#halogenrobotics ask

[hexyz09]

Idea 16: Vanessa knows how to sew

You know, at this point my nickname should be Afton. Cause I always come back!

 

… 

*cough*

 uh moving swiftly on

 

This new idea/concept is probably my longest yet, I couldn't help but do my usual thing of trying to explain everything. I will also say that this one might not be “as good” as my other ideas so be warned. With that out of the way, grab yourself a snack/drink and strap in!

Once again, we must set the scene. Life has returned to normal for our faz fam, or at least as normal as it can be for a family consisting of mostly robots. Silver Parasol was able to find an abandoned restaurant and purchase it to give the bots a place to live. It took a bit to get used to its smaller area (It is about the size of your average chucky cheese) but animatronics have acclimated well. The restaurant still has a lot of the same activities as the pizza plex once did, they are just a lot smaller. In some cases, such as with Monty's golf course and Roxy’s raceway, they’ve been replaced with miniature versions like mini golf and RC car racing respectively. There are a few new activities as well though such as “Chica’s cooking class'' and “Painting with Sun and Moon”. Roxy and Monty also hold “weekly challenges” and I will let you figure out what that means. (Some of you came up with some really clever ideas the last time I did this :) )

 

As for our human friends, they are doing quite well! Gregory has been doing well at school and has gotten his own little group of friends. He has developed a reputation at the school for being the kind of kid who causes trouble. Not anything bad of course, he still gets amazing grades but has from time to time crested harmless pranks that everyone finds quite amusing. Vanessa has being doing good as well. She got a promotion at work due to how high quality her work has been and she has gone on several more successful dates with Luis and are "officially" a couple. (Everyone is happy for her, though Gregory still takes some slight joy at how flustered Vanessa gets whenever he asks about their dates. Once a gremlin always a gremlin)

 

Now, something that is important to mention is how Vanessa has been dealing with the memories of being under mind control. It isn’t just her memories; these also include all of Vanny’s memories. (While under mind control Vanessa didn’t see everything that Vanny saw or did. Vanny would only have her be aware of what was going on when SHE wanted Vanessa to see something, which normally meant murders ). Allow me to attempt and explain.

(if you don’t want to read all this, scroll until you see the asterisk*) 

When Vanessa was first freed she tried to just not think about her memories of that time and tried to live in the present. This proved to be a bad idea since the events of idea 10 kept happening. What I mean by this is that Vanessa would see something in the present that felt vaguely familiar, such as a child alone in the pizzaplex, and it would trigger one of Vanny’s memories. From there, Vanessa would be forced to watch the memory play out, which usually consisted of a child being murdered. Then she would come out of the memory in the midst of a panic attack. After a few months of this, she realized that this wasn’t the way to go about this. So, after the events of idea 12, she decides to try dealing with these bad memories in a different way. Her new method is to, just, think about them. Get used to the fact that they exist so she doesn't get overwhelmed by them when she sees something familiar. They are still bad, and she will never not feel guilty about the actions that take place in them, but it does help reduce the amount of pain that they cause to a point that she can live with them.

 

Through this methodic remembering Vanessa discovers that she also has access to Vanny’s memories that, other than having very bad implications, aren't really that bad One of these series of memories is of Vanny creating that suit she wore  (btw it has long since been burned, it was one of the first things that the Faz fam did together after “that night”) As such one of the skills Vanessa now has is sewing. She had known Vanny could sow for a while now, she had found a sewing kit in her room after she was freed and easily figured out the connection. Up until now though Vanessa herself hadn't attempted to use it since she didn't remember how to. Even though she now knows how to sew, she hasn’t used this skill for 2 main reasons. Firstly, it reminds her of Vanny, though this reasoning has been getting a lot less strong as time goes on; and secondly, she hasn’t had much of a reason to use this skill at all… until now.

 

*TLDR Vanessa basically got Acquired Savant Syndrome, without the necessary physical head trauma.

 

The situation arises on a normal day while Gregory was at school hanging out with his friends. They decide to challenge him to a contest during recess, who can climb a tree to a certain branch the fastest. Gregory, being… well Gregory, immediately accepts (it would seem Roxy and Monty have been rubbing off on him) and is off to the tallest tree in the yard before they even decide on a prize. He climbs the tree and reaches the lowest main branch in around 15 seconds, much to the amazement of the children in the yard. 

 

However, in their collective excitement, the children failed to notice that the branch  Gregory is standing on has rotten and died. So after a few seconds, it breaks under the load  and Gregory begins falling to the ground. Thankfully his shirt manages to catch one of the smaller branches, slowing his fall but ripping his shirt in the process. He lands on the ground and, aside from some small cuts and bruises, is completely fine. The same cannot be said for his shirt though, the branch has made a tear from the bottom to the arm sleeve.

 

It should be stated that this particular shirt means a lot to him, it is one of the last possessions that he has from his old life, the one where his mother was still alive. The reason he knows this goes back several months, back to just a few days after “that night.” One of the first things that Vanessa and Gregory had done together was try and find his old house. They had done this to see if anything was still there and, if there was, take it back to Vanessa’s apartment so that Gregory would feel more “at home”.  

 

The 2 of them had found that the house had been claimed by the city since the owner, Gregory’s mother, had been found dead and she had had no living adult relatives. All of the possessions that were inside the house had been sold or given to charity in accordance with Utah state law . In a nutshell, all Gregory has from his old life are memories and the clothes he was wearing. It might seem kind of silly to a stranger, but the Faz fam knows how important it is to him. Besides, people tend to form emotional attachment to inanimate objects in real life (especially after traumatic events), so I think this might be plausible.

 

 Anyways, after picking himself off of the ground and reassuring the others that he is all fine, Gregory looks down at his special shirt and realizes that it is ruined and he thinks that Vanessa will likely have to throw it away. He really doesn’t want this to happen due to how much the shirt means to him, so he decides to try and repair it. After recess ends he grabs some duct tape, goes into a bathroom and tapes up the shirt. He hopes that the temporary repair will fool Vanessa long enough for him to try and find a more permanent fix for his shirt.

 

Vanessa isn’t home yet as she had to work late that day. (The company is planning on pushing out a new DLC that is based on the new restaurant the PizzaPlex animatronics now occupy as a way to advertise the place. So everyone is working a bit harder to get the update ready for release.) Gregory is about to take advantage of this and toss his ruined shirt into his room and put on a new one when he notices Freddy watching him, in his plush form. Freddy asks what he is doing, which means that Gregory has to explain the situation to him. He is just finishing up his explanation when he hears the door unlock, Vanessa has already returned from work. 

 

She enters and is in the middle of asking how his day was when she turns to look at him. She stops speaking, seeing him covered in scrapes and bruises and wearing a torn shirt. Vanessa, trying to remain calm and not get TOO worried, asks what happened to him. Before Gregory can even attempt to craft a response that downplays what actually happened, Freddy answers with “Gregory fell from a tree!” in a tone of voice that sounds like he is discussing the weather.

 

For several seconds nothing happens, then Vanessa fully processes what Freddy has just told her and launches into “doting parent” mode. She kneels down to Gregory and starts checking him over whilst asking him multiple questions about his well being. Gregory manages to calm Vanessa down after reassuring her that he is fine. Now a lot calmer, Vanessa notices that his shirt is ripped and the duct tape on it, prompting her to ask him what he planned to do with it. Gregory defeatedly tells her that he was going to try and fix it.

 

Vanessa remains silent, thinking. She knows how much this shirt means to him, and doesn’t want to get rid of it or have it not be wearable anymore. She wonders if she might be able to fix it herself, and then remembers that sewing kit and the memories of Vanny making the suit. Vanessa realizes that she might be able to solve this problem. So she asks Gregory if she can try and sew up the shirt for him. Gregory, who was expecting Vanessa to tell him to throw it away, is caught a bit off guard before saying yes.

 

So Vanessa takes the shirt to her room, opens the sewing kit and grabs some blue thread. She hesitates before picking up the actual needle, some of that old fear still lingering despite it being over 7 months since “that night”. Vanessa takes a deep breath and starts fixing the shirt. To her surprise she finds it to be quite easy, like riding a bike after a long break. Within an hour (idk how long this would really take lol) she has already patched up the tear and the shirt looks good as new.

 

She goes over to Gregory’s room and finds him having a conversation with Freddy about discretion (“You can’t just bluntly tell people that someone fell out of a tree! You have to give them some sort of warning!”) Vanessa gets their attention and shows them the patched shirt. Gregory takes his shirt, looks it over and places it on the bed. He then gives Vanessa a big ol hug while graciously thanking her for fixing it. She tells him that it was no problem, and then asks him how he even climbed the tree in the first place. 

As a little aside, Vanessa would eventually take sewing up as a hobby and make everyone various little items as gifts. Eventually she might even make Gregory a little costume for Halloween, probably something either bear or knight related. Maybe even a combination of the 2!

That is where I will leave it, I hope you enjoyed this long boi. Again, I admit that this might not be as good as my other ideas, but I really just felt the need to write this one as it has been on my mind for a long time now

I have to say my information on Savant Syndrome is rather limited. I knew it was a possibility, and what the effects were in regards to brainwashed victims and those who'd had their...minds manipulated by an outside force, but I didn't quite know the name that was attached to it.

Though Gregory's understandable attachment to his shirt notwithstanding (my poor baby boy), I gather Ness's new sewing ability wouldn't be the only thing she's gaining from these unfortunate memories. Especially if she's no longer trying to avoid/run away from them.

But seriousness aside. Damn Gregory is a freaking spider monkey!! XD I can barely climb a regular tree and here we have this ten year old doing so in ten seconds flat!!

[gooeyslime]

I have some VERY exciting news to share with y'all!

ghostlyvelvetheart decided to turn idea 11 into a proper story!

Link

It is REALLY REALLY good and it deserves your attention and I am grateful that it exists. I hope that you all enjoy it as well!

Ooh I really liked it! It is very good thanks for sharing it!

[aquatic-batt]

Alright here is a link to the whole thing

Link

Please let me know what you think of them as I love getting feedback!

okay, will do! I’ll read it as soon as I get the chance :0

[fnaf-is-awesome201]

Baby Steps

Healing is a long journey, one filled with many small steps. Luckily, Vanessa has a few friends that are willing to help her out along her journey.

Special thanks to ( @mason-gaylord ) mason,( @docleonidas ) doc, and ( @beneathascorpionsky ) beneathascorpionsky for assisting with the outlining process.

Hey, here’s another one. This one is partially based on Idea 13 from @halogenrobotics ‘s idea list. This one’s a little different than the others. It’s a collection of stories, with each segment featuring a different animatronic. Fair warning, it is very long, with five main segments and an epilogue of sorts for the sixth segment. Most of it will be under the read more.

--------------

Roxy

Vanessa wandered through the entrance doors to Rockstar Row, searching the room as she entered. The room was brightly lit, covered floor to ceiling in colorful neon lights that reflected off of the dark tiled floors and cast a colorful glow on the various glass displays scattered about. It was fairly quiet, with the faint music playing over the speakers not quite being drowned out by the sound of the bustling chaos just on the other side of the doors.

“Come on, where could she be?” Vanessa asked herself as he took a few steps in, continually scanning the room. She walked towards the animatronics’ green rooms. Most of them had the curtains pulled back, leaving the empty rooms in full view. When she passed by Roxy’s room, she could hear someone muttering and growling to themselves behind the closed curtains.

“There she is.” Vanessa muttered as she wandered over to the door, stopping to knock on the door before entering her room.

“Yeah?” Roxy called through the door, sounding slightly frustrated. Vanessa opened the door and walked in, finding Roxy sitting in her chair in front of her mirror, fussing with her hair.

“Hey, Roxy. I hope I’m not interrupting anything… Are you busy right now?” Vanessa asked as she saw Roxy glance back at her from her mirror.

“No, I’m not too busy. I’m just trying to make sure there’s no grease or anything in my hair after that last party…” She picked a few crumbs out of her hair, grumbling in disgust as she continued to pick through her hair. “One of the little kids dragged his fingers through my mane and made it all gross and messy…” She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and continued to mess with it, trying to fix a few out of place strands. “Why? What’s up?”

“Well… I was kinda hoping that… maybe you could help me out with something…” Vanessa asked before looking over at Roxy. She had frozen in place, seemingly stunned by Vanessa’s request. “No, never mind, it’s silly…” Vanessa muttered anxiously, moving back towards the door.

“Woah, hold on a sec.” Roxy said, spinning around in her chair to face Vanessa. “Now you’ve got me curious.” She waved a hand towards Vanessa. “Spill, girl. I’m all ears.” Vanessa sighed, hesitating and picking at the fabric of her sleeves.

“It’s just… I want to kind of distance myself from what happened… Make myself as different from Her as possible… And I’ve been trying to do that, but I just feel kind of lost on what to do next.” She glanced at Roxy, who nodded in acknowledgement and motioned for her to continue. “So… I was wondering if… maybe… you could help me find a new look?” Roxy got up from her chair and went over to Vanessa. 

“Ah, I see. Have any ideas on what you’d like to start with?” Roxy asked.

“Well… before… before Her… I tried to add some rainbow streaks to my hair. I thought it would look nice, so I gave it a shot. It didn’t go perfectly… but I did like how it looked regardless.” She responded, looking up at Roxy, who nodded, trying and failing to contain her enthusiasm. She gently placed a hand on Vanessa’s shoulder.

“Well, you’ve come to the right place, then! C’mon, let’s head over to the salon and get started.” Roxy responded and led Vanessa over to the salon, chatting more along the way about what Vanessa wanted to do with her hair.

As soon as they entered the main room, Vanessa noticed that it was very quiet. There weren’t any big crowds or overly loud guests, just a peaceful empty room with the salon in the middle.

“I’m guessing this place isn’t super busy, huh?” Vanessa asked, turning to look at Roxy as they walked toward the salon.

“Well, it’s not technically open to guests yet. It’s fully stocked and hooked up and everything, but I think they’re waiting to find more staff before they reopen.” Roxy responded as she opened the front door and gestured for Vanessa to go inside. “Still, I like to come down here sometimes. It’s a nice place to just think and relax for a bit, I guess.” She shrugged as she closed the door behind her and turned on the main lights, flooding the building with warm, bright light. “Besides, I’m less likely to be bothered here than I am in my room.”

Roxy spun one of the chairs around towards Vanessa.

“Take a seat, blondie!” Roxy motioned to Vanessa to sit in the chair. Vanessa sat down, staring blankly at her reflection in the mirror for a second, before quickly looking away. “Now, let’s see what we’re working with before we pick out some colors.” Roxy carefully took the hair tie out of Vanessa’s hair and draped her hair over her shoulders, humming slightly in thought.

“W-what?” Vanessa nervously turned and looked at Roxy.

“Your hair is… really tangled…” Roxy said as she tapped a single claw against her face once or twice, then shrugged at Vanessa. “That’s easy to fix, though.” She continued and tilted her head to the side slightly. “You know, your hair looks really nice when it’s down like that.” She stepped back and motioned for Vanessa to follow her. “Come on, let’s pick out some colors for your hair and get started. And, if you want, I can give you some hair styling tips when we’re done.”

Vanessa followed Roxy and picked out some hair dye, eventually going for a bright rainbow of colors after looking through all her different options. After that, she got her hair brushed, washed, and trimmed, before finally prepping her hair for the dye. She chatted with Roxy while getting her hair dyed, with Roxy mostly ranting on about all the gossip and drama she had seen earlier in the day and occasionally asking Vanessa about her day or her new job. After the dye was applied, Roxy stepped back to admire her work.

“Well, I think this will turn out beautifully!” She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, confidently admiring her work, before swiveling Vanessa’s chair around to face her. “Hey, while we’re waiting for the dye to finish up, how about I paint your nails?” Roxy asked.

“Yeah, sure. That sounds nice.” Vanessa watched Roxy as she disappeared into the storage room. After a moment, she wandered out, holding a large case full of different colored bottles of nail polish. She set down the case on the counter in front of Vanessa, and opened it up, displaying all of the brilliant colors available.

“Which color would you like?” Roxy’s tail swayed excitedly behind her as she asked this. Vanessa looked at the case, almost overwhelmed by all the different bottles and colors to choose from.

“Honestly, anything but purple would be great, please.” Vanessa watched Roxy as she perused through the bottles.

“How about…” She picked two out and held them in her hand before holding the bottles out towards Vanessa, showing off the glittery polish inside, shaking them slightly so that it sparkled magnificently in the light, “Red and black?”

“Aren’t those your colors?” Vanessa asked with a quiet laugh. Roxy put the bottles down on the counter and chuckled.

“Okay, okay, you got me there. But hey, if it looks good on me, it should look good on everyone, right?” She paused for a moment. “After all, who wouldn’t want to look as beautiful as me?” She took a step back and tossed her hair back, striking an overly dramatic pose as she did so.

“Fair point,” Vanessa chuckled. Roxy fixed her hair and walked back over to the counter, putting the two bottles of polish she picked out back into the case, before sifting through the rest of the bottles, occasionally pulling one out to show off the color.

