With no other way down, Gregory made his way back up the vent system and to the West Arcade security room. He didn't bother to replace the vent register once he was back on two feet. He grabbed the security badge almost as an afterthought.

Monty met him in the security room. Gregory said, "Even if she's not there, I think just going there will attract her."

Monty walked with him out into the arcade. "That sounds right, Little guy."

Then, the lights and music went out–all of the lights, save for Monty's eye lights. Gregory gasped and bristled. Monty froze in place.

"Oh no."

Monty took Gregory's hand and kept moving through the silent, dark arcade maze. Gregory squeaked and hid behind Monty as he saw two lavender disks begin to glow a few yards away. They stopped. He turned his flashlight up onto orange and yellow and red plastic and a shiny black bowtie and hat, cyan claws, a studded wristband, and white fangs that still gleamed despite how scuffed the rest of him had become.

Monty gently released Gregory and patted the boy's chest to urge him back behind him. "Freddy. What're you doin' here?"

Freddy's eyes went down at met Gregory's. His music box trilled and a light flashed in his endoskeleton.

Monty snapped, "Answer me, Fazbear!"

The music stopped and the lights went out. For a moment, Freddy looked at Monty. Then, his eyelights went out as well, showing only the shine of two little red bulbs.

Monty barked, "Get outta here, kid!" He lunged at Freddy and threw them both sideways with a hefty roar. Freddy snarled back.

Gregory darted past the quarreling animatronics, wincing as he heard them crash into one of the arcade cabinets. He paused at the stairs and looked back. Monty's eyes, no longer hidden beneath glasses, shed a glow over Freddy's face. No camera, then. The alligator pinned him to the ground. Freddy's paw flashed out of the black, grabbed him by the snout, and shoved him into the arcade cabinet.

"Run! Gregory, run! Go!"

Gregory shook his head and continued down the spiral stairs. If anyone could fight the animatronic bear, it was the one with the enhanced claws.

A headache crept up on Gregory and whatever was left of his senses started to break. Two big red eyes gleamed in the dark. "This is your fault!" he accused, stopping in the middle of the cabinet area as he found his way blocked.

The white rabbit stepped forward. "Freddy is only trying to help~! Monty seems to be malfunctioning. Don't worry. Freddy will neutralize him, and the maintenance crew will bring him back to be fixed later. In the meantime, you can come with me. You won't need to worry about any more scary, malfunctioning animatronics with me."

Gregory looked around the arcade maze as he continued to back up. She currently stood between him and the elevator. "M-Monty's gonna win and he'll come back, and we'll escape!"

"Monty wouldn't hurt Freddy. He wouldn't hurt the star of the show unless he wants to get disassembled." The white rabbit continued to advance, skipping merrily forward. "Monty's replaceable. People will forget about him. Just like they forgot about Bonnie. Like they'll forget about you if they haven't already."

Gregory's back hit the wall. Numb with terror, he barely registered how close she was. Then, he found a space to the left and the right as he'd escaped the hall of arcade cabinets the white rabbit had backed him into.

He darted to the left and dashed for the elevator.

"Gregory!" she yelled and ran after him.

He ran through the dark, unable to see through tear-blurred eyes with his meager maintenance flashlight and the headache that muddled his senses further. He bounced off the golden statue of the band but managed to stay on his feet and staggered into the brightly lit elevator. He slammed into the "shut elevator" button and it whirred to life.

His headache eased and he took long, deep breaths as he leaned against the elevator wall. "Hey, superstars!" Freddy's voice boomed above him, and Gregory nearly jumped out of his skin. "It's me, Freddy! Welcome to the Mega Pizzaplex! Grab a jumbo slice of pepperoni and top it off with an ice-cold Fizzy Faz. Then enjoy our super games and attractions. Don't forget to drop by Rockstar Row and meet me in person! Have fun and have a Faz-eriffic day!"

Gregory groaned and rested his head back against the shuddering wall. "I hate this stupid mall."

He decided to loiter in front of the elevator to the West Arcade for a few moments before making his way to Roxy Raceway. He asked, "Monty? Are you there? Are you okay?"

…

"He'll call you back, I'm sure. He definitely won't forget about you, Gregory."

Yeah, I guess you're right.

He walked in silence.

"I remember something."

Pulled from his dark thoughts, Gregory perked up. What do you remember?

"Something weird. It's not from my life, but it kind of is. The white rabbit talked about being forgotten. You know that I've forgotten quite a lot. But I'm starting to… remember things. The longer we're here, the more I remember. But the things I'm beginning to remember… aren't good."

