Mable: It's my birthday! And what better way to spread the cheer than finally get the chapter up? XD Here you go! Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Seventy
It wasn't long after midnight when Sunny let himself into Freddy's greenroom. Initially he found it empty, though he did notice that the arcade cabinet was running, with the Freddy on screen hitting a pothole and losing a life right after he walked in.
"Helloooo?" he called inside.
Suddenly Gregory darted out from his hiding spot between the couch and the window's curtains. He bolted over to the cabinet and quickly grabbed onto the controls, rescuing the virtual Freddy from another death, and continuing to play.
"Hey. I thought you were somebody else coming in," Gregory explained. Something that Sunny could've figured out on his own.
"Sorry to scare you, Sunspot! We should have a secret- oh, oh! We should have a secret knock! I could tap, tap, tap on the window and you'll know it's me," he offered.
"That might work," the boy agreed. Though it was clear that he was very focused on his game and only half paying attention.
The Daycare Attendant was far from offended. After what happened today, he would have to be pretty petty to be offended by something so small. Today had been a total disaster. Just thinking about it made his points twitch down like the wilting petals of a flower.
"Umm… Gregory, a-about those people who came in today… I'm sorry," he quietly apologized.
"Why are you sorry? It wasn't your fault."
"No, but the daycare is supposed to be a safe place, and it wasn't today. We had to break so many rules just to get you away from them," Sunny pointed out. He tapped his fingers together nervously. "Do you want to talk about it-?"
"No. It's nothing, they're just mad because I got in without a pass," Gregory said quickly, defensively.
"Well, I'm still sorry. We missed out on all the fun we could've had… Oh, I have another idea! Why don't we have a true-blue slumber party? We can play games and eat snacks- oh, and we can even watch a movie in the theater! Aaaand because the daycare will be closed, I'll be all yours! Oh, it could be so much fun~! Whatcha say, Sunspot?" Sunny gushed excitedly. Clasping his hands together and waiting expectantly for an answer.
Gregory knew exactly what a sleepover with Sunny would entail. Probably a lot of kiddie games, if he didn't just break out the hand puppets, juice boxes and those little rainbow marshmallows he always handed out at snack time. The movie was probably going to be something for little kids too, and without the other kids present, all of Sunny's attention was going to be totally on him. Sunny was going to be fully attentive on him just like when Moon was tucking him in-.
"Yeah, okay," Gregory agreed. Not half-listening as he had been earlier but fully agreeing. "But not tonight. I want to hang out with Freddy. And you, if you want to stick around."
"Oh, I would LOVE to!" Sunny replied with an excited spin of his points. He tilted his head. "Where is Freddy? Charging?"
"Yup."
That made sense. The next designated charging- a short charging during the hourly recharge- was nearly an hour away. Freddy was probably exhausted from the worry of the day and needed a quick boost before whatever the evening invited.
"Then I'll just leave him to it and keep you company. Can I watch you play?" Sunny asked.
"Sure, come on over here," Gregory invited.
Sunny shuffled over and was soon watching the screen alongside him. Gregory didn't notice that it no longer felt weird to stand this close to Sun, to let his guard down around him, but Sunny definitely did. He kept it to himself, waving his points happily.
…
Freddy stepped out of his recharge station eager to get back to Gregory. He didn't like leaving him alone for even a moment at night, but this charge would likely last him through the next few hours, so it was needed.
What he didn't expect was to step out and turn his head to find Moon waiting for him. He was perched on a short stack of carboard boxes and hopped down to greet him. Freddy brightened up at the sight of him.
"Moonlight, what a delightful surprise!" Freddy greeted warmly. "I hope you have not been waiting long."
"I've been with Gregory, watching him play SSStreetsssskate," Moon answered. He gave a dismissive flick of the wrist. "But that's not important. If I may have a moment of your time in private…" He stepped in quite close. Freddy leaned in as well but was rewarded with a boop on the nose to show that wasn't the intention. "A little birdie told me something verrry interesting," Moon clarified.
Freddy's eyes went wide. "Chica?!"
"Erm, no. Jake," Moon almost awkwardly corrected. He recovered quickly. "He said that the woman who was here, the social worker, said something very interesting about a little boy who went missing."
At the comment about a missing child, a boy nonetheless, Freddy quietly gasped.
"Did she mean Gregory?" he whispered.
"She did not say, but she said a little boy, a chronic runaway, went missing a few months ago."
"It IS Gregory. It must be," Freddy gasped again. "How could it take his parents this long to notice he was missing? Shame on them! I feel much less guilty about keeping him here."
"Oh no. You see, Freddy, if this IS Gregory, then he has been moved from foster home to foster home," Moon explained. "Which means he may be an orphan, he may have been removed from his home, but regardless, it means that there are no parents. He has none."
Freddy's heart clenched. He knew there was a chance that perhaps Gregory didn't have parents, but it was so sad to think that he didn't have them. "That is terrible…"
"No, Freddy. That is wonderful. For us." Moon eagerly giggled and clasped his hands together. "Because it means, Freddybear, that Gregory does not have parents to return to. He does not have a home."
"That is…" Freddy was interrupted by a finger pressed to his lips.
"Perfect," Moon corrected. "Because now our conscience is clean. There is no moral obligation to return him, Freddy. WE can keep him ourselves. You." He tapped the bear's cheek. "Can be his father."
The words alone unfurled something in Freddy's chest. Something of warmth and hope, as though a weight had been taken off it. That the worry of Gregory being taken away was suddenly vacated. Though his better judgement soon caught up with him.
