Chapter Text
“Freddy?”
A familiar voice cuts through the haze of static obscuring Freddy’s vision. If he weren’t so overwhelmed by it, he’d be wondering why this seems to be lasting so much longer than it did the last time the White Rabbit was nearby.
“What’s wrong with ‘im?”
“This isn’t good…”
“Freddy!”
Something touches him, and his vision flashes, the static overtaken by warnings of danger. A stinging pain jolts through his body, and it begins to move without his control.
“Woah, look out!”
There’s a different kind of pain, like something heavy has hit him, and then a weightlessness.
His vision finally clears when he crashes into something, and a brief jolt of electricity rockets through him.
He’s lying across a fallen arcade machine, the metal side dented–he must have landed there–and the screen shattered. He blinks, flexes each of his joints, and then carefully gets up.
His friends are standing a few feet away, eyeing him with alarm. Monty is in front of the girls, one arm outstretched to block them. Freddy is about to ask what happened when he remembers what was going on before he lost his vision…and realizes neither Gregory nor Vanessa are anywhere to be seen.
“Where are Vanessa and Gregory?” He asks, stepping forward…and then stopping when his friends step back.
“Why?” Roxy asks sharply, her claws ready and her body crouched, as if she’s waiting to pounce; even her hair seems to have poofed up in an imitation of raised hackles.
“I think he’s okay now,” Chica says with uncertainty. “His eyes are blue again.” Freddy stares at them, confused…but a sense of dread is beginning to gnaw at him.
“What just happened?” He asks. His friends glance at each other, not answering. Monty is the first to relax, lowering his arm and looking around the atrium, as if Gregory or Vanessa might just pop out from behind something.
“You were just…actin’ weird. We don’t know where they are, either. They were gone by the time we got here.”
“I thought about sending a message to their Fazwatches,” Chica chimes in, “but if they’re hiding somewhere, the sound might alert the Rabbit.”
“Well, we can’t split up!” Roxy growls. “She’s got to know by now that we’re all free from the virus, and if I’m the only one that can see through whatever she’s doing to mess with you guys…”
“We may have to risk sending them each a message, then,” Freddy says gravely. “I remember Vanessa calling for Gregory. They may have been separated. Chica, you and Monty can go find whichever of them is not being pursued, and Roxy can make her way to help the other.”
“...what about you?” Chica asks. Freddy begins to answer…but finds himself stumped as to why he said that.
What about me? I am worried sick about both of them!
“I…need to go to the raceway,” he finally says, eyeing the red shutters covering the attraction’s entrance. “I have a feeling that something important is there.” The others don’t respond, and when he looks at them again, they’re all staring at him strangely. He blinks. “Is something the matter?”
“...is there somethin’ you’re not tellin’ us, Fazbear?” Monty crosses his arms over his chest, eyes narrowing at Freddy over his glasses.
“No.” Despite the protests of his programming, the lie slips out easily. “But it is one of the only attractions not open to the public. Would it not be the best place for her to be hiding something?” Monty seems to relax.
“Fair enough. Send ‘em a message.” Freddy nods.
‘Vanessa, Gregory, the four of us are together now, but we do not know where you are. If you are able, please tell us where to find you!’
He sends the message to Gregory first, then Vanessa. Neither responds for several tense seconds. Just as Freddy begins to fear that he’s made a grave mistake, he receives a response from Gregory.
‘I’m hiding in the arcade. There are staff bots everywhere!’
“Gregory is hiding in the arcade.”
“Shit,” Monty grumbles. “Hope DJ’s not infected…” Before Freddy can reply, he gets a response from Vanessa.
‘Fazerblast, she’s in here somewhere.’
“Vanessa is in Fazerblast. The Rabbit is there with her.”
“I’m on it!” Without another word, Roxy sprints to the nearest set of escalators and leaps down them. Chica reaches over and places her hand gingerly on Freddy’s shoulder.
“We’ll go help Gregory. Just be safe, okay Freddybear?” Freddy nods.
“I do not think I would be much help in there, anyway,” he confesses. “They still haven’t quite figured out that programming error about dancing.”
“I don’t know, maybe it’d give the kid somethin’ to smile at.” Monty grins. “You dance like a dork when you’re not performin’.”
