Chapter Text
“Dad can I-“
“No.”
Gregory pouts from his spot on the floor of the security room.
Well, if one can call it a room. It’s more the size of a closet. With a wheeled chair jammed against a desk displaying multiple security camera feeds of the different areas of the Mega Pizzaplex.
The feeds are staticky and provide no sound which is kinda dumb in Gregory’s opinion.
The lights overhead flicker every few minutes casting the room back and forth in an eerie yellow glaze to haunting shadows that make Gregory tighten his arms around his knees just a little bit more each time it happens.
How his Dad puts up with being in this hell of a room for hours on straight for what has been several years is beyond him. He’s only been here for two hours and he’s going insane.
Gregory stares at his Dad from the side. He’s dressed in a night guard’s uniform along with a stupid had that reads ‘Security’ on the front of it. As if the badge wasn’t enough.
Gregory counts the amount of seconds it takes his Dad to blink but he’s not sure he quite gets it right as he fails to keep himself from blinking in the process.
Dust floating in the air causes Gregory to scrunch up his nose until moments later he sneezes with the sound filling up the small room entirely.
Dad doesn’t even look at him, “Bless you.”
Gregory grumbles as he pushes himself off the ground and wipes at his nose with the back of his hand.
His footsteps echo as he makes it to the side of his Dad’s chair. He tugs impatiently at the uniform pulling the fabric this way and that until his Dad emits a low sigh and finally diverts his attention from the screens to his son.
Michael’s gaze is fond but there’s clearly exasperation in his tone, “What is it Gregory?”
Gregory shrugs not letting go of his Dad’s shirt, “‘M bored.”
Michael not for the first time considers it was a bad idea to bring a hyperactive nine year old to stay in a shoebox of a room for six or so hours straight. With the purpose to stare at a bunch of feeds waiting for something to go wrong even though nothing has gone wrong since the Pizzaplex’s opening.
Michael internally scoffs. Something always goes wrong. It’s why he begged Henry to just let the damn franchise die but the old man just couldn’t let the dream go.
That and the insistence that William somehow survived and this is the only way to catch him.
Which is why Michael finds himself here every night instead of asleep in his home with his child safely.
A couple more tugs at his shirt draws Michael’s attention back to Gregory who is swaying swaying back and forth on his heels.
He could always go out and fetch some toys from the arcade area but he doesn’t want to leave Gregory alone and he also doesn’t want to leave the security feeds unattended. For he fears the moment he loosens control everything will give.
He gently grabs Gregory’s wrist to stop his swaying. Gregory stares up at him expectantly.
He smiles as he jerks his head towards his lap, “Wanna sit up here?”
Gregory narrows his eyes between his Dad, to the screens, and to the rest of the room.
Well, he guesses their isn’t anything else to do in here.
He mutters out a half hearted, “Sure,” before he’s climbing Michael like a playground.
Michael grunts as Gregory somehow manages go elbow him in the ribs in the process.
Once properly seated Gregory smacks his hands on the table causing the pens and flashlight on it to shake and the fan resting on it to nearly topple over.
His small voice is determined, “What now?”
Michael wraps his arms lightly around Gregory’s torso and plops his head to rest on Gregory’s head, “We watch.”
Gregory leans against Michael’s chest as he looks between the grainy feeds. He’s not familiar with the place cause his Dad never lets him go. In fact, he couldn’t believe he got to go today when his babysitter canceled!
He was so excited but then of course Dad made him stick with him and while Dad can be fun, sometimes, this room is so so boring.
Gregory huffs as he looks from Monty Golf to Roxy Raceway.
The areas are kinda of cool from what he can make out, he’ll admit.
But they’d probably be a lot cooler when the place is open and running.
Gregory squirms a bit, “Watch for what?”
Michael’s arms tighten around Gregory which makes the kid look down in confusion. He minimally twists his head to get a good look at his Dad.
There’s a mixture of emotions in Michael’s gray-blue eyes. A burning hatred along with a sharp apprehension. Paired with determination and assuredness.
Michael’s voice comes out strong and in the way Gregory knows means ‘no nonsense’.
“Anything out of the ordinary.”
Oh.
Gregory turns away slumping against Michael. Disappointed at the basic uninformative response.
He knows he’s being whiny but he doesn’t care, “Like what? Burglars?”
He feels vibrations run through him as Michael’s laughs, “No squirt. Not quite.”
Gregory looks at the screens in confusion, his mouth twisting into a frown, “Then what?”
A silence stretches in the room picking away at Gregory’s nonexistent patience, “Is this about PeePaw?”
Michael groans as he throws his head back roughly against the seat, “Why do you call him that?”
Gregory grins as he regains a bit of energy from messing with his Dad, “Cause it’s fun!”
He’s only met with more groans making his grin grow larger.
But it starts to ease a bit as the stories come to mind. What his Dad told him one night when Gregory exploded over not being told anything and feeling left alone.
He’s still unsure if it was worth it. To know.
He doesn’t know all the details but Dad did explain PeePaw was a bad person that used the animatronics to hurt kids. He killed them.
