"Hello!" A voice called. Gregory tensed up beside me. The noise in the room dropped to an eerie silence as I held the stare of the bunny in the vent. All of the animatronics turned in unison, watching me, Gregory, Freddy, and the twins with blank expressions. It was unnerving. Slowly, I took Gregory's hand, squeezing it twice. Get ready. He nodded subtly. "What's with those faces? All I want is him." She reached towards Gregory, her fingers curled like claws. I tugged him backwards. She wouldn't have been able to reach him, but I wanted as much space between them as possible anyway. Her eyes narrowed.

"Go." Freddy switched back to his animatronic form, hissing at me as he tucked one twin under each arm, despite Moon's protests. Vanny brought a red button out of her pocket. "Go!" Dragging Gregory along with me, I ran out of the room.

"Where are we going?"

"We need to get to a security room. The other animatronics cannot get in while the doors are closed." The clanging and thudding behind us told me that the three were chasing us. Gregory yelped as someone swiped at him. Without thinking, I pulled him forward, sweeping him up into my arms, ignoring the sudden burning in my left arm. I'd get the scolding of a lifetime if I ripped a stitch.

"They're catching up!" He squealed, gripping the fabric around my shoulders and pulling himself close.

"I won't let them hurt you."

"In here." Freddy turned down a hallway and quickly shoved us all into a small room. "This should give us a moment to catch our breath and, hopefully, they will disperse for a while and we can sneak over to the security room." We placed the boys back on their feet and I slid down the wall onto the ground, panting heavily.

"This is all too much. I better get the raise of a fucking life time after this shit."

"Watch your language in front of the children." Unable to think of a witty response, I simply put my middle finger up at Freddy. Sunny gasped, and Moon and Gregory tried to disguise their laughs with coughs.

"Everyone, shh!" Moon suddenly pressed their ear against the door.

"Where did they go?"

"Gregory! Olive!"

"I bet I'll find them first. I'm the best." Footsteps got closer, then slowly quietened again. Gregory, who had his hand over his mouth and nose, as tense and still as a statue, counted to twenty under his breath. I frowned at him, trying to ignore the fact that I was trembling; a result of both the fear and adrenaline coursing through my veins.

"I think they're gone." Moon announced once Gregory had finished counting.

"Okay, let's go." Freddy nodded, about to open the door. I stood up and quickly stopped him. "Is something wrong?"

"Twins, you need to go back to the daycare." I tried to keep my voice firm but calm, but the shrillness just made me sound as frantic as I felt. "Lock yourselves in. Shove as many climbing blocks up the slide to the second level as you can. Barricade the door as best you can. Then go to your room and stay there. Stay separate too, just in case you need to split up while running. Don't leave each other and don't leave the daycare. Not unless it's absolutely necessary."

"But we don't want to leave you!" Moon protested.

"We need to stay." Sunny whimpered.

"No, you need to be safe. Go!"

"But-"

"No buts! Boys, please, just go and hide."

"Ollie, please don't make us go." Sunny whimpered.

"We don't want to go." Moon huffed.

"Well I want you to be safe!" Voice rising, I grabbed both of them by the chin and brought myself down to their level. "I love you both. So much. Like you're my children. And I want to protect you like a parent would. So please just get to the daycare, where I know that nothing will happen to you. I already lost my little brother. I can't lose you two." My voice, dropping to a whisper, cracked at the mention of my brother. Their expressions softened.

"Okay. We'll go." Moon leant forward, pressing their forehead against mine.

"We love you too." Sunny kissed my cheek gently.

"Thank you." I moved my arms around their shoulders, squeezing tight for a brief moment before ushering them away. "Now go! Quick and careful!"

"I like you two. So be okay." Gregory added.

"You too." Moon responded, surprising me by smiling back at the boy with the same amount of affection that Sunny did.

"Promise me you'll do as I said?" I asked.

"We promise." They responded in unison, their identical faces holding identical pained expressions.

"Will you come back for us?"

"Of course I will, Sunny. I'll be back for both of you."

"You promise?"

"I promise." With one last resounding nod from Moon, the pair scurried off, Sunny's hand on their brother's sleeve. For their own comfort, or for Moons, I wasn't sure. I let out a shaky breath.

"They'll be alright." Freddy placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know they will."

~

Ollie smiled back up at me, but it didn't reach her eyes. I knew how worried she was, and how worried she'd stay no matter what I said. So I simply pulled her into a hug. She loosely wrapped her arms around me, leaning onto my chest and closing her eyes. After a moment, something pressed against my leg. I looked down to see Gregory, one arm around my leg, the other around Ollie's waist. My hand moved to his head, ruffling his hair.

"Come on. That's enough fretting. We need to get to the nearest security and camera room. We can get more information there. And this puppy," She pulled her badge off of her belt, waving it around. "Can give us an extra edge. A surprise that I don't think Vanny knows about."

