Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Type this, sign that. There's a buzz coming from your phone. Scroll through this, take a picture of that. All so you don't forget to do this, that, and the other this and that. You take your arms and stretch them above your head for the third time in a minute. Then put two fingers below your ear to push yourself to unclench your jaw for the fifth time in two minutes. Another vibration from your phone. You look at the time on your laptop. 2:25.

2:25 AM.

Seventeen minutes of wasted time, and an inability to focus. Against the serial voices that scream at you to rest, there's an army of voices that scream at you to keep going with deadlines and expectations that make sense to you and you alone.

Enough. You have had enough. Holding your breath, you reach for your phone. There's two messages that show:

“Are we still good?”
…
“just keep ignoring me”

You check back on your phone and sigh. Whatever, what's done is done. They made their choice and you made yours. Besides, it's not like you can fix that anyhow. You save the tabs on your computer. Wasn't there a fact out there to not do anything important past nine? Yeah, that's the best excuse you can come up with, just to gain some peace of mind. Which it still leaves to be unconvinced. You sigh to yourself.
“So much for getting future work done.” A true hope to get some that nasty paperwork over with is gone. Too much has happened tonight. You take one extra stretch as you follow the computer glow to your ceiling.

You opt for the daily ritual. (Which usually happens much more at a prevalent, and sometimes, a more acceptable time than now). Going in your applications folder to open Security Breach. It takes its sweet time loading up, per usual. In fact every time you open the files, it feels like it takes longer and longer to actively start the game. You don't mind, because as it's loading; you open a different tab.

In this tab you put code that you learned from a chat form. You continue to stare at the loading screen til it finally states FAZBEAR ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS…You press E to skip. No need to see the scene when you have already seen it hundreds of times. It is then when you head to the other tab to click on the code you entered. Immediately, the game glitches out, but takes you to the beginning of Gregory entering down the slide to get to what you have been looking for.

A familiar place of light denim blue walls under fluorescent lighting appears on screen. Your character walks among the dark gray carpet and around the opaque dark blue chairs contrasting to the pumpkin orange couches with bright yellow cushions. The hanging fences, covered in a plastic black seal your character away from completing this dinnertime ritual as you force them to continue to the sign. The sign past the blackened cubes and red gate which has Freddy's golden face plastered on it. Usually, you would wander about in the area longer. Considering how it's closer to morning, actually being the early dawn, you skip the formalities.

The sign has been approached. “SLIDE INTO FUN!” as red arrows paint to it, covered in a simplified rainbow with a cloud surrounding it. Your character passes through it. Sliding down the blue, green, yellow, orange, red, blue, green directly into the infamous ball pit. Your character waits, then you shuttle a little. Finally the cutscene plays.

There he is, in all of his glory. Sundrop does his signature little twirl as he takes a cartoonist swan dive into the pit where you stand. “Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!” You heard this so many times it barely escapes your ears. Your character scurries a few steps forward before–

“Helloooo! New friend! You're sure up late! Are you having a slumber party? Where are all your friends?”

“I wish I was having a slumber party right now. Rough day…night. Day?” You grumble as you check the time on your phone once more. Not like Sun could actually hear you. It did not help that a pre recorded script happened to be so accurate at the moment. A sense of joy overflows within you as your ritual is half complete. Even if it was fictional, it was nice to feel held by one of your favorite characters.
“We can finger paint, tell stories, drink fizzy faz til out heads ex-PLODE and stay up all night!”
“Pfft, already got that last part covered, my guy.”
“There is only one rule: keep the lights on. ON. on.” You have “broken” that one rule countless times already. How else were you going to see your other favorite character?

“I won't. Not today. But I wish to see Moon more too. I miss him.” You are met with a welcoming silence as Sundrop cradles your avatar through the screen. At least, you like to imagine that being the case. “Don't be rude, I missed you a lot too, I'm just lucky to see ya more often.” Sundrop doesn't respond. “I guess I'm being rude as well. I didn't even get to say hello back to you yet…. Hello Sundrop, I missed you a lot.” He moves side side with the same consistency as always. It could be the lack of sleep, yet you can't help but notice a purple after hue from a few of the moments he makes.

You decide with the little energy gained from the interaction, that there was little harm in changing clothes. For the only thing you took off was your shoes when you came back. You had an off day tomorrow, there's no reason to not get into something more comfortable.

“I'll be right back Sun.” Pushing out your chair, you take a minute or two to stand before you mosey on to your closet. Watching the greenish glow illuminate the rest of your room. When was the last time you gave the space a deep clean? Posters along the walls plastered with your favorite jesters, figurines all carefully placed within one of the corners. Shelves installed throughout the side opposite to your bed. As you look down to not trip on any loose laundry that didn't make it in for the next load. You shuffle to your closet, opening the door with enough space to walk inside. You walk in and gently close the door behind you. Yes, you were alone. But, it felt strange as Sundrop was too close within the laptop, you couldn't overcome a sense of bashfulness.

Taking off your pants, shirt, other accessories and putting on your favorite character themed pajamas. It was quite the lucky bargain when they were on sale a few months back. Now. They'll be the only pajamas you've worn for the past few weeks, besides a laundry day or two.

You don't know what happened but before you could even open the closet door again. There was a large bang and vibration that you felt from the floor. You peaked through the crack. The closet door flew to the slide.
“...Fuck….”
The shelf that was hanging the more expensive pieces of your stuff broke off. The shelf that took you hours to set up so your younger family members won't reach the more fragile stuff and break it, which has now been counteracted by gravity and badly built walls. Quickly, you pace your lights to switch to better assess the damage.

The plushies boarded were fine, still proud to have them in your hands. Most of the figurines were fine to your relief. You gently place them to the side of the wall. The disarmed shelf, you moved underneath your bed. In hindsight. a cheap shelf would break off anyhow. Yet, its failure is fair to disappointing at the moment. Some of the lego builds broke off in the places you expected, an easy fix.

Then there's…the gift. A ceramic mug that certainly did not make it. It was used to hold a few other trinkets that did. And it felt like everything that happened in the past few weeks decided to bubble over. Tears were running through your cheeks paired with the frustration of crying over something like this. That mug was made by a friend of yours, they made it in theme with your favorite characters. You could always fix it later. A small sentiment that is supposed to soothe you. But you find yourself with an uncontrollable sob.

It took longer than you expected, pulling yourself from off of the floor. More than a force of sheer will that came over you. You look at the glow from your laptop. Sundrop is still at the forefront of the camera. The realization hitting you: you're crying on the floor and that there were better things to do about it. Not that it's bad to cry, it was a decent cry, a cry for often for the better. You slink back to your computer.

Battery is at 5%. You take your beat up charger and your laptop to your bed. Plugging in your laptop then feeling out the nearest wall to figure where to plug the other end in. Success. Your battery goes down to 4%. Your laptop tends to do that. You scoff, then look at Sundrop's unrelenting face.

“Low battery. Typical. Sorry Sundrop, I think it's time for me to go to sleep.”

“Oh I won't worry about that! Why don't you spend a little more time with your good ol’ little ol’ me!” such words don't register in your mind.

“I'll see you tomorrow Sun.” You lazily attempt to close your laptop before your hear.

“Wait! Don't go! Don't GO! DON'T GO! YET-”
Suddenly a giant hand appears from the screen and grabs you by the waist. Immediately you don't know whether to scream or think you're just imagining things as the hand pulls you closer to the computer.

Circles of purple and white screens surround you as you claw into a white abyss of rearranging colors. A kaleidoscope of violet shades shift and shape followed by an intense shock among your waist.

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A familiar scene of the animatronics dancing on stage starts up with the typical intro song to the game blades around your ear. Echoes of the Daycare theme ring around you and slowly merge into other familiar melodies within the game. Your falling. Your flying with a rushed dizziness.