Gregory whispers, “Plus makes him less scary…”
He feels a hand ruffling his hair which makes the bead of anxiety in his chest ease until it’s nothing but a minuscule speck, “I guess that’s true Kiddo.”
Gregory shifts away from the screens so he’s sideways. Blue eyes meet brown.
Michael brushes Gregory’s bangs out from his face, “But you don’t have to worry. I’m here.”
A bright smile graces Gregory’s face as his Dad’s words wrap him in warmth. A cozy warmth that chases away all his nightmares. A promise to watch over him when he’s sick. A promise that he’ll always listen to him even when it’s about things Gregory thinks are stupid.
His Dad loves him.
“I know.”
Michael’s smile matches Gregory’s, “Good.”
The room elapses in silence as the two Aftons gaze upon the screens with the sound of flickering lights in the background acting as their sole company.
Gregory’s eyes widen the moment he notices it. The moment he notices the arms around him loosening and the weight vanishing from his head.
As careful and a silent as possible Gregory turns to get a look at his Dad.
He’s meet with closed eyes and slumped body. His Dad seemingly sound asleep.
He knows from habit that his Dad never takes naps longer than fifteen minutes.
So really Gregory really shouldn’t get as terrified as he does when he notices movement in Monty’s Gator Golf.
His eyes widen to the size of dinner plates as he goes dead still.
He stares at the camera feed for forever but it reveals nothing.
He swallows thickly. His throat now itchy and his hands damp.
Maybe, maybe this is what Dad’s been waiting for so long.
But…
Gregory finally tears his gaze away from the screens to look at his Dad.
His Dad looks so tired. And even though he doesn’t say it Gregory knows PeePaw had to have been an awful Dad. Like super super awful.
Afterall, he was a murderer.
Gregory squints his eyes back to the screen. Well according to his Dad, is a murderer.
Alive.
Even after his Dad burned everything!
Gregory comes to a decision as he stares at his Dad’s resting, but not peaceful, face.
His Dad handles so much all the time. Surely Gregory can take care of this, right?
He bites at his lip as he remembers the movement he saw from his peripheral vision.
It might not even turn out to be PewPaw.
Gregory grabs the flashlight from the desk that is way heavier than it looks nearly making him drop it and give him and his plan completely away.
Gregory glares at the offending object, “Asshole.”
He can get away with saying that cause Dad’s asleep.
As he must remain.
It takes an excruciating amount of time and effort for Gregory to finally be off Michael’s lap and safely on the ground without waking the man.
Gregory stands still for a good couple minutes just in case.
Finally deeming it safe he lets out a long exhale.
He shifts the wait of the flashlight in his hand. That’ll help him see bug shouldn’t he have something for protection?
He asked Dad about that earlier but Michael said the flashlight was weapon enough.
Gregory doesn’t find himself agreeing.
Which is why he finds himself painstakingly slowly opening the office drawers.
He’s meet with a bunch of loose papers and pens.
He opens the next but there’s just more of the same plus some old candy wrappers. Gregory scrunches up his nose, gross.
Yet to his shock, he finds a…
his eyes widen comically as his brain starts going a mile a minute
…a gun.
Carefully he grabs the hilt and picks it up. He moves it this way and that inspecting it. Really? This whole time they had a gun in here?
Gregory peaks down. It looks the same as the video games he plays. It has a safety on and everything.
Gregory lifts it closer to his face staring at the chamber. He can’t tell if it’s loaded.
Gregory doesn’t bother shutting the drawer door. He bumps the flashlight against his leg to turn it on.
He takes one last look to where his Dad is still slumped in his chair in front of the screens unaware of what’s about to go down.
Gregory tilts his head cause he can’t exactly wave goodbye. He whispers making sure not to risk awaking his Dad up, “Bye Dad.”
And with that, he straightens his back and makes his way to the door.
It takes a couple moments but eventually he slithers out from a gap he made.
He’s greeted to complete darkness besides the circle of light from his flashlight and the slither of light coming from the security room.
Gregory steels himself as he forces himself to walk down the eerie dark hallway. He just has to make it to the golf place. Yeah, yeah he just has to do that.
Gregory’s grip tightens around the gun’s handle.
Then if he finds PeePaw he can go bam! and shoot him!
A large grin takes over Gregory’s face making his uneasiness fade to the background.
A rush of adrenaline and resolve rushes through him.
He picks up his steps.
And then Dad can stop worrying all the time!
He nods to himself as he nearly walks straight into a security bot.
Right.
He’s got this.
Ten minutes go by as he struggles to make heads or tails of where he is.
He pouts as he swears he already passed Roxy Raceway at least three times.
Okay.
Maybe he doesn’t got this.
Gregory groans as his feet start to ache. He doesn’t have that much time before Dad wakes up and freaks out when he finds Gregory very much not in the place he’s supposed to be.
Gregory swallows thickly as a shiver runs through him at the thought.
He’s not scared of his Dad. Not really.
He just doesn’t want to see how upset Dad’s gonna be at him. It’s somehow worse than him being angry.
Gregory scoffs as he takes a sharp right. There’s no use worrying. There’s-
Gregory nearly eats the floor as his foot slides against-
he blinks owlishly as his flashlight’s beam lands on his near doom
-a map.