“Alright, how about something else… Hm… how about blue? There’s a bunch of nice shades of blue in here. Or maybe a nice green, or orange… Oh, wait! How about yellow?” She started going through various drawers around the salon. “I remember I saw a particularly nice shade around here somewhere the other day…”

“Yellow would be lovely.” Vanessa answered as she watched Roxy dig through one final drawer before holding up a bottle of polish triumphantly.

“Ha! Found it!” She pushed the large case of polish aside and set the bottle on the counter in front of Vanessa.

“Oh, that is really nice.” Vanessa picked up the bottle and examined the color, watching it shimmer in the light, before handing it back to Roxy.

“Alright, then let’s get started!” Roxy pulled up a chair, grabbed a bottle of base coat polish, and sat down in front of Vanessa. “So, do you want to do anything special, like add some cool designs or patterns or anything while we’re painting your nails, or-” She glanced down at Vanessa’s nails before applying a base coat and stopped in her tracks. “Oh…”

“What?” Vanessa anxiously pulled her hand back.

“Well… we need to fix your nails first. They’re just… a bit ragged…” Roxy tapped her claws on the counter beside her as she tried to remember where she could find a manicure kit. Roxy paused when she saw Vanessa pulling her hands close to herself, slightly embarrassed.

“Hey, it’s not that bad! Trust me, it’s an easy fix.” Roxy gently placed a hand on Vanessa’s shoulder. “Just… don’t forget about the little things, you know?”

Vanessa sighed, holding her head in her hands.

“I know… it’s just… it’s difficult sometimes…” She sighed again, covering her face, trying to hide herself away and hide her embarrassment.

“I know.” Roxy leaned against the counter as she spoke, her tone very sincere. Vanessa glanced at her, surprised. “Believe me, I know. But trust me, you’ll feel better in the long run if you take care of yourself.” Roxy leaned back in her chair, tapping a claw against her chin as she thought for a moment. “Think of it… like routine maintenance. You have to take care of the little things when they come up, so they don’t turn into bigger problems later.” She leaned closer to Vanessa, lowering her voice slightly. “I know it’s tough sometimes, but you really do need to keep up with these things. And hey, if you need it, I’m always willing to help out a friend. Okay?”

Vanessa hesitantly nodded, dropping her hands from her face, and smiled at Roxy.

“Yeah… okay.” Vanessa answered Roxy, who simply nodded in acknowledgement before getting up from her chair. “I’ll try to get better at that, Roxy.” She said quietly as Roxy walked back towards some shelves near the back of the building, combing through the various boxes as she looked for the elusive manicure kits.

“You better!” Roxy chuckled, looking back towards Vanessa. After a moment or two, she found what she was looking for and returned to her chair in front of Vanessa. “Now, let’s get back to those nails, and afterward we can see how the dye turned out.”

Vanessa continued to chat with Roxy as she fixed her nails and started painting them. After her nails had been painted, the dye was rinsed out of her hair and her hair was dried. After she had brushed her hair and Roxy made some slight adjustments, Roxy turned Vanessa’s chair around so she could see her hair in the mirror.

“Not bad, if I do say so myself! Not bad at all. Wait…” Roxy quickly fixed a couple out of place strands in Vanessa’s hair and stepped back. “There, perfect.” She glanced at Vanessa. “What do you think? Is it a good start?”

Vanessa stared at her reflection in the mirror, her expression blank for a few moments. It was still uncomfortable to look at her reflection, even after so long. But, she started to see a bit more of herself as she looked into the mirror. It may have only been a minor change on the outside, but to Vanessa, it made a big difference. She smiled as she turned towards Roxy.

“I’d say it’s a rather good start. Thanks, Roxy.” Vanessa looked back at the mirror and turned her head, admiring the rainbow of colors in her hair.

“Cool!” Roxy exclaimed.

Suddenly, there was a faint beeping sound that lasted for a few seconds before the room went silent. Roxy rolled her eyes and huffed, starting to make her way towards the door and motioning for Vanessa to follow.

“Looks like it’s time for me to get back to work.” She opened the door to the salon, letting Vanessa walk out before following close behind. “But hey, we should do something like this again sometime. Maybe next time you stop by, we can try out some makeup and see if there’s anything you like.”

“Yeah, that sounds like fun.” Vanessa walked with Roxy to the main lobby. As soon as they entered the lobby, the faint beeping started again, more persistent this time.

“Well, looks like I really need to get back to work now. I guess I’ll see you later, then.” Roxy started walking back towards the atrium, pausing for just a moment. “And seriously, if you ever need any help, you know where to find me.”

“Thank you, Roxy.” Vanessa smiled and waved at Roxy, watching as she waved back before heading into the atrium.

“Thank you.”

 -------

Monty

Vanessa had been wandering around the main atrium of the Pizzaplex, checking out the shops and different attractions, and chatting with some of the animatronics for a moment or two before they had to rush off to work again. Eventually, she ended up wandering into Monty Golf. It was unusually empty, and with that it was surprisingly quiet. Vanessa wandered around for a bit, pausing every once in a while to look at all the different minigolf courses. There were golf balls scattered everywhere around the courses, some of them even stuck up in the decorative trees and nearby structures.

“Well… that’s a little strange…” As she continued on through, she could hear faint laughter in the distance. After making it to the other side of Monty Golf, she finally spotted the source. At the final course, Monty was giving lessons to a large group of little kids, their parents watching and waiting close by.

“Ah. That explains it.” Vanessa wandered a bit closer, staying to watch the end of Monty’s golf lesson.

“Last call, who’s up?” Monty waved his hand towards the group, trying to encourage someone to step up to the course. As one boy stepped forward, everyone else took a few steps back. Monty set a golf ball down at the start of the course and stepped back, allowing the boy to play.

“Alright then, give it your best shot!” Monty watched as the boy stared blankly at the course that stretched on in front of him, before swinging his golf club with all his strength at the ball. Everyone behind the boy ducked to avoid getting hit as the ball bounced off of one of the obstacles and hurtled back into the crowd. Monty sighed, grumbling quietly in frustration for a moment, as the crowd of children burst into a fit of giggles. The boy was still facing away from the group, his face going red with embarrassment.

“Hey now, that’s enough of that.” Monty glanced towards the group, his somewhat stern tone quieting their laughter briefly. After a moment, he walked back over to the boy and knelt down beside him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re doing great, kid, but you’re still hitting way too hard.” Monty got back up and grabbed his own golf club, which was leaning against the wall. He placed another golf ball in front of the kid, and then placed one off to the side. “Here, just follow what I do, alright?” Monty stood off to the side of the course, waiting for the boy to mimic his stance. “Now, just gently hit the ball, see?” He gently swung the club, watching as the ball followed along the side of the course, before rolling to a stop at the very end. “Try it.”

The boy stared at him for a moment, before slowly stepping up to the ball and copying Monty’s demonstration. After a brief pause, he hit the ball, watching as it bounced back and forth along the course, avoiding the obstacles in its way, before finally landing in the hole at the end of the course.

“Nice shot, kid!” Monty cheered, giving the boy a thumbs up. “With skills like that, you’ll be a pro in no time!”

A big smile spread across the boy’s face as he walked back over to the group. Monty turned back to face them.

“Well, looks like that’s all the time we got today.” Monty waved the group of parents over as the kids grumbled disappointedly in protest for a moment, only to rush over to their parents and talk about how much fun they were having. “Come back real soon, everybody!” Monty waved as the kids walked towards the exit with their parents, most of the kids waving back to him before leaving.

After everybody had left, Monty looked around the room, chuckling quietly to himself as he kicked around a few golf balls at his feet.

“This’ll take a while to clean up…” he muttered, sweeping a few balls off to the side with his golf club. His eyes continued to wander about the room, amused by the chaos the children had brought. After a moment, he froze, his gaze landing on a familiar face.

“Hey, V!” Monty boomed, waving to Vanessa as she approached. “Good to see you again!”

“It’s good to see you, too!” Vanessa smiled, holding back a laugh as she looked at the mess scattered around the room. “Looks like you had fun with the golf lessons today.”

“Kids. They’re fun, but MAN do they know how to make a mess.” Monty chuckled as he looked around. After a moment, he looked back towards Vanessa. “So, how’s it going? How’ve you been?”

“It’s going pretty well, actually.” Vanessa smiled. “I’ve been doing really well at my new job, and I got Roxy to help me with my hair, which was a nice change.”

“I thought something was different! Looks nice! Very colorful.” Monty complimented, giving Vanessa a thumbs up. He paused for a second, tilting his head slightly in curiosity. “So, what’s up? You’re here a bit earlier than usual.”

“Well, Gregory wanted to stop by, so I’m just kind of wandering around while he does his own thing.” Vanessa shrugged. “I caught the end of one of your classes and decided to stick around for a bit. Looked like everyone was having a lot of fun.”

“Yeah, it’s really fun! I like to teach them, and the kids love to play.” He paused for a moment, lowering his voice ever so slightly. “I’m just glad they seem to like me.” After another brief pause, he shook his head slightly and adjusted his sunglasses, causing a reflection of brilliant neon light to dance across the lenses. “Must be my charming personality!” He laughed as Vanessa grinned and rolled her eyes.

“You know, watching you teach the kids kind of reminds me of something I used to do.” Vanessa paused for a moment. “You know, before everything here…”

“You used to work with kids?” Monty said, failing to hide his surprised tone. Vanessa glanced over at him, a confused look on her face for a moment.

“Oh, that’s right. I never told you guys about that, did I?” Vanessa smiled. “Well, yeah, I used to work with kids. Before I came here, I used to volunteer at local schools from time to time. Mostly preschools, but sometimes I’d work with older classes.”

“Really?” Monty leaned on his golf club, listening intently, his head tilted to the side in curiosity as Vanessa continued.

“Yeah, really. I mostly just assisted the teachers with simple things, but occasionally I’d teach the classes when needed.” Vanessa thought for a moment. “Well, I guess by teach I mean handing out worksheets or coloring activities. I’d read stories to the preschool kids, too.” She smiled. “And of course, sometimes I’d be asked to talk about my job testing games.”

“That sounds nice!” Monty said enthusiastically.

“It really was nice… I want to try and start doing stuff like that again…” Her smile began to fade as she thought about it further.

“Well, why don’t you?” Monty asked, curious.

“It’s just… It would mean being close to kids again, and…” Vanessa’s voice trailed off into little more than mumbling. She sighed and put her head in her hands, unable to continue.

“Let me guess, you’re worried you’ll hurt them?” Monty interjected, pausing for a moment as he looked over at Vanessa. Vanessa nodded and took a deep breath, trying to control her anxiety.

“I know it’s unlikely but… I still worry about it… I’m just scared that I’ll get upset, and-” Vanessa stopped as Monty placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Trust me, I get it. I feel the same way sometimes.” Monty’s voice was quieter than usual, his tone serious and sincere.

“... Really? You do?” Vanessa glanced at him. Monty nodded and stepped back.

“Of course!” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Look, I might be rockin’ awesome,” He hesitated for a brief moment, taking off his sunglasses as his tone shifted, becoming slightly more melancholy. “But… y’know, that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes get a bit frustrated… maybe even angry… when the kids break something, or throw trash in the water or leave it on the course, or make fun of the other kids…” He sighed and blankly stared off into the distance. “And for me, yeah, getting angry can be… dangerous…”

“How do you deal with it? What do you do when you get upset?” Vanessa inquired, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Well,” Monty held his chin and glanced up towards the ceiling, lost in thought for a second before he responded. “There’s a lot of ways to deal with it and manage it. One of the more important things to remember is to always think before you speak. You don’t want to end up saying something in anger that you might regret later, trust me on that.” He gently tapped his sunglasses against the side of his snout a few times, thinking. “One thing that I’ve found that helps is to take a step back, count to ten, and take a deep breath-”

“But you don’t breathe.” Vanessa blurted out, looking over at Monty as he huffed and rolled his eyes.

“You know what I meant, no need to get smart…” Monty grumbled as he put his sunglasses back on, hiding behind the tinted lenses. “Point is, you need to give yourself space to process, reset, and recalibrate.” He paused for a moment, looking down at the floor and tapping his claws against his chin as he thought. “Wait… maybe not that last one…” Monty mumbled to himself for a moment, trying to think of a better way to explain.

“Yeah, maybe not.” Vanessa chuckled. “But I think I know what you mean.” She smiled.

“Getting angry is completely normal. It happens to everyone, believe it or not. There are some things that you can’t control no matter how hard you try.” Monty continued; his voice quiet yet sincere. “The important part is how you deal with it. The one thing you have control over is how you react, you get me?”

Vanessa contemplated for a moment, her expression blank as nothing but silence filled the air around them.

“Yeah. Thanks, Monty, that’s really helpful. I’ll try to keep that in mind.” Vanessa broke the silence, smiling softly at Monty as she spoke.

“Good.” Monty nodded at Vanessa.

Suddenly, they were both startled as a staffbot approached them, beeping angrily as it irritatedly pointed at both of them and then at the exit.

“The attraction is now closed. Please make your way to the exit.” It said in its robotic, monotone voice.

“Alright, I’m going, I’m going.” Monty growled, holding up his hands defensively. He waved for Vanessa to follow as he gathered his things and they both headed for the exit.

The main atrium was surprisingly uncrowded, with only small groups of guests gathered at some of the restaurants and other attractions that were still open, leaving the main floor mostly clear.

“Looks like it’s getting late.” Vanessa looked around, chuckling to herself as she watched parents carrying their tired kids towards the lobby to leave. “I should probably find Gregory so we can get going.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea." Monty looked around for a moment. “Well, I have to go meet up with the others, so, tell the kid I said hi, alright?” He started to walk off before he turned back towards Vanessa. "And good luck with that volunteering gig, by the way! I hope my advice can help you get through it!" He chuckled and waved back at Vanessa as he walked away. “See you around, V!”

Vanessa smiled in return.

"Thanks, Monty. I think it will."

 -------

Chica

Chica wandered through the Pizzaplex, enjoying the music playing over the speakers and happily humming along as she admired all the assorted colors that surrounded her. Most of the guests had already left for the night, but she would occasionally bump into a staffbot or two in the empty halls, pausing to have a friendly conversation before continuing on her way.

After walking for a while, she stumbled upon Vanessa. She was sitting at a desk, absentmindedly chewing on a pen, mumbling anxiously to herself, deeply lost in thought. Chica walked a little closer, trying to hear what Vanessa was worrying about, but her words were still indistinguishable. 

“Hey, Nessa!” Chica chirped, gently tapping Vanessa on the shoulder.

Startled, Vanessa yelled and jumped out of her chair, practically throwing it to the side as she turned around, startling Chica in the process and causing her to take a few steps back. After seeing it was only Chica, Vanessa took a deep breath to calm herself down.

“Chica!” She chuckled nervously. “Where did you come from?”

“I was just walking around, you know?” Chica shrugged. “Anyways, I was hoping I could ask you something. But, if you’re too busy-”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Vanessa cut in as she discreetly pushed the now ruined pen out of view. “What’s up? What did you want to ask?”

“So, I remember you said that you used to bake cupcakes a lot, right?” Chica said, failing to hide the excitement in her voice.

“Oh… Yeah, I used to make them all the time for friends and coworkers.” Vanessa smiled slightly. “I’ve been wanting to start making them again. It was fun to bake and decorate them.”

“Oh! Oh! Can you teach me?! Please please please!” Chica practically squealed with excitement, hopping in place and clapping her hands enthusiastically.

“Sure, Chica.” Vanessa laughed.

Chica led the way to the kitchen, excitedly babbling about how she’d always wanted to make cupcakes, as well as asking questions about how they should be decorated and what flavors were the best.

Once they were in the kitchen, Chica and Vanessa gathered everything they would need and got started. Vanessa walked through every step with Chica, helping her measure out ingredients and being sure to explain each step in detail as they worked. When they were finally ready to start baking, they had made a few different batches with different flavors, since Chica couldn’t decide on just one. Then, with the cupcakes in the oven, they started to clean up and get out the decorating materials so they would be ready when the cupcakes were done baking.

“Hey, Vanessa?” Chica turned towards Vanessa.

“Yes, Chica?” Vanessa glanced over at Chica as she continued to clean up.

“I’m just a bit curious…” Chica hesitated for a second, arranging a few containers of sprinkles in front of her before continuing. “You seemed pretty lost in thought when I found you. Is something going on?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about something I have planned for later this week…” Vanessa sighed.

“Can you tell me about it?” Chica looked over at Vanessa. “Maybe talking about it would help ease your mind about whatever’s making you nervous.”

“Well…” Vanessa hesitated, before finally giving a defeated sigh. “Alright. It… involves a good friend of mine. His name is Luis. I’m pretty sure you’ve met him before, right?” Vanessa looked over at Chica. Chica placed a hand on the side of her face, gently tapping her fingers against her cheek and humming quietly as she thought.

“Hm… Oh, yes, I think I remember! He was the one who ‘geeked out’ when he met us, right?” Chica asked.

“Yep, that’s him.” Vanessa chuckled. “We decided to get some coffee and catch up this Friday.” Vanessa jumped, startled, when Chica let out a loud gasp.

