Chapter Text
"Gregory!" Came the worried shout crackling with static as the large bear animatronic jogged after his charge in the dimly lit halls of the Mega Pizzaplex's utility tunnels. Childish laughter rang out as the boy ahead of him rounded a corner with a sharp left turn. He was glad to see the child having fun now that their lives were not at risk, but he still worried for his safety. Especially down here where the endos roamed free.
"C'mon Freddy! It's this way!" The boy yelled from up ahead and waved an arm wildly in the air, earning a mimicry of a sigh from his guardian. He'd stopped at the end of the hall near an old and worn door, no different from the rest in these tunnels yet strangely… reinforced.
The numerous locks and chains securing its steel frame shut sent an uneasy fizzle through the bear's system. Drag marks along the floor leading to the nearby shelf told him someone had tried to hide this door before Gregory had stumbled upon it. Long gashes dug into the concrete next to it, deep and wide as if some massive creature had tried to claw its way out. Letting out a sound akin to a shuddering breath, Freddy gently tugged the boy away from the door. He didn't know what was inside, but he was sure he didn't want to know.
An elbow nudging his side tore the animatronic's attention from the door. "Do you know what's back here Freddy?" The boy asked him, reaching out to fiddle with one of the many locks. He hummed as he played with it, only to let out a squawk as the bear pulled him away again.
"I'm sorry Superstar, but I do not." There was a pause where Freddy turned to look the boy in the eyes, trying his hardest to convey how serious he was before he added, "However, it may be for the best that we do not investigate this further." He made a show of facing the door once more, eyes flickering over the gouges in the wall and its steel door frame.
Gregory nodded, scanning the marks himself as he stepped back. Sure they did freak him out somewhat, but he doubted that whatever lay behind that door would still be moving. If it was an animatronic, which seemed most likely, then it should have run out of battery a long time ago.
His thoughts were interrupted by the familiar PING! of his FazWatch, Vanessa's voice filtering through with an undertone of annoyance. "Dammit kid! I told you not to wander off too far with Freddy! Hurry up and get him back here, Paul from P&S is up here. Something about management making some changes and calling a meeting for everyone. Meet us by the daycare entrance." Gregory grimaced, annoyance clear at the scolding tone his adoptive guardian was using.
With an exaggerated groan he tapped Freddy on the thigh and shook his head. "You heard her, right Freddy? Prickly Paul's calling for you. Let's get ourselves up there for now and we can crack this mysterious door another time."
Freddy nodded, crouching to allow the nine year old onto his shoulders as he responded, "I think it best to leave the door be Gregory, whatever is inside was not meant to come out."
The chastising tone was not lost on the child, his lips curling into a frown. But instead of arguing like he wanted to, Gregory sighed and opted for the more reasonable route of agreeing. He could always return later. Maybe with Roxy… no, Monty could definitely bust the door open so he was the best choice. Nodding proudly to himself, Gregory began to work out his plan. It had to be perfect so he wouldn't get caught.
Roxy and Monty both leaned against the wall just outside of the shuttered entrance, watching the approaching bear and boy. The moment they were in his sight, Freddy waved enthusiastically. They returned it, Monty holding one hand up high and Roxy giving a curt shake of hers before crossing it back over her chest. Neither missed the slightest flinch the boy gave, but they opted not to mention it. Gregory wasn't exactly comfortable with their "excessive" concern unless it was Freddy.
"Hey! 'Bout time you guys showed up. Paul's bout ta blow a gasket waitin' for ya." Monty greeted as he straightened up. Behind him, Roxy waved a hand against the shudder. A moment later it rolled up to reveal a tired-looking Vanessa, her hair coming loose from its ponytail.
The woman looked between Freddy and Gregory before letting out a low sigh and pinching the bridge of her nose. "I was going to scold you both but honestly? I think Paul's going to chew you out anyway. Better just save my breath." The snicker and clink of Faztokens exchanging metal hands reached Vanessa and she could only roll her eyes at the antics behind her.
"Ness, how come we're meeting at the daycare and not outside Rockstar Row or in Paul's lair?" Gregory asked from his place leaning on Freddy's head as he stared down at the woman.
