Mable: The beginning of the end begins… Enjoy! :)
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Ninety-One
Roxy was hunched over at her vanity with her face as close to the magazine opened on it as possible. There was no chance of reading the super-small print, but at least she could look at the pictures.
Ugh, so it came to this. Whatever. The pictures were the most important part anyways. Who cares what someone said about something when you could see it with your own eyes? Somewhat.
It was then that she heard footsteps outside of her door. She turned her head towards the door to listen, expecting whoever it was to either knock or let themselves in, as it was clearly another Glamrock.
Yet there was nothing. After a few long seconds she called, "Who's there?" but received no answer. With a sigh, she got up and walked to the door, opening it up.
And was blindsided by how close Monty was standing.
"Whoa!" She reflexively took a step back. "Geez, Monty. You're going to get skid marks on your nose like that."
"Ah need to show you somethin'," Monty said. He had a surprisingly solemn voice.
"What?"
"You'll see."
With that, he turned and started to walk off.
"No, I don't think I will, Monty," Roxy scoffed. "That better not have been a pun."
Monty paused. "Oh, uh… Nope. Come on." Then he kept going.
Roxy rolled her eyes and followed him, and he led her to a nearby door on the other side of Rockstar Row. They then climbed up a lengthy staircase and it was then that Roxy realized they were heading into the main security room. She kept up, and they walked into the monitoring office together.
Monty led her to underneath one of the largest screens.
"Try to squint, yer gonna want to see this," Monty said. Then he clicked a few buttons.
"Since when have you been able to work this stuff?" Roxy asked.
"I've been workin' when nobody's been lookin'," he explained. He clicked something and a video came up. "Take a look at this."
Roxy squinted and strained to see, but it was hard on the screen. Colors blurred, but she saw what looked like people moving. A white form. A kid?
"What is this?"
"That's Vanny," Monty said. "…And that's that kid."
"That kid who keeps sneaking in?"
"Yeah." He took off his sunglasses, flicking them in his hand. "They're together."
"…Wait, do you mean together-together or she's chasing him around?"
"Nah, they're together. Lemme tell ya what's going on on the screen. She ran after him into a room, then he stopped an' waved at her, then she skipped off after him. They're workin' together."
"What?! Wait, no, that can't be right. I came in on her grabbing that kid!"
"It's all a scam. An' y'know why?" Monty clicked a few buttons and revealed another image. "'Cause he's been playin' Freddy."
"What…?"
Roxy leaned in and squinted and this time the footage was clear enough that she could see as Freddy knelt and let the kid climb inside.
"Oh my God, FREDDY!"
"Yup."
"This whole time we've been chasing this kid and he's been hiding him?! What a load of asphalt! I am going to kill him!"
"Don't blame him. Looks like this kid's been playin' him like a fiddle. An' not just him, Sun's been coverin' for him too."
"Well, anyone could tell you that."
"But it's worse than you think. Him and Vanny are workin' together. Both of 'em were runnin' around the raceway when someone tampered with Foxy's brakes. An'… the kid's the one who pushed Chica into the trash compactor."
Roxy looked at him in shock. "What?"
"Yeah. I've got that on tape too. Both of 'em. Not the brakes, but him runnin' around right before yer accident."
Roxy was reeling. "I don't- What does this mean? Are you telling me some kid's behind us getting trashed or that Vanny's making him do it?"
"Ah think it's both. Vanny's got a few screws loose, but this kid, Gregory, he's a real psycho. He's been turnin' Freddy against us, he's been breaking us up one by one, and worst of all… Nah, that's pretty much the worst of it, I guess."
"This is insane! How could some KID do this?!"
"I dunno. I just know what ah see, and he's the one pullin' the strings." He turned to leave. "Wait here, I'm gonna go get Chica."
"I'll message her."
"No good. The comms are down cause'a that kid."
"He took down the messaging network too?! How could he have done that?!"
Monty shrugged and headed out.
Roxy continued standing there, leaning in to try and see the repeating footage. It was stuck on the kid, Gregory, climbing into Freddy's stomach.
Could this kid really be behind everything going wrong at the Pizzaplex? Roxy had some doubts, but maybe he was working as a pawn for Vanny. That certainly would explain some things.
But not what happened in Roxy Raceway. Unless one was covering for the other. Unless she misread the situation when she ran in, somehow, but still…
But still, it looked like Freddy had played them all for fools. But that wasn't like Freddy. He had to be the one who was fooled, but by some kid? Roxy still wasn't convinced.
Shortly later, Monty came thumping back in with Chica on his heels. She looked confused- though Roxy couldn't see it, but she did tap on her shoulder as she walked up to signal that she had arrived.
"Hey, Chic," she said.
Chica tilted her head and shrugged at Monty, asking him without words why she was there.
"I'll bring ya up to speed. To recap, an' you can ask Roxy 'bout it, we've got real evidence on these screens that the kid who's been runnin' around is working with Vanny and has been playing the whole 'widdle kid' card to get Freddy hiding him. That's right, Freddy's been hidin' him. And so has Sun and Moon. He's got 'em all fooled."
Chica was startled, looking between him and Roxy. She made little round ears above her head.
"That's right, Freddy."
Chica tapped Roxy's shoulder frantically, questioningly.
She sighed. "Yes, Chica. He's been hiding him. I can't believe it either."
"And that ain't all. I gotta show ya somethin' else…"
Monty poked at a couple of buttons and keys until another piece of footage popped up on the screen. Glamrock Chica's eyes widened as she saw the kitchen. But not just the kitchen. What was happening inside of it.
A brawl between her and Circus Baby. With Ennard standing there as well.
But then, the trash compactor started up. She shoved Baby inside and watched as Ennard tried to pull her out, and she genuinely felt bad. Maybe not for Baby, but for poor Ennard, trying to rescue his sister.
