Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gregory sprinted as fast as he possibly could, holding his breath as he heard the metallic stomps of the animatronic behind him. He was in that state of mind where you don’t question things, you just do. So when he saw another child, standing still and wide eyed, Gregory did not question it. He just raced up to him, gripped onto his arm tight, and then ran into the next room, slamming the door shut once they were both inside.

Gregory took a deep breath, noting the security bot moving about the room. Judging by the stuffed toys dotted about the area on tall shelves, the action figures and themed candy, they were in a gift shop of sorts. Gregory looked to the other child. The boy looked a lot neater than Gregory did, yet also a lot sadder, as though he was constantly on the verge of tears. Chica called out from outside, “Gregory! Your parents are looking for you!”

The other boy remained silent, staring at him with a look of shock. Gregory couldn’t help but grin, “Chicken got your tongue? Quick, follow me!” He now let go of his arm and began to lead him to the desk. Once they were both behind it, Gregory took a moment to pant and catch his breath. Then, he looked back at him. “That was a close one, wasn’t it? Freddy didn’t tell me there was another child here!”

“I… I don’t think he would have.” The boy gave a small, hesitant laugh. Gregory hadn’t even noticed before, but he was holding a fairly large stuffed animal of a yellow bear. The thing looked ancient.

“I’m Gregory! Who are you? Why were you just standing around? Also where’d you get that thing? Looks a bit like Freddy, actually. There’s better plushies of him in here!”

“Hey! I’m not replacing Fredbear. He’s been my only friend for ages and-“

“Well, I’m your friend now! What’s your name?”

The boy went quiet again, seeming to think about his answer. Gregory tapped his knees impatiently as the boy in front of him looked down at the stuffed toy, then back up to meet his eyes again, “I’m Evan.”

Gregory nodded, then kneeled himself up to his feet to peer over the top of the desk. The security bot was still pacing around the gift shop, searching for them. For a moment, he remembered Chica still looking about the entrance, trying to catch him. It would only make sense for this bot to alert her. He hummed to himself a moment as he thought, looking around the shop, before he noticed the stairway leading down. He looked back down at Evan, who was crouched and shaking a little.

“Think you can avoid that bot there?” Gregory asked through gritted teeth. This almost felt fun, in an odd and twisted way. He felt like a spy in a movie - sneaking around with his companion trying to avoid being caught.

Evan shrugged, “I could try.”

“I’ll go first, then. Go when I’m at the other side - I’ll warn you of danger.”

“I don’t mind going first.” Evan offered, kneeling himself up, too, and clutching his bear a little closer.

Gregory shook his head at the suggested idea, feeling oddly protective of his new friend. Before Evan could complain, he crouched down again and took a slow step away from the desk, keeping his eyes on the bot. Then, he took a bigger, faster step. The bot drew closer, its flashlight almost directly hitting him. A sudden panic hit Gregory now, and he dashed to the top of the stairs, skidding to a stop before he could tumble down them.

He glanced back at his friend, noticing a look of uncertainty on his face. Evan held onto the bear tighter and he began to move. He kept very low to the ground as he creeped over. The bot was on its path back around again, drawing closer to the boy. Evan kept at a painfully slow pace - Gregory cringed as the flashlight drew closer and closer.

“Evan, watch out! It’s gonna get you-“ Gregory tried to shout a warning, yet he had spoken too late. He saw the bot’s flashlight shine over him - Evan froze up. Yet, the bot continued to move right past the boy, continuing on its path as if nothing particularly out of the ordinary had happened. Evan sped up his pace until he stood next to Gregory, shivering.

“That must be some really bad programming.” Gregory remarked, watching the S.T.A.F.F bot follow its path. Despite his comment, Gregory definitely wasn’t complaining. They’d both probably be dead now if Evan was noticed. He let go of the breath he’d been unaware he was even holding, then let out a wheeze, “Are you good, Evan?”

He watched Evan give his toy a little squeeze, “I’m okay. Let’s go down, alright? I know my way around this place pretty well - I can help you.”

Gregory snorted, “Look, if you got stuck here like I have, then I doubt you know the place that well. You didn’t find the exit in time!”

Evan frowned a little, but didn’t make any comments back. Instead, he just began to stalk down the stairs, keeping close to the wall. Gregory felt bad now, noticing that Evan’s feelings were hurt, but he did not apologise. He hated apologising deeply, and only did it if he believed it was strictly necessary. Instead, he followed, an awkward silence falling between the two.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and walked into the bottom of the gift shop. There was not as much merchandise here - and thankfully no security bot to worry about. Gregory’s eyes darted across the room, and he lit up when he noticed a counter offering a free gift. Now disregarding Evan, he headed towards it and opened it up, raising his watch to his face before he even looked at what was inside.

“Freddy! I found a free gift!” Gregory had to try to keep his voice low, yet it was difficult. He rarely ever got things for free - when he did, often it was from stealing. Yet, right now, it wasn’t! Excitedly, he now peered into the box. When he saw what was inside, his stomach practically dropped down from disappointment, “It’s some kind of crappy Mr. Hippo magnet. Lame.”

