angelofrainfrogs - Tumblr blog

angelofrainfrogs · 4 days

Text

Going Back: Ch. 22

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Things are looking up for Gregory. After putting the soul of a formerly-immortal killer to rest, he and his new family can finally begin their lives anew. Sure, Gregory might have been cursed with mysterious Remnant in exchange for being involved in this mess—not to mention his caretakers consist of sentient robots and ghosts… But there’s no doubt that the bond they share is unbreakable. They love him, and he in turn.

All in all, life is finally starting to go right for once.

…Unfortunately, true peace is a hard-won battle. There are other things to contend with besides William’s decrepit soul, and Gregory will learn that his role in the lives of the Aftons and Emilys is far greater than anyone could’ve imagined.

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Michael perked up when he heard the music, turning into the camera feed of the main stage just in time to see Freddy grab the mic with an ostentatious twirl. He might look human now, but he still had the programmed moves of his ursine counterpart. The guard smiled, elbows on the desk and resting his chin on the back of his hands. It was like watching a TV show, only he knew all the performers on a personal basis. He made sure to check the other feeds, mainly the Daycare to keep an eye on Ennard and co., but tonight all seemed quiet except for the performance filling the place with life.

***

Gregory had stopped his search for a moment. In the corridors he swore he could hear them now—the Glamrocks were playing! It was a cover of a song from the 80s, his only exposure to the scene being through the set list itself, as well as Mike and Charlie’s recent influence. If he didn’t hurry, he and his friends might miss the chance for a private show, plus the debut of Foxy, the Pirate Drummer.

Looking inside a trashcan, Gregory found nothing. Did everyone just up and disappear?! He knew they did that as ghosts, but this was getting silly for how long he’d been searching. It almost made Gregory paranoid as he looked for everyone. What if they were waiting to scare him?

A shiver of fear briefly ran down his spine. He wasn’t afraid of Evan and Hannah, but everyone else had a love of tormenting their once-skittish friend. Especially Cassidy…

Humming along to the music, Gregory sung lyrics he happened to remember sporadically while searching high and low for his buddies before calling out through the empty atrium. “COME ON! I need a hint, guys!”

Evan was peering down at Gregory from a hanging light fixture. Lying flat against the top surface, it was near-impossible to see him against the harsh glare unless one looked really close. He'd watched his brother pass back and forth underneath him a few times, and when Gregory finally called out in frustration Evan decided to end some of his torment.

“Look up...,” his soft voice called as Evan peered down with a grin; the only things visible were his face and his fingertips where they gripped the edge of the light.

Just hearing that meek tone that seemed to echo miles above Gregory’s head made the boy jump slightly, the hairs on his neck and the back of his arms standing to attention as he quickly glanced upwards. Upon seeing the top of his brother’s head, Gregory began to laugh. These guys weren’t playing fair in the slightest.

“Dude, how would I even see you up there?! I can’t fly!” he chuckled, stretching his arms up and out to exacerbate how impossible it was for him to reach. “So not fair…”

“Soooorry,” Evan replied as he floated down with a bright grin. Looking idly around the room, Evan tried to remember the directions he’d seen the others run off in. “I think everyone’s still around here. They might be hiding in a closest… I dunno exactly where though.” His gaze drifted towards the direction of the main stage where the upbeat music could he heard. “Hey… is the band playing right now?!”

“That’s why I’m trying to find everyone! The band’s practicing,” Gregory said, opening a nearby closet at Evan’s suggestion to find nothing notable. Cleaning supplies and buckets, but no ghosts. Gregory narrowed his eyes, vision raking the darkness as he shut the closet and started for the storage room besides it.

“Of course everyone’s spread out,” he sighed, hoping they could find all their friends before practice was over. The sound of Gregory’s footsteps and the door swinging open echoed in shelf covered room. This must be where they keep all of the seasonal merchandise—plushies and thematic items like water bottles and shirts lined the racks.

“Ooh, I really want to see the band!” Evan continued scanning the area with a bright smile. “Let’s split up... I might be able to track down some of the others faster.”