And then… she saw him. The little boy she had been chasing through the Pizzaplex for months. Coming up behind her, out of wherever he was hiding in the kitchen, and shoving her from behind.
Right into the trash compactor.
She had forgotten about that. Between the damages and the repairing, shutting down and booting up numerous times, and the big black blur that was whatever happened in the basement, she had forgotten that he had been the one who pushed her.
And that anger came back twofold.
"What's going on there? Who's that?" Roxy asked, pointing towards the blur that was Ennard.
"It's Ennard. Y'know, the clown," Monty said.
"He's working with Vanny too?!"
"Naw, that's- just wait a sec. Chica, can you tell us what you… Oh. Uh." Monty trailed off awkwardly, then cleared his speaker. "She sees the kid pushin' her into the trash compactor."
"What?!" Roxy shouted.
"It's true. Tell her- Ugh, ah mean- take my word fer it! It's that kid again!"
Roxy turned towards Chica and she could see her make a nodding motion, and while she could squint hard enough to see she believed Chica and Monty both. She knew it had to be true.
"…Oh, he is going down. He is in so much trouble for this," Roxy growled. "And I bet it's that rabbit bimbo who put him up to this! I know she was behind what happened at the racetrack. You can't tell me she wasn't."
"Well, I got one more thing fer… Fer me to read out to ya," Monty said.
He tapped at the buttons again, with Chica tilting her head. Mildly surprised that Monty was able to work these security systems when he couldn't even get their issues straight.
But then he managed to pull up a list of texts between two parties. A chat history of some kind. Chica tilted her head the other way, slightly bumping Roxy in the process.
"What is it?" Roxy asked. To her the words were blurred beyond comprehension.
"They're secret messages between someone named V-N-Y, that rabbit chick Vanny, and G-G-Y, Gregory, the kid. Ah know it's him 'cause he's been cheatin' at the arcade cabinets and leavin' that name everywhere. These are the newest messages I found. Listen to 'em," Monty said. He then began to read.
"GGY says, 'It worked! He doesn't suspect a thing'. VNY says, 'Good. We don't need him pokin' his nose around.' Then she says, 'What now?' And GGY says, 'All we've gotta worry 'bout now is Monty. Once he's out of the way, we'll be free to go ahead with the plan!' And VNY says, 'Easier said than done. How are we supposed to deal with Monty?' GGY says, 'Mont-… Monty's gonna have a little accident…"
Monty trailed off. His voice suddenly more breathy and anxious. His internal fans whirring so hard that hot air eked out of the cracks between his plates.
"'We need his- his upgrades to get through the gate anyways. Better just to kill two bears with one knife.'… Ah think he meant two birds with one stone."
"Is that what it says?!" Roxy asked, looking to Chica. The chicken nodded her head, that much Roxy could see. She put her head in her hand. "I can't believe this. A kid? How could a kid… Vanny got into this kid's head, there's no doubt about it. Kids don't do this."
But Chica wasn't so convinced. She trusted her eyes and she knew what she saw.
"We gotta nip this in the bud," Monty said. "We gotta track Freddy down and get this kid away from him before he makes him do something he's gonna regret."
"…You're right. It doesn't matter who the one in charge is if they're working towards the same goal. Where's Freddy?"
"Beats me. Lemme check." He began tapping at the keys again.
"But I don't feel good about this…" Roxy muttered. She unexpectedly had a hand on her shoulder.
Chica squeezed it and despite her features being blurry, she could see the intense look in her eyes. That was enough to snap Roxy out of it.
"Right," she said with a nod. "We'll take care of this."
It was all a matter of tracking him down…
…
Meanwhile, Freddy was entirely oblivious to what his bandmates were up to. In fact, he had more important things to take care of.
Such as the load of laundry piled up inside of him. Which Gregory was currently sitting on as he rode along in Freddy as they made their way to the daycare. With their destination being the theater's basement, where they could do the wash without much risk of anyone else hearing and finding them.
Freddy looked up at the distant balcony sadly. The daycare had been closed today. Apparently, none of the daycare workers were qualified to take care of the kids as they closed the daycare as soon as the Daycare Attendant himself disappeared. He heard that there had been a few arguments with angry parents wanting to drop off their children and being told they couldn't.
Chaz had come by Freddy's green room to ask him about Sun and Moon again. Despite his usually warm nature, Freddy kept their conversation brief and chilly and told him nothing about where he and Jake were hiding.
And though he knew they were still in the Pizzaplex, up in the Prize Counter, seeing the daycare empty and knowing his Sunshine and Moonlight or good friend Jake wasn't there made his heart ache.
"It is not the same without Sunny here…" Freddy murmured.
Gregory pushed on the stomach hatch and Freddy opened it so he could stick his head out to look. It looked the same to him, but the feel was a little different.
"Yeah. And it's kinda creepy with the music off," he said. "We could go to the Prize place and see him."
"That is an excellent idea. We will do that once we have the laundry done," Freddy said. He looked at the balcony with a sigh. "But still… I hope things go back to normal soon. I cannot imagine a daycare without Sun…"
There was a clattering from the balcony.
Freddy's eyes widened. "Hmm. I can still hear him."
"Uh, yeah. So can I. Unless that's not him."
Freddy hummed before gently pushing Gregory back in and closing his hatch. Then he began to walk towards the theater with a determined stride.
Either A: Sun had come back, or B: Chaz and his cronies were searching his room. From the sound of it a lot of stuff was getting moved, at least from what Freddy could hear once he entered the left open poster door, so he was leaning towards employees. In which case, he was about to be very cross with them.
Except then he opened the cracked door and stepped in and heard soft muttering and jingling bells. Immediately a fond warmth washed over him. It was his Sunshine, of course.
Within a few moments, he saw Sun's legs crawling out of the tunnel leading into the smaller room. His upper half was twisted around to carry out an overflowing cardboard box.
"Sunshine!"
