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angelofrainfrogs · 5 months

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Going Back: Ch. 22

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Things are looking up for Gregory. After putting the soul of a formerly-immortal killer to rest, he and his new family can finally begin their lives anew. Sure, Gregory might have been cursed with mysterious Remnant in exchange for being involved in this mess—not to mention his caretakers consist of sentient robots and ghosts… But there’s no doubt that the bond they share is unbreakable. They love him, and he in turn.

All in all, life is finally starting to go right for once.

…Unfortunately, true peace is a hard-won battle. There are other things to contend with besides William’s decrepit soul, and Gregory will learn that his role in the lives of the Aftons and Emilys is far greater than anyone could’ve imagined.

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Michael perked up when he heard the music, turning into the camera feed of the main stage just in time to see Freddy grab the mic with an ostentatious twirl. He might look human now, but he still had the programmed moves of his ursine counterpart. The guard smiled, elbows on the desk and resting his chin on the back of his hands. It was like watching a TV show, only he knew all the performers on a personal basis. He made sure to check the other feeds, mainly the Daycare to keep an eye on Ennard and co., but tonight all seemed quiet except for the performance filling the place with life.

***

Gregory had stopped his search for a moment. In the corridors he swore he could hear them now—the Glamrocks were playing! It was a cover of a song from the 80s, his only exposure to the scene being through the set list itself, as well as Mike and Charlie’s recent influence. If he didn’t hurry, he and his friends might miss the chance for a private show, plus the debut of Foxy, the Pirate Drummer.

Looking inside a trashcan, Gregory found nothing. Did everyone just up and disappear?! He knew they did that as ghosts, but this was getting silly for how long he’d been searching. It almost made Gregory paranoid as he looked for everyone. What if they were waiting to scare him?

A shiver of fear briefly ran down his spine. He wasn’t afraid of Evan and Hannah, but everyone else had a love of tormenting their once-skittish friend. Especially Cassidy…

Humming along to the music, Gregory sung lyrics he happened to remember sporadically while searching high and low for his buddies before calling out through the empty atrium. “COME ON! I need a hint, guys!”

Evan was peering down at Gregory from a hanging light fixture. Lying flat against the top surface, it was near-impossible to see him against the harsh glare unless one looked really close. He'd watched his brother pass back and forth underneath him a few times, and when Gregory finally called out in frustration Evan decided to end some of his torment.

“Look up...,” his soft voice called as Evan peered down with a grin; the only things visible were his face and his fingertips where they gripped the edge of the light.

Just hearing that meek tone that seemed to echo miles above Gregory’s head made the boy jump slightly, the hairs on his neck and the back of his arms standing to attention as he quickly glanced upwards. Upon seeing the top of his brother’s head, Gregory began to laugh. These guys weren’t playing fair in the slightest.

“Dude, how would I even see you up there?! I can’t fly!” he chuckled, stretching his arms up and out to exacerbate how impossible it was for him to reach. “So not fair…”

“Soooorry,” Evan replied as he floated down with a bright grin. Looking idly around the room, Evan tried to remember the directions he’d seen the others run off in. “I think everyone’s still around here. They might be hiding in a closest… I dunno exactly where though.” His gaze drifted towards the direction of the main stage where the upbeat music could he heard. “Hey… is the band playing right now?!”

“That’s why I’m trying to find everyone! The band’s practicing,” Gregory said, opening a nearby closet at Evan’s suggestion to find nothing notable. Cleaning supplies and buckets, but no ghosts. Gregory narrowed his eyes, vision raking the darkness as he shut the closet and started for the storage room besides it.

“Of course everyone’s spread out,” he sighed, hoping they could find all their friends before practice was over. The sound of Gregory’s footsteps and the door swinging open echoed in shelf covered room. This must be where they keep all of the seasonal merchandise—plushies and thematic items like water bottles and shirts lined the racks.

“Ooh, I really want to see the band!” Evan continued scanning the area with a bright smile. “Let’s split up... I might be able to track down some of the others faster.”

Not that Gregory wasn't a good seeker in his own right—it's just that everyone but Liz currently had supernatural abilities that allowed them to fly and disappear at will. Evan just happened to find a tough place for Gregory to see, but he made sure his brother could technically find him if he looked hard enough. The others, though... they were probably playing dirty.

***

Up in the second floor of the vast mall, Lizzie and Cassidy were messing around in Roxy's Salon. With Elizabeth sat in a chair, Cassidy had gone through the trouble of altering her friends hair to Liz’s specifications: two pigtails with a bow decorating each one, then teasing out the ends for her.

Evan and Gregory found the twins, but having no luck on ground level for any of the girls, on a hunch the ghost rushed to the salon to find two of them in the middle of Liz's transformation. Popping up behind his sister, Evan put his hands on her shoulders and leaned into whisper in her ear.

“Boo!” He giggled when Liz jumped, then quickly backed up before he could face the wrath of her or Cassidy. “Hey, how come Hannah and I are the only ones actually playing?! Cain and Quinn gave up in the arcade and you guys are... getting makeovers?”

Cassidy knew they were going to face the ire of those still playing the game. With Evan stepping up and playfully challenging them for their shared decision to leave, she laughed heartily.

“You guys stayed to play?! Gregory was gone for-like-EVER!” Turning the salon chair around for Liz to escape, Cassidy leaned on it as she looked to Evan. “We got bored. Plus we’ve had the same look for like… 40 years now. We thought ‘why the hell not?’”

Cassidy found changing her hair permanently was impossible, but she had better luck experimenting with cosmetics. Though she found that going incorporeal phased the make up right off her face again, she batted her now heavy looking eyelashes at Evan while speaking. Elizabeth, meanwhile, was joyfully enamored with the volume of her hair. She played with it in the mirror until it sat just right, then hopped up from the salon chair.

“What do you think? If you say we look like clowns, I’m hitting you,” Lizzie warned in a cheery tone.

Evan opened his mouth to speak before closing it rapidly, pretending like Liz took the words right out of his mouth. In reality, he couldn't care less whether they caked on pounds of makeup or not. To Evan, they'd always be his older sister and dear friend no matter how uncannily doll-like they appeared.

“You look... cool, I guess,” he said with a noncommittal shrug. Honestly, he was surprised Cassidy could open her eyes with the amount of mascara coating her lashes... though he smartly kept that comment to himself.

“Anyway—” Evan perked up, grabbing Lizzie's hand and trying to drag her off the chair. There was a notable air of excitement in his voice now. “—I came to get you because we're all meeting up to watch the band practice! Everyone else is probably already at the stage by now, so let's go!”

“Oh my god! What are we waiting for?!” Cassidy gasped, leaning over to pull Liz away from her ministrations in the mirror. With a hard yank, Liz was lifted in the air, held underneath her arms as Cassidy floated her friend to get there as fast as possible.

While Elizabeth wasn’t a fan of floating at all, she figured that she owed Cassidy for doing her hair so nicely—they certainly looked concert-ready.

***

Hannah had been located hiding out in the backrooms, squeezed into a locker. Mention of the live show pulled her from her spot and she rushed to the stage with Gregory at her heels. Joining Cain and Quin in the front row, Gregory snickered at how the twins immediately began dancing as if no one was watching.

“Jesus, it’s a two man mosh-pit,” Gregory remarked, seeing how little Cain and Quinn cared. Though when he came closer, the twins pulled him into their little group to dance violently with them.

Evan decided to help his sister by carrying her legs, and with the combined effort of him and Cassidy they made it to the stage in no time. As they set Lizzie down next to Hannah—who was giggling at the boys' frantic dancing—the current song ended with one final, righteous chord.

“Well, well—hello, everyone!” Freddy said, clutching his microphone as he centered himself on stage. His smile was as inexhaustible as his energy—thank god for robotic bodies, for he'd be sweating up a storm if he was human. However, his face remained clear of anything save for his bright expression.

“It seems we have gathered a little crowd tonight for our impromptu performance!” Sparing a glance over his shoulder, he looked to the Glamrocks with his enthusiastic grin. “I think that means we must give our special guests a show they will never forget!”

Bonnie was moving on queue in the sound-booth, centering the stage lights and bringing the colored filters down. At Freddy’s mention of a special performance, Foxy smacked his symbols to rile up the crowd. Cassidy leaned over and shook Hannah by the shoulders, needing something to reflect her excitement off of.

“FOXY’S ON DRUMS!” she gushed. It might be a surprise to many, but Cassidy was once a super-fan of Freddy Fazbear Entertainment. Only after her horrific murder did she begin her smear campaign.

Who could blame her, though?

Recently Cassidy had been a little more optimistic, her mood changing with the freedom from oppression her soul finally felt. Her murderer was gone—body and digital copy of his soul. Cassidy could feel content to enjoy the characters once more.

With Roxy and Foxy leading with a beat and an intro on the keys, the Glamrocks got back into the song line up. For the others, finally getting to see the show that they were robbed of the night they had disappeared had been fulfilling. Cain and Quinn had only stopped dancing briefly, yet Gregory had already worked up a sweat from moshing with the brothers. Despite barely being able to compete with the ghost’s endurance, Gregory kept moving to keep up. The drawbacks to being human still, he supposed—but he supposed he couldn't totally complain.

***

Michael couldn't help himself. With such a rousing performance gracing the Pizzaplex, there was no way he was going to sit in this stuffy office and watch from a tiny monitor. Besides, he needed to do some rounds anyway. This was a performance he didn't think anyone should miss, if they could help it.

First, he stopped by the Daycare. The play area was lit up but Sun was nowhere to be found, meaning that Moon was still watching over a slumbering Sam in the theater. However, as Michael waltzed straight through the wooden doors he saw a few others seated around the little table, partaking in the “tea party” from earlier.

“Oh wow, I didn't get an invite?” Michael griped with a playful roll of his eyes. Charlie had joined in on the fun now, seated between Mari and Ennard—whose disconcerting eyes were tracking Michael intently, of course. “Thanks a lot, guys...”

With Mari distracted by the lecture that Charlie had been in the middle of, Ennard was the first to perk up at Mike’s entrance. Only when Ennard straightened and scooted over at the tiny table, silently inviting Michael to come and sit with them did Mari start bouncing in her seat.

“Hey, Mikey! Are you here to help Charlie?” she asked.

“We're learning how to be human! It’s a lot to take in, if we're honest,” Ennard admitted, though there were noticeable changes in them already. Their speech was less stilted, as though all the personalities in their head finally agreed on who the speaker should be with only one voice box to use.

Either that, or Charlie had made significant progress with her lessons. She put a hand on Ennard’s shoulder and squeezed. Although she wasn’t a huge fan of Ennard, she figured working with them was better than working against the former clown.

“But you’re doing really well,” she encouraged, “The both of you are! Come and sit with us, Mike.”

Mari had already been making strides towards blending in with humans, but Michael was admittedly surprised at how much Ennard seemed to have taken in already. They were still unnerving, of course—though Michael had a feeling their fixed, near-unbroken gaze would stay on him forever. But they did sound a little better...

“Maybe later; I actually came to get you guys,” the guard went on, rolling his eyes at how the lanky android perked up even more. “Yes, that includes you, Ennard. The band’s practicing and I figured you’d all want to see! The kids already formed a mini-mosh pit by the stage.” He spared a glance towards the Daycare theater. “Think Sam would want to come, or should we let him live in dreamland a little longer?”

Mari slammed her palms down to the table, rattling their tea cups and the soda they used for tea. “I’m there! I’ll go get Moon!”

She didn’t wait for an answer. Being quite a fan of music, she jumped up and ran across the tiny table just to leap off it in search of her other friend.

“Everyone’s at a concert? That sounds like fun—I’ve never been to a concert before!” Ennard remarked, standing now and offering Charlie a hand.

When she took the assistance, she gave Ennard’s palm a squeeze. “Oh, it’s fun! You’ll enjoy it for sure.”

Sometimes Charlie felt a little held hostage by Ennard’s affection, though was empathetic towards them as they laced their fingers between hers. Since merging with their friends, Ennard had been very lonely. The more they interacted with everyone, the more acclimated Charlie could see them getting.

“Yeah! Go wake Sammy. I bet he’d love to mosh,” Charlie laughed with Mike, remembering Sammy’s love for concerts well. It was apparent in the theme of the Pizzaplex after all.

“On it—Mari, wait up!” Michael called with a laugh, rushing after the little android as she made a mad dash for the theater. It didn’t take long for them to find Sam snoring away in a fluffy pile of blankets and pillows. Moon was lingering nearby, his red eyes glowing bright in the darkness. By the time Michael reached the group Moon was already nodding enthusiastically at his friend’s request.

“Oh, yes, of course we’d love to see the band play!” the Daycare attendant was replying with a bit of wistfulness in his tone. “I can’t remember the last time we saw a live performance on stage…”

“I’ll wake up Sam, if you want to bring out Sun and meet us by the Daycare entrance,” Michael suggested. “Not that we don’t want to hang out, Moon, but I think it’s too bright for you…”

“It usually is; I don’t mind, ehehe.” Taking Mari’s hand, he led her towards the exit. “See you two in a minute!”

“Sam? Hey, buddy, we’ve got something cool to show you!” Michael said softly as the pair exited, gently judging his old friend’s shoulder. “We’re taking you to see the band up and running!”

Sam was in his perfect little dream world. Charlie found it strange, whenever he wasn't awake that her brother seemed just a little more youthful. The stress of life and everyday business would put lines in his waking face, but this looked more like the young punk that used to hang around her living room, terrorizing her along with Michael... She would gently nudge him along with her friend, getting him to finally sit up and open his eyes.

“Huh? The band's really practicing right now…?” Sam asked, sounding out of it. It made him feel leagues better knowing that they were all still getting along after their reprogramming. “I just need a second to wake up...”

“Charlie?” Michael raised an eyebrow towards his friend, and as one they grabbed Sam under each arm and hoisted him to his feet. After letting him get his bearings, Michael was sure to keep a tight hold on him as they led him out into the Daycare proper.

It’d been so long since the Marionette heard the bands at Freddy's play. Just the thought of standing there, a part of the crowd and not as a separate fixture brought her butterflies. Ennard struggled to keep up with the small android, her energy outmatching their relaxed pace and causing them to bend in an effort to stay attached to her hand.

Michael couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Mari tugging her two much taller companions along as if they were nothing but air. Ennard was doing pretty well in the new body, all things considered. By the time they reached the stage Sam had been let go, as he'd found the energy to move by himself. The kids were still in an excited huddle, though there seemed to be less moshing going on in favor of just... jumping up and down from sheer joy.

“More guests!” Freddy announced as the group approached. The band was taking a second to reset, making sure all instruments were still in tune and lining up the next batch of songs in their heads. They'd already finished one set, though due to an uproarious cheer for an encore decided to go through a whole second performance just for their special party. At the sight of a very unexpected friend heading towards them, Freddy let out a little gasp and waved. “Sun! Oh, I am so glad you could join us!”

“Me too!” the lanky animatronic responded, practically trembling with excitement. The last time he'd been out of the Daycare for good reasons had been quite a while ago, so this was quite a treat. Usually he was simply too busy during the day to even fathom stepping away, and at night there wasn't much happening to warrant him leaving the comfort of his little rainbow palace. However, with all the new friends he'd made Sun had a feeling he'd be doing a lot more exploring nowadays.

Since those strange malfunctions had been taken care of, Sam would be more than happy to allow Sun a little bit of leeway with where he spent his time while the Daycare was closed. After all, even artificial intelligence needed socialization and new perspectives.

During the brief break, Chica strummed and plucked at her strings quickly to show off for the newbies in the crowd.

“Now it's really a concert!” Roxy exclaimed, her voice picking up on Freddy's microphone while everyone convened. In the crowd, Gregory found Michael and gave his brother a light shove to get his attention.

“Hey!” Gregory huffed, a little sweaty from all his dancing, truly looking the part of an exhausted concert hooligan. “Do you know how to mosh?”

Charlie answered for Michael out of sheer shock. “Do you know who you're talking to? I've never seen another dude take so many flying elbows in the concert pits.”

She laughed, Samuel joining in on the shared memory of the sketchy music festivals that used to travel throughout Utah back in the days.

“Give me a little credit, kid!” Michael griped in mock offense, sidling his way to the front. When he found the perfect place he cupped his hands around his mouth and stared up at the stage, transported back to the happy days when he’d heckle the band for the hell of it.

“Please tell me you’ve got some more 80s classics in that lineup!” he called, and when Freddy turned his gaze upon him it felt like he truly saw the boy Michael used to be. Fresh-faced and eager, Mike would be at the front of the crowd with his best friends, jamming out to rock songs without a care in the world.

“Of course!” Freddy replied, and Michael’s responding smile could rival the sun. Glancing up to the sound booth, Freddy gave their temporary DJ a tentative thumbs-up. “Bonnie, are we ready to go?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Pizzaplex is proud to present…” All the way up in the sound booth, Bonnie leaned into a microphone and led up the suspense. Then he brought down the house lights to focus on the stage, queueing Freddy and the band. “The Glamrocks!”

It was easy to get all the kids riled up—even Charlie and Sam seemed ripe with excitable energy as they crowded around the front with the kids. Thus ensued the best concert that Charlie had ever seen at a Fazbear venue. The lineup were classics, songs that Charlie forgot she’d obsessed over back in the day, now here to be stuck in Gregory’s head for weeks at a time—just the way his adoptive siblings suffered after shows.

Tonight served to be Gregory’s first real concert, and he’d been glad to spend time with all the friends he made so far. Besides, how many people could brag that their dad was in a popular band?

***

Freddy didn’t want this show to end. But, as he was far too familiar with, all good things eventually came to a close. Much too soon the band was striking the final cord, and Freddy slid to the front of the stage on his knees like the rockstar he was meant to be, mic held high over his head as he belted out the last note of their epic performance. As his vocals faded, the stage lights were shut off briefly. Backed by the rousing cheer of the crowd, Freddy stood and ushered his bandmates—his wonderful, wonderful friends—to the front of the stage with him. When the lights came back on they were poised to take their bow.

“Thank you for coming out tonight!” Freddy yelled to the crowd, smiling so wide it hurt. “And, from the bottom of my heart—” His gaze drifted over the crowd to settle on Gregory, Michael, Charlie, and Sam in turn. “—thank you for everything!”

With the most dramatic of flairs, Bonnie directed the softer beams of light to the family in front. They illuminated Charlie, who’d been holding a tired Gregory up. The kid battling to enjoy the last of his dad’s show raised his fist in solidarity as Charlie jostled him by jumping at Freddy’s thanks. With Michael and Sam beside her still completely jazzed from the concert, the ghost kids from the crowd roared into applause. There was a few excitable strums from Chica, Foxy hitting his symbols as his ego inflated from the wild screaming coming from their small audience.

“You’ve been a great crowd!” Roxy shouted before Bonnie turned down the stage lights, now lifting the house ones again.

