"Where you going?"

Michael looked back to the bed. Apparently, no matter how quiet he thought he was being, it was never enough to not wake Gregory. It had been only two days that they had been living together, and already so much was different. Gregory had taken to sleeping in the bed, whereas Michael had opted for a nice spot on the floor.

"Gregory, I've already told you, I'm off to work."

"But can't I go with you?" the boy's voice was noticeably groggy.

"We've been through this, you need to get on a normal sleep schedule," Michael knelt down beside the bed, pulling the covers up, much to the boy's annoyance, "besides, I'm surprised you want to go with me anyway. Aren't you still angry with Freddy?"

"I am," Gregory folded his arms, "I just wanted to check in and see how things were."

"How about this," Michael stood back up, "I'll see how things are, and I'll report back to you."

"That's not the same! How will I know if you're telling the truth?"

"Guess you'll just have to trust me," Michael shrugged, grabbing his keys, "see you in the morning." He slipped out before the boy could get another word in edgewise. Gregory might have been ambitious, but once he was sleepily lying-in bed, there was little that could get him up.

The drive to the restaurant was calm, but Michael's mind was racing. It seemed like whatever forces controlled the universe had conspired to stop him from finding his father at all costs. There really was no reason for him to stay at Freddy's pizza now that the possessed animatronics were gone, but for some reason he was still there. Was it simple complacency? Before, he had told himself that he was only staying until he had decided on the next step in his search. The closest thing he had done to that was reconnect with Henry, but even then, Michael doubted the old man could help him that much. Now there was this business with Gregory. He couldn't imagine it being anything long term, but with the way things were going, he couldn't see a clear end in sight either. He didn't have time to look after a kid, not to mention he was just about the last person on the planet who was capable of doing so. How could he possibly turn the kid's childhood around, when his own was so crappy? He didn't know the first thing about raising a child!

Suddenly, the sound of a police siren blared in the distance. Michael checked the rear-view mirror; by the look of things it was following him. Of course, just another problem to add to the pile. There was no point in trying to outrun the car, so he pulled over, hoping this would not make him late for work. After taking far longer than was surely needed, an officer stepped out and approached the window, tapping on the glass.

"Sir, open up."

Michael rolled down the window, his face just visible from the street lights above the high way. The officer immediately took a step back, caught off guard by what exactly was before him.

"Problem?" Michael asked, eyes like foggy glass, purposefully detaching his jaw so that it hung at an unnatural angle.

The man immediately turned away, throwing up from revulsion. Michael shrugged, clicking his jaw back in place and driving off. Being a decayed corpse had a myriad of disadvantages, but getting cops sick was not one of them.

In spite of the delay, Michael managed to make it to the restaurant just as his shift was starting. As usual, Freddy was there to greet him at the door.

"Hello Michael, how has Gregory been?"

"Hi Freddy. He's been fine."

"How is his ankle? Does it still hurt?"

"Freddy, I told you last night that he made a full recovery."

"I know but… I just wanted to ask again."

The animatronic bear had been like this ever since Gregory left. It had only been two days, yet by the way he acted, one would have thought that months had passed by. Michael knew a large part of it was due to the terms the two parted on. He didn't want to go bringing Gregory back to the pizzeria at night and risk messing up his sleep schedule, but making sure the two of them could make up at some point was definitely something he would need to see to.

"How is everyone doing?" the guard asked as he took a seat in the office, "No accidents today?"

"No, everything was very uneventful. Aside from the manager retiring that is."

"What?" Michael looked up to Freddy, surprised, "That doesn't sound uneventful to me."

"Oh, well, it isn't immediate. He announced his retirement. He will most likely be picking a replacement within the coming weeks."

Michael turned back to the cameras, pondering what this could mean. The manager was really the only person working at the restaurant who he had had any interaction with. If what Freddy said was anything to go by, then the rest of the employees all thought he was some kind of monster. If a new manager was hired, would they take him into consideration? If they found out about him, it was entirely possible that he could be fired and replaced with someone much more palatable. He never interacted with any of the customers, but still, there was always the possibility of word getting out and rumors spreading. Not that Freddy's had the best reputation in the first place. A reputation of child disappearances and haunted animatronics were one thing though, a single employee was easier to shake off.

The rest of the night had little to report. Monty and Roxanne got into a minor argument at one point, but after Michael stepped in, it was resolved rather quickly. In a weird way, he was beginning to find the job boring. Back in the days when the animatronics were trying to kill him, things seemed to go by much faster, but now, with not much to do, he found that the hours tended to stretch on. Still, six o'clock eventually came, and he bid the animatronics farewell, ready to see them again the next night. The drive back home was much less eventful this time.