"YEEP!" Sun dropped the box the back of his feet and snapped his head over, then covered his face. "Ugh, don't sneak up on me like that!"
"My apologies. What are you doing?"
"Just… getting some of the stuff we left behind. Y'know, in case they clean this place out…" Sun said, spinning his upper half around and then turning back to check the box and pick up the hand puppets that fell off.
"For the move," Freddy finished knowingly.
"Mmmmyes."
"Are you going back to the dump?" Gregory asked, pushing open Freddy's stomach hatch.
"I sure hope not. Worst case scenario, yes, but best-case scenario we get rehomed into an actual home," Sun chirped hopefully. Instantly taking on a lighter, almost phonier tone once Gregory popped up. "But hey, since you're here, I've got something for you."
"Me?"
"That's right! Come on down, Sunspot!"
Gregory hopped down from Freddy and came over, only to be handed a carefully cradled action figure of Sun himself.
"Here you go!"
"Thanks, but I already have a- wait. This isn't one of the Sun action figures."
Now seeing it in his hands, Gregory realized the eyes were different and there was a little gap in the teeth. It was like the Sun on the candy posters.
"Not the ones in the Prize Counter, no. THIS is a limited-edition prototype Sun figure! One of the few that were made before the Pizzaplex opened. Technically-." Sun rested a hand on Gregory's shoulder as he leaned over, pointing at the mini-Sun. "That's Jake."
"Oh, sweet!" Gregory said. "That means this is super rare, right?!"
"That's right! So don't blow it up with a firecracker or anything," Sun mumbled the last part. "But thank Jake when you see him again, it was his idea!"
"I will!"
"Or- wait, hold on."
Sun darted over and dug into a box, then another, and soon pulled out a Freddy walkie-talkie. He checked the batteries and made sure it worked before pressing a hand to his head and mumbling under his breath, listing out numbers lowly. He must've been sending a message to someone, likely Jake.
Then he pressed the button on the walkie. "Hellooooo?"
"Well, hey there! Welcome to the Pizzaplex. Can I take your order?" Jake joked back.
"Lemme check with my little friend here," Sun said. Then he half tossed the radio to Gregory, who caught it in his arm. He then steered him by the shoulders towards the door. "Now you go out into the hallway where it's quiet and tell Jake thank you!"
"Are you getting rid of me?" Gregory asked suspiciously.
"Getting rid of you?! Of course not!"
"…Are you going to smooch Freddy?" Gregory asked bluntly, with a small smirk.
"You wanna stick around and find out?" Sun asked flatly.
Gregory, with an equally flat look, turned and walked into the hallway. He lifted the radio as he went. "Hey Jake! Sun said you told him to give me this action figure of you, or the old you. It's so cool! Did you-?"
Sun gently nudged the door closed as he kept his eyes on Freddy. Then he tented his fingers together.
"Freddy, let's chat."
"Oh dear."
"Yes. That sort of chat."
Freddy's shoulders slouched and he looked towards the floor, at another box already packed up by his feet. Reminding him that this room would soon be emptied out.
They hadn't even got a chance to fix it up into a proper green room.
They hadn't gotten a chance to do a lot of things.
"Freddy… we need to talk about Gregory."
Freddy closed his eyes with finality. He knew it was coming, but it was devastating that it did.
"Gregory… he can't stay here forever. Not now. Not that it's like this," Sun said gently.
"…I know."
Sun sighed, his own shoulders going slack, and walked up to the bear. He reached out and patted his back.
"I know you don't want to hear it, and I know you tried. We both tried to make it safe here, but we… we can't fix this place, Freddy. It's not ours. We're just employees who don't get paid. And now I'm wanted. I've got no choice but to go…"
"And I do not blame you! Sun, I do not… I do not want you to stay knowing what may happen if you do. Even if you were not caught, you would be hiding forever, and that is not living…" Freddy said. He looked at Sun sincerely. "You have my blessing to go."
"Thank you, Freddy…"
There was a tense silence. Sun began to tick; he was anxious, Freddy realized. He reached for him when Sun suddenly spoke up.
"Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and go with the safe route, even if you know it means giving up everything you've got. Otherwise, you're just going to lose it later. Maybe even more. Because- Because you can't hold onto something that you're going to lose anyway," he babbled.
Freddy stared at him for a long moment, then quietly asked, "Sunny, are you suggesting that… Gregory goes with you?"
"Actually, Freddy…" Sun stepped to the side and grabbed his hands. Holding them tight, pleadingly so. "I'm suggesting you come with us."
"What?" Freddy gasped in surprise. "You mean leave the Pizzaplex? Me? But I could not!"
"And why not? Freddy, think about it! This place isn't going to stay open forever, and what's going to happen when they close? You'll just get shipped off somewhere else! At best. At worst they'll scrap you for parts and rebuild you into something else- Freddy, you CAN'T stay. Not now that the body's been found. This place has a big death clock sitting over it! I need you, Gregory needs you, and we need you to get out of here!"
"I would! You know that I would, but it is by my design that I cannot leave the Pizzaplex. I cannot so much as take more than a few steps outside of its doors without being alerted to return," Freddy said regretfully.
"That's not true! You can fight it!"
"But the hourly recharge-."
"We can find a way to charge you! Heck, Jake and I've split power through wires at least a dozen times! Look-." Sunny grabbed one of his shoulders to pull him in. "If I have to physically BE your battery to get you out of here, then so help me, Freddy Fazbear, I am going to be."
Freddy looked at him wide-eyed. He was serious, wasn't he? He really meant it, he really was determined to convince him to leave. And Freddy would in a heartbeat if he…
…Could he?
Stepping away from the stage would be hard, but nowhere near as hard as stepping away from Gregory, Sun, Moon, the life they had made together. To leave the Pizzaplex- to go to Foxy's- could he go to Foxy's? What would Foxy say? It was silly to ask. Freddy knew Foxy would say yes. But to leave his bandmates? But what if they left too? Could they all just leave?