"I… That would be… I cannot assume that role without Gregory's agreement," Freddy said. "He must have been moved from home to home without his say. That must be terrifying for a child. I cannot simply label myself his parent unless he wants me to be."
"Freddy, if I may direct your attention to his bedroom directly to your right," Moon replied with a guiding hand in that direction. "Along with the clothes and food and toys you have given him. But that is not why he stays. Gregory could have chosen to stay in the daycare. He chose you," he explained. His voice then lightened considerably. "But I find your concerns… very charming. Always the most caring."
"But if I push Gregory…"
"We don't need to push him. We don't need to do anything, except no longer worry about a couple of parents who are not in the picture."
Freddy thought about this for a long moment. Then he lifted his head as he took notice of something.
"You said that we could keep him. As in you and I. Does that mean you too want to be his parent?"
"Me providing basic child caretaking is a far cry from me being his parent. Besides, he has made it very clear how he feels about me, ugh, 'mothering' him," Moon remarked. His hands planting defiantly on his hips.
But Freddy wasn't convinced. He said as much with a mock gasp.
"I think- I- I think you might… LIKE Gregory! That you want to also, gasp, adopt him!"
"Not so loud! He'll hear you and get the wrong idea," Moon fussed in a very Sun-like way. Though he recovered enough to add, "Tch, and don't patronize me, Freddy."
"I am not. I think you would be an excellent mother," Freddy replied cheekily.
"Freddy- my dear, sweet, silly bear- I know where your center of gravity is. Don't make me sweep you off your feet," Moon replied coyly. A very flimsy and properly inaccurate threat. "In any case, I am more… like an uncle. Sun and I both."
"Moonlight, if I am the father and you are the uncle, then I fear we have a very inappropriate relationship," Freddy said.
The deadpanned delivery caught Moon off guard. So much so that he choked and then broke into a fit of laughter. Not exaggerated giggling or maniacal snickering, but true laughter that shook through his body and made him rattle.
Freddy could've beamed at the reaction, elation building in his chest. He laughed as well and then, while Moon was defenseless, he scooped him into a hug. The jester having to stand on tiptoes to stay on his feet but after a moment to recover, wrapped his long arms around the bear's shoulders. Resting his forehead on his shoulder as his laughter died down to snickers.
"This is why we can't have a serious conversation," Moon pointed out. Freddy chuckled again and bumped his mouth to the side of Moon's head, sort of like a kiss but not nearly direct enough to be considered one. It still got a shudder out of the Daycare Attendant.
They stood like that for a minute more and then Moon went to pull back, but Freddy's arms were locked in place. He was almost surprised when they didn't give. He gave Freddy little tap on the shoulder, expecting that he had just gotten lost in the moment.
Freddy hugged him tighter. Suddenly the silence from the bear seemed much less comfortable.
"Freddy?" Moon asked.
"Oh Moony…"
Freddy's voice had become somber once again. No, not just somber, sad. He was upset about something. Moon didn't like hearing such a tone in Freddy's voice. Practically trapped in the bear's grip, he bent his arm to rub over his shoulder pad.
"What is the matter? It can't be about Gregory, no, no. You know he's not going anywhere," he coaxed.
"No, it is not that. I just…" Freddy sighed. "Somebody said something earlier that upset me. I just thought about it again."
"What was it?"
"I… do not wish to say."
"It was what that fake nightguard said, isn't it? About how we are disturbing the guests?" Moon guessed.
Freddy's silence answered his question for him. Moon easily twisted himself back enough that he could face him and reached to pat him on the cheek.
"Freddyyy, who cares what they say?" he lulled soothingly.
"I do…" Freddy meekly answered.
Moon didn't consider himself a weak person, nor an especially sentimental one. Yet something about how timid that baritone voice could sound was enough to break his heart. Or at least cause a few cracks.
"Oh, Freddybear," Moon soothed. Both hands coming up to cup and pet at his face. Tracing over his ears and the back of his head, as though trying to use his fingers to chase out all the bad thoughts. Freddy moved his own hands to loyally rest on Moon's middle.
"I… do not understand why they are uncomfortable with us," he softly admitted.
"It's not us, Freddy. It's me."
"That is even worse! If it was simply that they do not condone overly affectionate gestures in the daycare, as to not confuse small children, then that would be one thing. The idea that it is because of my image or their unfair biases against you… it hurts."
Moon should've expected this from Freddy and yet somehow the passionate plea still took him off-guard. Freddy had pulled him in as well and now they were chest to chest, but it was clear from the dismay on his face that he was too distracted by this to notice. Not like Moon did, feeling his ticking starting to increase as the heat spread through his inner mechanisms. It wasn't just from the position, he realized quickly. It was that defiance. It was that concern in his voice.
Freddy believed it, didn't he? He truly believed everything. That he was wrongly misjudged. That there was nothing wrong with how he acted or how he looked. The fact that he believed it with so much conviction made Moon almost feel like it could be true.
Save the fact that Moon knew that he was the reason Freddy had to go through this.
He didn't care what people thought of him. He was used to them always thinking the worse, and he lived up to those expectations. Yet somehow Freddy had him feeling small and meek, but not in a helpless sort of way. Moon snapped out of his reverie.
"It doesn't bother me if it is any consolation. I hear what they say, and I don't care what they think. All I care about is keeping you and that little brat safe," Moon assured him.
Freddy wasn't exactly content with this answer, but Moon had a way of catching his gaze and keeping his attention fully on him without any hypnosis necessary.
"Let's go give you a distraction, hmm? We have a long night ahead of us," Moon promised. At that, Freddy's eyes brightened up.
"Indeed, we do. Foxy is coming by!"
"Oh," Moon said. His voice deflating.