Ennard’s first concert was spent hanging around Evan and most of the kids. Surprisingly enough, Elizabeth was compliant to their presence today—though they wouldn’t want to overstay their welcome and ruin the vibe that was going on. Near the back of the crowd, it was easy for Ennard to rejoin Mari and Sun as soon as the lights flicked back on.

“That was a doozy of a show, Fredbear! You still got it!” Bonnie called with a surprised laugh from the sound booth before beginning his descent back down to the stage.

“Thank you, Bon!” Freddy called with a grateful wave, hopping off stage with the others. Feeling an exhilaration he didn’t know was possible, he made a beeline straight for his family and immediately scooped Gregory into his arms. Still wearing an inexhaustible grin, Freddy murmured in his tired son’s ear: “What did you think, superstar?!”

Gregory perked up like a freshly watered flower once Freddy got ahold of him. With arms squeezed tight around his dad’s shoulders, he exclaimed: “You’re amazing!”

Once again, Freddy proved exactly why he was Gregory’s favorite character out of the Glamrocks. Was it possible to be starstruck by family? Gregory wasn’t sure, but if so that’s definitely what he was feeling. To get rid of the irrational butterflies, he joked: “Could I get your autograph, Mister Fazbear?”

While the other kids were enamored with the Glamrocks, Evan had his eye on a different set of robots. Michael saw his brother start moving towards the trio hanging back, and after giving Freddy’s shoulder a firm squeeze and reiterating how amazing the band was, Michael trailed after him.

“I’m glad Mikey grabbed you guys in time!” the little ghost said brightly, grabbing one of Mari’s and Ennard’s hands without hesitation. Now that Ennard looked more presentable, Evan had no fear expressing his favor of the robot’s company. Lightly swinging their arms, Evan remarked: “That was like… the coolest show ever!”

Evan having sought out both Ennard and Mari brought huge grins to their faces. While Mari’s wild hair suggested she was head-banging nearly the whole show, Ennard still looked fairly pristine. They gently squeezed Evan’s hand and agreed: “I’ve never seen a show quite like it! Even Funtime Foxy couldn’t compete…”

“I kinda wish I’d been able to see one of your old shows,” Evan admitted, and he meant it—aside from the whole “potential for children to get captured after the performance” thing, of course. Keeping this in the back of his mind, Evan tugged Ennard more insistently to keep their attention. “But you look awesome now! And I bet you could still perform if you wanted to.”

“You’ve still got the programming in there,” Michael remarked with a shrug. Admittedly, he already felt much better letting Ennard interact with people in this new form. “Who knows, maybe Sam can find you a little stage and you could… do magic tricks or something.”

He was trying, at least. They had to give him credit for that.

“Ooh, yeah!” Evan agreed, jumping on the idea. “And Mari can be your assistant!”

Ennard cast the optimistic ghosts a sideways grin. In this new body, they were becoming more confident again. As a whole, finally, the amalgamation felt like they came to an agreement.

“A magician? Me?” They laughed scratching the back of their head at Sun’s compliment. “I guess I can do a lot of things I couldn’t before, huh?”

The possibilities of this new lease on life seemed endless now. With their terrible creator gone, things were looking so much brighter. But then they caught something from the corner of their eye: the familiar shade of Elizabeth looming just far enough away. She didn’t look quite ready to join them with Ennard around.

She couldn’t be angry with them; not right now. She could tell Ennard and her brothers were having fun without her. Defeated, Lizzie turned from the group and pretended to be interested in the way the band packed up the equipment on the stage.

“Deal—” Mari agreed with a peal of bell-like laughter at the thought of being Ennard’s assistant. “—just promise not to really saw me in half! Okay?”

“Oh, they won’t,” Michael both assured and warned with narrowed eyes.

While Michael bonded with his sibling and friends, Monty had noticed Liz meandering over to his side of the stage. Slinging his guitar off for a moment, he crouched down to her level with a wide grin.

“Hey, lil’ lady!” he greeted, tail swaying across the floor with the aftershocks of their enthusiastic performance. “Sooo what’d you think?! Best show you’ve ever seen, right?”

Across the floor, Freddy was finalizing plans with Sam and the others.

“So Gregory and I will stop by your office first thing tomorrow night so we can port over my old profile,” he reiterated to make sure everyone was on the same page. “That way, Freddy can have as much time as possible for a ‘test run…' Does that work for you, superstar?” He glanced down at his son still held loosely in his arms. “You can play with your friends the rest of the night after we complete this task.”

“I'd appreciate it if Freddy 2.0 could run a rudimentary scan on Gregory, too,” Sam interjected. “Just to make sure all his systems are working fine! He’s been offline for a while, after all.”

Sam glanced to Gregory, looking for the okay from the young ward of the Pizzaplex. The boy shrugged, knowing he’d already be helping with the data transfer. It wouldn’t be any trouble to hang around new Freddy and make sure all his child safety features worked.

“That’s fine with me, Sammy,” he confirmed. Then, a bit more shyly, Gregory asked: “So… The Pizzaplex is going to be full of people again soon?”

Sam looked a little surprised. Reading Gregory’s expression made him think the kid was hoping to have the place all to himself for a little while longer. If only Sam could do that for him. But there were bills to pay, parties to throw… Sam couldn’t hold off on his investments anymore.

“Of course. The show has to go on, doesn’t it?” he replied with a gentle understanding. “You still get unlimited access, Gregory. But think of all the friends you’ll make here!”

“Friends can be made at your own pace,” Freddy reassured, seeing the anxiety wash over Gregory’s face like a wave. “But I must admit, it will be wonderful to have the Pizzaplex back in action.”

It’d been far too long since Freddy was able to enjoy his “job” without worrying what was going to happen to his friends when 12 am hit. And with Bonnie back in commission now, as well as the addition of everyone’s favorite pirate fox, the reopening was sure to be a roaring success.

“Hey guys,” Michael said as he stepped over to his little family unit. With a smile, he slung his arms around Charlie and Sammy’s shoulders. “You plotting stuff without me again?”

“Dang, just when we thought that we got rid of you,” Sam remarked with a roll of his eyes, the remnants of his sarcastic teenage self-shining through as he ran off the nostalgic high.

Charlie laughed at her brother's joke, resting her head against Mike's shoulder with a playful lilt in her voice. “Don't worry Mike, we totally weren't planning on pushing you in the hotel pool later.”

“Oh, fantastic,” Michael griped with a roll of his eyes, then looked to the redhead imploringly. “At least you’re on my side, right, Freddy? You wouldn’t let them plot against me, would you?”

“…I cannot say one way or the other,” Freddy replied cryptically, a playful smile twitching up the corners of his mouth.

“Oh my god…” Michael pressed his hands to the side of his face in mock horror. “I can’t believe they already corrupted you—poor, innocent Fredbear…”

Freddy chuckled and gave Mike’s hair an amiable ruffle. They all knew full well Michael could take a good prank as well as he could dish one out.

“Anyway—” the guard checked his phone before looking to Sam. “—my shift’s almost over, boss-man. Need anything else before I close up for the night?”

Sam relaxed an arm around Michael's shoulder as his friend spoke. Anything that Sam needed could wait until tomorrow; Gregory certainly looked about ready to go back to the hotel for some shut-eye.

“Just do me a favor and get home safe, alright?” Sam asked. “Text me when you get to the hotel. And maybe after your first paychecks we'll see about getting you guys a real place to stay…”

While rent could be plenty expensive, it certainly wasn't as expensive as the nightly room service charges Sam had been getting.

“We'll definitely text you,” Charlie agreed, eyes widening at the prospect of their little family getting a place of their own. She reached over, quickly hugging her brother with a caring grip around his back and squishing Michael in the embrace by proxy. “Get some sleep before opening, please.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Freddy said as he leaned himself and Gregory into the hug as well.

“Oof—yeah, you’re a real lifesaver when you aren’t crushing me!” Mike remarked, trying to wriggle free. After a moment he was granted a chance to escape, which he’d use to walk to the stage and call up: “Hey everyone, we’re heading out for the night! Say your goodbyes now before Gregory passes out!”

After basking in the attentions of the Glamrocks, Liz stood to the edge of the stage and waved goodbye to Gregory along with the band, who waved and blew kisses to their adoring audience with a dramatic flair. Before the other kids could convince them to do an encore, they came over one by one wishing them a good morning and that they’d all see Gregory and his family tomorrow. Ennard came by to gently pat Gregory’s hair, lifting Mari up to say her own personal goodbyes.

Gregory had once been hard-pressed once to let the animatronics and others wrangle him into hugs—now he’d progressed to the point of allowing the Marionette to nuzzle the side of his head with affection. Farewells complete, they begun for their egress of the building. The sound of that hotel bed was calling his name, and Gregory could no longer refuse sleep as he quietly fell unconscious in Freddy’s arms once more. Another successful, fun night well-spent.

***

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6 notes · View notes

nonepizzawithleftglitter · 8 months

Note

I randomly saw your blog and its Ayala-themed mission statement, and I was greatly amused! I believe his only spoken words in the entire series were "Right here" right? (I could be misremembering) but brother was there from day one!

I suppose they never gave him a canonical given name, though I understand the Ayala (/Aiara) surname is Basque. Got any headcanons??

I'm glad I could amuse you. I actually have slacked off on the Ayala posting for a while, gotta get back to that...

He speaks a handful more words in the series. But only roughly a dozen overall, spread over four episodes. (Tbh I wasn't fully sure if that information was correct, I had to cross check with memory alpha.)

While they never gave him a name in canon, the fandom did that for them.

He is pretty much ubiquitously referred to with the first name "Mike". (Greg/Gregory/Gregor used to be common a while ago too parallel to Mike, but has since largely dropped out of use.)

Mikel/ Mixtel would be the basque form of Michael/ Mike (according to Wikipedia). But I'm not sure if it can be shortened to Mike?

And I do hope we've gotten over anglicising names by the end of the 24th century!

(In my own culture shortening names isn't really a thing anymore? If you meet someone named Mike it's likely that that is their legal name, not some variant of Michael so idk how it works.)

But anyways, it is such a deeply entrenched fandom that has existed for longer than I have been alive that I have never thought about it before you asked!

But now I definitely imagine Mikel 🙈 so thank you.

This also got me thinking: often we see new federation colonies that are largely influenced by specific cultures, such as Chakotay's home colony. (There are probably also those with a dozen different species and several dozen human subcultures.)

But it is completely possible that Ayala could be from a majority or even fully Basque colony.

It's also not totally inconceivable that another Basque man might have ended up with the last name Torres (Portuguese/ Spanish/ Katalan according to Google so not far geographically). Especially by the 24th century.

What I am saying is, what if Ayala and Torres are from the same colony? Specifically Kessik IV, B'Elanna's canon, (almost) completely human home colony.

I also have a (sorely neglected) sideblog (@the-ayala-archives) for every piece of Ayala content I can find to collect it, because tumblr search sucks. Most of it is my own stuff though because there just is not a lot out there.

Also thank you for the ask!

#ayala #lieutenant ayala #mike ayala #<- see it's even a pre-existing tag #star trek #st voyager #st voy #star trek voyager #star trek voy #voy #b'elanna torres

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braveburned · 1 year

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❛ asking for help isn't giving up. it's refusing to give up. ❜

the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse

★ — He hasn't been sleeping well.

Not that a good night's rest has ever been particularly easy to come by ; always too on edge to let himself drift off peacefully, a light sleeper out of necessity. But it should be better, here, now, where he's safe. Despite their disagreements, Gregory knows Michael is safe.

Instead, it's been getting worse. Nightmares plague his dreams, haunting him, chasing him every time he closes his eyes, as if his subconscious will never let him hold onto the peace. Gregory wakes up part - way through the night in a silent panic more often than he doesn't, determined to not make a noise and alert his guardian to his troubles. He's chosen to stop trying to sleep entirely as a way to escape, not wanting to face the horrors his mind will conjur out of his past. Of course, it was only a matter of time before his exhaustion caught up.

He'd fallen asleep against his will only to wake up with a start, just as it seemed he always did. Only this time it hadn't been as silent as he usually tried to keep himself — it had been with a terrified yell as tears streamed down his face. Loud enough for Michael to come check on him.

( Gregory had half expected to be in trouble for his outburst at this hour, but that wasn't Michael ; Michael wouldn't be mad at him for something he couldn't control ).

It's been a few minutes since then, enough time for Gregory to pull himself together and mostly stop his crying as he aggressively wipes at his eyes to remove any trace of the tears. He hadn't said much ( vague answers to any questions asked ), but it wasn't like he had to. They both know what would terrorize him even in his dreams.

And then Michael says that, and it settles like something heavy in Gregory's chest. He doesn't want, doesn't know — he's never not been on his own, a burden to whoever considered themselves his guardian for the time being. Even if he had wanted to ask for help, he couldn't. There was no one for him.

But Michael's here now. Michael wants to help. He hasn't given up on him yet. Maybe he can trust this. And so it's with a deep, shuddering sigh that Gregory relaxes a touch ; lets himself lean into his guardian.

"I — I'm really scared. A-and I don't know what to do. I thought when we got out it'd — everything would be f-fine, but sometimes I — I feel like I never left. I want to stop b-being scared."

#bravevolunteer #★ * ASK / making the best out of a bad situation. )#★ * VERSE / in truth there is nothing here at all. )#my god ..... a breakthrough for them tbh

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backonthebullshit · 3 years

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Ok so like, imagine the security breach animatronics (+Gregory) meeting a animatronic reader that was used way back when the first fnaf opend. So they have a human soul inside them, they can kill, their movements are stiff. But instead of getting thrown out they instead get rebuild (their movements are the same, just better looking) and used as a 'Back in the day' kinda thing?

ooooo, this

This is a really interesting prompt bc outside of the posters and things and The You Know What we haven’t seen the og animatronics in quite some time (rip to the legends)

Anyways here’s some HCs, as a treat🥰 (sorry these took so long! I got invested and wrote all day lol)

Friendly reminder to y’all that requests are open! (Yes I’m still working on the Monty Gator thing but it’s gonna be so good just wait)

Glamrocks + Gregory x og animatronic!reader Headcanons

TW: mentions of the original FNAF child murders, mentions of a little verbal abuse?, swearing, a little trauma

Author’s note: I made this kinda angsty at the start but it gets fluffy I promise / gender neutral!reader

I can imagine,

- Regardless of what kind of animal you are, you’re in rough shape from years of not being used (literally no idea how you’re still alive homie)

- Pretty safe to say as soon as FazBear Entertainment found you again, they were immediately thought of ways they could profit off of you

- That’s how you ended up at the Pizzaplex, you have a small section of the museum where you’re stationary as part of a photo attraction

- The section is small but so realistic to the original pizzeria where you were murdered that it’s like living your death all over again, and it’s worse than being stuck in this robot

- When they had you repaired, your animatronic body was in shambles of rust and decay. Now you can move again, albeit slower than the Glamrocks due to your servos and joints being so old

- Parts and Service were unable to install the animatronic AI in you however, so you’re left with your original voicebox that hasn’t been used in years

- While your body repeats the same phrases over and over during the day, shifting poses occasionally, you barely have the strength to use your real voice after hours when the PizzaPlex closes

- Your afterlife couldn’t be worse, until you meet the others..

Freddy would be the most curious to check out the newest installation to the museum, and that’s where he unexpectedly finds you one night.

- Papa Bear(TM) here would absolutely comfort you if you were frightened by this new place, and especially once he understood what you were and how awful your surroundings made your days

- He doesn’t quite know how to help you beyond that, but he will happily distract you as much as possible by hyping you up and showing you around the Pizzaplex

- Gives the best hugs!!! Even though you’re both animatronics lol

- Appeals so much to your inner child by playing Fazer Blast with you and even Hide and Seek if you suggest it

- First one to scold children/teens/adults who insult you ( “Y/N is not weird or creepy, Y/N is different, and that is what makes them special. If you cannot appreciate their unique qualities then I must request that you leave. Now.” )

- Superstar is basically your name to this bear now

- (THEORY TIME) if Michael Afton is really possessing him..he’ll randomly feel super guilty sometimes whenever he looks over and sees you in your section, in a body you never belonged in..

Monty is initially annoyed by the construction of a new section, even if it’s small, until he actually meets you.

- Is a little weirded out by your design but totally gets into it after awhile because you’re basically the same you just look different and to him that’s super metal dude!! (Literally lmao)

- Takes great pleasure in teasing you like an annoying sibling but is immediately on the scene to deal with unruly children who try to climb on you/make a mess in your section

- Forgets you’re a child stuck in your body sometimes but has grown better about watching his mouth ( “Man I hate when these stupid fu- *remembers* fudgin’, fudgin’ brats leave their food around your spot like this” )

- He doesn’t know how to handle your trauma but he makes every effort to support you by helping you be a kid

- Wanna come hang out in Monty Golf?? He’s not the fastest either, and he’s happy to slow down even more to make you less self-conscious about your stiff joints (will still tease you about tho)

- Don’t know how to play mini golf?? Even better, now you get to learn from the best!! He really fills a hole you had almost forgotten existed in your..”life”

- Would never admit it, but he cares about you, kid

Chica is so excited to meet you!!! She’s heard the construction crew talking about a new animatronic and she can’t stop chirping about how ready she is to make a new friend!!!

- Hears your story and is immediately overcome with emotions. She’s a robot and she can’t really cry but this is the closest she feels like she’s ever come

- Like the others she is determined to find ways to help you adjust but also thrive in the Pizzaplex, so what better ways than her two specialties?

- Poor thing doesn’t initially realize you can’t eat but she’ll invite you to cook things with her all the time!! Pizza cupcakes tacos cookies, you guys make it all

- She won’t admit it but cooking with you helps her avoid the garbage so it’s like y’all are equally comforting each other (brb crying)

- On top of cooking together, she’s going to be all about doing Mazercize together! When you express how stiff your body is, Chica isn’t afraid to cheer you on in loosening up your bolts through some good old fashioned movement ( “Y/N!! You’re improving so much, chickadee! I’m so proud of you for working so hard! Let’s make cupcakes to celebrate!” )

- Also encourages you the most to use your voice and speak your mind after hours, not your lines (even if your voicebox malfunctions and gets squeaky sometimes) because it means a lot to her to watch you open up more

- She’s accidentally such a Mother Hen sorry not sorry but you just bring it out in her, you sweet thing

Roxanne did not care at all about meeting you because she rarely pays attention to new things going on in the Pizzaplex, but once she met you she was surprised by how much she enjoyed your company.