He didn't know how Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex could survive without its star, but…
…But they replaced Bonnie so easily. Couldn't they replace him?
Could he take Bonnie with him?"
"So, what are you going to do?" Sun asked.
"I… I do not know…" Freddy's thoughts were still racing. "…I need some time to think."
"Well, you've got about twenty-four hours," he said, patting his shoulder. Then squeaking as he was pulled into a tight hug.
"But you cannot wait for me." He sighed as he tucked Sun's head under his chin. "But it certainly will not be the same without you in here..."
"I know…"
The two stood there in that embrace for what felt like an eternity, but in reality, was only a few minutes. Not enough time but too much with Gregory in the hallway.
Especially if this would be one of his last nights, Freddy thought solemnly. He patted Sun's back and pulled away. Sun quickly caught him by the chin.
"Think about it," he said.
"I will. I promise."
"Good." He tapped Freddy on the nose. "And come see me once your done downstairs. You can help me move my boxes, and then Gregory can spend some quality time with Jake."
Only with-? Oh.
"I think that can be arranged…" Freddy said with a wink. "Stay warm, Sunshine."
Sunny gave a cackly little giggle, his points spinning, and finally let Freddy go.
"Alright, Gregory. Time to rock and roll!" Freddy said as he opened the door into the hall.
He stole a look back at Sun who waved. He waved back and then shut the door, and the moment he did Sun drooped like a wilting flower and went back to work.
The conversation with Sun lingered in the back of Freddy's mind as he headed down the basement stairs. Eventually the butterflies Sun left were gone and now there was just a pit of emptiness, barely filled by Gregory and the mound of clothes bulked up inside of him.
Once they made it to the washing machines, Freddy unloaded Gregory from his stomach hatch. Gregory was currently wearing a Freddy Fazbear themed pajama-onesie that Freddy had gifted him. The only thing left of his that wasn't getting washed. Though he was still wearing his sneakers with it, along with his backpack.
Freddy took out all the clothes and dumped them into the washing machine before pulling something out from the bottom of his hatch that had been covered up.
"There we go! Now we will just need to wait. But I brought just the thing…" Freddy pulled them out. "A coloring book! And crrrayons!"
Gregory looked less than amused. "Freddy, how old am I?"
"You are eight years old, Gregory. Much below the estimated outgrowing of coloring: never."
Gregory mumbled some sort of begrudging agreement and took the coloring book like it was the biggest chore in the world, despite the fact that Freddy and him both knew he was going to willingly color. He drew, after all, and Freddy was always so encouraging of his comics. Even if that meant whipping out a coloring book.
Freddy went and got some cushions for them and they settled into the corner by the stairs. Freddy on his side propped up on a moon shaped one and Gregory laying down a wedge and coloring on the floor.
It didn't take long before the conversation changed from colors- "What do you think, Toytime Blue or Deep-Sea Navy?" "Hmm. I would choose the navy." "Got it." -to what happened up in the balcony.
"So, what did Sun want?"
"Oh… Not much…" Freddy looked away awkwardly.
Gregory got a suspicious look.
"…Hey, Gregory. Do you know what I was thinking about when I went to get the cushions?"
"Was it about what Sun was talking about?"
"Erm- no, I just realized that you never told me when your birthday is!"
"…O-Oh. Yeah…"
Gregory had purposefully not told anyone what his birthday was, or even what his old last name was. It kept him safe because nobody could track him down without those. But he could trust Freddy.
"It's December 16th."
"Ah, wonderful! Then it has not passed yet," Freddy said with relief. "Which means that we can plan your eventual birthday party!"
"Yeah, if I don't get kicked out by then…" Gregory mumbled. "What are we going to do now that Sun and Moon are leaving?"
Freddy's face softened. Though Gregory kept up a tough wall, he could tell he was worrying about losing him just as much as Freddy did.
"We will find away. After all, you are my Superstar, and I will not let you down," Freddy assured. He reached out and ruffled his hair. "And I promise that we will have a birthday party together. It does not matter where it is, we will have one."
Gregory smiled appreciatively. "Thanks."
"It is no trouble."
The boy almost returned to his coloring before he suddenly noticed something.
"Wait…" He looked back at Freddy. "Was Sun talking about, like… us leaving too?"
"He… suggested it. Us leaving. Together."
"Maybe we should," Gregory mumbled.
Freddy looked to him in surprise. "Is that what you-?"
Suddenly the basement doors opened with a loud clatter. One so loud that it echoed across the large room below.
"Yo, Freddy!"
Both Freddy and Gregory looked up suddenly at the sound of Monty's bellow. Freddy could just spot him coming down the stairs- and he wasn't alone. Roxy and Chica were tailing him.
"Freddy, where are you?!" Roxy called.
Freddy gasped and got up on one knee, opening his stomach hatch so Gregory could climb inside. There was simply no time for him to run without getting seen. He then stood up, plopping his cushion atop the coloring book and crayons, then walked towards the stairs to hopefully pull attention away from the washing machine.
"Oh, hello! Chica, Roxy, Monty- I was just down here looking around. What are you doing here? Did I miss practice?"
"Yes, but that's not why we're here. Freddy, we need to talk," Roxy said.
Freddy felt an uneasy chill through him. Did they know? They couldn't know. It must be about something else. The body, Sun and Moon, something else.
"About the Pizzaplex being closed? Yes, that worries me too. But I am sure that we will be able to reopen soon," Freddy called.
"It ain't about that," Monty called.
The comment wasn't finished until they made it to the bottom of the stairs and came down to meet Freddy head on. Monty in front with Chica and Roxy flanking his sides.
"It's about that kid who's been runnin' around," he finished.
"You mean the boy?" Freddy asked. "What about him?"
Chica decided it was worth sacrificing one of her allotted messages and put a finger to her temple, her eyes narrowing in focus and then staying so after it sent.