"What? You like Foxy!"
"I enjoy Fizzy Faz too, but that doesn't mean I drink it every night. Mostly because of the clean up, clean up it requires afterwards," Moon returned.
"Ah. Well, I will be the one cleaning up tonight. I promise, Fazbear's honor!" Freddy promised. He even lifted his hand to give a two-finger salute. "I will do everything in my power to keep tonight lowkey and filled with as much faz-tastic fun as one can fit into a night!"
"Didn't you have band practice?" Moon asked.
"…I do not believe I do," Freddy answered. But he also didn't think Moon spawned that out of the blue. He recalled that he discussed practice with his bandmates one of these nights, but surely it was not tonight. He rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps we did… But Roxy would have wanted to start by now, and I have not seen her all evening."
"Hmm…" Moon tapped on his own cheek. His face jittering a little under the motions. "True."
"Sooo… There is no problem! We can take a raincheck until tomorrow, when I do not have to be a good host."
"Oh? Who's coming over tomorrow, the clown?" Moon asked dryly.
This roused another rumble of a chuckle from the bear. So enticing, so endearing, so much so that Moon barely caught himself from falling back into the trap that was Freddy Fazbear. They had already stayed back here long enough; Gregory was waiting.
"Come along," he beckoned. He turned to leave the backroom when Freddy stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait," he said. He turned Moon towards him by the shoulder. His eyes softened once more, still glowing in the dim light of the backroom. "I just want you to know that… they are wrong. You are an excellent caretaker and performer, and you deserve better than to be misjudged… and we deserve better than to be treated like our feelings do not matter," he murmured. He looked away almost longingly before righting himself again. "That is all I needed to say. I will not keep us any longer."
"That's not all that's bothering you," Moon realized.
"I have a lot on my mind… but we should spend what time we have with Gregory before his bedtime. We owe it to him after the day he had to endure."
"Him? He wasn't the one with troublemakers parked outside their daycare all day," Moon tsked. "And I can't stand the girl they have manning the daycare desk now. She hates me and not in a funny way."
Freddy didn't like the sound of that. Protectiveness swelled in his chest, and he spoke before he thought, "I could… Perhaps I could talk to someone about getting her a position elsewhere?"
"Oh, would you? That would be wonderful!" Moon gushed. He bent over backwards and clasped his hands together so he could look up at Freddy with glistening eyes and a pleading posture. "Please do."
Freddy didn't think he would agree. Moon was tempted to see if Freddy would go through with it.
"Erm… I… I would be happy to-."
"I'm kidding, Papa Bear. I wouldn't ask you for that."
"You could."
Freddy must've regretted those words with how tight he clamped his mouth. The glow in Moon's eyes halved, mimicking an unenthused look when he was still very much amused.
"If you want to dig yourself deeper, at least use a shovel," he quipped. "Hmhmhm. Now then, come along. We can pick this up later." He snapped back upright and beckoned again before hustling along, jingling all the way.
Freddy wasn't sure what part of their conversation Moon was implying to continue later, but he silently agreed and followed him out. He instantly brightened at the sight of Gregory playing the arcade cabinet, while Moon brightened and shifted into Sun.
"Hey, Superstar! How is it going?" Freddy asked.
"I can't blink," Gregory replied. "But I'm almost there. I've got, like… I don't know. I can't look, but I'm almost there."
"Let me see." Freddy came over to watch over his head. He gasped as he saw the score. "That is the highest you have ever gotten! Keep going! You are almost there!"
With that encouragement, Gregory began to tap the buttons even faster than before. He pushed through the last bit of the run, darting up and down across the street as the Freddy on screen moved faster than he had ever seen before. He hadn't ever gotten this far, this high of a score, this long of a run, and with Freddy and Sun's overeager encouragement goading him on he kept going.
He held out for a while longer before his last two lives were whittled away, along with a third he picked up between losing them. It was a fight to the bitter end of an endless game, but eventually his game was over.
Gregory gave a disappointed groan as he rubbed at his tired eyes and blinked away the burn.
"Great job, Superstar! You were very close! And you are still very high on the leaderboards!" Freddy congratulated.
He looked at the screen through squinted eyes and saw that Freddy wasn't putting him on, he had gotten the fourth high score. In this game, up against Freddy and Foxy's scores, he considered that a victory. "Heck yeah!"
He went to put in his initials, pausing for a long second before putting in G-F-F.
"Jeff?" Freddy asked in confusion.
"Aww!" Sun gushed. His hands on his cheeks, a step ahead of the bear.
"It's for Gregory. I- I just thought that if I put in FF, everyone would think it's for you and wouldn't know it's me," Gregory said, almost defensively.
"What a clever idea!" Freddy said proudly. "But now that you are finished, are you ready to go see Foxy?"
"Sure! Is he- Whoa, it's like the room's still moving." Gregory looked around and watched as everything slightly moved to the side. He tried to blink it away and looked up at Freddy. "Is he here yet?"
"I am not sure. Let's go see," Freddy invited. He popped open his stomach hatch and leaned down to let Gregory inside. "And off we go!"
"Ready for takeoff! Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times," Sunny chimed in.
"No flash photography or open juice pouches. Thank you!" Freddy added.
Gregory rolled his eyes to himself. They were a couple of dorks, that's for sure, but they had a way of making him feel special.
They arrived not at the Loading Dock door, but at the usual vent spot. Foxy had said he wasn't coming alone but had decided to be more discrete tonight and come in the less noticeable way. Freddy wasn't sure if that meant their dear security guard didn't know they were there or if Foxy was just still a little paranoid from the events a couple of nights before. It could've been either.
