The computer bot who helped him in Parts and Service called, "The West Arcade was not shut down properly. Some data may be corrupted. Initializing start-up sequence. Before proceeding, reset the audio manager circuit breaker, located next to the dance floor."
That breaker by the DJ!
Chica exclaimed, "Gregory, the security system locked you out. We need to reset the breakers and restore power to the West Arcade as quick as we can."
"Got it!" Nothing had moved, no one had entered–that he could see–but the backup lights came online. Gregory ran, glancing around at his surroundings now dipped in blood. He kept a lookout but didn't see Vanny as he moved to the stairs. Chica stopped following.
On the little raised platform by the stage on the dance floor, the breaker switch's light glowed red. So, he pulled it down. It clicked and the circle and the lightning bolt glowed green. The lights went out completely and the neon walls turned on bright. Electric music boomed through the arcade. Something shuffled rather quickly. He looked beside himself.
The DJ was gone.
The computer voice said, "Great job. Safety protocols deactivated."
Oh, come on!
"Pram zapped. Brun DJ protocols. Reticulating splines. Please reset the breakers to all zones. Three zones remain: Janitorial service. Arcade. Arcade."
Neon lights and arcade screens threw multicolored light across the floor, walls, and arcade cabinets. Still, the darkness was deep, and the shiny, dark dance floor sucked up the light that shone on it. Gregory clicked on his flashlight to make his navigation of the place possible.
He ran through a swinging door and checked the girl's bathroom. Nope. He checked the boy's bathroom. A door led off into a janitor's closet. A breaker clung to the wall. He pulled it down immediately.
"Two zones remain: Arcade. Arcade."
Gregory stepped out into the bathroom and froze. The bathroom door opened, revealing DJ Music Man's head cocked to the side so both eyes could stare in. His head retreated, replaced by a gloved hand reaching in. Gregory ran around to the other door. When DJ Music Man's arm extended fully inside, the boy darted out straight under his legs and toward the arcade.
He ran around to the lower arcade, searching the walls.
Then, a nearby roar broke through the blaring music, and a huge green and purple shape rushed out of the bowels of the arcade and landed before him.
Gregory yelped and held up his flashlight to Monty's face.
Monty cackled. "You got on the DJ's bad side, little guy. Not good." The mirth died from his voice. "Switch is over there. I'll keep lookin'." He pointed to the wall behind himself and hopped off further into the arcade. Gregory could barely hear Monty's feet hit the ground under the blaring music. Gregory put a hand to his chest. At least warnhim, first!
Gregory shook himself off and darted through the small maze of arcade cabinets on the left side of the lower floor. The switch glowed red on the wall.
Ka-chunk!
"One zone remains: Arcade."
Gregory looked up to see DJ Music Man crawling out of a giant, lit-up hole in the wall.
Welp, time to move.
Gregory bolted for the spiral staircase. He ran deeper into the arcade, away from the repair bot tunnel. Roxy ran on the bridge coming from the opposite direction of him. She jabbed her thumb back. "On the wall close to the bridge. Steer clear of the 'bot."
"Thanks!" He called to her as they resumed their running–Roxy far outpacing Gregory and vanishing into the arcade cabinet maze within moments.
He did need to duck out of sight as a security bot rolled through the very thin walkway. It turned around before it could make its way to the stairs and rolled back. Gregory followed it at a distance until he got to the lever and pulled that down, too.
"Rerouting encryptions. Almost done. There is a software update available. Reset the final circuit breaker located at the south end of the arcade maintenance hallway."
Gregory ran back over the bridge and wove through the arcade cabinets. He burst through the door to the maintenance hallway, ran down the hall, and turned down the elbow. Arcade cabinets and equipment sprinkled through a long hallway with a giant circular hole at the end wall. At the end of the hall, he spotted a lonely arcade cabinet pressed against the wall. Princess Quest II. The screen glowed like the first game, asking to be played. A weird feeling overcame him looking at it. A cutout of Bonnie in a sailor's uniform and bandana, covered in seafoam, leaned against the wall on its side. Free of danger for the moment, hopefully, Gregory ran to the breaker. He took a few deep breaths and stayed still long enough to regain someenergy. Then, he grabbed the last breaker and pulled it down.
