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Chapter Text

"No," he repeated, and was cheerfully ignored for the third time by his ever-chatting niece.
"Your mother said that we were going to the golf course next, Samantha. Do you see it? The golf course we're walking past… and have continued to walk past."
"I know that!" the now-7-year-old replied smartly. "But I told my friends that you could beat the alligate at an arm-wrestling contest! So we can't go inside until you win or everyone will think I fibbed."
"Alligator darling, not 'alligate'."
Already hunched over like a folding chair to hold his niece's hand, Ben slouched lower still as he tried to imagine exactly what this 'alligate' looked like, and calculate how long he would be spending in the first-aid station after his upcoming attempt at bending a solid metal arm to his will.

Ben, or Benny to his younger family, was on holiday. A dry, sweltering holiday all the way over to the USA, but a holiday nonetheless. Ideally Ben would have liked to stay home in his quiet, rainy cottage in the South of England, but could not out-argue the pressing reason for him to make the trip and week long stay.
The pressing reason in question being the birthday girl that was currently 'pressing' the back of his knees to make him walk to the centre stage faster. Now Ben is not the most family oriented man, he didn't follow his sister when she moved to the US two years ago, nor did he beg her to stay. He wasn't the sort to message frequently, or even often. Ben was very much the sort to quietly enjoy his peace and solitude without the need for much company.

Which is perhaps why he crumbled so quickly when his very loud and very un-peaceful niece began calling him three times a day, for over two weeks straight, demanding to know when he was going to arrive for her VERY important birthday party.
"It's not every day that your favourite niece turns seven, you know." She had told him knowingly in each phone call, and he patiently agreed with his one and only niece each time. Upon calling her mother Grace, his ever helpful sister with a name to fit her personality, she gave him some sage advice:
"Just say you'll do it for god's sake, she's racking up the phone bill and Joe is too much of a BITCH to tell her off."
The call would end rather quickly after that, as some of the words shared between Grace and Joe simply weren't meant to be heard by civilised society.

So here he was, two flights, three buses and a helpful man on an electric scooter later, and Ben had made it to his sister's town in just under sixteen hours of travel. It was then that he was immediately whisked off, luggage and all, to Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex.
A shining, flashing world of colour and lights, pulsing with music and the sounds of fun. Ben believed he could feel his slightly bloodshot eyes twitching to the beat a few times. He could truly feel the magic.

Samantha painstakingly steered what was left of her half-conscious uncle towards the main stage of the Pizzaplex, where she had seen her favourite 'Glammer-band' players taking photos with their fans after their big show on stage.
When her party was first planned, Samantha had been outraged that she would not be getting a special birthday performance just for her; but then she thought up a very clever plan, and called her uncle Benny straight away.
She knew that when her uncle beat Monty Alligate at an arm wrestle, her friends would be way more amazed with that than with any silly show.
After all Monty was the biggest, AND the scariest of ALL of the animatronics in the Pizzaplex, and all her classmates knew it. Samantha wasn't scared though, she had seen her uncle pick up her dog with ONE arm, and Lucy was a BIG dog! She was completely sure that her uncle had to be the strongest man in the world. Monty Alligate would have no chance at all.

X

Ben apologised once more to the fourth person he had been shoved into during his niece's great journey across the Atrium, her enthusiasm entirely unaffected by not being able to see where she was going. They were almost there now, and Ben was slowly coming back to life thanks to a passing 'Sodaroni' kiosk, which apparently tasted just terrible enough to wake him up. He compared it to smelling salts for the tongue, and considered the chances of that being intentional as he passed through the bumpy waves of hyperactive children.
The sea of noise and small flailing arms seemed to part into four channels, each one stopping at the edge of the stage where Ben could finally get a look at the popular performers.

"I thought you said they were robots?" He asked his niece, awkwardly bending backwards so she could hear him from behind his knees.
"They are! Kyle from class said that he hit his head on Chica's leg once and it rang like a gong!"
Trying and failing to hide a smile at that blunt statement, Ben was amazed to find she was right. Despite having more expression and life in their movements than most people Ben knew, they were in fact entirely metal.

As they waded closer Ben found that they were also, in fact, entirely gigantic. No matter how cheerful and welcoming the animatronics were, it was incredibly difficult to un-notice how they towered over even the tallest adults in the entire building. Even the shortest one, a white… bird, was still easily 7ft tall.
"Sweetheart, which one was it that you were trying to pick a fight with?" He asked, desperately hoping the one she was looking for was not here.
"I'm not picking a fight, that's YOUR job. And he's over there, Monty Alligate!" She pointed, of course, to the largest robot in the atrium. Ben looked upon his chosen opponent with rising despair. How his niece had come to the conclusion that he could win anything against 8 feet of steel and actual, for real, sharp claws, he couldn't begin to know. But he knew just what to do about it.

"UNCLE BENNY COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"
He did not.
He in fact, turned around entirely to thoroughly re-inspect the now-fascinating Sodaroni kiosk on the other end of the atrium floor, only looking up to ensure his niece was still in view and not being squashed by the rising tide of nearby children.
Samantha scowled and stomped her foot at her lazy uncle, who was going to ruin her big birthday plan because he liked that gross soda so much. Well, she decided, if uncle Ben would not come to Monty then she would simply have to go and get him herself.

X

"Sugar… Zugar with a Z... MaximumSugarX… Mystery Sugar Surprise..? Chemical 5uG4R? Can they even sell this legally?"
Ben, who had accidentally started reading over the soda ingredients genuinely with growing concern, was blissfully ignorant of the floor shaking under him until the pounding of metal on linoleum stopped directly behind his back. He stared a little harder at the small can, hoping it might carry him far away from the incoming sitcom sketch he was about to be inducted into. A small, seven year old finger began poking him in the back as though to force him back into reality.

At last, he turned around to face his niece only to find she was replaced by gigantic clawed feet. Ben frowned, and tilted his head up to come nose to nose with his tiny niece, who was happily perched on a thick, metal arm that might've been wider than his head.
"Ah," Ben began, "Hello darling."
Just as a plan for a second elaborate getaway appeared in his mind, a hand bigger than his skull clamped down on his shoulder. Ben wasn't short, a good bit over 6 feet tall actually, but in that moment he felt the smallest he'd ever been in his life.
"Hey, little guy. I heard, you're lookin' to challenge me."
Feeling somehow even shorter, Ben's head slowly swivelled from the great green snout of his opponent over to his niece who had never looked more triumphant in her life. And he supposed that was that.
"Yes, apparently I have, though can I check if there's a safety guideline for this or-"
"I'll take you on, right here and now."
Samantha cackled and clapped her hands in delight, sliding off of the alligator's sizable arm before sprinting off to her herd of party-goers that were waiting to be allowed into the golf course section.

Taking the chance while she was gone, Ben attempted to look around for a staff member to maybe call off the alligator in front of him, or give it a command to move away.
"What are you lookin' for? The little gal went over there."
Ben blinked, and looked back up at the robot. Was it truly aware of the people around it? How intelligent were these animatronics? Memories of old animatronic bands he'd seen online came to mind, all flapping mouths and air-compressors. The alligator in front of him was none of that, head adjusting to every move he made, huffing and grumbling when he was taking too long to respond- Oh, he was being rude.
"Oh sorry, I was looking to see if there was human staff around honestly, but it seems you guys all run the show around here."
"Ain't no need for humans with us around, we know how to rock and roll."
And he seemed content to leave it at that. It could've been that his programming had a limited vocabulary, but Ben suspected this alligator simply didn't have much to say to him.

The surprisingly peaceful moment of quiet was then immediately shattered by Samantha's return, and the small herd she brought with her to spectate his incoming loss. He leaned slightly closer to the 'gator and tried to plead his case subtly.
"We both know how this will end, just avoid breaking my arm if you could?"
"Heh, we'll see."
Ben was now aware that robot alligators could smile, or at least smirk. It was just a slight opening of his hinged mouth, and yet it was just as unsettling as he thought it would be.

X

The small two person table they chose was encircled by Samantha and her friends, some standing on chairs nearby for a taller view. The whole thing reminded Ben of some sort of school re-enactment of a Roman coliseum, which admittedly wasn't encouraging.
"Win uncle Benny, win!" His niece crowed from her perch between the alligator and himself. He would try, he'd give her that much at least.
"Eat his hand, Monty!" "No, eat his head!" "Throw him through the roof, Monty!" The other children were less encouraging.
A sharp sound on the table drew his attention to who he now knew as 'Monty', as he slammed his massive arm down onto the tabletop. Desperately trying to remember that he was a tall and fairly in-shape man, Ben raised his own arm and noted rather miserably, that it was only half as wide as Monty's. He quietly promised himself he'd sign back up for the gym when he went home.

They clasped hands, elbows to the table, and made eye contact. Well, eye to sunglasses contact, though he could just barely see the alligator's eyes adjusting slightly from behind the dark lenses.
"One!" A boy shouted, "Two! Three! Now wrestle!"
Ben's eyes popped like a stress toy almost instantly. He'd known he was going against a metal guy, he'd known that he'd lose, but he was still taken by surprise by the instant and impossible workout his poor arm was being subjected to. His slightly panicky mind wondered if this was how factory workers felt when they got their hands stuck in a machine.
"Come on uncle Benny, you're losing! Don't lose!" Samantha ordered with every expectation for him to obey her command, but he could barely hear his own thoughts from the pressure of trying to keep his arm up against an unstoppable steel press.
Monty for his part, was at least making it look like it was a slight challenge, most likely for the children's sake. The open-mouthed smirk and the look in his eyes as he peered over his sunglasses however, told Ben exactly how little of a challenge he was giving him.
After a little while longer, Monty finally put him out of his misery and thumped Ben's hand onto the table, ending the one-sided battle and allowing the kids to cheer on their green and purple champion. Ben cheered for an un-broken arm.

Ben glanced up from his now bruised palm to his approaching niece, resembling her mother a little more with each step.
"That was embarrassing," She informed him curtly. "If you can't win against silly old Monty then you shouldn't have visited, you can go home now."
She then turned and marched off to her party, heedless to the other children trying to get her attention. Ben thought it went rather well, she had always had a bit of a spoilt attitude when she didn't get her way, but at least she didn't start a tantrum.
"But Mummy, I don't WANT to do the stupid alligate golf! Uncle Ben didn't win like I told him to so I don't want to see Monty anymore."

Ah, never mind then.

Ben turned back to the silent animatronic, who'd been watching the scene with crossed arms and a blank face. The only indicators that Monty had reacted at all were his internal systems seemed much louder than before, and his head was tilting to the side slightly. Animatronic or not, Ben felt compelled to apologise for the behaviour of his niece.
"Thank you for going along with that uh, Monty. Sorry about the attitude at the end there, she'll come around in her own time as kids do."
"It's nothin' new, doesn't bother me." Was the reply.
"Oh, kids have tantrums around you guys that often? That must be rough.."
Monty's jaw seemed to tick suddenly, and his arms creaked from where he was crossing them a little too tight.
"Naw, kids don't wanna be around me a lot. Too scary, or somethin'. I'm no golden teddy bear or dancing bunny so I ain't so popular."
"Oh, I see," Ben was suddenly getting the feeling that he was stepping into a deeper subject than he actually meant to. "Well for what it's worth, you're my favourite so far!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, not breaking my arm actually goes a pretty long way believe it or not."
Monty huffed what could've been a laugh, or had simply had enough of him for the moment, as he clapped a giant clawed paw on his shoulder and began lumbering back to the main stage area. Ben waved him off, trying to subtle rub at his now bruised shoulder, with his now bruised hand.

Chapter Text

Samantha's party crew wound up going to Monty's Gator Golf in the end anyway, though Samantha primly informed Ben that she expected him to disappear or drown before they left. Ben was beginning to worry that she was taking after her mother a bit too much, as he'd heard Grace say something very similar to her partner Joe less than an hour ago.
The crowd was stopped before entering the course, as a Staff Bot asked them not to run, and be careful when near the water's edge. Ben halted in his tracks, partially due to the WALL.E-esque futuristic robot that had just casually handed him a lime green golf club, and partially because-
"There's water in there? Water? Is there stuff in the water?" His owl-eyed stare at the poor bot was interrupted by Grace hauling him inside, where there was in fact water, and there was in fact 'stuff' in the water.

A small but important thing about Ben was that he suffered from something called submechanophobia, which was essentially a fear of man-made objects being submerged underwater. I'm sure you see where this is going.
Ben reeled back from the water's edge, neck and chin shrinking down into his shoulders as he leered down at the barrels and objects that sat beneath the surface. The dark and murky water only added to the display, making the whole scene entirely nightmarish to Ben, and he accepted this as some sort of revenge from his niece for losing to the giant 'gator.
As though summoned by the thought, stomping steel muffled by arcade carpet seemed to appear from nowhere as a now familiar giant hand slammed down on the handrail beside him.
"Well what do we have here?"
Yelping like a kicked dog, Ben jumped forwards out of reflex, only to howl like a wounded coyote when a gigantic moss-lined animatronic alligator head rose from beneath the water and sprang up directly in front of his face.
With a move previously only seen from Scooby Doo, Ben's legs ejected him from the earth and he clung to Monty's neck and shoulders as the monstrous head gurgled at him before sinking back into swampy water. At this point he was content to just stay up there, he didn't sign up for exposure therapy with his worst fear when coming to the US.

"Come on now, get down there!" Sadly his protector did not agree. Monty plucked the tall man from his shoulders like a spider off a wall and set him firmly back on his feet, though thankfully away from the water.
"Not a fan of water, huh? Poor choice of a party pass then…" Monty grunted an unimpressed low laugh as he kept moving after the party group, seemingly content to walk behind them with Ben for a while. It was from this spot that Ben noticed one of the party crew children was also hanging around the back of the group. He was carrying the rattiest backpack he had ever seen, and seemed keen to avoid any attention from the other kids. Ben hoped he wasn't being bullied, and made a mental note to keep an eye out for him.

"So, you any good at mini-golf?" Asked the low voice beside him, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"I've never tried before today, so we'll find out today I guess!" Ben smiled in reply. The giant reptile nodded and looked forwards towards the children, who seemed to have realised one of the star attractions had followed them onto the course.
"Monty, hi!" "Monty will you help me win the game?" "Will you teach me how to hit a hole in one?"
It was as amazing as it was unnerving to watch Monty's personality completely flip when he spoke to the children, like the toss of a coin. Gone was the half-lidded impatient stare behind his star-shaped shades, and the tension the machine had somehow held in his shoulders that Ben hadn't even realised was there. All the intimidation and half-hidden aggression seemed to melt away the second he knelt down to greet the children, even though he still towered over them on his knee.
"Rock n' roll, kids! I'll teach you all I know about golfin' and show you a real good time!" the huge machine gurgled to the kids, the naturally low bass in his voice having to work a little harder to sound friendly. The kids smiled and cheered, some jumping up to pat at Monty's nose, though it came across more as well-intentioned slapping. The gator didn't seem to mind though, looking the happiest he had since Ben had met him with an open-mouthed smile.
The gator stood back up as the children scattered, catching Ben's raised eyebrows before he could think to put them back down.
"What?" He grunted, shoulders already rising back to what must've been his usual tension.
"Nothing," Ben quickly replied, looking forward again towards the party group. "Nothing, just impressed... You're really good with kids."
Monty grunted again, and they both fell silent as they continued to walk.

The increasingly painful silence continued through the next four holes of the course, only being interrupted when a brave child would ask Monty to help them with reaching the hole, or when Samantha would pass by to remind Ben that he was not allowed any birthday cake for his betrayal.
It was only when another submerged, moss coated alligator head erupted from the water beside Ben, causing him to bleat out a 'HIYAAA' as he collapsed on his ass, that the silence was broken by a deep bark of a laugh, punctuating each 'HA' with a whir of metal jaws moving up and down.
"You really ain't good with water, are ya?" The green heavyweight smirked through his mocking laugh. "Should I walk you over to the Daycare if you're too scared of Ol' Monty's place?"
Ben sneered back at the brute, before taking in what he said in surprise.
"There's a Daycare here? Who runs it, human people? Or you guys again?"
"Naw, none of us Glamrockers." Monty replied, hauling the still sitting Ben back onto his feet and over to the next hole. "But it ain't run by humans neither. The Daycare attendant takes care of the littler guys."
"And what is he, a sheep? A Labrador?" Ben asked as he set up his ball on the fifth hole, actually hoping there would be a dog wandering about in the Pizzaplex. He loved dogs.
Monty watched the lime green ball crawl its way across the green before replying.
"Naw, it ain't nothing like that. You'll see." He let that ominous statement sit in the air for a moment, before impatiently gesturing for Ben to finish his turn which took another four tries. "You ain't any good with this either, huh? This place really ain't for you."
"Alright, no need to rub it in," Ben definitely did not pout from behind the gator's back. "Not all of us have built in, uh, Laser Golf Calibrations, y'know."
Monty just laughed at him, before happily making a hole in one without looking away from Ben's frowning face.
"Ain't no 'laser callibrations' here, little guy! I'm just better than you."
Ben's eyebrows rose again, and he blinked twice before turning to face Monty's retreating back.
"Excuse me?"

X

"Grace," one of the approaching mothers called, flocked by two more. "Do you think you could ask your brother to calm down? He's making more noise than the children, and it's getting a little wild."
Grace looked up from her phone, pausing her scathing argument with her beloved waste of space, Joe. She raised one eyebrow, and looked over to where the women where gesturing.
Sure enough, there was her brother, though not at all as she was expecting. The usually quieter man was currently prodding that one crocodile animatronic in the chest with his finger, hair ruffled and his other hand clutching his golf club. The nearby kids were all giggling at the ongoing one-sided argument taking place.
"AHA! That was definitely all calibrations or robot magic, you can't fool me 'Montgomery'…" her brother waved his fingers as he said its name, for some reason trying to make fun of a dumb robot.
"Naw, I'm just better than you."
"Nobody can just make a golf ball stop in mid-air and still make a hole in one, this-this is.. It's, it's Robot Witchcraft™!"
"Naw it ain't."
"YES IT IS!"
"Benny!" Grace called out to him, done with the situation already and desperately wanting a smoke. "Will you get your ass away from that damn machine and go do something useful, like go check where we're going next or somethin'?"

The nearby parents frowned at her language in front of their children, and Ben could've sworn he heard the steel giant next to him hiss like a pissed off steam engine.
"Uh, yeah. I suppose I'll do that now." He replied, smoothing his hair back down, and subconsciously using his jacket sleeve to wipe off any fingerprints he'd left on Monty. "For the record, I won that round Monty. So there."
"Whatever makes you feel better, little guy." He replied with a smoky chortle, twirling his scratched up purple club around his fingers in a very un-robotic way. Ben huffed at his accidental new companion and began wandering towards the exit, hearing the great 'gator's voice do that strange personality flip again behind him, clearly talking to the children now.
Thoughtful as he was about how they even programmed him to do that, he almost missed that little boy with the ratty backpack scuttle out the door ahead of him. Eyes widening, he turned to see if any parents even noticed the disappearance, and seeing no reaction he quickly followed the kid in pursuit.
In a place like this, who knows what could happen to a lost kid?

Chapter Text

He paced up the escalators after the kid, trying to note down details on him that he could let the staff know about if he lost him again. Brown hair, about 10 years old, ratty backpack, a plaster on one cheek… And really damn fast for some reason.
Ben worried he'd lose him until finally, he spotted him slow down by the El Chip's restaurant. Confused now, as the party was going here for dinner later anyway, he continued to follow. The boy snuck by the robot staff, evading their blank faces in a way Ben couldn't at his size. He stumbled around them, trying to look as normal and un-creepy as he could while actively pursuing a child across a building. Yeah.
Anyway, he finally caught up to the boy, just as he was being hefted up by a man in a red plaid shirt, apparently caught trying to sneak food out of the nearby bin. Seeing the guy start to get a bit red in the face, Ben quickly stepped in to intervene.
"Whoa now, let's calm it down a bit. He won't do it again, I'll vouch for him." Ben offered as he put a hand on the guy's arm, other hand clamping on the boy's shoulder to stop him from running off elsewhere.
"See to it that you do pal," A Southern accent replied, making him feel slightly alien in this very American pizzaplex. "This place is a family restaurant, nobody needs to see some kid picking through trash like a damn raccoon!"
"I hear you, I've got it," Ben replied, trying not to be disgusted at the man's choice in priorities. "Let's go kid."

The boy squirmed a bit under his hand but followed, correctly assuming it'd be more trouble than it was worth to run off again. He looked around uncomfortably, sure the man was taking him straight to security or maybe even the front entrance to kick him out, but was surprised when he came to a stop in front of the staff bot behind the counter.
"What do you want, mate? Just point to what you want, as long as it's not the bin."
The boy stared up at the stranger in surprise, and distrust. Nobody just gives you food, there's always some catch. He had to be either a secret security guard, or a creep… Or a social worker. It was desperate hunger alone that kept him where he stood, but his brain got to work on thinking up an escape route while he pointed at the biggest meal El Chip's had to offer. He was surprised again when the man placed an order for it without question, and more suspicious.

"Who are you?" The boy asked him, eyes narrowed and body tensed to run even as he ate his 'Grande Chip Suprema' meal. Ben looked up, hands covered in cheese while trying to fit a fistful of nachos in his mouth. He looked around for a napkin while he swallowed down the small bowling ball of carbs.
"I could ask the same of you, young man." He finally replied, wiping the melted cheese from his hands onto the beaver patterned paper. "Spotted you sneaking off from my niece's party. I'd ask who you're with, but something tells me you wouldn't be dumpster diving if you were with someone here."
He could tell he'd struck the nail on the head when the boy flinched, turning his eyes back down to his meal. Ben's face softened a bit, it was obvious the kid needed help, but just by looking at him he could tell the boy would run the second he said the word 'police'. No lost kid carried his whole life in a single ratty backpack; this boy was a runaway. Ben didn't ask, and he didn't tell him what he'd figured out either. The boy was wily enough already, and giving him the Sherlock Holmes treatment wouldn't help either of them at all.
"My name is Ben, I'm the birthday girl's uncle." Ben offered, pushing his remaining nachos over the table to the boy. The unspoken bribe worked as his eyes darted to the extra food and snatched it over.
"… Gregory." Came the reluctant reply.
"Gregory," Ben acknowledged. "So what do you want to do now then? What's the plan?"
"Why do you care?" Gregory snapped back, tiny face sharp and tense.
"Because you look a little lost, and I don't want you getting hurt or in trouble here-" He tried to explain as kindly as he could, but the boy was already out of his seat and scowling up at him.
"That's a lie! You adults don't care, you just want to lock me up again with some other family! You just want to get me out of your way!" Gregory accused before sprinting off and out the door.

"Shit!" Ben spat as he tried to stand and follow, only for a Staff Bot to appear in front of him, blockading his exit until he paid the bill. By the time he managed to sort out his payment and fight the current of incoming diners, Gregory was long gone from his view.
Ben paced the atrium balcony as he tried not to get worked up. It was a lost boy in a building full of robots built to look after children, he'd surely be fine? Right?

He considered going to his sister, but quickly decided against it. Despite being the parent of the two of them, most of her maternal instincts packed up and left years ago, which probably explained a few things about Samantha really. In the end he resolved that he could do nothing but keep an eye out for the lost boy, and began his walk back to the party group. Or he was, until he realised he had no clue where they were meant to go after Monty's golf course.

X

By the time he had found the group again, they were well into their third race at the Roxy Raceway. Ben watched them go for a moment, idly wondering if the gigantic wolf animatronic was supposed to be chasing the go-karts like that, but as nobody else seemed to be panicking he supposed it was fine. He wandered his way over to the group, slightly disheartened but not surprised to find Monty hadn't followed them. Ben guessed the animatronics stuck to their own areas mostly. He stepped up next to his sister, still tapping away at her phone and almost completely unaware of the world around her.
"Finally found your way back did you?" The key word being almost.
"Yeah, wound up at that Mexican restaurant upstairs. This place really does feel too large for life." He leaned up on the railing with his sibling. She seemed tired, and he could empathise, arranging a 32 child birthday party sounded like hell on earth. "How's Samantha doing? Having fun?"
"What?" Grace snapped her head up from her phone, looking around before finally spotting her daughter on the track below. "Yeah, yeah… She's happy. No thanks to you of course, heh."
Ben laughed with her, glad his niece was enjoying the day despite his lack of super-strength.

The group continued in this way for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. The rag-tag team of parents herding the children from place to place: Fazer Blast, where he was not allowed to play on Samantha's orders; the Fazcade, where he was the only one to dance anywhere near the DJ, who seemed to appreciate the effort; and finally Bonnie Bowl, where he managed to win a golden plush keychain of Monty from one of the more beaten-up arcade machines. Ben clipped it onto his belt-loop, and vowed to never let its giant smug counterpart see him with it.
The evening was winding down to a close, and the children were finally getting tired of the bright lights and loud music. Ben shared a smile with his sister as the gathered parents began announcing their departure, with Ben keeping an eye on who was leaving with who, just in case Gregory actually did turn up to go home.
When the last guest left with her mother and the Pizzaplex began to close for the night, Ben admitted defeat. He didn't see Gregory at all since he ran off from El Chip's, and there wasn't much more he could do for him if he couldn't find him. He mentioned the missing child to his sister, who bluntly told him that it wasn't his problem.
"Last I heard, your gay ass was childless and free, don't waste your time worrying about somebody else's brat."
Ben gave the back of her head a pained stare, wondering not for the first time at how Grace was the parent figure of the two of them. He wracked his brain as they were herded towards the exit, trying to think where a lonely child would go if they had nowhere else to turn to.

"So long, friends! I'll see you all soon, and we'll have so much fun!"

Ben's neck twisted like a pretzel towards the door where the loud, slightly grating voice had come from. The Daycare! Of course a lost boy would go there, it made perfect sense in Ben's mind.
Ben told Grace he was going to search in there briefly, just in case. Grace told Ben she wasn't waiting around for some brat and that he would have to get an Uber. Ben told Grace that her nasty attitude reminded him of Joe.

Rubbing his red cheek with his bruised hand, Ben rather smugly watched his sister march out of the building with his niece. She always did get physical when she lost an argument, but it was usually worth it. That being said, he'd just lost his ride home.
Ben's face lost the smugness but kept the smirk as he turned around to check over the Daycare, just in case.
In a place like this, who knows what could happen to a lost kid?

Chapter Text

Dancing around the Staff Bots and families, Ben wound his way towards the Daycare, nodding his head to the catchy tune that was still playing from the overhead speakers. He admired the fountain on his way past, glad the hallway had a decorative reservoir used for discharging water, it was a good sight to see. The Daycare looked… Like a Daycare. Rainbows, ball pits, and climbing structures similar to what he played in as a child. The flash of nostalgia in all the technology and machinery brought a faint smile to Ben's mouth, even though he was scared of going in the structures as a child himself.
Looking around the room, he couldn't spot the boy, but that didn't mean he wasn't hiding in there somewhere. It was only as he stepped through the large wooden gates into the Daycare that Ben finally caught on that maybe this room was too baby-ish for a ten year old to visit. He really didn't have a clue about what kids liked these days.

Just as he climbed back up the stairs, about to give up on finding the lost child for the last time, a young boy suddenly crept out of one of the party rooms with leftover cake slices wrapped up in a Glamrock Chica patterned napkin. A young boy with a ratty old backpack. Ben's eyes bulged, and he pointed at him.
"YOU!"
Gregory twisted on the spot, almost dropping his wrapped up cakes on the floor as he pointed back at him.
"YOU!"
Somewhere down in the Daycare to their left, a loud robotic voice piped up.
"ME!"
Ben and Gregory both elected to ignore the voice.
"You can't go staying in here Gregory, now I don't know if you've got somewhere to go tonight but I can-" Ben was cut off before he could finish his offer.
"No way, you're not taking me back there! I don't need you, I don't need anyone!" Gregory snarled, throwing his cakes at Ben before sprinting away and out of the Daycare. Ben cursed and ran after him, starting to question why he was trying so hard to help a boy who didn't want it, runaway or not. He slowed at the metallic voice behind him, now panicking over the mess the thrown cake had made on the floor, but didn't have time to stop and help. Ben followed the boy's footsteps across the main entrance where instead of going out the front doors like he'd thought, the boy had charged directly towards a vent that was open for maintenance.
"But WHY?!" Ben threw up his hands as Gregory slipped into the vent and away from him, giving up entirely now. If the night guards caught him then so be it, he did try his best to help. But as he turned away to leave through the exit, he was flabbergasted to instead see Glamrock Freddy's winking face sliding down over the glass doors, locking him in with an eerie 'clang'. Fed up and exhausted, Ben took the moment and sat down on the stairs. In trying to help a troubled kid, he'd gone and gotten himself in trouble too, fantastic job.

Figuring he couldn't sit around all night, Ben went back up to the elevators, hoping to catch someone in the Atrium that could help him out and let them know about Gregory. He was unaware that in the moment, the same young boy was running away again, from another adult that had less kind intentions.

X

Ben wandered around the now-empty Atrium for a while, there was still music playing quietly and the lights were on, though he couldn't imagine for whose benefit. Surely everything was closed down now, with the customers gone? He wondered if it was for the Staff Bots who were now wheeling into the Atrium, mopping and apparently doubling as security. Ben smiled at their funky little hats, they were cute.

Ben immediately took this back when a Map Bot descended upon him as he looped back to the elevator, having to ward it off by flapping about his own map he'd picked up upon entering. With a long suffering sigh he approached a Security Bot to try and get its attention, though before he could there was a clambering behind him as Freddy Fazbear casually stepped out the elevator like he owned the place. In a way, Ben guess that he did. Even though he'd spent time with the biggest animatronic of the band that day, he was still taken aback by just how massive Freddy was up close. Ben barely grazed the bear's chin. Despite his size, Freddy was still easily the friendliest looking personality in the room and Ben approached him quickly.
"Oh thank goodness you're here, I got locked in and have been trying to find someone to let me out! I was about to ask one of the Security Bots but- Watch out for the Map Bo-" His warning came too late, but Ben watching in rising bafflement as the Bot seemed to knock on the bear's chest and open it up like a car boot. Then it proceeded to remove Gregory from his chest like a rabbit out of a hat. Ben didn't even realise his face had crumpled in confusion, eyes darting between the boy and the open chest cavity as Gregory received his complimentary map and heart attack.

"But-but, but.. But?" Ben began, and failed to express just how lost he was to the situation. "But, but… Why?"
"Shhh, shut up!" Gregory hissed at him, snapping him back to reality and clicking his jaw shut.
"What do you mean, 'shhh'? What the hell were you doing in that bear? I might've bought you lunch kid but I'm not paying for any bear repairs, do you hear me-?"
"Everyone will hear you if you don't shut up! They're gonna find me, and you!" Gregory's head darted around, looking for enemies that Ben certainly couldn't see. But the boy seemed scared, and even Freddy seemed uneasy as he adjusted his giant metal shoulders. Ben knelt down to talk to Gregory, hoping to show he was taking him seriously.
"What's wrong Gregory, what happened?"
"A- A crazy rabbit lady chased me when I got out of the vent! And then I hid in Freddy, wh-who said he'd take me out of here, and I had to hide from Chica because she's gone crazy too! And I went to the Daycare and I thought he was nice but even HE was crazy! And then-"
It was all Ben could do to keep up with the frantic tangent, nodding when the boy took a breath and frowning when he seemed close to tears at the end of his story. It seemed that whatever had got him so spooked was enough for him to put aside his distrust of Ben in that moment, which actually worried Ben more than relieved him.
"Okay, alright, so we both wanna get out of here right? Well I'll look after you while we look for a way out," Ben glanced up at the hulking bear that was watching their interaction with an unflinching stare. "Uh, you too Freddy, I'll watch out for you too." Freddy's stare broke into his friendliest smile, and Ben's heart melted a little too fast. Hopping up at Gregory's small nod, Ben waved them over to the balcony overseeing the Atrium, so they could get a good view of where they could go. Ben pointed towards a door next to the big stage at the back and began walking.
"So I was thinking we could start by looking for a fire exit, there has to be at least one in a building this larg-"

"Where you goin'?"

Ben turned at the familiar voice, though it sounded deeper… Darker.
"Monty, what..?"
"Oh no, he's here!" Gregory yelped, and was immediately picked up by Freddy and hidden away in his chest again. Ben looked between the now closed chest plate and the hulking gator that upon second glance, was actually stalking closer to the trio.
"Uh, Gregory? When you mentioned the animatronics going crazy, you didn't happen to mean uh-"
"What are you doing?!" Came the muffled shout from Freddy's chest. "RUN!" The word seemed to trigger something in Monty though, and he began charging directly towards Ben and entirely ignoring Freddy.
"Run, run, RUN!" He said it almost gleefully, sunglasses glinting in the purple light and only focussed on Ben's dumbfounded face. It was then that Ben realised this was actually happening, and that Monty was not messing around at all. Something was very wrong.
"Oh FUC-" Ben began to move to the side, but not soon enough. He heard Freddy move, as though he wanted to help push him, or pick him up and cram him inside his chest cavity as well. Ben didn't get a chance to find out which it was when half a tonne of green steel slammed into his chest like a rugby player, lifting him clear off the floor and into the balcony railing.
The glass balcony railing.

He reached out a hand as he fell, broken shards of glass glinting around him as he stared up at Freddy's shocked faceplates with wide eyes. Monty still had a grasp on his one arm, even while they fell together. A last second thought to tuck his head into his chest occurred just as the pair hit the ground floor with a cacophonous crack of steel breaking through linoleum. Splayed out on his back, Ben blearily listened as heavy footsteps from above moved away from them at high speed. They must have thought he was dead, or that Monty was still active. Probably both, and the hissing to his left proved them right on at least one count.
Ben lolled his head to the side, facing his once golfing companion and startled. With teeth inches from his face and his jaw slowly ticking closed, Monty looks how Ben felt. Clearly performing animatronics were not meant to go sky-diving. The gator was lying on his front with dim and vacant eyes, sparking and cracked from his head casing to the end of his dented tail. A particularly large crack sat right over the right brow ridge on his faceplate, likely the first point of impact with the floor. Ben winced in sympathy, then again in empathy as he realised the side of his head hurt like a bitch as well. He shakily lifted the arm that wasn't still being gripped by Monty, and lightly swiped it over his forehead. Bloody, but that was expected after falling from almost 20 feet, he was simply glad it seemed to be a cut from glass instead of impact like Monty.
Ben slowly, so slowly, sat up. His entire body felt like a big, cut up bruise and he knew he looked no better. The grip on his arm remained tight and unyielding and Ben deliriously hoped he wouldn't have to chew his limb off to escape.

His movements seemed to trigger Monty, who hissed long and low like a dying steam engine. His dim eyes flickered back to life and seemed to refocus, their pupils contracting and relaxing a few times before settling. Ben belatedly realised he was missing his sunglasses, it felt wrong to see him without them. The eyes suddenly darted to his face, and he twitched in an instinctive reaction his body was too beaten to properly act on.
"You… You…." The gator's jaw tried to move, instead only twitching awkwardly as his voicebox worked. "What're you doin' here after hours..?"
"Oh y'know," Ben wheezed lightly. "Thought I'd see the sights, try some extra games- What do you think I'm doing?!" He cut himself off with a cough of pain as he moved something in his side that burned deep.
"What.. Happened?" Monty seemed to become more aware of himself, and the fact that he was damaged. His head rotated so his eyes could examine the area around him, spotting the broken balcony railing above, the glass on the floor and finally the very injured Ben he was still clamping his hand onto.

The red of his eyes intensified, and his cracked body moved to sit up. His endoskeleton only had minor damage luckily, his shell taking most of the impact, except his processor which had required a full diagnostic and restart. Despite his damage, Monty felt better, lighter. As though something that'd been draining his circuits without his knowledge had been removed. Movement to his right alerted him to Guest Profile: Ben, who was here after closing, and was also heavily injured. Monty blinked his optics.

"What the heck happened to you, little guy?" Ben looked up as his personal battering ram hauled himself to his feet, annoyingly limber in comparison to Ben's flattened corpse. He was confused though, did Monty really not remember what he did not even ten minutes ago? He seemed to be just as he was before in the golf course, was it really just a glitch?
He was distracted from the thought when the well intentioned gator tried to haul him off the floor again, reawakening the burning pain in his side. Ben snarled in pain and immediately reached a hand to the source, knocking into the large shard of imbedded glass in his side, and seeing stars from the agony.
"Whoa there, cool it down now," Monty halted his arm from doing more damage, and asked Ben what he wanted him to do.
"Take it OUT," Ben howled, only to remember exactly who he had just asked for help. "WAIT, leave it in, leave it in- AAAAAAAARGH!"
"Yeah, that didn't seem to help none," Monty helpfully remarked as he tossed the bloody glass aside. "Maybe we should'a found a bot with medical programming."
"Maybe," Ben breathed out in a hiss, trying to keep his patience with the apparently now-friendly alligator. "You know any that'll lend a hand or shall I just bleed out here?"
"Actually, I do."
And with that, Ben was picked up like a broken marionette and hauled at high speed towards the main entrance.

Chapter Text

"Are you implying something?" Ben sneered at his massive companion, scowling at Monty's chortling as he carried him through into the Daycare.
"I got no idea what you mean," Monty replied with a growing smirk. "Just wanna make sure the little guy gets taken care of…" Ben's scowl turned to utter disgust as the gator jokingly rocked him in his arms like a 25 year old baby.
"You little shi- Argh!" Monty stopped swinging immediately, ending the lighthearted moment as they both remembered why they were there. Ben's bleeding wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't stopping and he was starting to feel it. The catchy tune of the Daycare was a relief to them both.

Monty kicked open the Freddy-faced security gate, definitely breaking it and definitely not giving a shit. His heavy footsteps seemed to alert whatever what in the Daycare, and Ben could hear rapid scuffling as whatever it was seemed to eagerly pace by the door.
"It's gotta be a Labrador," Ben weakly smiled up at his carrier. "Nothing else is that excited when someone comes to the door." Monty huffed a quite laugh and kept moving. He didn't like how still his new partner was becoming, hopefully Sun would be enough to wake him up a little.
"HELLOOOOOOOooo there!"
Ben squawked in surprise as a looming circle of pure yellow materialised in front of his face. His eyes quickly adjusted, and he realised this must be the Daycare Attendant. Definitely not a Labrador, but the excited wiggling was certainly close enough.
"Didn't realise there were non-animals of you guys…" He tapped his knuckle on Monty's upper arm, the sluggish movement not missed by either animatronic. The Sun's programming kicked in then.
"Are you feeling tired, new friend? We can nap if you want! Or read stories, or sing lullabies until you fall asleep! Or-" Monty quickly interrupted before he could get too carried away.
"We don't want him falling asleep Sunny, he ain't healthy."
"I'm not dead yet, I can tell him myself." Ben nagged.
"Shaddup, little guy." Ben shot him a look and opened his mouth before he was suddenly lifted into a skinner set of arms that were no less strong.

"NOoohooohooo! We can't have anyone hurt in the Daycare! I'll take care of you right away, I have all the programming we need! I can clean you and bandage you and kiss your booboos better and feed you and…"
Ben stared at Monty in growing horror as he was carried off by the chattering Sun, reaching out a hand in a desperate plea before they turned a corner and out of sight. Monty only smirked and waved him goodbye, earning a special one-fingered wave of his own. It was only when he was alone that Monty finally let himself rest a moment, and actually show his worry about his new partner.
His new companion hadn't told him how they'd gotten into that fall, or even who caused it and he was beginning to suspect Ben was trying to spare his feelings. For a long time, Monty had been having these violent outbursts he couldn't control, and couldn't stop. He'd break things, claw things, chase people and barely be aware of it. He had a nasty feeling that this was just the latest of many incidents. But still, Ben had stayed! He hadn't quit and run like those technicians did, he didn't complain like the customers did, and he didn't break… Like those Staff Bots did. That had to count for something, Monty thought. So if they made it through this weird night, Monty was gonna keep his new pal, Ben around. One way or another.

X

Ben stared at the wall, pretending he wasn't there.
He pretended he was not having his face wiped clean like a 5 year old while a doting sun-faced robot told him what a brave boy he was being.
He pretended he was not covered in Montgomery Gator plasters because 'I bet he's your favourite of the whole band, hee hee!'
He most definitely pretended his shredded shirt and trousers had not been replaced by the Glamrock Gift Shop's only remaining adult pyjama set, which of course, was styled after Montgomery fucking Gator.
He pretended none of it was happening.
And yet it was.

"Can you hear me, new friend? I said you're all cleaned up and ready to go!" The Sun suddenly bobbed up into his line of vision, bringing him back to sad, sad reality. "Just make sure you take it easy now, no running!"
Ben nodded tiredly, he'd sign over his house to the cheery Bot if it meant he could stop being coddled… And cuddled.
"I've got it Sunny, can you please put me down now?" He asked as he dangled from the Sun's arms. Even the Daycare assistant was taller than him, by quite a lot actually, he might've been taller than Monty if he stood up straighter. Though Ben found it hard to be intimidated by him at this point, after watching him tap his faceplate against his bandages with a 'Mwah!' sound for almost 15 minutes straight.
Sunny finally put him back on his feet, and Ben almost regretted it. Almost. He felt dizzy and slow, the slight blood loss affecting him more than he'd realised, and he had to keep a hand on Sunny's arm for balance as they walked back to the Daycare.

He'd briefly forgotten about his new fashion statement in his eagerness to leave, but the smoky, guttural chortling that announced his return reminded him instantly.

"Not a word," He demanded. "Not a single word." His Montgomery slippers squeaked on the linoleum floor as he came to a stop in front of the wheezing alligator. Monty peered over his crooked sunglasses at him, and Ben did not like the look in his eyes one bit.
"Little guy-"
"No."
"I had no idea-"
"Shut it."
"I had no idea that you was such a big fan!" The gator hunched over himself in laughter all over again, snorting harder at the scowl on Ben's Montgomery-plastered face. The Sun clapped his metal hands together in delight, so pleased to see friends getting along so well. Ben considered committing arson.

When Monty finally recovered from Ben's new look, the pair sat down by the ball-pit to consider their next move.
"Well I still need to get out of here, and find that kid while I'm at it. If the other animatronics are in here, they might be having the same problem as…" Ben paused, still unsure of if he should tell Monty what happened.
"Same problem as me, right? I glitched out too, didn' I?" Ben looked at him and nodded, not wanting to deny it if he already figured it out.
"Yeah, you charged right at me, didn't even see Freddy beside me. You were nothing like yourself…" Monty hissed sharply, like a broken pipe.
"And how would you know what I'm like?" Monty snapped back, his defensiveness sparking his short temper. His eyes caught the bandages on Ben's face, cartoon Montys winking back at him, like he'd signed his own handiwork. It killed his temper instantly.
"Ah you're right, I shouldn't assume," Ben continued, unaware of Monty's staring as he watched the cartwheeling Sun going by. "But we got along pretty well when we were playing golf today, so that's something at least."
"Yeah…" Monty agreed, and the topic ended there.

"Right," Ben suddenly slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up shakily. Monty blinked up at his sudden movement. "I'm off to go find that runaway kid before he gets himself and that bear buried under the building or something. Take care, you two!"
"Whoa there little guy," The enormous reptile stepped around the smaller man, cutting off his exit so he could look him in the eyes. "You really think you're just gonna walk off on your own and be alright?"
"Uh, yeah? As long as I don't run I'll be fine, that's what Sunny said."
"And if you gotta run?"
"Then I'll hide."
"And if you can't hide?"
"Then I'll sing a power ballad- Look Monty, you can't talk me out of finding that kid, he's probably already gotten himself into even more danger!" Ben gestured his arm towards the exit for emphasis, but paused when a distant crash and a chicken's squawking echoed from the main entrance. "…. See?"
Monty didn't care for his reasoning though, and Ben frowned when his great green arms continued to block his exit. Monty leant down and clasped a hand around the back of Ben's neck, holding him still like a misbehaving pet.
"Lookit this, you can't even escape one of us when we ain't trying! You're dead meat if you go out there alone little guy," Monty paused to enjoy the dirty look Ben was throwing him before continuing. "Which is why I'm gonna come with you."
Ben looked at him with surprise and a little bit of relief. He might've kicked up a fuss about going out there, but he was admittedly happy to have some kind of back-up with him for whatever this night would bring.

"OH, OH, ME TOO! I'll come along too!"

Ben and Monty froze, and looked away from each other to face the wiggling golden Sun as he swayed in place.
"Uh.." "Ah…"
"I'll keep you safe and fed with lots of snacks, we can play games while we go look for your friend too! Do you like Eye-Spy? Do you like Hide-And-Seek? Do you-"
Ben and Monty turned away in a small huddle while the Sun chattered on, happy in his own little world.
"Will we die if this guy comes along?"
"Probably not, he ain't the mean type."
"Not what I meant, but good to know. Will he give us away if he comes along?"
"Naw, just give him something to do so he doesn't get… Bored."
The pair glanced over their shoulders at the Sun as he continued chattering, while somehow perfectly stacking ball-pit balls on top of each other. Ben raised a brow at Monty, and Monty stared back, impassive. The pair broke the huddle and turned back to Sun, who had successfully stacked 6 balls while they were talking. Ben glanced at Monty once more, before stepping over to him, prepared to leap away if the Sun tried to hug him again.
"Sunny, you can come with us if you like, just remember you-" Too slow to react, Ben dangled from the Sun's arms again as he chattered nonsense excitedly. Monty seemed content to simply follow along as the trio made their awkward way out of the Daycare, and back into the danger of the Pizzaplex. Ben patiently ignored the swaying of his dangling limbs as he spoke to his companions.
"Alright, if you guys are coming along, our first stop is wherever Monty can get himself fixed. He's falling to pieces over there."
"You got it, new friend!"
"I know the place. Let's get goin', little guy."
"… Oh! Before we go, I just need to warn you two know about my one teeeeny tiny rule…"
"And what's that, Sunny?"
"It's about the lights…"

Chapter Text

"Alrighty friend, are you ready?" Sun twinkled as he loomed over Monty, only the twitch in his hands and shoulders giving away his nervousness. "I'll get you all cleaned up and ready to play!"
Monty scowled up in reply to the golden animatronic from his seat in the protective cylinder of Parts and Services. They'd managed to hobble their way to the main stage, as someone had coincidentally already re-activated the performance projectors and lift, and were now working to fix up and repair Monty's beaten up shell.
What Monty didn't appreciate was who had been voted by majority to help calibrate his systems during his repairs.

"And are YOU ready, Benny?" The calibrator in question called out over his shoulder. Monty turned his head to glare daggers through the bulletproof window; straight into a pair of grey-blue eyes peering out from behind a shoddily crafted scrap-metal barricade. A quick thumbs up popped up over the metal heap before darting back down.
"Ready, Sunny! Good luck you two, I have the utmost confidence in you both!" Ben encouraged from the other side of the room, as he strapped on a spare technician's helmet and goggles he'd found on a shelf.
"Alright!" The Sun crowed as he started up the machine. "I haven't been in here for a while! But don't you worry my gator-y friend, I'm sure it's easy as finger painting! Just push some buttons and pull some wires, how hard could it be?"
"If I deactivate here," Monty bellowed lowly to the scrap-metal barricade. "YOU are gonna be paying my repair fees in tears, boy."
"Got it."

No more was said as Ben stuffed his fingers in his ears and turned away, as the machine began its work, and small sparks began to fly. While Monty had assured him the repair would be easy as only his shell was really damaged, Ben was still relieved when the repair job ended with no explosions, screams or shattering glass. As much as they snipped at each other, he didn't ever want to see Monty seriously damaged as he'd come to quite like the behemoth. Not that he'd ever tell him that to his face.
"You feeling better now, Monty?" He called, removing his headgear and scratching at his flattened short hair. He stopped short at seeing Monty at his best again, no cracks and his paint shining. It felt like it'd been days since he'd seen Monty in good condition, even though it'd only been the previous afternoon. Seeing him slide on a fresh new pair of sunglasses sent an unexpected wave of security through Ben, as though he felt stronger himself now.
"Yeah, I'm feelin' fine… Lookin' fine too." Monty preened, using a claw to lower his sunglasses and admire his reflection in the cylinder window. Ben smirked over at him while Sun meandered over to stare at his own reflection, pushing and pulling at the plastic rays on his head to try and make a silly face.

Monty caught his eye in the glass and turned to poke fun at his hat-hair, but suddenly the lights seemed to flicker overhead. The Sun twitched.
Ben and Monty shared a look and immediately headed towards the exit, promising Sun they'd meet him later as they'd agreed beforehand.

"You do  what  in the dark?" Ben's head had whipped between Monty and Sun, waiting for the punchline that didn't come. "You pull some kind of Jekyll and Hyde shit if the lights turn out?"
"I have no idea what those are, but yes!" The Sun nodded, his bells jingling at his movement. "And please, mind your language!"
"And the only way to hide from your evil conjoined twin, is to hide in the weird telephone booths around the building?"
"They ain't phone booths-" Monty cut in.
"-And Moon isn't evil!" The Sun cried. "There's just something wrong with him, just like your other friends!" Ben kindly didn't correct him in that Ben hadn't even met Chica or Roxanne in person yet.

"Okay, where's the nearest booth thing?" Ben asked as they ran. Or rather Ben hobbled; with his battered limbs protesting as they were, Monty barely had to speed up to match his pace. Though even if he could sprint, he had a feeling Monty could've still outrun him easily.
The thought briefly flashed Ben back to shattering glass and steel slamming into his chest at ridiculous speed.
"Down here, just keep goin'." Monty egged him on, keeping a hand on Ben's shoulder to turn him when he needed to. They eventually reached a recharge booth, but encountered another problem.
"Right, okay. You go first and I'll… I'll figure something out." Ben said stiltedly.
Monty took up most of the booth with his broad size alone, leaving little room for Ben to fit in with him. He was puzzling over how this was going to work, when the lights went out entirely and the hall began to echo with the faint sound of bells. Ben's eyes widened like an owl, and he scrambled into a crouch before wedging himself in the only space he could; the gap between Monty's legs.
The booth door closed behind him, and the bells grew louder from outside. Ben glanced up from his tight spot on the floor, barely able to meet Monty's eyes from over his broad chestplate. They shared an uncomfortable stare and an excruciating silence as the jingling bells came and went.
As the lights eventually flickered back on, Ben exhaled a relieved sigh and relaxed, subconsciously resting his head on the gator's upper thigh before going rigid. The pregnant silence continued for a long moment more, until they both broke at the same time.
"I'll just uh-" "I think I can just-"
The pair both moved to exit at the same time, wedging themselves even closer together in the tight door space, until Ben finally slipped out from between Monty's legs and onto the maintenance hall floor. Clearing his throat, Ben made a show of dusting off his borrowed pyjamas, summoned as much dignity as he could, and nodded to him resolutely.
"Now that that's over with, let us never speak of this again."
"Gotcha."

"Hi friends!" Cooed the familiar voice of the Sun as he skipped around the corner. "I hope you didn't run into Moon! He can be such a meanie these days, it's a good thing he only shows up once an hour!"
There was a pause.
"That happens… Once an hour?"

X

The trio continued through the Pizzaplex, now actively on the hunt for Gregory, and keeping a close eye out for 'the rabbit lady' that he'd mentioned over and over while talking to Ben.
"I don't really get it," Monty added in as they turned a corner into the Backstage hallway. "There ain't been a bunny here for a long while now." He shifted slightly as he said this, avoiding eye contact with the man peering over his shoulder.
Still unable to walk faster than a limp and Sun unable to stop himself from swinging him around like a cuddly toy, Ben had been relocated to Monty's shoulders, the now-repaired gator easily carrying him in a piggyback with seemingly no effort.
"I didn't know if there was a bunny at all to be fair, so I just went with it." Ben replied, not noticing his companion's discomfort over the topic.
"Oooooh, you mean Bonnie?" The Sun leaned in, eager to chat about any topic he heard. "Real shame what happened to him, you know! I heard that he got-"
"WAIT!" Monty suddenly snapped, louder than Ben had ever heard him. The gator clapped a giant hand over the Sun's unmoving face, stopping the conversation in its tracks in favour of dead silence.
"…. What is it?" Ben whispered into where he thought the animatronic's ear might've been. Monty's eyes darted to the sides rapidly before focussing on the upcoming hallway.
"I-I think I hear Security Bots up ahead." He gestured with his shoulder, jostling his passenger and successfully changing the topic.

Monty turned out to be correct, as the narrow hallway was completely cluttered with patrolling Security Bots, scattered shelves and laundry carts. Monty even heard Roxy pacing around towards the other end of the corridor.
With no better ideas in mind, and the way back now filling up with Staff Bots as well, the trio went with Monty's plan.
Sun would go back around and meet them on the other side, as he had no excuse to give Roxy for being out of the Daycare.
Monty would drag Ben face-down along the floor by his legs like a hunted animal, and pretend he was dead.

Ben made a Herculean effort in not reacting to the dust, dirt and god knows what else that his face and torso slid over as they traversed the narrow hallway. His Montgomery-patterned pyjama shirt had long since slid down his chest, sweeping up debris and muck and smearing it against his skin as they moved along.
The Security Bots didn't even seem to register his presence as he was hauled past them, which Ben found both convenient and extremely disturbing considering they were meant to be the 'watchdogs' of the building.
Monty was kind enough to tap his finger on his ankle when he needed to turn, giving Ben a quick second to prepare for a new direction of friction burn on his face. Despite the discomfort, the plan was working and Ben knew it could've been much worse.

"What're you dragging there, Monty?" A low, feminine voice asked.
Alright, he supposed he asked for that one.
"Caught a guest after closing hours," Monty replied, the pre-programmed line coming instantly. "Escortin' him to the main security office."
"Huh." Was the reply, and Ben could feel a pair of eyes drilling into the bare skin of his back. For a heart-stopping moment he thought that Roxy was scanning his vitals or something, but by a small miracle she seemed to take his battered and bruised body at face value and continued pacing back down the hallway. He relaxed slightly against the cold floor.
"Dude's a freak for sure though, what kinda weirdo breaks in to steal pyjamas?"
Monty's resounding snort almost blew their cover.

Chapter Text

"Hey, mind the 'hawk up there. I don't want you messin' up my look."
"Your 'hair' is made of metal just like the rest of you, you'll be fine." Ben snipped from his spot on Monty's back as he continued ruffling dust from his hair. The pyjama shirt had been unsalvageable after being smeared with an entire hallways worth of dust, so Ben was only left with his Montgomery themed pyjama bottoms and slippers.
Ben didn't mind the change, he was comfortable with showing his body and the building was only a little cold. It was only him and the animatronics around as far as he knew, and they certainly didn't care about a shirtless human, he was sure.

Ben tapped at Monty's shoulder as they passed by a well-polished support beam, spotting his reflection in the dark metal and taking a moment to really look at the state of himself.
Still tall, still somewhat broad-shouldered despite his on-and-off relationship with the gym, and still incapable of growing facial hair beyond a short Balbo beard. What was different were the bruises and bandages.
Every visible part of his body was a shade of black and blue or sickly yellow, the consequences of his severe fall becoming more visible by the second and only hidden by patches of bandages and Montgomery-themed plasters. There was a darkening bruise shadowing his right eye and his upper-midriff was covered entirely by bandages for the wound in his side, almost resembling a back brace. His blue eyes travelled lower. With the ends of his pyjama trousers heavily wrinkled from Monty's fierce grip, Ben didn't doubt the flesh of his ankles was now bruised up along with the rest of his legs, not that Monty would've meant to. Ben didn't believe he meant to do any of the damage he did.
The thought of the gator brought his eyes back to his remaining clothes in distaste. Bright green Montgomery slippers with bulging pink eyes and square pom-poms for his Mohawk, and a pair of scale patterned pyjama trousers designed to look like Monty's own. The contrast between comical and harrowing was jarring to see, and Ben couldn't help but touch his fingers to what was once a light bruise from Monty clapping his hand on his shoulder, now a dark purple welt from where he'd bounced it on the linoleum floor. He heard his carrier hiss quietly below him.

"Looks pretty bad, you sure Sunny did all he could for ya?" The gator asked offhandedly, reluctant to seriously broach the topic of wounds he'd caused but too worried not to check.
This wasn't the first time Monty had accidentally injured someone, far from it. But he'd never actually gotten to see the results of his rages before now; rushed away into the dark by maintenance and security long before he came down from his fits of anger.
But something in his programming told him that he wouldn't be this concerned if it were any other human he had damaged, he wouldn't be this upset over wounds and bruises on any random guest who walked in. It was easy to pretend, to poke fun and continue as he normally did with Ben when he didn't have to see his injuries, but it was hard to ignore when it was right there for everyone to see now. To see what a bad job he was doing of taking care of his partner.

"Sunny did everything right, don't worry," Ben replied distractedly as he returned to preening his short hair. "With bruises all you can really give them is time, they're nothing to worry about."
Monty nodded and kept walking, jostling Ben's hands from his head and back onto his shoulder pads. He tried to ignore the harsh friction between his torso and Monty's back, the painted metal rubbed uncomfortably against him like going down a plastic slide with bare skin. With bruises. Ben winced and tried to relax against Monty's back in hopes of lessening the movement, but that only earned him the same friction on his collarbone and neck as well as a strange side-eye from his companion.
"Yeah okay, I'll just walk for a bit. You're rubbing the skin off my chest now." Ben patted his large partner on the shoulder before gingerly dropping himself back down to the floor. Monty raised an eyebrow but didn't argue, letting the smaller man down as gently as he could.

Ben perked up as they passed through a pair of chequered doors and pointed over to an adjacent supply room.
"I'm gonna dig in there for a shirt or something quickly, you have a look around this uh, orchestra room? And I'll be out in a sec!" Ben spoke over his shoulder, already disappearing into the dark doorway.
Monty watched him disappear before stepping further into the Backstage area. With the rows of platforms and strewn about objects and instruments, it really did look more like orchestra rehearsal than just a seating area where they'd give presentations on the Pizzaplex and its characters. He idly approached the podium in the centre of the room, stepping into the single spotlight that was still activated. It was covered in papers left by the human staff, some important, some not, one covered in pencil drawings of human genitals. He raised an eyebrow.

A sudden clatter drew his attention to the door on the other side of the room, as it was thrown open and a little boy darted in, followed by Fazbear himself. Neither seemed to see him at first, as they turned back to face the door they came from, seemingly listening for footsteps following them.
It was only when he tried to take a step towards them that the pair whipped around, the boy who he assumed was Gregory gasping at the sight of him.
"Freddy! He's back!" Gregory scrambled into the bear's hands, hands gripping Freddy's giant fingers as he was quickly lifted into his chest cavity and sealed inside. "He's gonna get me like he got Ben!"
"Do not worry Gregory, he cannot detect you if you are with me." Freddy assured, keeping an eye on Monty as he began to step move back towards the door he came from.
Meanwhile, Monty had dropped his jaw in shock. Fazbear? THE Freddy Fazbear? Not only breaking security rules, but hiding a CHILD in his chest cavity? That place is only reserved for oversized birthday cakes and piñatas! Monty almost thought he was seeing an imposter, but his scans showed the same endoskeleton number. He couldn't believe his goodie-two-shoes 'leader' was not only going against his programming, but against the security staff! He was so blown away that he almost let the pair leave without comment, but quickly gathered himself.
"Hey kid," He called to the bear's chestplate. "Come on out. We're just tryin' to help.." He began walking over, peering over his sunglasses in confusion at the singer's worried expression.
"Freddy!" Came the muffled response, though not for him. "He knows I'm in here, he's gonna get me! We have to RUN!" Freddy suddenly turned and made a break for the door he came from, surprising Monty. He was taking orders from the kid too? But before the bear could make his escape, the very door he was aiming for burst open with a bang.

"HEEELLLLOOOOooo!" The Sun beamed as he ducked in through the doorway, swaying on the spot as he towered over the room. "I made it friends! I got a little distracted on the way, did you know we have FOUR flavours of FizzyFaz? We do! We've got orange, and grape, and lime and- OH, HI Freddy! When did you get in here? We're looking for a little boy!" The Sun chattered on obliviously, completely ignoring the panicked thumping coming from inside Freddy.
"Freddy, we have to GO! NOW!" The muffled voice nearly screamed from within the bear, silencing the Sun and snapping Monty out of the unexpected moment.
"I know that muffled, hard-to-hear voice…" The Sun puzzled, before suddenly approaching Freddy at an alarming speed, his smiling face rotating as he enunciated each word. "WAIT A MINUTE, you're the Rule-Breaker!"
There was a loud wailing gasp from inside the bear, and Freddy took off like a shot away from the Sun and out the door leading to the Backstage hallway. The Sun skipped after them, completely unaware of the menacing image his giant form made in the narrow corridor. "Wait, where are you going? We can still be friends outside of the Daycare, Rule-Breaker! Don't you wanna play? I brought glitter glue! I even brought balls from the ball pit!"

Monty watched the spectacle pass by, standing in the empty room for a long moment before remembering that they were actually meant to be following that child. He hissed a wordless curse his speech filters wouldn't let him say, before making chase himself.

X

Ben stepped out of the supply room, sulking at the jacket in his hand. It was the largest he could find and it was still a size Small. Fine, he didn't even want a stupid 80's Freddy Fazbear jacket anyway (He did).
He tossed the jacket back into the dark room just as Freddy himself came skidding around the corner clutching his chestplate, darting past him and out the door without even glancing in his direction.
"What-"
Before he could finish the sentence, Sunny materialised before him as well. He chimed a 'Hello!' as he frog-jumped over Ben's head, and contorted himself through the door like a clown car.
"What the f-"
Before he could finish that sentence, Monty charged around the corner as well, barely slowing down to pluck Ben from the floor and half-crush him to his chestplate as he slammed his shoulder into the now completely destroyed door.
"What the FUCK?!" Ben roared, clinging to his shoulder pads for dear life as they stampeded through countless Security Bots after Sunny's rapidly disappearing shadow.
"Watch your cussin'!" Monty's programming replied before he could. "And hold on tight! We found that kid you were lookin' for, but he's gone and hid in Fazbear's-"
"-Chestplates, yeah!" Ben half-shouted back, trying to find his footing on the seams of Monty's hips without getting bucked off. "I hope to god that's not what you're trying to do here Monty, I'm telling you now I'm not gonna fit!"
"Even you ain't small enough for that, little guy!" Monty snorted back, before grasping the man's upper arms and flipping him over his head and onto his wide backplates. "Hold on back there, I can't slow down or we'll lose 'em!"

Monty kept moving, listening as Ben quietly swore at the back of his head as he moved himself into a stable position. Eventually, Ben managed to get his footing on Monty's belt, one hand clamped onto a shoulder pad and the other grasping his metal Mohawk like a saddle horn. Ben took the moment to acknowledge that he was technically riding a gigantic animatronic alligator like a huge mechanical bull, and how fucking cool that actually was. Then the dark side of his brain helpfully reminded him that he was riding Monty like a mechanical bull while shirtless, and all wholesome enjoyment of the moment was ruined forever.
"Oh for fucks sake…" Ben mumbled to himself, the bruises on his face covering up his blush, but not doing a thing to hide the redness of the top of his ears.
"DUCK!" Monty bellowed beneath him, leaving Ben with less than half a second to duck under a doorway that would've taken his head off. Face planted safely against the side of Monty's head, Ben got his mind back into the current situation.
"Alright Big Guy, how far ahead has Sunny gotten?" Ben shouted over Monty's deafening metal footsteps. Monty's mouth parted slightly in surprise at the new nickname, but responded quickly.
"We're not far behind, they're headed for the Backstage security office." As he said this, the pair passed under a closing security shutter and into a long hallway built to showcase four windowed dressing rooms, and a variety of museum-style display cases along the length of the hall.
"Rockstar Row," Monty answered the unspoken question as Ben pushed himself up higher to get a better view. "The band stay in those green rooms when we ain't performing. Recharging and maintenance, photo ops with guests, that sort of stuff." Ben nodded along.
"I gotta be honest with you buddy, I would lose my shit if I had a big fuck-off window to the public in my bedroom. Talk about a lack of privacy, jeez."
"Watch your cussin'!" Monty's programming responded, despite his humoured chortling. "I agree with ya, little guy. That's why I got myself a little privacy."

Monty pointed out the green themed showroom, or rather, the giant curtains and caution signs that covered it up.
"Break a few things, make a scary sound, people leave ya alone reeeal quick after that…" Monty told him, though he didn't sound happy about it, Ben realised. Before he could ask though, Monty took a hard right turn and into a doorway. Ben ducked in reflex, dodging a smack to the head and holding on tighter as Monty began ascending the stairs rapidly, the constant bouncing doing nothing to help the aching of his bruised body.
They came to a stop outside the security office, the two security doors weirdly painted with green and pink guitars and came to a sharp halt next to the Sun. or rather, the front half of the Sun.
"OH, hi friends! You didn't tell me your little friend was the Rule-Breaker, Ben! I've met him before! Moon has too, he likes him!"
Ben and Monty shared a side glance.
"I was just playing tag with him y'know, when all of the sudden this pesky door just falls down on me! What are the odds of that! Sorry for losing your friend Ben, I-I can draw you a picture to make it up to you! Or a puppet, I can make puppets!"
"Don't worry about it Sunny," Ben climbed down from his perch on Monty's shoulders to pat one of the Sun's plastic rays. "You did your best and that's all we could ask of you. Now hold on and let me see if I can get that door open." The Sun beamed at him as he disappeared out of sight through the other doorway. Ben couldn't stop his smile at seeing Sunny kicking his legs like a teenage girl on the other side of the door, and quickly found the Freddy shaped door button the kid had pressed to trap his enthusiastic friend. He knew bringing along the Daycare animatronic would probably bite him in the ass later, but god damn, the guy was endearing.
There was a great creak as the door rose and Sunny pulled himself to his full height with a cheer, though not before hitting his head on the doorway on the way up. Ben loved him to bits.

"So where do we look for the kid now?" Monty asked as he stepped into the empty security office. He furrowed his brows at the missing security card that he knew should've been there. Was the kid collecting them, and if so, why? He brought this up to Ben, only for the Sun to interrupt.
"Oh! That reminds me, the little Rule-Breaker-"
"Gregory, Sunny."
"-The little Gregory dropped one of these on his way out! I think he had two! Maybe he's going to a party, or he's gonna win a prize, or he's going to…"
Ben tuned out the Sun's unending chatter as he stepped closer to Monty to see what the golden animatronic was holding.
Dangling from the Sun's long fingers was a Party Pass.

Chapter Text

"We have to find another way of doing this," Ben whispered from between Monty's legs. It was the fourth time he'd been in that position in the same night, and he wasn't exactly loving it. "I'm gonna have the thighs of Odysseus by the end of all this squatting."
A metal hand planted itself over his face, muzzling his mouth as the sound of bells jingled through the door. The Moon paused in front of the recharge station, crooning threats of punishment with a kind of relish Ben couldn't even begin to associate with his golden counterpart. Fluttering midnight blue fingertips tapped on the metal door as a ghostly half-moon eclipsed the round window of the recharge station.
Ben clapped his own hands over Monty's, squashing his nose but quiet as a mouse when the Moon's red pinpoint eyes flitted about the tiny booth.
"Hidey hide… Hide away…" The ghoul's voicebox creaked as he slid out of sight, and the lights flickered back on. Monty finally removed his hand, and Ben wheezed out a slow breath of relief.

"You ever wonder how he just vanishes from the entire corridor in the flick of a light switch?" He asked conversationally as his big friend stepped over him to leave the booth. "I didn't even hear a door open… Or close!"
"Naw, he'd have gotten in the vents, they're a good shortcut." Monty pointed to a comically-oversized open vent in the wall, complete with convenient cardboard boxes stacked in a perfect staircase formation underneath it. Ben's eye twitched.
"… Why is this place so WEIRD?" He threw his hands over his head and limped away, Monty following with a laugh. "And how'd you know about vent shortcuts? It's not like you'd fit in there, surely?"
The gator turned to him as they walked, pulled down his shades with a claw and winked.
"… What the F-"
"Watch your cussin' before I wash that mouth out! I swear, I ain't ever met a kid as foul-mouthed as you, little guy." The gator scolded amusedly, peering down over his sunglasses.
"Probably because I'm 25 years old, you prat! I can curse like a sailor if I so please." Ben swatted his arm before leaning on it, his hobbling slowing down some. "There's no way you'd fit in any vent, you're having me on. You'd have to cut yourself in half to even chance it!" Monty just chortled without a reply.

X

The pair continued on until they returned to the Atrium. The only difference in the large hall being the small herd of Staff Bots, sweeping debris into a small mountain of glass under the balcony they had tumbled from.
That, and the fact that Roxanne was pacing back and forth just underneath the centre stage area, ignoring the chattering golden sun that was following her every step.
The Sun spotted them over her head immediately, throwing his arms up in a dramatic wave as though they wouldn't spot his enormous form otherwise. Ben gawked before half-ducking behind Monty's wide back, violently pointing at the back of Roxy's head and miming a pair of walking legs with his other hand. Charades Champion of the Daycare since the day it opened, Sunny understood immediately. And proceeded to whoop like a siren.
"SECURITY ALERT! SECURITY ALERT! A LITTLE BOY JUST RAN INTO THE KITCHENS!"
"WHERE?!" The she-wolf snarled, immediately sprinting away and across the hall before disappearing into the kitchens. "I will be the one to catch him! I'm the BEST!"

Ben waited a few seconds until her clanking footsteps had faded before hobbling over to the Sun with a little cheer.
"Wahey! Nice one Sunny, that was great!"
"Thank you, new friend! You did great too! You're really good at pointing at things!" The Sun gently spun his battered friend around with a cackle, his incredibly patronising compliment completely genuine.
Monty watched as the pair hugged and spun around him, not wanting to join in with the physical affection yet somehow still annoyed at not being included. He hissed and folded his huge arms, looking around the hall for something else to look at that wasn't his newly favoured guest being manhandled by the increasingly annoying Sun. His interest was piqued by a small gift box sitting in the Party Check-In desk. He plucked the comparatively tiny box up in one hand, and decided that this would work to get his companion's interest back on him.

"Hey, little guy!"
Ben turned on the spot and faced him just in time to get clocked in the nose by the flying gift box, comically flopping onto the floor at a shocked Sunny's feet with a grunt. Monty clapped his hands over his snout with a sharp little snap, immediately trampling his way over despite Ben's placating hand waving.
"I'm alright, it's alright! Don't worry, it's only bumped me-" Ben tried to soothe as the hulking alligator lifted him with one hand and started tapping around his face with the other. Ben didn't have the heart to tell him that that wasn't how you checked for breaks in a nose, and just let him have his moment while the Sun flustered his way around them like a nervous orbiting planet.
Eventually the gator grunted in satisfaction and placed him back down, unwilling to apologise out loud but very gently placing the gift box in his hands as his way of making amends.
"I uh, found that. Might be useful." Monty told him, clearly pretending the past few minutes had not happened. Ben just nodded along, looking over the box in interest. He wound the handle on its side and hoped for some kind of helpful tool, or if he was lucky, a key to the exit.

Ben's eyebrow twitched.
"OH how cute!" Sunny howled, swinging the prize through the air like a toddler from his Daycare. "It's like you had a little baby, Monty! We'll call him Montgomery Jr and take him everywhere we go! Here friend, he has strings attached, so I can tie him like this so you'll never ever lose him!"
Ben stared ahead, pretending he wasn't there as The Sun cheerfully tied the small Montgomery Gator Piñata around his shoulders until it hung on him like a backpack.
"That is so cute! Cute, cute, cute!" Sunny jingled, dancing on the spot as he finished securing the paper companion to Ben's back. Ben for his part, sighed and thanked the well-meaning golden robot for his 'help', patting the visibly amused Monty on the arm as he went by. Even if his plan hadn't gone exactly as he wanted, Monty was still pretty satisfied with getting Ben's attention off of the loudmouth sun and back onto him. Seeing even more of his own merch slapped all over the guy was just a hilarious bonus.
"You really are my number one fan, aren't you?" He leered, delighting at his partner's sour face and reddening ears. Ben didn't dignify him with a response as they stopped to consider the crossroads of their destinations.

