CHAPTER TEN: THE DAYCARE

"So, what do we do now?" Gregory asked. I didn't say anything to the boy. I continued rubbing my chin with the index finger and thumb of my left hand, trying to figure out what our next course of action should be.

We had been standing in front of the security doors for the last 5 minutes, and not too long ago that I fully composed myself after what Freddy said had fully sunken in. I was frustrated and afraid at the same time. Frustrated at the damn setback of having to keep Gregory safe until 6 AM. Afraid of what might happen over the next 6 hours. A lot of things could go badly if we're not careful. And it doesn't help that we possibly have Montgomery, Chica, and Roxanne looking for us, along with Vanessa, if she doesn't know that we were trapped in here.

As I thought about our next course of action, my thoughts landed on Freddy. In all honesty, our best chances of survival were with Freddy, and we were going to need as much of his help as possible. I had no idea if he was still in that charging station down at the utility tunnels or not, but our best bet would be to rendezvous with him. The only issue would be finding out how to do so.

"Mihael, can you hear me?" Gregory asked, sounding annoyed, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned my attention to him, the boy looking at me with annoyance.

"I'm not deaf," I retorted. "I was trying to figure out what we should do."

"And have you?" he asked.

I sighed. Although I knew he didn't trust me and I didn't want him slowing me down to find Lisa, if we were going to make it through the night, find Lisa, and get him out of here, we were going to have to work together as a team. He only followed my lead due to certain circumstances. I had a feeling he wasn't going to like the idea, but there was no other way.

"Look," I began. "I know you don't trust me and you only followed my lead due to there being no other choice. But deep down, you know this to be true. If we're going to get out of this intact, we will have to work together."

Gregory looked at me as if he had swallowed a piece of lemon. I resisted the urge to groan. From that face alone, I knew he wasn't on board with the idea, confirming that the boy still didn't trust me. I raised a hand to prevent him from saying anything.

"I know what you're going to say," I said. "I don't like the idea either as I feel like it will slow down on me trying to find Lisa. However, you and I both know that our chances of getting out of this safely are higher if we work together. Whether we like it or not, we both have to swallow our pride, put aside the mistrust, and form an alliance."

Gregory crossed his arms and went into deep thought. I waited for what he would do next. I could only hope he wasn't the prideful type of kid. As I waited, I watched the expression on his face change a good number of times. From disgust to thoughtfulness. From 'screw that' to 'however'. The list could go on. I could tell he was thinking it through, even when he clearly wasn't on board with it.

After what felt like an eternity, he closed his eyes and sighed. He remained like that for a moment before he opened his eyes and made eye contact.

"Fine," he said, sounding defeated. I didn't let myself breathe a sigh of relief at that. "But just remember, I'll be watching you. Try anything funny and this whole 'alliance' thing is off."

"Good enough for me," I said. "Now, first things first, we have to rendezvous with Freddy. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" he asked snarkily. "He's down in the utility tunnels and the only down is through the doors we went through. But, that's where Chica, Monty, and Roxy are and I have no plans on bumping into them again."

I felt a retort sitting on the edge of my tongue, but I held back. I began calming myself down to try clearing my head, taking deep breaths as I did. Once I felt the anger wash away, I thought about how we were going to rendezvous with Freddy. What Gregory said was 100% true. There was no way in hell we were going back the way we came. There was a good chance that they were still down in the utility tunnels.

Something clicked in my head as that went through my head. My eyes widened as a memory of what Freddy said to the both of us down there as we walked through the tunnels.

"Where are we?"

"We are now under the Pizzplex. These utility tunnels connect all the attractions."

"We can go anywhere in the building, Freddy?"

"Correct. Fazer Blast, Monty Golf, Roxy Raceway: they are all accessible to S.T.A.F.F. - with high enough clearance, of course."

I smiled at this, a wave of pride washing over me. To be honest, I couldn't believe I didn't remember it till now, but that didn't matter too much anymore. All we had to do was go to the Atrium and rendezvous with Freddy at the attraction of our choice. All that mattered was not bumping into anything… dangerous.

"Mihael, what is it?" Gregory asked. I looked at him.

"I figured it out," I said pridefully. "Remember what Freddy said about the utility tunnels?" He thought about it for a moment before an expression of realization formed on his face. "That's right. The tunnels are connected to all of the attractions."

"So, you're saying all we got to do is meet up with Freddy at any one of the attractions?" Gregory asked. I nodded. "But there is one problem. All of the attractions are located in the Atrium and the elevator is located in the Lobby. I don't think we can go in there without some kind of pass."

That struck me in the gut. That was true. The only way to get into the Lobby is via the use of a Complimentary Entry Pass. We could hop the gates, but if we did so, that would become a hassle and if one of us were unlucky, we could get seriously hurt, something the both of us don't need.

I thought about using mine as I always carried mine in my wallet. I was about to reach into my pockets when it struck me. Ever since getting the truck, I left my wallet in the compartment that was in between the driver and passenger seats. That way, I didn't have to remember bringing it with me when I drove my truck.

'Out of all the times, this had to be it,' I thought to myself in annoyance. 'When this is over, I'm going to leave the damn thing on my computer desk from now on.'

"Mihael?" Gregory asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, I just remembered that I left my entry pass in my truck, which happens to be in my wallet," I explained. Gregory groaned in annoyance. "Not to worry. The staff usually have a pass ready in a gift box at the far end of the room."

I pointed to my right. "That's where we can get one. Follow me."

