The Ghost Under the Pizzaplex
Gregory goes down to the basement of the pizzaplex and finds an old Freddy animatronic. Not only that, but there seems to be a little girl's voice speaking from the animatronic. Who is she? And how long has she been down here for?
This fanfic was suggested by an anonymous person. Don't worry, you weren't rambling. I actually loved your idea so much, I decided to make this story its own thing separate from the other series. I thoroughly hope you enjoy.
Gregory walked up to the basement pizzeria. Gregory had told Freddy about where he was going. And thankfully, his only response was ‘Please be careful’. Perhaps Freddy now trusts him to walk around on his own? Or perhaps Freddy was giving him the freedoms even if he wasn’t so sure about it himself. He really is like a father: protective for very good reasons, almost to the point of it being a fault.
Gregory closed the door behind him and looked around in the dark, dirty place. It was small…or rather, smaller than the Pizzaplex above the room. There were old party hats, old plates, tables knocked over with plastic striped tablecloths all askew, and chairs all over the place. The only bright colors that filled the room were the red cups thrown on the tables, the white squares on the checkered floor, and the red upper walls. But even those bright colors were masked by the darkness of the basement.
And I don’t just mean the lack of lighting…I’m also talking about the black splash marks all over the floors and walls. Though, it didn’t really look like ink or dirt. Upon closer inspection, it looked more like…burn marks. In fact, there was a slight smell of a mixture of things. At first, he could smell ash…then he could identify the burnt plastic smell. He could smell the slight after-smell of burnt cardboard, followed by the strong smell of burnt wood.
But as Gregory walked through the old pizzeria, Gregory brought his flashlight over to the back wall. And then, Gregory noticed something in the corner. Something black and yet, something bright enough to reflect off his flashlight and catch him in the corner of his eye. Gregory walked himself closer to the thing in the corner, curious as to what was catching his eye.
The closer he got to the black thing in the corner, the larger and larger it proved to be. As he finally stood in front of it, Gregory looked up at the large thing. It looked to be the size of a refrigerator! And…it looked like a robot. It was huge! And…it strangely looked like the shape of Freddy. But…more blocky. It was brown…or rusty gold? It was hard to tell. It looked filthy, and had the same burn marks on it as the floor had. Only…it looked like it had been burned about 5 times over.
He moved the flashlight over to the right, and noticed a large robot hand that weirdly resembled Freddy. Wait a sec…Freddy is an animatronic. This thing is shaped like Freddy…Is this an old animatronic? Gregory shook his head in denial. No. No, it couldn’t be…there’s no way!
…Right?
Gregory looked at the hand, and pulled out the animatronic, rusty hand. He felt the thumb, and gently wrapped his hand around the animatronic’s fingers. It was strange…it was almost gross, feeling the hand. It felt almost mossy…or furry. One of them.
“Who’s there?” a voice called.
Gregory widened his eyes and looked up at the head. The animatronic was now looking down at him, and there were white pupils staring right at him.
“Uh…Uuuuh…” Gregory mumbled, unsure how to react. “Hiiii…” Gregory finally said.
The head tilted, looking like it was trying to show how confused it was.
He let go of the hand and backed up a few steps. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know you were alive. I would hate to disturb you and-”
“Hush, little boy.” The voice told him. “Don’t worry about me. I’m worried about you.” the voice said. “How did you get here?” She asked.
Gregory looked towards the entrance area. “Th-The elevator leads right down here.” He told the animatronic while pointing to the entrance.
“I see…” The animatronic responded. Then, the robot head looked back down at its feet, and started to move its feet around. It lifted the right foot, moved it a couple inches in front, and placed the foot down. It lifted up the left foot, moved it a few inches past the left foot, and placed the foot down. A couple more steps later, and the animatronic was now standing back in front of Gregory. “Can you hear me?” She asked.
Gregory widened his eyes. “Y-Yes. I can…hear you loud and clear.” He replied.
“It’s me.” The voice said next.
“…I’m…sorry, I don’t recognize your voice.” Gregory admitted.
The animatronic moved its hand out from beside itself, and laid it out, opening the hand up in front of the boy. Gregory looked at the hand with his flashlight, before looking at his left hand. Did the animatronic want to shake his hand? Or…did it want something else?
“Light.” The voice said next.
Gregory widened his eyes and quickly put the flashlight into the robot’s hand. He then flipped it around so the LED light was facing Gregory himself. With the flashlight, the animatronic started to move its hand up a bit, to see Gregory in full circle of gamma rays. While the hand moved, Gregory could notice some screeching and squeaking sounds that told him the metal parts were super rusted and dry from the lack of oil over the years. This told Gregory that this animatronic could be decades old by now.
“You are new.” The voice said, looking at Gregory while the animatronic head tilted to the other side.
Gregory nodded. “I didn’t know there were more animatronics.” Gregory admitted.
The animatronic moved its hand a bit more, before dropping the flashlight onto the floor. Then, something crazy happened: a gust of wind blew by Gregory, while the animatronic lowered itself down like a limp rag. Then, a bright, translucent being revealed itself to the boy. The being was just bright enough to be seen without the need for a flashlight. “What is your name?” The being asked him.