Oh.
He resituates his flashlight to hold in his armpit so he can grab it off the floor.
Oh. His eyes follow the bright obnoxious colors of the map’s attractions.
It’s on the other side. Right across the stage.
Gregory huffs as he lets the map fall back to the ground so he can properly carry the flashlight again.
He mentally retraces his steps, immensely relieved when he passes the stage.
Before he would’ve happily taken in every inch of the place from his dying curiosity but right now with just his flashlight as his guide he’s not too keen on it.
He stays vigilant and finally, finally, he finds himself at Monty’s attraction.
Gregory takes a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever’s inside.
His hand flexes around the gun. Everybody knows how dangerous a gun is. It’ll totally take care of things. Definitely.
As he enters the attraction his steps slow as his eyes dart back and forth.
The area is huge. And dark. Very very dark.
Gregory feels a bead of sweat grow against the back of his neck as his heartbeat picks up.
He shivers as his flashlight picks up on a Monty cut out. The animatronic itself is far from friendly looking. With its sharp rows of teeth and long claws that surely can’t be necessary.
Gregory frowns in distaste. Even though he looks a little cool with the star glasses there’s something…off about him.
But nothing is scarier than the shuffling noise that suddenly fills the large room.
Gregory jolts and the flashlight’s beam starts to flicker.
His heart pounds at the rate of a jackhammer as a string of curses fills his mind.
Panic builds and builds rushing through his brain.
The footsteps keep coming.
And they sound heavy, not human.
Meaning Gregory can’t effectively shoot them.
Gregory darts off aimlessly in the room. Dodging small rides and divots.
He waves his flashlight when he makes it towards the wall along the back of the room.
It lands on a door. The footsteps sound closer and closer.
He rushes forward, dropping the flashlight as he swings the heavy door open and then slams it closed.
Gregory fumbles at the doorknob until he finds the lock and clicks it closed.
His breathing is heavy as his chest heaves. Sweat from both exhilaration and panic encases him in a thin sheen.
He looks up. A hallway greets him from what he can tell from the tiny light coming at the other end.
He wracks his brain calling for what was on the map.
He scrunches his eyes closed thinking as hard as he can. What’s next to Monty’s Gator Golf, what’s next to Monty’s Gator Golf, what’s-
His eyes fly open as the answer comes to him.
The Daycare.
He bites at the inside of his cheek. That…that has to be the safest place in the entire pizzaplex.
Right?
Gregory shuffles his feet anxiously.
Well, his hand that was previously holding his now lost flashlight clenches into a fist, he doesn’t have much of a choice. He can’t go back.
So Gregory follows down the hallway until it opens into the Kid’s Cove.
He really can’t make out much of it in the dark.
He walks through it with his pulse continuing to thrum from the situation he just escaped from.
What was that?
From the sound of it it must have been an animatronic. Monty most likely. But why would it be chasing him?
Gregory’s grip fastens tighter on the gun as his eyes begin to adjust more to the expansive darkness.
He wanders until he sees an entrance of sorts lit up.
It must be the one to the daycare.
Gregory considers his options. Maybe he can get the animatronic in there to help him out. It’d probably be better than him on his own.
So Gregory makes his way to the entrance which he quickly discovers is actually a slide.
He loves slides.
But he loves slides mostly when he knows where they lead too…
Gregory sets himself down on the slide and makes sure to have both hands firmly clutched onto the gun. If he loses it this will all have been for nothing.
Gregory’s stomach lurches as he scoots himself forward, falling down the slide at a high speed.
He’s met with the dimmed lights of a large room with play towers decorating it.
And a giant ball pit.
That’s he’s about to crash right into.
Gregory takes a gulp of breath and clutches the gun to his chest as he’s propelled into the ball pit.
For a moment it feels like he’s suffocating as the foam balls surround him caging him in.
That is until suddenly everything shifts.
His body buzzes and his head grows woozy.
He closes his eyes feeling nauseous as bile tickles the back of his throat.
Suddenly his entire body shivers as he finds himself plopped onto a hard surface.
He groans from the force of it.
His eyes slowly flutter open as the dizziness calms and his eyes adjust to the somewhat bright lights, at least in comparison to the Daycare.
He blinks as he’s met with an old fashioned red telephone with the circle crank thingy and everything resting on a side table in front of him.
His eyes raise above him and he’s met with a sight that shakes him to his very core.
It’s clearly a family picture.
A picture of a blond woman standing next to a man that looks a lot like his Dad.
He frowns in confusion, but his Dad said his Mom had brown hair, when she was around…
Along with the picture is a teenage boy that looks like well, the teenager version of his Dad.
And in front of him is a young girl with blond hair who is smiling so hard it looks painful.
Next to her is a young boy that looks a lot like Gregory.
A woman, a man that looks like his Dad, three kids…
Every part of Gregory freezes in tandem. Mind and heart gone still as everything clicks.
He whispers under his breath, “Holy shit.”
He’s in the past. And not just any time in the past, he’s in his Dad’s childhood home.
Gregory looks away from the family portrait to the gun still firmly in his hands.
A plan mirroring his previous one just got a lot more possible.