"Wait," Gregory suddenly said before I made the first step toward the booth where the pass awaited us. "Shouldn't we inform Freddy about any of this?"

I felt a stupid, goofy grin form on my face, feeling like an idiot immediately. Out of all the things that I hadn't planned out first, it was informing Freddy of my plan. I guess it slipped my mind while trying to figure out what to do next. Even the most carefully put-together plans will have holes in them.

"You're right," I said, trying not to sound stupid, though I knew deep down that I failed miserably. "Though I have no idea how the hell we're gonna do that."

"Maybe send him a message or call him with our Fazwatches, Mihael," Gregory suggested. Now, I felt stupider at that, feeling as if this kid was smarter than me.

"Yeah, maybe," I said slowly. "Tell you what, I'll go get the pass while you send a message or call Freddy about what we discussed. I doubt you will have to worry about someone else being in here other than us."

Gregory nodded before I headed to the far end of the room where the gift box awaited us. My footsteps echoed silently throughout the Lobby as if I were walking through a building that had been abandoned for years or that of a cave. Only, this place wasn't an old abandoned building or a cave; the Pizzaplex was just devoid of life, aside from me, Gregory, Vanessa, and hopefully, Lisa.

As I inched closer to the gift box that had a cutout of the four mascots with the words 'GET A COMPLIMENTARY ENTRY PASS!' hanging above their heads, a thought went through my head, one that almost made me smile. I was here at the Pizzaplex after hours, having the place almost all to myself. If the situation were different and if none of the disappearances happened, along with the fact if my family and I hadn't been coming here almost every day, I would've been feeling like the luckiest kid alive. Having such a large place to yourself was something a kid always dreamed of. Being able to do things without a care in the world. If it was only me, I would be spending all night playing at the arcade. I always found playing the arcade machines to be more fun than playing in the attractions of the Pizzaplex. I always felt out of place when interacting with kids years younger than me.

I approached the gift box where the pass was concealed inside. I stopped in front of the box before looking at it for a moment. That fear began forming in my chest as I stared at it.

I sighed before reaching for the crank. I grasped it and slowly began to turn it. Dread washed over me as the tune began to play. I swear, if I ever meet the person who made these damn things and decided to make them similar to those old Jack-In-The-Box toys, I would give them a piece of my mind. If they were made to be some kind of joke, it wasn't funny.

The gift box suddenly hopped into the air and the lid blew off. Confetti shot out from the box and a celebratory tune emitted from the box. I shrieked loudly in response. I glared menacingly at the box before reaching inside. It took me a small moment before I felt my fingers rub against something. I retrieved it from the box, revealing itself to be the pass. I walked over to Gregory, who was waiting for me, a slightly impatient look plastered on his face.

"Just like I said," I said pridefully.

"Great!" Gregory exclaimed excitedly. "We can use it to get into any attraction in the Pizzaplex!"

Something clicked in my head as he said that. I felt the feeling of pride wash away upon remembering something extremely crucial. I didn't want to burst the kid's bubble, but it was better for him to know than to be kept in the dark.

"Actually, that's not possible," I said slowly. Gregory looked at me, confusion plastered on his face.

"Huh?" was all he said.

"This pass does indeed allow us to access the Lobby, which is a good thing," I began to say. "Unfortunately, it doesn't allow us to enter the pizzeria nor does it even allow us to get into any of the attractions. The only way we can even do so is by finding an upgrade machine, which is located in Customer Service."

Gregory stared at me for a brief moment before blinking his eyes rapidly. I could tell he was trying to process what I had just told him. I had a feeling he was going to get frustrated by this setback that had to be resolved whether he liked it or not. It had to be done either way.

To be honest, I didn't know why that was the case. I couldn't even think of any reason for that. I knew that companies had their own reasons for certain things, but this was something I couldn't wrap my head around. I remembered how much of a hassle it was to get our passes upgraded with the machine, which unfortunately had a nasty habit of eating entry passes. It took 10 minutes for mine to get upgraded and out of everyone, I was the only one in the family who had to go through that.

"Are you kidding me, Mihael?" he asked, sounding frustrated, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I'm not kidding," I replied. "As annoying as it is, we have to do it if we want to rendezvous with Freddy. Speaking of which, did you contact him?"

"I did," he replied. "I sent him a message about it. I told him we would let him know where the rendezvous point would be once we got the pass… and that was before you told me the bad news."

"Gotcha," I said before pointing to the gates. "Let's get inside and head over to Customer Service so we can upgrade the pass."

"Might as well," Gregory said, unpleased with the obstacle that was now in our way, one that had to be done whether we wanted to do it or not. I rolled my eyes at that.

We walked over to where the gates were that led into the Lobby, a place where a good few places to stop at were located in. At times, I would be amazed by the Lobby, despite the fact that I see it 99% of the time I come to this place. Instead, for once in all the times I came to the Pizzaplex, I wasn't amazed by it. In fact, I saw it as the beginning of our journey to survive and my mission to find Lisa and get back home safely.

Thinking about Lisa, I thought about the conversation last night at the dinner table. How I was upset at them hiding the fact they were Lisa's birthday party here. And how I told them it was a bad idea and felt like something bad was going to happen. I felt very sick to my stomach at the thought of how right I was about something bad happening. And of course, it had to be us.

We reached the gates that led into the Lobby. I pulled out the pass and held it out in front of the screen to the right. After a moment, all of the gates swung open.

"Looks like we're in," Gregory said as we stepped into the Lobby.

