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For the record, Dream did not want to get into the robot bear's stomach.
It only happened after Jack got "tired of his incessant whining"- he has no clue what "incessant" means, but he knows that what he was doing wasn't whining. He was scared, all of them were...he was just particularly vocal about it. Apparently, that's a crime now, as Jack sharply told him after a while in the bear's room that the safest spot was his chest cavity.
He didn't really want to go in, but he didn't want to wake up the robot even more, so he got inside and is currently sitting there, practically against his will and holding his breath. It isn't as uncomfortable as he thought that it would be, considering the wires entirely surrounding him. He curls up on a softer surface on the inside, twisting his eyes shut until he can almost pretend that he was back in their room and what he was laying on was a Freddy Fazbear pillow and not a leather pad made for keeping cakes and gifts safe.
This, of course, does not last, as only a few minutes later, he feels movement. And then he hears, maybe a little too loudly, the bear's voicebox whirr to life as he tiredly says, "Wh...what happened-?"
He is immediately cut off by four different children harshly telling him to "Shhh," making the bear spin around and try to find them. "Wh-What? Where are-?"
"Shut up, you stupid robot," Dream hears Jack hiss from somewhere in the room, and it's at this point that he feels that ball of fear rising in his throat and asks, "Jack? Can I come out now?"
The robot almost seems to jump, his arms creaking as the lid of the stomach hatch is pushed open. Dream clambers out at light speed as Freddy voices his confusion, asking at the same level of volume as before, "What is going on? That hatch is not meant for a child- er, children?"
The moment Dream drops onto the ground, scrubbing tears away from his eyes as he tuns into the corner of the room, hiding poorly behind a light of some kind and clinging onto the metal like his life depends on it as the other boys start to come out of their hiding spots. Jack and Ranboo appear from underneath the mirror desk thing in front of Freddy, Jack in a red t-shirt with blue stripes and camo pants that are way too small for him at this point and Ranboo in a split, gray and white sweatshirt with inversed shoes and black pants. Quackity emerges from behind the couch in a blue and white sweater and a hat that falls into his face once every few minutes. Jack's hand is firmly holding Ranboo's, who looks around the room like something is going to jump out and kill him at any moment, and his expression is pissed.
"Can you talk any louder?" Jack whisper-yells at the bear, jabbing a finger from his free hand up towards Freddy's face. Dream doesn't know how the robotic eyes could possibly convey so much confusion, but they do, and he holds up his hands in a placating manner as Jack continues to sneer at him.
"Where did all you boys...come from?" Freddy asks, voice reverberating around the room and making Dream flinch. He panickedly shifts to peek out the curtain, watching for the tell-tale bobbing of a flashlight and seeing nothing- for now.
Quackity drapes himself over the arm of the couch, opening his arms and saying, "We've been here for months, mi amigo! Hiding in the walls 'n' shit, y'know?"
"We're actually running away from CPS," Ranboo says, still not looking up at the robot but starting to pull away from Jack's hand as he locks his gaze onto a stuffed bear in the corner. "We travel from state to state and are wanted in about seventy-four of them."
"Seventy-four...states?" Freddy asks, turning to face the entire room, his footsteps making the floor shake. Dream finds himself clinging to the light tighter still, twisting his eyes shut and trying to ignore the looming threat of death as the bear continues to talk at a volume that would alert any stupid security bot. This was such a terrible idea, he's almost confused that it came from Jack. It's usually Quackity that propose the dumb plans that nearly get them all killed. "And such language...! Where are all of your parents? The Pizzaplex will be closing soon!"
It's weird to see a robot bear panic, Dream thinks, letting his eyes open only to look through the curtain behind him for the security guard- and he almost screams when he sees her flashlight's beam crossing the carpeted floor, calling out some muffled lie about wanting to find the boys and take them back to their parents. He whips around at a speed that almost makes his neck crack, whisper-shouting, "Shhh! The security guard- she's right outside!"
