Chapter Text
"Thank you for visiting Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex. We hope you'll visit us again soon!"
Once the intercom finished the usual goodbye spiel and the entrances and exits were locked up for the night, the building's four glamrock-themed animatronic stars were finally allowed to leaved their rooms, both as part of the security protocols and to give them something of a break before they have to perform in more concerts the next day. And tonight in particular they were hanging out on the stage within the main atrium, pondering over what to do.
"So, what do you guys wanna do tonight?" Chica began. "I was thinking that we could visit the kitchen again, see if we could try to-"
"No, Chica," Montgomery scolded. "Remember the last time we were caught breaking in because you wanted to try your hand at pizza making?"
"Oh...right."
"Well, I was hoping we could visit the go-cart track for a race or two," Roxanne suggested.
"You're only saying that so you can beat us for the millionth time," Montgomery said.
"I am the best racer of out of all of us, and that's no lie."
"Hey!" Montgomery said with offense.
"Why are ya getting mad, Monty? I'm technically right."
"There's no need for arguing," Freddy told them. "Last thing we want is for Monty to get riled up and go on a rampage again."
"I don't get riled up!" Monty snapped.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. Anyway, I was thinking that this time we could-"
He was interrupted by a loud crash.
Freddy jumped off the stage, signaling the others to remain silent as he picked up the sound of someone cursing to themselves from nearby. Focusing on the sound, he tracked it in the direction of the pizza counter. He gestured for the others to follow, the four of them moving quietly out of the show area, the frustrated words becoming more audible as they snuck closer.
"Damn it!" came the angry whispers. "Now they'll know you were here for sure!"
Peeking over the counter, what the animatronics saw surprised them.
Their after hours intruder was a boy, no younger than ten, scrambling to clean up the garbage spilling out of the tipped over trashcan.
"Excuse me," Freddy started to say, the boy looking up to them with wide, fearful eyes. "Don't be afraid, we only want to help."
The boy made a panicked noise and sprinted away.
"Hey!" Montgomery yelled. "Get back here!"
"Monty, wait!" Freddy called out before running after him, Roxanne and Chica quickly following suit. "And stop, young one! We only want to help you!"
The boy only kept running, continuing the chase up the deactivated escalators, making a beeline for the elevators on the atrium's second level, repeatedly pushing the call button as he stood in front of the chrome doors, glancing back to see the group of animatronics catching up to him.
"Come on, come on," he was muttering, constantly glancing back to his pursuers, who were almost close to where he stood. "Open already!" As if obeying his desperate command, there was a ding as the doors slid open, the boy hurrying inside.
"Stop him!" Roxanne screamed, lunging at him in time for the doors to slam shut, her face hitting against the hard surface. She then stumbled backwards, putting her hands over her snout like it was in pain. "Ow! You stupid piece of shi-"
"Roxy, this is a children's establishment," Freddy reminded her. "You know the rules regarding foul language."
"Does it really matter right now?" Roxanne barked back. "We let him get away! What are we going to do now?"
"Let me check the cameras real quick." Freddy's vision blacked out to connect to the security feed, checking each and every area of the building until he detected the main lobby's motion sensor going off, the footage showing an elevator opening up and the boy running out. "He's in the main lobby," Freddy announced as he cut off his connection, regaining his vision. "He can't get far with the doors being locked until morning."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Chica said. "Let's go!"
They entered the only other elevator, cramming themselves within the small space before it descended, upbeat music playing as they awaited the elevator's arrival.
"How do you think he got in?" Chica brought up. "You'd think the security bots or Vanessa would've caught him by now."
"That is a good question," Freddy replied. "But we should also consider why he's in here in the first place."
"He probably got separated from his friends," Roxanne guessed. "Assuming he has any."
"Or his parents, maybe?" Freddy suggested. "We've had so many cases of children getting separated from their parents recently that I wouldn't really be surprised if it was the case."
"Or he's probably trying to steal," Montgomery said. "He sounded like he was deliberately trying to hide himself from us, and how he looked like he was trying to hide evidence of his presence after making that mess behind the pizza counter."
"That would make sense," Freddy agreed. "But we won't know until we find him."
The elevator came to a stop, the animatronics stepping out to find no one but the few security bots patrolling the perimeter.
"He has to be here somewhere," Freddy began. "Lets split up into two groups and check the entire area."
The other three nodded, moving to different parts of the lobby in search of the child. Roxanne and Montgomery moved downstairs while Freddy and Chica remained on the upper level.
"I'll check the Faz-Pad restaurant while you check the gift shop," Freddy ordered.
"You're just saying that to keep me away from the café's kitchen, aren't you?" Chica accused.
Freddy sighed. "I'm sorry, but I'm only telling you this for your own good."
"Pfft, whatever," she dismissed. "Holler when you find the kid."
She went on her way to the gift shop's upper level, Freddy feeling a little bad for what he said, even if he knew it was to prevent her from uncontrollably gorge herself with trash and leftover food until she damaged her insides and required yet another trip to Parts and Services, worrying about the day when she would render herself too damaged to be considered repairable...
We're not getting into that right now. You need to focus on finding the boy.
