Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gregory’s day was as fine as it could for a homeless ten-year-old until it started to rain. His box was now soaking wet and useless to him. His small frame shivers in the cold, his threadbare t-shirt was unable to keep him warm or protected from the rain. With a sigh of irritation, he starts to look around for his next move. He needs to find shelter and fast if he wants to make it through the night. In the distance, he sees a group of children and their parents. One kid was loudly shouting about Freddy Faxbear’s Mega Pizzaplex. A woman, Gregory assumes the child’s mother, replies with less enthusiasm.

He quickly realizes that he could just follow the group of people into the pizzaplex, there's a lot of children so he doubts anyone would notice his presence. If he goes through with that plan correctly it gets him out of the rain and potentially some food. With the idea of food and shelter he makes his decision, he’s going to the pizzaplex. Gregory doubts anything could go wrong. He walks fast towards the group and hangs towards the back, as expected he’s not noticed. After a minute or so they reach their destination. Gregory slips into the venue without any issue.

The pizzaplex is filled to the brim with people and sounds. Loud music played from overhead speakers and crying or shouting children could be heard from every direction. He stands still in the entrance and tries to take in it all. He’s never been inside a place like this. A teenage boy roughly shoves past him and he takes it as a sign to move out of the walkway. A timely glance of the surrounding area reveals a vacant bench. He arrives at the bench and slumps down to observe the room. The foyer he’s in seems to be one of the numerous floors. Bright neon lights bathe the room and its occupants. Various signs are placed around the room that direct guests towards other locations and attractions. Posters are plastered along the walls with advertisements for food, merchandise, and day passes. The intercoms crackle on periodically to remind guests of showtimes and liability waivers.

Gregory’s stomach lets out an embarrassingly loud grumble. He remembers food is a priority for him. He begins to search for food that's available for him to snatch. His eyes catch a glimpse of an abandoned birthday party table that's littered with pizza slices, score. He scrambles over to the table and grabs a few pieces of pizza. He hurriedly eats the pizza, shoving it into his face with reckless abandon.

A hand touches his shoulder and he jumps, turning around to see a security guard looking down at him.

Her eyes stare into his as she says, “What are you doing there buddy?”

“I was so busy playing earlier I forgot to eat,” he replies quickly as his mind screams for him to run. “I’m just catching up on lost food.”

The security guard doesn’t look impressed. Gregory’s not sure what she wants from him but it doesn’t strike him as good.

“Oh look,” He starts, pointing to a random man in the distance, “there’s my dad. I should probably go back to him before he starts to worry. He’s big on me being careful around strangers, I’m sure you understand.”

The woman looks at the man and then back to Gregory but doesn’t comment on it. She lets go of his shoulder and nods. Once she walks away he lets out a breath of relief. That was too close for him, he could have gotten into serious trouble for sneaking in. With the hopes of keeping up appearances if she returns he starts to head towards the man he claimed was his dad. The man moves further into the pizzaplex and Gregory follows.

Further along, he can see a stage. As he gets closer he can see figures performing. The main attraction of the mall, the animatronics. Their movements are more fluid and less robotic than Gregory expected. They all look sleek and are painted with bright colors. He can understand why they’re a popular attraction. He takes a seat more towards the back, away from the cheering children at the front of the stage. Even with the loud music and bright lights, Gregory starts to doze off.

He isn’t sure how much time passed but the show seems to be wrapping up when he wakes. Some of the children at the front begin to head back towards their parents. Suddenly the bear animatronic, Gregory thinks his name is Freddy, freezes and his eyes lock on something in the far back. He starts to lean towards the right before falling over. Young children cry out and the other animatronics quickly run-up to their fallen bandmate. The lights on the stage go out and employees jog towards the stage. Two men in Fazbear uniforms grab the bear and take him off stage, heading to a room labeled employees only. The security guard from earlier directs the other animatronics off stage and through the same door.

The people around the stage began to disperse, young children cried while their parents consoled them. Gregory stood up with the group. The security guard exited the employee’s room and surveyed the room. She made direct eye contact with him and his senses were flooded with fear. Her gaze was menacing, she looked as if she had something out for him. He didn’t like that. He let the group take him along with them and he began to push through the crowd. All his instincts screamed for him to run. He heard nothing but his loud heartbeat and his blood rushing in his ears. He needed to get out now.

