Chapter Twelve: "By Your Side"

Scrapyard – November 13th, 1993;

"Fred!" Bon screamed. He had been the only one to notice the bear's absence and had wasted no time in starting a search. The frantic rabbit had checked everywhere, but had no success in locating Fred. Well, there was one place Bon hadn't checked, but Fred wouldn't go there. Right?

"Please don't be where I think you are..." Bon muttered before heading towards the center of the yard.


November 15th, 1987;

"Where are we?" Bon asked the question that was on everyone's mind, but was unable to reach their lips to be thrown into the world for an answer.

"I don't know..." Fred's voice was shaky. You could practically smell the fear radiating off of them all.

The Toys had all been thrown haphazardly into the back of a pickup truck and carted away to this location. Mountains of metal and rubble dotted the landscape, completely dominating any other nearby features. The ground at their feet was littered with shards of broken glass.

"Why are we here?" Chi asked to nobody in particular. "Where are the children?"

"It's my fault..." Mangle spoke up from the back of the group. The other Toys turned and noticed for the first time that her maw was splattered with blood.

"What happened dear?" Chi asked.

"The guard, the one we had been chasing at night, I found him during the day. He tried to hurt the children and I... I..." The pink vixen furiously threw her head down in defeat. Black, oily tears spilled without rhyme or reason from her amber eyes. She had bitten the guard and paid the price. Now she and her friends were scrapped, left to rot in this nightmare of a place.

"Mangle, sweety. It isn't your fault..." Chi tried to put her wing on top of the vixen's 'shoulder' but only succeeded in making Mangle recoil.

"You don't get it!" She shrieked. "We're in a junkyard! We're here to be SCRAPPED because I was too STUPID to wait for the NIGHT!" Some of the white patches of Mangle's fur was stained by the tears of the vixen.

Then, without warning, Mangle darted towards the other end of the yard, trying desperately to leave the ones she'd failed behind. Chi started to run after her, but was stopped by Fred who put his paw onto the chicken's shoulders.

"Leave her." He said firmly.

"Wha-" Chi started to protest.

"She needs time to think." He said. He then put a hand on Bon's shoulder and turned them towards an area to their left with considerably less scrap around it. "Plus, we have work to do..."


May 17th, 1988;

It had been extremely difficult living in this new environment for the Toys, especially during the winter when their servos threatened to freeze up any second. Mangle still had not come back from her outburst, and the others were worried about her. If she had frozen solid, they didn't know if they could ever fix her.

BB had taken her absence the hardest. During his short life, Mangle and Foxy had been like a family to him. They would always play pirates or mess with the night guard. But now that BB had lost both of his adoptive parents, Chi had decided to take over as the nurturing motherly figure that the troubled boy needed in his life.

Fred had once again taken the role of leader. Since day one he had worked his two companions to death, having them clear away the rubble in that little clearing and piling it towards the gate so that no human entering would be able to see their little project unless they actually walked into the shelter.

Gradually, the place really did start to feel like home. Not really in a warm, comforting way, but in a way that they accepted their fate. Fred's room was farthest from the entrance, the next room was Bon's, and then Chi and BB shared the last space. A spot on the opposite side of the entrance had been cleared out for Mangle, but she had yet to return.

Where a mountain of rubble still resided was home to where Fred planned to put in a kitchen for Chi, and just to the right of that spot, he planned on a living-room type area with couches and footstools. Just anything to forget the true nature of this place. But they hadn't even found the worst yet...


July 4th, 1988;

Bon and Fred were searching for furniture. They had finally cleared all of the rubble and were now searching for a sink, stove, and microwave to use as props for their kitchen. It was surprising what humans would throw away.

The two animatronics came to a stop at the crest of a hill overlooking their encampment. It was almost nightfall and both bunny and bear were about ready to just call it a night. That was until the fireworks started.

