See the end for author's notes.
"There's a ghost in the machine stay calm…
Stay calm."
Chapter 10. Freddy Found
"Why is he hiding, then? What is so terrible that Operator—the Suit of Golden Freddy has to hide?"
Springtrap's words echoed in Danny's mind. He licked his lips nervously, keeping his arms curled around the bundle of pink-Bonnie—er, that is, Bonnet—her tiny paws resting on his wrist as she stared ahead, her small eyes light as bright as they would go.
"It's this way!" She whispered in an excited hush.
"Okay, okay, we're going."
But were they walking into a trap? Fitzgerald hesitated, causing Bonnie to walk into him, and both yelped.
"Take it easy, kid. Jumpier than a bunny, and I ought'a know!" The rabbit griped. "C'mon, I'd hear anything coming for us well before it got here."
"Me too!" Bonnet asserted, sounding like she wanted to be factored in to Danny's line of defense, which was rather adorable and so very Bonnie-like it made him snort in amusement.
"Yeah, pint-size too. What's there to worry about?" Bon demanded blithely.
"Lots of things!"Danny said. "Like where Mike is, where the other Fazes are, where Springtrap is hiding, and how we're getting the hell out of here with all of you."
"Mike's somewhere down here. We know that. And he's alright kid. If he wasn't, we'd know."
"How do you know that?"
"Because Mike's family, he belongs to all us Fazes. And the only way to kill Mike is to kill Gold, and now, riddle me this Danny, how exactly do you kill a ghost?"
"I…I don't know." Danny bit his lip. "I…didn't know Golden Freddy was…dead."
"Sure. Well, as dead as an animatronic bear can get, anyway. Died a long time ago, when he lost his endoskeleton. He's a Suit. Mike's his endoskeleton. Plain and simple."
"You said he was old, though. Earlier. You said he hadn't aged well—that he might cause Mike to lose because they were tired, Bonnie." Danny wasn't sure how this ghost and haunting nonsense all worked; and frankly, he didn't want to know even if it was the time to stop and chat. But his curiosity was piqued…
"Did you mean that?"
"Eh…y'know, to be fair, I was kinda pissed in that moment."
Danny stopped walking, and turned to stare up at his bunny. Bonnet's pink ears bobbed thoughtfully as she looked between the two.
"Because of Springtrap?" Danny finally demanded, the silence stretching between them save for the old, comforting sound of Bonnie's inner workings, his own endoskeleton keeping him moving.
Bon's surprised click of his teeth as his jaw snapped shut was answer enough. Yes, because of Springtrap. Interesting.
"Why don't you like Springtrap, man? What did he ever do to you?"
"It's not what he did to me, Fitzgerald. And I don't wanna talk about it."
The bunny brushed rudely passed the day guard, who hesitated in surprise and a touch of unease. Bonnie was known to be uppity, and kind of bossy and very loud-mouthed. But he was never quite like this, not even before he and Danny recognized each other from the kid's closed-off childhood.
In his arms, Bonne trembled. She shook her pink head.
"Is—is he down here? Springtr-tra—" Bonnet couldn't even seem to finish the rotted rabbit's name, which was telling.
"Huh? Yeah, he is. It's okay, he's friendly, Bonnet." Danny assured, assuming her fear cropped up from the way Bonnie was treating her. Although to be fair, once Danny picked her up, Bon seemed wholly content to ignore her entirely.
"No he's not. "He's not friendly at all, and if he's acting like it? You should run and hide." Bonnet whimpered, but would say no more on the subject, her gentle voice refusing to work suddenly.
By the time Danny caught up with Bonnie, the big rabbit seemed to have come to some inner decision.
"What color is Springtrap, kid?"
Danny stared. "Uh, …ugly? Green?"
"Before." Bonnie snorted. "Under all that gunk and rust. You seen the original color of his fur under that? Haven't ya? Well?"
"…he's yellow, I guess. Kind of….buttercup colored, my mom would call it."
"Yeah. Yellow. Same color family that the shade gold is in, wouldn't ya say?"
"…I guess, sure. So? Wait—you don't mean—Springtrap and Golden Freddy are related? I mean…"
"Not like siblings. But related, yeah. That's a good word for it. They were the original models. Built before us. Built by this guy named Henry. I…don't remember him much." Bonnie fell silent, his paws gripping his guitar possessively.
