After Fire ( Fnaf Security Breach )

Chapter 3: Put Together

Gregory had woken up in a daze, unaware he was asleep. Making his way to the back of the van, he was able to find things to assist him in charging Freddy, even then- he finally notices the unwanted presence that tagged along.

A feeling of drowse and irritation was fixated in the boy's eyes, Gregory's eyes squinting against the bright rays in front of him. His lip was curled back as he slowly lifted himself from the seat, nausea in his head as he heard a distant cry of a bird. Did i- fall asleep? He asked himself, this feeling of nausea was similar to other times he has woken up in a daze but he felt like it would be much later considering his usual lack of sleep. Especially after going an entire day without proper rest. Deciding to put it off for now, " Freddy--" He halted himself, facing the animatronic before he remembered. " Right..." His mouth felt dry, one part of guilt while the other was just dehydration. His eyes went to his back, recalling picking up some things. 
 
Reaching back, Gregory grabbed the strap of the bag and brought it upfront on the floor. Opening the bag, he wasn't that surprised that the character-themed balloons were half-deflated by now but he was surprised that the ice cream wasn't melted. Did the company make non-melting ice cream? Gregory thought briefly before grabbing a fizzy faz at the bottom. Taking a minute to struggle opening it, after taking a sip he noticed the spicy but yet copper similar taste in the drink. He hoped that it was just a flavor for the specific brand - Gregory looked at it briefly and saw he had picked up Roxy's one. He assumed the company was trying to go for a spicy flavor to allude to Roxanne's personality or the track but that didn't quite explain the copper. 
 
Putting the soda in the cup holder, Gregory then put his hand on the door's handle and pushed it to open the door. A light but chilly breeze got over him but tried to ignore it, for now, due to the lack of cover he had anyways with just a short-sleeve and shorts. Taking a few steps forward, he looks back at the design of the van. Gregory sulked at the sight of it. The four characters printed onto the side, seemingly happy even if it was an artist's takes. He jolted his head to the side as a feeling of unwanted dread got to him, they had tried to kill him first; it wasn't his fault, surely... Gregory looked briefly around, not seeing much so far despite the path they came on but wished to not go further out for now. 
 
Examining the van, he had hoped to find something he could charge Freddy with. There had to be something... Maybe an extra battery or something he could hook up to the car itself and run it. But that left the thought of having to get an extra battery or fuel alone for some time. Gregory wandered around to the back of the van, grasping onto the handle before pulling back and opening one of the doors, keeping his head down, and frowned in a mix of fear and discomfort as he swore he had heard an agonizing sound do an assortment of rustling and sliding close by. Quickly, Gregory looked down to the ground and took a step back from where he originally stood. Taking a few seconds to register there weren't any signs of a snake; not knowing if any dangerous ones were in their area. In a moment of subtle relief, Gregory then slipped inside the back - immediately recognizing the red but rusty toolbox near the seats.  Making his way towards it, the boy sat in front of the box before lifting the hatch; trying to work carefully around the rusty surfaces as he lifted the top. 
 
He looked over the "slightly" organized tools, or to what he knew about sortments in tools; which was little. It was a box that had 'lowering shelves' indicates into the design that was hooked up to the lid, having three separate ones. The top shelf was mostly a mix of screws, nails, and washers; not a lot of nuts, only seeing around five to scene in the cluster. The second was just an assortment of gloves and some aid materials like rubbing alcohol and a few rolls of bandages, wasn't that helpful at the time even with a few exposed wounds he has at the moment. Gregory didn't think much of them anyway. His eyes went to the actual tools, a collection of the regular things and stuff he was a bit more familiar with. Two Hammers, a wrench, a drill, pliers, extra screwdrivers, measuring tape, and a few alligator clips. 
 
Gregory reaches in and grabs the clips, having some knowledge about what to do with them after watching some people work on - what he could only assume was an electrical box, with it but was never too sure. Even with the lack of experience, he figured a wire or cord would be useful; one of the few things he remembered from an old science class, was a video trying to explain the electrical currents via a broken wire. Putting the clips next to him, Gregory looked through the box once again; trying to move carefully once again to not get a cut on the rust. Gregory slowly moved the tools outside of the box, complaining subtly out of an unknown reason under his breath. but he was relieved as he picked up another manual at the bottom of the box, it was stained with unknown but colorful substances, but assumed it was just spilled paint. But on the front, it said, Freddy Fazbear's Entertainment And Helpy's Mechanic guide - 4, and in the corner was a purple and white bear that was surrounded with colorful circles. Next was a speech bubble that had the words, 'No time for lawsuits, no time for mistakes!' Which had little meaning to the boy. 
 
