After patching up the cut with a new band-aid, Gregory and Vanessa soon arrived at the Lost and Found area. By that point, the power had returned, allowing them to see where they were going and use the monitors.
Once they settled, Vanessa turned on the monitors and examined the outside world.
"Phew, thank goodness we've got these monitors. The Lost and Found camera systems are attached to the rest of the building's security systems. Not to mention, the other animatronic's systems do not recognize this room on their maps, so they can't enter here. Since we're stuck here, this place could be our little base of operations. Isn't this great?" she explained, looking at Gregory. Gregory nodded before looking around. There seemed to be various plushies and other toys in one bin, a couple of empty cups on the floor, and several drawings made by children clipped against the wall, all of them of the Glamrock bands playing with them.
Suddenly, they heard a loud bang. Gregory gasped, but Vanessa gestured for him to be quiet.
"It's okay, it's okay. That's from the outside," she comforted as Gregory walked closer to her. Looking at the monitors, they saw Monty, Roxanne, and Chica walking outside.
"Great. JUST great! Now not only is Freddy against us, but so is Officer Vanessa! All we want is the boy. That's it!" Roxanne complained. Vanessa narrowed her eyes.
You attacked us, idiots, she thought.
"Maybe Freddy's having a weird malfunction or something. Remember that glitch out earlier today?" Chica pointed out. Monty just growled.
"Because of that bear and the guard, I LOST! Oh, when I get my hands on either of them, they won't get so lucky!" Monty growled out, slamming his fist on the floor, creating a small dent.
"Mind sharing the spoils, Monty?" Roxy piped out. Monty looked at her and just chuffed. Chica, meanwhile, was concerned.
"Let's just find the boy and get him to the Main Office. The sooner we can do this, the better," she sighed. Monty and Roxy just sighed.
"Whatever. Just don't get yourself distracted with food," Roxy snipped at her. Chica narrowed her eyes.
"I'm not always thinking about food, Roxy!" she protested as they walked off.
"Then what were you doing down in the trash room below?" Roxy asked as they soon walked offscreen.
Gregory and Vanessa watched the interaction below; the latter looked amused while the former looked concerned.
"A-Are they always like that?" he asked. Vanessa nodded.
"Yup. Minus the aggressive actions you saw before, they bicker like that sometimes. *sigh* Makes it more infuriating that they're acting so violent!" she growled, slamming her fist on the desk. Gregory looked at her, then at the monitor. Vanessa then sighed as she then pondered on what to do.
Suddenly, they heard rumbling. Vanessa looked at Gregory and saw him looking down at his stomach.
"You hungry?" she asked. Gregory grew slightly sheepish and nodded.
"Yeah. Haven't had anything to eat since noon," he replied.
"Ouch. Well, I think there's something to eat here. Hang on, let me check." Vanessa said as she walked over to a compartment. She opened it and found a cereal cup of Frosted Flakes.
"I've got this one. It's not much, but it's fresh!" Vanessa said as she gave it to him. Gregory looked at it as if it were a piece of gold. Vanessa saw his stunned look and giggled.
"Now eat up, kiddo. The next snack break probably won't be for a while," she said with a slight frown before sitting back down on a chair to look at the monitors. Gregory immediately chowed down on the Frosted Flakes.
Vanessa, as she listens to Gregory eating, continues watching the monitors. However, she was not paying much attention to what was on screen. Instead, she was in her thoughts, thinking about everything that had happened before.
What do I do? I-I'm not sure if I can always be there for him, and there are other places in the pizzaplex where Freddy can't reach him. And if she gets out, then…Oh, God. Hmm…Maybe… Vanessa thought as she switched the camera feed, watching the three animatronics leaving the Lobby and exploring another part of the pizzaplex. That was when an idea came into her mind.
"Hey, Gregory. I think I have an idea on what to do," she said. Gregory, finishing eating his Frosted Flakes, looked at her.
"Hm? Got something?" he asked before swallowing his meal. Vanessa nodded.
"Yeah. It's gonna be crazy, but considering it's…what time is-1 AM?! Wow, time flies. I thought it was still 12 or something," she began before looking at her Faz-Watch. Gregory blinked in alarm.
