Chapter Twenty-Three

The Confrontation

Gregory concentrated on his surroundings as they moved into Fazerblast. He tried not to think about his bruises and the headache–the real one, not the one he got with Vanny–or the soreness in his muscles or stinging of his likely reopened wounds he'd gathered throughout the nights. Instead, he focused on the mission at hand, at the space-themed room as he idled in it, waiting for Monty and Roxy on the next elevator ride down.

"We can do this. With their help, especially with Freddy on our side, Vanny doesn't stand a chance."

"Yeah," Gregory agreed, petting Bonnie's ear. "She doesn't stand a chance. Heh."

Chica asked, "Are you okay?"

Gregory nodded. "Fine. Just… I'm fine. We're gonna be okay. We'll catch her. We can't let her get away."

"We won't let her hurt you again," Chica reassured him. "Not as long as you're with us."

Freddy chipped in, "We can do this, Gregory."

The elevator behind them opened.

Monty and Roxy joined them.

Gregory forged ahead, walking into the arena entrance labeled "ENTRY". The thick blue door opened vertically into the ceiling like the metal safety doors. He ran his flashlight along the walls covered in faux pipes and prop wires as wide as his arm and powered off lights. Handrails made the hall more cramped.

The short hall emptied into a wide room, two rows of seats on one side and a stage with a powered down S.T.A.F.F. bot in Fazerblast gear on the other. A dark, flat TV screen hung above the opposite door and above their door. Stars glittered on the ceiling in between the ribs of dark lights. Gregory's flashlight beam lingered on the S.T.A.F.F. bot for a few moments before turning back to the door.

Roxy grunted, "Those things only do what they're programmed to do. They don't have personalities. That one could be replaced with a laptop and there wouldn't be any difference."

Chica chipped in, "Except people respond differently to laptops since the bots give the illusion that they're being watched by it. Humans act differently when they're being watched."

Gregory looked back at them. "So, it's not seeing us?"

Chica shook her head. "Nope! Well, it is seeing you. Technically, all S.T.A.F.F. bots can 'see', but it's not recording you and it doesn't have the ability to judge you. It has a set of lines it's supposed to say, routines in case something was to happen in this room, and then it's base code that match every other S.T.A.F.F. bot in the building so it can replaced within a few minutes if it malfunctions."

Roxy sniffed. "A laptop would have a camera in it."

The opposite door opened for Gregory into another twisted, dark, futuristic hallway. He shot one last glance at the bot on stage. Its head was tilted at a gruesome degree compared to its slumped forward body so its eyes, glowing with pinpricks of faint red light, were on them. It vanished behind Roxy's hair too fast for Gregory to react. Then the door closed, and it was out of sight forever.

Gregory turned forward again. That… probably isn't good.

"What? What did you see?"

You didn't see it? That bot was staring right at us! Just now!

"Oh. No, I didn't. Do you want to tell the others?"

If you didn't see it, then maybe I'm just seeing things. I am kinda jumpy right now. He waited for Bonnie to contradict him, but the rabbit did not. So, Gregory kept the words he didn't mean and continued to walk in silence. The next door they came upon exited into a trident-shaped room.

He sent a glance at the AR laser tag gear lined up on the left and right walls but ignored it and walked forward to a pole that reached his chest before fanning out into a big, very thick saucer with lighter orange squares around the side and a big light orange button. As it was currently off, the lights and button on the dark orange object were dim and pale. He looked up at the center door and then back and forth at the left and right doors, both of which said: "NO ENTRY". An exit sign pointed from the left door back. So, he took the middle door… which led to a set of three doors.

Chica asked, "Where's the entrance?"

"It's through the winner's elevator."

"Oh! Then go through orange team's elevator. That one's the closest." Chica pointed to the left door.

"Elevator?" Gregory prompted. "Are you sure it'll hold all of us?"

"Extra sure!"

Gregory nodded and walked through the right door, keeping his flashlight ahead. There was only one turn, but the hallway was rather long. "So, uh… is this gonna work without power?"

"It's not really an elevator," Chica explained. "It's just a room to jazz kids up and get them ready for the 'big fight'." She chortled. "So, no worries! We can open it ourselves!"

"Oh." Gregory thought for a long moment. "So… this elevator isn't an elevator. Are there other elevators that aren't elevators?"