It wasn't more than fifteen minutes of waiting before they heard something coming down the vent shaft. Freddy warned Gregory that he would be leaning forward before slowly doing so, holding a hand to his stomach hatch to make extra sure it didn't open, and peeked into the vent. Sun leaned over, leg stuck out, and looked in beside him. His points pulling in on the side of his head to not bump Freddy.
It wasn't long before Foxy looked around his corner. He almost flinched back at the sight of two faces blocking his way before recovering.
"What?" a voice whispered behind.
"Nothin'. Freddy spooked me. Ahoy!"
"Ahoy, Captain!" Freddy greeted back.
"Hey, Foxy!" Gregory's muffled voice called out. Freddy straightened up so he could open and let him out. He got out and Foxy climbed out of the vent and ruffled his hair.
Foxy then turned back to the vent expectantly. There was the sound of shuffling inside, someone turning around in the vent with some struggle, and then none other than Jeremy lowering himself feet first out of the vent.
"Jeremy! Foxy, you did not say you were bringing Jeremy! It is very nice to see you again, welcome!" Freddy greeted, his excitement palpable.
"Hey," Gregory chimed in.
"Oh, hello~! I remember you!" Sunny chimed in.
"Hey, guys! It's good to see you too. Sorry it's been a while…"
"There is no need to apologize! I am just glad to have you join us on a night of fun instead of one of, erm, less fun," Freddy assured him. "Now then, where to first? Captain?"
"Off to the West Arcade. I need to show Jer'my Bee," Foxy announced. He tossed his arm around the blond's shoulders as he did.
"I heard she's got one of the little bees on display and I'm going to see how much it'd be to buy it outright," Jeremy explained.
"Adding another dolly to your collection?" Sunny asked.
"Hopefully! There's always room for one more in the Fitzgerald house."
Neither Sunny nor Freddy, nor even Gregory caught the hint. Though Jeremy wasn't confident enough to start the evening with anything more direct than that.
"Then let us not wait any longer. To the West Arcade!" Freddy proclaimed with a dramatic point. He then helped Gregory back into his stomach hatch and they began the walk to the atrium.
As nervous as Jeremy was, frequently looking over his shoulder and checking around for anyone lingering nearby, but the mood was upbeat. The atrium was quiet as they entered in and began to head for the closest elevator.
Only for Freddy to suddenly receive an unexpected message.
"Freddy, we've got a problem."
It was Roxanne. A tired sigh could be heard through her message, but Freddy still grew worried. He stopped in place and quickly replied.
"Roxy, what is it?"
"Monty's holed up in his room and he won't come out."
By now the others noticed he had stopped and looked back, including Sun who flipped back his head to look.
"Just a moment," Freddy requested. He turned his head and pressed a finger to his temple, closing his eyes. "What is the matter? Is it a malfunction or is he upset? Should we try to take his elevator and check on him?"
"No, he's fine. He's just being a big loser about this. He won't even say what's wrong, he just won't open the door and he says he's not coming to practice. These songs enter the rotation on Saturday. If we don't practice now, chances are we're not going to get to before then, and I'd rather not sound like we don't know what we're doing. Monty didn't get the memo."
Freddy felt a wave of guilt and disappointment as Roxy confirmed his earlier suspicions.
"So, we were supposed to practice tonight. How could I forget? Here I am, the lead vocalist, and I could not even remember when we were scheduled to practice! What am I going to tell the others…?"
"Freddy, you're still on," Roxy messaged back.
"…Doh."
"Look, if you can't help us convince him to come out, then you're going to have to be the one to break down the door. I can't risk chipping my paint," she messaged back a little more impatiently.
"Well, I… Err, if Monty is not feeling up to it then perhaps, we can postpone. We have a few days left."
"No more postponing. We need to work on the new songs."
Before he could argue anymore, another message suddenly caught him off-guard. Giving him a glimpse of a voice he hadn't heard in some time.
"Freddy, just get down here!"
Hearing Chica's voice was gut-wrenching. Especially since this was the only way he could hear her voice now. This was the first time she had messaged him since her accident and hearing it, he knew he had no choice.
"I will be right there."
Freddy lowered his hand and opened his eyes to reveal a regretful look.
"There WAS band practice tonight," Sunny guessed.
"I am afraid so."
Gregory gave an overdramatic groan as the stomach hatch was opened. "Can't you just do it later?" he asked.
"That would not be fair to my bandmates. Besides, in the long run it would be better to do it now and then have the rest of the evening open than to put it off any longer."
The boy sighed, almost like Roxanne had, and hopped down to the floor. Freddy handed him a bag of tokens from tucked inside his stomach hatch.
"Blimey, Freddy. Ya could've told me. We could've made this fer another night," Foxy pointed out. "I ain't gonna get between yer bandmates and ye."
"No, no! That is not what happened at all! I was simply distracted today and forgot about these plans. We should not take long, go on ahead without me and I will make like a condiment and ketchup later."
"Freddy…" Gregory groaned yet again.
"We'll keep an eye on things, Freddy," Jeremy promised.
"I know you will! I hear you are a very dutiful father yourself… Oh, umm, I mean- I- I should hurry. I will be back soon!" Freddy ruffled Gregory's hair again before turning and all but sprinting across the atrium.
"Roxy must've messaged him to hurry up," Gregory said flatly.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Sunny chimed in. He leaned in close beside Jeremy. "Did you bring any of your little ones today?"
"I'm afraid not. After last time I was just… I'll bring them back sometime." Sunny seemed content with that answer. "How many kids does that daycare pass cover anyways?" Jeremy asked.
