Mike's New Ghostly Family

by Archcommander Tenebros

Freddy Fazbear's tale has come to a close. Mike and the girl inside the Puppet are the only two left who know the full story, and the older man has adopted the last pizzeria's sole survivor in all but name. But neither of them expected the ghosts of the murdered children to return, nor did they expect their family to expand so dramatically in such a short time. Now on AOx3.

215. Chapter 218 - Slipping Through the Crack

A/N: Hello, everyone! This chapter is going to be another one of those that doesn't focus on the Schmidt family directly at all. Instead, I'm going to be doing a little setup for what's to come in Security Breach, with multiple separate parts in a single chapter. We're going to be reaching that arc very, very soon, and I hope you're all excited for what's to come!

I do want to say that I got a LOT of private messages lately complimenting me and my work. While I am incredibly grateful and honored to receive such praise, I do want to warn people that I barely go on Private Messaging for nowadays. If you want me to see your thoughts, I'm way more likely to see them on a Story Review than a private message, especially with how janky and scuffed 's messaging system can sometimes be. I am also not interested in taking part in any collabs or joint works or artworks, as I simply do not have the time or resources to engage in those kinds of projects.

Also, I really have to say that taking 3 weeks in between chapters instead of just 2 is doing wonders for me. I feel like I have more time to collect my thoughts and plan out the chapters I want to write, and I feel much less rushed doing so. Which ultimately plays out to everyone's benefit, since it means higher quality of chapters for you all to read in the end.

Anyways, on with the chapter!

Chapter 218 – Slipping Through the Cracks

Fazbear Entertainment HQ, 5 Days Before the Mega Pizzaplex's Grand Opening…

"And that's all I have to report," Mr. Raugelan finished giving his report to the executives who were gathered before him in the meeting room. "Overall, Mr. Schmidt seemed largely satisfied with the improvements and corrections that have been made to the Mega Pizzaplex. He did not vocalize any objections that would require us to delay the Grand Opening any further."

"Thank God for that," Mr. Averus muttered as he sighed with relief, and he wasn't the only one. He and the other executives had been genuinely worried about how the latest meeting between Mike Schmidt and their representatives would go. They had actually made a legitimate and dedicated effort in implementing the improvements and corrections Schmidt had recommended as best as they could, if only to avoid pissing the man off. It helped that, as personally annoying as many of the executive board found Mike Schmidt, none could deny that the man himself was very competent and had provided significant help to them more than once. So it was honestly best to accommodate his changes, just to avoid dealing with even bigger headaches if problems emerged AFTER the Grand Opening had already happened.

If Schmidt had demanded yet another delay to fix a real or perceived problem, it would put the entire board in a very difficult Catch-22. Either submit to Schmidt's demanded delay and suffer yet another PR blow, or go ahead with the launch despite Schmidt's demand and risk invoking his wrath…along with possibly an even greater PR disaster than a second delay.

Thankfully, it seemed for once that things were going their way. With Schmidt satisfied with the improvements that they had made, they could finally launch the biggest project in Fazbear Entertainment's history. One that would see their reputation as a premiere children's entertainment franchise restored. Hopefully, they wouldn't need to rely on Mike Schmidt's help anymore after that.

"Thank fuck for that," Mr. Aris growled. "Another delay was the LAST thing we needed!"

"And there's more good news too," Mr. Senester added smugly. "I've read the latest reports from the focus group testing for the new version of the Daycare Attendant…Eclipse, I believe his name was?"

"You mean that animatronic that's turned into a creepy combination of Sun and Moon?" Mr. Averus raised an eyebrow. "What about him?"

"According to the latest focus group reports, the overall reception for Eclipse is decidedly more positive than it was for Sun and Moon," Mr. Senester explained with a satisfied smile on his face. "Granted, the overall reviews are still quite mixed. The focus group participants widely agree that Eclipse's current appearance is just as creepy and disconcerting as Moon's, if not more so. However, they also agree that his behavior is much more appropriate for a caretaker and guardian of children, as he is much calmer and gentler now than he was as either Sun or Moon. The approval of his new temperament is practically universal, and well outweighs the criticisms regarding his physical appearance."

"That's a relief," Mr. Averus muttered. "Because that was one of the biggest problems we had the first time Schmidt came around."

