Chapter Text
Vanessa was lost in her thoughts alone in a staff washroom. After so long, she no longer had to follow HIS orders or hurt anymore people to satisfy his sadistic needs, she felt like a bird freed from a cage.
She remembered Gregory, who freed her from his control. He had ran away shortly after, likely afraid that Vanny was still there.
She cleaned up and got dressed. The first thing she did was decide to take the week off, to recover and also try to find Gregory. The manager was uncomfortable with the request but decided to allow her anyway as she was the only night guard and Fazbear Entertainment was not in a mood to try and hire a new one.
She went back home, her first intention was to sleep. It was immediately left on the backseat of her head, however, as she instead began to destroy anything associated with him or Vanny. Even the cute rabbit photos in her fridge were not spared, all taken down and thrown in the trash. She didn’t want to see anything which brought back bad memories.
After a few hours she was finally able to relax a bit, enjoying her new found freedom. Then she remembered Gregory.
She rushed to open up her old laptop and began to search for Gregory on the internet, as she thought that his parents must have filed a missing person's report. To her surprise she found nothing despite multiple searches in the county police data. She did end up in an article where all the missing children in the city were listed.
She started to get a panic attack as she saw the photos of her victims, she forcefully shut her laptop and tried to forget about it. Despite her attempts, she finally broke down, crying quietly, regretting those she harmed, those who lost their loved ones. After sobbing for a bit she decided to sleep the afternoon away to gather herself together.
. . .
She woke up in the evening, thankfully suffering no nightmares.
"Where should I start?" she thought as she prepared to leave her apartment. She had no idea where she could find him, or if he was even in the city anymore. Did he even have parents? She tried to not think about these questions and decided to start searching near the Pizzaplex.
She drove down to the Pizzaplex Entrance and started walking on foot, thinking that maybe he might be present somewhere around the place.
For hours she searched the area, questioned passersby, and checked all the nearby stores but no luck.
'10:00pm' her watch read as she began to lose hope that he was present in the area. She started walking back to her car in defeat.
Just as she was approaching her vehicle, she saw a small figure cross the sidewalk across the road from the Pizzaplex and then into an alleyway. She decided to check it out.
She carefully entered the alleyway, which was dimly lit by a sign. She looked at the person, they were small, all curled up in a corner.
As she approached, she could see the person's face. "Gregory!" she said aloud. Upon hearing and seeing Vanessa, Gregory tried to move back further.
"Stay away!" He exclaimed, his face looked filled with fear and tiredness.
"Hey calm down, I am back to normal, I-" she just stopped as he replied before she could finish her sentence.
"You’re not Vanny anymore right?" He said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Vanny is gone for good" she replied.
The boy finally calmed down and leaned on the wall with relief, knowing that the person in front of him was not under some digital serial killer.
"Hey, I would like to thank you for saving me, if it was not for you, I-, no, he would continue to use me for hurting people." her voice was lower than her usual self.
She again approached Gregory to see his face properly, she saw a cut on his cheek and several scratches. She put her hand on his forehead to check for any injuries but instead found his forehead warm, too warm.
"I think you have a fever, we need to get you back to your home."
"No, please don't" he quickly said, but she was not deterred.
"Why don't you want to go back to your ho-"
"I said I don't want to!" He snapped back at her. "Just leave me alone!" he said in a low voice.
Vanessa understood that the kid did not trust her, which was justified, but she knew in his current state, he wouldn't be able to last long alone.
"Why? Where are your parents? Do you need help contacting them?" She asked
"No, just please leave"
Vanessa started to feel guilty, she couldn't just leave him on the streets. He saved her and she needed to pay him back in some way.
"Ok how about you come with me?" She knew it was technically kidnapping in legal terms but she did not want to leave him all alone in the cold night, especially after what he had done for her.
Gregory didn't reply for a while. In his mind, several thoughts were going on. What if she turns him over to the police? What if she was lying and she was still Vanny? Would he be able to survive in the streets for much longer?
"Fine" he finally replied, dragging himself closer to Vanessa. She picked him up as he simply had no strength to walk. She could already tell he was underweight. Concern was clearly visible on her face.