Gregory grimaced. …like?

"I remember the white rabbit… I remember… needing Freddy, and him not being there. Or, he was there and she–but it's so confusing because it's like I'm trying to remember two things at once. Then I remember the Pizzaplex was dark. Which, it's always dark at night. But I specifically remember it was dark one night. Power outage, maybe? It's confusing."

His eyebrows furrowed. Yeah, sounds like it.

Beep! Gregory immediately tapped his glasses. [Hey, kid? You okay?]

"Yeah, I'm fine! The rabbit lady was there, but I got away from her. Are you okay? Where are you?"

Beep! [The rabbit lady was there? Where?]

"The bottom story, by the stairs. I think she was using Freddy to chase me to her. But it's fine! I got away!"

Beep! […well, as long as you got away. I'm okay. You're going to Roxy Raceway?]

"Yep! I'm almost there!"

Beep! [I'll meet you there, then.]

"Okay. You're going to be okay, though, right?" He couldn't help but remember the white rabbit's words. Even if she was a liar, she might have been telling him the truth just then since the truth would be scarier than lying. "The rabbit lady said that–"

Beep! [Don't listen to anything she says. She's a liar. Whatever she said about me or Freddy probably ain't true. I'll be fine, Little guy. I'll meet you at the Raceway.]

"…okay."

Gregory passed through the hallway to the raceway, stopping only to wait for the shutters to the raceway to open and allow him entry. He bristled upon hearing the thump-thump-thump of heavy plastic feet on the ground, but when he turned to face the noise, it was only Monty.

Monty, whose snout was twisted into a snarl, part of his mohawk missing, shell further dented, and the tip of his tail crooked. But he'd recovered his glasses–one lens cracked, and the bridge bent–and was able to wear them and he still walked perfectly fine.

They should get Roxy.

Well, Gregory needed a go-kart. Surely, there would be one next to the racetrack, right? With this information in mind, he walked to the end of the room, peered out into the open space to be sure Roxy wasn't around there, and walked to the racetrack. He passed a cutout of Helpy in racer gear with his hand up saying, "You must be at least this tall to ride." Gregory passed under it.

Whatever, there weren't any adults around. He didn't need to follow any rules without an adult around to stop him!

Around a bend in a clear area sat a go-kart with a racing-gear-covered S.T.A.F.F. bot on it. Another cart sat further back, empty of a driver assist. He ran up to the empty one. Yes! Roxy would probably come back soon enough, so all he needed was to drive out. She'd see him, get mad there was a go-kart on the track or whatever, and then jump off right in front of him! Genius plan.

Well, that was until he tried to get into it.

Monty pointed out, his voice box glitching a little, "Little guy, y-yer a little small to be on one-one o' these karts alone. You'll n-need one o' the assist bo-bots."

Gregory looked up at him. "What? Seriously?"

Monty nodded. "Yes, seriously!" he answered, his voice tinged with a nearly offended hardness. "We take-take safety real seriously here-re. B'sides, you'll-ll also need a-a helmet."

Stupid safety regulations! "Can't you go with me?" Gregory asked.

The animatronic alligator shook his head. "Nope. I'm too bi-big. Sorry, Little guy-uy."

Gregory sighed and backed off from the empty go-kart. He gave the one with the driver assist the side-eye. "Fine. Where are the helmets, anyway?"

He sat in the go-kart in front of the start line. He wore his dirty coat zipped up rather than off and wrapped around his neck. Bonnie's purple head and ears poked out of the coat under his chin. He didn't have a clear sight of where he was going, but he did know where the edges of the track were, and he had the driver assist. Monty carefully patted the back of the go-kart. "Break a leg!"

"I'll try not to!" Gregory grinned back at him and started the go-kart. The animatronic alligator laughed and stepped back. Then he was off, driving through the racetrack, careful not to go full speed and concentrating on the track. He heard another set of wheels on the track and looked back. Roxy stayed perched on top of the go-kart itself, balancing with both feet on the seat, one hand on the steering wheel, and the other held out. Gregory bristled and looked ahead again. So, she wasn't going to jump in front of his go-kart. Big deal, Plan B–

Roxy yelled and swiped her hand inches above his head. Gregory's go-kart jolted and something hid the track with a harsh thud behind them. He looked back to see the Driver Assist leaning back, headless. Roxy's go-kart jerked under her at the awkward shift of weight, so she slowed a little to readjust but was soon closing in.