“You’re going on a date?! That’s great!” Chica squeaked, giggling gleefully.

“NO!” Vanessa panicked, freezing for a moment after seeing Chica’s surprised expression. “I mean…” Vanessa hesitated for a moment, before letting out a sigh and giving an awkward smile. “Maybe? I’m not really sure…”

“Oh, this is wonderful news!” Chica exclaimed, unable to contain her enthusiasm.

“Yeah… I’m just a bit nervous about it, I guess…” Vanessa said quietly. She looked over at Chica, immediately noticing her somewhat confused expression. “I… haven’t really been on a date before. I’m just worried that, if this is a date, I’ll mess it up somehow…” Vanessa turned away for a moment, slightly embarrassed.

“Oh, Vanessa, I really don’t think you have anything to worry about!” Chica started to arrange different colored frosting next to the sprinkles. “Besides, it’s just a first date! It’s not a big deal if things don’t go perfectly.”

“Oh? And how many dates have you been on to make you such an expert?” Vanessa joked, laughing quietly.

“Well… none…” Chica huffed. “But I’ve seen and talked to several wonderful couples around the Pizzaplex! They come here all the time!” She faced Vanessa and put her hands on Vanessa’s shoulders, trying her best to be reassuring. “Just be yourself and have fun! I’m sure everything will be fine!”

“Well… if you say so…” Vanessa smiled at Chica.

“I do say so!” Chica gently patted Vanessa’s shoulder before going back to organizing things on the counters. “I just want you to have a good time!”

“Thanks, Chica. You were right. Talking about it did help me feel a bit better.” Vanessa smiled at Chica, who was humming happily to herself.

“No problem, Vanessa! I’m glad I could help!” Chica continued to hum to herself for a moment before she was interrupted by a loud ding. “Oh, looks like the cupcakes are ready!”

After the cupcakes had some time to cool, Vanessa and Chica got started with decorating. Vanessa separated the cupcakes out so they could each decorate them however they wanted, though Chica managed to grab a couple to eat before they were decorated, trying and failing to hide the evidence in time. After a little while, all the cupcakes had been intricately and carefully decorated, some more simplistic in design and others more complex.

“Oh, these look lovely, Vanessa!” Chica gushed, holding her face in her hands as she admired the cupcakes.

“Hey, I can’t take all the credit here! You made them too, you know!” Vanessa chuckled as Chica continued to closely examine each cupcake, before she carefully picked one up and took a big bite.

“Wow, these are really good!” Chica quickly ate the rest of it. “I love them, Vanessa! Thank you for teaching me the recipe!”

“Aw, thanks Chica! I’m glad you like them!” Vanessa looked over at Chica, who was already picking up another cupcake. “Just try not to eat them all, okay? I want to take a couple back for Gregory to try.” Vanessa grinned as she picked up a cupcake for herself and separated out a few to take with her.

“No promises!” Chica giggled as she picked up yet another cupcake.

Vanessa quickly found a container and packed away the cupcakes she had picked out, leaving the rest for Chica as she continued to grab cupcake after cupcake, each time commenting on how good they were before picking up another. After Chica had finished off the cupcakes, Vanessa helped her clean up the mess they had made in the kitchen and made sure everything got put away in its proper place. Chica glanced at the clock once they were done, letting out a loud sigh when she saw the time.

“Looks like the doors are going to close for the night pretty soon.” Chica turned towards Vanessa. Vanessa’s eyes widened as she whipped her head around to look at the clock.

“Oh, wow, I didn’t realize it was that late…” Vanessa mumbled to herself. “I should probably get going, then.”

“I’ll walk with you to the lobby if you want!” Chica waved Vanessa towards the door and opened it to let her through. Vanessa smiled, grabbed the container of cupcakes, and followed Chica as she made her way to the lobby. Chica talked the whole way there, pointing out her favorite colors in the neon signs and bright screens, and she made sure to tell Vanessa about all the best places to spend time around the Pizzaplex. Finally, they arrived at the lobby.

“This was so much fun!” Chica paused for a moment. “Oh, maybe we can trade recipes next time you stop by!” She exclaimed; her voice filled with excitement.

“Honestly, that sounds great!” Vanessa smiled at Chica before making her way towards the doors. “I’ll see you later, Chica!” Vanessa chuckled as she watched Chica wave excitedly.

“See you later, Nessa! Oh, and good luck on your date! Be sure to tell me how it went!” Chica called out, pausing, and waving for a moment.

Vanessa turned and smiled as she stopped in front of the door to wave back to Chica.

“I’m hoping for the best.”

 -------

Sun/Moon

Vanessa walked towards the entrance to the daycare, smiling and holding back a chuckle as she watched a train of tired parents lugging their equally tired children towards the exit. As she approached the main doors, she could hear someone joyfully humming to themselves just behind the doors. She went up to the doors to knock, but she paused at the doors when she noticed they were cracked open slightly. She opened the doors a bit more and poked her head through, looking inside the daycare area. There, she saw Sun, holding a small stack of papers and excitedly roaming around the room, the bells on his shoes jingling quietly with each step he took. He hummed to himself as he disappeared behind one of the play structures.

Vanessa pushed through the doors, looking around the brightly colored and brightly lit space. Despite the fact that everyone had only just left, nothing in the daycare was out of place. Everything was neatly organized and in its proper place. Vanessa walked further, her gaze wandering from one thing to the next. As she looked at the walls, she noticed that there were drawings, most of them in crayon, that had been carefully put up all over the place. Vanessa smiled as she looked over the drawings, amused by the sketchy outlines and vibrant colors in every picture.

After a moment, Vanessa could hear the faint sounds of jingling bells returning. As she turned to face the source, she saw Sun walking out from behind one of the play structures, completely focused on shuffling through the stack of papers he was holding. When he looked up and saw Vanessa, he waved to her enthusiastically, causing the bells on his wrists to jingle.

“Vanessa! Hello!” Sun said excitedly, quickly walking over to Vanessa. “How are you today?”

“Hey, Sun.” Vanessa smiled. “I’m doing alright today. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m doing GREAT!” Sun paused, straightening the papers he was holding. “I was just putting up a bunch of pictures the kids made!” He excitedly pushed the papers into Vanessa’s hands. “LOOK!”

Vanessa flipped through the papers, each one covered in sketchy yet carefully made drawings.

“Wow, these look really good.” Vanessa continued looking through the drawings, each with their own unique style. When she was done, she handed the drawings back to Sun.

“I know, right?!” Sun turned towards the wall plastered with drawings, waving a hand dramatically at the pictures. “Those kids are real artists!” He paused for a moment, turning back to face Vanessa. “Speaking of kids. Moon and I wanted to ask how the little stardrop is doing? We haven’t seen him in a few days.”

“Oh, Gregory’s doing fine. He’s just been dealing with school stuff lately, so he’s been busy.” Vanessa paused for a moment. “He’s probably playing games with Freddy in his room right now.”

“Oh, I see! Well, that’s great to hear!” Sun said excitedly as he carefully stuck another drawing to the wall.

Vanessa grinned then paused, the smile fading from her face as she thought for a second. “I… I was actually hoping I could ask for your help with something…”

“Oh, of course! I’ll help if I can!” Sun walked over to the nearby security desk and set down the papers, turning back to face Vanessa. “Okay, I’m listening!”

“Well… I was wondering if you had any advice about dealing with nightmares?” Vanessa asked hesitantly.

Sun froze for a second, before hesitantly tapping a finger against his face and humming quietly as he thought. After a brief moment had passed, he shrugged and shook his head.

“I’m sorry Vanessa, but I don’t think that’s something that I can really help with…” Sun looked towards Vanessa. As soon as he saw her vaguely sorrowful and disappointed expression, he panicked, frantically waving his hands in front of him as if he were trying to swat away his words. “BUT! But… you should ask Moon! He’s much better suited to answering those kinds of questions.” He anxiously began to curl in on himself as he fiddled with the ribbons on his wrists, which made the bells attached to them ring softly. “He’ll be here in just a moment…”

Vanessa nodded and smiled at Sun. She looked around for a moment, taking in the bright colors of her surroundings before she heard faint mechanical clicking and a quiet whirring noise that stopped after a moment or two. When she looked back to where Sun had been standing, Moon was standing next to her instead.

“Hello, Vanessa.” Moon said, his voice calm and quiet, as he slowly waved to Vanessa. “I understand that you had a question you wanted to ask me?”

“Well… it’s just that… I keep having these nightmares, and I don’t know how to make them stop…” Vanessa paused for a second, glancing over at Moon. “I was hoping that… maybe you had some advice?”

“I assume these nightmares are mostly about… Her?” Moon asked after a brief pause.

Vanessa flinched as Moon mentioned Vanny. After spending the next few seconds in silence, she took a deep breath, trying to give herself the strength to continue talking.

“Yeah... they are…” Vanessa mumbled, her voice barely audible and her words forced. “You can probably guess what she does in them…”

“Yes… I believe I can…” Moon’s voice trailed off as he stared blankly at the space in front of him, remembering small pieces of what happened, of what he saw, when Vanny still roamed the Pizzaplex. He quickly shook his head, focusing his attention back on the current situation before he could think about it any further.

“I know they’re just nightmares…” Vanessa continued, staring at the floor, and picking at the fabric of her shirt sleeve. “I know they’re not real… I know they’re not going to happen… but they still really scare me.” She sighed wearily, glancing over at Moon as she continued. “I just want them to stop…”

Moon remained silent for a moment, tilting his head and tapping his fingers on the counter over the security desk, lost in thought.

“Unfortunately, given the reason behind your nightmares, I don’t have any advice to give to make them disappear…” Moon paused briefly before waving a hand towards Vanessa. “However, I do know of a few tricks that might help you until they fade away.” He leaned against the counter as he continued, glancing around the room. “There’s a few things that I do here with the kids that I would recommend.”

“Alright. I’m willing to try just about anything at this point…” Vanessa mumbled as she shrugged and turned to face Moon.

“One of the main things I’d recommend is trying to stick to a routine. At the daycare, we try to get everyone to sleep at the same time each day. Getting into a comfortable routine can help you get a more peaceful rest.” Moon quietly tapped his fingers on the counter as he continued. “Another important thing is to make the space feel safe and comfortable. And, while I know you are not a child, I’d recommend trying a nightlight.” 

Despite her best efforts to hold it back, Vanessa couldn't help but chuckle and crack a smile at Moon’s suggestion. Moon paused, lifting his hand off the countertop before he froze. A few seconds of silence passed before Moon let out a quiet chuckle and began to gently tap on the counter once again.

“I know it may sound silly, but I’m serious.” Moon assured, turning to face Vanessa. “Being able to see and identify your surroundings can help you stay calm as you fall asleep, and could make it easier to calm down if you wake up during the night.”

After a brief silence, Vanessa sighed tiredly. She rubbed her hand against her arm for a moment as she thought, before a soft smile crossed her face.

“I guess it’s worth a shot…” Vanessa said, her voice quiet yet hopeful.

“Trust me, Vanessa. It will help.” Moon reassured her.

"Thanks for the advice, Moon. I really appreciate your help." Vanessa replied, smiling gratefully at the jester. Moon bowed gracefully in response.

They stood in silence for a few moments, with the music playing faintly over the daycare speakers being the only sound they could hear. After a little while, Vanessa let out a tired sigh, breaking the silence, as she checked the time.

"Well, I should probably go and check in on Gregory and Freddy." She paused for a moment. “Thanks again, Moon. I guess I’ll see you later.” She made her way towards the door, but she paused at the door when Moon spoke.

“Wait a second, Vanessa.” Moon called, tilting his head slightly for a moment. "Sun and I would like to know if we could accompany you. We haven't seen the little starspot in a while."

Vanessa turned back to look at Moon, a look of mild surprise on her face for a brief moment, before she smiled and gave a quick shrug.

"Sure, I don’t see why not." She waved Moon over, motioning for him to follow her, before she opened the daycare doors.

They made their way over to Freddy’s green room, where they found Freddy and Gregory sitting on the floor, drawing with some markers they had found. There were papers scattered about, most of them blank, but a few were covered in beautifully colored drawings. As soon as Freddy and Gregory noticed Vanessa and Moon standing at the doorway, they gleefully invited them both in to join them. They all gathered in the room and sat together, drawing and talking for a while.

When Vanessa finally paused to check the time, she was shocked at how late it was. She waited for a pause in the conversation before she stood up.

“I’m really sorry to cut this short, guys, but we should probably get going.” She waved to Gregory, motioning for him to get up. Gregory huffed and stood up, crossing his arms in defiance.

“Aw, c’mon! It’s not even a school night!” Gregory protested.

“I know, kiddo. But it’s getting late, and we really need to get you used to a normal sleep schedule, especially since you’re in school.” Vanessa said as she gently tousled his hair.

Gregory grumbled irritatedly, swatting Vanessa’s hand away. He looked over to Freddy and Moon, trying to get them to take his side. They glanced at each other for a moment in silence.

“Vanessa does have a point, starshine.” Moon stood up and faced Gregory. “You need to get enough sleep.”

Gregory huffed disappointedly as he looked towards Freddy. Freddy hesitated for a moment, before he let out a sigh.

“I have to agree with them, superstar.” Freddy said reluctantly, pausing for a moment before he stood up and walked over to Gregory. “We had a lot of fun today! But now it is getting late, and you should get some sleep.”

“... Fine.” Gregory huffed. “Can we play tomorrow?”

“Of course!” Freddy assured, wiggling his ears happily, before he froze for a moment. “As long as it is okay with Vanessa, that is.” Freddy turned towards Vanessa.

“Yeah, sure!” Vanessa smiled and nodded. She walked over to the door, Gregory trailing close behind her. “We’ll see you guys tomorrow, then.”

After they had all said goodbye, Vanessa and Gregory began the journey back home. After driving for a bit, they stopped by the store to pick up some groceries. They wandered the isles for a bit, picking out things they needed before walking towards the checkout to leave. Before they made it to the checkout, Vanessa noticed something on one of the shelves that caught her eye.

She slowly approached the shelf, picking up the item that caught her interest. It was a nightlight that had been made to look like an old lantern. Vanessa continued to stare at it, unable to shake the feeling that there was something remarkably familiar about it. In a strange way, it was a comforting sight.

Gregory turned to look at Vanessa, confused.

“What’re you-” He stopped as he spotted the lantern. He stared at it for a moment before he recognized it. “That looks a lot like the lantern the princess had in that Princess Quest game…”

“Really?” Vanessa muttered, turning it over in her hands as she continued to stare at it. “No wonder it looks familiar…” She paused for a second before slowly walking over and silently putting it in the cart.

“I didn’t know adults needed nightlights…” Gregory glanced at the light, then looked back at Vanessa.

“I didn’t either, kiddo.” Vanessa smiled. She tilted her head, gesturing towards the exit. “Come on, let’s get going.”

They quickly checked out and got back on the road, finally heading back home. Once they got home, they put everything away and got ready for bed, both of them very tired after a long day. Before Vanessa went to bed, she set up the nightlight on her bedside table. The soft, dim glow was comforting, and as she closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep, she smiled.

-------

Freddy

Vanessa meandered anxiously through the various display cases in Rockstar Row, muttering and murmuring to herself as she tried to calm her nerves. After a moment had passed, she took a deep breath and walked over to the door to Freddy’s room. She hesitated in front of the door for a moment before knocking on it gently. She heard heavy footsteps on the other side of the door for a second, before the door slid open to reveal Freddy’s happy face waiting to greet her.

“Hello, Vanessa! It is good to see you!” Freddy exclaimed gleefully.

“Hey, Freddy.” Vanessa smiled slightly, trying to hide her anxiety. “Can I come in?”

“Of course!” Freddy said as he stepped out of the way to let Vanessa into his room.

“Thank you.” Vanessa wandered around the room for a second before turning to face Freddy. “So, how’re you doing? How was your day?”

“I am doing quite well! Today was a wonderful day.” Freddy said, cheerfully wiggling his ears. “How was your day today, Vanessa?”

“My day was… okay.” She hesitantly said as she glanced at Freddy. Freddy froze for a moment as he picked up on Vanessa’s nervous tone.

“Is something wrong?” Freddy asked, concerned.

“No, it’s just… I’ve got a lot on my mind right now, and…” Vanessa paused and sighed, raising her hand to rub the back of her neck for a moment before she continued. “Can… Can I talk to you about something? Something… kind of important?”

“Yes, of course.” Freddy walked over to the couch on the other end of the room and sat down, gesturing for Vanessa to sit on the couch as well. “What is it you want to talk about?”

“Well…” Vanessa let out a sigh as she sat down on the other end of the couch, staring off into space for a moment. “It’s about Gregory…” She paused for a second before glancing over at Freddy. “Do you think I’m doing a good job? You know, with this whole parenting thing?” she asked hesitantly, her voice quiet.

“What do you mean?” Freddy looked at Vanessa, a somewhat confused look on his face.

“This is all so new to me, and I’m so worried that maybe I’m doing something wrong, and I just can’t see it yet…” Vanessa closed her eyes and put her head in her hands. “What if I mess it up? What if…” She paused, her voice lowering to a whisper. “What if he hates me?”