“Don’t be mean!” Chica admonishes the gator, but she’s covering her beak with a hand to (unsuccessfully) stifle her giggles.
“I’m not!” Monty protests. “It’s cute!” Freddy’s ears perk up.
“Oh! Is…is it?” Monty stares at him for a moment, then looks at the floor.
“Uh…yeah. It is.” Before Freddy can respond, Monty speaks up again, louder now. “Cheeks, let’s go get Gregory.”
“We’ll meet you at the Raceway, Freddy!” Chica and Monty quickly head towards the elevator to the arcade. Freddy follows, waving at them as the elevator doors close…and then he heads down an escalator towards Roxy Raceway, wondering once again exactly why he feels the need to go there.
There is only one way to find out, he determines.
Vanessa rounds a corner of the maze and presses her back against it, the plastic handle of her Fazerblaster slick in her sweaty hands. The bright neon green of the partition walls is beginning to give her a headache, especially now that they’re all that’s illuminating the room, but she can’t afford to shut her eyes; she barely has the nerve to blink right now.
She just hopes the message went through to Freddy. She barely had time to speak into the mic with the Rabbit chasing after her. The adrenaline is beginning to wear off, and a sharp pain throbs in her right ankle with every beat of her heart. She tests her weight on it, then winces and stops.
This stupid toy might not even work on her, she thinks to herself. Still, she takes a breath to steel her nerves and peeks around the corner.
She spots the Rabbit a few yards away, skipping playfully around the maze, buggy eyes glowing red; she’s taking her time to track Vanessa down. After all, there’s nowhere that Vanessa can go until the game ends.
I have to get the flags, but even if she doesn’t know where they are, she’ll hear the bots swarming around when I reach one.
As her mind races through the different approaches she could take (most of which end in the mental image of a knife plunged into her chest), she suddenly remembers something Naomi and another coworker had told her happened. A kid had been denied the Fazerblast prize for ‘cheating’ against the bots during the ‘defense’ part of the game, and his parents had threatened to sue until he was given the prize.
She checks again to make sure that the Rabbit can’t see her, then darts out towards the first ‘flag’. She hits the button, then moves around the podium and crouches behind it, keeping most of her body covered while she leans out and shoots at the staff bots that begin to head towards her. Her eyes dart around, searching for any sign of the Rabbit, but she’s nowhere to be seen. Vanessa blasts the final bot, then begins making her way to the next spot. Suddenly, her watch beeps with a message.
“Keep going, she’s to your left, headed back where you were.”
Roxy? Vanessa sighs with relief and continues, heading towards the rightmost side of the area as she continues to the next ‘flag’. She uses the same strategy as before and wins easily.
“She’s headed your way, but you can go around to the last one.”
Vanessa takes a breath and makes her way around the arena, rubbing at the stitch in her side.
I need to exercise more.
She sticks to the wall and stays crouched as she reaches the ramp to the upper level and starts to climb it.
“Pfft. You look really stupid, but it’s a smart move.”
Gregory isn’t around, so Vanessa doesn’t feel bad about raising up her middle finger in no direction in particular, hoping Roxy will see it, before continuing on.
She reaches the last ‘flag’ and repeats her previous strategy…although this time, she does take a couple of hits because she keeps glancing over at the ramp for any signs of patchwork white fur or giant red eyes.
Vanessa jumps and nearly cries out as the PA system loudly declares her the winner, and tells her the door to the prize room is now open.
“I’ll distract her, get your ass in there!”
She doesn’t need to be told twice; she jumps back down and makes a run right for it. She hears Roxy shouting something, but she doesn’t slow down; she reaches the door, all but throwing the blaster into the return bin, and ducks beneath it before it’s even fully opened.
“I’m in!” She says into the watch, then sends it and presses the button to activate the lift. The second door opens, and she jogs down the hallway, her footfalls on the metal floor echoing around her.
She steps through the doorway and grabs the golden blaster, then walks up to the windows and looks around…but she doesn’t see Roxy or the Rabbit.
“Roxy?” She says into the watch. “Where are you?”
“Right here,” the wolf says right behind her.
“Jesus!” She jumps and whirls around, glaring at the…well, wolfish grin on Roxy’s face. “Don’t do that!”