Gregory gasped and covered his mouth. The translucent being…was a girl! A little girl! With long black hair and a yellow long-sleeved shirt. She was cute…she was pretty…but she was a ghost…which meant…
She was dead.
“My name is Cassidy.” The ghost told Gregory next. “I came to this place with excitement and glee…and lost my life not long after.” She told Gregory. “But that was long ago.” She told him. “What is your name, young boy?” She asked.
Gregory stared at Cassidy with wide eyes, and a pale, terrified face. “G-Gregory…” He mumbled. Then, he shook his head rapidly. “My name is Gregory.” He answered properly this time.
“Gregory…” The girl said. “I like that name. Your mommy chose a good name for you.” She said.
Gregory could’ve cried upon hearing that. His mom…he hasn’t…
“I was so lonely…I held onto the hope that someone would find me in this form, and bring me out of here.” Cassidy admitted. “But I never knew it would…take so long.” She said next. “I am lonely down here. I have no one else to talk to, but myself. My thoughts have traveled to the deepest depths in these last few decades…and the dust and debris of this place is making me mad. Mad like the Mad Hatter. Except even his mind would be healthier than mine.” She told Gregory.
Gregory nodded as he listened. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel a little less lonely?” Gregory asked. “At least for a little while?”
The girl looked at Gregory with sad eyes…before moving her lips into a small, bittersweet grin. “Have you experienced tickles?” She asked.
Gregory widened his eyes and nodded to her. “Yes! I have. I’m tickled all the time.” Gregory told her.
She floated closer to Gregory. “I used to fear being captured by the tickle monster. I feared losing control of my body and laughing in ways beyond my control.” She admitted.
“…Oh.” Gregory mumbled.
“And yet…As the years turned to decades, I began to grow fond of the memories me and my mother and father made. They would pick me up, carry me around and tickle me all over. They would put me on their shoulders and tickle my socked feet. They would wrap me in blankets like a large burrito and tickle my neck. They would even read me the story of Mr. Tickle and tickle me while they read the book to me.” She told Gregory. “I sometimes enjoyed it. But the older I got, the less I enjoyed it. But now…” Her face winced into an expression of pain and despair. “I would do anything to experience that feeling of laughter and love again.”
Gregory could feel his eyes starting to well up with tears. But he quickly squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears from falling. He wiped his eyes clear of any leftover tears, and nodded his head. “I can do my best to give you that feeling again.” Gregory told him, deciding then and there, to channel his sadness into something more worthwhile.
“Okay. But I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know if you can tickle my ghost, or if you have to tickle the Freddy robot.” Cassidy mentioned.
Gregory hummed as he walked up to the ghost, and tried poking the ghost. But when he did, his hand just flowed through the translucent ghost form. His hand was poking out the other side of Cassidy’s body form. It was…definitely strange. And he assumed that the cold feeling he felt from his fingers to his lower arm would be caused by her ghost form itself. He wondered if the ghost had no feeling, but instead, had a temperature.
“I see…” she said. “That’s a shame.” She added.
“It really is. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.” Gregory mentioned. “At least, not yet.”
She nodded and watched Gregory head to the rusty old robot. As he placed his hand onto the animatronic hand, he visibly cringed as the dirt and ash just fell off the animatronic and onto his hand. He looked at Cassidy with an embarrassed smile.
“I apologize. My new form has not had a bath in over 30 years.” She admitted.
Gregory couldn’t help but laugh at her words as he rubbed his hand on his pants to get rid of the dirt. Then, he slipped his hand into the animatronic’s fingers and held the robot’s right palm.
Cassidy’s eyes widened as she looked at her right hand with shock. “I must be dreaming…this can’t be real!” She reacted, touching her right hand with her left. “I can feel…” she covered her mouth and welled up with tears. “I can feel your hand holding mine!” She reacted, unable to contain her cries of happiness.
“You can feel it?!” Gregory asked, before drawing a finger on the robot’s palm. “Can you feel this too?” He asked.
Her cries grew stronger as she nodded rapidly. “Yes! I can feel it! I can feel it!” She replied, sounding exactly like a child who had just been told they were going to Disney World.
Gregory smiled and removed his hand from the robot hand. “I’m glad.” He replied.
Cassidy quickly looked at Gregory with confusion and a smidge of disappointment. “W-why did you stop?” She asked.
Gregory chuckled. “Because I want to give tickling a try.” He admitted.
Cassidy nodded and put her hands together in front of her stomach. “Okay. I’m ready.” She said.
Gregory nodded and looked towards the robot. He started poking and gently scratching the right side first, to try it out.
Cassidy’s reaction was immediate: she squealed loudly and held her head as she leaned her head back and laughed. “HEHEHEHEHE! WAHAHAIT TOO MUHUHUCH!” She yelled.
Gregory gasped and stopped right away. “SORRY! Sorry!” He reacted.
Cassidy stopped laughing almost right away, and stared down at her own translucent body. Pecifically, her middle. “……Whoa…” was all she could say.
