The Abby idea is good, absolutely a base for some killer angst (literally and figuratively). Also an interesting pairing with Chica cause of Abby's issues with eating, not that Chica could help the poor girl now that she's dead. And fuccckkkkkk poor Micheal, having to work a nightshift with fresh grief on top of his old grief AND absolutely being blamed by his aunt for Abby disappearing? Insane combo, Gregory could easily drive this man to drink if he isn't already
The Vanny Kicking Vanessa Out idea is *also* interesting, mostly because of how I think the whole Killer Personas thing works for Vanessa and Gregory, with Dr. Rabbit and Vanny kind of being like digital ghosts. Personally headcanon that Rabbit is locked up in one of the arcade cabinets given the whole GGY thing and is desperate to get his body back, I could ramble for ages on Gregory and Rabbit honestly-
(Personally if you really wanna crank up the Beckory angst you could have Gregory not even remember Tony lmao)
Alright I think this far I'm preferring the Abby idea for Chica (with some major movie diversions) so here's my current idea for how to string everything together:
Aunt Jane signed up as a foster parent even before Abby, because she wanted the sympathy and money. In fact, she was the foster Gregory was stuck living with, before he ran away because she's awful. She manages to get custody of Abby afterwards, while Mike is still trying to find a steady job. And ends up taking her to the Pizzaplex hoping to ditch her for the day (and because the price is dirt cheap if you're only paying the entrance fee and nothing extra, yay for microtransactions). Except, while trying to come pick Abby up, Gregory (haunting Freddy) recognises her. He snaps and forcefully takes control, attacks, and Abby gets caught in the crossfire.
Mike is left absolutely devastated, and sues the company as next of kin. Only to find out Fazbear entertainment has been hemorrhaging money due to the ridiculous running costs and backlash to their reputation. As a settlement, Mike instead gets offered assets. Which includes the Pizzaplex. He absolutely doesn't want the place, but after being made to at least check it out regardless, realizes Abby's ghost is lingering there haunting the Chica animatronic. So Mike agrees to the settlement to get her.
He knows, deep down, that the only “right” thing to do would be to destroy the animatronics and free the kids. But he can't bring himself to do it, and instead takes over as the new owner trying to do everything to make the ghosts happy. He's the only one who can safely interact with the animatronics even at night, because he knows what they are, acknowledges them, tries to keep the kids happy, and assures the robots he's not trying to take their charges away. But he knows it's not right, and he knows it's not a sustainable solution. He just can't “lose Abby again”.
Freddy puts his foot down and limits Gregory to only taking control at night, as to never inadvertently hurt another child. Night is when Vanessa is there anyways, and she's the main target of Gregory's anger, even if he'll take it out on other grown-ups too given how the whole system failed him. Mike doesn't suspect anything of Vanessa. At least not at first. But she can hardly look at him.