They sat down and stared in amazement at the sky which was being filled with the colors of exploding gunpowder from rockets dozens of miles away. Every boom made them jump, but the colors would soon restore them to a state of peace. Without thinking, Bon laid down against his bear companion. The bear was startled for a minute, but he didn't dare bother the bunny. Eventually, Fred started to gently stroke Bon's head in a friendly gesture.

They stayed that way for about an hour, just reveling in each others' presence. It took Bon about that long to realize what he was doing and he sat up abruptly, startling Fred and making the bear jump. They both laughed awkwardly with natural blush present on their faces. They both stared at each other for a long time, neither wanting to break eye contact. The two started leaning towards each other, Bon closed his eyes.

"Bon! Fred!" Chi yelled from below. "Where are you guys?!"

They both stopped going for the kiss when they heard their friend's voice. They both chuckled nervously. "Did that really just happen?" Bon thought. Fred stood up and dusted himself off before holding his paw out to Bon. The nervous bunny took it and paw-in-paw, they walked back to the encampment.

"Did you guys find the furniture?" Chi asked as soon as they arrived.

"No." Fred answered for them. It was then that Chi noticed them holding hands. She raised an eyebrow but didn't mention it.

"You better make sure you get it on your next run then." She said before wandering back over to BB. Bon eased his paw out of the bear's grip.

"I'll see you tomorrow Fred, I'm gonna hit the hay." The bunny said with a smile. When the bunny finally closed his eyes just minutes later, he found that his dreams were occupied with the scene that had happened between Fred and him.


October 31st, 1989;

It had been almost two years since Mangle left. That fact hit the Toys hardest when they saw the kids. As on their previous Halloween, the group could see kids walking past their yard, on their way to some party for sure. There wore the usual costumes: Vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein's monster, and the occasional ghost, but this year there was a new costume.

One of the little girls among the sea of teens and preteens wore a costume of a pink and white vixen with a blood encrusted maw. The girl had even gone to the lengths to dye her hair those colors to truly make her look like a humanized Mangle. Upon seeing the girl, Chi broke into oily tears. All of the toys missed her, but Chi had created the strongest bond with Mangle during the two weeks that their restaurant was open. While Fred went to comfort the chicken, Bon carried BB over to his bed.

"Why is mommy crying?" BB asked. This pulled at Bon's mechanical heartstrings that BB no longer saw Mangle as his mother. It was as if BB had completely forgotten when he used to run around and play with the two foxes.

"She saw something that reminded her of someone." Bon said with a fake smile. "Just lie down and go to sleep, okay BB?" BB nodded and Bon patted his head before returning to his fellow band members.

Little did they know that a figure was watching them from a nearby hilltop.


January 1st, 1990;

This day marked a new decade for the world, but it meant something more to the Toys. To them, it signaled the return of a friend. The snow had been falling for a while now. The Toys had all lost hope of ever seeing Mangle again. At that point, she was just a memory of past failures. To them, she was an example that if things could get worse, it would.

BB lay shivering under his covers. The animatronics couldn't really 'feel' the cold, but it did cause major discomfort in their servos. The three band members were huddled together around the living room area. Fred pulled Bon closer to him as the bunny shivered. It was only a matter of time before one of them deactivated. The only question was who would it be?

The answer came when Fred closed his eyes and didn't open them. As the three lay together, the bunny and chicken both realized that warmth was no longer spreading from their boss.

"Fred?" Bon called out through chattering teeth. There was no answer. "Fred wake up." The bunny gently shook the bear who still wouldn't move. The only thing that happened was Fred falling face first into the ground.

Bon and Chi scrambled to their feet and knelt by the boss, pleading with him to wake up. BB had gotten up from bed and was crying mere feet away from Fred's limp body.

In the blink of an eye, the figure from the hill jumped and landed on Bon's bed. It wore a worn down cloak with several holes in it. The hood of the cloak covered the figure's face. It knelt by Fred before finally taking off its cloak, revealing a pink and white fox.

"Mangle?" Bon choked out in confusion. The vixen laid the cloak on top of her boss and turned to the bunny.