"Right… So once Party Pass, two possible locations… But which one would Gregory go to?" Ben held up the pass as he looked between the Gator Golf display across the Atrium, and the Fazer Blast doors behind the nearby escalators.
"The Rule-Breaker? Oh I bet he'd go to Fazer Blast! Naughty little boys like that would love playing with guns, yes they would!" The Sun nodded emphatically. Ben tried to wipe the image of Gregory carrying a glock from his mind as he turned to hear Monty's opinion.
"The kid's pretty scared a' me, don't think he'd be coming over to my territory any time soon." The gator agreed, gesturing with his long snout towards the Fazer Blast security doors. Trusting their judgement, he clapped them both on the back and headed towards the space-themed attraction.
"Let's get going boys, we're going on a bear hunt!"

X

Ben peered up at the indoor Ferris wheel, hands cupped around his face like binoculars to better see his tall and yellow friend as they clung onto the UFO themed pods for dear life, turning over and over at high speed.
"How did this happen again?" Ben spoke to his right without looking away, Monty at his side and watching with crossed arms.
"He uh, jumped right on while you were lookin' in the back, must've accidentally started it up," Monty told him, leaving out the part that the Sun had been nowhere near the controls, or that the controls were now smashed to sparking pieces. "I guess it's just us two this round."

Ben nodded absently, not wanting to leave his eccentric friend but really not having the time to figure out how to fix a Ferris wheel.
"Try and catch up with us when you can, Sunny! We'll be up ahead!" He called up apologetically, but the Sun waved him off.
"Go on ahead, friends! I'll be down there in a jiffyyYYYyyyy-" His squeals and shouts faded out behind them as the pair handed the Party Pass Bot his namesake, earning a funky little dance before they were shooed into an elevator.

"Well," Ben smiled over at Monty after a long moment of elevator music. "It's been a while since it's just been us two wandering the place, hasn't it? I'm almost sad we didn't go back to Monty Golf for a rematch, despite your cheating!"
Monty smirked back with a bark of laughter, a lot happier about his words than he ever wanted to let on.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Ben's eyes bulged as he began looking around the elevator for the source, suddenly very aware that they were locked in a dangling metal box.
"What the hell is that?" Ben murmured, voice low as he subconsciously stepped in closer to Monty, trusting him to back him up. The alligator noticed the gesture and his ego skyrocketed at the thought of being considered a trusted 'protector' by his chosen number one fan.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Ben whipped around on the spot, hands raising for action and eyes darting to the source of the sound.

Monty stared intently at the elevator door, not reacting to the curious eyes boring into the side of his head as his enormous tail continued to thump happily against the back wall.
"It's a swimming protocol," Monty lied, refusing to tell his little friend that his tail was wagging like a stupid dog all because of him. "Makes the tail move, for swimming. Must be glitchin' out."
"Ahh," Ben looked away, trusting in his blatant lie with no question. "I didn't know you could swim, I absolutely never want to see it."
Monty gave a loud grunting laugh then, remembering his little buddy's 'issue' with underwater mechanical stuff.
"That's what'd get you scared of little ol' me? No teeth, no claws, but a little dip in some dirty old water?" Ben threw a filthy side-eye at the long, smirking snout that was drifting into his peripheral vision. "It ain't too late to run on back to the Daycare little boy, you might see a scaaary water fountain out here…"
"I hate you Montgomery, I want you to know that deep down I really do hate you."
Monty was still chortling long after the elevator came to a stop, tail still swaying from side to side as he followed the funny little man into the neon lit lobby of Fazer Blast.

X

"Y'know I like this cutesy drawing version a lot more than the real deal," Ben remarked as he ran a finger over the wall print of Monty in a space helmet. The pair had paused to sniff around the entry lobby, in case the kid had left any hint of being there, or in case of an adult sized shirt. There was no sign of either. "Doesn't talk, doesn't laugh like a Batman villain, doesn't pull my ears like a 6 year old…"
"If you didn't want your ears pulled, ya shouldn't have cut your hair so short." Monty retorted, pointing up to his own metal Mohawk to emphasise the point. Honestly he just found human ears to be something of a novelty due to the lack of his own, the weird elasticity of them was amusing to pull at with his claws. Gently, of course. Most of the kids he played with during the day found it funny.
Ben however, not appreciating the novelty, clapped his hands over his ears and steamed as they travelled through a spaceship themed doorway labelled with 'Entry'.

"You've never had a haircut in your life! You wouldn't know the true intricacies of ears and fashion." Ben sniffed snobbily, starting to smile despite himself as they followed the futuristic tunnel.
"By the look of your cut, neither do you." The gator shot back easily, breaking Ben's resolve and making him laugh. The tall man patted his companion on the back as they approached the pre-show room, immediately being spotted by the helmeted Staff Bot on the platform.
"You must be the new Fazer Blast recruit, from the looks of you." The Staff Bot said to them tonelessly. "The Orange / Blue Team hasn't got a chance." Ben snorted at the blunt two-facedness of the Bot, listening with growing amusement as it ran through its unending list of 'Rule 1'. Though his brows rose higher and higher when the Bot began mentioning risks of seizures, blindness and semi-permanent paralysis from the blasters, with the only cure being to flush your eyes with soapy water. Only at this Pizzaplex would you ever hear such unrepentant bullshit being said seriously, Ben thought.

Following what was possibly the most baffling disclaimer Ben had ever heard in his life, the pair finally attempted to walk through into the Fazer Blast arena. Just before he stepped through though, Ben was halted by a short alarm from the Staff Bot.
"Guests are prohibited from entering with animatronic performers, this is considered cheating and may result in your team being disqualified." The Bot informed him. "Please enter the arena separately, and have fun."

"Well, that's a problem," Ben said solemnly. "We don't want to be seen as cheaters, do we? I suppose we'll have to go in separately after all, big guy."
The pair looked at each other gravely for a long moment, before they both slipped into identical crooked smirks.
"Like that'll ever happen," Monty chortled, gathering a laughing Ben onto his shoulders and piggybacking him through the doorway, the Bot only registering one pair of legs passing through.

The pair continued on through the neon tunnel, Ben snatching up a safety helmet and FazerBlaster™ as they went by, and were quickly sorted into the Blue Team tunnel. A quick elevator ride later and the pair were released into a bright maze of dark walls with softly glowing 'alien' patterns.
"Alright big guy, let's see if we can track down Gregory or Freddy."
"Got it, let's head this way. I ain't been here in a while, but I know the way to the Winner's Elevator." Ben smirked down at him from his perch.
"I bet you know the way to the loser's elevator by heart."
"Only from escorting little guys like you, crying back to their mama."
The pair continuing their light-hearted taunted through the maze of walls and the occasional Alien Bot. Much to Monty's amusement, Ben was abysmal with a gun, having never even touched a toy one in his life before. Monty covered for him gladly, ripping the Alien Bots apart with his strength and claws.
"… They don't feel pain do they? When you do that?" Ben asked in concern, looking back at the sparking remains they'd left behind.
"Uh, no." Monty told him to appease his worry, though quickly sent himself an internal ping to double check if that were true later.

After a while though, the pair noticed they were coming across old Bots they had already 'defeated', and the more they travelled the more then ended up right back at the entrance of the arena.

"Monty," He began, his large friend already crossing his arms defensively. "When you said you knew the way to the Winner's Elevator-"
"Alright, alright, so I'm a little rusty with directions. Come over here." Ben blinked in confusion as he was carefully lifted up from under his thighs and held firmly against the alligator's chestplate.
"Uh-"
"Brace ya'self..."
"For whaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
Ben howled like wounded dog as the ground suddenly rocketed away from under him. An incredible yet terrible feeling of weightlessness filled him as he hung in the air for a single second, before coming down to a much more sudden stop.
"… You good there? Hello? Hey, little guy!"
Ben snapped out of his 100 mile stare as he realised he was still alive, and clinging onto Monty's neck like a wet cat. Trembling from instant adrenaline, Ben looked down at the distant ground around them. Somehow, Monty had bounded them up onto a high walkway above Fazer Blast, and he could see everything in the whole room below them.
He became aware of Monty shaking him lightly to get his attention, turning his wide eyed stare onto the gator as he slowly unlatched himself from the metal giant, demanding answers.
"Part of my design," Monty explained with as few words as possible. "Programmed me to jump real high… Yeah, nobody told me why neither." He continued at Ben's baffled stare. Who had thought an alligator of all things needed a super-jump?
Finally back on his own feet and adrenaline no longer smothering the dull ache of his bruised body, Ben pulled off his Fazer Blast helmet and sat down in the middle of the walkway to rest, unwilling to risk leaning on the side in case he slipped and fell. Monty looked down at him for a moment, then turned around to pace up the walkway, looking over the sides for any sign of the elusive Gregory.

X

It wasn't long into this that Ben heard a sudden loud and destructive sounding smash of metal and glass breaking. He bolted up from his half asleep lounging on the walkway and quickly hobbled up to where the noise had come from, snatching up his helmet as he went. The source was obvious, someone had torn a door clean off of the office at the end of the walkway with said door teetering precariously over the edge of the railing.
Ben edged around the heavily dented door and quickly ducked into the room. As expected, Monty had been the culprit. He was tense though, arms lifted slightly as though prepared to attack as his head turned to scope out the dark room around him.

"Monty, what happened…?" Ben asked as he approached, but then he saw and understood very clearly.
Someone had been living in the room above Fazer Blast, and not only living but scheming in their rats' nest. The walls were covered in spraypaint and newspaper clippings, 'VANNY' spelled out along one wall and surrounded by clippings all centred around local missing children. There were dozens of them, some younger, some older, boys and girls. All missing. The floor was decrepit, covered in stains and crusted over spillages, empty food packaging and dust so thick he could barely see the chequered floor under it all. The only light in the room came from the 'EXIT' sign, and a single functioning arcade machine titled 'Princess Quest III'. Ben took a step towards it when Monty suddenly snarled at the disgusting mattress on the floor. Ben stepped up beside him and echoed the sound himself.

Whoever the sick fuck was that lived here, was worse than evil and fouler than disgusting. The mattress was ancient and soaked through with dried blood, the single cotton pillow was yellow with grease and red spattered, where someone had slept in their own filth for a long, long time. What was worse were the newspaper clippings, even more missing children tucked under the limp pillow… Like keepsakes of a fond memory.
Ben retched in the back of his throat and turned away from the view, tugging at Monty's arm before he lost his temper and ripped the room apart. They stared at each other, neither expecting to find anything like this up here, and terrified of the implications.
Not a word was said while they were in the room, but a glint of reflected light caught Ben's eye. He patted his friend's arm in an unthinking gesture of comfort and stepped around him, approaching the chair in the corner. It was the only thing in the entire room that was clean, and on top of it was a clean set of clothes. A few pairs of pressed black trousers and white uniform shirts. Whoever was hiding up here in this twisted shrine of missing kids, was cleaning themselves up and hiding amongst the public.
Ben's eyes caught the reflected light again, and fell upon a polished badge engraved with Freddy Fazbear's smiling face. Oh no.

"Freddy! HELP ME!"

Ben and Monty's heads snapped towards the mangled doorway.
""GREGORY!""

Chapter Text

The walkway creaked and shook from Monty's weight as the pair stampeded along it, heads on a swivel trying to pinpoint where the sounds of crashing and screaming were coming from.
"Who wants caaandy?"
"There!" Ben pointed, just as one of the glowing walls of the maze was knocked over in a dented heap. "It's the dove!"
Monty was already on the move, gathering up his flesh and bone friend so he could safely bound back down to the arena.
"Chica's a chicken, Rockstar." The gator corrected as he fell, absorbing the impact with his powerful leg suspension. Ben didn't get to reply, as the wall next to them suddenly dented outwards and fell down with a loud creak. 'Chica' looked different to when Ben had seen first her at the stage, gleaming and surrounded by adoring children. Now she was cracked here and there, visibly dirtier with dirt and stains with what looked to be a pizza crust wedged behind her fake teeth. She twitched and groaned as she collided with the walls, head lopsided as she slowly cornered the young boy against the Winner's Elevator.
"Greeeegoryyyy…"
The boy pressed his back into the wall as far as it would go, desperately looking for the elevator button but recoiling down to the floor as the chicken stepped on his last defence, crushing the FazerBlaster he had dropped under her heavy foot.
"I'm just trying to help…"
She raised her hands towards him, the strong motors in her fingers ready and able to crush his bones in her grasp. The boy cried out for Freddy again, pulling in his knees and burying his face in them to hide as Chica closed in.

"Help this, you cheeky cow!"
Ben's shout had both Gregory and Chica's heads snapping up, as a humongous green leg snapped out like a striking python, launching the skinny bird chestplates-first from the boy and bowling over another glowing wall.
Monty stepped out in front of the cowering child, green metal reflecting the neon lights and arms raised for a fight as Ben balanced on his back, clutching his own FazerBlaster. Monty looked up at him as he hovered over his head.
"Give the kid the gun, you ain't gonna be any good with it." He told him, referring to the multiple times Ben had not only missed his shot at the Alien Bots, but somehow ricocheted the shot back into his own face instead. Ben conceded the point and looked back over their shoulders at the gobsmacked child they had finally managed to track down. Slightly envious at how clean Gregory had managed to keep himself in comparison to his own sorry state, Ben held out the FazerBlaster handle-first to him.
"Good to finally find you, Gregory! Hold onto this for me would you? We're going to get you out of here!"

Gregory continued gawking up at the man like he'd seen a ghost as he snatched the toy gun, clinging to his new defence like a lifeline.

When Gregory had first met Ben, he'd considered him another nosy, annoying pain in his butt who just wouldn't go away. Asking too many questions and trying to take him back home, back to that horrible house with those horrible people. He'd seen the type before, good intentioned old folks and greedy adults hoping for a reward for his return. He'd have sooner starved on the street than go back to that place, he still would.
But when he and Freddy had found Ben again after he'd gotten locked in, the annoying adult quickly became another chance for help and Gregory had clung to him desperately. He'd told him about the terrible time he'd had and the horrible frightening lady who had followed him, and Ben had believed him!
He didn't shake his head and tell him that 'sometimes children think things are much worse than they are' or outright call him a liar like the social workers had when he'd come to them for help before. He didn't fling him aside as 'not worth the overtime' like his teachers once had. He really listened, and he promised to watch out for him. Him AND Freddy.
In that moment, Gregory decided to stay by the man's side and for the first time in a long time, tried to trust that the man would keep him safe.

And then he had watched him die to that monster. He'd slammed his small hands on the inner-lining of Freddy's chestplate and cried out as he watched another chance at real safety be snatched away and thrown over the edge of the glass balcony, out of his sight. He'd been inconsolable, panicking and scrambling in his cramped hiding place as Freddy relocated them to safety, his clanking footsteps still not loud enough to hide the deafening crash of metal hitting the floor below them. It had been a cold confirmation to Gregory that he was never going to be safe here, maybe anywhere, and he'd clung harder to Freddy as his last and only comfort or protector.

But that wasn't true, was it? The man he'd thought had died was still here, and of all things was riding on the monster that Gregory thought had killed him! Although, Gregory didn't know why the man was shirtless, or wearing pyjama pants and a helmet. In fact the man looked more like he'd been lost in the wilderness for two weeks instead of one night in a Pizzaplex; covered in dirt, bruises and bandages as he clung onto the giant alligator's back like some kind of pyjama-clad Australian Viking. Gregory looked himself over as the taller duo stepped forward to continue fighting back Chica, only spotting some dust on his elbows and knees from crawling through the vents. What the heck did adults get up to when he wasn't around?

"Aim for the beak, Monty! The beak!" Ben encouraged from his shoulders as Monty continued throwing his fists and claws at the lurching bird to keep her away, desperately wanting to get down and get some distance from the literal heavy-weight match going on, but being jolted around too much to try.
"I know that, just lean back and stay outta my way!" Monty bit back, raising an arm to block Chica's grasping hand from his face.
"How do we beat her? We can fix her without destroying her, right?" Ben yelped into his ears, heart in his throat as one of Chica's arms came way too close to one of his Montgomery slippers.
"How the heck would I know!"
"What do you mean, 'how would I know'- You had the exact same glitch!" Ben threw his hands up on impulse, almost toppling off of Monty's back as he threw an enraged punch in the same second. Chica had gotten a grasp on his other arm, and was starting to drag herself closer, cracked fingerplates digging into Monty's joints. Ben's eyes bulged and he twisted his neck to speak to the kid behind him.

"Gregory! What did you do to Freddy to fix him?!" He called out desperately as Chica caught hold of Monty's other arm, locking her fingers into his elbow joint and trying to bring her surprisingly sharp beak closer to his furious red eyes.
"I-I don't know!" Gregory shouted behind them, frantically trying to remember what Freddy had told him when they first met. "I think, I think he fell down on stage and hit his head!"
"He hit his head?!" Ben repeated in disbelief, entirely lost on how that was meant to help him. Monty snarled as Chica's beak clipped his eye-ridge, leaving a small crack to chip his green paint. Ben's eyes zeroed in on the tiny crack, that was once much larger.
"He hit his head..?" He repeated slowly, the alligator under his hands starting to shake with effort as Chica viciously pecked at his face. Monty roared in outrage when he couldn't move his joints out from Chica's steel grip, his impressive strength and claws nearly useless as the heavily glitching chicken dried to gouge out his eyes. He snarled and snapped his sharp jaws, getting desperate when one of Chica's convulsive jabs almost hit Ben.
"Ben..!"
"Oh fuck, he hit his head!" Ben suddenly shouted, wrenching off his helmet as both animatronics turned their heads up to look at him.
"Mind your cussin'!" "That's not very polite langua-"
Chica's pre-programmed response was cut off as Ben unceremoniously walloped her with his Fazer Blast helmet as hard as he could, caving in the ridge above her eye and sending her sparking to the floor with a heavy thud.

He dropped the helmet and clapped a hand over his mouth with a shocked squeak, relieved and horrified that it had actually worked.
"Oh my god I killed the chicken."
Monty huffed a relieved laugh from under his other hand, quickly reaching into his elbows to fix the joints back into place.
"Naw you didn't, just put her down for maintenance is all. Great job, Rockstar." His long jaw opened as he tilted his head up to grin at Ben, the man still staring at the 7 foot giant he'd just knocked out with a novelty lazer-tag helmet.
"… Why didn't I just do that when we were arm wrestling?"
Monty snorted and set the man back on his feet, leaving him to sort out the kid while he checked over Chica's systems.

"You arm wrestled with Monty?" The boy asked suddenly, his voice a bit surprising after being frightened silent during the intense fight. Ben blinked at him and quickly hobbled over on his achy legs, eyes scanning him for any injuries or damages.
"Yeah, first thing I did when I got here actually. I won of course-"
A chunk of broken plastic wall bounced off the back of his head.
"I lost of course," Ben continued on as if he hadn't been interrupted. "But it was a very near win, I had him on the ropes." He continued checking the boy's arms and legs for any scrapes or cuts, Gregory peering over his shoulder at the alligator shaking his head at him with a deadpan expression. Gregory still wasn't sure on how to feel about Monty, the alligator had been one of the most ferocious when hunting him, ferocious and destructive. Yet Ben didn't seem concerned about him at all, throwing jabs over his shoulder at the giant gator as he helped Gregory back onto his feet.

"How are you okay?" Gregory suddenly blurted out, unable to silence the question he'd had bouncing in his mind since they appeared. "He-He knocked you down, he got you, I saw it! I thought he got you for good…"
The boy looked away, too defensive and proud to show he was tearing up from the terrible fear he had felt all night. Ben cringed a bit, realising the poor boy really had thought he'd been torn to smithereens right in front of him, but didn't know the first thing about comforting a child. He decided the best he could do was try and aim for friendly and up-beat, and hope for the best.
"Well," Ben began, trying to seem as casual and unaffected as he could. "I got a little beaten up from the fall, but only a few bruises! Not a big deal, it was actually Monty here who got the real battering. Smacked himself on the head on the way down, which actually fixed up whatever was wrong with him! It all worked out in the end really!"
Ben continued his light hearted comforting, not mentioning the jagged wound in his side or Monty's generally still destructive behaviour for fear of scaring the boy any more than he already was. It seemed to work and Gregory finally seemed to relax a bit, loosening his death grip on his new FazerBlaster.

At least, he did until Chica twitched with a clucking sound. Gregory immediately tucked himself behind Ben's legs, eyes fixed on the bird as she slowly, slowly, rose to her feet with a lurch. Monty stepped in next to Ben, both of them leaning forward at the ready.
"Who wants caaandy..?" The chicken's voice box groaned out as she stood to her full height and turned her head to stare the two humans in the face.

And immediately broke the tension by sticking a finger into the back of her beak in the most disgusting manner possible.
"Because I think I have some stuck in my beak!" She chirped, metal finger picking out a stale looking pizza crust from behind her fake row of teeth. Ben's face immediately contorted in disgust and Gregory couldn't help but give a half-amazed and half-relieved giggle at the gross visual.
"Oh that is dreadful, I hate it here." Ben told Monty, Chica smiling unabashedly as she daintily trotted over, her previous lurch entirely gone despite her damages.
"Howdy hi, cutie-pie!" Chica chimed down at Gregory sweetly. "What are you two doing out here after dark, sugar?"
Gregory seemed taken with her instantly, smiling up at her before turning back to Ben in amazement. As far as he was concerned, Ben might as well have been a world-famous brain surgeon for fixing Chica back to the way she was. He hadn't told Freddy for fear of upsetting him, but Chica had been Gregory's favourite band member before this night and now she was being kind and funny just like before!

Entirely unaware that he'd just drop-kicked himself into 'superhero' status alongside Freddy in Gregory's eyes, Ben scratched his nose as he meandered over to Monty, helping with his joints as he explained the situation to the tall hen. By the time he had caught her up on the night's events, Gregory cutting in with his own adventures involving security cards, she was bawking at Monty for confirmation. At his nod, she gently covered Gregory's ears with her large hands, and proceeded to brashly exclaim "What the CLUCK?!"
Instantly incredulous, Ben turned to Monty and pointed at the hen's beak.
"What- Why does she get to say that, and I can't say fuc-"
"Watch your cussin'!" "Mind your language!"
With both animatronics refusing to elaborate on why Chica was the only one in the building allowed to somewhat swear, Ben gave up entirely and just let the smallest member of his new party lead them into the Winner's Elevator.
"Sorry big guy, you're not allowed in this elevator, you need to take the other one."
"And how many tries did it take you to blast a Bot once, Rockstar?"
"… Just shut up and get in the lift."

Chapter Text

"Gregory! I am so glad to see you are safe, Superstar!" Freddy held Gregory close and smoothed out his hair, surprised but delighted when the young boy dashed out of the Fazer Blast elevator to hug his leg. "I am so proud of you for winning Fazer Blast! Did you collect your prize?"
The bear beamed down at his charge when he proudly waved his new Fazer Blaster, but tilted his head when the boy looked back into the elevator.
"Freddy! I found Ben, he's still alive!" The little lad exclaimed, nearly vibrating in his excitement to share the good news, before looking thoughtful. "And he kinda smells bad."
The large bear furrowed his metal brow, trying to find the correct protocol for helping children process grief and loss if they ever found a dead body.
"Gregory, I am so sorry… But-"
"Did you just tell the rockstar bear that I stank?" Ben griped as he stepped gingerly out of the elevator, hen and alligator on his heels. "You couldn't have said I was cool, or charming? Heroic even? No, I just stink to high heaven."
"Your words, not ours." Monty smirked wickedly at his side, taking the swat on his arm like a medal of honour as Chica giggled.

"Montgomery! Chica!" Freddy rose to his feet, surprised to see his friends together, and behaving as they were yesterday again! And Guest Profile: Ben was here too, injured but definitely not dead!
Initially, Freddy hadn't detected any differences in the performers' behaviour, unable to truly understand what Gregory had been trying to tell him until he'd witnessed one of his own band members tackle a guest over the edge of a balcony. To say he had been devastated was an understatement, horrified that one of his friends was even capable of harming a human, let alone actually doing it!
Since that terrible moment in the Atrium, Freddy had barely let Gregory out of his sight, not wanting him to take any more risks than absolutely necessary in case anything happened to the young man.
But Gregory was a Superstar and was always brave enough to do what needed to be done for them to escape, such as going into Fazer Blast to get something to help defend himself. Freddy couldn't be prouder of his little charge.

After the group had finished giving the singer a run-down on all that had happened, Freddy stood tall and patted Chica warmly on the shoulder.
"I am so relieved to find you all together and no longer malfunctioning. It is good to know that we can solve this problem together, and stop anyone else from getting hurt! I am so proud of you, Superstars!"
He finished his small speech with a glowing smile that radiated warmth and happiness, to the point that Ben, Chica and Gregory couldn't help but stand and bask in it for a moment.
Monty stood by his partner's side, watching his blissful expression with minor disgust before leisurely plucking him from the floor and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack. Ben spluttered, nearly bumping his wound as his bandaged stomach was squashed into Monty's shoulder pad, the piñata on his back swinging along cheerily as Monty set off towards the Atrium.
"Enough talkin', let's get outta here." He told the group, feeling Ben plant his elbow on his backplate, resting his chin on his hand as he snarked the reptile.
"Lead the way, you pointy-toothed cluck-"
"Watch your cussin'!" "Mind your language!" "Benjamin! Mind your language in the Pizzaplex!"
"Are you KIDDING ME?"

X

It wasn't long into their travels that Freddy belated realised Monty had been in Fazer Blast when he wasn't meant to, and spent a hefty amount of time admonishing Ben and Monty for letting him down by cheating.
By the end of his chiding, Monty was still entirely unphased and Ben felt like he had committed every crime that had ever been done. He would sooner take an electric chair in a hot-tub than ever have that bear disappointed in him again, he vowed to himself.

His self-reflections of sin and crime against Freddy Fazbear were interrupted by a familiar sound. A very familiar sound.
He tapped Monty's shoulder sharply, bringing him and the rest of the group to a halt as he listened closely. The noise was muffled, coming from the Kid's Cove area and Ben quickly detached himself from his partner to investigate. Sticking his ear up against the security door, the sound was louder, but still too muffled to make out. Taking the risk, Ben quietly waved a hand over the motion sensors that would open the door.

"WEE WOO, WEE WOO, WEE WOO, WEE WOO-"

Clapping his hand over his face for a brief second, Ben quickly ducked under the rising door and into the beach themed Kid's Cove. He eyed the giant hook-handed fox looming over the area as he cupped his hands around his mouth.
"Sunny! Sunny, where are you?" He called, looking around the area for the cheery attendant.
"WEE WOO, WEE- Oh! Hello new friend! I'm up here!"
Ben looked up; and up, and up and stopped. Sometimes words failed even the most clever and quick-tongued of men. Monty stepped up to his side, looking almost impressed at the sight and asking what Ben could not find the strength to.
"My my, Sunny... How DID you get in there?" He asked in a slightly sing-song way, far more amused than he was concerned.
For high above their heads and peering through the upper railing of the ceiling-tall lighthouse, was Sunny's head, apparently acting at the 'beacon' for the top of the lighthouse. Ben couldn't see where his body was, but the smiling animatronic didn't seem bothered by it, as he beamed down at them without a care in the world.
"Hi friends! And hello other friends, I'm so glad to see you found each other Benny! Though you shouldn't stay here too long! I'm waiting here for Roxy!"
""… Why?"" Ben and Monty asked in sync, Ben's hand going to his forehead in exasperation.
"Because she told me to!" Sunny told them, his bells jingling from… Somewhere, as he continued his enthusiastic chatter. "I asked her if she wanted to play Eye-Spy or Guess Who or Russian Roulette-" Ben's head snapped back up at that one. "-Or Monopoly, and she said she would play with me aaallllllllll day if I waited up here in this lighthouse for her!"
"… And uh, how long ago was that, Sunny?" Ben asked, face in his hands as Gregory watched on from behind Freddy, his intimidating image of the Sun animatronic shattered forever.
"About five minutes after you left for Fazer Blast!" The Sun answered obliviously, completely unaware that he'd been ditched by the she-wolf long ago.

Monty and Ben swivelled their heads to face each other as the Sun began shouting enthusiastic greetings and chatter down to Freddy, Chica and Gregory, who was rapidly warming up to him again.
There was a small pause.
"I'm gonna tell him." "Don't you dare."
The gator smirked at Ben's attempt to keep a straight face, watching as it slowly broke each time the golden animatronic's bells jingled above them.

"Hey, guess what!" "What is it, sugar?" "I can't feel my legs anymore!"

Ben snorted loudly and dropped his head into his hands as he cackled, the alligator throwing his massive arm over his friend's shoulder and joining in with a low, rumbling laugh, like an oncoming storm.
Freddy watched them from afar, tilting his head at his bandmate's completely unheard of behaviour. He caught Chica's eye and gestured with his head in question, and she smiled at him secretively and winked as she pointedly interlocked her fingers together, holding her own hand.
Freddy's eyes widened in surprise, glancing over at the pair and back to Chica's affirming nod. Was that even possible? Their programming allowed them to get attached, but this-?

"What the heck are you two doing?"
Both animatronics jumped and looked down at Gregory, realising he'd caught onto their nonverbal gossiping and was waiting for an answer.
"Nothing to worry about Superstar, we were simply communicating over an unimportant issue." He soothed, not wanting to start a rumour in case they were wrong. It was against his programming! Gregory nodded and continued chattering to the Sun, the pair now getting along swimmingly without the fear of death looming over him. Freddy and Chica exchanged another side-glance over the boy's head before both leaning back nosily to listen in on the now-bickering pair behind them.

"H-Hey, friends?" The Sun suddenly called down to them, sounding a bit uneasy.
"Yes Sunny," Ben called back with a laugh in his voice, swatting at the metal hand that was trying to pull on his ear. "What is it?"
"D-Do you think you could get me down now? I… I think my head is starting to come off."

X

"Alright, here's the plan." Ben told the party, drawing out lines and circles in the Kid's Cove sandpit like he was planning military tactics. "Chica, you go with Sunny down to Parts and Service to get your shell repaired, sorry about that by the way."
"Don't you worry about that, darlin'. It was all for the best!" She smiled with a wink, nodding up to Sunny who was happily spinning his newly freed head like a windmill. "We'll make it there, no problem!"
"Good stuff," The man nodded, pointing at the bear and the boy next. "You two, you're coming with us." Freddy nosily noted that there was no discussion at all of Monty and Ben splitting up, they had designated themselves as inseparable, just like Freddy and his own Superstar.
"I remember there bein' a way out through the kitchen loading dock … But that Vanessa chick went and put the security card for it up in the Fazcade." Monty explained, drawing Ben to bicker with him like a dog to a bone.
"And how the heck did you hear that?"
"The DJ told me."
"The DJ?! He… The big one? He speaks?"
"Not to you, he doesn't."
"Oh I bet he doesn't, you slippery sack of-"
"-Shall we get back to the matter at hand?" Freddy cut in, feeling like he was interrupting something as the pair blinked over at him.
"Oh yeah, sure." Ben continued easily, not noticing his partner narrow his eyes at the bear across the sandpit from them. Freddy obliviously stared back in utter fascination at the change in his bandmate. "So as the walking purse here said, we're heading up to the Fazcade to snatch that security card and then we'll all make a break for the exit until the place opens in the morning and I can kick the manager's-"
"Cake!"

Ben stared at Chica as she smiled innocently. Did… Did she mean to say that-
"You should stop by the Bakery before you hit the Fazcade! Gregory looks pretty hungry!" And she was right, the kid looked half-starved after running around the Pizzaplex all night. The vote was unanimous; cake first, then saving their lives.

The trip to the Bakery didn't take long, as it was right above Monty's Gator Golf next door. With Chica and Sunny splitting off for Parts and Service, the group moved fairly quickly, watching for the 'bunny' that Gregory had been targeted by and Ben suspected of being the same sick [Fazbear Censor] that was living in the office above Fazer Blast.
To Ben, the bakery was a rather charming disaster in terms of colour. Gaudy pinks upon gaudier yellows, with the occasional classy splash of blue. To Gregory, it might as well have been paradise on earth.
Cakes, candies and sticky sweet buns sat on every surface with only one Security Bot patrolling inside, which Monty quickly grabbed by the face and hauled off to the restrooms.
"WOW, LOOK AT ALL THESE CAKES." Ben yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to cover up the disturbing grinding sounds of metal tearing and crashing from the girls' bathroom. "WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY SOME GREGORY?"
The boy needed no more encouragement than that, savouring everything he could reach like he'd never eat again. Freddy lumbered his way after him, trying to convince deaf ears to at least try and find one vegetable in the back kitchens before he started on desserts.

Ben watched the pair go with small frown, before looking down at his worn out slippers thoughtfully.
"What's eatin' you?" His big green shadow asked as he sauntered back into the Bakery, unapologetically wiping his oil stained hands on Ben's pyjama trousers.
"You're a menace." Ben scowled and swatted at him. "But I'm thinking… What do I do about that kid when all of this is over?"
"What do ya mean, 'when all this is over'?" The gator mimicked.
"When we get out of here, when this night is done, what is he going to do? Where's he going to go?"
"No idea," Monty grunted, unconcerned as he stepped away to poke at an alligator-themed birthday cake. "Probably stayin' in Freddy's room until we figure something out." Ben eyed to him sternly then.
"You know he can't stay here, this isn't a place you can raise a kid."
"Sure we can, we raise kids here every day. And who's gonna rat us out, huh? You?" Monty looked at him then, calling his bluff before he even made it. Ben nodded, conceding his point but still concerned.
"If people find him Monty, he'll just get taken away again. Even you guys can't prevent that." Monty gestured a hand at the shorter man and rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, as though it was obvious.
"That's where you come in, little guy. Just say he's your kid, then sneak him back in through a vent or something."

Ben looked away from him then, only now realising that he really was on borrowed time with his new friend.
"What?" The gator pressed, seeing the look on his face. "You don't think you can do it? You'll be fine, I've seen you lie plenty of times before!"
"Only when I compliment you," Ben whipped back on reflex, but didn't have the heart to keep it going. "I can't do it Monty, I don't even live around here. I've only got about a week before I've need to go home to my country, I can't stay here to look out for you guys forever."
He actually felt his heart break a little as he spoke the last few words. It was so strange, but at the same time obvious that he would get so attached to these characters, these personalities, after all that had happened. All that probably would happen before the night was out. Ben wilted a bit on his feet as he saw Monty shut his mouth with no clever reply for once, instead looking completely blindsided by the concept that Ben probably wouldn't ever come back after the night was out.

"Well just stay here then." Monty told him bluntly, cutting through the melancholic atmosphere like a dull axe. Ben gave him a flat stare. "... What?"
"We're back!" Freddy announced as they wandered in from the back store rooms, neither Ben nor Monty even noticing they had disappeared. "Gregory has found a 'hoodie'!"
The bear presented the small boy to them as he stepped out in a little black hoodie, looking so proud that Gregory might as well have won an Olympic medal back there instead. The kid looked pleased as punch though, and Ben wasn't about to kill the mood with his sad thoughts.
"Nice one, mate." He waved two thumbs up at the boy, lighting him up further. "Let me know if you find one in my size too!"
"Good job kid," Monty agreed, eclipsing the boy's head with his hand and ruffling his hair, happy when the boy didn't flinch away. He turned away and shot Ben a predatory look over his shoulder, warning him that the topic was far from over before sauntering towards the exit.
"Let's head out, I think it's party time!"
And off to the Fazcade they went.

Chapter Text

It was as they approached the elevator that would take them to the Fazcade that Freddy suddenly ground to a stop, Gregory stopping with him as he held his hand.
"I'm sorry…" The bear apologised solemnly. "I must stay here. I wish I could join you, but after tonight's stage incident, I am not allowed to perform." Ben tilted his head, unknowingly mimicking the animatronics' gesture. He hadn't known there'd been a stage incident; But then again he hadn't been around the main stage that day, mostly pacing after Samantha while she had him win arcade games in her name.
"When I step onto the West Arcade dance floor, I cannot stop myself. It is a programming bug." Freddy continued gravely, kneeling down to address Gregory as though he hadn't just said the funniest sentence Ben had ever heard in his life, placing a heavy paw on his small shoulder. "Gregory, you can stay down here with me. I don't want you to go where I cannot reach you, and keep you safe."

The boy looked down at his worn out trainers in thought, but reached up his skinny arm to hold Freddy's nose as he refused his offer.
"I want to help, Freddy! I can do it, I don't wanna be useless." The boy pleaded with the simply honesty of a child who had been called that many times before. Freddy shut his eyes and breathed what was possibly the saddest 'Hmm' in history, before promising that he could never see Gregory as 'useless' and allowing him to go with his bandmate. He seemed to beg the other males with his eyes as he stood up.
"Please, look after him for me while you are gone."
Ben nodded firmly. Had it been Monty or even Chica, he would've cracked a joke or a witty one-liner, but Freddy was simply too earnest and sincere to truly poke fun at; It would've felt like bullying Santa Claus.
"I'll take care of him Freddy, I won't let anything touch a hair on his head." The bear smiled, relieved as he watched the trio step away from him.
"… No promises on Monty, though."

Gregory laughed as the tall man tumbled into the elevator in front of him, the long green leg that'd tripped him silently returning back to its owner. The boy tapped the nearby Staff Bot with his Dance Pass before it could make a fuss, and hopped in after the bickering adults. Gregory blinked in thought, did animatronics count as adults?
"Where'd you find that Dance Pass?" Monty asked him, ignoring the foul expression aimed at the side of his head. "Last I heard we ran out yesterday givin' 'em to this guy's party." He pointed a thumb at Ben, referring to his niece's enormous guest list from the previous day. Gregory dropped his eyes in guilt, not looking at the other human in the lift.
"I… I stole it from one of the adults at your party, and he couldn't get in." He kept his eyes down, waiting for a reprimand or maybe even a beating for his misbehaviour; instead hearing a sharp, dog-like bark of a laugh as the man leaned on a handrail.
"So THAT'S why Joe couldn't get up to the dance floor, oh he got such a bollocking for that!" He hooted in glee, too delighted by the twist to care about Monty's automatic snap at his language. "I want you to know that we are both very proud." He snickered, gesturing between himself and Monty. The boy lit up at the praise, confused but happy that he apparently did something right.

There was a ding and the small group stepped out of the elevator and into the Fazcade lobby, Ben immediately taking notice of the colossal golden statue of the Glamrock band, Monty's golden form facing the entrance.
"God, it's no wonder you have such a monstrous ego," He laughed, jabbing at the smug looking alligator. "I bet you have an even bigger one of your own face in your green room." The gator winked back at him over his shades, making Gregory giggle.
"And I pray to it every night, Rockstar."

As they passed, Ben peered over to see if the DJ was still in his booth on the dancefloor. During Samantha's party, he had been the only one of the group to go anywhere near the titanic music-maker, kids and adults alike.
After meeting Monty and realising the robots were frighteningly sentient, he'd felt incredibly bad watching the children reject the animatronic's frightening appearance and had stepped up himself. He was not anywhere near a good dancer, but had made up for it with enthusiasm as he'd awkwardly jigged under the machine's giant waving hands.
Ben strongly believed he had formed a kinship with the spider-like beast as he danced out of sync to the improvised beats. It never spoke, but the way the DJ had played a bittersweet farewell tune as he'd left only encouraged the theory.

Ben spotted him near instantly, head to the ground and apparently asleep.
"I'll be honest, I didn't know you guys could sleep." Ben thought aloud. "I thought you just plugged yourselves in like a MacBook in the recharge booths."
"We do, but the DJ is too big." Monty explained, crossing his arms as Gregory peered around his long legs. "They gave him a sleep mode so he doesn't scare the kids just standing there, starin'."
"He's breathing…" Gregory pointed out, watching as the DJ's abdomen rose and fell quietly.
"Heat regulation," Monty told the boy, both humans listening with interest. "He's way bigger than the rest of us, so he runs hotter. That breathin' is just his system running air through his internals."
"Oh." And off they went again, unbothered by the dozing spider-mech.

Quiet music played as the group made their way up the glowing staircase and around the winding rows of arcade machines, following the small plastic signs on the wall that directed guests towards the security office. Feeling a tug on his leg, Ben glanced down to see Gregory gripping his trouser leg as he watched the ominous black holes in the walls nervously. Hoping to make the tense atmosphere less scary, Ben quickly wracked his brain for something to distract the child with.
"… I'm surprised that Freddy can't control himself up here," He waited for the boy to look up at him before delivering his shitty, shitty punchline. "I guess he's too much of a 'party animal'!"
There was a loud smash as Monty punched in the screen of a passing arcade machine in outrage, Gregory immediately letting go of his trouser leg in disgust.
"Shut your mouth right now," The incredibly unimpressed animatronic cut him off as he opened his mouth to reply. "You ain't allowed to talk until we leave." Gregory agreed firmly, walking ahead of them in distaste. Ben followed his pissed off companions contently, happy to break the tension at their expense.

X

The security office wasn't locked, ironically. The group stepped right in and began snooping for the key card to the Loading Docks, Gregory eventually finding it in a bottom drawer next to a day-shift guard's pencil drawing of the Sun and Moon playing catch with a human child as the 'ball'. Amused by the concept, Ben folded up the drawing and took it with him. The two humans made a point to ignore the giant 'Head Repair' machine taking up the centre of the room, not wanting to know why that even existed but heavily suspecting their third party member was related.

"Alright, we're set." Ben said, herding the younger boy towards the door when he caught him digging through a damp-looking duffel bag. A faint but curious sound of music and whisper-like static caught Ben's ear as they opened the security door to leave, repetitive and echoing down from a long and wide hallway to their left. "What the hell is that..? Monty, watch Gregory for a moment while I check out that noise."
"What? Hey!" Refusing to part from the man, but unable to leave the child unattended, Monty tried to snatch him by the back of the neck and missed by an inch. "Where'd you think you're goin', get back here!"
His demands were ignored as Ben shuffled off around the corner, drawn to the sounds like a strange instinct. Suddenly feeling alone, Gregory placed a hand on his leg.
"I don't like it in here," He confided to Monty, feeling like the bare brick walls were closing in without Freddy or Ben nearby. "It's too quiet."
"Let's wait outside in the arcade," The gator reluctantly soothed, keeping the security door ajar as they stepped out so he could watch the inner hallway with sharp eyes. "We'll stay here until our guy gets back."
Gregory nodded, keeping close to his legs as a Security Bot cruised by.

Ben continued his hobble down to the end of the hallway, amazed at the number of shelves, lockers and arcade machines just dumped there like a technological graveyard. He spotted a particular game with a rather hefty-looking pixelated Freddy on the side.
"Fredbear… Creative." He snorted as he continued on. None of the machines actually seemed playable, showing static, bugged out menus or simply weren't on at all; but none were the source of the whispering static sound except for one machine at the very back of the hallway.
Feeling oddly like he was being baited into a trap, Ben stepped up close to the black box.
"Princess Quest II… Why is that familiar?"
A sharp scream and the sound of something being smashed twisted his head on his shoulders with a crack; the explosive roar that shook the walls had him pushing into a lopsided sprint.
"Gregory?! Monty!"

X

Monty tapped his tapered claws on the doorway as he continued staring down the hallway intently, waiting impatiently for his partner to reappear with a damn good apology for running off. Gregory had long since given up on getting his attention, instead idly watching the nearby Security Bot circle some arcade cabinets like a toy car on a track. If he didn't already know he would get in trouble, he would've tried to race it around its route, since Monty clearly wasn't paying any attention to him.

"Greeegoryyyyy…." His head snapped up, the whispered voice female and definitely NOT the alligator behind him. He looked out from around the row of machines, trying to spot Chica from his view of the glass balcony.
"Gregory." The voice whispered again, louder this time, and sharper. Monty heard her this time, snapping his head out from the security doors on alert. It wasn't Chica.

"There you are…"

It was her. Gregory scrambled back behind the machines as the lithe, twirling form of the woman came into view, her masked face already staring directly where he had been crouched. He rapidly crawled back to Monty for protection, but just like Freddy he didn't seem to know where to look.
The gator's eyes darted around, processing visuals at a speed only a machine could, but could not see the source of the voice.
"Gregory," He rumbled, his giant hand spanning the boy's torso as he moved him. "Stay behind me."
"Oh Gregory… Are you having fun yet?" The voice continued as the threadbare white bunny ascended the stairs towards them. "I've been looking for you all night… Don't you want to play with me?"
The boy gasped, frightened out of his mind as she began stepping around the arcade rows towards them slowly, glowing red eyes boring through the arcade obstacles and into him as if they weren't even there.
Monty grew angrier as the voice neared, unable to detect the source no matter how much he adjusted his visual input. Feeling vulnerable and defensive, already on edge from his missing partner, the alligator started thrashing on the spot, his infamous temper showing its face as he hissed like a pissed off steam engine.
"You really think I won't find you?" He spat, ripping off his sunglasses and revealing his burning red eyes as he glowered at everything around him. "You can hide, but you can't hide!"

The bunny came to a stop as the gator snarled and snapped, almost like she hadn't even known he was there until then. But Gregory couldn't understand how, if she had seen him, she surely would've seen Monty as well, right?
"Gregory…" The bunny hissed, suddenly sounding… Angry. "Are you cheating? Are you breaking all of my toys..?"
The bunny wouldn't come any closer, Gregory realised with some relief. Even if he couldn't see her, Monty's thrashing arms could definitely still hit her if she came near. She must have come to the same conclusion, as the tattered rabbit suddenly stomped her foot petulantly, like a child having a tantrum.

"You little cheater… That's not fair!" She seethed, voice distorted by the mask she wore. "I will find you again Gregory, I always win this game…"
The bunny lifted her hand and flung something at Gregory in rage; the kitchen knife missing him by an inch and provoking a scream from the terrified boy as it impaled the wall with a heavy thump. Dropping to the floor with wailing shout, Gregory's panic was all that was needed to send Monty into an explosion of violence.
His massive claws clamped forward onto an arcade machine, crumpling in his grasp like tinfoil as he heaved the box over his head and launched it in the direction of the sinister voice. The crash of the machine colliding with the other rows was deafening to Gregory, but nothing could compare to the thundering bellow that escaped Montgomery Gator in that moment, the noise vibrating the air like an earthquake in its anger.

By the time the noise settled, the bunny had vanished and the room was left in a cold, ringing silence until the sound of uneven footsteps faded in behind them. The security door slammed open as Ben charged out, one arm wrapped around his middle as his eyes rolled around in his head, looking for the danger.
"Monty- MONTY! Where is Gregory?! Oh god, there you are-" The man panted from effort as he dropped next to the boy, checking him for injuries before scanning over the alligator just as intently. "What happened, who was here?"
Monty said nothing to him, still heaving from anger and only interested in checking over his stupid, idiotic, missing partner while Gregory shakily explained. He stormed up to the man, roughly turning him by the shoulders to check for anything out of place as he kept a robotic ear to the boy's rambling.
Ben listened on in horror and anger, berating himself for wandering off and shaking from adrenaline. He didn't know what he would have done if he'd come back to either of them hurt, or worse. He met Monty's eye when the boy finished, neither speaking but both agreeing that the next time that sick fuck came near the boy again, all bets were off.

Shaken and unwilling to stay in the Fazcade any longer, the group set off towards the stairs but came to a sharp stop when the lights flickered. Ben looked at Monty in confused panic, as they knew it wasn't time for Moon's patrol yet. But the lights flickered again before shutting off with a dying whirr. Ben's heart was in his throat instantly, clutching the boy close and feeling his big green shadow loom even closer, shrouding over them both with his massive build.
Mercifully the whirring returned and the lights returned slowly, from dim to bright neon like an 80's vaporwave sunrise. The group looked around in caution, confused and not sure what was happening. Then a blunt and straightforward automated voice blared out over the speakers.

"The West Arcade Elevator was not shut down properly. Some data may be corrupted. Initialising startup sequence."

Ben blinked once, twice, before looking to the long snout hovering over his shoulder.
"Did the bitch shut off the fucking elevator? Oh, the spiteful cow-"
"Watch your-"
"Before proceeding," The automated voice continued, somehow sounding annoyed at being interrupted. "Reset the audio manager circuit breaker, located next to the dance floor."
"Why do I get the feeling this is going to be far more complicated than necessary." Ben lamented, pinching his brow as the Fazcade's colourful lights phased out into a dangerous red.

Chapter Text

"Oh for GODS SAKE-" Ben roared as he ducked back behind a pillar, evading the gigantic, thick fingered hand that groped for him through the bathroom door. His blistering curses were drowned out by the blaring music as a finger grazed his pyjama trousers. "Go and chase Monty, you big beast! He's the one who's actually breaking shit!"
The plan had originally been that they would split up; Ben running ahead to find and flip the breaker switches, Monty distracting the irate spider-tank and Gregory safely hidden away in a children's pushchair close to the non-functioning elevator.
What had actually happened was that the DJ had immediately zeroed in on Ben and bolted after him like a wolf spider, Monty and Gregory both left behind untouched. From there Monty had tried to catch the DJ's attention, throwing chairs, breaking things and even biting one of its hands; but the immense machine only had eyes for the tall man.
Many womanly screams and poorly executed parkour dives later, Ben had finally been cornered in the Fazcade bathroom, jumping from corner to corner as the DJ tried to grasp him.
"Come on, mate! Don't you remember me?" Ben tried to appeal to the giant. "I danced with you yesterday, remember? I did that funny dance that made the kids laugh?"
He tried to mimic the awkward Irish jig he had done the evening before, failing to keep any rhythm whatsoever before diving away from another gloved hand. "Surely you remember that?"

Elsewhere in the Fazcade, Monty chortled to himself as he watched the man jig about on the tiny screen.
"Even if he won't remember, I ain't ever forgettin' this one, Rockstar!"
While Ben provided a distraction for the active DJ, Monty and Gregory had been running around in search of the final breaker switch. Gregory had lent Monty his Fazwatch briefly, so the fussing alligator could keep an eye on Ben through the cameras while they were apart. It'd taken Gregory a small age to convince the animatronic to stop trying to fight the DJ, reasoning that they could protect him faster by fixing the breakers.
"Where the heck is the last breaker?" Gregory whispered desperately, listening to the indignant noises coming from his watch. "I don't know how long he can keep jumping like that!" And he was right, though the pair didn't know to what extent; Ben's side had torn back open from the harsh movements and had started to bleed again, the growing stain on his bandages still too small to be picked up on the tiny screen.
"Almost done. There is a software update available. Reset the final circuit breaker located at the south end of the arcade maintenance hallway." The automated voice told them again impatiently, as if it was getting tired of repeating itself over the loud music. Gregory would later ask Ben why Fazbear Entertainment would program their maintenance system to be passive aggressive, but in that moment he didn't question it and just kept running.

Monty kicked in the security door, not even looking up from the tiny screen in his claws as he let Gregory through, eyes pinpointed on the tiny man as he tumbled away from the ever reaching hands of the DJ. The bass from the Fazcade's speakers faded out as the pair darted down the long and cluttered hallway, Gregory scurrying around the shelves and objects while Monty just speed-walked through them like a bulldozer as he stared into the watch, shelves and machines unheard as they crashed to the ground behind him.
His single-minded focus on his endangered partner caused him to completely miss when the little boy froze beside him, his eyes widening in recognition as he spotted the black arcade machine at the back of the hallway. It was the sequel to the one he had found in the Glamrock Beauty Salon, making the same whispering static sounds and urging him closer.
Monty didn't look up as Gregory stepped over to the machine, not seeing how his eyes glazed over as he reached for the arcade controls.

X

"I did it!"
Gregory's triumphant shout jolted Monty from his obsessive staring. He looked down at the boy as he smacked his hand on the arcade machine victoriously, both momentarily forgetting what they were meant to be doing.
"Did what?" The boy jumped a bit and looked up at him.
"Uh-"
"-Where'd he go?" The gator cut him off instantly, eyes back on the Fazwatch and desperately trying to see where Ben and the DJ's groping hands had gone in the two seconds he had looked away. "He was right there! Where the heck did he go?"
The massive alligator began to rage, hiding his panic with thrashing and anger as he shook the watch, not registering that the walls were also shaking and the faint music was getting louder until he felt Gregory rapidly tapping his leg.
"Montymontymontymontymonty-"
His head snapped to the boy impatiently, tracking his pale-faced stare up to the pitch black chasm built into the wall, jaws parting slightly as a single enormous hand reached out and gripped the lip.

"Fli-sw-nd-un..!" Came a faint voice over the rising soundtrack, echoing from the chasm as the monstrous spider placed another hand on the rim of the hole.
"Wh-What did it say?" Gregory asked Monty, his hands shaking at his sides as the gator took a step back.

"I-sai… Flip-swi-d-un!" The voice was closer now, becoming clearer as a third hand appeared.
"W-What?!" Gregory shouted back now, panicking. Montgomery blanched.

"I SAID FLIP THE SWITCH AND RUN FOR GODS SAKE!" Ben roared as he emerged from the chasm, gripped tightly in one of the mechanical hands. The DJ's face looming in behind him, empty black eyes reflecting the entire hallway as it tilted its head down at the pair.
Music pounded around them as Monty spat a strangled hiss and hauled Gregory up with one arm. The mechanical goliath chattered its bared teeth as the gator struck his fist down on the switch, not staying to check if the light turned green before he charged back up the hallway.

Ben yelped and blustered from his place in the spider's fist, trying to shout directions at the two below him and bellowing in warning when the giant started throwing the shelves and arcade machines over their heads. Monty could barely hear him over the heavy bass that shook the floor under his feet. Gregory was dead silent, gripping the arm that held him as he tried not to throw up everything he'd eaten in the Bakery as they sprinted back to the security office.

"GO! GO! GO!" Ben yelled at the back of Monty's head. They could all faintly hear the automated maintenance voice saying something, but couldn't focus over the sensory barrage the spider was inflicting upon them as it gave chase. All Ben cared about was making sure that Monty got that kid out of here before they both got crushed. He coughed, swallowing a gasp as the DJ's grip got tighter, constricting his ribs and tearing the wound in his side open fully. It seemed to know that the two were about to get away, as its hands started slamming harder into the floors and walls and sending bricks and light fixtures flying to the ground. Ben snarled painfully the second he spotted his partner turning his head back to look at him.
"Don't you dare slow down, Montgomery! Get that boy out of here!" He berated, his blood pulsing in his ears as he watched them finally reach the corner and disappear out of sight unharmed. His head dropped down onto the clenching hand with a breathless sigh of desperate relief.

X

Monty almost dropped the boy when they skidded into the security office, the Freddy-faced button cracking from force as he shut the reinforced door behind him. Gregory shook like a leaf as he set him on his feet, but he didn't have time to comfort him until he had both humans back in his hands. Monty's systems hissed and whined from stress as he headed back over to the door, murder in his eyes. He slammed his fist into the button again, and spat in rage when the door refused to move.
"What the-"

The eerie red lights both inside and outside of the office went out, making Gregory shriek and Monty snarl.
"All breaker switches activated. Startup Sequence complete." The automated voice spoke once last time before going silent. The pale lights of the security office lit back up as the Fazcade came back to life around them, the quiet and peaceful music from before resuming as if there had never been a problem.
Monty was frozen as he stared at the now open security door, listening as hard as he could and stomping out to confirm what he feared. Gregory quickly followed after him and grabbed one of his large fingers for bravery as they peered around the corner, but Monty barely even registered it as he stared down the hallway. The DJ had completely disappeared, and so had Ben.

Neither of them spoke a word as Monty charged through the wreckage by the security door, wide shoulder pads caving in any Security Bots unfortunate enough to pass in front of him as he thundered his way down the stairs and back through the winding rows of the arcade machines.
Gregory clung to his neck tightly as he held on, trying to give the alligator some kind of comfort as they desperately made their way to the DJ's booth, ignoring the way the elevator chimed pleasantly as its doors automatically opened for them.
They arrived with a clatter of metal on reinforced glass as the heaving animatronic stuttered to a halt. Steam faintly rose from the crevices in his shoulders and neck as he cooled down, his eyes processing the visual at a speed only a machine could as Gregory finally loosened his grip on his neck.

The DJ was back in his booth, bobbing his head to his more laid-back beats as he cheerfully tapped them into his soundboard; and collapsed in his hand was Ben, exhausted and even more bruised than before, but peaceful as he tapped a hand on his thigh to the beat. His tired eyes slid down to the duo on the dancefloor, taking a shaky breath before he spoke.
"I think he's calmed down now…" He breathed with a rattle, tapping his hand on the giant's palm. Gently, the spider lowered him down to the ground and lightly tapped a single fingertip on his head in goodbye before going back to his music, completely unaware of what had just happened between them all.

Seeing his big green shadow already vibrating as his shoulders rose in tension, Ben staggered over to his partner as fast as he could.
"He didn't know big guy, he didn't know. Just like you didn't know. Let it go." Ben urged him, trying to stabilise himself on the animatronic's shoulders until he finally dropped to his knees. Monty dropped down like a boulder with him, clasping a hand under his arm to keep him secure as the entire trio collapsed onto the icy cold floor.
"I think," The man croaked as he laid back on the glass. "I need a moment to rest. Just a… Quick breather." His body shuddered as he relaxed into the floor, adrenaline still shooting through his nerves as he rested. Gregory joined him, dropping himself stomach first onto the dancefloor and rubbing his eyes, the ten year old in him shining through as his youthful energy finally seemed to run out.

Montgomery watched as Ben pulled the boy's hood over his head, shielding him from the bright lights as he fell asleep then and there on the glass floor. The man's bare skin didn't even look human now, mottled with bruises like a lizard and covered in reopened cuts and punctures from glass. His red eyes lingered on the bandages protecting his midriff, new blood seeping through sluggishly as he laid there.
His fists clenched in anger as he berated himself, hating his uselessness when he'd watched his partner face danger alone on the cameras, despising his helplessness as he'd fled from his captor while he was crushed in its hands. He wanted to rip the building apart, crush the arcade under his fists and tear apart that stupid, dancing DJ with his claws. His red eyes gleamed as he gazed out into the arcade, choosing where to start.

And then his own pair of sunglasses hit him in the face.
"You dropped them outside the security office, prat." Ben huffed a laugh as he put his arm back down. "You really need to take better care of those."
Not in the mood but too proud to let the man have the last word, Monty retorted.
"If you hadn't noticed little guy, I was a little busy chasing off a dang invisible bunny." Ben hissed in annoyance.
"That 'dang' invisible bunny," He groaned, watching his cussin' for once. "Tell me big guy, why do these things happen all at once, when we're split up from the rest of the group? It's like a bloody Scooby Doo episode." The pair shared a small smirk in the quiet atmosphere, the DJ slowing down his music and preparing to go back to 'sleep'.

"Y'know I'm really proud of us, we did good here." Ben said simply. Monty stared at him incredulously, prompting the man to continue as he raised his aching arms to rest behind his head. "I mean it! We got in, got the card, scared off a psychotic rabbit and outmanoeuvred a giant spider without anyone dying; I'd say we've at least earned a free meal for that effort."
"You were this close to never eatin' a meal again, dog-brain." His partner snapped, pinching two claws within a millimetre of each other as he glared down at the man. "There ain't nothing worth that risk." Ben shot him a look like he'd said the stupidest thing in the world.
"Of course there is, you goblin." He gestured at the surprised gator with his chin, before doing the same to the napping boy beside him. "I would let that DJ chew the cheeks off my ass to keep you two safe, you're not the only one wanting to protect people here."
The matter-of-fact tone of the statement had the gator rumbling in laughter before he could even finish auto-rebuking the man for his language, the pair of them cackling as they rested there.

"Seriously, Monty." Ben turned to him with a straight face then, getting his full attention. "I would've let that be my death a thousand times over if it meant saving you instead. You're my friend Monty, and I'm gonna watch out for you just like you do for me."
Montgomery gazed back at him from his seat, his words and his pride failing to give a response worthy of the kindest thing he'd ever been told. So he did what he always did, and buried what he really wanted to say under his wicked tongue.

"My my, Rockstar…" Ben was already rolling his eyes with a smirk. "You really ARE my number one fan." The gator leered, pushing up his sunglasses to peer down at his partner's amused face. "I think I may shed a tear."
"Crocodile tears, I'm sure." Ben grinned victoriously, soaking in the gator's scowl like a ray of sunlight.
"You're disgusting." Monty told him, before glancing over at the sleeping child next to them. "So, shall we get him back down to Freddy? He's probably walked a hole in the ground waiting for him."
Ben's grin dropped instantly, and his face went pale as he dropped his head back onto the floor.
"Oh my god."
"What?"
"Freddy is gonna have a stroke when he hears about this."
"Oh. Right."

Chapter Text

"Okay before you say anything, he's not dead." Ben had said before he even set foot out of the elevator. Though he supposed he should've worded it better, as stepping out into the Atrium with Gregory limp and unmoving in Monty's arms still had Freddy running at them like a speeding truck. "Oh Jesus H. Christ-"
It had taken the pair a good while to finally convince the alarmed bear that he was alright and just asleep, though Freddy still clutched the boy to his chest as they walked over to the food court, smoothing down his hair as he slept on his shoulder.
"I'm surprised he even made it this long," Ben muttered absently. "I'd have conked out hours ago if I was his age." The two animatronics tilted their heads at him as he walked ahead of them, trying to picture what the man would've been like as a child. Probably not much different, Monty thought as he watched the man limply poke at the crushed remains of Montgomery Jr, the poor piñata crushed into origami by the DJ's incredible grip. Despite his initial annoyance of the thing, Ben was saddened to see the small backpack companion destroyed and feebly tried to fit the ruined paper back into shape.

Unwilling to watch the pathetic display any longer, Monty wandered over to a passing gift shop kiosk and unceremoniously punched a fist through the closed shutters. Ignoring the lead singer's scandalised gasp of 'Montgomery, what are you doing?!', the gator peeled away the metal shutter like the lid of a tin before leaning his torso into the kiosk.
Ben watched with raised eyebrows as the reptile looked over his shoulder from the little shop, elbow deep in the shelves.
"Plush or piñata?"
"… Have they got any of Chica?"
"You're gettin' a Monty. Want a FizzyFaz?"
"You two!" Freddy interrupted the pair, Ben now also leaning over the kiosk to help his accomplice with his looting. "You are setting a very poor example for Gregory, stealing is never okay!"
"My face, my stuff." Monty countered bluntly, shoving a backpack-plush of himself into Ben's chest. "You ain't havin' a Chica."
"Bah, fine. Think we should grab something for Gregory?" Ben asked as he strapped on his new backpack, pausing at the look on Freddy's face. "Nevermind then."

The walk to the food court was quicker from there, Montgomery Jr was left to rest in peace at the kiosk as the group headed over to the food court. Freddy stood by with Gregory as the duo tried their luck with the security doors to the kitchens, but each one had been firmly locked and double-bolted. This made him uneasy, as he knew those doors had definitely been open earlier when Gregory has snuck through.

With no other option, Monty gave Ben a leg up over the Salads & Sides counter, wincing as the poor man fell head first into a tub of shredded lettuce.
"… You good?"
"Yeah actually, the lettuce cushioned the fall." Ben sat up, his spring green wig of lettuce strips falling away as he shook his head. "Hold on a minute while I get the door."
Freddy eyed the alligator nosily as he started shifting in place, feeling uneasy when the man disappeared behind the staff door. If the robot had been hovering before the Fazcade, he was positively haunting Ben's shadow now. It was incredibly interesting to watch Montgomery actually care about something that wasn't himself or his status in the band, and Freddy sent himself a reminder ping to tell Chica all about it when they reunited.

There was a click and a clack as the kitchen security door unlocked, and Ben's head popped out to peer at them.
"Got it! Some prat went and lined up a row of the little Wet Floor Bots against the doors, I had to lure them away with a spillage."
A spillage to Ben apparently meant accidentally knocking over an entire crate of FizzyFaz, the Wet Floor Bots slowing circling the growing puddle in the hallway like a tribal ritual. They watched the little Bots go for a moment, heads tilting slowly as one of the Bots tried to nudge over a mop with its tiny wheels.
"…" "…" "… I love them."
A noise distracted the trio, as Gregory shifted in Freddy's arms and remerged from his sleep. He looked around a bit, unsure where he was and unnerved by it until he realised who had him.
"Freddy..!" Gregory's voice was muffled as he hugged the bear's neck, his last memory being their collapse to the floor in the Fazcade Disco. His head turned to look for the rest of his small group, relaxing fully when he spotted Monty and Ben together and close by as they should be.
"Gregory, welcome back! We have entered the back hallway of the kitchen, and are making our way to the Loading Dock. We are nearly there, Superstar." Freddy reassured him, happy when the child settled back into his arms again. He was unwilling to part with the boy any longer, wanting to keep him as close as possible until he could guarantee their safety. The boy raised his arm to tap at his Fazwatch.

"I'll check the cameras at the Loading Dock, in case of anymore trouble!" The boy said, wanting to be helpful as he squinted down at the screen. Ben lifted his head from the Montgomery plaster he'd been picking at, bewildered.
"The watch has a camera? Why?" The boy shook his head.
"The watch doesn't have a camera, but it connects to the security cameras in the building. Freddy gave it to me to help me be safe, it was in his chest cavity!"
Ben raised an eyebrow, and slowly turned his head to stare expectantly into Monty's metal cleavage. The gator raised his own brow, unimpressed.
"I don't keep Fazwatches on me, no need to."
"Well what do you keep in there, Fazbracelets and other assorted Faz-accessories?" Monty snorted and lifted his hands to count on his fingers.
"Photos o' me… Autographed photos o' me… Pen to sign photos o' me… Camera to take photos o' me-"
"I hate you so much."
"-Spare shades… Couple o' spare golf clubs…" The last item was the only thing that stopped Ben's incoming assault on the gator's massive ego. Scanning back over his chestplate with a 'what', Ben couldn't help but ask.
"How did you manage to fit a whole golf club in there?"
"Two, they're extendable." Monty corrected him, opening up his chest cavity for the first time since Ben had met him.

Ben immediately stuck his head in without a care for personal space, scowling at the unfortunately real stack of autographed photos held together with an elastic band before spotting a lime green golf club handle attached to the gator's inner lining, collapsed in with the head of the club sitting just above the grip.
"Yoink." The man carefully detached it from the animatronics side, not expecting him to jolt as he touched him. "Hey hey, watch it!"
"Watch yourself, your hands are cold!"
"Eh- You can feel temperature? Jesus, guys are… Frighteningly advanced, you know that?"
"Wow Rockstar, you finally realised? What gave it away, the talkin', the feelings or just common sense?"
"It was the shitty attitude actually."
"Watch your cussin'!" "Mind your language in the Pizzaplex!" "Alright, alright."

"You probably won't want a watch anyway," Gregory grinned as the pair bickered, just like his real Mom and Dad used to. "The watch lets Freddy talk to me whenever he wants, no matter how far I go. That means Monty could talk to you too." He looked between Monty and Ben as he said it, snickering at the way Ben wrinkled his nose.
"The horror." Ben deadpanned, turning his attention to his new golf club and entirely missing the metaphorical lightbulb moment Monty was having next to him. The gator turned to Freddy, who knowingly sent him an internal ping of where Fazwatches were kept in storage.
There was no time to get one now, but he would steal one later after he convinced Ben to stay with him. There was no way he was gonna let his trash-mouthed companion walk out those doors without a fight, and Montgomery Gator always won his fights.

X

Freddy frowned disapprovingly as Monty 'defeated' another Security Bot, kicking the crumpled guard into a nearby cart like a professional football player and prompting a cheer from Ben and Gregory as he scored a 'goal'. The group had descended the maintenance elevator down to the ground floor maintenance halls, and Monty was living up to his reputation as the so-called 'bad boy' of the Glamrock band.
With the exit in sight and the group nearly home free, they were all in high spirits and Monty was keen to show off to his audience of two now that they were almost out of danger. Looking to impress and keeping a close eye on Ben especially, the gator had made a big show of hyping up his on-stage performances that Ben simply HAD to come back and see when the Pizzaplex was re-opened. He tapped out the beats from his bass guitar into the cardboard boxes around them as he promised the man 'the best seat in the house' if he stuck around. Freddy quietly hoped he wasn't planning to haul the human up on stage with him; something the gator was more than likely to do if he so pleased.

"I'll even let you snatch somethin' from my Green Room, a special treat for my number one fan." Monty jeered, only half joking in his offer. Ben laughed, amused but very aware of the gator's unsubtle plan to bribe him to stay in the country.
In all honesty Ben was already thinking about how difficult it would be to arrange to stay, at the very least for an extended holiday. One didn't vow to watch an animatronic's back to the death without realising they had gotten too attached to just leave forever. Ben didn't mention this to the alligator though, partially because he couldn't guarantee his stay just yet and partially because it was incredibly funny to watch the arrogant lizard advertise himself like a brand.

Ben half-turned to tell Gregory a joke, not daring to look up at the bear's fatherly disapproval of their behaviour when something caught his eye to their right. He stopped on the spot, turning like a clock's hand and marching towards the anxious ball of yellow that was shuddering up on a high shelf.
"Sunny..? Sunny!" He called up, the safe atmosphere of the hallway popping like a balloon as he shouted.
The golden sun lowered his hands from his eyes and plummeted down from the shelf to drape himself over the tall man, still enormous even as he warbled and chattered fretfully.
"OH Benny, I'm so glad you're here! I didn't know what to do and I couldn't see what was happening and- and- even Moon didn't wanna be in there! So I ran away and hid but we know something's wrong and now we can't find Chica and-"
"Sunny." Ben barked sharply, wanting to comfort the robot but needing to know what the hell the matter was first. "Take it slow… Why did you hide?"
"There was someone in the kitchen, a human!" The Sun said, playing with his fingers as he restlessly swayed on his feet. "Chica heard it too! We went to go look and see if it was you, or Greggy." The Sun pointed at the boy as he used his new friend's nickname.
"It wasn't us." Ben confirmed, the Sun nodding with him.
"We know. Moon and I, we know that now. It was something else! Whispering." Sunny seemed to quiver a bit, genuinely unnerved as he remembered what it had said. "It called us broken, it said it was gonna break us down and build us back up; make us work again." He clutched his face in nerves, pushing a few sunrays out of view as he leaned his head into Ben's comforting pat. "Moon said it was dangerous, told me to run and hide… Hide away. But Chica's still there! Benny, Chica is still in the kitchen!"

Panic thumped Ben's chest like a pounding drum and he squeezed the Sun's face slightly before he broke into a lopsided sprint. Something about the way Sunny had said those last words struck him like a knife and he knew that something terrible was going to happen if he didn't reach that kitchen NOW.
"Stay, Freddy! Keep them safe!" He shouted to the bear. Freddy already understood, nodding as he picked up Gregory and laid a hand on Sunny's back to lead them both out of the hallway.
"Let's go, big guy!" "You got it, little guy!"
Monty was already by his side, lifting him onto his back in a familiar position as he picked up speed. Ben had a strong suspicion about who was going to be in the kitchen with Chica, a whispering voice the animatronics couldn't see. What he didn't know was why she was tormenting them like this, whispering threats at the performers. He clutched his new golf club a little tighter.

Well, he somewhat knew why; she was a spiteful bitch.

X

The automated kitchen was almost silent when they burst in, but by no means empty. Ben's eyes bulged in outrage as he took in the scene before him, time seeming to slow around them as Monty smashed through the double doors.
Chica was there and freshly repaired from Parts & Services, but it was a very temporary state as the pearl-white chicken crouched down in the industrial trash compacter, scraping up a strange glittery green substance out of a cardboard box and completely oblivious to the descending steel plate directly above her.
She didn't even seem aware of the room around her, purple eyes vacant and drifting apart as her programming took over. She didn't even look up as they broke through the door, entirely focussed on eating the green slime that had been deliberately placed there, baiting her into a trap.