- Definitely took the longest to warm up to you, and teases you nearly as much as Monty does (Chica reminds you not to take it personally)

- Her reaction to your story isn’t as outwardly visceral as Chica or Freddy, but inside she feels her animatronic heart soften for you and how much you’ve gone through

- From there Roxy does little things, like invite you to come jam with her in her room after hours to whatever kind of music you two can get access to/make with her keytar

- She will bring you to Roxy Raceway with the sole intentions of showing off, and when you get so excited to ride in a kart she can’t help but feel her tail wag in anticipation

- Your spirit is only that of a child, and as a child you validate her so much in ways that the kids during the day normally don’t ( “I bet I’M your favorite, Y/N” “Yup!” -and any small amount of confirmation will send her back to her room crying that she’s actually someone’s favorite )

- Roxanne begins to find a great amount of comfort in your presence, and she is fiercely protective of you as a result-this usually means that she and Monty tease the hell out of you, but become the ultimate bodyguards if anyone else has shit to say

- If you have fur/fuzz/a soft outer coating then Roxanne is not afraid to help you brush and maintain it (like a Mother Wolf). Just one of the little unspoken ways that she shows she cares

Gregory did not anticipate you actually being alive when he first saw you, but when he found out you were and weren’t hunting him down, he actually kind of warmed up to you.

- When you encounter him it’s like a total flashback to when you were murdered in the pizzeria and your head actually starts spinning in circles before Freddy calms you down

- Gregory is saddened to hear that you’re trapped here, in a similar way to him, and only a child a little younger than he is. But when you help him hide in your section from Vanessa, he realizes you can help him with a determination the others don’t understand

- This little gremlin has definitely tried to crawl in your stomach hatch but you smack him away every time so the spring locks don’t do to him what they did to you

- Sometimes through the night, Freddy catches the two of you bickering like..well, children, and he almost feels bad that this is the only interaction you’ve had with someone your own age in so long

- At one point you noticed Gregory’s irritability combined with his tiredness as the night wore on, and so you took his hand and walked to the kitchen out of nowhere. When he asks what you’re doing you tell him how Chica helps you think more clearly by cooking, or in his case, eating

- Having already laid several distractions for said chicken, Gregory watched as you made him a small pizza to help him calm down, and as he ate, he realized you were right, and he actually gives you a hug afterwards

- For the rest of the night, you do what you can to help him escape your friends and the night guard. There are several moments between he, you and Freddy which you can’t help but laugh at, and if there wasn’t a killer rabbit lady on the loose you might say this was kind of..nice

- You’re the first to wish Gregory had a gun over the course of the night because YOU have been that kid and everything would be SO much easier (Gregory agrees, but Freddy adamantly disagrees)

ENDING 1 (could work for the endings where you free Vanny, or when Freddy and Gregory steal the van, or even the Burntrap ending): When the time comes to escape the Pizzaplex, Gregory begs you to come along with him and Freddy, and having developed such a connection with the paid, you agree and all of you ride off into the sunset together, 2/3 of you connected to car batteries to stay alive.

ENDING 2: When Gregory discovers the fire escape at the prize counter and Freddy pulls his lighter, the pair of them hesitate but ask if you want to come along. Realizing this is the chance you’ve been waiting for to move on, you decide to stay as the Pizzaplex burns, setting your soul free from the animatronic you have been trapped in for so long. While you are sad because you will miss your friends, you are finally able to achieve peace.

#fnaf #fnaf security breach #fnaf security breach x reader #fnaf x reader #fnaf sb #fnaf sb x reader #glamrock animatronics #glamrock freddy #glamrock chica #montgomery gator #roxanne wolf #fnaf headcanons #fnaf hcs

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trashyswitch · 3 years

Text

Michael Meets Gregory (& Freddy)

Michael learns rather quickly that there is a child staying overnight at the Pizzaplex. He discusses secrets with the kid, and eventually discusses things with Freddy, who seems to know a lot more than they give him credit for...

Part 2 to "Michael Meets the Daycare Attendant".

Michael was working a night shift at the Pizzaplex, and admiring the animatronics and the building in general. It was a really big place, and he was still getting used to it. Occasionally, Michael would come across Vanessa. He would wave to her, and she would usually wave back. Michael soon made it near the Monty Gator golf entrance when he saw it:

Freddy sprinting around the Pizzaplex.

Michael found it really weird right away. Where in the world was Freddy running to?! And why was he running of all things?

Michael decided to follow Freddy to see where he was going. Michael sped up a little bit to catch up to Freddy. Though it was like trying to catch up to a Formula One car on two feet. They were just so fast.

Michael soon stopped behind a trash can and watched Freddy from behind him. Freddy had opened up his stomach plates and out came a child. Okay…

Wait, WHAT?!

Michael took a double take. A child?! Here?! At this hour?! HOW?!

Speaking of time: Michael checked his watch.

[1:50]

Oh shit…Not only was there a child missing from somewhere, the child was right here in the pizzaplex! Hiding inside Freddy, no less! How did the kid get in without anyone knowing?! The gates and the doors were always locked at night! The doors even had a Garage-like cover on them from the inside, to prevent kids from getting in! How did that kid manage to bypass that?!

Michael soon began to realize that the kid must’ve missed his chance to leave before the cover closed on him. The kid was actually stuck here until 6am, when the door cover opens for the day.

Michael quickly hid behind the trash bin. The child and Freddy were looking in his general direction, so he had to get out of their line of view. He decided soon after that he’s gotta be on good terms with this kid. Otherwise, it’s gonna be a Home Alone situation for him. And lord knows he didn’t want THAT to happen to him and Vanessa.

“Hello-” The child gasped as Michael looked up.

Michael yelped and accidentally knocked the lid off the trash can. “Kid!” Michael reacted, picking up the lid. “I-”

“You were spying on me…” The kid reacted with a frown. “Why are you here? How did you get in here in the first place? This place is closed overnight.” Michael told him. “I know.” The kid replied, looking down.

“Where’s your family? Did they leave without you?” Michael asked, kneeling down to his level.

The kid frowned at that question. “Like I have a family…” Gregory muttered.

Michael widened his eyes as he realized the truth: This kid was an orphan. It made so much sense!

“Oh…I’m sorry I asked.” Michael replied. “I know how it feels to lose loved ones.” Michael admitted. The kid looked up at him and smiled a little. “So…I’m not in trouble?”

Michael chuckled. “You’re in trouble, but I’m not the one you’re in trouble with.” Michael told him. “Vanessa might get you in trouble, though. She’s been here a lot longer than I have. I only just started working here.” Michael admitted. “She’ll be someone you should stay away from. Unlike her, I don’t mind keeping secrets.” Michael told him with a wink. The kid smiled. “My name’s Gregory.”

Michael offered a hand. “Michael.” He replied. Gregory nodded and shook his hand. “I’m gonna keep going. There’s…something I’m uncovering.” Gregory told him. Michael tilted his head. “Is it…something serious?” Michael asked, crossing his arms. “Disappearing children.” Gregory replied. Michael nodded. “Yup…Ever since Fazbear Entertainment became popular in the 80’s, quite a few kids have disappeared. And…” Michael looked away and fixed his hat. “I know why.” Michael told him.

Gregory quickly grabbed his hand. “Tell me tell me tell me!” Gregory begged. “Seriously?! It’s not exactly light material. It’s quite dark, and yet, well known. I’m sure if you looked up ‘Fazbear’s Pizza’, you’ll find information on the disappearances.” Michael told him.

“I don’t have a computer on me.” Gregory told him.

Michael sighed and mentally cursed to himself. He shouldn’t have mentioned anything.

“Just know that up to 8 kids have gone missing in the 1970’s and 80’s.” Michael told him. “And they went missing because some freak playing dress up tried to lure kids away to their death.” Michael told him. “The very first animatronics had endoskeletons that could be worn by people. And the suits were used to lure kids away…” Michael told him.

Gregory nodded and began to walk away. “I’ve seen someone in a bunny costume around here…You’d better look out too.” Gregory told him. “Though she probably wants me.”

Michael widened his eyes and watched as the kid walked away. Wait…Is he serious?! Oh shit…That’s not good.

Michael looked around the place, and kept an eye out for someone in a bunny costume for the rest of the night.

Occasionally, Michael would come across Gregory walking around the pizzaplex. And sometimes, Gregory would whisper information to him.

“There used to be a bunny named Bonnie here…but they were shut down.” Gregory whispered. “I saw the Bonnie Bowling alley. Bonnie, Freddy and Chica have been around since the beginning.” Michael told him.

“What about Monty and Roxy?” Gregory asked.

“They must be brand new.” Michael replied. “They’re the first wolf and alligator animatronics I've ever seen.” Michael replied.

“How old were you when it first opened?” Gregory asked. “Around your age.” Michael replied. “My dad was the co-owner. He helped with making the animatronics and the business aspect of it.” Michael explained.

Gregory’s jaw dropped. “You’re related to the inventor?!” Gregory reacted. “Yep.” He replied, popping the P.

“So…you’re an Emily?” Gregory asked. “Oh, no no no. That was my uncle. Well, friend of my Dad’s.” Michael replied. “My Dad was William Afton.” Michael replied.

Gregory hummed. “You’re Michael Afton, then?” Gregory asked. “Mm hm.” Michael replied. Gregory smiled and gently punched his shoulder. “You’re so lucky! Afton and Emily are celebrities!” Gregory told him.

Michael put on a smile, but let it fade the moment Gregory looked away. Celebrity my ass…Controversial was a better word for their fame.

Gregory gasped as Freddy ran to Gregory. “Hello Superstar!” Freddy greeted Gregory.

“Hi Freddy!” Gregory replied, hugging him. “Freddy, this is Michael Afton! His Dad was the creator of Fazbear Entertainment!” Gregory blurted out. “Can’t hold your tongue, can ya, kid?” Michael reacted, a little annoyed that he blurted it out. Freddy widened his eyes and looked at Michael. It was clear on Freddy’s face that…he knew more than Gregory. A lot more. Freddy knelt down and offered a lift up. “Need help up?” Freddy asked. Michael’s annoyance softened as he noticed something was up. “Sure.” Michael replied. He took Freddy’s hand and used it as leverage to get up. “Hey Gregory! Here’s a card. Use it to get to the back, if you need.” Freddy offered. “Thank you!” Gregory declared, hugging Freddy before leaving. As soon as Gregory was long gone, Freddy looked at Michael. “So…Thee William Afton, huh?” Freddy muttered to him. “How much do you know?” Michael asked. Freddy sighed. “All of it.” Freddy replied. “I’m sorry you’re related to a man like that.” Freddy apologized. Michael waved his hand with a hum. “It’s fine. I’ve gotten over it.” Michael replied. “It’s just…hard living sometimes. Kids like Gregory think I’m So LuCkY to have such a Dad. But…” Michael looked down and covered his face. “I’m not religious…and you can take this how you want to…” Freddy admitted. “But I think William has a special place in hell waiting for him.” Freddy told him.

Michael tittered and chuckled. Then, his chuckles quickly turned into full-blown laughter! Freddy smiled a little as he listened to the serious man laugh his head off. “Ohoho myhyhy gahad, even his animatronics want him to die!” Michael reacted. “My god, you are so right about that.” Michael added.

Freddy smiled and gently pushed his arm. “Need a little pick-me-up?” Freddy asked.

“Kihinda, yeah.” Michael replied. “What do you do? Some of the old animatronics used to tell jokes or tickle the kids.” Michael told him.

“Really?” Freddy reacted. “I was tickled a fair few times by the animatronics myself.” Michael admitted. “They were certainly good at it.

Freddy chuckled and grabbed Michael’s sides. “So, you’re ticklish?”

Michael covered his mouth as he realized what he had just said. “NO! No, I didn’t sahahay thahahat- HEhehehehey!” Michael protested, bursting into a fit of giggles not long after. “Oh really? What else could you have possibly meant?” Freddy asked.

“FREHEHEHEDDYYYY!” Michael’s upper body fell into Freddy’s legs as he laughed. “Nohohohohoho!” Michael begged. “Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle!” Freddy teased.

“Nohohoho teheheheheasihihing, you cheheheateherr!” Michael ordered.

“You said specifically that you wanted a pick-me-up! So, here’s your much needed pick-me-up!” Freddy declared. “Cohohohohome ohohohohohon!” Michael begged. “Thihihihis ihihihihis uhuhunfahahahair!”

“Unfair? Please…I’ll show you unfair.” Freddy grabbed Michael’s feet and started tickling both his feet at once. “How’s this for unfair?”

“OHOHOHO NOHOHOHOHOHO! HAHAHAHAHAHA!” Michael laughed. “NAHAHAHAHAT MYHYHYHY FEEEEEHEHEHEHEET!” Michael ordered.

“Not what? Not these ticklish feet that happen to be in my hands right now?” Freddy teased. “It would sure be a shame if I were to tickle the toes-”

“NOHOHOHOHOHO! NAHAHAHAT THEHEHEHEHERE PLEEEEHEHEHEHEASE!” Michael pleaded. “Alright! Looks like I’m tickling here then!” Freddy declared. He lifted back the toes and started tickling under the vulnerable toesies.

Michael HOWLED with laughter and wheezed heavily! “IHIHIHI- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IHIHIHIHI’M GOHOHONNA DIHIHIHIHIHIEEEE!” Michael begged. Freddy waved his hand with little worry. “Drama queen…you’re not gonna die!” Freddy told him. “You’re gonna be fine!” Freddy reassured him. “IHIHIHIT TIHIHIHIHICKLEHEHES SOHOHOHO MUHUHUHUCH!” Michael told him.

“Does it really tickle that much? Do you need me to lessen it?” Freddy asked, growing a little more worried now. “YEHEHEHEHEHESS PLEEEEEHEHEHEHEASE!” Michael begged and pleaded.

Freddy smiled and stopped tickling him. He let go of Michael’s feet and moved up to his knees. Placing his middle finger and his thumb on either side of his knee, Freddy started squeezing lightly. Michael squeaked and tried to push Freddy’s hand away from his knee. “Nohoho dohon’t do that.” He ordered. Freddy squeezed his knee again. “Nohoho NO! BAHAhaha! Hehehehehe!” Michael laughed, finally giving up and laying down onto his back.

Everytime Freddy would squeeze his knee like the father figure he was, Michael would squeal and laugh. The spot was such a weird spot to go for. But it certainly did the trick! Freddy continued to squeeze and tweak the spot for a little longer before finally stopping. By then, Gregory had arrived at the scene and giggled as he saw Michael all giggly and laying on his side.

“Tickle monster get ya?” Gregory asked.

“How…How did you know?” Michael asked. “Just a guess.” Gregory replied with a giggle.

#emotional rollercoaster #caught #mild hurt/comfort #ticklefic #ler!freddy #lee!michael #happy ending

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mycrofts-gunbrella · 3 years

Text

Favourite Experiment- Sherlock Holmes x Reader (Part 5)

Wordcount- 2.6k

"Come as a pair now, do you? John been sacked off?" Greg Lestrade spoke as you ducked under the police tape.

"Sherlock decided the prettier Watson looked better when the press snap pics for the papers; now tell me, do I capture the moonlight more on the left or right of my face?" You turned your head as you spoke, waltzing over to the front of the building.

"Highly inappropriate to be joking while a man lay dead, Y/N.." Sherlock tutted, shaking his head in feigned disappointment. "And the answer is your left- nicer eyebrow."

"Well consider my right eyebrow utterly offended, Mr Holmes.. A fine one to talk, too, considering your own."

"Utter rubbish, my eyebrows are perfectly symmetrical. And for shape and size they're identical."

"Precisely. Brows are meant to be sisters, not twins."

"Well-"

"When the two of you have finished your lover's tiff, a hand catching a killer would be lovely. Ta." Greg cut in, rolling his eyes hard enough his head lulled back, and headed into the pharmacy.

"Come along, Sherlock. We can pluck each other's eyebrows and paint our nails later, promise!" You gripped his sleeve and dragged.

"Insufferable."

"Oh you are a darling." Inside the little shop was nothing out of the ordinary (well, save the bloodied up shelves and corpse): no thrown shelves, no stolen items, no building damage.. "At least they were considerate." Lestrade frowned and looked back to the body of a man behind the counter. ".. Marginally consider- .. they didn't knick anything." Sherlock hummed in agreement, dramatically vaulting the till rather than just lifting the latch of the counter.

"Nothing except every bit of cash in the till.. Even took the pennies."

"And that means what, exactly? We ask around the area to see if somebody's been buying stuff with shrapnel? Check banks for people handing in a bag of coppers?" Lestrade's voice laced with sarcasm at Sherlock's meagre deductions. Gregory Lestrade didn't need the help of Sherlock Holmes to note that cash was stolen in the act of armed robbery, thank you very much.

"You do astound me, Graham, at how you rose to such a senior position- your way of catching criminals is appalling." Greg was about to speak up- whether it was to point out his sarcasm, the wrongness of his name, or to call Sherlock a dick, you didn't know- when Sherlock continued talking again. "So far, so bored. Why am I here? What haven't you told me?"

"Well if you'd given me a bloody chance to get a word in edgeways.." Lestrade rubbed his brow with his thumb and forefinger- record timing for a Holmesian Headache, you reckon. "Here we have Michael Chatterley, 64 years old, local chemist. Police were called to the scene after the sound of gunfire half an hour before the shop closed. CCTV was minimal." He nodded towards the laptop resting on a small table that housed multi-packs of mentos and Chupa Chups lollies- the English pharmacy staple. The footage was shown at the view of a camera from above the front door. Initially there was no sign of the suspect, the shop being entirely empty excluding Chatterley. With footage sped up, a minute or so in, a figure walks into the building, back to the camera. All that is seen is Chatterley smiling and beginning to talk to the figure before all goes black.

"This is the only footage? One camera?"

"It's a small shop, independent rather than chain. Been here since I was a kid and never had any trouble; if anything, I'm surprised there was a camera at all." Greg continued.

"But still, one camera? In London? And in the one spot where you can see nobody but the shopkeeper until somebody leaves? It's like people want to make life more difficult for themselves.. and for me." Sherlock moaned. "Still, this thirty seconds is enough to tell us two important things. Number one, the killer and Chatterley knew each other. Number two, there are two killers.. Don't look dumb, Lestrade. Surely you didn't think the CCTV magically stopped working out of the killer's luck."

"Could be a timer. Suspect knows the building well, sets a timer for the cameras to shut off at the right moment." Sherlock gave Greg a 'don't be a bloody idiot' glare that shut the DI up.

"And now for a reasonable explanation?" Holmes looked at you and you cracked your knuckles for emphasis as you went back to the body.

"The security system was weak and cheap, literally a tiny box outside of the building on the upper wall- I spotted it when we walked in, clearly been tampered with. Closed off area, no other important buildings around means no outside security footage either- leaving this place the perfect spot for a robbery. One person outside disarming the cameras while the other goes in and distracts the victim. Chatterley's reaction to the suspect was fond rather than polite- he knew them by name, so I'd wager a regular customer."

"Not a friend?"