"Mr. Schmidt was able to personally encounter Eclipse in the improved Mega Pizzaplex," Mr. Raugelan helpfully supplied. "And he was much more positive in his overall opinion of the Daycare Attendant than he was of Sun and Moon."

Mr. Senester grinned. "Then that's good enough for me, and it should be enough to settle that particular matter entirely."

"It took more time and effort than we anticipated, but we did succeed in creating the quality product that we so desired in the end," Mr. Aris declared smugly. "I think we can congratulate ourselves on a job well done."

"Well…let's not get ahead of ourselves," Mr. Callum warned. "There are still some…last-minute issues that we need to discuss."

The smug smiles that had appeared on a few of the executives' faces noticeably faded away. "Like what?" Mr. Kharnath asked impatiently. "Care to elaborate?"

"We got a report yesterday from one of our warehouses a day ago," Mr. Callum explained with a frown. "Apparently, our supply of tiny wind-up Music Man toy animatronics has been stolen, despite there being no sign of a break-in."

"Excuse me, what?" Mr. Aris spluttered. "How'd they just completely disappear without a trace? Do we not have any security footage that could help us identify what was stolen?"

Mr. Callum shook his head. "The warehouse that the tiny Music Man animatronics was stolen from doesn't have a video security system, so there's no way for us to know what happened to them."

"Dammit!" Mr. Kharnath growled. "Just what we need, right before opening day! An entire shipment of toys stolen!"

"Now hang on a second," Mr. Senester interrupted in a pacificatory tone. "If I remember correctly, these Music Man animatronics were merely prototypes, correct?" he asked. "Prototypes that were only in the initial stages of development, and certainly were not meant to be distributed to the general public at the time of the Grand Opening."

"You're right, Senester," Mr. Averus agreed with a shake of his head. "They're just prototypes. Hell, I don't think it's even guaranteed that they were going to ever be released at all, since our first focus group testing pretty much universally panned them for being too creepy. I don't even think we had any active plans to advance them beyond their current state, from what I remember?"

Mr. Senester shrugged his shoulders and scoffed. "Then who cares if a few of them went missing?" he asked dismissively. "It sounds like they weren't going to be a meaningful part of the Mega Pizzaplex's future to begin with. Whoever stole them can have them, for all we care. Saves us the trouble of getting rid of them ourselves."

"Certainly nothing we need to inform Schmidt about," Mr. Aris agreed. "It's not like it's going to impact the Grand Opening of the Mega Pizzaplex, or even the Mega Pizzaplex in general, in any meaningful way anyway."

"Sounds good to me," Mr. Averus replied with a smirk…which quickly vanished as another troubling thought suddenly occurred to him. "But what about the old elevator?"

"What elevator?" Mr. Kharnath asked impatiently.

"I think I know what our esteemed colleague is referring to," Mr. Callum answered for his fellow executive. "There's an elevator that leads down into the depths of the sinkhole upon which Roxy Raceway is situated on. The sinkhole that has been causing us so many problems that are stopping us from keeping the raceway ride stable and allowing us to open it to the public. We still don't know what's down there." He frowned. "And judging by the fact that the one team that we sent down there never returned, I doubt that it's safe for the public to enter."

"Remind me again," Mr. Aris asked with a grumble. "This is the elevator that is in Roxy Raceway, right?"

"Yes," Mr. Callum affirmed.

"And Roxy Raceway is already closed off to the public because of the instability of the raceway, correct?" he asked.

"That is correct, sir," Mr. Raugelan affirmed.

Mr. Aris scoffed. "Then why the hell should we care about the elevator if nobody from the public is going to be even accessing the part of the Pizzaplex it's in to begin with?" he demanded. "Especially when the elevator itself is hidden away in a corner of Roxy Raceway that most people wouldn't find to begin with?"

"I actually agree with Mr. Aris here," Mr. Senester interjected. "The elevator is not a primary concern as far as the Grand Opening, especially if the entirety of Roxy Raceway is blocked off from the public. If you're really worried about it, just put up a few extra barriers to make sure that nobody except those with security clearance can access the elevator, and leave it at that! We'll wait until we can actually get a proper team assembled before we start investigating the elevator again, but for now let us focus on things that could actually affect the Grand Opening."