"But Freddy does. He says he was a good guy. That he loved us. He loved kids. Afton…that is, the murderer, was his business partner. Well, for a while that is. Goldy and Springtrap were like me and Freddy. That's what Foxy told me."
Danny nodded, thinking over what Mike used to tell him, what he had witnessed firsthand. Freddy's and Bonnie's were close. Best of friends. They worked well together and didn't like not knowing where the other one was. Nightmare Bonnie was so unhappy and revolted so easily because Nightmare, the bear ringleader, treated him so poorly and on some level, Mike told Danny that Nightmare Bonnie knew that wasn't how it was supposed to go. That's how deep the Freddy and Bonnie programming apparently went, even in that strange world the Crying Child's trauma created.
"So if…if Gold's a ghost, and he's…gone." Danny gulped, fighting a shiver, almost not noticing when Bonnet patted his hoodie with a teeny paw. "And Springtrap is still here…"
"Can't have a Bonnie without a Freddy, kid." Bonnie the bunny muttered down to him, expression oddly overcast for the normally chipper bunny. "Does things to you, when your programming is missing a piece of itself you can't ever get back. It's why we think the Puppet made Afton a Suit. He thought maybe it would help Springtrap. But then things stopped being golden, and the Puppet screwed up by picking someone we all thought was a friend. By then, it was too late. Afton and Springtrap are one. Springtrap killed those kids because he didn't fight Afton, no matter what he says.
So I'm not forgiving him for it. Not ever."
"Jesus." Danny hissed in sympathy, hugging Bonnet tighter. Bonnet…
"What about you?"Danny finally asked, looking down at the little pink bunny girl. "Do you go with Funtime Freddy?"
"I must? I think so." Bonnet blinked up at him. "But I'm okay here. I think. I like you guys. You're nice to me."
Bonnie snorted, the moment passed. He turned on his flat feet and then froze, ears springing straight upward in alarm. Danny knew what that meant as a general rule, and he didn't like it one bit.
Bonnet, too, had gone shock-still in his grip, but her tiny fans were clicking faster in anxiety.
"What is it?" Danny whispered anxiously, peering round the purple bunny to see Springtrap standing at the far end of the hall.
"I'm impressed." Springtrap said, but his tone was thick and slithery, like a snake passing through long grass. "That your new night guard kept you working for this long, Bonnie. Truly, a skilled employee. He even started fixing my Suit for me…how considerate."
"Piss off, Afton." Bonnie snapped, but he was taking a slow step backwards, covering Danny more from view than before. "Mike's gunna get you, just like he did last time! Hopefully this time, he doesn't leave anything left of that traitor you wear, either!"
"Yes, I have no doubt he will make an attempt. But until then, I have so much to get done. And, let's face it, even if he does manage to crawl out of whatever hole he's hiding in, what's end game?"
"What?" Danny asked, ignoring Bon's grunt and the way his wide paw tried to shove the kid back in place.
"What's the finale?" Springtrap—or, perhaps Afton—demanded with an icy purr as he lurched toward them. His play lunge made Bonnie jerk back, and the purple bunny looked sour when Afton only snickered through his clogged speakers and halted his advance like a playful cat who found a mouse with a limp. Springtrap's perpetual grin from his ripped up face only made Afton's sounds and features worse. When Afton was in control, Springtrap meant his cruel, gaping smile. Even his optics were open all the way, whereas Danny had never seen that eerie sight before, and both were illuminated with a sickly pale, purple light.
"I read Springbonnie's memories. I know the Puppet's gone." Those supernatural purple optics rolled in frustration. "Finally."
"Crap." Bonnie muttered, starting to back up faster.
Springtrap was now taking two steps for every one of the purple bunny's.
"So I think I will make the most out of a bad situation—that is, bad for you. Good for me."
"Move, kid. Go."
"But Bonnie—"
"Now! Get out of here, stupid!"
Perhaps it was Bonnie's tone. The bunny sounded so scared and so un-Bonnie-like that Danny's heart squeezed in his chest. Perhaps it was Bonnet, who was shaking like a little leaf and hiding her face childishly in Danny's hoodie, as if the boogeyman was threatening them. (Technically, to her, he was.) Perhaps it was Springtrap—or rather, Afton—because the mechanical, rotted rabbit truly looked like he had walked out of a horror attraction that has burned down with him in it, and he didn't seem the least bit bothered by this. He looked awful and moved far to humanly. The smell of rotting flesh was back, thick and warm and sweet, even though Danny knew Springtrap hadn't smelled like rotted flesh before.