By the time Michael arrived, Gregory was already up, watching tv. The boy gave him a cursory greeting as he stepped in. Michael suspected that spending so much time in front of the television was bad for him, but he decided he would not say anything for the time being. Without saying much, he got to work on breakfast.

The rest of the morning continued on in this fashion, the tv blaring on in the background as Michael attended to various tasks he had to take care of. It was at twelve, however, that something wholly unexpected occurred. The phone rang. At first, Michael thought it was just another sound from the tv, but sure enough it was the actual phone. Not sure what else to do, he turned the tv off (much to Gregory's annoyance) and answered.

"Hello?"

"Michael, is that you?" it was Henry. Upon hearing the man's voice, Michael was overcome with a sense of trepidation. What reason did he have to call? Was it just to check in? The most likely scenario was that something had gone wrong, and that he needed help. If that was the case, then what could it be? Was it Charlie? She certainly seemed non-hostile, but she was an animatronic all the same. If the rest of them could kill, then so could she. "It's about the old animatronics," the older man explained, "there's been a break in of some kind."

"What? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine! This is about the warehouse where they're being stored."

"Hold on, warehouse? What exactly are we talking about here?"

"The animatronics Michael! The one's with the children's souls."

"You mean Freddy and the gang?"

Gregory leapt onto the bed, trying to get some attention, "Who are you talking to? Is Freddy ok?"

"None of your business," Michael said, waving the kid away.

"Who was that? Is there someone with you?" Henry asked.

"It's… it's a long story," Michael said, "just explain what's going on."

"Right, well, I only just found out this morning. I still have some ties to the company, so a while ago I asked them to let me know if anything weird or suspicious happened. Nothing in particular, just anything out of the ordinary, you know? Well, I just found out that there was an attempt at a break in last night at one of the storage warehouses. Apparently, whoever tried to get in was unsuccessful, but they managed to get away. Here's the odd part though, there isn't any real reason for someone to try and break in there. It doesn't house anything of value, only old animatronics."

"Old animatronics like the ones haunted by children," Michael guessed aloud.

"What?!" Gregory said.

"Exactly!" Henry confirmed, "I checked, and the warehouse that had the attempted break in is the same one housing those animatronics. I know there's a chance I could be wrong, but I'd say it's more likely than not that whoever tried to break in, did so to get to those souls."

"Do you think it could be… my father," just referring to the man made what was left of Michael's skin crawl. He knew that He was out there, doing something, but Michael had gotten used to just not knowing. There were times over the past few years where his father felt more like an intangible ghost; real in theory, but never truly present. If this really was Him, then it would be his first real lead in a long long time.

"What is this about your father?" Gregory was leaning on Michael's shoulders now, "Tell me what's going on!"

"I told you, this is none of your business!"

"Michael… is this a bad time? I can call back."

"No, no Uncle Henry, it's fine."

"Who's Uncle Henry? You never told me you had a family."

"Are you sure? It seems like you have your hands full at the moment."

"I said it's fine."

"Ok, if you insist. Look, the reason I called was because we don't know when this is going to happen again. I know we weren't planning on meeting up until this weekend, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to pay a trip to the warehouse with me."

"Is it far?"

"About an hour's drive. I'd do it myself, but if I'm driving for that long, it's difficult on my knees."

"Sure, uh, I'll swing by your house at… does one work for you? We can work out the details when I get there."

"I thought you would prefer to come at night, remain unseen and all that."

"If your neighborhood isn't all that busy, I can just wear a hoodie. I'm used to… staying on the down low."

"If you say so. I'll see you soon Michael."

"See you soon old man."

He hung up, turning around to see Gregory standing on the bed, looking him in the eyes expectantly.

"Well?" the boy asked.

"I don't owe you an answer you know."

"Yeah but, you can't just have a phone call that enticing and not tell me anything about it. Besides, you mentioned Freddy, you gotta at least let me know if something's happened."

"Freddy? Oh, I see. I was just talking about one of the old Freddys, not the one you know. An outdated model."

"Well, that's a relief," Gregory lowered himself to a sitting position, legs swinging off the side of the bed.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've grown pretty attached to that animatronic."

"Oh please, I'm just… invested."

"Emotionally invested, maybe."

The boy scoffed, returning to the tv and switching it back on. Michael was glad that he had dropped it so quickly, but he knew he could not count on this conversation being over just yet. Gregory was nothing if not persistent, and for better or worse, he would wheedle out the info one way or another.