In his mad scramble to get out of the pizzaplex, he tripped over a small robot that acted as a yellow floor sign. His knees and palms took the majority of the impact as he slid on the harsh carpet. He hisses at the sharp pain from his now raw skin. The flow of people doesn’t stop for him, the people keep moving. Multiple people kick into him as they head towards the exit. He pushes himself off of the floor and goes against the wall nearest to him. Blood runs down his right knee. A door is a few feet away from him. He shuffles through the rows of red rope and hopes that the door is unlocked. All he wants to do is sleep and get rid of the exhaustion in his limbs to go away. He pushes on the door with his shoulder to prevent his hands from experiencing more pain and it opens with little resistance. He slams the door shut and double-checks that he locked the door. He immediately takes notice of the bed in the middle of the room and crashes onto it, wrapping himself in the large comforter. His exhaustion from years of poor sleep without a bed catches up to him as his eyes flutter closed.

If Gregory had the energy to be more aware he might have noticed he stumbled into the room of the lead animatronic, Glamrock Freddy.

Chapter Text

Gregory wakes up to the sound of low voices. He hasn’t slept this good in ages. He remembers what happened before he fell asleep, how could he be so idiotic. He slept in a random place and now there’s a voice. He is going to die. He tenses up as the panic sets in but the voices don’t get closer. He starts to listen.

“Freddy,” a more feminine voice starts, “there is a literal human child in your room.”

Creaks of metal can be heard but no response.

“You have to take him to Vanessa or some human employee. This is how we, no you, get in huge trouble. A human child, who is not a guest, is sleeping in your room past closing hours. Now you’re not doing anything about it.”

It’s past closing time? Gregory is so screwed. No one told him the animatronics sounded so human. The one that's freaking out sounds way too human. This is freaky as fuck. He wishes he just stayed in his soggy box

“Chica, calm down,” the other voice comments, his robotic voice holding a tone of comfort. “When the child wakes we can access. I think they would have a better idea of what they need to do. Maybe their parents are searching but we can’t get the parents without the child.”

“Vanessa can do that Freddy!”

“You know as well as me that Vanessa has been acting, less than normal.”

Shuffling can be heard from the two robots.

“What happened to you earlier?” Chica asks. “You had us all terrified, I’ve never seen you malfunction like that ever. Sure we’ve all had times where we needed to go down to Parts and Services but this is not like you.”

“You know I’m getting old,” Freddy laments a joke that doesn’t land. “I have never seen my system behave in this way. It detected a threat and started to shut down. My sensors were going haywire and my functions were offline. I almost want to say something was interfering.”

Silence washes over the two. It’s uncomfortable and tense. Gregory isn’t sure of what to think, he bets it’s that stupid security guard.

Chica’s voice box crackles to life, “I didn’t want to tell you this earlier because I didn’t want to worry you, you know? But an hour or so after you malfunctioned, Roxy was put out of safe mode. She kept talking about a boy running around the Plex and how she needed to get him. It was almost like all her was dialed to ten. She was more erratic and frantic. Monty and I got her back in safe mode quickly but we weren’t sure what happened. All the technicians had left already. It scared both of us.”

“I’m glad you and Monty handled the situation, I apologize that I wasn’t of any assistance. I truly hope we can get to the bottom of this soon. I do not like whatever this is. It’s messing with our systems, we know our history. It must not repeat itself.”

“I understand completely, when we group up we should make a plan. Figure out what’s going on with the boy in your room too. I think he might be the one Roxy was upset and ranting about.”

Gregory wants to disappear right now. He’s scared out of his mind and he thinks he’s going to be the next victim of this stupid pizza place.

“The child's heart rate is rising, I’m picking it up on my sensors. That isn’t normal waking behavior, is it?” Freddy gets closer to Gregory. The terror he felt earlier came rushing back. The walking stops but Gregory can hear the sounds of an active mechanical system. He opens his eyes.

Gregory does what any ten-year-old that sees a Freddy Fazbear robot bear face with glowing eyes staring at him, he screams louder than he has in ages. He rolls himself off the bed and pushes himself against the wall. He thinks if he runs fast enough he can get past the two animatronics.