Freddy froze, stunned by Vanessa’s words. He remained silent for a minute, stuck on her words, before he let out a sigh and gently placed a hand on Vanessa’s shoulder, trying to comfort her.

“You should not worry so much, Vanessa.” Freddy said, his voice quiet and sincere. “I promise, Gregory does not hate you.”

“How can you be so sure?” Vanessa mumbled.

“Gregory has never once said a negative word against you. He looks up to you, and he trusts you.” Freddy paused for a moment, letting out a quiet, halfhearted chuckle. “Besides, we both know that there is nothing that could make him stay if he did not want to.” He looked over to Vanessa. “Trust me, Vanessa. He is happy with you.”

“I guess you’re right…” Vanessa sighed. “Still… Do you think there’s anything that I could be doing better?” She paused, propping up her head with her hands. “I feel like I’m out of my depth here, and I just really don’t want to mess anything up…”

Freddy stayed silent for a moment, tilting his head slightly and holding his chin, his gaze wandering around the room as he thought.

“I think you are doing a great job, Vanessa!” Freddy said cheerfully after a second.

“You really think so?” Vanessa replied hesitantly, her tone somewhat skeptical.

“Of course! I have seen how well you take care of him, and you have not done anything that would cause me to be concerned.” Freddy paused for a second, looking back over at Vanessa. “You make sure all of his needs are met, you make sure he is comfortable and happy, and you are kind, calm, and patient, even when it may be difficult.”

Vanessa smiled at Freddy as he continued to talk, trying his best to help relieve her anxiety.

“It is evident that you care a great deal about Gregory, and that he cares about you as well. I could not think of anyone better to be watching over my superstar!” Freddy said proudly, giving a nod of approval in Vanessa’s direction.

Vanessa remained motionless for a moment, seemingly stunned. She could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes, making the world around her appear shaky and out of focus. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.

“Thank you, Freddy. That… that really means a lot coming from you…” Vanessa looked over and smiled at Freddy.

“You are welcome, Vanessa.” Freddy paused, giving Vanessa some time as she tried to regain her composure. “Out of curiosity, why are you so worried about this all of a sudden?” He tilted his head, curious and slightly confused.

Vanessa hesitated for a moment.

“I-I want to try and adopt Gregory properly…” Vanessa said anxiously. “Up until now I’ve just been fostering him, but I’ve been working through the adoption process, and there’s only a few steps left to go.”

“That is great news, Vanessa!” Freddy exclaimed loudly, excitedly jumping out of his seat.

“Yeah, it is.” Vanessa chuckled, pausing for a second before letting out a sigh. “I want to ask Gregory if he’s okay with it first. I want his permission beforehand because he should have a say in this. I’ve just been really nervous about asking him.” She hesitated, her gaze falling to the floor as she continued. “I’m just worried that… maybe I’m not ‘good enough’...” She muttered to herself, failing to hide the concern in her voice.

“As I have said before, you should not worry so much. You are not inadequate, Vanessa.” Freddy said, his voice calm and sincere as he spoke. “You have been doing a great job looking after Gregory so far, and I see no reason why that would change.” He paused for a second. “And I am sure Gregory will be more than happy to give you his permission for this! I cannot wait for him to hear about it!”

Vanessa smiled.

“Honestly, I can’t wait, either.”

 -------

Epilogue

The West Arcade was filled with the sounds of hundreds of different arcade machines, all beeping and playing music from various different games. The blinking lights and screens and vibrant neon lights painted the darkened space with brilliant colors that danced across the walls. The music emanating from the dance floor carried through the upper levels of the arcade, eventually finding its way to where Gregory and the animatronics were playing games.

“That music is so distracting! Can’t he turn it down just for a little bit?!” Gregory growled, focusing intensely on the game he was playing.

“C’mon, kid, the DJ’s just doing his job.” Monty said calmly, peering over Gregory’s shoulder as he played.

Gregory pressed several buttons in rapid succession, grumbling irritatedly under his breath as he focused on the game. Then, his face lit up as the machine played a triumphant tune, the words “YOU WIN!” and “HIGH SCORE!” flashing across the screen.

“Sweet, high score!” Gregory cheered, throwing his hands up in the air in celebration.

“Nice work, kid!” Monty let out an enthusiastic laugh as he pumped his fist in the air. “You’ve got some serious skill, little dude!” He said as he gently ruffled Gregory’s hair.

“Hey, c’mon, knock it off!” Gregory chuckled as he pushed Monty’s hand away. He shook his head to fix his hair before looking back at the arcade machine. When he looked back at the machine, his smile disappeared. “Aw, man!” He picked up the small strip of tickets, looking at them disappointedly. “Only 10 tickets?! I spent over an hour trying to get that high score…” He huffed, crossing his arms and looking down at the floor.

Monty paused for a moment, silent. Then, he carefully lifted his glasses, glanced around, and gently nudged Gregory’s shoulder.

“Hey, wanna see something cool?” Monty asked, trying his best to keep his voice quiet.

Gregory looked up at Monty and nodded, his disappointment melting away into curiosity. Monty waved Gregory out of the way, before cautiously looking around once more. Then, when he felt the coast was clear, he stepped up to the machine, and gave it a light kick. As if by magic, the machine started spitting out long strips of tickets, which started folding into large stacks as they hit the floor.

“Awesome!” Gregory quickly pulled his backpack off of his shoulders, immediately stuffing fistfuls of tickets into the pockets of the bag.

“Just don’t tell Fazbear.” Monty chuckled.

“Don’t tell him what?” Roxy asked as she rounded the corner of the row of arcade machines.

Monty whipped around and looked over at Roxy, somewhat startled. Roxy stared at him for a moment before glancing down at Gregory, who was busy piling the last of the tickets into his bag. Roxy looked back up at Monty for a moment, a mischievous look in her eye.

“You really think that’s the best way to get a lot of tickets?” Roxy laughed, resting a hand on her hip. Monty and Gregory glanced at each other, confused, before looking back at Roxy and nodding. Roxy chuckled, seemingly amused by their response.

“Come on, I’ll show you the REAL best way to get a bunch of free tickets!” Roxy said, waving for Monty and Gregory to follow before she ran off, disappearing behind several rows of arcade machines.

“Hey, wait up!” Gregory took off after Roxy, Monty trailing close behind him as they navigated their way through the labyrinth of flashing screens.

Vanessa and Luis laughed, able to observe the ensuing chaos from their small seating area tucked away from the arcade.

“They’re sure having fun, aren’t they?” Luis laughed, looking over at Vanessa.

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Vanessa laughed, grabbing a slice of pizza from the open box on the table in front of her. “Monty always sneaks Gregory a bunch of tokens. They’d probably play all night if we let them.”

Suddenly, they heard a loud crash from the back of the room, quickly followed by Monty yelling “SCATTER!” as Freddy peaked his head up over the rows of machines and began to run over to the source of the noise. Luis and Vanessa erupted with laughter, amused by the pandemonium and the sound of heavy footsteps and Gregory’s mischievous laughter sprinting away from the scene.

“Those two are quite the pair of rascals!” Luis said, fighting to get his words out between small fits of laughter.

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me that.” Vanessa chuckled, taking a bite out of her slice of pizza before continuing. “Just yesterday, I caught them using that old windup music man prototype to terrorize the staffbots and wet floor sign bots. Chica and I spent over an hour trying to catch it before it disappeared into the vents.”

“That definitely sounds like something they’d do.” Luis chuckled.

“Did I hear my name?” Chica said as she popped up behind Luis, startling him and causing him to nearly spill his drink.

“Hey, Chica. Sorry, I was just telling Luis about what happened yesterday.” Vanessa grinned, holding back a laugh as she watched Luis carefully place his drink down on the table and pick up a napkin to wipe the soda off of his hand.

“Oh, yes. I had Monty and Gregory apologize, but some of the bots are still a bit upset about that…” Chica said, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

“We could have them apologize again if you think that would help.” Vanessa suggested.

“No, I think it would be better to give the bots some time first.” Chica sighed. Then, she gasped, putting her hands up to her face in shock. “Oh no, I forgot about the cupcakes I left in the oven!” She darted off towards the kitchen, quietly scolding herself for forgetting.

“And there she goes.” Luis said. “She really seems to care about those bots, huh?”

“Yeah, she really does.” Vanessa set down her half-eaten slice of pizza on her plate on the table. “She treats them like siblings, really.”

“Well, that’s nice of her.” Luis said, reaching towards the pizza box on the table before hesitating when he realized there was only one slice left. “Do you want any more pizza, or is it okay if I have the last slice?”

“Go ahead, I’m good.” Vanessa shrugged.

“Cool.” Luis grabbed the last slice of pizza and promptly took a big bite. “You know, I really did enjoy going to the movies with you. It was a lot of fun.” He paused, taking another bite. “But here we can get cheap pizza and free drink refills. You can’t get that at the theater.”

“You gotta love the former employee perks.” Vanessa chuckled. “If you consider pizza this greasy a perk, that is.” She remarked as she pointed out the thick ring of grease soaking into the cardboard of the pizza box.

“Hey, I consider any pizza a perk.” Luis said before quickly finishing his slice of pizza and drinking the rest of his soda. “Speaking of those free drink refills…” He stood up and shook his empty cup. “Be right back, alright?”

Vanessa nodded. As Luis left to refill his drink, Vanessa noticed a blur of movement out of the corner of her eye.

“You know, I could just get you some fresh pizza so you don’t have to take what’s left of mine.” Vanessa said, grinning as she faced Gregory, who had already almost finished the uneaten pizza that had been on her plate. He froze for a moment, staring wide-eyed like a deer caught in the headlights, before quickly stuffing what was left of the pizza into his mouth.

“No, it’s fine.” Gregory replied, wiping the crumbs from his face with the back of his hand. “Thanks, though.” He smiled and ran off, venturing back into the maze-like arcade. Vanessa chuckled and shook her head slightly.

After a few moments, Luis finally reappeared and sat back down next to Vanessa. They talked for a little while, the noise and music of the arcade slowly fading into the background, before Chica grabbed their attention, prancing gleefully towards them with a small platter of colorful and carefully decorated cupcakes.

“I’m back! And I didn’t burn them!” Chica happily chirped as she walked up to Vanessa and Luis. “This is the first batch I’ve made on my own, so I’m not sure how they’ll taste… But you’re more than welcome to try one if you want!” She held the tray out towards them.

“They look wonderful, Chica!” Vanessa complimented, standing up and carefully selecting a cupcake from the tray.

“And they smell great!” Luis added, standing to grab a cupcake as well.

As they both took a bite out of their cupcakes, a loud cheer erupted from the arcade. They looked over to see Monty lifting Gregory onto Freddy’s shoulders. Gregory clutched stacks of tickets in his raised fists and had even more ticket strips draped over his shoulders. Freddy paraded Gregory around the room in celebration, with Roxy and Monty marching close behind him, still cheering along with Gregory. They eventually made their way over to the others, marching in time with the music echoing from downstairs.

“Hey, kiddo. What’re we celebrating?” Vanessa asked, walking over and looking up at Gregory.

“I finally finished the toughest game in the arcade! I’ve been trying to beat it for weeks and I finally did it!” Gregory exclaimed excitedly, shaking the tickets in his hands.

“That’s awesome! Good job!” Vanessa said, giving Gregory a high-five.

“Would you like a celebratory cupcake?” Chica asked cheerfully, holding the cupcakes up so Gregory could take one.

“Yeah!” Gregory grabbed a cupcake, quickly stuffing it into his mouth, smearing frosting on his face in the process. “Awesome! Thanks, Chica!” He turned towards Vanessa and Luis as he wiped the frosting off his face. “We’re going over to Fazerblast to play a few rounds if you guys want to come with us!”

“It would be more fun if you all joined us!” Freddy added eagerly.

“What do you say, Luis? Want to play some Fazerblast?” Vanessa playfully nudged Luis.

“Yeah, sounds like fun!” Luis said.

“Awesome! You guys can be on mine and Freddy’s team! Come on, let’s go!” Gregory shoved the tickets in his hands into his backpack before excitedly drumming his hands against the top of Freddy’s head.

“This will be fun!” Freddy exclaimed as he turned towards the exit.

“I’ll race you there!” Roxy challenged the others, pushing past Freddy as she ran ahead.

“Hey, that’s not fair! Wait up!” Monty growled before sprinting after her, Chica tailing close behind him.

Vanessa and Luis lagged behind Freddy as he walked towards the exit. As they walked side by side, Vanessa blankly looked around her, lost in thought. She thought about how much things had changed over the past year.

After being freed from Vanny, Vanessa thought she could never be like her old self again. And yet, with a little help from some new friends and some hard work, things were finally starting to get better. She had done so many things she never thought would have been possible, and she had a whole family behind her to help her along the way.

“Ness? Everything okay over there?” Luis joked. When Vanessa didn’t answer, he looked over at her, slightly concerned. “Vanessa?” He paused for a moment. “You doing okay?”

Vanessa looked over at Luis, smiling softly.

“Yeah, I’m doing okay.” Vanessa let out a gentle sigh as she continued to walk. “Just thinking about how grateful I am for you and the others.” She reached out towards Luis and gently grabbed his hand. They both smiled at each other as they continued to walk towards Fazerblast to join the others, looking forward to the bright future ahead.

[riahlynn101]

"Of Headaches and Heartaches: The Secrets the Dead Keep" (20).

Author's note:

Thank you, guys, so much for the support <3 It's honestly really appreciated.

And a special thanks, as always, to @halogenrobotics for helping me stay on topic, giving me ideas when needed, and encouraging me to finish this chapter. Couldn't have done it without you :D!!

Side note: I'm 99% sure this is our longest chapter at 4,800 words.

(One more chapter to go!)

Chapter Twenty:

---

Maria knelt down in front of him, taking his hands into hers. Her hands were pale, the skin almost translucent. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Her soft voice made him smile. It’d been forever since he'd heard that voice. 

Maria’s presence seemed to flicker, like a candle’s flame. Not quite here, but not gone. 

“I’m sorry, Maria,” he whispered, clutching her hands tight. “I-I should have protected you.” He must be dreaming right now, either that, or he’d finally gone insane. All of the pressure has finally gone to his head, making him see his deceased ex-wife. 

She tilted her head. “There was nothing you could have done to protect me. None of this was your fault.”

He nodded, looking at the tiled floor. 

“It wasn’t her fault either.”

Evan stared incredulously at his ex-wife. 

“Don’t give me that look. You know exactly who I’m talking about.” Maria narrowed her eyes. 

He narrowed his eyes right back. The exchange was familiar to him. They used to do it all the time. Stubborn is, as stubborn does. “I saw it. I saw you…” Evan let her hands go.

“I know, and I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to see that.” She rubbed his shoulder. “But Vanessa had nothing to do with that. She was a tool, a puppet.”

“She killed you." Evan replied, frustrated, "She took you away from Gregory. Because of her he’ll have to grow up without a-”

“I can show you,” Maria said, cutting him off. “Here, give me your hand.” She held a hand out. 

He stared at it. A part of Evan wasn’t entirely sure this interaction was real. Between Maria’s flickering frame and everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours, it wouldn’t surprise him that he’d finally lost his mind. But even still…

There was another part of him-the part of him that wanted to hope-that clung to the childish delusion that everything would be okay. That all the bad stuff from ‘83 onward was just a horrible, terrible, nasty, bad dream. And he’d wake up in his bed tomorrow morning, family alive and intact. 

It was that small (wavering) amount of hope that made Evan place his hand in hers. 

His surroundings blurred, as he was yanked into another memory. Sights and sounds mixed together until it all suddenly stopped. 

The scene in front of him was slightly different than before. No blood was being spilled, and both women were seated in their respective chairs. Vanessa was hunched over, voice small and tone overly exhausted. Maria kept sending worried glances at the younger woman.

“Vanessa, sweetheart, are you alright?” 

Vanessa grumbled a half-hearted reply, shifting in her seat. Maria stared at her, seemingly debating on pushing the issue further.

He himself had been in Vanessa’s place many times. The only downside-he’d joke to their friends-of having a psychologist for a partner, was that they had a hard time letting things slide. 

“Now, have you started journaling?” Maria asked.

Vanessa shook her head. 

 “I really think it would help. There’s been countless studies that indicate that writing down your thoughts and feelings can actually help you process whatever it is you’re going through.”

Evan smiled fondly at her - her voice like a melody to his ears. 

She swiveled in her chair, facing away from Vanessa. Evan continued to watch Maria, even as she rifled through filing cabinets for one thing or another. 

A sudden, jerky movement has him turning his head to Vanessa. The young woman was seated upright, back ramrod straight. Her lips twitched into a smile, and her eyes were wide, pupils nearly engulfing her irises. 

Curious, Evan came closer to her. Her face was wet, he noted, distantly. And, upon closer inspection, she seemed to be trembling - no…. not trembling…. Vanessa’s movements looked more like someone fighting a losing battle, muscles contracting and fingers twitching. She shook her head, a smile still on her face, but it felt fake somehow. 