Freddy made his way inside the rather small café overlooking the rest of the lobby, checking under the tables when he heard the faint sobbing coming from behind the kitchen door. He slowly opened the door and scanned the dimly lit room, his sensors picking up the outline of a small, human-like figure curled up in the corner behind the stove.
Entering the kitchen, Freddy noticed how the boy kept his head between his knees and how his body shook as he sobbed.
"There you are," he gently said, moving closer to the child until he was close enough yet kept a reasonable distance between them, kneeling down to meet his eye level. "Are you lost? Where are your parents?"
The boy continued sobbing, not responding to the bear's questions.
"Can you at least tell me your name?"
He still refused to answer him.
"My name is Freddy. What's yours?"
The boy cautiously moved his head up, a few tears pouring out of his eyes as he stared upon the animatronic.
"I'm...I'm Gregory," the boy timidly replied.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Gregory. Can you tell me why you're here?"
A loud growl came from his body, Gregory placing his arms on his stomach in an attempt to silence the noise.
"Are you hungry?" Freddy asked, noting his malnourished physical frame. "I can get you something to eat."
Gregory shook his head, but Freddy ignored him in favor of searching the kitchen, refusing to let a child starve on his watch. In his search he opened a cabinet filled to the brim with prepackaged snacks and cookies. Taking out the two-pack of chocolate covered cookies, he returned to Gregory, kneeling down again to stretch out the hand holding the food in an offering gesture.
"Here," he said. "This should satisfy your hunger for the time being."
Gregory cautiously eyes the pack of cookies, unsure if he should take it.
"Go on," Freddy insisted. "You can have it."
With a shaky arm, Gregory snatched it, tearing open the packaging and tossing it aside to scarf down the two cookies.
"Woah, slow down there," Freddy warned. "You don't want to get yourself sick eating that way."
Gregory ignored him, finishing the food within seconds before speaking up.
"Thanks," he quietly said.
"You're welcome, young one." Freddy then proceeded to scan him, Gregory watching on with a mix of curiosity and confusion. "That's odd. You're guest profile is not showing up. Let me try connecting to the main office."
"No!" Gregory cried loudly, taking Freddy by surprise. "I mean, please don't," he said in a lower tone.
"Why?" Freddy asked. "Is there something I need to know about?"
"The twerp's in here!" Roxanne yelled from outside. "I can see him through the walls!"
Gregory began to panic, glancing nervously around the kitchen.
"It's okay," Freddy began reassuring. "Roxy's a dear friend of mine. I promise she won't-"
The door burst open, Freddy standing back up to find Montgomery under the doorway, the swung open metal door showing a huge dent in its center.
"There you are," Montgomery growled, stomping in Gregory's direction. "You're in real trouble now, mister, sneaking in here after hours and running away from us."
Gregory suddenly burst into a sprint and sped past Montgomery, skidding to a halt when Roxanne stood in the doorway to block his path.
"You're not going anywhere."
Gregory spun around and ran towards the door on the other side, Montgomery putting himself in front of it, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Oh no you don't." Montgomery then grabbed Gregory by the back of his shirt collar, lifting him up as he struggled to free himself. "Can't get away from us now, can you?" Montgomery taunted.
"Let me go!" Gregory demanded, flailing helplessly in his grip.
"You know that's not gonna happen, not until you explain yourself."
"What the hell do you mean?"
Montgomery wagged a disapproving finger in front of his face, it's claw dangerously close to Gregory's eye. "Watch your tongue, little guy, or else we'll have a problem."
"You don't have to threaten him, Monty," Freddy said. "And please put him down."
"Why?" Montgomery questioned, not paying much attention to Gregory's continuing efforts to free himself. "We don't want a runner on our hands, and who knows what kind of tricks this kid can pull on us."
"He's just a kid," Roxanne pointed out. "What could he possibly do to us?"
"Oh, so you're taking sides with him?" a betrayed Montgomery said to her.
"Who said I was taking sides?"
"You are now! And I won't put him down until we-"
There was a sound of tearing fabric, Montgomery looking to find a torn shirt piece in his fist, and Gregory on the floor making another run for it.
"Get back here, you brat!" Montgomery roared, lashing a clawed hand at Gregory.
"Monty, don't!"
Freddy was too late, freezing in horror as Gregory let out a pained scream, falling to the floor for the others to see the three nasty gashes bleeding from his back. Roxanne only remained where she currently stood, clasping her hands over her mouth, while Montgomery's jaw hung open upon realizing what he's done. When Freddy willed himself to move again, he stood between Gregory and Montgomery in a defensive stance.
"Montgomery!" Freddy bellowed. "What was the meaning of that?!"
"I..." Montgomery began more feebly, his head hung low in shame. "I...I don't know. I was just trying to grab him...I didn't...I didn't mean to..."
Freddy gave an intense glare that forced him into silence. "We'll talk about this later. For now, Gregory's well-being is our top priority.
Montgomery solemnly nodded. "Yes, Freddy."
"There you guys are!" Chica cheerfully announced, pushing Roxanne out of the way to enter the kitchen. "Sorry if I'm late, but I was busy dealing with those stupid security bots..." She trailed off at the sight of everyone's horrified reactions, along with the injured, trembling boy on the floor. "Uh, what did I miss?"