Freddy had backed up from his previous position, his metal hands raised. The chicken one had also backed up more.

“Don’t get closer,” Gregory shouts, panicked.

“We will not get closer,” Freddy replies. “My apologies for scaring you, superstar. It was not my intention.”

Chica nods along, “I’m sure he wasn’t trying to scare you, he’s nothing but a large teddy bear.”

Gregory thinks she would be laughing at that pun if he wasn’t staring at her warily. His heart is still racing but he feels slightly calmer. If they wanted him dead, he would already be dead. Everyone’s heard what these animatronics can do. Gregory’s not sure what the capabilities of these very human-like ones could do.

“What’s your name?” Freddy asks.

“Gregory,” God, why is he giving the robot bear his name. This whole situation is so bizarre to the boy.

“It’s nice to meet you, Gregory.” The bear replies, pointing to himself, “I am Freddy.”

Gregory nods along, he pulls away slightly from against the wall. The bear says that information as if his face isn’t plastered all over the city. Freddy takes Gregory’s behavior as a sign to keep talking.
It

“This is my friend Chica.”

Chica waves at the boy, her beak opening as if she wants to say something but it closes quickly. Freddy turns to Chica and asks her to get the other animatronics. She nods and exits the room. Freddy sits down on his bright blue couch. Gregory watches in silence. He starts to take in the sight of the room. Similar to the rest of the pizzaplex, there’s a lot of bright colors. The floor is slightly messy with random objects thrown about. It’s not as tidy as Gregory expected from a robot.

He silently stands up, watching to see what the bear will do. The animatronic doesn’t react so Gregory shuffles closer and closer until he’s near the couch. Finally, the bear reacts, his metal smile directed at Gregory.

“Feel free to sit down, superstar, I don’t bite.”

His sharp metal teeth say otherwise but Gregory sits down regardless.

“It is not often that I see an individual in the Pizzaplex without a guest profile, especially a child. Why is it that you don’t have one?”

Gregory isn’t sure how to respond. How exactly do you tell a robot that you have no home or parents?

“I was hungry,” Gregory mutters softly.

Freddy gives the child a look of concern. He wasn’t aware of parents who will not feed their children. The more he observes the boy the larger his concern grows. The boy is in tattered clothing that’s damp in some areas. His cheeks were hollow and dusted with dirt. His frame is small. His legs and palms were littered with scrapes and small cuts. He is programmed to care for all children but something in his system desired to help the boy.

“Are your parents not feeding you?” Freddy prompts, hoping to get more information on the situation. Gregory lets out a small laugh, it’s bitter and unhappy.

“I don’t have parents to feed me.” He comments dryly, he motions to himself and his appearance, “I don’t think parents would want their kid running around looking like this.”

“You are fine, superstar. You simply look like a young boy.” The bear replies, “I have noticed you have injuries on your hands and legs. I have a medkit in my room and am programed for basic first aid. Would you be fine with me dealing with your injuries?”

Freddy’s concern surprises Gregory. It’s not often that adults notice or care about his well-being. Even if the other is animatronic, he finds himself comforted by the thought of being cared for. The bear grabs a med-kit from a wall compartment and directs his attention towards Gregory. He starts with Gregory’s hands, his hands fit into Freddy’s much larger ones but they are held with care. They sit in silence as Freddy cleans and bandages the wounds. With appropriately themed Fazbear bandaids. When Freddy is done Gregory utters a small thank you.

Gregory feels comfortable around Freddy, something he didn’t expect to come out of today. He leans into the slightly warm metal of Freddy’s body. He’s the first adult figure in a while that’s made him feel secure. The bear responds to the child leaning against him by putting an arm around Gregory. Gregory hears a shout coming from an area nearby and tenses, unsure of what is lurking.

“Do not worry superstar,” The bear chuckles. “That’s merely my friend, Monty.”

The door to Freddy’s room swings open and three animatronics enter. Chica lets the door swing closed behind the group and waves at the human-animatronic duo. Roxy looks surprised to see them and a similar look comes from Monty.