Not that Gregory wasn't a good seeker in his own right—it's just that everyone but Liz currently had supernatural abilities that allowed them to fly and disappear at will. Evan just happened to find a tough place for Gregory to see, but he made sure his brother could technically find him if he looked hard enough. The others, though... they were probably playing dirty.

***

Up in the second floor of the vast mall, Lizzie and Cassidy were messing around in Roxy's Salon. With Elizabeth sat in a chair, Cassidy had gone through the trouble of altering her friends hair to Liz’s specifications: two pigtails with a bow decorating each one, then teasing out the ends for her.

Evan and Gregory found the twins, but having no luck on ground level for any of the girls, on a hunch the ghost rushed to the salon to find two of them in the middle of Liz's transformation. Popping up behind his sister, Evan put his hands on her shoulders and leaned into whisper in her ear.

“Boo!” He giggled when Liz jumped, then quickly backed up before he could face the wrath of her or Cassidy. “Hey, how come Hannah and I are the only ones actually playing?! Cain and Quinn gave up in the arcade and you guys are... getting makeovers?”

Cassidy knew they were going to face the ire of those still playing the game. With Evan stepping up and playfully challenging them for their shared decision to leave, she laughed heartily.

“You guys stayed to play?! Gregory was gone for-like-EVER!” Turning the salon chair around for Liz to escape, Cassidy leaned on it as she looked to Evan. “We got bored. Plus we’ve had the same look for like… 40 years now. We thought ‘why the hell not?’”

Cassidy found changing her hair permanently was impossible, but she had better luck experimenting with cosmetics. Though she found that going incorporeal phased the make up right off her face again, she batted her now heavy looking eyelashes at Evan while speaking. Elizabeth, meanwhile, was joyfully enamored with the volume of her hair. She played with it in the mirror until it sat just right, then hopped up from the salon chair.

“What do you think? If you say we look like clowns, I’m hitting you,” Lizzie warned in a cheery tone.

Evan opened his mouth to speak before closing it rapidly, pretending like Liz took the words right out of his mouth. In reality, he couldn't care less whether they caked on pounds of makeup or not. To Evan, they'd always be his older sister and dear friend no matter how uncannily doll-like they appeared.

“You look... cool, I guess,” he said with a noncommittal shrug. Honestly, he was surprised Cassidy could open her eyes with the amount of mascara coating her lashes... though he smartly kept that comment to himself.

“Anyway—” Evan perked up, grabbing Lizzie's hand and trying to drag her off the chair. There was a notable air of excitement in his voice now. “—I came to get you because we're all meeting up to watch the band practice! Everyone else is probably already at the stage by now, so let's go!”

“Oh my god! What are we waiting for?!” Cassidy gasped, leaning over to pull Liz away from her ministrations in the mirror. With a hard yank, Liz was lifted in the air, held underneath her arms as Cassidy floated her friend to get there as fast as possible.

While Elizabeth wasn’t a fan of floating at all, she figured that she owed Cassidy for doing her hair so nicely—they certainly looked concert-ready.

***

Hannah had been located hiding out in the backrooms, squeezed into a locker. Mention of the live show pulled her from her spot and she rushed to the stage with Gregory at her heels. Joining Cain and Quin in the front row, Gregory snickered at how the twins immediately began dancing as if no one was watching.

“Jesus, it’s a two man mosh-pit,” Gregory remarked, seeing how little Cain and Quinn cared. Though when he came closer, the twins pulled him into their little group to dance violently with them.

Evan decided to help his sister by carrying her legs, and with the combined effort of him and Cassidy they made it to the stage in no time. As they set Lizzie down next to Hannah—who was giggling at the boys' frantic dancing—the current song ended with one final, righteous chord.

“Well, well—hello, everyone!” Freddy said, clutching his microphone as he centered himself on stage. His smile was as inexhaustible as his energy—thank god for robotic bodies, for he'd be sweating up a storm if he was human. However, his face remained clear of anything save for his bright expression.

“It seems we have gathered a little crowd tonight for our impromptu performance!” Sparing a glance over his shoulder, he looked to the Glamrocks with his enthusiastic grin. “I think that means we must give our special guests a show they will never forget!”