“Better me than some crazy lady with a knife.” The wolf puts a hand on her hip and shakes her head. “I couldn’t figure out if I thought that costume was ridiculous or creepy until I saw she had a knife. At least it wasn’t a gun, or something.”
“Too impersonal,” Vanessa mutters, keeping her eyes on the hallway in case those big, red eyes decide to make an appearance.
“Sorry, what?”
“People who like to kill others almost never use guns because they think it’s ‘impersonal’. They want to be up close and see their targets afraid, watch them die. They get a kick out of it.” Roxy doesn’t respond, so Vanessa glances up at the wolf…and her face begins to turn red when she sees the look she’s giving her. “What?”
“I didn’t know you were one of those true crime nuts,” Roxy remarks. “Usually you’re watching documentaries about bugs, or something. Guilty pleasure?”
“Not really, I just…had an ex that was interested in it.”
“We’ve got an employee here that’s really into it, too. Said she’d be in college for criminal justice if she could’ve afforded it.” Roxy frowns and runs her claws through her hair. “I can never remember her name…”
“We can worry about it later.” Vanessa looks down the hall again. “Did you see where she went?”
“She took off once she realized I could see her.” Roxy looks rather smug about this. “It was really funny.” Vanessa sighs…and then gasps when she remembers Gregory.
“Fuck, I forgot! Have you guys found Gregory?” Roxy holds up a paw in a calming gesture.
“Yeah, Ness, we know where he is. Monty and Chica are probably with him by now. They’re up in the arcade. Freddy’s going to meet us at the elevator once he’s done scoping out my Raceway.” Vanessa frowns.
“The Raceway? What does he want to do there?”
“He said he had a feeling –” she makes air quotes “–there might be something important there.”
“What, like a hideout?” Vanessa shakes her head. “No way. With all the construction happening, they’d definitely notice some random woman hanging around, no matter how sneaky she is. I can think of three better places than there just off of the top of my…head…” Vanessa slowly turns her head towards one of the windows…where the only security office that isn’t part of her nightly circuit resides.
Then she looks at the vent panel behind Roxy. Close to the floor, easily large enough for an adult to fit through…
…and very loosely screwed on.
Freddy’s been playing a bizarre game of Hot And Cold with the virus’s ‘voice’ since he entered the Raceway.
The constant drone of words encouraging him to turn on his friends getting louder would usually be a good sign to stay away from whatever is causing it, but the words are also becoming agitated.
If Freddy were asked to explain it, he’d mention that the Pizzaplex’s manager tends to make a lot of typos in capslock when he’s particularly annoyed, and that it matches the behavior of the ‘voice’; like it’s rushing through its mantra in the desperate hope that it’ll be more effective.
Playing this odd game has led him all the way to the Salon, which is a little strange, but the unusually high number of staff bots roaming around removes any doubts in his mind. He watches the patrol patterns of the bots, his head tilted. He spots a few windows to get by, but they’re narrow, and don’t last long.
“Well, since I am by myself anyway…” Freddy shrugs and walks right by the staff bots. They don’t even spare him a glance, even as their flashlights sweep right over him. Once he’s reached the Salon doors, he glances back at them. “They can tell that the virus is active, but not that I am ignoring it…”
For a moment, he entertains the idea of allowing the others to reboot into their full power modes for the sake of efficiency, but dismisses it just as quickly. It wouldn’t be worth the risk of any of the others being taken over by it again.
He walks to the backroom of the Salon, squinting as the ‘voice’ grows louder than ever, but it’s more of an annoyance than a concern.
The ‘voice’ stops entirely when he lays his eyes on the arcade machine.
The visibly unplugged arcade machine, the screen of which is nonetheless flashing. Freddy slowly steps up to it, reading the title.
“‘Princess Quest One’...” He touches the controls, expecting the usual quiet ‘beep’ as the machine registers him…but the game simply starts without asking for a coin or identifying him. “I hope I do not regret this…”
He begins to play.
“This place looks way cooler with the main lights off,” Monty remarks, lowering his shades to look around at the rainbow of neon lights and arcade screens as he and Chica step off of the elevator.
“Easier to hide out in too, though,” the chicken replies. Monty snorts.
“Why’s that a bad thing? The Rabbit’s not even here.” Chica shoots him an amused smile.
“I mean for the rowdier kids we get during the day.” Monty blinks, then sheepishly runs his claws through his mohawk.