Chica chuckled. "Ah, that's a funny question. Um… I'm not super-duper familiar with the elevators. I just know this one since I've been here a lot."

He sent a glance back at her. Monty claimed, "The Pizzaplex is a big ol' mess, Little guy! That's all ya gotta know."

Gregory sighed and walked through the door to the "elevator". "The more I learn about this place, the less I like it. Who even built this place?"

Roxy grunted, "Maniacs."

Once Monty's tail was through the door, Gregory reached toward the "START GAME" button on the wall, but stopped himself. "Uh, this button's not gonna work, is it?"

Chica, already at the other door, said, "Nope! Now, never do what I'm gonna do, okay?"

Gregory nodded. "Okay! That means you're not shouting, right?"

The chicken raised her foot and wedged her sharp yellow toes between the elevator doors. "Nope, and you back off, Monty. You'll break it."

Monty, who'd raised his foot to step closer, step his foot down again with a quiet "Aww".

Gregory patted his arm.

Chica wiggled her foot back and forth until enough of it was between the doors that there was a gap, and she slid her fingers into the doors. The elevator doors creaked open, revealing dark barriers where his flashlight beam barely touched and a black void beyond. She stepped outside with a trilled, "Ta-da~!"

Gregory grinned and ran after her.

Light.

As soon as Gregory ran out to meet Chica, the lights within the maze blazed on. Lasers shot up into the ceiling. Neon signs of the characters glowed above. The maze barriers lit up. Spunky music slowly but steadily rushed to fill the silence. Gregory looked up. Lights lit up at specific intervals along the catwalks leading from one end of Fazerblast to the other, ending at Vanny's hide-out.

Monty roared, "How'd she know?!"

"The bot," Gregory squeaked out.

Freddy looked down at him. "What? What do you mean?"

"The bot in that room we passed. I-it looked at us. I thought it was my imagination, since when I asked Bonnie, he said he didn't see it. It saw us! And it told her we were here!"

Roxy shook her head impatiently. "No, that can't be right. She must have seen us on the security cameras in the lobby or something. Maybe we tripped a sensor. She could have set up a trap for us here."

Chica stated, "Whatever happened, it happened. I don't think those bots can record and communicate, and I don't even think it was active, but I'll choose to believe you, Gregory. Even so, regardless of how she found out, she found out."

Monty stalked forward a few steps. "Then let's get this party started!"

Gregory pointed to her hide-out. "The way I got to it before was through a vent in the winner's lounge."

Chica said, "Then we'll need to–"

"Bots!" Roxy hissed and ducked her head, ears flat and hands up at her sides. "Heading straight for us."

Freddy tried, "Perhaps they are laser tag S.T.A.F.F. bots and believe we are attempting to engage in a friendly game of tag?"

Roxy ran out into the maze, forcing them to follow.

Chica called, "Wait! Where are you going?"

"To the winner's elevator!" Roxy declared.

"I know a quicker way up there!" Chica suggested. "That catwalk points directly to the electronics room. Mabe there's a way to enter from there!"

Roxy stopped, looked around and moved right. "Okay, great. Let's go there, then. Where is it?"

"It's in the wall… you don't even know where we are, do you?"

"Of course I do!" Roxy snapped, taking another turn. She looked up an incline to the center of the maze and then back at Chica. "But you're the one who knows where it is."

Beep! [I heard your call.]

"What? Who said that?" Gregory looked around at the four animatronics with him, but none were actually paying attention to him. Well, until now.

Chica asked, "Who said what?"

"Someone sent a message to my Gator Glasses," Gregory responded. He hugged Bonnie tighter. "I-I don't know who it was. My glasses never have any names on them! They said 'I heard your call'. What does that mean?" He looked up at Chica with round eyes. "I didn't call anyone!"

"I know, I know," she soothed. "Whoever it is, they're just some meanie trying to scare you. We won't let them hurt you. We're in this together, right?"

Gregory nodded, tightening his grip on Bonnie. "Yeah, we are."

Roxy snarled at the wall and held her claws up by her sides, tail up and waving slowly. Monty crouched and raised his hands, ready to spring. Freddy looked behind them, stepping back so he was closer and cut off what would otherwise be a quick route to Gregory. Chica held out her hand. "The maze is a little confusing. Let me guide you through it."

He nodded and took her hand. Just like that, some of his anxious thoughts ebbed. "I can walk," he forced himself to say as he walked at her side.