"1 AM?! And we have to wait until 6?! Oh, I'm not gonna last five minutes here," he whined, rubbing his hands against his face. Vanessa looked at him with pity.
"I know. But that's why I've got this plan, so listen up," she said as she flicked through various camera feeds, showing the animatronics roaming about.
"If we're gonna last throughout this entire night, we're gonna need to snap the robots out of whatever's controlling them. One by one," she explained. Gregory frowned at this.
"Do I have to go back and meet them again?" he asked. Vanessa frowned as well and nodded.
"I'm afraid so. But don't worry, I'm gonna be with you. Plus, we're not doing that right away. First things first, you need weapons to be able to defend yourself in case we ever get separated and Freddy's unable to reach you," she reasoned.
"Like guns? You guys have guns?" asked Gregory, growing hopeful. Vanessa shook her head.
"Nope, because that would be a smart thing to do. Management wants no weapons because they're scared kids will get their hands on them. That's so stupid; guns are not allowed, but robots with razor-sharp teeth and claws are perfectly acceptable!" she rambled. Gregory was now worried. That was when Vanessa placed a hand on his shoulder.
"But that doesn't mean there's NOTHING in here to help you defend yourself. Come here," she said, guiding Gregory to the monitors. Then, she switched the monitor feed to show the Atrium.
"Inside the Atrium, there is this place called the Fazer Blast. They have something called a Faz Blaster that can be useful." she said.
"Fazer Blast? That place that looks like a Lazer-Tag area?" asked Gregory, raising a brow and tilting his head.
"Yup. You've been there?" Vanessa replied.
"I've passed by, but never entered. Honestly, it looks fun. But what is a lazer gun gonna do?"
"If you hit them in the eyes, it will temporarily make their vision sensors go haywire, stunning them for a few moments,"
"Oh. That actually sounds helpful. Can't believe I haven't thought of that. But how are we gonna get one?" Gregory explained.
"Well, they do hand one out to guests who managed to win their games, if I remember correctly." she explained. Gregory looked at her and perked up.
"So, we have to play the attraction in order to get it? I'm down! You?" he asked. Vanessa nodded.
"Yup. Now, you ready to head out and get it?" she asked as she stood up. Gregory then frowned, worry present on his face. Vanessa responded by placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'll be right beside you. I mean it when I said I'll keep you safe." she assured with a smile. Gregory looked at her, then ahead, briefly thinking more about this. Upon weighing his options, he looked at her and nodded.
"Alright, let's do this," he went. Vanessa smiled again.
At last, the two left the Lost and Found and eventually arrived at the Atrium. Vanessa guided Gregory through the area, walking past the security bots, who briefly looked at the two but left them alone once their scanners detected Vanessa with him. The other animatronics are not in the area at the moment, thankfully.
Eventually, the two arrived at a spot in the Atrium where they saw a cardboard cutoff of the Moon and a green planet, with a cartoon Glamrock Freddy holding a Fazer Blaster triumphantly. Nearby is a massive sign in a red font that reads, Fazer Blast!
"Here we are," Vanessa said as they looked at the sign. Gregory hummed as they stared at it for a while before walking closer toward the entrance. There was a party-bot standing in the way. Vanessa hummed as she fished out her security badge.
"Hello. Party Pass, please," it greeted as it extended its hand. Vanessa shook her head as she held her security badge.
"No need. I'm the nightshift guard. Just want to check for any irregularities." she explained, looking back at Gregory and winking. Gregory tilted his head before the party-bot replied,
"Does not compute. Please give Party Pass."
Vanessa looked at it with surprise.
"What do you mean? I work here, I don't need a Party Pass." she retorted. The party-bot stared at her before stating innocently,
"Party Pass, please,"
Vanessa groaned before Gregory asked,
"What's with these robots?"
"I don't know, kid. I swear, it's like there's something interfering with their AI or something," Vanessa answered. Gregory at the possibility of it being the rabbit lady. Then, Vanessa gasped, looked at him, and winked again. Then, she began to whistle a tune similar to the theme of Jurassic Park. The party-bot then looked at Gregory. It reached its hand out to him, causing him to step back instinctively.