“Well,” Monty starts, pushing his star glasses down. “I’ll be damned, there’s a real human child in Freddy’s room.”

Chapter Text

Gregory feels uncomfortable will all the focus being on him. When it was only Freddy it was fine but now that all the animatronics are here he feels nervous. The bear had informed the rest about how Gregory was hurt and made some concerning comments about a lack of parents. He told them that they should keep Gregory with them until the morning.

Roxy hasn’t said anything, but she has a contemplative look about her. She occasionally glances away from Chica and their conversation to look at Gregory. She and Chica sat at a small table that was littered with random knickknacks. Monty sat on the other side of Gregory, Freddy conversed with him. Gregory thinks that Monty has one of the coolest designs. He has cool-looking glasses. The boy rises and goes over to Freddy’s window. He takes in the view of the Pizzaplex at night. It’s darker than it had been previously and more security bots roamed. The voices of the animatronics in the room fade as he starts to focus on a white figure in the distance. The figure seems to be wearing something like a bunny suit. Gregory’s vision starts to go weird as if his eyes are taking in the light wrong.

The bunny figure gets closer to the window. They’re dancing and hopping around. Their aim seems to be Freddy’s room. Gregory feels stuck, he can’t stop watching. Suddenly, the bunny’s face is up against the glass, their bright red eyes staring directly at the boy. He slams the curtains closed and takes a few fearful steps back. Eying the window as if the rabbit will phase through it.

“What the fuck,” He breathes out. Freddy and Montgomery turn their eyes to the young boy. The bear looks astonished by the child’s cursing. He mutters language to Gregory.

“Are you okay there, little man?” The gator questions. At this point, all four of the animatronics were looking at Gregory with varying levels of concern.

“I hate this stupid place.” The ten-year-old mutters as a semblance of a response. He feels himself calm down more as he realizes the others are aware of his erratic behavior. “Stupid rabbit lady, I think she’s trying to kill me.”

“A rabbit?” Chica replies with a bittersweet tone. Gregory senses that something had happened to cause that reaction. The chicken looks as if she’s heard about a ghost and Freddy has a similar air surrounding him.

Gregory nods, “She had bright red eyes and was dancing around until she started to stare at me. She’s freaky whatever she is.”

“Gregory,” Freddy starts, “There’s no rabbit at the Mega Pizzaplex, not anymore. Are you certain that is what you saw?”

“I saw her, I’m not lying!” He shouts defensively. He’s so used to being ignored or considered crazy by others he immediately assumes the worse. He doesn’t like the concept of Freddy thinking he’s a liar. The animatronics all seem reserved and worried about something and he hopes it’s about the murderous-looking rabbit lady. Freddy’s comment confuses him, what does he mean by “not anymore”?

“We believe you,” Monty says while looking at the others, prompting them to silently agree. “It’s just very unusual to have someone not authorized running around at night. You don’t need to worry too much. The S.T.A.F.F. bots or Vanessa should catch them soon enough. Plus you have four incredibly strong animatronics on your side, we’ll protect you.”

“The security guard won’t care if the rabbit gets me. The guard, Vanessa or whatever, doesn’t want me here, I think she wants to hurt me somehow. She was interacting with me weirdly since the moment I entered this place.”

Gregory starts to pace, he thinks he shouldn’t have come here. Freddy looks increasingly Roxy abruptly stands up from the table and gets near Gregory. She puts a hand on his shoulder and looks him in the eyes.

“Listen here squirt, panicking isn’t going to do you any good. I’m not saying that I don’t believe you but things can seem different when you’re already upset. If it brings you any peace of mind I can patrol around the area. The Pizzaplex opens in an hour or two so whatever you saw will probably be gone until a later time when guests aren’t constantly present. You’ll be fine.”

She doesn’t wait for his response and squeezes his shoulder and takes her to leave. Freddy’s door swings shut after her. Gregory is a bit surprised with how Roxy behaved, she spoke to him for the first time and she was incredibly nice to him. These animatronics are unlike anyone he’s ever met. He has a hard time remembering they’re not truly human. Freddy looks relieved and how the conversation had gone. Chica makes a few excited comments about how Roxy likes Gregory.