Bonnie was moving on queue in the sound-booth, centering the stage lights and bringing the colored filters down. At Freddy’s mention of a special performance, Foxy smacked his symbols to rile up the crowd. Cassidy leaned over and shook Hannah by the shoulders, needing something to reflect her excitement off of.

“FOXY’S ON DRUMS!” she gushed. It might be a surprise to many, but Cassidy was once a super-fan of Freddy Fazbear Entertainment. Only after her horrific murder did she begin her smear campaign.

Who could blame her, though?

Recently Cassidy had been a little more optimistic, her mood changing with the freedom from oppression her soul finally felt. Her murderer was gone—body and digital copy of his soul. Cassidy could feel content to enjoy the characters once more.

With Roxy and Foxy leading with a beat and an intro on the keys, the Glamrocks got back into the song line up. For the others, finally getting to see the show that they were robbed of the night they had disappeared had been fulfilling. Cain and Quinn had only stopped dancing briefly, yet Gregory had already worked up a sweat from moshing with the brothers. Despite barely being able to compete with the ghost’s endurance, Gregory kept moving to keep up. The drawbacks to being human still, he supposed—but he supposed he couldn't totally complain.

***

Michael couldn't help himself. With such a rousing performance gracing the Pizzaplex, there was no way he was going to sit in this stuffy office and watch from a tiny monitor. Besides, he needed to do some rounds anyway. This was a performance he didn't think anyone should miss, if they could help it.

First, he stopped by the Daycare. The play area was lit up but Sun was nowhere to be found, meaning that Moon was still watching over a slumbering Sam in the theater. However, as Michael waltzed straight through the wooden doors he saw a few others seated around the little table, partaking in the “tea party” from earlier.

“Oh wow, I didn't get an invite?” Michael griped with a playful roll of his eyes. Charlie had joined in on the fun now, seated between Mari and Ennard—whose disconcerting eyes were tracking Michael intently, of course. “Thanks a lot, guys...”

With Mari distracted by the lecture that Charlie had been in the middle of, Ennard was the first to perk up at Mike’s entrance. Only when Ennard straightened and scooted over at the tiny table, silently inviting Michael to come and sit with them did Mari start bouncing in her seat.

“Hey, Mikey! Are you here to help Charlie?” she asked.

“We're learning how to be human! It’s a lot to take in, if we're honest,” Ennard admitted, though there were noticeable changes in them already. Their speech was less stilted, as though all the personalities in their head finally agreed on who the speaker should be with only one voice box to use.

Either that, or Charlie had made significant progress with her lessons. She put a hand on Ennard’s shoulder and squeezed. Although she wasn’t a huge fan of Ennard, she figured working with them was better than working against the former clown.

“But you’re doing really well,” she encouraged, “The both of you are! Come and sit with us, Mike.”

Mari had already been making strides towards blending in with humans, but Michael was admittedly surprised at how much Ennard seemed to have taken in already. They were still unnerving, of course—though Michael had a feeling their fixed, near-unbroken gaze would stay on him forever. But they did sound a little better...

“Maybe later; I actually came to get you guys,” the guard went on, rolling his eyes at how the lanky android perked up even more. “Yes, that includes you, Ennard. The band’s practicing and I figured you’d all want to see! The kids already formed a mini-mosh pit by the stage.” He spared a glance towards the Daycare theater. “Think Sam would want to come, or should we let him live in dreamland a little longer?”

Mari slammed her palms down to the table, rattling their tea cups and the soda they used for tea. “I’m there! I’ll go get Moon!”

She didn’t wait for an answer. Being quite a fan of music, she jumped up and ran across the tiny table just to leap off it in search of her other friend.

“Everyone’s at a concert? That sounds like fun—I’ve never been to a concert before!” Ennard remarked, standing now and offering Charlie a hand.

When she took the assistance, she gave Ennard’s palm a squeeze. “Oh, it’s fun! You’ll enjoy it for sure.”

Sometimes Charlie felt a little held hostage by Ennard’s affection, though was empathetic towards them as they laced their fingers between hers. Since merging with their friends, Ennard had been very lonely. The more they interacted with everyone, the more acclimated Charlie could see them getting.