"Yes, we are in," I said, looking at the boy. I took notice of the entrances and saw security gates blocking entry into the place. "However, it looks like the entrances are blocked by security gates of some kind."

"Nice," he said sarcastically. "Now what?"

As I thought about what to do, I realized something, one that would create a problem for the both of us. If we were to get the pass upgraded, the machine would no doubt eat it, creating another obstacle for us, which was the last thing we needed at this time. Knowing Gregory, he was going to complain about the machine eating the pass. That was also the last thing I needed to deal with in a situation such as this. If the machine ate the pass, we had to find a way to get it back.

A light bulb lit up above my head as an idea came into my mind. Although, I never tried it myself, for some time now, maybe for a good 15 months, I heard that kids would use magnets to scramble machines in the Mega Pizzaplex. Some of the kids who tried it were caught and got a good scolding from their parents and Vanessa while others got away with it. The only place that sold any magnets was the Glamrock Gift Shop. That was where we were going to go first before we went to upgrade the pass.

I looked at the entrance to the gift shop and noticed that it too had a security gate blocking the way. I mentally sighed at this. Of course, this was to be expected for a place such as this in case something like right now were to happen, only the difference being if someone was planning to rob the place. Plus, I didn't know if the entrance was unlocked, but I wasn't going to waste any time to figure it out.

I looked around to see if there was anything we could use to get into the room and also to get into the gift shop that would no doubt have a magnet we could use against the machine. My eyes trained on the golden Freddy statue that stood proud and tall in the center of the room. It took me a moment to spot what looked to be strollers of some kind. I stared at them before focusing on the windows to the sides of the doors that acted as a barrier to keep anyone from getting inside. A lightbulb lit up over my head. I didn't like the idea, but I didn't see any way to get around it.

I put the pass in my pocket before walking to one of the strollers that stood next to the statue.

"Mihael, what are you doing?" I heard Gregory ask as I stopped in front of the stroller. I didn't reply. I picked up the stroller and walked over to one of the windows of the gift shop. "Mihael?"

Once again, I didn't say anything as I approached the window. I knew deep down Gregory was getting frustrated with me not saying a word to him as to what I was planning even though I didn't take the time to look behind me.

I stopped about a foot away from the window to the right of the gift shop and took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do. I held the stroller above my head, and with all my might, slammed the stroller against the glass. The loud sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the room. I placed the stroller back down and analyzed the damage. There was a huge hole where parts of the glass once were, big enough for anyone to slip through.

"There we go," I said.

"What the heck?!" Gregory exclaimed. "Why did you do that?! And why are we going to this room?! Shouldn't we be getting our pass upgraded right now?!"

"Because it was better than having to find another way into the room," I said simply with a shrug. "Rather not waste any time doing it. Plus, We have to stop here to get what we need to get the pass upgraded."

"What do you mean?" Gregory asked.

"The upgrade machine has a nasty habit of eating people's entry passes," I said. "I can't tell you how many times I've seen people go absolutely batshit crazy over their pass being eaten." A shiver went down my spine as I remembered the things that happened when it took place. "I don't even want to talk about it."

Gregory gave me a funny look. Seeing this, I knew right away that he didn't believe me. I couldn't blame him since it was coming from me, a person he didn't trust 100%. He was in this alliance with me because he didn't have any other choice.

"You're pulling my leg," he said plainly. I mentally facepalmed. I knew it.

"I'm not," I said firmly. "I know this because it happened to me personally."

"I'm not playing this game," he said, annoyed. Without giving me a chance to react, he took the pass from my pocket.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "You can't just take things from the pockets of other people! It's rude!"

"I don't care," he said. "I'm going to get this pass upgraded. I'm not going to sit here and let you take whatever you want from the gift shop."

I wanted to retort, but I bit my tongue. Deep down, I knew that it wouldn't matter to Gregory because whatever I said would go out one ear and out the other or he wouldn't believe me. Plus, right now was not a good time to argue. Although we had 6 hours to survive and find Lisa, time flies by very quickly and any time wasted would be one minute closer for dawn to make its approach.

"You know what? Do whatever," I said. "I'm going to get what we need from the shop. Go ahead and get that pass upgraded. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

A smug smile formed on the boy's face as he walked away to find a way to get in without having to smash another window, no doubt. I felt the need to smack the grin off his face, but I held back. Deep down, I knew that karma was going to hit him like a brick being thrown at his face. I turned my attention back to the shattered window before carefully stepping inside the gift shop.

The gift shop was like any other gift shop you expect upon going inside of. The place was filled to the brim with merchandise that all consisted of T-shirts, sweaters, balloons, toys, plushies, and all of that kind of junk. At the front of the room was a counter where people could go to when they wanted to purchase something from the gift shop. In the center of the room was a 'Free Mystery Box' where they could go to get free gifts that could range from many different pieces of merchandise. I personally didn't get anything from the gift shop as I wasn't interested in the junk that they sold. That was because most of the stuff was mainly for little kids and I didn't want to get any weird looks from people if I were to get something from the shop.

I walked over to the counter that had the free gift. As if to make my job easier, there was a gift box sitting there as if it were waiting for me to claim whatever was inside of it. I opened the box and stuffed my right hand inside the gift box. I mentally prayed that the gift was a magnet of some kind. I didn't want to resort to stealing from the gift shop if it led to that.

I grabbed hold of something and took it out of the box. I mentally exclaimed in triumph. In my hand was a fridge magnet in the shape of Mr. Hippo's head. He wasn't an animatronic for the Pizzaplex, but for some reason, they sometimes sold merchandise of this odd character I probably would never meet in my life.