"Not a friend. Watch his face in the footage, he smiles and talks to the person who walks in. It's a regular occurence, a practiced one by business owners to appear fond and friendly, but not attached. Had it been a friend, the victim would have a reaction akin to surprise, which clearly isn't evident.." You spoke, readying to answer Greg's next question before it left his lips. "Why 'surprise'? Indents of Chatterley's pockets show car keys- he's not local to the area and has to travel in. Too far away for the tube but he loves his shop and doesn't care about the journey to reach it. Houses in the local area, a bunch of flats, but why would Chatterley have friends in a location so far from his own and in an entirely different wealth divide? His shoes are a top brand, tan line on his wrist shows a watch was also stolen- clearly expensive. That's how else to know Chatterley is an outsider. Estates are small, an 'everybody knows everybody' area, so why would you risk killing a man that could be attached to the community? Answer is, you don't."

"And how does that help us?" Greg was scribbling notes onto a page.

"It doesn't. But it means you can cross Chatterley's poor wife and son off your list of bloody suspects since that's always a favourite of yours." He tried to give you an 'I knew that already' look but quickly gave up in favour of ripping out and screwing up a page a couple back from the one he was writing on.

"Of course I could have told you all of that already. Just ensuring that Y/N is a worthy apprentice." Sherlock mumbled, pulling out his little magnifying glass and scanning the hands of the corpse. "Black ink, clearly from today. I don't recall seeing him writing on the video." Sherlock stood hastily, scanning the floor, shelves and tables. "Paper, look for paper. There's got to be some somewhere." While Sherlock and Lestrade began to frantically search the area, you rolled your eyes and reached into the corpse's jacket pocket, producing a ripped receipt with numbers on the back.

"Sherlock, you're slacking." You called, waving the piece of paper in the air until it was snatched from your fingertips.

"Numbers? What numbers?" Greg asked, wandering over to you in hopes of a nicer response than Sherlock would give. "So, what? We've got a dead body of a man who lives nowhere near here, has no friends and wants to replace Carol Vorderman on Countdown?" He joked.

"Rachel Riley did that a while ago, actually." You quipped.

"Did she? I've not really bothered watching telly like that for a bit. Only the odd movie now and then with a, uh.. Mate of mine."

"Film noir, is it?" You winked, Greg's cheeks flushed a little.

"Yeah, actually.. How did you-?"

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, and he walked into yours?" You twisted the famous Casablanca line and grinned. Sherlock was clearly in the dark about his brother's romantic life (or he just didn't care.. or both) but you couldn't help tease Greg a little with a reference that would go over the younger Holmes' head. "I'm smarter than that one." You pointed at Sherlock who had no cares in the world other than his little slip of paper.

"Yeah and you're stuck with him, I reckon. At least I got the better one. John's got himself some freedom now, though it's buggered my support group. Might just have to extend it to you. We've not known each other long but any Holmesian associates need a shoulder." You raised a brow as he took your phone and put in his number. "Life in close contact with a Holmes, it can be a pain in the arse. A 'running away even though I'm an adult just because you've been overly inconsiderate' pain in the arse. You get my sofa, I get yours and the host buys the one with the sore arse a pint." You smirked and opened your mouth to speak but he cut you off. "If that's going to be a 'sore arse' joke you can bugger off because John did it already." You closed your mouth and instead offered a hand to shake. Greg took it.

"Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"Offer is retracted if you continue quoting Casablanca. I have enough of that in my life already."

"If the two of you are quite done, I've worked it out." The pair of you walked round to Sherlock and hovered over his shoulder to look at the page. "Dead ones are always so clever." His fingers traced a line beneath the numbers as he spoke. "It's a code, of sorts. One Chatterley wanted us to know but one that wouldn't be as obvious as writing names in case it was found while he was being robbed. Look at the numbers again." You did.

19-85-39/28-27-57-16/1

"Very cliche, given his occupation, but simple enough." Sherlock spoke before he began to reel them off by number. "19-Potassium, 85- Astatine, 39- Yttrium." You caught on.

"Oh, Sherlock, you clever bastard." You grabbed a pen off the side and began to mark the abbreviations of the periodic elements as they were written down, the first revealing K/At/Y. "Next gives us Nitrogen, Cobalt, Lanthanum and Sulfur so.. Ni/Co/La/S.. The last gives us Hydrogen for H." You looked at the paper again. "Married couple, in here often enough to pick up prescriptions that the victim remembered their names. Check the records for any variations of the names Katy and Nicolas, surname beginning with H. Oh I love it when they're clever."

With the case now back into the hands of NSY, Sherlock and yourself hailed a cab to get home.

"I have to admit that I'm a little impressed at how quickly you picked up the elements thing." You said, nudging your elbow into Sherlock's arm to grab his attention. "Of course, I'd have picked that up immediately had you not taken the paper from my hand." His drawn 'obvisly' in response paired with a smirk. You looked at the screen of your phone: 20:34. "Though the night is young and I feel we should have a little celebration."

"I don't care for drinking, nor the social situation in which it is done."

"Neither do I. Got any board games? Scrabble? Monopoly?"

"Cluedo."

"I'll kick your arse."

"Rubbish."

---

Shifting to sit cross-legged rather than kneeling on the carpet, you rested your fist under your chin as you worked out the next move. The sound of 221B's door opening cut your train of thought and you rolled your eyes.

"Y/N? Sherlo- what the hell are you still doing up?" John's voice sounded in the room and you put your hands over your ears to shield them from it.

"Hush, John. Thinking." Though your brother paid no attention to your words and sat on the floor between you and Sherlock.

"Oh for God sake, is this Cluedo? Sherlock, you know this has been banned. I binned it months ago."

"Mycroft bought it at our last chat."

"Of course he did, brilliant. How long have you been at this now then?"

"Mmm, that depends. What's the time?" You gave up your attempt of focusing to focus on entertaining your brother for 5 minutes.

"It's half two in the bloody morning. I finished work, went out to dinner with.. somebody.. who failed to tell me she had a peanut allergy and I've been up at the sodding hospital for the last three hours while she gets pumped full of adrenaline for anaphylaxis!"

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah she's fine now bu-" John was cut off at the sound of you and Sherlock laughing. "It's hardly funny, is it? Meet her because she's got an earache and end up nearly killing her!"

"That's karma for breaking code and dating a patient, dear brother." You managed between breaths.

"Seriously, she took one bite of her curry and she couldn't breathe. Her face went all puffy and she'd left her epipen at home and-" John started to laugh with you. "No, you're terrible influences. I shouldn't laugh, I'm a doctor for crying out loud!" You twisted your body to click your back and stretched.

"Fancy a tea to wash away your guilt?"

"No. I'm going to go to bed and have a good, hard think about the consequences of my actions." John grinned, readying to stand.

"Don't want to help with Cluedo then?"

"Normal Cluedo? Yes." He pushed through the pile of handwritten cards and held a few up to read. "Cluedo where you've added extra locations, weapons and people? No. Playing with the pair of you? Certainly not."

"But, John, the original game is ridiculous and unrealistic." Sherlock added.

"Sherlock, you've added Mycroft's umbrella as a weapon."

"It has a sword AND a gun in it!" Yours and Sherlock's voice shouted as though John was the one being ridiculous.

"Yep, definitely not playing. I've got the next week off so I'll see you in the morning.. Well, later in the morning." John rounded to press a kiss to the side of your head and left the room. You walked back into the front room, two steaming mugs in hand and sat down.

"Right, now where were we?"

"Are you sure you're not tired yet?" Sherlock asked, looking at the coffee in your hand as the clear substitute for tonight's rest.

"Nah, I've had a comfortable couple nights. I'm good to go til Thursday I reckon." You answered, peering back over your cards. You looked back at the lanky man when you felt his eyes burning into your skull. "Honestly, I'm okay. But look at you getting all caring and considerate! I'm honoured." You waved your hand as a means of bowing. "Or is this just your way of trying to get rid of me?"

"No." Sherlock's answer cut before you could finish your question and you smiled.

"Such a sweetheart to be enjoying my company. Consider me flattered."

"Don't be. You're simply.. tolerable.. enough to occupy my usual free time."

"That's a win in my book, Holmes." You winked at him and looked back at the board, just missing the light dust of pink that spread over his cheekbones.

TAGLIST- @ask-the-elf-stuff, @momos-peaches

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random-dragons-interest-hoarde · 2 years

Text

Okay finishing it up and adding two more @moon42sstuff

Patchwork is a michael afton got put in springtrap instead of william putting it on willingly. Basically he destroyed those animatronics after the scooper in hope that it would free their spirits. It uh. They thought he was william and did not realize their mistake untill a week later when they finally let the guy speak and by then it was way too late to save him from springlock failure. Oops. Fazbear frights crew of scott, ben and melissa find him and after shenigans fix him up so he no longer looks like a corpse in a springlock suit. Just looks like a low quality fursuit that smells like it hasn’t been washed in a week. Its washed daily but the corpse still smells ya know. They have to change the cloth a lot.

Next we got ceo. Basically he works similarly to remnant battery, when he realized the fire wasn’t working on him he went and dragged henry out, they checked over and it had looked like it worked they found the remains of everything so now they’re the ceos of fazbear entertainment agaun, and build the pizzaplex. One of them is much more into the pizzaplex’s vibes then the other. Yes i designed them while listening to that mashup.

Okay now for the two i missed on the graph.

This one is a michael gets bit instead of evan (the name i chose for crying child) because evan had the idea to do it to him first bc it would be funny. It was funny to michael, not to anyone else. Michael fucking died evan kinds takes cqnnon michael’s place but gets the secret ending of sl instead of being scooped. Its fine he and ennard come to a agreement they’re friends now.

And finally grimm foxy is michael theory.

I uh. Love this one ill both send the images and. And paste that theory. Ill put it under the cut because thats the last thing :)

Curse of the dreadbear, dreadbear is cassidy’s form

Grim foxy((on fire nightmare foxy)) is michael.

Henry being glamrock freddy would come around the exact way michael would

And you can pull a fact if william was the one who wore bonnie, henry probably wore freddy. So that parallel

And the not continuing to fail a child angle, can still be achived because henry was gone for years, and only shower up in fnaf 6.

Sir where the fuck where you, michael was the one cleaning everything up after his dad where rhe fUCK

Anyway

Fnaf 4 while we’re here

Obviously michael vibes with foxy, the foxy mask and such.

And the guilt of tormenting evan as that even if he was forgiven in fnaf 3

Anyway while fnaf 4

The angle of there being two nightmare fredbears

One is nightmare fredbear. That symbolizes evan

And the only other animatronic with a brain in its deisgn besides fredbear.

Is nightmare.

The other soul in fredbear. So in fnaf vs curse of the dreadbear

Who are the two in the death screen.

Dreadbear. And grim foxy.

Whose lacking in the princess quest three game in the fnaf vr section in security breach

Dreadbear, because thats cassidy/gregory teaming up

Michael, is trying to once again stop someone from getting to the mask.

Back into security beach

The afton ending.

Which room do we end up in the pizzeria

Not michael’s office.

We end up in a office, with the controls to set the building on fire.

Who would have that? Henry.

Where does glamrock freddy seem to realize hes dead? That office.

And you can still have the “glamrock freddy is making up his failures in a past life by helping gregory”

Because again

Where the FUCK was henry

Between the bite of 83

To the pizzeria simulator Also helped along with grim foxy getting more frantic the more keys you collect

He knows what will happen if you get that mask, he does not want that to happen

But he’s constricted to how the game works, he can’t actually stop you.

Again it explains why dreadbear is on the death screen, but grimm foxy is behind you, behind a gate.

He’s there, wether freddy’s tries to bury michael’a existence or not. He pops up anyway.

And again, the dreadbear and nightmare link.

They’re the only two animatronics with brain’s explicitly shown jn them

And this explains why

And explains nightmare’s entire existence

Golden nightmare is crying child /evan

Nightmare is cassidy

The vengeful spirit, who will make William’s life and death a nightmare.

These two would ALSO explain all of the fnar four refrences in curse of the dreadbear dlc!

Why the bite of 83 is brought up again

Why the house is on the hill. Why we bring it up again at all

Because while crying child is resting

The others involved are not.

Michael still feels guilt, still needs to fix it. He needs to make sure his family doesn’t hurt anyone else

And cassidy is still angry

A replication of william was created that he escaped into

And cassidy is pissed at that, he does not deserve to come back, it doesn’t matter if he always comes back, he will regret it and suffer more every time he does

She doesn’t care who gets in her way, so might as well help her.

You could probably use the creating dreadbear minigame, as a parralel to william experimenting on cassidy. As her dying and waking up again. Being stuffed into the suit personally.

Its 3000 words over the word limit oh my god

#fnaf #fnaf au #five nights at freddy’s #michael afton #patchwork #ceo michael #ceo henry #golden freddy michael #evan afton #grimm foxy #grimm foxy michael #fnaf theory

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sholangagaga · 2 years

Text

Glamstar AU: Chapter 23

Waahhah! Here we are, the END! well, actually, this chapter is the bad ending, so I guess its not technically what everyone is expecting, you know?

As I hopefully mentioned before, there are two separate endings to Glamstars. The bad ending isn't actually canon to my au, but i decided to throw it in there because before I had thought of making separate endings, this ending actually WAS on the drawing board for being canon! Funny how that works, huh?

As always, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 23: The (Bad) End

SAVE THEM?

YES «NO»

“We have to help her.” Michael decided, squaring his shoulders. It wasn’t right, leaving her behind. It shouldn’t have taken him that long to realize that.

“I grow tired of this. When will you all learn that I am the one who is in control?” Burntrap slashed at The Blob’s face with his claws, causing the creature to howl in pain and partially retreat backwards. He grabbed Momo by her shoulders, digging into the flesh and drawing her blood.

“Let go of me,” she recoiled, holding her left hand as far away from him as possible.

“You think I didn’t notice what you did? Why risk your life for that chip?”

“Bonnie deserves a second chance. Unlike you.” Momo spat, eliciting a chuckle from him.

“Charlie, you’ve given me all the second chances I needed. You removed that meddlesome rabbit from me. That uppity bastard has been a thorn in my side from the very beginning. I’ve no need for him, and I will not miss him. I am free now. Thanks to you.”

Her eyes widened at that. Bonnie was the one keeping William in check? Then what happens now that they’re separated?

“Charlie!”

Momo turned, seeing Michael and the children gesturing to her from the edge. Coming to rescue her? Burntrap was here, and The Blob was slowly recovering. Either way, it was still too dangerous to get too close.

She chewed on her lip, internally debating with herself.

“Momo! Come here while that big synthetic is distracted!” Gregory attempted to get closer but the ground beneath him began to crumble. Michael quickly grabbed him to keep him from falling into the pit, mumbling something about “being careful” under his breath.

Momo sobered at the sight, her mouth shut in a tight line. Her eyes met Michael’s, and he knew that she had made a decision as well.

“Kids, let’s go.” He leant down and scooped them up.

“What?”

“But what about Momo?!”

The children fought against him, but were no match for his grip. Crying out and screaming, trying to reach out to her, but Michael was already running for the exit.

HRMN.1 watched them go, mouthing an apology. Judging by how the crying grew stronger, she was content they understood.

“Placing yourself as some martyr now, Charlie?” came the voice across from her. She’d almost forgotten he was there.

“Maybe so. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that you escaped again. This time, for sure, you’re not getting away. The Blob was right.” Momo inserted the mother chip into the back of her own neck. “We’re going to make sure you don’t come crawling back.”

“Admirable, but a fruitless endeavor. I’ve been to hell and back once before. I’ve no problem doing it again―” his voice was cut off as hands wrapped around his throat. If he were still human, that gesture alone would have probably crushed his windpipe. Burntrap met Momo’s eyes, and saw they weren’t green anymore.

They were yellow.

“How I’ve longed for this.” a strange voice spilled from her mouth, foreign even to Momo. Foreign, and yet she knew it so well. Her grip tightened around the other’s throat.

“Ah, so you were still alive in there. It’s been a long time since we’ve spoken face to face like this. How have you been, Bonnie?”

“You know very well how I’ve been,” “Momo” replied, fangs bared. “You monster. You utter monster!”

Burntrap laughed, his neck straining from the pressure.

“If I am a monster, then what are you? You, who served as my vessel all these years! If there’s blood on my hands, then they’re on yours as well. You’re a monster just like me, Bonnie. Where I was flesh and blood, you were bolts and wires.”

Bonnie snarled, but knew he couldn’t argue with that. This was a burden he’d been carrying ever since that first day.

A guilt that technically wasn’t his own, but he harbored it all the same.

–

“Bonnie,”

The man didn’t look up from his planner, twirling a pen between his fingers. He had long golden hair and rabbit appendages. He hummed a response, barely casting his eyes over.

The one speaking was a tall man with tan skin and similar golden hair. Atop his head were a set of bear ears. He seemed to be debating something, his brow furrowed with concern.

“These supply reports just don’t add up. I can’t wrap my head around them.”

The rabbit stifled a laugh, holding the pen correctly and tapping it against the page. “Fred, are you making sure that you’re carrying the zeroes correctly?”

There was a hint of silence, before the bear exclaimed with an “Oh!” Bonnie stifled another laugh, turning now to look over at the other.

“You’re always so smart, Bon. Whatever would I do without you?” Fredbear said, his expression glossed over as if he were saved by divine intervention.

“Well for one, all of our orders would be wrong.”

Fredbear gave Bonnie a pitiful look, his ears flat and his expression pouty. It only served to make the rabbit laugh out loud.

–

Something awful happened today.

Bonnie stood on the main stage, looking out as humans bustled around. There were staff members, but also police officers. They hurried about like busy bees, and everyone’s expressions were somber.

Something truly awful happened today.

Bonnie’s eyes slowly followed the excitement, but otherwise he couldn’t move. It was like his entire body was frozen, but he was still aware. His eyes moved to the side, catching a glimpse of Fredbear. But even with that slight glance, Bonnie could tell there was nothing there. He’d heard Fredbear was decommissioned as a synthetic. His mother chip was removed and repurposed. But why didn’t the same happen for him? Did they not need Bonnie anymore?

Bonnie tried to will himself to move, but he barely twitched.

“Stop moving your eyes.”

Bonnie looked forward, coming face to face with one of the owners, William Afton. He never actually had a conversation with this man, but he knew that William often wore him when he was in spring lock mode.

“Stop moving your eyes,” William repeated, as if scolding a child. “You shouldn’t even be awake. If Henry sees you moving, he’ll know you still have your mother chip.”

What? Was Bonnie not supposed to have his mother chip?

“Be a good little shell and go to sleep.”

The rabbit obediently put himself into sleep mode. He didn’t know why at the time, but something about the look in William’s eyes made his skin crawl.

–

The next time Bonnie awoke, he noticed he was in the Parts and Service room. He still couldn’t move, but he could look around without worrying about people seeing.

“Can you believe what happened?”

Bonnie looked up at the man currently testing his servos and spring locks. The synthetic wondered if maybe the human knew he was awake, but the man was simply looking down at his work. Was he talking to himself?

“This place is crazy, Mr. Rabbit.”

