✰Freeing The Prisoners✰
Niki had practically insisted that she could help out despite her injury, so after a bit of convincing the others, she had gone up to the atrium to try and lure one of the other bots.
She peaked around from behind a bulk head, eyes searching the atrium for one specific animatronic. She couldn't see him anywhere, but instead spotted Chica, walking in a lackadaisical manner around the party tables.
Niki slowly hobbled over, trying to keep the weight off her injured leg to avoid over working it before she needed to.
She ducked behind the wall, glancing back to the stage. It wasn't too far away, so she turned back, standing straight.
"Hey, Chica!" She called, causing the chicken to turn around sharply, her eyes locking onto Niki. She gave an angry squawk, beginning to run towards Niki. She wasn't too fast, but still fast enough. When she was closer, Niki took off for the stage, running as best she could on her injured leg. Chica pursued her, and Niki ran far enough onto the stage to draw Chica onto it as well. When the chicken was far enough to the back, Niki scrambled forward to the button, slamming her hand down on it. The lift rumbled to life, causing Chica to pause and look up as it began its decent.
Then the chicken looked back to Niki with a murderous gaze, darting forward with her arms outstretched. Niki dodged behind the button stand, causing Chica to nearly face plant into it. The lift reached the bottom at that point, and Niki jumped up, booking it for the door with Chica chasing behind her. The metal door slid open and she ran through, making sure Chica was still close enough behind to keep chasing. She ran through the first set of doors to Parts and Service, and then the second, immediately noticing Monty standing by the door.
When Niki was through, he raised his arm, a mere moment before Chica ran through the doors. She ran full speed and face first into Monty's outstretched arm, giving a confused and dazed squawk as she stumbled backwards, landing with a clang. Monty quickly pinned her to the ground, while Vanessa swiftly got to work. She removed the port cover and then cut the wires of the chip inside, causing Chica to fall limp. Monty got up as Vanessa placed the port cover back on, and they all watched Chica carefully.
The chicken slowly stirred, at first going into a half plank position before straightening on her knees. She looked a bit dazed and confused, and she seemed surprised by her ability to move, just as Monty had been.
"Did you just...?" She trailed off, and Vanessa nodded.
"We took out the chip that's been hacking into you. You're back to your old self again."
Chica nodded slowly, glancing to Niki. "Oh, I'm so sorry Niki! I'm so glad I never caught you! I didn't want to hurt you but I couldn't stop it..." She trailed off, and Niki patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"It's alright, Chica. I'm just glad you're yourself again." She smiled, and noticed the chicken relaxed slightly.
"Now we've got to get the others. Gregory, you're up."
He nodded, immediately going for the service elevators to go find another bot.
❀❀❀
Gregory ran through the winding hall and out the door to the atrium, immediately looking for any other bots. The memories of dodging them as a child had come back full force, and he had to keep reminding himself that they were on a mission to free the bots.
Heavy footsteps came from above him, and Gregory figured one of the bots was up there. He slowly made his way up the still escalator, gaze scanning the second floor balcony. There was no one there apart from the few sparse security bots, so he went over to the next set of escalators, to the third floor balcony.
At the far end of the floor, by the sound booth, he spotted Freddy. He brightened slightly at the prospect of saving his closest friend. After the times Freddy had rescued him as a child, it was time to return the favour and break him free of this horrible hack.
"Freddy!" He called out, waving his hands in the air. The bear turned at the call, eyes narrowing as he began to run towards Gregory. For a moment, Gregory remembered the times he'd call for Freddy, and see the bear running over with a cheerful expression.
No. Not this time.
The bear was closing fast, and he turned, practically sliding down the escalators to the second floor. He heard a growl from Freddy as the bear followed, only he skipped the escalators, jumping down to the floor with a clang. Gregory made for the first floor, Freddy still following.
He began the run towards the stage, but his luck had run out.
Drawn to the commotion was Foxy, sprinting from one of the doors on the side. The fox leapt up, landing in front of Gregory and blocking his path.
Gregory had to skid to a halt, glancing back at Freddy as the bear slowed, a wicked glint in his purple eyes. "Goodbye, superstar..." He said slowly. Gregory darted to the left, but Foxy was quickly, slamming him down with his paw and sending him sliding hard into the wall. The fox was over Gregory in a second, hook raised and a sinister look in his eyes.