Mr. Averus shrugged. "Sounds good to me." He turned to Mr. Raugelan. "Set up a few extra barriers in the tunnel leading to the old elevator, just in case."

"Yes, sir!" Mr. Raugelan replied, all too willing to obey this particular command. There was something about that tunnel and that elevator that gave him an uneasy feeling in his stomach, and as far as he was concerned, having it barricaded further could only be a good thing.

"Anything else?" Mr. Kharnath asked with an edge in his voice. "So far all we've done is waste our time talking about things that don't even matter!"

"Just some minor irregularities regarding the Glamrock animatronics' personalities," Mr. Callum answered, not sounding too worried. "Monty Gator being a bit moodier than in the past, Roxanne Wolf having a bit more of an ego than usual. Nothing outside of acceptable parameters for their personalities, and certainly nothing that would be considered dangerous or significantly problematic. And as far as their musical performances are concerned, they are still performing quite admirably with no major incidents or failures."

"So in other words, nothing important," Mr. Senester concluded.

"Nothing at all," Mr. Aris agreed impatiently. "Let's just wrap up this damn meeting then, since we don't have anything else to talk about. My favorite football team is playing a major game at 6 PM today and I'll be damned if I miss it over some meaningless shit!"

"Well, let us not be too hasty in dismissing potential problems, Aris," Mr. Callum interrupted…before he shrugged. "But with that being said, it really doesn't seem like there's any problems that will affect the Mega Pizzaplex in a major way. We should be good to proceed with the Grand Opening as we originally planned."

Mr. Averus grinned in anticipation. "Excellent! Then we can look forward to a resounding success!" he declared pompously. "With the Mega Pizzaplex, we'll gain back all the prestige and reputation that we've lost over the past few years, and the Freddy Fazbear franchise will come back better than ever before!"

Meanwhile, in ?, X Days Before the Grand Opening…

"The Grand Opening will be very soon," Vanny reported. "I overheard some coworkers talking about it. It sounds like they won't be changing anything big before they open the Mega Pizzaplex to the public."

"Excellent, my dear Vanny…" Glitchtrap's voice hissed with satisfaction within her mind. "Clearly, those fools running Fazbear Entertainment didn't care at all to investigate the theft of their Music Man toy animatronics, and they have essentially handed them to us for free as a gift. These miniature Music Men may not be as imposing or as powerful as the main animatronics within, but it will be child's play to subvert them to our needs. And one can be quite surprised at the destruction such tiny animatronics can cause in the right hands…OUR hands."

"And it doesn't sound like they care about the elevator leading down to our little hiding place either," Vanny added with smug satisfaction. "Mr. Raugelan's only adding an extra metal gate or two to block it from the rest of Roxanne Raceway. It should be easy for us to get past them without any problem whatsoever."

"Not that it would help them even if they did bother to investigate," Glitchtrap replied, and Vanny could imagine the twisted grin on her master's face. "After all, we can't let anyone who sees what we're planning live to tell the tale. Those fools came down to our humble abode last time should have been better prepared for a proper expedition. A pity they learned their lesson far too late. Heh heh heh heh heh…"

Vanny giggled sinisterly along with her master's laughter…but the malevolent sense of humor she was feeling died down soon enough. "But, master…we haven't really been able to make any headway with our own plans, either," she pointed out. "There were so many animatronics we could have infiltrated and hacked to suit our purposes, but with all the changes that have been made over the past few months, we can't use those options anymore. DJ Music Man's experimental bouncer mode is gone, and with it went most of his aggressive nature. And the Daycare Attendant…I don't even understand what happened to him. Whatever the programmers did to him changed his personality and his programming so dramatically that he may as well be a completely different animatronic now! Not only is Eclipse much more docile now, but the one time we tried to scout out his code, it was much harder for you to hack into him than it would've been if he was still Sun and Moon."

"Yes…" Glitchtrap admitted, all humor gone from his voice. "I am forced to concede that we have faced some significant setbacks. I expected those fools leading Fazbear Entertainment to simply allow all of the Mega Pizzaplex's many flaws to continue on as they were, and allow the Mega Pizzaplex to become a hazard zone in the making even without our intervention. Such a situation would have allowed us to turn it into a perfect killing ground."