Monty takes out a pack of cards and slams it on the table Chica’s sitting at. The loud noise slightly startles Gregory. Freddy directs his look towards Chica, Chica looks back. They know what’s happening. Monty grins wide and turns towards Gregory.

“Do you know how to play War, bud?”

----------------------------------

It turns out, Gregory did not know how to play War. The card game was fairly simple but Monty’s enthusiasm for the game was unrivaled. Freddy someone got roped into the game and apologized every time he took someone’s cards. Monty cheered for all of his victories and relentlessly taunted the other two players. Even though it’s an aggressive card game, this is the most fun Gregory has had in a while. He isn’t perfect at the game but the more he plays he seems to be improving. They play a few more rounds until Gregory starts to complain about his boredom. At that point, they disperse to do their own thing. Chica had been sitting in contemplative silence since they started to play their card games. Freddy sits down next to her and pulls the chicken into a side hug.

“I miss him too,” The bear tells her sadly. “I miss both of them.”

Chica seems to break with those words, she does what Gregory can only assume is the animatronic equivalent of sobbing. Monty looks awkward so the boy gets closer to him. The concept that the animatronics are so sentient to the point they seem to be experiencing grief is not what Gregory expected. He’s not sure how to react to it either.

Roxanne bursts into the room, “I’m sorry but she wouldn’t stop asking where you were Freddy.”

Freddy looks up just as Vanessa enters the room after the wolf.

“Oh thank God, I’ve been looking for you Freddy there’s a bo-” Vanessa notices Gregory over by Monty. “Oh.”

Gregory visibly tenses at the sight of the security guard and Monty takes a step forward, putting more distance between the two.

“What is it, Vanessa?” The bear asks.

“I was going to ask you to help me find a child that I know hasn’t left the Plex but it seems you’ve already done that.”

She points at Gregory, who is hiding behind Monty.

“I think you must be tired, Vanessa, that’s just Montgomery Gator.” He replies.

“You know I mean the boy that’s hiding behind Montgomery.” The guard pinches the bridge of her nose. “Hey, little boy, why don’t you come out from behind the big scary animatronic so I can get you back to your parents.”

Gregory peeks out from behind Monty, “I’m an orphan?”

“Whatever, I can’t deal with this. I just want a nap, as long as you don’t get me in trouble I could care less.” Vanessa tiredly utters to herself, “I think the advanced robots adopted a homeless human, what a great way to end my shift.”

She leaves the room and lets the door crash closed. When she’s gone, Gregory gets out from behind Monty, he’s surprised at how well that went.

“I think I overestimated how much she would care about me being here.” The boy chuckles nervously.

Chapter Text

Gregory is shocked but relieved with the interaction with the security guard. He was expecting more yelling and fighting to occur. It warmed his heart a little at how Monty and Freddy quickly went to his defense. Though more silent, he could tell Chica and Roxy had a similar mindset.

“I’m going to head back to my room,” Roxy informs them. “Opening time is soon and I need to prepare myself to deal with children all day.”

“I should probably do that too, see you later,” Monty adds with a salute.

Roxy holds the door open for Monty and they both leave, heading in the same direction. Chica quietly informs Freddy that she needs to leave as well and exists. She gives Gregory a small wave on her way out.

“Okay superstar,” The bear starts, facing the boy. “I need to figure out a plan for you today. I assume it would be too boring to leave you here all day. I also do not feel comfortable letting you room the Pizzaplex all day. I think the best to let you stay in the daycare. That way you can be both entertained and taken care of.”

“I’m not a baby, Freddy,” Gregory complains, crossing his arms. “I don’t need to be watched like one.”

“The daycare attendants are very nice. It would make me feel better knowing that you were safe and taken care of when I cannot be of assistance.”

Gregory stares up at Freddy with a pouty face in the hopes that Freddy will cave. The animatronic stares back with as much determination that can be conveyed on his metallic face. Gregory stands taller and puffs his chest out, hoping to let Freddy know that he can handle himself on his own. The look in Freddy’s eyes softened at Gregory’s behavior. Sensing that he won’t win this battle, Gregory sighs and resigns.

“Fine, I’ll go to the baby area.”

“Thank you, Gregory.”

