Security Breach: Aftermath
Roxanne's little talk with Gregory had been informative. Monty, who had heard the noise, had been listening in from his room. He'd been a little worried she might have caught him, but she rarely activated her eye enhancements unless she was looking for something.
Still, the fact the kid had said he was at least enjoying hanging out with him had calmed him a bit, even if he had to listen to Roxy's loser talk for about the 50th time this week.
Something about this felt weird. He'd been feeling funny ever since his angry outburst with the doc over the kid. Was it something in his programming acting up?
Of course not, you're just defective. He snarled. OK, yeah, that didn't feel like him. Something was wrong. That didn't feel like something he'd think in safe....mode....
Monty quickly reached for his arm, opening the small compartment. The small switch inside was still set on safe mode thankfully. Don't you just feel stupid now? What an idiot.
The gator narrowed his eyes, flicking the switch himself. He didn't trust anyone right now, especially not these intrusive thoughts. They felt wrong, like they weren't his own.
There was a click, and monty braced himself, but there was....nothing. he didn't feel any different at all. The gator breathed a sigh of relief, before flipping the switch to put him into safe mode again, before he froze, his programming going haywire and causing the gator to topple over onto the floor with a loud thud, his systems grinding to a halt before he shut down entirely.
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Roxanne and Gregory had almost reached the door to the rehearsal hall when they heard the muffled sound, both looking around. Seeing nothing, Roxanne gave a shrug as the door slid open, Gregory trailing in behind her as they re-entered the rehearsal room.
Surprisingly, Camila was still on the screen, with Luis chatting calmly to her. "Well, she doesn't seem to have any serious side effects. Hopefully it'll be a non-issue." Camila continued, before Luis glanced over. "Oh, Roxy brought Gregory. Good timing you two." He smiled before heading back and taking a seat next to the stage.
Gregory instinctively shrank a little behind Roxanne as the woman's gaze fell on him. "Young man, I don't bite. I'm sorry for being rude earlier, but there are certain..... cuál es la palabra... mannerisms that I need to keep up. " She said with a sigh. Roxanne stepped to the side a bit, guiding Gregory forwards with a light hand on his back.
Camila leaned forwards, her eyes roaming over Gregory and making him want to hide, but he stood still. "I knew the others wouldn't put two and two together, but there was no way Freddy would be so far along if it wasn't the original. Thank you for bringing him back. I hope he took good care of you child."
Gregory glanced back at Roxanne, who just nodded at him before he looked back to Camila.
"Y...yes, he helped a lot." Gregory said, his voice high and his skin pale. "I'm... sorry for taking him, but I was scared and he said he'd look after me." He continued, feeling sick.
Camila glanced at Roxanne. "Roxy, can you get him a drink please? He's probably thinking I'm going to yell at him. Luis, we need some chairs if you please." She continued.
"Now then Gregory, I'm not going to be telling you off. I just need to find out from you what you saw that night is all." She explained as Gregory sat stiffly in the seat Luis brought over, before Roxanne and Luis sat either side of him.
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It took a good half an hour of everyone just listening quietly as Gregory talked. He explained his sneaking in to find somewhere safe, how Vanessa had spotted him and given chase. How Freddy had guided him.
He explained his thoughts on Vanessa being Vanny, how the other animatronics had been controlled and attacked and that he'd had to break them to upgrade Freddy.
Finally he mentioned taking the elevator down, finding the old pizzeria and the man in the rabbit suit who had tried to control Freddy, as well as the large monster that seemed to have dragged the man away.
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Camila had been taking notes and typing as Gregory talked, while Roxanne hung her head, feeling guilty.
"Luis, what's your opinion on this?" Camila asked, tilting her head. It was certainly a strange story, but everything she knew matched up too well, and she was rather concerned at the implications.
"Well, the lower area is almost filled with concrete anyway due to the thought of it being a sinkhole, so we can't get any information down there. We already know about Vanessa, and we found parts of the band members in the locations he said he encountered them, as well as the fact Freddy had their parts. I'd say he's telling the truth." Luis admitted, as Camila put her hands to her face with a sigh.
A few seconds passed before she looked up. "How was he controlling Montgomery, Chica and Roxanne? They've had no issues since correct?" She asked, looking worried. "They've been in safe mode since that day, but we didn't detect any abnormalities." Luis said.
"Um, did you say you knew about Vanessa already?" Gregory interrupted. Camila glanced at Luis before nodding. "Let me explain." She said wearily. "Vanessa was a beta tester for a game that a side company of ours, Silver Parasol Games, was making to help change how people perceived the company. Luis was a good friend of hers and noticed that she had begun acting strangely."
Luis grunted, looking a bit embarrassed, but Camila continued. "It took a lot of digging, but we found out that they scanned some old hardware from some very old locations, and one piece had some kind of virus, that spread through the systems. Vanessa had been caught up in this and she seemed to be fine sometimes and act like someone else entirely others. So we took her to one side and put her through psychiatric evaluation. Due to her personality shifts, and because the company was responsible, placing her as a security guard away from others kept people safe till she could be looked over."
Luis rubbed his eyes for a moment, looking tired. "I worked with her before she went into the game. She was always the stern, but overall friendly girl you were hugged by in parts and services. I was the one who had her sent to the first therapist." He said, his arms crossed and his fingers gripping his shirt tight as he went silent.