The music reached a crescendo and then paused as if holding its breath.
The ground shook and from the giant hole in the wall emerged DJ Music Man. The ground shuddered as he emerged.
Gregory ran.
Arcade cabinets fell over, and stuff fell from the ceiling or walls or from behind him as the DJ tossed broken machines to block his path. He still managed to find a path, but with each turn he had to make, or time needed to slow down, the DJ got closer.
Finally, Gregory broke free of the hall and took a turn. As he ran to the security door, he glanced behind himself to see the DJ in the hall.
He shut the door behind himself.
…
The noises within the hall died down. The lights came on–enough that he no longer needed his flashlight.
He let out a breath and turned off his flashlight. Good. Gregory pocketed the tool and walked back into the hallway. As the fear of the chase subsided, curiosity filled its place. He walked to the end and approached the Princess Quest II arcade cabinet. He could have sworn the last time he'd seen it, it was broken or powered off, and the note he'd gathered about it confirmed it indeed did not work. Yet here it was, screen glowing in gentle yellow light, inviting him to play. There was that weird feeling again, the same one he had when he played Balloon World and the first Princess Quest Game.
Beep! [Gregory? Are you okay? Where are you?]
"I'm fine," he reassured whoever contacted him. "I'm just down the hall. Remember how I beat Balloon World? And Princess Quest? I think there's something special about these arcade cabinets."
Beep! [Really? Like what?]
"I don't know. Something. It's the second…"
Beep! [Key?]
"Key?" he asked, taken out of his thoughts enough to concentrate on his chat log. "What gave you that idea?"
Beep! [Just an idea. I'll talk to you later!]
"Okay. Talk to you later."
Beep! [Hey, Gregory? Monty and Roxy are out in the arcade. You're not in the office?]
He bit back a sigh. Couldn't bots talk to each other? "I'm just down the hall. I'm gonna play this arcade game. It's… like that first one I was talking about. I'll be super quick."
Beep! [Okay. Just as long as you're safe!]
Gregory set Bonnie on the cabinet, grabbed one of the knobs, and pressed "START".
This time, the princess had a sword. She could light the braziers with her sword if they needed lighting. The goopy bunny heads and bipedal bunnies died on her sword, though the bipedal ones needed three swings than the round ones who died after two. At one point, she walked into a room, black save for an aura of light around her and single white orbs with pupils scattered in the dark. When she got close, they spat glowing white balls at her. These were a little difficult to dodge, but she managed. Those little turret bunnies took one hit. At one point, there was a room with purple, red, and gold braziers. When he hit the yellow one, the fire died almost immediately, when he hit the red one, a "shadow" princess, the same as the one he played save for being purple, appeared. When the princess moved, the shadow princess moved in the opposite direction. Both braziers had to be lit at the same time to create the bridge necessary to proceed. The shadow princess blinked out of existence once the puzzle was completed. There was one similar, but instead of lighting the trio of braziers on either side of a red one, they had to be lit in a certain order to move them into a certain pattern. Well, all of them had to be lit, but then a hidden yellow and a hidden purple brazier would be revealed and would un light itself each time it was hit after moving the other three braziers. The last room after that was the old red man, presumably the king, standing close to her bed.
"Congratulations! Your quest is done. It is time to sleep."
But the stone door at the end… it was covered in purple pixels scattering and changing positions. Was it glitched? When the princess entered, the screen immediately changed. Now, she stood in a security office, like the first one Gregory had been in when fleeing Monty in the utility tunnels. She stood, unable to move in the small space. Then, the game ended, and the arcade cabinet shut off. The weird feeling faded, just as it had with the previous games.