“What- what’s happening to her?” He asked aloud. Not expecting a response, but Maria-the ghostly version of her-answered him anyway. 

“You remember your father, right?”

“I wish I didn’t,” Evan grumbled, continuing to watch the scene in front of him. It was like watching a car accident in slow-motion. He knew what the end result would be-Maria bloody and lifeless on the floor, while Vanessa stood above her, knife in hand-but he couldn't bring himself to look away. 

Maria came closer to him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Even through the fabric of his shirt and safe within the confines of a memory (even one as terrible as this one), Evan shivered at the coldness of her hand. 

“I know,” she murmured. “He was as horrible as they come. But we need to talk about him.”

“No, we don’t. My brother and Uncle Henry already dealt with him. Why drudge up the past?” 

The irony of ‘not wanting to talk about the past’ to his dead ex-wife was not lost on Evan.

“Because it matters,” Maria argued, letting her hand drop from his shoulder. “Because if I can’t make you understand, Gregory will be the one to suffer.” Her voice sounded strained, like she was struggling really hard not to cry. “Because….” she trailed off.

The memory started to fade away, colors blending together like watercolors. He turned to Maria, needing some kind of explanation. Her head was bowed slightly, but he could still make out the quivering of her bottom lip. 

“Because I failed him,” she spoke, voice wavering. “I failed our little boy, Evan. I only wanted the best for him. I tried so hard…so, so hard. And now I have to watch him grow up without me.”

“Maria-” Evan started, reaching a hand out to comfort her, but she interrupted him. 

“We don’t have much time. My energy is almost depleted, and I need you to understand.”

“Understand what?” 

“That Vanessa wasn’t the one that killed me.”

Evan scoffed. “What? Am I supposed to believe she has an evil twin?” 

Maria tilted her head to the side, eyeing him. “I know for a fact that you used to be observant. How sad you seem to have lost that ability.” 

“I did not,” he retorted, flustered. 

“Okay, then….” Maria snapped her fingers, starting the memory over from scratch. “Make an observation.”

Evan grumbled something under his breath, but watched the scene unfold for the third time. He noted the seemingly involuntary twitches to Vanessa’s arm, leg, and facial muscles. The large, almost comically large cheshire grin on her face, as well as the tears slipping quietly from her eyes. 

Evan sighed, crossing his arms. “I…uh…. she looks deranged- ow!” He looked over at a fuming Maria. “What was that for?” He asked, rubbing the back of his head. 

She shrugged him off, taking hold of his sleeve. “Look closer.”

“I don’t remember you ever being this violent.”

“Look closer,” she urged. 

He did so, leaning into Vanessa’s personal space. “What am I looking for?” He hissed at Maria. In all honesty, Evan felt a little silly, trying to find whatever it was that apparently made it a-okay for Vanessa to murder Maria. 

“But everything looks- huh?” Evan looked at her eyes again. He’s seen them before, while sitting across from Vanessa in her living room. Green like a couple of shining emeralds. They almost remind him of- 

But he’s never given them much thought outside of that one meeting. It’s not like Evan was exactly looking into her eyes while she brutally murdered Maria. It’s such a minute detail that it was so easy to overlook it. 

“Her eyes…they’re…they’re purple…”

Maria nodded, a pleased expression on her face. “And where have you seen that hue before?”

Backing up, Evan shook his head frantically. “No, no, no…no! My father’s gone! Michael took care of him! He’s burning in hell!” He can feel himself starting to shake. 

“Evan, he’s gone,” Maria told him, in the same soothing voice she used to use when he was having a panic attack. She stood in front of him. “I’m only showing you a vision of the past. Breathe.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Evan does so. 

“Deep breath in…”

He focused intently on her voice, clinging to the familiarity of it to calm his nerves.

“Now deep breath out…good. Better?” She asked.

Opening his eyes, Evan saw her smiling face. The memory was blurred like a watercolor painting again, but he only had eyes for Maria. 

“Much better.”

“Now, do you understand?” 

Evan’s brows furrowed as he tried to piece everything together. “I…I think so. But I still don’t understand how my father got control over Vanessa.”

“That’s a little complicated. I admit, I don’t understand the logistics of how and when myself. I believe it had something to do with her previous job and a VR game she was testing. But I wouldn’t worry too much about the minor details. Just know it wasn’t her fault, and your father was defeated once and for all.” 

“That’s…uh…” He rubbed a hand down his face. 

“A lot?”

“Yeah.” Recovering from his initial shock, he looked at Maria. “I…understand it’s not her fault, but Maria, how can you be so sure she’s freed from his influence?” There is no malice in his voice. No blame. He knew Vanessa was innocent in all this, but he can’t afford to trust someone under his father’s control (even unknowingly). 

“Let me show-”

“I,” Evan started, sharply, “am not watching you die, again. Once was one time too many.”

“I…apologize for that. I didn’t think about how that would affect you. But I promise I’m going to show you a happier memory. Just something to put your mind at ease.”

He nodded, taking Maria’s hand. 

The scenery changed. They’re standing in a dingy room. Up against the furthest wall, a beat-up mattress sits. The walls are disgusting, and the floor is in even worse condition. But what caught Evan’s eye was the large arcade cabinet next to the bed. The words: Princess Quest were printed across the top of it. 

“Where-where are we…?” 

“Shush, watch.”

The door to the room suddenly opened. A familiar looking man stepped inside. 

“Is that…?”

Maria sent him a knowing look. 

“What is…”

Luis crept forward; his eyes locked on the arcade game. His face was set and determined. Reaching the cabinet, he started playing the game. 

Why was the man he formed a pseudo-friendship with playing a video game? Why was he playing a video game in this room, of all places? Matter of fact, what is the correlation between Luis and Vanessa being set-

BAM!

Out of nowhere, the door is slammed open, hitting the wall. Luis spared a single glance at the person slinking into the room.

A woman-and Evan assumed it had to be a woman, given their figure-dressed in a rabbit costume (that kind of reminds him of a patchwork quilt), twirled around dramatically. 

“Are you having fun yet?” She asked, voice slightly distorted. 

But Luis had already returned to the game. “Just hold on, ‘Ness,” he said. “I…I just need to beat this level, and then, you’ll be free.”

“‘Ness, isn’t that short for-”

“Vanessa?” Maria finished for him. “Yes.”

“Wait…is that….?”

“Keep watching.”

“Aw, but I don’t want to be saved,” the rabbit lady sighed. “I like it here.”

“No, you don’t. Vanessa is sweet and kind and would hate the person she’s become.”

“Well, good thing then, that I’m not Vanessa.”

Luis pointedly ignored her, mashing buttons. “C’mon, c’mon…. hurry up.” He casted a few quick glances behind his shoulder, as if making sure the rabbit lady hasn’t moved. 

The rabbit lady (Vanessa?) continued to dance around the room, humming to herself. “I think it’s time we ended this game, don’t you?” 

Again, Luis ignored her. 

Even with the mask totally obscuring her face, Evan could sense her pout from a mile away. 

She stomped her foot, which looked quite ridiculous given the costume she’s in. Somehow, he managed not to laugh. 

“Look at me!” She demanded.

He did not. 

“Luis, Look at me!”

But his gaze was locked firmly on the game.

“....hm….” she started, calmer than before, “you know, Luis…. she really liked you.”

That made him pause. He tensed up. 

“Yeah…really liked you. And I have no idea why. I mean, you’ve been fun to toy with- chase around the pizzaplex all night, but I would rather throw myself off a twenty-story building than go on that lame coffee date you kept asking about.”

Evan flinched back. He felt for Luis. The amount of cruelty in the rabbit lady’s voice was almost palatable. 

Luis slowly relaxed, not paying any mind to her. “Well, Vanny, it’s a good thing you aren’t Vanessa, now, isn’t it?”

The rabbit lady-Vanny-made a noise that sounded more like a rabid dog than anything remotely human. She lunged for Luis, knife out. 

Luis mashed a couple more buttons and moved the joystick a few inches to the right. He kicked his foot out, hitting Vanny in the stomach. 

“Sorry, ‘Ness.” 

Vanny landed on her stomach. “Ow!” She looked up at Luis. “That fucking hurt! I thought you were one of the ‘good’ ones.”

“Guess you were wrong,” he says, attention back on the game. 

“I hate you!” She screeched, leaping to her feet. “You ruined my night! You ruined my game! It’s not fair! Not fair! Not fair!” 

Vanny lunged again, but this time, she wasn't stopped by a kick to the stomach. She grabbed Luis by the back of his shirt collar, sending him tumbling to the ground. Vanny hovered over him, knife poised. 

“I win! I win!” She cheered, waving the knife back and forth. 

Luis laughed, shaking his head. 

Vanny huffed, annoyed with her latest victim’s attitude throughout this whole thing. “What’s so funny?” 

He smiled. 

A chime went off, coming from-

“No, Vanny, I win.”

Vanny hopped up, turning towards the game cabinet. The screen was all glitchy now. She whirled around to Luis. “What have you done!?” She hissed.

Luis sat up. “Goodbye, Vanny.”

Like a puppet’s strings being cut, she started to fall to the ground. Instantly, Luis raced forward, catching her. 

Carefully, he lowered her to the ground. “I got you, ‘Ness,” he murmured, removing the head of the costume. Vanessa’s face was pale. Paler than the last memory Evan had to sit through. Her blonde hair was slightly tangled and a lot longer. “You’re safe now.”

The memory stopped abruptly. 

“How…when…why do you…” Evan can’t figure out how to word his question. “The timeline…were you haunting her?”

Maria suddenly looked sad. She looked at the ground, head bowed. “There were more victims. Younger ones .”

“ Oh .”

“Me and the other adults have been doing our best to comfort them. But the poor things. They want to go home so badly. And they were there, in the pizzaplex, when all this occurred. Some of them shared the memory of her being freed with me.” As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. “I wish I could do more for them. They remind me so much of Gregory.”

Instinctually, Evan reached for her hand. “You can’t blame yourself,” he murmured. 

“Come along now,” Maria said, not responding to his remark. “There’s more you need to see.”

For the third time, he’s yanked into a new memory. This time, they’re outside in some dirty alleyway. Snow has combined with the dirt and sewer water on the ground, creating a disgusting sludge mixture. 

It’s snowing, flurries flutter through the air. People pass by the maw of the alley, chattering. 

Off to his right, a small lump suddenly moved. Evan turned. “...Gregory?” He moved forward. “Why is he here?” 

“Evan, it’s a memory, remember?” 

He can’t find the words to respond, because he’s too shocked to speak. His son’s hair had always been wild. It became tangled even on the best of days, and no amount of brushing ever changed that. But now it was a total rat’s nest. 

His face was dirty too, as was everything about him. His clothes were tattered and were nowhere near appropriate for the weather outside. 

Gregory’s teeth chattered together. He slumped against the wall; eyes squeezed shut. He was cold, wet, and hungry. Everything in him wanted to give up and give in to his desire to sleep. 

Just then, a blanket was thrown over Gregory’s tiny frame. It swallowed him whole, leaving just his eyes and nose showing. 

“What?” Evan asked, confused as to where the blanket came from. “Where did that come from?”

“This is Gregory’s memory of the event,” she said. “And this,” Maria tapped his forehead, changing their perspective to someone hovering above the shivering boy, “is mine.”

She had failed. Her baby had gotten away from that awful woman, but now he was going to die in this alley. And, while Maria missed her son terribly, she didn’t want to see him again so soon. He deserved to grow up, have a happy life. 

Helplessly, Maria watched him suffer in the cold. 

She looked around for anything that could help make the cold more bearable. Even a newspaper would do….

Spotting something that resembled a blanket deeper in the alley, Maria summoned all her strength to pull it closer. Carefully, she managed to drape it over her son. Unfortunately, the display of extraordinary power used up all her energy. 

The memory wavered, glitching slightly, before it faded to black. 

“You…were there with him?”

“The whole time,” Maria confirmed.

Evan stared at her in disbelief. 

“And there’s more.” Before he could speak, Maria pressed one of her hands over his forehead. 

Instantly, he was bombarded by memories. None of which belong to him. A series of moving pictures. The sensation of being carried, kissed, and hugged. The feeling of sadness turning to unbridled happiness.

Cold….worry….scared….alone….mommy….daddy…where are you?

A woman with hair like gold and kind green eyes hovering over him. She took Gregory into her arms, protecting him from the cold. 

Warmth….he hadn’t experienced warmth in a long time. She reminded him-in his sickly state-of his mommy.

Worry….why was she leaving Gregory? Did he do something wrong? He was sick and achy and just wanted to go home. 

Gregory saw her again - the woman. He’s happy. He’s safe. His mouth moved before he could stop it. Gregory called the kind woman, ‘Momma ‘Nessa.’ It feels right. 

Confusion…worry…. why was this strange man taking him away? But Gregory couldn’t find it in himself to worry. He felt oddly at ease.

The man let him pick out toys. His daddy and mommy used to do that too, but Miss Cheyenne was a meanie and didn’t let him play with toys. She made him very sad and scared and-

He couldn’t bring himself to pick something out. He stuck close to the man, needing protection. 

Happy…comfortable…safe…..the man bathed him and dressed him in nice clothes.

Mama ‘Nessa showed up…eventually. He was starting to worry she wouldn’t show up again. Mommy also didn’t show up one day, and Miss Cheyenne-

He squeezed her tight. Mama ‘Nessa was here! That’s all that mattered. He was too tired to think about anything else. 

More memories whirled around Evan, surrounding him on all sides. The feeling of love is evident, almost tangible in how present it is. 

Finally, he’s released from the onslaught of memories. Tears ran down his face. “I…I don’t understand.”

Maria wiped away his tears with her thumbs, smiling softly. “And that’s okay. It’s a lot to take in. It would be remiss of me to expect that of you.”

Evan shook her off, taking a step back. “What do you want?” He croaked, using his arm to wipe the remaining wetness away. 

Maria tentatively put her arm down. “Evan,” she started, “sometimes the best thing you can do for someone you love is let them go.”

“Okay….I love you Maria. I hope to see you again….someday.”

Maria shook her head, frowning. Her eyes softened, looking at him with something akin to pity. “No. Not me.”

“But there’s no one-” Evan’s eyes widen as the meaning of her words set in. “No, no, I can’t. I just got him back. No! I won’t. He’s all I have left!”

Maria remained silent. 

He took a couple steps back, furiously shaking his head. “He needs me,” Evan sobbed. 

“You have to think about what’s best for Gregory. I know it hurts, and that’s okay.” Maria slowly got closer, bringing him into a hug. “You can always be a part of his life. At least promise me you’ll think about it?”

Evan breathed in the smell of her perfume, relaxing in her hold. “Promise,” he said, though his mind was already made up. 

-x-x-x-

After the door slammed shut, what followed was an uneasy silence. Even Luis was silent, hand hovering over Vanessa’s back. “...It’ll be okay, ‘Ness,” he finally murmured, though his voice sounded a little strained. 

She nodded, weakly, before standing. “I…I need a minute. Just…uh…s-” That was all Vanessa could get out before her sobs overtook her. She inwardly cringed. Crying in front of people was never something she was okay with. 

Other people, sure. 

Her? Never. 

Vanessa awkwardly excused herself, dismissing all of Luis’ concerns with a frantic wave of her hand. She hurried to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. 

Turning on the lights, Vanessa was met with a familiar sight. Her eyes, red-rimmed and face ruddy. Her face and neck felt all sticky, which only made her feel worse. Vanessa’s hands trembled as she turned on the tap.

Carefully, she splashed the cool water over her face. For a second, she stood there, watching water drip down her face into the sink basin. Sighing, Vanessa grabbed a towel to wipe her face. She placed it off to the side, glancing up at the mirror. Only to see….

“Hiya, Blondie~” Vanny sing-songs. “Long time, no see.”

Vanessa gasped, stuck between wanting to run for her life and standing frozen to the spot. She thought of calling to Luis, but she didn’t want to bother him anymore than she already had.  “You…you….” 

“Me!” Vanny cheered, giggling. “Wow, you look like shit.”

Vanessa continued to stare in disbelief at her. All her thoughts were jumbled together, unrecognizable. 

“Well, at least your outward appearance matches your inward. Get it? Because you’re a monster.”

“I don’t look that bad,” Vanessa shot back weakly. 

Vanny shrugged. “Either way, I’m sure Gregory-”

“Shut up! Don’t talk about him!” Vanessa snapped, reaching a hand towards the mirror.

“Or what? You’ll kill me too?”

“I can’t kill you. You’re me.”

Vanny hummed. “Now you’re catching on.”

Vanessa shook her head. “No…that’s- I’m not like that. He made me do that. I’m not.” She groaned, holding the sides of her head. “Leave me alone!”

“I wonder how long will it take before Luis realizes you’re a monster?” 

 Finding the strength to leave the bathroom, Vanessa closed the door without looking back. Right or wrong, all she wanted to do right then was curl up in her bed and sleep. 

-x-x-x-

Vanessa’s washing dishes. She doesn’t remember starting them, and the pile next to the sink only ever appeared to get bigger. An endless cycle. But the thought of walking away doesn’t cross her mind. She just continued to happily wash-

“Mama Nessa?”