"What is it?" I furrowed my brow. Us animatronics didn't have much knowledge of the security protocols the humans followed.

"You'll see." She winked before peering out of the door. "Coast is clear. Let's get a move on."

We made our way to the nearby office, Ollie at the front, leading the way and deterring any stray S.T.A.F.F. Bots with her security badge, Gregory in the middle, and me at the back, occasionally glancing behind us. Just to make sure. A message came up on my interface.

Sundrop:

Tel Ollie we did it. We wil split agen arfter lis

I smiled at their spelling, making a mental note to spend some more time with the pair once this was all over. Maybe I could teach them to read and write better. It was pretty amusing that one of the only words they spelt correctly was 'Ollie'.

"The twins just sent me a message. They did everything you asked." I whispered. She hummed in a quiet response, not wanting to talk and risk alerting anyone to our whereabouts.

"Hey! Guys, I found them!"

"Shit." Ollie cursed under her breath, grabbing Gregory's sleeve as we all broke into a run, Monty hot on our tail. "You're becoming a real pain in my ass, Dundee."

"I'm an alligator." He roared, speeding up.

"Don't worry, I've got them!" Chica chirruped, appearing out of nowhere and making a grab at Gregory. Gasping, Ollie pulled him out of the way, swinging her fist into the chicken's face.

"How dare you." A voice to my left growled.

"Ah, shit." She sighed, picking the boy up and running away from Roxanne, not wanting to get injured for a second time. I ducked under Monty's outstretched arms and followed.

"They're gaining on us!" Gregory wailed. Something dragged down my back, searing my shoulder blade with hot pain. I cried out, and Ollie faltered, looking back and allowing our pursuers to get closer than I'd like.

"Take Gregory and I'll throw hands with that-" As she went to hand him to me, poised to attack Monty, I scooped them both up, my feet pounding as they hit the floor at a steady pace. "Freddy, your back!"

"You can fix me." I smiled down at her despite the pain. "You always do." Her frown didn't cease, and neither did the thunderous footsteps of my friends behind us. My body shifted, my skin tingling as I grew shorter. My arms suddenly felt the weight I was carrying, my lungs protested the pace my sore legs were moving at, and my heart beat in time with the beat of my feet. Ollie reached her hand out, slamming it on the button as I skidded into the security office, the door clanging shut behind me. I dropped the pair, falling to my knees and clutching my chest. Gregory wasted no time in shutting the other door.

"Are you alright?" Ollie crouched down, but didn't take her eyes off of the door, which was being hit and smacked.

"Yeah." I wheezed. "I'll be fine. I just forgot that my strength isn't the same when I'm a human."

"Then why did you swap?"

"Animatronics can't enter the security office." I gave a lopsided grin. "I'm not an animatronic, am I?" She returned the smile, finally looking into my eyes. My hand raised to her cheek, and I winced, causing that crease of concern to reappear between her eyebrows.

"I'll get him back for that." She muttered darkly, getting up to inspect my back. "There's nothing there in this form, but if it still hurts, it'll probably be bad when you change back. I might not be able to fix you unless we get to parts and services." A finger brushed along my back, where the injury would have been, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Uh, Freddy..." Gregory interrupted nervously. "What do these mean?" He pointed to the flashing blue lights next to the door.

"That indicates the power left in the doors. We need to preserve it. If the metre runs out, the doors will no longer shut." Ollie tapped a few keys on the desk in front of us, bringing the camera feed from the hallways either side of us onto the monitors.

"Easy. We open them when the coast is clear, we close them when someone is coming. Open that one." She pointed to the door behind me, so I reached up and pressed the button. "Gregory, you take this. Switch between these two cameras and tell Freddy when to close and open the doors." She handed him a tablet and pointed out what he needed to do before turning back to the computer.

"And what are you going to do?"

"Look for the bitch that took over my friends. I'm going to make her pay." Came her low reply. Something gave a high pitched beep, and I noticed her badge pressed against a cupboard under the desk. It swung open to reveal-

"Can I have a gun too?"

"Absolutely not."

"What? Why?"

"Because you're a child, and I'm a security guard with firearm training." The gun clicked as she checked the ammunition, grabbing a few extra magazines and putting them in the various pockets she had.

"Woah! Since when did the security guards have pistols?" I gulped as I watched her handle the thing, though she seemed completely at ease with it in her hand.

"For about two and a half..." A pause. "Since Sunny, Moon, and Monty were killed, if I had to guess..."

"Are you sure I can't have one?"

"No, Gregory!" She slapped his hand away from the cupboard. "These aren't toys. They're real guns, with real bullets that can cause real damage. Do you want to kill someone by accident and have that over your head for the rest of your life?" His expression turned stormy.

"Yeah, there's one person. And it wouldn't be an accident." We glanced at each other, unsure of how to respond to such a statement. "Freddy, close the door." I simply did as I was told.