"Oooh, thinking of bringing more?" Sunny asked excitedly.
"If it's alright with you. They could use a little time out of the house. We're planning on moving soon and they could use a little fun."
"Aww, of course they can come! Oh, your little dollies are so precious!" the jester gushed. Arriving at the elevator and poking the button before lacing his fingers together in delight. "They're always welcome in my daycare. All I need is a little notice to get ready."
"Thanks," Jeremy said with an almost relieved smile as they boarded the elevator. While he still had a little trepidation being here, he wanted to give his Minimatronics a nice night to hang onto in case moving was as stressful for them as it was going to be for him.
"How long's Freddy known 'bout this band practice?" Foxy asked. He was growing more suspicious that he might have inadvertently distracted Freddy, with him putting everything aside to accompany them. If that was the case, then he wasn't going to feel great about it.
"Not long. Moony reminded him earlier but we couldn't figure out if there was practice or not, and Roxy never showed up, so we just guessed not," Sunny with a little shrug. "But don't worry about it! It won't last long."
"Aye. It just bums me out takin' him away from his band."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I think Freddy could use some time away from his band…"
"That so?"
Sunny didn't elaborate further.
As the elevator doors opened, he went to lead the way out. Only to be cut off by a hand clutching a map shoved through the doorway. Sunny yelped and fell back into Foxy, who had already swiped out his arms and pushed Gregory and Jeremy back. Both reactions revealed to be overreactions as they saw what was standing on the other side of the doors.
"Hi. Please take a map," the Map Bot said. His hand offered out to Sun.
"Ngh…" Sunny reached out for the map. The Map Bot's hand quickly circled around his, map just sliding out of his reach.
"Take a map."
"I'm trying." His hand continued to chase the map. Map Bot's hand continuing to dart around.
"Take a map."
"Jake, I know it's you! Quit it," Sunny huffed.
Map Bot tapped his head with the map before finally handing it over. "You're no fun! You should really lighten up," Jake cheekily replied. The Map Bot's voice switching over to a projection of his own.
"Ha ha har," Sunny said, tossing his head back and forth sarcastically.
"Hey, Jake!" Gregory greeted. He perked up quite a bit hearing Jake's voice, having not seen him in a while.
"Ahoy!"
"Yo."
Foxy and Jeremy greeted respectively. Both with friendly tones and smiles, at least more apparent in Jeremy's case. Sunny was having none of it.
"Put that thing away," he said in a continually huffy tone. "And come back in a better one."
"Can do, Chief," Jake replied. He made Map Bot salute and then began to wheel off into the atrium.
Sunny watched him go suspiciously before beckoning the others, assuming he would catch up with them later.
The group continued into the West Arcade entranceway and into the lobby outside of the arcade. The lighting comfortably dim compared to the atrium which had its overhead lights left on tonight- likely Sun had a hand in that. It was just bright enough that he hadn't rolled over into Moon until he stepped into the entrance. He allowed it to happen and shifted smoothly into his alternate persona before pulling on his cap, beckoning the others, and continuing inside.
Until Jake stepped out from behind the pillar rooted in the middle of the entranceway. Stepping out right into Moon's path.
"Better?"
"DAH!" Moon hopped back in surprise, aghast, beginning to tick deep in his chest at the sight. "What?! What are you doing here?!"
"Well, at first I was coming to keep Foxy company but now it looks like I'll be keeping you company," Jake lightly joked.
"You're heading back to the daycare right now. What if someone sees you?" Moon demanded. Crossing his arms with frustration, digging his fingers into his arms with anxiousness.
"No, come on. I'm already up here and nobody's seen me."
"No, come on. We both know exactly what's going to happen."
"He's no more at risk than any of us," Jeremy pointed out. He clammed up quickly when Moon snapped his head back towards him, though mostly because the snap of his neck looked and sounded painful. Moon shot him an entirely unreadable look.
"He's right, Boyo. Iff'n someone's close enough to see Jake, then they're gonna see this dashing pirate, this equally charming ex-employee, and that there wanted children. Heh, all things considered, I think Jake there'd be the last thing they'd notice," Foxy pointed out.
Moon gave him the look now, accompanied with a disgruntled little noise.
"Nobody will see me. I'll be careful," Jake promised.
"Freddy saw you the last time," Moon reminded. Tilting his head back to him in exasperation.
"That's different. I didn't have to be on my guard with Freddy. Sure, we got a little comfortable, but… It'll be fine. I just… I can't hide in our room forever. I need to get out," he all but pleaded.
Moon stared at Jake for a long moment. Jake returned the look, and though the expressions were entirely frozen there seemed to be a silent disagreement exchanged just through that look alone. Red eyes meeting the lone blue one.
Until finally Moon dropped his shoulders and his head back.
"Tch, fine," he caved. "But be careful. There is no getting comfortable anymore. Monty has made sure of that."
"Believe me, nobody knows that more than me. But if we're lucky, his bandmates will keep him busy… If they can get him out of his green room."
"What's the deal with that?" Moon muttered.
"I think he's got a girl in there," Jake quietly replied.
"Oh, how quaint," Moon scoffed. He waved for the others. "Come in, come in. Before we're all caught."
With that, they headed into the West Arcade. Jeremy went through the full range of emotions. Awe at the sight of the arcade, dread at the sight of Foxy's direct competitors two storied twenty plus times bigger arcade, and then near panic upon seeing the massive animatronic stationed on the stage. Who Foxy was sure to introduce him to as to not sneak him around without his knowledge. But Music Man was as welcoming and friendly as ever.