If Bonnie could scowl, he would have. I have a name you know, the synthetic chided internally.

“Since the owner’s daughter got murdered, things have been really tense. That new location is closed while they investigate.”

What? The owner’s daughter was murdered?

Bonnie racked his brain trying to think. Daughter. . .Henry’s daughter, Charlie? She’d been murdered?!

“If you ask me, Mr. Rabbit,” the man mused, sifting through a toolbox. “I think Mr. Afton had something to do with it. Witnesses said they saw a Golden bunny with the girl right before her body was found. Ya know who’s always taking the role of the golden bunny? Mr. Afton, that’s who!”

While Bonnie couldn’t understand why this staff member was talking to himself like this, it was his words that Bonnie actually focused on. They slowly began to sink in the more information he received. Charlie’s murder, a golden rabbit being at the scene, and William. Bonnie easily connected the dots, and his eyes burned with silent fury.

“What are you doing here?”

The technician whipped around, blocking Bonnie’s limited view. But he didn’t need to see the man to know who the voice belonged to.

“Mr. Afton!” he sputtered, gesturing to the synthetic. “I was just making sure Mr. Rabbit was ready for when we open tomorrow.”

William tilted his head, catching a glimpse of Bonnie’s face. And judging by his reaction, he recognized the look in the rabbit’s eyes.

“I’ll handle it from here, go make sure the bear is operational.” William waved off the technician, waiting until he was fully gone to turn to the synthetic. He disengaged the locks that were preventing Bonnie from speaking. “Your eyes look a bit dangerous, Bonnie. Keep that up and people will think you’re a murderer.”

“What did you do?” The rabbit seethed, his own voice sounding distant and strange to his ears.

“Who’s to say?” William muttered dismissively, picking up the tools that the technician left behind. “We’re all guilty of something.”

“I’ll report you. To the police. To Henry.”

William laughed, tapping a screwdriver against his palm. “So predictable. And yet so stupid. Henry doesn’t even know you still retain a mother chip. But I think a gag order should eliminate any potential what-ifs.”

“I’ll never let you get away with this.” Bonnie said, watching helplessly as William loomed over him. “You hear me? I’ll find a way to bring your crimes to light.”

The last thing Bonnie heard as his vision faded to black was the sound of William’s mocking laughter.

–

When Bonnie awoke again, it had been by accident.

He knew as much because he could see his body being worked on. Staff members were locking the springs in place, preparing for the synthetic to be used as a costume. Synthetics were never supposed to be awake for this process. It could cause a spring lock failure if the synthetic tried to move.

“Alright Mr. Afton, the suit is ready for you.” a staff member said, stepping back.

Bonnie pretended to still be asleep, but it seemed like William wasn’t even paying any mind to him. He must not have expected him to be awake.

He watched as the staff helped William into the spring suit. Had no one realized he was the murderer? Or was it all swept under the rug because he’s the owner?

Bonnie felt the rage well up in him again. Charlie was just a little girl. Where was her justice? Why does he get to run free??

They were sealing up the suit now. In a few minutes, William will be out on the show stage and out of Bonnie’s sight.

I warned you, didn’t I?

William gave a dismissive glance. He was used to this procedure, putting the suit on, taking the suit off. It was a tired routine that was burned into his mind. Today felt different. It seemed like there were eyes on him, staring him down. Mocking him with how much they knew.

I’ll never let you get away with this.

“The locks are malfunctioning!”

“What? How?!”

Hooks and wires began to rip into William’s body in waves. First in the arms and legs, and then in the torso and neck. It was gradual, but sudden at the same time. He didn’t have time to process the pain, but he could feel his body being punctured and blood seeping into every crevice of the suit.

“Get him out of there!” “Stay with us, Mr. Afton. Someone call 911!”

William slumped forward, losing consciousness fast as the blood loss, shock, and pain swept over him. From across the way, he saw Bonnie’s head looking down at him.

“He’s awake,” Afton mumbled as his vision blurred. “He did this.”

His ramblings went unnoticed. Just the words of a man bleeding out and on the verge of death. William knew better, though. And he saw Bonnie’s face right before he passed out completely.

The rabbit was smiling.

–

“William Afton isn’t dead.”

Bonnie’s attempt to kill William ended in failure. He lived. That bastard managed to live!

If it had been after hours when no one else was there to help, everything would have been perfect. But he failed. And because he failed, William was around to ruin more lives.

“You’ve been asleep for a long time,” Freddy said, gently holding one of Bonnie’s hands. He was awake again, but just like all of the other times, only his eyes could move.

This wasn’t Fredbear. Bonnie could tell just from how they looked. But he could tell they were one and the same. It made him sad.

“He’s killed ten of us since you’ve been asleep.” Freddy’s brow furrowed, overcome with emotion. It surprised Bonnie. They were so lifelike now. “And the worst part; he’s here.”

Bonnie couldn’t emote, but Freddy could tell how he was feeling.

“I feel. . .close to you. Like you understand me better than anyone else. Please, tell me what we should do. You’re the only one who can help us now.”

Bonnie watched as Freddy cried. He cried real tears, hugging himself like a child would. This wasn’t just Freddy. There was something more. Someone else. Bonnie could sense it. The remnant of a soul.

“We’re so scared,” Freddy wept, and from behind him, glowing eyes were seen in the darkness. Red, purple, yellow. Bonnie, Chica, Foxy. They huddled around Freddy, crying those same, real tears. And Spring Bonnie saw the remnant of souls within them as well. “He’s gonna hurt us again.”

“I don’t wanna die. Not again.”

“It’s so cold.”

“I miss my parents.”

Spring Bonnie’s heart, or whatever he had in place of one, ached with each word. William hadn’t just robbed these children of their lives. He robbed them of their deaths as well.

Sadness turned to anger as slowly but surely, Spring Bonnie willed himself to move. To sit up and move his rusted limbs and joints.

“He won’t hurt you anymore.” Spring Bonnie’s voice was raspy, damaged from years of neglect. “I’ll protect you.”

The synthetics wiped their eyes, looking up with hopeful expressions on their faces. All except the other Bonnie, who’s red eyes burned with residual malice. A lingering will.

“I’ll kill him for sure.”

–

“Hah hah! You can’t approach me, can you?!”

The small white figures gathered in front of the door, staring forward with tear stained cheeks. Their eyes were hollow and vacant, but William could see the fear.

He had come here to dismantle the synthetics.

They were possessed, and William wanted to study the remnant that they had produced during that time frame. Luring and dismantling them was the easy part. What he didn’t expect was for the Remnant to transform into little ghost children who chased him around the building.

Everywhere he ran, there was another child waiting for him. He thought he’d never escape, until he remembered the Safe Room. And remembered what was in it.

Spring Bonnie, his old reliable.

It was comically easy how simple it was to slip back into the spring suit. Like everything was as it should be. The ghost children followed him, but recoiled in fear when they saw their murderer dressed as he was the day he snuffed out their little lives.

“What’s the matter?! I thought you wanted revenge!” William taunted, gesturing like a madman. “Just as stupid as the day I found you! Lured into a trap all over again!”

Everything fell into place like a perfect puzzle. The dismantling, the Safe Room, Bonnie being wound and ready. It was all so perfect.

Too perfect.

“Hehe.”

William looked down, a ghost child softly giggling. Her giggles were contagious, as all the other children began to laugh as well.

“What?” The man gasped, stepping back. “What’s so funny?! What could you possibly have to laugh about?!”

“The fact that you think this trap was for them.”

The familiar sound of children’s laughter, spring locks failing and flesh being punctured rang out through the Safe Room.

–

Save them.

Michael blinked, looking down at the monitor in his hands. He quickly pulled up the interface panel, but saw nothing. Ventilation and audio were fine. So what. . .?

Save them.

“I don’t know how.” Michael whispered to no one in particular. What did this spectre want from him? Save who?

Follow the clues.

Deliver the cake.

Save them.

Michael didn’t understand any of it. But he knew he had to try.

For some reason, deep down, he knew he had to try.

–

“Why isn’t there a game for you?”

Michael sat in the office, speaking out loud to nothing and yet something all together. The distant echoes of a child saying “Hello!” and “Hi!” can be heard deeper in the facility.

“Answer me. Why isn’t there a game for you?”

I cannot leave him, Michael.

The voice said gently. It always spoke softly, as if it were whispering. As if it didn’t want something else to overhear.

“What happens to you then?”

Are the others safe?

Michael bit the inside of his lip. He hated when his questions were avoided.

Are the others safe? The voice repeated, its tone becoming more urgent.

“Yes,” the man finally admitted. “I finished the last game at 1am.”

Thank you, Michael.

“Now it’s your turn to answer me. What is going to happen to you?”

The voice grew quiet. It always did this when it didn’t have the right words to say. When it was thinking of the gentlest way to break a heart.

At 6am, this establishment will burn to the ground. I will remain within it. He will remain within it.

“That’s not fair!” Michael shouted despite himself. “You deserve to be free from this too! Tell me how to do it. Which game has the secret that frees you?”

None of them.

“Tell me the truth!”

Michael, breathe.

The man reset the ventilation, listening as fresh air was pumped back in through the vents. It did nothing to calm him. Michael hadn’t needed to breathe for a long time now.

None of the games can free me. They were not made to free me.

“But that isn’t fair.” Michael pitifully repeated. He wanted to cry, but his tear ducts had long since rotted away. “Why do you have to die?”

I cannot leave him, Michael. I’m the only thing keeping him in check. If I move on, then no one will be around to pacify him.

“So that’s it? You die? You get to run away from everything just like that?”

I’ve never asked needlessly of you, Michael. Please. Do this for me. Allow me this one selfish wish.

Michael stood as the clock ticked on. 5:58AM. All of the systems were operating at maximum capacity. By 6AM everything will overload, and the faulty wiring will burn the building to the ground. Everything was going as planned. All Michael needed to do now was leave and watch as everything burned.

He paused at the doorway to the office, tapping his fingers against his arm.

“Are you sure there isn’t any way I can convince you to change your mind?”

I am afraid not.

Michael sighed, grabbing his jacket. “Goodbye, Bonnie.”

This isn’t goodbye, Michael. There will always be another Bonnie.

He stifled a laugh, wiping at his eyes despite nothing flowing from them. A force of habit. “Maybe so.

“But there’ll never be another Bonnie like you.”

–

“No.” Bonnie said, snapping himself back to the present. His grip tightened around Burntrap’s throat, and with one swift yank, he ripped the other synthetic’s head clean off his shoulders.

“Gyahk―”

“You and I are nothing alike. Where you spread horror and pain, I tried to do right. You enslaved those children. I freed them.” Bonnie held Burntrap’s face close, so close their noses touched. Their eyes met for the first real time in decades.

William felt the voice leave him. At first, he attributed it to the damage to his throat. But after looking into those eyes, those hauntingly beautiful eyes; burning with rage, hatred, and sorrow. It was not pain that muted him. It was fear.

“This is the end, William. But I am not without compassion. Even towards you, my soul mate, my father, my demon.” The sound of humming filled the air. William knew this sound well. Though it wasn’t his invention, it was his masterpiece; the illusion chip.

The Blob dropped the two synthetics into the burning sinkhole, its rage directed elsewhere once it realized Burntrap’s body was dead.

Momo’s body fizzled in and out. The illusion chip was changing her.

Who will you see in your final moments? Bonnie’s voice echoed in William’s head. His eyes focused and finally, he could see who the chip was replicating.

“Hen. . .ry?”

“It’s time to go, old friend.”

The flames tore at HRMN.1 long before her body hit the bottom of the sinkhole. There was no surviving this fall. She knew that. And strangely, she was at peace. She thought of the other synthetics. Of Michael. Of Gregory, and Jaime. And how she would never see them again. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Momo hugged the head close, shutting her eyes. She didn’t want to see anymore.

It was all too sad.

–

Returning to the elevator proved to be an ordeal all its own. The Blob, enraged by its injury, had begun to destroy everything in a misguided attempt at revenge.

Freddy had regained control of his body, safe now from William’s corruption, and he currently held both children as close as he could while avoiding the endless stream of tentacles.

“Over here, Fred!” Joyner called from the elevator, waving frantically. Beside the generators, Jin feverishly tinkered with the machine to get it ready for the trip back up.

“Detective, you are a sight for sore eyes.”

“That’s my line! What the hell happened down there, everything went dark!” Joyner looked around, and a somber air began to surround him. “Where’s Charlie?”

“She did not make it.”

The detective sighed, shakily. For the second time, he lost his sister.

“Detective. We cannot falter now. HRMN.1 would not want her sacrifice to be in vain and that amalgamation will not wait for us to lick our wounds.”

Jin leapt into the elevator, slamming a hand on the button. The doors shut immediately, and with a groan, the car began its ascent.

“Mom!”

“Kids, oh thank god you’re okay.” Jin pulled the children into a hug, squeezing them gently. Freddy watched them from the corner of the elevator, his eyes shifting a bit in color.

“Greg, what happened to your face, man!” The woman gently touched the gash on Gregory’s face, and he simply shrugged it off.

“I forgot it was there. Think it’ll turn into a cool scar?”

“Not if it gets infected and your face falls off.” Jaime teased.

The laughter that rippled through the elevator was tense, but comfortable. From behind them, the doors opened. They had reached the top. It was still a climb to make it back to the main building’s exit, but this was a start. The children walked out first, but suddenly the makeshift elevator shaft lurched forward. A violent tremor shook the car, causing everyone to tumble to one side. Multiple wires wormed their way through the other set of doors before prying them open. The Blob had caught up to them.

“Oh for fuck’s sake! Why can’t you bastards stay dead?!” Joyner pulled his pistol from its holster, firing multiple rounds into the monster as it tried to force itself into the elevator. It screamed out in pain, losing its grip and falling out of the car. In a desperate attempt to stabilize itself, it reached out and grabbed onto the closest thing.

Jin’s legs.

She screamed, falling straight down to the floor of the car before slowly sliding towards the open door. And the sheer drop awaiting below.

“No!”

Freddy grabbed her arms, putting his feet on either side of the doors to provide an anchor. Joyner grabbed the children, pulling them from the elevator and onto the safety of the solid concrete landing.

“Get them out of here, I will handle this!”

The detective nodded, picking up the kids and running back to the main building. Luckily, they were in no mood to fight. Despite their screaming and crying, Jaime and Gregory did little else. Freddy was thankful for that.

The amalgamation held onto her as best it could, and its weight began to make the poorly constructed elevator shaft buckle. It was going to bring them down with it.

“Freddy,” she began.

“No.” he said immediately, refusing to entertain another word. “I am going to pull you up. And I will remove the wires from you.”

“My legs― The weight it- it pulled them out of the joints―” Jin’s eyes were hazy, and as she spoke, blood trickled out of her mouth. “Even if you free me, I can’t walk.”

“I’ll carry you.”

Jin smiled. Blood and tears dripped down her face.

“I don’t feel anything anymore.” she whispered. Freddy bit back tears. Michael bit back tears. Jin looked up at him, her eyes glassy and distant.

“Please, I’ll pull you back up. I’ll carry you out.”

“Michael.” Jin mused, causing him to freeze. “You remind me of Michael. Isn’t that so strange?”

His mouth shut tight. She was delirious, thinking that she was hallucinating her dead husband. But it wasn’t a hallucination. He was right here.

“It’s not strange.” Michael said, taking a chance. “It’s me, Jin. It’s me, I’m here.”

She stared at him, before smiling again. He begged, pleaded with his eyes for her to see, to see him. But he could tell she didn’t believe it.

“Thank you, for trying. But you need to let go. You’re gonna die if you stay here.”

“Don’t make me let go.” He tried to hold on tighter, but Jin had already begun losing strength in her arms. She had already given up. “Jaime and Gregory are waiting for you. Don’t make me let go, not like this.”

“Jaime―” Jin’s eyelids fluttered as she momentarily lost consciousness. “I was never a good mother to her. After Michael died, I just became distant. Do you think she hates me?”

“Come with me. Ask her yourself.”

“Tell Jaime I love her, so so much. Tell Gregory―” she sucked in a breath, the elevator groaning louder as the amalgamation began to right itself. Its weight proved to be too much, and the metal poles holding up the makeshift shaft began to bend and crumble.

“Jin―”

“Tell Gregory that I always believed in him.”

“Jin please―”

“And tell Michael,”

“I’m here, I’m here.”

“Tell Michael I’m sorry.” Her head slowly slumped forward, and after a few seconds, there was nothing. No breathing, no warmth, nothing. She was gone. Reluctantly, Michael let go of her arms and watched as her body slid out of the elevator car.

More tentacles emerged, bright red with Jin’s blood. It must’ve tore something as it was holding on. She’d basically bled to death, and all he could do was watch.

Michael climbed out of the elevator, looking back as the tentacles tried in vain to reach him. He grabbed a metal beam from a pile of materials at his feet and ripped off his jacket. After tying the garment to the pole, he lit it on fire using Freddy’s lighter function.

The Blob forced a portion of its body through the elevator car, screaming out its garbled cries.

“Bonnie wanted to save you.” he said, looking at the creature with a mixture of pity and contempt. “He gave his life to save you. And despite that, you came back. You came back and spit in the face of all of his good deeds.

“But I could forgive that. You killed my father. That was what this was about, right? Revenge? You gave Bonnie what he wanted after all, even if it was a roundabout way of doing things.

“ What did Charlie do? She tried to help you too, didn’t she? And you killed her too. You made her choose between saving herself and saving the people she cared about. Did you know what she’d choose even before you forced it on her?

“I can forgive a lot of things,” Michael held up the homemade torch, watching as The Blob recoiled. “But what I can’t forgive? Orphaning a child. My child. You condemn William for taking you away from your parents. And yet you steal a mother from her child?”

He climbed onto the amalgamation, torch in hand.

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re no better than him. Go to hell. Keep my father company.” Michael shoved the torch into The Blob’s mouth, jumping back as the creature burst into flames. It screamed out, its cries rattling everything around it. The elevator shaft finally gave way, collapsing back into the sinkhole and dragging the amalgamation with it. He watched as the flames grew stronger, retreating only when the fire got too close for comfort.

He had better places to be.

–

It was strangely calm above ground.

Ambulances and fire trucks were everywhere. Joyner managed to get a hold of dispatch through radio, and within minutes the cavalry had gathered.

Gregory was in an ambulance, his face being taken care of by a paramedic. Michael gave him a slight wave, but the boy refused to look at him. He couldn’t blame him.

Michael was looking for Jaime, but finding a small child in a sea of activity proved to be more difficult than he expected. He asked around, hoping someone had seen her. But no one had.

Panic began to bubble within him. Had Jaime run back inside? Or had she run away entirely? Not her too. Michael couldn’t handle two in one night.

Just as his panic hit its peak, a friendly paramedic pointed to an ambulance across the parking lot. Jaime.

He ran across the way, ignoring the people around him. He just needed to be near her. That was all he wanted right now.

