#cloud reblogs

It was supposed to be her special day. That was what she'd heard all the time from her father as he asked what she wanted to to for her birthday. He reassured her that it was still going to be a special day even though he had to work. Even though their plans were completely ruined by the stupid Fazbear Entertainment Company.

Because somebody had destroyed all the animatronics. And he couldn't even be bothered to show his face. Had Gregory even been her friend to begin with? Cassie still wasn't sure as she sat idly, watching her father replace Roxy's faceplates.

They were lucky, he'd said cheerfully. The upgrades were so new the old parts were still around. It was tragic, what happened to Freddy though. They didn't have any extra parts to put him back together correctly, and that would require his head. So it would be a while before Freddy could even perform again. So the company brought in a replacement.

Cassie could admit that she enjoyed Mr. Hippo's stories a little bit. He was absent-minded but kind. He talked about anything and everything, and Cassie didn't even have to feel bad for tuning him out when her father exited the cylinder, Roxy close behind.

"Cassie!" Roxy exclaimed brightly. "I hope you've been having a wonderful birthday!"

Cassie giggled as Mr. Hippo exclaimed, "It's your birthday? Why, if I'd known that I would've gotten you a cake or something. I remember the last time I had cake..."

"It's been wonderful, Roxy." Cassie replied. Roxy swung Cassie up into her arms, much to Cassie's delight and her father's alarm.

Something clicked in Roxy's arm, and it buckled, dropping Cassie back to the floor. Her father was there in an instant, pushing her aside to guide Roxy back into the cylinder. "I told you we needed to double-check everything."

"Hmph," Roxy replied, sparing the chance to wink at Cassie amongst the scolding.

"Cassie!" a sharp whisper called out from one of the vents. Curious, Cassie wandered over. Mr. Hippo stayed put, completely lost in his story, as per usual.

She crouched down, peering through the vent. "Gregory?"

"There you are!" Gregory pushed the vent cover aside. "I wanted to wish you a happy birthday, but the Pizzaplex is closed."

"I wonder why that could be," Cassie replied sarcastically. "You broke all the animatronics, didn't you? You are the reason my party was cancelled."

"I wanted to come and apologize," Gregory replied sheepishly. "But that's not the only reason I'm here. Vanessa-"

"The security guard? You didn't tell me you knew her!" Cassie exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" Gregory glanced at the cylinder, but Cassie's father hadn't heard a word of their conversation. "Look, it's a long story, alright? I got locked in the Pizzaplex overnight and had to do some unpleasant stuff to get out."

"You're the reason Vanessa quit...." Cassie mused.

"Well, yes." Gregory had the grace to look embarrassed. "But we gotta make sure the new security guard is safe. I mean, this place is really suspicious, and with all those kids going missing, it's up to us to check the place out."

"We?" Cassie crossed her arms. "Gregory, I can't just-"

"It's not breaking the rules! You came here with an adult, so it's totally fine for you to be going all over the place, right?"

"I mean, I guess so, but-"

"Great! Let's go before that Hippo guy notices you're gone."

"Into the vents?" Cassie looked down at her friend doubtfully.

When Gregory nodded, all she could do was sigh and follow suit.

"What are we even looking for?" Cassie asked as Gregory tried unlocking the computer with yet another code.

"Evidence," Gregory replied. "Proof that this guy is who he says he is."

"And who does he say he is, Gregory? A security guard? I'm pretty sure that's covered. Mystery solved, we can go now."

"He says his name is Fritz Smith. But Vanessa says that guy was fired back in the '80s. So it's probably an alias."

"And you think his files are going to reveal his hobby of murdering children or something?"

"Don't tease me, Cass."

"I'm just saying-"

"Hey, what are you kids doing in there? Gregory?"

"Hi Mr. Walters," Gregory said, quickly hitting the security door button.

"Wha-"

"Gregory!" Cassie scolded, unlocking the door for her father.

"Are you feeling alright, kiddo?" Cassie's father raised an eyebrow, peering over Gregory's shoulder. "What are we up to?"

"None of your business," Gregory muttered as yet another attempt to unlock the computer failed.

"I'd say it is my business, considering you're trying to hack the account of someone I work for. What's this all about?"

"Gregory doesn't like the new night guard," Cassie supplied helpfully.

"I don't know if he's trustworthy. That's what I'm trying to find out."

"Well, you could try doing it in a way where I don't get fired-"

All three of them froze as the lights shut down. "Moon," Gregory whispered, sounding vaguely terrified. "I gotta go."

