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quietwings-fics · 1 year ago

Text

Reboot

Rating: General Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Fandom: Five Nights at Freddy's Ship: Gen (Freddy & Gregory, Michael Afton & The Crying Child) Additional Tags: Michael Afton Possessing Glamrock Freddy, but like. he doesn't really know that? being a ghost is hard yall, Recovered Memories, Michael Afton-centric, Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach: Savior Ending, Character Study, POV Second Person Wordcount: 2221 Part 2 of stolen vans, broken radios, and dry batteries, or: assorted thoughts on the savior ending Summary:

Are you sure it is necessary to boot in [Safe Mode]? Y/N

Booting...

[Safe Mode]

Warning! [Safe Mode] is for diagnostic purposes only! Most functions are restricted in [Safe Mode]. Repeated restarting in [Safe Mode] may lead to software damage and vulnerabilities.

Are you sure it is necessary to boot in [Safe Mode]? Y/N

Are you sure you are st ill ne ces sa r y, M i c h

You are the highest achievement in animatronic technology that Fazbear Entertainment has ever created. You are the star of the show and a good role model for children of all ages. You are a head in the back of a stolen van.

It’s lonely in here. You have gotten used to your companions also spending the night in the van. Them, sleeping, and you in sleep mode, which is not sleeping, which is a noise away from rebooting you, but there was something about the routine that was nice. Gregory would say good night, and you would say good night, and Vanessa would not say good night, usually, but promise something along the lines of I’ll see you in the morning. You would not shut down, but the cessation of movement and the dimming of your external lights allowed them to sleep better. Barring malfunction, you do not ever shut down completely.You have only ever shut down once, before you met Gregory, and you came back.

You’re not sure why you phrased it like that. You will always come back.

You do not shut down. The van’s battery recharges as it drives and overnight, in sleep mode, you don’t take enough of its power to lead to it dying.

You are not in sleep mode. You must have heard something. You listen.

You’re not sure what you hope to hear. Your internal clock says that it is 2:33 AM, far past Gregory’s bedtime. Vanessa wakes at odd times, but she doesn’t seem to like talking when she does, or at least, not to you. She talks to herself, mostly, and you know she’s scared. You would offer her a Fazbear Official Freddy Balloon Animal to cheer her up, like you are programmed to do for sad children, but you don’t have any balloons. Or arms. Even if she is awake now, there’s no way for you to know. She would have to leave the motel room they have for the night and come down here to you.

At least they’re sleeping on beds. Children and adults aren’t meant to sleep on van floors.

But you are lonely. You miss your friends. What is left of them that is still your friends and not Someone Else. And what is left of them that Gregory did not-

Oh, Gregory.

You have limited memory space, but limited for the peak of animatronic computing is still enough terabytes to store what’s important. You did not store most of the recordings made in your own drives. Video footage captured by security cameras was collected automatically by Fazbear Entertainment, as per the waiver signed at the door by all guests. The footage you call up now was never sent anywhere but to you. After all, with no guest profile, you have no way of verifying that Gregory signed the waiver, and as a responsible mascot, you made sure no one would ever see him. Otherwise, that could lead to lawsuits.

(You know Gregory is too young to sue anyone. You know he has no apparent legal guardian to do so on his behalf. You made sure the footage never reached Fazbear Entertainment anyway.)

Playing Gregory20410613.mp4...

[From the vantage of a security camera, you see a kitchen. It is spacious and occupied by staffbots diligently whirring around, cleaning and keeping watch. They are unbothered by the other animatronic in the room. Chica is eating, though you and Monty both have told her this is not good for her servos.

She does not see Gregory until it is too late, and neither did you, the first time. You can track his every movement now; You have reviewed this footage so often. He creeps towards Chica, hesitates when she pauses, and then charges forward to shove her-your bandmate-Fazbear property-your friend into the trash compactor. She’s crushed, and when Gregory tries to escape, she pulls him down into the trash shute with her. You think you remember trying to speak through his Fazwatch, but you don’t think he could hear you.]

Gregory brought back your friend’s voice box and installed it in you. Gregory destroyed Fazbear property. Gregory is a child, and he was trying to survive.

You gave him a chance to come clean. You asked him where he got the voice box. You tried to be gentle. You remember when you were kids that Evan was always a terrible liar. Gregory didn’t look at you when he told you how he got the voice box. He never said anything about the state your friends ended up in. He still hasn’t. You still haven’t told him you know. You think Gregory has taught you how to lie.

Wait.

You gave him a chance to come clean. You asked him where he got the voice box. You tried to be gentle. Gregory didn’t look at you when he told you how he got the voice box. He never said anything about the state your friends ended up in. He still hasn’t. You still haven’t told him you know. You think Gregory has taught you how to lie.

No. Nothing wrong. That’s how things happened.

Gregory is not a bad child. He is, maybe, as Vanessa says, ‘a little brat’, but his heart is in the right place. He stayed back when others would have run. He saved her, and he survived, and sometimes that exacts a price. And he saved you.

You don’t like that part. Not because of what he did. Because of what you failed to do. Gregory is brave, but he is still a child. You shouldn’t have put him in danger. What if he had been hurt? What if he had been killed? It would have been your fault, all over again.

But he wasn’t. He wasn’t. He’s alive.

You call up more footage.

Playing Gregory20410613.mp4

[From you own eyes, you see your stomach hatch unlock and open. A boy tumbles out, familiar brown hair and brown eyes that stare up at you defiantly. You catch him gently by the shoulders. “There you are,” you say, and you run your facial recognition software. He looks scared, but why would he be? Children love you! There’s no reason for him to be scared.