As he got closer, he saw Jaime was curled up in the lap of a woman. At first, he assumed she was a paramedic, however he realized she wasn’t dressed like one. She wore faded sweatpants and a black sweatshirt. The hood was pulled up, but he could see the faint dusting of bright blonde hair. It. . .couldn’t be.

“Jin―?” he breathed, and the woman looked up at him. She pulled her hood back, her blonde hair spilling over her shoulders.

“Freddy, it’s me. Vanessa. Remember?”

Michael tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. Of course it wasn’t Jin. He looked down at Jaime, whose face was red and puffy from crying.

“How is she?”

Vanessa gently ran her hand through Jaime’s hair. “She’s all cried out for now. I’m surprised she managed to fall asleep after. . .everything.”

“It’s my fault her mother died.” He clenched his fists, feeling the resentment against himself and the amalgamation resurface. “If I had been quicker, or smarter, she’d still be here with us.”

“Freddy, my sister’s death wasn’t your fault.”

Michael blinked, looking at Vanessa. The silence between them was deafening.

“. . . .What?”

“Did you just say ‘sister’?”

“Oh, did you not know that? Jin is. . .was my half sister. We have the same dad.” she rubbed gentle circles in Jaime’s back. “We hadn’t talked since her husband died. That was also the last time I saw Jaime. It was before she started dressing like a girl.

“I saw Jaime around the Pizzaplex all the time, but it never really clicked that she was my nephew. Even after hearing her name. But Jaime didn’t recognize me either. In her defense, she was really little the last time we met.” she stifled a laugh, but it was watery. Vanessa was fighting the urge to cry.

“This isn’t how I wanted to see them again, you know? First some psycho steals my identity, and now I find out my sister is dead. I just. . .It’s not fair, you know?”

“I know all too well.” Michael said. “Who benefits from this? Who gets their happy ending?”

Vanessa smiled, and just barely Michael could see the family resemblance. It made his chest ache.

“I’m going to stick around for a bit, see if maybe they can recover my sister. Then me and Jaime are moving away from here. I think she deserves a fresh start.”

Michael bit his tongue. What right did he have to object to that? He was living on borrowed time anyways. He politely bid Vanessa goodbye, turning to head back to Gregory.

“Oh, and Freddy?”

Michael looked over his shoulder.

“Don’t beat yourself up over this. My sister is back with her husband. I think that’s all she ever really wanted.”

Michael forced a smile, continuing his walk back across the parking lot. When he reached Gregory’s ambulance, he sat beside the boy.

“Who are you?” Gregory cautiously asked, looking up at the synthetic. Bright blue eyes met hazel ones, and he knew that Michael was gone.

“It is just me, Superstar.” Freddy smiled, the events of the day finally wearing on him. “I do not know where Michael went, but I believe he may have moved on.”

Gregory blinked, looking out towards the parking lot. He leaned his head against Freddy, his eyes lidding a bit.

“What’s going to happen to us now?”

Freddy put his arm around the boy, staring out as well. “I assume we will have to rebuild.”

“What about the others? Are they. . .”

“They are fine. DJ Music Man informed me via our cloud sharing that he had brought their pods out when we descended. He must have known something bad was going to happen.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence. In the distance, the sky was brilliant shades of orange and other warm colors as the sun rose. It was almost as if time stood still.

“Momo and Jin should be here to see this with us.” Gregory muttered, his eyes welling up with tears. “Why did we get to see another sunset but they didn’t?”

For once, Freddy didn’t know how to answer. All he could do was hold Gregory as the tears racked through his body.

Is this what you meant by breaking the cycle, HRMN.1? Freddy thought to himself, watching the colors swirl as the sun slowly took its place up in the sky.

Is this the happy ending you wished for?

–

3 years later.

“Jaime!” Vanessa called, poking her head out of the bathroom. “Are you ready? We gotta go visit gramma and pop pop and our flight leaves in 2 hours!”

“I’m ready, Ness.” Jaime set her suitcase by the door. She smiled at the woman, who quickly ducked back into the bathroom to finish packing the toiletries. Asking if she were ready, but not ready herself? Jaime snickered a bit, walking over to the living room and flopping onto the floor. She flicked on the tv.

〘Now reopen; The Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex! Back and better than ever, this pizzeria/mall/family fun center is back and ready to put the rock back in Rock’n’Roll! Birthdays, everyday, or just for the heck of it, stop on by and let the Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex make you a SUP―〙

Jaime stared at the now dark tv. Three years was all it took for them to sweep everything under the rug. She bit her lip until it bled. It enraged her, but getting angry won’t make it go away.

She sighed, flopping out on the floor and rolling onto her side. Why couldn’t she forget that easily? What she wouldn’t give to erase the memory of that day from her mind, just for a little while.

Jaime.

“Yeah, Ness?” she sat up, expecting to see her aunt looking at her with concern or confusion. But there was no one around.

Jaime.

She looked around, seeing nothing. The tv was off, and Vanessa was loudly playing music as she finished her own packing.

Jaime.

“I hear you.” she whispered, looking around for the voice. She looked under cushions, under tables and chairs, and even in cabinets. Her search eventually led her to her room.

Jaime flicked on the lights, looking around.

Jaime.

The voice was loud and clear, as if it were right beside her. She whipped around and saw no one. However, on her desk was a plushie. That strange Bonnie plush from three years ago, that fateful night. Of course! It had called to her before, and now it was calling to her again. It must’ve been her father trying to reach her after all this time. Jaime felt herself grow excited at the idea. She hadn’t spoken to her father since that day, and she was worried that maybe he had forgotten about her.

Jaime picked up the plush, noticing all too late that it wasn’t golden anymore, but was now a neon green color. And there were purple sparks emanating from it.

“You and I, my beloved grandchild; united again.” cooed the voice, now louder and clearer than ever. It felt as if the owner of said voice were standing directly behind her, but she couldn’t turn to look.

Jaime couldn’t move at all.

“I must admit, things looked bleak for a while there. They had almost gotten rid of me. But thanks to you, a little piece of me survived. I cannot thank you enough.

“Now, it’s been quite a long time. We’ve many years to catch up on, my dear. Shall we begin?”

“Jaime! Where are you?? Are you ready to head out?” Vanessa called from the living room, finally done with her packing. She set her suitcase beside Jaime’s, grunting with effort. “If you don’t hurry, we’ll be late!”

Jaime looked up from her stupor, her eyes bright yellow. However, they quickly faded to a lavender shade as she stood up, smiling.

“Coming, Ness~!”

[Previous] | [True Ending]

AO3 Chapter Link

#fnaf security breach #security breach #glamstar au #glamstar fam au #fnaf #archive of our own

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pastelwitchling · 2 years

Text

4x11 coda.

***

Alex paced the ground around the truck, arms crossed tightly. He was freezing, but no one else seemed to be cold, so he clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. He was exhausted, but he didn’t want to sit down. He was afraid of falling asleep.

Before Michael had come, part of him yearned to not wake up the next day. Now he couldn’t risk it. No part of him wanted to drift off and be away from Michael, not for a second. But Michael was busy looking through the map he kept in his truck, searching with Dallas for places that could possibly hold more alien fruit. Any way to get them out.

Don’t sit down. Don’t fall asleep.

Alex watched him as he thought of his plea to Michael just yesterday.

“Dallas could marry us right now. Please, we are running out of time.”

They were stuck there, and Alex didn’t have the days he wanted anymore. Making sure Michael wasn’t looking over, Alex went to check the infection in the truck’s side mirror. It had spread up his neck and down to his stomach. It was getting harder to breathe by the minute.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to think of every inch of pain in his body. None so more than in his heart at the memory of Michael’s words.

“I’m getting us out of here,” he’d told him. “And you will get a real wedding, Manes, with our friends and family.”

The idea was sweet, but Alex could only be frustrated. He’d always been a hopeful realist, but a realist, nonetheless. He didn’t think he was making it out of here, and he definitely didn’t think he was getting a wedding. He wanted to hope for a future with Michael, but Michael was just torturing them both.

“He’s doing this because he loves you,” Bonnie said gently, coming around the truck with her hands folded behind her back. “I’ve never seen anyone love the way he loves you.”

Alex slumped against the truck, hugging his arms tighter. “He sent you over here to check on me, didn’t he?”

“Like I said,” she smiled softly, “he loves you.”

Alex nodded, rubbing his face. “Yeah.”

Alex wasn’t good at talking about his feelings to other people. He wasn’t good at talking about his feelings at all. Michael was always his exception, the only person he ever wanted to share anything with. As nice as Bonnie seemed, as kind and understanding as Dallas was, Alex just wasn’t like Michael. He couldn’t let anyone else in, not even Kyle or Gregory. It was always his cowboy or no one.

And it would have to be his cowboy now. He excused himself from Bonnie, and went over to where Michael was still pouring over the map with intense focus. Alex took his elbow, halting his discussion with Dallas, and pulled him aside.

“What—Alex—”

“We need to talk,” Alex said.

Michael took his face in his hands briefly. “We can talk when we get home.”

“No,” he said, “we’re going to talk now. Guerin, please, enough of this already, I can’t take it anymore.”

“We are going to get out of here,” Michael insisted.

“You will,” Alex agreed. “I won’t.”

Michael looked like Alex had shot him. It was a cruel thing to say, but it was the truth. He opened and closed his mouth, and Alex knew that was the beginning of him about to cry. Alex felt his own eyes burn.

“The longer I stay here, the less time I have,” Alex said quietly. “Even if I did make it out with you, fresh air doesn’t heal radiation poisoning, Michael. I am dying—I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s reality. And I don’t want to spend my last few days watching you obsess over some doorway that won’t save me anyway.” He took Michael’s left hand in both of his, holding it to his chest. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. His eyes filled with tears.

“I’m begging you,” he whispered. “Please marry me.”

Michael stared at him, then cupped his neck. Alex covered his hands with his own. “I will,” he said, “as soon as we get back and you’re healed.”

Alex’s shoulders fell, a tear rolled down his cheek. “Guerin—”

“I just got you back,” Michael said, wiping the tear away with his thumb. “I’m not giving you up, Private. Ever again.”

And he went back to his map and an apologetic Dallas and Bonnie, pouring over his map. Alex could do nothing else in that moment but cross his arms yet again, and resume his pacing, ignoring the blinding pain in his leg.

Don’t sit down, he thought, looking over to Michael and taking in every inch of him. While he still could. Don’t fall asleep.

***

I’m really proud of this one to be honest.

#alex manes #michael guerin #malex #malex fic #roswell new mexico #roswell nm #tyler blackburn #michael vlamis

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star-going-supernova · 3 years

Note

I found this fun random idea where Vanessa was related to Mrs. Afton and they came from France, so maybe Vanessa calling Gregory petit ours? ("Little Bear")

Oooh, that is fun! Sorry about not posting a story/update yesterday, I got kinda busy in the afternoon. Instead, here’s the first of the tumblr ficlets from the ideas and stuff a bunch of you sent me! This takes place in a nebulously canon divergent situation. I… wrote out way too much backstory in my notes for this one, haha. This has full AU potential, oops.

Price to Pay

Vanessa didn’t know much about the rift in her family—not the cause, not who it started with, not why it was never really healed. She and her parents had traveled a lot when she was a kid, for both work and pleasure, so it wasn’t like she saw evidence of the rift very often.

Her aunt’s family was relatively unknown to her, even now, when she was an adult. She knew she had cousins, at the very least. And as of today, for the first time, one of them had reached out to her. With her parents in New Zealand and her missing the familiarity of family, it felt like something of a sign.

Turned out, her eldest cousin, Michael, knew about as much about the rift as she did. In his letter, he mentioned he was pretty sure his dad had done or said something to piss someone off all those years ago, but neither of his parents had ever explained before… well. Before it was too late.

His mother had died recently, was the thing. And Michael had taken custody of his younger siblings—eleven and sixteen, a brother and sister—which he wrote about with the tightness of someone who was still angry and really didn’t want to talk about it.

With something she might dare to call sheepishness, Michael had asked if she had any interest in getting to know the three of them, since life was short, and a different generation’s argument shouldn’t really affect them, and please don’t think I’m only writing to you because being a guardian, even of my siblings, is scary and I could kinda use some moral support from a fellow young adult.

What a coincidence, Vanessa had written back, I’ve also recently acquired custody of an eleven year old. Want to set them loose on each other and share horror stories over coffee?

It ended up working out that Vanessa and her… kid—son didn’t feel right, honestly, and when she’d mentioned as much to Gregory, he’d scrunched his nose up and stuck out his tongue, so they were on the same page, at least—would meet her three cousins at Michael’s place of work. And wasn’t that a surprise, finding out that Michael was one of those Aftons.

The pizzeria was nice—bright and colorful and bustling with energetic children. They had to get their hands stamped at the front desk, where Vanessa also relayed the message Michael had told her to give one of the employees, about them being the guests he was expecting.

They were led through one of the “employees only” doors and down the hall to an office. Their guide left them as the door swung open almost violently at Vanessa’s knock, revealing a ginger-haired teenage girl grinning almost triumphantly.

“You Vanessa?” she demanded. Behind her, a man groaned, “Elizabeth! Don’t—”

“I need more girls in the family,” Elizabeth hissed, half behind her and half to Vanessa. She glanced down at Gregory and made a face. “That’s terrifying.”

Vanessa double-checked that her gremlin of a kid wasn’t baring his teeth at her or something—he had an understandable habit of biting people when he felt threatened—but Gregory was actually behaving himself and looked somewhat offended.

“Elizabeth!” the man said scandalously, nudging her away from the door and taking her place. Michael was a little taller than Vanessa, with brown hair, and looked just like he did in the picture he’d sent. They’d exchanged photos so they had some idea of who each other were before meeting. “Sorry,” Michael told Vanessa. “She’s just…” He trailed off, staring down at Gregory. “Huh.”

Gregory did bare his teeth that time. “Something on my face, mister?”

Vanessa was always kind of impressed with Gregory’s ability to make the most innocent words sound like the worst insults. She wished she could do that, but she was better at plain old sarcasm.

“Sorry!” Michael said again, jumping a little. “It’s just—you look like you could be my little brother’s twin.”

“It’s creepy!” Elizabeth called from somewhere in the office.

Michael sighed. To Vanessa, he said, “Not the first impression I planned on making, so, sorry about that.”

“You apologize a lot,” Vanessa replied, sticking her hand out. “So I guess we’re already off to a better start than our parents. This is Gregory. Don’t touch him without his permission, please, or you’re liable to get bitten.”

“That’s—okay.” Michael shook her hand. “Nice to meet you both. The demon behind me is my sister, Elizabeth.” Smiling down at Gregory, he added, “You’re eleven, right? Our brother, Evan, he’s the same age. He’s somewhere in the arcade, I think, if you’d rather hang out with him than us boring grown-ups.”

Gregory considered it for a moment, nodding slowly. “I do like exploiting arcade games.”

“He’s a little shy,” Michael warned him, kindly ignoring Vanessa’s budding criminal of a kid.

“Try not to bite anyone?” Vanessa pleaded.

Her gremlin grinned and saluted her. “I’ll do my best!” And with that cheeky response, he turned and ran off back toward the sound of screaming children.

She caught the look on Michael’s face and shrugged. “It’s a long story.” And they were still too much of strangers.

“We all have one of those,” he said, in an agreeing sort of way. Stepping back and gesturing at his office, he asked, “Coffee?”

“Please.”

• • •

Turned out, Vanessa and Michael did get along. And so did Vanessa and Elizabeth, once she got used to the teenager’s blunt, almost harsh, way of speaking. Conversation flowed surprisingly easy, mostly picking up where Vanessa and Michael’s letters left off. Mentions of their parents were tactfully avoided.

Until they offered her a picture of her deceased aunt, one with her own mom in it, from when they were younger. She stared at with a small smile.

“I don’t think I even knew what she looked like,” she admitted. It was evident where Elizabeth’s ginger hair had come from, just as Vanessa was as blonde as her mother.

“We didn’t even know we had a cousin,” Michael replied. She’d passed him one of her own family pictures, of her and her parents. “She told us right before she died.”

“Better late than never,” Elizabeth mumbled, playing on her phone.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a minute, before Elizabeth asked, “So, where’d the ankle bitter come from?”

“Liz!” Michael sighed. “You don’t have to answer that, if it’s part of the long story.”

Vanessa chuckled. “Some days are better than others; it’s easier to talk about on the good days. I adopted him because of some shared trauma, though he got the lion’s share of it. But the two of us met when some creep kidnapped and tried to kill him. Bit the guy to get away, then he found me.” She shook her head, staring into the middle distance. “We avoided everything to do with the case afterward; Gregory would sort of…” She forgot the word the therapist used. “He’d get too deep in the memories, otherwise.”

Elizabeth nodded along, looking rather impressed. But Michael suddenly looked like he’d seen a ghost. Before she could ask if he was okay, the door popped open, admitting two giggling little boys.

And hell, her cousins hadn’t been kidding. Gregory and, presumably, Evan were nearly identical. Even their choice of clothing today was eerily similar. The resemblance was uncanny, and Vanessa found herself forgiving Elizabeth for her initial outburst. She’d have to keep on eye on her gremlin, though. This situation was ripe for some The Parent Trap-ing, and, yeah. No thank you.

Despite Michael’s warning about Evan’s shyness, it looked like Gregory had lured him out of his shell. The two were grinning at each other, already thick as thieves, and given the presence of Gregory and the two large plushies in Evan’s arms, she wouldn’t discount that saying being literal.

“You bite anyone, you little menace?” she called over.

Gregory sent her a sharp-toothed smile. “Not yet!”

Something about their exchange, short as it was, sent Evan into another fit of giggles. He buried his face in the head of one of his plushies, peeking shyly over at her as he edged slightly behind Gregory.

“That’s Vanessa,” Gregory told him, letting the slightly smaller boy huddle against his shoulder. “She’s cool.”

This seemed to mean something more to Evan, because he straightened slightly and clumsily waved, what with his arms being full. “Hi,” he whispered.

“It’s nice to meet you, Evan,” Vanessa replied. “Did your brother tell you about me?”

“Mhm. We’re cousins.”

“Those are some pretty impressive plushies you got there,” Michael said. “You guys play the crane game?”

The boys exchanged mischievous glances.

“I didn’t give you money for the arcade,” Vanessa said, resigned. “Please don’t tell me you climbed inside a crane machine again, Gregory.”

“I didn’t climb inside a crane machine again,” Gregory dutifully repeated, the little liar.

“Oh, what have I done,” Michael moaned, but Vanessa was no fool. She could see the way his shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter.

“Sorry,” she told him, reaching over to pat his shoulder. “But me and the brat—we’re a package deal. Your crane machines are gonna pay the price if you want us around.”

The two of them looked back over at the boys, who Elizabeth had joined. Gregory matched her snark for snark, and though Vanessa couldn’t have known, Michael was so, so relieved to see his little brother looking less like a shell of himself.