Opening the handbook, in the beginning, was a brief list of the tools in the box and some additional ones he couldn't recognize that easily either from them being new or smudged names. Looking over the names, he did recognize something similar but new? " Crocodile Clips...?" He murmured to himself, not recognizing or understanding why a different name was used but assumed they were the same anyways. Flipping to the page in two tries, Gregory made sure to look through it more carefully; leaning his back against the van seats. 
 
His eyes traced the words more intently than intended, trying to force his mind into a blank state of mind or to understand more unfamiliar words to him but to no avail. Gregory's interest seemed to mostly attend to the few pictures of the page, one of the actual clips and the other seemed to be a cord. In a way he was right but it still stressed him as he had no idea where a wire even was, and the addition of possibly needing an insulator so he wouldn't get shocked or, for what he knew, stray rays of electricity hitting the rest of the car. 
 
Groaning in frustration, " Agh!" Gregory would have thrown the manual at that point, but it wouldn't do much. A side of him wondered what would have happened if he stayed, states on the streets; didn't get chased into the pizzeria by Vanny, and hid inside Glamrock Freddy. Maybe he should have found some center or the police after all. He wouldn't be in this situation at all, destroying thousands of dollars In property and nearly dying on many occasions. Starting a fire just to escape was probably not the scariest thing he experienced either as it didn't seem the Plex had many flammable objects in the open, or that easily flammable but with how quickly the building came down he was starting to doubt that. Though the intrusive thoughts of less than three hours ago, did make him question the PizzaPlex itself, or the residents of the Plex. Specifically, the tendril creature.
 
He couldn't understand why the company would make something like that, or why it was in an underground area with a pizzeria, but it didn't seem to be regular entertainment compared to the regular Glamrocks or S.T.A.F.F boys, maybe the endos but the wires were too big and clustered more easily than theirs. Assuming by this point it was the same creature at the hole entrance, why couldn't they get rid of it if it was that disastrous to the area; or at most, block off the area with more security than a few bots that can only go in a few directions and carry a flashlight. If the assumption was right, it seemed the creature had a personality chip or something similar to it compared to the other animatronics but was more eccentric. And that personality was going after him and Freddy, a guess was that it was connected to Freddy being not himself and being 'controlled...?' 
 
Gregory shook he has mildly, trying to get his thoughts back on track; he could think about that thing later. Holding onto the seat as support, Gregory got to his knees and started to put most of the tools in the box. This time, he tried to make it more organized than the previous owner did, it somewhat frustrated him that it was a tad messy. But out of the tools, other than the clips, he kept a hammer out before closing the box. Gregory still didn't know what was by him earlier, snake or not, it was wise to have something to defend himself now as he didn't quite know what was out here of if Vanny had made it out somehow. Even if it was heavier than his bag, the weight of the tool wasn't that bad to handle for now but Gregory knew he had to be a bit smart with it as the weight of it couldn't be dealt with too much with far range so acting quick was prominent, no matter how exhausted he was. 
 
Approaching the van's back door, he held onto it and swung carelessly for a second before jumping down onto the grass. Having the manual and clips in one hand while his other held the hammer while walking towards the front of the van, shooting a concerned glance at the lifeless animatronic as he walked past the window. Temporarily putting the handbook on the windshield wiper and putting the clips in the same hand as the hammer, Gregory placed his hand on the hood before pushing up. With the hood half-up, Gregory hit his head against it as he already felt pain just from seeing the components of the car. Barely managing to get the hood up from his height but it was lighter than he expected, Gregory took another look at the workings of the van before shaking his has in confusion, a sigh of agony coming through. 
 
But out of the parts, Gregory was just able to distinguish the battery; which was some relief needed and one step closer. But still needed that dang wire. Carefully, he reached back while pulling down on a clip's end and clamping it down on the battery, replicating it with the other. 
 
Gregory let out a surprised him as he looked at his Fazwatch, kind of have forgotten about it; but his face was a mixture of confusion and tension when the watch started to flash a yellow. An indicator for the animatronic's that was installed... But he was tensed as there shouldn't be any animatronic's out here from the Plex besides Glamrock Freddy. " Erm.." Gregory started, " who's here?" he called out, watching the wist contraption as it flashed red for a second. That one second was what made his heart drop. Jumping back, he quickly looked around him as panic was settled into his mind; unsure of what the watch was referring to as he started to slow his turning, still seeing no signs if no one else of now but the watch was still yellow. Bringing a hand over his head as the sun grazed his eyes and pained his vision, adjusting his eyes as he looked against the tree line, not being able to see any signs of movements outside of the breeze. 
 