She was about to wave the question off with a smile, but Roxy beat her to it. "Cause the daycare guy's a total hermit. Has been for almost as long as they've been here. You only ever find the guy here or in Parts and Service unless the lights go out."
"And...well, you've seen them when the lights go out. He got real…eccentric one day…" Monty stated, scratching at his snout. His shoulders shook briefly, the shudder almost missed by the boy as he watched the animatronics talk. It felt off somehow. Almost like a forced movement on the gator's side, but maybe he was imagining it.
It confused Gregory either way. The rest were all on friendly terms to some extent, but he had begun to notice that no one ever spoke much about the daycare attendant let alone visited them or invited them out of the daycare. Moon still scared him, the glowing red eyes really could freak anyone out. Still, Moon had mostly been avoiding him. And the one time he'd managed to catch the other resulted in an extended and awkward silence where he was stared down by the fidgety jester as he held tight to the other's pants.
That one… that one nearly crushed his pride but it was all he could think of doing at that moment. He hadn't wanted Moon to run. Plus Moon anxiously and gently trying to remove the stubborn boy had been a funny sight and a harsh reminder of how different the virus had made them. Ever since then he's barely caught glimpses of them.
They arrived at the slide, the colorful sign above tempting everyone present to heed its words and "slide into fun". But the disgruntled man leaning his back against the wall next to it was enough to snap them from that train of thought. He took up the room despite being only around five and a half feet tall with machines larger than him surrounding the man. Standing with his shoulders squared and jaw clenched down on a lollipop stick, he leveled the bear and boy duo with a tired glare.
From a spot nearby Chica waved to the boy, but his attention was fixated on the slide as the man bent over to holler into the tube. "SUN! MEETING RIGHT NOW!!" A startled yelp came from the other end, followed by the rhythmic thump of metal on hard plastic. The dull yellow and gold face appeared moments later in the slide, freezing and shrinking back at the sight of all the others looming over the entrance to their home. Gregory somehow got the impression that it must be like opening your front door to a bunch of large, armed men on the front porch. At least from Sun's perspective.
Paul snapped his fingers in front of the slide and the daycare attendant shrunk back more, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of leaving with everyone there. They turned their head towards the sound, making Gregory sure their eyes would follow the hand if they had anything but blank white where their iris should be. "C'mon Sunny," this time Paul's voice was calmer, gentler, as he held out a small badge. "You can come out now. Quarantine is over. You're virus-free now, remember?"
It took a moment for the animatronic to respond, but then it nodded and carefully took the badge. Gregory's eyes widened as he watched Sun shimmy out of the slide and stand up straight. They towered over most of the other animatronics by at least a foot, the golden rays around their face only added to their height. He hadn't quite noticed it before because Sun and Moon were usually crouching, but they were huge.
The badge was tied tightly around Sun's wrist before they turned to look at everyone else. Gregory followed his lead, noting the surprise or unease among the Glamrocks and Vanessa. Only Paul seemed unbothered, giving an approving pat to Sun's poofy, paint-stained, red and yellow striped pants. Seeing their discomfort Sun stooped to a crouch immediately and fiddled with the bells on their wrists. Now that he was level with Paul's height, the rest seemed to relax some.
Paul glanced around at them all, a slight tug on his lips giving away his displeasure. Gregory wondered briefly if he was annoyed to be there, annoyed by the animatronics, or annoyed by their reaction to the daycare attendant. He didn't get long to contemplate it though before the man ran a hand through his greying hair and cleared his throat. A clipboard was plucked from the check-in desk before he began to speak.
"Alright then. God knows why they sent me fer this but oh well. Let's just get right fuckin int-"
"Language!" Sun chided almost instantly, earning an all too quick knock on the head from the man. It seemed as if he'd been expecting that response.