“Oh. Yeah, you’re probably right.” He shakes his head. “Been a long night, huh?”
“Definitely. I wonder if this is what being emotionally exhausted feels like.” Chica’s fans audibly whirr as she mimics a sigh, then looks around again before her eyes flash as she sends a message to Gregory’s watch. “Maybe this would be a good place for Gregory to hide for the rest of the night. Lots of places to hide, and DJ could easily protect him!”
“If he ain’t got the virus too,” Monty mutters. Chica’s eyes flash again. “Where is he?”
“He says he made it up to the security office, but he needs our help with something.” As they walk towards the stairs, circumventing the patrol route of the staff bots, Monty glances towards DJ Music Man’s stage.
“Heh. Big guy’s sleepin’.”
“Why couldn’t they design us to act like we’re sleeping while we charge?” Chica asks. Monty shrugs.
“I just wonder why they made ‘im as big as he is. Probably cost a fortune.”
“I know! I feel bad that he’s cooped up in here.” Chica nearly runs into a staff bot as it turns, and she dodges out of the way, nearly stumbling before Monty reaches out to catch her. “But tonight that might be a blessing. Thanks, sweetie.”
“No problem, Cheeks.” They pass by the karaoke rooms, but Monty tries his best not to look at them, not to let old memories distract him.
The kid’s more important than me missin’ him.
“Gregory?” Chica calls out as they enter the backroom. “We’re here!” They round the corner just as the office door opens, and a familiar head of messy brown hair peeks out.
“Where’s everyone else?” he asks.
“Roxy’s making sure Vanessa’s okay,” Chica assures him, “and Freddy’s looking for a way that we can stop the Rabbit.” Gregory relaxes a bit, then withdraws back into the office.
“Come on, I can’t get this thing open!” They follow him inside, and Chica gives the staff bot machine a look of distaste as they go by it.
“That thing creeps me out…” Monty just nods, then kneels down by Gregory at the desk.
“What do ya need, lil’ guy?” He asks. Gregory points at the Freddy head that usually contains a security badge.
“What’s with all of the wires…?” Chica asks. Monty blinks and peers around at the back of it. Several wires have been rigged into it…very hastily, at that, to the point that the ends aren’t even insulated properly. Without thinking, the gator reaches out and pulls Gregory a little bit closer to him.
“Glad ya didn’t mess around with this thing ‘til we got here, lil’ guy,” he says. “It might’ve shocked ya.” Gregory grimaces and wrings his hand out as if he had been electrocuted.
“Me, too.”
“You couldn’t get it open?” Chica asks. Gregory shakes his head and points at the nose.
“I tried, but the button wouldn’t press like it’s supposed to.”
“Hm. Well, good thing I’m here.” He stands up and ushers Gregory back. “I’ll crack it open.” He carefully picks up the bottom of it, then digs his claws into its jaw. Chica nervously holds Gregory close to her.
“Monty, I don’t know if we should–”
With a sharp tug, Monty snaps the head in two, wincing as the top flies off into the corner.
“Cool!” Gregory exclaims. Monty grins proudly and picks up the badge, then hands it to him.
“Not bad, huh?” He asks…just as the backup power turns off too, leaving them in total darkness. “...you’ve gotta be kiddin’ me. It was hooked up to the power? Crazy chick could’ve set this place on fire!”
“What do we do now?” Gregory asks, sounding tired and annoyed rather than afraid.
Right there with ya, lil’ guy.
“Um…I think we can manually restart it,” Chica says. “Because of how much power is needed to charge DJ, this arcade is hooked up to an extra supply than the rest of the building. The Rabbit probably had to come up here at some point and turn off the main power already, but it can all be restarted up here. We just need to find the switches.” She turns on the flashlights in her eyes and looks down at Gregory. “Do you want to stay here and rest while we take care of it, sweetie? You can still shut the office door if anything happens, and we’ll come running as soon as you call.”
“I…” Gregory sighs and nods, rubbing his eyes. “Okay…” Monty kneels down and pats his shoulder.
“We’ll be right back, lil’ guy. Promise.”
“You okay in there?” Roxy calls into the vent, her fluffy tail swishing agitatedly behind her, betraying her anxiety.