“Yeah! Go wake Sammy. I bet he’d love to mosh,” Charlie laughed with Mike, remembering Sammy’s love for concerts well. It was apparent in the theme of the Pizzaplex after all.

“On it—Mari, wait up!” Michael called with a laugh, rushing after the little android as she made a mad dash for the theater. It didn’t take long for them to find Sam snoring away in a fluffy pile of blankets and pillows. Moon was lingering nearby, his red eyes glowing bright in the darkness. By the time Michael reached the group Moon was already nodding enthusiastically at his friend’s request.

“Oh, yes, of course we’d love to see the band play!” the Daycare attendant was replying with a bit of wistfulness in his tone. “I can’t remember the last time we saw a live performance on stage…”

“I’ll wake up Sam, if you want to bring out Sun and meet us by the Daycare entrance,” Michael suggested. “Not that we don’t want to hang out, Moon, but I think it’s too bright for you…”

“It usually is; I don’t mind, ehehe.” Taking Mari’s hand, he led her towards the exit. “See you two in a minute!”

“Sam? Hey, buddy, we’ve got something cool to show you!” Michael said softly as the pair exited, gently judging his old friend’s shoulder. “We’re taking you to see the band up and running!”

Sam was in his perfect little dream world. Charlie found it strange, whenever he wasn't awake that her brother seemed just a little more youthful. The stress of life and everyday business would put lines in his waking face, but this looked more like the young punk that used to hang around her living room, terrorizing her along with Michael... She would gently nudge him along with her friend, getting him to finally sit up and open his eyes.

“Huh? The band's really practicing right now…?” Sam asked, sounding out of it. It made him feel leagues better knowing that they were all still getting along after their reprogramming. “I just need a second to wake up...”

“Charlie?” Michael raised an eyebrow towards his friend, and as one they grabbed Sam under each arm and hoisted him to his feet. After letting him get his bearings, Michael was sure to keep a tight hold on him as they led him out into the Daycare proper.

It’d been so long since the Marionette heard the bands at Freddy's play. Just the thought of standing there, a part of the crowd and not as a separate fixture brought her butterflies. Ennard struggled to keep up with the small android, her energy outmatching their relaxed pace and causing them to bend in an effort to stay attached to her hand.

Michael couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Mari tugging her two much taller companions along as if they were nothing but air. Ennard was doing pretty well in the new body, all things considered. By the time they reached the stage Sam had been let go, as he'd found the energy to move by himself. The kids were still in an excited huddle, though there seemed to be less moshing going on in favor of just... jumping up and down from sheer joy.

“More guests!” Freddy announced as the group approached. The band was taking a second to reset, making sure all instruments were still in tune and lining up the next batch of songs in their heads. They'd already finished one set, though due to an uproarious cheer for an encore decided to go through a whole second performance just for their special party. At the sight of a very unexpected friend heading towards them, Freddy let out a little gasp and waved. “Sun! Oh, I am so glad you could join us!”

“Me too!” the lanky animatronic responded, practically trembling with excitement. The last time he'd been out of the Daycare for good reasons had been quite a while ago, so this was quite a treat. Usually he was simply too busy during the day to even fathom stepping away, and at night there wasn't much happening to warrant him leaving the comfort of his little rainbow palace. However, with all the new friends he'd made Sun had a feeling he'd be doing a lot more exploring nowadays.

Since those strange malfunctions had been taken care of, Sam would be more than happy to allow Sun a little bit of leeway with where he spent his time while the Daycare was closed. After all, even artificial intelligence needed socialization and new perspectives.

During the brief break, Chica strummed and plucked at her strings quickly to show off for the newbies in the crowd.

“Now it's really a concert!” Roxy exclaimed, her voice picking up on Freddy's microphone while everyone convened. In the crowd, Gregory found Michael and gave his brother a light shove to get his attention.

“Hey!” Gregory huffed, a little sweaty from all his dancing, truly looking the part of an exhausted concert hooligan. “Do you know how to mosh?”