He paid Sun no mind as the animatronic rubbed the place he'd been bonked and continued like nothing ever happened. "Apparently corporate made lotsa bank off this whole shitshow-" Paul knocked his knuckles against Sun's faceplate again as they tried to correct the cuss word, moving on without missing a beat, "-hackin' biz." There was a brief pause where Paul's eyes flickered from his clipboard to Vanessa but it ended so quickly Gregory wasn't sure if he'd imagined it or not. Her tense shoulders gave away her unease though. "And of course the whole totin' bear dad 'round like he's the first of ya to show such a strong level of sentience and agency as to wanna adopt a human child…"
Clearing his throat, Paul continued. If he'd noticed the odd looks from those gathered or Vanessa's surprised expression then he was great at not letting it show. "So. Basically the fuckin' suits-" Bonk! "upstairs made lotsa cash and when they couldn't stuff their own pockets no more, they decided to dump it into this walking disaster of a business. Got it? Any questions?" He waited a moment for everyone to process the words at least and when Gregory raised his hand, Paul gave a curt nod in the child's direction.
"What's that mean exactly?" The boy asked, watching Sun shift closer to Paul to peek at the paper on the clipboard. When Paul leveled a tired stare at them Sun backed down again. They played with their ribbons and bells as they shifted their weight side to side. An idle habit or an anxious one? Gregory wasn't quite sure.
Sighing, Paul flipped through his papers. "Uhhhh… more money bein' put here basically means we're gettin' some renovations done. Lotta the Plex is gonna close down if not the entire place. Let's see… Finishin' Roxy Raceway, repairin' the damn-" Bonk! "-catwalks in Monty Golf, doin' somethin' bout all the open vents round the place…. Uhhhhh… some extra repairs and replacin' some a the human staff…"
The sound of flipping papers filled the room as Paul continued to read off the changes to the oddly silent group of robots. The only sound aside from that being the quiet 'ow!' that followed Paul's routine cussing and Sun's weak attempts to tell the man off for them. Suddenly he paused, eyes scanning the page and a flash of unease crossing his features for a quick moment. It passed in a flash as he turned to Sun with that same exhausted look in his eyes softening somewhat.
"Hey, good news buddy." Paul said as he reached out to pat Sun's shoulder. "They're expanding the daycare. Says here they're expecting an increase in traffic in this area so they wanna make it bigger." Sun perked at that, leaning over again to see what Paul was looking at. Their hands twitched and balled into fists halfway through a flappy motion, but the rays on their head spun wildly.
"That also means we'll hafta fix ya up and give ya some updates though. It's gonna be a while down in P&S, but I was gonna bring ya down there anyway cause I ain't been here fer more than a month and ya look like ya haven't gotten any proper maintenance fer at least that long." And immediately Sun drooped, the excitement dulling down as he returned to playing with his bells.
"That's alright…"
If robots could sweat, Gregory was sure Sun would be drenched in it. Their hands shook and they seemed to curl more into themself like it would hide them. The other's behavior was confusing. When he met Sun the first time, the other had been on edge but still relatively upbeat. Though when he thought about it, Sun and Moon were both infected by the virus so maybe he hadn't actually met the real Sun then. He still didn't quite understand why Sun hadn't hurt him when he was infected but he was grateful for that and a part of him wanted to properly apologize for the mess he made that night in the daycare.
Arms stretched high over Paul's head and the man tucked the clipboard under his arm once he brought it back down. His mouth opened wide with a yawn as he waved a dismissive hand towards the group. "Aight, yer all good ta go do whatever. Keep the brat on a leash though. I don't want him ta get in my way." As soon as Paul brushed past them towards the exit, Gregory stuck his tongue out.
Paul paused and turned around then, one eyebrow raised curiously at him before pinning his gaze on the solar-themed animatronic. "Sun, with me."
There was a moment of hesitation as Sun glanced back at the slide, only to shake their head and follow after Paul with the dangling badge clasped tightly in their hand. Gregory watched them leave, having to cran his neck at an awkward angle just to see. As the shutter closed, he caught a glimpse of the man grabbing Sun's free hand and leading them away.
"So… what's their deal?" Gregory asked, leaning over Freddy's head to look the bear in the eyes. They glowed brighter, something he'd come to associate with Freddy's happiness.
"Who's deal?"
"Paul and Sun. They look pretty familiar with each other."
"Ah. Paul actually designed the Daycare Attendant models, he is most familiar with how they work!" Freddy informed him, eyes closing and ears flicking as he spoke. Gregory smiled down at the bear, curiosity peeking into his mind.
