"Freddy? Freddy?!" Gregory calls for his friend while navigating a dark area. It's the end of the hour before 3, and there isn't a creepy Moondrop in sight. Not that Gregory isn't thankful that Moon had helped him that day, but it's still weird not to see the daycare attendant in sight.

Where is Moon? Where is Freddy? Where is anybody?

He gasps and dives behind a stock of plants, in time for a couple of security bots to pass through. They hardly patrol this area, it's one of the reasons he had been allowed to roam here. This only meant that Dale is looking for him, as if the ventilation systems turning freezing cold wasn't his first clue.

Gregory sneezed, a reminder of foolishly trying to brave that cold system, only to punk out after ten minutes. A security bot wheeled left to right and back to center, moving out of the area.

I need to get out of here.

All those times of Vanessa informing him to stay away from security bots, and her tirelessly overriding the security footage to keep Gregory out of trouble, it wasn't worth it no more. He'd been ready to turn himself in and face the consequences, because there isn't a reason why he shouldn't be here. If he had turned himself in earlier, maybe the people would be more sympathetic. They'll return him to his mom and he would have wasted no time telling her what her 'dear best friend' has been doing to him. She wouldn't hesitate to move out of state just to protect him.

Which is why, come 5:50 AM, he's going to walk up to the exit, face the staff in the eye and explain everything. He just needed to survive a couple more hours.

"Gregory? Are you here?" Dales shoes against the pavement matched his increasing heartbeat. "Come on, we need to be on the road…"

He's close, too close. Gregory covered his mouth, stifling his breathing as the sole of Dale's shoe remained inches from him. He squirms deeper into his hiding spot.

"I made reservations at the Great Wolf Lodge, for a few days. You always talked about how much you wanted to go, and I got the hookup…"

He isn't six anymore, those false promises were not going to work.

"Why are you hiding? If this is because of the other day, I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean to hit you, please don't remind me of that. I'd lost my temper, but I signed up for some anger management classes…"

Freddy, where are you?

"We can visit Mom on the way. I know how happy you'll feel and she's been worried sick about you."

Dale is going to kill his mother, the way he had said it that ensured Gregory that it will be done. At that, he silently cried.

Dale continued calling for him in the distance. He tried to calm himself, and after a moment, is successful, seemingly safe from the danger, for now.

Until Dale's voice re-emerges. "Gregory, I know you are in here, I can see your watch's IP address." The man states and chuckles. He had been messing with Gregory this whole time, instilling anxiety. "And as much as I love some foreplay, this is not a good time."

Gregory peaks at the far right wall, an emergency exit door. The alarm will trigger and put this entire place on lockdown, if Dale had enough time to authorize the cancellation. Which means for some time to escape.

But the moment he moves, Dale would be on him in a heartbeat. He needed a diversion, to convince Dale that he had left.

"Come on, you know how much I hate to be teased, Greggie."

Dale knows that he's here, just not the exact location. The area is fairly large with lots of hiding places. Only a few security bots. He could ditch his Fazwatch, diverting the man's attention to another area before Gregory makes his move.

Dale swore underneath his breath, walking away. Gregory listens for the receding footsteps, until it becomes silent. He stays hidden and runs towards an area, attaching the Fazwatch to a standstill bot. The robot wheels around in confusion, before jetting out the area.

Gregory runs across the room, before getting slammed into the ground as Dale toppled him with a sinister grin.

Then he's laughing. "God, you're funny. You really were trying me, trying to play hard to get." He hauls Gregory onto his feet, keeping an iron grip. "I may be rubbing off on you in more ways than one. It's turning me on even more."

"Go to hell!" Gregory shouts at him, getting embedded into a chokehold.

"You've been very naughty, Gregory. You forget so quickly what happens when you challenge me," Dale whispered, pressing their bodies together. "Fuck, what I would give to be inside you right now, but we can have our fun later, in a more private and intimate setting, ok?"

Gregory kicked him in the shin, enough to throw the man off guard for him to escape his grasp. Gregory dashed for the door and Dale gripped him back into a hold, dragging the screaming child throughout the area.

