Rain's Writing Archive

guys, please, gregory is not a flag, dont use him as one to play capture the flag

Originally posted to Ao3 on 2/19/2022.

Gregory wasn’t entirely sure how he’d gotten himself into this situation.

“Roxy! Put me down!”

He was minding his own business one minute, playing an arcade game in the east arcade, and the next...

“No can do, kid.”

He was being carried over Roxy’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes as she ran.

If he looked up, he could see Monty and Chica chasing them. Monty was shoving STAFF bots out of the way while Chica simply followed after him. They had determination in their eyes, and Gregory could only guess what they were chasing him and Roxy for.

“So, what’re we running for?” he asked conversationally.

“‘Cause we’re playing capture the flag, and you just so happen to be the flag.”

That did not answer any of Gregory’s questions. In fact, that made new ones.

“What’re the teams?” They were in the Atrium now, heading down toward the first floor.

“Me, Sunrise, and Freddy are on one team, and Monty, Chica, and Bonnie are on the other. Home bases are the Daycare and Bonnie Bowl, respectively.”

“And I assume I have no say in which team I go with?”

“Nope,” she said, popping the p.

He looked up at Monty and Chica again, only to find that Chica was gone and Monty was gaining on them.

As he realized this, a force crashed into Roxy’s side, sending all three of them tumbling. He was freed of Roxy’s hold, only to be scooped up by Monty.

He was tucked comfortably against the gator’s side, one arm supporting all of his weight. He really shouldn’t be surprised, Monty can easily carry Chica and still run, so the weight of one teenager was like nothing to him. Still, Gregory thought it was impressive.

He also thought being held like this was better than the way Roxy had.

Monty ran back up the escalator that they’d all run down a minute ago to get back up to the third floor. They passed El Chip’s and the east arcade, before slowing down in front of the prize counter.

Bonnie appeared from the doors of the prize counter and approached Monty.

“Put him on my back,” he said, “I’ll be able to run fastest that way.” Monty did as told.

Bonnie wrapped his hands around Gregory’s ankles to keep him steady.

“Comfy, kiddo?”

“Yep!”

“Alright. Monty-” The gator interrupted before he could finish.

“I’ll make sure Roxy doesn’t follow ya.” He didn’t wait for confirmation before running back the way he came. Bonnie huffed and shook his head.

“Hang on tight,” was the only warning Gregory received before they took off.

They passed the prize counter and the west arcade without incident, and it was looking like Bonnie’s team would win.

And then Freddy himself emerged from the Bonnie Bowl elevator.

“Ah, shi- shoot,” Bonnie corrected himself, “Ah, shoot.”

The rabbit skidded to a stop a few yards away from Freddy, who stared them down, eyes more serious than Gregory’d seen them since Vanessa twisted her ankle while chasing him a few months ago.

“Bonnie.”

“Freddy, love, please. We don’t have to do this,” Bonnie pleaded. The bear showed no reaction.

Gregory glanced between his father figures, concerned. Whenever they played games like this, they’d always insisted on being on the same team. This was the first time he’d seen them on opposing sides.

He wasn’t entirely sure that this wouldn’t end with someone hurt.

Of course, he trusted them not to, like, murder each other or something. But he didn’t know how far they would let this go.

“Give Gregory to me, Bon. I’m not asking.”

The hands around his ankles tightened, just barely, but it was noticeable.

“No.” Gregory stared at Bonnie with wide eyes. Bonnie never told Freddy no.

Freddy glared at him. The bear took a few strides forward, closing the distance between himself and Bonnie in a matter of seconds.

“This is your final warning,” he said.

“I’m not giving him up,” the rabbit told him firmly.

Freddy snarled.

For the first time in four and a half years, Gregory looked at the bear and realized just how scary he could be.

“Now,” Freddy growled.

Gregory felt hands grab him under his armpits and yank him off Bonnie’s back.

An involuntary shriek tore free from his throat. The ground fell away, leaving Bonnie staring up at him with wide eyes. The teen twisted to try and see who grabbed him, making the arms around him shift to hold on tighter.

“It’s alright, Sunshine. I’ve got you,” Sunrise told him, making him relax considerably.

Sunrise had used a cable hooked to their back to lift them into the rafters, which they now detached.

“Okay, you’re gonna need to hang on real tight. I don’t want you to fall.” As they said this, they flipped Gregory around so they were face-to-face. “Just wrap your arms and legs around me, like a koala!”