Their moment was interrupted by Roxy as she elbowed Freddy's side. "I think the kid meant they seem familiar on a more personal level than just work." Freddy's eyes widened in realization, the fans whirring faster in his body giving away his embarrassment. Roxy didn't even give them a second to respond before leaning heavily against the bear and continuing with vague hand gestures accompanying her speech, "I heard DA is Paul's favorite cause they babysat his kid for him. Apparently the kid loved their creepy little ass a ton."
"No, no," Chica chirped suddenly as she all but literally jumped into the conversation. "That was part of it for sure, but I heard Paul's so close to them because he has to do a lot of maintenance on them. I guess they get into a lot of accidents and he feels bad for the guy."
"Ahahaha!! You're both wrong, so listen up! It's obviously because Paul had a thing for the old Attendant." Monty chimed in and stood with his hands proudly on his hips as if completely certain his version was the right one. Vanessa made a choking sound and all their heads whipped to face her.
She looked up, eyeing Monty curiously as she asked, "Where the fuck did you even hear that?!" Her snicker didn't go unnoticed and Gregory had to agree it was funny thinking about someone having a crush on a robot.
The gator shrugged and tucked his hands in his pockets, at least having the decency to look ashamed of his words. "Heard it from P&S workers a few years back! Something about finding a 'less than child friendly' file of Eclipse pictures in the guy's personal computer. Y'know, all sorts of-" Monty wilted under Vanessa's sharp stare, voice petering out into quiet static as he followed her gaze to the kid on Freddy's shoulders.
Gregory pulled a disgusted face at that before the words actually sank in. Then he furrowed his brow. Somehow he'd never considered that there was a previous daycare bot. He wondered briefly what happened to them but the answer was most likely decommissioning. It was the usual answer when he asked about animatronics that he never saw in the plex.
"Gosh… if that's true, is it safe to leave the daycare attendant alone with him?" Chica wondered aloud, gaze turning to the shutters where the pair had left.
"If it were true, do you really think they'd have kept the guy? I think Monty is full of shit!" Roxanne announced loudly as she pulled away from Freddy and leveled a confident stare at Monty. The gator growled in response. Their discussion took off from there, arguing and pointing out the flaws of the rumors about Paul and the daycare attendant. No one was willing to give up the idea that theirs was the correct one.
Vanessa sighed and moved to stand beside Freddy as the group continued to debate the rumors. They seemed oddly animated about the topic and she quickly realized this was turning into a gossip fest. Not wanting to stick around for it, she tapped Freddy's shoulder and motioned to Gregory. "Give me the kid, it's almost midnight now. He's gotta be hungry."
Freddy glanced down at her for a moment before kneeling to the ground to let the boy climb down. "I want to explore the daycare though," Gregory stated.
"You can do that once you've eaten Superstar! Though the play area will likely be off-limits without the daycare attendant present." Freddy gave him a pat on the shoulder as he added, "But fear not! There is much to explore outside of the play areas. Be good for Vanessa." Gregory nodded, agreeing easily as his stomach rumbled. Vanessa led him out of the daycare as the boy plotted the best place to start exploring it.
Halfway towards the nearest breakroom, Vanessa's walkie-talkie went off. Paul's voice sounded through the speakers. "Ness. Get yer ass down here asap. We need to talk." It sounded frustrated, still dripping in the same tiredness from earlier but scolding like he was talking to a child. The blonde and her charge cringed at the tone.
"You think he wants to talk to you about the hack thing?" Gregory asked her, tugging on her shirt to get her attention.
She shuddered, turning away from him with an uneasy look. "Normally I'd say there's no way for him to know, but I remember hearing he knows things he couldn't possibly have known. If he hadn't been shuffled away to a different location for a year, I doubt I'd have gotten as far as I did when I was… like that."
"He looked right at you when he mentioned it in the meeting." The boy added. He'd learned a long time ago that it was better to just rip off band-aids like that. Vanessa was an adult. She could handle it. But it was weird to think Paul may have been aware of what was happening. As far as Gregory knew, it wasn't logically possible for him to find out that Vanessa was the hacker or that she was involved in the virus fiasco. They worked hard to cover those tracks since the one responsible was punished already.
Cautiously, Gregory asked, "Is there any way he could know? Like. At all? Sun or Moon wouldn't have been able to tell him, right?"