Across from her, Ben finally got a visual of the elusive bunny rabbit that he and the animatronics had yet to see, clutching the control panel of the compactor and watching the bird eat with gleeful intent. She wore a ratty off-white mascot costume, stitched together with seemingly random fabrics and almost falling apart in some places, like she'd been using it for a long time. Ben's stomach clenched as he remembered the dozens upon dozens of missing children clippings in that hellish office above Fazer Blast.
The only good quality part of her costume was the headpiece, painstakingly crafted into shape, with glowing red eyes and a whiskered black smile that tittering at the chicken as she shovelled the green goo into her beak. Her fingers were twisting a dial on the control panel, making the steel plate of the compactor move faster. Ben had already seen enough within a second of entering the room, adrenaline striking through him like lightning.

"Eat up, eat up… I will fix you, broken toy…!" The bunny cut herself off as they burst through, jolting to her feet at the sight of Montgomery, but completely unprepared for the shirtless grown man on top of him.
"Fix yourself, you crusty mess!" Ben seethed, swinging his golf club as they charged in and striking her arm on the downswing, the control panel flying from her hand with a painful 'crack'.
"Hole in one!" Monty grinned violently, delighting in the chaos as he dropped the man down and hurried to his unaware bandmate. He was frustrated that he still couldn't register the bunny visually, but the 'crack' of that golf club making contact was more than enough to satisfy him for now. "Keep swingin', Rockstar! I've got Chica!"
Aches and pains like an afterthought to his adrenaline pumped body, Ben kept advancing on the rabbit, swinging the metal club like an axe and driving her away from Chica as Monty dragged her out from under the metal plate. Animatronics were one thing but despite Monty's playful nickname, Ben was not a small guy and he was NOT intimidated by the much shorter woman's fursuit.

"You're ruining everything! I need to fix my toys!" Her distorted voice screeched childishly, clutching her throbbing arm and panicking as the tall man swung again. She hadn't known there was another human in the building; she hadn't planned for it, and with all her toys broken and back on safe-mode she was not prepared to take on a larger opponent that could see her. And boy, could he see her.
She didn't know the man at all but he definitely seemed to know her, striking at her arms and chest with no intent to kill, but every intent to maim.
"-Laying a hand on that boy, you're gonna catch these hands in bulk!" She stumbled back into the pizza sauce machine, barely hearing the words over her heartbeat as he cracked the club down on a prep table, denting it. He was here for Gregory, she realised in a panic; he was here for her final masterpiece!

The stomp of metal footsteps finally drove the bunny to turn and flee out of a side door, before the alligator tore her in half as he so clearly wanted to. Ben went to give chase, but a long grinding noise of metal on metal distracted the enraged duo.
The compactor had finished its run with no Chicas between its plates thankfully, but the two males watched in horror as the hen mindlessly crawled back over to the crushed box of goo right as the bottom opened up to dump the crushed garbage below.
"Oh no no no-" "Chica, get back here!"
Chica blinked and looked up at them both just as she started to fall through, a blunt "What the cluck?!" escaping her beak before she vanished down the chute.

Ben and Monty stood staring for a long minute, unsure what to do or even say. The remains of the double door swung open as Freddy returned to them, Gregory in his arms and Sunny at his side now that the room had gone quiet.
"What happened?" The bear asked. "Where is Chica?"
"She… She's in the bin." "What?!"
A quiet echo suddenly rang out from the trash compactor chute, drawing the entire room's attention.
"I'm okay!" The entire group drooped in relief as Chica's voice chirped up to them from below. "But it smells like shit down here."
Ben gaped down at the chute in outrage.
"Are you fucking kidding me-"
"Watch your cussin'!" "Mind your language!" "Benjamin! Mind your language in the Pizzaplex!" "Benny! Mind your manners!"

Chapter Text

"This place F-ing stinks!" Gregory piped up once the entire group had sheepishly skidded their way down the garbage chute after Chica, unwilling to leave anyone behind now that the bunny woman was targeting animatronics as well.

The glare Freddy lasered into the back of Ben's head sent him into a cold sweat. It felt more like the Terminator had come to exterminate him for his bad language than an 80's singing bear.
"Gregory," The bear said gently, completely contradicting the flesh peeling glower he was drilling into the other human's head. "We do not use that language in the Pizzaplex."
"Sorry Freddy!" The boy apologised earnestly, terrified that he might've upset his best friend.
"It is alright Superstar, I am sure you won't do it again."
The last sentence felt more like a threat of destruction to Ben, who shuddered and quickly attached himself to Monty's side, ignoring the smirk the gator sent him.

To their relief, Chica truly was undamaged. With only a few scrapes in her paint and a beak-full of the mystery goo, she was as chipper and upbeat as always as she spoke to Sunny, the friendly animatronic chattering away to her as he swung his newly untied arms.
Just before the party had gone down after Chica, the Pizzaplex's lights had flickered to signal Moon's next patrol. With no time to waste finding multiple recharge booths, Sunny had cheerfully allowed himself to be tied head to toe in uncountable cords, string and plastic zip-ties from the kitchen cupboards before the lights had gone out.
With the help of Freddy and Monty, the ties had held for the duration of the patrol despite the Moon's croaking threats and snake-like movements, ending Ben's first true face to face meeting with the Moon rather anti-climactically as they slid his tied body face-first down the garbage chute.

Wrinkling his nose as a cockroach settled itself on his slipper's bulging pink eye, Ben addressed the bear.
"Freddy, maybe carry Gregory for this one, the floor is absolutely filthy." There was no argument and the boy was quickly lifted back into the bear's arms. "I think there's an exit through this tunnel here."
Leaning on Monty as they walked, Ben allowed his head to droop a bit, his energy spent from chasing off the bunny and his aches returning two-fold. He was proud of himself though, for once able to protect the much stronger animatronics instead of the other way around.
The group climbed a small staircase and into the sewer tunnel, though the path was blocked by a mountain of broken objects and other garbage. They paused, unsure of how to proceed until Gregory pointed down to the trench in the middle of the tunnel. Monty could've sworn he saw a few of Ben's hairs turn white as he almost sobbed in despair at the murky, garbage-filled water below. Chortling at the turn of fate, he mercifully lifted the man onto his back as he prepared to step down onto the tunnel floor.
"I've got you Rockstar, I've got you."

X

Freddy and Chica followed behind from the back of the party as they travelled through the wet tunnels, happy to be waterproof as they watched Ben and Monty lead the way. Chica watched with a giddy smile as Monty kept the woozy man balanced on his back, the poor guy looking white as a ghost as he clung to the gator's large head. They hadn't known Ben had a fear of dirty water, as Monty had crudely and somewhat incorrectly explained it, but she thought it was well worth the price of watching the pair interact like this.

She looked up at Freddy as he 'reported his findings' to her, catching her up on what she'd missed but refusing to call it gossip as 'gossiping is very rude'. She was often the only one the bear would approach to talk about his genuine thoughts or feelings about one thing or another. Chica and Freddy always had a closer relationship than the rest of the band, though it was understandable.

In the beginning, their Glamrock band had been very different. Bonnie had still been there and though not many people remembered anymore, so had Foxy. The foursome had been 'thick as thieves and closer' as Foxy had used to put it; they did everything together before and after performances. It was the closest thing to a family the robots knew, and it was good for a while.
Of course, with time came change and before they knew it Foxy was gone without a word from the technicians, with a brand new Roxanne Wolf in his place. Bonnie had taken the longest to warm up to her, never quite recovering from Foxy's unexplained disappearance until he too was gone with Montgomery stepping in from the golf course to take over as bass player. Though Chica and Freddy still cared for their newer members very much and held nothing against them, the familial bond the two shared from the original band's golden days still held them together strongly.

It was this bond that had Freddy quietly whispering to her as he carried a dozing Gregory, catching her up on Monty's fussing and showing off to the other male while she'd been away.
Monty's blunt and unhidden ambition to keep his human partner close had inspired Freddy. It had made him want to step up as well; to keep hold of his own charge and raise him into a fine adult. But not usually one to fight his pre-set programming or even question it, Freddy had confided his new wants and hopes in Chica who had supported him enthusiastically.
Though with this new confidence in the Freddy's plans for the future, the pair had also become very invested in Monty and Ben's future as well.

Eyebrows almost high enough to fall off, Chica gasped a scandalised 'No!' when Freddy told her about Monty opening up his chest cavity for Ben to go digging through. It was well known to everyone that Montgomery Gator was NOT a touchy-feely personality, even with the children. It was a risky procedure for any technician to examine him while he was active, but doubly so for his internal systems. The fact that Ben could get away with sitting on his back was shocking, that he had simply stuck his head in his chest without losing it was nothing short of ground-breaking.
Chica swung her head back to the pair as they came to the end of the tunnel, Monty still grinning like an idiot as Ben begged him not to drop him in the water. She couldn't help the giddy little cheeping noises that escaped her as they walked on, she couldn't believe someone like Monty could be this cute!

X

The party travelled on into a wide space in the tunnel, overlooking machinery and pipes on the floor below. The main route to the exit was blocked off by a powered down fence that led up into the bricks above, Monty unable to tear it down without bringing the entire ceiling with it.
Ben limped beside Monty on the raised platform of the other route, wanting to walk again now that there was less risk of water. The tunnel they'd taken was barely lit enough for Sunny to safely travel down, though he'd fixed the problem by simply making his entire face glow like a reading lamp. Ben had stared when he'd first done it, but supposed it was on him if he didn't think a sun-themed animatronic could light up.
"And you couldn't do this during Moon's patrols?" He had asked bemusedly. Sunny had patted his head, like he was a toddler asking where the sun went at night. "I can't interrupt Moon when it's his turn to come out! It messes with our system, and then we get in trouble…" The Sun had trailed off uneasily, and Ben had decided to leave the topic there for his sake.

They turned a corner in the dim tunnel, passing a man-sized pipe when Ben gave a shout, waking Gregory.
"Oh god," Ben narrowed his eyes as he approached the object that'd given him a scare, Sunny's light reflecting back from its eyes. "Now that's just edgy."
Someone had dumped a Staff Bot's head in the tunnels, possibly thrown away in the trash compactor. But what was odd was that someone had taken the time to intricately draw a gaping, toothy smile on the head, with thick black lines crying down from its sockets.
"He's scary…" Gregory murmured, his head shrinking into his shoulders as its eyes seemed to flicker.
"Agreed, let's go." Ben quickly leg them away, taking confidence in Monty's unconcerned expression. Maybe Staff Bots got graffitied often, it wouldn't surprise him with the number of teenagers he'd seen slouching about yesterday.
The group turned again, entering a large open chamber in the sewers that was once again half-submerged in water. Ben made a small strangled sound in his throat before turning right around to head back to his incredibly amused partner.
"Not too late to go back to the Daycare, little guy…" The alligator taunted as he stepped out into the open stretch of pitch black water.
"Monty, I'd go back to bloody Nursery if it meant I wasn't here." Ben griped, eyeing the broken and scum-covered parts and pieces of Staff Bots long gone. Giant spiralling tubes dropped down into the water, moving slightly now and then, rippling the water just enough for Ben to shiver from his perch.

It was difficult to explain why the water frightened Ben so much, or rather things that sat in the water. There was something awful about not knowing what lied beneath the surface, or worse still, that what lied beneath the surface was not meant to be there. Even something as harmless as a dropped toy became a rotting, waterlogged corpse of what it once was over time, and that thought terrified Ben more than he could ever say. He firmly believed that there was nothing worse than dying in water, surrounded by other things that had sunk and rotted there with you.
Of course he said none of this aloud, as Freddy certainly would not forgive him for traumatising Gregory for life. Instead he just grumbled a bit pathetically, reaching an arm behind over his shoulder to hold onto Montgomery Jr II's snout for comfort as Freddy carried his charge over to a nearby generator.

"Oooooh, you found a new toy!" Sunny quickly skipped over, balancing on the walkway rails to avoid soiling his fabric trouser legs. "You should have said you wanted new toys! I have loads in the Daycare! I have plushies and puppets and piñatas and-"
"He's already got one." Monty cut in, hand already over Ben's mouth when he went to ask about a Chica plush again. The pair shot each other looks as filthy as the water beneath them while Sunny nodded obliviously.
"I get it, I do! I have a favourite plushie too! I keep a Moon one up on my balcony so I don't get lonely at night, it's like my own little baby! Hey, hey Benny, I bet your plushie is like your baby too! Which one of you is the dad? Can I be the uncle? Can I?"
"… I-"

Chica squawked, hunched over with shrieking laughter at the look on the males' faces by the end of the Sun's naïve little tangent; further inconsolable when they glanced at each other bewilderedly.
Ben smiled wanly as he pulled the plushie from his back and held it out to the Sun, cutting off the gator before he could boastfully joke that he was the father.
"Sure Sunny, you can be the uncle. Why don't you look after him for a while, for me?"
The Sun squealed with innocent joy as he took the toy in his arms, cradling it like a genuine new-born.
"Of course I will!" He beamed, literally lighting up the room as his face spun like a windmill. "I'll clean him and feed him and make him new clothes and teach him right from wrong and-"
The two 'parents' watched the Sun skip off with Ben's plush Montgomery, both wondering if Ben had just started something they would regret later.

The sudden sound of the generator starting up distracted the group, turning to see Freddy pat his charge on the head proudly for starting up the generator all by himself. Gregory smiled up at the bear as his 10 year old nature soaked in the praise.
Ben grinned at the sight, seeing such a positive change in the boy since just yesterday when he had been so defensive and angry, refusing to trust a soul. He would've loved to see someone try and part that boy from his bear at this point, it'd be Freddy that'd have to save them from the kid!
"It's sweet, isn't it?" He looked down at his big green shadow, who was also watching the pair. "Who'd have thought an animatronic would make a good dad?"
"Sweet, is it?" Ben was already rolling his eyes as the gator spoke up. "You want me to go pattin' your head, callin' you a brave boy, Rockstar?"
"Like I need you to tell me that," Ben laughed, swatting at the hand trying to pat him on the head like a child. "I'm a damn brave boy."
"You sure are!" The gator chortled, walking after the others as they headed back towards the tunnel. "Now, lemme carry you away from the scaaaary dark water you're hidin' up there from."
"I- Shut up!"

X

"Not in your life."
"It won't carry us both at the same time, you gotta go over it."
"I am more than happy to die in this tunnel before I cross that plank, Montgomery."
After opening the now powered-on fence in the first chamber, the group almost instantly ran into a new obstacle. The lower floor of the chamber tapered down into a vat of murky water, mossed over Staff Bot pieces and dead rats floating along the black surface. This wouldn't have been too terrible of a problem if the only way across hadn't been extremely flimsy planks of waterlogged fencing, laid out over barely stable platforms that swayed slightly in the water below.
Chica and Sunny had made it across easily, Freddy soon following as he held Gregory to his chest, the boy weighing practically nothing. The real issue was Montgomery, or rather the man he was trying to peel off of the wall. The rotted wood of the boards would never hold the weight of Monty and Ben combined, but the man had taken one look into the vat and promptly plastered himself against the farthest brick wall he could, legs refusing to support even a step in the vats direction.

Chica shared a concerned look with Freddy, unsure how they were going to help the man cross when he looked like his heart was about to give out at the thought. Sunny tilted his head as it spun, sitting on one of the giant pipes that led down into the vat. He sat up at the sudden jolt of action, watching as Monty tried to simply drag him over by his pyjama leg.
"Like hell! I'm not afraid to die a nudist, Monty!" Ben hissed, trying to tug the fabric from the gator's claws as they latched onto the side pocket. The combined pull from both males tore the pocket straight from the leg, dropping a piece of paper and small golden plush Montgomery keychain onto the floor.
Ben snatched the keychain up and speed-walked away, embarrassed; he'd forgotten that he kept the little treasure he'd won during the day when his ruined trousers had been replaced. He cringed at the chortle behind him, just knowing the gator was going to have something to say about it.

Monty did in fact have several things he wanted to say about it, as that particular keychain was rare and took effort to win, but was distracted by the piece of paper that had fallen to the ground as well. Picking it up and unfolding it, he recognised it as the drawing Ben had taken from the Fazcade security office. Looking at the lazily doodled sketch of the Sun and Moon, playing catch with a human child as the ball, gave him an idea.
A terrible, but brilliant idea.

"Hey, little guy."
Ben scowled as he turned around, ears bright red and mouth opening to bicker when he was suddenly lifted from the floor by two gigantic clawed hands, paling as he was carried towards the edge of the vat.
"Now hold still Rockstar,"
"NONONONO-"
"This won't hurt a bit!"
The howl that escaped the man was ungodly, as his trusted companion threw him over his head and into the air like a Donkey Kong barrel. Ben didn't even have time to register his own death before he collided with something else, long fingered hands wrapping around his torso and holding him tight to soften the collision as they both hit the ground again.
Sunny beamed over Ben's windswept hair, the poor man rigid like a deer in headlights as the Sun placed him down gently on the other side of the water vat.
"I caught him! I caught him! That was fun Monty, we should play this game at the Daycare!"
"Heh, maybe some other time." The alligator smirked as he crossed over the planks in peace, unconcerned with the way they creaked and groaned under his immense weight. "You good, Rockstar?"
Ben didn't grace the bastard with a reply, simply awarding him with a withering, resentful glower as his big green shadow cheerily lifted him up and carried him up and into the next tunnel. 

Chapter Text

"C'mon, get back here! I'll get you a burger or somethin' when we get up top."
Nothing.
"A pizza! …Ice cream? How about I steal you a go-kart from Roxy's raceway? Ain't like she needs it right now."
"Montgomery!" Freddy admonished from the front of the group, but listening closely with Chica as the fussing alligator tried to get a word out of his fuming partner.
The second the group had reached the next tunnel, Ben had wrangled his way out of Monty's grip and refused to walk beside him through the man-sized pipeline, instead walking ahead with Gregory and very pointedly talking to everyone except the gator. Too prideful to apologise but hating that he was being ignored, the grated metal floor shook from the looming reptile's sulking and stomping at the back of the line with Sunny while he tried to bribe his way back into the tall man's good graces.
Another powered-down fence blocked the group's path ahead again, though the eerie purple lighting above seemed to give the alternate route a more sinister appearance than the rest of the tunnel.

The group continued on, becoming uneasy when the walls began to change from compressed masses of stale food and broken appliances to a catacomb of broken Staff Bots, heads and torsos stacked against the walls like metal effigies.
"I'm a little concerned with the amount of broken Staff Bots down here, is this your doing?" Ben asked Monty, speaking to him for the first time since he threw him across a vat. Monty snapped his head forward at the attention.
"Naw, this is a lot even for me."
The floor creaked and groaned under their feet as they continued, the railing disappearing under more filth as the walls became more irregular and claustrophobic. Ben drew Gregory a little closer to him, unnerved by the creaking and ready to push the boy back to Freddy the second he felt danger. A massive pipeline hunger over their heads as the tunnel opened into a slightly larger cavern with what looked like crooked support beams seeming to buckle in on one side. Ben's eyebrows went directly to his hairline as the thought that these beams were meant to be supporting the entire building.
At the centre of the cavern was another chasm, this time leading down into an open channel of flowing water that led out of sight. The man shuddered as Chica stepped onto the rotten platform that offered a way across, only relaxing when both she and Freddy had made it with little issue. Still angry at his companion and unwilling to be thrown again in the much smaller space, Ben took Gregory's hand and shaking, set a foot onto the wooden platform.
He shuddered as the soft wood seemed to almost sink under his slippers as he slowly made his way across, trying to listen to Chica's soft encouragements as he went. He gripped the young boy's hand tightly, refusing to even entertain the thought of him slipping and falling over the edge.

He was just over halfway across when it happened. A mulchy, wet crunch of old wood echoed loudly from below as one of the vital supports of the platform gave way. The structure lurched forward horribly, and Ben urgently clutched the small boy into his chest as his heart pounded like a jackrabbit. Gregory screamed in his arms as the wooden platform lurched again, more beams and planks snapping under the pressure as it began to fall apart under their feet. Ben was heaving as he trembled in place, eyes fixed onto the rolling water below.
"GREGORY! BENJAMIN!" Freddy keened as he tried to grab for the boys, his giant form and long limbs still not enough to reach them.
"NO!" Montgomery snarled, the wood crumbling under his weight as he recklessly tried to reach the pair; Sunny's fast reflexes being the only thing to stop him from falling over the edge of the chasm.

With a thunderous crash of wood and grinding metal, the platform gave way entirely, taking Ben and Gregory down with it and into the freezing water below. Freddy felt his circuits flicker and threaten to give out as he watched them fall, Gregory's tiny arms still reaching up desperately from Ben's grasp as they disappeared beneath the crashing surface.
Montgomery dropped to his knees, monstrous claws embedding them themselves into the lip of the pit as most vulnerable of their group were swept away into the garbage and darkness. Agonised and infuriated that the best and closest human he'd ever known was living his worst nightmare and slipping away by the second, he bellowed to the shell-shocked bear and hen that were stranded on the other side of the water, along with the only possible route forward.
"FIND HIM!"

X

Ben's limbs shook from agony as he desperately tried to keep Gregory's head above water as they were thrown along the descending pipeline. The icy cold of the churning blackness seeped into his bruises, but didn't soothe them; only making them throb and ache with pins and needles as they burned into his open cuts.
He gasped as wooden debris scraped against his skin, rotten wood and rusted bolts following them down the darkness and scratching at him under the water like rats. He tried to keep his eyes open, despite the sting of the water and the horror of his situation, prioritising the shuddering boy beneath him that couldn't hold himself up anymore.

It was unknown how long he struggled there, half-drowned and choking on what little air he could as he held the child above his head with quaking arms; but with a final shove against the circular walls, the two humans were finally given their chance to escape from the flowing current.
Ben felt more than saw the ledge that scraped along his side like sandpaper, and desperately flung his hand onto the concrete edge before he could be swept away. His frozen skin burned as the rough surface shredded the palm of his hand, speckling the dry land with his blood as he slowly, painstakingly lifted Gregory up onto the ledge and out of the water.
Barely managing to pull his own weight from the inky rapids, Ben collapsed at the boy's side to check his breathing with fumbling fingers. By a pure miracle the boy was breathing, but far too cold. Ben rubbed his arms and shook him, unable to carry anyone in his state but needing the boy to stay awake and as warm as he could.
"Gregory…" He choked, heaving up water from his rapid movements as he tried to speak. "… We need to go. We need to- We need to go back. Back to Freddy."
His words managed to get Gregory's attention, his nose dripping from the cold and eyes watering as he tried to sit up.
"That's right, that's- that's good." Ben encouraged, supporting his back with a shaking hand. "You're doing good, Gregory."

It took the pair a long time to get moving again, but Ben knew they had to. Falling asleep with hypothermia was a death sentence, and he wasn't about to let Gregory die down here when there was a loving family waiting for him ahead.
Knowing the boy hated him in that moment, Ben apologetically nudged him again, keeping his eyes open and his legs moving as the pair shuffled along the tunnel and out into a side route. Ben sighed as the temperature raised, if only by a single degree. The chilled walls of garbage and metal were freezing in their own right, but simply being away from the water that had almost claimed them both was enough to warm the pair slightly.
Ben looked over Gregory and himself as they walked. Gregory was soaked through, his ratty backpack in tatters and his shirt and shorts providing no warmth as they weighed down on his exhausted limbs; Ben hated that he couldn't provide him with a coat, or any alternative to freezing in his own clothes. He turned his attention on his own attire and winced. Long scraped and scratches from the concrete walls and wooden debris littered his bare torso, his skin almost snow white from the frozen temperature. His pyjama trousers had lost their Monty-green colours, now a sodden and murky blue-ish black from the dirty water. He deliriously mourned the loss of his Montgomery slippers that hadn't lasted 10 seconds in the current, as he would've loved nothing more than to see his friend's face at that moment.
He stumbled a bit, remembering that the last time he had spoken with Monty, he had been furious with the robot for throwing him like he had. Ben pushed on in determination, refusing to sit down and fall asleep when he had a sulking alligator to forgive for what now felt like nothing.

The pair continued in that way for a short while, Gregory trying to be brave as he trembled and Ben encouraging his every step. They reached a section of the tunnels that led to another trench of water, a long straight tunnel with a single lit up gate at the far end. Ben heaved a shuddering gasp, hands gripping Ben a little tighter as he spotted the literal light at the end of the tunnel.
"There Gregory, that's it! We're almost there Gregory, just a few more steps now." He encouraged the weakening child, gently nudging him back into a walk. "We're almost there and we'll- we'll get you warmed up. I'm thinking p-pizza. You want pizza?" He waited for the boy's tiny nod before continuing, trying hard to distract him from his misery. "Yeah, and- and cake. And a burger with all the toppings. That's what we'll have."
His mumbled distractions came to a dead silence when the pair heard movement in the tunnel. Quiet whirrs of something moving in the dark, something mechanical.
"… Freddy?" The boy croaked, speaking for the first time since they fell and sounding awful. Ben tensed what little muscle he still could when there was no response. There was another whirr from the right side of the tunnel, followed by a soft clicking of something moving back and forth. Like an animal instinct, Ben stood still and straight as he watched the darkness. Whatever was in there, was not Freddy.

A deafening splash erupted from the water right next to the boys, shattering the silence and seemingly awakening whatever had been drifting in the pitch black. Louder with purpose, the whirrs and clicks became faster and grinding as whatever was making them grew agitated. Gregory wailed as the water below them as Ben beheld what must have been the source.
An enormous, skeletal mass of machinery and wiring emerged from the rippling water to their right. Over seven feet tall, it towered in the trench and met their pale faces eye to empty eye. Its wires tangled and twisted around itself, looking like veins and nerves on a water-logged husk of a body as scum from the water clogged its joints and crevices. It groaned a grating hum of robotic tones as it rose to its full height and stabilised in a lopsided, jagged posture.

Ben stared into the half-empty sockets of what could only be what his 'new friends' must have looked like under their candy-wrapper shells, grey and dead and empty as it stared right back at him. There was something about its one remaining eye that scared him more than its rusted bones and twitching pieces. He couldn't see what it was thinking, what it thought of him as it stood there in the dark, water dripping from every movement. Its single eye stayed flat and unresponsive as it went still.
But that was it, he realised. He couldn't see it thinking, because it wasn't. The machine was empty and dead, no feelings or personality to drive it as it sat alone in the dark, rusting away in filthy water with no light behinds its eyes. He remembered that the bunny had wanted to 'fix' his friends, destroy them and remake them as they 'should' have been. What this what she had meant? To tear Chica apart until she was gone and all they were left with was this empty machine?
His heart lurched in his chest and he gripped Gregory's shoulder. The thought of Freddy forgetting Gregory destroyed him, standing alone in the dark while he rotted away. Chica, Sunny, even Roxanne, not even aware that they were dead and left behind. Montgomery.

Gregory jolted as Ben almost buckled to the floor, the sudden movement seeming to trigger something in the empty skeleton that watched them, its movements returning with more intent as it stared. Ben's brow creased as it moved again. If it had no personality, no thoughts or feelings behind its eyes… Then what was driving it to move?

His question was answered when the endoskeleton suddenly jolted forward towards them, bone-like arm reaching out to snatch at Gregory with sharp, stabbing fingers. Ben choked on his breath and heaved the boy aside, pushing the poor boy into a stilted run as the mechanical monster behind them shuddered into pursuit. Adrenaline kept them alive as Ben hauled Gregory out of the way of another grasping arm, another endoskeleton missing a chunk of its face and mouth lunging out from the garbage.
"SHIT!" Ben hissed as their path was blocked by an avalanche of broken parts and plastic bags, squeezing his eyes shut and begging for luck before he forced himself to jump into the deep trench below. The water froze him all over again as it submerged his chest, his adrenaline and fear forcing his limbs to move as Ben lifted Gregory's quaking form onto his shoulders and carried him through the black stretch of the tunnel.
The endoskeletons seemed to bleed from the walls as he moved, limbs and blank grey faces emerging from the shadows like phantoms as they grabbed for the pair. A shrieking screech of metal cut through the air behind them as an endoskeleton with no eyes lunged out and plummeted into the water behind them, its flailing clawed hands immediately invisible as it disappeared beneath the surface and driving Ben to push on as fast as he could.

They were nearing the end of the tunnel when he saw it, a fence stretching low over the waterway. It was meant to stop large objects from clogging the sewers, but all it meant for Ben was a lethal obstacle if he didn't make a choice then and there.
"It's going to be- It's going to be okay, Gregory." He whispered to the boy on his shoulders, knowing that the words hadn't comforted either of them. "Just hold on tight, please."
With that he sucked in his last breath and ducked his head under the water, plunging himself further into the icy cold until Gregory was low enough to fit under the fencing. Movement in the water instinctively opened Ben's eyes as they rolled in his skull in panic. It was his worst nightmare in the filthy, but now visible waterway. The single light from the gate illuminated the water around him in a muggy brown fog, revealing the rotted plushies and rusted shards of jagged metal littering the floor around him. It was a wonder he hadn't sliced open his own foot before then.

Out from under the fence, Ben went to lift himself from the depths, but movement below him brought his head down before he could stop himself. Barely visible in the cloudy brown water, one last endoskeleton, far more rusted than the others and torn in half at the waist was dragging itself towards him. Its empty, drooped eyes had long since washed away their original colour as they seemed to roll around in their sockets. It was like an amalgamation of Ben's worst fears as it crawled towards him with cracked and mossy joints. Running out of oxygen and shedding tears that couldn't form in the water, Ben's body forced him to the surface and he made a frantic sprint for the ledge. The water churned around him as he moved, Gregory screaming as the other endoskeletons crushed themselves against the fence to reach after them, with no thoughts to tell them to duck. Apologising in his head, Ben threw the boy off his shoulders and onto the ledge, gasping loudly when something sharp gouged into one of his legs as he lifted himself out.

Not wasting a second to look back, he gathered Gregory back onto his feet and crowded him through the light up gate and into the short hallway it led to. Desperate for an escape, Ben's head snapped back and forth, latching onto the ladder that led up to a maintenance hatch above.
"Oh god, oh god-" He panted as he threw himself onto the rungs, outright screaming when the hand-wheel wouldn't turn, the hatch rusted shut long ago. "Please, no!"
Screeching echoed behind the pair as the fence began to collapse, the endoskeletons forcing there way closer to the desperate humans as they shouted and screamed in panic.

X

Freddy charged ahead of Chica, moving faster than his systems had ever allowed before as they followed the sound of the two males screaming and banging on a metal surface. Nothing could distract him from reaching his charge, bursting through doors and wooden fencing like Montgomery in a rage, Chica barely keeping up with him as the screaming got more desperate.

The sound came to a climax as they reached a small room and the end of a maintenance hallway, pounding thumps ringing out from the rusted maintenance hatch on the floor. Freddy didn't waste a second.
Gouging into the metal with his blunted claws, the bear tore the hatch from the floor like it was paper and threw it aside to receive the small, sobbing boy that was thrust out of the hatch and into his arms.
"Take him! Take him!" Ben snarled up at them, exhausted limbs unable to lift the boy anymore as he collapsed against the rungs of the ladder. Alarmed, Chica quickly took the child from Freddy's hands and held him to her chest, trying to warm the soaking wet 10 year old as Freddy reached back in for Ben.
The Ben he reached for was not the same man he had come to know that night. Where there once was a cocky smirk and an affectionate laugh at his partner's attitude, there was a haunted animalistic expression full of bared teeth and bloodshot eyes. What was once witty one-liners and an unending energy for arguing, was instead desperate pleading for the bear to save him. Freddy's protocols were screaming with errors as he pulled the man out of the maintenance hatch, his blunt fingernails scratching at his paint as he begged. Aside from Gregory, it was Freddy's first true experience with someone genuinely fearing for their life, and it shook him dreadfully.
"Don't let them take me," Ben shivered into his shoulder as he lifted him close, the tall man never looking smaller as he shrank in the bear's arms. "Please, don't let them take me back under. Don't let them, don't them them…"

They stayed that way for a long time; Ben unmoving from the bear's much needed comfort, confiding his fear and horror of his time in the waters, and Freddy learning there was much more to Ben than his foul language and snarky sense of humour.
"Don't tell the prat that I cried," Ben suddenly muttered after a long silence. "Don't tell him, he'll worry."
Before Freddy could think to respond, the maintenance door flew open causing the two humans to flinch. As though summoned by thought alone, Montgomery Gator charged in with his hands already outstretched as he dropped to the ground next to his partner. Sunny slipped in behind him, lit up and anxious as he looked between the two humans before rushing over to Chica to help warm Gregory.

Shuddering and cold, Ben tried to soothe the visibly smoking alligator as he leaned back from Freddy's shoulder. His frozen face ached as he tried a weak smile.
"Hello trouble…"
"Dog-brain!" The gator snarled as he grabbed him from the bear, bringing him to his chest in what could have been a hug before immediately moving back to scan over his shivering companion. "Did anythin' hurt you? Did you hurt yourself! You're soaked!"
Not waiting to hear a reply, Ben was pulled back into his chest in a crushing hug as his big green shadow tried to warm him, Freddy leaving them to latch onto his own charge in worry. Ben froze for a moment at the new affection, but quickly relaxed and rested his head on the gator's purple shoulder pad in relief. The group stayed in that room for a long time, huddled close for warmth and comfort as the stress of the boys' near death finally, finally began to wind down.

Chapter Text

A jolt of movement woke Ben, his bleary eyes opening slightly as Monty kicked aside a broken microwave. The gator noticed instantly, adjusting the man in his hold so he could look at his face, his long snout lightly pressing against Ben's hair as he spoke to him.
"Go back to sleep, I ain't gonna drop you." He promised.

The group had kept moving after both humans had passed out from exhaustion, thankfully managing to warm them back up from hypothermia before they dropped. Freddy had kept a tight hold on his charge, only relinquishing the sleeping child to Chica when something heavy needed moving out of the way. Montgomery had refused to let go of his own partner at all, keeping him exactly where he had pinned him to his chest as he carried his friend through the mineshaft-like section of the sewer.
Freddy hadn't been able to explain much when Monty had demanded answers, only that there were endoskeletons in the lower tunnels that had attacked them when they had escaped from the waterway. He hadn't mentioned Ben's breakdown to him as requested, but knew the alligator was worried out of his processor all the same. If the situation hadn't been so dire, he knew Chica would have been all over the way the tallest band member was rubbing his snout on the man's head, ruffling his hair as though to remind himself the man was still by his side. But as it was, the lack of chatter from either human was lonely to the animatronics, lonely and unsettling.

As his brain caught up to the fact that they were moving, Ben opened his eyes a little more, looking over Monty's shoulder at the rest of the group that trailed behind. Freddy gave him a relieved smile, happy to see the man awake and without the haunted expression he had last seen him with. He felt closer with the adult now, like that moment of weakness had strengthened a bond in them not unlike that of a band member. Chica raised her hand to wave at him, eyes still flicking back to Gregory as he slept in the bear's arms, much less pale but still looking exhausted. Ben breathed out shakily, releasing tension he hadn't known was there when he realised he'd brought the boy back to his robotic father-figure.

The snout in his hair pressed a little harder at his sigh, Monty's red eyes scanning him for any problems before looking back to the front. Ben felt a wave of unexpected affection for the lumbering giant in that moment. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed the security and confidence he felt when the gator was by his side, how much braver he felt when he had his brutish companion to bicker and quarrel with. Great with a comeback but terrible with the heart, Ben didn't try and put his feelings into words for Monty, simply throwing an arm around his neck to hug him back in gratitude and relief. He rested his chin as he gazed back over the group once more, feeling warmer when the thick arms carrying him tightened wordlessly. Freddy and Chica followed behind peacefully, Gregory sleeping like a tiny log in the bear's arms. Sunny followed cheerfully at the back, first aid programming running as he watched both humans for any sign of fever or illness, skinner than usual legs skipping along-

Ben blinked, wondering if he'd hit his head.

He blinked again, sure he was seeing things.

He blinked one last time, hoping he was wrong.

But he wasn't. The Sun truly was skipping around behind the group without a care in the world, and absolutely no sign of his fabric pyjama patterned trousers. Chica caught his crumpled expression and leaned forwards to check on him as they walked.
"Everything okay, sugar?" A long green snout tapped the back of his head again as Monty turned to look.
"Yeah, I- Yeah, everything's fine."
"Are you sure, sugar-?"
"-Why is Sunny naked?" He had to ask, he simply had to. No matter how quiet the atmosphere was, or how seriously he was injured or exhausted, Ben simply was not the type of man that could ignore a nudist animatronic as it danced around a sewer.
Chica broke into a smirk, her own dirtier-than-should-be-allowed sense of humour kicking in as she went to reply, more than happy to lighten the tone now both humans were safe with them again.
"He-"
"Whoahoho, Benny! Glad to see you're awake!" The Sun crowed, swaying his hips obliviously as Ben's forehead gained 6 new age lines from the visual. "We didn't have any dry clothes to give Gregory, so we wrapped him up in my costume to keep him warm! So cosy, they're made of cotton y'know!"
"Right, right, that's… Good job Sunny." Ben dropped his face back down into his partner's shoulder, hating that the ends justified the cursed and unorthodox means.

X

"Staff Bot Silo, eh?" Ben eyed the reinforced metal doors, unable to sleep now or ever again after getting a front-row view of Sunny's Ken-doll smooth crotch. The group had continued on through the sewers, turning on generators as they passed by and Freddy gently lifting Security Bots away from the passing party before placing them back where they were. Ben had found it endearing, which of course, instantly provoked Monty into a quarrel over 'the correct method of dealing with Staff Bots'. The others had just let the pair bicker to their hearts' content, happy for the return to normalcy.

The blue-grey double doors scraped against the ground as they opened, creased paper and cards catching under the metal. The band stepped through into the silo, looking around in wonder at the colourful papers attached to every wall and surface. Monty approached one of the paper laden boxes so Ben look over them, noting that most of them were children's drawings of friends, family and the animatronics.
"It's fan art? From the kids?" He asked his partner, confused as to what it was doing down here.
"I guess so. We always gave any art from the kids to the Staff Bots, part of our programmin'."
"And it wound up in the sewers, charming." Ben snorted at the very typical behaviour from Fazbear Entertainment. "It's weird that it all ended up in one place though, did the Staff Bots save the drawings?"
The pair shared an uncomfortable look then, having to reconsider if the Bots Monty had been punching in all night were only drones after all.
"We'll revisit that later." "Yep."
They continued heading up the stairway, pausing uncertainly next to a family dinner 'scene' on the second floor, showcasing a family of five seemingly giving a gift to the youngest member. Monty kindly stole the present from the inactive Bot, not bothering with the wind-up handle and somehow ripping the box open without jostling Ben once. Ben stared at the vintage poster of a much heftier Freddy talking into a phone in interest, having grown up in the UK with no idea that the Pizzaplex might have a history.
"Oh wow Freddy, you sure looked different back then. Good job on the weight loss though." His deadpan delivery earned him a chortle from Monty as they ascended the rest of the staircase, Freddy smiling but not seeming to get the joke as he followed.

Leaving the silo and entering the laundry section of the maintenance hall felt like stepping into another world for Ben. They'd been in the dank and unending sewers for so long that he had almost forgotten there was an entire building designed for children above it. The change in the air from rotting sewage to harsh chemical scents burned his nose, a hand raising to shade his eyes from the harsh light fixtures above as he took in the area. The animatronics weren't disturbed as they passed by the Maintenance Bots, Ben once again playing dead in Monty's arms to avoid alerting them as they snuck between the industrial washing machines that lined the room.
Ben's eyes bulged out of their sockets. The laundry room.

He tapped Monty's arm to halt him before they left the laundry room, sitting up in rabid excitement.
"Oh my god we're in the laundry room! Somebody please find me a bloody shirt."
Catching on instantly, Ben stayed hidden with Montgomery and Sunny while Freddy and Chica went digging for dry clothes for their human charges. As they sat on the cold linoleum, Ben felt a tap on his arm and looked to the Sun, who was cradling a still asleep Gregory in one lanky arm as he waited for his attention.
"I really missed you while you were gone, big friend! I was really worried, Moon was too! I'm so happy you're back now, so we can play later, and have sleepovers and keep being friends and-"
Though he doubted that the Moon particularly cared if he lived or died, Ben's heart melted as he listened to the Sun's chattering about future plans and everything he wanted to do with his new friend when they weren't in mortal danger. It was becoming easier and easier for him to justify simply staying with them in the US, the thought of returning to his quiet, rainy cottage in the South of England appealing, but so very lonely.

Now Ben was not the most family oriented man, he hadn't followed his sister when she moved to the US two years ago, nor did he beg her to stay. Ben had very much been the sort to quietly enjoy his peace and solitude without the need for much company.
But the thought of going back to that solitude without the chattering of Sunny, the grumbling of Freddy as Chica accidentally taught Gregory a new pseudo-swear, the smug chortling of Montgomery whenever Ben snarked at him; It didn't sound so peaceful anymore, just lonely. He quietly wondered if when they inevitably went and retrieved Roxanne back into their little band, she would wind up becoming equally as important to him.
It was then and there on the laundry room floor that Ben finally committed to his new goal, which was apparently moving to the US to sit in a Pizzaplex for the rest of his life. Ambitious.

"We have found you some new clothes!" Freddy beamed as he returned to the back of the washing machines, cloth bundle in hand. Chica was on his heels, clutching some child-sized merchandise she'd found for Gregory. Ben was on his feet instantly, then off them again as he fell back against Monty, still dizzy and tired. Thanking the burly green arm that was holding him up, Ben accepted the clothes and unfolded them, revealing a simple grey set of overalls that were stamped with 'Fazbear Janitor' on the chest and back. Happy for something that wasn't soggy pyjama trousers, Ben nodded in satisfaction and attempted to hobble around the corner to change in peace, leaving Freddy and Chica to briefly wake Gregory and help him change his soaked clothes.
Or he would have changed in peace, had Montgomery and Sunny not followed him around the corner to 'help'.
"Oi! Get off, I definitely do NOT need your help changing my bloody trousers!"
"Now I know that's a big fat lie, you can't even stand by yourself right now."
"Watch me, prat."
"I thought you didn't want us watchin'?"
"I- You- Wh- … Shut up! Get out of here, I don't need help for this."
"Ooh ooh! I can help, big friend! I help kids when they spill glue on their clothes all the time in the Daycare! Here, hold still!"
"No-no Sunny, I'm fine- Sunny, SUNNY!"

X

Sunny skipped along through the Atrium as the group made their way to Roxy Raceway, beaming at the group following behind him. As expected, nobody had wanted to leave while Roxanne was at risk from the creepy bunny woman that was still on the loose, so it was a unanimous decision to go and 'collect' her before something terrible happened.

Freddy and Chica walked ahead, discussing ideas on how they would handle Roxy while she was still under her glitched programming. Gregory walked beside them, sleepy but awake as he adjusted his new clothes that Chica had brought for him. The hen had managed to find him a light blue jumper with orange lining and Freddy's face, along with a pair of pyjama trousers and light-up Roxanne-themed shoes. When she'd first presented them to the boy, he'd gotten emotional, as if he'd never received presents from anyone before then. Ben had frowned and privately vowed to beat the shit out of any 'parent' that came looking for him in the future, refusing to return him to anyone that didn't shower him in the same affection the Glamrock band did.

Ben followed at the back of the group, eyes still wide and staring from the trauma of the Sun 'helping' him undress. To respect his privacy, even the author won't go into too much detail, but know that Montgomery was heaving with laughter the entire time and not lifting a finger to help. To Freddy's credit, the janitor's uniform fit him nicely, though he was still without shoes. The uniform was fairly standard for a pair of overalls, simple open collar with a lot of pockets, but having true clothes on again felt healing to Ben; like he had more control over where he stood in the Pizzaplex now that he wasn't running about in only novelty pyjamas and slippers. He caught Monty's eye through his shades and smirked, eager to collect the final piece of their strange animatronic puzzle and get the hell out of the damn place. Monty leered back at him, lowering his shades to give him a wink as he showed off his new outfit, not a hint of Montgomery merch in sight.
"Feeling good, Rockstar?"
"Yes, yes I am. Finally free of your smug mug plastered all over me, I feel light, free actually."
"Mhm, like you wouldn't miss seein' this face every day."
"Do my nightmares count?"
Their conversation cut off as Sunny's head suddenly popped into Ben's line of sight, his own pyjama trousers back where they should be as he danced around the tall man.
"Oh no! You lost all your pretty bandages and your favourite pyjamas, poor you! Poor Monty!"
"It's really not-"
"Here you go, big friend! You can have him back so you don't feel too plain, have a look! I got him an outfit to match you too, isn't it neat? Isn't it?"
Ben avoided looking at the sickening grin on Monty's face as Sunny strapped Montgomery Jr II onto his back, now fashioned with a little janitor outfit that Sunny had somehow crafted himself. Despite his internal suffering, Ben had to admit the stitchwork was pretty impressive.
With Monty's face once again branding his body, Ben heaved a sigh and followed his companions over to Roxy Raceway.

Chapter Text

Monty led the group through the Fazer Blast entrance as they approached the Raceway, claiming to know a faster shortcut. Ben trusted him not to lead them astray, but by the look on Freddy's rather unimpressed face, this particular shortcut was going to be either against the rules or destructive.
True to form, Monty proudly revealed a heavy chain link fence as the top of a staircase, heavily embellished with various signs including but not limited to: 'NO MONTGOMERY GATORS ALLOWED', 'MONTY GO AWAY', 'DO NOT BREAK FENCE' and 'MONTY STAY OUT'. Seeing where this was going, Ben took a large step back and let the gator show off, his big green shadow shooting him a wicked grin before making a big production of kicking in the reinforced fence with a "HA!".

Only for it to bounce back and clock Sunny directly in his flat faceplate.
"OUCH!"

The pair jolted, standing by awkwardly as the poor robot rubbed at his sideways nose, Chica walking over to check for any cracks. Sympathetically, Ben reached up and patted his partner's shoulder in consolation for the attempt, Monty nodding in defeat.
Slouching off and into the long winding alleys of scaffolding and wooden pallets, Ben hurried after his companion along with his bandmates, looking around at the half finished construction around him.
"Hey Freddy, what's with the all the building? Is the Raceway not finished yet or something?" Freddy looked up at the question, surprised to be asked over Monty, but happy to talk with his newly considered 'bandmate'.
"The Raceway is complete, however, it is currently undergoing repairs due to an unforeseen… Collision."
"With what, a planet?" Ben asked incredulously, gesturing to the scaffolding that covered every wall of the lobby and entrance.
"There was an incident with the DJ in the Fazcade… A child had begged him to accompany her to Roxy's Raceway and help her win a race. As you know, the DJ is such a nice fellow. But in his enthusiasm, he had… Forgotten a few protocols on where he can use his tunnels in the Pizzaplex." Ben gawked at him in awe.
"You mean to tell me the DJ burrowed his way through the ceiling like a bloody tarantula?"
"He did not intend to cause so much damage, I assure you." Now that, he believed.
Shaking his head at the uncovered backstory, Ben looked at the half-repaired lobby with newfound appreciation for the absolute nonsense that occurred in this building.

"That one," Monty suddenly spoke as he pointed upwards, wanting the man's attention back after the bear had finished speaking to him. "I'll steal you that one, and we'll race sometime."
Ben peered up at the suspended go-kart that hung from the ceiling. Monty-green of course, and covered with red stripes and purple stars that reflected the light as they passed under it.
"Can you even fit in one of those?" Ben asked him, looking the burly animatronic up and down. Preening at the indirect compliment, Monty puffed himself up even more, winking down at his blank faced partner.
"I ain't gonna need a kart to beat you, I'll can win easy, just by runnin'."
"Oho! Will you now?" Ben kicked off, his small competitive streak being plucked like a guitar string by the leering alligator. "Last I checked, you were still being weighed down by that colossal ego of yours."
"What can I say, Rockstar? My legs grew strong carryin' all this talent on my shoulders." Ben snorted, tapping his metal arm with a knuckle as though awarding him a point for the good comeback.

Freddy and Chica shared an amused and knowing look as the tall pair bickered, Gregory looking up at them in confusion.
"What? What's so funny?"
"Nothing for you to worry about, honey pie! At least, not until you're older!" Chica chirped to him, smiling at his innocence. Gregory tilted his head, Sunny mimicking the action beside him as neither understood what she was talking about. Freddy beamed fondly at his little band of friends and family, before looking back in slight amazement at the squabbling duo that had wandered ahead of them without even realising.
Though neither of them seemed to have a clue themselves, Freddy had seen and heard that same song and dance a thousand times before in all his years of performing. Young and old, men and women, Freddy and Chica had seen all kinds of couples with that look in their eyes, and recognised it immediately. Fondness, a spark of something deeper than friendship.
It was surprising to Freddy, no doubt; that their programming could allow them to become so attached was baffling. But he didn't begrudge it, delighting that even without being human, he could love his friends and his charge just as strongly.

"Here you are, dumb-dumb," Ben loudly announced, distracting Freddy from his happy thoughts. Ben stood by the man-sized golden trophy that stood in pride of place at the end of the Raceway lobby, presenting it to the laughing gator. "Your award, for the world's longest record of patting yourself on the back."
"Aw, you shouldn't have, little guy," Monty jeered, stepping up to the trophy and lifting it with little effort. He delighted in the man's outrage at his casual display of strength. "I'll keep it right next to that giant gold statue of myself in Rockstar Row!"
"Oh you are despicable." Ben gently thumped his shoulder pad with a fist, refusing to continue the losing battle as he finally turned his attention to the chequered security doors. "So, Roxy'll be in here then?"
As though in answer to his question, a guttural, snarling growl shook the reinforced door, a nearby wall display falling to the ground from the vibration.
"Well alright then."

"Try and stay back if you can," Freddy half-told and half-pleaded with the man, knowing that he was likely to get himself involved if he thought they were in trouble, injuries or not.
"Alright Freddy, I'll sit this one out." Ben lied, fully intending to get involved if any of the others got so much as a scratch. Freddy shot him a disbelieving look, but stood up to lead the group into Roxy's Raceway.

X

"Hey. I'm Roxanne Wolf. If you're looking for high speed motor mayhem, Roxy Raceway is the place to be. Sign up today and be a winner! Nobody likes a loser."
"Don't tell me you have one of those automated messages in your golf course too, Monty. Does it tell kids to break things and steal from the gift shops?"
"Naw, marketin' wouldn't let 'em keep that part in."
Ben's snort was loud enough to echo around the entire Raceway track, almost giving them away to the two animals that were shouting below.

Jolting at the sudden presence of danger, the group quickly ducked down behind the Pit Stop kiosk, peering around to star through the glass balcony. Across from them on the track was Roxanne, though she wasn't alone as she snarled and twitched.
The bunny stood over her, holding what looked to be a stun baton in her hand as she berated Roxanne, her costumed foot pinning the wolf's neck to the tarmac. The bunny sounded gleeful as it harassed the animatronic, giggling as she pretended to jab her with the stun baton over and over.
"You're my last toy left… But you're still the most useless." The bunny hissed, leaning over the wolf and properly jamming the baton into her back, taunting childishly over the garbled static she provoked. "I thought you wanted to be the one to find Gregory, Roxy? Was it too hard? Or are you just a loser?"
"I-I'm not a loser, I WILL find the kid first!" The wolf half-wailed as she tried and failed to push herself up, unable to see what was holding her down. "I AM the best!" The rabbit woman just laughed at her, continuing to taunt and electrocute the wolf under her foot.

"Oh my god. She's given an animatronic self-esteem issues." Ben whispered, fingers pressed against his mouth in shock at what he was seeing. The other animatronics looked to him in alarm, only able to see Roxanne on the ground and not what was holding her there.
"The rabbit woman, she is there?" Freddy asked severely, more than concerned for his bandmate that was under her attack.
"She is, but not for long." Ben sneered as he turned to Monty. "Open up, big guy. I'm going golfing."
More than delighted by Ben's inner supervillain making an appearance, Monty happily opened up his chest cavity, shuddering slightly as the man reached in to remove his other spare golf club from his interior.
"Remember, move your hips with the swing, and she'll go further."
"Got it." Ben nodded, ignoring Freddy's exasperated expression as he gently covered Gregory's listening ears.
"Please don't encourage violence, Montgomery."
"No idea what you mean, Fazbear."

The conversation ended there as Ben made his move, stealthily sneaking between kiosks and slipping down the stairs as he made his way to the edge of the track. The remaining band watched him closely, ready and able to run down after him if he ran into trouble with Staff Bots, but not much use against the woman they couldn't see.
Unable to reach the higher section of the track easily, Ben was forced to take the long way around, apologising in his head each time he heard the wolf whirr and whine from being shocked. Reaching a stack of wooden pallets, he forced his sore legs to gingerly climb up and onto the racetrack, eyes staying locked onto the back of the sick bitch's head as she hissed her barbed words and swung the baton.

"Are you going to find Gregory, Roxy? Or should I replace you with someone that's not a failure?"
"I'll find him! I WILL find him! I won't lose, I'm a winner!"
"Maybe I should just take out those eyes, since you can't seem to use them…"
It was like the poor thing was stuck in some kind of feedback loop, insisting that she wouldn't fail as the woman beat her into the ground. It was a sickening thing to see from the usually confident, if arrogant, she-wolf. Ben looked up over the balcony to see Freddy and Monty glowering at the abuse, with Chica beside herself with rage and almost spitting fire. He could just barely see one of Sunny's sunrays behind the kiosk, most likely trying to distract Gregory from the disturbing situation.
Angry on his friends' behalf, Ben stepped up behind the woman at high speed. His still bare-feet made next to no noise on the tarmac until he was already upon her, a wordless snarl on his lips as he swung his golf club down on the same arm he had struck before.

With a crack and a shriek, he knew he'd broken the bone, wincing at the sound but struggling to feel bad as the woman tumbled away from Roxanne's twitching shell.
"How many times do I have to teach you this lesson, you ratty bitch?" He barked, swinging the club over his shoulder like he was readying a baseball bat as the woman keened over her slightly crooked arm. He politely ignored Roxanne's garbled auto-response telling him to 'watch his mouth'.
"You…" She spat, backlit red eyes burrowing into his own as she recognised the same man that had appeared from nowhere. "You don't get to break my toys… You don't get to win this game!"
"There is no game here, you psychopath!" He thundered, readying himself as the bunny seemed to regain some confidence. "Just you and your nasty-ass fursuit hurting a bunch of kids! I've seen your room, 'Vanny'. I've seen those newspapers and I know the fucked up things you've done and it ends today!"

'Vanny's sudden giggle put the man on edge, his brow furrowing as she put a hand to her masked mouth like she was hiding a smile.
"I bet you think you're so smart, don't you? Trying so hard to keep Gregory away from me." Ben scowled and tightened his grip on the club, missing the way the battered animatronic twitched on the floor. "I bet you think you can just hide him away forever, where I can't find him."
Roxy's shell seemed to vibrate as she pulled herself to her feet, definitely catching Ben's attention as she turned her amber eyes on him, predatory as she raised her clawed hands.
"You might be able to hide Gregory from me…" The bunny's devil-red eyes lit up her face as she backed away, unseen and ignored by the enormous she-wolf that was stalking towards the taller man. "But can you hide him from her?"

Ben barely had a second to widen his eyes before having to dodge back, Roxy's sharp claws grinding against his club with a shower of sparks.
"Jesus Christ-" He gasped, already dodging back from another swipe at his chest.
"I will find him, I won't let you beat me!" She howled at the man, deaf to anything he said as she attacked again. Ben was in full panic mode, trying to figure out what to do as he was driven back by the massive wolf. He desperately tried to parry her striking claws with his club, but flinched back when her strength simply ripped the pole right out of his hand.
A lightning-fast swipe at his eyes had him toppling down to the floor to dodge it, her claws millimetres from rendering him blind for life.

She towered over him as she took another step, golden eyes glowing like sickly yellow lamps as she threw her arm out to claw into his face, when she was suddenly thrown backwards across the track by a burly, green arm.

"Don't even think about it, dog-breath."
Montgomery stood over his fallen human, looking more like a real alligator in that moment than any kind of animatronic as he bellowed at his bandmate. Being the only one capable of making the wide jump from the balcony to the race track, the territorial bassist hadn't hesitated to move the second he saw Roxy go after his partner.
Roxy registered her bandmate in front of her, programming trying to understand why the gator wasn't obeying their protocols and attacking the man with her, before her glitched processor forcibly filled in the blanks.
"He's mine, Gator! This is MY turn to find the brat, ME! I won't let you make me a loser…" She growled at the unmoving machine. The she-wolf sprinted forward, launching herself at the alligator that easily caught her in his massive arms, snapping his own jaws in her face as the pair wrestled for dominance.
Monty didn't waste words trying to convince his glitched opponent; he set his shoulders with a crocodilian hiss and began driving the wolf away from his partner like an ox pulling a cart, her feet scraping and sparking against the tarmac as he pushed her.

A little star-struck at the protective act, Ben stared at his powerful accomplice for a little too long before gathering himself and snatching up his golf club. His sharp, furious eyes scanned the track before latching onto the rabbit who had unwisely stuck around in hopes of watching him get torn apart.
With her brutal attempt on his life and her unending threat to Gregory, Ben had decided that all bets were off and charged at her like a rugby player, his club aimed straight for her head. The bunny didn't get a chance to run before he had already reached her, the blank and unsettling smile her mask wore sharply contrasted the bare-toothed scowl he wore as he swung the mangled pole.

Chica's shell scraped and shrieked against the tarmac as she pulled herself up from the wooden pallets, looking up just in time to watch Ben put all his effort into a heavy swing of his golf club. Freddy wasn't far behind her as he pulled himself up, having taken the long way around the Raceway as neither of them able to make the same jump Monty had; both watching intensely as their vision seemed to fluctuate briefly before a ratty white rabbit appeared from thin air, clutching at the shattered red glass of one of her eyes.
"I see her!" Freddy exclaimed, further proving that whatever system she had been using to hide from them had been broken from the hit.
"So do I." Chica clicked her beak as she began to stalk forwards, still ignited by the beating she had watched the only other girl in the Pizzaplex crew endure.

Vanny seemed to panic, head snapping from Ben to Chica as she got closer, before stepping back and running away. Ben tilted his head slightly as she started to move, the only thing preventing him from chasing her being Freddy and his partner still struggling to contain Roxy as she thrashed in their hold.
Ben and Chica looked at each other as she ran, checking if the other had heard what she'd shakily whispered to herself as she went.
"It's all going wrong… I need your help, I have to wake you up… They're going to ruin everything…"
It was right as she disappeared into a non-descript security door at the back of the Raceway, that the passive-aggressive automated maintenance suddenly rang out across the entire Pizzaplex.

"Night-time security protocols are now disabled. Security and Technician staff may now clock out of their shifts, and make their way to the main entrance. Please do not steal, break, or leave love letters for the animatronic performers on your way out."

The night was over, they had survived until 6am.

Chapter Text

"Freddy, get off of me-!"
The entire group startled when Roxanne spoke, still fighting but less viciously as she tried to wrestle the male animatronics off her back. With 6am arriving, her night-time protocols switched off, and the keytarist snapped out of the corrupted programming like a dream.
"Roxanne!" Freddy exclaimed, loosening his hold instantly. "Are you alright? Is it you?" The she-wolf scoffed as she kicked away the last of Monty's claws, instantly raising her hands to try and tame her tangled mane of hair.
"Duh, who else would I be? Monty? Now which one of you losers ruined. My. Hair."
"ROXY!"

The canine's glare was cut off when Chica barged into her, the hen lifting up the other girl in delight. "I'm so glad you're back, honey-bun! I was so worried about you!"
Confused and irritated, but not wanting to lash out at Chica, Roxy instead lashed out at Montgomery for answers.
"What the heck happened? What did you do, Gator?" Monty raised a brow at the assumption that it was him causing the trouble, leaning to his side to mutter into Ben's ear as he approached.
"Aw man, she ain't gonna like this. You're about to see the shoutin' match of a lifetime, Rockstar."
"And who the heck is that guy? We haven't had a human janitor for years!"

X

By the time they had caught the poor wolf up on what had happened over the course of the night, they were almost at Parts & Services and Roxanne had worked herself up into a blazing firestorm of rage. Freddy had been the one to come up with the idea, as Roxanne was the only one of the group who was back in safe-mode without being… 'Fixed' the old fashioned way. He had asked Ben to look at her processor, to try and find whatever had been installed that caused them to become so dangerous and violent.
With absolutely no experience in tech outside of downloading apps on his phone, Ben had blanched at the request until Sunny insisted that he would help him. Neither comforted nor encouraged by the offer, Ben had still accepted, needing all the help he could get to find out what had taken control of the furious wolf.

"I can't believe she dared to touch me! Nobody makes a fool out of me!" Roxanne raged and spat at the front of the group, leading the charge to Parts & Services while Chica swore and cursed out the rabbit with every word Ben wasn't allowed to say, fuelling each other's anger as they walked side by side. "I'll tear the rat limb from limb!"
Ben believed her.

When Roxanne had been told of the way the bunny had humiliated her in her own Raceway, she had erupted like a firework and demanded they hunt the woman down at once. Ben, Chica and Monty had all agreed, all borderline bloodthirsty with their own reasons to hate the rabbit.
Ben was still incensed at the attempt on his own life, and the attempt to set one of the most dangerous animatronics he had met yet on a ten year old boy; Chica infuriated at the treatment of Roxanne, who she had taken under her metaphorical and literal wing as something akin to a younger teenage sister; and Monty, who was simply ready and willing to kill anybody who pissed off his partner to this degree.
It was only by Freddy's leadership skills and reasoning that the trio had been convinced enough to agree to visit Parts & Services first, barely.

That being said, Freddy still walked at the back of the group, cutting off the exit in case somebody made a break for revenge and carrying Gregory in his arms with one massive hand around his head to cover both ears from Chica's unstoppable fountain of foul language. Sunny walked beside him, giant hands pressing in the sunrays on both sides of his head, the closest he could get to covering his own ears as well.

In the middle walked Ben and Monty, not needing to speak but staying close as they let Roxanne's energy and Chica's fury heat them up and prepare them for what they strongly suspected was the final showdown of the night.

Parts and Services was icy cold on Ben's bare feet as they entered, the wire cages that lined the side of the room full of empty, dead endoskeletons that made Ben flinch on reflex. Even if they didn't move, their presence combined with the cold forced his mind into the dark memories of the sewers.
"Here, look what I found."
A pair of steel-toed technician's boots were thrust into his face, almost bumping his nose as Ben came to a sharp stop. Ben looked at the gator in amazement, taking the boots like a gift from a deity as he rushed to put them on and warm his feet.
"Where on earth did you-?"
"Found 'em near the recharge station outside, figured you needed 'em more than I do." Ben laughed as he finished tying the laces, the boots immediately doing their job to warm him up even without any socks.
"Remind me, I owe you a favour after tonight."
"Just one?"
"Shush."
"Come ON you two, let's get this show on the road and get me my revenge!" Roxy barked at them from the protective cylinder, eyes narrowed as she tossed her hair. Ben and Monty raised their eyebrows at the attitude, sharing a side glance before separating. Ben approached the wolf and nodded to her with a smirk, the pair already united in a common goal.
"Let's rock and roll." Ben winked as he opened the protective cylinder, gesturing for her and Sunny to go inside.
"Oh jeez, you even talk like him," Roxy complained as she stepped into the chamber, shooting a disdainful glance at Monty. "You need to spend more time with somebody who lives on the wild side, not that eight-bit mini-golf gator."
"Yeah, yeah," Monty snorted as he leaned against one of the cylinder windows. "Come talk to me when you stop chasing go-karts around like a loose dog, fluff-butt."
Roxy gave the larger robot a petulant look before she turned away to sit in the large maintenance seat, her long hair smacking the gator in the snout as she passed. Ben looked between the two for a moment before following, not expecting the weird rivalry the pair seemed to have.

"Alright, let's get cracking. Where's my assistant?" Ben called.
"Nurse Sun, here for duty doctor!" The yellow ball of warmth beamed as he shut the protective cylinder behind him. Ben smiled back, forever endeared by Sunny's sweet nature.
The pair went to work then, Sunny remembering each pattern of code they had to input and Ben's smaller and more dexterous fingers doing most of the physical work as they removed Roxanne's faceplates to try and find what was causing her corruption.

"Well that'd bloody do it, wouldn't it?" Ben suddenly exclaimed, sounding entirely unimpressed. "What is it with bad guys and making their evil devices really, really obvious?"
Wired into Roxanne's processor, right over her eye ridge, sat a small but vibrantly purple attachment. It was a strange amalgamation of hardware and thin vein-like wires, attached at various points over the wolf's endoskeleton head. Engraved into the front was a tiny, ugly looking rabbit's head; Ben rolled his eyes at the complete lack of subtlety.
Removing the hardware was more difficult than finding it, Sunny working to keep Roxanne's safety protocols in-check as Ben meticulously removed each tiny wire from its slot. It was surprisingly painful, each tiny wire giving him a sharp shock as though biting his hands each time he touched them.

The procedure was a success, Ben showing each animatronic the tiny attachment so they could scan over it before happily launching it into the concrete floor, stamping on it with his new boots for good measure.
Looking back over to Roxy, he was relieved when Sunny closed her up with no issue, and she blinked back online to smirk at him.
"Thanks for the help, doc."
"Ha, anytime. Take two of these and call me in the morning." He joked as he handed her back her ears, making her rasp out a laugh as she reattached them in a swift, practiced movement. "Right, before we go, would anyone else like me to take their face off?"

There was no chance for Monty to utter his incoming comment, as the moment Ben had spoken, the room had lit up with a violent electrical discharge sparking up every wire and cord in the room. The walls glowed an eerie purple for almost a minute as sparks of electricity lashed out from every direction.
"Jesus CHRIST-" Ben yelped as he was pulled out of the cylinder and down to the floor, swiftly covered by Monty's large form. Ben shuffled away slightly, appreciating the sentiment but realising that the metal alligator may be more hindrance than help when ducking away from electricity.

The purple shockwave finally faded out with an eerie metallic shriek, leaving the room dead and without power.
Ben's eyes tried to adjust to the darkness, helped when Monty's devil-red irises lit up beside him.
"Is it over?" Chica's lilac eyes lit up across the room, followed by Freddy's blue.
"The endos…" Amber eyes illuminated the wire cages to their left. "… They're all offline."
The other animatronics quickly focussed in on what Roxy was looking at, the combined light fully revealing the endoskeletons collapsed on the floors of their cages, drained of all power and the closest thing to dead a robot could be. Chica gasped, Ben hearing a clang of metal as she put a hand to her beak in shock.
"Why did they..?"
"They had that purple hardware," Monty suddenly pointed out, pointing through the darkness at the smoking purple attachment on the endoskeleton's head. "It fried 'em, fried their processors."

There was an eerie silence as the group took in the shocking statement, Roxy trembling slightly as she lifted a hand to her eye ridge, Chica already moving to comfort her. Gregory squeezed his eyes shut as he turned and latched himself to Freddy's neck, terrified now that he knew his animatronic protector wasn't invincible.
Ben shook a little as he sat, gripping his partner's thick arm to anchor himself as he stared at the shadowy corpse of what could've been his friends. He put a hand to his head, as he tried to make sense of what had happened. It was her, he knew; Vanny had done this, but why? For what purpose would she need all the power in the Pizzaplex? His eyes slowly adjusted as he looked around, unused to the darkness after wandering in the bright lights of the Pizzaplex-

Ben froze. There was a reason the lights were always on, wasn't there?

"Sunny?"

The room exploded into blind movement as Ben threw himself away from Monty, crawling along the floor towards the protective cylinder where he knew his friend had last been. For the first time since he escaped the sewers, Ben choked on a sob as four pairs of eyes illuminated the collapsed, motionless shell of the Sun animatronic.

"SUNNY?!"

X

Ben ran a hand over one of the Sun's sunrays as Freddy laid him out on the maintenance seat, the plastic triangle frozen in a half-hidden state as the empty shell settled against the metal chair.
The room was dead silent in the dark, the only light sources fixed firmly on the unmoving animatronic as Ben carefully reached behind his back.

There was no power left in the building to run the maintenance machine, and even if they could, the attachment had fried the processor; it wasn't something that they could even hope to fix. Ben remembered not long after they had met, Sunny had told him that Moon wasn't evil, that he was corrupted just like Chica and Roxy had been. His teeth ground together as he berated himself, loathed himself for forgetting that Sunny had also needed help behind his cheerful attitude.

Montgomery stood close behind him, emotions hidden deep behind his frown as he watched his partner hurt without any way to make it better. He had to look away when Ben retrieved Montgomery Jr II from his back, the backpack plush still wearing his homemade janitor's outfit as Ben carefully tucked it under the Sun's arm.
"You were great Sunny, you did so good tonight." Ben told him, tears in his eyes as he patted the plush further into the animatronic's arm. "We're gonna do this for you, okay? We're gonna stop her and make this right, just for you Sunny. I promise."

Roxy and Chica turned away, giving the man privacy as they processed their own grief of losing their crew member of many years. They hadn't exactly known him well, but he had always been a constant presence of warmth, and that was a difficult and bitter thing to lose.
Freddy stood away from the group as he comforted the weeping boy in his arms, Gregory having lost one of the few new friends he had made in a long, long time. Freddy quietly wondered if feeling love and attachment and all those wonderful emotions was truly worth this aching sense of loss, when the sound of boots on the concrete floor had him looking up.

Roxy met the man halfway, clasping her hand on his shoulder as she snarled in emotion.
"We'll get her Ben. We will get her for this."

Chapter Text

There was a hard silence in the decrepit Roxy Raceway service tunnel as Monty brutally kicked in the reinforced fence, Chica close behind him to click and rasp her voice box into the audio-security lock of the elevator with Roxy and Ben moving forward to take the lead, a stolen fire axe clenched in the man's grip.

"Benjamin please, be careful." Freddy spoke, breaking the band's silence since they had left Parts & Services. "This elevator does not appear to follow any safety protocols. I do not think it can survive more than one trip."
Ben didn't speak, but he nodded to the bear in appreciation for the concern.
It was a tight fit, getting all four animatronics in the elevator with two humans, but nobody complained as they squashed together in the tight space. Just as the elevator door moved to close, Chica's hand lashed out to stop it from sealing. Having the exact same thought, Ben glanced at her before looking to Freddy.
"Are you sure you want to bring Gregory with us, Freddy? We don't know what she's been doing down here."

The bear paused, looking down to the boy in his arms that gripped his hand like a vice. Gregory stared back at his guardian in apprehension, begging with his eyes not to be left behind.
"With the Pizzaplex without power, and the exit doors locked shut by the discharge…" Freddy turned his eyes back to the hen and man, shoulders set. "I do not trust the Pizzaplex any longer. I will not let this child anywhere out of my sight until he is safe. I will keep him safe."
Answer given, Chica released the door and allowed it to close. The elevator groaned and screeched as it lowered a little faster than it should have, unable to bear the weight of nearly four tonnes of metal performers.
"I'm scared." The admission turned Ben's head instantly, Freddy already listening to Gregory as he whispered to them, truly looking his young age in that moment. "She scares me… I don't want her to get me, or any of you guys."
Uncle instincts kicking him like a horse, Ben's arm was already wrapping around the back of the boy's head as he brought his chin down to rest against the his hair; comforting him the same way he did for his niece when she was scared on her first day of pre-school years ago.
"You're gonna be alright, you're not alone now. You've got us, and we're not going to let anything happen to you; not now, not ever."
"I will be by your side, always." The bear agreed simply, the words carrying more weight than Gregory could ever realise as the child nervously nodded back.

