#springtrap is manipulative

Gregory left the elevator with great hesitation. He turned on his flashlight and looked around the room. There was a sense of dampness…a cold, eeriness to the place. Gregory couldn’t really describe it very well. The black and white checkered floors reminded him of a super large version of an old checker set. Just seeing the black and white squares made him wanna skip over the black boxes to make it onto the white boxes. No stepping on the cracks, or you’ll break your mother’s back, right? 

Or…that’s what his grandma used to say, anyway…

Gregory turned off his flashlight for a moment to admire the red, rusty, neon sign that read [Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place] in two different fonts. The words “Freddy Fazbear’s” were in cursive, while the words “Pizza Place” were in normal handwriting. The way the sign was designed, made it look like hot molten lava was poured into the dents of the letters before they put the sign up. The ‘molten lava’-looking design made the letters light up without much of a light source. Though there were dotted lights around the outside of the archway, he would assume that the letters were made using lights. 

The whole sign itself looked rusted, old and eerie, but…strangely beautiful. 

Gregory kept looking around at the large place hidden under the pizzaplex with his flashlight. He kept a watchful eye on every corner of the room…occasionally turning around to make sure no one was staring at him or approaching him from behind. He could feel eyes on him…but he couldn’t determine where those eyes were coming from. Were they from the cameras that filled this area of the pizzaplex? Or…were they the real eyes of an animatronic or human? Perhaps they are the translucent eyes of a lost soul that lay deep under this big place meant for children…He did hear of the secrets of this place…so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for there to be at least one ghost under this place…

CLANG! 

“AAAH-” Gregory screamed as he lost his footing and landed right onto the dusty ground. Gregory groaned and spat some flem out, feeling like he had just fallen right into a pile of straight dust…because the moment he tried to breathe, Gregory started violently coughing and hacking. The dust he had breathed in, quickly began to coat the inner air sacs in his lungs with tickly particles of what seemed to be old man’s dust…like the kind of dust that filled an elders house that had been abandoned for decades. But everytime he coughed out some dust, he would breathe in instinctively and fill his lungs with even more dusty particles. The stupid cycle of coughing and irritation continued to plague him, filling his poor lungs with all sorts of both microscopic, and visible foreign particles that didn’t belong in his lungs. 

Long story short, his lungs were DYING. 

After what felt like hours, Gregory finally stopped coughing. He let in long breaths of relief as he finally got his respiratory system back under control. With his body somewhat back to normal, Gregory picked up the fallen flashlight and turned it back on. He wanted to find out what he had tripped on, to end up on the ground in the first place. Gregory soon found the somewhat large-looking thing that stuck out of the ground. It…looked like rusted metal. But upon further inspection, Gregory realized two things: 

1: this really WAS rusted metal. 

And 2: This metal thing was connected to a body. 

Gregory slowly raised his flashlight beam up to look at the rest of the large being that laid on the ground before him. At first, it looked like a strange collection of metal and wires…but then he started to notice the metal pieces that resembled arms, a torso, and even a head. This was a metal body. Was it an animatronic? Or was it a cyborg? It was incredibly hard to tell due to both the darkness, and the state of the body. If this was a human body, this being would’ve rotted away by now, leaving nothing but bones and its prosthetics. But this being was not made of any organic material…not from what he could see, anyway…

Gregory brought himself around the side of the body, and shined his flashlight even closer to the face. Gregory quickly noted the metallic look of the face, and the design of the jaw, the deep eye sockets, and the…ears? Nubs on his head? Whatever they were, they looked ‘animatronic’-like. So…Gregory followed his gut feeling and declared this body an animatronic. With that underway, Gregory started to admire the inner workings of the animatronic through the many holes that covered the animatronic. The top layer of the animatronic looked like rotting, moist fur…it looked disgusting…Even babies would refuse to touch such a vile material. And babies are famous for touching things and shoving things in their mouths! So if a baby is grossed out, then everyone else should be too. 