I walked away from the prize counter and began to head over to the window before I turned my attention to the entrance of the gift shop. My eyes focused on a button to the right of the door. I walked over to the door and pressed the button, curious as to what was going to happen. The security doors opened, now allowing any of us to get in without having to go through the window.

'This makes things easier,' I thought to myself.

"What the heck?!" I heard Gregory shout angrily. I sped walked all the way to Customer Service, wondering what was happening, although I had a good idea what just happened.

I stood in front of the window that faced the counter and resisted the urge to smirk. Gregory was slamming a fist against the machine that had a nasty habit of eating people's pass, the same one that I tried to warn him about. It was funny seeing this as that would've been avoided if he had listened to me.

"Come on, you stupid machine!" Gregory exclaimed as he slammed a fist against the machine.

"Having a little trouble in there?" I teased. Gregory turned his head in my direction, a scowl present on his face, which only grew upon seeing the look on my face.

"You think this is funny?" he growled.

"No, I don't think you getting upset is funny," I replied. "What I do think is funny is that I told you about this and instead of listening to me, you went ahead and tried to upgrade the pass, only for it to get eaten by the very machine I told you about."

I couldn't help myself. I began to laugh at the stupidity of his choice, although I didn't try to stop him and let him do it. At a time like this, sometimes all it takes is for people to learn the hard way. And Gregory learned it… big time.

"This isn't funny, Mihael!" Gregory asked. "Because of it, we now can't rendezvous with Freddy! That was our only ticket to get to not get trapped in this room!"

I stopped laughing and got a hold of myself. I kept the smirk on my face. That was something Gregory was wrong about. However, at the same time, I understood his concern and agitation. If I was in his shoes, I would be agitated beyond belief and smash that thing to scrap metal in the process. The best thing was he didn't have to worry because I had the solution.

"Not to worry, Gregory," I said as I held out the magnet. "We can use this. For the past few months, maybe even more than that, kids used magnets to scramble machines to get free stuff, even used them on upgrade machines. Trust me on this. It will work."

Gregory eyed the magnet in my hand, contemplating whether to take my advice and believe me or not. I hoped he would because we didn't have the time for him to take too long to make a decision.

"Okay, give me the magnet," he said, letting out a sigh as he did. I mentally thanked him for believing me on this. I stuck the fridge magnet in-between the gaps of the gate. He grabbed it and walked over to the machine. I watched as he stuck the magnet on the machine. It made a strange sound before I saw something stick out from the slot.

"Yes, the magnet scrambled the machine!" Gregory exclaimed before he took it. He groaned in annoyance. "Aw, man."

"What?" I asked, curious as to what the problem was now.

"Now, it's some kind of daycare pass," he said. My heart skipped a beat at that. I wasn't expecting that.

I'd never been to the daycare myself as there wasn't a reason for my family to do so as we were too old for it, but I did hear rumors about the place for the past 2 years. Supposedly, it was meant to be a place for families to put their kids in for a certain amount of time while they did their own thing while the kids dealt with the Daycare Attendant, a cheerful, energetic animatronic that went by the name of Sun.

Rumor had it that he had another side to him known as Moon, who had a bad reputation. I heard that kids who went there were never the same after it, now refusing to sleep if the lights weren't on, etc. I hoped to never set foot in there, but it looked like we had no choice but to go there.

"Mihael? Gregory?" Freddy's voice came suddenly from our watches. "Any luck upgrading the pass?"

I hesitated for a moment before deciding to reply. "Yes, we have indeed upgraded the pass, but for some reason, it changed into a daycare pass."

"That is great news," Freddy said happily. "I will meet you both at the Daycare. The entrance is on the second-floor balcony."

I felt my heart skip a beat at that. I couldn't understand why he said that was great news that we would be meeting at the Daycare, the place where I heard so many bad rumors about. However, it clicked in my head that it probably was connected to the tunnels that were under the Pizzaplex. Plus, if we were to get it out of the way very quickly, we might not have to deal with the Daycare Attendant.

"Okay, we'll meet you there," I said before turning my attention to Gregory. "You heard the bear. Let's head over there."

He didn't say anything, but he gave me a reluctant nod. I didn't know if he heard the rumors about the place, but if he did, he was hoping we didn't have to go there. I couldn't blame the kid if that were to be the case. It would be like going back to kindergarten after so long.

He walked over to the door and pushed a button that was to the side of the door. The gates slid open and we began walking up the steps to get onto the second floor of the Lobby. A feeling of unease washed over me as we began heading in the direction of the door that led into the Daycare. I could only hope we didn't come into contact with Sun. The last thing I needed was to deal with his 'scary side' as many kids called it. Although I had my dad's gun with me, I had no idea if it would work against an animatronic such as that.

We finally reached the top of the stairs and began heading in the direction of the entrance to the Daycare. My heart began pounding rapidly in my chest, the fear slowly growing. I mentally chastised myself for getting so fearful. He was another mascot for the Mega Pizzaplex and all I heard were rumors about him so what was to be so scared of?

We reached the door, the tension in the air being overbearing. I opened the door and we went inside. The hall was semi-dark, making it somewhat difficult to see where we were going. The lights in the hall were neon lights, like so much of the Pizzaplex. Even for all these years, I couldn't get why the place uses so many lights, which probably uses a lot of electricity. I couldn't even imagine how big their electric bill is.