The elevator opened to a dark and partially collapsed cave, with dead miner's lamps strung up along the cragged walls. An offline generator sat nearby, which Monty quickly approached while giving Ben a knowing look. They were both aware that with the nonsensical way this building seemed to work all night, they'd probably want those switched on while they could, even if they had no power.
Monty taking the lead as designated 'generator hunter', he led the girls ahead with Gregory, giving the boy something to help with so he wasn't left wrapped up in his own fear.
Ben went to follow after the group, when he realised Freddy had stopped behind him, gazing at something lodged deep within the rocks with what looked like sadness.
Even in his darker thoughts, Ben still looked up in awe as a gigantic but strangely off-looking Freddy Fazbear head appeared in the steam and wreckage of machinery. Bigger than ten men, it looked like a bear but not like Freddy; its fur a deep brown where it should have been orange, a flat brown eye staring blankly into the ceiling instead of his Freddy's happy blue. To Ben it felt like he was looking at something very old, and very wrong; like it was something he shouldn't have found. He startled slightly when Freddy spoke beside him.

"Every moment I spend with Gregory, I learn more about my programming, I learn new feelings." He began. "I learned what it is to be proud, to be worried; to be attached to a human. I think I have learned that I can love, as I thought only humans can."
His eyes seemed heavy as they whirred, adjusting minutely to the steam and dust in the air around him. He turned to regard Ben then, the man silent as he listened to his words.
"But now I also know pain as I have not before. I have seen animatronics like myself broken and replaced… But now I am struck with terrible fear. If that had been me, destroyed by my hardware and lost, would they have simply replaced me? Everything I am, simply started over and erased with a new endoskeleton in my shell?"
Freddy turned back to the giant head, now looking like a gaunt and ominous spectre than the remains of a simple mascot. The bear looked at his predecessor as he confided his deepest fears into the man at his side.
"All of my memories and thoughts would mean nothing, as a new Freddy Fazbear would step into my place. Wearing my face and living my life, I am scared that nobody would notice if it wasn't me anymore, if even Gregory wouldn't notice. Even if I am only one of a long line of machines, am I still me?"

"Last I saw, Gregory wasn't looking for a singing, dancing Glamrock bear to be his father."
Ben's answer came screeching past his brain and straight from his heart as he spoke back to the singer, refusing to let the bear suffer in his head for a moment longer.
"What Gregory found was you. Not a robot that dances on stage and signs photos. You. The bear that carried him along this whole night, encouraging him, protecting him and giving him a father figure that humans have deprived him of for so long. That's not something Freddy Fazbear was programmed to do, Freddy Fazbear sings and sits in his green room while the world turns around him. You are not Freddy Fazbear, singing robot in a pizzeria; you are you, the leader of a really weird little family with a boy out there who wants to spend the rest of his life with you. There might be a Freddy Fazbear made out there every day, but there's sure as he- 'heck', only one of you, Fred."

Ben choked as he saved himself from swearing, not wanting Freddy's auto-response to weaken what he was trying to say. The rest of his increasingly cheesy motivation speech was cut off however, when the great bear crushed the man to his chest in what could only be described as a brotherly hug.
"You are part of this 'weird little family' too Ben," The singer told him from over his shoulder, his metal arms tightening slightly as he hugged him back. "I truly hope when this is over, that you will stay with us for as long as you are willing."

Eyes watering all over again from the increasingly emotional night, Ben held onto the massive teddy bear for a long time before Monty's voice called them to the back of the cave, insisting that he was 'gonna HAVE to see this for yourself, Rockstar'.

X

"… What the fuck is wrong with this company?" Ben took the automated scolding in stride, as in that moment his frustration simply required him to curse it out.
Surrounded by wiped out endoskeletons and an aged looking Security Bot, the back of the underground cave was taken up by of all things, another pizza-place. Ben's eyes twitched as they took in another architectural shitpost by Fazbear Entertainment; more classical looking than the current Pizzaplex, the sign above the oddly reinforced doors looked more like a family-run Italian restaurant than something Freddy would be seen in. Ben supposed that this was the place that the previous, darker Freddy had been used for.

"If nobody else is going to ask, I will. Why on this godless earth, is there a family pizza place in a cave under a mega-mall? And why are the doors made of corrugated steel?"
"Don't look at me, I don't even like pizza." Roxanne huffed as she breezed past him, strutting straight through the doors with a confidence that only she could pull off.
"You don't even eat, you lil' punk." Monty followed after her, on alert for any dangers as the pair scoped out the interior of the building. Chica simply shrugged at him before following, and Freddy laid a gentle hand on his shoulder in quiet gratitude before he too stepped into the building to check it over.

"This place is really weird." Gregory piped up beside him, making Ben jump when he realised he was still there.
"Yes, yes it is." Ben agreed, "I suppose we'll just have to get used to it in future, huh?" Gregory looked up at him then, surprised and happy.
"You're staying? With us? I thought you lived in England?"
"I do, but somebody has to stick around and keep Monty from blowing up the building." His point was punctuated by a loud crash from the inside of the pizzeria followed by a rumble of 'Sorry 'bout that'. The boy beamed up at him, relieved that he wouldn't have to say goodbye to any other new attachments if they made it through this.

The moment was ruined when another, much louder crash erupted from the building, as though a rockslide had started.
"HEY, what's going on in there?" Ben shouted, taking a step forward before the ground beneath his feet began to shake. "What-"
The entire floor gave way, Gregory falling forwards into the building and Ben falling backwards and into the chasms that yawned open in the ground. His vision entirely black from the darkness, Ben fell helplessly for a short moment before crash-landing onto a steel grated floor, his face pressing into the textured metal uncomfortably as he dazedly gazed up at the rusted pipe he had fallen through.

The tall man sat up, rubbing his circle imprinted cheek as he looked around the new area. The walls were covered in ash and dust, the bare bricks crumbling to reveal more corrugated steel layered behind them. The floor he had landed on was covered in holes, revealing something underneath them that he couldn't make out in the darkness; his only light source being the glow of a single working recharge station in the centre of the room, and the massive glowing purple cord that was jammed into the side of it.
Not yet registering that the station absolutely should NOT have been working, Ben glanced around some more, spotting a desk with a blank 90's looking monitor on it and a foul smelling silo in the corner. Deciding that this was not where he wanted to die, Ben grabbed his fire axe and began looking for exits, only finding two closed doors and an extremely dented vent that had caved in on itself in the collapse. Now trying not to panic, Ben started calling out for the rest of his team in the muted darkness, unable to hear them as he sat alone.
"H-Hello? Hello-hello?"

As though responding to his call, there was a sharp shriek of metal in the darkness, emanating from the recharge station that Ben finally realised should definitely not have had power.
"Oh fuck me-"
The booth door creaked open with a brassy vibrating tone, the hinges reluctant to move as a foul, sickly-sweet stench filled the air. Ben's eyes bugged out of his head as he clasped a hand over his mouth and nose, sour milk and burnt rubber filling the air as whatever the source of the scent was twitched and jerked in the recharge station.
But any thought of the putrid air left Ben's head when a twitching, skeletal endoskeleton hand slowly curled around the lip of the booth's doorway. There was a crunch like tree bark being torn from its trunk as the being took a step out of its casing, the mottled brown and red substance that clung to its skeleton burnt to a crisp and splintering as it took another step.
Ben look up and further still until he could see its face, taller than him with its robotic stature. It was as the recharge station's purple glow caught its face that Ben stopped breathing, the yellowing bone of the skull beneath the rabbit's mask still mostly concealed under brittle ribbons of scorched flesh.

"You… I know of you." It took a moment for the creature's words to become clear, its voice like sandpaper and stone as its gaping jaw vibrated, but didn't move as it spoke. The undeniably British twinge to its speech felt as familiar as it did alien to Ben as he stared into its intense and frighteningly alive violet optics, privately wondered how long it must have been since this creature… This corpse had last felt the need to speak.
"You come here, pathetic and desperate to stop what must be done. Getting in the way of progress for the sake of your… Weakness."

This was far beyond Ben's paygrade. He could deal with robots and he could deal with serial killers, both still technically grounded in reality no matter how twisted; but this was NOT a person and Ben was NOT prepared to deal with proof of the undead tonight. He took a step back as the rotted, moulding shape of the rabbit stepped forward, eyes unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
"What is happening beneath this place is beyond you, far beyond what you ever will do with your short, empty life… This is PROGRESS. This is life beyond human limits and it will not stop for your meagre purpose…"

Ben blanched as the skeletal creature punctured the station's door with its grip alone, the tendons that still twined around its fingers creaking as it crushed the metal. He had no idea why the undead being was telling him all of this, but he stayed silent to buy himself time as the entity continued.
"I will progress… I will return as I once was… My follower will bring me the last child, and I will be revived by their remnants and continue my life's work, even past death." Ben's eyes widened as he put the pieces together.

"I always come back."

That crazy ass bitch was reviving a dead fucking serial killer. Ben's jaw dropped as the final piece clicked into place. All the missing children, the previous location hidden deep beneath the building, the power going out in a purple shockwave. She was using the Pizzaplex to revive a monster, scavenging everything she could from it; the animatronics, the children, even the building itself.
She had abused the animatronics' programming, turned what should have been the children's protectors into their murderers. She'd ripped apart endoskeletons for parts and tossed their unused pieces away to rot in the sewers. Gregory was the last one she needed to return the entity to full power, and she was going to kill him to feed this monstrosity. Ben's shoulders set and his eyes went flat; this bastard would take that child over his cold dead body.

Ben considered his options then. He could fight the monster, alone in the dark and most likely die within a minute; or he could do something else, something that he knew would at least delay the bastard's sick plans and maybe even stop them before he could reach Gregory.
Choosing option B, Ben squared his feet and lunged, the sudden movement stalling the corpse's approach in surprise just long enough for him to raise his axe high above his head.

The undead killer screamed a ghostly howl of rage as the blade slammed down, slicing straight through the thick purple cable of the recharge station.
As though it had been waiting for him, the building began to hum with life as power was redirected away from the machine, and back into the Pizzaplex above. The old locations lights flickered into action, illuminating the room and fizzling the nearby monitor to life as Ben looked up into the stark, seething anger that seemed to line every crease in the corpse's face. His plan had actually worked, and now he had to face Old Man Consequences.

X

"Gregory, there you are!"
Gregory pulled his face out of his knees, looking up from the lonely ball he had curled into as he hid from the looming darkness, blinking as lights flickered on through the small chamber and revealing the small office space he had landed in.
When the floor had collapsed under the old location, he had slid forward towards the building as the ground fell through. Freddy had reached for him desperately, but by the time the collapsing structure had stabilised, the animatronics were trapped on the floor above with Gregory slipping down into the chamber below on his own.

"Gregory, can you hear me?"
He looked up to the ceiling, where he could make out Freddy's bright eyes gleaming from between the cracks of rubble and support beams. The other animatronics soon huddled around him, trying to break through the crater of rock and cement they stood in to try and reach the boy trapped below.
"Freddy!" Gregory called out, looking around for a way to climb back up to him. The room was wide and in ruins, tiles falling from the caved in ceiling and a battered pair of recharge stations, destroyed from the collapse. The only things that appeared to still be working were a set of monitors that looked far older than Gregory was. A small button sat next to each monitor, connected through a simple wire. "Freddy I can't get out, there's only broken stuff in here, and those TVs!"
"Just hold on Gregory, and we will reach you." The bear soothed as he joined the others in trying to dig, powerful servos working as they chipped and cracked at the cement.

The effort stuttered then sped up immensely when a quiet, feminine voice rang out through the room, echoing from down the right hallway of the chamber.
"Gregory…"
"Freddy!" The boy squealed, frantically running to the wall the bear was closest to in the ceiling. "She's coming, she's coming to get me! What do I do?!"
"The doors, Gregory! Shut the doors!" The bear told him urgently, spotting the small Fazbear shaped buttons right away. Doing as he was told, Gregory bravely ran towards the woman's voice and slammed the door shut moments before her masked face appeared in the window.

"Gregooorrryyy… There you are. I've finally found you… And there's nowhere left for you to hide. The game is almost over Gregory…" He watched, shell-shocked as the rabbit gently scraped a long, jagged carving knife against the glass.

"Are you having fun yet?"

Chapter Text

Gregory panted as he slammed his tiny hand into the left door button, barely making it in time to cut off the bunny as she skipped down the hallway to snatch him away.

"Gregoorryyy… Why won't you let me in? I'm only trying to help…" She giggled, mocking the same lines he had heard earlier in the night from the very same animatronics that were desperately trying to help him through the ceiling.
"Keep going darlin'! You can do it, baby!" Chica encouraged before hissing through her beak like a viper at the masked woman through the window. Gregory kept moving back and forth between the doors, on constant vigilance for the woman that stalked him.

Movement on one of the monitors stopped him for a moment, knowing anything around him could be a threat. The monitor showed another room that was wrecked and ruined like the one he was in, but he didn't have time to look around before the security camera shook from force as none other than Ben came into view, slinging his axe at yet another rabbit. Gregory couldn't see clearly through the low quality feed, but there was something wrong with the rabbit, different to any other animatronic and pursuing Ben through the room like a wild animal.
Panicking, Gregory instinctively slammed his hand on the button that sat next to the monitor and clapped his hand over his mouth in fright when the camera feed lit up in flames. The tiny Ben on the screen visibly screaming before diving out of the open side door, leaving the mangled rabbit to burn and writhe until the flames died out.

Before the boy could see if the rabbit was dead, Roxy barked at him to get the doors, and a new cycle began. The brave child ducked back and forth between the doors, fighting back the bunny and only stopping to try and burn away the monster that was chasing Ben through the camera feeds. By then it seemed that Ben had caught onto the pattern, luring the rabbit into each room and using its slower turning speed to outmanoeuvre it as the room would burst into flames.
A close call however, had Gregory panicking. The rabbit had gripped the man's arm, Ben only escaping from the flames by tearing the sleeve off entirely as he tripped back into the next room. The crashing sound of him colliding with the silo had been so loud that it echoed through the long hallways of the chamber.

"Freddy! Ben needs help but he can't hear me, what do I do?"
The bear looked down in thought as Monty threw a vicious punch into the concrete beside him, both desperate to help the man when it sounded like he was struggling. The bear looked around him, lighting up when he spotted the broken loudspeakers that had once hung from the corners of the pizzeria.
"Gregory, I am connecting your Fazwatch to the Public Address System. If you speak into your Fazwatch, your message will be broadcasted all over the Pizzaplex, including here." Gregory ogled his watch in awe, before looking at the monitors and nodding in determination.

X

The newly relit halls of the Pizzaplex rang out with the voice of the ten year old boy, the cluttered halls full of hundreds of collapsed and twitching Staff Bots echoing with his words as the machines inched their way back onto their wheels; and in the dim lighting of one room, something else lifted its head to listen.

"Ben! Can you hear me? BEN!"

Ben's head snapped up to the ceiling as either God himself, or the automated maintenance system spoke to him in a static laden tone from seemingly nowhere; his bewildered face unknowingly drawing an ecstatic cheer from the watching band and the boy as he quickly moved to speak again.
"Ben! It's me, Gregory, I'm using the speaker system!" Ben supposed that made a lot more sense than God coming to chat, but at this point he was willing to consider any possibility as he dodged out the way of a snarling corpse-rabbit serial killer. He raised a hand and waved, unsure if Gregory could see him or not where he was.

"It worked!" Ah, so he could. "Ben, I'm the one starting the fires, keep moving! Freddy and the others are working to get to us!"
The corpse loomed over Ben as he listened, its head tilted to the ceiling as it took in the information.
"The child…" It rasped. "The child is hiding in the control panel… He is so close, I cannot stop now…" The monster snapped its neck as it glowered at the living man, his posture becoming lopsided with aggression. "I will have the child's remnant, and you will suffer under my hand."
The rabbit's first step towards the hallway doors sent Ben snarling into action. Despite the way his body threatened to give out beneath him, Ben was still ready to die trying to keep Gregory away from a decades old, mummified husk that wanted him dead. Swinging his axe down as hard as he could, he struck the bolted metal that held the corpse's rotten chest casing together as he barked at the dead man.
"Fucking try it, you shrivelled little prick! They'll be sweeping your crusty fucking ashes up in a dustbin before I let you near that kid!"

With a wordless, wheezing shriek the skeletal being stumbled, chest casing coming loose and dropping what could've once been a shrivelled lung to the floor before it turned and attacked the man, hell-bent on ripping open his flapping mouth. Ben's eyes widened as he quickly fell back on the defensive, ducking the swiping steel claws and lunging aside to avoid the corpse's grasp. A brief warning of 'FIRE!' over the speakers had him dropping his axe and catapulting himself into the next room, the ghastly wails behind him a promising sign that the entity was weakening as he looked desperately for a new weapon.
"You can do it, uncle Ben! Fight him back!"
The young voice shouting to him over the speakers gave him courage as he set his shoulders, poking at the protective Uncle's instincts that usually sat dormant in his anti-social lifestyle. But what gave him strength as he picked up a heavy, folded metal chair, was the rumbling bellow of his trusted partner, barely picked up by the speakers as the corpse shuffled in behind him.
"GIVE HIM THE CHAIR!"

In a move that would make most WWE wrestlers proud, Ben turned on the spot and bludgeoned the steel folding chair against the monster's skull, twisting its neck and launching it into the wall; the sound its head made against the metal ringing like a gong through the building.
Panting from the effort, Ben wasn't expecting the building to groan back in response. From all sides on every wall, thick ropes of cords and steel punched through the brick and metal like paper, the appendages swinging like weapons as they struck and whipped around the room as though looking for something.

A sharp squeak over the speakers told Ben that whatever it was had broken into Gregory's area as well, lethal and wild as it swung around without direction. The realisation that whatever this mass of cords and wires was, was the same thing that sunk the building the first time and clearly intended on doing again, sent Ben into a desperate lunge out the door to escape. A python of rubber and wiring snapped out at him as he went through, striking him back in the direction of the corpse just in team to receive a ruthless slash to the chin.
"ARGH!" Ben swore and hissed as he stumbled back, the monster finally laying a hit against him as it almost slit his throat, his arteries only saved by his chin taking the major hit first. Gasping out as he grasped the shallower wound in his throat, Ben retreated on shaking legs as the dead man stalked closer. With no other weapons and the shrinking space in the room, his desperate eyes caught the whipping ropes of technology behind them. Out of options and out of time, Ben put all his effort into one last attack; a dodgy looking ninja kick he'd seen on YouTube once.

Leaping off the floor and thumping both his feet into the skeletal monster's chest, Ben just barely had enough strength to send it tripping backwards as he slammed into the floor, staring as the two mechanical entities collided.
Like a spider in its burrow, the appendages lunged out instantly, impaling and wrapping around the dead man's limbs and pieces as it lifted him from the floor with frightening ease. The walls warped and bent like they were melting as what looked to be the 'core' of the flailing limbs burrowed its way into the tiny room, blind to everything in it except the writhing corpse in its grasp.
"No… NO! I will not go back, I cannot go back..! I am eternal, I cannot end!" The corpse shrieked and rasped as the coils tightened around it, a demented looking Freddy head creeping up to it like it was going to swallow him whole. "I will have PROGRESS! I will exceed humanity..! I will exceed you..!"

Ben watched in traumatised horror as the very ceiling caved in around the amalgamation, the charred rabbit screaming as he was dragged up and out of sight. The massive jumble of wires, cords and metal parts seemed to sink up with him, draining away like water as the unending mass slithered over his head like a snake.
It was in that loud moment of crumbling rock and agonised screams that silence fell around Ben as he stared, eyes drawn by an unknown impulse as a white, puppet-like mask appeared amongst the amalgamation. Out of all the faces, pieces and parts that were threaded into the creature, Ben believed that was the only face that truly saw him in that moment. The seconds of silence felt like hours as the face regarded him, its painted purple tears like a warning as it seemed to consider him. He must have passed its judgement, as it tilted in its place before receding into the ceiling with the rest of its body.
And then sound returned to him.

Rocks and support beams tumbled down around him like a waterfall as the building collapsed all over again, caging him in under the man-made avalanche. The screaming voice on the speakers fizzled out instantly as the wiring was ripped apart and buried along with him.
"No… No no NO NO-" Ben screamed, scrambling up from the floor as he tried to find an exit, a door, a hole, ANYWHERE he could escape to. "Please no, not down here, don't leave me down here! MONTY! FREDDY! GREGORY..!"
Deaf to his pleas, the rocks around him settled and calmed, the man's only company as he was buried alive in the chamber.

X

Gregory screamed until his voice was hoarse, the entire Pizzaplex hearing his desperate calls except for the one man who needed them. Shaking at the monitor that showed nothing but static, the boy tried the other cameras only to find them destroyed as well. The animatronics were inconsolable above him, almost through the concrete but too late as they listened to the hallways beyond their chamber crumble and collapse.
Montgomery's hands had been stripped down to the endoskeleton, razor-wire claws carving into the concrete like butter as he rampaged his way down to the chambers. Freddy had been forced to pull the alligator back when the cameras first collapsed, the hulking green bassist nearly frying his own circuits from stress as he began slamming his head into the concrete barrier below him.
"LET ME DOWN THERE, I HAVE TO GET DOWN THERE! HE NEEDS ME!"

In the panic of the building collapsing and their friend vanishing from beyond their reach, the animatronics didn't realise what they'd forgotten until it was too late and the boy screamed beneath them.
"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" The she-rabbit screamed as she shook the child in her grasp. Her masked face was inches from his as she clutched his arm and throat. "Everything I worked for… All for him… YOU RUINED IT!"

The ceiling crunched over her head as Montgomery Gator finally punched through the solid concrete, more cracks appearing rapidly as an icy-eyed bear pounded the weakening structure with massive, steel hands. Realising she didn't have much time, Vanny gripped the boy tightly and dragged him away, hissing for him to shut up as he begged into his Fazwatch with no concern for his own safety.
"FREDDY! Ben is still down there, he's stuck in the ground! Freddy! Monty! HELP HIM!"
The pleas echoed through every hallway in the Pizzaplex as the bunny hauled him away and up into Fazer Blast, shoving aside the now active but docile Staff Bots that somehow seemed visibly concerned with her behaviour.
"Please," The boy begged the drones, desperate for any help he could get as he spoke into his watch. "My frien- my uncle is stuck under the Pizzaplex! He's trapped-!" Gregory shouted in pain as the woman shook him harshly, gripping and yanking on his hair with one hand as she pulled him away from the blank-faced Staff Bots, who stood and tilted their heads as they watched her take the child away.

Vanny rushed the last child into the staff elevator, heading straight to the top floor and forcing the brat through the small ventilation shaft. She knew she was running out of time, the echo of heavy, angry footsteps had followed her out of her master's chambers and through the Pizzaplex.
The alligator was in the lead, she knew. She'd caught sight of him as they'd turned a corner and he was more feral than she had ever programmed him to be before. She wondered what that now-dead do-gooder had done to break her toys so badly that they were turning on her with the kind of violence she could've only dreamed of instilling them with.
But it didn't matter what happened to her, it never did. All that mattered was her original protocol; priority one that her master has enforced on her. If the last child died, she would be done. If she killed the last child, her purpose would be complete.

Her desperation to complete her purpose was only matched by the vengeful bloodlust of Montgomery Gator, and the violent paternal rage of Freddy Fazbear as both males stampeded through walls of the Fazer Blast arena and up the winding staircase to her hideaway, the girls of the band not far behind with murderous intent, eyes so bright in their intensity that they glowed a searing white.

Vanny threw the boy into her room with no time to spare, uncaring about her missing door and the way his back slammed into the hard black casing of the 'Princess Quest III' arcade game as she readied her knife. The appearance of the final game shocked him greatly, his head snapping between it and the approaching bunny in dawning realisation.
"You are my last purpose… You are all I have left to destroy, and then I will be complete…"
The boy flinched as she readied her knife, but a split second before she could plunge it down upon him, an enormous orange hand wrapped around her costumed ears and threw her out into the air and onto the other end of the walkway.
"You will take your hands off of my Superstar."
Freddy stood tall as he blockaded the disturbing office, unrelenting in focus as the woman pulled out her stun baton and ran to hide amongst the dark walls of the arena below, missing the way Gregory's eyes glazed over as he quickly turned to the arcade machine behind him. The boy understood what these games were now, why they whispered to him; and he was going to free the princess once and for all.

X

It was nothing short of malicious, the way the animatronics hunted the bunny through the dark walls of the arena. Menacing in ways their glitched programming had never been, Chica, Roxanne and Montgomery were calculating as they tracked the woman who had cost them their friend, and almost cost them their boy.

Chica clicked her beak as she creeped along the walls, the once cheery sound now ominous and full of threat as she stalked through the darkness. Her automated vocals like bait as she chirped them into the still air.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are…"

A sharp crack of one of the walls snapping in two alerted her briefly to Roxanne on the other side of the arena. The she-wolf taunted the bunny as she simply broke through the walls around her as she went, snapping them easily in her hands.
"You are nothing! You might as well give up…"

The most ominous was Montgomery, who had said nothing since they had left the chamber behind to pursue her. The only sounds that told Chica he was there were the guttural, almost keening rumbles that hissed from the back of his jaw as he stalked after the last remaining cause of his partner's death.

Freddy stood above them all, watching silently for any sign of the killer as he guarded his charge. He would not move from his place until she was caught, or until she was dead. For the first time in his peaceful and gentle nature, he did not care about which outcome it would be.
His head snapped up at the sound of electricity, drawing the eyes of the other animatronics as the woman creeped her way back along the walkway with her stun baton.
"Disassemble… Freddy."
She sprinted at him, her one working eye blazing red as she came closer, desperate to fulfil her last objective and willing to die to do it. But it was as she drew closer than there was a sharp clap of skin on metal, as Gregory smacked his hands against the arcade machine in victory.
"I did it!"

As though the words were a kill switch, the charging bunny suddenly went limp, collapsing to the floor like a ragdoll and dropping her knife and baton down into the darkness of the arena. Freddy watched her fall in confusion, his tense posture loosening further when she didn't move again.
The other band members scrambled to a halt as they reached the top of the stairs, unsure of if Freddy had killed her or not.
"I did it Freddy," The boy ran over and tapped his leg softly. "I freed her. She was trapped too, just like you."
"Trapped?" Roxanne barked, unwilling to let go of her anger so quickly without a damned good explanation. "The heck do you mean by trapped?"

But before the boy could explain, the entire arena and its walls began to tremble, the walkway below them vibrating from the force as something approached their location… At very high speed.
"Oh, now what?!" Roxanne whined as the shaking got louder and more rhythmic. "What else could possibly happen tonight?"

The wall exploded.

Chapter Text

In the black silence and darkness, the constant stillness was suddenly interrupted by a tingle, quiet tap.

To Ben, it felt like a clap of thunder.

He opened his eyes to nothing, the tiny space he was pinned in still empty and void of light. He'd tried to dig his way out briefly, but the rocks and slabs of wall and concrete were absolute. The only possible show of grace in his situation was that somewhere in his tiny cell was a hole that was letting in fresh air and saving him from suffocation; but on the other hand, Ben supposed this simply meant he would have to endure starvation or dehydration for much longer.

In his frightened, defeated thoughts, Ben almost forgot why he had opened his eyes at all until another almost silent 'tap' came. Looking up to the ceiling uselessly, Ben strained his ears as the taps quietly continued.
He figured it was more dust settling, small rocks landing on wherever he had been buried in his pizza-theme mausoleum.

Until the sound got louder.

With a sharp crack, the tapping became clearer and more rhythmic, joined by other sources of sound as they slowly tapped their way down to him. Excited now, Ben called out with his hoarse and bleeding throat, the wound the corpse had given him still bleeding somewhat sluggishly.
"I'm here…" He whispered, before his voice gained a little more strength. "I… I'm here! I'm down here, please! I'm buried under here!"

The sound of his voice had whoever they were digging faster, Ben starting to hear quiet whirrs as the tapping became cracking and his would-be rescuers got closer. Something was with them now, massive and shovelling the heavier rocks aside like nothing as they dug him out.
Monty, Ben thought with relief, too emotionally spent to cry but smiling with a trembling lip as the digging began raining dust over his head.

With a loud crack and a shower of dust and light, Ben was exposed back to the outside world. He laughed as hard as he choked, lifting himself through the clouds of dust with shaking arms to embrace the robots that had finally come to dig him out from his grave.
"Monty-"

"Take a map."

What.

Blinking, Ben waved the dust out of his vision and came face to face with the Map Bot from the atrium, its head tilting as it waved a complimentary map at him.
"Free map."
Face crumpling in confusion, Ben looked around and was astounded at what he saw.
Dozens upon dozens of Staff Bots moved around in the fire and wreckage, clearing rocks and debris out of his way as he stood there, tilting their heads when he gazed at them all in awe. One of them even waved.
Ben couldn't help but laugh in incredulous shock as from the back of the cave descended the DJ, his six gigantic hands supporting his form as he moved aside massive boulders like they were pebbles. Happy, bouncy music played from the speaker on his back as he spotted Ben, three of his gloves raising to wave at him cheerily.

Finally taking the map and nodding to the placid Map Bot in gratitude, Ben stepped down from the small mountain he had been buried under, the Staff Bots around him stopping their work and following as he walked past.
"I… I can't believe it." He stuttered, unable to process the dozens of Bots that had come down to save him. "But- But how? How did you know?"
Obnoxious and far too loud, the automated maintenance voice rang out from the DJ's speaker, nearly deafening the sense-deprived man as he jumped.
"The emergency evacuation alarm was sounded by Performer Unit: DJ_Music_Bot after messages concerning your safety were reported over the Public Address System."

Ben beamed up at the gigantic spider, running an affectionate hand over its toddler-sized thumb as it reached over to lift him from the ground.
"I knew we had a bond," He laughed as the DJ's big black eyes whirred and focussed on him. "Looks like I owe you big time, friend! Thank you!"
He turned to look down at the watching Staff Bots as well, surprised and amazed to find that perhaps they weren't just empty drones after all.
"Thank you guys, thank you so much… If Monty ever causes you guys trouble again, I'll kick his ass."
He laughed harder when a pair of them high-fived at his words.

The man jolted when the spider began to move, carrying him up in one hand into a massive, gaping tunnel in the ceiling of the cave.
"Did you make this tunnel?" He asked the spider in bafflement, obviously not getting a response. He glanced down, watching as the Staff Bots wheeled back to wherever they came from to get down there. "Where are we going? … DJ?"

After a while, the spider seemed to run out of pre-made tunnels to wherever he was going, and simply began carving away at the building itself as he made his way through each area. Ben stared down in an almost absent shock as he was carried high over Roxy's Raceway, through Monty's Gator Golf, above the Atrium itself and finally reaching Kid's Cove before the giant machine stopped his excavating. His friend turned his massive head to face him, gently poking the final wall as though to say 'This is it' before tunnelling through to his final destination.

X

The wall exploded.

The entire group flinched as drywall and support beams rained down over the entire arena, dust and debris flying everywhere as a pair of enormous gloved hands gripped the lip of the latest black tunnel.
Freddy's hands flew to his head in panic at the sight of all the damage to his favourite area of the Pizzaplex, Chica clapping a hand to her beak so hard she almost smacked it off her face. Gregory's eyes tripled in size before sprinting back to Monty, both taken by surprise and unsure what to do as their previous enemy placed a third hand on the wall. It was Roxanne's unique eyes that gave away the reason for his appearance, and her jaw dropped in ecstatic shock.
"No way…"

"What? What has he done?" The bear asked, sounding even more panicked at the thought of what else the spider might have done to his beloved Fazer Blast.
Before she could share the good news, a choked up cough cut off all conversation as the DJ brought forward his fourth and final hand.

"Oh, there you are."
Ben sighed in relief as his little group came into view, realising now that his gargantuan friend was taking him back to his companions and had simply 'forgotten' a few protocols on where he could use his tunnels in the Pizzaplex again. He patted the giant's thumb in thanks as he counted the heads of his group, only satisfied when he spotted Gregory peering up at him from behind Monty's long green legs. Still on a high from being saved from certain death, he waved like an idiot as the spider brought him closer along the ceiling.
There was not a single word from the walkway as the animatronics gawked at the very much alive Ben that was being lowered onto the grating in front of them. Gently, the spider lightly tapped a single fingertip on his head in goodbye before climbing back into his tunnel and peacefully returning to his music. Taking a deep breath that lifted his shoulders, Ben turned back to face the group, his eyes lighting up with a dangerous fire as he spotted the unconscious rabbit in front of them.
"How the heck did she get here?"

Ben didn't get a chance to find out why his would-be killer was passed out on the ground when half a tonne of green steel slammed into his chest like a rugby player, lifting him clear off the floor and into the walkway railing.
"STUPID, STUPID DOG-BRAIN!" The alligator roared into the side of his head, holding the man tightly as if he'd turn to dust if he ever let go. "Don't you EVER leave my sight again, you hear me? You ain't EVER leavin' my sight again!"
Alright getting emotional from being returned to his friends, Ben couldn't fight off his relieved tears as he felt his partner shake under his hands, gripping him back with all his strength as the gator swung him gently from side to side.
"Monty… Stupid prat…" He muttered tearfully into the side of his head, grinning uncontrollably as the snout pressed harder against his hair.

"UNCLE BEN!"
There was a muffled thump as Gregory sprinted over, leaping up and dangling from his suspended legs as he tried to reach him. Refusing to put him down for even a moment, Monty leant slightly to pick the boy up so he could hug his partner around his neck.
"Gregory! Man, it is good to see you in one piece!" The man laughed, trying not to bleed on the boy as he clung to his neck. The trio all grunted however, as an enormous orange bear materialised over Monty's shoulder and draped himself over the group, closely followed by an overjoyed hen and a reluctant but happy she-wolf.

The group hug stayed clasped together for a long time as they all drew comfort from one another, the night finally over and the sun slowly but surely rising over the Pizzaplex again.
"Seriously though, why the fuck is the bunny here, because I'm about to bludgeon her with Monty's jaw."
"Watch your cussin', Dog-Brain!" "Benjamin! Mind your language in the Pizzaplex!" "Benny! Mind your manners!" "Watch your mouth!"
"Ahh, I missed hearing that."

X

Ben sat in the main entrance, watching from the staircase as Fazbear Emergency Repairmen™ sprinted past him into the Pizzaplex to try and put out the fires that had erupted beneath the building. Chica and Roxy had wandered into the gift shop, wanting a moment of 'Girl Time™' as Gregory and Freddy sat beside him with Monty pacing dangerously nearby, all watching the business man in front of them piss his pants from stress.
"We here at Fazbear Entertainment can't apologise enough for your poor experience in our Pizzaplex," The balding man wiped his head with a tissue as he continued nervously, not used to people actually 'surviving' their 'poor experiences'.
"We have sent the dangerous employee in question back to our highly recommended therapy and counselling department, where she will be monitored closely until she is no longer any kind of danger to Fazbear Entertainment."

Ben almost snorted at the wording. As usual, Fazbear Entertainment had prioritised their own image over their customers; it was so on-brand for the company that it was funny. Not wasting his time with arguing about how fucked it was that they were hiding a serial killer instead of damaging their reputation, Ben patiently listened as the man continued.

"We only hope that we can come to some kind of agreement with you that we will both be satisfied with, rather than any messy potential lawsuits."
"Right," Ben replied amicably, not intended to sue the place anyway but interested to see where this was going. "What did you have in mind?"

The poor man shuffled through his briefcase rather desperately, eyes flicking over to his toothy partner as he leered back at the man.
"Uh- Uh… We can offer um… Free refills for life?"
Ben's eyebrow raised.
"UH- How about a… Limited edition Montgomery Gator golf club? You like Monty right?"
Ben shook his head as the gator behind him nodded, feeling a scowl slap the side of his face as he did so.
"How about a-"
"How about free entry for life?" Ben interrupted, figuring he might as well shoot his shot and save a shit tonne of money. The man's eyes bulged.
"You- You want to come back here?"
"Yeah?"
"And you won't sue us?"
"Yeah."
"We'll want that in writing before we agree."
"Done."
The men shook hands as Gregory watched on in awe, wishing he could get whatever he wanted from adults that easily. The man left quickly, briefcase dropping papers everywhere in his rush. Ben watched him go, wondering what kind of life a man had to lead to be Fazbear Entertainment's lawyer.

He supposed that was that. He survived the night in the Pizzaplex, Gregory was safe, the apparently 'possessed' bitch was still alive and the band was all still in fairly good shape. Ben felt accomplished in that moment, like he'd gotten an almost perfect ending.
"HEY, watch out!"
Ben blinked back into reality at the sound of one of the emergency operators struggling with something in the elevator, looking down at Gregory as he tapped his arm. He smiled as the boy grinned back at him from Freddy's lap, seeming to realise the same thing.
"Uncle Ben, we did it! We really did it!"
"We DID do it!" Freddy joined in the cheer, smiling down at the two humans as they continued Gregory's childish chanting, Monty rolling his eyes amusedly behind them.

"We did it!" "We did it!" "We did it!" "We di-"
"WHOO HOO HOO! We did it! … What did we do?"

Ben's chanting cut out sharply as he was lifted from the floor and spun around like a 25 year old toddler, his voice catching as the third voice hooted above him.
Unable to believe it, but impossible to deny it, Ben blinked tears out of his eyes as he caught sight of Montgomery Jr II, his homemade janitor costume pressed against his stomach as the lanky, golden animatronic spun him around the main entrance.
Sunny beamed down at him as he held him tight, sunrays extending and retracting happily as he chattered a mile a minute, telling Ben all about how he had woken up with a damaged but not destroyed processor and waited for the man to come back and visit again.
"-And I knew you would come back, because you left me with Montgomery Jr! Thanks by the way, I was a little lonely when you were gone- Why are you crying?!"

Nevermind, thought Ben. Now he had definitely gotten the perfect ending.

END OF CANON

Chapter Text

It took a week and a half for the Pizzaplex to be 'repaired'; the power of having access to cheap and fast supplies, as well as cheap and fast repairmen was a power used and abused by Fazbear Entertainment almost constantly.

The underground cavern was 'repaired', new structure support beams scattered under the building before locking the doors and calling it a day.

The shattered balcony and battered Staff Bots were 'repaired', the balcony replaced with a cheaper glass and the Staff Bots wandering about with visible but non-painful dents.

Oddly enough, the DJ's gaping holes in the walls stayed, being renovated into another network of tunnels in hopes that it would prevent the DJ from wandering again.

With each repair being quick and borderline hazardous, the Pizzaplex was open for business again within two weeks of the 'Incident', as was customary for Fazbear Entertainment.

During this time, it had taken Ben most of his remaining week in the US to makes calls and rearrange his extended stay, the second week spent trying to find a long term place to stay. The hotel he had wound up settling for wasn't exactly five stars, but it was close-ish to the Pizzaplex and thus deemed 'acceptable' by his unexpectedly clingy new 'family'.

The 'Rabbit Incident' as they had taken to calling it, had made a harder impact on the animatronics than he had originally thought; particularly the multiple occasions in which Ben and Gregory had been assumed dead in one way or another. He soon found this out while trying to arrange his extended stay, the tall man unable to return to the Pizzaplex for several days on account of his tasks and the building's repairs.
Of course this newfound attentiveness had prompted the flock of mother-hens to begin contacting him through his new Fazwatch, crudely repainted green and purple at Monty's insistence, every two hours on the dot to check on him. Twenty-four hours a day. Every day. For a week.

It was halfway through the second week that Ben's saint-like patience finally snapped, turning off his Fazwatch and setting it on his bedside. He sat up in his slightly moth-eaten hotel bed to look at the wall clock that proudly informed him that it was 2 o' clock in the morning; exactly two hours after Monty's last check-up call and exactly four hours after Chica's. The purple bags under Ben's eyes twitched in time with the clock's ticking hands.

He considered for a moment, just leaving the Fazwatch turned off for a bit.
Only for a day or so, he reasoned; with the Pizzaplex now open again they might even be distracted by their returning schedule. And after all, why shouldn't he get some sleep? This trip was still technically a holiday. He hadn't even rested properly since that night and was still feeling a bit achy from all the abuse, so surely his little group would be alright for a day or two?
His closing eyes decided for him, he would take a bit of time for himself, just for a few days.

X

Ben's brief bout of R&R came to an end roughly three days later while he was having his slightly stale-tasting breakfast in the hotel café. A rather haggard-looking man in a pale pink and blue customer service uniform approached him as he ate his eggs on toast, looking more like he'd found the Holy Grail than a homeless-looking Englishman.
"Excuse me!" The dishevelled man called to him as he stepped up to the table. "I'm looking for a 'Ben', uh… No last name. Just Ben, is that you?"
"No, wrong table. Better look elsewhere." Just by looking at the man, Ben knew that whatever he was after would be the bitter end to his little break, and he wanted no part in it. Sadly, the man almost burst into tears of relief when he spoke.
"Oh thank god you're British! They told me to look for a scruffy looking British guy, so it must be you!" Ben frowned, looking over his admittedly ratty hotel dressing-gown in offense as the man continued. "You see, I've been sent by Fazbear Entertainment-"
"Oh Christ," Ben groaned, throwing down his cutlery onto the empty plate and standing up. "What now?"

The reedy looking man startled a bit as Ben stood up. At his full height, Ben was both taller and wider than the Fazbear worker, a welcome and satisfying change to being dwarfed at every angle by the animatronics.
"Well?" He prompted, watching as the man rattled back into action.
"I'm the manager in charge of Leisure & Entertainment at the Pizzaplex, and I was sent to uh, oh! First I need to give you this."
Ben blinked as he was handed a plastic pass, gold in colour with an image of Freddy Fazbear throwing handfuls of dollar bills. He glanced up at the man as he flipped it over, noting that it had a scanning bar on the back.
"It the uh, Free Entry for Life Pass you asked for. In our legal agreement… That you signed… And are now obligated to upkeep." Nodding in understanding now, Ben tucked the pass into his pocket as the man continued.

"We uh, would also like to cordially invite you to come and visit the Pizzaplex today! That is, uh… We desperately need you to come into the Pizzaplex today."
Ben raised an eyebrow, and the man's composure seemed to give out.

"Please come back to the Pizzaplex! Our technicians have no idea what's causing it, but the animatronics have been a disaster since we opened!"
Ben's hand went to his forehead as the man bemoaned his situation. Three days, he thought. It had only been three days.
"They're distracted in their shows, they keep chasing down British people in their meet-ups, Freddy keeps talking to his chestplates and Monty, he- He's gotten completely out of hand! He tried to leave the Pizzaplex entirely today, and only stopped when I promised I'd go and find the guy they met last week!"
Ben's eyebrows were at his hairline as he took in that last part. Not the part about Monty misbehaving, as that was fairly part and parcel for the gator, but the animatronics could leave the building? He couldn't even imagine the disaster that would bring.

"Alright, alright." He spoke, cutting off the man's increasingly desperate babbling with a raised hand. "Let me get dressed, and I'll come with you, Mr..?"
"Kevin. Kevin Stilton, and thank you!"
Firmly labelling Kevin as 'The Cheese Man' in his head forever more, Ben nodded and headed up to get changed.
In a small miracle, Ben's sister's abrasive attitude had worked in his favour the morning after the Incident. He had found his luggage untouched outside the front doors of the Pizzaplex, right where his sister had thrown them from her car when she'd ditched him the night before. He considered it some good karma after all the bad the night had brought him.

Ben's thoughts turned to his sister Grace as he changed his outfit and gathered a few things from the run-down bedroom. His sister had always been the odd-one out in the family, brash and physical where he and his parents had been more cautious and verbose. But despite their differences, he did grudgingly respect how she stuck to her nature firmly, even when he had called her the morning after the Incident to ask about a place to stay long-term.

"Grace, it's me." He had said into his phone, found buried at the bottom of his backpack. "I got locked in the Pizzaplex overnight-"
"Likely story, pulled straight from your ass." Grace had cut him off, audibly filing her nails into the phone receiver. "If you wanted to stay out to pick up some dick, you shoulda just told me, I'd have joined you."
There had been a muffled shout from her end then, as a man seemed to yell at her. Joe, Ben correctly assumed.
"-Shut up! If you gave good dick, I wouldn't have to go sniffing for it 'like a bitch', would I?!" Grace then returned to the call, continuing as though she'd never left.
"So, what's with the extended stay? Liking the US of A after all?"
"I, uh-" Scrambling to think up a reason that wasn't related to serial killers, robots or the undead, Ben had just told her the closest thing he could get to the truth and knowing what the response would be. "I met a few people."
As expected, she had gasped into the receiver like a gossiping hairstylist.
"A few?! And staying over for one after just one night? God, I never knew you had it in you, you dog."

Despite her love for gossip, Grace had unsurprisingly kicked him to the curb at the mention of staying at her house, and thus Ben had wound up at the hotel instead.
Smiling distastefully at Grace's unchanging nature, he checked himself over and left the room behind. Kevin waited for him impatiently as the bottom of the stairs, running a hand through his receding salt and pepper hair as he tapped his well-polished shoe. Spotting him, the man lit up and quickly hurried him into his car, taking off down the road with a dangerous squeal of tires.

"We'll compensate you for your help, of course!" The man shouted over the wind as he sped along the road, Ben clinging to the grab handle for dear life as the man low-balled him. "A bucket of free Fazbear tokens and a coupon for the food court are all yours!"
"You can compensate me by getting us there alive!" Ben yelled, praying to every deity he'd never believed in as the manager swerved around a truck.
"Of course, of course!" Kevin said offhandedly, barely listening as he screeched into the parking lot of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex. "Now please, follow me!"

X

After nearly two weeks away from the empty, locked down building, the Pizzaplex felt like somewhere entirely different when Ben stepped in, despite having been there during opening hours before. After the hours he'd spent in the emptiness of the Atrium and the quiet ambience of the Staff Bots' whirrs, the loud hustle and bustle of thousands of guests was like a different world that he didn't recognise.
He stared around in wonder at all the people as the manager shuffled him towards the main stage, where crowds of children rose and fell like the tide as they separated into four channels, each flowing to the edge of the stage where his new friends stood.

As he passed the familiar Sodaroni kiosk from his first visit, even Ben could see they weren't behaving quite right as they spoke to the children. Freddy was trying, bless him. He smiled and waved and patted the children's heads as they swarmed him, but he couldn't hide the way his ears drooped slightly, or the way his voice wavered as he spoke.
Chica seemed to be looking for someone, eyes wandering even as she chirped and stroked her hands through the kids' hair as she chatted on about pizza and ice cream.
Roxanne was the least affected of the bunch by far, challenging every child that ran to her with a race or a random challenge, but even she seemed tense and more sassy than usual as she interacted with the kids.
Finally there was Montgomery, who was simply refusing to interact with the children at all, ignoring their reaching hands with his arms folded as he stared around the room with an impatient glare.

Entirely unimpressed with the breakdown that had occurred because he didn't answer the phone for three days after a week of two-hourly calls, Ben snorted loudly as he stopped next to the Party Check-In desk.

Kevin blanched with a squeak beside him as Monty's head snapped forwards with a sharp click, removing his sunglasses and somehow recognising Ben's voice from the obnoxious noise alone. Ben met his devil-red eyes with his hands on his hips, eagerly preparing himself for a good bicker as the alligator immediately began stomping his way over to him.
What he didn't expect was the other three band members to begin making their way over as well, eyes lasering into him as they all approached at once.

"I may be in trouble." Ben mentioned offhandedly, watching as Chica made vague choking motions with her hands as she got closer. The sweating man beside him seemed to agree, and quickly began backpedalling away from the scene.
"Right! I'll um, leave you to it! I'll have a Staff Bot bring you your tokens and coupon and uh, I'll catch up with you… Later!"
With that, the man walked away and through a staff-only door as fast as his skinny legs could carry him.

Ben didn't particularly mind the man's disappearance as he was immediately lifted into the air by his lapels, hanging from a pair of burly green arms.
"Where the heck have YOU been?" The gator demanded as he shook the dangling man, Roxy pretending to crack her knuckles next to him. "We've been open for DAYS, with no sign of you anywhere! And trust me little guy, we looked."
"I took a few days away for a bit of R&R, it's nothing terrible!" The tall man bickered, lightly gripping his metal wrists for support. "I even left a voicemail on the watch!"
" 'I am leaving to try American food and will return when I am fat or bored' did not explain much of your situation, Benjamin." Freddy told him as he also came close, looking relieved to see him alive and well.
"That is a very fair point," Ben conceded. "How's Gregory been?"
"Don't you change the subject!" Monty interrupted him as Chica crossed her arms. "We ain't done with you yet."

Ben took his reprimands graciously, a small ocean of children watching as their animatronic idols berated a grown man for worrying them in the middle of the Atrium for almost five minutes before Ben kindly reminded them that they were in public.
Dropping him like a lump of coal, the band quickly returned to their original protocols, though noticeably much lighter and happier than they had been before. The tide of kids stared at the grinning and spinning animatronics in awe before turning their gazes on the magic man that had somehow cheered them up when the children couldn't.
He wouldn't realise it for long time, but this was one of the first moments that would spark a rumour amongst the local children that frequented the Pizzaplex, that Ben was a secret wizard that looked after the Glamrock Band.

X

The tall man tapped his hand on his thigh as lasers and spotlights swung overhead. The dark Atrium pulsed and thumbed with bass and rhythm as children smothered the concert floor, jumping and screaming as the Glamrock Band rose into view.
Ben was sitting towards the back of the crowd and off to the side, balancing his ass on one of the crowd barriers for a better view and watching with a happy combination of pride and fondness as his friends rocked out with their fans below.

With the last member of their 'band' back where he should be, the animatronics played and performed with a vigour and ease they had been missing since the Pizzaplex re-opened, and the crowds definitely noticed.
Chica slid along the stage and onto one of the rising podiums, the deafening music easily covered the scrape of her metal against the floor. She spotted him on his fence and pointed the tip of her guitar at him in acknowledgement before spinning away to shred her solo for the far end of the audience.

Roxanne kept looking to him as she played, as though to check if he was watching. Playfully, he pointed at her when she glanced over, holding up his hand and shaking it in a 'so-so' motion just to rile her up. Immediately egged on by any sort of challenge, she threw herself to the edge of the stage and played more forcefully, putting a new spin to her keytar chords as she nearly fell off the side.

Despite actively singing at the time, Freddy still found a way to shoot him a look of fatherly disapproval for picking on the she-wolf as he spun in the centre of the stage. Cheerfully ignoring the look, Ben tried to sing along with him despite not knowing any of the words, before pointing his attention over to Gregory in the crowd.

Somehow, the band had managed to successfully hide the boy around the Pizzaplex with no issue thus far, passing him between them like a baton at night and letting him roam free like the gremlin he was during the day. Ben caught the boy's eye as he pointed to him, laughing when Freddy threw an unsubtle thumbs up at his charge.

The second his eyes caught Monty's though, the alligator became a complete ham on the stage. Stomping and jumping in place, leaping up onto the rising podium and leaning out over it as he borderline crushed his bass guitar, his eyes never left Ben's face as he showed off everything he had.
Wanting to see if he could make him laugh on-stage, Ben plucked up a discarded Montgomery mask that hung from his barrier and pretended to play his own invisible bass as flamboyantly as he could. He regretted it only slightly when the alligator nearly fell off his podium with shaking shoulders, thankful that the music covered his wheezing as Monty continued playing.

The manager of Leisure & Entertainment at the Pizzaplex stood at the lip of the Atrium, watching the tall man's interactions with the animatronics intently, and noting their heightened responses to everything he did. His eyes turned to the ecstatic crowd below the stage, delighted and excited by the band's newfound energy as they performed, ready to come back for more. Ready to spend money.
Kevin's eyes narrowed in thought, the business man in him emerging as his attention returned to the laughing Englishmen that egged on his star attractions.
That was interesting.

Chapter Text

It had taken Ben almost an hour to leave the Pizzaplex and return to his hotel that night, having to outmanoeuvre five animatronics as he made a break for the front doors, the Sun having caught on that he was there and insisting on a sleepover.

"I'm coming back tomorrow!" He'd roared as three pairs of arms wrapped around his torso, halting his escape from the main entrance.
"Then you might as well stay for a sleepover!" Sunny had tried to persuade him, long arms surrounding Gregory as the boy also clung to Ben's shirt.
"Yeah! You can hide in the vents like me!" Gregory had added, completely unaware that grown men can't fit in ventilation ducts.
"You already left long enough, dog-brain." Monty had told him point blank. "You're stickin' with me from now on."

Luckily, security actually did their job that night and he was able to slip away without his band causing a major fuss. When he woke up to Kevin knocking on his hotel door the next morning however, he knew that the Pizzaplex itself hadn't gotten away so easily.
It took a week, three Monty tantrums, two Sun breakdowns, one case of Chica locking Ben in the food court kitchens at closing and a few depressing 'Ben-less' stage performances before the tall man answered the door to Kevin again; but this time he was followed by the high-strung lawyer that Ben had spoken to the morning after the Rabbit Incident.

"What is this?" Ben asked curtly, standing in his boxers and undone dressing-gown as he glowered at the men, wall clock informing him that it was 6 o' clock in the morning.
"Something wonderful!" Kevin replied sunnily, herding the bedraggled man from his room and down to the café, where the lawyer had set up his briefcase. Looking like he'd rather die, Ben reluctantly ordered his breakfast and took a seat. Once he was settled, the perpetually dishevelled men across from him shared a look and leaned over the table.
"We'd like to offer you… A proposition." The lawyer started. "Something that we think all of us can benefit from."
"And what is that?"
The lawyer paused, before staring into Ben's eyes with a surprising intensity.
"We want you, on the table."

Ben's eyes bulged in alarm.

"You want me WHERE?!" He gasped, horrified as he clutched his dressing-gown closed for modesty.
"NO, NO, not like that!" Kevin scrambled to recover the conversation, waving his hands as the tall man looked between them in dismay. "What he means is that we'd like to offer you a job! … At the Pizzaplex, not uh, on the table."
Ben calmed down, huffing in relief before he actually realised what had been said.
"Wait, what? A job, why?" The men glanced at each other again before Kevin took over.
"Ever since you showed up, our ratings have skyrocketed. The animatronics act happier, their performances are better… Hell, they even get along with each other better since you turned up!"

And it was true, Ben supposed. Since the night of the Incident, the animatronics seemed more attached not only to their humans, but to each other as well. Freddy and Chica began spending more time together like they had in the golden days, Roxanne stopped snapping at the others when they entered her room and left her Raceway more often, and even Monty had become slightly less prickly since that difficult night. Realising the man was still talking, Ben zoned back in on the conversation.

"-Behaving better at night too, even Monty's stopped breaking the Staff Bots! We don't know what it is about you that they like so much, but it's been a huge boon to our profits and repair costs." The man scratched the back of his head then, suddenly sheepish. "The only time we've seen profits or ratings drop since is when you're not around, actually. The animatronics seem to… Sulk, when you leave, and it shows in their behaviour. You're like a good luck charm!"

The man's weak laugh tapered off at Ben's blank stare, the taller man unsure if he really wanted to make a deal with this devil.
On the other hand, he supposed, he had already committed himself to spending as much of his life with the band as possible, entwining himself with the group like a weird little family. Having a job there would simply mean he'd be paid to be where he wanted to be, though he didn't know what he'd be doing.

"So," The man began at last, drawing the attention of the two slightly-sweating men. "You essentially want me in the building as much as you can, because it's making you richer?"
"Yes." "Yep."
"And what job would that be?" The lawyer sat up and shuffled his papers, holding one out for him to read.
"We'll be assigning you the role of Animatronic Behavioural Maintenance… And Janitor. Do you have any experience in tech?"
"I hit Chica over the head with a helmet until she started working again, if that's what you mean." Ben answered absently as he skimmed through the contract, frowning slightly when he reached the end. "This is a… Really simple contract. My only listed expectations are to 'ensure the animatronics maintain optimum behaviour during performances'… So basically I just sit around and make sure they're happy and don't break shit?"
"Along with a few janitorial duties, you will be expected to clean up after them if they make any messes."
"Done."

Ben shook hands with the men, more than willing to deal with the devil that was Fazbear Entertainment if it meant getting what could be the cushiest job he'll ever have in his life. Looking like he'd just saved his own skin, the lawyer took the signed contract and vanished out the door at high speed, as though afraid Ben would suddenly change his mind.
Waving goodbye to the remaining manager, Ben moved to go back up to his room when Kevin stopped him again, suddenly much sweatier than before.
"Oh, there was one more thing about your contract… I need to talk to you about the hours…"

X

Ben scowled as he tripped over his suitcase, nudging the taxi door shut with his hip as he waved to the friendly Mexican man who'd driven him to the parking lot. Ben gathered his dropped luggage and almost habitually looked up at the neon entrance banner of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, cursing his bags as he made his way into the through the automatic doors.

Twenty-four-seven, Kevin had told him. That had been the devil's horns in the deal. Ben would have the cushiest job he could ever hope for, but he would spend almost all of his hours in the building, with one half-day per week so he could visit the real world for shopping or leisure. Essentially living on a schedule made for an animatronic rather than a human.
He'd known the contract had been too good to be true, and yet he still bit the bait and got snared. Ben sighed, another victim of Fazbear Entertainment's corporate bullshit as he stepped into his new 'home'.
It could have been much, much worse, Ben thought to himself as he wound around the early rising patrons of the Pizzaplex. At least he wouldn't be expected to do much, and what little he was expected to do he would avoid with every inch of his being. If he was going to live in a mega-mall, woe betide the men that would try and make him work in it as well.

Ben's Fazwatch struck 9 o' clock when he wandered under the archway of Rockstar Row, bags in hand as he bypassed the growing number of patrons ogling at the machines behind the glass. Chica waved to him, unable to speak through the window as he wandered by.
As though he had a built in censor for the man, Monty's eyes snapped onto Ben the second he came into view, craning his neck past his already impressive height to spot him as he moved along.
Roxanne barely looked up at him, nodding once before returning to the adoring toddler that was tapping at her window, and Freddy looked up in shock as the man casually wandered into his Green Room.

"Benjamin, you should not be in here! I do care about you very much, but we must follow guest protocols during opening hours!"
"I'll explain in a bit Fred," Ben patted his arm as he passed by, opening the back door to the maintenance area with his brand new staff pass, black and white with a picture of something called 'Helpy' on it. "I'm just dropping off my bags here until they find me somewhere to camp out."
"Camp out?" The bear repeated, tilting his head. "Are you planning to sneak in after closing again?"
"Worse, I'm being told to. Here's what happened..."

By the time he'd caught the bear up on his descent into eternal madness, the bear was smiling ear to ear, eyes lit up in excitement.
"That is wonderful news, Benjamin! I am so happy to hear that you will be staying with us for even longer. I am sure that Monty and the others will be thrilled as well."
Unwilling to ruin the bear's happiness with the fact that he'd technically been tricked into the situation, Ben just smiled wanly and glanced out the window. There were a number of people looking in now, most of them wanting to see Freddy, but a few of the local kids wondering how the magic man had gotten inside Freddy's Green Room without the attendant there to let him in.
Wizardry, the children agreed solemnly, now determined to catch him in the act next time he cast a spell in the Pizzaplex.

"Right," Ben clapped his hands on his thighs and stood up, patting his friend on the shoulder as he went to leave. "I need to go dig up Kevin and find out what the heck I'm doing here, I'll catch you guys up later, okay?"
"Okay Benjamin, have a safe trip."
"It's two staircases Fred, but I'll do my best."

X

Ben plucked at the familiar overalls, grey with the same open collar and lots of pockets. Nodding in satisfaction, he turned them over to check the back for any lettering like the janitor's overalls had.
His expression immediately dropped into a flat line, incredibly fed up as he took in the giant print of Montgomery Gator's face that took up the majority of the overalls upper torso. Wishing the worst of curses on whoever approved the design, Ben slipped into his uniform, once again branded with his partner's face forever more.

Stepping back out into the public area, Ben was suddenly struck with a lost kind of freedom. Kevin had been clear that it didn't really matter where the man went, as long as the animatronics knew he was amongst them and he was within reach of one at all times. Other than that, he was off-leash entirely.
Feeling like he'd just gotten the most plot-convenient career ever created, Ben began wandering back towards Rockstar Row for lack of anything else to do.

It seemed Freddy had passed on the news, as the second he appeared under the archway, Chica launched herself at her window to press her beak against the glass unattractively. Ben laughed at the awkward, open mouthed expression she made, pulling at his new trouser leg and gesturing with a nod as she beamed. The families at her window seemed happy to watch her do her ecstatic hopping on the spot, taking photos as she danced around in excitement. Ben was staying over full time! She could barely contain herself as she imagined all the things they could do together now that he was here to stay without any danger. Cooking! Mazercise! Pizza! The possibilities were endless!

Roxanne had actually wandered out of her Green Room early, surprising Ben as she approached with speed.
"Staying for good, are you?" She asked, not waiting for a reply before throwing him a challenge. "That means you have time to race me, no getting out of it now! Come and find me in the Raceway this week, and I'll put you in your place." Knowing just how to rile up the cocksure she-wolf like an art form, Ben made a point to be as patronising as possible when he replied.
"Alright Roxy, I'll go nice and slow on the first run so you can win at least one race, okay?"

Montgomery looked up through his window, detecting Ben instantly as he sprinted away from the barking wolf, grinning like an idiot as he ran. Monty chortled, having a good idea of what the little instigator had said to get the dog so pissed off.
He waited eagerly for the man to come and say hello to him as well, so they could celebrate his newfound extra time to spend with the alligator, but deflated when he walked right past and into Freddy's room.
Infamous temper sparking like a flint, he hissed long and low at being ignored. Not wanting an audience ogling him through the window while he sulked, Monty deliberately turned his back on the glass, tail thumping unhappily as he ignored the kids tapping and knocking to get his attention back.

"And what are you hissing about, gas-pipe?"
Snout snapping straight immediately, Monty's temper flat lined as the tall man stepped into his literal Green Room, clutching a water bottle that he'd collected from his luggage.
"Nothin'." Monty lied, immediately approaching the man a little too happily, instinctively making Ben smile back as he moved across the room to sit on the slightly destroyed sofa. Tail sweeping back and forth happily, Montgomery settled into a cross-legged seat on the floor so he could be eye-to-eye with the tall man as he began to vent about the weird and surprisingly successful day he'd had.

Chapter Text

Gregory cackled from on top of the mirrored dressing table, wiping at his streaming eyes with his sleeves as the tall man stepped up onto bayou-themed table in the centre of the room. The iconic theme of the Pizzaplex filled the room in low tones as Monty played for him, perfecting every note despite the way his head tipped back in rumbling laughter.

Ben stood tall over them both, ignoring the last lingering families that looked in as they left the Pizzaplex, for he was much more focussed on his deliberately terrible cover of Freddy's most popular song; in which he replaced all the lyrics he didn't know with completely made up nonsense, failing in every way to keep up with the beat.
He snapped his fingers and swayed like he was singing to Frank Sinatra and not an 80's rock song, lowering his stolen star-shaped sunglasses down his nose as he poorly serenaded the lounging gator on the sofa. The worst part of it all was that Ben could hold a tune; but there was just no way to save the musical cocktail he was mixing.

Once he had gotten over and accepted that he'd been tricked by the Fazbear goblin kings that ran the company, Ben's sour mood turned into genuine celebration as he spent the evening with his band. While he was now stuck on site like some sort of live-in caretaker for a retirement home of robots, he was also getting paid to basically exist and spend time with the machines he cared about, which was never something to sniff at.
Alongside this, 'Operation: Hide Gregory From Society' was going to be a lot smoother with a human face to bail him out of trouble. Sunny had also been completely ecstatic, twirling him around like a helicopter and following on his heels until he'd finally left the Daycare; and if Sunny was happy, it was damn hard for Ben not to be happy too.

Finally starting to lose his voice, Ben ended his impromptu concert that had only started when Gregory asked if he could sing and Monty hadn't believed him when he'd said yes.
Vocal since he was young, it was little surprise to his parents when Ben developed a small knack for singing. It didn't go particularly far, he didn't join a band or win any competitions, but he picked up a few singing and piano lessons for a good portion of his childhood, encouraged by his childhood friend who had owned a violin.
It had been a long time since then, his voice rusty since his older sister's bullying had killed his motivation for music-making. Still, what he lacked in practice he made up for in humour, refusing to sing properly as he much preferred the way he could make people laugh instead.

Collapsing into a cross-legged seat on the table top, Ben smirked over his shoulder at the still giggling boy, unrepentant of the weird looks the straggling families sent him through the glass.
"And THAT, is why I was almost hired as a lead singer for Queen." The gator snorted at him.
"No you weren't."
"No I wasn't," Ben laughed, sliding himself off the table and heading to the door. "Right, you'd better get hiding Gregory. Security will be doing their sweep soon, so you'll want to be out of sight. I'm going to track down that bastard manager if it's the last thing I do."

From the second he had left his side, Kevin the manager had seemingly vanished from the building entirely and left Ben with not only a lack of any training, but without a place to sleep or keep his luggage. In fact, it seemed almost every manager in the building went and pissed off the second they were able, leaving the human kiosk and concession stand workers to fend for themselves.
The urge to commit violence increasing rapidly, Ben closed another manager's office door once again. A passing teenager at the end of his shift had kindly informed him that the managers only came in if there was a problem or a new hire, claiming that they weren't needed on-site since the place was so 'automated'.
Giving up on the dodgy methods of business management and feeling like he'd be doing that often, Ben pinched his brow and called a taxi, already discarding his guidelines and determined to sort things out himself.

X

"What are those?" Chica poked her head over his shoulder as he reappeared in the Atrium, the Pizzaplex now closed for the night completely and allowing the animatronics to free-roam. Ben panted a bit, wiping away a bit of sweat after he had sprinted to reach the front doors before they closed.
"Hammocks," He told her, adjusting the lumps of material that were rolled up under his arms. "This place is massive, so I'm just going to hide them everywhere and pass out on the one nearest to me. Oh, I got one for you too Gregory, sleeping in a Bear's compartment will do your posture no good."

He tossed the smaller hammock to the boy, printed with cartoon tigers and jungle trees. Having never slept in a hammock before, Gregory quickly ran to set it up in Freddy's maintenance area to test out the new novelty.
Ben watched the child go, suddenly remembering just how young he was with a sinking feeling of emptying bank accounts, remembering that someone was going to have to get that boy into school.
"Do you uh, do you guys get paid?" Ben asked Chica as they walked up the escalators and towards the Fazcade elevator.
"No, why would we?" The hen clucked, unbothered. "We have everything we'll ever need already, and we don't pay for what we use! What would we do with money?"
"That's… Very true, good point Chica." Ben nodded resignedly, feeling the saddle of school and care expenses fit snugly onto his shoulders. Somebody had to do it, he supposed; he couldn't just let the boy lurk in the walls forever with no education. Had Gregory even been to school before this?

Reminding himself to learn more about Gregory's past when he could, Ben stepped out of the elevator with Chica and wandered his way over to the dance floor.
"DJ!" He called out to the snoozing giant, waving as it lifted its great head to see him. "I hope you don't mind, I'm hiding a hammock in the back of your booth in case I get too lazy to sleep downstairs. All good?"
Clearly fine with the idea, a single gloved arm plucked him up and set him down in the booth, budging over to allow him access to the back. He thanked him as he passed, running a hand down the spider's steel abdomen and setting up his hammock a little way away from the lip of a massive tunnel opening. Hammock One dealt with, he made his way back downstairs with a single tap on the back of his head as a goodbye from the ever-pleasant DJ.

Parting from Chica as they passed the food court, Ben made a point to set Hammock Two up in the small space of the now-repaired Roxy Raceway, where a certain heavily locked door still stood. He wanted to make sure he had a checkpoint there, in case he ever felt the need to guard it.
Even after everything had been said and done, Ben still didn't quite feel right knowing the old location still existed under the Pizzaplex like a sleeping monster. He doubted the feeling would ever leave entirely, but setting up a small checkpoint helped him feel more centred and in control of the buried secret.
He didn't mention his concerns to the rest of his little band as he returned to Rockstar Row, not wanting to stir the pot when they were finally returning to normalcy.

Monty watched him come expectantly, happy when the man correctly turned to enter his Green Room. He tilted his head however, when Ben passed through into his maintenance room and began setting up something on the back wall.
"Hammock," Ben told him without looking away from the pegs he was hanging up. "Management here is shit, so I'm just setting up my own 'recharge stations' around the building."
"Watch your cussin'. You know I hate when you make me do that."
"Ah, sorry big guy."
Monty really didn't like how his programming forced him to speak when he didn't want to sometimes, so Ben tried to make an effort to stop cursing in the building to avoid setting off the auto-response. Unfortunately, sometimes life was simply too bullshit to fit any cleaner words.

Finishing up with Hammock Three, Ben made his way out of the Green Room and Rockstar Row, unsurprised when his big green shadow paced on his heels with every step.
"Where else are you hangin' those up?" The gator asked nosily, trying not to sound like he cared. "You know I don't mind you sleepin' in my room anytime."
"I'm setting them up all over the place," Ben replied, refusing to take the bait and make a dirty joke for Monty's sake. He was still a children's performer after all. "All across the building so I don't have to walk fifteen minutes just to pass out for the night."
"I could carry you back, you can call me on your Fazwatch, easy." The gator insisted, now caught up on the idea of Ben spending all his time in his Green Room with him.
Though the least outwardly expressive, Monty was by far the happiest about Ben's new job. Helping him set up to stay forever and spend every day by the gator's side pleased him immensely, as Monty had no intention of ever letting him go again.

Instantly changing his mind about only having one hammock when Ben stepped into his Gator Golf course, Monty shuffled in front of him to ask where he had in mind.
"Gator Golf is pretty cluttered and has a lot of back rooms, which works for me in terms of privacy." Ben leered at the railing as they stepped over a bridge, the dark murky water below still unnerving him greatly. "If I can find somewhere that's not near your horrifying swamp water, it'd be ideal to kip in here at night."
Devil-eyes lighting up like he'd won the lottery, the alligator happily herded him through a secret door in the 'stomach' section of the course and up onto the darkened walkway that loomed over his territory.

"Oh yeah, it's all coming together." Ben said as he rubbed his chin, eyes wide as he looked around the entirely new area. "This is a great spot Monty, when did all this get here?"
"It's my spot," The gator corrected, smirking down at the tall man and directing him to an archway of support beams that were entwined with ivy. "Has been for a while now. Nobody comes up here 'cept me anymore, I made real sure of it. You should feel pretty special right now Rockstar, I only let my number one fans see my secret hideout."
"I'm flattered, can't wait to ruin your private hangout with my foghorn snoring." Ben jabbed back as he hung up Hammock Four, with one more left to go. "Okay, last one now."
"Last one where?" Monty said, poking his snout over his shoulder to look at the remaining hammock, as though it would give him the answer. "You already got 'em where you need 'em."
"Almost, I've got four set up, and I bought five."
"Five?"

X

Montgomery stomped along behind his partner as they headed for the Daycare, arms crossed as he plotted and schemed a list of ways he could make the other hammocks 'disappear', leaving Ben no choice but to stay with him in his territories.
Freddy strolled up beside him, having wandered over at the sulking tone of his bass player and unsubtly snooping in on their conversation as he watched the pair interact.

"-And why's it gotta be the Daycare?"
"Because I promised Sunny a sleepover, it's two birds with one stone."
"And how am I supposed to keep him busy while you're knocked out? I ain't doing finger painting, not even to save your life. Again."
Ben looked at him in confusion, raising an eyebrow as the implication.
"Oh no, I never said you had to stick around! Don't feel obligated to stay for my sake, Monty."
"You're my partner for good now, Rockstar. I stay with you, you stay with me." The gator replied bluntly, oblivious to how unintentionally endearing that statement was.
Freddy just about melted, unsuccessfully hiding his smile at the way Ben's eyes softened with the words.
"GOD, you're such a lump!" Ben snarked fondly, stretching up to squeeze an arm around the gator's neck before dropping down. "Alright, I'll ask Sunny about somewhere that's nearby and quiet. Partners… What a softy."
"Shut your tiny little mouth."
"Cry about it, 'partner'."
"I ain't afraid to dunk your sorry butt in my golf ponds, boy."
"Shutting up."