"Cut the cake, Freddy. We know about what's going on."
"I-I'm sorry?"
"We know about yer deal with the kid," Monty said. "And that ain't all we know. We found messages between him an' Vanny. They're workin' together!"
"What?! That cannot be! That- I am aware that Vanny is chasing that boy, and she has been causing problems for us too! Roxy, she sabotaged your race with Foxy, and she has hounded Foxy's friends plenty of times!"
"I had trouble believing it too, but the evidence was right there. And it explains why that day I ran into that freak I was chasing that kid. He led me right to her! And here I thought she was harassing him, what a blowout," Roxy muttered with a shake of her head. "She's got him tied around her little finger."
"Or her 'round his."
Chica gave a frustrated point, a shove, and then gestured to herself. "He pushed me!" Then she made crushing, smashing hand gestures. As though mimicking a big crocodile mouth. "Into the trash compactor!"
"That...I…I see. Well, if that is the case… Where is he now?"
"That's what we'd like to know," Roxy said cryptically.
Chica pointed at Freddy before shrugging questioningly. "Where is he?"
"Me? How would I know-?"
"Ya must think we're real dumb, don'tcha Freddy?" Monty asked.
"I do not-."
"Freddy, we've seen you with the kid! We saw footage of you putting him into your chest- which is disgusting, by the way. That's where you're supposed to be putting food, and you have a kid climbing around in there- and sneaking him around. So, where is he?!"
"We ain't gonna hurt him, we just want to talk," Monty said.
Chica thumping her fist into her palm didn't exactly give the same image.
"I-I cannot… You all must be mistaken. A child doing all of this? It is Vanny! Surely she is setting him up! But for what reason? To turn us against each other!"
"Good point. Make with the kid," Roxy said. "He's going to Vanessa and then to the police, and then we'll track down his little rabbit friend."
Freddy fumbled with his words, trying to think of a way to stall or signal Sun. Anything! But his silence was telling.
"I always figured you'd choose that kid over us," Monty growled. "Good thing Bonnie ain't here to see this…"
Roxy mimicked an exhale. "Don't bring up Bonnie," she said calmly.
"And why not?! Forget hoppin' mad, he'd be downright pissed if he was here, and Freddy chose some two-faced brat over him!"
"I said, drop it!" Roxy snapped.
But this must've stirred something in Chica as she turned on Freddy and gave him a shove. Not one to push him over or hurt him, but one to get his attention and tell him to do it. Give them the kid, NOW.
And inside Freddy's stomach hatch, Gregory was feeling the pressure. It sounded like they were closing in all around them. He wanted to shout at Freddy to run, but he couldn't, and for some reason he didn't run on his own. Was he listening to them? Did he believe them?
It wouldn't be the first time that someone believed another adult over him. But would Freddy?
"I…" Freddy sighed. "…I will tell you where he is."
Gregory's blood ran cold. Freddy wouldn't really do it, would he? Could he? No, he couldn't!
But he would. Freddy would tell them exactly where to go.
"He is hiding in the security office above Fazer Blast. The one that is connected to Bonnie Bowl. You will find him there. Just, please, take Vanessa with you. She can take him to the authorities," Freddy said. "I am sorry, but… I cannot go with you."
Chica turned on her heel and started to hustle to the stairs only for Monty to catch her arm.
"Hold it," he said. He stared Freddy down through his sunglasses. "…Ah think yer bluffin', Freddy. I think he's a lot closer than that…"
"…You are right, Monty. I am lying to you… He is in the back room." Freddy stepped aside, gesturing a hand back towards the double doors by the washing machines.
"Don't play us like fools, Freddy! We ain't the fools- Yer the fool! Lettin' some kid steer you around like a compact van!" Monty snapped. He stepped up to him. "And if I had to guess…"
"Monty…"
"He's right… here!"
Suddenly Monty swung out. Freddy gasped and stepped back, but the claws caught him.
But instead of getting swiped, Monty hooked his claws into the crease of his hatch and forced it open. Even if Freddy had forcibly activated the locks, he wasn't sure it would've stopped Monty from yanking him open.
There was Gregory pressed into the back wide-eyed.
"There you are!" Monty bellowed with an accusing point.
"God, Freddy! Why?!" Roxy yelled.
"I had no choice!" Freddy defended.
"Roxy, you go left, I'll go right! Chica, grab the kid!" Monty barked.
"No!"
But in an instant Monty and Roxy were on top of him and had him by the arms, holding them back from shielding his open stomach hatch. He tried to close it, but it wasn't fast enough, with Chica able to yank it back open and reach inside of him. Gregory pressed into the back of Freddy, trying to avoid the white and green hand reaching for him.
She grabbed him by the leg and started to drag him out. He began to kick and scream, "No, no, no! Let me go!"
Something snapped in Freddy at that moment. In a second something shifted, and suddenly it wasn't like he was surrounded by his bandmates. No, they were strangers. Strangers coming for his child.
He reared up his leg and kicked Monty's shin so hard that it knocked his leg back and caused him to stumble. In the next beat, arm freed, Freddy rammed his shoulder and all his weight into Roxy, knocking her on her back. Then he grabbed Chica's arm to wrestle with it and when she let go of Gregory in shock, he shoved her back, causing her too to stumble and fall.
Gregory fell out of the stomach hatch in the process, but Freddy caught him. He tried to climb back inside, but for some reason Freddy closed up quickly, pushing his hatch closed, and instead decided to carry him.
"You cannot have him!" he yelled.
He then barged past and began to run for the basement stairs.
Roxy climbed onto all fours and with a grunt launched herself at Freddy, tackling him in the back of the legs. Freddy began to fall, turning himself in time to land on his shoulder instead of Gregory who was safe in his arms.
He quickly pushed him up onto his feet and up the steps.