Gregory chuckled awkwardly. “I had no idea you were THAT ticklish. I just thought you were the normal amount of ticklish.” Gregory admitted.
“Ihi…I don’t remember being that ticklish either.” She admitted. “I guess…you have to be gentle.” She presumed.
“I guess so.” Gregory replied. “But I can do that.” He added. “I’ll make sure you have a good time. I don’t want to force you to take it if you hate it.” Gregory told her.
“I appreciate that, Gregory.” She replied.
He placed his hand onto the left side this time, tickling in a very gentle manner. He started with one-finger scratching. Then, he moved to slightly tickling the furry layer of the robot. Cassidy’s laughter came back in small spurts. She started off with fits of giggles, before lessening to occasional giggles. “Thahahat’s behehetter.” She told him.
He smiled and kept going. “Good! I’m glad.”
She just allowed herself to let out every giggle that entered her lungs. She covered her mouth withem her fingers quite lightly. Though this technically muffled her giggles quite a bit, she was still letting them out. And for that, she was proud.
“Hehehehe! Hehehe! Hehehe! Ohokahay, cahahan you tickle ahaha bihit haharder nohow?” She asked.
Gregory nodded his head and started to add a couple more fingers. “Sure thing!” He replied. He started skittering a small bit more, skittering 3 fingers on one side while scratching one finger on the other side.
Cassidy squealed and squeaked as she tried to process the newfound feeling of two spots being tickled at once. “Yeheheheah! Lihihihike thahahat! HAhahahahaha!” She reacted.
“Alright, I’ll keep it up. If you ever need a break, then just tell me to stop.” Gregory told her.
“Ohohokahahay. Ihihihi wihihihihill.” She replied.
It had been ages since she’s experienced such ticklish feelings with such strong instinctual reactions. It was overwhelming! But at the same time, it was also exhilarating! It was such a complicated mix of feelings for the girl to experience at the same time. But there was no doubt, it all felt great. The serotonin levels were slowly rising up thanks to Gregory’s actions, helping her loneliness and sadness fade away…at least for a little bit.
Gregory kept on tickling her for a little while longer. He was thoroughly enjoying tickling Cassidy like this, and felt really good helping her get better slowly. He couldn’t imagine being kept in the pizzeria for all those decades. He knew how lonely and quiet it would’ve been for all that time. So, he wanted to bring as much noise out of her as he could, without overwhelming her too much.
“Yohohou’re soho gohohohood at sehehelf-cohontrohohol!” She reacted.
“I…am?” Gregory asked.
“Yeheheheah!” She replied.
“But…I don’t feel like I’m trying too hard to stop myself.” Gregory admitted.
“Thehen yohou’re a naturahahal.” She replied.
“Thanks!” He replied.
After a little bit longer, Gregory slowed his fingers to a stop. He looked towards the ghost with a smile, and watched as her giggles lessened to a small smile. “Thank you, Greg. That helped a lot.” She told him.
Gregory smiled. “You’re welcome! I’m so glad I could provide a break from the quiet.” Gregory told her.
“And a break from my thoughts. That is the best blessing I’ve received by meeting you.” She said next.
“Good to know.” Gregory replied.
“So…” She looked around, and slowly started to look down with ever growing sadness. “I guess you have to leave now?” She asked.
Gregory’s smile fell. “What? No no, I don’t need to leave yet.” He told her. “If anything, I wanna stay for a while longer.” Gregory added.
She widened her eyes. “R-Really?” She asked, not fully believing him yet.
“Really! I have quite a few hours till I have to go, actually.” Gregory admitted.
She stared at Gregory with a big, growing smile on her face. “That’s great!” She reacted. “Can we keep going, then?” She asked next.
“Keep going? With the tickle session?” Gregory asked.
“No no. I wanna cuddle.” She said almost like she was demanding it.
Gregory couldn’t help the little smile that grew onto his face. Her demand made her sound like a toddler demanding another cookie…and it was kinda funny.
“Sure. I’ll cuddle you for a while. But only if you say the magic word.” Gregory replied.
She chuckled and looked down. “Please.” She said.
Gregory giggled and leaned in a little bit. “Please…what?” He asked.
“Please…cuddle me?” She asked. “Sorry-” She cleared her throat. “Can you please cuddle me?” She asked properly.
Gregory smiled brightly and started to climb up the Freddy animatronic.
“Wait:” Cassidy said quickly. She possessed the golden Freddy animatronic and made the animatronic move. “Hold on, Gregory.” She said. She made the robot sit down and stretched out the animatronic’s legs. “Now you don’t need to climb the dirty animatronic.” She told him.
Gregory giggled as he wrapped his arms around the middle of the animatronic as best he could. “That’s true.” He said. “I can easily save my feet from getting dirty, and get the rest of my body all dirty instead.” He declared.
Cassidy bursted out laughing, and kept on laughing for a good few minutes! And Gregory just soaked in that little girl’s laughter as much as he possibly could. He only knew this ghost child for 30 minutes to an hour, and he already felt like he wanted to die for her…
Though technically, he knew that’s not how saving ghosts really works…