She chuckled. "I know, Gregory. You're a big kid." She raised her voice, "Come with me! I know th–bagawk!" She reared back as a S.T.A.F.F. bot in alien laser tag armor lunged out of out of the walkways. Roxy flew past Chica and slammed into it. Her jaws clamped down on its thin neck and claws squealed over its chest and arm. The bot writhed, its motors clicking and wheels whirring overtime as she kicked it down.

Chica led Gregory onward. Monty stayed at their side, throwing a look back at Roxy, while Freddy kept to the rear, ears back and looking constantly from Gregory to the catwalks.

Roxy caught up with them after another turn. When another bot made its presence known, its glaring red eyes pointed down at Gregory, Monty took a hard swipe at it. It tottered and spasmed as its head snapped back, split open like a ravaged dog toy. Monty stayed long enough to rip open its chest plate and kick it down.

More trouble met them, but the animatronic alligator and wolf worked together seamlessly to ward them off until they got a plain metal door in the real wall behind a colorful wall. Chica stated, "The server room is through here and then a huge staircase."

Monty reported, "Uuuuuh, problem!"

Chica looked back. "What's the–? Oh."

More laser staff flooded their vision. While many looked fresh to fight, some were limping along, mangled or rusty. Some, he spotted, weren't on their wheels at all and instead propelled themselves forward on their hands.

Monty stepped back, "Li'l guy, I'm not so sure we can fight this many of 'em."

Freddy said, "We must barricade the door, there's…"

The S.T.A.F.F. all stopped at once as he spoke. The shadows flickered high above. Gregory's eyes flicked up. Up in the window, the rabbit lady moved within her room behind the window. Maybe in a dance or… no, she was holding something.

Beep! Dread clenched the pit of his stomach. [Disassemble Monty.]

The bots jolted and all at once they turned their eyes on the animatronic alligator. With more speed than should be possible, they descended. Monty belted out a guttural roar at the unflinching army pounced on the first to enter his line of sight. A second and third grabbed onto him and started tearing at his casing. A fourth following. Roxy tore one off, but it was replaced by two more. Freddy worked to heave off the zombie bots, but even after hitting the ground, they just flipped themselves over and continued their assault. Monty snarled and thrashed and slapped them with his claws and tail and muzzle. His eyes were wide, and he gouged deep marks in the floor trying–and failing–to back away.

Chica put a hand to her beak and tugged Gregory inside.

Gregory burst out, "You have to do something!"

Chica shook her head, one hand on her beak. The door slammed shut behind them.

"I'll go get Vanny myself–"

"No," she cut him off, releasing her beak. Chica stomped forward, taking him with her through the twisting, cluttered hallway. "I will guide you to the stairs. I will protect you. If I yell, I will hurt my friends." She choked and put her free hand to her beak again. She hesitated in front of a rolling shutter door. It opened automatically for them. Chica ducked so they could hurry into the server room. A couple of scuffed security S.T.A.F.F. bots with jagged smiles painted on their faces and words sloppily painted onto their chests rolled around, but he and Chica snuck by them.

Past the racks and walls of electronics, the room was littered with supplies, dark laser tag walls, and the occasional kiddie ride. A set of spiral stairs curled straight up.

"Be careful, please."

We will. We're ending this.

He and Chica ran to the stairs. Unfortunately, they were slim enough to be single file for the animatronic chicken and the boy. She went first, holding her hand behind herself. They climbed up and up, passing the floor of the laser tag arena and then the walls. Gregory looked down, frantically searching for robotic life. Further in the arena, by the wall, he found the highest concentration of the stupid bots. Monty was… on the ground, surrounded by purple and green plastic. He still moved, gave signs of life. Roxy all but lay on top of him, shielding what was left of his body with her own. She bit and snapped but didn't raise a hand to swipe at the bots that Freddy still frantically tried to fight off.

"If we stop her, we can stop the bots, right?" Gregory rationalized.

"Yes," Chica answered. "That makes sense! You're a very clever boy, Gregory."

"Let's hope so."

Chica pushed through a half gate barring them entrance to the catwalk.

Gregory kept his eyes forward as he stepped over the grate catwalk, refusing to look down over the arena so far down. Instead, he hurried across, to Vanny's room.

Gregory winced as his headache came back twofold and whatever stupid voodoo magic thing she did tried disconnecting his brain from his senses.