“Yeah, I’m fine!” Vanessa responds, carefully making her way up the incline of the vent. She’s keeping her ears open, but she doesn’t hear any sign of the wind-up Music Man toys. While a relief in itself, it also adds to her suspicions; if this is where the Rabbit has been hiding out, then of course she wouldn’t want one of the little bastards hanging around to bug her, even if it isn’t hostile to her. “Any sign of her?”
“Pretty sure she’s gone, but I’m keeping an eye out. Want me to follow you up there?”
“It’s alright, I’m just scoping it out for a second.” With a grunt, Vanessa crawls out of the vent and stands up, her back popping. “Fuck, I feel old…” She looks across the catwalk, towards the lone security office…and, of course, the far door has an ‘Out of Order’ sign, and the one nearest to her is closed. She won’t even be able to get inside of it herself unless she tries to break the window, which she doubts will happen. Still, she sets out across the catwalk, one hand gripping the railing at all times while she wills herself not to look down.
As she gets closer, her theory is confirmed; there’s a flickering purple light in the office, which isn’t normal, and something has been painted on the wall. She reaches the window and peers inside.
A small cot on the floor, surrounded by discarded food wrappers, and above it, on the wall, a single word.
“Roxy,” she says into her watch, “I was right. She’s staying in the office up here. It looks like she’s calling herself…Vanny…”
“Not very creative. Sounds like she just mixed the word ‘bunny’ with… your name…”
It all clicks, then. Like the final piece of a puzzle that she hadn’t even realized she’d been putting together all night.
“She wants to frame me for all of this…” she whispers. “Keeping her face hidden, hacking the cameras, using my security credentials to move around…”
“Shit…but hasn’t she tried to kill you already?”
“If me or Gregory gets out of here, the whole thing would fall apart. But if she kills me and hides my body somewhere…”
“...we need to get you guys out of here. Come back, we need to meet with the others.”
“Yeah…” Vanessa stares at the messy paint for a moment longer, then turns and walks back towards the vent.
‘Vanny’...why does that name sound familiar…?
“You’re a real sweetheart, you know that?” Chica giggles as they reach the dance floor. Monty blinks and gives her a puzzled look.
“You must be thinkin’ of a different alligator, Cheeks. I ain’t sweet. ”
“Then what was all of that with Gregory?” She teases. “I’ve never seen you act that way before!” Monty doesn’t reply, and for a moment the only sounds are their metallic footsteps and DJ’s musical snoring (which just sounds like notes on an accordion).
“It’s…nice that I can make him feel safer,” the gator finally grumbles. “Usually I’m what kids are scared of.” Chica stops at the stairs up to the lever and turns to face him. He doesn’t look at her.
“Monty…you’re never going to get more kids to like you if you don’t try. Don’t you think some of them are scared of us, too?” Monty looks over at her, bewildered.
“Why would they be scared of y’all?” He asks.
“Sweetie, we’re all way taller than even their parents, we’re loud, and all of you have sharp teeth. We’re all a little scary to the younger kids, especially when they first meet us. We just have to win them over!”
“...how do I do that?”
“Well…I don’t know. What works for me might not work for you. I sing a little, and don’t force them to get close if they don’t want to. Roxy drops the ‘cool’ persona and acts more friendly, and Freddy’s so sweet that he doesn’t even really have to try. You’ll have to figure out your own way of doing it.”
“...thanks, Chica,” Monty mutters, then nods towards the switch. “That oughta be it, right?”
“Yep!” Chica turns around and walks up the stairs to it, then pulls it down. “There we go! Just two more!” She turns around…but Monty’s not looking at her. His eyes are wide, and pointed at DJ’s stage. Chica follows his gaze. “Oh, no…we need to hurry.”
DJ’s gone.
Chica and Monty have only been gone for a couple of minutes when Gregory’s watch dings, and Freddy’s voice rings out.
“Superstar? Are you safe?”
“Freddy!” Relief floods through him, and the weird feeling in his chest finally begins to fade, like he’d been holding his breath all this time. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m up in the office. The power went out completely, so Chica and Monty are fixing it.”
“I am so happy that you are alright, Superstar. I am on my way to the arcade now.”
“Did you find anything in the Raceway?” Freddy doesn’t respond for a second…two…three…and that weird feeling begins to swirl in Gregory’s chest again. “Um…Freddy?”