Gregory wasn't giving up that easy. He kicked his leg up, managing to kick at Foxy's leg and make the fox back up a bit as he tried to regain his footing. Gregory took his moment of distraction, kicking up with as much strength as he could muster. He kicked Foxy square in the muzzle, causing the fox to stumble back with a hiss and snarl. Gregory scrambled up against the wall, one again kicking tje fox, this time in the jaw as he ran passed.
The fox was clearly dazed for a moment, giving Gregory the chance to run for the stage. Freddy was still in pursuit, growling after seeing how Gregory escaped from Foxy. Freddy chased Gregory onto the lift, and he pushed the button. The lift's sudden action disoriented the still running bear, making him tumble to the ground with a clang. It took him a moment to get up, by which time the lift was nearly fully down. Gregory ran for it, jumping down before the lift was fully done moving, hearing Freddy's footsteps closing fast behind him. He burst through the doors to Parts and Service, nearly crashing into the monitor as he scrambled to a halt, looking back.
Monty used the same trick on Freddy as he had on Chica, causing the bear to stop short and stagger back, falling with a clang. Chica ran to help keep the bear pinned, as Vanessa got to work.
At last, Freddy went limp when she'd removed the chip, and Chica and Monty stepped back, everyone watching as Freddy woke up.
Gregory walked over in front of him, seeing the familiar blue of his eyes. Freddy looked up at him, ears drooped.
"Gregory!" He said, standing and practically yanking Gregory into an embrace. "I am so sorry, Gregory. I had never meant to hurt you."
Gregory squirmed until the bear let him go, smirking up at him.
"It's okay, Freddy. I'm safe."
He then turned to Niki, slightly apologetic.
"Uhm... Foxy had gotten in the way when I was running to the stage," he said slightly awkwardly. "I uh... Sorta had to... You know... Fight back..." He trailed off, and Niki just giggled.
"It's okay, Gregory. I don't blame you for that. You did what you had to do." She gave him a kind smile that let him know she meant it, and he returned it, glancing at the others.
"The only ones left are Foxy and Roxy." He smirked at the sound of the rhyming names, as Niki added, "And Moon. We'll have to free Moon from the hack too."
Gregory gave a nod, glancing around. "And we'll have to see how many of the endos have the chip, too..."
Vanessa sighed, glancing at the others.
"We've got a lot of work to do. Let's finish this off, shall we?"
The two nodded, and Gregory volunteered to go out again to get one of the remaining two animatronics. Niki insisted on coming with him, so they both headed out through the service elevators, Gregory helping Niki if she needed it.
They arrived back to the atrium, seeing that Foxy had moved on from where he and Gregory tussled. As they slowly got closer to the center, Gregory realized that there was no one in the whole atrium apart from them.
"Where have they gone?" Niki wondered aloud, and Gregory shrugged, sharing her confusion.
"Roxanne!" He called out loud, his voice echoing across the empty atrium. They waited, expecting the wolf to appear from somewhere, but she didn't.
"Foxy!" Niki called, and still nothing stirred.
"Have they just gone somewhere else? One of the attractions maybe?" Gregory suggested.
That was when a faint noise came from somewhere. It sounded like a light tapping, and when Gregory strained to hear it better, he could tell it came from behind the large Fazerblast display that was in front of the attraction. Niki started limping over to it, and Gregory followed cautiously a few paces behind. "Be careful," he murmured as they approached. "It could be a trap."
❀❀❀
Niki gave a little nod at Gregory's warning, as she slowly walked towards the Fazerblast doors, glancing around. At first, she didn't see anything, and the tapping had stopped.
But then without warning, there was a sudden flash of reddish pink, and a strong force knocked her to the ground, pinning her to the ground. Gregory let out a cry, as Niki briefly saw a grey shape knocking him over.
Niki looked up into the wild, purple eyes of Foxy, a mixture of heartbreak and terror in her eyes.
"Foxy, fight back!" She urged the fox, who briefly paused at her words. "It's me! You've gotta fight against the hacker!"
He gave a light twitch, but then gave a low growl, gaze locking with Niki's as he raised his paw in a fist.
The last think Niki remembered was a powerful impact, before everything went black.