"But they actually improved things a lot," Vanny pointed out nervously, afraid of risking her master's ire. "Much more than you expected."

"Yes…" Glitchtrap was forced to acknowledge, and Vanny could imagine her master gritting his teeth in frustration. "Those fools proved more diligent now than they ever were in the past. They're certainly taking the concept of safety much more seriously than they ever did when I was still alive. I'm almost certain that the hand of that irritating meddler, Mike Schmidt, has a hand in this in some way or another."

"The one who stopped us from infiltrating and transforming the animatronics from the Special Delivery projecting into our personal killing machines?" Vanny asked in disbelief.

"The very same," Glitchtrap affirmed. "If he was able to restore the Special Delivery project to the levels of competence once before, why could he not do the same to the Mega Pizzaplex? As much as I am loathe to admit it, he is a worthy opponent and certainly no fool."

"If only we could find where he lived," Vanny lamented. "We could, perhaps…pay him a visit? Remove him from the equation?"

Glitchtrap chuckled humorlessly. "And what purpose would that serve, my dear Vanny?" he asked. "If the security changes and overhauls of the Mega Pizzaplex are indeed Schmidt's doing, then he has already made his mark. It would be as useful as destroying an animatronic after it has already killed its target. And besides, Schmidt has already proven from the Special Delivery project that he knows how to protect himself from potential threats. A direct attack on Mike Schmidt has a not-insignificant chance of failure, and at this stage, the consequences of failure would be catastrophic. No, my sweet. There is almost nothing to gain from attacking and slaying Mike Schmidt, and everything to lose."

"If only we could begin the fun sooner," Vanny lamented. "You once had plans to start luring children away from safety and bring them into our little family as early as the Grand Opening."

"As entertaining as that would have been, we were forced to abandon those plans once Fazbear Entertainment actually proved that they cared about security for once in their miserable existences," Glitchtrap replied. "But don't worry, my dear Vanny. For all the setbacks we have faced, no one has yet discovered us either. No one suspects that you have entered my service, and everyone is completely blind to the wolves that lay in waiting amongst the sheep. We will strike when the time is right, and I know what will grant us the perfect opportunity."

"And what is that, master?" Vanny wondered.

"Why, the Glamrock animatronics themselves, of course!" Glitchtrap answered with an amused tone. "They are truly marvels, aren't they? State-of-the-art animatronics with truly advanced sentience. Why, I would even go so far as to acknowledge that they have their own personalities, to the point of being magnificent imitations of humanity!" In Vanny's mind, the glitchy specter of William Afton grinned sinisterly. "And of course, like any human, they possess their own flaws. Flaws that make them easy to exploit, flaws which I can exploit to take hold of their minds and mold them into tools fit for my design."

"Just like you did for me," Vanny murmured.

"Just like I did for you, my sweet," Glitchtrap agreed. "Do not fret that we have not been able to implement our plans in full just yet. There is no hurry. Time is on our side, and a Grand Opening without disasters and failings will lure those fools at Fazbear Entertainment, and Mike Schmidt if he is indeed involved, into a false sense of security. And then, it will be our time to strike!"

"I look forward to it, master!" Vanny giggled.

Glitchtrap chuckled sinisterly as he directed his servant to the old elevator that led down into the depths of the sinkhole. But as Vanny did as she was instructed, he couldn't help but reflect on some of the latest developments regarding his plans. Thoughts that he would not share with Vanny, as it simply would not do to present anything less than the utmost confidence and mastery to his servant.

Although Vanny appeared every bit the loyal follower to his cause, the truth was that Glitchtrap had spent quite a long time indeed to corrupt her and re-mold her into the perfect tool to carry out his will. Vanny had resisted his influence quite admirably at first, and Glitchtrap had all but broken her mind by the time she finally submitted. The Vanny that existed now was essentially a new personality entirely crafted from the fragments of the original, who would have screamed in horror if she knew what she had become. Glitchtrap couldn't help but feel a sense of smug and vindictive satisfaction at the irony, although it couldn't hurt to be too careful. Even now, there were still faint traces of the original Vanny's personality that still existed deep within his servant's psyche, though the moments they materialized were few and far between and the resistance they presented was weaker and weaker. It was only a matter of time before they would fade away entirely, and Glitchtrap was in no hurry to destroy them once and for all. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally cause his dear Vanny to behave erratically through his direct interference, and risk exposing her tool through that unusual behavior.