Of course, Sunny was ecstatic at the news. It had taken Ben and Monty's combined efforts to peel him from his climbing frames and ask him for a quieter place to set up near the Daycare. Seeming to know one instantly, Ben was plucked from floor and hauled off to the Fazbear Theatre.
"You can bunk in my room! There's plenty of space, and you can share my toys and play games and go in my play-house and-" Ben listened patiently as Sunny chattered on, both missing Monty's unhappy surprise that the Daycare attendant actually had a room and that it would be one of Ben's resting stops.

The group came to a stop at a large movie poster on the wall, featuring what could have been an older version of Chia and Freddy, along with a purple bunny and a completely unfamiliar red fox with an eye-patch.
"I know this place used to have a bunny, but there was a fox too?" Ben asked in interest.
"Yeah! There's a whole cut-out of his pirate ship on Rockstar Row! Didn't ya see it?" Sunny told him as he poked the fox's image with a finger. "THAT was Foxy! He used to do pirate shows in Kids Cove, long before I got here! He disappeared one day though, nobody knew what'd happened even after Roxy came!"

Ben processed the new information. There had been a fox and a bunny before Roxy, had she been the replacement for Foxy? And if so, did that mean Monty had been a replacement for Bonnie? He turned to look at the gator as he dangled from the Sun's arm, his big green shadow looking uncomfortable as he avoided looking at the cartoon rabbit.

"-And usually, you have to go aaaaaallll the way around the PizzaPlex and hit a load of hidden buttons to get in here, but lucky for you! I can just do this!"
Not hearing most of the confusing sentence, Ben blinked as Sunny tapped a finger on the older Freddy's nose. A soft honking sound played and the entire poster swung inwards, acting as a secret door.
"… Why is this building so WEIRD?" Ben threw his hands up, drooping over his golden friend as he was carried down to his room.

To Monty and Ben's mutual surprise, the room was a lot messier than they expected for the anxious animatronic. Cobwebs everywhere, broken Staff Bot pieces laid on the ground, covered in crayon scribbles of suns and animals. Toys and stray balls from the ball-pit littered the ground, some poking out of the small children's playhouse nearby. A few of the giant shapes from the Daycare below were scattered around, one on top of the upper balcony that led into the play area. Finally, there was a small circular tunnel to the side wall, but it looked like Sunny had deliberately blocked it off with a crate, so he left it alone.
"Damn Sunny, you live like this?" Monty asked rudely, Ben thumping his arm in reprimand before addressing the nervous looking animatronic.
"This'll be perfect Sunny, Thanks for lending me your room! I'll keep out of here as much as I can and only pop in if I need to-"

"No, no! You're always welcome to visit as much as you like, friend! Here, you want some candy? Take it, take it!"
Relieved that Ben wasn't put off by the state of his room, Sunny grabbed a few hard candies from a small mountain in his playhouse, placing them in his palm before closing his hand for him. Admittedly, Sunny was embarrassed about the state of his room, nowhere near as nice as his beloved Daycare. But there was simply no time to clean up for himself! There were toys to wash, drawings to hang up, paints to clean up, AND he was already two hours late for his daily ball-pit sanitising!
But if Ben was going to be visiting now, he'd definitely need to do a little something… Maybe just a dusting, or a quick wash over! Maybe a few rounds with the sanitiser would do…

Ben and Monty watched as the Sun seemed to sink into some kind of dream state, muttering to himself about cleaning supplies as he began scuttling around his room and picking things up.
"Well, that was a side to him I haven't seen before." Ben commented offhandedly, absentmindedly sorting through his new sweets to pick which flavour to try. One was an orange and vanilla flavoured swirl, which advertised itself as a 'wake-up candy'. The other was a white chocolate and blueberry swirl, claiming to be a 'sleepy-time candy'.
Confused at the weird choice in marketing slogan, and eager to feed the chocolate craving hitting him like a golf club, Ben inhaled every blue candy in his hand almost instantly.

"Whoa-" Monty blurted beside him, not expecting the man to bear down on the candy like that. "Gotta sweet tooth, Rockstar?"
Ben was about to reply with something along the lines of a joke, when a powerful surge of… Something overcame him, and his head drooped down onto his chest.
"Ben..? Ben?" The gator shook him, unsure what was going on until he spotted the empty blue wrappers, Fazbear Entertainment's secret weapon of the Daycare for rowdy children that wouldn't rest. "Oh, right."

"Wow," Sunny piped up beside him, eyeing the multiple empty wrappers. "He's gonna be out for a looooong time! I wonder what it's like to sleep? Or have dreams? If I could dream, I'd dream of a HUGE party full of streamers and balloons and-"
Monty spent the rest of the night in Sunny's room as the golden machine cleaned up around him, setting up Hammock Five in Ben's stead and sitting beside it while he slept. A strange peace settled in him as he sat beside his very unconscious, but safe partner, and for once he kept his patience the entire way through Sunny's endless enthusiastic ramblings.

Even when the lights shut off and darkness blanketed the room, the strange peace kept him calm. Despite the pale, red eyed half-moon that quietly watched over them both from the corner of the ceiling.

Chapter Text

Ben sighed in relief as they finally found the old locker rooms, hardly used since the Great Staff Culling™ a couple of years back. He looked to his hand, from which Gregory dangled by his shirt collar like a feral cat.
"Now then, you. Freddy might believe that washing your face in the sink counts as being clean, but I sure as hell don't. Now get in there and wash up."

When Ben had found out a few days after moving in that Gregory had spent his entire time at the Pizzaplex without washing properly once, he'd nearly had a stroke. Poor Freddy had taken the boy's rebellious lies at face value when he said he was clean, not knowing that humans needed showers and clean clothes with their barely washed faces.
While the boy may have gotten used to unclean clothes and few showers during his time on the streets, Ben would be dead and buried before he let it go on in his home.

In a personality flip eerily similar to the Sun's transition into the Moon, Ben had flipped from Fun Friendly Uncle to Stern Paternal Uncle in a single blink of his eye.
Gregory had gulped when the tall man turned his suddenly dangerous gaze on him, knowing he'd been caught out, and had been swiftly marched out of Rockstar Row to the nearest locker room.

Or rather, he would have been, if they hadn't gotten lost.

Pointing to both his eyes, then down at the boy's, Ben watched him like a hawk as he begrudgingly carried his spare clothes around the corner and out of sight. Announcing that he would call in Freddy to sort the kid out if he tried anything else, Ben turned to thank his companion for leading them the right way.

"Thanks so much," He told them, patting them on the shoulder in a friendly way. "I'd have had no idea how to get here without you, you're a life saver."
"Map. Free map."
"No, no, really! You're underappreciated for what you do here, I think. If they actually awarded Employee of the Month here, it'd be you."
"Take a map."
"You're very welcome, we should hang out some time actually! You, me and the other Staff Bots after hours sometime?"
"Free map. Please take a map."
"Brilliant. Let me know the time and place, I'll be there."
The Map Bot nodded, doing a funky little dance before it wheeled out the door and away. Ben turned around then, only to spot Gregory watching him from across the locker room with a baffled expression.

"What?"

X

It had been a few days since Ben had started his new 'job' at the Pizzaplex, and he had fallen into something of a loose routine.
The routine being that he would follow Monty around for most of the day when he wasn't performing, carrying a broom occasionally so people believed he actually did work sometimes, and being jumped with random scenarios that would pop up. Scenarios much like the one he was currently dealing with.

"HELP MEEEEEEEEEEE!" The little girl screamed as she hung far above their heads, clinging to one of the golf-ball pods for dear life as the spinning ride in the Gator Golf lobby ground to a quick halt.
Ben stared up at her, absently wondering why it was always kids that managed to get into these situations, when the girl's hysterical mother materialised in front of his nose.

"Help her! Don't you work here?! DO something!"
"OH, right, yes!" Remembering that he did in fact work here, Ben quickly made his way to the base of the ride and looked for a foothold he could climb up with. It quickly became apparent that the ride was simultaneously too big yet too small for the tall man, too small to ever ride in, but large enough to be a pain to climb.
The small crowd that had gathered watched unhelpfully as Ben tried to keep his footing on the smooth domes of metal, both hands grasping at one of the pod's support beams like an orangutan as he climbed up. Extremely aware of his weight on the arm of the child-sized ride, Ben crouched on top of it and shuffled along to the dangling girl.

Stretching his long legs into the seat of the golf ball, he made quick work of lifting the child up into his arms before realising he'd have to fold himself like a sheet over the pod's edge in order to drop her down into her mother's arms. What he hadn't prepared for in the endeavour was falling over the edge of the pod himself, dangling sideways by one hand and a single caught shoelace.
As is the nature of customer service, the mother left him there without a word of thanks once she had her daughter, along with the rest of the small audience.
Putting his remaining hand on his hip with a huff, Ben hung there and waited for at least one kind and generous customer to notice his struggle and help him down.

It was there that Monty found him almost an hour later as he guided a party group from his golf course, the man now debating his chances of survival if he just dropped down on his spine from that height. The hulking gator paused as he was saying his goodbyes, raising a brow as he spotted his prized companion swinging from his lobby ride like a banner.
"Oh my god Monty, finally." Ben almost fell anyway from the way he twisted to face the bemused alligator. "Please get me down from here, I lost feeling in one of my legs not long ago and I'm starting to get worried."
"Do I even wanna know?" The gator asked smoothly as he reached up to support his partner's back. "Actually, don't tell me, I wanna keep the mystery."
"Shut up," Ben groaned in embarrassment. "Last time I ever do work here, from now on I'm just sticking to my freeloading. What've you been up to?"
"Party group, rented the course."
"Oh? How many?"
"26, all toddlers."
"Oh, you poor thing," Ben laughed, now on his feet and shaking out his numb leg as he pretended to check over the gator's arms. "How many of them wiped their noses on you? It'd blend right in."
"I can put you right back up there, if you like." Monty sneered right back, jostling his partner's shoulder with a heavy hand before pausing to peer back at the elevator that was open to the public again. "You wanna come up and play some golf? Would beat a whole mornin' of teaching little babies how to hold a club."

Ben considered the offer, not wanting to get caught up in anymore children-in-distress for the day.
"I do, though remember what happened the last time we played together? Right after we first met?"
"It'll be fine, Rockstar. We just gotta make sure we don't get too competitive."

X

The passing family of customers ducked on reflex, hurrying past the fourteenth hole as the overall-clad worker chased Gator Golf's star attraction with his own club, shaking his fist as the gator gurgled a laugh.

"OUTRAGEOUS! That does NOT count!" Ben roared, clutching his club like a spear as the gator slithered around him. "You can't bounce the ball off your own face and call it a hole in one!"
"Sure I can, little guy," Monty leered, loving the rage he was feeding. "My course, my rules! Maybe you just gotta get better at golf."
"Better at- BETTER AT GOLF? That wasn't golf, that was head-butting the ball!" Monty held still carefully as the man lunged at him, leaning over gently as he allowed the man to 'pull' him down by the crevice in his neck. "You're just a massive show-off is what you are, you punk!"
"A show-off, am I? Oh, I'll give you a show-off."

With all the confidence of a jock showing off his best skill to a cheerleader, Monty placed down a ball and made his shot without looking away from Ben's face. Outraged, Ben would only watch as the ball flew like a prophecy, bouncing off of the giant Monty head's snout, onto the decorative caravan, along three different plastic trees and finally a stray pushchair before daintily landing straight in the fourteenth hole beside them.

"… I want you to know that I hate you."
"The jealous ones always do."
"Only thing I'm jealous of is your lack of shame for that giant ego." Ben snipped, wanting the last word even if he couldn't win. "I'm gonna go see what Freddy's up to-"
"-Naw, don't be like that! If you ain't diggin' golf, we can hit the uh, Arcade!"
Not expecting the heavy pair of hands to haul him back by his ribs, Ben made an odd wailing yelp as his feet left the ground and were carried off to the Arcade.

The second they were gone, the nearby security door creaked opened. The same family of customers startled and moved on again when a large orange beak suddenly poked out through the gap.
"I think they're gone." The beak said, clicking as the two halves clacked together in movement.
From the door emerged Chica and her conscripted accomplice Roxanne, both of them unsubtly following the pair as they disappeared into the elevator and headed to the Arcade.

"You are so embarrassing," Roxy complained, shaking her head as the hen ignored her entirely. "We both have places to be today, you know. I've got races to win."
"But they're so cute!" Chica beamed, ignoring the eye roll she received. "They go together like apple and pie, I can't get enough!"
Dragging along her unwilling company, Chica ogled the pair as they bickered their way up to the third floor and out the back door of El' Chips. It was fascinating to see how gentle the usually boorish gator could be, when he wasn't pushing around Staff Bots or breaking things out of frustration.
It was in the little things he did, where he wouldn't outright hug or hold the man, but he'd walk between him and rowdy looking customers, tap his claws at his shoulders or head in muted affection, slap his hand away when he went to order a Chica Chicken ice cream-

"Hey!" Chica yelled in offence, almost giving away their mission with her squawking out from behind a photo-booth. The two males looked over curiously, trying to spot whoever made the sound as Roxanne clapped a clawed hand over Chica's beak.
Eventually the pair moved on, Chica stewing silently at the very deliberate Montgomery Gator ice cream the man was carrying as the Chica ice cream was left abandoned.
"Why that no-good, glory-hogging, ice-cream-snatching, self-loving-"
Roxy rolled her eyes as the hen rambled on, not sure what the chicken had been expecting from the most arrogant performer in the Pizzaplex. There was a reason that Gator Golf wasn't allowed to sell non-Monty related merch anymore, they barely got away with the orange and blue Faz-Cams.
Still, the she-wolf was also surprised at the bassist's unusual behaviour, having never seen the gator be gentle with anyone that wasn't a child, not even guests. It was kinda creepy in her opinion, like seeing a flesh-eating zombie petting a dog. Shuddering at the slightly moon-eyed expression on her self-proclaimed rival's faceplates, Roxy decided to quietly slip away from the still muttering hen and go back to her original plans of crushing small children's spirits in the Raceway.

Sometime later in the arcade, Ben looked up at the hulking green alligator playing the pinball machine next to him, curious and a bit unnerved.
"Is it just me, or have we been seeing Chica around… a LOT today?"
The pair had been having a great time in the Arcade thus far, Ben because he was actually somewhat decent at the games, and Monty because he was getting exactly what he wanted: Undivided attention.
The gator didn't really like arcade games much, the buttons too small for his much too big hands, which frustrated him when he tried to play the machines. A positive to this though, was after smashing the first game he'd lost in a spark of frustration, Ben had taken to patting his arms and shoulders to calm him every time he lost. Not long after this started, Monty began simply losing on purpose so he'd have more attention without needing to sting his pride and actually ask for it.

However, the entire time they had toured the Arcade, Chica had been mysteriously popping up around every corner. Saying hello to the kids, helping them with games, counting their prize tickets for them which performers aren't even meant to do; it was getting a little strange to Ben. Eventually letting his curiosity get the better of him, the tall man finally approached her while Monty blatantly cheated at the basketball arcade, using his height to simply lean forward and earn points rapidly.
"Hey Chica, what brings you up here? You're usually down at-"

Ben cut himself off as the hen gasped dramatically as though caught in a crime, throwing a hand up over her face as though to hide her identity as she swiftly disappeared out of a side door.
"What in the…? Hm."
Deciding not to open that particular can of worms, Ben returned to Monty's side just as the gator gleefully handed in his ill-gotten tickets for a disgustingly cute pocket-size Monty, stuffing it into the chest pocket of his overalls.
"Do you really need your face on everything I own? Really?" Ben deadpanned at the blank nod he received in reply, but tucked the tiny plush into his pocket more securely, secretly a complete sucker for any kind of gift or present. "Well, besides the uh, 'ride incident' and Chica's weird behaviour, I'd say today's gone pretty-"

A sharp bang over their heads interrupted him, the pair both looking up to the overhead vent that connected to the Arcade. Monty tilted his head, Ben mimicking him as they listened for another sound, jumping when another loud thump occurred.
"Now what?" Ben asked flatly. "What could possibly be in those vents that could surprise me at this point?"
Quiet clinking noises replied to his rhetorical question, growing louder and faster as whatever was in the vents came closer to the grated opening. A rhythmic, metallic tinging sound echoed through the gate as the creature peered down at them from the ceiling before darting off. Ben paused, then heaved a heavy, tired sigh as he tilted his raised chin towards his big green shadow.

"Is that a tiny DJ living in the ventilation?"

Chapter Text

The broom bounced off the inner wall of the vent with a vibrating 'BOOM', just barely missing the chattering toy as it skittered around the corner and out of sight.
Almost foaming at the mouth with frustration, Ben charged after it like a rabid dog, hunched over twofold to fit in the child-sized ventilation shaft. It had taken him nearly three days of endless tracking and failed ambushes to finally close in on the little devil that ran amok in the vents, and he was determined to hunt the thing down before it caused any more damage.
Thinking the thing harmless at first, Ben had let the miniature Music Man frolic around the vents as he pleased as long as nothing got damaged by his many wandering legs. That all changed when he had walked in on the wind-up toy trying to slice a kid's ankles in the Daycare with its cymbals, the toddler mercifully oblivious to the attack thanks to the tall man's well-timed football kick.

However, since Ben had punted the tiny toy back into its vents, the little monster had been an unstoppable force of chaos; trying to attack kids, successfully attacking Ben, even going after Gregory once until the protective lead-singer had almost stomped it flat.
From there, Ben had committed to his newly waged war for the vents of the Mega Pizzaplex, armed with a broom and whole lot of rage. He had spent almost three whole days in the claustrophobic vents, only emerging when Chica would call his Fazwatch with a food delivery, or to stop Monty from crawling in after him. Despite his claims of being able to fit, Ben did not want to be the one to explain to management why an 8 foot alligator was stuck in a ceiling vent.

Broom in hand like a Viking's spear, the tall man continued his hound-like pursuit of the shin-height trouble maker with violent intent. He would see the thing thrown out a window and into the sun after the all the crouching and back pain he had been put through hunting it. Realistically, he knew he'd probably just bring it in for repairs and send it back where it came from, but one could only dream.

The screams of very young children drifted into his ears from below, along with the quiet tune of a music box up ahead. Today was the day, Ben snarled to himself, today he would catch the mechanical insect and THEN… He would probably take it for repairs or something.
Sunny's muffled jingling and chattering echoed up to him, revealing that he had chased it up into the Daycare ventilation that hung up above the room. Too single-minded on the hunt, Ben didn't worry about the extreme height he was at, protected only by a sheet of metal. He clambered after the metallic twinkle of the Music Man, teeth bearing in a manic grin as it got closer and closer.

With a savage bark of laughter, he finally caught up to the little toy that had wound him up so much. Heaving like a beast, Ben brandished his broom and stalked towards it as it pulled at a grate on the vent ceiling.
"Today is the day, you little cryptid." Ben leered. "Today, you are finally defeated."
His victorious grin didn't last, dropping into an inhuman howl of madness as the tiny Music Man ripped off the vent cover and darted out onto the top of the vent.
"You think that'll stop me?!" Ben foamed, crawling out after it and ignoring the 40ft unprotected drop on either side of him as he pursued the source of his rage. "It'll take more than a tall drop to scare me off, you little-"

Ben watched in outrage as the wind-up nightmare skittered its way up onto the Daycare ceiling and scuttled away onto an entirely separate vent on the other side of the room. It seemed to sit there, happy to watch his anguish as he dropped the broom to pull at his hair.

Hearing a light thump of something landing beside him, Ben wasn't surprised to see Sunny at his side, eternal grin on his face as he checked up on the VERY high up man.
"Friend! Not that I'm not happy to see you, I am! But this area is off-limits! You can't be up here, it's not safe-!"
"I know Sunny, I know. But I'm hunting that little bully-bot we saw the other day, remember? With the buzz-saw cymbals?"
"Oh, that." Ben had never heard the bright and lanky machine speak so curtly before, he supposed anything that hurt the little kids in his care went far beyond his 'friendly' protocols. "I don't see it, did you lose it? I can help find it!"
Ben pointed with his broom at the smug little bastard that still hadn't moved, watching him from the safety of the other ventilation shaft. As Sunny turned to look at it, Ben noticed the strong, sturdy looking cable attached to his back that the Moon used to 'float' around in the Daycare when watching over the children. Looking between the cable, the animatronic, and the large open space between him and his target, Ben suddenly got an idea. A terrible, brilliant idea.

X

"It's true!" One of the girls exclaimed, crossing her arms when her friend shook his head.
"I don't believe it," The little boy said, looking doubtfully at the group of kids that was trying to convince him. "There's no way some wizard is hiding around the Pizzaplex. My mom says magic isn't even real! I bet you're making it all up!"
"But it is true!" Another boy said, pointing down the stairs they had just come from and into the Daycare. "And- And Mister Sunny says that magic is real, he told me!"
"Well… Well if he was real, I'd have seen a wizard by now! We come here all the time and I never saw any wizard!" The boy insisted, refusing to believe it no matter what his schoolmates told him.

It was then that a flash of gold caught his eye, high above the Daycare. Looking up and pointing, the little boy and his friends all watched as none other than the wizard soared through the air above their heads.
He flew like a witch from their story books, a broom clutched between his thighs as he went, his feet balanced on the back of Mister Sun as he carried him through the air with what could only be magic!
Gasping in awe, the children pointed and shouted until he was out of sight, now seeing proof of the wizard with their own eyes. Flabbergasted and amazed, the little boy quickly ran off with his schoolmates to tell all his friends about the real life wizard that he'd just seen for himself.

X

"Thanks for this Sunny, hope it's not too much trouble!"
"You could never be trouble, Benny! I always have time for my old friend!"
"Hey now, just 'cause you work with kids doesn't make me old by default."

Unintentionally hiding the Sun's cable with his body, Ben held to it tightly as the machine swung him across the room and over to the other vent. He took malicious pleasure in watching the little wind-up spider panic and scurry away, even as he prepared to climb into the vent after it.
Patting the long limbed animatronic in goodbye, Ben patiently endured the slightly crushing hug in return before contorting himself back into the vents for the next chase.

He kept close on its many heels, dogging it at every turn with his broom and chasing it for an unknowable amount of time until finally, it hopped onto a loose grate and fell to the ground that wasn't too far below. Whooping like giant gibbon, Ben dropped down after it, broom swinging like a finisher move as he plummeted. Barely managing to dodge his attack, the little Music Man darted through his bent knees and hurried away across the floor of Roxy Raceway.

"What. The Heck. Was that."
"Oh hey Roxy," Ben greeted as pleasantly as he could, dusting himself off and cocking his broom like a shotgun as he made to follow after the spider. "I'm tracking down that toy that's been causing trouble."
"And that involved jumping out of the air vents in the middle of my race and freaking out all the kids?"
"… Yeah, sorry."
Giving him a very flat look, Roxy walked with him as he followed the dusty tracks of the tiny toy, looking like a primitive hunter as he crept along after them. Looking over her shoulders to make sure nobody saw her with the weird and frankly embarrassing man, Roxy tried to hurry him along before she got dragged into whatever was going on.

"Too bad janitor, looks like you lost. Your catch got into the underground, you'll never get it out now." The she-wolf informed him, using her special eyes to track the dusty footfalls all the way into a small vent next to the heavily locked door. When Ben didn't reply, she gave him a side-eye, not liking the slightly violent gleam of determination on his face.
"You aren't seriously thinking of going down there again? Freddy said-"
"-That nobody goes down in the underground again, I know. But I am not letting that little bast- bug. I said bug. I'm not letting the bug get away. God knows what it'd do if it somehow got in the old location."

Roxy ran a clawed hand through her hair, practically feeling Monty's teeth biting her head off if he ever found out she'd let Ben sneak off back to the underground. On the other hand, there was clearly no stopping the man, and he'd only come back alone later if she stopped him now. Seeing the indecision on her face, Ben tried to kindly give her a way out of the problem.
"Roxy, you don't have to stick around if this is a problem for you, or if you're not comfortable going down there-"

Ben instantly knew he'd worded it wrong the second he saw her ear twitch. Her venom yellow eyes pierced him like a bullet as she turned on him, competitive nature rearing up like a serpent.
"You think I'm too scared to go down there? You think you're better than me?"
"I- No-"
"I'll show you who's a coward, come on!"
Ben could only follow, bewildered as Roxy forced open the door with a single slam of her padded shoulder and stormed her way down the stairs. The pair made their way in silence, Ben listening for the whisper of a music box and Roxy still bristling at the affront to her pride.
Finally hearing the distant chimes, Ben approached the large hole where the dodgy elevator had once stood, now replaced with a single rickety ladder. Hesitating for a second, Roxy quickly shoved past him to be the first down the ladder, refusing to let anyone think she was scared of anything. Blanching at the creaking ladder rungs, Ben waited until she reached the bottom before following suit.

It was eerie and quiet as they travelled the familiar path. The giant Freddy head was long since buried in rubble and mortar, the generators all thrown around and destroyed. Somehow, the old location's actual building still stood tall, despite the cracks and chasms that dotted around it.
Memories of falling through flashed in Ben's mind as he took careful steps, the lack of therapy kicking in as he tried not to be overwhelmed by the bad memories.
Remembering his purpose, the tall man shook himself and followed the ringing chimes of the toy further into the old location.

He hadn't gotten a chance to see the inside before, falling through before he even reached the door, but the inside struck him with a powerful sense of nostalgia. This was the sort of place he remembered when he thought of animatronics, flapping mouths and air compressors welded to a small stage with cheesy black and white tiling on the walls.
Ben squinted as he looked around the darkened building, cursing his impulsiveness as his only light came from Roxy's bright eyes. Giant holes littered the floor from the cave in, with battered tables and stools lying on what was left on the crumbling ground, but no sign of the little toy.

Following his ears, Ben traced his way around the dark and dangerous flooring, making his way to one of the doors that was labelled 'Parts & Service'. He gave it a push, finding that it led… Apparently nowhere. The man scowled as he ran a hand over the corrugated steel door that refused to budge, once again clueless as to why they had such ugly doors on the public floor of the pizzeria.
Glancing to Roxy for help, she sighed like a reluctant teenager before stepping up to him and looking the door over with her special eyes.
"Door's reinforced, can't break it. Weak hinges though." She diagnosed before reaching her claws up to the visibly damaged hinges, dented and bent from abuse. Making quick work of them, Ben was finally free to manhandle the reinforced door out of its socket and let it drop onto the floor. He watched blankly as the heavy metal teetered precariously before sliding down into a dark chasm with a quick shriek, forcefully remembering when he had done much the same. Seeing the man start to lose himself, Roxy tried to move the mission forward so they could get out of there.

"Hey. You got the door, let's go get this insect." She told him, relieved when the man resurfaced from wherever his mind had gone. "I can hear it, it's in here."
"Yeah it- hey! Watch your face!"
Right as Roxy stuck her snout into the darkness of the oddly metallic hallway beyond, a wickedly sharp cymbal dropped down from above, almost cleaving her snout clean off. Ducking back in time thanks to Ben's pull on her arm, Roxy snarled up as the spider leered at them from above, blank eyes looking disappointed at the near miss.
It turned its wide little face onto Roxy, crashing its cymbals together with a squeaky hiss as it reeled back in preparation to pounce at her eyes. Just as it leapt, multi-legs spreading to prepare for impact, its trajectory was thrown off course by the metal stool that collided with its head.

Blinking in surprise, Roxy turned to come chest to face with the tall man, rolling her eyes at his bare-toothed grin as he finally, finally got his revenge on the wind-up nightmare. The now limp spider flew back into the dark hallway, cracking off the metal walls with a ringing gong as it bounced off.
Like a hunter collecting his kill, Ben stepped into the doorway to pluck the offline toy from the floor like a dirty sock, leering at its dangling form as he checked its eye ridge for a purple chip.
"This one didn't even have the excuse of being possessed by a fursuit, it's just an asshole." He informed Roxy, shaking the chip-less toy a little before moving to step out of the hall.

But it was as the tall man went to step out that an eerie, whirring ring of metal on metal rang out from down the dark and strangely vent-like halls of the old location, seemingly responding to the loud bang of the spider hitting the wall. Suddenly feeling very unsafe, and very unprepared, Ben made a quick move to escape the doorway but a reflected light from Roxy's eyes made them both freeze and watch as the shadows were disturbed.

A black, metal plate of a hand reached out into the dim light, the arm's dark metal camouflaged against the floor even as it revealed itself. Ben watched in rising horror as it dragged and scraped itself into view, barely visible as the hunched over form of an endoskeleton sluggishly hauled its way into the light like a wounded soldier.
Ben didn't know what to do, he hadn't known what to do in the sewers and he still had no clue now. It was far too close for him to run, and Roxy seemed completely suspended in time as she stared at the endoskeleton creeping towards them. He wondered if she somehow recognised it, because he certainly didn't.

It didn't look like the endoskeletons he'd seen in the sewers, blunt faced and unfinished. It still looked skeletal, but for everything it looked like it was missing, it also looked like it had more added on.
It had no right arm, but what could have been a shell once on its left. Its legs were missing entirely, stripped down to where its torso began and sparking slightly. But even without its legs, it had something he hadn't seen on an endoskeleton before. It had what looked like the base structure of a mouth and ears, long and thick steel wires meant for securing the metal plates to. The wires indicated it had had a somewhat long mouth, like Roxy or maybe Monty, the ears indicating it had been a mammal of some kind.

Roxanne drew a stuttered gasp beside him as the tattered endoskeleton came into full view, sounding more unsure and dare he say it, nervous, than she ever had before. The quiet sound seemed to give the grounded endoskeleton pause, and with a single slight tilt of its head, it opened its one venom yellow eye.

Chapter Text

"Motherfucker-" Ben wasted no time attempting to escape from the now staring endoskeleton, scrambling to duck and weave around Roxanne's immobile shell that blocked the narrow doorway. "Roxanne! Move your ass, I am not fucking dying today!"
But even Ben's crude language didn't get a response from her, not even an automated one. She seemed to have truly packed up and left her shell behind for all he could tell, yellow eyes still locked on and processing the creeping metal being behind him.

The endoskeleton seemed to perk up at the foul language, clearly responding to the sounds and coming close, and further prompting Ben to speak every curse under the sun. It was as the skeletal machine reared up like a cobra that Ben decided to try his luck at not starving in the blocked off metal hallways, but just as he moved to take off with a final panicked "SHIT", that a wheezy, dry voice escaped the biting mouth of the endoskeleton.
"Watch yer fuckin' mouth before I watch it for ye!"
Ben's eyebrows hit orbit.
"I know ye heard me, ye little runt! Ye'll be watching yer filthy tongue if ye want to be stayin' for the Ol' Captain's tale!"
"I- Right…" Ben forgot he was standing in the dilapidated ruins of a pizzeria for a moment, shocked out of his own fear by the cursing robot that was rattling on at him. The animatronics didn't curse, he'd only ever seen Chica swear like that before, they weren't supposed to be even capable of it.

"You… Swore at me?"
"Aye, and ye swore plenty at me! What yer poor mother'd think of yer sailor's prattle, she'd be ashamed!"
"I'm sorry?" The man replied, now considering the chances that he'd fallen in a chasm and hit his head, rather than finding a swearing animatronic that was berating him like a child.
"Aye, as ye should be. Now gather close! It's been a while since I had a new crew of rowdy pirates, and this tale will be the best yet! Won't it Scotty?"
Still entirely lost, Ben just stood with his fingers pressed against his mouth as whoever the hell was on the floor dragged over a decapitated Staff Bot head. 'Scotty' looked old and a bit rusty, a different model to the Staff Bots upstairs and long since deactivated. Though none of that seemed to matter to the story teller, who continued talking and arguing with it as though it were a member of an audience.

"Yargh, what'd you know anyway?" He finally told the head, setting it aside to look up at his new 'crew'. "Now! Are ye ready to start the show?"
"Show?" Ben asked, suddenly interrupted by Roxanne turning suddenly and sprinting away from them both at top speed. Ben stood, mouth agape as his only light source abandoned him in the dark and punctured building, alone with the bemused skeleton.
"… What was her problem?" The machine asked, not caring at all. "Anyway, yes! A show! Do ye think I just step up on this stage for fun? Now settle close, ye foul-mouthed swashbuckler, and I'll tell ye the tale of The Golden Hook!"
"The Golden Hook..? The stage? Buddy where exactly do you think you are right now?" Ben asked, trying not to panic as he stood in the sole flickering light of the machine's eye, with absolutely no clue how he was going to get out of there. The endoskeleton blinked, an instant pitch darkness that choked Ben's heart in his throat, before replying patronisingly to the apparently stupid patron.

"Aye, matey. Did ye miss the giant sign on the way in? We're in Ol' Captain Foxy's Kid's Cove! Ye couldn't tell from the giant ship I'm aboard?"
Ben glanced down at the machine's missing legs, not sure how to reply.
"Or the towering lighthouse on the shore?"
Ben followed the pointing finger that aimed directly at a flat grey wall, becoming increasingly concerned but not for himself.
"Or even me! Foxy the Pirate Captain! Ye'd think the hook would be a dead giveaway, yahar!"
Oh.
Oh no.
Ben's eyes bulged in rising dread as what was left of the once notorious sea captain wiggled his non-existent right arm, hook long gone. Freddy and the band had told him that the old canine had disappeared a long time ago, replaced with Roxanne and never truly explained. Had he been here this entire time? Locked away in the bowels of the building like a shameful secret? And why here of all places?

It was her, he realised. Or him, he supposed, begrudgingly remembering that the woman had been 'controlled' by the corpse they'd found in the underground. No matter what the reasoning, Ben doubted he could ever truly bring himself to think better of the bunny, whoever she was. His realisation only added to the bone-deep dislike, as he remembered how towering that undead amalgamation of flesh and metal had been. Too tall for any human legs to accomplish, she'd not had the parts to rebuild him herself, so she had taken what was needed from the performers.

His eyes flickered to the fox's missing lower half, sickened to imagine what else she could have stolen from the band without them even knowing. An eye, a hand? They'd never know, all of that was replaceable, but legs? Legs were too large to hide as a missing piece or damaged part, so she'd gone and locked away the entire character and left him broken in the dark for years on end. Ben shuddered, imagining how long the captain would've been down here if he hadn't come across him by chance, if it had been Monty in his place.

His single eye illuminating the man's pale face, Captain Foxy quickly stopped his riveting tale at the green tinge it had taken.
"Yer not getting seasick, are ye lad? Tales of the tides can wreck a man with no sea-legs, if yer feeling green?"
"I'm good Foxy, just thinking." The man told him, turning to the now clear doorway and the pitch black that hid the room beyond. "But I'm going back upstairs, and I want you to come with me."
"Upstairs? What'd we need upstairs? I've got me Cove to entertain, I can't go wandering off just to see Bonnie and his barnacled bowling pins!" The fox emphasised this with a sway of his hands, gesturing to the Cove that wasn't there.
"Ah, no-" Ben cut himself off, realising with a harsh thump of his heart that the confused animatronic thought that Bonnie was still around. "I… Freddy needs to talk to you, about a- A new show he has in mind."

He hated lying to the endoskeleton and the way he perked up with interest at his fib, but the mangled fox needed to come with him. He couldn't in good conscience leave Freddy and Chica's friend to rot in the dark pit for a moment longer, glitched in his processor and believing he was still entertaining happy children in his empty cage of metal.
Ben coaxed the metal skeleton out of the halls and into the main area, almost tripping into the chasms around them with almost no light to guide his way. Foxy followed amicably enough, seemingly not even aware that he was missing his limbs and shell.

"So, how've you been keeping yourself charged down here?" Ben asked, unsure how the animatronic was even running after all these years.
"Ha! I'll tell if ye can keep a secret." At Ben's nod, the yellow eye lit up, the machine's eyelid lowering in mischievous glee. "There be a sparking wire loose in me Cove, gives ye a good pep in yer step when yer feelin' low on energy! Maintenance wants us reportin' any problems, but what they don't know won't hurt 'em none!"
Ben laughed along weakly, knowing under any other circumstances he'd probably love the fox's attitude but unable to forget the horrible state he'd found him in. Knowing it was Foxy somehow made the animatronic's state worse, that there was someone in there that was dearly beloved by his friends made the damaged and torn apart machine feel more like a murder scene.

Impatient to get the captain out of the dark at last, Ben took to dragging him by the arm; the remaining pieces of the body were just light enough for Ben to actually move under his own steam, despite Foxy's bewildered complaints of 'What's the rush?'.
The tall man halted at the bottom of the rickety ladder, contemplating the glaring issue before the Fox unknowingly solved it for him.
"Aha, the crow's nest! I ain't climbed the mast in a good while, and that's lazy sailing for a captain of the vessel!" Ben wheezed as the old Staff Bot collided with his chest, almost knocking him over. "Hold onto Scotty for me, boy! He's got the sea legs of a jellyfish, and the wits of one to boot!"
The captain used his blunt endoskeleton mouth to bite down onto the lowest rung as he hauled himself up, climbing the old ladder with ease despite only having one arm.
"Come along, lad! Yer wastin' the day!" Scrambling to follow, Ben tucked 'Scotty' under his arm and hurried up after the old machine.

X

"YOU WHAT?"

Unfortunately, Roxy didn't get a chance to finish her rushed story, still heaving from her sprint down to Rockstar Row and gathering the other performers to hear the urgent news about their old bandmate. She couldn't get more than two minutes into her report, as the second she'd mentioned that she and Ben had gone back underground, the rest of the band went ballistic.
"I TOLD you not to go back down there! It is not safe!" Freddy half-shouted, not wanting to raise his voice at anyone despite his panic. "You could have fallen down a hole, or damaged yourself!"
"What the cluck were you two thinking?" Chica scolded, sounding almost motherly as she wagged a stern finger at the stumbling she-wolf. "If you got broken down there or couldn't get out, we'd have never found you again pumpkin-pie!"
She was interrupted when a green, clawed hand clamped down on the canine's shoulder, red eyes glinting eerily as the alligator leaned in.
"Where. Is. He." He rumbled, stare becoming more intense when Roxy's eyes widened in realisation.
"Oh, shoot!"
"What?" Chica asked, starting to wring her hands.
"I left the guy in the basement."
"""YOU WHAT?!"""

All conversation went out the window as the trio stampeded past her and out the archway of Rockstar Row, almost trampling a passing family as they ran. Roxy stood there a moment, hands raising to run through her mane in stress as the situation only continued to escalate.
"Oh jeez…"

X

"Where the hell are we?" Foxy asked bluntly as Ben closed the once-locked door behind him. The old machine was staring up in confusion and slight annoyance at the bright and loud racetrack that took up the area. "Who went and built a racing car track up on the third floor! Did Bonnie finally get tired of throwing his balls around?"
Not taking the easy bait, Ben bit his lip to stop a smirk and tried to answer properly without overwhelming the confused animatronic.
"This isn't the third floor Captain, this is the ground floor… And the second floor. Bonnie Bowl is still here."
"Arg, they can keep their fancy cars. It'll only be the fine craft of me ship for me."

Before Ben could respond properly, there was a meaty thud as a green projectile hit him like a drum and lifted him off the ground.
"You."
"Me." Ben replied resignedly, awaiting the thorough scolding from the alligator but also very aware that Freddy and Chica were rapidly approaching their old bandmate with absolutely no clue who he was. He tried to ease them in, as he wasn't sure what the response would be to him digging up their old friend in what was essentially his own would-be tomb.
"Before we start, there's something very import-"
"Before we start? Dog-brain, if you keep getting' yourself into trouble, there's gonna be no end to me cussin' your sorry butt out!" Taking the angry fist shaking as Monty's backwards display of worry, Ben patted it affectionately as Freddy and Chica descended towards him with familial rage.

Unfortunately, his plans for a gentle and subtle reunion were quickly ripped apart by the very rough and obnoxious shout of the irate fox as he dragged himself towards the alligator that was grasping his new acquaintance.
"Yahar! Get yer slimy claws off me first mate, ye scaly dog! I'll keelhaul ya off me ship and back into the waters where ye belong!"
Ben had a front row view of Monty's face contorting in confusion at the mangled endoskeleton, and over his shoulder where Freddy and Chica stuttered to a noisy halt.

If there was ever a single doubt he had left that the animatronics could feel emotions, it ended here. Freddy almost fell flat on his face with how quickly he halted himself to look at the source of the voice, his usually bright blue eyes almost white from intensity as they landed on the shredded metal skeleton that barked and hollered at his bass player.
His jaw moved as though speaking, but no sound came out as he registered and processed, and registered again that the voice he hadn't heard in so long was ringing out in front of him like it had never left.

Chica's response was so intense that Ben felt the need to look away. She warbled as she stood beside Freddy, almost like a wail as she took in the sight of the mangled machine that laid dusty and dirty on the ground like garbage. Her usually waving arms, always full of movement stayed frozen in front of her as if she had gotten stuck halfway through doing something.
The way her eyes traced over the torn metal and missing pieces was like having to watch a family member identify their sibling in a morgue and it was far too much for Ben to look in on.

He stayed silent as they processed what they were seeing, subtly tapping his partner and shaking his head when the gator looked like he was about to say something.
Foxy however, remained entirely oblivious to the tension that had suddenly dropped on the hidden area of the Raceway, though whether this was his glitch or just his personality Ben could not say.
"Ahoy there!" The fox shouted, waving his only remaining limb as he spotted his two bandmates. "Will ye tell this lily-livered layabout to get his grubby mits of our esteemed guest! He be making a mockery of our hospitality!" From the twitch of his eyelid, Ben could already tell that Monty had just found a new enemy for life.

"And where be we? I don't recall anybody asking me if we need any fancy race car track on our deck! And who is she-?"
Foxy's ranting at the approaching Roxy was cut off when Chica skidded to the floor beside him, metal screeching along the floor as she hugged the endoskeleton tight. Foxy didn't even get a chance to turn his head and look at her before the pair of them were lifted from the floor and into a hug by the enormous golden bear. It was only then as his skeletal frame was squashed between the pair, that he realised that they were upset, and something was very wrong.

"Hold on now, what's with the sad faces? Why're ye clinging to me so? And where's Bonnie?"

X

It took a long time for the singer and guitarist to calm down, their frames overheating and stressing to the point that Ben had almost called maintenance to support them. It was only Freddy begging him not to call anyone over that stopped him. It had taken longer still to truly get the point across to Foxy's glitched processor, that he hadn't been on stage down below.
"If I weren't on stage, where was I?" He'd asked, losing his confident persona for the first time since Ben had met him.
At that point, Ben had stepped away to give the trio their privacy, instead sitting with the uncomfortable looking bassist and keytarist. Now aware of who the endoskeleton was, Monty didn't seem to know what to do or what was going to happen. Ben sat beside the gator, leaning against his crossed arms in unspoken support as the giant sorted through his hidden thoughts and concerns.

Roxanne didn't speak at all, but she watched what remained of the fox intently, somewhere between fear and awe at seeing her predecessor still in action. Ben sympathised with her, imagining how confusing yet incredible it must be to see what inspired your whole existence to be sitting a few feet away and torn to pieces. He privately wondered if she was scared of being replaced, though he knew it would never happen. Foxy might have been popular, but Roxy had stepped into her own shoes and Fazbear Entertainment knew it.

Ben flinched when he heard the fox exclaim in horror, the name 'Bonnie' reaching their ears and prompting a flinch from Roxanne, and a strange rumble from Monty. Looking up at his partner, he frowned as his crossed arms creaked from stress, Monty's jaw ticking in a nervous habit.
"Hey," He muttered quietly, wanting to distract him from whatever had got him so riled. "Whatever changes happens today, we'll be alright. Don't fret, it'll be alright."
Gazing at the man with soft eyes hidden behind his shades, Monty gently laid a massive hand over his partner's head as the group stood, Freddy now carrying Foxy's endoskeleton as they quickly made their way to Parts & Service.

Chapter Text

"… And you just found him? Living in the walls underground?"
"Uh, yeah."
Kevin wiped a hand over his face, already sweating an unhealthy amount as technicians worked on Glamrock Foxy's repairs across the room. He'd been called in from his 'work' from home after closing, when the maintenance workers reported his newest hire wandering in with a functioning animatronic that had gone missing years ago. As he looked at Ben's almost bored expression, he didn't know if he should punch the man or kiss him for so casually doing what his entire staff team had failed at for so long.

"Well, I er- I don't really know what to do with him now. He's been gone for so long now, we kinda assumed he'd never turn up…"
"Sounds like good news to me. More performers, more profits?"
"That's true, but he has no place in the band now. Roxanne's taken his spot and her merch profits are the highest we have, second to Freddy. The higher ups won't even think about decommissioning her."
"Who said anything about decommissioning?" Ben replied, trying to keep an even tone as he steered the sweaty man away from the dangerous topic. "The guy's a pirate anyway, not exactly 'glam rock'. But, we still have Kid's Cove and there's barely been a kid in there since I started working here, maybe getting him back in there will boost some interest?"
"Yes, you're right..!" The manager muttered, happily oblivious as Ben spoon-fed him ideas. "Yeah! We could work something out with that! Or maybe put him in Monty's place, his merch sales have been droppin-"
"No." Ben interrupted, not even letting the man consider it.
"N-No?" Kevin felt a sudden drop in temperature from the icy look the taller man gave him then.
"No."
"Ah..! Y-you're right, Kid's Cove should be the focus! It's been dragging us down profit-wise for a while now, we were actually considering tearing it out and putting in a roller rink! B-But we can definitely look into that instead!"

Simultaneously relieved and let down that they wouldn't be installing a cool roller rink, Ben shook hands with the manager of Leisure and Entertainment, the slightly frightened man rushing off to arrange plans for a new and improved Kid's Cove. Turning his attention to the working technicians behind him, Ben lost himself in his thoughts as he stared through the protective cylinder at the stranger that had once been a mangled endoskeleton.

It had taken over a week to repair Foxy, far longer than most repairs would thanks to the Parts & Service automated assistant. It turned out that in the rush to rip out his parts and plates, Vanny, corpse-face or whoever it had been, hadn't been careful. They'd crushed a part of his processor that registered memory and logical processing, forcing the old captain into a constant feedback loop of a single day in the Pizzaplex, repeating every day for years.
Understandably, the captain hadn't taken it well once that had been repaired, spitting with rage and demanding to know where the 'wretched fleabag' was so he could give them a front row seat of his hook in action. But over the days of his repair, being caught up to date on all he had missed when his bandmates would sneak in to sit by him at night, the fox quietened from anger to a thoughtfulness that worried Ben slightly. The man himself had barely moved from Parts & Services over the week, promising Freddy that he would keep an eye on his long lost friend when the animatronics couldn't.

But in the loneliness of sitting by a deactivated shell as it was repaired, it was also an incredible experience to see the skeleton that had pretty much fallen apart, be restored to a powerful and impressive looking performer.
Where the other animatronics had brighter colours to off-set their duller tones, Foxy had almost the opposite.
He had a slightly leaner build than Freddy, bright red contrasted by the matte black of his shoulder pads and new mane of hair, more black covering his body in patterns for an 'edgier' Glamrock look. He was highlighted in gold over his snout, torso and limbs with a long streak in his hair, deliberately similar to Roxanne's. With the wristbands, belt and a black bandolier adorned in spikes, and a single bold black star over one eye in place of an eyepatch, it was clear the technicians had been listening to a little too much KISS while designing him.

It was as Ben was thinking about the copyright issues that might come from the potential design theft, that the technicians all started talking at once, patting each other on the back and one particular pair jumping in the air and high-fiving like the end of an 80's feel-good movie. Raising an eyebrow, Ben raised from his seat as the lead technician approached him.
"Alright! Foxy's all done and ready to go! I'm assuming you're here to pick him up?"
"Yes," Ben lied. "I'm here to take him back to Kid's Cove and get him settled."
"Gotcha. I tell ya, it's been a while since we had a job this big!" The lead tech told him as he shut down the protective cylinder safety protocols. "It kinda feels good to get back into a big project, y'know?"
"Yeah." Ben replied absently as pirate captain hummed back to life, for some reason surprised when two eyes opened instead of one. For some reason, he'd thought one eye suited him slightly better.

The technician team was quick to head home once they got confirmation that Ben was taking over, a few of them patting Foxy's shoulders as they left as though he'd been part of the team effort.
"I'll be honest, I hate that you're taller than me now." Ben told the looming red giant, now slightly taller than Freddy. The captain smiled at him slightly, before falling back into his silent thoughts. A little put-out, Ben started leading him out of Parts and Service, and across the now closed Pizzaplex. Foxy seemed surprised and a little more melancholy with each corner they turned, spotting changes or additions that simply hadn't been there when he'd been around. They walked in silence past the gift kiosks, colourful posters showcasing merch lined the closed shutters. Purple, green, pink and orange, but no reds for a long time.

The captain seemed to frown when he caught sight of the Atrium stage, not recognising all the lights and fog machines, the giant screens on the walls seemed entirely alien to him. Ben wondered what the stage had looked like in his time, for it to appear so unfamiliar now. The only moment his eyes softened was when they fell upon the Kid's Cove display, mercifully unchanged from his days in the Pizzaplex and still somewhat fitting his theme.

Eager to give the old performer some good news, Ben hurried him into the Kid's Cove, the ocean ambience sounds still softly playing overhead. Foxy stood in the centre of the cove, refurbished and rebuilt yet the slope of his shoulders and his lost expression cut him away from the scene, like he didn't fit quite right.
"Tell me something, me boy." His low tone startled Ben, the once broken and clipped static now a smoky, crackling voice like you'd hear from movie. The red giant turned his head, not quite facing Ben as he spoke.
"If ye stay behind so long, that the world forgets ye… Are ye still part of the world at all?"

His eyes widened as he took in the words, surprised he was being asked about such an important topic.
"All this… Change, it ain't the world I knew. When I walked these decks, there was no flashy screens and DJs and race cars, there was just we four singin' our songs and bringin' laughter to the children. That was how I knew it to be." The captain crouched on his ankles in the sandpit, running his new hook through the tiny stones as he continued, eyeing the unfamiliar black and gold of the once silver metal.
"With all this 'new-age' glamour, all these lights and gizmos and gadgets… I don't know if I can keep up with it all. I was the captain of my ship! That is all I was designed to be, and it hits ye hard when it ain't enough no more."

Ben frowned, sympathising with the fox as he crouched at his side. He had no idea how much the Pizzaplex had changed since Foxy had gone missing, but by the sound of it the changes hadn't been small.
He'd seen the almost dangerous way that Fazbear Entertainment played with their money, expanding fast and repairing cheap, that seemed to be their motto; it wouldn't surprise Ben at all if the building had looked nothing like itself just a few years ago. Settling into the sand and making a small pile with his hands, Ben thought carefully on what to say, suddenly reminiscent of when he had spoken to Freddy in a similar way.

"With time, a lot of things change." He began, not looking at the fox as he spoke to the sand he was piling up. "We lose things, lose people, forget people… And people forget you. That's kinda how life goes, and there's nothing you can do about it, there's no easy 'fix' for life's problems. But when things slip by you and disappear, it doesn't mean that you do as well. It means you have a chance to rebuild."
The sand between his hands slid between his fingers, scattering amongst the small pile he was idly scooping together.
"If you've lost everything, then you have everything to gain again. If people have forgotten you, then you come back and make them remember you forever. Though it seems to me, people didn't forget you as much as you thought they did."

Ben gestured up to the ship the captain had once performed on, still intact and standing tall next to a colossal Foxy statue that looked out over the entire area, its real counterpart blinking up at it like he'd never seen it before. His head tilted as he regarded the scene, the venom yellow of his eyes seeming to shift and change in the bright light.
"It might've been a few years, but I still think Foxy the Pirate still has something to offer these kids, huh?"

As though his words had flipped a switch in the fox's head, he watched with a small smile as the captain seemed to regain himself, standing upright and tall as he looked around the Cove in a new light.
"Aye, lad. Me thinks this old sea-dog could make himself a legacy yet! Hand me that cutlass lad, I have a show to prepare!"
"… This is a broom."
"Yer ruining the atmosphere, boy! Hand it over!"
Ben threw his broom over with a smirk, watching the refurbished but old-fashioned animatronic as it swung the wood around like the finest sword on the seven seas, clearly familiarising himself with some old show he had once performed long ago. His smirk faltered when the fox stilled again, though there was an odd gleam in his eyes when he turned to look at the man.

"Lad, do me a favour?"
"Aye? I mean, yes?" The captain snorted, giving him a smug look before continuing seriously.
"I want ye to keep an eye out for me. Keep an eye out for him." Ben tilted his head slightly, unsure what to say as Foxy pointed his hook at a cardboard cut-out of the ex-bassist of the band, pirate themed with a blue bandana.
"Bonnie? Foxy, I-"
"I know, Fred and Chica told me. But if ye found me… There may be a chance ye'll find him. That's all I ask of ye, lad. Promise me ye'll try and find him, if ye can."
"… I will."
The conversation ended there, the pair turning back to the highest priority of the moment. Ben shared a somewhat evil smirk with the pirate, bad influences combining into one terrible influence as the duo planned Foxy's Big Return.

X

"What did you do?" Freddy asked the tall man in worry as they walked together a few days later, not comforted at all by his wicked smirk as they watched the flocks of customers wander by. "Whatever you two have been planning, please promise me that no one will be injured… Including yourselves?"
Wondering exactly what kind of reputation Foxy and apparently he had garnered with the bear, Ben nodded in reply. The plan was simple, exciting, and most importantly, attention grabbing. The only thing that mattered was keeping in character, and making sure they were as noisy as possible while doing it… And hopefully not breaking anything with the swords. He must have been pulling a particularly feral face, as Freddy soon began poking him in open concern.
Hearing the signal, a loud screech of a flock of seagulls from Kid's Cove, Ben waved off the bear and made his way to the backstage where he had stashed the slightly dusty disguise that Foxy had dug up for him.

Montgomery was not cooperating at all that day. Not only had his partner not slept in his Green Room that night, but had barely stopped to say hello over the past few days, always busy chasing after the newly rebuilt fox in Kid's Cove.
Freddy watched in both concern and amusement as the alligator huffed and muttered as he arrived in the Atrium, only there because Chica had unsubtly mentioned a 'Ben sighting' near the main stage. None of the band had seen much of the man either, which was a bittersweet happiness to know that Foxy was making a new friend, yet saddening when no one except the man was allowed in the back area of the Cove while they prepared… Whatever they were doing.
Freddy wasn't surprised, Foxy had been a somewhat private fellow way back in their golden days too, and hiding away to scheme a big show or surprise was typical behaviour. Montgomery however, didn't seem to feel the same way.
Raising an eyebrow at the violent way Monty was now signing autographs by the party tables, Freddy privately hoped that whatever they were doing would not set off the gator's temperamental jealousy any more than it had.

A sharp swing of metal cut through the ambience of the Atrium, silencing most conversation as all eyes turned to the main stage, just in time for another whistling swing to ring out again. Recognising the sound with dread, Freddy's eyes found Chica's on the other side of the concert floor, the chicken already putting her face in her hands.
"They did not…"
"They didn't what?" Monty demanded, appearing instantly when the topic turned to his absent partner. Freddy didn't get the chance to reply when the main stage began echoing with the heavy stomp of big leather boots. Chica sighed as she approached, crossing her arms and settling in for a show.
"They did…"

From the unlit shadows of the main stage stepped out a tall man, clad in a sweeping dark coat that flowed to his knees, bronze buttons lining the trim and cuffs regally. He wore a flowing, dirty tunic and breeches, held up by a thick leather belt with a solid iron buckle. He wore a tricorn over his long matted hair, feathers of four different birds pluming the right side, and across his face was an untameable and grizzly black beard that ran from his lips to his chest.
As the imposing man approached, a loud presence on a quiet stage, he pulled his ancient looking sword from its sheathe and bellowed out over the audience.
"WHERE IS KID'S COVE? WHERE BE THE HIDDEN TREASURE OF THE LONG GONE PIRATE CAPTAIN?"

There was an instant ripple of disbelief through the crowd, though not from the children. Roxanne stepped over to the trio then, not liking that she seemed to be the only performer that didn't know what was going on.
"What the heck is that? Who is that guy?" Freddy sighed, somewhere between exasperated and nostalgic as the man on stage boomed his words and stomped his boots.
"It is an old performance that Foxy would do, when he returned from maintenance. Back then, maintenance would take longer than a day and he was often away for a long period of time."

It was then that through the halls, another swing of metal cut through the air, silencing the 'pirate' on stage and increasing the volume of the disbelieving whispers. A booming laugh of 'YARHARHAR' shot the whispers to mutters, and from mutters to excited chatter. But not just from the children, Freddy noticed warmly.
The chattering came from the teenagers that had grown up with the Pizzaplex, the adults that had visited old locations over the years, the old fans that were visiting again simply because they loved the performers so much. After all these years, they still knew the sounds and they knew that laugh, and they definitely knew what was coming.

"YARRRRRR!" The 'pirate' on stage bellowed, his beard moving slightly as his mouth opened wide. "WHO GOES THERE? WHO DARES COME TO CHALLENGE CAPTAIN BLACKBEARD FOR HIS BOOTY?"
There was a smattering of giggles from the children and the immature, but all were silenced when another voice rang out through the Atrium, loud and attention grabbing as planned.
"IT BE I, SCOUNDREL!" The voice called, igniting a wave of excited shouts from the children and the more enthusiastic adults. Chica watched with soft eyes as a young mother quickly pointed her daughter to the balcony of the upper floors, remembering he had always appeared from above she had been a teenager.
"SHAKE IN YOUR BOOTS, THIEF! FOR HERE COMES CAPTAIN FOXY!"

Ben desperately tried to keep the grin off his face as the captain appeared on the third floor balcony to roaring applause and cheers. Forgotten my ass, he thought with slightly wet eyes as the fox looked down over the noticeably louder older crowd that couldn't believe what they were seeing. Seeming a bit weepy himself, the fox hesitated a half second before raising his sword in the air and swinging down over the crowd on a 'borrowed' cable from the Daycare.

Monty and Roxanne watched the spectacle with dropped jaws as the older model swung by, landing with a satisfying THUD on the main stage and waving his sword at his foe. Processor finally catching up, Monty's head snapped to the bearded pirate that rudely stuck his tongue out at the fox, encouraging the watching kids to boo and shout as though they were in a pantomime.
"Don't tell me…"
"I'm afraid so, sugar." Chica replied with a laugh. "That's Ben up there!"

The two pirates met in a clash of real swords and sparks, sending Monty's metaphorical blood pressure sky high. The pair ducked and wove around each other in a faux duel that almost seemed like a dance, Foxy laughing and 'Blackbeard' throwing his child-safe insults as they fought back and forth across the stage. Grown men and women cheered on their childhood favourite as a few rebellious kids cheered on the bad guy, just because they could.
Roxanne blinked at the strangled hissing noise that escaped Monty when with a mighty swing, Foxy almost took Blackbeard's head off, if not for a VERY well-rehearsed duck they had practiced the night before. Stumbling backwards dramatically, Blackbeard scowled and announced his thoughts loudly to the audience, British accent buried under a very overdone 'pirate' voice.

"YARRR, THAT PESKY CAPTAIN BE TOO STRONG FOR ME TO FIGHT ALONE! WHO WILL HELP ME DEFEAT CAPTAIN FOXY AND STEAL ALL HIS GOLD?"
Ben grinned at the roar of 'NOOO' from the children as he waved at them, enjoying the performance far more than he really should have.
"YOU WILL HELP ME BEAT CAPTAIN FOXY!"
"OH NO WE WON'T!"
"OH YES YOU WILL!"
"OH NO WE WON'T!"
Glancing at Foxy who looked extremely amused as he waited, Ben reluctantly got on with the act.
"IF YOU WON'T HELP ME!" The pirate roared, signalling the third floor balcony with a wave of his sword. "THEN I'LL CALL UPON MY FIRST MATE! OH SUNSHIIIIINE!"

The younger kids gasped in genuine shock as the Sun swung down as well, dressed in a little striped vest and plastic eyepatch over his left eye.
"HELLO FRIENDS! I'M A PIRATE!" The beaming first mate yelled with a wave of his toy sword, prompting laughter as he completely broke the tension. Ben hid his grin in his beard, desperately trying to get the endearing animatronic back on track.
"FIRST MATE! HELP ME BEAT THIS SCALLYWAG AND STEAL HIS TREASURE!"
"BUT-BUT STEALING IS WRONG! GOOD FRIENDS NEVER STEAL!"

Ben and Foxy exchanged a short side glance before shrugging and giving up on the script. Captain Foxy pointed his sword to the Sun and beckoned him over.
"YOU THERE! IF YE BE A GOOD PIRATE THAT NEVER STEALS, COME AND JOIN MY CREW!"
"OKAY!" Ben's mouth twitched dangerously close to a laugh as the oblivious animatronic danced over to the captain's side.
"NOW THEN, YE LILY-LIVERED SEA DOG! COME AND FIGHT ME LIKE A PIRATE!"
Determined to end the show successfully despite Sunny being himself, Blackbeard and Foxy threw themselves into one more duel, leaping over each other's swords and dodging around the massive stage. Eventually, Foxy gave a tiny nod as a signal, and 'plunged' his sword through Blackbeard's 'heart'.
In reality, he wedged the blade between Ben's arm and side, but Ben was determined to sell it. Blackbeard moaned and groaned, gripping the handle of Foxy's sword as he stumbled backwards.
"THIS WON'T BE THE LAST YOU'LL SEE OF ME, CAPTAIN FOXY!" He cried out, before falling backwards to collapse on the stage, unmoving except for his hidden grin as the crowd erupted into cheers.

"IT SEEMS TO ME, YE HAVE A WEE PIRATE PROBLEM!" Foxy shouted to the crowd, grinning wickedly as they shouted and reached back to him with waving hands. "LUCKY FOR YE, I'LL BE STICKING AROUND! SO IF YE BE LOOKIN' FOR ADVENTURE ON THE SEVEN SEAS, IF IT BE HIGH TIDES AND TREASURE YE SEEK! COME TO KID'S COVE, WHERE FOXY THE PIRATE WILL BE WAITIN'!"

Chapter Text

Ben grinned proudly as he sat on the bowsprit of the ship, watching as waves of kids washed in and out of Kid's Cove to visit the hottest returning attraction in the Pizzaplex's history.
The captain had returned to booming reviews for his unannounced performance, videos of his return trending on YouTube and Twitter and more guests than the Cove had ever seen coming in on mass. Kevin had been ecstatic, far too interested in expansions and merch production to scold Ben and Foxy for sneaking lethal weaponry into the Pizzaplex. Though that didn't necessarily mean they'd gotten off scot-free.

As Ben leaned back on the wooden beam, watching as Foxy led his latest crew on a 'treasure hunt' in the sandpit, he was unprepared for the massive green hand that hauled him off the ship and over a wide shoulder pad. Clinging for dear life, Ben gave a flat look to the gator as he carried him away.
"Still sore about the whole 'sword-fighting with real weapons' thing, huh?"
"Yep."
"Fair."

By the time 'Blackbeard' had been dragged off stage by a luminously happy Sun, Monty had been waiting for him backstage like an oncoming storm.
"You could run, Sunny." Ben had told him a bit pleadingly. "You could carry me far away, and save my life."
"No can do, friend!" The Sun had beamed as he set him down on the backstage floor. "I don't want to die!" And with that, Sunny had been long gone, leaving the man to be throttled like Bart Simpson by the furious alligator.
"What. Have. I. Told. You. About. Doin'. Dangerous. Things."
"… To apologise?"
"NO!"

They arrived at Rockstar Row, thankfully quiet due to all the hustle and bustle of the newest attraction. Ben was jostled from his half-nap when the door to Monty's Green Room slid shut, looking around blearily as he was dropped on the scratched up seats of the sofa. Ben was proud of him, this sofa had lasted over a week now; a new record for the gator's legendary temper.
He looked over at his large partner as he collapsed beside him, noting the small scratches and scuffs on his paint.
"You're looking tired, big guy."
"Speak for yourself, I think you drooled on me, little guy."
"It's a token of friendship, appreciate it."
The gator rumbled a laugh as he relaxed into his seat, lowering his head as though to nap. Ben frowned as the lightning strike on his snout came into view, worn away from his habit of dragging his sunglasses down.

"Hm. Hold on, old boy. I'm gonna see if you have any spare paint back here, I hate seeing you look so faded."
Monty's eyes snapped open again, flicking over to watch his partner wander into his maintenance area with something between delight and dread. On one hand, he was getting all the attention he wanted right now but on the other hand, did Ben know anything about painting?
Monty did not take his sceptical eyes off of the man as he returned with a can of purple paint and a detailing brush, visibly tensing as he fumbled with the lid for a moment.
"Don't start spillin' that where it ain't meant to go, dog-brain."
"I'm gonna spill it over your Mohawk in a minute, prat."
Finally getting the lid off with no paint landing on the carpets by a small miracle, Ben dragged over the Bayou themed table and sat on it in front of the gator. Beckoning for one of his hands, Ben gently started painting over the many, many scuffs on the performer's knuckles.

"You're such a brawler," Ben yawned as he went along, carefully running the brush as smoothly as he could to prevent streaks in the paint. "When are they upgrading you with knuckledusters?"
"Marketing said no, thought I'd start punchin' through walls…" Monty replied quietly, almost absently as he watched the man hold his hand still and paint it. He sat there in a peaceful trance for a while, swapping to the other hand at some point without realising it. A tapping on his nose snapped him out of his daze, his partner trying to get his attention.
"Hands are done, gimme those glasses."
Monty went slightly cross-eyed as the man pulled his jaw closer, frowning comically in focus as he started running the brush over the alligator's snout. It wasn't the most flattering view of Ben, inches from his faceplates and making strange faces as he tried to get the paint properly outlined, but to Monty it was a very tranquil moment.
His sensors picked up the brush strokes, as gentle as could be despite Ben not really knowing if the animatronics could feel pain. Feeling more steady and placid than he had in years, Monty let himself drop into a relaxed stupor, unknowingly falling into a idling recharge cycle.

"Uh, big guy?" Ben asked as he finished his paint, the gator not raising his head at the call. "Monty?"
Ben sat there awkwardly, leaning forward to half-cradle and half-lift the bassist's chin so it didn't flop down and dent his chest. Not quite sure what to do, Ben committed to just sitting there until his partner opened his eyes or until his paint dried.
It was Chica that found them later, Monty still asleep with his jaw in Ben's hands and the tall man unconscious as well, face buried in his raised arms as they were supported by his knees. Despite the pose looking more like a sacrificial statue to the Egyptian god Sobek, Chica almost died on the spot looking at them. Not wanting any passing guests to interrupt their dozing, she quickly snuck in to close the Green Room curtains, nearly waking them both with her happy chirping as she left them to their rest.

X

Roxanne crossed her arms, out of her element and uncomfortable as she stood in Kid's Cove. She'd been asked to come there to entertain a kid for their birthday, but the second the kid had spotted Foxy, she'd ran off without the she-wolf almost instantly.
Insecurities she usually kept buried in her Green Room rose up in her, her faceplates pulling down in frustration as she watched every kid in the party have fun with the original canine, one of the most popular characters that had ever existed in the Fazbear franchise. She clenched her fists, trying to keep herself from throwing a Monty-tier fit as she stood on the side-lines, second best to the fox she had replaced.

Aboard the ship and behind her shoulder, Foxy regarded his successor and the way she seemed to crave attention- No. The way she craved validation and praise, it was familiar to him. Shaking his head like the old dog he was, Foxy jumped down to greet the other canine.
"So ye finally came to say hello."
Roxanne jolted, hurrying to put on an impassive face before she turned to look at the fox, succeeding at appearing as entirely unimpressed with his arrival as she would an old pizza crust. The way his eyes gleamed, venom yellow just like hers, set her on edge.
"I'm not intimidated by you." She barked, defensiveness forcing her tongue. "You might be in the lead now, but I am still the best! I am still their favourite, so don't think you can just walk back in here and upstage-"
"-Ye know, ye remind me of Chica." The old captain interrupted, uncaring as the she-wolf glared at him. "Not the Chica ye know, o' course. But back in the old days, when we was all new, ye remind me a lot of Chica then."
"How come?" Roxy couldn't help but ask, unable to imagine how motherly, bubbly Chica could've been anything like her.

"Aye, I see it all in ye." The fox continued cryptically, ignoring her impatient growl. "Desperate for praise, she was! Always chasin' the little 'uns trying to get a crumb of the attention Fred got with ease."
"Chica was jealous? Of Freddy?" Roxy couldn't believe it, the Chica she knew barely cared at all about her own fame, always handing out merch of other performers and sharing her spotlight like it didn't even matter.
"For certain! In those days, it was often Freddy, Bonnie and I gettin' all the limelight and she found herself always feelin'… Second best." Roxanne blinked, eyes losing their harsh expression as she heard the familiar words.
"And I tells her, 'Chica! Ye better be listenin' to what I be sayin' now! Yer barely started here, yer time'll come and everybody will love ye just the same as Fred'. And true as a rising tide, they did! Only took a little time and a little elbow grease, and she was the queen o' the stage."

Roxanne turned away then, too proud to show her expression to the fox as he stepped over to her side.
"That'll be ye someday as well, y'know. Yer still new to the game, but in time ye'll be as big as Fred or Chica, and if yer really lucky… Ye might be as big as me."
Roxy couldn't help but smirk at his ego, the pair identical in expression as they stood side by side. In all honesty, the she-wolf felt a lot better after hearing that he had confidence in her, but was far too proud to tell ever tell her predecessor that she looked up to him. Instead, she tossed her mane of hair and gave him a smug side-eye, confident and attention grabbing as she began to strut her way back to her Pizzaplex attraction.
"I'll make you eat those words, old timer. Just you wait, I'll reach the top here and you'll be eating my dust!"
"Yaharhar, we'll see about that, wolfy! Never underestimate the cunning of a pirate, or a fox for that matter!"

X

"Hey… Ben? Uncle Ben? Hello?"
"Who-wha?"
Ben raised his head, only to crack it on the underside of a heavy metal jaw that had slipped down to rest over his skull in their sleep. Jostling his head out from under the reactivating gator, Ben turned his bleary eyes to the little boy that was poking him.
"… Shouldn't you be in school?"
"I don't go to school." Oh right, he'd have to fix that.
Finally feeling the weight of his steel partner lift itself from his numb arms and shoulders, Ben stretched out as he rose from his impromptu nap, slightly cramped and sore but surprisingly refreshed. Glancing down at the still sitting gator, Ben tapped a fingernail on his long snout.

"Paint's dry, big guy. And not a bad job, if I do say so myself."
"It'd better be a lightnin' bolt on my face and nothin' else, Rockstar."
"Have some faith in me Monty, would I do that to you?" There was a pause before the bassist rose to his feet and hurried over to his mirror, ducking his head to check his faceplates. "… Alright, that's fair. I deserve that."

"What were you two doing?" Gregory asked, head tilting in an unconscious mimic of Freddy as he looked between the pair.
"I was painting old sulky-scales over here- Don't look at me like that, go check your paint. Anyway, he needed a new coat since he was looking a bit worn."
"Cool! Do you think I could paint Freddy?" Gregory asked excitedly, prompting Ben to turn and dig for some orange paint in the maintenance room.
"You ain't paintin' him in my room, that's for sure." Monty grumbled, slightly put-out that the world had started turning again since his peaceful escape with his partner.
"Oh yes," Ben kicked off sarcastically, waving over the half-destroyed furniture and walls. "We wouldn't want to make a mess in here, would we?"
"You're enough of a mess already, dog-brain."
"Come over here and say that, I'll paint your face with a co-"
"I found some paint!"