"Gregory?" Cassie asked, sounding confused, but her father caught her shoulders.

"Cass, you gotta pretend to be asleep," her father whispered, looking as nervous as Gregory had. "Moon's not- He can't be fixed. He won't let the technicians anywhere near him."

"What's wrong with him?" Cassie whispered.

"We don't know. But he's dangerous. And he's only safe when he thinks you're asleep. I don't know what Gregory is up to, but I need to make sure you're safe before I go after him, okay? Promise me that no matter what you hear, you'll stay here with your eyes closed?"

"I promise, but Dad-"

"I love you Cassie."

The screech of metal that followed was unlike anything Cassie had ever heard. Her father glanced around. "Close your eyes!"

Cassie curled up on the floor, squeezing her eyes shut as she hid under the security desk. "I'll be back as soon as I find your friend," he whispered.

So Cassie waited. And it was a long, painful wait. She knew Gregory could basically disappear when he wanted to, and this was definitely proof of that. She sometimes wondered if he had a radar for adults with the way he could just vanish when they saw him. But usually her father knew his way around Gregory's tricks.

When the power came back on, Cassie still didn't move for several minutes. She heard footsteps and the sound of the monitor turning back on, but her father had said to stay put no matter what.

Eventually though, she opened her eyes, peering out from beneath the desk. She had heard the clicking noises of an animatronic a few times, and a cold hand had touched her face once. But her father's voice didn't ring out, and neither did Gregory's.

"Dad?" Cassie called tentatively as she crawled out of her spot. She knew she wasn't supposed to come out until her father came back for her, but the lights were back on. Surely it was safe now. "Dad, did you find-"

She gasped as she spotted the bloody hat.

Jason Walters was just a man. His spine wasn't supposed to bend like that. Her father's green eyes were blank and empty, staring up at the ceiling. Something had torn into his throat as well, presumably the first thing to go. Almost like the animatronic knew she'd react if she could hear him scream.

"Dad...." Cassie covered her mouth with her hands as her vision swam.

He'd warned her that his job was dangerous before, but he always jokingly told her the night guards had it worse. Surely it couldn't get worse than this.

Heart sinking, Cassie wondered if Gregory had suffered a similar fate. No, he couldn't have. When the lights went out, it was like Gregory knew exactly what to do. And Cassie had delayed her father from going after him. Maybe he could've survived if he'd just followed Gregory immediately. Maybe he could've-

"Cassie?" Gregory's voice sounded staticky.

Dazed, Cassie turned to the monitors, which someone must've turned on. There weren't shoeprints, so maybe the visitor had been an animatronic of some kind. Cassie saw Gregory looking around anxiously as he tried to find her. "Cassie, can you hear me?"

She knew how to work the computer. Her father had asked her to send messages plenty of times before. "Gregory?" she breathed into the tiny microphone. "Gregory, are you okay?"

"Cassie? Where are you?"

"In the security office. Right where you left me-" Cassie couldn't force more words out. "I'm okay."

"I'll be right there. Just be safe, Cassie. The night guard is on shift, so we need to be careful now."

"Roger," Cassie replied numbly. She couldn't care less about the danger anymore. Gregory could survive on his own, which he'd proven over and over again. He wouldn't care less about her father, and he probably couldn't care less about her.

"Oh...." Gregory's face paled at the sight of her father, tossed like a broken doll in the corner, his bloody hat upside-down and across the room. "Wait, how are the cameras on? Do you just know your dad's password?"

"No. I don't know who turned them on."

"But you never left the room?"

"Dad said not to." Cassie was still looking at her father's corpse, feeling more and more empty by the second.

"Look at me. Cassie. Cassie, you gotta focus." Gregory tugged at her arm gently. "You can't keep... you're going to get nightmares."

"Moon," Cassie said blankly. "You both knew and neither of you said what he'd do to you if you got caught. He saw me. Neither of you considered that maybe this was something that could happen if he got his hands on me?"

"Cassie." Gregory was pleading now. "Did you see who turned the camera on?"

"No. My eyes were closed. Dad said to pretend to be asleep. So I did." Cassie turned to Gregory, tears streaming down her face. "Could I have stopped it? If I'd-"

"No, Cassie. But we need to have this conversation somewhere else, okay?" Gregory practically dragged her away from the sight of her dead father, running directly into the security guard entering the room.

Gregory yelped in fear, but the man had already caught his arm. "I presume you're the troublemaker that turned the lights off?" His voice rasped, and they couldn't see his face. "Come on, let's get you two away from this."