"And there is that upstart machine to worry about too," Glitchtrap thought with what would have been a scowl on his face if he was physically capable of it. An endoskeleton with a particularly advanced AI not unlike the Glamrock animatronics, with the unique ability to imitate the voices of anything or anyone it listened to with near perfect accuracy. From what Glitchtrap could tell, it was an experimental machine that was initially meant to duplicate the innocence and affection of a child, although Glitchtrap and Vanny quickly realized that its imitation capabilities could be subverted to far more useful purposes closer to his design. Thanks to his guidance, the endoskeleton had become far more intelligent, bloodthirsty, and sadistic. So far, it had only focused all of its tender mercies on other animatronics and some of the fools that had investigated their hiding spot the first time, but Glitchtrap knew it would only be a matter of time before it decided to hunt humans in the Pizzaplex above. It would have been yet another perfect tool for Glitchtrap to carry out his plans for the Pizzaplex…

"…if that upstart machine hadn't gotten ideas above its station and gone rogue!" Glitchtrap snarled inside his mind. The endoskeleton had decided to infiltrate the Pizzaplex and attack others on its own initiative, and in doing so had turned from an asset into a liability. It was only thanks to his flawless guidance that Vanny had been able to recapture the endoskeleton and seal it away in a place where nobody could find it, where it was carefully guarded by a program of his own brilliant making. But Glitchtrap wasn't foolish enough to believe that the endoskeleton wouldn't seek to escape its chains by any means necessary, and he would need to keep a careful eye on its captivity just in case. For if it were to escape, it would seek to cause havoc and mass murder outside of his grand design, and Glitchtrap couldn't have that.

"But no need to be concerned," Glitchtrap thought, allowing his smug satisfaction to return. "Despite a few setbacks that have long since been overcome, everything is proceeding to my satisfaction. Soon, the Mega Pizzaplex will open. And once the Glamrock animatronics are mine, the fun will begin again!"

/

A/N: And there you have it, everyone! Despite the Schmidt family's best efforts and the overall excellent job they did in making the Mega Pizzaplex as safe as possible, some things have inevitably slipped through the cracks. Fazbear Entertainment are still Fazbear Entertainment, after all, and while they might have given an honest effort to fix the problems that Mike pointed out (mainly because they had no choice), they still ignored some other, seemingly minor issues. Of course, with Glitchtrap and Vanny lurking around, those seemingly minor problems might not prove so minor after all.

That's not to say that everything is going Glitchtrap's way, either. The increased focus on security thanks to Mike and the Schmidt family have messed with some of their plans considerably, causing them to hold off on initiating a killing spree when they would have happily started kidnapping and murdering children around the time of the Grand Opening. And some of the animatronics such as DJ Music Man and Eclipse are off the table for them to corrupt for the time being if not indefinitely. Unfortunately, the Glamrock animatronics are still vulnerable, and we already know how that's going to play out based on the events of Security Breach…

And lastly, I wanted to address both Vanny and the Mimic. Vanny might appear the perfect, submissive, and loyal servant to Glitchtrap now…but Glitchtrap had to put in a LOT of work to corrupt and break her mind. There's actually still some traces of the original Vanessa still in there, although you haven't seen them in any of Vanny's previous appearances in this fic because of how thorough Glitchtrap's control has become. She's almost certainly not going to be able to throw off his control by herself, that's for sure.

As for the Mimic, in this story it is NOT going to be the same character as Glitchtrap. The Mimic is going to be a separate character, one who Glitchtrap corrupted into a sadistic, bloodthirsty, and murderous being. Unfortunately for everyone (including Glitchtrap), the Mimic also copied Glitchtrap's ambition and selfishness. It wouldn't be content staying in Glitchtrap's shadow for long…and we all know that William Afton's arrogance would never tolerate another rival, especially not when it could pose a liability to his plans.

Next chapter will probably be the Grand Opening of the Mega Pizzaplex! As you might have already been able to tell, I don't plan for things to immediately go to shit with the Grand Opening…the key word being immediately.

That's all I have for now. I hope you guys enjoyed!