Freddy attempts to tidy up Gregory. He runs his paws through his hair, straightening it. The bear also smooths out some of the wrinkles on Gregory’s clothes and mutters how he needs to find clean clothes for the boy. As much as Gregory appreciates it, he wonders why he got close to the animatronic with helicopter parent tendencies. He doesn’t need to be treated like a little boy.

Once Freddy deems him presentable he grabs Gregory’s hand and leads him through the Pizzaplex. The more they walk the larger the place seems. Gregory tries to take in all the attractions and lights as they walk past. He hopes he gets a chance to explore this place. The walk with Freddy is silent but not uncomfortable. Freddy has a determined walk and will inform Gregory of anything he fears the boy will trip on. They eventually make it to an area labeled “Sun and Moon’s Daycare”.

Freddy pushes open the gates to the daycare, Gregory begrudgingly follows him in. The daycare was large and had a wide variety of play structures and play areas. A giant ball pit was off towards the side with a slide funneling into it. There are tables with art supplies in the middle around the room. The whole area is more organized than Gregory expected. Freddy stands patiently, waiting for someone to arrive. An animatronic in a clown's garb with a sun-shaped head appears from behind the structures. He makes his way over to the pair. His arm raised in a wave.

“Hello Freddy,” the bot calls out. He looks down at Gregory excitedly, “Who is this little friend you brought with you?”

“Hello Sun,” Freddy replies with equal enthusiasm. “This is Gregory. I was wondering if you could keep him with you today.”

Gregory does not want to be babysat.

“It would be my pleasure! What’s your name, new friend?” The bot asks, looking at Gregory.

Freddy taps the boy with his paw.

“My name is Gregory,” he replies quietly.

The sun animatronic looks ecstatic at the revelation of the boy's name. He starts to bounce from one foot to the other.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Gregory. What would you like to do? We can color, paint, play hide and seek, and any other game you want!”

Gregory isn’t used to being treated like a child. On the streets or in foster homes he never got a chance to play. As much as he wants to act like he’s all grown, something in him desires to play like a child. He looks to Freddy for guidance. Freddy looks back at him.

“Have fun superstar, I have to go but either I or Monty will be here to get you later.” The bear ruffles Gregory’s hair. The causal affection causes a warm feeling in the boy's chest.

The sun smiles at him brightly, “So, what do you want to do?”

“Can we draw?” He asks. “I want to make a drawing for everyone.”

“That’s a great idea, sunshine!” The animatronic replies very animatedly. “Come over to this table and we can start!”

The sun takes Gregory over to little tables that are littered with supplies. The center holds markers, paint, glitter glue, glitter, glue, and pencils. It’s more arts and crafts materials than Gregory has ever seen. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t excited. Sun gets him paper and markers and the boy gets to work. He starts by making a drawing of Freddy. It’s awkward and disproportionate, plus the colors are very off, but Gregory has a feeling Freddy will like it regardless. When he finishes, Sun gives him a big thumbs up and compliments his drawing.

Occasionally, other children will come into the daycare and Sun will greet them with familiarity. Children that come to the daycare often, Gregory assumes. Sun will play with the children as much as they want but he always comes to check in on Gregory. That arrangement is nice to Gregory, it makes him feel seen. By now Gregory has made drawings for Freddy and Monty. He’s starting to work on one for Roxy when a boy around his age comes over and watches him draw.

“I like your drawings,” the other boy says with a smile. “You’re good at it.”

“Thank you,” Gregory responds, hoping to be matching in enthusiasm. He’s not used to talking with kids his age. But, he’s determined to make a friend. “Do you want to help me color her fur?”

The boy nods fiercely and grabs a grey marker. They work together in silence but the other boy’s leg bounces constantly. Gregory thinks he’s nervous.

“My name’s Gregory,” He informs the boy. “What’s your name?”

“Ethan! It’s nice to meet you, Gregory!” The boy smiles at him again and Gregory can see a missing front tooth. He smiles back at Ethan.

“Why are you here, shouldn’t you be in school?” Gregory asks.

“Oh!” Ethan replies, “my mom works here as a technician! She does homeschool with me so when she gets off work I get to do school then! That way I can stay somewhere with her all day and not be bored!”

“Woah! That’s so cool!” Gregory shouts back.