Feeling a cold breeze covering his arms, Gregory quickly took the teal sweater he had collected in the bathroom stall near the bakery, and put it on himself. It was a couple sizes too big, but he wasn’t complaining. It’s so much warmer than just the t-shirt and shorts. Gregory then used his longer sleeve to push the ugly looking animatronic onto its side, to see if there were any controls. And right after the metal crashed against the floor on its face, Gregory looked…and sure enough, there were controls hidden on the back. 

And unfortunately, flipping the animatronic onto its belly would be his first mistake…as Gregory wouldn’t end up seeing the animatronics' bright eyes from his angle, which would’ve told him ‘Hey…I’m alive’. 

Gregory looked at the back, and clicked a rusted, black button. What does this button do? 

Suddenly, metal joints started screeching as the animatronic body started moving bit by bit. Telling by the severity of the screeching and squeaking, the body needed some serious WD40…But that didn’t really matter right now because THE ANIMATRONIC WAS ALIVE, AND MOVING ON ITS OWN. GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE! YOU’RE GOING TO  D I E!

Gregory screeched in horror, and dropped his flashlight yet again as he sprinted away from the ugly, terrifying animatronic. As he ran, Gregory jumped around, using the white boxes to jump over the black boxes. Cause why wouldn’t you?! Why else would there be checkered floors!? Yes, this is a terrible time to be playing hopscotch on checkered floors. But he’s still moving, is he not?! Plus, jumping around will help him be action ready for any cracks and holes in the floor. So besides the creepy, giant animatronic chasing him, it is a win-win situation. 

Gregory ran all the way to the nearest doorway he could find, which ended up leading him into the old pizza place’s kitchen. Even though he felt slightly safe, Gregory still felt he needed to keep running and jumping around. That would end up being his second mistake…because it didn’t take long for Gregory to fall into a cutlery cart and knock over several glass plates. CRASH! CRASH-CRASH-CRAAASH! 

“AAAH!” Gregory screamed, covering his ears as the crashing plates made his little ears ring. 

When the plate crashing finally finished, Gregory opened one eye and uncovered his ears slowly…only for him to widen both his eyes upon seeing the animatronic’s wide, lime green eyes staring right into the boy’s soul. 

Gregory looked at the animatronic…before slowly looking over at the exit door. He looked at the animatronic again…before looking back over at the exit door…With one last look at the animatronic, Gregory took off running to the exit. But the animatronic was even faster than he could predict…because that animatronic would end up catching him in a matter of seconds and carrying his short little butt out of that kitchen. All the while Gregory screamed and wiggled around, begging for help. 

“HELP! AAAAAH! HELLOOO?!” Gregory shouted as loud as he could. He kicked his legs, threw his arms around, and shouted as loudly as he could without making his voice go hoarse. 

But amidst his struggles and screams…a narrow, cold finger touched against Gregory’s lips…it was a signal…an attempt to make Gregory lower his voice and give up. But like hell he’s gonna do that! Gregory grabbed the animatronic’s wrist and threw it aside, before screaming and wiggling all over again. “HELP! FREDDY HELP ME! HELLOOOO?!” Gregory shouted. 

The animatronic let out a low, robotic sound that sounded a small bit like an annoyed sigh. Then, the animatronic started to squeeze his ribs. 

This halted Gregory’s screaming, and made him let out more of a squeak than a scream. “eeEEK!” Gregory felt a small wobbly smile growing on his face as he fought the urge to laugh. What was the animatronic doing?! Was the animatronic’s ticklish squeezing intentional?! Or by accident? 

The animatronic then stopped, and looked at Gregory…almost with newfound curiosity, or surprise. 

Gregory’s fear very slowly began to lessen as he looked up at the animatronic’s green eyes with surprise and slight worry. “S…Sorry…” Gregory muttered. 

The animatronic tilted its head, giving Gregory a look of confusion. 

“W-Why did I squeal like a mouse?” Gregory clarified. 

The animatronic nodded its head. 

Gregory looked down slightly, embarrassed. “It…tickled a bit…” Gregory admitted. 