He met Chica in the security room. "Even if she's not here now, sticking around will just attract her, I think."
Chica nodded. "That makes sense. Especially if this place is special to her somehow. Okay, let's hurry."
Gregory escaped the security room and maintenance hall at a quick pace.
They made it a few turns in before the lights and music went out– all of the lights, save for Chica's eyes. Gregory gasped and bristled. Chica froze in place.
"Oh no."
Beep! [Hide. Get out of sight. Now.]
Gregory looked around and dove into a kiddy cart nearby. Under the mesh of the cart's top, he could see Chica's deep blue light. Two tiny red dots glowed to the left. Gregory hugged Bonnie hard to his chest. His fingers ran over his Fazerblaster stuck into his pocket.
"Freddy!" Chica exclaimed, her voice light and chipper. "It's been forever since I've seen you after work!"
The red dots stopped. Silence met her words.
Chica's eye lights shifted and the clunk-clunk of plastic of her tapping her fingers together preluded her speech. "So, it has been a while." Her voice lost its cheer and dipped into a serious tone he couldn't rightly match with her. "I'm sorry. You've been alone and I haven't done anything to help you. I haven't even tried. Something is wrong. With all of us. And it's not your fault."
Plastic slid over plastic and Chica dipped her head. "You've been an amazing friend to me, Freddy. You're kind, you're calm, you're always willing to listen. You're so compassionate and wise. You love helping people, even people who don't like you as much as they should. And you're selfless and brave. You wouldn't hurt anyone. Not us. Especially not a child."
The red dots moved, but only slightly. Freddy growled out, "You know where the child is."
Chica looked up. She stood up straight. Her eyes reached the top of his chest, just like Monty. The alligator probably had the same endoskeleton as Freddy but without the ears. She stated, "Yes, I do."
"Where is he?"
"I'm not going to tell you."
The red dots moved. Chica's deep blue eyes tipped back and shone off his polished bowtie and teeth and dirty muzzle and chest. Freddy said, "That boy's mine. You three can conspire or play on your own. But I'm delivering him to Vanessa. Not you, not that dog, that traitorous gator, or the blue S.T.A.F.F. bot. As leader of this band, it's my right and responsibility."
Chica opened her beak. It shut with a hard snap as shiny cyan claws forced her faux mandibles together. A moment of silence passed. The claws shifted and more of his fingers were revealed. Plastic scraped over plastic as his thumb scratched the bottom of her beak when he released her bottom mandible. She stated, "…I won't hurt you, Freddy. I refuse to. But if it makes you feel better, that's okay. I still won't give you the child."
Plastic creaked as the cyan claws pressed down harder and sunk into the chicken animatronic's orange beak.
Gregory's eyes went wide, and he barely kept himself from making a noise.
Beep! [Gregory, stay still and quiet. Do not move, whatever happens.]
"Gregory, whatever he does, he can't actually break her. He wouldn't."
Freddy growled, "Where is the child? You are already a poor singer. I can make 'no' the last word you ever say."
Chica stared back, hands at her side. "No. You'll do something you'll regret, and I can't let you do that. I can't let you hurt the child."
Creeeeaaarrrrrk
Freddy hissed, "I do not have all night, Chica. I will not regret following orders. You are the one disobeying staff orders. Tell me where the child is."
"No. You're my best friend, Freddy. You have been since we were created. But something is wrong with you. Something's wrong with all of us. I'm not going to let you hurt this child."
A snarl built in Freddy's chest and then was suddenly cut off. "The others are here," he stated. "I will just ask them, then."
Chica's eyes narrowed. "And do you expect them to help you? I want to help you because you're my friend, Freddy!" Her voice cracked and she shut her eyes. She opened them again and her voice calmed. "As you're friend, I–"
Ssshhcccrrreeeeiiikkk!
Thump.
Gregory put a hand to his mouth.
An object just larger than his fist hit the ground in front of his stroller. Chica stepped back, eyes wide. Her eye lights gleamed off her white face plate and fell into the void left behind by her missing beak.