Flinching, he heard the slithering again; reflexing as the grip on the hammer got tighter. That's got to be the animatronic right? He thought, Gregory, debating to look at the ground as he continued to hear the growing slithers around him. At this point, he could practically hear his heart pound against his chest in uncertain terror. He knew what was chasing him before, he at least had an idea of what to do with some guidance and being resourceful in his environments. It's different now. The vague sound surrounded him like a tornado as the Fazwatch started to flicker between the colors. It was moving. 
 
Nothing to distract it with, run or hide. It was like he had to tell himself to move, just to get his head back into the current situation. He tried to narrow his situation and think of a solution but couldn't be bothered as much as he should. Slower than anticipated, Gregory ran to the driver's side, despite nearly sliding and falling, and scrambled to get into the van's seat; thankful as he didn't shut the door. Gregory inched back in the seat, looking at the Fazwatch for the report, surprised as it was now glowing blue. No flashing or flickers, the color stayed. 
 
Is it... Gregory stared at the watch before his eyes went outside to the ground, under the van...? He gulped. This wasn't what he wanted, even if he wasn't sure what he wanted after the events of that night, but it sure wasn't still being chased by an animatronic! " Oh come on...!" He whined, lazily placing the hammer in his lap as his grip eased on impact. Gregory would have shown he would have seen or heard something of it latched on when they were still at the plex but he also doubted an animatronic would have followed them out there. Unless it was there before...? 
 
Searching through his duffel back for a second, he pulled out one of the plastic masks; Chica's. Gregory recalled before, the distinct but hoarse cry of the chicken still echoed in his mind. Frowning, he knew he could use this as a distraction. Inching to the side of the seat, Gregory looked at the ground carefully before taking one last glance at the mask and lightly tossing it to the ground. Looking at the Ground, Gregory tried to be ready for the unwanted quest- ironic. But he wasn't quite sure if he was ready for what he saw. 
 
A tendril came out from under the van, it was thinner than the wires he saw before but it had charred and opened gaps in its metal coating; small sparks erupted from the opened wires from inside as they constricted the Movements of the tendril-like snake. The tendril carefully maneuvered its end around the socket of the mask, being followed by a second one shortly after with similar marks to its exterior. The second wire replicated what the other did and wrapped itself against the socket. After a few seconds, Gregory heard a horrid sound come from underneath the sound, like a metallic scream of pain before snap! The tendrils broke the mask in two, leaving it on the ground before escaping back under the van. 
 
Gregory opened his mouth but no words were out as he closed it, not quite sure what to say. The creature had no name to his information, he nor Freddy knew what it was. But he knew he wasn't that fond of it being active, it shouldn't be that different from the other three but he had assistance and convenient machines around him; the button for the ball pin at Gator golf, Roxy's Kart for her raceway, and the garbage compactor at the kitchen. All he has is a hammer and a will to live now, but possibly, due to the fire, the tendril animatronic had a weaker endo-structure. It looked like it from the damages he saw. Gulping again, he understood he had some chance. 
 
Taking the edge of the hammer, he leaned forward and barely breached one part of the mask; re obtaining the hold on it. Removing the mask half of the hammer's end, he looked ahead to the crowded tree line. Nodding to himself in confidence, Gregory rose a bit as he held into the edge of the door frame. The arm holding the mask piece was bent forward in front of his chest, similar to how you would hold a frisbee. Huffing, he launched his arm forward. Everything else worked for him before, getting the mask to go tk the tree line should have been easy- 
 
Luck ran out he supposed. Gregory held back a gasp as the mask grazed the door and even then, he noticed the floppy motion it had when thrown. The uneasy sculpture of the broken mask made it get thrown off course of what was wanted, Gregory guesses it was also because he might have thrown it wrong so it wouldn't have gotten enough air to get that far. 
 
At first, the boy was tempted to get out of the vehicle and retrieve the mask; but he was glad he didn't in the end. Gregory's heart dropped as he held back a gasp as his body became stiff. With his eyes widening, Gregory saw the metal's tendrils creep from under, each tendril had its damage and ware along with its structure, and form the fire he endured earlier that day. Some of the wires were even melted together so its movement was a bit slower than probably anticipated by it. Gregory held his breath as the animatronic crawled and made its way to the discarded mask; noticing that most of its original form was destroyed now so it was half its size than before and the other half of its body was destroyed and or scrambled together. 
 