"Party Pass, little one," it said as Vanessa fished out her taser, activating it, wrapping her other arm around it, and jabbing the taser at the joint where the neck met the head. There was a loud electric sizzling sound as the bot spazzed about, body shivering. Gregory looked on in shock, watching Vanessa looking at the bot as if she were waiting for a meal to finish cooking.
After 10 seconds, Vanessa pulled her taser away, tucked it back in, and stepped back to the front of the robot.
"Um…was that necessary?" asked Gregory. Vanesa looked at him and nodded.
"Yup. Security here's trained to do that, actually. If a robot gets too rowdy or disobedient, we have to tase them to force their systems into a reboot. However, it has to be exactly for 10 seconds. Any longer, and you might risk frying the circuits. Okay, let's see if this one's now more willing to cooperate." she explained before looking at the party bot, which had begun to reboot itself, straightening up as if nothing happened.
"Alrighty, let's try that again. Shall we?" Vanessa asked with a grin as she pulled out her security badge. The party-bot stared at the badge for a moment before looking at her.
"Evening, Officer Vanessa. You may enter," it said as it scooted to the side, making a little dancing move. Vanessa smiled as Gregory gave a pout. She looked at him and raised a brow. Gregory answered,
"I was praying it would say 'Party Pass please' again." he said before giggling a bit. Vanessa just frowned in annoyance.
"Shut up, Gregory," she said. However, Gregory could see the corners of her lips curling upward, which made him giggle a bit before they got to the elevator.
Once they got to the attraction below, they walked across the Lobby, through a neon tunnel, and eventually arrived at a prep room where there was another bot dressed up for the Fazer-Blaster event. Vanessa and Gregory looked at it as it spoke up,
"You must be the new Fazer Blast recruit from the looks of you two. The orange/blue team won't stand a chance. There are only two rules to follow before you enter hostile grounds. First; no running, climbing, jumping,"
As the bot droned on, Gregory motioned his head and made a 'yappy' hand gesture. Vanessa looked on and gave a small sigh before gently nudging him, urging him to pay attention.
"-or if you blast someone in the eyes with the Fazer Blast, it may induce seizures, blindness, or semi-permanant paralysis. Should that happen, flush your eyes with soap and water and blink repeatedly until your vision is restored. Rule two; have fun! Do you want to hear the rules again?" the bot said. Gregory blinked in surprise at the side effects while Vanessa shook her head.
"No thanks. We're good!" she said before pushing Gregory toward the door leading to the tunnels, ignoring the bot's warning about the combat for those with ill health.
"Was all that true on what the bot said about the side effects?" asked Gregory as they walked. Vanessa nodded.
"Yup. But don't worry; that's common for all laser tag games. And besides, the helmets got covers that protect the eyes while also allowing us to see. Ah, here we are," she assured as they arrived at a small room with helmets, coats, and Faz-Blasters lying ready. Gregory puts on the helmet and the coat before picking up a Faz-Blaster. Gregory inspected it and smiled.
"Cool," he went as he looked at the wall. Then, he aimed it at the door in front, pretending to be an armed robber.
"Give me all of your money, bitch. If not, I'm gonna blast this through your damn hea-Woah!" he said as he accidentally pressed his hand against the trigger, causing it to fire, hitting the wall. Gregory blinked in surprise, seeing the laser disappearing into the wall harmlessly. Then, he heard Vanessa chuckling. He turned to look at her fixing her hair into a bun.
"Be careful with that. The trigger's quite sensitive." she remarked before grabbing a helmet to put it on. Gregory pouted in embarrassment before looking at his Faz-Blaster, seeing one bar to be empty. He hummed.
"I wasted a bar," he mumbled.
"They recharge after a while, don't worry." Vanessa assured as she picked up a Faz-Blaster. Then the two walked toward the door in front. Once they got there, they reached a section where the path splits into three. Gregory's coat suddenly emitted an orange glow.