" They found out something terrifying. Her mind had shattered into two distinct personalities. And right after we found that out, the therapist vanished. Dead to mechanical wounds." Camila continued. "Others would just vanish, and the company believed they had left of their own accord, but we knew it was tied together. Vanessa had and still has no clue about her Vanny personality, and as she's a victim, we want to help her too."
Gregory had stayed silent, listening to Camila talk about the woman who had chased him along with the animatronics. He glanced at Roxanne, who seemed more scared than terrifying right now. "So.... if Monty, Roxy and Chica were controlled, you think Vanessa might be to?" He asked, a little worried about what was being implied.
Camila nodded, her mouth tight. "I realize you probably blame her a lot for what happened. And you probably think we're being selfish. But my son cares a lot about Vanessa, and she's been a close part of our family since they hit it off a while back. So we want to keep her safe, and free her from whatever Vanny is."
Gregory was surprised to see Miss Camila was on the verge of tears, and glanced down at his scuffed shoes. His head ached from the lack of sleep, and he fiddled with the hem of his hoodie.
He didn't know why they were telling him all this. She had chased him across the pizzaplex and they wanted him to just.... forget it? "Why? Why are you protecting someone who tried to kill me? Is she more important to you than everyone who went missing? She's dangerous." He said, glaring at Camila on the screen.
The woman was surprised at the anger, but shook her head. "Vanessa isn't the one who attacked people, as I said, all the injuries were mechanical. She had no clue what was happening and was surprised whenever we had a new therapist arrive." Camila said calmly. "I'm not expecting you to get on with her, or stay around her. Just let us know if she starts acting different. Would that be OK?" The woman asked, almost pleading.
Gregory glanced to the side. He was....upset? But he didn't know who to be upset at. Camila and Luis were worrying about Vanessa, and Vanessa had no clue about Vanny so she was a victim too. It wasn't fair.
"Why are you telling me this. I'm not going to be here long. I get that Freddy can't last outside the pizzaplex so I'll leave as soon as he's fixed." He said, his sight wobbling slightly as he forced his feelings back down. He felt Roxanne try to reach around to hug him and shrugged it off. There was no point in getting attached to people.
"Gregory, when did we ever say we wanted you to leave?" Asked Luis, a little shocked at how easily the boy shut himself off. Roxanne and Camila glanced at each other, both worried. "Actually, that's something else we wanted to talk to you about. Freddy told me when I was working on him that you were living on the streets. " Luis said, as Gregory flinched.
"I wanted to ask you your opinion before we do anything. I know how much Freddy means to you, and while he can't exactly adopt you, I can as a proxy, so you can stay with him. Though it may take a while for it to go through." Luis admitted, scratching his cheek nervously. "I mean, it's totally your choice, but we were the reason you were able to be scared by Vanny, and we kind of want to make it up to you."
"Luis dear, you're rambling. Basically, we want to offer for you to join our family, however, you will be given a good deal of independence. You get a regular allowance, tutoring, medical care, and of course, time to spend with your new family." Camila interrupted, chuckling to herself at Luis' worry. We're already remodeling a new room for Freddy, and I'm sure you'd prefer to stay close to him, so we can alter some of the free space above into a small apartment."
Gregory was silent for a moment. "What's the catch? That's way to much to just give to a street kid like me without something in it for you."
Camila smiled. This kid was smart. "Well, there's a few things. Think of it partly as compensation for what happened. But you've barely been there a day and the slump all the band was in is already lifting, so I count that as a service. I'll be counting on you. They see so many children come through here, but none stay long enough to build up a relationship, until you and Freddy."
Gregory was thoughtful. "So....I'm kind of doing a job?" He asked. "That's a better deal than I'd get alone. Are you sure you want me here though?" He asked, confused.
Camila nodded. " I will need to speak to some lawyers, the adoption needs to be official, but yes. You are capable, intelligent and warm-hearted, and while I don't know why you don't see those qualities in yourself, you won't be left alone any more. That I promise."
Gregory slumped a little, and Luis noticed. "Hey, it's alright. We already discussed it, and it'll take a week before the paperwork goes through, so you have plenty of time to say no as well. You alright with that time to think?" The man said with a friendly grin, running his hand through his curled hair.
The boy glanced at Roxanne, who looked embarrassed and glanced away. "Um, alright. I don't really know what's expected of me though." He admitted.
Camila glanced at Luis. "We need to start filling in forms, but for now, Roxanne dear, can you take Gregory to get some new clothing? Use my account, and let him choose a few things if he wants them." She said, a light smile playing across her face. Roxanne raised an eyebrow, realizing just why she was the one on babysitting duty.
"Alright kid, let's get you dressed up in something comfortable, sound good?" She said, standing up and stretching. "I'll come find you in about an hour, alright Greg?" Luis said as the boy got up to follow the wolf.
As the two left, Luis and Camila both breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I honestly thought he'd say no." Camila said, rubbing her temples. As she relaxed, another screen turned back on, revealing Jacob Emily with a large grin on his face, as Camila went a little pale.
"Well I knew you were planning something interesting, I certainly didn't think it would be this Cammy. " The man chuckled. "I hope you know I'm volunteering to be godfather."
Camila groaned. "You've been here the whole time, haven't you Jacob?"
"Not my fault you didn't check everyone left the call before talking about family, but congratulations." He laughed as Luis groaned.