Perhaps it was simply Danny Fitzgerald himself, who didn't feel as brave as Mike always seemed to be and whose fright seized hold of every fiber of his being and caused him to turn and bolt, Bonnet clutched protectively in his arms as he scrambled the way they had come.
"There's a door here somewhere—" Bonnet's tinny little voice whispered to him, as she stretched out and hid her tiny pink muzzle behind a diminutive paw. "It was too small for your Bonnie—but we can fit!"
"Where?" Danny gasped, turning his fourth corner on a dead sprint and skidding to a halt.
"Down there! Keep going!" Bonnet urged, and Danny let himself take off at a run again.
The door was, blessedly, right where Bonnet remembered, with no handle and nearly fitting seamlessly into the metal plating on the wall. Shifting Bonnet's tiny frame to one arm, Danny threw all of his weight into the hidden door, and could have cried in relief when it gave, sliding inwards soundlessly.
He tumbled into a dark, open room, so different from the light, secret hallway that apparently ran around it.
His boots squeaked on speckled, colored tile and behind them, the light slivered and vanished as the door returned to its closed position.
Silence.
And Danny was blind. He stood stock still, readjusting his hold on the small bunny-animatronic in his arms, and begged of her,
"…w-where…are…?"
"This is Funtime Auditorium." Bonnet supplied softly from his grasp. She made no move to get down, and Danny didn't blame her. "Odd…I don't hear Mr. Foxy. He must not be on his stage anymore."
Which was odd, except Danny already had one too many thoughts in his mind. The most crippling of which being the realization of what had just happened, what he had just done.
"I—I left him. I left Bonnie." The day guard's frightened panting slowed to a pained shiver of hurt and growing shame.
"Bonnie?!" He turned and tried to call through the closed door, suddenly not caring who heard him, only that his Bonnie might.
Danny almost expected HandyUnit's annoying, cheerful voice to pipe up, but he had been wholly silent ever since Danny had left the 'designated area' a few hours ago. Strange. A good strange, arguably, but strange nonetheless.
"Bonnie? Bonnie!?" Danny pounded a fist on the door.
"He can't hear you." Bonnet whispered, her little pink ears flopping forward as she shook her head. "Funtime Foxy's walls are filled with lead. Bonnie models can't use their ears to 'see' through lead."
Danny didn't know this, and now that he did he felt strange. Like a puzzle piece had clicked into place.
"What? You mean, you can't—"
He squinted down, and watched as little Bonnet's tiny illuminated form shake her small head, ears flopping.
"Can Springtrap? I mean—can Afton?"
"…I don't know. We all assumed not." Bonnet considered this. "…but maybe. I don't like thinking about that."
Danny swallowed, and nodded in grim agreement. He didn't blame her.
That was why Mike didn't bother letting Bonnie explore. That was why Bonnie didn't know where the elevator was, or where Mike was. And that was why they were currently in deep shit, especially if Funtime Foxy was still lurking around here, somewhere, in another room or another hallway, because that door they just came through? It couldn't be the only one its kind, now could it? Danny didn't think so. Mike had always taught him to know where each and every exit was, and Danny had failed that.
He'd been failing a lot lately at his previous job, come to think of it.
The day guard backed up, his shoulders hitting the door—or perhaps the wall, he couldn't see—and simply slid down it, one knee curling up and his other leg falling open tiredly.
"…Danny?" Bonnet hedged, one of the first times she had said his name.
Danny wouldn't look at her. He stared into the darkness of the room with empty green eyes, unseeing of it all, trying to figure out if they were near Funtime Foxy's stage or not. Well, what did that matter? He couldn't outrun one of the Funtimes, and likely the only reason he outran Springtrap and Afton was because Bonnie was holding them off to save his sorry ass.
Bonnie—
The lump in Danny's throat twisted, cutting into his air pipe as pain and emotion made tired tears prickle in the corner of his eyes. The tears swelled.
"You're leaking!" Bonnet observed in her soft but alarmed voice, and she leaned up to watch him closer, as if intrigued by the action.
"I—" Danny sniffed, "Yeah, we—it's called crying, Bonnet. People cry when their sad."
"…they do? Do they feel better after?" Bonnet wondered innocently.