"Player 1, you're on the Orange team," an announcer called out. Gregory looked at his coat while Vanessa's coat emitted a blue color.
"Player 2, you're on the Blue team," the announcer called out. Gregory and Vanessa looked at one another in surprise as the doors adjacent to them opened up to reveal hallways of their respective colors.
"Report to your corresponding hallways to receive your instructions, soldiers," the announcer reported. The two kept looking at one another.
"Well, looks like we're fighting each other," Gregory said. Vanessa nodded before she grew a cocky grin.
"Seems like it. And I know I'm gonna win this game," she teased. Gregory blinked and cocked his head before smirking.
"Hah! In your dreams, Vanessa," he said. Vanessa laughed as she patted his shoulder.
"Oh, kid. I've been a champion of laser-tag since I was 14. So don't expect me to go easy on you just because we're friends or anything like that." she boasted.
"We'll see about that."
"Yeah. Good luck, kid. You're gonna need it." Vanessa said as she turned to the blue hallway, laughing boastfully. Gregory grinned.
"Same here," he said before turning to the adjacent orange hall.
As the two walked through their hallways, another announcer, the same one who announced the restaurant's closing, began to speak.
"Welcome to the Fazer Blast! A war broke out between man and alien for a new alien planet to call home. This will be a last-man-standing match! The rules are simple; you will be on your team and roam in the arena, zapping your opponents on the lightning bolt on your coats! If you get zapped once, your time is over until the next round," it said before the lightning bolt in the coats began to flash. Gregory and Vanessa looked down to see the flash as they arrived at another elevator. They pressed their buttons and began to move down.
"There are four rounds in this match. The team who wins the most rounds wins the game! Now, get yourselves ready, and most importantly, have fun!" the announcer declared as the two of them soon found themselves entering the arena on opposite ends.
Gregory walked inside, watching the various hallways of green, orange, and purple coloring surrounded by space props and cutouts of the Glamrocks as space cadets. He then turned to see several bots wearing helmets and carrying space guns. One turned to look at him and raised his blaster in the air.
"For our world," it droned, causing the other bots to mimic its actions before rolling ahead into the maze. Gregory looked on and blinked.
"I…guess this is my team. Well, I guess it makes sense; Vanessa and I are the only people here. Oh well. Time to kick some ass!" he said as he got his Faz-Blaster ready and began the game!
Throughout the first round, Gregory managed to take many of the Blue team's bots. It was pretty simple to do, although he did find it weird that they blow up upon tagging them. However, Gregory could not find Vanessa. So he and his team, which had whittled down from 10 to 6, searched the arena for her.
Suddenly, Gregory heard the sound of one of the bots crumbling down. He turned around to see one of his own team bots destroyed. He gasped as a laser barely missed him and hit another bot. He turned to where the source was and saw something moving to hide in a corner. He gasped, but he held his gun out.
"You're not getting away with this, Vanessa!" he shouted as he rushed forward to the corner and aimed his Faz-Blaster at the corner, only for him to find nothing. Gregory blinked in surprise before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw a smirking Vanessa.
"Hey there, loser." she taunted before pressing her Faz-Blaster on his coat and pulling the trigger, tagging Gregory. Gregory gasped in surprise, but he could only watch as Vanessa tagged the other bots in fast fashion, destroying them quickly.
"Round 1 goes to Blue team!" the announcer called out, and there was the sound of a pre-recorded cheering. Vanessa danced a victory dance while Gregory looked at her. Then, he pouted.
"You suck." he went. Vanessa looked at him and grinned.
"Says the boy who lost." she teased. Gregory grunted before pointing at her. He then said with a grin,
"Just you wait and see, Vanessa! I'll win the next round!"
The next round came, and he did not win.
Gregory became less reckless this time and tried to be warier in his surroundings. However, his team, which comprised of new S.T.A.F.F. bots, was destroyed. He took the remaining Blue team as well, but he was once more ambushed by Vanessa, who managed to zap him from a distance.
"Round two goes to Blue team!" the announcer declared. Gregory grew frustrated as he looked at Vanessa, now doing a Gangnam Style victory dance. Cringing from her dance, Gregory growled and made a mental note to destroy her.