In front of the mask, the wired animatronic hesitated as it looked at the mask, doubtful and it was sensing focusing on one thing. Its violet eyes dilated in its curiosity, similar to a child; tilting its head like a dog now as a wire reached forward and wrapped around the mask's eye socket before lifting off the ground to properly examine it. The rusty material on their mask shifted out of its place, revealing more of their face's endo and was the least damaged part of its body. Their eyes almost looked like it was looking for pity and sorrow now, maybe even admiration toward the mask, or the animatronic it was based on. A soft cry similar to children was faint in its noises. Eyes suddenly reclined as it felt a presence closing near, a prescience familiar but wasn't sure if it was dangerous due to that or... 
 
An agonizing shriek erupted from its voice box, its face pushed to the side as the animatronic was hit hard as soon as turned to check behind them. Almost immediately it was hit with force, a force created when Gregory rose the hammer right before the animatronic turned and swung done to hit its faceplates as soon as it turns to face him. The Fazwatch flashes red as the animatronic tries to take a second for recovery as the masl was noticeably cracked already. Dropping the mask, the word animatronic left out another shriek that made Gregory's heart jump in fear before he threw the hammer down again; this time aiming for a set of exposed wires and using the end of the hammer to go through the weakened metal. The animatronic's scream came out more glitched in its voice, but it showed anger and sadness in it that caught Gregory off guard. Taking that opportunity, the animatronic was able to contain itself as its plates opened to properly revealed its endo's face before a wire lunged at Gregory's arm. 
 
Falling back, Gregory gasped as his body hit the ground, barely having a grip on the hammer before he noticed what the wire did to his arm. He felt sick and pain, a gash of blood ran down his forearm and blood started to drip onto the grass. Looking up, the animatronic was leaning over him, a wire now having blood at its end. His hand was shaking as he tried to cover his injury with his shirt, trying to stop the blood in a rush as felt his other arm strain and struggle to raise the hammer but was just barely able to hold the hammer in the air. You're fine, you're fine... Gregory repeated over and over, the animatronic's eyes locked with his as fear met a hidden vengeful look that was covered with being intrigued and angry. Gasping again at the pain, he gulped as he didn't have much of a plan if he was injured. He was just focusing on getting the animatronic down, and if he was able to, contain its wires for usage. 
 
Another outcry came. Gregory's arm felt like it was going to fall off, both of them but barely managed to throw the hammer against the animatronic and had it bounce back as now, the hammer made a dent in its exoskeleton due to the lack of faceplates guarding it, hitting his eyes and sulked the wires back; just barely. Doubting another second would have been his life. Gregory just got to hit their feet, looking down at the animatronic as he felt like this was too easy, he hoped it was because it was in a weakened state before. The two exchange look of confidence and possibly fear, it was getting hard to tell on the mashed face. Picking off the hammer from the ground with his good arm, Gregory made his way back to the damaged robot. Said creature look at him, its remaining eye looked up expectantly.
 
But now, Gregory did have the heart- somehow. This animatronic was the closest to killing him, making him bleed and not just leave bruises and scars along with his body that would remain for years. It seemed smarter but yet older than the Glamrocks, having a confused A.I. From its noticeable age, it likely didn't even have face recognition or it was destroyed a while ago. But even then, Gregory felt more sympathy towards the animatronic, more than he did for the others now. So he decided in a few seconds.
 
" Warning you, " Gregory spoke, his voice filled with dread and pain, the animatronic showed no visible response besides coiling its wires, " I'm taking one of your wires. " Communication, not the best, but somewhere. "You..." This was better planned in his head, " nearly took out one of my arms- fair?" He pointed the hammer to the wire he damaged before. The animatronic let out a buzzing sound, maybe out of reluctance as it didn't have much of a choice now, did it? " Be glad I warned you.." Gregory said bitterly, approaching the exposed wire. Flipping the hammer to its end, the animatronic was now prepared; maybe a side of it was slightly thankful. Gregory flinched, despite knowing he should have expected another shriek to come as he broke the remaining wires that connected dit to the body, swiftly taking it out and not needing another swing. Picking up the wire, Gregory stepped back before a murmured, "thanks..." Came out, the animatronic looked in silent doubt as it watched the boy start walking back to the van, moving its head up; finally noticing Glamrock Freddy in the passenger seat. 
 
All of them then looked at Gregory again, a mixed feeling of respect due to a mild understanding now, even with one less wire attached.