Keen not to get too close to Roxy, he dove right. "Get back here!" Roxy yelled, slowing as she regained her balance again. "You are not better than me!"

Gregory glanced behind himself once at her and then ahead. If he stayed out of reach of her claws and stayed ahead, he could beat her in her own race. Or at least make her think as much…

As they took a turn and Gregory, ill-experienced, had to slow a little, Roxy got closer and swiped at him. She wobbled and her go-kart fell behind just a little farther as Gregory raced ahead again. As they crossed over the overpass, Roxy took a different approach and tried to get her go-kart as physically close to his as possible to nudge it off. He winced upon hearing the shrill squeal of the side of his go-kart against the side rail. He pushed back just a little, heart pounding as his go-kart wobbled beneath him. He ducked under her teeth and escaped as they fell back to the floor level.

Gregory spotted the finish line ahead. How many laps had they gone?

By the look in Roxy's yellow eyes, how her head suddenly snapped forward and ears perked, he knew they were on the last lap.

Completely ignoring Gregory, she urged her little go-kart to go faster, leaning forward with her head down and jaws slightly parted, her mane and tail waving in the wind.

The boy decided to slow down a little and go directly behind her.

Roxy screamed as her go-kart dove nose-first into the ground and threw her. She tumbled but managed to hop back on her feet, digging her nails into the ground to stop her momentum as quickly as possible.

Gregory, however, was not a giant neigh indestructible hunk of metal and plastic and probably would not get out of a collision unscathed. He whipped his go-kart around to avoid hers. As he felt the wheels of his go-kart leave the ground, he abandoned ship and rolled hard across the pavement. He looked up just in time to see Roxy, standing firm before him as if ready to lunge, get hit hard.

Roxy tumbled back, nearly rolling over herself completely before gravity overtook momentum and she crashed through the far wall.

Surprised at the sudden hole in the earth, Gregory got to his feet and walked up to the hole. He climbed over broken bars and pipes and some boxes before landing on the ground near her. The wolf pushed and clawed at the go-kart a few times in her dying throes before going still. The driver assist had disappeared. Good thing we weren't on that.

"No kidding."

Gregory walked up to her, on his toes and ready to jump back. Her limbs were all tangled up in the go-kart that pressed her against the wall. Her faceplate warped and bent inward, revealing her eyes skewed in odd angles. He narrowed his eyes and pulled them out way too easily. "You have special eyes," he mused aloud. "That means you'll want them back more than anyone else. And if you want them back, you're going to need to stop trying to kill me. Besides, they look like they'll need to be fixed, anyway."

He threw a look around. "Now how do I get out of here?" Construction equipment blocked him off at one side. The other side had a doorway, but it was blocked off by wood. He approached the doorway. Maybe he could get this wood off somehow? Or break enough of it to slip through?

He bristled upon hearing a loud creak and looked back. Roxy shoved the go-kart off of herself and got to her feet. He turned his flashlight on her. The pitiful light gleamed off the remaining shell on her muzzle twisted into a snarl. Her tail bounced limply between her legs as she stalked forward.

"Roxy?"

She roared and charged at Gregory, waving her clawed hands and opening her toothy jaws. Gregory jumped out of the way just in time to miss her. She crashed straight through the wooden door without slowing down. "I can hear you!" she warned.

Gregory tip-toed inside. Her ear swiveled back, then her whole head, and she roared and charged him again. He ran and ducked under a hole in the cement wall of the small, cluttered room. She ran through the metal door of that room and into a larger room lined with rocket rides, tub containers, a laundry tub, boxes, and more clutter. The door here was blocked off. Gregory bolted to the wooden door. She broke through that door, too.

"Roxy!" he called. "Let me talk!"

"There you are!" she snarled and turned on him.

He darted around a wooden table with empty paint cans, but she followed his fear-clumsy steps. "Would you just stop and listen?"

Roxy growled and charged him again.

He pushed through a metal door and ran into a blocked wooden one. He side-stepped it just fast enough to keep from being mowed down by Roxy, who broke through it and ran into a room full of fire.

Oh, like he was going in there.

"Roxy, stop! I have your eyes!" Gregory yelled from the doorway. "And you won't get them back if you kill me!"

Roxy, who'd turned toward him again, poised herself to spring but stayed put. "What's stopping me from taking them from you?"

"The fact you can't fix yourself?" Gregory scoffed.

Roxy growled and waved her tail.