Gregory chuckled at their enthusiasm and held onto Sunrise like they’d told him to. He rested his chin on their shoulder so he could see behind them as they moved.

Sunrise darted about the rafters with a skill that only came from hours upon hours of practice. They got from right outside Bonnie Bowl to just outside Kids’ Cove in a matter of minutes. Gregory could swear that the whole world was spinning around him.

Sunrise finally dropped down to the floor. But, rather than heading for the Daycare like Gregory expected them to, they headed in the opposite direction.

“Uh, I thought your home base was the Daycare?”

“It is!” Gregory waited for an explanation, but none was forthcoming. He twisted around to face forward and see where they were going.

The two of them crossed the Atrium and entered Fazerblast.

Chica stood in front of the elevator.

“Hi Gregory and Sunrise!” she waved at them as they got closer.

“Hi Chica!” Sunrise responded, “I believe this should cover our debt.” Gregory gave them both a quizzical look.

“Oh yes, this should suffice.” She held out her arms, and Sunrise detached the teen from themself and handed him over.

She tucked one arm under his knees and had her other arm supporting his back in a bridal carry.

“Thank you, Sunrise.” Gregory could hear the smirk in her voice.

“You are very welcome, friend!” Sunrise turned and left with a wave.

Chica, Gregory in her arms, entered the elevator and hit the button with her elbow. The doors closed, and they began to descend.

“Uh, what was with that whole ‘repaying a debt’ thing?” Gregory asked her.

“Oh, that! Yeah, I helped them get permission to leave the daycare last week. That’s why they could play with us today!” He let out a small “oh” as the doors opened.

Chica walked straight into the arena, not grabbing a blaster or helmet for either of them. They didn’t need to. Both of them had full access, so they could get wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

She followed a practiced path to the spiral staircase in the corner. When they got there, she lifted Gregory up and set him down on top of the wall. She then took a running start and scaled the wall herself, dropping down on the other side.

She scooped Gregory back up and ascended the stairs while he looked up at her in awe.

They crossed the catwalk and took a shortcut through the security office that Vanny had turned into a hideout. They went up a set of stairs, through a few doors, and lo and behold, they were in Bonnie Bowl.

Finally, finally, Gregory was set back down onto his own two feet.

Gregory sent a message through his fazwatch to the other animatronics, telling them that Chica had won and to meet up in the bowling alley’s ice cream parlor.

Freddy and Bonnie were the first to show up. Gregory could see them holding hands, so he assumed they’d gotten over whatever happened during that showdown earlier.

Next was Sunrise, leaving the elevator with a bounce in their step.

Finally, Roxy and Monty arrived arguing and teasing each other, as per usual.

They all sat down at the counter and ordered some ice cream.

Chica ordered one scoop of everything for her and Gregory to share, Roxy got chocolate chip cookie dough, Freddy and Bonnie got chocolate and vanilla, Sunrise got the Moondrop-themed ice cream and covered it in sprinkles, and Monty got mint chocolate chip.

“So, how did Chica even get Gregory? I thought you had him, Sunrise?” Freddy asked. Sunrise’s rays retracted a bit, and they laughed awkwardly.

“Well, uh, Chica- I- hmm…”

“They owed me a debt, and this is how they repaid it,” Chica told him.

“A debt?”

“Yeah, I convinced management to let them have free roam of the building at night.” The others turned to look at her, surprised.

“I thought they just didn’t like to leave the Daycare, not that they couldn’t,” Roxy admitted.

“Same ‘ere,” Monty said. Freddy and Bonnie nodded in agreement.

“We would’ve come visited you if we knew you could not leave,” Freddy told Sunrise. They smiled thankfully at the bear.

“We still can, if ya want,” Monty said.

“Or you could keep coming out and visiting us,” Bonnie offered.

“Better yet, we could do both!” Gregory said. Everyone seemed to think that this was a good idea, as there were many sounds of agreement.

Sunrise was beaming at their thoughtfulness. They shoved the last of their ice cream cone into their mouth and wrapped the nearest person in a hug, which just so happened to be Monty. He let out a noise of surprise before relaxing and patting them on the back.

They released him after a moment and gave everyone else a hug, too.

They gave Chica an extra long and extra tight hug, which she returned whole-heartedly.

Gregory gave Sunrise a hug after everyone else, trying to pour every ounce of affection and love he had for them into the embrace.

“Love you, Sunny.” they stilled for a moment, before tightening the hug even further.

“I love you, too, Sunshine.”

A/N: this is the longest one yet lol

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