Vanessa turned back to him when he chuckled lightly, just in time to catch a flash of sadness and regret in his eyes. Nonetheless, he was smiling when he said, “I think some arcade exploitation is a small price to pay.”

#i answered a thing #anonymous #fnaf fic #fnaf security breach #star's stories #life and times of star

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angelofrainfrogs · 1 year

Text

Spend the Night: Ch. 13

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: The familiar melody of Grandfather’s Clock chimes through the echoing halls of the Pizzaplex…

Charlie wakes up in her Puppet’s vessel yet again with one goal in mind: to stop William Afton’s reign of terror for good. She enlists the help of Glamrock Freddy, the emphatic leader of the newest iteration of the Fazbear Band. But there seems to be more to this bear than meets the eye—and the same goes for the mysteriously familiar kid the duo find tinkering with animatronics down in Parts & Service.

With some help from friends new and old, Charlie’s journey into the bowels of the Pizzaplex will unravel mysteries none of them ever expected.

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Now this is your fault Everything is a problem There was a poison in the air, despair is an eternal blight You're losing it all You've been blinded by stardom You think that you're alone, but we are waiting for you every night You're mine

~This Comes From Inside by The Living Tombstone~

“So, Gregory…,” Michael began as they walked through Rockstar Row. He kept his voice low, though from the camera feeds they’d just checked there were no enemies around. Still, he reasoned it was better safe than sorry. “I appreciate you saving us from the spooky places, but I have to admit: I have no idea what Fazer Blast or Mazercise are...”

“So...” Gregory followed suit, pitching his voice equally low. He'd spent a while plotting out their course in detail as he learned from Freddy. It was the reason why they hadn't been ambushed by now with Freddy's AI wired into the system. This route should be quiet.

Then again, Gregory was human. Humans tend to err.

“You're gonna love Fazer Blast. On Tuesday, I crashed this rich kid's party; everyone got a gift basket and a ticket to Fazer Blast, so I got to play it a little. Those guns aren't a joke and I saw some kid hit a girl in the eye,” Gregory mentioned, peeking around a darkened corridor that headed for the backrooms. “Also... That's how I learned what a corneal laceration was. So I guess everyone learned something that day.”

“Guns…?” Michael tilted his head as he listened to Gregory explain, keeping watch for extraneous bots and rabbits as they moved. He then let out an excited gasp, eyes twinkling as he realized what this attraction might entail. “Wait—is this laser tag?!”

Michael loved laser tag—it was a fun activity that appeared in the world during one of the worst times in his life. On the rare occasion he was able to escape extraneous work at the pizzeria, he’d rush off to the fancy new arena not far from his dad’s restaurant and get out his frustration at life by shooting neon lights at other kids. He’d always wanted to play one, final game someday…

“Yeah! Plus... I figured ‘cause this whole attraction is always making noise—” Gregory began, pulling his flashlight out to shine light on their path as he revealed the secret second part to his plan. “—we could play laser tag. They have S.T.A.F.F. bots in the attraction set up for you to shoot.”

Was it exactly what Gregory said he'd be doing? No, but Freddy would be fine with it if he knew it was for a purpose anyway. They needed those Fazblasters. Gregory used to be confident with the camera's flash, but then Monty's sunglasses proved to be too tinted for the shining lights.

“And Mazercise? That's—”

“Hello?” squawked a feminine noise, too-high energy to be Charlie.

Gregory turned off his light and jumped back behind a set of employee lockers. Speak of the devil! Why did he even bother talking about the homicidal robots when they just seemed to have their ears ringing at every mention of them? The bird had seen the light, followed it, but stood confused when she saw Foxy the Pirate in the halls.

“...No. Flipping. Way! Foxy?! How did you get here?” Chica gasped, running towards him and looking like she had no clue what to do with her hands at the strange surprise. “You look amazing; did they do something to your hair?”

Michael was thankful the boy had such quick-thinking reflexes. Before he could even blink, Gregory disappeared into a locker and was out of sight just as Chica rounded the corner. Mike flinched as she ran towards him, instinctively holding his arms up to shield his face as images of lunging robots and gnashing teeth flashed though his mind.

However… this was not Chica he used to know. The closest iteration to this Glamrock version had been the Toy line, which was absolutely terrifying in its own right. But even though the bird in front of him was virus-ridden and currently bloodthirsty for human children, she was like Freddy at her core—meaning that, deep down, she should be nice. Whether Michael could access this part of her remained to be seen, although she was clearly excited to see her old friend Foxy.

“Argh, hello, lass!” Michael exclaimed, lowering his arms. He flashed Chica a grin and really hoped they hadn’t changed Foxy’s voice too much from the original one he was copying. “I’ve been brought back from the depths of Parts & Service! It’s great to see ya!”

Chica had her hands pressed expressively against her dirty pizza-grease-stained cheeks. There were so many surprises tonight! Freddy turned out to be a traitor. Bonnie was back! And now Foxy the famous Pirate Fox had returned from the dead?!

Chica could almost die from happiness.

“Wait until Roxy hears about this! Oooh! You're, like, her idol or her muse or something!” She laughed, acting just like her usual self at the sight of an old friend. Obviously, she had to fill Foxy in on what was happening.

“I can't wait to rock out with you! Ugh, I just wish I could find everyone—plus that rabid kid is still on the loose. You should put a hook in his brain when you see him...,” Chica remarked in a disgusted tone, like even mentioning the boy put her in a sour mood. “You should also visit Bonnie; he's hanging out in Fazer Blast with Vanny. I'm gonna go try and find Roxanne...”

Chica walked past Michael, smoothly at first until it became more of a zombified shuffle. Sadly, no self-awareness had come to her during their conversation—nothing that rubbed herself the wrong way and no self-reflection. Just blind hatred for Gregory.

Michael was frozen for a moment as he recovered from the whiplash of that short but very informative interaction. He’d been trying to think of excuses to get Chica away, but she’d rambled on, had an entire one-sided conversation, and then promptly walked off before he could get another word out. He wondered if this Glamrock model was always so chatty, or if this feature had been amped up by the virus, too. He’d have to ask Freddy when they met up again.

Gregory opened his locker, slow as to not alert the turned-around chicken. The last thing he wanted to do was for some sweaty employee's locker to be his coffin.

When Gregory emerged Michael quickly ushered him to his side, wrapping the long pirate coat around the boy protectively. His legs and tiny red shoes could still be seen, but it gave Mike and Gregory a mutual sense of comfort nonetheless as Chica shambled out of sight. After hearing her heavy footsteps retreat a little longer, Michael pressed a finger to his mouth as a signal to be quiet and led Gregory into a nearby janitors’ closet that had thankfully been unlocked.

“If we’re quiet, we should be able to talk here for a bit until we’re sure she’s gone,” Michael whispered, not worrying that Gregory would hear him in the tiny space. The poor boy was practically sandwiched between Mike’s leg and a shelf full of cleaning supplies, but at least they were both out of the open now. “Can you use that handy watch of yours and check the cameras? We’ll move when she’s far enough away.”

Chica really didn't shut up, Gregory concluded. She ate and regurgitated pizza grease and talked about nothing. Or at least, her worst traits were amplified when under William's viral influence. As Michael was kind and courteous enough to wrap him in the soft, long coat, Gregory felt okay walking alongside him. Although he did sort of feel like one of those dogs being put inside one of those thunder blankets, it certainly helped with keeping him calm. Plus the smell of motor oil and dust reminded him of home...

Inside the cramped closet, Gregory felt somewhat dizzy. Not just because it was small and he’d been squished against Foxy's leopard tights, but the cleaning chemicals inside didn't seem to be capped right. So, Gregory tried to make this swift.

“Totally—I'd hate to be trapped in a conversation like that again,” he said, sympathizing for his friend as the camera feeds for this level loaded. Together they watched the pink bird move along the halls, momentarily spooked by her own shadow before angrily storming into the auxiliary café entrance.

Once the coast was clear, Mike quickly opened the door and freed Gregory from the confines of the tiny space. The boy’s face was starting to look a little pale from the chemical fumes, but he seemed to perk up alright in the open air of the hallway.

“Alright, so—” Michael began, crouching down and resting his arms on his knees to be more on Gregory’s level. “—clearly, those damn rabbits are hiding out in Fazer Blast. That’s why Chica mentioned Bonnie, since the bastard still insists on using a Bonnie model after everything that’s happened…” Suddenly, Michael’s eyes widened as a realization hit him.

“Oh. Oh no… Freddy doesn’t know what William looks like right now—he’s probably just going off of whatever picture is in his memory banks.” The fox groaned in annoyance. “Shit—we should’ve told Freddy in case they run into him; I don’t think he’s going to react well… Maybe we should call and tell Charlie to let him know. But they might be busy with upgrades, so I wouldn’t want to distract her; she’ll probably remember on her own, anyway…”

Michael’s thoughts were spiraling again, and this time Gregory was able to hear it out loud. Through his muttering, Mike neglected to actually give Gregory an explanation of how or why William was in a Bonnie animatronic, leaving the boy to speculate. The fox seemed more worried about Freddy’s reaction to seeing his old, virus-infected friend than anything else at the moment.

William was a bunny. Okay...

“Wait—is your dad just Bonnie? Or is he a ghost, too?” Gregory asked.

It made sense, he thought. William Afton was either going to be an incredibly old man—possibly 100 years old—or he was going to be a murderous ghost. "Ghost" began to connect a few dots, even if they didn’t have all the pieces.

To keep Michael from going totally off-kilter, Gregory stepped in front of the man and tried to garner his attention.

“Mike. Charlie and Freddy are probably talking about it right now. Don't sweat it,” he would attempt to ease down.

Though Gregory was far from a crisis-preventer, he did make some good points. If William was hiding in Fazer Blast, they could corner him! Maybe keep him stalled, or preferably wait until Freddy was done with his upgrade. It might not be the time to get the drop on him, but to figure out what exactly his plan was this entire time.

Michael seemed to refocus as Gregory called his name. Glassy eyes brightened once again and he realized that an open hallway with crazed robots running around really wasn’t the place for his anxiety to get the better of him. He stood up, holding out his hand for Gregory to take.

“You’re right; I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Michael agreed with a grateful smile. He gave a resolute nod, his mind following a similar thought process as Gregory’s. “Let’s head to Fazer Blast; we can at least grab a gun and then book it back to Freddy and Charlie.” He started walking, then quickly realized he had absolutely no idea where they were going. With a chuckle, he gestured with his hook for Gregory to take the lead.

“As for my Father… I’m honestly not sure what he is at this point,” Michael admitted slowly. He didn’t want to freak the kid out more than he already was, but Gregory needed to know what they were up against—or he at least deserved to know that Michael didn’t. “William is… unique, I’ll put it that way. It would make sense if he was a ghost like Charlie and I, but he’s never made sense.”

The ghost theory was only plausible on a surface-level. The most glaring issue was that, if he was simply a ghost, how in the world had he infected Vanessa? Obviously she did his bidding and was likely the one to spread the virus while William was getting used to his new body… but how had she become influenced in the first place? Michael didn’t think ghosts could possess living people—and even if they could, wouldn’t William’s influence have left Vanessa the moment he went into Glamrock Bonnie? There were too many questions and not nearly enough answers for Michael’s liking.

It would help if the old fuck actually said anything worthwhile. It seemed he showed himself just to gloat, followed by him punching Michael and kicking Charlie only to fuck off back into obscurity. The only predictable thing about William was that he glided through life on impulse—and that impulsive lifestyle came back karmatically in a big way by taking his family apart, one by one.

“What if he's haunting the... the operating system? It would explain why Freddy doesn't have the virus, being on Safe Mode...,” Gregory thought, but that still didn't explain his control over Vanessa. “It can't explain why your dad wants me dead. I've never even met the chump!”

Gregory griped as he took Michael's hand and begun to pull him towards Fazer Blast. They could do a little reconnaissance while Freddy was getting repaired.

“The operating system?” Michael echoed, frowning as best as the fox face would allow. Now that was an intriguing thought… And a surprisingly plausible one, too.

Still, the big question remained: how?

“I don’t think it has anything to do with you personally, Gregory,” Michael assured, giving his hand a squeeze. “You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and he set his sights on you, like all the others…” His tone shifted into one of aged bitterness on these last few words. How many kids had been taken for William’s deluded plans? Michael wasn’t sure he even wanted to know.

“Right...” Gregory's whole perspective on it did seem to shift. It didn't so much matter why William was doing the things he was doing. All that mattered was getting as far from this guy as possible while preventing him from hurting others.

Bunnies were supposed to be cute and unassuming. Gregory figured this is why he managed to find so many child victims. Who’d ever suspect the sweet ol’ rabbit?

Gregory spied through the camera function on his Fazwatch, glancing around the Fazer Blast attraction. In one of those, he could see a security tower that overlooked the laser tag course.

As he squinted at the movement inside the tower and showed his wrist to Michael, Gregory asked: “Is he just insane? What does he get out of killing kids?”

Gregory just couldn't fathom going out of your way to hurt anyone without reason, especially someone so vulnerable. Just one day, you're sitting in a ball pit thinking about how you're going to get ice cream afterward. Then some guy with a weird thing for rabbits kills you and hides your body inside an arcade machine... It was morbid. And if Gregory didn't want to join the others, he had to figure out anything he could from Michael to avoid that.

“He is insane—that’s not a question.” Michael watched the movement on the tiny screen. It was impossible to make out any details, although the stark flash of white confirmed that Vanny was definitely up there… and William likely wasn’t going to leave her side now that he could use her for both his original plan and leverage against the others.

“I don’t know what he wants, though—not now, after all this time,” Michael continued, then he paused a moment, gearing up for the explanation ahead. “I think he was originally trying to… to bring back my brother.” Michael’s voice slowed as he pushed through the emotion that came with reliving Evan’s death. “He… Evan… E-Evan was the only one in this horrible situation that didn’t die by William’s hand. And once that happened, my father… changed. I don’t understand everything behind his actions and I doubt anyone but him ever will, but… I think he started out with what he believed were good intentions.”

At least, this is what Michael presumed from the scattered notes he’d found when raiding William’s office. Not to mention hints the crazed killer gave whenever he and his estranged son interacted. Though few and far between, these pieces of information allowed Michael to hazard a guess that in William’s sick fantasy, he thought he was bringing his family back together… but he only ended up killing the rest of his own children, himself, and innocent kids that had nothing to do with anything in the process. And he was apparently still going.

Maybe that was how he justified those actions. Charlie may have been an accident that led to the discovery of life eternal, but the others? William didn't know them. He could justify it by placing himself aside the others. Their lives didn't affect him as the lives of his children had. What was a few decades of hard work in comparison to forever? If William even could articulate that at the time, how could he now?

Gregory gave Michael a sympathetic ear, saddened by the tale. Mike just wanted his brother back, but not at the expense of other people’s lives. He was going through grief naturally, but it seemed like that process had been stunted—and he’d never gotten over the death of Evan either.

“That's... Really messed up. I'm sorry he put you through that, Mike,” Gregory said. Michael had been a good friend to him, and the heartache of hearing your friend’s inner turmoil had Gregory resting his head against the fox's leg as they watched the security tower together.

Inside, a taller, unfamiliar rabbit figure was gesturing with his hands. It looked like he was making shadow puppets across a projector screen. Either that, or Gregory just couldn’t see what he had showing on the projector. It was hard to tell, but Gregory was almost positive it was the former. Since William came across as strange in all of Michael's depictions of him, he wouldn't put it past the man.

“Thanks, Gregory; you’re a good kid.” Michael couldn’t help but feel a twinge of brotherly affection at the boy’s words. Despite the obviously tough life he’d been though, Gregory still had the wherewithal to care about others. Michael gently ruffled his hair, allowing Gregory to rest against him for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

“Alright—time for another plan,” the fox announced. “I’m not too fond of us going to Fazer Blast if William and Vanny are there, but… I think we need that gun. Maybe we can grab it and get out, then come back with Freddy and Charlie?”

“Yeah. They're not even doing anything...” With no audio enabled in this thing, there was no telling what they were talking about over there. There wasn't any point sitting and speculating in the hallway. It wouldn't get either of them any closer to the answers they craved.

“We could also hit up Mazercise? I don't know if I left anything in there. Or maybe we could just go back and see how the others are doing. What time is it?” Gregory asked, switching the screens on his watch briefly to observe how much time they wasted scouting the area.

“Let’s get the gun first, then if we have time we can check out Mazercise—if not, we’ll regroup in the security office.” As Michael talked through the plan, he became more confident that things might just work in their favor this time. Yes, they were technically going to be in the same area as William, but they were going to stay as far away as possible. Michael held up his paw for a high-five, flashing the most confident grin he could manage. “Ready?”

It'll be easy, Gregory figured as he raised his hand and met the other's with a hearty smack. "Ready!"

Though it would be tempting to stay and play a round of laser tag, Gregory doubted it wouldn't go unnoticed by Vanny or William in the tower above.

Gregory could feel Michael's contagious smile spread to pull at his own lips. With the fierce pirate fox at his side, there was nothing they couldn't accomplish. Even if that old man and the bunny with no peripheral vision in her mask saw them, it's not like they could catch them!

Probably.

Michael followed Gregory into Fazer Blast, speeding past the first room where a S.T.A.F.F. bot ran through a set of instructions and warnings. The next room held the prize: a set of Fazblasters all lined up nicely on a table next to a bunch of helmets. Gregory was quick to pick up a gun, and as he turned it over in his hands Michael went back to the door they’d just entered. He tried to open it so they could go back the way they came—but the heavy metal wouldn’t budge.

“No…” Michael muttered under his breath, not wanting to alarm Gregory until he was sure he had to. “No, please… not now!”

He tried the door frantically, even attempting to leverage the handle with his hook, but it was stuck fast. He didn’t need to breathe, but it sounded like he was starting to hyperventilate. Turning to Gregory with wide eyes, Michael spelled out their current situation: “The door auto-locked behind us. I… I think we have to go through the arena to get out of here.”

Gregory's eyebrows flew up towards his hairline, and to the door he went in an attempt to throw it up alongside Michael. He hit the door twice with his fist, even shot the card reader with his gun. Nothing would get the auto locks to pry. Sad to say they couldn't use the same technology for their security offices...

“If your dad doesn't kill us, mine will,” Gregory muttered. This had been a serious lapse in judgement on both their parts. But how were either to know that there was no way to exit the Fazer Blast unless a S.T.A.F.F. bot was witnessing an emergency?

A long corridor that lead into the laser tag obstacle course was illuminated by standard, uniform neon tubing. The ominous red that lit their path wasn't exactly soothing.

“Okay... Just don't panic. Maybe they won't even notice up there.” Gregory squared his shoulders as he began to shuffle for the exit.