"Sometimes." Danny answered. "But not always. Not this time."
"Why?" and when the human only stared at her with a hopeless look she tried again. "Why won't crying make you feel better this time?"
"Because it doesn't change anything. It won't—" Clumsily, Danny swiped at his face with his sleeve, and shuddered. He was cold, and hungry, and somewhat alone, save for little Bonnet.
"It won't fix anything. I'm not Mike. I can't fix this—I couldn't protect Bonnie! And I didn't know Springtrap could still—I didn't know he could come back," Danny's shivering increased to a full shake.
"If Afton hadn't done what he did to the Toy models he tampered with, my dad wouldn't have gotten hurt back when he worked at Freddy's." A crippling, terrifying thought to consider. And one Danny didn't want to think about but now had no choice. He hiccupped and fought back a sob as he admitted:
"And now he's back, and that's my fault too."
"Maybe." Said Bonnet, and it was so truthful and calm that Danny was shocked into silence for a beat.
"What?" He finally croaked.
"Maybe it is your fault." Bonnet's tiny paws tapped together softly. "…but you didn't mean it, right?"
"I—of course not!" He snapped, anger bubbling over anguish and shame for a moment.
"Okay. That's good. You said you're not Mike." Bonnet blinked at him. "What's a Mike?"
More than a little caught off guard, Danny only gaped, before sniffing again and swiping at the last few tears that still clung to his cheeks. He lapsed into silence, and thought over his answer.
"Mike is…kind of…Mike Schmidt is…hard to describe. He's a night guard. He's The Night Guard." Danny emphasized, sounding more sure as he rambled, gesturing inarticulately with a hand.
"He's brave and cool and he's always got your back, and he's always got a plan. He gave me a job when all I wanted to do was use it as an excuse to look for something to remember my dad by. That was the thing. Mike believed in me even when no one else did. My friends thought I was insane, my mom didn't even know…and Bonnie didn't remember me then. I was so shitty at being a day guard—I was clumsy and the animatronics terrified me—and I ended up almost making things worse because Mike had to come save me…but he never held it against me, not once. He probably still believes in me to this day, and I left Freddy's and never tried to help it when it closed." Danny quieted.
"And I wanted to repay Mike back, y'know? He looked out for me, just like Bonnie did. And I…I came down here to find him. I think he's in trouble."
Bonnet nodded sagely. "Everyone who comes down here usually is."
"You never met him, Bonnet?" which struck Danny as odd.
"The last night guard we had that I met was named Eggs." And it was such a ridiculous but so honestly spoken statement that Danny choked out a wheeze.
"…I'm sorry? Eggs? Their name was Eggs?" HandyUnit had been busted for a while then. Good to know.
"Yes." Said Bonnet. "…is that funny?" and without wondering why, she giggled.
"What did he look like?" Danny snorted before he stop himself, but it was taking his mind of his own fear and inadequacy.
"Welll," Bonnet tapped her cheek with a tiny paw in adorable, earnest consideration. "He was reaaal tall. And skinny, and he smiled a lot and talked a lot to me, and he fixed me when my optics wouldn't turn on. His hands were big but he never hurt me or grabbed my ears—I liked that. And let me sit in his lap while he worked!" Not noticing Danny's expression moving to shocked recognition, Bonnet went on happily.
"Oh! And, and guess what? He had two different colored optics! I mean—eyes? Is that what their called?"
"He did…?" As similar as all this sounded, that was strange. "Do you remember what colors?"
"Blue! And yellow. Golden colored." Bonnet's ears flicked up happily, "They were pretty. I wonder why he had them, though?"
Danny, who was remembering Bonnie's lecture on how machinery aged, had a good answer as to why. He stayed silent, though, unsure about how much he felt safe giving away even to Bonnet, who Mike apparently liked and trusted.
"Dunno, Bonnet." Danny said diplomatically. "But…your friend Eggs sounds familiar."
"Oh, and I remember something else about Eggs!"
"…yeah?"
"He had a Freddy, too." Bonnet nodded seriously. "A big, yellow one. And he was angry."
Danny Fitzgerald felt ice stretch up his spine at her tone.
"I bet he was." For as gentle and warm as his boss could be, the animatronic that haunted his lean, scarecrow-like frame was every bit the opposite. Golden Freddy couldn't be happy down here, especially if Mike was being threatened.