"That's perfect, isn't it?" Freddy asks, something akin to a smile coming up on his face as Jack drives his foot angrily into the bear's steel toes. Freddy merely turns to look down at him, completely unaffected aside from being a bit shocked.
"Are you tr-ying to get us killed?!" He hisses, kicking the robot in the shin to make his point. "She's trying to kidnap us, not get us back to our parents- we don't even have parents!"
Freddy looks shocked- again, Dream is amazed at the amount of emotion on his face. He blinks, and when he opens his eyes, a blue light comes from them, scanning the boys up and down and making Dream shriek before clamping his hand over his mouth as the other children turn to stare at him- even Quackity, who's dark blue eyes are wide and more serious than they usually are. Dream turns, slowly, as they all wait with bated breath to see if his scream was heard before sighing after a few seconds pass without any new incidents. Quackity topples off of the couch and bounces over to Jack and Ranboo. Dream stays firmly behind the light.
Freddy speaks again, slightly quieter this time, as he says, "I have something I can give you all that can help us communicate without alerting Vanessa."
"Vanessa?" Ranboo asks, looking Dream in the eyes and making a head movement to come over. Dream shakes his head. Ranboo rolls his eyes.
"The security guard!" Freddy replies cheerily, opening his stomach hatch towards the three boys standing in front of him. Dream's heart lurches, but all that's inside is a small jack-in-the-box type present. "Here- it is like a gift!"
Ranboo reaches out for it, but Jack smacks his hand away, eyeing Freddy suspiciously before swiping the present faster than Dream's eye can catch. He holds it up against his chest, glancing up at Freddy and back down before slowly starting to turn the handle. A music box melody begins to play, and Dream leans as far away as possible whilst still maintaining his grip on the light, turning his head away in anticipation and still flinching when the box pops open.
"They're..." Jack pulls something out of the giftbox. "Watches?"
"Yes!" Says Freddy- except it's much quieter and seems to be coming from the watch. Jack drops it in surprise, and Freddy winces apologetically. "They are Faz-Watches, only found at the Pizzaplex! You can find them at the-"
"We already have them," Jack cuts him off, slipping the blue watch onto his wrist and handing the purple and yellow ones to Ranboo and Quackity, respectively. Jack looks around the room for Dream, seemingly panicked when he doesn't immediately see him, but his face drops as soon as his eyes land on the lamely hidden boy. "Dream- get over here."
Dream shakes his head vehemently, an Jack stomps his foot to the ground. His sneakers light up (but dimly, and only some of them) and Dream squeaks, making a beeline from behind the light and basically pressing his shoulder against Jack, one loud noise away from clinging onto the taller boy's t-shirt. Jack seems to have to stop himself from rolling his eyes, handing Dream a light green watch and helping him snap it on. It's sort of his job, at this point- stopping Ranboo from touching random things, making sure Dream doesn't burst into tears at every loud noise (which he does not do...as much as Jack says), and with Quackity...
It's kind of weird, but Quackity is probably the second most responsible member of their group. Except for when he makes kissy noises at the robots- that's gross.
Ranboo is already tapping at his watch, pressing buttons on the screen that Dream is, honestly, too scared to look at. Freddy looks pleased, though, so he supposes he's not going to get eaten just yet. "Would you mind telling me all of your names, superstars?"
Jack scowls. "Like hell-"
"Dream, Quackity, Jack," Ranboo says, pointing at everyone respectively before looking up from the watch and pointing at himself. "Ranboo."
Jack looks betrayed as Ranboo makes a bewildered face. "He's not gonna kill us, Jack. He just asked for our names."
"You don't know that he's not gonna kill us!" Jack whisper-hisses at Ranboo, as if the bear can't easily hear him. "You know what happened with-"
Quackity clears his throat, interrupting what would probably turn into an argument. He steps up to Freddy, so close that he basically has to look directly up to make eye contact and puts his hands on his hips, as if he's daring the robot to do anything stupid. "So. Freddy. You gonna help us? Or do we have to dismantle you like we dismantled the security bots?"