Both males turned to the boy as he wandered in, a single can of orange clutched in his small arms. Side-eyeing each other with a promise to continue their daily spat later, the pair followed him out the door and over to Freddy's Green Room.
"I know he won't, but I really wish the bear wore hair curlers when he recharges. I just want the mental image." Ben smirked to his companion, a green hand laying on his shoulder.
"Could probably just ask him and he'd do it anyway."
"Very true, I think I will."
The evening went by peacefully after that, Ben lounging on Freddy's sofa as Gregory made his best attempts at repainting the bear, Ben stepping on when things went a little too wonky. Monty had wandered off not long into the painting, reluctantly called away to host a birthday party in his course.

It was as Ben was staring at the elaborate blue star on the ceiling, that he suddenly remembered what Gregory had told him when he'd woken him up. Eyes widening a bit, Ben rolled over on the huge seat and looked to the boy who was sat by Freddy's feet, idly playing with a Freddy plush as the bear checked over his 'well-intentioned' but not terrible paint job.
"Oh, Gregory. We need to sort out your school stuff soon, good thing I remembered."
Gregory looked at him in mild horror, putting down his plush to place a hand on Freddy's leg.
"But, I don't need to go to school!"
"The hell you don't, every kid needs an education."
"Benjamin-"
"Sorry, the 'heck' you don't."

Gregory looked down, petulant and worried as the bear placed a large hand on his back. Ben made firm eye contact with the big pushover, knowing that he was going to have to be the stern parent this time.
"He needs to go to school Fred, you can feed him and raise him here all you like, but you can't give him a proper adult education here."
"I am equipped with knowledge pertaining to many topics, I could tutor him?"
"Fred, he needs English and Science, not vocal lessons."
"… I can speak in many translations, including English?"
Ben dropped his head back onto the cushions, wishing Monty was there to be the voice of authority as Freddy bartered with him. Nodding to himself for confidence, Ben sat up in his best 'stern uncle' persona and levelled a hard look at the bigger bear.

"If you're keeping Gregory, you have to be more than his friend, Fred. You'll have to be his dad too, and that means doing what's best for him, even if he doesn't want to. He needs school, so he can grow up and live a good life."
His words certainly got Freddy thinking at least, the blue-eyed sap looking down at his charge in deep thought before finally laying a massive paw over the boy's hair.
"We will find you a good school Gregory, one that you will enjoy! It will only be for a couple of days and then you will be back here with me again, I know you can do it Superstar!"
"… Okay Freddy. I'll go, for you."
Relieved to be done with the somewhat stressful topic, Ben appreciated thee boy not correcting Freddy on how many days a week he would be gone. God help them all when the bear figured out that he would be without Gregory for most of the week.

Chapter Text

"Before you go, do not forget your Fazwatch, so I can check on you in case you need assistance. And your lunchbox! It is important to eat to keep yourself energised! And this Freddy plush, in case you get lonely… And this first-aid kit, in case you injure yourself… And this-"
Ben and the rest of the band watched on in increasing alarm as the nervous bear crammed item after item into Gregory's Fazbackpack, slowly but surely weighing the poor boy down to the floor. Ben wondered if that was Freddy's actual plan to prevent the boy from leaving.

"It's okay Freddy, I got it!" Gregory finally exclaimed, ducking away from the doting bear before he split the seams on his bag. Checking himself over, the boy turned to the rest of the band, looking somewhat embarrassed about asking.
"… Do I look okay?"
As the rest of band hurried to assure the boy that he looked just fine for his first day, Monty glanced over as his sleepy partner trailed off into his thoughts, leaning back into the sofa of Freddy's Green Room.
It hadn't been easy, arranging for the kid to go to school. It had taken a lot of talking and slight manipulation of Kevin to actually get anywhere, needing the dark and seedy underbelly of Fazbear Entertainment to 'procure' him a visa and a counterfeit birth certificate that the school would accept as 'legal', though he hadn't told the man what he'd needed either document for.
Honestly, it somewhat concerned Ben how… Malleable the manager of Leisure and Entertainment was, and why on earth the quick-witted vipers of Fazbear's would hire him. He had a nasty feeling that the word 'scapegoat' came up in those reasons multiple times.

But as much of a pushover as the man may be, Kevin had come through for him and Ben had been quick to contact the school of Freddy's choosing; which of course, was the closest one he could find. The difficulties only continued from there, having to put on a fake American accent as Gregory's 'dad' on the phone while shouting over Monty's honking laughter, figuring out how the hell school bus routes worked on the wrong side of the road, what American grade was supposed to be Year 5 in the UK.
When the subject of payment had come up, Ben had almost leapt from the Pizzaplex roof, his dramatic escape only stopped by a pair of unsympathetic green arms. Mourning his decomposing bank account but knowing Freddy would never be able to send the boy otherwise, Ben had agreed to monthly payments to cover the costly fee for a single year in public school. He'd spent the rest of the evening sullenly eating 'suddenly-paying-for-kids-that-aren't-even-his-with-no-benefits' sympathy ice-cream in the kitchen with Chica.

A tap on the man's arm brought him back to reality as Gregory stood by his seat, brows furrowed and waiting to ask him a question.
"Aye?" Ben asked, unconsciously mimicking Foxy and missing the sneer it brought out of his partner.
"I haven't been to school in a long time, I… How do I make the other kids like me? What if they think I'm weird? What if the teachers hate me?"
Still half asleep from the early hour, Ben placed a hand on his chin in thought. He ignored Freddy's mothering cry of 'Nobody could ever hate you, Gregory!' as he tried to think of the right words to say. Finally deciding on what could be his best advice yet, Ben spoke up just as three other voices chimed in from around the sofa.
"If anybody bullies you, humiliate them with words until they cry in shame." Ben advised shamelessly.
"Knock 'em down and smash 'em!" Montgomery declared with a swing of his massive fist.
"Run 'em through with a weapon!" Foxy encouraged eagerly.
"Run them over with the bus." Roxanne stated bluntly.

The nodding foursome was suddenly keelhauled away to the other side of the room by a terribly unimpressed hen, Chica shooting each of them a strict scowl that silenced them immediately.
"That's quite enough out of you four." The chicken threatened, before gently placing her hands on Gregory's shoulders, by far the most responsible one in the room. "You're gonna be just fine, sugar! You're sweet as can be and a loyal friend! What more could anyone ask for? Just do your best pumpkin-pie, and your first day will just fine!"
Gregory smiled and hugged the hen, relieved for the kind-hearted support though watching over her shoulder keenly as Monty gestured punching into his other hand, Ben and Foxy shooting a thumbs up beside him.
"Anyway!" Chica chirped, the three males behind her shooting back into back into their original positions. "Benny, isn't it about time you took Gregory to the bus stop?"
"Oh shoot, yeah! Come on then, don't want to be late."

Unable to justify all five performers skulking around the exit after 6AM, Ben was in charge of sneaking the boy out in the mornings and ensuring he got to the buses on time. This of course, didn't stop Freddy from following them all the way to the main entrance anyway.
"Disgusting," Ben grumbled to the bear, stumbling somewhat in his dressing-gown and refusing to put on his uniform until opening. "Who the heck goes to school at 7AM? Despicable, back when I was younger, school started at 8:45. No more, no less!"
Freddy left the man to his slightly senile whinging, his focus on his nervous looking charge that was holding the bear's big hand. Not wanting to leave the boy but knowing it was for the best, Freddy held onto him tightly until they reached the main entrance, watching with his ears drooping as Ben led the boy outside and out of sight. He would wait here until Ben returned, Freddy decided, just to make sure everything went okay at the bus stop.

X

"Alright, I found it. Good job me." Ben smiled, a little too proudly as he stopped at the Freddy themed shelter that had been in clear view since they had stepped outside. Luckily the Pizzaplex was in a fairly central part of the city, and a lot of routes made a stop there including Gregory's school bus.
Collapsing on the uncomfortable seats, Ben crossed his legs at the ankle and watched the young boy pace around on the spot.

He frowned as he looked over the kid's outfit, every scrap of fabric was Freddy Fazbear from his neck to his toes. Ben rather worriedly hoped that Freddy was popular at his school, as he'd either be the most popular or the most bullied kid in his class for turning up in only Fazbear merch. He looked down to make a quick note on his repainted Fazwatch, determined to buy the boy some clothes that didn't come from the gift shop as soon as possible. A ping quickly answered him, showing that Montgomery had also received the note and responded.
'While you're at it find some shoes to make yourself taller little guy.' Prick.

"Maybe I shouldn't go." Gregory suddenly spoke up next to him.
"And why's that?" Ben looked up patiently, hoping it wouldn't all end in tears.
"I don't want- The last time I went to school, the teachers were horrible." Gregory told him, suddenly angry as he shared his past experiences. "Whenever I tried to ask them for help they just blew me off, and- and they always got mad at me for wearing dirty clothes! But I didn't have any clean clothes! And-"
Ben let the boy continue, sensing this was something he had kept bottled up for a long time as he shouted and gestured with his small arms. He tried hard to keep the emotions off his face, knowing that his own anger at the boy's treatment wouldn't help him with his brand new start.

Making a private vow as Gregory told him of his old teachers' neglect, he shared his promise as the boy finally ran out of steam.
"Do your best today, Gregory. But if any teacher ever talks to you like that again, you call me right away, and I will set them so straight that I could play mini-golf with their spine."
"Ye be spending too much time with that salty ol' crocodile, lad. But I agree." Foxy commented, dropping into the seat beside Ben and ignoring his flat look. "If any o' those barnacled bilge-rats comes causing ye trouble, we'll be on 'em like a ship on the sea!"
"And what the hell are you doing out here?" Ben asked, wishing he could be more surprised at the casual disregard for rules. "You'd better not be getting on that bus."
"Ha, no chance! I've got all the learnin' I need, enough to swing a sword and read a map is all I be needing."
"… Yeah okay, just get in the bushes, I think I see the bus."

Ben gave the younger boy a firm pat on the shoulder before he stepped onto the obnoxiously yellow school bus, uncaring of his dressing-gown and pyjama-ed appearance as he reminded Gregory that they were all one Fazwatch call away. Squaring his tiny shoulders like Freddy would before a performance, Gregory gave him a brave nod before stepping up into the vehicle. Glancing over, Ben gave the driver a curious, searching look which apparently made the man nervous as the bus sped off almost immediately.
"What?"
"It be yer scar, me thinks. Ye look like ye fought a rusty scabbard and won."
"Ohhhhh…" Ben raised a hand to the wonky, uneven scar that spanned his chin and neck, a memoir from Corpse-Face that had stuck around and gotten infected twice from whatever mummy-juice had been on the entity's hands. "I keep forgetting it's there, honestly."
"Aye, that and yer dead, bloodshot eyes give ye a real strong 'butcher-y' look."
"… Cheers."

The pair stood there awkwardly for a moment, before Foxy gestured with his hook over to the now empty bus stop.
"Ye wanna go on a road trip?"
"… Yes."
Unfortunately their trip was cancelled, when Monty spotted them lurking at the stop and caught onto their plan. A worried looking bear and a bellowing alligator halfway out the front entrance was more than enough reason to send the males packing back into the Pizzaplex, Monty scooping the man over his shoulder like a stray cat that had snuck out the door.
Eyes following the possessive motion, Foxy looked between the resigned man and the visibly puffed-up alligator before breaking his jaw into a terribly Grinch-like smirk. Chuckling and promising to 'break 'em out of here' in the future, Foxy waved a hand at Ben and sauntered off back to his Cove, heartily enjoying the bare-toothed rumbling that followed him up to the elevators.

"… Did everything go okay?"
Ben and Monty snapped their eyes to the bear, having forgot he was there entirely. Adjusting himself to be comfortable in the gator's unwavering grip, Ben turned to sooth Freddy's nerves.
"It all went fine, he got on the bus with no problems and he knows he's got his Fazwatch too."
"Good, good…" Freddy breathed in relief. "I look forward to seeing him soon. Even if it is only for an hour or two, I still miss him terribly… What?"
The bear looked on in confusion as the duo shared a side-glance, arguing with their eyes until Ben forfeited, reluctantly answering the bear.
"Actually Fred, he's gonna be gone a little longer than that…"
"How long?"

X

"Frederick Fazbear, I'd better not be seeing you communicating with that Fazwatch again." Freddy jolted up, glowing eyes fading back into blue as he looked over guiltily.
"I am only checking in, to make sure that Gregory's work is not too hard."
"Mhm, you gave me that same story ten minutes ago. Chica, tell him!" Ben called, crossing his arms as Chica swept in to scold the bear for distracting his charge at school.

Freddy had somehow regressed from an almost 8ft tall lead singer into a depressed single father with separation anxiety since Ben had broken the news of Gregory being away for up to seven hours a day, five days a week. He and Monty had spent a disastrous amount of time evading the bear through the morning, both having tired quickly of his begging for Ben to go and collect Gregory early. Though eventually he had been evaded too successfully, leading the pair to find him whispering to Gregory's Fazwatch like a kid hiding a walkie-talkie in bed.
With Foxy and Roxanne both booked for the day, Ben had conscripted Chica to help him parent Freddy into performing, the poor guy far too worried about how his charge was doing to keep up with his protocols on his own. Monty had found the whole thing hilarious of course, jokingly calling them 'Mommy and Daddy' the whole afternoon, amused but not understanding why Ben was so horrified at the nickname. Whatever the joke was, Chica had certainly gotten it by the way she cackled every time Ben died a little when he heard the word 'Daddy'.

It was only in the late afternoon that the day's strange trauma came to an end, Freddy snatching Ben off of Monty's shoulder and running with him to the main entrance when his manually heightened sensors detected the school bus' arrival. Even Monty had been slightly concerned for his partner's safety when the bear almost threw him out the main entrance to fetch his charge, the poor man actually a good foot off the ground when he was let go.
Terrified for the safety of the Pizzaplex, Ben made quick work of tracking down the boy, smiling proudly as he spotted Gregory waving goodbye to a few friendly looking kids.

"Ahoy, had a good day then?" Gregory laughed up at him, running over to tell him about his day.
"Ahoy, Captain Ben! Did Foxy sneak out too?"
"Nah, Monty clotheslined him when he tried, it was actually pretty impressive. Now how was your day?"
"Oh. Well today went great! I got to class and the teacher introduced me, and I got to sit next to my new friends! There's two boys called Elijah and Noah, and there's a girl called Wendy and she collects bird feathers that she finds. And Noah told me his mom knows how to make gold rings, and-"
Ben listened peacefully as he walked Gregory back towards the Pizzaplex, the younger male holding onto his sleeve as he talked about his new friends and how different the school was to his old one. The tall man couldn't be happier with the result, having been worried that the kid's previous experiences and attachment to Freddy might've caused a serious issue with him socialising. Relieved that he wouldn't have to figure out child therapy or counselling after all, Ben led the boy inside and released him into the waiting arms of his metal father-figure.

"Gregory, there you are!" The bear beamed, eyes lighting up to scan the boy for any injuries or scuffs. Seeing none, he began carrying his charge back to Rockstar Row, holding him tight and listening intently as Gregory enthusiastically told him all about his first day back at school like the energetic ten year old he was.
"Don't get all weepy on me now."
"I'm not."
"I can see it in your face, you're getting' aaaalll sentimental." Ben scowled, turning away from the smirking gator as he blinked his eyes rapidly.
"Shut your toothy mouth, you snarky old handbag. It's just a bit of FazDust™ in my eye."
"Sure, sure you little sap," Monty snickered as he threw an arm over the man's shoulder, leading him off towards the Gator Golf walkways. "Let's go somewhere nice and quiet so you can weep n' cry on my shoulders."
"Keep trying it Monty, don't think I won't put you up for sale on eBay."

Chapter Text

"We won't be long," Ben promised, speed walking as fast as he could while carrying a ten year old under his arm.
"Less than two hours."
"… Okay, we'll be longer than that."
"Then don't go."
"Too late, we're out the door."
Montgomery hissed in displeasure as his partner slithered out the front entrance, boy in hand. After several days of convincing the heavily attached bear, Ben had finally half-begged for permission to take the boy shopping, unable to stand his merch-exclusive outfits any longer. He himself was hardly the winner for best dressed on any occasion, but the bright orange shorts and shirt combo simply could not be tolerated for another day.

Monty watched them disappear out of sight, sulking not for the first time over his undisguisable height and bulk that would've been spotted instantly outside of the Pizzaplex. His downcast eyes suddenly sparked into hot anger as a flash of a red tail suddenly darted past him and out the door.
"WHAT-" The gator snarled, turning on the only outlet for his irritation as she walked up to him. "Why the heck does he get to go out?!"
"I told him to!" Chica chirped from his side, ignoring his outburst. "He's on a super-secret mission for me and Freddy!"
"… Fazbear told him to spy on the kid, didn't he?"
"Well- yeah, but he's watching Benny too!"
"That ain't better!"

Elsewhere, Ben sighed in relief as their Uber pulled up to the parking lot. It had taken his best efforts of speed and cunning to sneak Gregory out of the building without gathering the usual entourage of mothering metal, and he was eager to get on with the day as fast as he could. Like most poorly dressed men in their twenties, Ben didn't particularly enjoy clothes shopping and had only promised to do so because the cheesy merchandise had somehow been worse than the alternative.
Flagging down the tired looking driver, he quickly shuffled his young companion into the back of the car, settling in wearily as he gave the driver directions to the nearest shopping centre in the city. Mall, he reminded himself. They're called malls here.
"Hey, you said two passengers." The driver spoke up, just as the car jolted with the addition of extra weight. "This uh… 'guy' with you, or is there a problem?"

Not even wanting to look, Ben shut his eyes in exasperation before turning his head and opening them. He was not surprised, nor impressed with what he saw.
"You're kidding me." He said flatly, eyeing Foxy as he ignored the question and made himself comfortable. His 'disguise' was a pair of XXXL Roxanne jogging trousers and a somehow even larger baggy hoodie with Freddy's signature smile on the chest, not even attempting to hide his extremely inhuman face. Feeling even more like a babysitter than he had while just watching Gregory, Ben put a hand to his forehead and turned to pull a swift excuse directly out of his ass.
"Yes, he's with me. Don't mind the 'mask'… He, uh… He's a furry."
"Oh, one of those." The driver remarked, eyeing the fox's unbothered expression before turning back to the wheel. "Yeah we see a lotta your types here, it's a whole thing."
"Wait, this city has a lot of furries?" Ben frowned, wondering just how many had to be wandering in fursuits for it to just be a 'thing' there.
"Oh yeah," The driver answered, not looking away from road as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Our city's biggest attraction is Fazbear's, man. Of course we got furries here."

The conversation ended from there, the driver happy to turn on the radio and relax while Ben attempted to quietly throttle the unphased stowaway. Gregory beamed up from between his now-two guardians for the day, entirely happy to have more company on what he was sure to be a boring day.
"Gregory, are you there?" His Fazwatched peeped, attracting Ben's ire like a dog to a bone. "Did you reach your transportation safely?"
"Alright," Ben cut in, tuning his repainted Fazwatch into the same frequency before barking into it. "Which one of you gits went and told the captain we were going out? I am not going to take the shit for this if he gets caught out here."
"Benjamin, mind your-"
"I'm not in the Pizzaplex, Fazbear." Ben snarked, seeming to realise it himself just as he spoke. "I can say whatever I want now, ha! Holy mother of fu- OUCH?"
"Ye'll be watchin' yer cussin' while I be here, boy." Foxy smiled unpleasantly, retracting his metal hand from the back of Ben's head unapologetically. "When ye sail with the captain, ye follow the captain's rules."
"I didn't invite the damn captain- Alright!" Ben bit out, leaning his head away from the swatting hand. "I hate it here. You are terrible y'know, you're actually making me miss Monty's mouthy attitude."
The man crossed his arms as he sat back and ignored the sneering fox, unaware that across the city, a large alligator was thumping his tail in smug victory as his band shamelessly spied on the humans' shopping day through Foxy's security live-feed.

X

"Alright sprout, go look around this shop and tell me if you spot anything you like."
Chica leaned forward eagerly, chin in her hands as she watched Gregory run off to pick out his own style through Foxy's eyes, determined to memorise every colour and pattern he liked for future birthdays and Christmases. Roxanne sat by her, pretending to check over her recently maintenance claws as she also watched the boy's choices, though a bit more judgementally than the sweet hen was.
The image they made would not have looked strange to the ogling guests as there was no obvious TV or screen they were spying through, only the foursome sat around in Glamrock Chica's Green Room as though they were simply hanging out during their off-stage hours. What the band was actually abusing was their emergency security live-feed system, which was made specifically in case an animatronic went missing and the technicians needed a clear view of where they were.
Built into their optics, the connection was supposed to feed directly into the security offices; but thanks to Chica's roundabout reasoning that 'technically they were part of the security system', the band had instead re-routed the feed into their own processors so they could nosily watch over their friends from inside the Pizzaplex.

To their credit, being able to keep an eye on his charge from afar had calmed Freddy down from the nervous pacing he had made a habit of each time the boy left, the night of the Rabbit Incident still lurking in his thoughts. He stood by his vanity dresser, not wanting to sit as he stared blankly in Monty's direction, unseeing as he watched his charge pick out his clothes through venom yellow eyes.
"No orange, Gregory." A British accent bled into the security feed, Ben appearing on the visuals to help the boy choose another colour. "You've got enough orange and blue back home, god knows the bear is trying to turn you into a mini-me."
Freddy opened his mouth to dispel the rumour, though the thought of Gregory dressing up to match with his colours endeared him greatly. A loud 'shush'ing noise prevented his reply, the other three quick to remind him that they were spying on the boys. Though he didn't understand the need for secrecy, he obliged the trio and took amusement in how excited they were to be 'spying' on simple clothes shopping.

Monty tried to pretend to care about Gregory's shopping as he idly plucked at his bass guitar, he really did. But nobody was fooled by his impatient shifting on Chica's sofa, visibly annoyed when the fox kept his partner out of frame almost deliberately.
"Hey Foxy, what'd you think of this tank top?" The bass player snapped to attention when at last, Ben came into view.
"On ye? Slimming."
"I-Oh, really? Thank you, but I meant for Chica as a gift. Though now that you mention it…" Ben eyed the pink tank top a little closer, eyebrow raising.
"Tell him to get the green." Monty grunted, knowing the fox could hear him. The camera's movement paused as the message went through, before the captain's eyes deliberately moved away from Ben and just to the right of him. Foxy cackled at the crackling snarl that filtered into his processor, further egging on the gator's infamous temper.
"Go for the red lad, so ye'll match wit' me!" The canine insisted, smirking even as Chica scolded him over the line for taunting the now hissing Monty.

Ben looked over at the unusually wide-eyed captain, unimpressed. He'd been pulling that strange expression since he'd gotten in the car, and it wasn't helping the already numerous stares his 'furry' friend had been getting in the shopping centre. By some baffling miracle, people seemed to buy that he was just an extremely tall guy in a costume but Ben hadn't taken any chances, forcing the animatronic to wear a thick scarf to hide the wiring in his neck and keep his lethal looking hook firmly in his hoodie pocket.
Shaking his head at the ridiculous situation, Ben turned back to the rack to find the largest size they had in hopes of finding something for Chica. In their tiny world of the Pizzaplex, all they had were the rooms they lived in and the outfits welded onto their frames; Ben found it a little sad, though he never said it aloud. While the main agenda was still fixing Gregory's fashion sense, he also wanted to grab something on the side for each animatronic that they could call their own. Something that wasn't their own products or their built-in accessories.

Travelling on once he'd grabbed a few different colours for Chica, Ben followed Gregory to the accessories section where he was trying on every pair of sunglasses they had on the display. Laughing at the boy's heart shaped pair from the 'Elton John' brand, the man quickly snatched a pair own to try on as he browsed hair accessories for Roxanne.
"Foxy, what kind of stuff would Roxy like? You've been hanging out with her a lot lately? Also don't tell any of them I'm buying gifts, it's meant to be a surprise."
"I won't tell a soul," Foxy lied, listening as Roxy gave stern instructions on what she would accept from the display. "Go for the… Uh, 'Steel chain… Chunky… Hair clips with chain'…?" Ben stared at him in utter bafflement, the fox not looking much better as he tried to translate what the hell he'd just been told to say.

"For the love of- Third along the second shelf!" A petulant voice growled over the feed, the fox sighing in relief as he quickly snatched the conjoined clips and handed them to the man.
"These? Are you sure?" Ben asked, looking over the clips. They were two thick steel clips, conjoined by a pair of punk-ish chains, edgy but appropriate for the rebellious she-wolf. "Alright.. I'll take your word for it, fashion guru."
Two down and four to go, the man thought as Gregory finally chose a pair of sunglasses. Unfortunately unsurprised by the bright orange rims and blue lenses, Ben just gave up and put them in his basket.
"Why don't you try finding outfits that match someone who's not Freddy?" The man tried to encourage the boy by his side, Foxy following behind them as they paid. "We can go to that shop over there, maybe you can match with Monty?"
"No," Gregory snorted as though he'd said something funny. "You have to match with Monty, that's your thing." Ben blinked as the boy slowed down to chatter at Foxy, realising he was right. He glanced down at the tank top he'd grabbed for himself amongst Chica's, habitually green as though his arm had picked before his brain.
"Huh, well what'd you know?"

Back at the Pizzaplex, Chica and Roxy exchanged identical looks of frustration as Monty laid his hands behind his head, chuffing in satisfaction at the small hint of affection. Eventually Chica could bear it no longer and ignoring Freddy's raised eyebrows, turned to address the giant elephant in the Pizzaplex.
"Monty! When are you gonna do something about Ben?"
"Do somethin'?" The gator asked, raising an eyebrow in question. "What'd he do that I gotta fix?" Roxy put a hand to her forehead, a habit she'd unknowingly picked up from Ben as she suffered the alligator's obliviousness.
"What'd he-? Nothing, sugar!" Chica balked, trying to reign in her patience. "I mean when are you gonna make a move?"
"A move?"
"On Ben?"
"Like… fightin'?"
"Like romantically, darlin'."
That got the gator's attention, his eyes widening as far as they could as he sat up straight, tail knocking over his forgotten bass guitar. Freddy, Roxy and Chica watched in varying levels of satisfaction as the bass player fumbled and sputtered, trying and failing to find his words to deny the accusation.

"You- I-" Monty snapped, fan kicking in as his processor finally caught up with his mouth. "In case you ain't noticed Chica, I ain't no human. Even if I did want him, which I don't, I ain't what he's lookin' for."
"Right, and I don't like pizza." Chica called him out flatly, drawing a surprised look from the rest of the band, even Foxy pausing on his end to listen more closely. "You can call it whatever you want Montgomery Gator, but I know you care about our Benjamin and he cares about you too! You-you sulk when he's gone, you always smile when he's near! You don't even smile that much when kids ask for you on their birthdays! You like him for sure, sweetheart!"
Monty ducked his head defensively with a scowl, embarrassed to have his feelings aired out in front of the whole band and the ogling guests that stood by the glass, even if they couldn't hear it. Sensing the gator's violent outburst coming like rain in the atmosphere, Freddy quickly spoke to keep the subject moving to a safer angle.
"Monty, if it helps, I am sure that Ben feels the same way. He is often lonely when you are gone, and always speaks fondly of you… When you are not around to argue with." Montgomery didn't respond, looking away with his jaws clamped shut in his defensive state even as he listened. Chica however, perked up immediately.
"I know! I'll prove it Monty, Ben likes you just as much as you like him!"
"Why's this gotta be about me and him, I thought we were spyin' on the kid!" Monty tried to deflect, thoroughly ignored by the hen as she patched through to Ben's Fazwatch.

"Ben's Erotic Walking Stick Emporium, how can I help- OW."
"Hi sugar, I'm just giving you a call!" Chica chirped over the line, ignoring the sound of Foxy walloping the man for his language. "I wanted to ask you something a little private, while you were away from Monty for once." She winked over at the gator as he glared, mortified but undeniably curious.
"Oh uh, one sec." Ben stepped out of frame of the live feed, leaving Gregory to do his shorts shopping with Foxy and stepping over to the quieter leather jacket section. The Fazwatch rung with static for a moment as he started digging through the racks. "Right, what's the problem?"
"Oh, no problems!" Chica assured, before giving a leery side-eye to the bass player as he scowled in embarrassment. "It's just that Monty's reeeeeeeeeeeeaaally lonely while you're gone, so don't be away too long!"
"Oh for heaven's sake, don't tell me he's barricaded his room again?" The man sighed, unintentionally warming his partner with his fond tone. "What a big lump, good god. Alright Chica, I'll be heading home soon enough-"
"Actually!" The hen cut in, not even trying to be subtle in her enthusiasm. "I got a question for you, pumpkin!"
"Oh?"
"Do you love him? Monty?" There was a loud clatter over the Fazwatch as something heavy fell over on the other end, followed by a slight stuttering as the man regained his composure. Roxy snickered at the man's fumbling, Monty perking up despite himself.
"Love? Where is this coming from Chica?" Ben asked, ears red as he quickly gathered the fallen jackets from the floor.
"Come oooon, tell me! I promise not to tell!" She lied, throwing an excited grin at Freddy, who looked rather guilty at all the deception.

On the other end, Ben paused as he actually considered the thought.
He knew he cared immensely about his partner despite their ritual of daily bickering; he knew he wanted him happy at all costs and to stay at his side for as long as he could. But did that mean anything more? He had never been in love before; he had dated and met people, but truly fallen in love? Never.
Unsure of what he was feeling, he obliviously posed the question to Chica like the idiot he was.
"I don't know if what I feel has a label, Chica." He answered honestly, strangely out of his depth as he traversed his own emotions. "Is there even a right label for when you care for someone way more than yourself? Or want to be around them all the time? … You're not gonna tell him about this conversation, right? Chica?"
But Chica was too busy banging her head against the wall in frustration to answer, joined by Roxanne and entirely lost as to how both males could be this oblivious to their own feelings. Freddy on the other hand got a direct view of the gator as he sat back in his seat, hiding his soft eyes and gentle expression behind his shades, folding his arms over his chest as though to hold something close to him. The bear smiled warmly as he took a seat at Chica's vanity, hoping that at least one of them might be more aware than even they thought.

X

"Alright, shopping is done!" Ben cheered as he led Gregory back where they'd come from. "They really do have everything here, we even managed to find a purpose for Foxy's existence."
The man turned to give Foxy the side-eye of a drag queen, enjoying the captain's annoyed look as he carried the multitude of bags behind the pair. Literally living in your workplace had its perks, and Ben's pay-check had managed to cover the somewhat aggressive amount of shopping he had put the boy through. Dozens of shirts, trousers, shorts and other necessities cluttered the animatronics arms as he teetered after them, unbalanced and annoyed.

Ben would've felt guilty for putting all the work on the fox, but after an entire shopping trip of mildly creepy stares, throwing red clothes at him in every shop and trying to peek at Ben's secret gift bag for the performers, Ben was more than alright to leave him to it and continue carrying his one bag. Suspicious of Foxy, Ben had snuck off where he could to buy the other presents, easily trusting the captain to guard their charge with his life.
He privately hoped they would approve, glancing into his jumble of gifts and wincing when the boy beside him flipped over the box he was carrying again.
"Gregory, please don't flip that over. I really don't want you to break it before we even get it home." Gregory nodded, tucking the Nintendo Switch under his small arm for a better grip.
The purchase had admittedly been more for Ben's sake than the kid's, both tired of the loud 8-bit arcade game sounds when he was trying to rest and personally insulted that the ten year old had never played a Pokémon game before. Though not regretting the purchase, Ben made a note to self not to check his account balance until he was sitting down beforehand. His brows furrowed as they stepped through the main entrance of the shopping centre, did the green rooms even have TVs?

Half an hour later and with a large box now precariously gripped under Foxy's arm, Ben once again led the group through the main walkway of the shopping centre- Mall, Ben reminded himself.
A quiet piano tune rang though the open space as they passed by, an older looking gentleman gently tapping a nostalgic song into the public-use piano that had been set up against the back of an elevator. The sight of it brought Ben to a screeching halt.
"Is that- A public piano!" The man lit up, the faint lines of his face smoothing out at a nostalgic memory. "When I was younger Gregory, they had a piano just like this in London! In the St. Pancras train station, my friend and I, we used to…"
Gregory looked up as the man trailed off, losing himself in his memories. He had never had the biggest social appetite, no real want for public attention, but he fondly remembered days where he and his childhood friend had begged to visit Sir Elton John's Piano and play there. The singer had been a great inspiration to his younger self, still was to that day. His friend had come with her favourite violin, and he had sat at the piano himself, both belting out their favourite songs at the time with confidence only kids could have.

He wasn't sure how long he was stood staring at the old piano, ignoring Foxy's hand waving in front of his eyes, but by the time he had come out of it the old man was long gone and the piano sat silent and vacant.
"T'is about time ye snapped out o' yer fantasy world, ye little barnacle!" The captain jeered, fed up of standing in place holding the bags. "Are we going or are ye gonna be makin' moon eyes at the damn thing all day?"
Ben barely glanced at the scoffing pirate as he stepped over to the piano, entranced by his old memories and feeling the phantom of his childhood friend rosining up her bow alongside him as he ran a hand over the keys.
"Aye, that does it. I'm dropping the bags here lad, me thinks we'll be stayin' a while." The old captain told Gregory as he set the bags down, both of them ignored by their silent companion as he sat in the seat worn down by hundreds of musicians before him.

There was a moment of quiet as Ben sat in his memories, trying to remember the last time he had felt this inspired for music and fun. Long before he'd moved out to his rainy old cottage in the South of England, he was sure. Before he'd given up his dreams of music and song-writing for practicality and wages, his sister and older relatives always quick to caution him of how often musicians fell flat and became failures without a penny to their name.
His thoughts on feelings returned to his abnormal conversation with Chica earlier that day, telling her what he 'felt' for Monty. But in that moment in front of the instrument he had barely glanced at in years, Ben wondered exactly what had changed since those dreary days alone in his cottage. What had meeting his big green companion made him feel since that day?

Younger, he decided as he set his hands down into position, testing a few keys before falling into a simple melody. He felt lighter, happier than he had been in a long time and more than that, he felt free. Free to act and behave as he saw fit, knowing he had an unmoving partner at his side that would definitely judge him, but never leave him to fail alone.
The man's hands unwittingly fell into the beginning chords of his favourite song by Elton John, 'Your Song'. His fingers followed the music like a he'd never stopped playing, the man unaware of exactly when the bittersweet memory of his childhood friend changed into a larger, stronger silhouette that lazily played its bass along with his tune. He waited for the cue and for the first time in many years, smiled widely as he sang with all his effort.

Foxy kept up the live feed, for once ignored despite his canine face and massive size as a small crowd lingered around the walkway to listen to the man as he laughed and sang with his young charge. The pace of the music had picked up quickly after his initially slow beginning, eager hands cracking into 'Bennie and the Jets' immediately after, not that Foxy knew any non-Fazbear copyrighted music.
Five more minutes, the fox told himself as Gregory started singing along to 'I'm Still Standing'. He was enjoying the music, but there was a slightly disgusting feeling in his circuits as though he could feel the huffing gator's steaming pseudo-breath on the back of his neck.
"Will ye reel it in, ye great beef-barrel?" He hissed into the feed, unimpressed with the territorial snap he got back. "I can hear yer heavin' through the damn feed!"

But Monty didn't care for his complaints, he only had eyes and ears for his partner as he played. Livelier and with a flair the gator hadn't seen in him before, the bassist was enraptured as he watched the man sway with his music, his own hands itching for his bass as he listened. He didn't know the songs at all, but that wouldn't have stopped him, he'd have just made his own music and Ben would've played along. Ben who had said he wanted to stay with him forever, who cared about him, Monty thought with a smug smirk.
The alligator sat back in his seat when his partner's fun came to an abrupt end, hauled away with his charge and his shopping by a weary sounding pirate. Chica chattered next to him about how exciting it was to have another musician in the Pizzaplex, Freddy joining in with his usual warmth and wholehearted compliments; both nosily eyeing their band member for any reaction as the live feed ended. He didn't bother speaking up as they discussed plans to 'accidentally' order a keyboard for Roxanne instead of a keytar, Roxy only allowing it under promises of a competition to see who was best at playing the keys.
He didn't care to discuss any of it while he bided his time, impatiently waiting for his partner to get home.

Chapter Text

"And Michael told Michelle, who told Britney, who told Caitlyn, who told Josh, who told Miguel-"
Ben nodded along, desperately trying to keep up as the teenage kiosk worker continued telling him 'all the goss' about Clyde and Natalie getting caught together in the employee changing rooms. He shot a quick eye over her shoulder as he glimpsed the old captain sneak Gregory and his bags around to the employee entrance, giving a distracted 'mhmm' to keep the girl talking.
"Wow, what a pack of little snitches." Ben agreed emphatically, channelling his inner Desperate Housewife as the teenager vented to him. They had been lucky that only one worker had been in the smoking area when they'd returned from Ben's half-day off, and luckily nobody important had noticed or reported Foxy being gone too.
"I know right! It's not like they were doing it on the main stage or something!" Sighing in relief as Lola finally seemed to slow down her chattering, Ben tried to politely excuse himself from the frankly uncomfortable conversation. It was as he was slipping away however, that Lola suddenly wrinkled her nose in disgust and pointed behind him.

"Ew! What the hell is it doing? It's staring at me!"
Ben turned his head to look, his concern quickly turning to exasperation as he spotted the large mass of green pressing the length of his snout against the glass doors of the front entrance, his lidded eyes drilling into his back and missing his iconic sunglasses.
"Oh for god's sake, what are you doing?" He called, mouthing the words dramatically as he knew the gator wouldn't be able to hear him. Instead of answering however, his partner only seemed encouraged by the attention. He pressed his head further into the glass until his red Mohawk tapped it, his giant hand raising to beckon the man with a wink and a 'come hither' motion.
Ben stared back flatly with a raised brow, unsure what had gotten into the performer while he'd been gone. He blinked as Lola shuddered next to him, the teenager falsely assuming the gator was even aware that she was there.

"It's so creepy, I hate how they stare at me. Like, I wish management would just keep them on their stage or something, so they can't walk around and stuff." She continued on, missing the way the taller man's lip curled as she complained. "The girl ones don't even look like girls. Like they're meant to be cute, right? But that Chica one can eat and it looks so gross, I can't even… And the golf one's hair is so st-"
She cut herself off, the flesh-peeling stare boring into the side of her head suddenly seeming a lot more unnerving than any of the performers inside. Hastily excusing herself, Lola made a quick escape into the employee entrance to find somebody to gossip with about the new and kinda-creepy janitor guy.

Lowering his eyebrows again, Ben huffed and made his way to the obnoxious lump that was blocking the front entrance.
"Kids these days, don't know a good thing when they see it. Goddamn robots smarter than my entire family lineage and people only care if they're ugly. Teenagers, man." He grumbled to himself, teasingly going to the left side of the entrance to half-assedly evade the gator flattening himself against the glass. "Now what'd you want? You're gonna scare your customers-"
Ben's voice cut out with a 'blegh' as his shadow lifted him into crushing bear-hug, unsure if he was experiencing affection or a murder attempt.

"Oh, we're hugging today? Why are we hugging, what did you do?" Ben frowned down suspiciously, not trusting the unusually cheesy grin on his partner's large jaws as he answered.
"What? I can't hug my main man? You've been gone all day, rockstar."
"'My main man'..? Oh god, what did you break? Is someone dead?"
"Wh- I'm just huggin' ya! What, I can't be nice without it meanin' I did somethin'?"
"... Do you really want me to answer that?"
"… A'ight fine. I'm just- What you said today…"
"Wait, what did I say?"
Monty paused there, remembering belatedly that he had actually been spying on the man all day, something he obviously was not and could not be made aware of. His lidded eyes widened in panic, unceremoniously dropping his companion flat onto the ground as he floundered for a quick answer.
"Uh- You said, uh-"
"MONTY! There you are!"
Ben could only watch in increasing confusion as Chica materialised over the alligator's shoulder, clamping a strong hand around his muffled snout as she smiled down at their friend.
"Hi Benny! Did you have fun at the store today? Didja find something fun? Where's your bags?"
"Uh, Foxy has them… He should be dropping Gregory off with Fred." Ben smiled slightly as he got back onto his feet, deciding to just go along with whatever the hell was going on. "Speaking of, we need to put a bell on that guy. If he keeps sneaking out like this, I'm not gonna be the one to pay for his bus pass."

Chica giggled, placing a hand on his back and asking about his day as she led him back towards the main Atrium, Monty inches from his back as the trio moved on from the crowded entryway. After his quiet little revelation at the mall, Ben couldn't help but feel a bit lighter, smile a bit wider as his merry little band made their way through the open floor. Each time they'd stop to greet a child or embarrassed adult for a photo or autograph, he'd watch with a new fondness in his eyes at the wonder and happiness his 'co-workers' brought people.
Taking the camera from an excitable dad that posed with Chica and his embarrassed looking goth teens, Ben wondered how he'd somehow missed this Disneyland-esque feeling during his first visit. Looking to his left, Ben's small smile grew into an amused grin at the snout that poked over his shoulder like a curious dog. Going along with the affectionate tone the alligator had set for the afternoon, he patted him lightly before taking the photo, making Chica glance between the pair liking she was watching the happiest tennis match on earth.

The light-hearted crowd pleasing continued through the Atrium, waves of customers coming down in mass to grab food for their late afternoon meals. As Ben wandered around to gather his own food, Chica eventually wandered off to her Mazercise duties, promising a vaguely threatening session with Ben when they had the time out of work hours. Monty however, never stepped over five feet away from the man at any one time, settling firmly into what Ben called his 'too proud to admit he's being clingy' mode as Ben sat down to eat his food.
Due to the mascot's unusual public appearance, Ben wound up playing 'handler' before long, encouraging kids to come closer and picking off any messes they left on his partner. As though the crowds could sense the gator's good mood, they grew more and more eager to get closer as they watched him interact with his fans.

It was as he was attempting to coax over a particularly shy girl that they both overheard her mother talking in her ear.
"Go on sweetie, go say hello! Doesn't Monty look friendly today, he's waiting to be your friend!" Ben didn't even need to look back to see the praise go straight to the gator's ego, the sound of a fan turning on and pleased chuffing sounds reaching his ears as he crouched next to the kid.
"Your mum's right," Ben encouraged, waving a hand towards the smug gator as he allowed him one genuine compliment. "He's been very, very good today! I think he was hoping to run into you!"

Monty's fan picked up as his eyes widened, not expecting praise from him as he almost dropped his shades, momentarily losing his cool. Trying to save face in front of his audience, he tried and somewhat succeeded at making it look intentional, dropping his sunglasses into his hand so he could look at the little girl as he waved her over. Finally feeling brave enough without his eyes being hidden, the girl tip-toed her way over to the hulking performer.
Montgomery smiled wide at her as she came to his side, barely reaching his knee and almost swallowed by the hand he placed on her shoulder as they posed for the photo; her smiling at her mother and him grinning up at his partner with matching happiness. Ben could see it in his uncovered eyes how ecstatic he was, he didn't normally get the good of a turnout without having to perform or do something special first. Ben was proud of him.

"Mr Monty, Mr Monty!" A high-pitched voice squeaked from behind them as the little girl disappeared with her mother. They turned to see another small herd of kids flocking out from Fazer Blast, making a direct beeline for the bass player. Rolling his eyes fondly, Ben turned his smirk up to the smug gator that hung over his shoulder and nudged him with his elbow.
"You're gonna be insufferable after today, aren't you?" He laughed, referring to the machine's ever inflating ego.
"Now don't be getting' jealous, rockstar! I can save you a real special, private autograph later…" Monty leered, emboldened by his good mood as he made some kind of inside joke Ben definitely didn't get as he swaggered off to greet the kids. Stumbling to a stop and raising his eyebrows at the unexpected… Whatever that was, Ben scrambled to follow before his partner was swallowed up in the cloud of excited children.

X

By the time the children and Monty's need to show off had been sated, the Atrium had started to clear out with the oncoming evening and most of the families had left for the night. Ben watched the great green ham as he wrapped up with the last child, a 14-15 year old girl who had waited at the back of the line out of that typical teenage embarrassment of being excited in public. As she quickly wrapped a rainbow bracelet covered arm around the gator's neck, Ben reminisced of his own teenage years. Rock n' roll, the chains and studded chokers, that one time he dyed his long hair black and red. 2012 was a hell of a time to be a teenager, Ben thought, privately vowing to never let any of the animatronics get access to his ancient Facebook photos.
An impatient huff brought him back to the present, his now unaccompanied partner staring down at him as he spaced out.
"Oh, you good?" Ben asked, following after the gator when he nodded. He led them leisurely into Gator Golf, chortling as the man widely evaded the course's murky ponds. The pair unusually silent, Ben followed the oddly tranquil bass player through his territory, not questioning when they stopped by a secret door within the 'stomach' part of the course and entered the darkness within.

It was well after closing when Roxy found them, thanks to her special eyes. She'd tracked the alligator high above his golf course and as expected, Ben had been with him, the pair of them lounging in one of the gator swings that hung down around Monty's 'secret' walkway. She tossed her hair back over her shoulders and crossed her arms impatiently as their swing floated by again, both men entirely unaware of her presence.
The gator took up the majority of the seat by his sheer size and thick tail, legs kicked up and looking a little blissed out as he lazily strummed his bass. In a show of trust that even Roxy was a little surprised at, Ben wasn't in the seat at all. Instead he sitting back along the bassist's outstretched legs and leaning against the swing's plastic turret, trusting his friend's reflexes to keep him from falling as he dozed along the hanging track.

Unsure how to get their attention without risking a critical injury for the sleeping man, Roxanne settled for a petulant "Ugh!" as they sailed past her for the third time. Immediately annoyed by any sound or company that wasn't his favourite person at that moment, Monty cracked open an eye to glare at her as their swing cycled back.
"What."
"Chica wants you in Rockstar Row, so sorry to interrupt your little date." Roxy sneered, getting a low rumbling growl in return. "She wants all of us there, something to do with the kid."
"Hm? The- Gregory?" Ben asked, coming out of his shallow nap when the swing began rocking with Monty's slight movements.
"Yeah, she's making a big deal out of his new clothes, you know how Chica gets." Roxy replied, less hostile to the kinder male of the pair. "I guess she wants us there to be his audience when he tries them on. You'd better have picked him good ones, since I wasn't there to help you."

Ben nodded sleepily to appease her accusing glare, not wanting to move much until Monty stopped their somewhat precarious ride around the course. He'd been tired enough from his day out that all the floor work in the Atrium had basically made him a sleepy marionette in the gator's hands, something the performer had taken immediate advantage of as he manhandled his partner onto his favourite ride and took off.
Now more awake and much more aware of the height he'd been lounging at, Ben wasn't in any rush to go leaping from the swing until the stronger one of their duo was good and ready, which he was sure would not be any time soon. True to nature, Monty took his sweet time in stopping the ride and getting off, barely moving the man on his legs until the exact moment he had to. Taking his heavy hand, Ben felt his feet leave the ground as he was casually lifted from swing to metal grating, not quite feeling secure until they had stepped back onto the carpets of Gator Golf.

From there the walk had been quick, Roxanne already sick of their shit and the duo far too committed to their usual bickering to notice she had picked up their pace until they had reached Rockstar Row.
"-And that's why I don't trust your golfing skills, you can't be made of computers and sensors and tell me that's not cheating."
"That's a lotta words just to say you're jealous, little guy."
"Then here's a few words: I hate you."
"Naw, we both know that ain't true."
"And when did you get so cocky about that, huh?"
"Today."
The pair bickered on through the Atrium, through the halls and through Chica's Green Room, neither looking away from the others low-lidded frowns even after they had collapsed down on Chica's sofa; Gregory and the rest of the band entirely unnoticed during their spat.
Freddy and Chica shared a fond look of amusement, Gregory confused and Roxanne visibly disgusted at the display while Foxy was already putting together a plan to ruin it. Quickly sliding himself in between the pair, he forced himself between them on the cushions, throwing an arm around his 'first mate' on his left and throwing a cocky grin at the irritated gator on his right.

"Yahar! So ye finally made it, took us a dog's age to find ye, it did!" He complained with good humour, waving Gregory on so he could start showing off his new outfits. "The boy's been wobblin' at the knees waitin' to begin."
"'The boy' or Chica?" Ben asked, eyeing the slightly vibrating bird as she danced in excitement. In contrast, Gregory seemed almost defeated as she handed him his first outfit to try on. "I wonder if he'd have been so eager to stay here if he knew he'd be playing life-size Barbies with Chica…"
"T'is a price a man must pay, to earn his share of bounty." Ben looked at the captain, slightly bewildered.
"You say that as though from experience, care to share Foxy?"
"I was entertainin' lads and lasses fer a long, long time, boy. Ye don't think I've had me share of tea parties and braidin' hair after all those years?"
"That's… Fair." The man conceded, before unsubtly eyeing his green partner over the captain's pointed ears. "And uh, how often would such a thing happen?"
"Don't even think about it." The gator rumbled, crossing his arms and not looking at the man's sickening leer.
"What, you don't want to braid my hair?"
"I'm gonna braid your mouth shut in a minute, dog-brain."
"I… How?"

Their spat was interrupted by Chica's squeal and a 'looking good, superstar!' from Freddy as Gregory stepped back in with the first new and non-Fazbear outfit he'd had in years. Glancing at Roxanne for her judgement, Ben was rewarded with a reluctant nod, but a flat expression that said she could have done better.
It was a simply look, plain jeans with a lion-printed red shirt and a black hoodie, but Gregory looked proud to be wearing something of his own that was clean and had come from a shop like everybody else. After living god knows how long on the streets, Ben could only imagine what that must've felt like to an adult, let alone a child.
Not for the first time since he'd started 'uncle-ing' the kid, he wondered how Gregory had gotten into his situation but never pushed. He would share when he was ready, and anyone could still tell at a glance that he wasn't, even if he was doing okay at school.

A tap on his scalp brought Ben back to reality, Monty's claw nudging him in time to join in with the general cooing over the bashful boy's new look. Giving his partner a thankful look, Ben shot Gregory a cheesy double thumbs-up as he toddled back into the maintenance area to try on his next outfit.
Thanks to Chica's enthusiasm, that was how the rest of the evening went until Gregory ran out of energy to keep up with her fashion show. The tired boy slumped over onto the sofa next to Monty when she finally released him, earning a gruff but well-meaning ruffle of his hair from the placid alligator.

Turning his head to check if Ben was watching him be a good 'uncle' to the boy, he scowled at the man's open mouthed snoring across the sofa, having dropped his head over the back of the seat somewhere around when they hit the twenty-sixth outfit.
Unwilling to sit next to a snoring lump that would ignore him all night, he quickly looked around for something to pelt the man with, spotting the so-called 'secret' gift bag they had all been banned from snooping in. Figuring now was a good time as any, he scooped the bag in a clawed hand and threw it in the same motion, the plastic smacking his partner right on the hairline with a satisfying 'whap'.

"ARGH-" Ben barked, jolting upright in his seat and grasping whatever was smothering his face. "What's attacking me?! Fucking spider bot-"
"Language!" "Watch your cussin'!" "Mind your language in-"
"Alright! I get it, sorry." Pulling his head away from the plastic and unaware of the static making his short hair spring upward, he peered into his bag and around the room in confusion as his brain booted back up. "What, are we doing presents now?"
"Presents?" Chica's eyes lit up, springing over from the clothes she had been folding to slide into a cross-legged seat at his shoes. "I love presents! Can we open them now?"
"I uh, didn't wrap them." Ben told her, slightly disappointed that he hadn't thought to buy wrapping paper. "But I can throw them at you as fast as I can?"
"That'll do, sugar!"
With Chica's blessing and the interest of the animatronics, Ben made quick work of launching his somewhat rushed gifts directly at their faceplates, keeping an eye on their reactions. As far as he knew, they'd never gotten gifts from outside of the Pizzaplex before, so he was slightly nervous.

Roxanne caught hers first, eyeing the new hair clips approvingly before hiding any and all positive emotions behind a curt nod. Like a giant edgy teenager, Ben laughed to himself as she marched away from the huddled group. However, Ben kindly pretended not to look for her sake when she rushed over to Chica's mirror to fit them on her mane, eyes glowing as she admired her new accessory from different angles.

Foxy was next, the two canines moving the fastest as always as he snatched the small metal cylinder out of the air. He cackled with somewhat worrying intent as he quickly extended it, recognising the antique telescope that Ben had snuck under his nose earlier that day. He quickly snuck over to the dark window of Chica's room, using his new spyglass to look out over the now-closed hallways.

Chica beamed at him over her new set of tank tops, not saying a word in case her poor acting gave away that she had already seen him picking them out for her. Ben watched carefully as she slipped the blue one on, mercifully fitting her and in fact hanging over her in a slightly baggy way. Beak still clamped shut, she made a show of clapping her hands in delight before looking over the other colours, leaving Ben to sigh in relief. Size guessing was hard when your friend was over 7ft tall.

Freddy was next, giving the man a beaming smile as he carefully fitted on his new tie, eagerly kneeling down to show Gregory the 'NUMBER #1 DAD' pattern proudly displayed on the front. Gregory turned to give the other human a very dry look, entirely ignored as Ben cackled into his hand at the pure delight on the bear's face. God help the poor maintenance worker that had to convince him to take it off, if they could even bring themselves to.

Finally, he turned his head to see how Monty had taken his gifts. Admittedly he had spent a little more on the gator, but that was just what partners did, Ben lied convincingly to himself. Unfortunately the second he glimpsed the great reptile, he had to look away with watering eyes and a hand clamped over his mouth to keep from laughing.
"I am so sorry," Ben wheezed in response to the gator's angry rumble. He couldn't look, he just couldn't. "You look like fu- bloody John Travolta, I can't take it."

His good-intentioned gift of a tight white t-shirt and leather jacket he'd spotted on a mannequin had seemed like a good idea at the time, the Union Jack printed on the back of the jacket serving a delicious irony to the gator face printed on his uniform. However in practice, Ben was entirely unprepared for how much the bass player looked like he'd just stepped out from Grease the Musical.
Somewhere between amused and ticked off at the man's desperate attempts to keep from laughing, Monty leaned closer to the man, jacket shoulders straining against his shoulder-pads as he loomed over him.
"You got somethin' to say about my new threads?"
"No, no-no, nothing to say." Ben replied with a wobbling lip, unable to look him in the eye without his straight face cracking.
"Nah, come on, tell me more."
That did it. For the next half an hour, the poor man was inconsolable as he tried to explain the concept of greaser fashion and musicals between tearful wheezes to an entirely too pleased with himself alligator. He barely had a clue what his partner was talking about, or why it was so funny, but he was more than happy to sit there and listen to the red-faced laughter that he had brought out in his favourite person.

Chapter Text

"Please," Ben sobbed, gripping his hair in agony as he clenched his eyes shut. "Please stop."
His begging was unheard as the torture continued, pleas lost to their empty, glazed over eyes and deaf ears. He'd lost track of when the pain had first begun, one hour, two? All he knew was that he couldn't take it anymore, he could feel himself breaking under the horrid pressure. A few moments later, he could stand it no longer and gripped a shaking hand onto the long metal fingers that held the controls.

"Please," He wept. "Please stop catching Bidoofs."
"But they're so so SO cute!" Sunny beamed, dexterous hands still moving his character's avatar on the screen without looking.
"You're out of money and almost out of Pokéballs, PLEASE just catch something you can use, ANYTHING!" Ben moaned, unable to bear the pain as he watched the Sun's last Pokéball swallow his nineteenth Lvl 2 Bidoof. "Gregory please stop encouraging him."

The boy in question just snickered into his hands as the man suffered, grabbing his snacks and leaning back into his sun and moon themed beanbag to watch the Sun direct himself over to the Pokémon Centre. The smiling animatronic quickly saved his progress, wanting to be ready before the Daycare's educational workshop ended, one of the few Daycare activities that human workers actually took care of instead of him.
It had actually been Ben's idea to hide their new Switch and TV in Sunny's secret room, for several reasons. One being that they didn't have anywhere to hide a flatscreen TV in Rockstar Row that management wouldn't find and question, and another being that Ben was getting a little tired of making slightly cursed puppets and papier-mâché animals every time he visited Sunny. Two birds one stone, he thought to himself as he observed the pair playing their first ever Pokémon game together, Sunny's latest 'project' nestled safely in his lap.

While they had been shopping, Ben had bought the attendant a 'Make Your Own Cuddly Toy' kit on a whim after remembering his home-made costume for Montgomery Jr II, thinking it would give Sunny something new to try with his kids during the day. He soon found out that much like the rest of his plans, it hadn't gone exactly as he'd expected.
Rather than share the kit with the Daycare children, Sunny had instead hoarded it in his room and ended up developing a slightly aggressive interest in making toys when the Pizzaplex closed for the night. What had been one or two plush animals had quickly snowballed into a dozen plushies and a pathetic looking Sun tugging on his arm for more materials.
Thus began Ben's newest money drain, funding Sun's addiction as he made more and more toys to fill his room with; including but not limited to every band member, a giant DJ Music Man and even a little Ben that radiated a smug aura. Tragically, Sunny had refused to let him glue it inside Monty's stomach hatch in an act of malice.

As though summoned by the thought of gifts and their consequences, the trio glanced out over the Daycare balcony as loud clanking footsteps faded in, followed by a tapping chorus of formal work shoes.
"Here they come again… What is this, the third lap around the building?" Ben asked idly, eventually returning his attention to his El' Chip nachos.
"Fourth, they came by at breakfast before you got here." Gregory replied with his mouth full, earning a reprimanding nudge from the older man.
"You think they'll catch him this time?" Sunny asked innocently, leaning over to watch the small pack of maintenance workers chase the performer around the upper level of the Daycare. Considering the question, Ben and Gregory shared a thoughtful look.
""Nah.""

As they predicted, the maintenance workers were no match for the longer legs and determination of Freddy Fazbear as he gently, apologetically ducked and danced away from their grabbing hands, complaints and orders mysteriously unregistered by the bear as he worked to keep his favourite tie out of their reach. It had taken almost five days before any action had been called for regarding Freddy's new 'Number #1 Dad' tie, amused customers and staff coming together in a rare moment of unspoken unity to not report the new addition. The only reason upper management had found out at all was a trending and somewhat inappropriate tweet about Freddy's new title of #FazDaddy, immediately forcing their hand to cleanse the bear of his unknown sins.
When asked about where the singer could have gotten the tie, all eyes had turned to the 'Animatronic Behavioural Maintenance/ Janitor' who had bluntly informed them that while he had seen and admired a fair few, he did not keep personal tabs on all the 'Daddies™' that entered the building. Upper management wisely did not press him on the issue.

"I'll give it another two days before they give up again." Ben laid the bet, holding out a particularly cheesy nacho as his wager. Gregory nodded, throwing a chocolate bar into the ring.
"I bet three days." He challenged, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that sounded a lot like Freddy telling him that he was 'much too young to gamble'.
"You're on, wanna up the stakes?" Ben offered as he waved a second nacho, casually polluting more of Freddy's earnest lessons on developing morals as he was wont to do.
"Only if you-"
A loud 'thwack' of paper hitting the table startled them both as Sunny slammed a solid wad of Fazcade tickets on the table beside their snacks, slightly manic in posture as he leaned in.
"500 tickets on four days." He crooned lowly, voice sounding unnervingly raspy and sinister as he loomed over them. "I'm feeling so so so… Lucky."
More than slightly alarmed, Ben ever so slowly lifted his hand to gingerly slide the tickets over to the pile, eyeing the eerily still machine.
"You uh, you like gambling then, Sunny?"
"Oh, you BET! I love games, all kinds of games!" The Sun smiled a little too widely, easing back into his usual movements and rubbing his hands together like an addict getting his fix. "All kinds of games…"
"I, uh... You ever heard of a Casino, Sunny?"
"No, what is that? Is it a new kind of game?!"
"No, no, it's probably for the best if you don't know."

X

It wasn't long after their wager was made that Ben got his usual bi-daily grumbling noises over his Fazwatch. Too proud to actually admit he was looking for attention, Montgomery flat out refused to call and greet the man like a normal person, instead electing to make grumbling and growling sounds over the communication line until his partner acknowledged him. Raising a brow at his repainted watch, Ben grabbed another handful of nachos before answering.
"What now? If this is about that hair dye idea again, I'm hanging up."
"It ain't, but I still think you'd look good with a lil' green-"
"I'm in the middle of something here, prat."
"You ain't in the middle of nothin', dog-brain." The gator sneered over the line, amused. "As if you ain't loungin' around up in the Daycare eatin' nachos like a little princess right now."
"I'm doing very important business here, actually." Ben lied in an offended tone, crunching his mouthful of carbs and cheese as quietly as he could. "Now what was it you wanted? You can't have just called to pick a fight with me, you usually save that until after dinner."

There was a slightly giddy hiss over the line before it cut off abruptly, drawing Ben's full attention away from his snacking.
"I need you down here in the Atrium with me." The gator pretended to cough, embarrassed by his excitement. "I gotta lot o' people askin' for me today, might even be more than Fazbear this time."
"Ah, I see. Well, as much as I'd love to wrangle filthy kids all afternoon, I am very busy right now-"
"Get your tiny butt down here, unless you want me rattin' you out to Freddy and Chica for lettin' Gregory watch that horror flick-"
"Well would you look at that, my schedule just cleared up."
"Yeah, I thought it might."
Nodding haphazardly to the pair of boys and being ignored in favour of their new gaming console, Ben made a quick escape to the Atrium, only stopping once to sidestep a flock of maintenance workers half-assedly pursuing the speed-walking papa bear.
Entering the Atrium, Ben was almost bounced right back out again by the tightly packed crowd. Monty had been right, there really were a lot of people hanging around today, though it was unsurprising considering the time of year.
Chica had mentioned that December tended to pick up speed, parents making more special trips to the Pizzaplex for a holiday treat.

Manoeuvring his way through the bustling tides of party-goers and guests, it didn't take long for Ben to find Mt. Montgomery, taller than usual on account of all the children that had decided he looked climbable. Since Ben's introduction to the Pizzaplex, Monty's less abrasive and more approachable attitude had sent his popularity skyrocketing to nearly double his previous standard, a blessing for the gator and a curse for the man who looked after him.
Approaching the giggling hill of youths, Ben tried to keep a blank face as he watched lines of snot, drool and food smear across Monty's arms and face. Monty didn't seem to care at all, the usually vain motor-mouth now a gentle giant as he carefully supported the small bodies that balanced on his tail, back and shoulders. Though the gator may have been elated at the extra attention, his 'sidekick' was decidedly not as he knew very well that those stained limbs would be attempting to grab at him as well within minutes. Remembering the new title his partner had thrown over his shoulder the day before brought an irritated shadow over the man's eyes as he began plucking squealing kids off of the alligator like spiders from a wall.

The kids didn't seem to mind him handling them like misbehaving puppies, grasping them gently by their collars and setting them down to go sprinting off to the next animatronic. However, this unfortunately didn't mean the man got out of it unscathed, several tiny hands accidentally and intentionally slapping his sleeves and front with food, face paint and god only knew what. By the time he had 'freed' the unhelpful performer from his well-welcomed tomb, Ben's uniform was as… Decorated as Monty's shell, much to the gator's delight.
"Look at you, joinin' the fun!" He grinned, a little too widely to be considered normal even with his current good mood. "And here I thought you'd sit n' sulk before getting' your hands dirty for once."
"Oh no, that comes later." The tall man snarked back, unhappy as his eye flicked between his partner's gaping mouth to the long stripe of snot running along his elbow. "For now I'll suffer in silence, covered in sh- Alright, what is wrong with your mouth?"
Unable to ignore it any longer, Ben leaned into the alligator's wide grin and peered in, spotted the slight jitter of his jaw as it tried to close. Spotting the issue almost instantly, Ben almost dropped his head onto the bassist's chin in exasperation, eyes catching the nearby kids that nervously watched him put his head so close to the giant rows of teeth.

Wanting to comfort them, and probably earn Monty a few more points with the kids, Ben tried to make light of the whole thing.
"Hey kids, wanna see a magic trick?"
A couple of the kids in particular perked up at that, as though suddenly about to proof of something important. He recognised them, a pair of the regular kids that turned up often and gave him strange looks now and then. Unsure if he wanted to know, Ben didn't think on it too much, turning around to do his 'trick'.
The trick of course, was wiggling his fingers for dramatic effect and reaching into the back of Monty's large jaws to pluck out the golf balls he'd somehow wedged into his endoskeleton jaw. Completely unaware of how the gator melted slightly at the show of trust in his behaviour, Ben emerged with the golf balls, offering them to the kids as though he'd produced them from thin air. The kids eagerly accepted them, some pointing at him with a 'I KNEW you were magic' before scampering off and leaving the man with his dirty uniform and now oddly lubricated sleeves.

"What the heck even is this?" He complained, swiping his hand over his sleeve to remove the lubricant 'drool' from his fingers. "Why do I always have to discover your weird sh-stuff in the worst possible way?"
"The kids love it!" Monty chortled, unmoved by the other male's complaints. "Ain't nothin' cooler than a rockstar who can spit, it's also good for keepin' my endo' lubricated."
Ignoring the comment on self-lubricating, Ben continued grumbling to himself as he removed the soiled upper half of his jumpsuit, tying the sleeves around his waist and leaving him in a simple white tank top, the only thing he could get away with wearing under his uniform without sweating like a pig.

The reveal of new skin drew Monty's eye before he'd even truly registered the difference, cataloguing the new visual with a fervent interest even he didn't truly understand. Ben was tall, and reasonably fit despite the amount of lounging around he did in various areas of the Pizzaplex; his body kept in good shape by the frequent travelling around the giant building and the random mishaps that occurred, most of which including Monty or random bouts of chasing the escape artist Music Man through the vents.
Monty lowered his shades to get a better look at the new information provided by his partner, noting every detail from skin shade to hair thickness on his arms and shoulders. His head tilted when he spotted a flash of black partially covered by the white top, obliviously reaching out and moving the indignant man as he pleased so he could get a better look at his front shoulder.
"You got dogs." The gator blinked, eyes staring curiously at the dark silhouettes against his shoulder. A pair of scruffy, long legged hounds prowling from his shoulder to his pectoral stood out against his skin like a brand, captivating the bass player like an uncovered secret.

"Yes, I've got dogs." Ben replied flatly, not impressed with the heavy hands holding his skull and bicep still so the gator could shove his snout into his shoulder. Slightly flustered by the very public attention, Ben tried to squirm away from his grip and earned nothing but an annoyed little chomp of his sharp teeth. "They're Irish Wolfhounds, a friend designed it for me as a gift years ago. Can you let go of my face now?"
But Monty wasn't listening. He was lost in his processor as he gazed further into the dark ink on his partner's skin, something special that he had only found out by pure chance. He hadn't even known that Ben liked decorating himself. He felt slightly lost when he realised just how little he really knew about his favourite person, the man always seeming content to let the bassist take centre stage on most topics. Scrambling to remedy the sudden issue with all the subtly of a rhinoceros, he shifted his snout to the man's nose, pressing into it slightly with an impatient snort.
"You got others? Where are they?"
"Wait, what? Hey- HEY, get out of it!"

The pair continued on obliviously, the tall man fighting every step of the way as his hulking partner checked down the back of his shirt and along his arms for any other drawings that he could be hiding, unbothered by the nearby children giggling and laughing at the playful spectacle. They were even less aware of the beady eyes that watched the human male from the food courts, more subtle glances joining in as the seated flock of women eyed his tensed muscles and tightening tank top as he fought with a steel giant.
One of the older women raised a fine eyebrow, pushchair in one hand as she took a sip of her drink, raising her chin in approval when she didn't catch a ring on his left hand. Leaving her gaggle of other golden-aged ladies behind, she made quick work of crossing the Atrium to the edge of the greeting area by the main stage. Watching the taller man's back as she passed by, the silvering woman's arm suddenly threw itself downwards, dropping her shopping bags on the floor with a loud clatter of plastic and a dramatic gasp.

Both heads turning at the noise, Ben and Monty's daily squabble came to a quick halt as they took in the situation. Not seeing a child or anyone injured, Ben ran an easy-going hand on the gator's snout as he stepped away, leaving the bassist to his young fans while he helped the older customer.
He was quick to kneel and gather the shopping off the floor, tucking the children's merchandise into the bags after checking that nothing was dented or damaged. Rising to his full height, Ben politely offered the bag back to the lady with a customer service smile, praying to any and every deity that she wouldn't kick off in a rage. What he wasn't expecting was the middle-aged mother to instead grasp his forearm with a well-manicured hand, leaning forward boldly to inspect him as she looked him up and down.
"My, what a helpful… Capable young man." The woman purred, hand sliding a little further up his arm in apparent approval. "Would you like to help me with a few other things, young man?"
Ben's smile chilled into a bare toothed threat display as he realised exactly what situation he had just stepped into. With no HR to speak of and no manager to report the issue to, there was absolutely no safe way to navigate his way out of a customer's advances without causing a scene.
As though they had been waiting for the first attack, the rest of her flock quickly descended upon him, speaking coyly as they patted and squeezed his shoulders and arms like they were inspecting fruit in a supermarket.

Ben stared down at them like a nervous horse as they crowded his taller form, desperately wishing he'd just sucked it up and worn something thicker under his jumpsuit. It wasn't that the women were unattractive or anything so shallow, they were all golden-aged and beautiful in their own right, some more motherly while others leaned away from the look. The issue came from Ben being an employee, about as straight as the Daycare slide, and the terrifying vulture tactics the mothers were employing to corner him away from the greeting area.
Unwilling to physically move the ladies, but falling into a panic he hadn't felt since an alligator tackled him off a balcony, Ben performed what the author will vaguely refer to as 'The Octopus Manoeuvre' and rather spectacularly wriggled his way out from the clustering hive of painted nails and floral perfume. Side-eyeing the confused women, Ben set a speedy pace back to Monty, hoping the mothers would be hesitant to follow him to the large performer.
His plan unfortunately backfired when the confused gator instead held him in place, fussing over his blanched expression and not realising he was essentially playing the net in a fishing game Ben was desperately trying to escape.
"I gotta go Monty, I'll catch up with you later-"
"Hey now, what's all the rush? You ain't still sore over a little paint, are ya? Come on now."
"No, no, it's not the paint, I-"
"Then what's the hold up? You look spooked."

Ben didn't get a second more to explain when the gaggle of ladies began bustling over, erupting shivers over his form as he weaselled his way from the gator's steel grip, speed walking as fast as he could as he called something about 'urgent business' in the Daycare. Baffled and slightly dejected, Monty could only watch as his favourite person vanished from the Atrium at top speed, followed by a few of the cooing women. The women who remained behind were left shaking their heads and snapping their fingers in disappointment.
"A quick one, that man." One lady commented jovially, eyes glazing over the nearby bass player as though he were part of the furniture, like a decoration. "We'll catch him later, girls. A man like that on the loose? I've just got to snap him up."
The other women tittered in agreement, all uncaring as the nearby robot's head tilted in their direction, devil-red eyes lasering into the back of their heads as they gossiped around him. Understanding dawned on him then, the predator recognising a hunt when he saw one, and he did not like it.
Not one bit.

X

"Thanks again for letting me hide up here for the evening, mate."
"Oh no no! I'd do anything for you, friend! Just say the word and I'm there!"
Ben settled down again comfortably, leaning back into his hammock as the Sun swam his way back over the balcony to continue cleaning up after the children. It had taken the man far longer than he had liked to escape the rest of the pestering ladies, their pinching hands and coy smiles guaranteeing that he was never removing a layer of his uniform in the Atrium again. Maybe a disguise from then on, too. Just in case.

Sighing from the unexpected stress of the day, Ben adjusted his position on the perch he had spent most of the afternoon and evening on, only leaving to shower and change out his uniform for some comfy lounging clothes. He'd borrowed a few of Sunny's less infantile story books while he relaxed and before he'd realised, it had already hit the late evening and Sunny was cleaning up the now closed Daycare.
Tired of the children's stories and far too comfortable to get up and actually leave after closing, the lazy man pulled out his phone and started scrolling through social media for lack of anything better to do, pulling faces at the random posts and clickbait he came across.
"'Research discovers, dogs can't look up'… Uhhh-"

A sudden whining hum cut him off, startling him some as it fizzled out into nothing. Much like the lights of the Daycare did.