As we exited the hallway, we entered a small lobby with a large metal door at the far end of the room. The gate was fitted with the words 'Superstar Daycare' and above it was a small, cute rainbow and stars. Despite it supposing to look inviting, I felt nothing but dread upon seeing the door. So much so I could feel beads of sweat trailing down my face.

"What's with you?" I heard Gregory ask as we stopped in front of the door. I looked at him.

"What?" I asked.

"You look pale as a ghost," he replied before a tiny smirk formed on his face. "Are you scared or something?"

I felt the urge to smack him for finding humor in someone being terrified of something. However, I held back. Right now wasn't the time to get into a fight.

"As a matter of fact, I am dreading it," I said. "I've heard a lot of rumors regarding the Superstar Daycare. Well, to be a little more specific, the Daycare Attendant. A lot of the kids who came out of that place were never the same afterward. Though I never experienced what happened myself, I did hear that most kids who never had a problem sleeping in the dark all refuse to sleep with the lights off from that day on. To this day, I'm surprised it's still standing even with all the complaints."

Gregory stared at me, his eyes not blinking and his body still as a statue. I waited for what he would say to that. At this point, after being stuck with him for so long, I couldn't help but think he might come to the conclusion that I was probably pulling his leg or something. If he was, I wasn't.

"This a joke?" he asked. I knew it.

"No," I said. "I've never been inside the place as my sister and I are too old to be going in a place like this. Hell, I never even met the Daycare Attendant. Right now, we should head inside. Freddy might be in there waiting for us."

"Ok," he said slowly. I put the card in front of the terminal that was beside the metal door. The door slowly rose up, allowing us to get in. We stepped inside and I immediately felt out of place.

The lobby was medium-sized with a bunch of benches, a desk with a computer on it, and a rack where kids can put their shoes in before heading inside to have fun while having no clue what they were getting themselves into. There was a hole near the far right corner of the room, no doubt a slide of some kind. In the center of the room was a large golden statue of what had to be the very Daycare Attendant.

I walked over to the small hole and looked through the gaping holes of the metal fencing. The Superstar Daycare was very bright and had this cheerful atmosphere around it, though I doubt any kid that left the daycare felt cheerful. Down below were two very large interconnected towers of climbing structures and slides. From how it was constructed, I say that they were going for a maze-type attraction. There were also foam shapes all over the room with cutouts of the Glamrocks posted along the walls of the towers and all. The floor also appeared to be made entirely out of cushions, with a rainbow bridge that separated the play structures and the ball pit that was underneath the slide. On the back wall was what looked to be a small castle with a wheel of stars.

"So, this is the Daycare," I said to myself.

"Seems like it," Gregory said, standing beside me.

"It looks cheerful… a little too cheerful," I said slowly.

"Boys… boys, can you hear me?" we heard Freddy's voice come in through our Fazwatches.

"We can hear you," I said. "What's up?"

"I am unable to reach you at the moment," Freddy said. "Something is keeping me from getting to you."

"What should we do?" I asked, curious as to what could be keeping Freddy from getting to us. Whatever it was, something told me it wasn't anything good. No doubt trying to keep us away from Freddy or be up to something much worse.

"Check the Daycare security desk for a security badge, then let me in."

"Roger that, Freddy. We're heading over there now." With that, I turned my attention to the slide that seemed to be one of the many ways into the Daycare. "Come on, Gregory. Let's get going."

Gregory nodded. We walked over to the slide and I gestured for Gregory to go in first. He hesitated for a brief moment before going down the slide. I waited for a moment, trying to hear the sound of the balls from the pit being moved. It wasn't long before I heard it.

"Okay, your turn!" Gregory called out.

"Coming!" I called back.

I steadied myself before going down the slide, keeping my arms and legs together for a smoother ride. The sudden turns were making me feel a little nauseated. I guess it was because I was too big for it to begin with. Plus, it had been a while since I last went down a slide.

It wasn't long before I emerged from the slide and into the ball pit. I emerged from the pool and looked around. I wanted to make sure the Attendant wasn't going to make his appearance. The last thing I needed was to deal with him and go through what those poor kids went through.

"Okay, let's go," I said, seeing no sign of the mascot. We began to walk through the ball pit to get to the receptionist's desk where it might contain a security badge. It didn't help that the plastic balls were making loud noises as we moved.

I looked at the castle that was high up on the wall… and felt my stomach drop. Standing on the ledge proud and tall was no doubt the Daycare Attendant. He was fitted to look like a jester with a stylized sun-shaped head, large white eyes, and a widely-grinning expression, with the tan-ish side of his face curving over the other color half and overlapping the nose with spikes resembling the rays of the Sun on his head.

"Hooo hooo hooo!" the mascot cried out before leaping into the air and diving into the ball pit.

We stayed where we were for a moment, too frozen to move. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid, but now, it was too late. I began to move slowly through the ball pit, hearing Gregory do the same. I hoped that we wouldn't get caught, but of course, luck wasn't on our side.

Something grabbed us from within the ball pit. We both cried out in surprise as the mascot emerged from the ball pit with us in his grasp.

"Hello, news friends!" the Attendant exclaimed excitedly as he carried us out of the ball pit with ease as if we weighed nothing more than a paper clip. "You're both sure up late! Are we having a slumber party? Where are all your friends?"

None of us said anything. I was taken aback by how crazy he was. I was expecting him to call security, but he didn't. He was acting as if this was all normal. I guess we could take it as a win so as to not worry about him being a snitch.