"When did you last eat?" She asked him, but he did not respond. He just leaned on her as she walked towards the car.
She decided to not question him further for now.
. . .
The way back to her apartment was quiet, Gregory practically just slept off the journey in peace. They entered the apartment which looked rather clean with some visible lines of photo missing from the wall.
She set Gregory on the sofa and started looking for medicine to help him with his fever. Thankfully she found some.
"Here, this will make you feel better" she gave him a syrup medicine. With no hesitation he took it without a complaint.
She proceeded to give him some biscuits to eat, realizing she needed to go grocery shopping.
"Ok so, you can sleep in my room" she said as pointed at her room.
"What about you?" He asked.
"I will sleep on the sofa"
"No, I will sleep here, it's your bed anyways"
"Kid, you need better rest, you are sick, I can easily sleep here, you take the bed"
"No, you take the bed"
"No you take it"
This back and forth kept going on for a few minutes until Gregory finally gave up.
She cleaned up her room and made her bed, then she allowed Gregory to take it. Gregory himself took the blanket to tuck himself in.
"If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask" she said as she went to turn the lights off.
"Wait, no, leave it"
"Hey, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?" She went to his side, now concerned.
"Its stupid"
"You know children have a special privilege to ask for weird requests."
"Ugrh, can you stay here? Only for tonight! I am not comfortable sleeping alone today." He finally replied.
Vanessa was surprised that he wanted her to be around him, after what happened between them at the Pizzaplex. At first, she wanted to say no but upon looking down at him and seeing his forlorn expression, she decided against it.
"Sure, make some room" she moved to turn the light off and then proceeded to tuck herself in the bed.
They both laid in silence for a while in the dark until she realized that Gregory had drifted off. She did not take long to follow him.
. . .
Vanessa saw herself standing on the catwalk to the hideout over the Fazer-Blast used by Vanny. Confused, she started to look around herself. Then she noticed that she was wearing the suit used by Vanny. Suddenly she started walking to the hideout against her will.
As she entered the hideout, Vanessa was horrified to find Gregory there, crying and standing in a corner. She then saw a knife in her hand, she could hear Afton laughing. She tried to gain back control of her body but nothing happened. Vanny grabbed Gregory by his collar and lifted him up, she could hear Vanny taunting Gregory as the knife was dangerously close to his chest. Despite his and her own cries to stop, no attention was paid by Vanny.
Vanny proceeded to plunge the knife into Gregory's chest, his screams filled Vanessa's head as she saw blood pouring out. Vanessa could do nothing but watch, "No, No!'' She screamed as Vanny's and Afton’s laughter filled the air.
Vanessa's eyes quickly opened, she found herself in her apartment safe and sound, breathing heavily.
"Thank god it was just a nightmare" she thought, but then remembered Gregory and almost went into a panic attack with fear. Then she saw Gregory, tucked against her and sleeping peacefully, and she calmed down.
She facepalmed herself and wrapped her arms around him, trying to not hug him too tightly. She did not want anyone to be hurt by her anymore, especially Gregory who freed her from that monster.
She tried to forget about the nightmare and go back to sleep again. After a while she did so, hoping that no more nightmares would come again.
. . .
Gregory woke up, he saw the clock on the wall, "Morning already?" He whispered. He no longer felt the fever and seemed to be in good health again.
He tried to get up but realized that he was being held back by Vanessa, who had her arms wrapped around him. While he was very touch starved, he was also quite uncomfortable with the fact that the person holding him tried to harm him just the day before yesterday.
He started poking her face in an attempt to wake her up.
"Wake up" he said loudly.
"Mmmmhhh… what time is it?" she said in a sleepy mood.
"8:23am" he read from the clock.
"What about your fever?"
"It's gone"
She put her hand on his forearm to check. Indeed the fever had gone, finally leaving her satisfied.
She finally let go of him and got out of the bed to brush his teeth but then remembered something.
"Do you have a toothbrush?" She asked Gregory
"Uhhh, no."