Freddy's muzzle glowed in blue light from his own eyes, pupils a light aqua like the sea on a tropical beach rather than Chica's, like a midnight lake.
Freddy's ears fell and he raised a paw to his muzzle. "Chica?" he croaked out. "Oh, Chica, I… I am terribly… sorry…"
Chica tipped her head. She croaked out static.
Freddy looked down at his claws. He closed his hands and brought them closer to himself. He looked at her. "Chica, I am broken. Please take me to the engineer team."
Chica nodded. She picked up her beak and walked with Freddy.
"Wait."
I know. Gregory stayed perfectly still.
Beep! [Gregory! Freddy and I just left the Arcade. Monty and Roxy will meet you on the lower story.]
"Okay." Gregory popped out of the stroller and clicked on his flashlight. Then, he hesitated and pulled up his glasses. "Hey, kid?" he whispered. "Evan? Are you here?"
A long moment passed before a kid stepped up beside him, barely visible in the edge of his flashlight's glow. "What do you need, Gregory?" His voice was choppy, quiet.
"Is Freddy going to be okay, you think? Is he going to kill me?"
Evan's eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you asking me?"
Gregory shrugged. "I dunno. You've been here longer. I just figured you'd know."
The spirit looked out into the dark arcade in the direction of the elevator and then nodded. "Just be smart. And… and free Freddy, okay? Just please make sure he's not being controlled."
Gregory grinned. "Yeah, of course! I'll fix him, and then we'll make a plan to go against Vanny! She's hiding in Fazerblast and there's something else in Roxy's Raceway. But she's definitely hiding in Fazerblast. I'll talk to the others once I put Freddy in Safe Mode. Then Vanny won't be able to control Freddy again."
"Good idea. Thank you."
Gregory raised an eyebrow. "You're really focused on Freddy, huh?" He glanced down at the yellow toy in his arms. "Is it because of that?"
Evan looked down at Fredbear. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and, after a very long moment, he slowly nodded. "I guess so. Yeah. Kinda. The others are probably missing you."
"Oh, right." Gregory started forward. He glanced back and found, surprisingly enough, Evan walking at his side. "Do you know much about Vanny's plans? Or does anyone else here? Like, other spirits or whatever?"
Evan shook his head. "Most of the other kids are too scared to go back, or to talk about it. I wasn't killed by her. Most of the kids who aren't afraid of Vanny weren't killed by her. There is one girl who was killed by Vanny and isn't afraid of her. She doesn't like talking to the rest of us, though. She thinks we're boring. I'll try talking to her. Maybe she'll have something to tell you."
"But you… live here. If they know, why don't you? Can't you just follow her?" Gregory walked down the spiral stairs.
Evan shrugged. "I don't know. There's something about Vanny… it's like only certain people can see her. And if we can't see her, it's harder to follow her."
They landed on the lower story. A set of glowing umber eyes and gold eyes turned to him from deeper in the dark. Gregory put on his glasses.
Evan said, "I should…" His voice trailed off. His lips continued to move as if he were speaking, but his voice… ended.
"What? Bonnie, can you hear him?"
"…"
Bonnie? Gregory glanced down at the stuffed toy.
Roxy yelled, "Kid! Get over here!"
He jumped. A headache crept up on him. He winced and narrowed his eyes, concentrating on what was before him as something tried to separate his mind from his senses. He sucked in his breath and whipped his flashlight around. Evan vanished from his side.
Perched on the balcony above him, watching him with giant red eyes with claw-thin pupils, was the patchy white rabbit. She didn't wave or laugh or call or tip her head to flop her ears. She stared at him, holding onto the railings, like an eagle ready to swoop down on a wayward lamb. He bolted for the elevator, where Roxy glared at the balcony and Monty watched Gregory. Gregory's headache eased the farther away he got.
"Hey, Litt–" Monty started.