"Ahoy, DJ! This here's me first mate Jeremy," Foxy introduced. He made sure to keep his arm around Jeremy to assure him. "We've come to see the bee and shoot the breeze. Freddy might be up later."
The DJ gave him a thumbs up before leaning far off the stage and offering his hand to the blond. Jeremy reached out, freezing when the hand moved the slightest bit, and then taking it. Or more just laying his hand on his open palm. DJ shook his hand- shaking his own hand to simulate shaking the human hand on his enormous white glove. It was hard to not notice how gentle he was, and Jeremy smiled at him.
"How's it going, DJ?" he greeted.
The DJ gave him a thumbs up. "Good." He drew his hand back and then pointed down at his soundboard with it, pointed at the dancefloor with a second and twirled it, then held side of his headphones with a third and bounced his head as though to music much livelier than the current techno ambience. "Would you like to dance?"
"Are we gonna dance? Nah, we're hittin' the games," Foxy brushed off.
"We're not really the dancing type," Jeremy excused with an apologetic smile. Hoping to not unintentionally offend the DJ.
Foxy side-eyed Jeremy with the edge of a grin. "Now I wouldn't say that," he said playfully. He leaned over a bit and murmured a low, "But he's prob'ly doesn't watch much TV."
Jeremy figured out what Foxy was implying right away and gave him a barely subtle nudge while giving the DJ a slightly more embarrassed smile.
DJ waggled his finger at Foxy and pointed at him. Then he pointed the finger up and off, then down and across, and a few more times until it was apparent that he was mimicking a disco move instead of pointing off into space.
"You did disco?" Jeremy asked, looking to Foxy with tangible surprise.
Now Foxy was the one who was flustered. "That was Freddy! He's the disco bear. I was just, err, doin' some shuffle thing sorta nearby."
"Was it the Foxy shuffle?" Jeremy teasingly asked. Foxy's eyes lidded in an unamused fashion. "Well, come on. Let's see it. It can't be any worse than whatever I was doing."
"I'm not about to-."
Foxy's objection was promptly cut off by a rather abrupt beat drop before the music dipped into a lower but still thumping electro groove. He snapped his head back to the massive spider who was now bopping his head to the music, having been so quick on the draw that it seemed suspiciously like he was gearing up for it. There was only one way out now.
"Tell ye what, I'll do it… But only if you do yer Pizza Bear dance," Foxy challenged. "What ye say?"
"I say I don't think you realize how much I want to see you do this dance," Jeremy said. Immediately breaking into the classic Freddy's faux-cabbage patch. Knowing without a shred of doubt that Foxy wasn't about to let him down.
And he didn't. He looked absolutely dumbfounded, but he then began to almost defeatedly start to shuffle. After a few seconds he committed to it and stopped dragging his feet, instead buckling down and beginning to break out the dance moves. Putting the effort while attempting to look while he wasn't trying too hard.
Jeremy too fully committed to the pizza bear dance, the Freddy Shuffle, and Foxy shifted gears and dipped into the complementary Bonnie shuffle. The two dances both barely went together and looked like perfect companions in out-of-date mascot jigs.
Gregory snickered at the sight of them. Jake and Moon stared silently before exchanging a look and still no words.
Somewhere along the way Jeremy decided to break the routine and reached out for Foxy's hand and tried to pull him into a spin. Foxy jigged a stumble to the side and joined in, pulling the blond around him in a wide circle. It wasn't the most graceful display but that wasn't the point of it.
It was all for fun. By the end of it both were laughing and falling against each other after eventually tripping over each other. Coming off the dance floor with their arms around each other's shoulders. Staggering like they had been kicking back bottles of rum.
That's when the night truly began. The plan to visit the Hive Arcade was sidetracked immediately once they got into the arcade proper and "Just one game first" soon turned into at least a dozen. While there were plenty of games at Foxy's, this was a chance to play things they didn't have, such as the racing cabinets and the plethora of Freddy-themed clones of popular games from the last decade. By now Foxy had warmed up to the idea of playing their competitor's games so Jeremy had little guilt in joining in.
But it wasn't just them. It was clear from how eagerly Jake inserted himself in and how lively he chatted that he was starved for both socialization and entertainment. Sun and Moon could only do so much, having two new people to tell stories to and break the ice with was a lifesaver. Gregory almost could've been counted as a new face too. They knew each other well enough, but this was really one of the only times they had to hang out with each other without something else going on.
Even though Freddy absence was felt- especially by Foxy and Gregory- they made up for it.
The hourly recharge is what finally reminded them that time was a factor and once the lights kicked back on, they got back on track.
"We're headin' into the Hive to see Bee. Ye comin'?" Foxy invited their companions. Specifically Gregory, who he leaned over on his knees to address in a friendly fashion. "How 'bout you, Lad?"
"No thanks! She's okay, but I don't want to get 'accidentally' stuck in there again," Gregory declined.
"Uh, same. I don't know how she's going to react to this," Jake remarked, gesturing a hand over his mask and self-consciously pulling down the edge of his hood. "But we'll keep an eye on him."
"Four, in fact," Moon added in. He rested his hands on Gregory's shoulders. The boy quirked a brow, almost challengingly, but he neither made an attempt to pull away nor showed any sign of discomfort.
"Then off we shove alone, Captain," Jeremy said.
"Aye. Me crew abandoned me at port," Foxy tsked as he turned to head off. "Keep an eye out fer rabbits an' gators. We'll be back faster than a shark to chum."
"Speaking of rabbits and gatorsss, we'll be heading up to the second floor. Easier to watch for intruders," Moon remarked. He took Gregory's hand, his own wrapping around his hand and wrist easily.
