"Pretend you're singing for Golden."
Freddy and Bonnie stood on the stage. Alone. A group of children and parents stood below them, waiting. Freddy could feel his face grow hot, and his body lock up in fear that made him feel ice cold. He could feel himself starting to physically lock up. He just wanted to hide somewhere for good.
Freddy was holding Golden's old microphone, and Bonnie was holding Freddy's old guitar. Bonnie was getting impatient, and so were the humans. Freddy could tell this.
Closing his eyes, he exhaled softly.
And so he sang.
He sang everything that he could pour out of his mouth. His insecurities, dreams, fears and sadness. He sang about his brothers, his life, and how broken he felt inside. How life was too short to waste, and how they shouldn't take their loved ones for granted. He cried, but continued on. His voice was raspy, crackly and cutting off from the force that he had to use.
He sang until he was hoarse and silent, but even then he continued. His songs turned into desperate pleas of despair for anybody to listen to him. Anybody at all. Someone to help. To care. He was begging through his hoarse, silent voice, even after the curtain closed.
But to the humans, his words were nothing but silly, pre-recorded marketing ploys.
Even after the humans left, he was begging silently, his voice completely hoarse and silent from everything. He felt like he could never work again as he stared at his feet, finally giving up.
He was broken.
It had been a few weeks already, and the restaurant had been officially re-opened to the public. The animatronics had both stopped eating the food, and ceased most of their wandering. Freddy especially. He didn't sleep, or move at all asides from the things he had to do on-stage. He struggled to sing. Freddy's eyes had faded from a bright, shining azure blue to a pale, faded steel blue.
The stench radiating from the insides of the two was horrendous for anybody who got too close. Freddy could see horrible things leaking from Bonnie's face, and he could feel the same thing happening to himself. He hated it. There were many complaints from the parents, and snide remarks. Customers came less and less. The only customers that did come stayed far away from the animatronics, often leaving early. Some vomited. Children would cry.
Freddy and Bonnie were cleaned out after the police were threatened, just before they arrived. The stenches and face-goo was gone, but they could still feel the disgusting squishing inside of their exoskeletons.
They returned to preforming. Freddy was still too petrified to sing, but did his best to. He hadn't sang without Golden before, let alone be the main singer. He relied on Bonnie for most of the verbal support he needed, but he couldn't ask much of him, due to the rabbit being younger than he. Freddy barely spoke anymore, unless it was to reassure Bonnie whenever he needed it, or when on-stage. Other than that, he stayed silent.
Now that he was the only older sibling, he couldn't help but to feel guilt surge through his being every time Bonnie needed help. Bonnie couldn't even really tell what was going through Freddy's mind. This made him wonder what exactly Golden went through but didn't share with him? He regretted everything. He just wanted to tell their older brother that he was sorry one last time.
Freddy's emotions began to fade, and he knew he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't sing, dance, or do anything he could do when Golden was around. He felt like he was going to give up. Every time he looked at the faces of the children, all he could remember was the faces of the children, eyeless and covered in red liquid.
It hurt.
The curtains closed on them both. Freddy lowered his mic slowly, and Bonnie lowered his guitar. They both exchanged glances. It had been almost two months since Golden disappeared. The stenches and iron tastes disappeared. Bonnie could now move normally without any crunching noises, or the feeling of cracking. Freddy still had a lot of trouble moving, especially with his legs. They were constantly locking up on him. He did more mind wandering than physical wandering anymore.
"Freddy," Bonnie started slowly, placing his guitar down. His voice was unsteady and unsure as he spoke. "I want to take you somewhere tonight." Staring at his face, waiting for a reaction, Freddy finally looked down and away. Bonnie sighed.
"Please, Freddy. I'll help you get there. It isn't far." Before the bear could respond, Bonnie jogged off quickly. He ran to the back room, grabbing a bottle of oil from a shelf. He looked at all of the unused, extra exoskeleton parts as he was in there, sighing. Freddy often needed his exoskull replaced, due to self-damage. Either by accident or on purpose. Bonnie's as well, due to early rust setting in.