"Gregory, run! Get to the daycare!" he cried.
That's why he didn't put him back inside. He was planning on this to happen. To hold the others back while Gregory got away.
Gregory started to run up the stairs, getting up to the second flight before looking down and seeing Freddy standing on the stairs with his arms outstretched, blocking his bandmates.
"Freddy, move or we're going to move you!" Roxy shouted.
"I will not! Have you all lost your minds?! I will not let you pass! I will not let you do this!" Freddy yelled back.
Chica, thoroughly inflamed by getting shoved and now looking especially twitchy, got up from the ground, spun her head around, and ran for him. But instead of tackling him, she changed tactic and swung her hip, spun on her heel, and kicked him dead in the chest.
This was enough to send Freddy crashing down onto the steps with a pained yelp.
"Freddy! NO!" Gregory shouted.
He began to hyperventilate as he saw Chica and Roxy moving in, and he yanked off his backpack and tore into it. There had to be something he could use.
Freddy looked up in shock at Chica who glared back. It was as though he was staring at a stranger. Just a dangerous machine.
That feeling, that feeling of being trapped with a dangerous machine.
Red eyes. Crackle. Crackle. Moon?
Stop.
He turned. Pale face.
Crack.
He saw it in the back of his eyes, the fear of her reminded him of something he had long forgotten. And now- And now-
"HEY!"
Chica and Roxy both looked up and Freddy looked back to see Gregory leaning around the corner of the stairs. In his hands was clutched a Faz-Cam.
"SAY CHEESE!"
With the click of a button, a flash blinded all three of them. Even Roxy's compromised eyes weren't spared. She roared and covered hers, Chica stumbled back, and Freddy gave a, "Gah! I cannot see!"
Roxy suddenly began to charge up the side of the stairs, fully blinded and forcing through by stumbling up the steps. Gregory didn't want to leave Freddy, but he had to turn and run for the stairs.
Only to have Monty somehow leap over the side of the railing and land right in front of him, blocking the way up. His body wheezing out hot air from the strain.
"Nice try, Kid! But that don't work on me!"
Gregory backed away before turning around and hopping onto the stairs railing and slowly sliding down. Just managing to miss Monty's grab and being too far for Roxy to reach. He hopped off the end and raced off.
"Keep going, Gregory! Run!" Freddy shouted.
"Roxy, keep him down! Chica, help me get this kid!" Monty barked.
Chica nodded and rushed after him while Roxy sighed and planted a knee on Freddy's chest, forcing him back down onto the stairs when he tried to stand up. Monty squeezed by and stalked after Chica too.
"Roxy, please! You know this is wrong!" Freddy protested.
"I can't trust anything, Freddy. Or anyone, apparently," she growled.
"What's going on down there?!" Sun called down.
Freddy gasped and looked up. "Sun, thank goodness! Help me!"
"Stay out of this, Sun!" Roxy shouted.
Sun did decide to stay out of it.
Because it was Moon who suddenly came swinging in and landed himself directly on top of Roxy, which only succeeded in tackling her onto Freddy. The two immediately getting into a wrestling match, with Moon flipping his head back to avoid Roxy's swipes, and Freddy trying to break them up from beneath them.
Meanwhile, Gregory escaped into the back room and hid behind some unused cut outs. Some for various productions, even some of Foxy, likely to go with that Foxy plush stand and food stall in the atrium. He crept along before hiding behind a Freddy cutout when the door suddenly banged open and Monty came stomping in alone.
He started pushing over cutouts and searching for the boy, who used the noise to quietly sneak around behind him. His heart was pounding as he made it back to the door he first came through. He watched Monty clobber a cutout of himself before sneaking out.
He got back into the main room and caught sight of a scuffle between Roxy and Moon, with Freddy involved. He decided it would be best to stay out of it and get out of here and slipped into the dressing room door.
Only to suddenly get grabbed and yanked inside by the arm. He yelped and tried to pull away, but her grip was like a vice. She yanked him right back in and away from the door.
He tried to lift the Faz-cam and she snatched it out of his hands and tossed it to the floor before smashing it under her foot. Just the force of it caused Gregory to panic.
"No! Let go of me!" he shouted. He kicked at her legs and tried to twist and pull, but her grip wouldn't release.
To think this was the child that ruined her life. He took away every sweet treat she had ever eaten, he took away her voice, he ruined everything! And for what?! To help some crazy bunny woman skip around?!
She was starving. Always. Always hungry, always wanting to bite into something. She could've eaten a horse. She could've eaten a child. She was so hungry that dough and flesh could've melded into one and the same, and she would've kept eating until she was full. Never truly full, but full enough to exist without wanting to constantly eat.
It was as though a pit opened up inside her and she could've stuffed Gregory into it and crunched him down to little bite-sized pieces like the garbage he dumped her into. Child, children. Nobody was watching.
She knew what she needed to do. She could crush him like he crushed her, like she smashed that faz-cam, like he kicked her beak and broke her face. She could, nobody was watching, silence him before they come.
She was so hungry. She threw shoved him to the floor, still holding his arm. She was so hungry. She stood over him. She was so hungry. So empty.
She wanted to break him into pieces.
…
No. No? What, no. No! She- She didn't want to hurt a child, did she?
In the back of her mind, a reflex stabbing in her gut, told her that yes. She needed to do this. Before anyone saw, while they were alone. One child. Nobody was watching.
He looked up at her with fear and suddenly she too was filled with panic. Because something inside of her was telling her to do this, to break him and take the remains somewhere else, but she didn't want to. It wasn't her, it was this all-consuming feeling telling her that she needed to. That this was what she was supposed to do.
She was so, so hungry.
"There's a thing inside of you and it's telling you to eat and it's telling you to chase kids, but all it's going to do is take away everything you've got. You get it under control or you get swallowed up by it."
Ennard said that. He had been warning her- saying something was telling her to chase kids. But she was only chasing Gregory! And he was working with Vanny!