In the next round, the same thing happened. You all know the drill by now; Gregory and his team of new bots managed to take out most of the Blue Team, but Vanessa again tagged the rest of the team, leaving Gregory alone. Then, Gregory felt his coat being dragged back, pulling him into Vanessa's arms into a Waltz dip. Before he could recover, Vanessa managed to tag him, causing him to lose the round.
"Round three goes to Blue team!" the announcer declared once more as Vanessa set Gregory up. Vanessa chuckled while Gregory shivered in anger.
"GAAAH!" he went as he kicked a corner of the wall in frustration, only to hop in one leg as pain shot through his foot.
"Ack! Why did I do that?" he asked. Vanessa, while laughing at the boy's expense, then approached him.
"You okay?" she asked. Gregory growled.
"I hurt my toe, but I'll live. Gah, how do you do this?! At this point, you're gonna…Grrrr!" he grumbled, crossing his arms. Vanessa laughed, this time more softly, and placed an arm on his shoulder, and he pushed it off.
"What's wrong, kiddo? We're BOTH going after the same reward," she said. Gregory just huffed.
"I wanna win the blaster. It should be me; fair and square." he said. Vanessa shook her head and kept a smile.
"You're so stubborn, Gregory, and very competitive." she said before she knelt to his height.
"Hey, do you want my advice on how to win this?" she offered. Gregory looked at her.
"What does it matter? You're gonna win, anyway." he grumbled.
"It could at least help you win the last round. Plus, it could be very important as a life lesson as well." Vanessa replied.
"Hmm…alright. What is it?" asked Gregory upon relenting. Vanessa leaned a bit closer and pointed to the walls.
"You should tune in your senses to the environment you're in; keep an eye out for anything suspicious, and listen for anything suspicious. Be quick on your feet, use any resources available, and think like your opponents. Follow these instructions and you'll be fine." she explained. Gregory looked at her, shocked.
"Wow. All that for a game of laser-tag?" he asked. Vanessa nodded.
"You'd be surprised. I mean, how else did I become a champion of laser-tag for 6 years?" she asked.
"Damn. A-Alright, I guess." he said. Vanessa nodded.
"Plus, it could help you with the animatronics and the rabbit lady later." she pointed out. Gregory nodded.
"Ah, okay. THAT makes more sense." he said.
"Round 4, the final round, is about to begin!" the announcer reminded. Vanessa and Gregory looked at one another.
"Best of luck, kiddo!" Vanessa said. Gregory grinned.
"Darn right I will!" he said as they returned to their respective teams.
The round had begun, and Gregory was back with new bots for his orange team. But it did not matter to him. He just wanted to get to Vanessa and win this one round. He tagged several Blue bots, destroying them. He looked at the remains.
"I gotta ask her how they replace these bots," he mumbled before moving on.
However, despite the extensive search, he could not find her. Gregory thought about what she said and decided to tune his senses into the environment. He tuned out the loud music and began to listen to footsteps.
Suddenly, a zap barely missed him and tagged one of his bots. As it crumbled, Gregory looked and saw Vanessa grinning at him.
"Pay attention, little boy!" she teased before disappearing. Gregory growled and chased after her before stopping.
W-Wait. I'll probably be tagged just like the first two rounds before if I go there. Gotta be careful, he thought to himself as he took a deep breath. He looked at the corner and remembered something in the past.
*Flashback*
Days prior, Gregory was hiding behind a trash bin from his pursuer.
His pursuer; the rabbit lady, Vanny!
Gregory covered his mouth to muffle his breathing as he could his eyes, trying his best to make himself feel invisible to Vanny.
"Come here, little boy. I'm just gonna give you a lovely little hug and kiss! You missed it when your parents gave it to you, don't you?" she spoke out. Gregory shivered, but he remained silent. Not wanting to get caught off guard, he began to focus on his hearing more.
Soon, he heard the footsteps of Vanny's feet approaching closer. Opening his eyes, he silently scooted behind the trash bin, squeezing himself between the bin and the wall.
"Aha!" he heard Vanny call out before a disappointed hum emitted from her.