"Ok hold on, let me get a new one, It's just kept around here somewhere"
"You don't have to do it, I can manage"
"Ok mister, I am not letting you go without a brush, do you want to end up having cavities in your mouth?"
"Why do you care about my health? It's none of your business."
"Well it is as you are in my house. Now tell me, did you have a bath recently?"
"Ummmm, yes?" Gregory replied unconvincingly.
"You are lying aren't you?"
"Fine! I did not have one for a while"
"*sigh* It's fine, use my shower to get yourself clean." Vanessa said
"Wait really?"
"Yeah, where else could get one right now anyway?"
"...thanks." Gregory said gratefully.
As Gregory went into the bathroom, Vanessa started looking for some clean clothes he could wear since the ones he was wearing are dirty.
"God why did I allow him to sleep with those clothes on?" she finally remembered and cursed herself.
She grabbed a few old clothes she had, which didn't look girly and would just barely fit Gregory. As he finished his shower, she gave him a clean towel and the clothes to change. Thankfully the clothes fit him enough to work out for now. She sent him to the living room to watch some TV while she took a shower herself.
After getting all freshened up, she came to the living room to see Gregory watching some cartoons on the TV. She proceeded to make some omelets for the both of them, which was the only thing available in her apartment. She had to go shopping soon. Vanessa placed the food on the living room table, Gregory paid no attention to it at the start, lost in the world of television.
"Hey, breakfast is here" she reminded Gregory.
"Oh, uh, yeah sure" he replied as he turned off the TV.
Both started to have breakfast quietly on the sofa, but a question still bugged Vanessa, "Why does he not want to go home?"
Gregory ate like there was no tomorrow, only taking him a few minutes to finish two omelets. It clearly looked like he had not eaten for a while. As both of them finish breakfast, she decided to ask the question.
"Gregory, so I wanted to know since yesterday, why don't you wanna go back home?" Vanessa asked.
Gregory's attention was grabbed by this question. He tried to ignore her question by asking her some other random questions.
"Hey, ignoring my question will not help you walk out of this"
"Just leave me alone please" he said in an annoyed manner.
"Can't do, besides, your parents must be worr-"
"Please stop"
"Why? Aren't you concerned about the-"
"I have no one to care for me! Just leave me alone!" He snapped angrily. Vanessa started to notice tears forming in his eyes.
"For almost my entire life I have been alone! Everyone bullied me and no one e-ever helped or cared for me! I tried to be a good ch…ch…child! But I couldn't fit in with any family! I am not worth anything to anyone!" he said, now tears streaming down his face.
Vanessa was clearly sorry for pushing the kid too much, she only wanted to know the reason for his behavior. She asked him another question. "How did you end up in the streets?"
His voice by now was reduced to a whisper "I ran away 2 months ago, I lived off in the streets, I…I managed to survive until I saw the Mega Pizzaplex poster, It looked so bright, so full of life and wonders, I could not resist. I sneaked inside, it was so wonderful, un…until…" he stopped. Vanessa knew what had happened after.
Vanessa placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "I am sorry, I should not have pushed you to this point, I know how it feels when you have no one to care for you in your childhood. I also had no one for most of my childhood, I understand how you are feeling."
Gregory tried to avoid making contact with her eyes to try to hide his tears, but eventually broke down, whimpering audibly.
Vanessa pulled Gregory closer to her and hugged him in an attempt to make him comfortable in some way, he responded by hugging her back. Both of them had gone through a lot, just in different ways.
"It’s ok to cry kiddo, you’ve gone through a lot."
"It's the same for you" he finally replies, slumping against her.
Vanessa was heartbroken on hearing his reality; she already knew how it would feel if she was in his position. She couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened if Gregory hadn't saved her and she actually had managed to get him? No one would have even cared, just another kid that had gone missing.
In Gregory's mind, he was already broken, but he was surprised that his former would-be murderer was now trying to help him out. He did not expect anyone but her to help him, and actually somewhat care for him. The only fear he now had was being sent back to the orphanage system again or worse, Vanny coming back.
While both of them shared and tried to overcome their tragedies, in the Pizzaplex, another tragedy was in the making.