"We can finger paint, tell stories, and drink Fizzy Faz until our heads ex-PLODE and stay up all night!" he continued to exclaim very excitedly as he let us go. Suddenly, a serious tone took over the excitement from his voice. "There is only one rule: keep the lights on. ON. On…"

I felt a chill go down my back. The way he said it had the tone of being a warning. Something told me that this was something he took seriously, no doubt emphasizing that to any kid that comes into the Daycare. Maybe some of the kids who came out traumatized did not heed the warning and turned off the lights, paying the consequences for not heeding it.

I looked to my right to see a receptionist's desk at the far end of the room with a pair of double doors that were more fitting for that of a castle. I mentally smiled at the sight. There was no doubt that the badge was over there. The only matter was getting there without him getting in the way. It didn't take long for an idea to pop into my head.

"Sounds like fun," I said slowly. "Give me and Gregory a moment of privacy please?"

"Sure thing, new friend!" he said happily. We walked a few feet before lowering myself to his level, placing my mouth an inch away from his ear.

"Gregory, something tells me that this guy isn't going to let us head over to the receptionist's desk," I whispered.

"You think?" he whispered sarcastically.

"Here's the plan," I began. "I will keep him distracted while you go get the badge. Do something that will keep his attention. Don't take too long to get the badge though. I don't want to deal with his antics for more than five minutes."

"Got it," he said.

"Okay, let's do it," I said before I straightened my posture. I walked over to the attendant, putting on the best fake smile I could muster. "So, we talked for a moment and we decided. We would like to tell stories."

"Ooo, sounds like fun!" the Attendant said excitedly. "What shall we tell?! Ooo, I can't-"

A loud sound from right behind us made us jump. We looked to see a pile of cushions that were once stacked perfectly were now lying all over the floor. I mentally smirked at the distraction Gregory had just made. That alone might keep his full attention for a good amount of time.

"No, no, no, no!" he exclaimed, his tone upset as he walked over to the pile. "What a mess! Oh, which was the bottom? Where is the top? Clean up! Clean up!"

I looked in the direction of the receptionist's desk to see Gregory heading over there. I felt the need to go after him, but something told me to keep the illusion up.

"Here, let me up you," I said as I walked over to the pile. He didn't say anything, which was fine by me.

We spent a moment trying to figure out which block went where. It was very irritating having to hear him complain about the mess. If I had to guess, he had to be some kind of neat freak or something. Yet, at the very same time, he was probably programmed to ensure that the Daycare was in great shape before the kids came in. That was understandable. No one wants to take their kids to a daycare that isn't well-kept clean.

"New friend, this- this area is off-limits," he said nervously. I felt my heart skip a beat when those words left his mouth. He must have spotted Gregory at the receptionist's desk. I looked to see Gregory doing something at the desk, hopefully looking for the badge we needed. "You're gonna get us in trouble."

He began walking over to the desk. I slowly followed after him so as to not alert him to me being behind him. If he saw me, he would no doubt try and stop me. If it had to result in knocking him out just to keep him away from Gregory, so be it.

"Don't you want a puppet show?" he continued nervously. "I have glitter glue! Do you like-"

A loud, strange sound filled the room. I felt my blood run cold when I recognized the sound; it was the sound of the lights dying and going out. I stopped in my tracks and watched as the lights go out and the room became engulfed in complete darkness. My heart began pounding rapidly as a result.

Loud, rapid footsteps echoed throughout the room, making my fear skyrocket to new heights. I made my first step when colored lights from what looked like tubes brightening the darkened room and white dots filled the ceiling. I looked to see Gregory looking around. I began to walk over to the desk.

"Gregory, what the hell happened?!" I shouted.

"I don't know!" Gregory shouted. "I just grabbed-"

Gregory was cut off by something jumping onto the desk. We looked to see the Daycare Attendant standing on the far left side of the desk. He was looking around fearfully at the now-darkened Daycare. I watched closely to see what was about to happen. If the Attendant tried anything funny, I would shoot.

"No-no!" he exclaimed, looking around fearfully. "Why would you do that? Lights on! Lights on!" He focused his attention on the boy. "I warned you - I WARNED YOU!"

We watched as he grabbed at the sides of his face, making pained cries as his body convulsed. I was both terrified and confused as to why he was acting like that. Did it have something to do with why he warned about keeping the lights on? Something told me something bad was about to happen.

The Daycare Attendant fell off the desk with a loud thud. We both watched and waited for something to happen. I was concerned the mascot might have broken something from the fall. I hoped that was not the case.

"Naughty boy. Naughty boy," came a menacing voice. We both watched in horror as the mascot came out looking different; his sun head took shape into that of the moon, his clothes were more fitting for the nighttime and his eyes radiated a crimson-red light. "It's past your bedtime. You must be punished. Nighty-night."

"Mihael, Gregory, I do not know what you both did, but the lights are out in the Daycare!" Freddy exclaimed fearfully.

"I didn't do anything!" Gregory shouted. "I just took the badge and they suddenly went out!"

"How do we turn them back on?" I asked calmly.

"You need to find the emergency backup generators and turn them on," Freddy replied. "They are in the play structures."

I wanted to ask him why they were in there, but I decided against the idea. I didn't want to be trapped in the dark with some dangerous animatronic now on the loose. It didn't help that I was too big to go into any of them. That meant Gregory was on his own to find them in the structures and turn them on.

I looked to see a small station in the shape of Freddy's with a flashlight inside. I didn't want to put Gregory in danger, but there was no other way. I walked over to the station and grabbed the flashlight. I walked over to Gregory and handed it to him. He just stared at it for a moment before looking at me, fear still clear on his face.