Pausing, Vanessa contemplated the question. Maybe one of the animatronics had told on her, but surely it couldn't have been the Daycare Attendant. There was a reason Vanny targeted it first. Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts aside and gave Gregory a sharp pat on the shoulder. "However he knows, if he does at all, is none of my concern. If he knows, then there likely isn't much he can do about it. Otherwise he wouldn't wait until now to move."
Gregory nodded to show he understood and offered the woman a pat just like she'd given him. She smiled down at him and added, "Alright, I'd better go then. You know where the break room is. Grab a bite and book it right back to the daycare, got it? No wandering around." He rolled his eyes at that and gave a curt salute. Satisfied, Vanessa stood up and left towards the main stage. Her radio crackled to life again and he could hear Paul's voice crackling through the speakers.
Left to his own devices now, the boy quickly made his way to the breakroom. Along the way he plotted what to do first in his exploration. If he remembered right, there was that hidden door he never investigated in the theater. That might be a good place to start.
Yes. That would be the perfect place to start.
Paul's gruff voice drifted through the open door of the little storage room Vanessa was told to find. The man was there, a toolbox open on a nearby table and a pack of wet wipes beside the Daycare Attendant that were being used to clean the dirt and paint and everything else from the bot's casing. The clean areas were already so much brighter than she was used to seeing. It was jarring just how bad a shape he was in and from the looks of it Paul hadn't even started internal repairs.
They hadn't noticed her yet, and she shifted awkwardly just outside the doorway as she listened to their conversation. Sun's high pitched and strained voice drifted out, stuttering and sputtering over his words. "-so-so-so glad to see you ag-again! We- I missed you!" The attendant wrapped the man tightly in his arms, making a rumbling sound akin to a purr. Paul laughed, returning the gesture with the same enthusiasm. It was… surreal to see on the man who usually kept a scowl firmly plastered on his face.
"I know, I know. Ya told me that five times already ya big dope. And go ahead and say 'we', it's just us here right now. I doubt anyone who is here would tattle on ya anyway Sunshine." Paul assured as he pulled away and tossed another wipe in the bin beside the table Sun was seated on. Then he scrawled something in a notepad she hadn't noticed before. "I wanna check yer voicebox and volume control too. Seems like somethin' is off with those."
Sun fidgeted with his ribbons again, only pausing to move as Paul directed so he could be cleaned. When he spoke again, it was much quieter than before. "...Okay… And do you think… can Moon have his old body back? And maybe fix this one…" The daycare attendant paused, bells jingling as he toyed with one anxiously. A sound mimicking a sigh escaped him as he added, "It scares kids."
Nodding, Paul agreed. "Yeah. 'Course." The two fell silent for a long moment then as the man finished cleaning up the wipes and returned them to the box of cleaning supplies on a nearby shelf. Turning back to Sun, Paul reached out to cup the bot's face in his hands and brought him to eye level. For a moment, Vanessa’s mind flickered back to the Glamrocks and their little gossip fest earlier.
But those thoughts shut down the moment Paul spoke again, his tone softer than she had ever heard in the few times she’s encountered him. “I’m glad ya got outta that fire. Both of you boys. You must’ve been so scared. It’s a miracle that old arcade cabinet survived and kept ya safe.” Sun visibly deflated when Paul’s voice started to crack, shoulders sagging and rays retracting in a show of… distress? Unease? Worry? The permanent smile and unblinking white eyes made it difficult to gauge the exact emotion the daycare attendant was trying to express.
“We- I am s-s-s-sorry.” And Sun’s voice cracked as he hugged the man again. “I’m s-s-sorry to you. And to Moon for shutting him off during that f-fire… I’m sorry I scared you both. I-” He buried his face into the mechanic’s shoulder, voice tapering out into static so low Vanessa couldn’t hear any of it. Whatever he said, made Paul huff.
“Man… they really did a number on ya while I was gone, huh? I’d never leave ya behind here fer good. Couldn’t stand losin’ someone else ta Fazbear Fuckin’ Entertainment.” Sun’s head tilted slightly towards something in the room corner that Vanessa couldn’t see and his grip tightened on the man as he muttered what could only be a quiet agreement.