He forgot about school, he hasn’t been since he was little. He should probably ask Freddy about that. Their conversation fades out but they keep on working. Sun comes over and hands them coloring sheets once he notices the boy finished with their drawings. Eventually, both Gregory and Ethan get bored.

“Tag, you’re it!” Ethan shouts while tapping Gregory on the shoulder.

“You’re on!”

Gregory chases Ethan around for a while and eventually gets him. Other, younger, children join in to the game of tag. Gregory makes sure to be gentle with the younger kids because he knows they get hurt easily. After a long period of playing tag, the children start to wear themselves out. Sun, who had been watching the children play their games, takes notice immediately and brings them over to the nap mats. He encourages them to lay down and rest. One of the younger children asks Sun about “Mr. Moon” which confuses Gregory. Ethan informs him that Moon is the nighttime daycare attendant. Once all the children are laying down, the Sun turns off the light. Gregory only hears the sounds of mechanics moving and then quiet footsteps walking around.

Gregory lies with his eyes open, he’s never been one to sleep easy. He can hear the sounds of the other children's gentle breathing. He sees a face looking down at him and he zones back in. He nearly jumps out of surprise. It’s another animatronic that has a face of a moon. He looks similar to Sun but with a darker pallet. The animatronic puts a hand out towards Gregory and the boy takes it. Moon says nothing but gently drags Gregory along to an area more out of earshot.

“My apologies if I surprised you,” Moon says. “I could simply see you were a child that was unable to rest with so much on his mind.”

The animatronic was spot on.

“Yeah,” He replies awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve never been one to sleep much.”

“That is okay, I am aware that some humans deal with something called “insomnia”. It is more common in adults but not unheard of in children. It is in my programming to help children with sleeping so what would help you most?”

Gregory shrugs. The moon animatronic looks understanding and keeps talking in his soft voice. Eventually, Gregory feels himself start to drift off to sleep. The dim lighting and the gentle voice lull him to sleep. Robotic arms carefully pick him and walk him back to the mats. Hands skillfully tuck him in with a warm blanket. With that, Gregory sleeps.

………………..

Gregory slowly wakes up to the sound of two voices talking. A paper crinkles in his ear and he finds a piece of paper by his head. The paper says “Bye Gregory! See you again soon! -Ethan”. It must be later than Gregory thought. He pushes himself off the mat and looks around, trying to find the two voices. His eyes refocus and he sees Sun talking to someone that's not visible. Gregory pushes himself up and starts to walk over to where the daycare attendant is. He gets closer and sees the green of a certain alligator.

“Monty!” He shouts running to hug the animatronic. Monty catches him in his arms with an oof.

“Hey, there little man!” The gator responds. “Freddy got held up talking to Vanessa and the other human staff so it's me picking you up today.”

“That’s cool!”

“How was your day, I heard from Sun that you made a new friend.”

“It was good! I made a friend named Ethan and we colored and played tag. Look, he made me this note!” He showed the note to Monty. “Oh wait, hold on!”

Gregory squirmed out of Monty's arms and went over to when he and Ethan stored the drawings. He grabbed them and ran back to the two animatronics. He first gave the drawing of Monty to Monty and then the one of Sun to Sun. Both animatronics looked happy to receive the drawings which made Gregory happy. Monty and Sun said some final words to each other before they started to leave. Monty put Gregory on his shoulders. Gregory waved goodbye to Sun.

“Wait,” the boy said. Sun turned to the pair. “Tell Mr. Moon, thank you for helping me sleep.”

“I will,” Sun reassured him.

Gregory felt secure that he did everything he needed to do and let Monty lead them back to the greenrooms. Gregory held the drawings on the band carefully in his hands. Monty had given his back to Gregory for safekeeping on the walk back. They joked and enjoyed each other's presence on the way back. Monty would point out different parts of the Pizzaplex or areas he felt were cool. Gregory was excited to learn more about the place that he started to believe is home. They made it back to Freddy’s room and Monty took Gregory off his shoulders and took back his drawing. Promising to hang it up in his room. Together, they entered Freddy’s room.

What neither of them saw on the way back was a bunny with red eyes who trailed them and watched their every move.