After a moment of silence elapsed, Gregory went on, "I can fix you. I will, but only if you promise not to hurt me."

Roxy twitched her ear. She stalked forward so that she was in front of him, looming over the boy. Unlike Freddy or any of the endos, the little red eye lights in her endoskeleton stayed off. "How am I supposed to trust you won't run off the second I get you to safety?"

"You're faster than me," Gregory stated bluntly. "Besides, I promised Monty and Chica I would help you. You trust them, don't you?"

Roxy's hands lowered a little. "Monty and Chica?"

"Yes," Gregory said. "I helped them when the white rabbit tried to kill Chica and me and Monty… fell off the balcony. I said I'd help you."

Roxy growled, "If this is a trick, you'll regret it." She hesitated. "…but fine." She reached out and waved her paw until she grabbed Gregory by the shoulder. He tried to duck away, but she grabbed him, hoisted him off the ground, and held him under her arm like a football. "I'll take us to Parts and Service." She twitched her ear.

"Are you sure you can get there?" Gregory asked.

"Of course I can!" Roxy snapped. She walked forward and immediately smacked into the doorway leading out. She barked, "Who put that there?!" Gregory winced and recoiled as he nearly hit the other doorway.

The time was five-forty am.

Eventually, they made it back to Roxy's green room and through her door to the elevator.

Roxy held onto the rail on the stairs with her free hand. She dropped Gregory unceremoniously and made her way to the protective cylinder.

Gregory, muttering under his breath, got up, took off his coat, tied it around his waist, and went to the computer. "You're so lucky I'm not going to break your legs. See you chase me, then." Unfortunately, the power was out. So, he had to walk all the way back to the power room by the kitchen and back.

He set Bonnie down on the terminal. The computer bot declared, "Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure." A list of upgrades showed, but Gregory pressed the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. The computer announced, "Preparing for repair procedure." A pause. "You may now enter the protective cylinder."

By now, Roxy lay on the red and white chair. She lay still and at his mercy, like Chica and Monty.

She needed her eyes back. He didn't see any actual damage to her endoskeleton. She'd demonstrated her ability to walk, run, and carry Gregory so he doubted anything else was broken. Anything he could fix, anyway. For now, it was just the eyes.

"It seems that Roxy is under the weather. We can fix that later. For right now, we can focus on her eyes. Let's begin by removing Roxy's faceplate. Press Roxy's snout to remove skull housing."

Gregory poked her snout, close to her nose, and withdrew his hand. Machine arms swooped down to take apart her face–her ears, the top of her mane, faceplate, and snout.

"Great. Plug the replacement eyes into the open eye sockets."

The boy took the eyes out of his pocket and fitted them back on. One kept trying to roll over, but once he'd attached it, the eyes stayed facing forward. With her endoskeleton bared and her bottom jaw with sharp teeth left, her eyes were way out of place.

"Well done. Reattach the ocular connector wires. It is important that you make no mistakes." The computer beeped out colors and he connected the colorful wires that had been damaged and torn out. Though a little more complex than reattaching a voice box, he managed to completely reattach her eyes.

"It is time to close the faceplate."

Gregory waited for more instructions, but none came. So, he poked the place where the bridge of her nose would be and retracted his hand. The machine put back on her broken faceplate, snout, ears, and hair. Although her shell was still warped and broken, and she stared at him with a permanent snarl, she could see again. Hopefully, she would act better.

The machine's arms retracted. The chair pulled up so Roxy sat in a way that Gregory could see her eyes. The arm with four colored buttons swooped down. "Red." The red button on the pad flashed. Her eyes darted from side to side and up and down with each button press. A pattern of four colors flashed before dulling.

"Testing phase complete. Scanning for irregularities."

…

"Scanning complete. It seems Roxy's basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Roxy will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice. Activating safety protocols. Rebooting in Safe Mode."

Gregory left the protective cylinder and went to the computer to complete the procedure and retrieve Bonnie.

The protective cylinder opened again. Roxy waited for it to open before leaving. Her tail still bounced limply between her ankles and her head stayed down. Still, she looked around at her surroundings and then at Gregory. She eyed him. "It was you."

"Er… maybe?"

Roxy stood up straight and ran her fingers through her broken mane. She wrapped an arm around her cracked chest. "I'm broken, aren't I? I can't defeat a child. I couldn't find him. I'm ugly. I'm a mess. I'm just a loser." She put a hand to her snout and a sob raked her body.

"Er, no you're not," Gregory tried. "You're, uh… well, nothing stops you, right?"