Charlie answered for Michael out of sheer shock. “Do you know who you're talking to? I've never seen another dude take so many flying elbows in the concert pits.”

She laughed, Samuel joining in on the shared memory of the sketchy music festivals that used to travel throughout Utah back in the days.

“Give me a little credit, kid!” Michael griped in mock offense, sidling his way to the front. When he found the perfect place he cupped his hands around his mouth and stared up at the stage, transported back to the happy days when he’d heckle the band for the hell of it.

“Please tell me you’ve got some more 80s classics in that lineup!” he called, and when Freddy turned his gaze upon him it felt like he truly saw the boy Michael used to be. Fresh-faced and eager, Mike would be at the front of the crowd with his best friends, jamming out to rock songs without a care in the world.

“Of course!” Freddy replied, and Michael’s responding smile could rival the sun. Glancing up to the sound booth, Freddy gave their temporary DJ a tentative thumbs-up. “Bonnie, are we ready to go?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Pizzaplex is proud to present…” All the way up in the sound booth, Bonnie leaned into a microphone and led up the suspense. Then he brought down the house lights to focus on the stage, queueing Freddy and the band. “The Glamrocks!”

It was easy to get all the kids riled up—even Charlie and Sam seemed ripe with excitable energy as they crowded around the front with the kids. Thus ensued the best concert that Charlie had ever seen at a Fazbear venue. The lineup were classics, songs that Charlie forgot she’d obsessed over back in the day, now here to be stuck in Gregory’s head for weeks at a time—just the way his adoptive siblings suffered after shows.

Tonight served to be Gregory’s first real concert, and he’d been glad to spend time with all the friends he made so far. Besides, how many people could brag that their dad was in a popular band?

***

Freddy didn’t want this show to end. But, as he was far too familiar with, all good things eventually came to a close. Much too soon the band was striking the final cord, and Freddy slid to the front of the stage on his knees like the rockstar he was meant to be, mic held high over his head as he belted out the last note of their epic performance. As his vocals faded, the stage lights were shut off briefly. Backed by the rousing cheer of the crowd, Freddy stood and ushered his bandmates—his wonderful, wonderful friends—to the front of the stage with him. When the lights came back on they were poised to take their bow.

“Thank you for coming out tonight!” Freddy yelled to the crowd, smiling so wide it hurt. “And, from the bottom of my heart—” His gaze drifted over the crowd to settle on Gregory, Michael, Charlie, and Sam in turn. “—thank you for everything!”

With the most dramatic of flairs, Bonnie directed the softer beams of light to the family in front. They illuminated Charlie, who’d been holding a tired Gregory up. The kid battling to enjoy the last of his dad’s show raised his fist in solidarity as Charlie jostled him by jumping at Freddy’s thanks. With Michael and Sam beside her still completely jazzed from the concert, the ghost kids from the crowd roared into applause. There was a few excitable strums from Chica, Foxy hitting his symbols as his ego inflated from the wild screaming coming from their small audience.

“You’ve been a great crowd!” Roxy shouted before Bonnie turned down the stage lights, now lifting the house ones again.

Ennard’s first concert was spent hanging around Evan and most of the kids. Surprisingly enough, Elizabeth was compliant to their presence today—though they wouldn’t want to overstay their welcome and ruin the vibe that was going on. Near the back of the crowd, it was easy for Ennard to rejoin Mari and Sun as soon as the lights flicked back on.

“That was a doozy of a show, Fredbear! You still got it!” Bonnie called with a surprised laugh from the sound booth before beginning his descent back down to the stage.

“Thank you, Bon!” Freddy called with a grateful wave, hopping off stage with the others. Feeling an exhilaration he didn’t know was possible, he made a beeline straight for his family and immediately scooped Gregory into his arms. Still wearing an inexhaustible grin, Freddy murmured in his tired son’s ear: “What did you think, superstar?!”

Gregory perked up like a freshly watered flower once Freddy got ahold of him. With arms squeezed tight around his dad’s shoulders, he exclaimed: “You’re amazing!”