"I'll need your help to fix him." Her voice box croaked after years of neglect.

"What do I do?" The bunny asked with determination in his eyes.

"Go get a screwdriver while I open his eyes." She said. The bunny obediently ran off to grab the tool while Mangle pried Fred's eyes open with her claws. The bear's eyes were dim as if the light behind them had faded.

"What's wrong with him?!" Chi asked after a sob. Mangle turned Fred over and opened a panel on the back of his head.

"The wires are frozen together." The vixen stated. "Should be an easy fix." Bon finally returned with the screwdriver. He gave it to Mangle, who set it aside.

"Why did you make me get it if you aren't going to use it?" Bon asked, frustrated.

"Most likely after the wires thaw, he'll have some eye issues." She said. She turned once again to the bunny. "Go find a relatively dry piece of wood." Bon yet again nodded and wandered off.

A minute later, he returned with a plywood board that had been in one of the piles of scrap they had moved all those years ago. Bon had had to dig through the pile to find it, so it was pretty dry. He handed it to Mangle and she took a deep breath. She then slapped her second head which fizzed and sparked. One of the sparks landed on the wood, and a fire was lit.

They kept the piece of burning wood near Fred's head, but they kept it far enough away as to not burn him. It felt like an eternity to the worried animatronics before Fred's system started to reboot. Heavy breathing was heard from the bear before he spoke.

"I can't see." He said. "I can't see anything." His breathing started to become sharper. Fred was having a panic attack.

"What do we do now?!" Bon asked the vixen, starting to hyperventilate himself.

"We fix his eyes." She stated. She then handed the screwdriver to Bon. The bunny accepted the tool and looked at Mangle nervously. She nodded.

Bon then turned to Fred. "I'm sorry." He said. "But just try to keep still..." Bon then put the screwdriver inside of Fred's eye. The bear immediately started thrashing around and Chi and Mangle had to hold him down while Bon worked. Mangle told the bunny exactly what to do to each eye to get them to work again.

After ten minutes of screaming and thrashing, Bon was done. The others released Fred as he began to calm himself. His eyes now shone brightly as they did before and everyone was relieved.

Chi then turned to Mangle and crushed her inside of a hug. "Thank you so much!" The chicken cried. Mangle pat Chi on the back as the chicken sobbed her metal heart out. The other toys then enveloped the poor fox in a group hug. Never had they been so happy to see the fox.

"Where did you learn all this?" Bon asked once they finally released their vulpine friend.

"You get to learn a lot if you have to fix yourself every day to survive." She said. Bon then felt a twinge of guilt.

"Sorry!" He exclaimed. "I shouldn't have asked!" Mangle just gave him a smile.

On that day, it didn't matter that a new era was rushing in for humanity. All that mattered was that they had their friend back. All that mattered was that Mangle was home.


December 25th, 1992;

This was the Toys' sixth Christmas, and they had spent none of them on the actual holiday. There was just too much work for them to really care about the holidays. It also happened to occur during a time that was terrible for the animatronics, but Bon was determined to at least bring one festivity to their lives...

Mistletoe. The bunny had found a box full of Christmas ornaments and inside he had found a bundle of mistletoe. He didn't know much about human culture, but he knew that anyone caught under the mistletoe together were expected to kiss each other.

He set the decoration up on the main gate and made his way back to the encampment. Chi, Mangle, and BB were all sitting together, chatting while Fred sat off to the side with his head in his paws.

It was obvious he was tired, and nobody could blame him. Recently, some of the furniture props had broken and Fred had set out alone to replace them. He was completely shaken when he returned empty-handed, and he had told only Bon the horrible things he found in the center of the yard. He had made the bunny promise never to go there, a promise that Bon intended to keep.

"Hey Fred." The bunny said, sitting down next to his boss. The bear only grunted in response. "Want to go on a walk with me?"

"In this weather? No thank you." Bon pouted at Fred's reaction.

"Please? For me?" Bon batted his long eyelashes and Fred sighed.