Making sure the bottle was open, he ran back up to Freddy, who was watching him and waiting patiently. Bonnie carefully poured the oil into his joints, looking up at his face. "Is that better?"
"...Yes, thank you." Freddy was hesitant to reply. He was always incredibly tentative when it came to speaking anymore, to anybody. Especially Bonnie. His expression was always blank, as if he were inactive, and he could tell Bonnie hated it. Moving his legs, he let out a sigh of relief, still looking stiff. Stretching out carefully, he relaxed a little, facing Bonnie fully. "Y-yes, thankyou."
"No problem, Fred." Bonnie's face was still filled with worry as he watched his older brother move around a bit, trying to get used to walking again.
"Come on. It's this way." Getting in front of Freddy to guide him, he looked him over again, clacking his jaw. "Need any more help?"
"I'm fine." He almost growled out the words, hardly any emotion behind his voice. Bonnie's ears drooped a little at his tone, but kept his eager demeanor for him.
Gently and slowly leading Freddy to the back of the restaurant, he looked at him before opening a door that lead to the attic, he was guessing. Freddy's eyes narrowed at it. "Bonnie, we're not allowed to go up there."
"Says who?" Bonnie quickly responded, grabbing Freddy's hand. Freddy half-resisted him as they walked up the stairs. About halfway up, Freddy grunted and stopped, nearly being pulled over by Bonnie. Looking back at the bear, he blinked.
"What's wrong?" He asked, letting go of his hand.
Freddy bent over slightly, looking at him. They could both hear his gears grinding in a struggle to keep going. "J-just my legs. Give me a few minutes."
While waiting for him, Bonnie finished walking up the stairs, walking over to the door that resided at the top of them. Looking back at him, he smiled encouragingly, putting a hand on the doorknob. "Come on, Fred! Just ten more steps."
Groaning loudly, Freddy held on to the railing and struggled his way up. Almost falling backwards twice, he was able to steady himself with Bonnie's help. Finally making his way to the top, Bonnie lead him to the door.
Turning the knob slowly, he looked back at the brown mascot, smirking a little. "Close your eyes."
"You're not going to kiss me, are you?"
"No, just do it!"
Rolling his eyes, Freddy did as he was instructed. He felt Bonnie grab his hand again when he heard the door open. Feeling himself being pulled forward, he walked, trusting his little brother.
Feeling a sudden gush of odd air, he flinched. It was cold and crisp, and he had never felt anything like it before. It was constantly blowing, sometimes fading and sometimes picking up again. Still being pulled forward, he sniffed the air. It was clean and crisp, no hints of smoke, grease or anything else.
He furrowed his brow when they stopped. "Bonnie, where is this?"
"Well, look and see!"
Doing as he was told, he blinked a few times. Looking around, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His entire field of vision was covered by city lights, trees, and a huge, dark blue sky. Looking up, his hat started to fall off as he did so. Holding it into place, he stared at all of the stars, feeling his breath get knocked out of him.
"I-is this outside?"
Bonnie nodded, looking up as well. He smiled to himself, breathing in the fresh air. Freddy's eyes were locked onto the moon, staring at it curiously.
Both of them sat down at the same time, leaning against a small groove where the edge of the building was. They studied the sky together, enjoying the quietness of the roof. Freddy felt comforted by the bright stars, and never wanted for them to leave.
Hearing Bonnie clear his throat, he looked over to find the bunny staring at him. "I knew you'd like it. But I kinda took you up here to tell you somethin'.
"What?"
"The staff said there's a new animatronic in the basement."
Staring blankly at Bonnie for a moment, he groaned loudly and laid on his back, rubbing his face. "God, don't scare me like that. I thought you were confessing your love to me."
"No, you aren't that lucky." Bonnie laughed in a quiet, joking voice, shaking his head.
A few days later, their new band member was finished.
Freddy and Bonnie studied the new animatronic as it was wheeled out. It was a yellow bird, with a commercial-like bib on. Its eyes were closed, indicating sleep mode. It was placed carefully in between both males. The humans left just as quickly as they came.