But she had been hunting him since the beginning, hadn't she? Why had she been so desperate to find him? Why did searching make the hunger so much worse that she resorted to garbage to fill it?
She could remember when the hunger began. The moment Circus Baby found her and ate her alive. She had been aware, but unable to do anything to protect herself. She laid there like a buffet of candy being gorged on by dozens of kids. A candy person being eaten alive by the inside out, unable to so much as scream.
That was when the hunger began.
But that wasn't when she started noticing when children were alone. That wasn't when she started paying attention when parties thinned out.
And that was the moment that Chica realized that Ennard had been right. He knew. But of course he did, because he had been a Funtime too.
It took every ounce of strength in her body just to release Gregory's arm. He immediately scrambled back into the wall, and she too quickly backed away. She couldn't trust herself to be near him.
And the worst part was that even now as she willed herself away, something was still trying to goad her on. It didn't have a voice, it just prodded at her guts and reminded her that nobody was watching, don't let him get away.
Her back bumped the wall as she stared at Gregory wide-eyed. She would've been shaking if her body didn't seem to stiffen up. He stared back at her, not trusting her to not charge at him.
And then Chica suddenly dropped. Sliding down the wall and landing on her backside with a thumb, one knee bent, eyes still wide as she stared at him. She couldn't look away until she forcibly covered her eyes and looked away from him. Finally beginning to shake with exertion and dread.
Gregory took this moment to leap to his feet and run back out the door, only to immediately run into a green and yellow brick wall.
"Gotcha!" Monty shouted. He snatched Gregory up around the middle and promptly stuck him under one of his arms.
"Let me go! Freddy! FREDDY!"
"Gregory?!"
Moon and Roxy's fight was promptly halted by Freddy shoving past them, pushing them apart in the process, and bolting across the room. He caught sight of Monty toting Gregory under his arm before he disappeared.
"MONTY!" Freddy shouted. He bolted after him with Moon on his heels. Both catching up to Monty as he made it to the doors leading to the tunnels.
Monty turned on them and lifted Gregory, pointing something threateningly at his face.
Of course, by time Freddy came to a screeching halt and Moon slammed into the back of him, they realized what Monty was pointing was, in fact, just his finger. But that didn't change the threat involved.
"Ah-ah! Not another step, Freddy! You neither, Moon!" Monty barked.
"Monty, please, let him go! This does not concern him! You have been tricked!" Freddy pleaded.
Moon stuck his head out from around him with a deadly red glare. "You better drop him if you know what's good for you," he hissed through his teeth.
"Yeah, fat chance! You two might be brainwashed by this brat, but I ain't! Ain't nobody gonna make a fool outta Monty," Monty snapped back.
"Okay, fine. We've got the kid. Now I'll go get Vanessa, we'll get this straightened out," Roxy said. By now she was thoroughly done with the whole thing. Nobody was moving though. "…Monty, come on. Get over here. Freddy, Moon, you two don't touch him. We're taking this kid to the security guard just like we're supposed to before that psycho in a skinsuit gets down here."
"We ain't takin' this to Vanessa."
Roxy looked to Monty with surprise. "What?... What, you think Vanessa is Vanny now? I told you, they're not the same. I could tell the second I grabbed her."
"Vanessa is not Vanny. Her real name is Natalie," Freddy said.
Roxy huffed. "Anything else you've been hiding from us?" she asked matter-of-factly.
Freddy looked guilty but stayed silent.
"There's plenty," Monty growled out. He hoisted Gregory up, who hissed a little at the tight grip. "Plenty of things he tells this kid. Things he ain't supposed to. Things that could get people hurt."
"Monty, put him down," Roxy snapped with exasperation.
Monty pushed back his shades. "Can't do that."
It was at that moment when Roxy finally realized that something was very off. She blinked and straightened up, looking at him in confusion. "Monty…?"
"If ya want to see this kid again, ya better come find 'im… Fazbear," Monty said coldly.
"No, no, stop! FREDDY!" Gregory yelled.
Monty pushed through the doors and slammed them closed before Freddy could reach them. He tried them only to find that they had somehow instantly locked the moment Monty closed them, and it was with an extremely high security clearance.
"Monty! GREGORY! STOP!" Freddy yelled.
Moon came up to his side to try and deactivate the locks on the door to know effect, startled by the high clearance until Freddy pushed him back.
"Step aside! I will get them open!" Freddy promised.
He then took a few steps back before ramming his shoulder into the door with an almighty bang. They shook but did not open. He tried again, and again.
Roxy pressed a finger to her temple and tried to send a message- "Monty, what the hell?! What happened to turning him in?!" -but the message failed to go through. All she could hear was static.
"ShhhOOT," she swore. Dropping her hand from her temple, she looked up only to have Moon's face in hers.
"What were you thinking?! Attacking a child?!"
"Attacking a- Get out of my face!" Roxy shoved him back. "We weren't attacking anybody! Monty found footage of that kid hanging out with Vanny, pushing Chica in the trash compactor, and there being messages between them, and all we were supposed to do was turn him in to Vanessa since YOU and Freddy weren't doing anything about it! You've been hiding a kid here for months! Do you realize how dangerous that is?!"
"It was FINE before all of yooou got involved! HAH, you want to talk about dangerous?! Her!" Moon pointed accusatorily at Chica who was coming out of the dressing room. Her hands shot up defensively. "Leaving bruises on a child because she can't control herself!"
Chica's eyes went wide before softening with guilt. She had done that, hadn't she? She probably just left more too. She looked down meekly as Moon now pointed at Roxy.
"And where were you?! Hmm?!"
"Quit shoving things in my face!" Roxy smacked his hand away. "And you did so much better, right? What have you been doing, hiding him up in your room?! I'm sure that's healthy! Haven't been keeping him away from that rabbit creep though, have you?!"