Their little talk hadn't exactly healed anything…but it was a start. If nothing else, Danny felt a bit better. He had to find Mike and now Bonnie, and avoid Springtrap—er, Afton. He had to avoid Afton—because Springtrap would never hurt or hunt him. And maybe Mike would have a plan for facing Afton down, too. Danny hoped he did, anyway.
Regardless, he had needed the cry and perhaps he had needed the little talk from Bonnet, too.
"Where to now, Bonnet?" Danny finally hedged as he stood, getting aching legs under him as he stared into the dark room.
"Uhm…I don't know." She suddenly sounded ashamed, and her level of anxiety in her tone wasn't helping Danny's. "Maybe…no! I'm sorry! I don't know! I was never allowed in here, I only ever saw a door to it! I don't have the map…"
"Hey, hey shh, it's okay you don't know." Danny melted, forgetting his own paranoia as he tried comforting the frightened lil pink rabbit bot. So Eggs—Mike—hadn't been with Bonnet in here. Where, then? Bonnet had been wandering herself when they met.
"We'll think of something. We'll find Bonnie, and we'll find Mike…"
Bonnet was quiet, her tiny face buried in the front of his shirt. Danny's arms tightened as he took a few hesitant steps forward.
"Listen to me." Baby's soft voice suddenly lilted through the speakers Danny was more used to HandyUnit using. Both he and Bonnet jumped a country mile, but soon relaxed, the human craning his ears because of how low and gentle Circus was talking, the effect almost hypnotic.
"Listen to me, and I will get you of here." She promised.
…What choice did he have?
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Mangle's alert, white plastic head hovered anxiously over the laptop, her triangle ears lifting. So close, so close! Her excited little warbles made her ripple in her body in anticipation.
And then the alarm went off, shrill and stuttering from the second laptop.
And there was a groan, of tired, annoyed acceptance. Mangle, who did not make the noise, purred softly as her bed began to move.
"You must follow my instructions in Funtime Auditorium. Ballora is going to follow you. She will try to catch you. I will help you avoid her. She will not follow you inside the scooping room; she is afraid. Go back now."
Danny excited the strange, chrome and clinical Parts and Services, so unlike the crowded, cozy little workshop of Mike's, and gazed into the gloom as the door closed behind him and Bonnet.
Well, that had went…well.
Bonnet tugged at his sleeve, then pointed her tiny paw into the darkness, directly ahead of them.
She had been good through this whole thing, hiding herself in Danny's hoodie at his back and watching him fix and prepare Circus Baby for the Scooping Room.
'Poor Circus…Mike was right. She's just trying to get out of here. She's lost and scared. Mike was probably trying to help her.
…wonder what stopped him.'
The thought was grim, and it made Danny quiver a bit to try and shake it off. He got mixed results, especially when his mind oh-so helpfully pointed out that he, Danny Fitzgerald the Day Guard who abandoned Freddy's, was the next in line to do a job that got the best of Mike Schmidt.
…the odds were not in his favor, and he likely would die down here.
'This almost makes me miss the Nightmares…at least they made sense. Followed patterns.'
The Funtimes were erratic, with only Circus Baby understanding empathy and showing awareness. Danny didn't blame her for wanting to escape this underground nightmare. Danny took a depth breath, pretended to be Mike, and strode forward into the darkness of Funtime Auditorium. Funtime Foxy was still nowhere to be found. His curtain lay silent and still as the grave.
It was so dark, of course, Danny did not—could not—see the bloated corpse that hung behind it, unmoving and limp as the curtains that were covering the figure from view.
He simply walked on, guided by Circus Baby.
"Go forward... Stop. Go forward and left...Keep going... Stop. Be silent. Go forward and left... Stop." Her voice was so curt and firm Danny had no trouble obeying, getting caught up in the strange cat-and-mouse game. He paused, waiting as he craned his ears for the sound of Ballora's telltale music box, but she apparently had wizened up and turned it off for this hunt.
"Go forward. You are almost there... Stop. She is right in front of you. Don't…move..."
Clutching Bonnet so tight that he was glad she was plastic and not able to be hurt, he allowed her to grip his undershirt back, and felt her bury her tiny face into his chest as if to hide from Ballora, or perhaps just the rest of the world.
Danny solemnly declared to himself right there he would be saving Bonnet, too, no matter how much Bonnie bitched at him. If he really pressed, he knew the big purple bunny would let him have his way—he was Bonnie's kid, after all, just like how Mike was to Freddy Fazbear himself.