“I am very sorry, Gregory..” Freddy’s voice was serious and sincere, as though he were telling a child that their pet dog had died.

Out of the corner of his eye, Gregory saw Evan approach to look at the magnet. Reminded that Freddy did not yet know of his new friend, Gregory spoke again before Freddy could respond, “Oh, Freddy! I found another child in the pizzaplex. I’m not alone.”

“Another child?” A panicked tone came into Freddy’s voice, “I did not think there’d be another one! Are they hurt?

“No. I don’t think so- Evan, are you hurt?”
Gregory asked. Evan thought about it, then shook his head. Taking this as a definite no, Gregory spoke once more, “Not hurt.”

“I cannot be with you right now,” Freddy began, his voice solemn once more, yet still holding a fond warmness to it, “However when I can, I will keep you both safe.”

When the conversation ended, Gregory looked back at Evan with a bright smile, forgetting about how he had previously upset the boy. Evan looked at the magnet once more, then began, “I saw the REAL Mr. Hippo once-“

“Wow, that must have sucked. I’m sorry to hear that.” Gregory snickered to himself.

“It was kind of bad, to be honest.” Evan agreed. Gregory felt rather happy now, knowing that Evan had agreed about this. Another silence fell between the two, though now it was a little more content.

The moment did not last long, however. Chica called out again from outside, in a voice so cheerful it felt taunting, “Who wants candy?”

Gregory risked a peek outside outside, then he took a step to the door. He could see her lumbering about outside. He and Evan would both have to leave soon, in order to get the first security pass. A shudder went down Gregory’s spine at the mere thought of those robotic teeth biting down on him.

“You decide when. We have time” Evan’s voice was soft, yet held a certain urgency to it, as though he did not fully believe his own words. Gregory did not believe them, either; of course there was a rush. He had to avoid the animatronics, for starters, then the security guard - Vanessa, was it? She’d find him on the cameras.

Gregory took a deep breath, trying to build some confidence. Then, he turned back to Evan with a new determination, “Let’s go now.”

Gregory opened the door and the two boys stepped out of the gift shop.

Chapter Text

Stepping out of the gift shop was unnerving, to say the least. Chica had her back turned for now, not noticing the two boys. However, even with this advantage, Gregory found it very hard to be completely silent. The fact that he had no idea where he was going made the situation worse. His heart pounded in his chest, making him feel sick with anxiety.

Evan seemed to notice and he took the lead, briefly flashing Gregory a smile in some sort of attempt to be comforting. Gregory only felt a shiver down his spine. Something about Evan felt off - Gregory couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Despite this, Gregory followed without any question and the two entered some kind of restaurant.

“Come on, we can upgrade your entry ticket with the machine downstairs.” Evan whispered, gesturing down the stairs. A STAFF bot patrolled the room, stalking along its path as though searching for its prey. To himself, Gregory questioned why the Mega PizzaPlex had so many of them - a few would be understandable, but these things were all over the place! He stayed as still as possible, hesitant.

“Hurry! It’ll find you.” Evan’s voice came sharper. Gregory had done this in the gift shop - he could do it now. He began to sneak across the cold, wooden floor until he reached the stairs, then, as quick as he could, he raced down until he stood face to face with the machine. Evan followed close behind him, still not letting go of that stuffed toy.

Once they were down, Gregory felt a wave of relief. He spotted the machine and fished the pass out of his pocket, feeding it into the slot. The machine was rather loud, and it was painfully slow. Gregory silently prayed that Chica could not hear it from outside.

“Employees only!” The bird called out just as he thought of her, easy to hear through the walls. Gregory cringed at her cheerful voice. Somehow, he found the optimistic tone more scary than if she were screaming with rage. Something about her enthusiasm was unnerving.

A little timidly, he glanced back at the machine which, annoyingly, had not returned the pass and sat there, now doing nothing. Useless thing.

“I thought that it would give you a daycare pass..” Evan mumbled, stepping closer to the machine, narrowing his eyes into a frown.

“A pass to the daycare? That sounds so boring!” Gregory protested. Evan appeared to be the same age as him, about nine - why would he want to go to a daycare? They were both too old for that! Gregory did not want to sit around in a room made for stupid five year olds who could barely even count to four!

“No, it should be safe there. The daycare attendant is nice..” Evan said, softly.

“Yeah, so were the other animatronics. Until night came along. Why don’t we just try and find Freddy and-“

“There’s no security bots in the daycare!” Evan cut him off.

Gregory now paused, thinking about this a moment. No security bots would make avoiding the other animatronics a lot easier. Plus, Gregory hated how those things moved about, gliding silently across the floor like a ghost. It freaked him out.

“How are we going to get the daycare pass from this machine?” He questioned.

Evan looked down at Fredbear, seeming to think about this question, before giving the machine a hard pat. Almost immediately, it began to malfunction. Just as Evan had suggested, a daycare pass was printed out.

Swiftly, Gregory snatched the pass and pulled it out, holding onto it tightly, though also feeling a tad confused at just how easily it had given away the ticket. Glancing back at Evan, who was grinning, Gregory stuffed the daycare pass into one of his shorts’ pockets, “I’ll let Freddy know we got the pass.!”