The rusty animatronic straightened its head and gave Gregory’s belly a little poke with its cold thumb. Surprised by both the temperature of the finger as well as the tickly feeling, Gregory jumped and shivered at the same time. “Ohoho gohohohosh…” Gregory muttered. The animatronic removed its thumb, before pressing down on his belly again, earning more giggles from Gregory. “eeEEHEhehehe! Sohohorryhy.” Gregory giggled, growing embarrassed. 

The animatronic opened its jaw, looking like it was attempting to say something, or trying to smile at him. It was really hard to tell. The animatronic’s voice seemed to be useless or missing…because the animatronic had not spoken a word or made very many sounds before now. The only sound the animatronic has made up till now, was a sigh of agitation. And even then, Gregory couldn’t tell if that was even from the animatronic, or if it was a distant noise. 

Gregory found the tickles, his own giggles in response, AND the animatronic’s reaction to be super embarrassing. It gave him the intense need to cover up his face. And it didn’t take long for Gregory to finally give into the feeling. He covered up his face with both his own hands and shook his head. “Plehehehehease stohohohop.” Gregory begged. 

The animatronic stopped tickling just for a moment…before wrapping a hand around Gregory’s throat and squeezing. Gregory yelped and grunted, shocked by the sudden change in direction. 

OH GOD NO- 

“WAAa-” Gregory tapped his hand on the arm of the animatronic, begging for the creature to let go. THIS ISN’T WHAT I WANTED!

Seeing the tapping, the animatronic let go of his neck. Gregory let in large gulps of breath, trying to make up for the oxygen he wasn’t able to get during those few seconds. “What…what was that for?!” Gregory reacted. 

The animatronic leaned in. “Either you laugh…or you die.” The animatronic said with its hoarse, raspy voice. 

Gregory gasped and stared at the animatronic with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Those were his choices? His choices were to get tickled, or get killed?! Gregory immediately knew what he would prefer. It was obvious: He would rather be tickled. Now, he needed to make sure the animatronic knew and understood that.

“I’ll laugh.” Gregory told it. 

The animatronic nodded its head and started skittering its fingers onto Gregory’s little belly and sides. 

“OHOHOhoho gohohohosh! YAHAHAHAhahahaha!” Gregory laughed, shaking his head wildly. 

The animatronic opened its jaw in an attempt to smile as it tickled near Gregory’s belly button. “Gitchy gitchy goo.” The animatronic teased in a monotone voice. 

Gregory could feel his face heating up with embarrassment. Because for some weird reason…this animatronic’s unenthusiastic voice was MORE TEASY, THAN GLAMROCK FREDDY’S TEASES EVER WERE! No joke! Was it that Springtrap was more threatening, while Freddy was more playful? Or was it Springtrap’s low voice that made the teases more embarrassing than Freddy’s baby voice?! He couldn’t tell you. 

Gregory gasped and shrieked as the animatronic accidentally tickled right in his belly button. “WaitWAITNOHOHO BEHEHELLY BUHUTTOHOHON!” Gregory begged. 

But the animatronic only took this pleading as a blunt request…to go for his belly button. “Okay.” He said, before sticking one of the rusty, nimble fingers into his belly button. 

Gregory cackled rather hysterically and threw his arms around. “WAHAHAHAHA! WHAHAT DIHIHID IHIHI JUHUST SAHAHAHAY?!” Gregory yelled, shaking his head left and right. 

“You said ‘no belly button’. So I’m tickling your belly button.” The animatronic told him. 

“EHEXACTLYHYHYHY!” Gregory yelled back. “YOHOHOU SUHUHUHUCK!” Gregory shot at him. 

“Whatever.” The animatronic said with no concern, or even any type of emotion. “Shut up and focus on laughing.” the animatronic added, dipping his finger further into the boy’s belly button. 

Gregory squealed and wiggled around a little more harshly as he laughed his head off in the animatronic’s arms. “GAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAAAHAHAHAHAHAP!” Gregory shouted. 