Sitting rather blankly in the dark room, Ben had a sudden feeling like he was forgetting something very, very important. Hoping to dismiss the paranoia, Ben grabbed his thus-far ignored blanket, draping it over his lower half for warmth that the dark gave the illusion of stealing. It was only as he settled back into the too-quiet silence of the evening, phone raising back to his face, that Ben realised just why it felt 'too quiet'. He couldn't hear Sunny anymore.
The realisation sent a jolt through him, harsh memories of a horrific night in Parts and Service lashing through him like a whip and almost forcing him to his feet before something caught his eye from the far corner of the ceiling.
Two bright red pinpricks of light stared right back.

Stiffening like a wooden board, Ben thought through his options. He didn't know if the Moon was the type to only move if you moved, or the type to just scuttle over like a wolf spider at any time, and he was not keen to find out. In his frozen pose, he didn't feel his phone slipping from his hands until it was too late. The small rectangle slipped from his grip like melting ice, thumping on his hammock and bouncing down onto the floor with a sharp little 'smack'.
Ben held his breath as the Moon tilted its head, creeping a single long arm along the ceiling towards him as it leaned its long, skinny body down to the harsh light of his phone. It quietly regarded the little screen for a long moment, dead silent as it peered down at it before finally returning it needle-like stare back to his face.

"… It's too bright."

"Eh?" Ben bumbled out on instinct, eyes widening at his lack of self-awareness around the potentially lethal animatronic. He was starting to worry how much time spent with only animatronics was too much time.
"It's time for lights out." The enormous, spindly attendant slid his way to the floor then, carefully picking up the man's phone between two fingers to show him as the screen went dark.
"… Oh."

Monty hustled in almost an hour later, steaming from his effort to reach the Daycare quickly. He had been hunting for the man from the moment the shutters had closed over the main entrance, having spent most of the working day being shepherded away from the public by maintenance after his unexpected… Misbehaviour in the Atrium.
He found himself unrepentant though, the condescending scolding from the handler and maintenance team easily worth the security in knowing those women wouldn't be back in his territory, touching his things for a very long time.

Already pent up from guarding everything he deemed his that day, Montgomery was only further on edge upon entering to find the lights out in the Daycare, well aware of the notorious reputation of the night-time attendant. Huffing himself up into a bigger shape, he muscled his set shoulders through the secret door of the theatre, prepared and almost eager to fight off the jester if he was even looking at his favourite human wrong.
Barging in like an ox, Monty bared his fangs as he hissed long and low around the room, eyes slipping right over the scene before flicking back in a double take.

"Why are you hissing about like a broken gas pipe?" Ben asked, looking up from his book and looking to bicker at the rough entry. He was stretched out in his hammock, blanket up and comfy with a very conspicuous green night-cap tucked over his head. He recognised it, one of many kinds the Daycare sold in the gift shop.
"Ya didn't answer when I called." The gator rumbled, upset.
"I couldn't," Ben explained, face softening a bit when he recognised his tone. "It's 'lights out' hours apparently, he's knicked my phone and my watch."
Pointing up at his partner's confused grunt, Monty tracked the finger up to the ceiling where he finally caught sight of the Moon, settled in the corner of the ceiling above Ben's head and looking overall content with the quieter scene.
Of course this didn't stop Monty from snarling a rolling growl up at him for denying him his contact with Ben, not that the Moon cared. In fact, the Moon spun his face on its axis smugly, mocking his frustration without a hint of fear for his bluster.

"I never realised how much I missed this," Ben suddenly spoke, eyes on the bass player as he tried to distract him from his current ire. His voice brought Monty's eyes straight to him, head tilting as the man lifted a ceramic mug to his lips and sipping at a watery brown liquid.
"Tea." The man informed him, placing a name to the mystery drink the Pizzaplex didn't serve. He spoke again, a warning in his tone as he elaborated for the bassist. "I haven't had it in a long time, and I've missed it. I have my new friend, Moon to thank for finding some for me."
"There is always time for a tea party before bedtime." The Moon added on smugly, clearly only speaking to egg on the annoyance he'd already sparked in the alligator. "You're sooo... Lucky I had happened to have my tea set lying around."

Ruffled from the entire day but reluctant to have his partner pissed at him for breaking his new friend, Monty made a Herculean effort to reign in his possessive temper as he made his way to Ben's side, sitting close to his hammock on the floor. Very close.
"Yes, hello to you too." The tired man laughed quietly as a somewhat too heavy head flopped onto his torso, a new habit that Ben had come to expect since he'd given him his present the week before. He still didn't know what had caused the sudden increase of affection as he trusted Chica not to go spreading their secret conversation, but he wasn't about to complain either. Affection like that was new and a bit alien, but he found himself greedily soaking it in the more he became accustomed to it.
"Sorry for ditching you today, those ladies were just… A lot." Ben groaned as he tilted his head back, setting down his book as the weariness set in.
"Don't you go worryin' about them," The bass player rumbled in a mellow tone, the vibrations of his jaw travelling through the blanket and into his ribs slightly. "I fixed it for ya. They ain't gonna bother you again."
Instantly concerned by the vague and ominous reassurance, Ben's eyes snapped open from where he had been rubbing them.

"Please tell me I don't have to help you bury someone." Ben mumbled, exhausted at even the thought. Monty chortled a laugh as he shook his head, a little touched in a twisted sort of way that the man would help him hide a body if he needed to.
"Nah, I ain't done anything too bad."
Ben relaxed again under his jaw.
"It was only a little fire after all."
"… A little what?"

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"Ain't you done yet?"
"Nearly, there's another chip left here." A rough sigh was his response.
"Well hurry it up, I can feel you sweatin' on my arm."
"And I can hear you whining like a baby in my ears, now turn your wrist and hold still."
Monty's mouth curled in a half-assed sneer as it rested on the man's head, the animatronic drooping closer into rest mode with every minute spent in his comfortable position on the carpet. In front of him sat Ben, a large green arm tucked under his armpit to keep it still as he painstakingly smoothed out his claws with a metal file. He'd vehemently protested the job at first, as the claws were technically musical equipment that only maintenance was supposed to deal with. Of course, his argument had gone straight out the window when the unhelpful bass player had lost his temper with his least favourite technician, a brick wall of a personality named Joe who was on duty that day.

From what Ben had heard about the technicians from an angered Monty and more reasonable Freddy, the majority of the maintenance team didn't seem to view the animatronics as anything more than machinery. They almost never visited the Pizzaplex outside of their repairs or diagnostics and usually powered the performers down for any procedures to prevent distraction. The performers themselves didn't seem to mind the distanced dynamic, except Freddy who sometimes worried over the technicians getting 'lonely' on their own in Parts and Service.
Ben himself had only met one or two exceptions in his time there, one friendly but introverted guy and a woman who collected all of their merch like she was winning a record. He later found out that she actually did hold the record for most merch owned and had even made herself a small trophy to celebrate.

However the real outlier in the animatronics eyes and therefore Ben's, was one of the longest-working technicians in the building, Joe. Quick tempered and quicker to take it out on his equipment, the rumour in the underground tunnels was that a while back, he'd severely messed up Freddy's repairs right before he was due to get promoted. According to Lola, the peppy teenage source of all Pizzaplex gossip and drama, the blunder with their star attraction had happened right before a VIP show and cost him not only his credibility but a pretty penny of his wages too. It had only been a lack of new hires and his long employment record that had saved his job at all.

Ben might have felt sympathy for the man's situation, if it had been anyone else but Joe. But it had been Joe, and as mentioned before, Joe had a nasty temper and an even nastier mean streak when it came to handling his equipment. This wouldn't have been a major issue for most people, since he didn't hurt his co-workers or start physical fights, and it might have even been ignorable if he worked anywhere else. But he didn't work anywhere else. Joe worked at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, and he took out his grudge on his equipment and the machines he repaired while they were powered down for maintenance and unaware.

As Joe came to mind, Ben changed the angle of his filing and thought back to the first and only time that he had gotten into real trouble with management since his employment began, though he still didn't regret a single action. It had been only a few weeks into his employment that Ben had barged his way into Parts and Service from the Green Room elevators, bringing down Roxy's favourite hairbrush that she'd left behind on her way to a simple ear repair procedure. She'd called him up on his Fazwatch so urgently that he'd initially thought the building was aflame again, returning from maintenance with her mane un-brushed had been just that unthinkable.

However upon arriving, instead of the quiet lofi beats or the interesting mesh of Disney and hard rap that various technicians favoured while working, Ben had entered to muffled shouting and 'clangs' of metal on metal.
From his higher view point by the elevators, he had been just in time to get a good eyeful of Joe muttering up a storm as he'd roughly yanked at wires in Roxy's ear, bristling in frustration before he'd lifted a fist and slammed it down on the unaware wolf's snout to let out his anger. To nobody's surprise, laying a finger on the face the insecure wolf maintained so desperately had left Ben with an immediate bad taste and worse impression of the bitter man, brows reaching orbit at the audacity.

Ben didn't remember precisely what had happened after that, as he could only recall his vision going red before suddenly reappearing inside the Protective Cylinder, the tips of his ears burning and his hands gesturing angrily as he'd barked reprimands at the equally aggressive technician. Roxy had been stuck immobile in her seat between the men, her sensors reactivating at the signs of nearby conflict but with no idea what had set the usually laid back semi-janitor off, who had almost resembled the reptile on his uniform as he swore and snarled at the surly technician.
Nobody knew who exactly had thrown the first punch, but the argument had quickly descended into an impressive brawl that had only ended when one of the few staff workers not placing bets on the fight had finally called down Kevin.

In the end, Joe had gotten a write-up for his rough handling of the performers and a stern warning from upper management regarding exactly how thin the ice under his feet was. Ben had received a very public dressing down in front of the entire staff team on professional conduct and a semi-empty threat of replacement, Kevin for once actually doing his job as manager and almost succeeding at looking intimidating despite his sweating. Alongside this, both men had developed a deep hatred for each other from that day forward, unable to spend longer than half a minute in a room together before somebody opened their mouth to spit venom.

Blinking back to the present briefly, Ben lightly blew over the final claw to clear away the metal shavings as he checked over his work. Yesterday's damage had been caused by what the kids were calling 'The Big Snap™', in which his ever-diplomatic partner had apparently snapped his metal claws against each other to spark a fire on a woman's shopping bags.
The alligator had unconvincingly insisted that it was an accident, despite having gone on to do the exact same trick to light birthday cake candles for the rest of the day. The only part that Ben actually believed was an 'accident', was when the panicking woman had thrown her flaming bag of merchandise across the concert hall and into a gift shop kiosk, kick-starting a Glamrock-themed bonfire that the Staff Bots had to sort out.

From what Ben had heard, the wailing lady had melodramatically described the perpetrator as 'a monstrous beast, with the devil's eyes' to the security staff before a Fazbear lawyer snatched her away and out of their hair. Capable of common sense, it hadn't taken long for the staff to find and scold Montgomery for breaking his longest record of good behaviour. Surprisingly, he had taken his lumps in stride with a good mood, unconcerned with the record he wasn't keeping as long as the kids still liked him and his problem was 'fixed'. That was, until he was herded down to maintenance the next day and spotted who was in charge of fixing up his claws.

As was the nature of partners, if one person disliked someone, the other was usually soon to follow. Montgomery was no exception to the rule, becoming another instant enemy of Joe's the second he had found out the man had landed a hit on Ben, regardless of who had started the fight.
"Nobody gets to throw you around 'cept me." The gator had told him when he came to fetch him from the Daycare. "Anythin' a human does to you, I do to them."
Unfortunately, the bold threat instantly lost some of its impact when Sunny had obliviously cut in to ask if that included 'haircuts or kisses or dentist appointments or…', resulting in what may have been the best mental image Ben had ever imagined in his life. Instantly done with the jester and the man's wheezing laughter, Monty had quickly removed himself and his partner from the Daycare after that.

This newfound dislike obviously meant that Monty would sooner throw his own shell under the trash compactor than let the angry man work on him. The gator had thrown a complete fit in Parts and Services just to disrupt the worker, destructive habits returning to him like an old friend as he refused to let the man anywhere near him. Joe had put up with the attitude for a grand total of three seconds before he'd kicked the gator out of Parts and Service and left for his lunch break, loudly lamenting that he hadn't gotten that plumbing job all those years ago instead.
Delighted by the result, Monty had then casually meandered his way back to Ben with all the satisfaction of a naughty dog covered in mud, already knowing the man would be there to take care of his claws instead. As expected, he had been right and Ben inevitably spent his morning cross-legged on the Green Room carpet as he fixed up his obnoxious friend as best he could.

As though thinking about the same thing, Ben's neck crumpled under the extra weight of Monty's head drooping onto his head heavily, a smug grumble of contentment escaping his jaws as Ben finished up his manicure attempt.
"You're gonna sink my neck back into my shoulders," Ben whined, fruitlessly shaking his head to dislodge the green lump buried in his hair. Monty closed his eyes at the soft scrubbing sensation of short strands on his chin, a gentleness he wouldn't tolerate from anyone else in the world.
"Naw, don't want you gettin' any shorter than you already are. Barely even reach my neck as it is, little guy."
"Y'know, it's never too late for me to walk out that door and just never come back." Monty just laughed, making sure to tap the man's head with his moving jaw just to be annoying. If he tightened his newly manicured arm around Ben's side slightly, the oblivious man didn't notice it as he pulled away and stood.

"So, today's plans," Ben chattered on as he opened up the alligator's maintenance curtains, revealing the Green Room to the rest of Rockstar Row. "I promised Chica I'd teach her what British flapjacks are, so I'm gonna call up Kevin and bully him into some kinda cooking workshop event or something."
"Sounds borin'." Monty grunted, rising from the carpet and putting on a performer's smile as children began appearing at his window to peer in at him. "Ain't you got anythin' better to do?"
"Like what?"
"Watchin' me rock out on stage." Monty leered, throwing a lidded smirk at his friend's stone-faced expression. Ben opened his mouth with a well-sharpened tongue but was interrupted by the security door sliding open, Roxanne sashaying in and narrowing her eyes at the pair as though they were intruding in her room.
"Hey, you." Roxy barked, pointing a claw at Ben as though she'd forgotten his name since yesterday. "Are you done with all the cuddly crud in here? You're taking way too long and I want my nails done before I rust."
"What." Ben deadpanned. "Who said I was doing everyone's nails?"
"You're doing everyone's nails?" Chica chirped, ducking her head in through the customer entrance. "I want mine done too!"
"Me first!" Roxy cut in, pacing over to grab the resigned man like a household object. "I saw him first, so I get the first go."
"Who the heck invited you in here!" Monty cut in, irritated and ignored as Chica got comfortable in his vanity chair. "Get outta my room!"

Ben didn't bother escaping the she-wolf's hold as the group bickered, mental schedule already postponing his phone call with the manager until after he was done pampering the girls of his gang. The cacophony was suddenly cut off by none other than Dolly Parton, the lyrics of 'Jolene' ringing throughout the room from Ben's crotch.
"Oh, one sec." Ben held up a finger and dug a hand in his pocket, pulling out his battered old phone as it sang to him. He didn't bother checking the caller ID, too busy dodging away from Chica's head as she tried to listen in.
"Hello? Hello-hello?" Ben greeted awkwardly, now ducking around Roxanne's nosy shoving in as well.
"Benny, it's me. I need a favour."
"Ah, Grace." He gave up the fight, feeling his cheeks squash inwards as the two females shoved their faces together to hear the other end. "Of course you need a favour, why else would you call?"
"True." She agreed shamelessly. "Anyway, since you're still in America, you can help me chaperone Samantha's class field-trip for Christmas. They want it at that pricey Faz-pizza place again, you remember it?"

Ben debated letting her know about his employment at the Pizzaplex, as well as the small-but-still-there discounts he got on passes. His sister was very money oriented. It was vital to everything she did in life, including her parenting techniques. Ben's thought wandered back to the year Samantha had thrown a fit over getting only thirty-six presents, simply because the year before she had gotten thirty-seven. That was the same year he had decided he didn't want children, coincidentally enough.
He then remembered the exact tone of her dry laughter when he'd asked for a place to stay a couple months back, and suddenly the brief urge disappeared.
"It rings a bell." Ben deadpanned, staring Freddy Fazbear dead in the eye as he also invited himself into the room, much to Monty's outrage. "And what do I get in return for babysitting all day?"
"Benny!" Grace gasped, scandalised. "Whatever happened to personal satisfaction for helping out your beloved big sister?"

Unfortunately it only took the phone a few seconds to ring again after he hung up, Ben straining his ears to listen over Monty's cackling laughter.

"Fine," She huffed. "Name your price."
"Money."
"Something else."
"More money."
"I've got a mostly full bottle of bourbon and a discount code for Uber Eats."
"Done."

X

And so a few days later, Ben stood by the front entrance, visibly cringing at the bitter wind that blew in every time the doors opened for customers. Sunny stood beside him at the doors, delighting the smaller children as they entered and heavily disturbing the older guests. His Daycare had been closed for the morning, on account of 'Christmas redecorating'; the Sun having been released from his area for once to prevent any more disruption due to his… Enthusiasm.
Ben could sympathise with the other staff as he looked up to the Sun he was 'supervising' for the moment. The animatronic was already clad in a hand-crafted paper beard and Santa hat with almost twice as many bells on his limbs as usual, gripping onto a newly made 'Santa-Sun' plushie he'd scrapped together. Every time he moved, it sounded like the start of a carol. Adjusting his own lovingly-gifted paper elf hat, Ben shivered as another harsh gust of winter air drifted over his face and neck, snow barely visible through the glass doors as it fell.

"We don't get snow like this back home, Sunny." He mentioned over his shoulder, not reacting to the customers' incredulous stares at the nearly 9 foot tall giant leaning over his back to look outside. "I don't know if I'm amazed or disgusted by how cold it is."
"I think it's great! Everything's all bright and cozy and sparkly and snowy!" Sunny beamed, internal heating working in his hands as they rubbed the much shorter human's shoulders for warmth. He would've just hugged the man tight and kept him much warmer that way, but he didn't want to risk being too… Close outside of the Daycare. He never knew when that bad-tempered gator would appear and chase him away from their human friend, especially when they were in his 'territory'. Sunny huffed at the thought, knowing the gator was only jealous of his far superior hugging skills, nobody could hug better than him! Except maybe the Moon, but he didn't do that often.

Down by his hips, Ben raised an eyebrow at the huff, about to ask the looming attendant what was wrong when he suddenly perked up again as though he'd never faltered.
"Why are we waiting by the doors?" Sunny asked at last, despite having stood there happily for almost half an hour already.
"Waiting on my sister and my niece," Ben replied, folding his arms for extra heat. "Samantha- my niece, her class had a trip today and they should be arriving s-"
"YOU HAVE A NIECE?" Sunny half-shrieked in his ears, scaring the poor man out of his boots. "Is she a little niece or a big niece? Oh, oh! Is she a tiny niece, does she like to colour? Does she like puppet shows, and painting, and playing Hide and Seek? Does she-"
"She's seven," Ben cut him off before he exploded, patting a large hand in the vain hope it would calm the giant machine. "She likes winning and being in charge, she's a little bit… Spoilt in that way." Ben trailed off with a wince, remembering that the last time he'd seen his niece, she had been holding a grudge. Oh dear.
"That's okay, friend!" Sunny soothed, tilted his smiling faceplate in excitement. "I can teach her all the lessons good children need to know! I can teach her to share and make friends and let others win too!"
"NO, no no, Sunny." The man grimaced a fake smile, fearing all the ways his often bratty relative would tear the anxious attendant apart emotionally. "She'll probably hang out in the big kids area, she likes being 'grown up'."
He heaved a sigh of relief when the Sun accepted his words, the machine nodding sagely as though he'd spoken an ancient wisdom instead of a slightly desperate excuse.

As though summoned by the topic of bratty people who liked to win, their conversation was interrupted by a passing Roxanne and the maintenance worker she was bullying; the poor woman barely having time to order Sunny back to his Daycare before the wolf was back on her heels, barking at her over a botched paintjob on her leg. Wisely not getting involved, Ben gave an affectionate goodbye to the Daycare attendant as he scurried away to 'help' finalise the Daycare decorations for Christmas.
Suddenly a little lonely and lost, Ben glanced around at the already decorated front entrance that bustled with incoming guests. The Staff Bots seemed to have had fun decorating, every surface covered in red and gold in one way or another. Baubles, tinsel and of course, Fazbear merchandise lined every groove and surface of the décor; the golden Freddy Fazbear centrepiece twined with enough green tinsel to resemble a tree more than a statue, with a golden star balanced precariously on Freddy's hat. Even the Staff Bots themselves were decorated after Ben had found them setting up lights in the Fazer Blast lobby, helping each one dress up with a tinsel scarf or bells on their wrist joints.
All in all, the building looked pleasant and joyful, ready for incoming guests. But why did he still feel such dread?

"BEEEEEEEEEENNNNYYYYYYYYY!"
Oh.
Ben didn't had time to close his eyes in defeat before his sister was upon him, visibly frazzled as she shoved bag after colourful bag into his arms.
"Okay we got about twenty-four kids coming in and about fifteen adults, we booked a party table for 2 o' clock and we rented out the pirate's cove thing. We also got half an hour in the-"
Ben could only listen in despair as Grace rattled on without a greeting, his To-Do list doubling, then tripling as she went on and on and on while her organised group clambered over to the ticket station. It was only when he adjusted the many bags in his grasp that she changed the topic, demanding he be gentle with them.
"Do not drop those, those are Samantha's presents." Grace told him sternly, wagging a condescending finger in his face before pulling out her phone. Ben blinked.
"Five bags?!" He squawked, peering at the multitude of gifts in one bag alone. "What about the other kids?"
"They brought their own." His sister replied vaguely, choosing not to mention that everyone else had only brought one or maybe two presents each. "We got her a few more for tonight, she wants today to be special after all."

Ben gave her a heavy side-eye as she tapped at her phone, easily translating her evasive words into what they really meant: Samantha had demanded more presents than the other children, and was clearly hoping to focus the party on herself.
It wasn't surprising, but that didn't mean it wasn't disappointing for Ben, once again watching his sister fail to parent her child properly and pretty much encourage her bad behaviour. Rolling his eyes from his texting sibling over to his darling niece that was shaking the entry gates with her little hands, Ben could only hope she would at least try to include the other children as the day began.

X

Screaming and pulling at his casual clothes brought a twitch to Ben's eye a few hours later, the children still hyper from Fazer Blast and struggling to calm down for their lunch time meal. He idly prayed to the first deity that came to mind, hoping some otherworldly being somewhere would take pity on him as no less than four children he didn't know begged for his attention.
The day had started out decently, Samantha behaving as well as could be expected, though she was still not talking to her uncle for his failure a couple of months before. The kids had bulldozed their way through Mazercise, unfortunately not killing their energy as the parents had hoped, and had eagerly devoured Fazer Blast as well. Ben distinctly remembered the pitying looks Chica and Freddy had sent him as they watched the man get trampled by the excited kids.
He had made the mistake of interacting with the other kids while they were playing, a habit he'd picked up from helping Montgomery and the others when he spent time in their attractions. His brief check-ins quickly became full on supervising when the children started demanding he join in and help them win, though his prideful niece still did not spare him a glance.

It had only continued from there, the attention seeking and chattering in his ears following him from Fazer Blast and into his seat at the long party table, Veronica and Tommy still chattering at his side about their imaginary friends when the food arrived.
Ben thanked the Staff Bot as it set down his burger, knowing better than to order the pizza there after witnessing Chica drinking the sauce straight from the machine nozzle. The Staff Bot gave him a little dance of his arms with a thumbs up before vanishing away, a secret 'handshake' he had started with Map Bot that had quickly spread across the entire hive of S.T.A.F.F. He glanced around before grabbing the bun, not wanting the parents who had paid a lot to be there to see him being too familiar with the animatronics. He got the feeling that they wouldn't appreciate him holding out on employee discounts out of petty spite.

"Well, well, well… Lookie who we have here."
Of course, speak of the devil. Ben's eyes bulged as his incredibly smug partner stepped into view, clearly finding a novelty in him being the customer again. He glared into the bass player's amused eyes, subtly waving a hand across his throat in a cutting motion before speaking out loud.
"Ah yes. Hello." The suddenly awkward man greeted, tone far too formal for anything other than a funeral. "It is good to meet you, Montgomery. Because we have not met before. At all."
Even Freddy gave him a bit of a pained look for his poor acting as he passed by with a cake.
"But uncle Benny, you have met Monty before!" His niece suddenly shouted in a strangely insidious tone, speaking to him for the first time since her birthday. "He BEAT you up in that arm wrestling fight, that YOU were supposed to win!"
The tall man withered as the other children began clambering about in excitement, shocked that people were even allowed to arm wrestle the animatronics. Understanding what his niece was alluding to now, he sent a glum look to Monty's cheese and sauce covered hands, filthy from interacting with eating kids and sadistically clenching in anticipation for their rematch.

Like clockwork, it was a matter of minutes before he was back at the familiar two person table, encircled by Samantha and her classmates as he scowled into the jagged smirk of his 'friend'.
"Eat him up, Monty!" "Take off his arm!" "Make him cry!" "You'd better not lose this time!" The familiarity of the situation was not a good omen.
A sharp slam of metal on plastic refocused his attention on the alligator, his red sauce stained hand wiggling its digits mockingly as he rested his elbow joint on the table. Holding out his own arm, he was pleased to see it was a little thicker in width since his first attempt, his bi-weekly parkour sessions chasing after the tiny Music Man starting to pay off.

He clasped his hand in the gator's, lip curling at the sensation of pizza sauce and cheese spreading on his skin as he gripped the much larger palm. The claws gripped him back, holding back just enough to avoid impaling themselves into the back of his hand as they artificially flexed.
Though something was a little off, Ben could tell. After months of staring at those same impassive shades, the janitor had learned to read the tiny movements and sounds his partner made to tell his moods. Though this time, he couldn't figure out what was causing the gator to whirr and adjust his optics so rapidly, he wondered if it was the mess on both of their hands.
"One!" A girl shouted, "Two! Three! Now wrestle!"
Ben ducked his head instantly, not giving Monty the satisfaction of seeing his face as his arm almost crumbled then and there. Stronger or not, Montgomery Gator was a machine in a literal and metaphorical sense, and he gave mercy to nobody. Not even his favourite person in the world. His hand clenched harder around the metal grip, feeling the veins in his arm pop slightly as he competitively fought his impossible battle.
He scowled at the quiet chortle he could hear over the kids cheering, pride and intense bickering instinct refusing to let the gator win in any sense without a fight.

He pushed harder with all his might, eyebrows reaching outraged orbit when he raised his chin and saw the alligator almost zoning out without even trying to fight back. Mentally throwing every curse he'd ever known at the arrogant half of their duo, Ben vowed revenge as he continued pushing all his strength against a brick wall.
Monty on the other hand, had completely checked out of the fight. His eyes adjusted and whirred as he stared at the hand clasped in his own, the slightly calloused fingertips and palm somehow both rough and soft on his sensors as he held them. He lightly flexed his claws again, entranced at the way his partner's skin dipped under his metal, shockingly fragile for such a blunt and sturdy person.
Glad his shades hid his somewhat dilated optics, Monty reluctantly returned to the real world and ended his fascinated inspection with a hearty thump of flesh against plastic. His eyes adjusted but remained a little soft as he sat back to enjoy the irritated sputtering of his favourite person, loving how easily he could stir him up with barely any effort.

X

Kid's Cove was bustling as usual, the attraction still a hit long after its initial opening and show. Ben had even heard whispers from the maintenance team that there was an expansion or renovation in the works, though it was all very hush-hush. As he wandered amongst the sand and ocean-themed cut-outs, Ben wondered if they'd put in a stage like every other animatronic had in their attraction. He had a feeling they would and judging by the somewhat predatory way Foxy had been staring at him lately, Ben didn't doubt that 'Blackbeard' would be making a return as well.

The tall man sat on a stuffed cut-out of a coral by the pirate ship and looked up at the two beside him. Grace, who had been on her phone sending angry texts for almost thirty-five minutes straight, and Montgomery Gator who was absolutely not meant to be in Kid's Cove at that time. Knowing his sister was not listening at all, Ben dropped the strangers pretence in favour of bickering.
"Shouldn't you be up on your course right now?" He bit, the unfriendly tone ironically inviting to the gator who happily joined in with their usual game.
"Naw, I ain't missin' you gettin' beat up by your own blood for anythin'." The bassist leered, referring to the niece that had swatted his arm and was now 'double-ignoring' him for the rest of his life after losing the arm wrestle yet again.
"You could've let me win y'know, spared me the stress and exhaustion."
"I don't lose to anybody, at anythin'. 'Specially not you." He croaked over the complaint, eyes narrowing in playful challenge.
"Oho, is that so? You wanna make a bet on that do you?" Ben sat forward and goaded, knowing he'd lose but arguing for the sake of arguing at that point. At the mention of 'bets' though, they both passed a quick suspicious glance to the overhead ventilation, on the off-chance the word had echoed through the Cove's vents and down to the Daycare.
The entire staff team had quickly learned not to mention the 'B-word' too loudly around a certain animatronic anymore, after he had discovered a free-to-play roulette game on the secret Switch in his room. It had been the first time in Pizzaplex history that the Sun had officially out-done the Moon in terms of unnerving behaviour, whenever the topic of bets or gambling came up. The cleaners' weekend poker nights were also moved to the Fazer Blast walkway, the darkness acting as a second layer of security, just in case.

His sister tucking away her phone saved Ben from the disturbing memory, the man looking over as she crossed her arms with a pissy expression. She called over some of her 'mom friends', clearly preparing a rant for the ages after yet another argument with her partner. He settled in and waved Monty closer to listen in, neither male the type to pass up a good bitching session if they didn't have to get involved personally, when a not-so-child-safe hook suddenly hauled the man to his feet with a yank.
"AHA! Ye thought ye could sneak in here without a hello, did ye? And outta uniform no less?!" Foxy cackled from the deck of his ship, hook looped firmly in the top buttonhole of Ben's shirt. "Ye know what a cap'n does when his crew ain't dressed fer the job?"
"He keelhauls 'em!" A higher voice shouts, Gregory peering over the ships rails to point his little plastic sword at the older man's nose. Ben raises a brow, instinctively revving up the stupidest response he could think of, only stopped by the furious whisper of his sibling behind him.

"Uniform?" Hissed Grace, dollar signs burning to ashes in her eyes as she glowered at her brother. The animatronics' automated warnings were entirely ignored as she spat curses in his face. "You fucking work here? I spent $60 just to get in here and you fucking-"
"WOWIE, how time has flown!" Ben panicked, back-peddling away from the group and visibly sweating as his sister began to approach, wielding her heavy handbag like a bludgeoning weapon. "I think I see the children calling me over there, I'd better-"
"Benjamin you fucking dog, get back here!"
Foxy watched with his shocked hook over his mouth as the siblings ran circles around the confused mothers, Monty stood beneath his ship as he debated whether or not to fight the wild woman off of his partner. The choice was made for him when Ben charged in his direction, scaling the green performer like a cliffside as he scrambled to escape.

"Benjamin!" Grace roared, swatting at the air around his head as he leaned away.
"Grace!" Ben yelped, wrapping his body around Monty's upper body like a cowardly headscarf as she swung again.
"Benny!"
"Grace!"
"BEN!"
"GRACE!"
"Gregory?"

His sister was forgotten instantly as Ben's eyes clocked onto Grace's 'mom friend'. Round faced and very 'Facebook mom' in style, she ogled over his head at the young boy sitting beside Foxy. Gregory instantly recoiled, hiding away under Foxy's protective bulk as he leaned his metal hands on his ship rails, equally as wary as the human man. Suddenly getting the feeling that he needed to be very, very careful with what he said next, Ben descended Mt Montgomery and stood tall as he addressed the woman.
"You know the kid?" He asked, feigning a casual attitude that his sister saw right through. He'd never been the best at lying and she knew his tells very well, from the way his jaw would tick to the way his lips thinned when he lied about something unpleasant. Grace narrowed her eyes at him, lowering her handbag mid-slam as her friend blathered on.
"That's Petunia's boy, Gregory! Why he's been missing for months now, they put up a reward and everything!" She gossiped, thick and stubby fingers fanning her face at all the attention.
"A reward?" "How much did they offer?" "Oh how exciting!"
Ben felt a cold chill as his sister's eyes lit up and the other women chattered rapidly to each other. He could feel the situation slip out of his control as they began pulling out phones and pestering the facebook mom for more information, for 'Petunia's' number. Grace watched his stone-set face closely, calculatingly before seeming to realise something. Her eyes flicked between the boy above and her brother before turning to the gossiping women, joining the throng of chatter.

"Monty." He breathed, lips barely moving as the gator leaned in close. "Gregory needs to get out of here. We need a distraction, now."
"The heck you want me to do?!" Monty hissed back, equally stressed over the situation. Ben shot him a panicky glare, gesturing his hands uselessly as he tried to think of something.
"Gregory, darling!" The facebook mom called up to the ship, the group of ladies suddenly predatory in movement as they shuffled up to the pirate ship. "Come out, won't you? We've got your parents number, we're gonna take you home!"

Monty saw it a millisecond before Ben did, how Gregory paled and his entire body tensed. He was about to bolt and they couldn't stop the women from catching him, they wouldn't be able to stop them taking him away.
Ben's hand rapidly tapped at his bulky arm, begging his partner to come up with something fast as he helplessly tried to divert their attention away from the boy. Foxy was tensing up, angry and unsure what to do when the woman started reaching their hands through the gaps in the rail, eyes peering over the edge to try and spot the missing boy with a price on his head.
Monty's systems were overheating from the stress, with no idea what to do but knowing he was quickly running out of time to do it. He looked left and right for something that would work as a decent distraction, only spotting toys or soft objects he couldn't break. They were running out of time.

A woman crowed in victory as she caught sight of the terrified child behind Foxy's legs.

Samantha shrieked like a banshee from across the room as another child kicked over her sandcastle.

Monty's devil red eyes fell on the top of his partner's head.

SNAP.

"AAAAAAAAAAARGH-"
The tall man breathed harshly, neck bending backwards unnaturally as the woman around him screamed and stumbled away from the ship and across the room. The Cove fell into chaos as the patrons panicked around the lobby, nobody sure what was happening but scrambling for their confused children. Monty heaved a monstrous rumble through his chest, steam flaring from his large nostrils as he glowered around the room, wide eyes flickering over the small boy as he was hurriedly led away to the Daycare by the captain. His jaw ticked slightly, pistons and mechanisms too tense from the noise and panic to relax his tight grip on the fragile, thin skull that was clamped within his jaws.

Ben tried to keep his breathing steady, keeping himself and the gator calm as they rode out the storm their 'distraction' had caused. He knew he needed to remove himself from the performer's jaws before somebody calmed down enough to call security, but for the first time in a very long time, he was suddenly very aware of exactly how large his companion truly was.
He stiffened as a jagged tooth grazed over the scar on his chin, his head stuck in deep and unmoving within the panicking steel trap. Gigantic metal hands gripping his shirt a little too tightly as the gator tried to reel himself in, errors and protocols warring for control over his endoskeleton.

In that moment, Ben had an epiphany of just how gentle the machines around him truly were. How gentle Monty was around him. It would've been easier than cracking an egg shell, how easily the jaws around him could have closed on his head and ended everything about him. How easily the claws on his arms could have torn him apart like paper.
And yet there he was, as close to the literal jaws of death as anybody could possibly get, and still alive; the self-control of his enormous partner being the only thing to save his life in that moment. Ben mentally shook himself, scolding his mind for deliriously finding the sentiment of jaw-to-head trust exercises a little too romantic to be normal.

His patience paid off, Montgomery finally sorting through his errors and ever so softly loosening his jaw from around the man's skull. Ben slid away from him gently, trying not to hurt or startle the alligator as his soaked hair left his tongue. Wrinkling his nose, the man tried not to shudder as artificial drool slid from his hair and down his neck, not wanting to set off the surprisingly shaken gator beside him.
"Good job, Monty. You did great." He whispered from the corner of his mouth, reaching up to pat at the gator's snout while the party guests continued to stumble and wander in confusion and panic. Monty simply nodded, not wanting to talk after the frightening loss of function he'd had the second he'd bit down on his favourite person's head. Ben might've been proud of his quick thinking in that moment, but Montgomery made a private vow to never even jokingly bite his friend again, the very thought of it making his wiring feel twisted and wrong.

From under his chin, Ben sighed as he looked around the room. People had finally begun to calm down, unsure what had caused the ruckus to begin with and children nervously returning to the play area. He spotted Foxy slipping back in from the Daycare entryway, flashing a single thumbs up before hollering for the jumpy children to join him in the sand.
But as he glanced to the mothers who pressed their hands to their chests and ogled his wet hair and slightly-traumatised bass player, the tension still didn't leave him. It was only when his eyes travelled to his older sister that he suddenly understood why. She stared him straight in the eye as she tapped a number into her phone, holding it to her ear as her facebook mom friend tittered at her side.
His eyes narrowed. She smiled unpleasantly as the other end picked up, leaving his view as she took the call outside.
Oh dear.

Chapter Text

"Gregory? Can you come out now, lad? Uncle Ben is starting to lose blood flow in his legs."

Ben tried to appeal to the trembling child, shifting awkwardly as his ass wedged further into the small tunnel he was halfway through. The second Foxy had gotten him out of sight and into the Daycare, Gregory had all but sprinted away and up into the Daycare Attendant's room, hiding in the small tunnel the Sun usually kept blocked off. It had apparently led into another smaller room with a broken arcade machine, and Gregory had refused any and all requests to leave it since. Sunny had attempted to 'help' the situation, by throwing in any and every hand-made plushie he'd made thus far in hopes of cheering up the scared child. But while kind-hearted, he had also inadvertently clogged the tunnel leading into the room as well.
Hoping that seeing his face might reassure the boy, Ben had also tried crawling through the plush-lined tunnel himself after getting permission from Sunny. The attendant had watched him with large, nervous fingers pressed into his teeth as the man managed to shuffle about halfway by contorting one of his shoulders ahead of the other, barely reducing his width enough to angle through. Unfortunately, the same trick couldn't be performed with his… Lower half, resulting in his legs kicking around for purchase with his ass sticking out of the tunnel comically.

Regrettably, his pleas didn't reach the boy who remained curled up against the corner. Accepting that he simply was not the person Gregory needed for comfort right then, Ben tried to wriggle his way backwards from the tunnel. Unsurprised yet disappointed when his streak of bad luck reached a record high, he quickly found he was stuck.
"Sunny?" Ben uselessly turned his head over his shoulder to yell. "Can you uh, pull me out?"
Hearing a muffled 'You got it!' from behind himself, Ben braced for the awkward gentle-yet-too-strong pull of the steel giant hauling him out by his legs.
What he was not expecting, was the poor oblivious Sun to cheerfully grab him by his ass for a better grip.
As his life flashed before his eyes, every embarrassing thing that had ever happened to the British man sailing across his vision like a slideshow, Ben could already see this particular moment settling upon the throne of 'Worst thing to ever haunt him at night' as Sunny's fingers pressed into his cheeks. Instinctively kicking his legs out to deter the naïve machine, Ben swore he could hear his sister's voice, whispering in the back of his mind.
"What are you doing, Step-Sun?"

Ben shuddered at the imaginary dialogue, and at the thought of his bitch-ass sister. He used the rage her face flared up in him to yell indignantly as he tried to shuffle away from the animatronic's confused hands, the whole situation only becoming worse as the 'chase' continued.
Thoughts falling back on his sister, Ben's mind seethed.
While staff policy wouldn't allow him to ban his sister from the establishment on the grounds of 'being a colossal bitch', he had been able to pin Monty's 'malfunction' on the older dears that had been trying to sniff out Gregory. His partner in several crimes backed him up of course, gruffly agreeing with every song of bullshit the angered man had sung.
As expected, nobody on the maintenance team had dared to argue with the temperamental Montgomery on his story, and the class trip's party had been kicked out of the establishment on account of the mishap.

Ben had almost felt guilty as he'd had to watch his niece leave early through the front entrance; that was, until she had glanced back at him and suddenly stopped to point at him from the front doors. Her squinting little eyes and tiny finger pinpointed the large green hands that rested on the curve of his shoulders, and his partner's giant head that lowered to tap his snout on the man's temple. At the time, Ben could only roll his eyes at the shameless favouritism Monty didn't even try to hide from the rest of the staff, even as it set his niece off like an alarm clock.

"Mummy, why is Monty touching uncle Benny like you and the postman do when daddy's not home?" She had whined, her spoilt nature expecting a quick answer. Her mother had desperately tried to shush the girl, which only had Samantha asking louder and louder, until she was shouting. He remembered dozens of eyebrows hitting the ceiling around the entrance as the other parents turned to stare.
They had all been so shocked in fact, that nobody except the gator himself had even picked up the implications the girl had meant for himself and Ben; the human of the pair far too busy enjoying his sister's shitty parenting finally biting her in the ass.

Oh how Ben remembered with relish, the way his jaw had dropped in scandalised delight at the secret coming out. He didn't know what expression he had been pulling, but it must have been crueller than he'd realised judging by Monty's matching shit-eating grin.
The look on his sister's face had been worth more than enough to overthrow their guilt over kicking out his spoilt niece, the mortified rush to her car feeling like the perfect revenge for the shitstorm her selfishness was likely to bring the duo in the coming days.

Ben knew why she had made the call, of course. Just as his sister knew him, he knew her as well; and his sister's one true love in this world was money. The second she had heard the word 'reward' and put that phone to her ear, all bets were off as far as she was concerned. Viciously, Ben privately hoped her partner had facebook, where he knew all her 'mom friends' were sure to be discussing everything about a certain postman rumour.

Snapping back to the present, Ben shrieked as something vibrated on his dodging ass, suddenly terrified of what Sunny was doing out of his view. Mercifully, the vibrating object distracted the Sun from 'helping' anymore, the giant hands plucking what he realised was his phone from his back pocket and stepping away.
"Hello-hello?" Came Sunny's muffled voice through the tunnel, chiming a greeting into the man's phone. "Oh? Oh no-no-no, he can't come to the phone right now! Benny got stuck in my secret tunnel, and can't pull himself out!"

Oh god no.

"SUNNY!" Ben howled into the plastic of the tunnel, trying to turn as well as he could. "GIVE ME THE PHONE, JUST- JUST PUSH IT THROUGH!"
The suffering man could only endure as an oversized hand uncomfortably wedged its way between his stomach and the tube, dropping his phone onto the tunnel surface with a cheery wave of his long fingers before retreating back underneath him and out of view.
Ben made a mental note to finally seek therapy.
Picking up the phone with an awkwardly bent arm, Ben tried to speak normally as the well-meaning attendant grabbed a firm hold of his thighs to try and pull him out. At least it wasn't the cheeks, Ben mourned as a familiar accent filled his ear.

"Stuck in his secret tunnel, huh? And here I thought you cleaned the messes over there, janitor. Making some money on the side?"
"Come talk to me like that when you're done sucking up the postman's package, bitch." Ben shut his sister down coldly, thumb halfway to the screen to hang up on her. "I don't know what you thought you were playing at today-"
"What I was playing at? Don't think I didn't see you helping the kid hide away, what are you playing at? You can't just take someone's kid, you fucking creep."
"You know damn well as I do that he doesn't wanna go back home." Ben ground out, eye twitching at Sunny's muffled 'language!' through the wall. "I don't want to send a kid home if they're so scared they jump off a goddamn pirate ship to escape. Something's wrong here."
There was an exasperated sigh over the phone, as though his sister was dealing with a child's tantrum rather than a pissed off grown man.

"That's not your problem! Benny, he's not your kid and you're not his dad." The words struck Ben unexpectedly, his brow furrowing as his heart hurt from the reminder. He wasn't exactly looking to be a parent, he just wasn't built like that. But it did sting to remember he wasn't really an uncle to his little-pseudo nephew, not truly. There was a quiet huff over the line as his sister grew impatient.
"Tell you what, the kid's parents are coming over there to pick him up. I'll send them to you, and we can split the reward money when you get them the kid?"
"Did you miss the part where I said that there was something wrong with this whole thing? The boy's terrified of his own parents!" Ben scowled, disgusted at the way she spoke of selling off Gregory like a business transaction. "I'm not sending him anywhere if I don't know he'll be safe."
"He's not your kid!" Grace snapped back shrilly, incapable of understanding why he was trying so much harder for some runaway than he ever had for her daughter. "Just send him back where he came from, get the money, and you can go back to your weird fucking alligator sex toy or whatever the fuck you were letting suck on your face yesterday."
"I am not doing a goddamn thing for you," Ben barked into the receiver, fed up of her outright lack of concern of potential abuse to his charge, her disrespect towards not only him, but his dear friend only infuriating him up further. Trying and failing to reign in his temper, the fuming man ended the call with a blistering last word. "I hope to god I see the day Samantha grows up to be just like you and puts you in the cheapest, rattiest home she can find. You send those dodgy-ass parents in here tomorrow and it'll be the last you ever hear from me, I promise you that."

Slamming his phone down with a 'crack' against the tunnel, Ben rapidly tapped his fingers on the plastic to calm himself. The cramped space didn't soothe his temper much, only exacerbating his restlessness and feeding into the helpless fog that muddled his brain. Ben slammed a hard fist on the side of the tunnel, barking out an angered grunt over the entire situation.
"Where the hell is my emotional support bastard?!" He cursed, wishing the other half of his mouthy duo was there to break things on his behalf. A shuffle from Gregory's end of the tunnel brought him out of his blind anger, focus returning to the boy that had undoubtedly heard his end of the call. He hadn't even noticed when the tugging on his legs had stopped, probably when he started yelling, he imagined. Guilty for frightening the two members of his little band that were the least equipped to deal with his anger, Ben made an effort to bury it deep inside of himself until he was alone.

"Sorry boys, I didn't want you to hear that." Ben apologised to them both with a cough, trying to lose the rough tone his voice had taken. He paused for a long moment, before turning his gaze to the end of the tunnel. "Gregory… Do you think you can tell me... Why you don't want to go home?"
His heart fell when as he looked out the end of the tunnel, the small shadow he could see on the wall tucking further away. His sister's words rang in his head again, of how he wasn't truly his uncle and it made him doubt himself.
He had no title with Gregory, at least none officially. The only thing that made him 'uncle' in any sense was how he saw the kid, and vice versa. Sure, he could do things for the boy, put him in school, keep him fed and clean, but that didn't make him an uncle. Just a caregiver. Heart hurting slightly, Ben decided to give the boy his space, in case his role of uncle was more one-sided than he thought.
"It's alright lad," Ben assured, feeling behind him with a leg to tap Sunny for assistance. "You don't need to tell me, it's okay-"

His attempt at calming the atmosphere was torn to shreds almost instantly when the door to Sunny's room was literally kicked open by a bright red steel shin. Not a word was spoken as the silent behemoth stepped into the room, eyes scanning for life intensely before locking onto Ben's frozen legs. With a forwardness unbecoming of the usually gentle giant, a large orange paw clasped across the poor man's entire ass and pulled firmly.
With a face one could only pull when grasped by their entire ass with one hand, Ben was plucked from the narrow tunnel like a horrified bathplug, coming face to chest with Freddy Fazbear before being placed gently on the ground.

Freddy had already been on his way to greet Ben's family when Montgomery had come across him, being escorted away for 'emergency maintenance' after an incident that wasn't disclosed. He was immediately concerned, having known that Montgomery would have been with Ben at the time of the 'incident', the alligator following after the man with that certain look in his eyes as they'd headed for Kid's Cove. But the stubborn, possessive glint in his optics was not there as the bear had passed him by, replaced by an uncharacteristic worry the gator hid well behind his sunglasses.
Freddy's confusion had turned to panic when Monty grasped his arm in passing, long snout barely reaching his ear to mutter 'Daycare' before trudging along after the nervous technicians. Monty was far too proud to come to him if there was a situation, not even a dangerous one. Not even if it involved Ben. There was only one reason the alligator would fetch him for help, only one reason he knew the bear absolutely had to be informed of.
Something had happened to Gregory.

Understanding that he had no role in what came next, Ben gave the singer his distance and focused his attention on Sunny, hoping to comfort the anxious animatronic as they both tried not to listen in on Freddy behind them. The bear spoke softly into the plastic tunnel, soft enough to ignore as the man lured the Sun over to his playhouse and sitting him on the floor.
Time passed in the same way for a while, Ben quietly thanking Sunny for 'helping' him out while he soothed the attendant's nerves. The poor guy had already been startled by Ben's outbursts on the phone, and Freddy kicking in his door had almost sent him into a breakdown. They both kept half an eye on the singer in the corner as they fiddled around for something to do, eventually settling into Sunny's hobby of making toys while they waited it out.

Ben had just about crafted the base of a wobbly-looking animal-esque… Something, when he heard a young voice whispering back through the tunnel. Not daring to make a sound and risk spoiling the important moment, Ben made an effort to tune out the whispers and continue his little project. When Gregory wanted to tell him, he would come and find him, and that was that.

He sewed on the chubby little legs and tail.

There was a low thumping of Freddy's foot as it began to tap in agitation.

He carefully stitched on the tiny hairpiece.

A loud whirring was audible in the silence of the room, Freddy's cooling system working at its highest setting as the bear overheated. The Sun winced.

He frowned irritably halfway through cutting out tiny felt sunglasses. When had he started making Monty?

CRACK.

The sharp sound split through the air like a knife, startling the other males badly as Freddy's hand slowly unclenched from the large, crumbling crater he had crushed from the edge of the tunnel. A chunk of plastic and drywall fell from the massive paw and hit the floor with a dull 'thunk'. Sun and Ben didn't dare move an inch.
Sunny clutched the 'little Moon' he was making tightly as the singer rose to stand upright, the bear's wide back completely hiding his arms as he looked down at himself. Ben felt the attendant's long fingers grasp at his hand loosely as Freddy turned around to face them, revealing an exhausted and red-eyed Gregory in the crook of his arm and a face like thunder.
For the first time since he'd met him, Ben finally understood why some people found Freddy Fazbear intimidating.

Ben tried not to flinch when the great bear's head tilted towards him, eyes a pulsing white in intensity as they stared him down. In his growing alarm, Ben deliriously wondered if Freddy was even aware of how entirely dangerous he came across in that moment.
"Benjamin." He rumbled, his tone oddly sad as though the entire world had just let him down. "We cannot allow Gregory to return to his previous home. The quality of his previous care… Is unacceptable."
Ben nodded once, accepting the entirely too threatening request without question. Anything that made the eight foot teddy bear stare at him like that, had no business being anywhere near their charge. Turning from the enormous singer's unintentional glare, Ben tried to brainstorm ways he could chase off the would-be collectors of the little boy that would come the next day. The vast potential for spite and revenge ran through his sister's veins just as strongly as his own, so he didn't doubt she'd call Gregory's parents anyway. He paced the attendant's room impatiently, growing frustrated as he tried to find an option that wouldn't get him arrested, or somebody else seriously hurt.

"You could…"
Ben looked up at Freddy's voice, far less forceful than it had been a little while ago. The bear looked reluctant to even finish his thought, but he continued on regardless.
"You could take Gregory's family to a legal court, and appeal to be his legal guardian, Benjamin. I am sure that in such a case, you would easily be assigned as Gregory's new… Father."
The tall man gave the taller bear a searching look before he turned away to think over the idea. In a legal setting, he knew he had a strong case from the trauma the boy seemed to experience from memories alone. He didn't know who the boy's parents were, but fear like that didn't lie and a jury would see it a mile away. Given enough time, Ben was fairly confident that he could win a case for the boy's custody. But…

Ben's eyes were drawn back to the pair across the room, Gregory looking drained as he sat back against Freddy's shoulder. The bear held onto him carefully, large hand keeping him warm as the other arm balanced him; the picture of a doting father. Trials, cases, legal processes in court took a long, long time. Time Ben firmly believed that could be better spent growing up with the people- the animatronics the boy loved dearly; not spent sitting behind a witness stand under the eyes of complete strangers like livestock in an auction.
The man's eyes flickered at the depressing image, focus catching on the earring that hung from Freddy's lowered ears as he watched the human think over his idea. His plan to have him step in as Gregory's father.

It was that thought that fully turned him from the idea entirely, though not for his own sake. Just as he felt a desire to be 'uncle' to the child, he knew Freddy held onto his father figure role desperately. But unlike Ben, Freddy couldn't perform his 'role' like a human could. He couldn't have legal custody of Gregory like Ben could, or put him through school, or even take him outside the building.
The only thing Freddy could truly offer him was pure love, and it was clear to anyone who knew where to look that Freddy took immense pride and joy in his place in Gregory's life. It was for that simple reason that Ben refused to take that route, he would not take any semblance of fatherhood from the bear that valued it more than anything in the world. He knew it was the right choice, even more so when he gave Freddy his answer and the bear caught himself halfway through a sigh of relief, awkwardly coughing into his paw.

But while the idea itself was shut down, it did spark a new idea in Ben's head. A terrible, marvellous idea that could go wrong in a thousand ways if not done correctly. But then, that seemed to be a theme in Ben's life as he considered his past few months of fighting killer robots, living out of a dodgy hotel for weeks and eventually moving into a glorified mega-mall. The man pulled out his phone, privately reminding himself to harass Kevin about live-in quarters at some point as he began dialling a number.
Ben gave the questioning animatronics a reassuring smirk as the phone moved up to his ear, looking far more confident than he was as the phone clicked, and he began his first crucial step to Plan B.

Chapter Text

It is a simple fact of life that where there is evil, good will always rise to counter it.

Knights will ride out to fight dragons, friends will stand up to fight bullies, and kindness will win out against cruelty. In time, the good outweighs the bad.
However, Ben was already well acquainted with the goodness that lived and roamed in the Pizzaplex, he knew them all by name and by face.

But they were not what Ben needed that day.

What Ben needed in that moment, was the lurking beast of treachery and bile that lived beneath the surface of the bright lights and happy music. An unsightly thing that lived in every fibre of the building, ever poised to strike at any who entered its territory. He needed the insidious force that knew no mercy, only its own gain and progress.
Cold blooded greed that the staff knew to fear, and the guests knew to avoid.

He needed Fazbear Entertainment.

X

"Rest assured that Fazbear Entertainment takes allegations of missing children very seriously. We will handle the situation, notify Mr Stilton if we are needed."

That had been the last thing that Kevin's mysterious 'boss' had told him over the phone, a cold and hard voice that hung up the second it had finished speaking with no room for any argument. Navigating his situation with 'Big Fazbear' had been about as nerve-wracking as creeping through a room full of tarantulas blindfolded, but if things went arse-over-tits, it would be worth the planning ahead.

Ben stood by Montgomery in the Atrium, only half paying attention as the giant played with the few kids dotted around him. It was around noon on a weekday, so the Pizzaplex was packed with a lot more bored teenagers and a lot less children to hound the performers. The tall man smirked in amusement as he spotted a beet-red Lola ducking behind her kiosk when a buff teen sauntered past, the gossip girl clearly embarrassed to be seen in her bright and stripy uniform. In fact, it seemed like everyone was up and about that day. The crowds were bustling and he'd even glimpsed Joe the mechanic skulking around after a whistling Wet Floor Bot.

It was slightly comforting to be surrounded by other people while he waited, 'safety in numbers' clicking in his dog brain instinctively. Still, he didn't try to fool himself that today wasn't going to be very, very difficult. Despite Freddy's half-hearted optimism that she wouldn't, Ben knew damn well that his sister had probably called Gregory's parents not even a minute after he'd hung up. It was just the way she was, and likely always would be.

So there Ben stood at the edge of the greeting area, stiff as a board and fingers twitching for his repainted Fazwatch at the first sign of any trouble.
"Will you quit starin' around like that? You're stressin' out my kids."
"Oh please. They don't even know I'm here, too busy smearing food all over your oversized head." The janitor called his bluff, head tilting up lazily as his friend approached.
"Fine, you're stressin' me out. Now quit lookin' at me with them big ol' eyes." The gator growled, carefully jabbing his side with the golf club he'd brought down with him. Ben didn't know if he was even allowed to keep that outside of Gator Golf, but he'd have to fight that war another day.
Apparently getting fed up when his worried expression didn't change, the alligator tactfully fixed the issue by removing his massive shades and manhandling them onto the janitor's sour face so he didn't have to look at it.

"I just have a bad feeling, Monty." Adjusting his new oversized accessory with a huff, Ben's arms crossed over his chest defensively as though speaking his worries would make them somehow appear. "I don't know a thing about Gregory's situation, and I hate not knowing what I'm up against here."
Ben didn't appreciate the mocking look Monty gave him without his shades as a buffer.
"… You beat up Chica, a serial killer, another dead serial killer… And you're worried about some s-***** a-** parents?"

Eyes widening, Ben's joints popped from the speed he snatched the gator's snout with, horrified by the grating static noises that had just escaped his voice box. Montgomery's eyes crossed slightly to keep up as the man examined the back of his jaws, the same dangerous jaws that had been clamped around his skull only yesterday.
"I'm more concerned about what the fu-heck that was! What happened to your voice there?"
"Chica showed me how to find the code where they keep my filter." Monty told him with a sly grin, clearly pleased with himself. "Been chippin' away at it without 'em noticin'. Might even break it soon."
Had he told Freddy this, or anyone other than the man in front of him, Montgomery might have been scolded for messing with his own programming unsupervised. As it was, he was instead given a proud and understanding nod as his snout was released, two crass men united in their hatred for child-friendly censors.

The moment was sadly broken when something caught his eye to the left of Monty's shoulder pad. Right away, he could tell something wasn't right about the couple loitering by the escalators.
The woman wasn't traditionally beautiful, nor was she tall or particularly unique in any physical aspect. But the dangerous presence she held as she scanned over the Atrium however, certainly made her stand out amongst the rest of the guests. Dark hair twisted into an elegant up-do with a fine looking fur coat over her shoulders, the larger sized woman radiated an expectation of compliance so inarguable that even the unruliest teenagers swerved around her like it was choreographed.
Her hawkish eyes sat high on her face, glaring down from her unfortunate features from child to child in an uncomfortably predatory way. He found himself relieved that whoever she was looking for, she hadn't yet found.
But it wasn't her that had drawn his attention, as no matter the power or package, a Karen was still just another Karen.

No, what had drawn Ben's undivided attention, was the man beside her.

The closest that Ben could compare him to was a weasel, in all the worst ways. The man stood tall and lanky, Ben's height at least with a long beige coat only making him seem longer. Something about him scratched and gnawed at Ben's nerves like insects, a buzzing against his skin begging him to stay away. There was something not right about the man, his too small features on his long face, the small moustache that could have looked fatherly on anyone else but unsettling on him.

He didn't like the way the man looked around the concert hall, and the families within it. He stared at it all as though he was making plans for everything and everyone he saw, like he could see through their skin and control them. It made Ben shudder.
The feeling was shared it seemed, his eyes noting it before his brain did. Every human near the man seemed equally uneasy, walking faster and subtly guiding their children away from him. In the same way dogs could smell sickness, they could all sense that something was terribly, instinctively wrong with the stranger.
Ben suddenly had the awful feeling that he was most likely looking at the very people he had been waiting for.

The man adjusted his 80's aviator-looking lenses and smoothed down his comb-over before stepping away from the escalator, the pair's scan of the room clearly not giving results. Ben was blind and deaf to Monty's nudging and harassing as he watched them step further towards the Check-In desk, unable to tear his eyes from them like a deer amongst wolves.
Monty desperately tried to scan for what had frozen his partner on the spot, but he couldn't sense the wrongness like humans could, he didn't have those instincts. Frustrated that he couldn't find and scare off the problem himself, the alligator compensated by crowding in close to the man and leering over his shoulder to follow Ben's line of sight. He had no idea what was going on, but he didn't like it.

Ideally, Ben would've preferred hiding away in the ventilation with the Music Man Bot rather than have to deal with the definition of 'unease' that was haunting the Check-In desk. He would have liked to avoid them appearing at all, but that wasn't how life worked. His eye snagged on Lola behind the till of the kiosk, visibly pale as the strangers approached her. It was like watching oil spill over her skin as the man spoke, the way she shuddered in discomfort and stared around for help at his confrontation.
The woman barked suddenly, dragging the teenager's eye back to them like the snap of a whip. Where the man was slippery and quiet, the woman was biting and loud. He could hear her berating the teenager from across the Atrium and knew he had to step in to help the poor girl. She looked about ready to cry.

"Go stand by Roxy, I've got to take care of something." Ben muttered over his shoulder, not wanting his big green shadow present for what came next. Judging by the woman's increasingly inappropriate comments towards the teenage girl, he knew that his conversation was going to be anything but pleasant.
The last thing he needed on top of that was a highly offended giant getting aggressive on his behalf in public. Just imagining the lawsuits that would bring was enough to make him dizzy. He also didn't tell Monty his suspicions of who the couple were, knowing that the 'threat' they'd represent would do nothing but burn at his already short temper.

Hearing the rare no-nonsense tone in his voice, Monty only argued slightly before stomping off to nudge aside the annoyed she-wolf and greet her cheering fans. Catching her eye, Ben gave her a thankful nod that she returned reluctantly. He'd asked her the night before to help him 'curb' Monty's temper if things got out of hand, and Chica had quickly hopped on board as well. He would have asked Freddy too, but…
Ben glanced at the still visibly tense bear, doing his best to interact with the kids around him while keeping one arm firmly wrapped around his torso plates. Slightly exasperated, Ben was glad that he'd thought ahead to call Gregory's school beforehand for a sick day.

Crossing the concert hall with a quiet urgency, Lola gave the tall man a look of borderline worship as he stepped up beside her. Hiding his dread behind a customer service grin, Ben directed her to help Freddy with ocean of guests he was traversing, eyes telling her to get out of the line of fire. She didn't hesitate, piping up a squeaky 'okay-good-luck!' before vanishing from the booth like a bat out of hell.
Flipping Monty's sunglasses up to rest on his hairline, Ben closed his eyes and tried to centre himself before the 'game' began. The game being, trying to keep his temper in check while lying bare-faced to the parents of a child hidden away inside a singing bear-shaped tank. Obviously. He still had his pieces lined up if things went sour, but the man was hoping to deter the parents with the magic of customer service apathy and lying before having to call on Big Fazbear again.
Calling upon and gaining attention from a higher up in Fazbear Entertainment was not ideal, and could possibly make everything worse in the unlikely chance they actually gave a shit about missing kids. But it was his last resort, and potentially the only chance he had of fixing the problem without directly involving Gregory.

"Finally, that girl called somebody in charge. Does your company do any vetting before hiring people? She was useless- What was her name? I want to make a formal complaint." The woman bit at him, words sharp as a tack and aiming to make it hurt. Ben vaguely recalled her name being Petunia. He hated her already.
"I apologise for the delay in your service." Ben replied stonily, corporate tone as cold as a witch's tit. He didn't correct her on his job there, more than happy to take advantage of any power she thought he had. "How may I assist you today?"
"Calmly now, dear." The strange man spoke like he was commanding a dog, interrupting his wife's opening mouth without even looking at her. "We don't want to cause any hassle. We are hoping you can help us. We are looking for our son."

And the game began.

Ben slipped into Plan A easily, putting on the most sincere attempt at confusion his face could manage through his gritted teeth and cold eyes.
"We have had no reports of lost children today. Is your child one of the Daycare attendees? If so, we can track them through their security bracelet-"
"No! He isn't from your damn Daycare." Petunia snapped at him, patience long gone before she even arrived. From far behind her head, Ben spotted Chica looking over in concern at the raised voice. "Our son has been missing for months, and was seen here yesterday."
"We have had no unresolved reports of missing children being brought forward by our security personnel." Ben replied calmly with no expression, truly feeling like a Fazbear Entertainment representative as he lied to the mother's face. "Could you give more details on who you are looking for?"
"My boy, Gregory." The man spoke up then, eyes like needles as they pierced into his own. "Brown hair, brown eyes, about ten years old. A little rebellious. We received a call from a… family friend who said she'd spotted our son in here. She confirmed it was definitely him, and that her brother knew where he was."

Oh, that stuck up, precious little bitch.
Ben was careful not to even twitch at the oily man's words, knowing any movement could give away that he was hiding something. His sister had forced him into the situation all the same despite refusing to help her, so he had to abandon Plan A and give up on claiming ignorance. Plan B slid into play, and he felt no guilt for it.

"I'm sorry to say this, but you've been misinformed sir." Ben lied firmly, gladly throwing his sister under the bus to save their skins. "Your contact is my sister, and I can confirm that I didn't see any children that weren't meant to be in the room at the time she is referring to. My sister may have been looking for a reward, if you happened to be offering one. It's not the first time she's done this."
It was somewhat-nearly a truth, Foxy had been in charge of watching Gregory that afternoon after all. And his sister would lie about almost anything for a cash prize. Back in England, she'd once claimed that his niece was severely ill in order to raise money for her 'treatment'; it was that particular scandal that had finally sent her packing to the US, if he recalled.

The parents' eyes seemed to flash when he revealed his relationship to Grace, and it suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea what exactly his sibling had told them over the phone at all. He was improvising against an invisible script. A pair of hands settling on the kiosk desk drew his eyes downward as the father leaned forward towards him. The close proximity made Ben want to scuttle straight into the nearest shower when the older man spoke to him quietly, invitingly.

"Your sister told us you might be… difficult. I don't think you're telling us the whole truth, young man… And please, call me Harvey, son."
'Harvey' spoke like a youth pastor from his nightmares, trying to coax the other man's honesty like he was a disobedient child in need of guidance, the friendliness of his tone more unsettling than if he'd just gotten angry.
"See, my young man Gregory," Harvey paused to consider his words before he said them, sliding a blunt tongue over his teeth as he watched Ben's reaction. "He'd been having a tough time when he ran away. Was having trouble adjusting to his new home- We just moved to the city you see, and his new step mother. He was so upset when his mother- my first wife died, he started getting rebellious. Didn't do as I told him, lashed out at everything we did for him, even fought back over a simple punishment."

An oily sensation ran down his back as Ben's eyes flickered over to Gregory's 'step-mother', the hostile woman checking her watch and glaring around as though searching for her missing step-child was an inconvenient chore that needed finishing before she made dinner. If what they said really was the truth, he couldn't say he blamed Gregory for wanting to get away from the unpleasant woman, and the increasingly creepy man.

"He ran away one night after we had a little… Argument over some ground rules. He just wouldn't do as he was told… Heh, but you know how kids are." The explanation brought his attention back to Harvey, his eyes a little rounder then, a little more convincing. Despite the strangeness that seemed to radiate from him, Ben might've even believed him if he hadn't already seen the ten year old cowering in tears at the thought of going home.
Ben's eyes went flat and cold with the memory in his mind, something the other man seemed to pick up on.

"Yeah… I think you know exactly how kids can be." The coaxing lilt in his tone faded into something more sinister then, the instinctual wrongness about him almost sickly in nature. "I think you do know where my son is."
"I'm afraid not, sir. May I help you with anything else?"
There was a harsh silence for a moment as the tall men seemed to regard each other. The friendliness that Gregory's father exuded seemed to come undone the longer Ben denied him, each denied question seeming to chip at something within the older man's head like a chisel. Ben's eyes narrowed as they met the man's icy blue stare, recognising the growing threat for what it was and barely keeping his own tone from dropping.

The tension snapped when a harsh grip on his forearm forced the janitor's attention on Petunia, her long nails piercing his skin like broken glass as she raised her voice in anger.
"Where are you keeping Gregory, you sick bastard? I know he's hiding away in here like the naughty brat he is, little wuss can't take a little punishment! You tell me where he is right now, you ugly fucking faggot!"
He blinked, blinked again and forced himself to stay silent.
Growing up a gay boy in a London public school, Ben had long since traded in his victimhood for a thicker skin that never took a slur from anyone. It was only his vow to the little boy in Freddy's chest that kept him from verbally crumbling her self-esteem into dust in retaliation.
Losing Gregory is not worth the satisfaction, he reminded himself even as he threw a restrained but venomous glare at the step-mother's audacity. Not getting the reaction she wanted and seeing the stubbornness behind his eyes, Petunia scowled, ripping her nails from his dented skin to switch targets.

A pair of rough hands on his shoulders jostled him, tipping Monty's sunglasses back over his eyes as he turned back to Harvey. The man was visibly starting to lose his own composure while his wife marched towards the greeting area of the Atrium. She shoved through the crowds like she owned the place, loudly disrupting guests and interrogating them for any sign of the missing child.
Across the room behind him, Ben heard a harsh scrape of metal against linoleum following a gurgling reptilian hiss. The growing spectacle was drawing attention from every guest in the Atrium, and the performers that patrolled it.

"Come on now, young man." Harvey coaxed impatiently, the youth pastor image starting to slip alongside his comb-over as he stared into Ben's half-hidden face. "You wouldn't want anything bad to happen from all this, right? I don't know what my son's been telling you, but I wouldn't want to involve you in these family matters, now. Why don't you just do what you're told… And tell me where my boy is so we can all leave happy?"
"I can't help you, sir. Please ask your wife to contain herself, or both of you will be asked to leave."
The situation was beginning to get out of hand, Ben knew even as he tried to keep his voice calm. The guests were getting stirred up from Petunia's shouting and it was frightening the children. With her barked demands for Gregory to return to her side immediately, Ben knew without a doubt that the animatronics had clocked on to what was happening as well. With Plan B clearly not working, Ben fell back onto Plan C, his final attempt before his last resort which at this point was pretty much a necessity already: Calling security if the situation couldn't be contained.

Freddy watched the loud and uncomfortable confrontation from afar, his own arm like concrete against his chest plate and circuitry aching as he listened to the boy within him whimper with every shout. The noise was only getting louder as Ben stepped out of the Check-In desk and over to the irate woman, not stopping her tirade but directing it onto himself instead of the room at large while he called the daytime security. As the woman became more hysterical, Freddy's optics picked out everything as the scene progressed before him.
He saw Foxy peering out from his Cove at all the commotion.
He saw the uncomfortable twitch in Ben's shoulder as Gregory's birth father touched him again.
He saw the way Roxy and Chica edged closer and closer to Monty's steaming form with every slur that left the step-mother's lips.
Everything was rapidly falling out of control and the bear ached to step in, to do something. But the child he was guarding took priority, even over his Pizzaplex. He couldn't even direct the other performers to leave Monty to assist him, with the alligator mere seconds from erupting in the very public space. With great reluctance and a furious white glow in his eyes, Freddy was forced to follow protocol, guiding guests away from afar as their only other human fended for himself alone.

Ben didn't need to look to know Montgomery was pissed. He could hear him hissing like a steam engine from the other side of the Atrium, and privately prayed to a spin-the-wheel deity that he'd hold onto his temper until security arrived. To wait until Gregory's fucked up parents had been thrown out, and then he and the gator could go absolutely ape-shit in his Green Room, something the fed up janitor craved in that moment.
It hadn't taken much more to require for a security ping, he'd only had to patronisingly ask the spitting woman to 'calm down' and that had done the job quite splendidly. Though he somewhat regretted it as the woman shook him back and forth and hit his arms, gripping his collar tight enough to choke him slightly.

Side-eyeing the visibly unhinged and WAY too close father that was almost hissing his demented coaxes into his ear now, Ben wanted nothing more than to ensure that neither of them could ever come back. If not for Gregory's sake, then his own. Harvey unnerved him greatly. Something about the gentle way he spoke even while he was furious seemed to hide something dark within the man. It felt like he was holding something back in everything he did, and whatever it was wasn't good.
So Ben did the very not-smart thing, and deliberately tried to piss him off.