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You land on your rump, a soreness from the back of your legs kicks in. Your hands clinging onto the foam mats that are covered in some sort of shiny plastic material. You open your eyes to find the sharp light intruding. In the background you hear a mechanic shout.

“Oh it worked? It worked! IT WORKED?! I never thought we would be able to meet like this but I guess it was meant to be!” Your eyes adjust to the light and see an array of primary colors on the ground…moreover Sundrop standing right above you.

“S-Sun?” Such a meekly groan was contrasted by an everlasting over-bearing squeal. Sundrop enormous hands all around to touch you once more. This time you have enough space to try and back away. It was too late. Once he touched you it was back to static.

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FAZBEAR ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS
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On the ground you lay. A ceiling full of sunset colors all mixed together, divided by a black metal binding. The tiniest reflection of light shines near the edges. Your head throbbing as you continue to lay alongside some sort of carpet. You can feel your gear beating out of your chest. Breathe, deep breaths. You take the time to stand as you notice a familiar carpet pattern of silver traced lines on spackled blue. Then, a large patch of polished grey floors followed by a checkered look of blue and white. It couldn't be…right?

This had to be a dream. There's no way that you're actually in the Mega Pizza Plex in the game. You take your shot to immediately run to the exit before those doors shut down for good. It certainly feels like running in a dream as you pass by the bright night lights on the walls. The graphics that advertise the characters circle around the big pillars as you pass by. You don't even bother to look behind you. Charging forward to the white borders of the glass doors. Luckily nothing closes on you so you don’t struggle out to the parking lot.

Darkness greets you as you make it out with no other buildings insight. You walk along one of the sidewalks until you have half a mind to just run. This takes to further into the darkness and you receive some sort of falling sensation.

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You're lying on your back once again, on a carpet you now know. This has to be a dream right? Well, there can be two options that you can check for sure. The first being that usually in dreams once you realize that it is, in fact, a dream. This gets blurry as you start to wake up. You look around you. There's a holographic Glamrock Freddy waving around the pillar that you passed by earlier. The only thing blurry was the light around it, yet it doesn't get blurrier.

The second will be a little harder to achieve. If you are in a body of water surely something might happen to make you wake up. However, as you browse around the open area that resembles A theater remembering the concepts of the game. A security level needs to be reached to gain access. It might be a very difficult thing to achieve. You pace back to see the opened doors of the entrance. Since the game hasn't technically “started” yet, you might have a chance at escaping the dream.

To Monty’s Mini golf you go. Darting through the halls, weaving around the many places. Maybe you played too much of this game for a dream to be this detailed. However, as you continue to wander among the mixed lights, flashy colors, and various printed grounds. The voices in the back of your mind tempt you with a conclusion of: what if you're really stuck in a game?

The voices are interrupted by a distant echo of giggling. Not just any giggling, the raspy unhinged villain giggling that you have resisted multiple times. You immediately stop and check around you. Then you look up to the ceiling to find no irregularities compared to when you first entered. A violent clicking matched with a chuckle probed you to turn to the walls as you found your favorite friend reaching over and around a large circular wall. Your legs lock into place but you urge yourself to move before Moondrop tries to reattach himself to his wire. You must make a break for it. Yet, you still can't move. You see as Moondrop twists his around as he makes an effort to turn to you.

You pull off one of your legs hard, urging yourself that now it is the time to go. Moondrop is slinking his way towards you. You bolt, any direction is fine as long as you are able to get away from him. Truthfully, the idea that this was a dream was starting to come back in full flow. As you run you feel your legs are starting to give out yet your heart does not burn. Blood pulsing through your veins yet everything feels slower. A pit grows and wraps around your waist and you feel the adrenaline leak out of you. Slowly you realize something has a grip on your waist, and the patterns on the floor are quickly getting smaller. The running spins through into kicking as you notice your captor was silent.

You feel a wind coming from behind you and now know that Moondrop is talking you backwards. You start screeching at him with nonsense. Flailing your arms, unintentionally you look down and see your slipper. (You silently thank the effort you took into stretching to take your slipper successfully.) There you try to pry his hands off you by beating them with the comfy shoe. You hear a small snarl as you scream,

“You were not supposed to show up at this point!” There's a noticeable shift in direction as you struggle to get him off and away from you. A lucky strike for tipping away his cap, to which he drops you to retrieve it. You have no idea as to why that didn't even hurt. Mystery aside, you are free from his grasp; regardless of your desires. At the cost of hurting your dear favorite character. A price surely world ending if you are sure this isn't a dream. Nonetheless, they probably should have seen it coming. The idea that if you do come across him again, you'll apologize.

In the corner of your eye a large speckled ball comes to view, leaving you to turn and dash towards it. Many more giant golf ball seats leap into vision. The marbled purple and green signature colors for the area you are looking for are in fruition. A giant purple lighting bolt striking through the words “Monty’s Gator Golf” glistens in a neon ivory. The S.T.A.F.F bot at the entrance still, you charge yourself for a run in as you go around it and under the violet shaded tunnels that you need.

For a mini golf game imitation, finding a smidgen of water seemed to be almost impossible. Any semblance of a pool being replaced with neon lavender and grass colored plastic balls. Beyond the pipe lined fences had only to be filled with a resin like fake water with plastic plants. Which is probably for the best, considering that many robots and other electric devices are wandering about.

Alas, you have found the exact thing you need. Even as you'd search you are becoming more and more certain that this is not a dream, what else could explain this predicament? You chuck one of the plastic balls while you stand on a mini bridge of water. The ripples reflected from the light that do conform that true water is indeed underneath you.

No hesitation. You take one step on the metal railing. Lifting your other leg over, leaving you sitting. Then a slide. All the way into the pond. The water itself was shallow for a pond, yet deep for a fountain. The water coming up to your knees. This will do. You slowly crouch down until you cover your face with water. Chlorine, salty, it nearly burns your eyes, steeping through your nose.

You cough, but the water cholesterol you as you try to push yourself further. Yet your body ultimately rejects it. Your arms flail and you end up bumping your end. Yet you persist.

Surely you will wake up soon.
Surely, you will be free from this child's horror game.

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The burning stops. You feel lighter. Despite the shallow water you feel like you're floating. Then you realize that you were rising.

“Are you alright, Player?” Glamrock Freddy's voice being soft, yet a voice unforeign.

“Freddy?” You rasp. Coughing out the extra water. Glamrock Freddy releases the cusp of your shirt. Taking care to set you down gently. Once you are putting down your notice that there's no wet feeling sticking to you, like it should be in the real world.

“What?! How?! How am I still dry?” You look around. It is indeed Freddy from the game. “Freddy? Glamrock Freddy? What..how? Why?”

“Woah, so you really are stuck here.” Gregory continues to get closer to you. Circling around you, like a specimen to be observed.

“Player, it seems like you are experiencing a lot of distress. Do you think an explanation will help?” A pause, what kind of question is that? Obviously yes. However, seeing that both characters have found you nearly drowning… the lack of judgment is better off.

“Yes. Actually. That might help. How did I get here?”

“That I am not sure of. One of the S.T.A.F.F members noticed you running among the halls. Then, I was sent a warning notification with your location. Soon Gregory and I saw you jump off a bridge. That's very dangerous of you, Player. Even though you are less affected by the restrictions of the real world. You could have been hurt!”

“Yeah. Sorry. I was attempting to find a way out of here.”

“Well, so am I.” Gregory crossed his arms and furrowed his brows. Freddy looks back at Gregory.

“Sure. Anyway, do you know how I can get out of here?”

“Huh? Why do you want to leave so soon?”

“I have life stuff I need to take care of.”

“I am going to be honest, Player. I do not have the resources available to help with this scenario. But looking into various storylines with this type of predicament. It seems like you will have to get to the end of the game to get back home.” Dread kicks in. This is a children's horror game, with no good ending, does Freddy know this?