Once again, Freddy proved exactly why he was Gregory’s favorite character out of the Glamrocks. Was it possible to be starstruck by family? Gregory wasn’t sure, but if so that’s definitely what he was feeling. To get rid of the irrational butterflies, he joked: “Could I get your autograph, Mister Fazbear?”

While the other kids were enamored with the Glamrocks, Evan had his eye on a different set of robots. Michael saw his brother start moving towards the trio hanging back, and after giving Freddy’s shoulder a firm squeeze and reiterating how amazing the band was, Michael trailed after him.

“I’m glad Mikey grabbed you guys in time!” the little ghost said brightly, grabbing one of Mari’s and Ennard’s hands without hesitation. Now that Ennard looked more presentable, Evan had no fear expressing his favor of the robot’s company. Lightly swinging their arms, Evan remarked: “That was like… the coolest show ever!”

Evan having sought out both Ennard and Mari brought huge grins to their faces. While Mari’s wild hair suggested she was head-banging nearly the whole show, Ennard still looked fairly pristine. They gently squeezed Evan’s hand and agreed: “I’ve never seen a show quite like it! Even Funtime Foxy couldn’t compete…”

“I kinda wish I’d been able to see one of your old shows,” Evan admitted, and he meant it—aside from the whole “potential for children to get captured after the performance” thing, of course. Keeping this in the back of his mind, Evan tugged Ennard more insistently to keep their attention. “But you look awesome now! And I bet you could still perform if you wanted to.”

“You’ve still got the programming in there,” Michael remarked with a shrug. Admittedly, he already felt much better letting Ennard interact with people in this new form. “Who knows, maybe Sam can find you a little stage and you could… do magic tricks or something.”

He was trying, at least. They had to give him credit for that.

“Ooh, yeah!” Evan agreed, jumping on the idea. “And Mari can be your assistant!”

Ennard cast the optimistic ghosts a sideways grin. In this new body, they were becoming more confident again. As a whole, finally, the amalgamation felt like they came to an agreement.

“A magician? Me?” They laughed scratching the back of their head at Sun’s compliment. “I guess I can do a lot of things I couldn’t before, huh?”

The possibilities of this new lease on life seemed endless now. With their terrible creator gone, things were looking so much brighter. But then they caught something from the corner of their eye: the familiar shade of Elizabeth looming just far enough away. She didn’t look quite ready to join them with Ennard around.

She couldn’t be angry with them; not right now. She could tell Ennard and her brothers were having fun without her. Defeated, Lizzie turned from the group and pretended to be interested in the way the band packed up the equipment on the stage.

“Deal—” Mari agreed with a peal of bell-like laughter at the thought of being Ennard’s assistant. “—just promise not to really saw me in half! Okay?”

“Oh, they won’t,” Michael both assured and warned with narrowed eyes.

While Michael bonded with his sibling and friends, Monty had noticed Liz meandering over to his side of the stage. Slinging his guitar off for a moment, he crouched down to her level with a wide grin.

“Hey, lil’ lady!” he greeted, tail swaying across the floor with the aftershocks of their enthusiastic performance. “Sooo what’d you think?! Best show you’ve ever seen, right?”

Across the floor, Freddy was finalizing plans with Sam and the others.

“So Gregory and I will stop by your office first thing tomorrow night so we can port over my old profile,” he reiterated to make sure everyone was on the same page. “That way, Freddy can have as much time as possible for a ‘test run…' Does that work for you, superstar?” He glanced down at his son still held loosely in his arms. “You can play with your friends the rest of the night after we complete this task.”

“I'd appreciate it if Freddy 2.0 could run a rudimentary scan on Gregory, too,” Sam interjected. “Just to make sure all his systems are working fine! He’s been offline for a while, after all.”

Sam glanced to Gregory, looking for the okay from the young ward of the Pizzaplex. The boy shrugged, knowing he’d already be helping with the data transfer. It wouldn’t be any trouble to hang around new Freddy and make sure all his child safety features worked.

“That’s fine with me, Sammy,” he confirmed. Then, a bit more shyly, Gregory asked: “So… The Pizzaplex is going to be full of people again soon?”