As he was about to raise up his fazwatch, Evan intervened, “He already knows I’m with you, though- what if he follows us into the daycare..?”

“That’s the point. We need him there as soon as possible. He’s been protecting me.” Gregory paused, then snickered, “Are you scared of that big teddy bear? He’s so cuddly and nice!”

“His teeth are so sharp! Imagine them biting you or- or something! How do you know if he’s really.. trustworthy?” Evan’s voice shook a little. He rubbed his eyes with one hand, holding Fredbear with another.

“Look, if I have learnt anything about Freddy, it’s that he’s more likely to swear than bite someone.” Imagining Freddy swearing on its own was amusing. It felt wrong, out of place on such a kind and caring animatronic. Gregory smirked, “Do you know any swear words, Evan? I know a lot, I know the f word, the..”

His voice trailed off when he noticed that Evan was sniffling, as though about to… cry? Oh no, “Hey, wait- are you okay? What’s wrong?”

This question is what made Evan actually start to weep. The boy sat down and buried his face in his arms, holding Fredbear closer than before. Briefly, Gregory glanced out of the door, to see that the coast was clear. Then, Gregory knelt down and patted his back, feeling it shake with sobs. Gregory wasn’t sure what to do. Why was he crying?

“Why does it need to be F-Freddy? Why not… why not Chica, or Bonnie, or-“

“Bonnie?” Gregory questioned, confused, “Is that even a character here??”

Evan fell silent a moment and glanced up at Gregory with wide, icy blue eyes. Gregory edged back, uncertain. Then, Evan trembled and shook his head, “Forgot he isn’t in the cast anymore..”

“Look, let’s just go to the daycare. Maybe listening to dumb nursery rhymes will cheer you up..?” Gregory did his best to give Evan a playful smile, yet he still felt concerned. He wasn’t sure what exactly had made him start to cry like that - was the mere mention of Freddy that terrifying?

“Maybe..”

Carefully, he helped Evan stand, and quietly, they both snuck out of the room.

•••

Gregory hated the daycare.

On the way, he’d managed to briefly tell Freddy where the two were heading, which seemed to have made the bear happy. Evan had calmed down a bit, too, and had wandered off into the play areas once they were there. The daycare itself was covered in eye bleeding bright colours, full of horribly cheerful music, and stacked full of stupid things like bouncy castles, slides, ball pits...

That was not why he hated the daycare.

“Are you having fun yet?? Are ya, are ya?” The sun based animatronic bounced up and down in front of him, a permanent, wide smile across the thing’s round face. As it moved, its limbs made creaking, rusty sounds, as though they had been unused for a long time. Drowning this out was the obnoxious jingling of bells attached to the creature’s limbs, a warning to children here in the day that it was approaching.

This thing was why Gregory hated the daycare.

If Gregory tried to walk away, it did not allow him to get too far, or it would clutch onto him with its spidery hands, lift him high off of the ground and then drop him onto the floor next to these ugly stacked toys. Gregory felt envious of Evan’s ability to walk around unseen by the robots, confused as it made him. He wondered if Evan could teach him how to do that..

He glanced at the sun animatronic again. It stared right back at him, seeming to see his very soul, spinning its head in a circle. Freddy had mentioned a ‘security pass’ at the front desk of this place, whatever that meant, yet this animatronic was holding him in one place. Did it know what he was trying to do..?

Gregory briefly looked back at those stacked cans, and then on impulse he smacked them over. As soon as the animatronic began to show its distress, he began to sprint towards the front of the daycare as fast as his short, twig like legs would allow.

“Oh no!! What a mess, oh deary me!” He could hear the animatronic cry out, sounding more distant. It must be distracted! Gregory did not stop for even a moment until he was behind a table. Then, he knelt down and panted, his heart thudding.

“Oh no, where did my new friend go?? Oh dear, oh dear. What if he got lost? Or hurt? I need to find him!“ The jingling of bells rapidly came closer. Gregory got a bad gut feeling as he continued to sneak around, the kind of feeling that told you that whatever you were about to do was a terrible idea.

The desktop was very tall - Gregory could hardly see what was on it. Praying he would remain unseen, he stood up to get a better look at what was scattered about it. Pens, notes, wires… nothing interesting.

“There you are! This area is off limits, friend! Out you come, come on now! We can paint with glitter glue! Or- or play with puppets, or we could even take a long nap!” The sun’s voice came earsplittingly joyful. Gregory flinched, then glared at him, before noting a box shaped like Freddy on the side. That must be it!

He stood up onto his tiptoes and reached over. Though he was barely able to get ahold of it, after some struggle he managed to open it up, making the sun even more distressed, “Come on! Out. Please..! We could get in trouble if you’re here, in an off limits area!”

Gregory had drowned out that annoying voice by now. The security pass. He could leave! He could get out of this terrible daycare! Gregory took it, giving the animatronic a triumphant smirk, “Look what I-“

The lights went out.

“…. got.” He finished his sentence quietly, stunned.