“Are you sure? I don’t think we should just take such drastic measures.”

“Drastic measures? Really? Just say you were never really good enough to completely run through the game!”

“Gregory, I am sure the Player has a good reason for this...Player can you tell us why?”

“Well, not many of the choices made are good to get there. I guess we'll need time to explore options.” Gregory scoffs. Yet Freddy seems more inquisitive.

“Not good? Can you explain further?” How could you phrase that all his friends will be destroyed? That everyone is under some deadly virus.

“... A lot of the options require Gregory to be put in dangerous positions as well as a lot of property damage happens. I want to prevent that from happening.”

“Oh I see! We don't want anything bad to happen.”

“If that's really necessary, we need to find a way to trigger the event and get what we need without hurting anyone.”

“Of course. Nothing bad should happen.”

“Freddy, are you in safe mode right now?”

“Yes. I am in safe mode. Yet, I doubt I will be providing much use due to that.” Gregory is silent, his face tells you everything you need to know about how he feels. Suspicion.

“Do you often talk to your band members?”

“Indeed. But I do not understand how this might help.”

“Since this game hasn't really officially closed the Pizza Plex. You can gather your friends. The more people we have, the better chance we get of more helpful information.” Freddy doesn't move for a few minutes. Everyone is silent. Then Freddy beams.

“What a great idea! I'm sure the others should know much more since they're connected to the network.”

“What!? Freddy, no! That's a terrible idea. That weird security lady could be out to be me soon!”

“Do not worry Gregory. You now have the Player to keep you company. And they also have outside influence to keep you safe.” Gregory glares at you.

“Yeah right. They never even completed the game.” The words mumble out of Gregory’s breath.

“Gregory, it has to be Freddy. The other robots are more likely to cooperate and listen to him than both of us.”

“Indeed! They are our friends. I doubt they want to hurt us. I'll be back.” Both you and Gregory looked at each other for a moment. Soon Freddy started mechanically moving out of view. You forget that his walking seems like stomping. As you flick out of the way as he excitedly goes to the exit.

The quiet sleeps into the air, pulling both Gregory and you either away. Yet, none of you moved from where you're currently standing. Tension. Awkwardness. A crucial component of a bond missing, replaced with an uneasy knowing.

“So…”

“Don't bother. I don't want to talk to you.” Gregory puffed out.

“Oh…ok.” You decide to sit against the end of the pool. Taking the time to look along the purple sky, checkered ground, and the neon green platters that paint Gator Golf. Gregory paces around for a moment, with nothing to do and no Freddy around to give him instructions.

“You don't know how you even got here, don't you?” Gregory breaks the silence and looks at you. His brown eyes are sharp, his brow furrowed.

“I mean, I kind of do. In the game I went into the Daycare.-” Gregory rolls his eyes.

“I talked with Sun and suddenly was grabbed in here.”

“So it's his fault! I knew it. There's no way you could have gotten here on your own.”

“What?”

“And you just make me stay there for HOURS! What do you do anyway, when you're not controlling the screen? It's so annoying!” Gregory puts his hands in the air as he continues to march around. Completely avoiding the poor worker bots that continue on their cycles.
“Hold on, you actually know what I do in here?”
“Well, uh, clearly not. You don't tend to put me in third person. Do you know how weird it is to have a body that's not really yours? Cuddling up with a stupid weirdo who kicks me out of stuff. Do you forget that you even play when he's on screen? That weirdo with the cap too. You keep on killing me to even see that thing's face!”

“No, not really, I just eat dinner.” Gregory stops his pacing to look at you.

“You what?”

“I eat dinner.”

“But you only see Sun's close up face?!” You shrug.

“Kinda the point. It makes me less lonely. And it forces me to have dinner.” Gregory continues to stare at you, his eyes furrowed and frown distinctive. Close to a wince.

“That's..really pathetic. Don't you have better things to do? Like… you're an adult. Eat with other friends if you're so lonely.” You look at him back, not judgemental thoughts following through you, for now.

“I do. Occasionally, but it reminds me to eat more often.”

“Why? What? Why do you have to be reminded to EAT?”

“Well excuse me! Stuff happens!”

“You're AN ADULT! How are you not responsible enough to eat!” Before you say something in defense, you pause.

“Gregory, when was the last time you had a meal?”

“Don't flip it back on me! I'm a character! I'm not even real!”

“Almost through the entire night of running around, you don't eat even once! And this is at a pizzeria!...Wait. practically the only one that canonically eats in the storyline is Chica and it should be impossible for her to eat.”

You pose a faux expression as you lift on your eyebrows and purse your lips. “Very unrealistic if you ask me.” Gregory pouts and crosses his arms.

“Well excuse me I'm not real and I'm a child. What's your deal?” He looks back into your eyes.

The both of you stare at one another for an almost comical amount of time until you realize that you should probably be the bigger person and initiate something else to get back home. However, luck was on your side (for once) and you hurt a subtle growl. Gregory flushes as he tugs in his shirt with an anger painted in his face. You offer him your hand.

“Yeah. Let's find something to eat.”

The two of you about the Plex. Gregory doesn't seem to care about the robots that are supposed to be chasing (and potentially?) killing him. So, neither do you. It's strange. How casual it is when Gregory leads you to the elevator so that you both can go into the kitchen. How much do these characters know about this world being a game? Do they do something different once you tap out? The most important question right now might be: How does one get food, not kill Chica, and get the pass necessary to unlock the other areas? Two questions into one. Both are vital.

You and Gregory stand in front of the kitchen door. The both of you stare at its label. But you continue to look long enough for Gregory to stare at you.

“Do you often just stare into space?” Ignoring him, you knock gently on the door.

“How is that going to work? I doubt that they'll just let you in and let us-” A clear creaking sound effect played in overlap as the door opened slightly with a S.T.A.F.F bot behind. It is adoring a tiny chef hat. It's lifeless beady black eyes staring directly into your soul.

“Um. Hi.” You do a small wave as you hold your other arm.

“Is it ok if we use your kitchen to make something?” The bot doesn't reply back. It continues to stare at you.

“Geez, are you too communicating through telekinesis? The game doesn't work like this were gonna get-”

“FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZA IS 37.99 TOPPINGS INCLUDE MEAT, NON MEAT, CHEESE, AND SPECIAL INGREDIENTS ALL FOR AN EXTRA 6.99 A PIECE.” It turned around, leaving the door open. Gregory watched as the bot slowly rotated away from the door, his mouth completely open in shock.

Carefully, you threaded into the kitchen. You always looked around, not trying to leave a single space unscanned. Just in case Chica decided to arrive as the script intended. Gregory kept an eye on the bots who were now half hazardly moving about. You had to be the abrasive one and went to the freezer to see what they had. If you had to be honest with yourself, you weren't expecting much. After all, a developer wouldn't put too much effort into stocking a freezer. Would they? You were shocked enough to find that the door could be opened.

Surprisingly, there was stuff there: Frozen meat, tubs of ice cream, cheese, precut pepperoni, and something exactly what you have been looking for. Frozen peas. The packaging on it even had one of the mascots on it. Mr. Hippos Preposterous Peas. Granted, the branding could use a little work; but it was at least there. And there were frozen string beans, it was also a very convenient stroke of luck as there was no way vegetables might even be found in a pizzeria of all places. Maybe it was a joke between developers to add something more accommodating to parents? You also got a frozen bag of pre-cut fries. A less shocking thing to have in a fast food resort. Whether if it's a pizza place or not, you like to think it would have to accommodate to some non-loving pizza customers. This place canonically has nachos for the sake of it.