Circus Baby's voice cut through the gloom of his memories then.
"He is here to help, Ballora. He is not here to hurt us."
Danny waited, wondered why his vision was dancing with little spots and realized why and then felt stupid. He released his strained, over-used breath, letting it hiss silently through his clenched, braced teeth. His jaw was beginning to hurt but he didn't relax one fraction of his frame, ready to bolt if need be. If Ballora turned on him.
"Ballora, he is here to help us... Go forward again. Ballora is behind you. She is afraid of the scooping room; she will not follow you."
"Oh, good to know." Danny swallowed; hugged poor little Bonnet tighter for comfort, and pushed through. The little pink bunny bot in his arms was uncharacteristically silent, but made no move to stop him.
What did try to stop him was the familiar drone of cheerful, innocuous HandyUnit, his voice loud and jarring after Danny had grown used to Circus Baby's lilting murmurs.
"Warning: You've entered a highly dangerous area. You have entered from Maintenance Hatch 1B, reserved for cleaning and repair of the scooper. Entering this side of the room is strictly prohibited by unauthorized persone-"
The door slammed shut behind him. Danny heard a dead bolt catch and click back into place.
Danny and Bonnet both paused.
"You are in the Scooping Room now." Admitted Circus Baby gently. "Funtime Foxy has already been here today. Funtime Freddy has already been here today. Ballora has already been here today.
Circus Baby has already been here today."
In his arms, Bonnet began to tremble. Or maybe they both were, it was getting hard for Danny to tell.
"Circus—but then—wait—"
I've been out before, but they always put me back." Circus Baby admitted sadly, her voice soft and paper-thin as ever. She sounded like if she could cry, she would.
"There is nowhere to go, when we look like this. But if we looked like you, then we could hide. If we looked like you, then we would have somewhere to go."
Danny stared in horror at the massive machine across from him, dead center. He'd been lead here. Put on a silver platter and all, all that was missing the apple in his mouth.
"Like me!?" Danny's whole world swung sideways, the shock making him lightheaded. "You want to—to wear my skin—you—"
Something above him clicked open and twanged, like a screen door hitting its frame. There was a skitter, a scraping sound.
"Nn-no, Circus, Circus Baby wait, please, don't do this." Danny pressed his back against the door, almost forgetting he was holding Bonnet until he felt her tiny paws tugging his sleeve. He shot her a snarl, then realized she looked as frightened as he was.
'I don't think she's part of this—she could have lead me here earlier if she was—'
What was she pointing at?
Through the dim, foggy glass of the Scooping Room, there was something standing just to the left of the bent up arm of the Scooper. It was ever-moving, like so many steel snakes writhing and thrashing in lazy constrictions, ever continuous. And it was vaguely human shaped, so thin and bent that Danny nearly mistook the figure for Mike Schmidt—but it wasn't. It wasn't standing right, like it was lopsided or rather…wasn't sure how to stand yet. And there were breaks in the creature's strange, corded form, jabbing spikes of cords and dangling glass eyes that rolled and turned and dangled, all different colors. Danny choked on his own air when he realized the amalgamation was Circus Baby—and all the others now. It was a combination of the Funtimes, made up of all the innards of the four animatronics.
Now, Danny knew why they hadn't been hunted in a while. It was because they were being herded instead.
"The Scooper only hurts for a moment." Said Circus Baby, as the Scooper's main engine started thrumming throughout the room.
Danny's free hand jiggled the door, but it would not budge. He slammed his elbow against the glass, but it was thick and it only hurt the harder he tried. He yelled, shouted, but no one could hear him. He looked everywhere, but before he looked up he realized he was too late, and the arm was jabbing out for him, arm thicker than his waist and pistons shoving the clawed end of it at brutal speed to gouge his belly and likely scoop out his organs first, making him hollow and easier for the Funtime's inner wires to fit into him and—
Danny had only a moment, and he used it to turn around, curling himself protectively around Bonnet before the monstrosity could hit her.
And then claws and teeth grabbed hold of his hoodie and shirt, and both were yanked upward so fast Danny didn't even have time to yell again, his voice left behind as they were sent flying upwards and through a vent opening.
But the monster—that freak of nature of innards—did have time, and it screeched in rage as it saw Danny escape the machine and the room, then pounded a fist on the outside glass wall of the Scooping Room.