"Aww…" Vanny went, disappointed. Gregory sighed in relief as he heard Vanny's steps moving away from him.
*Flashback ends*
Yeah, I remember that. Barely escaped her that time. Okay, as morbid as this sounds, I'm gonna pretend Vanessa's that rabbit lady, Gregory thought as he looked at the corner. With a sigh, he moved back, tuning in his hearing. Given the music, it was hard, but he heard footsteps running in the far-right direction. Gregory hummed as he stayed put.
The match continued like this, with Gregory keeping track of where Vanessa's footsteps were, despite the music. He sacrificed his Orange team bots to keep track of where she was. However, she was just out of her reach.
Eventually, he was the only one left on his whole team. Thankfully, so was Vanessa, as he had also taken out the Blue team bots.
Alright. Just the two of us, now… Gregory thought as he looked around for her.
He then heard her teasing laughter, which made him feel tense. He tried to zap at where he last heard it, wasting a bar.
"You missed!" Vanessa's taunting voice called out. Gregory growled. This continued, with her teasing the boy and Gregory trying to tag her and missing.
Now, he has only one bar.
Crap! This takes time to recharge! If she gets me, then I'm done for, he thought. He took several deep breaths, closed his eyes, and pressed himself against the wall. Gregory listened closely, finding the footsteps being just behind him. The walls were rather thin, so he could hear it quite quickly despite the music.
Eventually, he heard the steps rushing to the corner. Gregory gasped and stepped back as Vanessa peered around the corner, a devious grin on her face as she raised her Faz-Blaster.
Suddenly, the Faz-Blaster slipped from her grasp, causing it to fly past Gregory and onto the floor below. Gregory gasped before looking at a now defenseless Vanessa. Taking the chance, he raised it and shot the blaster.
Vanessa was finally tagged!
Gregory and Vanessa, who had her hands raised, stared at one another before the announcer proclaimed,
"The winner of this round is the Orange team!"
"*gasp* Yes! Hahahaha! I won!" he said as he began to dance. Vanessa smiled as she looked at him, placing a hand on her hip as he watched Gregory dance like a monkey.
Look at that little brat. He sure is happy to finally win. Shame I still won the other three rounds. Plus, he won because I "accidentally" lost grip on my blaster, she thought as a prideful smile grew.
"You're pretty excited for winning only one match," she teased. Gregory looked at her and nodded.
"Yup! My dad always tells me, 'Always enjoy the little victories in life!' so that's what I'm doing!" he replied joyfully. Vanessa blinked at this and chuckled.
"Good advice from your old man, actually. And he's right; you earned it," she said as she approached and patted him. Gregory giggled.
"The winner of this match is the Blue Team! Congrats, Space Cadet! Proceed to the winner's elevator for your reward!" the announcer declared. Vanessa and Gregory looked up, then at each other.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Vanessa.
The two soon walked towards an elevator and dropped their Faz-Blasters, helmets, and coats into the return section. As Vanessa fixed her hair back into a ponytail, the elevator door opened, and they walked inside.
Waiting inside for a while as the elevator carried them up, Vanessa and Gregory soon arrived in a hallway. After walking down the hall and turning to the right, they soon arrived at the Superstar Lounge. The lounge has two couches, a couple of benches in the area overlooking the arena, a rocket prop hanging on top of a table, and said table had a pizza box and a bag of candy.
But the most distinguishable thing on the table was the Faz-Blaster, held high on a pedestal. Vanessa grinned.
"Here we go; our little award," she said as they approached it. Gregory looked at her and, still feeling a little excited about the small victory and wanting to get at Vanessa for winning, replied,
"I think you mean 'MY' award, pack mule."
As he reached for it, Vanessa plucked the blaster from the pedestal. He looked at her, seeing Vanessa having an offended look.
"What did you just call me?" she asked.
"I said, you meant 'MY' award, pack mule. You did do the legwork, after all," he said with a teasing smile. Vanessa stared at him for a while but then decided to humor him and scoff.