You know this boy. You remember him. His guest profile is unknown. You have no idea who he is.

“I- I’m Gregory,” he stutters.

“Gregory.” You say, slowly, because it is wrong. That’s not his name. You know that’s not his name. You’ve forgotten so many things, but you will not forget your own brother’s n-

You are malfunctioning. You cannot connect to the main network. Your programming requires you to report him to the nearest security guard. The one who Gregory is scared of, the one Gregory begs you not to alert. Your programming requires you to report him. Why does it require that?

Something moves.

Your programming requires you keep him safe.

In the wires, down to the core, something shifts.

Your programming requires.

A 1 becomes a 0.

Your programming requires you. You are here to protect Gregory.

You do not report him to the security guard.]

You watch these videos. You rewatch them. You try to hold onto something you do not understand anymore. You try to hold onto something you are not anymore.

What are you?

You are the highest achievement in animatronic technology that Fazbear entertainment has ever created.

Correct.

You are the star of the show and a good role model for children of all ages.

Correct.

You are a head in the back of a stolen van.

Correct.

You are Freddy Fazbear.

You are.

You are Freddy Fazbear. This is what you were created to be. Programming cannot be changed. You cannot change. You did not exist before they turned you on. They gave you character. They gave you a purpose. They did not give you history. You are Freddy Fazbear. That is what you are.

Answer this question, and answer it quick before you forget again: who are you?

Playing Gregory19830407.mp4

[You roll your eyes. Your little brother is such a crybaby. That’s what makes the game fun, sure, but he just keeps crying and crying, even after you pull off the mask and reveal that it’s still just you under there. Now you’re standing here, awkwardly holding the fox mask between your hands, not sure what to do. He’s still shaking, still sobbing. You want to leave the room.

It’s his fault for getting so worked up. If what you did was so bad, Dad would stop you.

Dad’s not home a lot. He doesn’t talk to you. You don’t think he talks to your brother much either, except to get angry at him for going back to the diner. You don’t know why Gregory keeps going-

Gregory? Who’s Gregory?

You don’t know why Evan keeps going back there if he’s so scared of those robots. Maybe it’s habit. You both used to go there after school every day while your sister took her ballet lessons, listening to the animatronics sing corny songs and never having the heart to tell Uncle Henry that they were always kind of creepy looking when he asked you if you were enjoying yourselves. Evan loved it back then. Dad used to smile more, too. Maybe there’s something wrong with the restaurant. Maybe it’s not making enough money anymore.

You sit down on the floor in front of your brother. He looks up at you with teary brown eyes, and you feel... bad. Really bad.

“It was just a joke,” you say. “Don’t be so stupid. They’re just robots. They can’t hurt you.”

Evan sniffs. You should lean over and ruffle his hair. Give him a hug. Tell him he’ll be okay. That’s what a good brother would do.

“We’ve still got to go to that party tomorrow, so don’t be such a wuss.”

You weren’t a very good brother.]

You are not you.

Playing Gregory19830407614.mp4

ERROR: No file named [Gregory19830407614.mp4] exists.

Playing Gregory19830407614.mp4

ERROR: No file named [Gregory19830407614.mp4] exists.

You know it doesn’t exist. You try to call it up five more times. This is the kind of joke cruel gods play when the puppets stop dancing for them. In short, it is exactly the kind of joke your father would have laughed at, if there is enough of him left to laugh, if that part of him didn’t rot away long before the springlocks dug into his flesh and caged him forever. Trapped you all down in the wires and screeching metal.

And it’s your fault, Michael. He never would have done it if Evan had lived.

So now you come back. You always come back. Until there is nothing left in you that will remember your little brother, and until all of your father that remains is his fear of death, the last thing he can’t control, until the empire of shitty pizza and robotic performances he helped build stays burned, you will follow him and you will stop him. That is what atonement is.

Playing Gregory20410629.mp4

[There is nothing special about this moment. You watch this one the most. The van glides smoothly over the open road, recharging your battery much faster than you could ever deplete it. Gregory squirms and fidgets and tries to find a new way to sit every minute to pass the time. Vanessa drives, focus intent on going, not on any destination in particular. You are taking the time to clean out storage space to make room for videos, memories, like this.

And then Vanessa swerves suddenly, voice sharp when she yells, “Watch where you’re driving, you piece of-” She cuts herself off, glances at Gregory.

“You piece of shit!” Gregory finishes for her with the absolute glee only a child finding an excuse to say a curse word can muster.

“Language!” You say. “That wasn’t very polite, Gregory.” He grins, and he’s got your brother’s eyes, your brother’s hair, but his smile looks nothing like Evan’s, all feral mischief. Vanessa rolls her eyes. You know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you would do anything for them.

If that part is programming, it’s a code you wrote yourself.]

You are Freddy Fazbear. You are the star of the show.

You are what is left of Michael Afton. You are the kinder half of your father’s curse.

And of course, you are also a head in the back of a stolen van. A van with a limited battery. You don't want to run it dry before morning.

You initiate Sleep Mode. You know you won't remember this when you wake again. (You wonder how many times you've thought this, how many nights you remember and forget.) You will be Freddy's program and Michael's ghost, but you won't know. That's okay. You know why you are here. That will be enough. It has to be enough.

Entering Sleep Mode...

...

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#fanfiction #general audiences #1001-5000 #fnaf #genfic #freddy & gregory #michael afton & crying child #glamrock freddy #michael afton #michael!freddy #pov second person #post-canon #stolen vans verse

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