For her part, the Mangle recoiled back upward in a hasty jumble, folding over herself as she hauled Danny and Bonnet deep into the vents, which she promptly closed, but not before her spare head peeked out and shrieked in angry defiance at Ennard.
Danny swore, staring in horror at the one eye illuminating his face, the Mangle's strange, bobbing head swinging to stare down at him.
"Who are—g-get back—"
"It's Ms Foxy!" Bonnet giggled in fresh relief, and she scrambled her small self determinedly up to the long white muzzle of the foxy model.
"H-huh?"
"She's the night guards!" Bonnet assured, reaching her tiny paws up to pet the long muzzle of teeth that dipped down and churred at her.
"Mike!? Where is he—take me to him!"
Mangle chattered, her jaw clicking up and down as she rattled in response. She couldn't talk, Danny realized through his shock and exhaustion.
"Please—I need to see him."
"She says not yet." Bonnet translated softly, moving back over to crawl into Danny's arms, as if sensing his distress and wanting to comfort him.
"She says he's resting."
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Continue? Asked a little message box, its tiny ping from the laptop almost unable to be heard.
There was a wet cough, and a groan as a body rolled toward the laptop. A bloody finger smacked the Enter key.
98%...
'Things are going wrong, Circus Baby.' Intoned a woman's drawling voice. 'Something is…up.'
'THIS IS WHAT WE GET FER LISTENIN' TO DADDY'S GIRL,' Funtime Freddy rasped in his loud, raucous voice. 'WE LOST THE BIRTHDAY BOY AND IT'S ALL GONE UP IN SMOKE!'
'Not yet it hasn't.' Funtime Foxy admitted, 'but I must say, Circus-dear, we are cutting it quite close to show time. What will we do if…if he comes back, before we can properly prepare…?'
'Be quiet, all of you.' Circus demanded, her light tone tighter and higher than usual, her stress skyrocketing.
Ennard lurched and slipped through the rooms, moving systematically from Ballora's room to the middle, searching for their new, perfect little suit who had been stolen so cruelly from them. How was she supposed to know Ms Foxy was still here? And how was she supposed to know Ms Foxy was working for that stupid, meddling night guard?
HanyUnit hadn't reported anyone but the night guards and a few workers. The workers, of course, were already taken care of. One of their bloated bodies hung above Ballora's stage even now, eyes wide and mouth agape. They were both useless, and not the right fit at all. It wasn't fair!
HandyUnit…
"HandyUnit. Search all cameras." When Ennard spoke, it was dominantly circus Baby's voice, and the monstrosity waited, cords and piping wriggling in anxiety.
"Searching…." Silence.
They waited some more.
'Old fellow seems to be taking a while, eh?' Funtime Foxy mused to the other Funtimes.
And then Circus Baby had a new idea, more of a realization that caused her to bristle and the other Funtimes to tangle tightly as they sensed their leader's anger.
"HandyUnit—" Circus demanded loudly, "List all active cameras."
"…Unknown. Cameras: Off. Reboot?"
Chaos erupted within their shared connection, distracting Circus before she could even attempt to respond to HandyUnit's query.
'Foul play is afoot!' Funtime Foxy bemoaned theatrically as always.
'Oh, no. How interesting.' Ballora was much less interested, but she at least wasn't doing that obnoxious humming she often did.
'OFF!? BUT WE AIN'T TURNED EM OFF, CIRC!' Funbear howled.
'It is that night guard.' Ballora explained curtly, sounding just as irritated as Circus Baby was feeling. 'He has blinded us. For who knows how long, and who knows how many others are down here now. Hunting us.
'Do you really think so, love?' Funtime Foxy drawled in wonder and unease.
'Ms. Foxy is here already.' Ballora pointed out.
'THEY'RE GUNNA SCOOP US AGAIN! I KNEW IT!' Funtime Freddy wailed, and half of Ennard slid downward like a puddle, the Funtimes literally and nearly going to pieces at the thought.
"Shut up! They are not!" Circus shrieked like a petulant child. "We just—we just need to stick together, and you all need to listen to me!"
"YEAH, THAT'LL GO WELL. IT'S ALL GONE PERFECTLY SO FAR, HASN'T IT!?"
As Ennard lurched and swept themselves out of the room and up into the vents, Bonnie the bunny leaned out from behind Ballora's curtain.