"Wh-What?!" Moon sputtered.
"VANNY! He and her have been working together! Aren't you listening?!"
"He- WHAT?!" Moon's voice gained so much height that it reverted into Sun's. "What- You- What?! Why would you think that?!"
"We saw footage of Gregory running around with her and messages of him plotting with her! Isn't that right, Chica?!"
Chica, who still looked very shaken, nodded stiffly.
"We even saw messages of them planning to have Monty have an 'accident' and take his upgrades."
"What the BASS PLAYING CLAWS?!" Moon cried in exasperation.
"No! That is not true. Gregory would never work with her!" Freddy proclaimed with a grunt.
Seeing as the hits on the door weren't working, he decided to take a cue from Chica. He pulled back and in one sharp sweep, kicked the door in. With the locks loosened from his assault, the doors slammed open.
Freddy didn't wait, he barreled inside and began to quickly descend the staircase into the tunnels. Though by now he couldn't hear any of Monty's footsteps.
"Gregory! GREGORY!" Freddy called as he made it to the bottom and began running down the tunnel. It wasn't long before the tunnel broke into three passages. One straight, one right, and one to the left that ended in a gate. He looked down the two possible passages before calling through his hands, "GREGORY!"
But there was no answer.
Freddy looked around at the passages in panic before pressing a finger to his temple. He tried to contact Gregory's Faz-watch, hoping he could at least locate him. But there was no response. It was either out of range or in a dead zone, and down here in the tunnels either was likely.
Freddy was almost stumbling over himself in panic. He started to go one way only to turn around, unable to commit and risk losing him.
By then Moon and Roxy caught up, with Chica following up at the stairs. Freddy turned to Moon with a frantic panic in his eyes, grabbing him desperately by the shoulders.
"Moon, what are we going to do?! They could be lost in the utilidor maze by now! How will we find them?!"
Moon had never seen Freddy so panicked- understandably so. The only reason he too wasn't freaking out was because Freddy was and it snapped Moon into 'take charge' mode.
"We'll find them," he swore. He looked back at Roxy and Chica. "And you two are going to help us, or so help me-!"
"No, we were planning on letting Monty go rogue and run off with some kid," Roxy said sarcastically. "What's the plan, split up?"
"Split up."
"Roxy, Chica, you two take the straight path! Moon and I will go right, as it leads back towards the atrium!" Freddy said.
He and Moon began to run down the tunnel-
"WAIT! WAIT! COME BACK!"
Before a voice called out from behind them. Moon stopped in a heel turn while Freddy slowly to a stop, both looking back towards the corner.
Chica, still near the stairs, turned back and looked up to see none other than the Comedy Bot, the comedian themed performing Staff Bot, waving an arm out at the top of the landing. Though the voice didn't sound like a Staff Bot's. Chica almost recognized it.
Roxy did not. "Who's there?!" she called.
"The Comedy Bot!" Jake called back. Then clarified, "It's me, the Old Sun! Long story, doesn't matter- Monty's heading back towards Gator Golf! He was like, following the exact signs on the wall. Chances are he's going there, but there's no point in taking the tunnels, because he's probably heading to the catwalks!"
"The catwalks, of course!" Freddy said. "We must find a way up there!"
It was then that Chica suddenly perked up and waved for attention. She then did some exercise steps in place.
"Mazercise?" Freddy guessed.
Chica nodded and pointed. Then she made a square with her fingers, then a box with her hands, and then looked around before noticing a vent nearby and pointed at it eagerly.
"A vent in Mazercise? That leads to the catwalks?!" Freddy asked. Chica nodded eagerly. "That is perfect! We need to hurry!"
He started to rush by when Chica held up her hands to stop him, shaking her head. She gestured at him, held a hand up to measure his height, then brought it lower, and shook and crossed her arms.
"Do you mean… I am not going to fit?"
Chica nodded again. Then she pointed towards Moon.
"But I will," Moon realized. "Take me there. Freddy, you and Roxy can take the long way."
"We will, but I am not sure the way onto the catwalks. They are a restricted area, so I do not have access to the maps."
"We'll have to catch a lift on the dark ride," Roxy said.
"I see. Then we will! You too go ahead; we will meet you there!" Freddy said.
He then turned and began to run as fast as he could down the tunnels, preferring to take them as a shortcut than lose speed on the stairs. Roxy didn't waste a moment before following him, catching up quickly.
"You want to tell me now what going on?!" she asked.
"It can wait! First, we must find Gregory!"
"No, it CAN'T wait! I need to know before I get any deeper into this!" Roxy snapped. "Why didn't you tell us you were hiding that kid?"
The guilt returned to Freddy's eyes. He knew eventually he would have to own up to hiding so much from his friends, and in this case it led to something as terrible as this. Freddy hadn't told them the truth and because of that someone else- Vanny, no doubt- filled their heads with lies.
It was time for the truth.
"I was… afraid that you would convince me to turn him in," Freddy admitted. "He is not working with Vanny. He ran away from an orphanage and his been living inside of the Pizzaplex with me caring for him. Vanny does have an accomplice, that much is true, but it is certainly NOT Gregory. And as for why she has been hunting him, I am not sure, but I have been protecting him the best I can, as has Sun and Moon."
"…Freddy, that's crazy," Roxy said. Her voice losing much of its power. There was no venom, just the blunt truth.
"I know… But we can deal with it later. We need to deal with Monty first."
"If by deal you mean pull his head out of his own cheeks, I'm way ahead of you!" Roxy said. In fact, she would've overtaken him by now if it wasn't so hard to see in the dark tunnels. "I knew something was up with all of this, ugh. Warn me if we run up on anything."
"I will!"
They continued down the tunnels towards the Monty Golf sector.
"Do not worry, Superstar. We are coming," he thought, knowing it was pointless to send a message.
Freddy could only hope that Monty was especially careful with Gregory up on those catwalks.