"Let's go! Another hole in one!" Monty declares with a fist in the air. Not much of a thriller if there ain't an audience.
In the large and empty area, depicting the beginning hours of nighttime protocol, he projects a virtual crowd cheering him on. "Monty! Monty! Monty! Monty! Monty!" Man, I love being me!
As he returns the club to his resting post, he blinks and he's hit in the eye with a ball and knocked onto the floor. Back on the scaffolding platform. He hears him laughing as he's hit with a laser beam before he lets out a roar.
"Enough, you little critter!"
"Come and get me, Monty!" Gregory taunts and shoots a couple laser beams at the gator. Enraged, Monty storms towards the child. Then the large bucket hits him, breaking the platform and sending thousands of balls down like a tropical storm. With Monty hitting the ground and creating one big boom…
"ARGH!" He bends the club, his sudden rage makes even the virtual crowd flee with terror. The gator bends over, feeling that his endoskeleton was about to split – again. "The fucking memories! Make 'em stop!"
The sounds of a vent opening triggers him onto all fours, rapidly approaching the source. He growls coming face to face with Gregory, who'd realized too late he had turned up in the wrong place. "You got a LOT of nerve being in here, kid!" He snarls, watching the boy grow small at the gator's wrath. "I oughta shred you right now!"
"Monty please! I – ah!" Gregory ducked to avoid the incoming club Monty had thrown at him.
"Nothing is going to make me forgive you, NOTHING! Whatever Dale does or will do to you, you 100% DESERVE IT! I'm sick of the torment that you have brought on all of us!" He charges with his fist raised. "Fuck it! I'll finish you, once and for all!"
But then he stops, scowling at the boy who had his arms covering him from the impending attack. This was his chance to get revenge. Nothing was holding him back.
He deserves it!
But this isn't me!
Nothing but himself. Oh, what the hell?! I thought Dale removed this!
"Monty! You in here, man?!" Hearing Dale's voice, Gregory whimpered, running back into the security of the vents.
Damn! There goes that opportunity.
"You're going crazy or something, who were you talking to?"
"I - no one. At least no one important."
"Well hey man, cool down a bit. I need you to be mellow and sane before I drag your tail to reclaim my title."
"In your dreams, Norton!"
"Ey, don't jinx me, I have been making a few of them happen."
They had run out of time. Closing time was in a couple of hours and they had run out of options:
Going to the police meant that Gregory may get in serious trouble. Corporate had strict laws against trespassing to protect the value of their robots. They would not care to see why a child was in the PizzaPlex after hours, let alone knowing that he had spent weeks incognito. Freddy and the others may get in trouble, before management realizes that they're robots and blame it on the technicians for tampering with their coding. Which meant that Vanessa will get fired and blacklisted.
On the other hand, Freddy will not let the outcomes of Dale's supposed success wander his mind. The animatronics were dealing with a relentless psycho. The battle had to be fought alone, Dale against them, with keeping Gregory safe and everyone else in the dark.
[New message for: Freddy Fazbear.]
Freddy stopped walking. On the outside, he's amusing the children running about and interacting with a few. Internally, his systems fumbled about, finding relief in a response to a plea that he made earlier via an encrypted connection:
[Hi Freddy! Thank you so much for your message. I understand the severity and complexity of the danger of this situation, and between me and you, I do not care that you're a robot. I commend you for wanting to protect your friend. I will be there personally to retrieve Gregory. I will try to send updates as I near the facility. If I cannot make it before closing time, please proceed to plan B as we have discussed. And please be careful. Warm regards, Annalyse.]
"Freddy?" Chica's next to him with a worried expression and he nods assuringly.
"I am ok, Chica. Where is Gregory?"
"Last I saw him, he was in the vent near our greenrooms." She leans closer. "Roxy spotted Dale walking around the parking garage."
"He is not going to try anything, not with an audience. Do not worry, we cannot give away the impression that something is wrong, okay?"
"Okay."
"Good, I will be back."
Freddy departs from the Atrium, avoiding the crowds to reach Rockstar Row. "Gregory?" He kneels near the vent and lightly taps on the airway. "Gregory, are you in here?"
Metal colliding with the floor reveals Gregory squirming in the tight space he'd been confined to as he opens the vent. "Is it midnight already?"
"Not yet." Freddy's hatch opens and he retrieves a bag to hand to Gregory. "Here, take this. This should hold you over. You will need to stay hidden for as long as you can. I have also updated the connection to your Fazwatch. I will be able to reach you in the event the connection goes down. Do not do anything unless I have given you instructions, okay?"
"I'm scared, Freddy."
"It will be alright. We are all on your side." He senses the latter's hesitation. "Do you not trust me?"
"I do, but Freddy, you don't know what he's capable of."
"I know that he will not hurt you, not on my time. Listen, I have someone coming to pick you up, a really nice lady. When that time comes, you are going to go with her."
"No! I don't want to go. Freddy, you can't do this to me, please! I don't want to leave!"
"Nor do I want you too Gregory, but it is important to me, to all of us, that you are safe. We are going to miss you very much, but it is for the best. Do you understand?" Freddy gently wipes the tears from the boy's face. Gregory nods reluctantly. "I will be back for you as soon as I can. You will be okay, superstar. We will protect you."
They hug for a moment, Freddy giving all the reassurance before letting Gregory re-enter the vents.
This plan is going to work. It has too.
"You're not taking him away from me, Freddy."
Dale. Even for a robot made with parts, that sinister voice sends a dark ring of despair through Freddy's system.
How was Dale able to gain access to his private server?
And how much did he hear?
"I told you to stay in your place and stay out of my way, did I not? Now I will see to it that you will never see Gregory again."
"Not while there is movement in my body! Whatever you have planned Dale, we are prepared to stop you!"
"Uh-huh, sure. Good luck with that, superstar."
The connection severs. Freddy had straightened his posture, getting angrier and more determined to put that psycho in his place, behind bars.
Yet at that very moment, any confidence he thought he had eludes him.