Sam looked a little surprised. Reading Gregory’s expression made him think the kid was hoping to have the place all to himself for a little while longer. If only Sam could do that for him. But there were bills to pay, parties to throw… Sam couldn’t hold off on his investments anymore.

“Of course. The show has to go on, doesn’t it?” he replied with a gentle understanding. “You still get unlimited access, Gregory. But think of all the friends you’ll make here!”

“Friends can be made at your own pace,” Freddy reassured, seeing the anxiety wash over Gregory’s face like a wave. “But I must admit, it will be wonderful to have the Pizzaplex back in action.”

It’d been far too long since Freddy was able to enjoy his “job” without worrying what was going to happen to his friends when 12 am hit. And with Bonnie back in commission now, as well as the addition of everyone’s favorite pirate fox, the reopening was sure to be a roaring success.

“Hey guys,” Michael said as he stepped over to his little family unit. With a smile, he slung his arms around Charlie and Sammy’s shoulders. “You plotting stuff without me again?”

“Dang, just when we thought that we got rid of you,” Sam remarked with a roll of his eyes, the remnants of his sarcastic teenage self-shining through as he ran off the nostalgic high.

Charlie laughed at her brother's joke, resting her head against Mike's shoulder with a playful lilt in her voice. “Don't worry Mike, we totally weren't planning on pushing you in the hotel pool later.”

“Oh, fantastic,” Michael griped with a roll of his eyes, then looked to the redhead imploringly. “At least you’re on my side, right, Freddy? You wouldn’t let them plot against me, would you?”

“…I cannot say one way or the other,” Freddy replied cryptically, a playful smile twitching up the corners of his mouth.

“Oh my god…” Michael pressed his hands to the side of his face in mock horror. “I can’t believe they already corrupted you—poor, innocent Fredbear…”

Freddy chuckled and gave Mike’s hair an amiable ruffle. They all knew full well Michael could take a good prank as well as he could dish one out.

“Anyway—” the guard checked his phone before looking to Sam. “—my shift’s almost over, boss-man. Need anything else before I close up for the night?”

Sam relaxed an arm around Michael's shoulder as his friend spoke. Anything that Sam needed could wait until tomorrow; Gregory certainly looked about ready to go back to the hotel for some shut-eye.

“Just do me a favor and get home safe, alright?” Sam asked. “Text me when you get to the hotel. And maybe after your first paychecks we'll see about getting you guys a real place to stay…”

While rent could be plenty expensive, it certainly wasn't as expensive as the nightly room service charges Sam had been getting.

“We'll definitely text you,” Charlie agreed, eyes widening at the prospect of their little family getting a place of their own. She reached over, quickly hugging her brother with a caring grip around his back and squishing Michael in the embrace by proxy. “Get some sleep before opening, please.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Freddy said as he leaned himself and Gregory into the hug as well.

“Oof—yeah, you’re a real lifesaver when you aren’t crushing me!” Mike remarked, trying to wriggle free. After a moment he was granted a chance to escape, which he’d use to walk to the stage and call up: “Hey everyone, we’re heading out for the night! Say your goodbyes now before Gregory passes out!”

After basking in the attentions of the Glamrocks, Liz stood to the edge of the stage and waved goodbye to Gregory along with the band, who waved and blew kisses to their adoring audience with a dramatic flair. Before the other kids could convince them to do an encore, they came over one by one wishing them a good morning and that they’d all see Gregory and his family tomorrow. Ennard came by to gently pat Gregory’s hair, lifting Mari up to say her own personal goodbyes.

Gregory had once been hard-pressed once to let the animatronics and others wrangle him into hugs—now he’d progressed to the point of allowing the Marionette to nuzzle the side of his head with affection. Farewells complete, they begun for their egress of the building. The sound of that hotel bed was calling his name, and Gregory could no longer refuse sleep as he quietly fell unconscious in Freddy’s arms once more. Another successful, fun night well-spent.

***

Previous Chapter ~~ Next Chapter (Coming soon)

Looking for more? Check out the Chapter Masterlist on Tumblr!

Or check out the entire Wires that Bind Us Series on ao3!

5 notes · View notes