The door to Vanny's room opened.

Chica's hand slipped out of Gregory's.

His gaze snapped up. "What–?"

Chica stood in front of him, hands before her chest, staring down two S.T.A.F.F. bot that rolled onto the catwalk. They stopped when she opened her beak, hesitating as if they recognized what that signal meant.

Vanny walked right past them, a skip in her step, something black and bulky and horrifying familiar in her hand.

"Look out!" Gregory yelled. "I-it's her! The rabbit lady!"

Chica looked around. "Rabbit lady? I don't see her?"

Vanny stopped and jabbed Chica in the neck with her stick.

The animatronic chicken ba-gawked and jolted. Her eye lights flickered off and her head and shoulders slumped. Vanny stepped back. "Disassemble Chica."

Gregory shook his head. "No. No, no, no!" He grabbed Chica's hand and tugged her back.

Vanny chortled, "Don't worry, she'll wake up in just a moment! This wasn't meant to hurt." She waved her taser teasingly beside herself.

Chica's eye lights blinked back to life. She blinked. "Wha–Greg–?" One of the S.T.A.F.F. grabbed her by the beak. She stumbled and waved her arms, yanking her hand out of Gregory's grasp, and tried to hit back, but they shoved her off the side.

She hit the ground far, far below.

Gregory gasped and ran to the edge. He peered over the catwalk to the multicolored ground below.

She didn't move for several moments. When she started to do so, the redirected S.T.A.F.F. nearby swooped down.

"Chica," he coughed out. His eyes dragged up to where the battered wolf had wrapped herself around the unmoving alligator and still fighting bear.

This is all my fault.

A white paw landed gently on his shoulder. "Oh, Gregory," she cooed. "Gregory, Gregory. You don't need to worry about them. Freddy started acting out of control, just like them. But the other bots will neutralize them and then the engineering team can take a look at them and they'll be all better soon! They'll be back to their normal selves in no time, like nothing happened."

Gregory looked up at her. He could barely see the fuzzy white shape above, marred by those almond shaped scarlet eyes and slit black pupils. He… didn't quite understand what he was feeling. He knew what he should be feeling. He should be afraid. He should be terrified. He should be sad. He should be angry.

But he was… nothing.

Something gleamed at the edge of his vision. Her hand tightened on his shoulder.

His heart beat faster in an effort to thaw his frozen muscles. No, no, no, he knew what that was. Gregory threw his arms and flinched back as she took a swipe at him. He squeezed shut his eyes, preparing for the worst.

Shhhhrip!

The worst… never came?

Gregor opened his eyes. The tip of the blade poked out inches from his chest… right out of Bonnie's back. " Bonnie!" he screamed and yanked the toy back. He twisted her thumb back and, using the leftover surprise from his still-alive-and-not-bleeding-out state and pain to dislodge her, turned and ran.

He tried to run, at least, until finding himself face-to-chest with the two bots. …the two bots that killed Chica. The bots under Vanny's control. Vanny, the one who ordered them to kill Monty, Chica…

Gregory darted past her into her room.

Vanny followed. "Gregory, are you tired? You can take a nap in my bed if you want."

Gregory's eyes fell on a remote. Well, it was more of a box with a red button and an antenna and a speaker. Maybe the speaker was for commands…?

"Gregory!" Vanny laughed, her voice a little more thin. "Hey, that's not yours. Put, put that down."

Gregory turned on her, the remote in his grasp. He narrowed his watery eyes. He declared, "Disassemble Vanny!" He pressed the big red button.

The two bots rolled inside, their eyes on her.

Vanny backed up. "No, no, no, no." She tried to run around them, but one of the bots grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back. The second took her ear and dug its fingers into her side.

Gregory ran.

Vanny's screams faded as the door to her room automatically shut behind him and he got further away. He flew down the spiral stairs and, gasping and heaving, stumbled through the server room. He emerged out the plain metal door to see Freddy, standing still, head bowed. The casing on his hands and arms were warped and parts of his hands had been chipped off altogether. His ears fell back, and he stared down with dull aqua eyes, the lights so dim they were barely on.

Below him, Monty lay on the floor, stripped almost completely down to the endoskeleton. His arms lay beside him, detached, and one eye had rolled off somewhere. His jaw cracked open to a gross degree, but had not been taken completely off. Green, purple, and gray bits of casing scattered around him like snow. His functioning umber eyes sputtered.