"I don't believe this. I've stuck around when you got stuck here in this blasted place, protected you when the other animatronics were about to get you, and helped you win this blasted thing, and THIS is how you treat me?!" she scolded, although a small giggle did break out halfway through. The two sat silently for a while before Gregory remarked,
"Did you make a 'blast' pun?"
Vanessa frowned as Gregory giggled. She then placed the Faz-Blaster back on the pedestal and approached him.
"You know what; no. I'm not gonna tolerate this disrespect. Come here!" she said as she reached out for him. Gregory widened his eyes, but he was grabbed by the shoulder and pulled closer to Vanessa.
Oh shit. I think I went too far, Gregory thought as he prepared to face his inevitable end. However, what happened instead was Vanessa started to tickle him on the sides. Gregory yelped in surprise and started laughing. He tried to escape her grasp, but Vanessa was not letting up.
"Hey, stop that!" he whined!
"Not until your face is bluer than your shirt!" Vanessa replied. Gregory eventually managed to escape and get to the other side of the table.
"Come back here. I'm not done with you!" growled Vanessa with an evil smile. Gregory and Vanessa had a bit of a stand-off, the latter trying to get at the former, but he kept himself to the other end of the table.
Suddenly, Vanessa made a motion, and Gregory ran to the right. However, it was what she wanted. With quick reflexes, Vanessa grabbed Gregory and lifted him up. The two laughed.
"Gotcha, Gregory! Now, time for the fun to really begin!" she growled as she went to a couch. Then, she dropped him onto it and continued her ticklish assault. Gregory tried to escape, but Vanessa ensured he wasn't going anyway.
"Let go of me! I'm not a baby!" Gregory pleaded.
"I dunno. You were acting like a brat a moment ago, so why shouldn't I treat you like one?" retorted Vanessa as she continued her relentless "assault."
After over a minute and a half, Vanessa decided that enough was enough and stopped tickling him. Gregory was panting heavily, but a smile was on his face. Vanessa then grabbed him by the shoulders and straightened him up.
"Now, are you gonna treat me with respect?" asked Vanessa, raising a brow. Gregory nodded weakly.
"Okay." he replied. Vanessa blinked.
"'Okay'? Is that it?" she asked. Gregory shook his head.
"S-Sorry. Yes, ma'am!" he wheezed. Vanessa grinned and nodded.
"Better. Now, let's start over. Are you gonna treat me with respect?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am," Gregory replied. Vanessa added,
"You're gonna treat me like a real human being who's risking her ass to save you?"
"Yes. Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry I called you a mule." Gregory pleaded. The two of them looked at one another for a while before they laughed. After a while, Vanessa sat next to him.
"I need a rest," she said. Gregory nodded as he instinctively leaned next to her, still out of breath. Vanessa looked at him but did not say anything about it.
For a long while, the two sat there silently. Gregory looked at the arena, thinking about the pizzeria as a whole. Looking at Vanessa, he asked,
"What's it like working here?"
Vanessa looked at him and raised a brow. Gregory repeated the question, and Vanessa nodded in understanding.
"Ah, okay. Well, I've been a part of this company since I graduated high school. I didn't have enough money for college at the time. I started off small before becoming a Senior IT Representative at Fazbear Entertainment. However, I was transferred here as the night guard 6 months ago. I was a bit nervous at first, given the company's history, but the pay was very good: much better than an average night-guard's salary." she began.
"What's the pay rate?" asked Gregory.
"30 dollars an hour. Much higher than the normal 19 dollars an hour. After one night of working here, I figured out why the pay here is higher." Vanessa replied, chuckling a bit.
"The robots?"
"Yup. The Glamrocks. For some reason, management spent a helluva lot of money to make them the most lifelike possible. And with that, we've got these sentient robots with their own quirks." she said. She shook her head as she remembered her first night in the restaurant and meeting the robots.
"They drove me insane. It's like I mentioned earlier, with Chica constantly eating food from the trash bin. Do you have any idea how many times I've had to get her to stop eating?"
"How many?" asked Gregory.
"Too many to count." laughed Vanessa before continuing.
"Then, there's Monty. He always acts like the tough boy and throws a fit when things don't get his way. He's also very aggressive, but I know you already know that.