"Gregory, I need you to listen to me carefully," I said while still keeping calm. "If what Freddy said is true, we will have to go into the structures to find them. I'm too big to go into the structures, which means you are the only one who can go in there and turn them on. So here's what's going to happen. You will go in, find them, and turn them on while I keep Moon distracted. I will make sure he doesn't get you."

"Great plan," he said sarcastically. "How will you do that?"

"I'll find a way," I said. "NOW GO!"

Gregory jumped from the shout and grabbed the flashlight from my hand. He ran in the direction of one of the structures before going inside. I looked around the desk to see what I could use against the Attendant. I opened the draws and found something interesting. It was a small taser. I didn't know how strong the taser was, but if it meant keeping Gregory safe, so be it. Also inside was an extra flashlight. That was going to make things easier.

I grabbed the taser and flashlight, before turning it on. I hopped over the desk, looking around for any sign of the Attendant. My heart was pounding rapidly and my fear was growing as the light shone throughout the room. However, I kept my composure as by losing it, I was going to grow paranoid and get hurt. That was the last thing we both needed.

"Mihael, I got the first one!" I heard Gregory call out.

"Nice!" I called back out. "Find the other ones!"

I saw the light from Gregory's flashlight shine through the gaps of the structure. Footsteps rapidly coming from behind me made me stop in my tracks. I turned in time to see the Attendant lunging at me. He collided into me, his hands wrapped around my throat.

"MIHAEL!" Gregory cried out.

"It's past your bedtime," Moon said. "You must be punished."

"Get… off!" I choked out. He didn't relent. That just made me mad. "I… said…" I grabbed him by his head and butted my head against his own. He finally let go of my throat, allowing me to breathe. "Get… OFF!"

With all I had, I punched him in the face. Pain shot through my hand from the impact. He rolled off the ground for a moment before he stopped. Moon quickly got up, looking at me with rage in his eyes. Knowing what was about to happen, I whipped out my dad's gun, aimed it at him, and pulled the trigger.

A loud bang echoed throughout the room, loud enough for my ears to ring. I watched as the Attendant was sent flying from the impact of the bullet hitting him in the chest. He slowly got back up from the floor, looking at me with horror in his eyes. I aimed the gun again and was ready to pull the trigger. Without warning, he hopped away into the darkness.

"Mihael, did you just-" was all Gregory was able to say.

"Yes, I did!" I replied, the ringing from my ears fading. "Don't get distracted!"

I returned my focus on keeping an out for Moon. Deep down, I was in shock at what I did. However, if I didn't do that, Moon would've tried it again. It was either me or him.

Movement from all sides caught my attention. I pointed my gun out, keeping it aimed at where the noises were coming from. I didn't want to shoot again, but if there was no other choice, I would in a heartbeat.

I listened closely but heard nothing. I wasn't convinced he had given up. He must be keeping his distance now that he knew I was armed. He was no doubt trying to find a way to get to Gregory, who was still in the structures. I had no idea how many were left, but I could only hope there wasn't much left.

Silence filled the room, but it wasn't a good silence. Dread had washed over me, knowing that something was very wrong. Moon was carefully thinking of his next move. I aimed the flashlight in all directions, but there was no sign of him.

"Clever bastard," I whispered to myself.

"Mihael, I got the other 3!" Gregory called out. "Now all I-"

His voice was cut off by screaming. I ran in that direction, my heart pounding. I got there… and horror washed over me. Moon was clinging to the wall of the structure trying to reach for Gregory. I aimed my gun at Moon and pulled the trigger. Moon was knocked off the wall and fell to the ground.

"GO!" I shouted. I heard the soft patter of his feet heading for the last generator.

I looked in Moon's direction and felt pure rage aimed at me. Now, he was pissed. No doubt over me stopping him from getting to the boy.

"I will PUNISH YOU!" he cried out angrily before charging at me.

"Bring it on, jackass," I said before putting the gun, taser and flashlight iaway and readying myself for a fight. I didn't know if I could take him, but I had to try.

Moon reached me and began swinging his arms to try and grab me. I easily maneuvered out of his grasp, which only angered Moon more. I kept the cocky smile from my face as I punched him and pushed him away. For a moment, he kept trying to grab me but was only met with a punch to the face.

"How do I keep missing you?!" he cried out.

"Easy, you're just messing with somebody who is better than you," I replied.

"You little-"

"Mihael, I got it!" Gregory cried out. I looked at Moon, who was looking at me with horror in his eyes. I smirked, knowing that it was over for him.

"Game Over!" I shouted as blackness filled my vision. There was a moment before the blackness was repelled by the lights. I looked to see no sign of Moon anywhere. How he vanished without making a sound was beyond me. I wiped the sweat from my forehead, relieved that it was over.

"Mihael!" I heard Gregory shout. I looked to see him heading my way. He reached me and we high-fived. "We did it!"

"We sure did," I said. "You got the badge?"

"Sure do!" he replied.

"Good. Now let's get the hell out of here. I've had enough of this place for one night. There's a button on the wall that should open the doors at the front. Let's go."

Gregory nodded. With that, we walked over to the button on the wall. As we did, I thought about what happened with the lights. Something didn't sit right with me. How would have the lights gone off if Gregory just went to grab the badge? It didn't make sense… unless. Horror washed over me as one simple conclusion came to mind. Someone or something must've shut out the lights, knowing what was going to happen in an attempt to kill me and Gregory. The question… was who did it?