Now while Gregory had gotten accustomed to Marionette doing this, Moon doing this in front of other people- especially Foxy- instantly embarrassed the boy. He could feel his face burning at the thought of everyone thinking he was some little kid.
"You don't have to lead me around like a little kid," Gregory said loud enough for hopefully Foxy to hear and acknowledge it as well.
Moon looked down at him almost in surprise at the outburst. He seemed to consider it for a moment before giving a shrug, a roll of his face, and releasing Gregory's hand.
That is, only to promptly hook his arm around the boy's waist and hoisting him up at his side. Leaving him dangling in the air with his legs kicking and his hands grabbing onto his arm and pants to brace himself.
"This is not what I meant!" Gregory cried. He kicked his legs a little more in defiance as Moon toted him over to the stairs, giggling like a menace as he did so. Eventually Gregory gave up and went limp with an exaggerated groan.
"I'll keep an eye on both of them. Tell Bee we said hi! Or, uh, Sun. Tell her Sun said hi," Jake clarified, then hurried to catch up with them. Stumbling a little on the carpet before following up the stairs.
Foxy and Jeremy watched them go before heading towards the entrance into the Hive.
"Should I be careful in here?" Jeremy whispered.
"I don't trust this Plex fer a second, but Bee seems to have her head on right. But if she gets clingy then we shove off and back in the arcade we go," Foxy replied.
"Shove her off?"
"That too. But not too hard. She's a dame, not a wench."
They arrived at the door to find it closed, but as they approached it opened automatically. The muffled music became much clearer, along with the ambience of clinking coins and jovial chimes from the numerous cabinets. Jeremy stuck his head in and looked around.
"Is this a kiddie casino?"
"Aye."
"That's nice."
He wasn't even surprised to see Freddy's introducing children to gambling early. It was too blatant to even be blackmail material at this point. He let Foxy go first and followed in closely.
Those thoughts aside, the Hive Arcade looked rather neat. The neon honeycomb decals illuminated the semi-dark room and gave off a very techno-futuristic vibe. It both fit in with other parts of the Pizzaplex and yet stood out uniquely. Though the cramped space and numerous machines also made him a little wary. It left for plenty of hiding spots and not much of a window to see something before it jumped out.
Though what jumped out- or slowly rolled out- was something much smaller and less threatening than any rabbit. It was one of the Babees, and Foxy quickly pointed it out to Jeremy who instantly kneeled to greet it as it rolled up to them.
"Hey there, little guy," he welcomed.
"Buzz-buzz!" the Babee replied. It tilted its head back to look up with its big, glossy black alien eyes.
"Aww. Hey."
He offered his hand out to it, then his index finger, waiting to see what it would do. It stared at his finger for a long second before it lifted its stubby arm and poked the tip of his finger with it. That alone told him there was some amount of awareness, he assumed, but his face broke into a wider smile just at how cute it was.
"Ain't that precious," Foxy said. Only half meaning the Babee when he saw Jeremy's giddy smile. "Now don't get too attached yet. If yer getting one, yer gettin' the one she's got fer sale upstairs."
"Are you sure? I could fit this little guy under my shirt," the blond teasingly suggested.
"With me already in the hole? Ye better not."
"I'm pretty tempted. He's really cute," Jeremy gushed. He tapped the stubby arm with his finger, listening as the bee buzzed in a jittery way, like a buzzy giggle.
"Aye, he really is."
Jeremy got back up to follow Foxy back to the stage, with the Babee trailing behind them at a languid and unbothered pace. They found Beelora posed up on her stage the same way she had been when Foxy and Gregory first walked up on her.
"Ahoy, Lass!" Foxy called.
Beelora straightened up out of her pose immediately. She clasped her hands in delight as she peeked through her dark shaded eyelids.
"Foxy! You've come back!" she greeted excitedly. She promptly stepped out of her slots and onto the railing, descending rapidly around the spiral of the stage and spinning while she did so. Her hands still gracefully poised together.
"Said I would, didn't I?" Foxy asked. He watched her swirl around down the railing before stepping back so she would have enough room to stop on the railing in front of him, which she did.
"Well, yes, but I didn't expect it this soon!" She rested her hands in front of her before finally taking notice of the human standing a little behind Foxy. "Oh, and you brought a guest! Who is this?"
"This be me first mate I told ya about," Foxy introduced. He reached an arm back to wave Jeremy in and then put it around him as he stepped up beside him. "Bee, this be Jeremy. Jer'my, this be Beelora."
"Hey, how's it going?" Jeremy greeted. He offered out his hand.
Beelora stared at him.
Jeremy's hand started to slowly slide back.
"Bee," Foxy said a little more firmly. Now staring back at her, not quite liking that sudden fixation.
But suddenly Beelora snapped out of it with a shake of her head.
"Oh! M-My apologies, I was… I must have frozen up, my apologies. It is a pleasure to meet you." Beelora seemed flustered by how quickly she attempted to excuse her actions. She did offer her hand though.
"No problem," Jeremy assured. He took her hand before he could reconsider it, but she simply shook it in a dainty and polite way. He smiled equally politely and stole a look at Foxy, who was still watching Beelora like a hawk.
Beelora tilted her head thoughtfully. "…Have we met?"
"What?" Jeremy's eyes shot back to her. "Us? I don't think so… I've never been up here before."
"Oh. My mistake, you just look familiar to me," Beelora said. She pulled her hand back and rested it at her front. "…I just can't shake the feeling that I've seen you before somewhere. Are you an employee here? Or have you ever worked at Freddy's?"
That question was enough to get both Jeremy's and Foxy's eyes widening and excuses spilling out.