You hold two of the bags in your arms, and brace your hand to the icy cold bag that you bring to the counter. Gregory has not stopped watching you or the others bots in the kitchen. A feeling of being watched ensues as you get a pot from one of the cabinets from above the metal counter, and go to the sink to fill it with water. You turn on the stove. As you wait for the water to heat up, you get another pan to break the frozen bags so it can get out of the bag faster. Gregory watches intensely as you go through the motions.

“...What are you making?”

“Shepards pie”

“What?! Why are you making a stupid casserole? This is a pizzeria!” Gregory whispers. You don't even bother to look at his face of shock and disappointment.

“Ironic ain't it? Besides, it's a hot dish. I bet you hadn't had something like this for a while.”

“Well- I-”

“Well, we got to eat. Don't we? And it's probably healthier this way.”

“Oh since when do you care about health? I seen you chug over 5 of those weird energy drinks in one day and-”

“Ok! Ok! Point made! I just was craving something like this right now. Alright?”Gregory looked around one final time before you pause and say.
“Wait do you actually know what I do behind the computer or was that a lucky-” Gregory shushes you with a flushing face.

“Well, sometimes you tried to cheat code to make the game third person. That's when I can see you. But we should leave!” He whispers.

“Let's just get something to eat first.”

“What if Chica comes?!” His whispers warps into a yell.

“She can have some too. After all, she can technically eat.”

You use one of the knives to open the bag of pre-cut fries and put them in the pot. You head to the MEAT station and put some of it into a pan. You returned to the stove with the meat filled pan and started cooking it. As you passed by, you pre heated the oven. It took a little extra attention to find the salt and other spices to use. However, it wasn’t particularly as bad to find compared to your apartment kitchen. Gregory continues to watch you as he thinks of what to say.

“...You're weird.”

“Is that better than pathetic?”

“You're weird and pathetic.”

“I'll take it.” You say, as you are putting a ton of garlic into the meat(?). The pan sizzles and you finally smell something other and wet chlorine sodden clothes from the pool (which shouldn't be the case yet it persists even in a reset) . You also find the bag of peas melted enough to be placed in another pot to cook.

“By the way. What do you know of me? You clearly know that I've been spending time here. Yet you ask what I do outside of the screen?”

“That's none of your business!”

“Well if I want to get out. Then it might play a part.”

“Well I'm not telling you! It's not like I want to be here either.” You test out the peas, and turn off that section of the stove. Dumping out most of the water in the pot.

“How about a trade?” You focus on mixing the meat, it was browning out a lot faster than it usually was.

“A trade?”
“I think I can wager that you don't know jack shit about your own story.”

“Watch it.” Gregory stares at you with an angry glare. His arms tighten as he crosses them.

“Just as I know nothing about what this world knows about itself.”

“Yeah right. How can you be so sure that I don't know what will happen?”

“Because if you did, I doubt you would want the end to happen.” Gregory’s eyes soften.

“What?” Curiously, you turn back to him.

“Gregory, did you know that there are five endings to this game?”

“Um, duh. Of course I do, it's my game!”

“Four out of the five endings end up with this burning and crashing down.”

“So? We can just get the Good Ending!”

“Gregory you don't understand, all the endings are so ambiguous on purpose. That even in the DLC, you end up missing. Freddy gets the rest of his body torn up in all endings. It's a part of a franchise known for its plot holes and horror.” Gregory looks at you with tears in his eyes. Instead regret fills your bones, as the words stepped out of your mouth.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah.”

You turn back to check on the potatoes. When they are soft enough to mold, you turn off the stove and use one of the dish cloths as a makeshift potholder. As you pour out the remaining water, you heat a few quiet sobs. You turn back to see Gregory crouched against the lower cabinets. He's crying into his knees.

“Oh, Gregory.”

“Shut up, I'm not crying!” His speech was muffled by a few sniffles.

“I'm…I'm sorry that I have to tell you that.”
“It's not fair! Why do I have to be the one that suffers forever! Why do I have to go through this if I don't get out to see my friends!” Hesitantly, you approach him.

“May I hug you?” Gregory gives a less noticeable nod. You reach your arms around him for a second until he pushes you off.

“I hate this trade.”

“I'm sorry man.” You kept your position for a few moments. The pan on the stove was starting to smoke. However, you continued to hold onto him until he pushed you away. You turned the one section of the stove off and started checking the other ingredients. Layer each of the cooked items into the pan with cheese. The pan is then placed in the oven, reheating aside.

“It took me a while to realize that I wasn't in control of my body. Wandering into places, then noticing that's wasn’t where I wanted to go. Freddy thought I was lost. Yet I thought I just forgot where I was supposed to go. Like, going into a room and forgetting what you planned to do in there. It wasn't until I was killed by that Moon bot; to notice that I had reset time. There was static, then a [Game over]. I found myself pressing [Restart] yet I couldn't even move. Then I was in the spot where I first encountered Freddy. Sometimes I had the freedom to wander, other times I'd be in the Daycare, only watching through my body. It took me forever to convince Freddy. Yet it felt like the others understood.”

“You were able to talk to the others?”

“Sometimes. If you weren't logged in it felt like a pause in time, a pause that many could notice. Freddy and I seemed like the last characters to realize this. But, it made things easier, like we weren't alone anymore. It was weird at first, yet nice to have them understand me.”

“What would you guys talk about?”

“Not much. If you were stuck with the same people for who knows how long. You'll end up talking about everything. But I'm guessing you want something specific…like related to a certain someone?” Gregory raised his brow.

“Not really. I'm just curious how everyone is doing. Being stuck in an area for months. It's been closer to three years since this game has been released.”

“Are you sure you don't want to know what Sundrop was saying about you?” You freeze. How did Gregory know of your favorite characters?!

“Uh! How?!” You look down at Gregory, then at your slippers. Your Daycare themed slippers. You're still in your merch pajamas. Flustered, Gregory smirks as he urges.

“You know, the place you go to the most?”

“Yeah, yeah. I probably annoy the hell out of him.” Gregory scoffs and laughs.

“Nah I don't think you do.”

There's a stomping that echoes throughout the kitchen. Both you and Gregory pray that Freddy has returned with good news. However with the kitchen that you are in, and the mini game that is played in the kitchen makes you worry. Alas, no Feddy is seen. But a silhouette of a walking bird surrounds the shadows of the kitchen.

“Gregory, you need to stand up, get ready.” You grab the pan closeted to you. Of course, you cannot take one giant overarching metal machine. However you are not going to die without at least getting a good bite of your hot dish. The stomping gets louder, you stay silent to hear Chica’s scripted lines. Yet, you hear nothing.

“Uh, Gregory. Did the game happen to reset once I entered?” You whisper.

“Not that I know of. Everyone was acting nice until you- ”

“Your family is looking for you.” Gregory covers his mouth. You then mouth to him.

“I'm going to try something.” You gesture your plan: using your arms to display calling Chica over, and having Gregory jump on the counter if things get too rough.

“Hold on! Don't go!” Before Gregory could chastise you. The beep from the preheat blared from the oven. Giving you the go to do your plan.

“We're over here!” You shout. The thunder that erupted stopped, then gained traction to be louder and faster. You watch the dishes shake and the pans sway as you watch the door burst open. Chica twists her head. Her eyes meet with yourself.

The time is up.

Chica charges toward you. Yet the time for your shepherd's pie is nearly done. She is really close as you take it out of the oven with a few cloths wrapped around your hands.

“Want a slice?” You turn to her as she nearly lunges at you and stops midway. Just like in the mini game. You make a pizza that gets taken away by Chica. She eats it near a garbage disposal and Gregory pushes her in and destroys her. Her beak is used for Freddy's upgrades. Since Freddy isn't in service, you might have a chance of saving her too.

“Pizza?”

“Pie. Shepherd's pie.” Gregory is on the counter, his mouth wide open.