"Fine." He said. "But only for a short while." Bon immediately shot up and lead Fred over towards the main gate.

"Sit down here." The bunny said, pointing to the spot under the mistletoe. Thankfully, Fred sat down, oblivious to the plant hanging above him. Bon took a seat next to the bear and smiled.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Fred asked the bunny.

"Yeah." Bon nodded. "The night we watched the fireworks." Fred nodded, proving that Bon had guessed right. Bon leaned against Fred, who couldn't help but chuckle.

"Just like old times, eh?" The bunny nodded and batted his eyelashes again.

"Fred." Bon said.

"Hm?" The bear questioned.

"Look up." The bear did so and realization spread across his face, along with a little blush.

"Did you set this up?" He asked. Bon nodded, trying to contain a mountain of giggles. Fred smiled nervously and leaned forward with the bunny. There would be no Chi to interrupt them now.

As their synthetic lips pressed against each other, Bon felt like his heart would explode. He'd had a crush on Fred since they first met on stage. Needless to say, this kiss was one of the best moments of Bon's life.

When they pulled apart, Bon laid his head back on top of Fred's chest. The bear stroked the bunny's head every so often in a loving manner. They stayed together that night, not even bothering to head back to camp to sleep.

"Merry Christmas, Fred." Bon said after a big yawn.

"Merry Christmas, Bon." He kept on stroking the bunny's head. That was only the beginning of a beautiful relationship.


November 13th, 1993;

Bon's oil ran cold. He couldn't believe that Fred would return to this place after all of the nightmares, yet there he was. Fred stood dangerously close to the machine. It would pick up cars and crush them into bits without a second thought. The crusher's magnetic claw picked up a small mound of scrap right next to the bear and threw it into its giant maw. Needless to say, the scrap stood no chance.

"Fred!" The blue bunny yelled. The bear's expression changed from remorseful to fearful in a split second. His face clearly said: What the heck are you doing here?!

The bunny ran towards Fred and the imposing machine. He had half of a mind to cower in fear, but he couldn't leave Fred to the crusher's mercy. When he finally reached the bear, he found himself being held at arm's length by Fred.

"Bon, you need to go!" He shouted. "It's not safe here!"
"You're coming with me!" The bunny started to pull on Fred's arms, but the bear stood his ground.

"I hurt you." He said with oily tears in his eyes. "I deserve this." Bon couldn't believe what Fred was saying.

"Fred, you are coming with me! NOW!" Bon added more force this time and was able to make Fred stagger, but before any other progress could be made, the claw swooped down and attached itself to Fred's right leg. Both animatronics were lifted into the sky as the crusher deposited them into its maw.

Luckily, Bon found himself on the edge of the massive pit. Fred, however, was dangling from Bon's arm, completely inside the pit.

"Let go of me Bon." Fred says flatly. "Get out of here."
"Not without you!" Bon screams while trying to pull Fred up. It didn't help that Fred was trying to squirm out of the bunny's grip the entire time. A grinding sound was heard and the walls started to close in on the crusher.

"I don't deserve this..." Fred says. "Just let me go. Save yourself." Anger flairs in Bon's eyes.

"I am NOT leaving without you!" He yells. "And if you even try to fall in... I... I'll jump in with you!" Fred's eyes widened in shock.

"You wouldn't." He said.

"Watch me." Bon growls as he stands up and puts one of his feet over the edge.

"Stop! I'll come up!" Bon places his foot back and pulls Fred up. As soon as the bear collapses into safety, the walls smash together right where Fred had been moments before.

Both animatronics were breathing heavily at this point. "Don't you ever even think about leaving me again." Bon says to Fred. The bunny then crawls over to the sprawled out bear and plants a quick kiss on his lips. The bunny then collapses next to the bear.

"Let's just go home." Fred says. Bon nods in agreement and helps Fred up. Paw-in-paw, the two animatronics make their way back to their friends, carefully avoiding the massive claw dangling above them.