"It's Vanny!" Gregory pointed back at the balcony. "We gotta go!"
Roxy pressed the elevator button. Light spread over the floor and glinted over the statue and nearby arcade cabinets. Gregory darted inside with Monty. The boy hissed, "C'mon Roxy! I'm sure it's fine!"
Roxy growled, but looked back and entered, anyway. Gregory, once inside the elevator, looked at the balcony again. Vanny was gone.
The elevator groaned and shuttered beneath their collective weight, but it managed to slowly make its way down. Gregory let out a long breath.
The intercom stated, "For your safety, please stay away from the doors."
Monty looked between them. "I-I don't get it. What happened? You can see her?"
Roxy nodded. "I can and I did! She was up on the balcony. She was about to jump down and get him!"
Gregory looked up at her. "That's the weird thing! Every other time I've seen her, she's always talked to me or done some crazy singing or dancing or whatever. But just then, she was just… staring at me."
Roxy swished her tail. "I saw Freddy and Chica leave. Maybe she was mad you stole Freddy from her."
Gregory grimaced. "Maybe."
Monty scoffed. "Well! She's just gonna have to deal with it. We're gonna have our friend back."
Roxy snorted. "After you didn't believe we could."
Monty shrugged. "I was bein' cautious. Didn't want anyone gettin' hurt."
Gregory bit his tongue. An idea popped into his head. "Hey, after I put Freddy into Safe Mode, we'll probably need to do something. Vanny already knows she's lost him. So, she's probably going to run away. But if I leave, she'll just find a way to infect you guys again and hunt me down. We need to fight her now."
Beep! [Fight Vanny? Gregory, that's not such a good idea. She could really hurt you!]
Roxy pointed out, "We need Chica's input."
"Chica said it's not a good idea since she could hurt me," Gregory said, pointing to his glasses. "But what else are we supposed to do? Let her win? She'll just kill more kids!"
The elevator opened. Gregory walked out first, but the three ended up moving at a quick pace. Gregory went on, "But I guess we can talk about it when we get together." I don't know what there is to talk about, though.
"They're worried about you. They can be fixed by the engineering team in the morning. You can't."
Yeah, well, they can be possessed by her to kill me or each other. I can't.
"…I mean… as far as you know. What if she could be possessed?"
You can't possess people. That's stupid.
Gregory pressed the button on the stage. He waited just outside the red double doors and looked up at Roxy. Roxy looked at the doors. She narrowed her eyes. "It might be okay. Ask Chica."
"Chica?" Gregory asked. "Can I come in?"
Beep! [Yes! Freddy can't see you.]
"Did you tell him to close his eyes?" Gregory asked.
Beep! [Yes. I did. He was confused, but he agreed.]
Gregory gave them the thumbs up. "She said it's okay!" He pushed through the door, which opened much more easily with Monty pushing it open as well. The alligator walked ahead of him and stood in front of the cylinder. Chica stood with her back facing them.
Monty asked, "Freddy? So, that's really you?"
"Yes, Monty," Freddy responded. "I, er… yes. You are you? As Chica said?"
Monty nodded. "Yeah." He turned his head and put a finger to his snout. Gregory could hardly see any of the machinery past him. Roxy, ears perked and eyes fixed on the inert bear, walked around to Chica's other side. She kept her hands to her side, but her tail raised almost level with her hips and waved slowly. Her head moved only to follow the bear's position.
Was Bonnie different? The thought came to him like a slap in the face. Even when Chica had been "sick", she wasn't set off by his running like the others were. The others were predators that stalked and chased and ambushed. Animals in tall tales that ate naive little kids who wandered too far into the scary woods forever prisoner under the moon's cold light. Bonnie was a bunny; rabbits wouldn't hurt anyone. They were hurt by everyone just like chickens. Well, except for Vanny, but Vanny didn't count.
"Yes."
Gregory jolted and looked down at Bonnie. "Huh?"