That voice. 

She knew that voice.

Slowly, Vanessa put down the plate she had been holding. She turned. “Gregory?” 

He nodded, bouncing on his heels.

Vanessa opened her arms, bending down to his height. “I missed you so much.”

He practically lunged himself at her, squealing in delight. “Missed you too.”

It happened in slow-motion. 

One minute he was beaming at her, and she was smiling right back….

The next….

He was lying limp and unresponsive in her arms. 

“What…? Gregory? Gregory?” Vanessa shook him slightly. “This isn’t funny. Wake up.” She laughed, but none of this felt remotely funny to her. “Come. On. Wake up!” 

He remained unresponsive, skin slowly growing colder and body growing rigid. 

Vanessa clutched him tighter to her chest, sobbing. “No! Please…please….don’t do this to me. Wake up! Wake up! I’m sorry! Come back to me! Please!”

“‘Ness,” Luis started, appearing from somewhere behind her. “It’s going to be alright.”

She felt his hand touch her shoulder, but before Vanessa could warn him, he too, was lying dead at her feet. 

Vanessa looked up, tears blurring her vision. She gasped, further tightening her hold on Gregory. In front of her were all of her victims. The ones she slain while under Glitchtrap’s control. She knew there were a lot of them, but seeing them all in front of her made it all the more real. 

They stared back at her with dead eyes and pained expressions. 

Vanny stepped forward, pushing them out of the way. 

“You,” Vanessa trembled. “Stay-stay away!”

Cackling, Vanny gestured towards all the victims. “Now, that’s rich coming from someone like you. I mean, you were the one that killed all these people.”

“No. That was you. I’m not like that.”

“Remind me again who I am under this mask?”

“Fuck you!” Vanessa said through gritted teeth. Her voice sounded strained even to herself. “Leave me alone!”

Vanny ignored her. “You ruined so many lives. It’s almost impressive. Hm…maybe you really are a monster.” 

Vanessa felt weak. She felt powerless. It was no use anyway. Fighting Vanny only ever seemed to make things worse. 

Vanny crept closer. She sighed. “Face it, Vanessa, the only thing you’re good at is hurting people.” She bent down, bunny ears flopping over. “The sooner you realize that, the better.”

Her surroundings blurred together, and Vanny’s voice became fainter and fainter. 

-x-x-x-

Luis stroked Vanessa’s hair, soothing back her bangs. It had been a long day, and while he was happy Gregory was now back in the custody of his only living parent, he couldn’t deny that he missed the kid. 

The lack of his presence was evident. The only evidence of him being there was his birthday presents still on the coffee table. His heart ached. 

Logically, Luis knew that this could happen. Vanessa and him wanted this to happen. So, why did it hurt so much? He’d lost people before. He had enough dead people in his family that Luis was expecting a family reunion when he finally keeled over. 

It then hit him that, in spite of being called, ‘Papa Luis’ through the weeks they spent together, Luis genuinely thought of Gregory as his son. 

His heart broke again for his abuela.

Suddenly, her grief didn’t seem so unreasonable. 

If this was what missing someone felt like, Luis never, ever wanted to experience the pain his family felt during Gabriel’s disappearance. 

“Ah!” Vanessa screamed, jolting upright. 

Luis narrowly avoided his chin knocking against the top of her head. He scooted over on the couch, giving her space. Judging by her reaction and names Evan called her, he would hazard a guess that she had another nightmare.

-x-x-x-

“Bad dream?” He asked, once Vanessa was no longer hyperventilating. 

“Yeah.”

“Vanny?”

“Mhm,” she muttered, staring at the ground. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“She’s bothering me again. I just want her to…”

Luis leaned in closer, wrapping his arms around her. For a second she tensed up before relaxing in his hold. “Leave you alone?”

“Uh, huh, yeah, basically. I don’t understand why I can’t get over that.” 

“Ness, it was a very traumatic period of your life. It will take time,” Luis said. 

And Vanessa knew that. She’d known that since the day he set her free. It’d been a lingering thought in the back of her head. The dreaded phrase, ‘It will take time.’ It’d been months since that day, and she hadn’t felt any better. Vanny hadn’t slowed down on stalking her. 

“How much time?” She asked.

“I don’t know, but just know, no matter how long it takes…. I’ll remain right by your side.”

Maybe it was the words Luis said, or the earnest way he said them, but Vanessa felt herself tearing up. Her bottom lip quivered, as she looked up at Luis.

“Promise?”

Luis smiled at her, tears running down his face as well. “Promise…. forever and always.”

-x-x-x-

They fell asleep in each other’s arms, safe and happy. Reruns of an old 1980s sitcom played on the TV, filling the otherwise dark room with a bright light. 

Vanessa didn’t have a single nightmare that night. Instead, she dreamt of the future.

And then, someone started knocking at the front door. 

[stone-97]

An idea I expected to see @halogenrobotics was this, keep in mind this is three months after Vanessa is free. She’s still a little vulnerable, so Gregory and Freddy worry about strangers, such as Luis, popping up to see her and claiming to be “old friends.”

FNAF Prompt:

Luis decides to ask Gregory if it’s okay to date his sister, Vanessa, with Freddy in the back to keep Gregory from doing anything rash to him.

Gregory gives the Gremlin stare at Luis before threatening Luis with decommissioning/there’ll never find his body if he makes Vanessa cry or hurt her feelings. Walking off as a sign the discussion is finished.

Luis relaxes before Freddy gives him the overprotective papa bear talk, implying Monty needed a new outlet for his anger as his way of ensuring Luis has Vanessa best interest at heart.

[star-going-supernova]

(RE: Halogenrobotics latest ask about parent child relationships)

I think its because Vanessa and Gregory are too close age-wise for it to not be uncomfortable/concerning. If Vanessa was older (like 28 instead of 23) it would be more acceptable for her to be Gregory's mother.

Ironically, when i first got into security breach i first found the "Parlourverse" AU, where Vanessa WAS gregory's mom (his dad paid Vanessa to forget about him, the lazy bum). Their memories got wiped by a reincarnated Elziabeth so that Vanessa could be a backup body for herself and for Gregory to allow Afton to return. The wipe was so deep that Gregory forgot his original name and both of them forgot that they were parent and child (cries at remembering that), they only re-learned that fact when they found notes in Elizabeths lab.

Congrats, never before has a single word shot me back in time with the brutal efficiency as "Parlourverse" just did.

[gregaverse]

Welcome to the Gregaverse!

Here is the sign up list for all the members!

》 How do I sign up?

Simple! Send us a DM in this very blog requesting to join, and we'll add you!

!!Those added here will be allowing their Gregorys to be used and interacted by others (but please keep in mind to respect the creator's boundaries and ask them what is and isn't ok to do with their Gregs)!!

If anyone would like to opt out of the list please dm us and we'll respectfully take your title down from it.

Current Members (34):

"Kiwii" (+4 more) by @notsodailycake

"Ray"(+1 more) by @saltyandsassy

"Puppet" (+4 more) by @moonfang182-magic

"Fitz-Afton" by @birdie-ghost

"Proto" by @ghostthefox1997

"Aftermath" (+10 more) by @docleonidas

"Cursed/CG" (+2 more) by @ezravon3

"Slumber" by @avianoutcast

"Invero" (+2 more) by @furryb0nes

"Bug" by @glitched-guardian-au

"Archer" (+2 more) by @carogdraws

"79" (+16 more) by @mason-gaylord

"Gage" (+20 more) by @dreadmothrosemary71

"Bon" (+5 more) by @yayadrawsthingz

"Reset" (+2 more) by @galevonhjonkbringerofgoose

"Jax & Bax" (+4 more) by @abunchofraccooons

"Grey" by @malmagicstar

"Flint" by @the-bird-ghost-anon

"Solar" (+2 more) by @rinzay

"Ed" (+2 more) by @hexyz09

"The Seer" by @paigelts05

"Wander" (+7 more) by @soniccrazygal

"Seargant" (+1 more) by @euanpc

"Ballpit" by @pixlokita

"Ruby" by @nadiawitch

"Grizzly" by @honey-bunnysaurus

"Bolts" by @halogenrobotics

"Time" by @theunfortunatecatto

"Archangel" by @vampvannie

"Found" by @theinsanefoxwriter

"Arcade" by @catcrescent

"Stitch" by @wheredidmyheadgoing

"Hope" (+2 more) by @greglow03

"Pixelgeist" by @oopsieedaisi

[jess-themess05]

the tags i’ve been getting from everyone have me twirling my hair and giggling it’s so nice

without going on too much of a rant (especially a sappy rant) it’s appropriate to say interactions with my mutuals have made this year a bit brighter for me :) i think i first joined the hellsite in april and since then have gotten more friends than i thought i would have, i just came here to look at silly goofy robot twinks! and now i get tagged in cute animal posts, send and get sent silly little asks, start silly little wars, get a silly little SPOUSE!! it’s just been really nice interacting with everyone, even if y’all can be... a bit rabid? sometimes? i still love and appreciate you guys :D even if i haven’t been the most active lately i still know one of you guys will do something to cheer me up. so yeah! thank you everyone! and now i call you out!!

@theohnocorral if i remember correctly- just kidding i know i’m right. you are the first one to basically introduce me to some of my closest mutuals!! i can say with confidence you are the reason i’ve been dragged into so many friendships, kicking and screaming, and then eventually calming down cause “oh wait this isn’t bad” i’m very glad i decided to read your awesome fics and lead me to you!

and i apologize if i miss anyone! it’s either cause i am shy and don’t interact with you much or i simply forgot your username! and i shall take all the blame because my memory is terrible 👍 either way i love our interactions, even if they are quite small

@iceblink123 @basyacriptid @sharpmarble76 @lovelymoonmagic @hollowedart @theohnocorral @thewordofm @justfangirlstuffs @fluffbeast7 @yes---but---no @cero-sleep @lovingstarfishsandwich @chaireem @total-fandom-tr45h @halogenrobotics @shythegreenskeleton

all of you are great, also!

thank you to the lovelies that tagged me :) @sharpmarble76 @lovingstarfishsandwich @basyacriptid

I feel like spreading positivity so.

If you get tagged here, here's a few messages from the person who tagged you:

You are one of the coolest people I know, if not THE coolest ever. I may not have known you for long, but it feels like my whole life, and I don't know what I would do without you. If I haven't met you my life would be fundamentally different. You may have changed, but I've changed with you, and I think we've both grown a lot, and for the better.

I love seeing you create stuff! Be it art, writing, headcannons, or something you DIY-ed, I know that any time you make something it's bound to be good. Every project you start is always very exciting, even if you don't finish it! Watching you create is always very fun.

I know you have bad days, we all do. Don't hesitate to talk to me if you need to. I'm always here, I'll always listen, and I'll always do my best to try to understand and help. Know that you'll always be loved and appreciated!

Here's to our friendship growing even more in 2023!

(ps. don't feel pressured to tag anyone back! This is just to let you know that you're loved and appreciated. And if you were planning on tagging someone, but see that they've already been tagged, don't worry! This will be a message from you to them. Tag them!)

[the1trueanon]

Idea 7: Gregory did not have abusive parents.

A lot of fanfics I've read about the 3-star ending all seem to have one thing in common, Gregory having at least one bad parent. Most have Gregory's father being terrible or just having left the family. Some of them have both mother and father be horribly abusive.

I had a different idea: what if instead of abusive parents, Gregory had the opposite: 2 parents who loved him more than anything else. 

That does leave us with a troublesome question: If that's the case, then why does Gregory evidently live in a box?

Let us create a timeline of possible events:

Gregory is born.

At around age 2 or something, Gregory's father is now out of the picture. This isn't because he abandons his family, no.

It is because he dies.

It is quick and unexpected, there is no warning. The reason can be whatever you want. (The more tragic the better.)

So now Gregory's mother (M from here on out) now has to single-handedly take care of toddler Gregory.

She does an amazing job! Her normal profession as a therapist (wink) helps her a lot with making sure Gregory behaves.

It also helps M explain to him where his father is, and helps him grasp the dark concept of death at an early age.

M also makes certain that Gregory knows just how much his father loved him, even if he can't remember him. She makes sure to let him know he is loved by her every day.

M also teaches him some basic housekeeping tasks, so that Gregory can take care of himself when she has late nights at work.

Then one day at work, when Gregory is around 8 or 9, M gets a new patient at work. Some blonde beta tester, the only thing of note is her inconsistent childhood memories and the fact her 4 previous therapists have gone missing.

It's a bit weird and slightly concerning, but what is the worst that can happen?

… I think we all know what happened next.

Gregory wouldn't suspect anything was wrong, thinking his mom is just having another late night at work.

Then some people show up, they say that his mother has, *ahem* "gone missing" and that they have to take him to an orphanage for the time being.

Gregory immediately knows that his mother is dead. He can hear it when they stutter just before saying "gone missing." Ironically, his mother did the same thing when she first explained where his father went.

Before he gets a chance to properly grieve, Gregory gets put in an orphanage with about a dozen other children. This is because he doesn't have any relatives.

Most of the caretakers there seem apathetic. Some care a bit more, but it is leagues away from how much his mother cares-... cared for him.

One of the caretakers seems to actively hurt him whenever they can. They hate kids (like Vanessa in the game, but without the valid excuse of being possessed by a British furry) and seemingly only took the job either as a way to get some easy money or as a chance to hurt kids.

When Gregory finally gets a chance to cry over his mother's death, that "caretaker" is there yelling at him to "stop whining and get over it"

This is too much for him, so he decides to run away. He finds living in a box in an alley to be difficult, but at least no one can hurt him now.

Then the games events happen.

I think that this idea could work. The sudden shift between having a loving home and then being thrown into a harsher environment would make Gregory distrustful of adult strangers.

After everything though, things would get better. Gregory gets the father figure he never really had in the form of a robot bear (wow this series has gotten weird) and a loving… mother? Sister? Aunt figure? in Vanessa.

            Also if you're wondering how Gregory would react to learning who killed his mother, I think he would understand that it was Vanny’s doing, not Vanessa's, and be quick to reassure her that he doesn't blame her. Vanessa would likely hate herself just that little bit more, knowing that it was her (noitwasvannys) who orphaned a child.

As a show of forgiveness though, maybe Gregorys mother could come back as a ghost and continue to be Vanessas therapist, since she doesn't trust herself around living therapists because of previous experience.

Oh. My god. This is an amazing idea! Gregory's mom being one of the therapists Vanessa went through?? Yes yes yes!! And then going through so many caretakers, and ending up with some asshole? Ooouuugghhhh I wanna hold the poor kid 🥺

("Possessed by a British furry" is the best way I have ever heard Afton and the Glitchtrap virus described, can we keep referring to them as such? XDDD)

But you're right, this would make a lot of Gregory's behaviors make sense, and also tie him in closer with the storyline. He's not just some random kid anymore (or the unfortunate robot child), he's the kid of a victim of Vanny and Glitchtrap.

Plus, him knowing it was "Vannessa" (really Vanny) who killed his mom, and being able to forgive her for it and accept her as a new caretaker figure? B e a u t i f u l. They're slowly moving on, accepting one another, and acknowledging that what they've been through is neither of their faults, and they can choose to either wrongly blame each other, or come together as the last people they really have.

Plus, ghost therapist/mom!! Best thing ever XD

[uglyshirtsinc]

Hello there!

I was wondering if you would be interested in hearing my fnaf sb 3 star ending based ramblings/ideas? I've shown them to other people and have gotten a positive response.

hit me w/ your best shot!

[hexyz09]

Idea 15: Vanessa is good at bedtime stories

This idea is inspired by a point I made during idea 2 that I wanted to attempt to elaborate on. This is actually based on the fact that Vanessa's voice actor, Heather Masters, was known for reading children's books before getting involved in FNAF (I am not kidding, check her interview with Dawko ). 

It is logical to assume that most young kids would probably get more nightmares when their parents are not at home. As such it would be a good idea to learn how to calm them down. Vanessa, as a teenager, initially made stories using the video games that she plays as a base. This turns out to work a lot better than she expects, so she continues to refine and use it until she stops babysitting when she goes off to college. This will be important later.

Anyways, let us set the scene. It has been a few weeks since the Pizzaplex decided to reenact the Sampoong Department store collapse. The robots have been handling their new “jobs” at Silver Parasol fairly well. Roxy and Monty serve as sources of motivation for the team. They have also taken up smaller versions of what they used to do; RC car racing for Roxy and setting up a small putting green for Monty. Chica makes lunch for everyone, proving she can make other things besides pizza in the process. Freddy helps organize schedules with the management. The Daycare Attendant serves as a sort of mental health checker, working with Roxy and Monty. And of course the ALMIGHTY MAPBOT “gives out” (forces people to take) maps for the building to the people working there, except for Vanessa, whom he decided to forgive after she fixed his speech issues. All of the animatronics do still interact with children when employees bring their own or their friends' children in for various reasons. 