Vanessa couldn’t help the twitch of her hand at that. She hoped that whoever Paul lost wasn’t a victim of Vanny and Glitchtrap’s rampage through the Pizzaplex. Though she’d rarely seen the man, there were plenty of rumors surrounding him. Even if she hadn’t heard that he kept a nail-bat hidden somewhere in the building, the guilt of her actions would weigh heavier on her conscience having to look him in the eye. Maybe it’d be best if she didn’t eavesdrop anymore.
With a sharp knock against the doorframe, she put on her best pokerface and waited for the two to separate before entering the room. “You called me?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Curiosity gnawed at her and she looked around the room. Shelves lined the room, filled with tools or loose parts, save for the spot a small desk was pushed into the corner. On it was more tools, loose papers stacked in teetering piles, and an assortment of framed photos. The wall behind the desk was plastered with an array of drawings surrounding an old blueprint for a place labeled “Freddy Fazbear’s Park and Pizzaplex”.
She shuffled closer to peek at them all, noting that Sun and Moon’s signed drawings were among the normal human names scribbled like autographs on some of the papers. Among those were drawing of the daycare attendant in both day and night mode. These though had four arms and long puffy sleeves as well as a softer, cuter appearance than the attendant sitting behind her. In one picture, they both stood together with hands held by an unfamiliar animatronic. It looked similar to both but had rays like Sun and a star-patterned cloak that suited Moon’s night theme better.
Glancing down at the photos, Vanessa’s eyes locked onto one showing the very same animatronic in the drawing. She stared, wide-eyed and mouth agape as she looked at the image. The massive animatronic held two other animatronics in two of its hands that were clearly separate versions of the daycare attendant. And Paul sat in the lower two hands that were cupped to help him settle better, an exasperated expression painted on his face. The Sun in the picture looked far more relaxed than she was used to seeing, one arm thrown over the larger one’s shoulder and the other making half a heart that the Moon across from him finished with a broad smile and closed eyes. They looked so genuinely happy and calm. Not like the wary Moon or anxious and fearful Sun she knew. And their expressions… She hadn’t known they had the ability to emote like that.
Her eyes trailed to another picture, one of Paul’s family at one of his kids’ graduation ceremonies. Again that strange animatronic stood over them in the background, though it was smaller and moon themed and there was no Sun or Moon. The next was a photo of his wedding to a brightly smiling woman, the animatronic standing again in the background. And in the last photo an older model of the animatronic sat in a decorative chair, draped in a rainbow flag and holding two babies. To the left, a much younger Paul crouched beside the chair. To the right, his future wife kneeled on the ground in an attempt to even their poses out. And behind the chair stood another man with a slight grin tugging at the corner of his lips as he wrapped his arms around the animatronic’s shoulders.
The soft thunk of something bouncing off the back of her head drew her attention to the man and machine behind her. Sun was watching her, or at least she assumed he was, with his head cocked to the side in a curious way. Like a dog not quite sure what it’s owner was doing. He fiddled with the bells on his wrists so a soft jingle had filled the place of silence. Paul wasn’t even looking at her, instead he toyed with the crumpled piece of paper in his hands with an intense stare.
She felt her cheeks burn as embarrassment reared it’s ugly head. There was no one to blame though. It was her choice to snoop right in front of obvious company. Was this that self-destructive thing her therapist mentioned? Doing stuff like shoving her nose where it didn’t belong right where she’d be caught? But neither Paul nor Sun mentioned her nosy behavior. Instead, Paul tossed the paper ball in his hands right at her forehead.
An upset squawk escaped Sun, and she caught the briefest attempt to chide the behavior before Paul knocked his knuckles against the bot’s faceplate. Then Paul addressed her, his smile smoothing into a thin line as he pressed his lips together. “So… That was fer messin’ with my AI. I had ta do a ton a repair work, y’know?”
Vanessa’s heart sank straight down to her feet at those words. She wasn’t sure how or why, but he knew. Paul knew she was the hacker. Her chest felt tight, breaths too shallow. But the man didn’t speak, didn’t move, didn’t even let Sun near her as he tried to offer his help. Instead, he waited patiently for her response. Somehow that made her feel even worse.