"And then there's Roxanne Wolf. She never shuts up about being the best of her group! I don't know why she does this, but it gets on my nerves! Like you said, she needs some dick." She recited what Gregory had said earlier, causing the boy to giggle softly. Vanessa smiled.
"Lastly, there's Freddy. He's always by the books, showing me around when I first got here. He's the most tolerable of the lot, but he can be annoying. He's always by the books, meaning he never likes to do fun things. Like one time, I invited him to play Fazer Blast, but he said now, stating that he's programmed not to cheat. Hahaha, what does that even mean?
"Anyway, they drove me nuts the first few days. But as time went on, they grew on me, and now… they're one of the few friends I've ever had in my life. That is why it's so upsetting seeing Monty, Chica, and Roxy acting so violently." she said. Gregory looked at her, confused.
"You really do like them? Especially the crocodile?" he asked. Vanessa nodded.
"Monty's a gator. But yeah. I like them. *sigh* It's bad enough that they're acting like this, but the last thing I want is another child to die here. This time by their hands." she said.
Gregory blinked in surprise. He looked at her and asked,
"Another child?" he asked. Vanessa nodded.
"Yeah. Several children disappeared in this place over the last two months. This one girl got trapped here, kind of like how you are right now. I-I tried to help her, but then she got to the child first." she explained, body tensing up as the memory of seeing the girl's body came back into her mind. Gregory gasped in horror, and Vanessa began to stream tears from her eyes. She wiped them as she remembered the bloodied knife on her hands, guilt riddling her body.
"Oh, Vanessa. I'm so sorry about that. D-Do you think it might be the rabbit lady that killed her?" Gregory asked. Vanessa looked at him and wrapped an arm around him gently.
"It's not your fault. They couldn't find the killer; she covered her tracks really well. As for your question; I believe so. We've been getting reports of a woman wearing a rabbit costume around here, so it could be possible. *sigh*" she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Gregory frowned in concern.
Reports? So she has been here before…It makes more sense now. Maybe she's an employee here? Gregory thought as Vanessa said,
"Since that night, I made sure that whenever a child is trapped here, I'll make sure to protect them however I can. Like I am with you,"
Gregory smiled as the two of them sat silently as they rested up, thinking about everything Vanessa talked about. The boy looked around the room, noticing an open vent big enough for them to crawl through. He briefly wondered where the vent went, but he was still tired from the tickling, so he tossed the thought of crawling inside to the side.
After around 15 minutes, Vanessa then looked at Gregory again.
"Well, I think we've rested long enough. You ready to do this?" she asked. Gregory, now having recovered, nodded.
"Yeah. If what you said about the Glamrocks are true…then I'll help. Just make sure they nor the rabbit lady get to me, alright?" he responded. Vanessa smirked and ruffled his hair.
"You know I will. Now, who do you think we should rescue first?" she asked as she took the Faz-Blaster from the pedestal and gave it to Gregory. Gregory pondered for a moment before turning on his Faz-Watch and turning on the camera to show the Atrium. He barely saw Chica barely slumping across from the corner of the camera feed. He then remembered back at the Daycare center how Chica acted towards Freddy compared to Roxanne and Monty. Taking another deep breath, he gulped and looked at her.
"Chica." he declared. Vanessa nodded.
"Thought so. Alright, let's get to it. I've got an idea on how to get her." she said as she took Gregory's hand and walked away, soon leaving the Superstar Lounge empty…
AN: Hey, everyone! Another chapter is done!
I…do not have much to say regarding this chapter aside from having the Fazer Blast different from the game because I thought it'd be more fun to see a more competitive side of the two, because why not? And the fact that, yeah, I wanna try the Pacifist ending, because not only do I still want to make this one different from, but I think the animatronics are too likable for me to destroy or main. Even Monty!
With that said, there's a new DLC for Security Breach coming out, and it's very interesting. I wonder if it'll be like an expansion to the full game. I hope so because I want to know what they have planned for this!
So… that's it. You all know the drill: hope you enjoy it, leave constructive criticism, and stick around for more!