Each of you got a plate of shepherd's pie. You were waiting for it to cool down. Chia had her slice slide down in her beak. Gregory eats his on the counter tops. Per your instructions. In a speed run video of the game it was said that if you jump on a slightly elevated surface, the animatronics would stop persisting after you and reset their cycle. Now a trick needed as all of you share a meal heavily needed.

“Omg it's so good! It hasn't had something like this in a loooong time!” She looked at you expectantly. You decide to give her another slice. Sliding down the mess of a pie slice on her plate looked to be the correct answer, as she gobbled it up in a instant.

“Did Freddy send you?” Gregory asked as he put a spoonful in his mouth.

“Freddy? I didn't think he left you. But I must admit that I was pretty out of it for a good chunk of time. Oh wait, the Player!” She points to you. “You're actually here! I didn't think you had it in you!”

“What?”

“Well we were betting to see which of us would meet you first. Never would've guessed you would have met Freddy first. But I can see how that might have worked out!” She beams. You turn to Gregory and he shrugs.

“What can I say, you're also a popular topic.”

“Topic? Were you too gossiping without me?! How could you! And right after our performance!"

“You have done the same song for weeks!” Gregory deadpanned.

“Same difference.” She shrugs back.

“So, what were you doing? Before you zoned out I mean?”

“Oh! I got hungry. It was the last performance of the day and staff usually gives me a sweet treat after such a long day. But they weren't there this shift.” She groaned, grieving her beloved treat. “No child wanted to share today too. I was so hungry. Even a workout would make the most strongest craving a little snack! I went back to my room and practically dipped out.”

“Like, game script wise or just day to day festivities?”

“Oh goodness no! You'll be surprised how much we can get away with when you're not looking. I can't even remember what happened in the beginning. It's strange, like a mantra repeated over and over until it's in a broken code to activate. Gone. Unless you start the process all over again!”

“Then do you know if there's a way I can get out?” Chica tilts her head to you.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“This may come as a surprise too...” (you glance at Gregory for a moment.) “Some people. But I have a job to keep up with, bills to pay. As much as I want to learn more about this world, I need to find a way to get home first.” Both Gregory and Chica say nothing. “Look, the only option so far is to have Gregory go though the game's storyline. And I don't want to do that. Not only will it be bad for everyone involved, but also there's a chance that option won't even work.”

“Ok. So what's the plan?” Chica squawks.

“Luckily! It seems that we have passed through a “boss fight” so far. Since we are in the kitchen mini game and made…something. And Glamrock Chica isn't destroyed!” Chica brings her hands together to mimic a golf clap in celebration.

“What we can do is attempt to trigger an event, and hope that we can change the fate of the others. There’s a lot of interpretations out online that this canonically hasn't happened. (Ignoring the DLC that is.) (Poor Ruin)). So that's kinda the best I can come up with. How about you guys?” Chica raises her hand as you find her sitting next to Gregory.

“Chica?”

“If we have to do that, can you talk to the Daycare Attendant before we do all this? I really want to see you two together. And! And, he might even have a better plan to get you home!” You cover your face on instinct as you stutter out.

“What?! No!” Chica seemed to take delight in your new composer and she boldly asks with a native tone.

“Why not?”

“I can't!”

“Why not?” Chica repeats. Embarrassed, you have no words to rebuttal. Instead you gesture to your entire outfit.

“I look like a clown!” Gregory doesn't even hesitate to say.

“You're already a clown. At least all of you have something in common.” You gape. It took a little time to process what he just said.

“But you're a cute clown!” Chica chirped out. You almost didn't hear her from your shock.

“You're not wrong, but that was just so mean.” It was Gregory’s turn to pause for a few moments. He hid his hands behind his back, not daring to look you in the eye. He murmurs.

“Consider it reparations for all the stuff you put me through.” You deadpan.

“…Whatever. But I'm not going to the Daycare just yet.”
“Then, what's the plan?”

“Something extremely risky and stupid, which I intend to do alone to put you out of harm's way.

Chapter Text

Out of all the animatronics, Montgomery Gator is the one who has the worst fate. No arms, no legs, less than standard jaws. The DLC has him betrayed as this feral piranha. A beast who swims among the destruction laid by the mysterious ending of the game.

Like many of the actions taken before, this would mess with the canon timeline in the game. Most of the “boss fights” go along the line of: Chica, the Daycare Attendant, Monty or Roxy, then Vanny. But then again when does the actual canon help anyone in a Five Nights at Freddy's game, truly? Alas, fulfilling your cowardice hopes and dreams.

The canon is a sandwich where you decide the ingredients. It has always been that way. Contrasting and constructing narratives that are absurd yet semi functional. Strange yet so fulfilling. The problem is that you have no idea on the basic storyline. What ingredients are available to you. The tomato tragedy? The turkey sliced trama? A gamble with no other option but to make.

Monty shall be your next target.

He must be.

Otherwise, you must go through standard order. How could you face Sundrop again? How much of your conversations did he hear? The judgement by him would be enough to send you back underneath this whole Plex and layer yourself in the mud throughout all time.

Pan in hand, cast iron on hip. Biker helmet given by Chica. Gregory by your side clearly looking at you as a clearly level headed individual, who somehow has a glimmer of disgust. (If you were going to die here, might as well put up a fight). You march back to Gator Golf.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Gregory murmurs. He pushes through the fake shrubbery along the plastic coated ponds.

“Nope. But I doubt thee Montgomery Gator wants to be stuck in an endless loop of fighting and all that bad stuff. If Chica could stop attacking us, so can he!” Gregory gives you a look at your somewhat sarcastic comment. It never hurts to be positive once in a while. Think of Sundrop. What do you say to him about that? Actually never mind, don't think of him.

You wander along the park, with a better idea on how to navigate the area. Planning to go past the bridge and through that nasty puzzle. The best option is to initiate the fight, run away to ground level, hope you don't die in the process. Atleast, that's the only plan you could scramble together. For the most damage he could get is from the bridge of steel being broken apart.

“I'm just glad to be a part of something!” Chica beams. The only one enthusiastic about the mission. Freddy was still off on his mini quest of gathering the group. Gregory updated him through his Fazwatch. Only to get a generic response tackle on with an ‘I am so proud of you Super Star’. Gregory tried to convince you that he was super annoyed at that last part.

“HELLO MONTGOMERY GATOR! PLEASE COME OUT! I PROMISE I'M VERY FRIENDLY!” You bellow looking above to see if you could spot him ahead of time. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a yellow bell disappear from sight. An easy illusion for you. Your thoughts are cut short when Chica also joins in to shout.

“IT’S OK MONTY! WE'RE TRYING TO HELP YOU!” You think what Chica has to say might hold some weight for him. So you wait beside her for a few moments. Apparently, she was given the same graces as you. Fair enough, you are still a stranger to him.

“Welp. Looks like I'm actually going to have to go up there.” You sigh. Gregory gets out of his daze.

“Wait, I originally was supposed to go up to that creepy ramp thing?” You ignore his question, semi intentionally. You turn back to them.

“Ok, I'm gonna have you two stay down here. Meet me at the entrance. I don't know what will happen once I get up there. Capiche?” Gregory only nods as Chica replies.

“Oh, a quiche sounds so good!” A few moments of her catching on, to say “But yeah! Waiting for it's safe is probably for the better!” You wave goodbye. Chica energetically waves back. Gregory dies a small wave as he immediately turns away. You face the bridge once more. The one that told you that this for sure isn't a dream.

Nonetheless, you step upon it. Walking across the small pond like nothing has happened. A tension wraps around your body. You feel yourself trembling.

You…shouldn't be trembling…Right?

At the maze puzzle, you push a series of buttons. It's a lot easier to do if you're not the size of Gregory. Since you could check your work with ease. If something was just too tall for you. You grabbed a fake potted plant as a step stool. They were big and light enough to be pushed around.

