and laying down. Gregory asked, "Why is he so scared?"
Officer Vanessa stated, "He and Sun are both terrified of this place. I don't know why. I never asked."
Gregory looked back at Freddy and Chica. Freddy shook his head and Chica shrugged. Though, she did hold a finger to her beak as she stared at the protective cylinder.
Gregory couldn't see into the cylinder himself, but he did see a few of the arms shift places and two swoop down.
Officer Vanessa typed in a few more things before simply watching the monitor. She asked, "How do you know Sun and Moon?"
"I was caught by some jerk and thrown in the Daycare a few months ago," Gregory admitted. "I spent about ten hours in there. A week or something after that, I waited outside of the Daycare. That's when I met you. We didn't talk much, but you saw that. I never talked to them after that, though."
Officer Vanessa nodded. "Okay. Yeah, sounds familiar. You like running off."
"Only when I need to."
"So, you've been running around here all night on your own? When did you find Freddy and Chica?"
"Freddy's been with me the whole time," Gregory said. "I fixed him here, after he broke, and you left him here. And Chica… well, she tried to get me, like Monty and Roxy. But then she got really hurt. So, I brought her here. She's been really nice ever since then."
"So, you fixed them both," Officer Vanessa mused. "Well, relatively speaking, I guess."
"Well, sorry I haven't been to robot school!" Gregory huffed. "I tried!"
"Hey, kid, sorry. No offense meant. You did better than any other kid your age could have done, I'll give you that." Officer Vanessa chuckled to herself.
Gregory eyed her but turned back to the cylinder. He walked up to the door and peeked through the window.
Moon lay very still on the bed, its heels slipping off the far end. Moon's head, the lights in its eyes turned off, tipped to the side, held in place by one mechanical arm. The other plugged into the back of its head.
"He's going to be just fine," Officer Vanessa said with a shocking amount of calm. "There's some weird coding here I need to fix up."
The arms didn't move despite the amount of clicking Officer Vanessa did.
Officer Vanessa chuckled to herself. "Just a little bit longer."
Gregory's blood turned to ice, and he looked back. Although her fingers typed, her lavender eyes stared straight at him.
The boy bolted.
He heard shouts behind him, but that just spurred him on.
Gregory crashed through one of the double doors and shoved himself through the other and sprinted to the stage lift.
He grabbed onto the pole to stop himself and slammed his hand down on the button.
Panting, he looked up to see Freddy and Chica running down the hall. Freddy outpaced her easily.
The bear stopped outside of the lift.
Gregory shut his eyes, taking deep, wheezing breaths in a valiant attempt to calm himself down. She was evil. Officer Vanessa was Vanny, and she was evil, and she wanted to kill Gregory. And Gregory fell for it! Oh, man, Moon! Now Moon and Sun both were at her mercy, and he couldn't do anything about it. She could change them however much she wanted, now. She was probably installing a murder-all-children code or something into him.
Ugh, idiot! Stupid! Should've listened to Moon when he had the chance. He should've listened to Sun when he had the chance. Now they were both in danger, and Chica probably was as well. And Freddy. Vanny was going to break the and then Gregory was going to be all alone and how would he help them then?
…how would he escape?
The lift hissed as it came to a complete stop.
Gregory looked around his dark surroundings. He stepped off the stage into the dining room.
"You are not better than me!" Roxy screamed.
Gregory whipped out his Fazerblaster and shot. The animatronic wolf staggered to a stop and lurched forward, head bowed and arms dangling.
He ran.
The animatronic wolf gave chase. After another shot and some evasion around a few planters and up the stairs, the wolf's voice started to get fainter with space and harsher in frustration.
Gregory, wheezing, scaled the last set of stairs and stumbled into a dead end. A pair of footsteps thumped up the stairs. The boy pulled open the shutters to a small food cart-stand and dove inside.
All of the lights throughout the Mega Pizzaplex came back to life. Even the bright lights so they no longer lingered in darkness illuminated only by neon lights.
The heavy footsteps stopped near the cart. "Gregory?" the bear's voice emanated from outside.
Gregory flinched.
"It is safe, Gregory. No one else is here. It is just me."
Gregory peeked open the shutters.
Freddy watched him with glow, baby blue eyes.
The boy slid out of his hiding spot.
"Gregory," the animatronic bear sighed. "Please, do not do that again! You scared us! Did something happen?"
"She's evil!" Gregory blurted out. "She's Vanny! I knew it! I knew it! She was trying to kill me! She was just faking this whole time!"
Freddy hesitated and then stated, "I understand. That is… unfortunate. We need to get you out of here. It is six AM, the doors should be open."
Gregory stared at him. Then, he bowed his head and sighed. "No. I can't go, yet. What happened to Moon? Do you know?"
"No," he stated. "Do you… Gregory! Hide!" Freddy hissed and gestured to the cart.
Gregory jumped back into his previous hiding place and crouched low.
Bells.
Bells?
The lights were on. That has to be Sun. Yeah, the bells were more robust. Moon was quiet. What was Sun doing here?
Freddy greeted, "Hello, Sun!"
"Hello!" Sun trilled.
Gregory, cursing himself, peeked out through the bottom of the shutters. Freddy blocked most of Gregory's vision. Thankfully, he saw Sun standing in the middle of the hall. Gregory couldn't see anything past the first button on the button of his chest or anything below his red cloth belt without moving the shutters.