The VR games also turned out to be a hit, and with Fazbear Entertainment no longer taking any percentage of the profits, it is earning Silver Parasol a large amount of money. In fact, they have so much excess that they start making plans on buying a building to serve as a proper location for the animatronics. This idea was actually spearheaded by Vanessa because she feels bad that they don’t have a real “home” and wants to return the favor for them being so nice to her.

Speaking of Vanessa, after all these months, she can finally say with full confidence that she feels like her old self again. She is able to use knives, look at rabbits and not feel scared among other minor things. She has also become a lot more confident and outgoing than she used to be. Vanessa recently even went on an actual proper date with Luis.* It went really well, considering that they both are awkward nerds! So a lot of things are going well for our blonde…beneficiary? 

* Everyone is just surprised that it didn't happen sooner. Roxy and Monty even had a bet going on for when they would do it, Roxy bet over 4 months and Monty bet under. Roxy won, meaning she and Chica got to “redecorate” Monty. I will let you decide what that means.

However the same cannot be said for Gregory. He has recently started to have terrible nightmares, which he hasn't had since before his mother died. The reason that he only appears to be having bad nightmares now is ironically because he now knows that he is in a safe and STABLE living situation. Back when he was living on the streets, staying silent at all times was key to surviving and not being caught. This included being quiet when sleeping, so he just stopped having nightmares. This continued for the first month or so he was living with Vanessa since he still didn't completely trust her yet. But now that she has proven herself to be an actually really good person and safe to be around, the nightmares have returned in full force.

They start out consisting of what you would expect for a kid like Gregory. Vague things such as being abandoned. Then they start to be about things like being chased by hundred pound animal themed death machines. He could handle those ones easily enough. As the months go on, they get worse, more specific. They start to involve Freddy turning evil, Vanessa turning back into Vanny. They usually end at that point because the real Freddy, in his plush form, notices that something is wrong and would wake Gregory up. He then comforts him by simply reassuring Gregory that it was just a nightmare and giving him a hug. However, this method has been getting less effective as time goes on.

Something else that you have to know is this, most of the animatronics are not good at storytelling or making up stories. They are simply not designed or programmed for it since they are not meant to be doing any activities that involve sleeping. You would think that the daycare attendant would be good at this since he is supposed to help kids fall asleep. He does tell stories, but they are preprogrammed and all end with some variation of the theme, "Buy Fazbear Entertainment merch" . This is because he was originally intended to generate his own stories like DJMM can generate music. However FE couldn't risk him coming up with a story that already existed and getting sued so they attempted to make their own. Also some of the in-game logs indicated that he isn’t even that good at getting kids to go to sleep regardless ( yes I know he was partially hacked, but something tells me that the getting kids to go to sleep problem existed before this issue ). Basically, Freddy and the gang are not good at getting kids to go back to sleep beyond basic reassurance.

Then one night, he has a nightmare that is worse than all of the others. He is cornered in a dark storage room inside of the pizzaplex, surrounded by all of the animatronics including Freddy. Gregory knows that they aren’t themselves, their eyes glowing a distinct purple. In the center of it all, is Vanny. She is in that disturbing suit that he saw burnt before his eyes, her posture aggressive and towering over him. The shadows over her mask make it appear even more deranged than normal, and her knife in hand ready to kill him and make his death as painful as possible. Before Gregory can even react, Vanny grabs him by the neck and forces him to the ground and raises her knife into the air. As he struggles to breathe all he can hear is Vanny’s insane laughter, so unlike Vanessa’s it is almost impossible to believe that they were once the same person. Vanny raises her arm and then plunges it into his chest. As searing pain and darkness overtake Gregory, he wakes up with a horrible scream.

Vanessa wakes up when she hears the noise and upon realizing that it came from Gregory, immediately rushes over to his room to see what’s wrong. Both Vanessa and Freddy are very concerned, because Gregory has NEVER cried or screamed before. Sure, he’s looked freaked out before, but never has he ever appeared to be this scared. Vanessa slowly and quietly moves to his bed and sits down to try and calm him down. Eventually Gregory’s crying is reduced to occasional sniffles Freddy is at a loss of what to do, so Vanessa decides to, hesitantly, ask Gregory if he would like to hear a story. Gregory at first wants to refuse because he is a big boi . However he looks up at Vanessa’s face that shows genuine concern, and with a sniffle says yes.

Vanessa starts telling a story about a kingdom and princess, one who brought joy and hope to all who saw her, who could almost literally brighten someone's day. She tells of how this princess was deceived by a stranger in purple, who then locked her inside her own castle dungeon and spread evil throughout the kingdom. But it was done in such a way that no one noticed anything was amiss. The differences were simply too subtle for anyone to notice.

Everyone except one person, a knight. One smaller than most, but no less brave. He was the only one to realize that something was wrong and ventured into the kingdom to figure out what was wrong and fix it. He quickly found some assistance in the form of a large yet friendly bear, who had somehow managed to avoid the corruption that had befallen the other creatures.

They discover that the kingdom has been corrupted and learn of a way to get rid of it using 3 keys or sorts. So the 2 go on an adventure to find these keys and save the kingdom. They encounter a multitude of trials and tribulations on their journey as the bear and knight bond and work together. In the end though they find the 3 keys, unlock the dungeons to free the princess and defeat the corruption, saving the day! And thus the 3 of them, the kind bear, the brave knight, and the imprisoned princess all lived happily ever after

By the time Vanessa has finished speaking, Gregory has fallen back asleep hugging both her arm and Freddy close. Freddy is just looking at her with that dad-like “I’m so proud of you” type expression instead of saying it since he doesn't want to wake Gregory up. Vanessa rolls her eyes but accepts the gesture. Upon seeing that she can’t go back to bed since Gregory has effectively latched onto her, she decides to just spend the night with him.

And thus, with no more nightmares to trouble them, the 3 of them have a rest filled night and will proceed to have many more. For although healing might take a long time and be full of setbacks, the end can make it all worth it. :)

I'm not sorry to say yer not getting that arm back anytime soon Ness. This likely won't be the last nightmare Gregory has, so you'll have to get ready and set for some impromptu sleep overs whenever that happens. XD And it's absolutely adorable and precious and I can totally see Gregory accidentally calling Ness "Mom" when asking what happens next.

And yes, I shamelessly support Mama Ness dynamic alongside the Sibling One. XP But that aside, while I am beyond glad that Vanessa is healing, I do can't help but find the unlucky happenstances rather depressing, on account that Vanny, the psycho furry she is, specifically, and sporadically went after kids that Vanessa read, talked, and watched over during the whole possession period.

I can only hope this new dynamic doesn't really cause any flashbacks or unintended parallel's within Vanessa while she reads Gregory bedtime stories in order to distract him from the nightmares.

But aside from that, I do fully stand behind the fact that the Glamrock's are not at all programmed to take care of kids. Entertain them yes, as well as being careful as to not crush them accidentally underfoot, but caring for them for extended periods of time? Not so much.

And the thing with the Daycare Attendant only knowing Preprogrammed Fazbear Made stories make sense on account that on the Party Room White Boards; the one's with the Birthday Set's for the room, there's a note that says Freddy or any of the Glamrock's are only allowed to sing Fazbear approved birthday songs and the like.

So it'd make sense if such a thing was attributed to the Daycare Attendant as well. Who, i will also readily admit, probably had a lot of trouble getting kids to take a nap on account of how frecking colorful the Daycare is.

[gooeyslime]

Idea 16: Vanessa knows how to sew

You know, at this point my nickname should be Afton. Cause I always come back!

 

… 

*cough*

 uh moving swiftly on

 

This new idea/concept is probably my longest yet, I couldn't help but do my usual thing of trying to explain everything. I will also say that this one might not be “as good” as my other ideas so be warned. With that out of the way, grab yourself a snack/drink and strap in!

Once again, we must set the scene. Life has returned to normal for our faz fam, or at least as normal as it can be for a family consisting of mostly robots. Silver Parasol was able to find an abandoned restaurant and purchase it to give the bots a place to live. It took a bit to get used to its smaller area ( It is about the size of your average chucky cheese) but animatronics have acclimated well. The restaurant still has a lot of the same activities as the pizza plex once did, they are just a lot smaller. In some cases, such as with Monty's golf course and Roxy’s raceway, they’ve been replaced with miniature versions like mini golf and RC car racing respectively. There are a few new activities as well though such as “Chica’s cooking class'' and “Painting with Sun and Moon”. Roxy and Monty also hold “weekly challenges” and I will let you figure out what that means. (Some of you came up with some really clever ideas the last time I did this :) )

 

As for our human friends, they are doing quite well! Gregory has been doing well at school and has gotten his own little group of friends. He has developed a reputation at the school for being the kind of kid who causes trouble. Not anything bad of course, he still gets amazing grades but has from time to time crested harmless pranks that everyone finds quite amusing. Vanessa has being doing good as well. She got a promotion at work due to how high quality her work has been and she has gone on several more successful dates with Luis and are "officially" a couple. (Everyone is happy for her, though Gregory still takes some slight joy at how flustered Vanessa gets whenever he asks about their dates. Once a gremlin always a gremlin)

 

Now, something that is important to mention is how Vanessa has been dealing with the memories of being under mind control. It isn’t just her memories; these also include all of Vanny’s memories. (While under mind control Vanessa didn’t see everything that Vanny saw or did. Vanny would only have her be aware of what was going on when SHE wanted Vanessa to see something, which normally meant murders ). Allow me to attempt and explain.

(if you don’t want to read all this, scroll until you see the asterisk*) 

When Vanessa was first freed she tried to just not think about her memories of that time and tried to live in the present. This proved to be a bad idea since the events of idea 10 kept happening. What I mean by this is that Vanessa would see something in the present that felt vaguely familiar, such as a child alone in the pizzaplex, and it would trigger one of Vanny’s memories. From there, Vanessa would be forced to watch the memory play out, which usually consisted of a child being murdered. Then she would come out of the memory in the midst of a panic attack. After a few months of this, she realized that this wasn’t the way to go about this. So, after the events of idea 12, she decides to try dealing with these bad memories in a different way. Her new method is to, just, think about them. Get used to the fact that they exist so she doesn't get overwhelmed by them when she sees something familiar. They are still bad, and she will never not feel guilty about the actions that take place in them, but it does help reduce the amount of pain that they cause to a point that she can live with them.

 

Through this methodic remembering Vanessa discovers that she also has access to Vanny’s memories that, other than having very bad implications, aren't really that bad One of these series of memories is of Vanny creating that suit she wore  (btw it has long since been burned, it was one of the first things that the Faz fam did together after “that night”) As such one of the skills Vanessa now has is sewing. She had known Vanny could sow for a while now, she had found a sewing kit in her room after she was freed and easily figured out the connection. Up until now though Vanessa herself hadn't attempted to use it since she didn't remember how to. Even though she now knows how to sew, she hasn’t used this skill for 2 main reasons. Firstly, it reminds her of Vanny, though this reasoning has been getting a lot less strong as time goes on; and secondly, she hasn’t had much of a reason to use this skill at all… until now.

 

*TLDR Vanessa basically got Acquired Savant Syndrome , without the necessary physical head trauma.

 

The situation arises on a normal day while Gregory was at school hanging out with his friends. They decide to challenge him to a contest during recess, who can climb a tree to a certain branch the fastest. Gregory, being… well Gregory, immediately accepts (it would seem Roxy and Monty have been rubbing off on him) and is off to the tallest tree in the yard before they even decide on a prize. He climbs the tree and reaches the lowest main branch in around 15 seconds, much to the amazement of the children in the yard. 

 

However, in their collective excitement, the children failed to notice that the branch  Gregory is standing on has rotten and died. So after a few seconds, it breaks under the load  and Gregory begins falling to the ground. Thankfully his shirt manages to catch one of the smaller branches, slowing his fall but ripping his shirt in the process. He lands on the ground and, aside from some small cuts and bruises, is completely fine. The same cannot be said for his shirt though, the branch has made a tear from the bottom to the arm sleeve.

 

It should be stated that this particular shirt means a lot to him, it is one of the last possessions that he has from his old life, the one where his mother was still alive. The reason he knows this goes back several months, back to just a few days after “that night.” One of the first things that Vanessa and Gregory had done together was try and find his old house. They had done this to see if anything was still there and, if there was, take it back to Vanessa’s apartment so that Gregory would feel more “at home”.  

 

The 2 of them had found that the house had been claimed by the city since the owner, Gregory’s mother, had been found dead and she had had no living adult relatives. All of the possessions that were inside the house had been sold or given to charity in accordance with Utah state law . In a nutshell, all Gregory has from his old life are memories and the clothes he was wearing. It might seem kind of silly to a stranger, but the Faz fam knows how important it is to him. Besides, people tend to form emotional attachment to inanimate objects in real life (especially after traumatic events), so I think this might be plausible.

 

 Anyways, after picking himself off of the ground and reassuring the others that he is all fine, Gregory looks down at his special shirt and realizes that it is ruined and he thinks that Vanessa will likely have to throw it away. He really doesn’t want this to happen due to how much the shirt means to him, so he decides to try and repair it. After recess ends he grabs some duct tape, goes into a bathroom and tapes up the shirt. He hopes that the temporary repair will fool Vanessa long enough for him to try and find a more permanent fix for his shirt.

 

Vanessa isn’t home yet as she had to work late that day. (The company is planning on pushing out a new DLC that is based on the new restaurant the PizzaPlex animatronics now occupy as a way to advertise the place. So everyone is working a bit harder to get the update ready for release.) Gregory is about to take advantage of this and toss his ruined shirt into his room and put on a new one when he notices Freddy watching him, in his plush form. Freddy asks what he is doing, which means that Gregory has to explain the situation to him. He is just finishing up his explanation when he hears the door unlock, Vanessa has already returned from work. 

 

She enters and is in the middle of asking how his day was when she turns to look at him. She stops speaking, seeing him covered in scrapes and bruises and wearing a torn shirt. Vanessa, trying to remain calm and not get TOO worried, asks what happened to him. Before Gregory can even attempt to craft a response that downplays what actually happened, Freddy answers with “Gregory fell from a tree!” in a tone of voice that sounds like he is discussing the weather.

 

For several seconds nothing happens, then Vanessa fully processes what Freddy has just told her and launches into “doting parent” mode. She kneels down to Gregory and starts checking him over whilst asking him multiple questions about his well being. Gregory manages to calm Vanessa down after reassuring her that he is fine. Now a lot calmer, Vanessa notices that his shirt is ripped and the duct tape on it, prompting her to ask him what he planned to do with it. Gregory defeatedly tells her that he was going to try and fix it.

 

Vanessa remains silent, thinking. She knows how much this shirt means to him, and doesn’t want to get rid of it or have it not be wearable anymore. She wonders if she might be able to fix it herself, and then remembers that sewing kit and the memories of Vanny making the suit. Vanessa realizes that she might be able to solve this problem. So she asks Gregory if she can try and sew up the shirt for him. Gregory, who was expecting Vanessa to tell him to throw it away, is caught a bit off guard before saying yes.

 

So Vanessa takes the shirt to her room, opens the sewing kit and grabs some blue thread. She hesitates before picking up the actual needle, some of that old fear still lingering despite it being over 7 months since “that night”. Vanessa takes a deep breath and starts fixing the shirt. To her surprise she finds it to be quite easy, like riding a bike after a long break. Within an hour (idk how long this would really take lol) she has already patched up the tear and the shirt looks good as new.

 

She goes over to Gregory’s room and finds him having a conversation with Freddy about discretion “You can’t just bluntly tell people that someone fell out of a tree! You have to give them some sort of warning!” Vanessa gets their attention and shows them the patched shirt. Gregory takes his shirt, looks it over and places it on the bed. He then gives Vanessa a big ol hug while graciously thanking her for fixing it. She tells him that it was no problem, and then asks him how he even climbed the tree in the first place. 

 

That is where I will leave it, I hope you enjoyed this long boi. Again, I admit that this might not be as good as my other ideas, but I really just felt the need to write this one as it has been on my mind for a long time now.

Ooh I really like this idea, Vanessa being able to access Vanny's skills, although most of them are related to killing some of them are actually quite helpful in general, besides sewing I also imagine she would know how to move as quietly as possible, which could come in handy in certain situations but I digress lol

Gregory is definitely the type of kid who would do almost any dare, so hanging out with Monty and Roxy with their weekly challenges that get crazier and crazier doesn't help (it started off with Roxy saying she had gotten so good at the RC cars she could even use them to play golf with them, leading to what's basically Rocket League but with RC cars and minigolf instead of soccer which got pretty popular but of course thet had to add more stuff to it to make it more challenging to see who is truly the best lol)

Him assuming Vanessa would throw the shirt away is probably a remnant of his time at the orphanage where he's been told repeatedly to just get over his mother's death and forget about it but of course Vanessa understands what it means to him and uses Vanny's sewing skills to fix it.

Also love how Freddy just goes "Oh yeah, Gregory just fell off a tree!" so nonchalantly lol

[aquatic-batt]

Hello there! 

I was wondering if you would be interested in hearing my fnaf sb 3 star ending based ramblings/ideas and giving me your thoughts? Most of them concern Vanessa and I've shown them to other people and have gotten a positive response.

oh sure! go for it :0

[riahlynn101]

"Of Headaches and Heartaches" (18).