Soon, you entered the top of Gator Golf. It was somewhat cereal. The hinted dirt in the built in slides. Large pipes crossing the facility. You hear water rushing down, like there's a waterfall nearby. Yet, no indicator in sight for that. You tread carefully among the heightened metal. The intricacies of the twisted wire imprint on your slippers as you do your best not to look down.

A crash.

Pieces of cluttered metal struck to the sidelines as one of the main antagonists showed up. Along one of the senseless pipes you spot him. And he sees you.

You wait for him to dash a few stomps towards you as you freeze. You need to run.

You need to run.

You need to run.

Now.

You turn back to where you entered. Adrenaline bursting inside you as you recount the distance set behind you. It wasn't long for him to catch up. And it was less of it to launch yourself in the puzzle maze you just solved.

Monty cares not for puzzles at the moment. As you can hear the plastic crunch when he breaks through each wall effortlessly. It's too early to consider an early victory now. All you need to do is survive. You're running out of breath and out of time.

It's now or never. You stop to face the Gator in front of you. And charge towards him.

Neither of you stop.

Monty almost has his arms around you. Frying pan in hand you aim and swing.

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You wake in the kitchen. The smell of cooked meat fills the air. The tile sticks to the back of your head, which aches. Groaning, you attempt to get up. But a striking pain fills your shoulders.

Gregory kicks his legs as he sits on the kitchen counter. Chica eating her slice of casserole, for the second time.

“W-What?”

“Looks like you didn't make it this time, Player. You're lucky I saved before you had to start all over.”

“Monty’s a tough one. Isn't he?” Chica muffled, food still in beak. You finally have enough strength to get off the floor. You place your first into your palm.

“Well. At least I now know the fight can be moved off the bridge. Monty doesn't need to die now.”

“Thats great news!” Chica smiles.

“Yeah, well. It might take a few times to get him where I want him. Didn't even get a chance to talk.”

“That's not good.” Chica's smile immediately turns to a frown. You get up and metaphorically dust yourself off. Mostly, because there's no dust on your avatar, body, clothes. And you pick up the pan that you gathered beforehand. This time, one of a longer distance.

“Wait…don't tell me that was the plan all along?” Gregory gapes.

“I won't. But it totally was.” You can't see Gregory’s expression, yet you know in your soul what he might be looking like.

“See you soon.”

“I bet you'll be here more than you like.”

“An easy bet. Probably.” You are escorted out of the kitchen by Chica.

“You two should make some popcorn together.”

“Trust me you took the words out of my mouth.”

Arrived in front of the bridge with the real pond. Past through the plastic puzzle maze. The cutscene shows again of Monty's descent. You wave to him.

“HI MONTY! I STRONGLY BELIEVE WE GOT ON THE WRONG FOOT..” He charges once more and you make a break for it.

You feel an arm touching you.

Too slow.

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Chica helps you up this time. Without any exchange of words, you head back to that golf course. How much golf is actually played canonically? You wonder as you pass by the few rides that reside inside the part of the park.

Back to the bridge. The past through the maze. The more frustrating part is that the puzzle has different solutions. However, you get through it well enough. Monty, once more makes his grand entrance and you declare.

“I REALLY DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU! HONEST!” Words fall off and into the stream of steam that's hidden somewhere in. You head past the maze once more: success. Monty is close to you. Instead of continuing to run away, you charge against him once more. Striking him on the arm. It barely dents him.

“Ok. I might look hypocritical right now. But it's honestly for the best and you might get worse -” His arm arms for your left shoulder. You dodge. Another success. You take your pan and hit the right side of his head. It doesn't affect him. Typical. The pan is completely trashed and bent out of shape as you glance down to it.He reaches for your head. And…

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The drywall on the kitchen ceiling was a terrible sight to be greeted with. You should get a longer weapon. To the golf set you go. As you walk towards the boss fight location. You explore the area for a bit, and find the perfect weapon…

A golf club.

A putter golf club for kids, but it's made of the same material as a frying pan. It might be better…right?

Wrong. Once you engage with Monty, right outside of where the fight is supposed to take place it bends like sheet metal. You were able to hit him once.

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It didn't matter how many times you went back to where you started. Gregory offered to save closer to your end goal. But if all you were honest, they probably wanted to see the fight. Who could blame them? You let them, but only at a safe distance which they agreed on.

Fighting Monty with a golf club seemed to be entertaining the masses. Once you stepped out of the puzzle, you charged at him casually. Imitationing a fourth parry if you imagined the club as a sword. You don't know when or which reset. But eventually Monty got his hands on a club too. Finally, an even match for two people unaware of fencing.

Chica and Gregory were munching on popcorn in the sidelines. However in each reset they had to make it each time. When Gregory found a packaged bag, the both of them shared to avoid the hassle. Since sometimes you wouldn't even last seconds. And there were other times, you could hear the sound of bells jingling; covered by a smaller set of raspy giggles.

Alas, it always ends the same.

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You once bent one of your parents' spoons when trying to sneak some ice cream. It was late, deep in the night. Everyone was asleep. The ice-cream scooper was broken, the metal spoon was your only option for glory. The ice cream just came out of the freezer. It took a tussle to get the lid off. One dig felt like an ice pick. Multiple stabbings into the frozen delight did not leave you to your satisfaction. So, you dug it deeper. That was one mistake, for it instantly bent among the delicious icy cream. Horror in your veins. A similar TikTok reminded you of that, years later. How is this relevant? With no other option at your disposal that Tiktok played in your head.

Ice cream can bend metal.

It's better than attempting to beat him in a fight.

On the floor, you ask.

“Chica, do you know where that staff keeps the ice cream?”

“Huh? Our ice cream machine is broken. I don't think it could help you.”

“That's fine, I think I saw some stored back in the freezer.” Gregory leans on the counter.

“What are you planning this time?”

“An absurd last resort.” You pace to the freezer. Where you were able to successfully find ice cream. Unfortunately, the tubs weren't as large as you expected. They were merch branded ice cream.

The most they had was a Toy Chica themed strawberry paired with a mint. Then, Glamrock Freddy with a blueberry and peach swirl. Roxy's is a rocky road variant. There was a rare Moondrop themed one too, just blackberry. The original Freddy was there too, a classic chocolate with an added fudge. You were able to find a Glamrock Freddy one in a larger size. Perfection.

“Wait, we still had those.” Chica eyed your possessions. You gesture to the heavy doors that fogs the cold.

“You should help yourself.”

“Don't mind if I do!” As she heads in your direction you stop her.

“Oh wait! Make sure it sits out for a bit so you won't get hurt.” Her wide eyes and closed beak tell you suspicion and shock. It's better safe than sorry. You take off the plastic rig off the bin as she passes you by.

Gator Golf, past the puzzle. Monty shows himself, you run. Regular pattern at this point. The ice-cream lid is off. He charges at you for the final time. You hear the stomps watch as his arms leap, as they aim for your head. You raised the container of ice cream to where it meets his hands.

A thunk!

You watch as Monty struggles, similar to handcuffs. Swinging his arms like a pendulum. Hence, throwing his module off balance. Slowly, yet all so fast. He lunges to the ground. There's growling. Like he's swimming towards you. You see Chica coming closer. Monty stops.

“Uh…You good now?” You hear a groan.

“...Yeah.”

“Good, Good….” You're out of words. It worked. At the cost of Monty's dignity, but it worked so who cares. Chica helps Monty up. She also comes up with an impromptu solution of freedom by licking the ice-cream in a bucket. Monty has his eyes widened, he takes a step back from her. She persists and he gives up easily.

“You're still intact.” You blurt out thoughtlessly. In your right mind that should have never worked, yet it did.

“Yep. Still here. Sad about it?” Monty snarks.

“No. I'm just shocked…that actually worked. And you don't have to get your ending.”