Roxy stood above him as well, her head bowed, ears back and tattered tail between her torn up legs. Her own casing had been shredded and her mane was barely anything but plastic scraps. One eye held on by the power of determination alone.

Freddy looked back and his eyes shone at a brighter, more consistent degree upon seeing Gregory. "Gregory! You are alive! Oh, what good news! That must mean you have defeated Vanny. …where is Chica?"

Roxy's head snapped up and her ears perked.

Gregory whined and looked at his feet. Fresh tears welled in his eyes. "V-Vanny had h-her stupid bots th-throw her off the catwalks and att-attack her."

" No! No, it was just a fall!" Roxy spun around and raced into the maze. Her eye bounced across the floor. "Chica! Chica, answer me!"

Monty's jaw twitched and his eye sputtered and brightened. He let out a snarling growl choked with static.

Beep! [Little Guy? You're okay?]

Gregory ran to Monty's side and knelt beside him. "Yeah! Yeah, I am! Roxy's looking for Chica. I-I'm sure you guys are gonna be okay. You'll definitely be okay. Right?"

Beep! [Definitely. Takes more than a few dumb bots to take down Monty Gator!]

Freddy chipped in, "Gregory, it is not safe here. You must go."

Gregory shook his head. "No." He sniffled and cursed the crack in his voice. "No, I can't just leave you guys."

Freddy set his paw on Gregory's shoulder. "Engineers will help us. They cannot help you. Please, Gregory."

Gregory took Monty's gnarled hand. "No. No, I can just hide somewhere. I'll do that, yeah! Tell him, Monty!"

Beep! [Sorry, kid. Bear's right. Sorry I got to cut this short, but this gator is pretty tired, okay?]

Beep! [Goodbye, kid. Take care of yourself.]

"Monty? You're a robot, you don't sleep," Gregory pointed out. Monty's eye lights went out and he stopped moving entirely. "Monty? Monty, c'mon, dude, answer! You don't sleep! Bonnie–"

Gregory's breath hitched as he looked at his toy.

A jagged wound cut straight through his chest and tore down his belly. Stuffing hung out and threads stuck out. "Bonnie…"

"…don't… like this…"

"Bonnie, can you hear me?"

"…little bit… 's hard to… see or… feel. Like I'm… dying again… but not…?"

Gregory looked up at Freddy. In the maze, Roxy's calls for Chica had turned into heavy sobs. The boy got to his feet. It was six AM and regardless, he had the security clearance.

Gregory made his way back through the maze. He had to use the cams to help him navigate. He only used one of them, knowing where the other two would fall.

Eventually he made his way to the open entrance elevator. His feet moved on their own as he traveled through the winding hallways back through the laser tag arena. His fingers ran over Bonnie's chest, compressing leaking stuffing and exposed thread.

"…saved… you…"

But you're hurt! I spent years making sure you're okay and now you're all ripped open!

"…it's okay…"

Gregory pressed the button in the Fazer Blast elevator. "Vanny's gone but… I mean, so's everyone else. That means no one else will go missing. Right? So, we did a good thing. A-and the engineers will be able to fix them. I mean, they couldn't fix you, but… but that was probably different, somehow. She probably did something to you. She can't do anything to anyone ever again."

"…nope…"

Gregory strode out of the elevator with faux confidence. "Yeah! Definitely. Since she's gone, she can't stop the engineers from helping them. She can't kill anymore kids. We'll be safe. I'll find some way to patch you up. I don't know how to sew, and I don't have any sewing supplies or anything. But I could learn, right? You're good at remembering stuff, too."

"…"

"Bonnie?" Gregory stopped in front of the shutters and held the stuffed rabbit out in front of himself. "Bonnie, can you hear me?"

A long moment passed before…

"…yes…"

Gregory sighed and kept moving, cradling Bonnie rather than hugging him and risking destroying him further. "You're going to be okay. We're both going to be okay. I'm gonna fix you up and then…I dunno but first thing's first: we fix you."

Gregory continued to talk to Bonnie, demanding his occasional input, as they got to the double layered glass doors leading outside. The shutters barring them from exiting had rolled back up. He set his hand to the chilly glass, took a sharp breath, and pushed through. Vanny was dead. No one would worry about her ever again. But the animatronics had been destroyed. He had nothing here. First thing's first: fix Bonnie.