“It’s either laugh, or die. Those were your choices.” The animatronic told him. “BUHUHUHUT THIHIHIS MUHUHUCH?! IHIHIHI’M DYHYHYHYING!” Gregory shouted. 

If the animatronic could’ve, it probably would’ve rolled its eyes at Gregory. “You’re so dramatic. It is not that bad.” The animatronic told him. 

“SAHAHAYS THEHE ROHOHOBOT!” Gregory argued. 

“Current robot.” The animatronic mentioned. “Former human.” He added, stopping his fingers and removing his finger from the boy’s belly button. 

Gregory breathed somewhat heavily as he sat there in the old animatronic’s arms. He was leaning back, showing signs of exhaustion. Noticing this, the animatronic fixed the boy’s positioning and cradled him like a baby. Despite the small sense of doom he felt, Gregory actually cuddled himself into the animatronic’s arm. Though the arm felt bony and lumpy, it was…surprisingly comfy enough to just sleep on. It felt like a grassy field, honestly. Lumpy and hard, but still tolerable enough to sleep on. 

When Gregory felt he was calmer and more put together, Gregory sat himself up and got out of the animatronic’s arm. “So…you said you were a human?” Gregory asked. 

“Yes.” The animatronic replied. “My name was Dave Miller.” He admitted, using his fake name. 

“Hmm…” Gregory muttered. “I’m Gregory.” 

The animatronic nodded his head. “You’re lucky to be alive.” it told him. “You are the first child I haven’t killed yet.” it mentioned. 

Gregory widened his eyes. “...Oh…” was all he could say to this. This human in the animatronic was either super blunt, super psychopathic, or a toxic mix of both. 

“...‘Oh’? That’s it?” The animatronic asked. “No ‘thank you for resisting the urge to kill me’? No ‘thank you for considering my feelings over yours’?” The animatronic said next. 

“I…” Gregory shook his head and started to walk away. “I think I’m gonna…” 

“Not even a ‘Thank you for making me laugh instead of making me scream’?!” The animatronic yelled, growing more angry. 

Gregory gulped and attempted to get further away from the animatronic. “No. You’re weird. And creepy.” Gregory complained. 

The animatronic growled and started to reach out and grab Gregory. But Gregory slapped the hand away, attempting to run away. “HEY! GREGORY!” The animatronic yelled, reaching his arm out and trying to run after him, only to slip on a mix of mold and water, falling to the ground onto his face. 

Gregory kept running, refusing to stop. 

“WAIT!” Gregory could hear behind him. 

When the boy was more than 10 feet away, Gregory finally halted to a stop. Gregory slowly and hesitantly turned around, nervous. “Y…Yes?” He asked. 

“Please…don’t go…” The animatronic begged. “I’ve been so lonely…And-and that wasn’t me. That was my program taking over.” The animatronic insisted. 

Gregory stared at him, unsure whether to trust this creepy animatronic-human cyborg or not. 

“I’m a lot nicer in real life. I had a wife and kids. I loved them.” He tried to tell him. “I loved kids. That’s why I was in this suit…to make kids happy.” The animatronic admitted. 

Gregory frowned. “You said I’m the first child you haven’t killed yet.” Gregory reminded him. “So that means you’ve killed every other child you’ve come across.” Gregory put the pieces together out loud. “So if you really did love entertaining children…then why would you kill them?” Gregory asked, finding the hole in his words. 

“That-...That was the programming.” the animatronic admitted. “I couldn’t stop the programming from taking over.” it tried to explain. 

Gregory frowned even more. “Nice try, sir. You specified it was a suit…” Gregory added. “Meaning you can take it on and off anytime you want.” Gregory added. “What year was your suit made?” Gregory asked. 

“1981.” The animatronic admitted. 

“Ah…1980’s animatronics were not smart enough to take over minds.” Gregory told him. “I know that well. Only in movies would they take over minds. And movies are fake. Unlike real life.” Gregory added next. 

The animatronic went silent. No words or sounds left its mouth.