"Freddy! FREDDY! Freddy, help! Freddy, help me! FREDDY – AGH!" A needle is pierced into the side of his neck, Gregory frantically trying to pull away before he's released. "What did you do to me?!"

Dale's laughter provides an uneasy feeling. "What? You think I would poison you, oh that's funny. You would want that, wouldn't you? Huh? Is that what you want, for me to kill you?"

Don't engage him, run!

He runs, Dale following behind at a normal pace, seemingly unbothered at Gregory's speed. Gregory thought he could get away, before he found his vision was blurring and his body growing heavy.

No! No, no, no! Another step taken and he drops to the ground in exhaustion. After some seconds, what felt like weight applied to his eyes. It's sleepiness plus this dark and terrifying feeling.

"Relax Gregory, it's just a little something to put you at ease." Dale's walking closer. Tears burned his cheeks as he fought against his body. Dale's breathing against his neck as he slowly loses consciousness.

"It's alright, go to sleep and we'll be in our new home soon…"


Dale puts an unconscious Gregory into the back of his van, tying the latter's wrists with zip ties. "I'm sorry, my love. This hurts me more than it hurts you." He closed the truck, navigating his vehicle. "Lets see, got some food, my keys, some cash – Fuck! Where is my phone?" He retraces his steps, figuring he'd dropped his device when trying to subdue Gregory. Sure enough, the item in question lays near a bench.

"A little damaged, but nothing Sparky can't fix for a bit of money and weed." He tucks the device away, retreating back to the parking dock whistling.

"Dale!"

"Monty, man, what the fuck!" He snapped at the gator. "Gimme a heart attack, why don't you?" Dale glanced at the gator's unusual glowing red eyes. Something seemed off about the animatronic. On the other hand, Monty's systems were ridden with codes - It is one word spelt different across a multitude of languages, but they all translate to one: PROTECT.

"You're not doing this Dale." Monty growls. "You ain't going nowhere!"

"I thought you weren't going to be pissed that I beat you yesterday, make up your mind." He stops and peers into the gator's reddening eyes. "Oh, you mean 'that'. Listen, if anything, I should be thanking you for the suggestion of taking Gregory with me. I knew how stressed you were and I get how unpleasant some memories are. What, are you not happy with what I'm doing?"

"That was before I saw what you did!"

"I don't know what you're talking about–"

"Save it asshole! What I saw the other day, I won't forget, and I ain't letting it ride my systems anymore. I can forgive the fact that Gregory had split me in half and whatnot, but I won't forgive you for making sexual advances on a child! You are a monster and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you continue to do that to him!"

"Monty, you're a robot. This isn't what you think it is, no matter how many articles you have accessed and read – Whoa!" Dale jumps out of the raging alligator charging at him. "Monty, cut it out!"

"You're done for Norton!" Monty charged at him, inches away from the guard when he fell to the ground. He's able to get up, but any attempts to put his hands on the other is in vain. It's like a force field rendering him defendless.

Dale held out a watch and shook his head. "Never hurts to have contingency plans." He summons some security bots. One of the bots had slapped something onto Monty's back and triggered a massive reaction. Monty's vision pixelated. "What the hell!"

"Sorry Montgomery, but I won't have you interfering with my plans." He leaned near the defeated gator. "I'm going to miss you, surely. You've been my favorite and I hate to wipe your memory as well, but we'll make new memories together. I'm willing to pay the $1,000 VIP membership." Dale pushes a few buttons, and the bots each take a section to lift Monty up. "I can't wait to read an article describing you as the first animatronic to go pro, thanks to the exclusive golf plays that I'll keep installed. Think of it as a parting gift." Dale clicked a button and Monty's vision grew dark as the bots dragged him away. He fights it against it and is losing.

Just as he does, that simmering anger over boils, flooding his systems. Monty roars, biting and tearing apart the robotic transporters. The PROTECT coding aides in his tactics and he jets after Dale.

The man had reached the entrance of the garage, prepared to shut down the facility and leave. He sees Monty charging at him and calls for backup, seemingly calm and unfazed because of his newfound protection.

He didn't have a chance to change his expression as Monty blew through the force, taking a hold of Dale's head and crushing his skull. He'd been swung in the gator's mouth a few times before Monty deboned the headless body to the other side.