“Be grateful. I was taken off guard.” Monty sat comfortably as Chica focused on her mission of ice cream.

“It was supposed to take you off your guard.”

“Well in my defense. Anything that happened in the last few hours put me in a tizzy. You're a strange person, has anyone told you that?”

“I've been made aware.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“The same thing I intend to do with the others who are boss fights.”

“I don't think you need to do that.” Monty’s hands are now free. You give him a cloth that you used to carry the ice-cream before the fight. He wipes off his arms. Chica starts eating the container.

“Huh? Why?” You have never seen a guilty looking animatronic before. Until today. Monty’s arm was around his back, a mimicry of scratching his head.

“Oh. I was just messing with you. Wanted to see wha'd you do in my case. Off guard like I'd thought, since you took a dive in my pool. But still, not what I expected.” Dread. Monty knew the whole time. He saw you embarrassingly go into a pool half awake in pj's. And fought you in pajamas too. Hours wasted. Exhaustion hits you like a plague.

“What.”

“Sorry about that.” He laughs off. “Still hilarious!”

“Wait then if you knew, do you know how to get me home?” He shrugs.

“No can do. I know what I need to do and I did it. Probably better luck if you talked to the one who brought you in.” So he really did know everything.

“Oh! Sorry about that hun! That's my fault. Gregory told me what happened earlier and I blabbed it on the network.”

“...Oh.” Chica is forgiven, Monty’s on thin ice. Before you could finish your thoughts you feel the stomping from the ground shack the park around you. Freddy's back.

“Player. I had realized that the game had experienced a large proportion of resets. Are you alright?” You sigh, then force yourself not to grumble.

“I'm fine. Thank you Freddy, for your concern.”

“You're welcome!” He beams. It honestly made you want to tell him how Monty has treated you. But snitches get stitches, and you didn't want to hurt Monty’s impression of you. Monty looks at him, then back to the rest.

“As I was saying…I dunno why, but he's your favorite. He seems to have taken a liking to you. You should go to him next.” Monty shrugged. However you on the other hand are dumbfounded. Did everyone know about the time you spent on this game?

“How do you know-” You cover your face with your hand and look down in despair. There, you find your answer--the pajamas. No wonder others know if you are wearing the Daycare Attendant themed pj's. You wipe your face off with your fingers with a look off exhaustion. Right, dealing with Gregory in that early scenario had you forget about the current outfit. Hand to your face you groan.

“Maybe I should change clothes first? At least before we decide to deal with Roxy and the others.” Then you pause, a realization dawn upon you. “Wait a moment. Can I get changed into different clothes? This game doesn't really have customization features.” Gregory rolls his eyes.

“Probably. I don't want to see Roxy’ reaction to your pj's. She'll bully you to shreds.”

“Uh, do all of you think that I should get changed?” Simultaneously, a myriad of voices murmur and hesitate.

“It might've been for the best?” Monty crouched his shoulders.

“I’m not sure, but it might help!” Chica shrugged, hiding her fearful smile.

“Absolutely, you look like a dork.” Gregory continues.

“Appearances do not matter, Player. I'm sure Roxy will like you just the way you are!” Freddy gives you a thumbs up to his comment, meaning to compliment you. However, his voice was buried in many, giving the impression of a “yes” to your question.

“Gee, thanks for the honesty. Really, appreciate it.” Monty responds by giving you a chunky wave than a thumbs up to follow Freddy. You roll your eyes.

“Remember to stick together til I get back.” Freddy agrees. At least, he attempts too. It looked very hard for him to move his head up and down, so he opted for a tilting type motion instead.

Quiet. After so long, the adrenaline stops in your muscles and all you feel is this sore exhaustion that sleeps along your bones. It doesn't take long to find the entrance part of the park. A bell jingles. Instinctively, you look up. Nothing. As you continue to a small merch shop, you see a red ribbon in the corner of your eye.

You're being watched.

That's fine. As long as he doesn't attack you. Carefully weaving through the staff bots again. The mech store has its door wide open. You could see the lifeless cashier bot still through the window. Almost like it needed a recharge, a rest.

Entering like a barn cat, you read upon the security as you wander along the aisles. Realistically, there wasn't so much to see. A regular merch shop with themed clothes, cups, and key chains. Just like in the real world. You find someplace to sit. You catch your breath.

As you crouch on the small stool, your slipper appears from underneath you. You look to the mirror to notice a red glimmer watching you back. Turning back to your feet, both of your custom made DCA slippers were still intact. Now, three slippers are in your possession. The irony is not lost on you. For that the slipper cradled in his greater mechanical hand was the side that is Moondrop themed. A crescent filled with bedazzled rhinestones, which reflects the glow underneath you. Similar to a hidden cave filled with geodes and crystals, decorated in glowy paint.

“A shoe for Cinderelly?” A raspy voice rumbles, your seat shakes by the sudden force. The shoe remains in hand as he patiently waits.

“A pity, I must reject such a noble offer. I must change clothes.” You barely hold on to the bench as it shakes with a grumble.

“Dress coded?” A giggle echoes, stopped by the hanging clothes in the store. You conceal yourself out of instinct. The hand flops around before adjusting itself on top of the bench. There, it drops the slipper.

“In my defense, I'm usually better dressed than this.” The laughing continues.

“Of course you are.”

“I'm serious. You caught me on a bad night!” A giggles interwoven with a hiss. The resting background of bells. Perhaps one of the better times you were able to talk with Moon without manically moving the avatar (poor Gregory) to get a decent conversation with him. Even if it was just to hear his voice lines. “I missed you Moon.” The laughter instantly stops.

“...Why hit me then?”

“You literally kidnapped me and hung around by the ceiling. I didn't know if you were going to follow canon.”

“Canon is no fun.”

“Tell the writers that, not me.”

“Boo. Make it better.”

“I'm trying. I'm sure many more talented people already have.” Instantly, your seat bumps up.

“Uh! Hey! Stop that!” It returns to silence until you see Moondrops grin in the mirror, his eye sparkling. Then your seat starts violently vibrating. As you hold on to dear life you plead back.

“Stop it! How can I apologize to you if you keep shaking me!?” The harsh horsepower of a mischievous miscreant repeats the stillness.

“I'm sorry Moondrop. For slapping you with my shoe. If it weren't for you, I would still be circling around for Gator Golf; and would've had a harder time finding Gregory, Freddy and the others.” You thought you gave a sincere apology.You supposed Moon didn't think it was. For what you got in return, is a slip and fall of a stolen bench. Then, laughter.

“Accepted.” Moondrop hides his face among the rack of clothes once more.

“Would you like to help me choose what to wear?” Instead of a tried and true answer, Moon sways a bit. If you were truly honest with yourself, you expected that. After all, Moondrop isn't known for his talkative nature. Perhaps less than two minutes of dialog throughout a six hour gaming experience. Much more seen for his actions. As you wait for his consideration, he pops off his hat. Soon you felt something light upon your head.

“Wear what you have right now. Pretty.”

“Other than my pajamas.”

“Boo.” You take off the hat. Silky, the texture embroidered stars, the rust of the bell. The actual hat. You pull the hat close to your chest. Uncaring of the watching eye. Finally, you turn to him. The hat in hand, almost hesitating on letting it go. You didn't want his precious hat on the floor. You take a deep breath.

“Fine, I'll guess I'll have to choose one of the many Roxy sweaters in the game.” It might be better that way. Sure, Roxy may know who your favorites are. But it doesn't mean you dislike her. Use her insecurities to demonstrate that many people outside of the game like her, for her. Maybe she'll take it as a compliment as the “better merch” in the game. At this point, who knows what Roxy is thinking.