For a while I ran back and forth, opening and closing doors as Gregory ordered me about. Ollie worked in silence, the weapon resting on the desk next to her. She'd assured me that the safety was on, but I was on edge regardless.

"Freddy, to your left! Your other left!" I pressed the button with much less vigour than I had begun with. We were coming up to half an hour of hiding. My friends - no, they aren't my friends anymore - the other animatronics had yet to give up and the power metres on the door were flashing, warning us that they didn't have much time left.

"Hey, Freddy. Is there a basement?" I frowned. Ollie knew the whole building very well. Why was she asking a question like that?

"Yes, the basement is where the utility tunnels are-"

"No. Below that."

"I do not believe there is."

"Then why did I just spot Vanny going down some stairs?" Confused, I glanced over to the monitor, showing a door closing. A door that merged into the wall perfectly.

"A secret area of the Plex..." I hummed. "This is getting even more confusing. The bigger picture-" The gun clicked beside me.

"Fuck the bigger picture. Shoot bitches first, get answers later."

"Let's fuck Vanny up!" I glared at Gregory, who instantly muttered an apology and looked back at the tablet sheepishly.

"You're an awful influence. But... I suppose it seems to be 'eat or be eaten' at the moment."

"Is the coast clear, Greg?" Ollie typed something and pulled up a map, pointing to where the secret door was.

"Seems to be. Nobody has been at the doors for a while."

"Great. We'll make a break for it. Get to this elevator," She pointed to the map on the monitor. "And we should be in the clear. The door isn't far, see?"

"So your big plan is to just run?" Gregory responded, voice dripping in sarcasm.

"You got something better up your sleeves?" He frowned, looking away.

"Of course not. I'm just worried about being caught. Either we get mauled by one of the animatronics, Vanny gets me and does... Who knows what? Or, worst of all, another worker finds me and calls my parents."

"Worst of all..." I murmured, frowning again. "Gregory are you-"

"We need to go now if we want to make it." Ollie cut me off, poking her head out of the door and looking either way.

"Agreed." Gregory nodded, happy to dodge whatever question I was about to ask.

"Okay, it all looks good. You know the drill. Gregory, stay by me or Freddy. Don't let yourself get separated from either of us."

"I know, I know."

"You ready, Freddy?" She turned to me, determination glinting in her eyes, but her lips twitching in a smile at her rhyme.

"As long as you two are ready, I am too." I nodded.

Surprisingly, the way to the elevator was pretty clear, with only a few of the S.T.A.F.F Bots roaming around. As we descended to the basement level, the jaunty tune provided a stark contrast to the thick atmosphere. What would happen when we arrived? My eyes flickered back over to the gun at Ollie's hip.

She wasn't being serious about using it on Vanny... Was she?

"It should be here." Ollie huffed, running her hands along the wall. "There's the camera, and here's the pin on the map."

"I could- Argh! My eyes!" My vision turned white, then black, then slowly returned. A blurry Gregory held up something that looked like a camera.

"I found this lying about and wondered if it had any film left. Sorry Freddy, I didn't realise it would mess with your systems."

"It's alright, superstar. Accidents happen."

"Accidents that prove to be very useful also happen too." Ollie added gleefully. As my vision finally sharpened to its regular state, the outline of a door became apparent. "I don't know what you did little buddy, but it made the door appear."

"Woah!" He breathed proudly. "That's so cool."

"Well let's go. And be careful with that thing." I pushed down on the door handle, ready for the next step in our mission. It wouldn't budge. I tried again. It refused to move. "How odd. I have the highest security level pass available, and I should have full access to the entire Plex..."

"Let me try." Ollie rolled up her sleeves. Would she try to pick the lock? Hm, I couldn't see any type of keyhole. Before I could ask what she was planning, her foot collided with the door. It shook, but didn't open. With a tut of disappointment, she kicked it again. "Okay, plan B." She turned her body to the side.

"Do not ram your shoulder into it!" I gasped. "You've already been disregarding your injury!"

"Ugh, fine. I'm fresh out of plans then."

"You said something about security passes, right?" Gregory mused. "Who would have the highest security level, other than the animatronics?" Ollie and I looked at each other in unison.

"Mr Murphy!"

"I've always wanted to break into Sean's office!"

"What? Why?"

"Dunno. Just to see if that sleazebag had any skeletons in his closet." She paused. "Maybe that's not the best choice of words considering..." Gregory patted her arm, shaking his head before heading back to the elevator. She chased after him.

"You really don't think before you speak, do you?"

"Hey! Get back here, squirt!"

(A/N)

This chapter is almost 3k words yet it feels so short lol. Sorry not much happens, I just needed a filler chapter to set up the next few chapters. Also, it's almost my birthday so the next chapter will be out either in a few days or in a week. Depends on how much I get done today.