"Right," she grumbled and hiccupped. She closed her eyes and put both hands on her snout. He was almost afraid she'd break it off if she put any more pressure on it.

The double red doors opened. Monty walked in, Chica stumbling behind him. Chica called, "Roxy! Oh, there you are!"

Monty greeted, "You're ok-okay!"

Roxy's ears flattened and released her muzzle. "He said he promised you he'd help me. But…" Then her eyes went up again. "What happened?"

Monty lashed his tail. "Kid sa-says it's the-the white r-rabbit. The virus sh-she made th-that's makin' us act cra-crazy, which is-is right since it m-made me attack him-m and ended up-p throwin' me off the-the balcony from the Prize-ze Counter."

Chica chipped in, "And she turned on the garbage compactor with me inside to get at Gregory. But he fixed us both."

Gregory chipped in, "You were really competitive before, but she must have made you really crazy, too."

Roxy growled, "She's the reason this happened to me?"

"Probably, yeah," Gregory said. "I'm trying to get away from her. We… don't know where she is. She just kind of appears."

Roxy twitched her ear. "We'll find her. If you want to get out, why haven't you?"

"The doors are locked until six am, or I need seven security badges to leave–which I have, now," Gregory explained. "But I wanted to fix you, first."

The time was five-fifty am.

Roxy stared at the double red doors. "The Daycare Attendant!"

Gregory scoffed, "Why don't we just hide in a charging station?"

Monty didn't take his eyes off the doors. "'cause the-the chargin' stations are off f-fer the last-t ten minutes of-f the hou-hour."

"Oh."

Monty turned to Gregory. "It's n-nearly six am. L-let's get you-you to the fr-front doors."

Gregory nodded and followed Monty up the stairs. Roxy's head turned up. "He's in the vents!"

"So that's how he keeps following us!" Gregory exclaimed as they ran down Roxy's hall. He climbed into Monty's chest cavity, and they entered her elevator together. He climbed out once they were outside, as he knew they'd be quicker on foot.

The time was five-fifty-one am.

Rockstar Row led them into the atrium and up onto the first-story balcony to the first set of elevators. Gregory flashed a look at the entrance to the hall leading to the Daycare as they ran through the main entrance.

The time was five-fifty-seven am.

Gregory climbed through a turn still. He waited for Monty to run around through a larger one and meet him at the front doors.

The time was six am.

Predawn sunlight trickled through the door, though the black of the night still dominated the sky. Moonlight and streetlamps glowed over the parking lot. The wind whistled. He gave the glass door a testing press, and the chilly glass yielded to his touch. Gregory laughed. "Monty! It's open! Let's go!"

"No. Sorry, k-kid. But I c-can't leave."

Gregory looked back, confused. "Of course you can! Come on! Come on, we can hide you somewhere."

But the sad look didn't leave Monty's eyes. His scraped-up tail slithered slowly across the floor from one side to the other. "Without a-a re-recharge station, I'd-d shut d-down right qu-quick. It's a s-safety precaution-n. An' you're a-a brilliant k-kid, but I'll fi-find a way to b-break myself in a w-way even yo-you won't be able to fi-fix. We found a-a way to get y-you out of here, Little guy. That's wh-what matters. Now…" Monty hesitated and looked away. He bowed his head and sighed before looking at Gregory again. "Don't co-come back, al-alright? It ain't s-safe fer ya here. It never w-will be. We'll l-look fer that r-rabbit as best we can-can. But if she's been here this-this long doin' what she's bee-been doin'… Jus' st-stay safe, alright? I'll mi-miss ya." He crouched so that he was at eye level with Gregory and gently ruffled the knitted hat on Gregory's head. The kid ducked and let out a half-hearted chuckle that quickly died.

Gregory hugged Bonnie tighter to himself. "Monty, if I leave now, nothing will change, will it? There will be more disappearances."

Monty thought for a moment before saying, "Maybe. We'll tr-try our best, Little guy-uy."

Gregory looked out the windows again. This is what he'd spent all night trying to do. All these bruises and scrapes he'd collected, the trauma, the sneakiness, and the plans he initiated, everything he learned, the enemies he went up against, the friends he made… everything led up to this moment. So, he turned back to Monty. "I'll miss you, too. Bye." He pulled his filthy coat back on and stuffed Bonnie inside so his eyes, nose, and ears poked out the top.

"Bye-ye, Little guy."

Gregory shivered as he passed through the short space between the doors.