“Just stay by my side and keep that blaster handy,” Michael instructed, as they cautiously approached an elevator that would deposit them directly into the arena. Not for the first time, Michael wondered what the hell this place’s obsession with unnecessarily long elevator rides was about. He thought back to Gregory’s comment about their dads and sighed.

“…You should also probably try to call Freddy before that elevator door opens,” the fox added with a grimace. “I know he’s going to freak out depending on how much you say, but at least he deserves to know that we’ve found their hideout.”

Michael’s tail swished slowly back and forth to get out some nervous tension. He’d leave it up to Gregory as to how much detail he wanted to provide on the call—the boy knew Freddy better than him at this point and could do a much better job at predicting what might set the bear off. If it were up to Mike, he figured the less information the better…

That was a good idea. Maybe the universe was giving Gregory this long elevator ride to give him time to say goodbye to Freddy—to apologize for calling him Dad and getting attached to him before dying. There were many scenarios running through his mind as he took a deep, steadying breath. His wrist was poised in front of his mouth, and Gregory pressed the talking button at the side to speak with Freddy.

“Hey, Dad? Uh—we got locked inside Fazer Blast. I don't know if you can hear me but... I love you and stuff. I-I'm going to try and hold out with Michael. I just wanted to let you know I'm sorry.”

It would be a miracle if Freddy was in position to answer—or if Charlie heard them and decided to come to their aid. But for some reason Gregory felt like their luck was running out.

Oh… that hurt to listen to. Michael’s chest tightened as Gregory spoke shakily into his watch. The kid had acted so confident and comforting towards Michael recently, he’d almost forgotten Gregory was just that: a kid. One that was about to try and sneak past an entity that had made an entire building of robots hungry for his blood specifically. Of course he’d be absolutely terrified…

Unfortunately, any words of encouragement Michael had to offer were stilted as the doors opened to reveal the arena. A thin layer of fog obscured the neon glow of the laser tag attraction. So far, all was quiet.

***

Charlie had just finished the last test of Freddy’s new claws when Gregory’s small, scared voice echoed from his internal speakers.

“Gregory?!” Freddy exclaimed, and when the boy didn’t respond he jumped out of the chair and rushed to the door of the protective cylinder, trying to force it open when it didn’t move fast enough. Once out in the main area, Freddy grabbed Charlie’s hand and immediately pulled her towards Roxy’s elevator, explaining frantically as he ran: “Gregory and Michael are stuck in Fazer Blast—I am not sure what is happening, but I think they are in trouble! We must try and help them!”

Charlie had become a limp noodle in Freddy's hold. How and why those boys couldn't stay out of trouble was not the question that could be answered right now. Charlie put up no fight as her legs started their fast pace alongside Freddy's.

Charlie had thought that Michael moved on from his rebellious phase—perhaps Gregory brought it out unintentionally in her friend when they were alone. Charlie knew when she had her turn in watching the kid, all she wanted to do was arts and crafts and play with toys. Gregory brought their inner child out—yet, sadly, they were trapped inside this place with a child murderer. They'd be as good as double-dead without help.

Gripping onto Freddy's arm, Charlie swung up to rest weightlessly on his back, hitching a ride as they rushed into the elevator.

***

Gregory was timid, clearly shaken as he glanced to his friend. He looked past him now, peering into the dense fog. The mist only seemed to amp up the further they passed the into it's shroud. Gregory thankfully could still see Michael, as the giant looming fox wasn't exactly inconspicuous. As they circled around to capture one of the checkpoints, Gregory wondered if they could get through this without incident. When the flag was retrieved, a prerecorded message swiftly ruined their entire guise.

“CHECKPOINT B CAPTURED! TWO MORE CHECKPOINTS REMAIN!” reminded the two, and set off cause for alarm inside the tower.

“SHIT!” Michael yelled, his voice almost completely drowned out by the message blasting through the arena. Why the hell did it have to be so loud and announce their exact position?! He ushered Gregory along as fast as they could, not even sure what direction they were headed. All he knew was that one or more rabbits were about to appear at Checkpoint B, and they needed to be as far away from there as possible.

Inside the tower, Vanny rushed to the window and peered out to see a vague, bulky shape moving through the fog. Though the features weren’t clear, the hobbling steps were unmistakable. Vanny turned around to William with an excited gasp.

“Your son is here!” she announced, giddy and bright. She pressed a paw over the grinning mouth of her mask as she let out a giggle. “Seems like he wanted to play a game~”

Above, William came from behind Vanny, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders as he peered over her and into the maze.

“Of course. He could never resist a bout of laser tag.” William said as if reminiscing on the good times. It appeared Michael had a little friend. The child he had heard about. Good; maybe his son had finally come to his senses and decided to give up the chase.

It’d be useless anyway—William would get what he wanted in the end.

“We should meet with them, don't you think, my dear?” he remarked, giving his murderous protégé’s shoulders a rough pat before turning around and heading for the office doors. “Last one there's a rotten Easter egg!”

“The other flags! Damn it where are they—” Gregory gasped through the artificial fog in the air. He nearly fainted when Michael patted the cut along his back, the self-preserving part of his brain figuring he should just relax before death to make it easier on his tiny body. When he realized it was Michael with him in the fog, Gregory figured he should let Mike lead the way. After all, he shared those special eyes that Roxy had. This obscure fog wasn't anything to him, and it showed.

“There! To your left!” Michael exclaimed, pointing to a poll with a tiny flag set up in a nearly-hidden corner. He squinted as he looked around for danger while Gregory ran for the goal.

Now that his eyes had time to adjust to the sensory overload of fog and flashing lights, Michael realized he could see through the haze pretty well. Thank god for whatever special features they’d installed in these animatronic eyes… He just hoped they hadn’t been spotted by those in the tower yet, although he knew the chances of that were slim.

Vanny shrieked with laughter as she rushed to follow William out into the arena. She was so happy he had a body now so they could play all sorts of fun games! And the fact that Michael was joining them as well was even more fantastic—not to mention he’d brought them a gift of the sneaky child they’d been trying to catch all night! It warmed Vanny’s heart to see her friend's old family reunited again!

No longer was William just a nagging voice sitting idle in the back of her head. He could sing and dance before her, and do all the things that he said he would. His plan was so close to being achieved now.

As his metal feet clanged after each impact with the steps on the tower, William let out a disturbed chuckle. “I can see them! Can you see them?”

Checkpoint A was close, all they had to do was snatch the flag away and get to C. As Gregory skidded across the floor, riding the momentum after running for so long, he figured Michael was behind him. He craned his neck to look for him, and found himself sliding right into someone new...

Those strong arms snatched him up, holding him with a grip that caused Gregory to shriek. It was him! The child murderer who’d been waiting for Gregory to slip up and get turned around inside the fog.

Gregory begun to cry now as his feet were pulled from the safety of the ground. In sheer panic, he dropped his gun and hit at the thick, purple arms holding him aloft.

“Evan..?” the rabbit questioned in a voice not unlike Michael’s, tone soft and vulnerable. He didn’t wait for an answer, but knocked Gregory's hands away to get a better look.

It was him, without a shadow of a doubt—Evan Afton, William’s youngest and favorite son. But how? Michael wasn't smart enough to figure out something as complex as resurrection!

…Did it matter? What act of providence after all of William’s labor, to have his first lost child return to him.

Gregory had been scared into muteness as William tucked him against his chest, gently kissing the crown of his head. “No, no, don't cry. No tears. You're safe again. I'm not going to let him hurt you. Not anymore.”

William had officially gone and confused Gregory now. The boy continued to sob silently into the front of “Bonnie’s” torso, which did nothing to help curb his resemblance to Evan.

“You let go of him RIGHT. NOW.” Michael appeared out of the swirling fog, coat flared out from running before it settled around him. He looked like a sort of fox-pirate-vigilante, seething and out for blood—but not Gregory’s, unlike nearly all the other robots in this damned place.

No, Michael was only after that purple rabbit… The purple rabbit who currently had Gregory clutched in his arms.

“Father… let him go,” Michael tried again, knowing full-well his pleas would fall on deaf ears.

However, there was something odd about this situation—more than the obvious, sheer lunacy of this entire thing. It was in the way William held the child, not like someone about to end Gregory’s life, but like someone who wanted to protect it. It was shocking in its familiarity, and Michael had the sudden, impossible urge to vomit as he understood why: William thought this boy was his son. Gregory’s genes had cursed him with a face like Evan’s, and just like Michael on the outset, their father thought the tortured, long-lost soul of his youngest boy had come back to him.

Michael clenched his fist, remaining stock still as he watched William cuddle the obviously petrified boy. He wanted to snatch Gregory and run, but Mike knew he was at a disadvantage right then—especially when he noticed Vanny lingering near William’s side.

Will's jaw was twitching as he kept it pressed against the top of Gregory's head. When his eyes flicked upwards to Michael, he took a shaky, simulated breath inward. Gregory flinched, thinking that when he least expected it, William would crunch right into the top of his skull.

“Michael... You did it. You found him... I'm so proud of you, son,” the Afton patriarch murmured.

Were these words genuine? Hard to say—he didn't listen to Michael's pleas, only distracted when seeing Vanny come to rest at his side.

“Vanny—look, this is my youngest. Evan, say hello!” William instructed, introducing them as if tonight had been normal. As if Gregory had any clue what the fuck he was talking about.

Honestly, Gregory wasn't sure what was worse. The forced familial bonding or having his life threatened. If Michael corrected Will on who he was, Gregory was going to have his neck snapped. If he stayed, he would have to be the son to a deluded murderer.

William straightened, his crushing hug relaxed while his hands remained tightly clamped under Gregory's arms. “Why don't you come over here, Michael. I'll tell you everything... We can be a family again. The one you always wanted...”

William saw it as a second chance, unable to realize he used all the chances anyone would ever give him long, long ago.

Vanny gasped, pressing oversized paws to her cheeks in excitement. “Hi, Evan! Aww, you’re such a cutie!”

She said this as if she hadn’t been trying to capture him for an entire night and released a virus that made once-friendly animatronics turn on a child they were originally designed to protect. But hey—how was she supposed to know this was William’s son reincarnated?! The man had only been a voice in Vanny’s head until an hour ago—they hadn’t had time to look through the family photo albums yet.

Michael’s teeth ground together until he heard something crack. Great, they were in for another trip to Parts & Service if they made it out if this situation in any semblance of intact. William’s words of praise were sickening. Michael had wanted to hear them for so long, to know his father loved and appreciated him… But not like this. Not now, from his deluded mind that thought a terrified, innocent boy was his own.

And that was just it—this wasn’t the time for Michael to focus on himself. He’d had decades of loneliness and self-reflection to do that. Now was the time to save Gregory—whatever it took.

“Y-Yes, Father, I… I brought him back for you,” the fox said, his voice stumbling at the beginning but gaining confidence as Michael did. He took a slow, cautious step forward. He had to do this very carefully—one wrong move and Gregory would be dead in an instant. Another child lost to William’s madness. “I wanted us to be together again. I… we missed you.”

A shudder went through William like a wave in a pool.

“Finally, the truth comes out.” He just knew Michael couldn't possibly hate him! He was angry over the circumstances, surely. But now they could be a family again!

Gregory had lightly pushed against William's chest, though there was no budging. He wasn't even sure Will noticed his futile attempts at escaping. When Michael had revealed that he brought Gregory to him, the boy’s head whipped around, eyes burning from the stinging tears of betrayal.

“I-I thought I could trust you!” Gregory yelled, anger overtaking him as William gave a gentle squeeze.

“Shh. Shhhhh...,” he soothed, gaze now lingering on Michael. “Come, Michael; Evan's scared. We can find a rerun of Fazbear and Friends on the YouTube and watch it together. How does that sound, Evan?”

While the cartoon was a timeless classic, Gregory didn't want to watch it with this creep.

“Get bent,” he snapped, glaring up at the bunny who stared back with shocked eyes.

“Michael? I told you to stop teaching Evan swears. You know he wants to be just like you,” William griped, rolling his eyes at his “son's” act of wayward rebellion.

“I’ll cue up some videos upstairs~” Vanny chimed in, her static grin eerier than ever as she skipped off without waiting for an answer. She wanted to make herself useful, and she knew William would appreciate the bonding time with his sons! Besides, she’d be just a skip and a hop away if he needed anything.

That look of absolute betrayal on Gregory’s face, like Michael was the most horrendous being on the planet… It was the same look Charlie had given him the night Evan died. She hated him in that moment—and now Gregory hated him, too. Michael desperately wished he could take back his words, reassuring the boy that it was all a ruse to keep him safe in the long run. The more Michael played into his father’s delusion, the better chance they had of escaping him eventually. How exactly they’d do this is what Michael was furiously trying to figure out, but at the moment all he wanted to do was get Gregory away from the purple rabbit’s grasp.

“I’m sorry, Father,” Michael apologized, hanging his head in mock shame, though it was also an excuse not to look at the rabbit for a few seconds. This was so much, his anxiety was screaming nonsensical thoughts of simply grabbing the kid and running, but Michael had to push through.

As William started to follow Vanny to the tower, Michael instinctively reached out to grasp a purple arm. His metaphorical skin crawled at the contact, and he resisted the urge to simply crush the murderer’s limb right then and there. He could do it—he had the strength to, and William would certainly be taken by surprise. But Will might break Gregory’s entire body in a second once he realized the betrayal.

“Wait!” Michael said as his father paused, releasing him once he had his attention. He tried his best to offer a grin from the fox’s mouth. “Before we go upstairs, can we just… talk? Just the three of us? I-I think we need some quality time together; we’ve been apart for so long…”

If he could at least keep Vanny out of the picture, Michael would only have to focus his attention on the pair in front of him.

“Oh Michael...,” William sighed. He supposed that he’d punished his son enough for what he had done. Those years of isolation couldn't hold a candle to the week of suffering Evan had in that hospital bed. Though it was all water under the bridge now! Evan was back, and clearly nothing had changed between him and his brother.

“Anything you want, sport,” William replied amiably, feeling generous now that they had all the time in the world. William looked to Vanny on the steps, calling up to her. “Vanny, dear, we're going to have a talk. Be up shortly!” He arranged Gregory in his arms as he sat onto a foam barricade, the weight of his body smushing it to half its size as he decided to bounce the boy in his lap.

Gregory was praying for death in that moment. This robot wasn't his dad, damn it! Mike had sold him out for what?! Approval from his gross father?!

The kid glared ahead, merely coming off as grumpy to William, perhaps because their game of laser tag was cut short.

“Evan, please stop pouting. We'll watch Fazbear’s in a second. What was it you wanted to say, Michael?” William had a smile on his face, easygoing and content as he finally made progress with locating his missing family.

Ah… Michael hadn’t quite thought that far ahead. He was a person to make overarching goals, but when it came to the smaller details he worked on impulse. Still, at least William was sort of listening to him at the moment.

“I… wanted to say how happy I am that we’re back together,” Mike started, eyes shifting to the floor where the Fazerblaster lay prone. If Gregory could somehow get his hands on the gun, maybe they could shoot William in the eyes and escape while he was temporarily blinded? But the question was: how to get William to let go of the son he’d been missing for so many years?

Suddenly, Michael had an idea. It was half-baked and certainly came with its risks, but it was the best he could think of in that moment.

“Father… may I hold Evan for a moment?” Michael asked, putting as much false sweetness into his words as possible. “It’s just—I only recently saved him from that Freddy he’s been hanging around all night… You know, I think that bear was actually trying to scare him? I mean, you could see how he was crying when you first picked him up…”

Michael let out a huge sigh and shook his head, playing into his father’s love of dramatics. “Since it took me this long to free him, I wanted to bring him straight to you once I realized you were awake. So now that we’re together again… may I please hold him? Just for a moment?”

Would the puppy-dog eyes work on Michael’s real father? He’d just have to try and find out.

Gregory hated being jostled on this strange dude's knee. It may have gotten him to stop crying, but Gregory just looked perpetually uncomfortable. He loathed being touched by people he didn't know, and William was right at the top of the list of nope. He was infuriated that everyone obsessed about him, either seeing him as someone he wasn't or a means to an end.

“That's up to Evan, isn't it? Evan—” William's hypnotic voice cooed, ceasing the infernal bouncing of his knee long enough for Gregory to realize he was addressing him. “—would you like to spend some quality time with your bother?”

“...I don't wanna be touched,” Gregory decided, concerned that any choice he made could be a trap.

William supposed that was reasonable. He didn't quite like that whole deal either, though his fraternal instincts kicking in again after fifty-odd years were making him do some strange things. He laughed quietly, lifting Gregory off his lap to stand instead by the barrier.

“I think that there's some explaining in order. I'm sure you and Evan are terribly confused—I can't blame you for that. In my absence I left you to find life eternal. Now that I've found it, we'll use it to bring Lizzie back, too,” William half-explained. After taking two fingers and pressing them against what would be his sternum, he tapped the metal there before Bonnie's surprise hatch opened.

Reaching inside his chest cavity, he produced a syringe. Its contents were a vivid purple that gleamed magenta from the red neon hitting it at just the right angle.

The sight of the medical instrument had Gregory frozen, his features equally scared and hopeless. He couldn't outrun both him and Michael in a maze that he barely knew, especially with all this fog!

But besides him, on the ground by the flagpole was the Fazerblaster—

As William produced this instrument of torture, Gregory started a slow and precise shuffle towards the weapon.

He put Gregory down.

The thought sent a spike of hesitant relief through Michael’s body. And even better, Gregory had already caught sight of the Fazblaster and was moving towards it. Hopefully he wouldn’t turn against Michael too, though the fox wouldn’t blame him if he got shot between the eyes. The kid still thought Mike was on his father’s side, after all.

“Lizzie…?” Michael asked, stepping closer so he could examine the syringe in William’s hand. He also might have blocked William’s direct line of sight from Gregory in the process so the boy could sneak to the gun.

The substance in the syringe gave Michael another one of those queasy feelings. He’d come across something in William’s notes that talked about this, he was sure of it… though unfortunately Mike’s memory was a bit fuzzy on the details. Even so, whatever that thing was clearly played a major role in William’s twisted plans.

“I have enough right here for everyone. The problem is, once the body is completely gone—” William's voice was calm and easy as he leaned over to pull Evan back closer to his side. In his peripheral, it was easy to see what Gregory was doing. His sons were stubborn, like their dad. William thought Evan was just determined to grasp the Fazerblaster to finish their little game.

“Don't wander, Evan,” William said over Gregory's frightened gasp as his shoes slid helplessly over the smooth floors. Looking to Michael, the Afton patriarch offered him a smile.

“We'll have to trade secrets. How you brought Evan back fully... And I'll tell you what's in this hypodermic.” William brought Gregory in front of him, a firm grasp on his shoulder. “I like to think of it as a rapid cure-all. When you have a child that falls and scrapes their knees, you carry bandages. Death-prone children? They need something stronger.”

Slowly, a clawed, purple paw raised the needle to Gregory's neck.

***

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