The rack behind you persists around a jerking motion. A trembling shadow grows along the walls as it fades into the darkness of a room, long forgotten til the coming of a tomorrow that will never be. Moondrop has left you. You have no clue how to feel about that. Perhaps, you'll just have to wait for him.

You'll focus on the pants, going for a neutral option. A pair of regular jeans is a nice goal. Of course, not actually in the game, but that is not the focus at the moment. The plushie aisle tempts you to a peak at the cheaply sewn Monty’s sitting about. As well as the many versions of Glamrock Freddy. There was even a Freddy with a school uniform. Then a Circus Baby plush, hiding among the discount bin. Right, this series loves to make call backs to the other games. This notion is confirmed immediately by the Toy Bonnie plush toppled by a few other Chica’s in the bin. Not the best time to be distracted, maybe it was? Since Moon hasn't returned.

The search for a nice pair of jeans continues. Three options are found: Red and white checkered cargo pants. Baggy neon green pants with sewn on stars. Then bright pink overalls with Chica’s face in the center panel. Regardless, of those options found you finally find a pair of jeans that you try on. Stripping yourself of your comfy pajama pants and trying out the jeans. Luckily, they fit nicely. You make sure to stretch yourself while in them.

You head back to the bench to check out in the mirror. Sneakers, check. Pants, check. The closer you become to an average human being. Still, the pajama shirt draped on your torso almost fits. You look at a chain with a large plastic star on it. A perfect vessel for DCA keychains. You shouldn't. You already are going to be taking a lot. The stuff you already have on, must cost a fortune.

The shiny trinket wraps around your new jeans pocket. Dangling in the limelight of the store. Jingling a little, similar to the bells that sound like the DCA. More bell-like sounds add to the mix with a printed Sundrop keychain that you were able to scavenge. Besides, one of the endings does require all collectibles. Why not add them in style?

More bling jangles around. A shadow wraps around the mirror you were looking at. Metal fingers along the edges. How long was Moondrop lurking? It doesn't particularly matter now. He looks like he would not hurt you.

“Welcome back Starman. Took you long enough.” You could tell Moon tilted his head by the moved glow from his eye. It gleaned like a sparkler, a tiny comet watching you.

“You…waited?”

“Yep.” Pronouncing the p on the you cross your arms. “And you vanished.”

“Not supposed to show up.” Words strung, hung right on poster board; only to be struck right back in your face.

“Sorry I panicked!” Moon ignores your comment and suddenly you are blinded by a soft wool. You take the sweater off your face to examine. The Star Shirt in the game. Another collectable. Strange, taking in the DLC it looks so much like Cassie's in the game. A red long sleeve sweater. Woven, wool like, but a more realistic cotton shirt with three black stars and a black border around a white collar.

“Wow. Got this from one of the changing rooms I presume?”

“Hush.”

“C’mon I'm just guessing.” Moon doesn't respond. But that's more of a confirmation to you. You button down your shirt, turn around before you toss it towards Moon. “No peaks for you.”

“Ah.” The Pj's greet Moon's face with a slap. You hastily pullover the new shirt, it fits better than you expected. A little baggy, the sleeves over your hands. You tussle it around in front of the mirror. The pj's slide off Moon. You pace around. Everything seems perfect yet the outfit is missing.

“How do I look?” You attempt to strike a pose. You could just tell that Moondrop was trying not to laugh.

“Good.”

“You're sure.”

“Yes.” The most ominous yes in your life. But it's from one of your favorite characters, so you'll take it. Then you realize, taking one of your new shoes off. No socks.

“Want to pick out socks for me?”

“What.”

“Pick out socks for me…Please?” There's no way a greedy company is a cash cow like Faz co. would completely dissipate the idea of novelty socks. If they have shirts that are of quality, surely something like socks shall exist. Moondrop rocks himself, close to contemplation, on your plea.

“Ok. No take backs.”

“No take backs.” You repeat, almost giving an imitation of a salute, but stopping yourself before you do. He slicks up to the roof crawling amongst the drywall ceiling. You put back on your shoe and follow the red ribbons that decorate Moon's wrist. Only a few steps forward, enduring the now unbearable feeling of only wearing shoes. Multitudes of socks still in their packaging. Possibly with every pattern of Freddy too.

From above, Moon lowers himself to one of the sock options.

“That shelf doesn't have my size.” You interrupted as he searches intensely. He moves a little lower. One hand flicking through each pair. A Chica themed one with pick boarders. A Mr. Cupcake one with stitched sprinkles on top. A Bonnie one, Toy Bonnie as a brief correction. Both striped with light blue and blue with a red border top.

You look back at Moon. His eyes narrowed, focused on looking for something. Perhaps this is one of the rare times you can see his face. Despite the mask of shadow the store grows, you look upon the engraving. How his nose is flat, yet still carved out to be to the other side of his cheeks. His grin heavily outlined, yet you doubt he would be smiling. For meeting anyone in deep concentration who smiles, would be a little off putting. A pair of socks slides off your head. Barely, you realize that Moondrop slapped you with them.

“No peaking.” He giggles. Classic. You pick up the socks from the carpet and draw them closer to you. Using the glow from outside of the shop. You see a digital crescent shape, closer to an 8-bit video game. Including many stars out of tiny blocks of cotton. Noticing the yellow border: “Moondrop”. Moondrop themed socks.

“Moon!” You turn to look at him. He evades your gaze and hides back in the ceiling. Laughing like he always was.

“No take backs.” He weezes. You sigh.

“Right. No take backs.” With no scissors at your disposal you chew out the plastic tag fastener and pop out the socks. Sitting on the carpet you notice that Moondrop is oddly quiet again. You might as well fill the time out with noise.

“How was your day Moondrop?” There is no response. You use the silence as time to put on your socks. Sitting back down on the carpet. You don't even want to think if this carpet has been cleaned properly or not. The bench is too far away to return to. You have to make do with such a blunder.

“I used to ask Sundrop that everyday. But since I can only face you during your boss fi…Regardless. I don't get to see you as much as I want to.” You wait patiently for his reply.

“Why?”

“I like you a lot. That's why. I'm happy I get to talk to you.”

“Day?” You don't notice how he gets closer behind you. Maybe it's better that way. You start to adorn your shoes, feeling much more comfortable.

“Or night. In the story you don't get out much.”

“Don't rely on the story so much.”

“That's all I know of you.” You fidget with your new sweater. “I want to know more. When did you know this was a game? Was I bothering you? Does it hurt when the light touches? How can I help you? Do you like stories? How much does Vanny hurt you? How can I help with that? How can I see you more? Do you even like children? Did you enjoy being an attendant? What do you think of me? Am I in your way? Am I-” A metallic finger touches your bottom lip.

“Hush. Sleep.”

“I don't think…. I can right now.” He leans forward, pulling you into him.

“I can help with that.” He replies with no hesitation.

“Let me help you first.”

“Hm.” Three fingers tap on your shoulders, the sudden motion sends a chill down your spine. “No.” You can feel his grin.

“Moondrop.”

“No Moon? I'm sad.” Embarrassment strikes through you. How many times have you used premade nicknames in front of him? All those memories take priority as you panically recount your steps and dialog with him.

“Moon.”

“Better.”

“Starman?” He rolls him in front of you. No escape from his affluent stare.

“...Moonman?” He replies.

“Moon.”

“Moonman.” He chuckles, he seems to like this impromptu nickname game. To your psychological suffering. He taps the line between your neck and hair. Then that area immediately feels tense. “All done.” he giggles to himself. You stand up brushing yourself off. Before asking on last question:

“How do I look?”

“Better.”

“I shouldn't keep the others waiting any longer.”

“Then go.” Hesitantly, you trod to the door. You turn back to him.

“See you soon?” He doesn't respond. Instead he sucks himself up to the ceiling, celebrating in-between drywall pieces. Then away he went. Well, you needed to leave anyway.

Did he leave something on your back?