"Hey, I think it's a chicken." Bonnie seemed incredibly interested as he got up, circling it.
"Duck." Freddy corrected flatly.
"Goose!" Bonnie laughed at his own joke, turning to the eldest mascot, waiting for a reaction from him. The bear's gaze was hard and cold, not even a hint of amusement. Bonnie's ears drooped.
A few clicks and whirs sounded out, with a soft zapping static noise, indicating that the new mascot had booted up. Its eyes opened, looking at the two. It wore a grin, seeming happy to see them. "Hi, I'm Chica! What are your names?"
Bonnie and Freddy looked over to the new animatronic. They were both surprised by the light, feminine voice. It was a nice change from their own deep tones. They guessed it was a female.
Bonnie grinned eagerly for the first time in months, nearly running over to her. He shook her hand violently, making her laugh a little.
"Heya, I'm Bonnie! Real nice to meet 'ya! It's great to see a new face around here. We've never had a sister before!"
Freddy snorted under his breath. "We haven't even met any females, Bonnie."
Not hearing him, Chica and Bonnie continued to study each other. Chica smiled at him, patting his face carefully. He just allowed her, until she began trying to smush it gently. He ducked away from her wings, laughing lightly. "Hey, don't do that! That tickles."
"Oh, sorry!" Chica seemed completely oblivious and innocent, her smile not leaving since she was booted up. "How long have you been here, Bonnie?"
"Oh, well, just about a year! Y'see, it all started when..."
Freddy tuned them out and watched them closely as they already began to form a bond. He stood to the side, not talking. He wasn't nervous, afraid or anxious this time. No.
His eyes flashed with rage and he felt a jealousy boil in his fuel tank. He silently ground his teeth, eyeing them both. This wasn't fair. How could Bonnie converse with Golden's replacement so easily? He was about to snarl until Chica turned to him.
"Hi, Freddy! I'm Chica!" Chica was beaming, walking over to him easily. She hugged him, making him stiffen up. He stood there, staring at her face. She pulled away after she felt that she had hugged him enough. "I'm really excited to be here, I hope we can all be friends!"
Freddy stared at her for a few moments, expression blank. He didn't move. Bonnie gave him an expecting look, crossing his arms. Freddy sighed.
"...Yes, Chica. I do too."
Letting out a small, happy squeal, she spun around and went over to Bonnie, hugging him as well. "I'm just so, so excited! I can't wait to meet the children!"
Bonnie laughed again and hugged her in return, smiling. He patted her head, taking her hand to lead her. "I know you'll love 'em! Hey, why don't we go get some pizza from the kitchen? I bet you're starvin'!"
"Yeah, I'd love to! I've never had pizza before!"
Chuckling at her obvious statement, Bonnie and Chica left, talking and laughing on the way.
Freddy watched them leave.
The motor in his chest hurt again.
Author's Note:
Big thanks to Chillaid (AntiGravityFox) for beta reading. I only read it once through myself, so I apologize for any typos!
Heya, guys! How 'ya doin'? Good? Bad? I hope you're not doing bad. If you are, please feel better!
Welp! As I stated in the previous AN, I did buy FNaF2 when it launched on midnight of the 11th. I'm stuck on night four, still. My biggest weakness is Mangle. Damn fox.
Now, because FNaF2 is a prequel to FNaF1, this story is officially labeled as uncanon to the original games. The sequels will be based on this fanfic, not the second game. (I already have the plot for the sequel mostly typed out, so I'm not changing it.)
Let's just call this the BoC universe of FNaF, shall we?
I'd like to thank Purest of the Hearts, Unknown Forgotten Friend, AddiLion, MCHaunter, and LevitatingPiez for the reviews! I love you guys so much.
Reviewer Spotlight: Nobody, sorry! Instead, I'm holding an event. If you review, I may pick a random person to draw their FNaF OC for them! So, remember to review! They help me crank out chapters faster.