"The longer I'm here, the more I start the remember about my life. And… I was different. Special. I think? That's why I died. Vanny thought I was special. She didn't specify why I was special, but that has to be it. …I remember darkness. And light. Smoke, and fresh air? I don't know."
Gregory continued walking. He bristled upon hearing a sharp hiss.
" Chica! What happened?" Roxy demanded.
Chica continued to watch Freddy. She made a hissing, grinding noise before stopping.
Gregory set Bonnie down on the computer terminal, glowing a dark green. Gregory said, "Chica, do you have to go in the repair cylinder to replace your beak?"
Chica looked down at Gregory, narrowed her eyes, and then shrugged and held out her beak for him. She knelt so that she was close in height to the boy. Gregory looked over the beak and then the voice box attached to it. Some of the wires were frayed and jagged and the metal was scratched and dented. However, the plug in the back stayed intact. So, he plugged in her voice box and pushed her beak into place.
Gregory let go. "Did it work?"
"I think so," Chica answered, her voice as clear as ever. Scratches marred her slightly dented beak, but otherwise, everything was back in place! "Thank you, Gregory!"
"No problem!" He looked back at the cylinder. Now, Freddy.
He could barely see a scrap of orange plastic behind Monty. "Select Upgrade" in digital, light green letters stamped across the top. Under it was a list with slightly smaller printed words. "Power Upgrade" "Claws Upgrade" "Voicebox Upgrade" and "Eyes Upgrade", all in off-white text, listed below with "Exit" in lime text.
The computer said, "Welcome to Parts and Service. Please select your desired procedure."
Gregory pressed the down arrow and it flipped to the next screen. "Select Repair" replaced the upgrade heading. "Hardware Scan", "Physical Scan", "Routine Check-Up", and "Custom-Repair" were listed below it.
He decided to do a hardware scan, first–like he'd done with the others. Nothing was wrong with his outside body.
The computer announced, "It seems that Freddy is under the weather. It seems Freddy's basic security protocols have been tampered with. A report to the main office has been filed. For liability reasons, Freddy will now be disconnected from the main network until further notice. Activating safety protocols. Rebooting in Safe Mode."
The cylinder opened beside Gregory. Freddy got up and walked out, ducking his head a little as he went. He started upon seeing Monty standing so close to him and then turned and saw Chica and Roxy beside her. His ears fell. "I am so sorry, Chica. I… who else is here?" He turned to the computer terminal.
Monty pushed Gregory back behind him with his tail. "Actually, I don't think that's a good idea at the moment. With what ya did to Chica, I ain't so sure."
Freddy nodded. "I understand."
Gregory petted Bonnie's ear, took a deep breath, and walked around Monty. "Actually, Monty, I don't. How else will we know if we fixed him?"
"Little guy!" Monty hissed.
Freddy perked up. "You are not an engineer. You are the child that Officer Vanessa is looking for."
Gregory nodded. "Yeah, and I don't trust her. I don't know what she's up to, but it can't be anything good. And Vanny's also been attacking me and trying to send everyone else after me. Which, how are you feeling?"
"I am feeling much better now," Freddy answered cheerfully. The cheer dimmed immediately. "I have still done quite a lot of wrong. I will fix my mistakes. Gregory, would you accept my help?"
Gregory nodded, a grin making its way on his face. "Heck yeah! We could use all the help we can get against Vanny! I know where her lair is. We can attack her now, while she's vulnerable."
Roxy asked, "You do? Where?"
Freddy looked away and put a finger to his chin.
Gregory answered, "Fazerblast. She has a hide-out there. And in the power room, she marked Roxy Raceway as important. So, if we check there, we might find some arrows pointing somewhere. But if we go to Roxy Raceway now, we'd give her time to run away."
Roxy nodded. "We'll need to be fast."
"Takin' the fight to her! I like it," Monty agreed.
Freddy nodded. "Yes. Let's end this."
Chica looked around at them and then sighed and bowed her head. "I guess I'm outvoted. Okay. Let's stop her."