Reaching the wall, I pushed the button and the door opened. I walked out, happy to be out of the Daycare. I turned to let Gregory know he was next when I felt my blood run cold. Standing behind Gregory was the Daycare Attendant, who was now back to his normal self. Although his face had that goofy smile plastered on it, I felt a sense of anger aimed at the boy.

"Rulebreaker! Rulebreaker!" the Daycare Attendant said angrily as he picked Gregory up from the floor and carried him out. "You are banned from the Daycare!" He tossed him to the floor right by my feet, the boy getting back on his feet right away. "Security alert! Security alert! Woo wooo wooo wooo!"

With that, he slammed the door. I looked at the door angrily. He had done it. I should've known he was going to do that. So much for not thinking of him to be a snitch. Of course, at the same time, it was expected. He did what anyone would've done in that situation, no doubt thinking it was Gregory who turned off the lights, now some outside force.

The sound of loud, clanking footsteps echoed behind me. I looked to see Freddy stopping about a foot from me, worry clear on his face. I felt relief at seeing him again. With him now back at our side, the night might go on easier.

The relief was immediately washed away when the sound of clanking footsteps was coming from different directions. I looked to see Chica, Montgomery, and Roxanne heading our way. I felt my blood turn into ice at the sight.

"Mihael, Gregory, we need to get out of here now!" Freddy said in a panic. "They've found you." Freddy opened his chest cavity and motioned for Gregory to jump in. "Gregory, jump in!"

Gregory didn't need to be told twice. The boy jumped and the chest cavity closed. Freddy and I began heading in the direction of the stairs before I stopped. Even though Gregory was now safe in the chest cavity, Freddy's friends saw Gregory go in there. If nothing was done, they would be chased.

I turned to face them, standing my ground. I wasn't going to let them get their hands on Gregory. I would protect him or die trying.

"Mihael, what are you doing?!" Freddy cried out, though I didn't look behind me.

"I'll hold them off," I said. "You get Gregory out of here."

"Mihael, I can't just-"

"Freddy, he will be fine," I heard Gregory say from inside the chest cavity. "I saw him hold off Moon while I was getting those generators back on. He can handle himself."

"But…" Freddy looked at me for reassurance.

"I'll be fine, Freddy," I said softly. "Getting Gregory out of here and finding Lisa is our top priority than worrying about me. Now, go."

Freddy hesitated for a moment, no doubt debating on grabbing me and getting me out of here. I prayed that he would get to safety. I didn't want to see him get involved in the conflict that was about to happen.

He sighed and looked me in the eyes.

"Be careful," he said.

"I will," I said softly. With that, Freddy ran in the direction of the stairs before going up them in the direction of the exit. I readied myself, aiming my attention at the gator first, who was the closest to me. "Bring it on, big shots!"

Montgomery was the first to charge. I waited for the perfect moment to make my move. He flexed his claws and pulled his arm back as if he were to strike me. With force, he swung his arm at me. I maneuvered out of the way and balled my hand into a fist. With all my might, I swung my fist and struck him in the jaw. Sharp pain shot through my hand as the gator fell onto his back.

"Son of a bitch," I mumbled, shaking my hand before turning to see Chica coming at me. I rolled out of the way as the chicken lunged at me. She fell on the floor onto her stomach. I smirked at the simple mistake. "Missed."

I turned around to see someone lunge at me. They collided into me, with me falling onto my back. I looked to see Roxanne over me, a smirk on her face and her hands on my shoulders.

"Got you," she said in a cocky tone. "I'm the best."

Something in the back of my mind told me to punch her or shoot her to get her off of me… but I couldn't. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to hit or shoot her with my dad's gun, even though my life was on the line. I remembered the taser I still had in my possession. If I couldn't do that, then there was only one way to do it.

"Sorry Roxanne," I said as I took out the taser. "But this is for your own good!"

I aimed it at her and pulled the trigger. She sat upright as a scream of agony echoed throughout the room. A moment later, she stopped and fell onto me. I began to roll her off me, gasping for air as the effort of getting her off was proving to be difficult. I knew that animatronics were heavy, but this was insane. I managed to roll her off me before getting back onto my feet, breathing heavily from the effort.

I felt something wrap itself around me before feeling something being plunged into my chest. I screamed at the feeling of something being injected and at the pain. I held my head before slamming it into whoever was behind me. They let me go and pulled out whatever was plunged into me. A syringe.

'What the fuck?' I thought to myself. Suddenly, a wave of nausea struck me. "Wh… what is…"

I fell on the floor onto my stomach as I tried to keep my eyes open, trying to fight what was causing this. It was no use. I looked in front of me, but I could hardly see anything. My vision was too blurry to see anything. I could make out something in front of the mascots. Something white.

I tried to make out what was being said with no success. I blinked a few times, seeing another figure get up from the floor. I tried to move, but my muscles wouldn't obey. They felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. I blinked again and before I knew it, I felt myself being lifted off the floor. I prepared myself for what may be coming my way.

'I hope Freddy and Gregory got out safely,' I thought to myself.

Everything went black.

Author's Note:

After so long, Chapter Ten is finally here! :D

This was no doubt an extremely difficult chapter. What with having to keep it faithful and making it as interesting as possible was no easy task. At the end of the day, I am happy with how it turned out. Trust me, Mihael is not dead, but rather something is happening to him. You find out what happened soon enough. Can't give away the goods that easily. ;)

That's all for now. Keep an eye out for Chapter Eleven as things will kick off from there. Constructive criticism is appreciated and I will see you guys in the next chapter! :)