Jack and Dream look at him in abject horror and Ranboo looks mildly amused. Freddy has his eyebrows pulled in towards each other, furrowed as he looks down at this tiny child that he could probably curb stomp if he so pleased. The opposing expressions make Dream whimper, and he feels his hands crawling up to grab Jack's shirt. "'Cuz if you start calling for that security guard, we're gonna have to take drastic measures."
Dream only half-knows what "drastic" means, but he guesses that Quackity just threatened the killer robot (okay- he's not a killer robot, but he certainly has the potential to be one). He glances over at the boy, who's pushing his hat out of his eyes, stuttering quietly, "Um...Quackity, maybe you shouldn't-"
"If you truly believe Vanessa is...dangerous-" Freddy starts.
"Trying to kill us," Jack interrupts.
"...Dangerous," Freddy confirms, nodding. "Then I will keep you all safe. I promise."
"Why?" Jack questions sharply, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you helping us?"
Freddy hesitates, his eyes darting back and forth with a soft clicking noise at the end of each movement until he moves in a way that resembles a shrug. "I...I don't know. I just want to protect you. You have not done anything wrong, correct?"
"Well..." Ranboo starts, looking up towards the ceiling. "It depends on how you define wrong."
"Ehhh," Quackity tilts his hand back and forth, taking a step away from Freddy. "Do you feel bad about robot murder?"
Freddy tilts his head to the side. "Were the security bots trying to...hurt you?"
All four of the boys (even Dream, albeit quietly) reply with a resounding, "Yes."
Freddy makes a gesture, as if that explains his answer. "Then, of course I will help you."
Still looking distrustful (but significantly more relaxed- it wouldn't be a visible difference to anyone else, but Dream can feel his shoulders loosen their tension), Jack crosses his arms, sighs, and spits, "Fine. What are we supposed to do, then? We can't stay here anymore- that security guard bitch- Vannessa, whatever- she's trying to get us. She's gonna find us eventually now that she knows where we are. Any ideas, bear-bot?"
"You can go through the main entrance!" Freddy says, as if the answer was plain as day and easy as pie. "It will close for the night in a little bit, but with my help, you can get there easily!"
Jack makes a face and huffs, but Quackity pumps his fist into the air. Jack glares at him and rolls his eyes, but still asks, "Alright, what do we have to do?"
The door behind Freddy suddenly opens with a clang, and Dream stifles his scream with his hand as Freddy profusely apologises to him. "This leads to a back room with a vent," the robot explains, gesturing towards the door. "You will need to crawl through the vent to open the door to my room the outside. "It would be a tight fit for most adults, but I'm sure you boys will be able to do it easily!"
Dream is too busy staring into what looks like an untimely death to pay much attention. He looks at Jack with pleading eyes, whispering, "It looks- d-dark. Really dark, Jack, and I don't wanna go through a vent. What if we fall?"
Jack opens his mouth to say something- probably telling him to get over it, but then he simply closes his mouth and shrugs, shrugging Dream's hands off of his shirt. "Alright. You can stay here with Freddy, then. I'm sure that's not as dangerous." Without waiting for Dream's answer and ignoring his horrified face, Jack makes a hand movement above his head that looks like he's twirling something and says, "Formation!"
Ranboo is still tapping at his watch as he lets go of Jack's hand and stands behind him, Quackity behind him, and all three of them walk into the dark back room as Freddy waves them goodbye.
They disappear out of the door, and, save for the clanking of metal as they do whatever it is they're doing back there, the room is silent. Freddy turns back to Dream with the kindest expression a robot could possibly have, and the boy squeaks in innate terror.
He doesn't even last ten seconds before he's running after them, tears prickling at his eyes as he yells, "W-Wait! Wait for me, guys!"