Big thank you to @halogenrobotics for editing and helping with the plot!

Trigger warnings: blood, implied/referenced child abuse, kidnapping, and minor character death.

Fair warning, this chapter does get a little bit heavy. If you would like a TL;DR I'd be more than happy to provide one for you, as this chapter also contains some plot-relevant tidbits. Take care of your mental health first!

Chapter 18

---

Vanessa yawned. Her back and neck ached - a surefire sign that she fell asleep on her couch again. Opening her eyes, she’s proven right. Her body is half-slumped over the armrest, head laying on her arm. 

Ah, that explained why she can’t feel her arm. 

Idly, she shook it.

A pins and needles sensation shot up and down her arm. The sound of paper being crumpled up got her attention. Gregory sat in front of her coffee table. 

“Ow,” she muttered, internally cursing her past self for choosing one of the worst sleeping positions ever. When it passed, she reached out to pat Gregory’s messy bedhead. “Goodmorning, Greg.”

He said nothing, just crumpled up and uncrumpled the paper. Taking his time, smoothing it out, before using both hands to ball it up. 

“Uh…Gregory?” Vanessa poked him.

The crackling noise of the paper seemed impossibly loud in the quiet of early morning. 

For a second, Vanessa feared she hadn't really woken up. It wouldn’t be the first time the rug has been pulled out from underneath her. 

If not for Luis’ soft snoring next to her, and a general lack of impending doom and sense of foreboding, she might have believed that. But-at least for now-she felt safe. Until Vanny, herself, popped out from some dark corner, she was going to hold onto that hope. 

“Greg,” she said again. “Everything alright?”

Gregory hummed. 

Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief. It was odd he still hadn’t looked at her, but she chalked it up to him being tired. They had kept Gregory out late last night after all. “I’ll get breakfast ready, okay?”

He hummed again, little hands crumpling and uncrumpling the newspaper on the table. She made a mental note to clean it up after breakfast.

Her kitchen was a mess. Pans and mixing bowls they used to make cookies sat in an untidy stack next to her sink. 

Vanessa sighed, reaching for a box of lucky charms. Yet another thing added to her bucket-list. Usually, having tasks pile up caused her to go into-what she has fondly started calling-“shutdown mode.” The term, she thought, was very on-brand for someone that worked day-in and day-out with robots. 

Robots aside, when she shuts down, it’s hard to get anything done. 

But today was different. 

She could just feel it. 

Vanessa poured three bowls of cereal. She balanced the three bowls in her arms, somehow managing not to slosh milk or cereal on the ground.

Back in the living room, Luis was awake, watching Gregory continue to play with the newspaper. She placed a bowl of cereal on the table in front of him, patting him on the head. 

She joined her boyfriend on the couch. “Well, goodmorning.” She handed him a bowl.

“What’s this?” He asked, voice still groggy with sleep. 

She giggled. “Cereal.”

Luis side-eyed her. 

“Okay, okay, Lucky Charms. There was a sale at the supermarket.”

“Thank you,” he murmured. 

They ate in silence, the only sounds were the occasional clang from a spoon hitting the sides of a nearly-empty bowl. It was not the oppressive quiet that preluded all her worst nightmares, nor the kind she had gotten used to. The sort that follows you around, hanging over you. Never leaving your side, even in a crowded room. Self-imposed isolation.

Loneliness. 

The crinkling sounds returned as soon as Gregory finished off his cereal. They were louder this time, and Gregory’s movements were more aggressive. 

Luis and her exchanged a glance. “Gregory,” he started, coming over to kneel down next to him, “Is everything okay?”

He uncrumpled the paper (again), using his hands to smooth it out. 

“It’s fine if you don’t want-”

“I hate her,” Gregory interrupted, glowering at the newspaper in front of him. It was so different from his usual cheerful attitude that Vanessa looked around to make double-sure this wasn’t some cruel joke her tormentors are playing on her. 

Even Luis leaned away from him, eyes widening a bit. But he quickly recovered, pointing at something on the paper that Vanessa couldn’t see. 

“Who?” He asked. “Her?” 

Gregory bowed his head. “She’s a liar.”

“Greg, wha-”

He turned to Vanessa. “Mommy promised I’d see her after daycare.” His bottom lip quivered. She reached out for him. The revelation that he may have solved his own missing person’s case hadn’t registered to her. The only thing that mattered was the child on the verge of tears in front of her. 

“She promised,” he cried, looking over his shoulder at the newspaper clipping. “But Miss Cheyenne picked me up instead.”

“...Miss Cheyenne?” Luis asked, voice soft. 

“Miss Cheyenne is mommy’s person.” 

“Person?” Vanessa tilted her head to the side. 

“Uh, huh, person. She has this big, huge book that she writes in. And she writes a lot, especially when she talks to mommy. She also cleans a lot and drived me to daycare.”

Luis’ brows furrowed. “And what happened to Miss Cheyenne?”

“She picked me up from daycare, like she always did. But….” Gregory’s shoulders shook. He threw himself at Vanessa, clinging to her. “She….Miss Cheyenne didn’t take me home.”

Her stomach twisted. 

“I asked-ed her too, but she wouldn’t. She said mommy didn’t want me no more.” He sobbed, burying his face in the crook of her neck. “And she was soooo mean to me. Miss Cheyenne was nice. I don’t understand why she turned mean? Why? Why didn’t my mommy want me no more, Mama ‘Nessa?”

He cried harder, tiny hands gripping her shirt, as if trying to ground himself. 

Vanessa stroked his hair. She fought the urge to track Gregory’s mother down. All this time they’d been searching for a woman that gave up her own son without telling him why. And if he was old enough to remember this then it had to have been somewhat recently. No, the title of mother wasn’t befitting of someone so…vile. 

Monster was more like it. 

“You’re safe now,” she murmured into his hair. “Your mama and papa got you.” 

Luis laid a gentle hand on his back. 

It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, like she could finally breathe again. Gregory recognizing his mom in the paper meant they had a name to work with. 

Eventually, Gregory’s cries tapered off. His breathing evened out, and it was not long before he fell asleep. 

“Poor guy,” Luis said, frowning. 

Vanessa hummed. “Can you hand me the newspaper he was looking at?”

“Sure.”

The newspaper was a mess of wrinkles and creases, making it a little hard to read. She sighed, doing her best to read it around Gregory’s sleeping form. The article itself seemed standard enough. 

It was about the dangers of ignoring your mental health. Something she knew all too well. She chuckled a little at her own joke, ignoring the concerned glance Luis sent her. 

She scanned the article, looking for a sign of what set Gregory off. Because surely a block of text hadn’t done it. 

Vanessa had to reread it again, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. She was just about to ask Luis if he grabbed the right one when her eyes saw the name of the writer of the article. One, Dr. Maria Torrez (pictured with her assistant, Cheyenne Michaels in her office, on page nine).

Amber eyes flashed into her mind’s eye. A kind smile and a soft laugh. 

Blood.

Everywhere. 

Screaming. 

Vanessa shook her head, forcing down the unwelcome thoughts. Before she could think better of it, she flipped the piece over to page nine. 

Two women stood in front of a cozy-looking office. There were bookshelves full of familiar books and a child-size table sat in the corner of the room. One of the women had bottle-blonde hair and a smug smile on her face. The other one……

The other one had dark brown hair and…Vanessa threw the paper away from her. Luis made a startled sound. 

“‘Ness, are you okay?”

She shook her head. 

-x-x-x-

Luis was shoved out of the apartment so fast his head spun. Vanessa was rambling, which was usually not a great sign. But she told him to leave her be for a few hours, muttering something about needing to be alone. 

He hesitated, trying to reason with her. His attempt failed, if the door in his face and the squirming toddler in his arms was anything to go by. 

Luis got closer to the door. “‘Ness, I’m taking Gregory to the mall for a little bit.” When he got no response, Luis added, “Just know, I’m here for you. Whatever it is you’re going through, you’re not alone.”

Defeated (for now), Luis made his way to the entrance of the apartment building. Gregory tugged on his shirt, making desperate gestures towards Vanessa’s apartment. “Mama ‘Nessa,” he whined. 

“I know, bud. ‘Ness just needs a while to cool down. Everything will be alright.”

-x-x-x-

Everything was not alright. 

There’s scratch marks on her arms from where she dug her nails in, trying to distract from memories she’d rather forget. She lays curled up on her bed, covers over her head.

The terrifying panic that had previously gripped her felt less severe now. It wasn't gone, just…Vanessa was too exhausted to continue freaking out. A detached-numbness took its place. 

She closed her eyes, pleading with whatever entity thought it funny enough to put her through all that she had, to let her drift off. To let her forget, for an hour at least. Please, please let her sleep…

-x-x-x-

Luis carried Gregory around the store. He tried to use a cart, but Gregory refused to stop clinging to him. Probably uneasy about ‘Ness’ outburst. Not that Luis could blame him. It was like a switch had been flipped. One second they had been on the cusp of solving a missing person’s case, excited but solemn. The next…

….the next, Gregory was shoved into his arms, and Vanessa begged him to leave her alone for awhile. 

“Papa Luis, look!” Gregory shouted, pointing at the window of a petstore. A couple of large fish tanks sat in the window, clusters of colorful fish swam around inside. He wriggled in Luis’ arms. “Please.”

Luis chuckled, letting him down. Instantly, Gregory was gone, staring in rapt fascination at the different fish. 

He started to follow after the runaway child, but he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. “Hey!” He called out, waving at the man who had helped him out. 

The man smiled at Luis, coming over to join him. 

“Hello,” he said, in the same somber tone of voice. 

“How are you doing?” Luis watched Gregory in his peripheral vision, making sure he stayed put. The last thing he needed was for him to go missing. (Though, he’s sure his uncle would love the company. Wherever he is.)

“I’ve…been better. You must really like this mall. I mean I’ve seen you here this week, what? Three times?” 

Luis laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah, this week has been….chaotic.”

“Story of my life,” the man said. 

“Papa Luis!” Gregory yells. Both of them turn to look at him. His back was to them, and he’s pointing at one of the fish in the tanks. “This one’s blue!” 

Luis goes to introduce Gregory to the man, but he was already sprinting towards the preschooler. Immediately, he was on the man’s tail, trying to prevent him from reaching Gregory. His heart thundered in his chest. 

“Stop!” He hollered, hoping someone will do something. “Gregory! Run!” 

But despite his best efforts, the man reached Gregory first. Luis was a second too late. The man scooped Gregory into a hug. He squirmed in the man’s grasp. 

“Let me go!” He slapped at the man’s back. “Papa Luis, help!”

“Gregory, baby, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” The man hugged him tighter, crying. 

Gregory froze, eyes widening. “Daddy?” 

-x-x-x-

The last two weeks had been hell for Vanessa. Time management had never been her strong suit, but surely she’d remember getting groceries? But whenever she tried to think about it, she couldn’t recall getting them. 

And it didn’t stop at shopping.

Other things, like beating a video game she was ecstatic about, making dinner, or even polishing her silverware (which she had never done before in her life, but hey, her knives and forks have never looked better), were done without her having any memory of doing them. 

Ever since she played that stupid video game…..

She groaned, feeling a headache come on. 

“Vanessa, sweetheart, are you alright?” A woman-her therapist at the moment, though now that she was between jobs with no insurance, that was bound to change soon-asked. She had dark brown hair and small, almond eyes the color of honey. Her voice was soft, and hearing her speak put Vanessa at ease. Even if she didn’t show it. 

“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.” She cleared her throat, shifting in the chair.

“It’s quite alright.”

Vanessa nodded.

She’d been seeing this therapist for a few sessions now, but the fog clouding her thoughts hasn't gotten any better. If anything it’s just gotten worse, and maybe that was her fault. For one, she hadn’t done any of the exercises recommended to help manage her anxiety. 

But…still, something didn’t feel right. A puzzle piece that refused to click into place. 

“Now, have you started journaling?”

She shook her head. 

Her therapist sighed. “I really think it would help. There’s been countless….”

Vanessa tuned her out. Something was very, very wrong. She gripped the armrests, trying to refocus on the person in front of her. 

This started after she finished that game. The one that Faz-Entertainment forced the company she worked for to make.

Vanessa bit at her bottom lip, eyes fixated on her lap. She felt awful for ignoring Dr. Torrez, but her thoughts were speeding by her at a million miles per minute. It was hard to pay attention. 

“Vanessa,” a voice hissed. But when she looked around, no one was near her.

Her therapist said something, forehead wrinkling and mouth pressing into a tight line. She motions to something, but Vanessa can’t pay attention to her. 

“Vanessa,” the voice says again. “Listen to me.” 

She blinked back tears, fighting the urge to freak out. This…this wasn’t her inner monologue. This voice was different. Grizzled and old and had an accent Vanessa couldn’t imitate in her wildest dreams. 

“There, there, don’t cry.” 

Vanessa wanted so badly to open her mouth, but she couldn't. It won’t let her. 

“I’m sure you’re confused.”

She did her best to focus on Dr. Torrez, who was going over another exercise to manage her anxiety. 

“Here, let me show you.”

The things she couldn’t remember came rushing back to her. She saw herself racing through levels on the video game she’d been waiting for, cleaning her kitchen, and buying groceries. 

She saw herself at the grocery store, examining kitchen utensils. Vanessa settled on a large kitchen knife.

She saw herself back in her apartment, getting ready for her therapy appointment, sticking the knife in her bag. 

Vanessa gasped, or at least tried too. But the thing, whatever it was, had a vice-grip on her throat. Preventing her from calling out for help. 

“Now, now, don’t be like that. We can do this the easy way, or…”

She shook her head, Maria saw this and assumed Vanessa was talking to her because she turned around to rummage around in a bin behind her desk. A candy bin for anxious patients, to give her something to focus on. Which usually worked wonders. 

Usually. 

Her body tensed up. 

“The hard way it is.”

Vanessa tried to scream. The sound didn’t reach beyond herself. 

A hand-her own hand, though she wasn’t moving it-slipped into her bag. It rifled around, finally wrapping around a handle of some sort. It was small and almost felt like a-

Vanessa felt her face stretch into a wide, almost uncomfortable grin. 

Her therapist turned back, placing a few bubblegum suckers on her desk. Vanessa’s favorite. 

“Vanessa, what…are you alright?” 

Vanessa watched on in horror, trapped in her own body, as she lunged at Dr. Torrez. Knife out and aimed at her heart. 

She screamed. 

It did no good. 

The attack was over quickly. But not quickly enough. Blood covered the walls, desk, and even the ceiling. 

The last thing she saw before she woke up was a framed photo on her desk. A little boy, no older than two or three, with chocolate brown hair and big eyes the color of honey. He was smiling, holding a raggedy-looking bear plushie to his chest. 

…Gregory…

-x-x-x-

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” The man glared at him, looking two seconds away from pummeling Luis right then and there. He probably already would have if not for Gregory.

“I can explain,” Luis said, waving his arms around frantically. “We didn’t kidnap him.”

“Oh. Well, did he just waltz out of the daycare by himself, drive all the way to Hurricane, and force you to take him in?”

“No, my girlfriend found him in an alley. He was in rough shape.”

The man relaxed a little. “Gregory, is this true?” 

Gregory nodded, resting his forehead against his father’s shoulder. “Uh, huh.”

“Then who took you?”

“Miss Cheyenne.”

The man scowled, patting his son’s back. “God, I’ve always despised that woman.” Looking down at Gregory his expression softened just a little. “I suppose I should thank you then, for looking after my son.”

Luis nodded, unable to conjure up words. 

“Though, I do need to meet your girlfriend. You said she was the one that found him, right?”

Again, he nodded. 

“Well, I’m not doing anything right now. So, how about I follow you back to your place. We can clear up any misunderstanding, and me and Gregory can be on our way.”

“...Okay…” 

Luis turned towards the entrance of the mall, feeling weirdly numb. Shouldn’t he be happier? This was what they’ve wanted this whole time… Wasn’t it?

“Oh,” the man started, walking side-by-side with Luis, “I’ve never introduced myself, have I?”

Luis can’t bring himself to respond, but the man continued on anyway. 

“Evan Afton,” he said, happier than before. 

The name felt familiar, but Luis couldn’t focus on anything besides getting back to Vanessa’s apartment, and trying to explain what just went down. Hopefully she’s calmed down enough.

“Luis Cabrera,” he muttered back.

[beneathascorpionsky]

Not here to ask a question

I just want to thank you for being a source of inspiration for me. Your wonderful stories gave me the courage to create, post and share my ideas with the world.

The fact that you consider them to be good ideas makes me very happy, so thank you and keep inspiring others!

Man I

Just I I'm gonna I think I'm gonna melt this is one of the nicest things anyone's said to me and one of the most encouraging things that i've ever read. my silly little stories not only sometimes having the potential to brighten up a person's day a little but also INSPIRING OTHER PEOPLE !?!?!?! I jsut I can't hardly get my head around the idea

thank YOU and I wish you all the best in world going forwards with your own ideas and sharing them! <33333