"What are you doing here? Are you feeling better?"
"Absolutely positutely!" Sun trilled. "Very much so! Officer Vanessa helped me just like she promised! I was kind of scared that she wouldn't. And that Gregory got scared. I got really worried. Is he here? Is he okay?"
Gregory smiled a little at this.
"Oh, he is scared," Freddy admitted. "He ran from me. I am trying to find him. What about Chica and Officer Vanessa? Are they looking for him?"
"Mhm!" Sun answered. "But Freddy! That's so rude of you!" He chuckled and put his hands on his hips.
"Rude? I… apologize?"
"Well, you should be sorry. Lying is so rude! Officer Vanessa wants to see Gregory."
Gregory ducked low as Sun skipped toward Gregory's hiding place.
Freddy met up with Sun, barring his way. "Sun, I do not understand…"
"Oh, don't be silly!" Sun giggled. "If you're not going to help him, I will."
"Sun. Please. He is scared. He does not believe Officer Vanessa has his best interests at heart. You met the boy. You should know this."
"I-I do." Sun's voice glitched before smoothing out again. "You're so funny! Of course I know that! But sometimes we need to do things we don't want to."
Bells jingled.
Freddy took another step to the side. "Sun. This is very important. Please, go back to the Daycare."
"No!" Sun snarled. "I'm out! I'm not going back!" He gasped. "Oh no! I'm so sorry! I snapped at you. That was really mean. I'm sorry, Freddy! Oh, that was terrible." Sun's voice broke. "I'm really super sorry, Freddy. This isn't your fault. Oh, this is why I don't talk to anyone!" His voice rose to a pitiful wail.
Gregory shut his eyes. Part of him really, really wanted to get up. His self-preservation instinct screamed at him to stay down.
Freddy soothed, "It is okay, Sun. I understand. I am not offended. I am so sorry to hear that you feel that way. I will not force you to go somewhere you do not wish to go. But Gregory needs his peace. He feels bad, too."
"I'm sorry," Sun squeaked out. "I'm really sorry. I'm so sorry."
Bells jingled.
Freddy gasped and stumbled back. The shutters on the opposite side of the cart opened and Sun's upside-down head blocked the light. Gregory looked up. His eyes went wide. The lights outside hallowed Sun's head, glinting off his spokes and glowing over his ruffles. The rest of his face darkened in a silhouette save for two small lavender lights.
Gregory squealed as a large hand grabbed him from the back of his hoodie and pulled him out. He thrashed and kicked, but Sun held him around the middle with both hands. He cried, "Freddy!"
Sun leaped off the cart and ran to the edge of the walkway. Freddy spun around and gave chase.
Gregory snarled and chewed on Sun's forearm as the Daycare Attendant held the boy to his chest.
Then, Sun stopped and screamed, "Security alert! Security alert! Woo, woo, woo!" He took a few steps back as he wailed and fell back.
Gregory squirmed out of Sun's arms as he lay on the ground. Freddy, having just torn the animatronic back, grabbed Gregory. He set the boy down and the both of them ran.
Sun wailed another alarm.
Gregory and Freddy stopped.
Roxy and Monty rushed up the stairs. Their lavender eyes found Gregory.
"There you are!"
"Hey, little guy!"
Gregory spun around and climbed into Freddy's chest cavity.
Roxy and Monty rushed past Freddy and searched the area Sun was in.
Sun puffed, "Why are you looking here!? He's–" He twitched, and the words came out harsh and glitchy. "–getting away!"
Monty growled, "rrr–you idiot! You let him get away!"
"I did?! You're ru-running–you missed–I mean–"
Freddy walked as quickly as he could downstairs.
Gregory said, "We need to get to a recharge station. He can't get us in there!"
"There is one at the bottom of these stairs!" Freddy agreed. "We can make it!"
Gregory, again weirded out that he was controlling Freddy, cut the corner around the stairs as hard as he could and entered the charging station.
Sun stood outside of it, watching them.
Sun tipped his head back and slapped a hand over his mouth. He stomped his foot and ran away.
Freddy stepped out of the recharge station.
Gregory hopped out and looked around.
No Sun.
Gregory looked up. "Freddy, do you think she got Chica?"
Freddy shook his head. "Chica did not come when Sun let out that alert. She is free of Vanny's influence."
Gregory sighed. "Okay. Then we need to get Roxy and Monty. We'll… we'll get Sun last. I just hope he went back to the Daycare. Sort of."
"I understand it is hard to wish harm upon your friend. I do not wish harm upon him, but I, too, wish he would not threaten you."
Gregory growled and stomped his foot. He could scream! Why?! Why?! "She's horrible!" Gregory spat. "She's horrible and it's all her fault and I-I wish I could destroy her!"
Freddy gasped. "Gregory–"
"She infected everyone, and she tried to kill me, and she killed other children. She would deserve it! I wish I could-could throw her in the garbage compactor!"
"Gregory!" Freddy stated, his voice suddenly quite stern.
Gregory quieted.
Freddy leveled out his voice. "Gregory, you must never wish harm upon another person. It is a terrible, terrible thing to do. Now, let us find Roxy and fix her."
Gregory nodded. Of course you would say that. She didn't hurt you. You're not small and weak and vulnerable. You didn't almost get killed by your best friend.