Needing the father 'misbehaving' enough to warrant the same lifetime ban his wife had already earned with her display, Ben went to push at the only sore spot the older man seemed to have. But even the usually cocky man had to admit, the way Harvey was looking at him had him wishing that his big green shadow was there to back him up.
"I have to say, sir." Ben spoke up over his muttering, having had quite enough of being encouraged to 'do the right thing' by a creepy old guy. "If I were in your son's position, I would want to run away from this treatment as well."

The old man stilled entirely, and the way Petunia fell nervously silent after all her blustering was actually a little terrifying. He saw it in the way the father reached up to smooth down what was left of his hair, there was a thin line and the janitor was standing directly on it.
Admittedly a little scared of what would happen, but needing to warrant a lifetime ban to keep him as far away from Gregory as possible, Ben didn't just step over the line. He tap-danced over it.

"I think your son is probably happier wherever he is now."

Harvey removed his glasses with a shaky hand. He'd had enough of the disobedient man who wouldn't take him to his son. He'd grown far too tired of naughty boys who wouldn't do as they were told.

"I don't think you deserve your son bac-"

Ben's head snapped to the side in an instant, blood spraying from his nose as a fist struck him hard.

A rumbling bellow sounded off behind him, and everything fell into chaos.

Chapter Text

It took less than a second after the punch landed for everything to fall into chaos. There was a bellowing roar and the sound of something being thrown from the other end of the room that sent the guests into a confused and scattered trample in every direction, blocking the approaching daytime security teams from being able to reach the Check-In desk.
Roxy, Chica and even Foxy didn't waste another second and threw themselves onto Montgomery's frame, barely restraining him from going on a rampage and possibly trampling somebody in his blind haste to defend his partner.
Freddy froze up midway through guiding a guest at the choking sounds Gregory was making through inside his chest cavity, the violence pushing the boy over the edge and into a panic attack.
And in the centre of the chaos a tall and gaunt man straddled the janitor's stomach, hands wrapped tightly around his throat despite the stampede surrounding them. His wife yowled and stumbled behind his back, tossed around like a loose pebble in all the commotion.

Ben choked out a growl as he gripped the man's wrists, blinking away the blood that ran from his broken nose and dripped back over his face. Mission accomplished, he'd stepped over the line and gotten what he was looking for, but he wasn't feeling victorious in the slightest. Wide blue-grey eyes rolled up behind a pair of cracked sunglasses as he fought for oxygen, his disoriented limbs barely pushing Harvey's hands away enough to get a single breath in the struggle.
The Atrium was in chaos, from what his overwhelmed senses could tell. Noise everywhere and people scattering in every direction with no sign of the security he pinged for.

Running out of oxygen and unable to dislodge the man on top of him, there was a cold chill in Ben's heart that truly believed he might die there in the panic and rush. It was almost insulting that after everything he'd been through over the months, that he could still die from something as normal as a human. The realisation was as humbling as it was horrifying for the aching man on the ground.

But whether it was by impeccable aim or simply by pure fate, his partner came through for him once again.

A whistling Wet Floor Bot flew through the air like a rectangular pelican, the metal of its side crushed in a fist-shaped dent. Ben's bloodshot eyes traced its path up over the crowds and directly into the ribcage of the man on top of him. The man's cry of pain was like the finest music to his ears as he gasped oxygen back into his lungs, the janitor kicking away his assailant and rolling onto his side with a heavy wheeze.
Horrified at almost dying in a gaudy pizza place again, Ben didn't hesitate a second longer and finally smacked his hand onto his Fazwatch.
"Hello, this is Kevin Stilton speaking?"
"KEVIN," Ben croaked out a roar, his voice slightly nasally from his crooked nose. Blue-grey eyes widened in panic, catching Harvey's as he rose to his hands and knees. "We have a major situation here, the Atrium is a goddamn fucking mess!"

There was a wet slapping sound on the other end of the call, followed by a splash of water and the quiet squeak of a rubber toy before Kevin's voice returned to him.
"Sorry, what did you say? You caught me right in the middle of a bath. I finally got those new vanilla and coco butter bath-bombs I told you about, and they-"
"A- A bubble bath?! Kevin! Kevin, the- the fucking birthday cakes are on fire!" Ben shrieked indignantly into the receiver, momentarily distracted as an abandoned birthday buffet table went up in red smoke along with its forgotten cake candles, causing even further panic as the flames began to spread. Harvey's red face creeping into his line of vision quickly brought the dazed man back to matter at hand and he lowered his voice into a lowest tone he could muster.
"The parents are in the Atrium, and they're making a huge fucking scene about their missing kid. You're gonna have to send them in, it's urgent and people are gonna get hurt."
"Oh jeez-"
There was a rapid tapping of wet feet on tiled floor, a watery squeak, and finally a sigh.
"I've just contacted him, your Fazbear operative is inbound!"

Kevin's friendly attitude was decidedly unfitting to his situation as a long shadow loomed over Ben's collapsed form on the linoleum. Hearing the grunt before he saw the movement, Ben rolled aside and scrambled away just as Harvey's large shoe came down directly where his head had been. What composure the man had been holding onto was long gone by now, red in the face and comb-over askew in every direction except the right one. He glared at Ben with loathing, as though he was the sole source of all his problems. In a way, Ben supposed that was correct at this point.

"You… You can't just do as you're told, can you? That's all I ask of people, the one thing I ask! Do. As. You. Are. Told!" Harvey spat at him, drawing an unexpected flinch from his shrinking wife with each sharp word. "I told you, just do as I say, and we all go home happy. Don't you want to make everyone happy here? Don't you want to be happy?"
"Even if I did know where your son was," Ben started hesitantly, forcing himself to move and keep his distance from the unhinged man. "I wouldn't be happy letting him leave with you, not after all this. You- you fucking strangled me!"
"-Because you wouldn't listen!" Harvey hissed right back through gritted teeth, as though infuriated that Ben couldn't figure that out for himself. "If you'd have just done as you were told, I wouldn't have to hurt you. If you-"

Ben stopped breathing.
"Is that what you told Gre- your son?" Adrenaline pumped through his veins like venom as his brain caught up with what he'd just heard. "Every time you hit him, you made your abuse his fault? Is that what you told him?"

From across the greeting area, Freddy's entire body paused in mid-movement.

"The boy needed discipline!" His moustache quivered with his upper lip with each sick word that left him. "Ever since his mother died, he'd been difficult with me. I couldn't- I couldn't take it anymore! I'd lost… Everything when she died! I just needed control, but he just-! He got even worse when Petunia came into the picture… He just wouldn't listen!"
Harvey's hands gripped his hair like a vice, almost tearing out what little he had left as he foamed in front of the younger man. Petunia had almost buckled in on herself to get away from him, the implications of her fear making Ben's skin crawl with a toxic mix of caution and anger.

It was clear to any that could hear his rambling that the man wasn't stable, likely hadn't been for a long time. The fact that Gregory had been left alone for god knew how long, with a man that turned to violence in a matter of seconds was a horror story come to life. The janitor's thoughts turned nothing less than feral as he looked at the couple in a new and much dimmer light. Setting his shoulders, Ben could almost hear the harsh 'thud' of his heartbeat as he prepared to beat a grown man's ass in front of hall full of children.
Except that wasn't Ben's heartbeat.

Glancing over his shoulder ever so briefly, Ben's very soul dropped through his stomach and out from under his boots.

Freddy's footsteps were rigid as they carried him toward Gregory's birth father. His large form stuttering as though it couldn't decide whether to move or not as it came closer, programming errors warring for control between keeping Gregory safely away and terminating his threat entirely. Despite this, the singer was still gentle as he parted the crowd with a single hand, protocols enforcing the guests' safety even as he broke down. The look on the bear's face, however, promised no such gentleness for Harvey. A deep crease in his snout gave away his emotions, surprisingly sharp canines bared in a way Ben had only previously seen on Monty and occasionally Roxanne. It was a look of genuine aggression that Ben wasn't sure he could talk him down from.

In that moment, Freddy was dangerous.

Another loud crash rang out, followed by three resounding yelps that startled the guests all over again, none able to clearly tell what was going on as a metallic hissing filled the greeting area. Ben barely had to turn his head before he spotted his favourite bass player. Towering high over every human in the room, he had thrown off the other performers that held him in a Herculean effort, and was already on the move.
With his jaws wide open and a devil-red glower unhidden by his iconic shades, Montgomery Gator looked more like a movie monster than any kind of entertainer. Ben's eyes widened, brow furrowing in concern as Monty stepped through a shadow, the darkness briefly revealing an alarming amount of steam escaping the seething machine as he stomped a straight bee-line to the Check-In desk.

The janitor's already pale face blanched as he looked between the two approaching mechs. Unable to stop them both and still half-choking on his own battered throat, the man couldn't help but ask himself why it was always him that got in the middle of these situations.

A stampede of guests was one thing, a violent and abusive parent was another, but there was no way in hell that Ben could bullshit a good enough explanation for two of the Pizzaplex's star performers butchering a customer in the middle of their performance hall. He couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of panic Gregory was going through in Freddy's stomach hatch by now, his guardian clearly not of sound mind as he brought them both closer to the object of his fears.

Running a distressed hand through his short hair, Ben was so caught up in the latest problem that he barely even noticed that Harvey was still monologuing; the rude disregard of his excuses for his abuse only serving to enrage the already dangerous man even further.
"You can't keep me from my son!" The older man's yell cut through the panicked cotton in Ben's ears, a pained grunt escaping him when another fist clipped his jaw. "I won't let you influence him, trying to my boy's love away from me! He can still be a good boy, he just needs some discipline and I'll make him what he needs to be! Just what my wife and I wanted for him, a good, obedient boy!"

A mechanical bellow erupted as he toppled to one knee, almost vibrating the floor beneath under his hands. Glancing over his shoulder, Ben's jaw dropped slightly at the state Montgomery had worked himself into at seeing his human injured. Was it just him, Ben noticed in a panic, or were they both moving faster?

The thought didn't help his panic, the spiralling situation now having far more to worry about than just the violent excuse for a parent in front of him. Every word said and aggressive gesture made seemed to strike directly at the animatronics' overheated circuitry, the usually docile bear flexing out his dulled claws like someone had swapped out his personality for the equally intense alligator across the hall. Ben turned pleading eyes to the rest of the band that scrambled after Monty's shadow, the three performers trying to weave around the guests that scrambled away from Monty's menacing presence.
He could barely see Chica's beak moving as they went, likely spitting every Fazbear-approved curse under the sun at the awful turn the day had taken. There was no way any of them would catch up in time to prevent the bear or gator doing something they would regret. Not sure what he'd say if they could hear him anyway, Ben scrambled his brain for any sort of foothold in the rapidly approaching disaster. Stuck between a rock, a hard place and an even harder rock, Ben was ripped from his thoughts by a pair of screeching wheels above his head.

"Take."
"… Oh for god's sake," Ben threw his hands up in defeat as Map Bot waved him down from the second floor balcony, clearly trying to say something. "What is it now, Map?!"
"Take a map. Take… Map."
"'He's here'? Who's here?"
"Map."
Harold heaved in front of the janitor, clenching his fists in angry confusion. He could only watch the random interaction play out in front of him like a sitcom, forgotten once again as the target of all his anger slid his comically large sunglasses down the crooked bridge of his nose. Peering over the star-shaped lenses, the janitor raised his brows at the machine's blank expression.
"Who?"

The tension broke like a clap of thunder as harmonised sirens pierced the air.

Uncountable rows of Security Bots flew out of every staff door in the Atrium, more efficient than he'd ever seen them at night as they rounded up the trampling guests to a slow halt. The trapped daytime security guards slowly bobbed their way toward the edge of the crowds, assuring guests and promising compensation as they were finally able to do their jobs without being crushed. No less than five of the Bots skidded to a halt around Gregory's birth father, Petunia darting to his side like a well-behaved pet so she could throw unheard complaints at the blank-faced guards. A few of them even split off to tackle the still-flaming birthday table near the stage area.

The shock of the sirens and movement seems to give the animatronics pause as well, Freddy halting his approach just before the stairs that led to the Check-In desk. The bear stared around at the other Bots, eyes flicking between them randomly while they glided along their pathed routes. The distraction mercifully put him off his approach, the chaos calming around him apparently allowing his protocols to reset and remember himself. Something like guilt flickered across the large singer's face, his ears drooping and claws lowering to hover at his chestplates hesitantly. The tall man couldn't help but frown as Freddy quietly spoke to thin air, uncle-brain worrying about the youngest member of their troop.
Thankfully Chica, Roxanne and Foxy appeared less hectic as well, optics scanning the children around them for injuries as their own protocols demanded before turning back to check on their human friend. Ben met Foxy's eye, the captain scanning over his broken nose and bruised throat with a creasing scowl of his own. He tried to wave the fox's concern away, but was interrupted by his sudden shocked holler of 'O' Hell's bells!', and a hook pointing to the janitor's left.

Following his gawking expression, an almost perfect impersonation of the Wilhelm scream escaped Ben's lungs at the blurred sight of Monty still charging towards the Check-In desk like a runaway train. Under the frightened eyes of at least three hundred guests, the janitor didn't dare waste a second. Limbs moving long before his brain did, Ben launched himself in front of the seething alligator like an idiot. It was only a second before they collided, that his brain helpfully remembered that his partner was at least twice his size, and well over three times his weight.
Slamming both of his outstretched hands on the almost burning hot chest plate with a groan, Ben felt a strange sense of déjà vu as he planted his feet. Just as the hulking alligator bent him like a pretzel during their arm wrestle, his entire body weight barely did anything to slow his unfaltering pace now. Annoyingly, Monty didn't even bother to register who was in his way, molten glare fixated on the reddened features of the creep who dared lay hands on his favourite person in the world.

"Montgomery! Mont-gom-ery-!" His voice wheezed out hoarsely, snaring his full attention instantly. Montgomery looked down, surprised to see his odd companion squashed against his chestplate like a bug on a windshield. Spotting the awkward way his legs skidded along the floor like a pair of failing brakes, Monty choked on a hiss and hastily slowed his pace.
The tired janitor heaved a relieved gasp at the painful friction leaving his shins, almost collapsing on his ass when his partner finally came to a complete stop.
"The heck you doin' down there-"
"-You… are banned… from running… Forever."

Ben took a moment to catch his breath, the sound nasally and frail as air travelled through his cracked nose and tenderised windpipe. The gator was utterly still, silently watching him struggle to breathe. Each hitched gasp for oxygen steadily fuelling his infamous temper into its previous inferno.
"Calm the f- heck down right now." Ben wheezed, catching the bright glow of his eyes. "You're gonna overheat, you great prat."
"He put his hands on you." Monty couldn't look at his face as he rumbled his reply, unable to process the blood on his skin without going haywire all over again.
"I'm aware, surprisingly," The shorter male tried for humour, his usual fall back for when emotions ran too high. "And if he ever shows up here again, I'm gonna put one of your golf clubs on him." He felt slightly put out when Monty refused to say anything else, stubbornly silent as steam rose from the gaps in his shell.

Realising that words were about as useless as a chocolate teapot when the bass player was still in his mental danger-zone, Ben changed tactics to focus his remaining energy on a physical distraction before the gator broke himself or ruined his tentatively improving reputation all over again. He wrapped his arms tighter around his heavy head and pulled until the stubborn giant reluctantly moved with him, the bigger male not wanting to accidentally hurt him further by resisting.
Ignoring the metal's uncomfortable heat, the tall man half-forced the even taller gator into a hunched position with his long snout pressed into the centre of his ribcage. It was an awkward position, especially in such a public setting; but it was the only way Ben could maintain a strong hold of his still snarling jaws while keeping his own damaged face from his line of sight.

If he was honest with himself, Ben didn't want Monty seeing him all beaten up either. After all they'd taken on and survived together it felt almost shameful to be injured so easily in comparison to his burly friend. Human or not, getting his ass beaten by a regular guy felt almost embarrassing after fist fighting an undead serial killer and his fursuiting accomplice.

Monty thrashed his long tail in agitation as he fought the errors in his programming, aggression and protectiveness warring for dominance in his code. His frustrated movements jostled them both, the giant's nose pressing harder into his favourite human's chest and nearly knocking the man off his feet before he managed to stabilise himself.
Unable to see his partner's familiar face from the awkward angle, the gator forgoed any kind of subtlety and simulated a deep breath to calm himself. Familiar chocolate and some kind of woody-scent soothed his sensors and slowed his cooling system from its agitated whirring.
"Quit sniffing me, I can hear you doing it. You do know you're not a real alligator, right?"
"… You smell like s-***."
There was a pregnant pause, then a quiet tutting noise.
"Now that was just unkind."
Relaxing with the slightly forced banter, Monty closed his eyes and leaned slightly into Ben's hand as it idly ran back and forth along the gator's jaw. His obliviousness amusing even in this situation, Monty doubted the man was even aware of what he was doing. An endeared smirk hid behind his jaws as the gator listened intently, quiet comforting mumbles and shushing sounds an afterthought in his human's mouth as he stared around the quieting concert hall.

The soft rumbling purr from the larger male's voice box went unheard as an elevator dinged, and loud tapping footsteps echoed from the second floor balcony.

As though the sound was some kind of trigger for them, the Security Bots began evacuating guests and staff alike in the unique choreography that only the Staff Bots could pull off. Never colliding, never slowing and never faltering, the Security Bots twisted and glided past each other as they guided guests from the Atrium to first aid stations or quieter sections of the Pizzaplex. The daytime security team weren't far behind the frazzled guests, tablets and walkie-talkies appearing in their hands during the well-practiced transition into 'Damage Control' mode.

Ben spotted Lola across the hall as she was shepherded away with the other kiosk crew, the teenager clearly wanting to tell him something but thinking better of it when she glanced at the behemoth that smothered his torso. Waving her off, Ben gave her a nod that said they'd catch up later as she disappeared into a staff door. The final dregs of his adrenaline slipped away with the rest of the emptying concert hall, and Ben had to force himself to keep his exhausted thoughts on his priorities.

Priority number one was currently planted face first in his overalls, so that was fine.
Other priority number one was-

Ben's head snapped towards Freddy, relieved to see the rest of the band safely on their way back to Rockstar Row, Gregory safely in tow. God only knew what kind of therapy the poor boy was going to need after this, but for the moment, he was as safe as could be. The only exception to the group was Foxy, who was petulantly sulking back to his designated spot in Kid's Cove under the suspicious eyes of the Bots. Ben didn't doubt the captain would weasel his way back into one of the Green Rooms within the hour.
Deflating slightly with the release of tension, Ben wasn't alarmed as a pair of Security Bots approached him and his partner as well, most likely to collect the almost dazed lump of green metal in front of him.

Hearing the detained parents being loudly escorted towards the escalators behind him, Ben knew he had to follow quickly in order to meet whoever had been 'deployed' by Kevin. The worst was over, but his work wasn't done yet.

"I've gotta go sort this mess out," The janitor told the gator quietly. "You head back to Rockstar Row, and check on the kid for me, would you?"
Tapping a finger against his old partner's jaw to alert him, he gently released his grip to let the giant raise his head back up to his full height with a nod. Something flickered in Monty's eyes when they skimmed over the shorter man's face, gentle in a way his large hand unfortunately wasn't as it unknowingly gripped the man's bruising jaw and turned his face from side to side. There was a deep rumble of dissatisfaction as the alligator took in his bloody face and crooked nose, bruises already fading into view on his friction burned throat.
"When you're done up there, you come to me." Montgomery demanded, no hint of a request in his words. "Ain't nobody else puttin' hands on you tonight but me."

Taken aback by the oddly territorial note in his voice, Ben's tired brain wasn't quite prepared for the also awkward but very careful scrape of the gator's claws against his scalp, the brute trying to mimic his own comforting touch as best he could with lethal claws. Tired, overwhelmed and with a bit of a weak spot for having his hair played with, Ben mindlessly leaned into the feeling with a pleased grumble. His stressed thoughts stilled for a brief moment, shamelessly enjoying the sensation before remembering exactly who he was stood in front of.
"Uh." Ben pretended he wasn't there as the gator blinked back at him in surprise before his jaws split into a slowly growing smirk.
"Did you-"
"I'll-see-you-later-Monty-be-good-don't-break-any-Staff-Bots-we-owe-them-at-least-three-life-debts-by-now!"

Monty's long snout tracked the flustered man, watching him speed-walk over to the escalator, almost trip on the still whistling Wet Floor Bot that laid on the ground, and shoot him an embarrassed look before hurrying up the automated staircase. Turning his eyes from the second floor balcony down to his large claws, Monty slowly mimicked the gentled scratching motion he'd done moments before in consideration. Head tilting, he didn't put up a fight as the Security Bots led him away, jaw still unhinged in an ominous, downright evil grin at the memory of his partner's red face.

X

Ben wasn't sure what he expected to see as his eyes rose over the lip of the second level floor, but a unique looking Staff-Bot looming over Gregory's birth parents with what looked to be several legal documents certainly wasn't it. The whole scene felt tense, as though he'd just missed a huge bombshell that had rocked the entire second floor. Raising a brow at Harvey's no longer red but very pale face, Ben turned his gaze to the unusual Staff Bot.
The Staff-Bot was made up of almost entirely black metal, with a single upside triangle of white at its throat. The funky little blue tie it wore implied the design was meant to resemble a suit, though the square, blacked-out shades over its optics gave it more of a bodyguard look than anything else. It also appeared to be a little taller than an average Staff-Bot, which if Ben didn't know any better, felt almost like an intimidation tactic. Actually, Ben amended, that was probably correct knowing Fazbear Entertainment.

"Hey," Ben nudged the idling Map-Bot beside him, absentmindedly taking the map that brushed against his knuckle. He had a small hoard of maps next to every one of his hammocks at this point, and the pile would only grow over the coming years. "Who's your friend over there?"
"Map. A Map."
"Legal-Bot? That's a new one."
Ben looked over the new addition again, recognising the wide slots and hatches for paperwork and documents now that he had context. Surrounded by a pack of diligent Security-Bots, he felt confident enough to ignore the frothing glower Harvey turned on him when he spoke up. The man had come unhinged again, but in a different way than before. He looked like the floor had been swept out from under his feet, rather than boiled alive in his own anger. Ben still didn't know what had happened before his arrived, but anything that upset the bastard that much was just fine by him.

"Take a map."
"Oh, he's not new? So why haven't I seen Legal-Bot around before?"
"That would be because this machine did not come from this establishment."

The bones in his neck audibly cracked as Ben's head spun to face the new voice. His eyes locked onto a tall figure that stood at the wall across from him, almost hidden in the heavy shadows formed by the low lighting. The figure stepped out into the light before he could reply, revealing himself to be a slim and gaunt-looking man.
If Ben was truly honest with himself, he knew his first thought upon seeing the man had been 'Dracula'. With his thin, pale face and his icy grey eyes, the man could have walked straight from the morgue. Matching the Legal-Bot, he also wore a suit. Slim-fit, which definitely didn't help his eerily narrow silhouette with a bold, blood red tie at the base of his throat. He was perhaps the single creepiest man that Ben had ever seen in his life.

"I see you have finished reading over the documents provided. Would you return them to me, please?" The vampire-man directed his attention to the slightly cowering couple in the middle of the floor, almost luminous eyes latching onto the papers the Bot handed him like a spider's bite.
Ben turned the interaction over in his head, realising that the vampire had been the one to give them the paper, and not the Legal-Bot. His face crumpled a bit, since that meant the creepy guy had deliberately hidden away on the other side of the room to make a more dramatic entrance. Yet oddly enough, knowing this didn't lessen the ominous impact it had made. Sensing eyes on him again, Ben quickly fixed his expression and focussed his attention on the stranger.

"It is unfortunate that I must appear today, so close to the holiest of holidays." The man said almost musically, the silky lilt of his tone not at all sincere. "But as situations arise, we mustn't spare a moment to allow any potential risks to get out of hand."
His befuddlement over the cryptic statement must have shown on his face, for the stranger turned to fully address Ben then.
"I was summoned by your manager, a Mr Kevin Stilton? I am Jonathan Crowe, an Executive Attorney of Fazbear Entertainment and I was called in on account of…"
The man paused to glance over the documents in his hands, though his eyes didn't move over the text at all.
"Ah yes… Accusations of child endangerment in a Fazbear owned establishment."

Oh, fuck.

Mr Crowe seemed to revel in Ben's involuntary jolt of shock, intimidation suddenly plain to see on the Briton's face that was mirrored by Gregory's birth parents. Ben could definitely understand why. This was NOT your garden variety Fazbear Lawyer that handled workplace injuries or petty crime. It wasn't even a senior attorney that handled cases like Ben's, where a customer is attacked by the animatronics. Ben vaguely remembered the sweaty briefcase-wielding man from that night months ago, shaking his head slightly at the comparison.

Oh, no. This wasn't just a Fazbear lawyer. This was THE Fazbear lawyer.

This was the one who got called when the words 'missing' and 'children' came up, who made every lawsuit and trending social media campaign disappear almost as soon as they appear. The same one that systematically bankrupted hundreds, if not thousands of would-be claimants in cases of 'child endangerment' or deaths on company property. Notoriously cut-throat and unrelenting in their brutality, they were infamous for going straight for the jugular in counter suits and had ruined countless lives in doing so.

Because of this, it was very well known to anyone remotely involved with Fazbear Entertainment or the Mega Pizzaplex, that a visit from the Executive Attorney was essentially a long-term death sentence. For your life prospects, at least. There was even an inside joke about it in the Pizzaplex, that a Fazbear attorney would be the last thing you saw before you died, as travel expenses for your eternal soul weren't covered under your contract.
No really, that was actually a stipulation written in the employee contracts.

Ben looked at the documents clutched in Crowe's cold hand in a new, eerier light. If an Executive Attorney was here, then…

"You- You can't do this to us!" Petunia suddenly wailed from her husband's side, the pathetic warbling in her previously screechy tone making it difficult for Ben to sympathise with her. "We were just looking for our baby!"
"Surely, just- Just looking for our son can't warrant this, sir?" Harvey spoke up, gripping his wife's upper arm to silence her like a misbehaving pet. "We aren't looking to sue, we just wanted our son! Surely you can understand that-?"
"Be that as it may," Crowe swept aside their pleas like a gust of winter wind, with no care for who froze in the chill. "The incident that took place in our Mega Pizzaplex today has resulted in extensive damage to the reputation and property of Fazbear Entertainment. I can go over them for you again, if you'd like… Excuse me."

Ben wondered if the man enjoyed tormenting his victims, leaning a little closer to Map-Bot as Crowe skimmed over the legal text again, the paper-cut smile on his lips contrasting the terrified looks the couple gave his documents.

"Ahhh, yes. Here we are. Damages include, but are not limited to…" Silvery grey eyes snapped up from the page and bored into the cowering couple, pinning them in place like a scorpion's stinger. "Disruption of the scheduled performance and daily routine of animatronic performers, disturbing the peace of our customers, abusive language in our family-friendly establishment towards staff and guests… Ah, instigating a hazardous panic in our family-friendly establishment, damage to property not owned or purchased, including a patented Fazbear Birthday Buffet™ table and a severely damaged Wet Floor Bot-"
"Those weren't even us!" Petunia lashed out, uselessly swatting the air with her hands. "Half of that was your fucking broken robots, you can't pin that bullshit on us-!"
Seemingly understanding the situation better than she did, Harvey tightened his grip until it was bruising, his wife withering into quick silence. The damage was done however, and the vampire-esque attorney seemed to smile a little wider.
"Can't I?" He asked innocently, his silk-spun voice dripping with barely concealed venom. Shuddering, Ben shared a slightly horrified side-eye with Map-Bot, the pair of them backing away subtly. The lawyer didn't even spare them a glance.

"Stay right where you are, if you please, Janitor. I have use for you yet."
The 'janitor' whose name was apparently not worth learning, swallowed back a choked yelp and reluctantly returned to his spot. Diligently, Map-Bot wheeled back to his side without hesitation. For the first time since he'd met the Bot, Ben suddenly noticed it was actually a fair bit taller than him.

A fact that was made even more apparent when Crowe waved forward his own Bot, the larger machine nearly reaching Monty's height as it rapidly approached the nervous man.
"Uh-"
He didn't get a chance to speak before the Legal-Bot was upon him, firmly setting his head in a forward-facing position before lowering its own face to be level with him. Without a second wasted, its sunglasses suddenly flipped up and away from its optics, revealing an extremely unsettling pair of black, hollow camera lenses. The shades suddenly made a lot more sense to Ben.
He tried to jerk back at the sudden flash of bright light that erupted in front of his face, but he was already being moved once more. He endured another flash in his eyes, this time with his face in profile before his chin was lifted to bare his damaged throat for yet another.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Crowe threw the words his way like litter, already forgetting the man was there as he spun another web around his prey. "It is important that we gather all documentation as quickly as possible, including photographic evidence of damaged property."
There was a pause as Ben stared at the man in silence.
"… Oh yes, and staff." Disregarding the casual implication of human workers being property, the attorney continued his gleeful dissection of the married pair's misfortune. "Which of course, leads us to the final items on the docket… Assault of a Fazbear employee, and damaging the reputation of Fazbear Entertainment with public accusations of child endangerment within the establishment or staff team."
The man only continued from there, cutting off every protest with ease and weaving a detailed web of entrapment and legal wordplay; the cat gleefully telling the mice of all the ways he would rip them to pieces long before it actually happened. It wasn't lost on Ben that if he'd argued back all those months ago, demanded justice when 'Vanny' had been hidden away in therapy instead of prison, this would have been him. Torn apart by a spider in a suit, his life ruined with a few pieces of paper. Thank god for his laziness, Ben reflected in silence.

By the time Crowe had finished, Petunia and Harvey looked as though they'd already died. Even from his distance, Ben could see how clammy and pale their skin had become, Harvey's comb-over more askew than ever. Clearly pleased with his results, the attorney straightened up with a thin-lipped smile and a light tap of his fingers on the paper they held.
"Now then, with this settled I will take my leave to prepare for the upcoming court case. Janitor, you may return to your duties. The S.T.A.F.F will escort our guests to a patrol car that is waiting at the front entrance. I am already quite sure that you do not need me to tell you, but you are both permanently banned from the establishment from this day forward."

With that, the slender man turned on the spot and made his way back towards the elevators, the Legal-Bot right at his heels. Ben had never been so relieved that someone didn't know his name.

The moment the attorney disappeared behind the elevator's metal doors, the Security Bots were back in action. It was the first time Ben had ever seen them have to physically touch a human being before, but it was definitely necessary when Petunia went absolutely feral.
"You mother fuckers!" She spat at the walls, cursing the entire building and kicking her legs at the expressionless Bots around her. "You can't do this to me! You'll ruin me!"
The Bots didn't react to her words, not even tilting their heads as they did when Ben would say hello in passing. Instead, one used its admittedly large size to their advantage, inhuman hands firmly circling the rabid woman's wrists and holding them behind her back like handcuffs. The spectacle was so surprising, that the janitor almost forgot he was involved with the situation until Map-Bot suddenly moved.

Its mechanical hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him back slightly, just barely avoiding a glob of saliva that had been aimed at his eyes. Grimacing in disgust, Ben's attention was drawn to Harvey and the dilapidated remains of his self-control.
The man was, as the kids say, going apeshit.
Any scrap of control the man might have had over himself and his situation had been methodically picked apart and devoured during the encounter. It hadn't taken long for the lawyer to detect his obsession with having control, the weakness like blood in the water. It was evident that the man wasn't handling it well.
He thrashed in the grasp of three Bots, though unlike his wife he wasn't attacking them. He was desperately fighting to lunge at Ben. He could see it in his face, the bloodshot whites of his eyes as bright as his bared teeth; Harvey blamed Ben for everything that was happening to him.
"You aren't getting away with this." Harvey murmured like a man possessed, a line of drool streaking from the corner of his mouth. "That boy is all I got, and I'll have him back. I'll kill you, if that's what it takes."

Ben was frozen, trapped in the hostile gaze that penetrated every safe feeling the Pizzaplex gave him. He knew he meant it, and it shook him. Harvey truly wanted to see him dead.
The situation wasn't exactly new to the man, but there was something more 'real' to it this time. This wasn't a hacked animatronic or a murder rabbit, supposedly possessed by bunny Satan, nor was it actually bunny Satan. There was no secret hidden story this time. This was just a regular man he could have met on the street, and he wanted him dead.
Map Bot whirled beside him in question, its head tilting at the deranged shouting ringing out around them. Ben emerged from his thoughts just in time to lock eyes with Harvey one last time before the elevator doors separated them.

"Something bad is gonna happen to you now, boy." Harvey promised him. "You're gonna get what you deserve."

After all the noise, the panic from the crowd and the foaming screams of Gregory's 'parents', the Atrium suddenly felt far too silent. Ben stood by the second floor balcony quietly, brain barely able to process the impossible events of the afternoon. A nudge at his side helped ground him, the tall man gingerly taking another map from his companion.
"Take a map."
"Yeah… You said it. Fuck me."

Chapter Text

"Alright, I don't like you and you don't like me. But we're both here for the same thing-"
"But I do like you, Ben!" Chica insisted, throwing off his dramatic opening.
"Gh- But- Chica! You're throwing off my groove!" Ben whined from his crouched position under a dusty Food Court table, the captain snickering beside him.

It was the dusk of winter and the dawn of spring, and romance was everywhere in the Pizzaplex. Couples giggled and whispered, wrapped around each other in whirlwinds of doe eyes and colliding lips. Children shyly tugged at each other's clothes, many a chocolate bar offered to their young crushes in favour of words. It was a world of reds and pinks, warm cheeks and warmer hearts, just in time for Valentine's Day.

A day of love for most. But for Ben, it was a day of opportunity.

Hidden away in a kitchen store room, he clapped a hand on his accomplices' shoulders. Chica, whose goals aligned with his own and Foxy, who was joining in just for the fun of it.
Operation: Dinner For One was in progress.
"Happens every year, me boy." Foxy started off, acting as scout and intelligence officer for their troop. "Valentines rolls in like plague o' scurvy on a stranded crew, an' ol' Fazbear sets sail to pedal their snake oil by the barrel-full!"
Ben and Chica nodded in perfect synchronisation, taking in the information as though it were vital military intelligence.
"Bucket loads o' treasures, rich and silky, just ripe for the takin'! Only problem be… Once those barrels hit the decks, they'll be far beyond our rusty paws."
"We'll have to strike on the move, then." Ben agreed solemnly, wishing it hadn't come to this. "Where are our entry points?"

Chica took over then, navigator and tracking specialist for this operation. With her other-worldly sixth sense for finding food, they needed her nose on the ground for this operation.
"The Staff Bots will be bringing in shipments here," She pointed to the dock near the kitchens. "And transporting each crate to the gift shops here, here and… Here."
"We'll strike here, just as they leave the dock." Ben decided, leading the operation. "If we wait too long, we'll have to navigate the public hallways. It's too high of a risk."
"We can use the high shelves to our advantage!" Chica chirped, finger and thumb stroking her lower beak.
"And then we get the drop on those scallywags!" Foxy finished with a swing of his hook.

"Sounds like a plan, let's get to it."
"Hooray! This will be so fun!"
"I call the biggest share o' the booty!"

X

Monty glanced around him in utter disgust. Everywhere he looked, humans were rubbing against each other, hands groping and lips smacking. The usually aesthetically pleasing walls were coating in pink and red garbage, hearts and fluff and cartoon Cupids. It was enough to make him heave, if he had a stomach. He'd already had to re-do four meet & greets that day, couples complaining that he kept making retching motions whenever they kissed during the photo sessions. One couple had even tried to get him in on the action!

Monty sneered out a shudder at the thought. Kissing was a disgusting thing, human mouths wiping against his plates? Not a chance.
The gator privately vowed to never let his standards drop that low, even if he was the last animatronic bass-playing alligator on Earth.

Wait…

Shaking off his wandering thoughts, Monty stepped away from his spot in the Monty Golf lobby, idly wandering around in hopes that someone would come up for an autograph. With Valentine's Day in full swing, normal schedules were replaced with special 'couples day' themes, which left him with little to do. Strangely enough, most of the day's events actually circled around Freddy, Roxanne and of all people, DJ Music Man.
Monty glanced upwards, powerful sensors detecting the slow, romantic music even through multiple floors. The beat was far too slow for Monty's taste, the lyrics embarrassingly mushy.

No sir, nobody was ever, ever going to catch Montgomery getting involved with the despicable behaviour going on around him. Not now, not then, not ever-

"Thank you for the chocolates, darling…"
A man's British accent caught his attention, pure habit at this point. A young man with curly hair, nothing like Ben at all, had him wilting in slight disappointment before their conversation continued on obliviously.
"However did you find my favourite kind? It must have taken you forever!"
"I ordered it special, just for you!" The American girl beside him simpered, doe eyes positively gooey as she smiled. Monty's mouth pulled down in disgust, but continued to listen in nosily. He knew a certain someone who liked chocolate too.
"Oh sweetheart!" The man oozed affection from every pore, smattering his girlfriend's face in quick kisses. "Something so lovely just can't go ignored, I'll have to give you something real special when we get home…"
"Oh, Edmund…" The girl swooned, and off then went in a puddle of ill-hidden PDA.

Cringing at the overload of touching and kisses, Monty turned away to escape the pink and fluffy nightmare once and for all. It was as he turned however, that his eye happened to catch onto something familiar. He approached the pink-sprinkled gift shop kiosk of his lobby, adjusting his sunglasses so he could get a closer look at the 'Limited Edition' shelf. Sitting on the second row was a luxury box of chocolates, unique to Monty Golf in that the chocolates were moulded into fat, flat little alligators. They even had little red-dyed chocolate Mohawks.

Ignoring the nervous looking kiosk worker than glanced up at him, Monty's processor whirred as he leaned in closer to inspect the shelf. He'd seen the same candy the day before, when he'd wandered through the redecorated area with Ben. He'd had been laughing at the man's indignant complaints over the décor, him having had to help the Staff Bots set it all up as a 'janitorial duty', when Ben had suddenly cut himself off with a gasp when he'd spotted the box.
"I would kill thirty men for those chocolates, Monty." He had told the alligator sincerely, meaning every word. "Look, they've got a fucking apple-flavour filling-! Nobody ever makes apple-filling!"

He hadn't thought much of it at the time, more focused on mocking his companion for his pathetic wiggling over a fruit filling. But now…

Monty's eyes zipped back over to the disgusting couple nearby, the man still pecking and stroking at his girlfriend's face while they shared his box of chocolates. He hadn't seen Ben all day, he realised. He'd completely dropped off the map after asking the gator if he'd seen Foxy that morning.
Monty's eyes narrowed, there was no way he was… Surely not. Monty was confident his favourite human had better taste than that, but he didn't trust the fox not to pull something just to piss the gator off. Without meaning to, Monty's eyes caught a pair of human lips meeting with a little too much passion. His eyes bulged in their sockets.

Absolutely not!

Monty's logical processors promptly packed up and clocked off at the thought. His devil-red eyes retracted into pinpricks as the mental image took hold, the massive reptile's jaw dropping in horror as the imaginary Ben and Foxy slid closer together. The fake-Foxy smirked over his shoulder at the bass player, shamelessly feeding HIS partner with little chocolate foxes. 'With strawberry filling!' Monty's thoughts provided unhelpfully.
A few customers paused in concern, a little worried over the steam escaping the immobile animatronic as he froze by the gift shop kiosk, staring out into nothingness. One brave woman even tried poking his arm, but Monty was lost to the real world.
He watched helplessly as fake-Ben ate his fake-chocolate, his expression hot and bothered in Monty's exaggerating imagination.
"What a delicious treat, Foxy-licious." Fake-Ben gasped in the customer boyfriend's voice, breathy and almost indecent. "Let me give you a rewaaaaaard…" Fake-Foxy, now boasting a six-pack and bulging biceps, swooped the chocolate-lusty man off his feet. He dipped the increasingly damsel-like human, who swooned daintily as the captain leaned in close-

"NOT. ON. MY. WATCH." Monty spat aloud, startling the small crowd of customers that had stopped to check on his steaming form. Visibly overheating, steam shot from his nostrils with each simulated breath, cheeks and snout starting to redden from the building heat in his headplates. Without another second of hesitation, the gator snatched a box from the gift shop shelf and marched straight out of the gator golf lobby.

He'd show him, Monty thought to himself as he hurried along, artificial lubrication systems in his jaw kicking in overtime as an emergency cooling protocol. A small line of drool slipped over the side of his jaw, followed by a few more with each step towards the Food Court area. Ben had mentioned he was going to the kitchens with Foxy, Monty remembered. Adjusting his course to the employee only doors, the bass player tried to shield his over-excitement from the guests and the increasingly nosy bear that tried to watch him from his Valentine's Day event.

He'd find him and steal him away easily, the gator goaded himself on. Montgomery was Ben's favourite after all. His tongue moved to swipe up a line of drool from his emergency overheating protocols, only to cause another line to spill over. That dumb fox probably didn't even get him chocolates, let alone his favourite flavour! Monty laughed loudly, competitively as he gleefully shook the slightly jostled box of alligator chocolates. He'd save his partner from that tired old sea-dog, and then… And THEN-

Monty paused, unsure what he actually wanted from the whole ordeal. But something about Ben being alone with that fox, on the day where humans rewarded shallow garbage like chocolate with gross human kisses was just…
Monty's eyes widened, synthetic drool dripping through his fangs all over again. He'd sooner pull his own legs off before letting Foxy receive such a 'reward' from HIS human… But… What if HE brought Ben chocolate first?

Images ran through his processor like a slideshow, Ben's unimpressed scowl during their daily bicker, that gross boyfriend pecking all over his girlfriend's face, feeding each other chocolates with gross, dewy, love-struck stares…

Monty's internals almost erupted into flame as the sudden swell of heat in his shell, a massive hand clamping over his very red face in embarrassment for even thinking about it. Attempting to pull himself together and failing, the enormous alligator hunched into the back halls of the kitchen with steam whistling from his seams like a tea kettle. Drool fell freely from his far too red face as he tried to justify his 'sacrifice' to himself. If he brought his human chocolates first, then he'd be saving him from having to 'reward' anybody else, which was definitely worth weathering one gross, human kiss.

Or maybe two. But only two. Maybe.

'Battle Plan' now put together in his head, Monty put on a semi-dignified face and set off to find his partner. Behind him, a Wet Floor Bot followed at a slow pace, its tiny mechanisms working hard to mop up the trail of drool the alligator left in his wake.

X

From atop the loading dock shelves, Ben waited in silence. Foxy crouched at his side, silent and focused as they watched a skeleton crew of Staff Bots carry a gigantic crate on a customised forklift. Both tensed and ducked away as a stray Bot glanced up, impatiently waiting for Chica's signal. This was their last chance, the other deliveries moving too quickly for them to get a hold of.

A cluck from the double doors below caught their attention, both males rotating their shoulders in anticipation for the plan to go off. The Staff Bots suspected nothing, directing the pink-labelled crate across the room towards the unpacking bay.

"Cameras?" Ben breathed almost silently, not looking away from the target.
"Sittin' pretty in Davy Jones' locker." Was the equally silent reply.

With a loud thud, Chica's cue arrived. The hen practically fell through the double doors on the other side of the room, clutching her head with a dizzy squawk. She made a dramatic show of stumbling to and fro, almost falling over once or twice.
"Oh, woe is me!" The guitarist announced mechanically, Foxy slapping a hook to his face up above. "I have hit my head! … And it hurts!"

Luckily the Staff Bots were as well-meaning as they were gullible, and quickly glided to her side to check for any damages. With a ready glance at each other, Ben and Foxy scurried down from the shelf and over to the forklift. Swiftly, the pair made quick work of unscrewing a few sections of the forklift's arms on one side, the machine visibly wobbling by the time the Bots lost interest in Chica's method acting. Heaving the shorter man up with a single hand, Foxy leapt back up to the shelf top just in time to avoid the returning crew.

The moment of truth was upon them. Ben and Foxy eyed the workers intently as they reactivated the forklift, a single Bot wheeling onto the customised flooring it had instead of chairs. Chica abandoned her tragic posing entirely to focus on their next moments.
Silence overtook the loading dock, with only the faint whirring of the forklift powering on to break it. The Staff Bot operating it lifted an arm, the trio leaned in, the machine moved and-

CRASH

One of the forklift's arms came loose, jostling the large crate and toppling it to the floor with a cacophonous noise. In less than a second, the trio swept in like the starving vultures they were.
"Oh no!" Ben cried, a better actor than Chica as he took in the dented and battered crate. "The contents are all ruined now!"
"There's no way we can sell these to the customers!" Chica chirped artificially, sounding like she was reading the script from a phonebook.
"Not to worry, lads! We'll clear these up for ye!" Foxy cut in, a natural liar as the Staff Bots nodded to him agreeably.
They kept up the act, waving in a cheerful manner as the Bots signed off the crate as 'damaged in transit' and left for their next duty. Ben's eyes watched the crew like a hawk, the last wheel not even fully out the door when he whirled on the spot to count their haul. One industrial crate, which meant eighteen bulk boxes of their treasure, each one carrying fifteen regular boxes. Nodding with a pleased grin, Ben glanced over his shoulder at his partners in crime.
"Let's get to it, before the clean-up crew arrives."

X

Monty was getting close, he could tell. He'd caught the scent of his partner a few halls back and had been tracking it further down the kitchen hallways ever since. Though what he and Foxy could possibly be doing in the dusty old storage rooms, he didn't know or even want to try thinking of, lest he overheat again. It had taken an embarrassing amount of time to calm his processors and stop his drooling, long enough that he'd accumulated three Wet Floor Bots before it had stopped.

Determined not to embarrass himself any further, Monty pressed onwards with his chocolate box clutched firmly in his claws. He'd had to check and double check his overheating hadn't melted them, but by sheer luck they'd made it through his episode. Their tiny Mohawks still shimmered a glossy red under the harsh lighting of the back hallways, drawing a smug smirk from the gator. Ben was gonna love them, way more than whatever that Fox might've had up his sleeve.

A clatter to his left signalled his destination, mumbles and laughs barely audible through the storage room door at the end of the hallway. Ruffled and feeling a little left out, Monty was quick to force himself through the door. Though as his eyes registered the other side, he found himself completely and utterly lost.
Stacks and stacks of Fazbear brand chocolate boxes lined every wall, every flavour and every colour. Ben stood towards the back, his lower half kicking about in the air as he dug his entire upper torso into a dented crate in the corner, loudly rambling on about the new flavours he kept finding. A few boxes of Freddy themed truffles were scattered across the dusty table Foxy sat at, the old captain kicking his feet up and jovially counting a few chocolate coins in his remaining hand. Monty felt a strange feeling of defeat as he stared at the towers of candy and sweets that surrounded the pair, Chica Chocolates, Freddy Truffles and even Roxy Ruby Chocolates. But none of Monty's.

Monty glanced down at the single box in his hand, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid for coming all the way down just to bring his dumb partner a dumb box of chocolates. Especially if the mangy old fox had gone and brought him a damn mountain, he couldn't hope to compete with that. His unknowingly eager face drooped into a low-spirited frown, turning without a word and leaving the store room again, tail scraping along the floor.
Foxy watched him go with a befuddled look, blinking when Ben popped up beside him and Chica reappeared from her deep dive to the bottom of the crate.
"They don't have a single one, it's ridiculous." Ben complained to himself, clearly ticked off as he folded his arms. He blinked at Foxy's look of mild surprise. "What?"
"T'was nothin', I suppose? Ol' Monts just wandered in, n' wandered right back out again lookin'-"
"Oh Monty's here?" The janitor perked up, sweeping around the fox with a brotherly pat to his shoulder. "I'm gonna go say hello, keep an eye on the hoard for us."
"Aye aye!" "You got it, sugar!"

Ben glanced back and forth along the back hallways, eyes lighting up once they landed on the retreating back that took up the entire hallway. Happy to see his closest companion after a busy morning and afternoon of probably illegal sabotage, the man cheerfully jogged after him.

"Monty, there you are!"
Monty's claws froze around the box he was about to throw against a wall in a fit of anger, petty thoughts and sulking put on hold when the familiar voice approached him from behind.
"What d'you want." He grumbled petulantly, the man's usual scent now ruined by all the chocolate the fox had gifted him.
"Uh, to say hello?" Ben snarked back, surprised at the unusually curt greeting. "Y'know, like I do every single other time I have ever seen you previously?"
"Figured you'd be too busy to say hi to me anymore," Monty sneered, telling himself he was annoyed at wasting his time coming all the way down, rather than the smoking jealousy under his shell. "Seein' as that fox got you all gifted up in a pretty lil' bow n' all."
"… I'm a pretty little what?" Ben gave the frankly baffling gator a long look of 'what the hell', before his eyes snagged on the box between his claws. "Oh, what've you got there?"

Monty jolted and went to hide his hand but it was too late. Ben weaved an arm around his wide torso, plucking the box from his fingers to inspect it nosily. Once his eyes registered what it was, they went wide with shock. Humiliated at being caught out, Monty's first instinct was to lash out defensively to protect his stinging pride and hurt feelings.
"Get y-"
"You found one!"

Monty blinked.

"… What-"
"Monty, you found one!" Ben outright cheered, doing an awkward little dad-dance on the spot as he looked over the box. "Foxy, Chica and I have been looking through the whole damn crate for a box of these, I couldn't find them anywhere!"
"Y-You were? Wait- Chica? When did she-"
"Oh, right." Ben paused his excitement to shoot the bassist a sheepish look, the other male entirely lost on what was going on. "Don't tell management… Or Freddy. But Chica, Foxy and I may or may not have… Come across an industrial crate of tragically unsellable chocolate and are helping to uh, clean it up."
"You mean you… But you told me you were lookin' for Foxy."
"I was, I needed someone sneaky to spy on the- to watch over the crates."
"But-But..?"

Monty's minor breakdown was swept aside instantly when the shorter male placed a hand on his arm, catching his attention.
"Did you come down here just to bring me these?" Ben taunted lightly, knowing any implication of going 'soft' would rile his partner up. True to form, Monty's shoulders squared and rose in his bluster, spouting denials and mean little jabs to defend his pride.
"Sure, sure man, whatever you say." The janitor eased up on his teasing, rising onto his toes so he could throw an arm over the unusually warm gator's shoulders in gratitude. "Thanks for finding these, mate! You even remembered the apple ones were my favourites!"

In an absentminded indulgence of affection, Ben didn't think twice as he planted an easy kiss on the gator's cheek. Quick and gentle, but there.
"That can be your reward for a Valentine's well-done, Monty!" Ben laughed at his own joke before heading back to the store room with a wave, eager to tear open his much anticipated box of Monty Marbled Chocolates.

The statuesque machine remained in the hallway for a long time, entirely frozen as he stared at the spot his human had once been in, right before he… Before he…
There was a creak, a whimpered grunt and finally an almighty crash as the burning shell of Montgomery Gator collapsed in the back halls of the Pizzaplex kitchen. Beside him, a single Wet Floor Bot sign approached at a slow pace, ready to mop up the puddle of drool the alligator left in his wake.

Chapter Text

The Later Chapters: Chapter Seventeen

There had at least been a valiant attempt to reach Freddy's room first, Ben would later swear.

He'd made it halfway across Rockstar Row and had just barely made out Freddy through the thick glass, seemingly talking to his own chest on the sofa before the janitor had been blindsided. Of course, it was his own fault for assuming that he could pass by the Monty's room uninterrupted, while still injured no less.
Ben had crept through with barely a sound, still nursing his crooked nose with Map Bot guiding him along. Despite the steadily growing number of maps and leaflets padding the pockets of his overalls, the man was appreciative of the Bot's presence in the quiet hallways.

Rockstar Row had been surprisingly, or perhaps not-so-surprisingly quiet. The evacuated Atrium had almost immediately refilled with Crowe's departure, nosy guests from across the building that had missed the spectacle had hurried in to ogle the mess they had left behind. All the hustle and bustle had left a fair few areas barren. Ben usually wouldn't have given it much thought if the silence hadn't felt so overwhelming, mind and body dead set on checking on the younger human and his weepy-looking father figure.

Of course, life rarely listened to a single man's wishes, and his plan was quickly derailed by a very large and very upset arm wrapping around his torso like a steel trap. With barely a second to give Map Bot a final morose wave, Ben had let himself be carried off into the dark and hidden depths of Montgomery's Green Room, where he found himself being doted on as gently as a heavy handed machine could.
Which sadly, was not very gentle.

"Ow."
"Hold still."
"Ow."
"I said hold it!"
"… Ow?"
Monty slammed his massive claws down on the arm of his couch, frustrated beyond belief and jutting out his impressive jaw. The alligator knelt on the carpet before his partner's battered body, the man squashed into the seat by his larger torso and struggling to hold still while Monty poked and prodded at his face. Tapping his claws against the leather in a quick and impatient pattern, he lifted his hand once more to gingerly grasp at the shorter male's jaw and hold it still.

"Argh yu shure yu chan du dis?" Ben attempted to ask through the grip, his bones feeling weak as cardboard when the gator gently squished his cheeks and jaw.
"Course I can!" Monty hissed, offended. "Ain't nobody gonna take care o' you better than I can."
As though to prove his point, Monty raised his other hand back to his human's face and gently ran the claws of his thumb and forefinger against the ridge of his broken nose. Or at least, as gently as Monty could manage.
"ARGH-" Ben yelped again, his grunting only becoming more indignant as his fussing companion continued his well-meaning assault. "NO- No, no no. This isn't working, I'll fix it myself-"
"WHAT? H-*** no! I can do it just fine! You're just movin' too much!"
"I'm moving 'cause you're doing it wrong!"
"I'm doin' it wrong 'cause you're movin' too much!"
"Well stop doing it wrong then!"
"Why you lil'-"

The argument devolved from there, both males hunching up their shoulders to look bigger as they bickered, the arguments losing more and more words until eventually the only sounds escaping from the closed off Green Room were angry grunts and short shouts of anger.

"Momma?" A young girl tugged at her mother's coat from beside Chica's Green Room, small eyes drifting from the pink interior towards the harsh grunts from behind the curtains next door. "What's that sound?"
Glancing up from her phone, the mother took a second to listen and felt her face redden as the noises clicked in her mind. At the angry bark of 'Get those fingers away from me, it's sore!' she quickly lifted her child into her arms and beat a hasty retreat from Rockstar Row. On her way out, she couldn't help throwing an incredulous glance at the Montgomery Gator's friendly smirk on every poster she passed.
Rock n' roll, indeed.

Back in the Green Room, the 'argument' had wound down to an anticlimactic bluster. Unable to manhandle or roughhouse with him as he usually did, Monty's claws poked and pestered Ben's face uselessly as he cupped his nose and leaned away. The gator scowled, determined to be the one to 'look after' his partner after the tension and danger of the afternoon. His programming wouldn't allow anything else.
"… Wait. Hold on, do you even have medical programming?" Ben's voice was distorted slightly by his own hands, making the gator smirk in reflex before he caught himself.
"Uh naw, I ain't got that. Don't know if you noticed, but ain't nobody comin' to mean ol' Monty for first aid, little guy."
"I'm shocked." The janitor deadpanned dully. "So how exactly do you plan to fix my nose when you don't know how?"
Monty deflated slightly at being called out, mutedly continuing his pestering to dodge the question. An annoyed slap at his claw forced his jaw to move, irritated that he had to stop and explain instead of just acting.
"… 'M takin' care o' you."
Ben blinked, not expecting a serious answer.
"What-?"
"Didn' make it in time… T'stop that f-***** hurtin' you n' I ain't lettin' anybody else near you t'night. Ain't nobody else touchin' you." His accent became thicker when he was upset, Ben noticed unhappily. His hands lowered at last and he leaned his face closer to the gator's with a firm pat on his forearm to get his attention.

"It's alright Monty, you don't need to uh, 'fix' it. You did everything right tonight." He assured quickly, tired brain scrambling for the right words to say. "You got angry, but you kept it together like you're supposed to, and you didn't even break any Bots… No wait… Actually, there was that one Bot."
The short snort Ben got in response was gratifying, the tall man happy to collapse into the weight of his friend's stronger build when he didn't make another grab for his nose. Still slightly sour at his 'help' being rejected, Monty put his restless claws to better use, carding them through the shorter male's hair to smooth it down as best he could.

Politely ignoring the thick jaws casting a looming shadow over his head, Ben allowed the clumsy hands to further ruin his hair as he tried to relax. His nose hurt like a bitch and he couldn't deny it, but he refused to make a fuss while his ornery partner was still eyeing him like a dying pet.
"… S'it hurt still?"
"… No."
"… F-****** damn awful liar, Ben."
Ignoring the look the man gave him, Monty ran through his protocols for any action he could perform that didn't involve the injured little mutt on his couch leaving his Green Room. Unhappy with the pitiful results his search got, Monty grumbled and sulked at the least irritating protocol.
"Gonna get you fixed up, brat. Called somebody, since you're too chicken to let me help."
"You literally pulled it- Who pulls on a broken bone?!"
"It was workin'!"
"It was coming off!"

A quiet jingle echoed around the curtained room, getting louder and approaching at rapid speed.

"… When you said that you called somebody..?"
"Yep."
"… I hate it here."
"BEEEEEEENNNNNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
With a cacophonous clang of metal on linoleum, the vent on the wall exploded outwards and across the room, followed by an enormous yellow blur of anxious energy. Subtly, Monty leaned his jaws down to the man's ear.
"Be strong."
"I'll try."

"NOO HOO HOO!" The attendant threw a skinny arm over his unblinking eyes as he 'wept' at the sight of the battered man, who could only grimace and brace for impact. True to form, the overbearing mass of worry and smiles almost crushed the other males as he scurried over, hands contrastingly gentle when they breezed over the human's face.
"Poor boy! Poor Benny! Monty told me all about it, what an evil man, making you cry like that!"
"Wait-" Ben threw a filthy glare at the gator, who immediately turned away to hide his shit-eating grin. "I didn't cry-! Monty, tell him! I didn't cry!"
"Like a baby." Monty easily lied, plastering on a sad face to really sell the tragedy. "Might'a even peed himself too."
"I hate you so much-"
The man's mortified scowl was stolen from Monty's gaze when the Sun's giant head eclipsed it, the attendant leaning in close to get a good look at the broken nose. Monty hissed low, but grudgingly allowed the contact. Even knowing that it was the best chance his partner had at proper medical care, anybody touching him while he was injured scratched at something dark and restricted in the back of his processor. Channelling his restless and increasingly violent hand gestures into something useful, the gator extended a massive hand and firmly grasped the man's entire forearm, assuring himself with the knowledge that he could pull him away at any time.

"It's okay Benny, my protocols have coding for this!" The Sun assured brightly, with a happy pat of his hand on the tired man's cheek. "I can fix this up right away!"
"Thank you Sunny," Ben closed his eyes in anticipation for the pain, feeling the silicone fingers place themselves against the ruined cartilage. "Just make it quick, would you?"
"Of course, of course! I don't want to hurt you! No, no, that would be naughty."
Ben snapped his eyes open in slight alarm at the raspy drop in tone, but the sight of Sun's finger extending some kind of sharp medical tool shuttered his lids straight back down with a chill. Some things were simply better unseen.
From there, the trio was silent and mostly still as the Daycare Attendant worked through the treatment. At some point Ben registered his sleeve pulling up, and a sharp claw gently running along his inner forearm, tickling the skin something terrible. Trying to nudge him away before he twitched, Ben flexed his hand against the metal arm above it, pushing as much as he could without moving the rest of his arm and shoulder. The claw paused for a moment, before continuing on with another claw joining in. The tired man couldn't help the way his eyebrows lowered, annoyed to discover that the gator could make even the sensation of touch itself feel smug and irritating.

"Still like this'n the best."
Ben couldn't exactly nod or speak, so he settled for a quiet hum in his throat for acknowledgement. He could feel the claws again, this time tracing an itch along the inked lines of his forearm. Once Monty had 'discovered' the dogs on his chest, the gator had been thorough in checking the rest of his torso for more ink and had quickly picked a favourite on his right arm. Ben remembered getting the tattoo right after he'd left college, a very long and very thin snake that wound along his inner forearm and up to the top of his bicep. Ben loved it for the intricate pattern of the scales. Monty loved it because he knew it tickled horribly when he traced it with his claws.

With a sudden sensation of cotton in his nostril, Ben's space was suddenly Sun-free. The animatronic in question gave him a hasty thumbs up before whipping a packet of wet wiped from his small stomach hatch, rapidly wiping off the flecks of blood he's accumulated on his fingers during the treatment. Ben wasn't surprised, the poor guy had somehow appeared to wince with an immobile faceplate every time a drop that had touched him. And like clockwork, the vacated space was instantly invaded by eight feet of fussing alligator, inspecting his now reset and bandaged nose as though he was the residential expert.
"It'll do." Monty concluded with a superior nod, easily ignoring Ben's unimpressed frown. "You live another day, Sunny-boy."
"That's great! I love living, it's one of my favourite things to do besides my super-special Christmas-exclusive puppet shows!"
"… Uh huh."
"Right… Thanks for the fix, Sunny." Ben moved the topic swiftly along, spotting the way the smiley animatronic reached for his storage hatch again, puppets at the ready for show and tell. "If we're done here, I have to go check on Gregory. The poor boy's probably scared shi- badly. I said badly."

The room fell silent as Sunny's stomach hatch clicked shut firmly. If Monty was also unnerved by the sudden stillness of their third member, his blank face didn't show it.

"… We're not supposed to talk badly about our guests…" Sunny spoke, his slightly guilty tone not at all matching the eerie coldness the animatronic froze into. To Ben, it felt like all the colour and warmth in the room had been shut away and replaced with ice. Without moving an inch from his spot, Sunny's head made a perfect 180 degree turn to stare down at the still kneeling pair. "But I don't like Gregory's daddy. Monty told me what he did too."
"O-oh?" Neither man nor gator moved, lizard brains paralysed in what could have been fright when the Sun's eternal, static, unmoving smile twitched. Ben shot his partner a wide eyed look of 'what the FUCK', to which Monty could only raise his hands, equally baffled. Before them, Sunny finally relaxed from his rigid posture and began stomping around the Green Room. They could only watch him go through the motions of his very mild tantrum, repeatedly picking up plushies and motioning to throw them, only to suddenly stop and put them back down with an apologetic pat.

"He is banned from the Daycare! 'No hurting children', that's our number one rule! And-and that- That- That nincompoop!" Sunny squeaked out a gasp, clapping a hand to his bared teeth. "Oh no! I shouldn't curse, not at guests! Even if they are- … Sorry Benny, that was very rude-bad-naughty of me!"
"I thought the big rule was 'keep the lights on?'" Monty asked with a glance at Ben, unconcerned with the Sun's ongoing breakdown or the manhandling of his room's merchandise. It wasn't as though the Sun could do worse than he already had at one point or another.
"It's the same rule, just different wording!" Sunny corrected, oblivious to how horrifying his words were from a psychological horror standpoint. "We can't let anybody hurt our little stars! Not in the Pizzaplex and certainly NOT in the Daycare! I don't usually agree with Moon's ideas of 'punishments', but if that bad-mean grown-up ever comes back then we'll just have to-"

Mercifully, whatever traumatic statement the Sun was about to inflict upon them was interrupted by a metallic clang against Monty's door. Before a second could pass, there was a beep of the door lock and a flood of flustered machines poured in at once.
"WHAT- Get outta here! Why're you always comin' in my room!?" Monty bellowed in anger, entirely ignored by his bandmates as they bee-lined for the secondary human of their strange little family.
"Oh, sugar-plum!" Chica cooed as she hauled the man into her chestplate, swaying him like an limp infant. Ben could only clench and prepare for lift-off as she picked him up by his armpits to stare at his face. "Your poor face! Your poor neck..! Oh, our poor Benny!"
"Chica, I'm a grown-ass man."
"Mind your language at the Pizzaplex, Benjamin!"
Freddy's voice stuck out amongst the other scolding catchphrases, Ben's ears perking up like a dog at the sight of the bear and more importantly, his stomach hatch. Floundering his way back to earth, Ben was quick to escape Chica's flapping hands and rap a knuckle against the singer's solid chest. But there was no knock back, not even a sound. The janitor turned his chin up to the taller male, eyes expectant as he waited for an explanation.

"Gregory is unharmed, superstar." Freddy assured with a protective hand rising to his chestplates. "He is simply… Overwhelmed from today."
"I bet… Did you get a chance to talk to him, or..?"
"I did, but I do not think he wishes to speak with me right now." The bear confirmed, his ears drooping with guilt as he continued. "I have attempted to apologise for frightening him, and for my dangerous actions today. I could not help myself, I do not know what happened…"
"Don't blame yourself Fred, you can't help what your programming forces you to do."
"Y' didn't say that when I was fixin' your nose!" Monty cut in, outraged at the perceived favouritism.
"That's cuz you don't even have that programming, you big bast-!"
The incoming squabble was derailed by throaty laughter, Foxy watching the interaction like it was his favourite daytime soap-opera.

"Looks like the lad'll live, Chica." The captain snickered, relaxing now that he'd gotten a look at their only other human. "If he be pickin' fights, n' he be fine in my book, even if the man looks like a washed up bilge rat!"
"His voice sounds awful though," Roxy jumped in on the roast, verbally merciless as always. "Sounds like you gargled dirt or something, janitor."
"The f-*** did you just say, kennel club?" Monty stood from his partner's side, less protective and more eager for an excuse to kick his nosy bandmates from his private room.
"Why did I take this job again?" Ben complained without any bite, knowing that was as close to concern as the canines were planning on showing tonight. He sent another glance towards Freddy, who usually would have stepped in to pacify the unrulier animatronics' attitudes by then. But the bear still looked disheartened, his hands strangely empty when they weren't being held by his ward. Ben's eyes flickered down to his chestplate, wondering why the boy was still absent from their circle. It was just their group now, why was he still scared?

After catching his third questioning glance, Freddy seemed to deflate a little before unsubtly whispering down to his chestplate. Ben had to strain his ears to catch the words over Monty trying to manhandle the smug pirate from his quarters.
"… Gregory? I know you are not speaking to me right now, and that is okay. I… I simply wish to inform you that Benjamin is in the room, if you would-"
It seemed he'd said the right thing, as the sound of his chestplates unlocking filled the room before his words could. There was a blur of brown and peach, and Ben was suddenly aware of a boy-shaped weight clinging to his overalls like he'd float away upon letting go. Entirely lost to the situation now, Ben looked to Freddy for help, only to see the saddened bear looking downright heartbroken at the speed Gregory had darted from him.
When his eyes turned to the rest of the crew, they could only stare back, equally confused. Feeling suddenly very put-upon, the janitor awkwardly patted a flat palm against the boy's shoulder, nose twinging with his attempt at a comforting smile.

"Hullo Gregory," Small brown eyes flicked up at him, a good sign. "… You uh, you doing alright?"
Fist fighting serial killers, no problem. Basic conversation skills, inconceivable.
"… Yeah." The younger human replied, ducking his head from the others' stares in blatant discomfort. Catching on quickly, Ben kindly put a pin in the issue for later. It wouldn't help anyone interrogating the boy tonight, he only wanted him to feel safe after the terrible events that day.
"Today was a bit much, huh?" He aimed for friendly, ignoring Monty's unimpressed frown at his downplaying. Gregory however, gave a small nod. "I think I want to sit down and watch a movie, do you want to join in?"
He kept his tone light as he extended the invitation, not wanting the child to feel pressured in any way. The poor boy was still a little shaky, even then. A guttural snort from his left told the older man that Monty shared his sudden desire to hunt down Gregory's bastard of a father.

Gregory finally gave a tiny nod, eyes still turned away from the others without explanation. Without another word, Ben lifted the child into his arm and set to work arranging the rest of the evening. Sharing a sad look with Chica when Gregory hid his face in his shoulder, she quickly agreed to dig up some treats for the movies. Roxy and Foxy were sent to scout out the Pizzaplex and see what management had done with the customers. The Sun was sent straight back into the vent to set up the Daycare Theatre. Monty simply gave the janitor a blank, empty look at any mention of leaving his side, and Freddy-

Ben cringed a little, Freddy's usual job of 'Gregory guarding' dying on his tongue before it could escape his mouth. The bear seemed to wilt even further, big blue eyes riveted on the back of his charge's head from across the room.
"Freddy, you uh- Why don't you… Uh… Hm."
Monty gave a long suffering sigh and took over before his partner hurt himself, shoving the broad singer out of his room with a drawled command of "Go check our path to the Daycare's clear, Fazbear" and glaring until the bear had disappeared from sight. Tilting his head in an 'it'll do' gesture, Ben threw the gator a thumbs up and fished out his phone. As bland and joyless as Netflix's selection usually was, Ben had more hope in finding something watchable there than in the Sun's 'Fazbear Family Films™' collection. Hiding a shudder, the janitor handed off his phone to the boy in his arms and swiftly slipped away into the nearby staff-only door.

X

Ben sighed happily from his seat on the cushioned theatre floor. Mapbot turned to look at him in what could've been curiosity, ComedyBot leaning around it's slim torso to do the same. His group had run into the pair almost immediately upon arrival, MapBot standing eerily still in the dimly lit audience area while the ComedyBot rapid-fired his routines without even a pause for a simulated 'breath'. MapBot had informed him in very few words that it had been assisting the ComedyBot in 'practicing line delivery'.

It had been a surreal experience.

Now as he rested his sore head on the Daycare Attendant's surprisingly padded jester trousers, Ben was finally able to relax after the long and troubling day. Gregory had proven himself worthy as 'film picker' when he'd suggested 'Labyrinth' with David Bowie, the quiet child brightening a bit with the 'HELL YEAH' his uncle had roared while helping the Sun connect his phone to the projectors.

The others clearly had no qualms with the movie either, Foxy loving the gristly look of the goblins and unashamedly pointing out which ones he'd plagiarise for his 'Captain's Tales of the Sea'. Chica and Roxy lounged together on some padded shapes, the hen delighted by the romantic fantasy of it all and the wolf extremely interested in the action as well as surprisingly, the Goblin King's outfits. It was so peaceful, he could almost ignore the morose bear sitting slightly away from them all, or the way Gregory was still keeping a nervous eye on the rest of the group. Luckily, he had Monty's possessive grip on his ankles and the Moon's absent hand stroking his short hair to keep him from re-stressing himself.

But by the increasingly annoyed hiss coming from the alligator arresting his legs, Ben knew Moon's rare show of affection wasn't distracting him alone. Well aware that the mischievous half of the Attendant was likely doing it on purpose just to rile up his partner, he also knew the movie would not keep the coveted peace for long and his sleep-addled mind was quick to provide a distraction. Tilting his chin, Ben looked up at the side of the Attendant he rarely got to see in the day.
"Y'know what, Moon?"
"Whaaaaat..?"
"You remind me of the babe."
Moon tilted his faceplate, confused.
"What 'babe'?"
"The babe with the power."
"What power?" Roxy cut in, distracted from the movie.
"The power of voodoo…"
"Who-doo?" Monty butted in then.
"You do!"
"Do what?!" The gator snapped, impatient.
"Remind me of the babe!"
"… Shut the h-*** up, dog brain."

It was only when the film caught up to the Goblin King's song that the band got it, and Monty's patience finally snapped with Ben's smug laughter at his gobsmacked face.
"Oh, that does it- C'mere!"

Gregory's anxious demeanour finally, finally broke into a loud laugh as the older human leapt from his spot on the floor, dodging around the gator's grabbing claws to make his escape up the Theatre's halls. The Moon was on his slippered feet in seconds with a croaky giggle, following after the fleeing janitor and starting an impromptu game of 'Keep Away' with the infuriated bass player. The remaining band shared a fond and relieved glance at the child's innocent laughter, as well as the decidedly less innocent cackling ringing out from the balcony above.
Despite everything, their group would get through it as they always did.
With laughter, family and annoying Montgomery Gator.