“Ah, I…I apologize, Superstar. I was lost in thought for a moment. I did find something strange, but nothing that looks like an escape route for you and Vanessa.”
“‘Something strange’?” He repeats.
“Yes. It is…difficult to explain.” Freddy falls quiet again. “Gregory, you said you are in the office?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Did you see a lot of arcade machines down the hallway?”
“Uh…yeah.”
“I know you are tired, but I need you to see if there is a particular game down that hallway. You will know it if you see it. It is…not like the other arcade machines. If you see it, come back to the office and let me know.”
“...Freddy, what’s going on?”
“I am not sure, but I feel it is important. I think…someone else here needs our help.”
That…doesn’t make any sense to Gregory, but he’s eager to hear that there’s something he can do to help Freddy after everything the animatronic has done for him tonight.
“I’ll go check it out.”
“Thank you, Superstar. Please, be careful.”
“I will.” Gregory picks up his Fazcam and fiddles with it until the light comes on. It’s dim, but at least he can see in front of himself now.
He opens the office door and steps out, looking down the long hallway, completely dark except for the flashing screens of a few active arcade machines. Gregory takes a deep breath and begins to walk down it, looking around at every machine that he passes. He’s clutching onto the camera so tightly that he’s afraid it might break…but he’s more afraid of loosening his grip and dropping it.
An irrational thought tugs at the back of his mind that maybe the hallway doesn’t end. He knows that it’s stupid, but it persists until he finally sees the far wall…and a single arcade machine resting against it.
It wouldn’t look any different from the other arcade machines…if it weren’t for the screen being on despite the machine being visibly unplugged.
“Weird…” He raises his watch. “Freddy, are you there?”
“I am here, Superstar. I am waiting for Vanessa and Roxy by the elevator.”
“I think I found it. It’s on, but it isn’t plugged in.”
“That is what I was hoping for! Way to go, Superstar. Head on back to the office until the power comes on.”
“Okay!” Gregory begins to walk back, a proud grin on his face and a warmth in his chest that easily beats back his previous fears…
…and then he begins to hear it. Distant thumping behind him, and then…music? He slowly turns around and looks up.
He hadn’t noticed it before, but there’s a huge hole at the top of the wall, a lot like the holes that had been all over the walls of the arcade. This one is completely dark, though; no flashing neon lights.
The thumping and music get louder…louder…and then stop.
It’s very, very quiet for what feels like forever.
Gregory’s hands shake as he slowly raises the camera…and clicks the button.
The flash illuminates the room for a split-second…and reveals the massive face with black eyes and a huge grin looking down at him.
Gregory’s scream is drowned out as he runs away by the music starting up again…but loud, so loud that it hurts his ears, that he can no longer hear the sounds of its massive hands hitting the floor as it crawls after him.
Gregory runs as fast as his legs will carry him, using the camera’s dim light to guide him, but somehow the hallway feels longer than before, even though he’s sprinting down it.
Something crashes in front of him. He yells and dodges around it.
It happens again.
And again.
Each time, he has to stop to go around it, and the music gets louder. The thumping of the thing’s hands on the floor gets more intense. He doesn’t dare look back, not even for a second, and then–
Then he trips, hits the floor with a yelp, and the camera slides across the floor, out of his reach. Gregory sobs and cries out as loudly as he can.
“FREDDY!”
The lights turn on.
The music stops.
The thumping stops.
Gregory stays right where he is, tears rolling down his face, coughing and gasping as he struggles to breathe.
The floor soon begins to rumble again as Monty rounds the corner and charges over to him.
“Gregory!” The gator kneels down and picks him up in a tight hug. Gregory sobs and hugs him back, barely able to even get a breath in without coughing again. “You’re alright, lil’ guy…you’re safe. He’s not gonna hurt ya…”
“I don’t want to die…” Gregory whimpers. “I want to go home…”
“I know, lil guy…we’re gonna git ya home, I promise…”
It doesn’t make Gregory feel better. Monty doesn’t know it, but he’s lying. So is Freddy. All of them are lying to him.
He doesn’t have a home. He hasn’t for a long time.
But he keeps crying, and he keeps letting Monty promise something he can’t keep.
And he keeps wanting to go back to a home he knows he’ll never have again.