"No, I've never-! I work at Foxy's."
"Nah, ye must be mistaking him fer someone else."
Both answers would've been much less suspicious if they weren't belted out at the same time.
Yet Ballora didn't seem suspicious, just apologetic. "Oh, then I really am mistaken… Sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just thought I recognized you."
"Don't worry about it! It's no big deal, uh…" Jeremy cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. "I-I just met one of your Baby Bees."
"They are wonderful, aren't they? They are such hard workers, keeping the Hive Arcade spotless," Beelora said.
"Ya still got that one fer sale up in the prize counter?" Foxy asked.
Beelora motioned her arms like she was surprised before eagerly clasping her hands together again, the sound of buzzing growing in her chest and betraying her excitement.
"He is, and is still waiting for a home," she said. "Does that mean you will be staying and playing in the Hive tonight?"
"Fer a lil while. At least til Freddy finishes up with band practice," Foxy replied. He turned to Jeremy and gestured a nod towards the stairs. "What say you, Lad? Want to go see the bee 'er will it be waintin' until we've got the coin?"
Jeremy could tell from the fact that he was asking this at all that he was giving him an out. Understandable considering what had just happened, and Jeremy was awfully tempted to get out of there as fast as he could- paranoid that something would end up coming out- but he really didn't want to go. Especially since Beelora wasn't being confrontational but seemed as genuinely sweet as she was made out to be. She had already seemed to shrug it all off.
But Jeremy couldn't help the paranoia creeping up. She recognized him. Was she someone he knew or was his face in Fazbear Entertainment's extensive facial recognition system? He could've been analyzed by the facial recognition software of the Toy animatronics and that was carried over to here, where the Glamrocks were capable of scanning faces and some of them were even refurbished from the old franchise. These didn't have to be the Toys to get the same information.
And since they were supposedly not hiring former employees, they might have the records of someone they let go to make sure they didn't get back in. They could know who he is- it wasn't like his records were entirely secret.
"Not you too. Jer'my?" Foxy quipped.
Jeremy suddenly realized he had been doing the same thing, standing there and staring, and quickly shook it off.
"Sorry, I just was thinking about what cash I brought… But sure, lead the way!" he covered.
"Wonderful. This way!" Beelora gestured to the stairs before riding the rails over to them. "And there's no need to worry! We have change machines both upstairs and down, and they will exchange one, five, ten, and twenty dollar bills for plenty of quarters."
She then stopped at the bottom of the stairs. She stared at them for a long moment. Jeremy felt a sinking feeling at the thought that it was happening again, but that loosened up when she reached for the railing and began to slowly pull herself up the steep track.
"Ya need help there, Bee?" Foxy offered.
"No, no. I do this all the time! But I thank you for the offer," Beelora assured. She gave a little wave over her shoulder before continuing to pull herself up. Jeremy and Foxy exchanged a look but let her do so, patiently and slowly ascending beside her.
Once they got to the top- and nobody brought up the stair climbing once they got there- Beelora guided them over to the prize counter. There Jeremy saw the Babee in the case. It looked just like the one that had been scooting around, but it wasn't moving.
"So, he's just like the one downstairs, right? He's a real animatronic?" Jeremy clarified.
"He is. He just hasn't been activated but will be if you do win him. Though I would suggest taking him home before activation so there is no confusion to where he will be staying," Beelora suggested. "Now then! There are token exchange machines here and downstairs, so you can get started right away. The path to big winnings starts with the first spin!" She did a little spin to punctuate this.
"Sounds good. How much does he cost?" Jeremy asked.
"You can't put a price on luck!" Beelora said with a kindly titter. "Though this Babee can be exchanged for either five hundred Hive coins or for three sets of rainbow crystals, which can be collected from the games as well."
"But if you could put a monetary price on that," Jeremy pressed further.
"It all depends on luck," Beelora assured.
"But let's say I had the worst luck possible."
"Then ya'd never get it," Foxy volunteered.
"Never say never, Captain Foxy! It requires persistence and timing, but anyone will win eventually," the Bee assured. She then rested her hands together almost unsurely. "Now let's see… With the worst luck? With tokens and payout rates as they are… Mmm… I couldn't… imagine it being more than a few hundred… tries!"
Jeremy had a slight suspicion that a few hundred dollars could very well be the total even with reasonably good luck. He sighed and looked at the deactivated Babee sitting in the case. He thought about how the one had acted downstairs and how it might get along with the rest of his little dolls. It was awful cute. He wasn't entirely convinced it was haunted, it likely wasn't, but it could make for a good companion for his group.
He sighed. "Guess I better get started then."
"Wonderful! Let me at least start you off with a few complimentary tokens. It is the least I can do for repeat players," Beelora chirped. She got some from behind the prize counter, wrapped in a very short sample sleeve, and handed it over.
Foxy suspected that she was bribing them to stay, but he wouldn't turn down free stuff. He pointed his hook over to one of the coin pushers. "We'll start with that one. It paid out on me twice."
"Wouldn't that mean it'll be less likely to pay out?" Jeremy asked.
"I ain't entirely convinced any of the others pay out at all."
Jeremy blew him off, literally blowing out through his lips, and headed over to the coin pusher with him. Where they promptly got into an intense analysis on which slot would be the best to drop the token into, especially to get the Hive coins that were almost at the edge.
Beelora rode the track over and stopped behind them to watched. Her hands were raised and clenched with eagerness, waiting for her moment to celebrate even the slightest victory. Things had definitely lightened up and Jeremy was ready to bankrupt himself trying to secure a robotic bee as cute as the one downstairs.
He couldn't shake the weird feeling, but he chose to ignore it.