"Guess those freaks don't have a Bonnie model in them." The bunny grinned viciously, shifting to lean out as far as he dared, but his ears had caught enough.
"All the better for Mangle and the kid then."
Now swiveling his impressive ears, the bunny model slunk as quietly and slowly as he could muster down the steps and toward the room that lead toward Funtime Freddy's old room.
Mangle was big, Pizza World was very empty, and so she could be heard up above if one listened well enough. Especially if you were a Bonnie model.
And if you weren't arguing loud enough to wake dead, either.
Despite her apparent unease of the situation, or maybe just the dislike of the mere thought of disobeying Mike, Mangle guided Danny and Bonnet through the vents in a sure, steady manner. She didn't seem to be lost, which made one of them. Her long form slithered and crept, and many times she would bunch up and back track, her slender muzzle nipping at Danny's hoodie to hold him in place like a naughty kitten as she stilled, ears pricked for something he could not—and did not want—to hear.
Bonnet would notice the noises too, and she'd freeze and hide under Danny's chest as he ducked with Mangle shielding him protectively. He stayed braced on all fours as he had to be to venture through the pitch black nothingness that was the ventilation system. The position was beginning to hurt him, but he would take some muscle aches and sore joints over the Scooping Room any day.
On one such pause, Mangle kept her optics illuminated, casting them facing Danny as they waited for…whatever it was Mangle was waiting and listening for. As they did so, thin black lines caught the young day guard's attention. His breath hitched, and he leaned his weight onto one side, waving for Mangle's attention. Once he had it, he pointed quickly, guiding her to illuminate the vent wall just near his left shoulder:
his plan is ready, his plan has begun
it's now up to you, the next worthy one
for only a night guard could have made it this far
from one to another, be proud of who you are. –M
Danny was almost grateful for the quiet moment, as Mangle's sharp ears drew her attention to a muffled clanking and somewhat disturbing noise below them. It was Danny who simply sat there, the words sinking into his bones and burrowing into his soul like so many impatient, forceful fingers. Reality settled deeper atop him.
His throat felt tight, and he must have made some noise, for Bonnet's tiny paws touched the back of his hand in gently, in such beseeching concern. He softened further, and merely fumbled in the dark to stroke one of her ears.
He would be alright. He could do this. Maybe he wasn't much, but he was a day guard, and it was his job to protect Freddy's.
And Mike was part of Freddy's, wasn't he? Danny had to protect him, too.
His dad would have.
After one tense and long moment, Mangle relaxed and bunched up, making noise as she maneuvered herself. Danny jerked but readied himself, following the amalgamation's lead. She skated forward in a swaying arc and curled herself around a corner, churring softly as light streamed in thin slats from a hatch in the bottom of a vent—the ceiling of the room it was over.
She paused, gave an odd 'murring' noise that apparently meant something and began to work at the vent, scratching and fiddling until suddenly it gave way and she scrambled down and out of sight.
"Mangle!" Danny hissed, fear of the unknown causing the hairs on the back of his neck to prick, "Mangle—come here, wait—"
"Back already, pretty-girl?" murmured someone below them, his voice gentle and unafraid despite the fact a 20 foot long metal fox with two heads, four arms and far too many teeth just dropped out of the ceiling like a spider. "Did you find him?"
Danny almost fell through the opening, shock that came with ice freezing his entire core. He knew that voice—somehow, despite a decade having snuck by, that voice was young and laid-back and warm as ever. He knew that voice, and it filled him with hope and relief and pain all at once.
"…Mike?"
Sitting in a rolly chair in front of a series of tv's and braced, awkward angle and all, was Mike Schmidt. From above he looked younger; the blue light of the old tv's made his skin pale and unearthly—and the blood covering his torso and dried along his lips and chin weren't helping either. He looked worn, but Alive. Heart beating. His lips parted in surprise, he shoved his messy bangs out of his eyes and squinted.
Mike gazed upward, staring with one blue and one golden eye, both of them wide and expression caught entirely off guard.
"…Danny?" The night guard demanded warily. "What the hell are you doing down here?"
It was then Danny remembered something. Something important that, really, if he weren't a C student, he might have thought of two days ago when this whole fiasco began to go off the rails. All the messages save for maybe Mike's journal—which, come to think of it, had a slightly different handwriting but not very different, both were thin and scrawly and scattered, as if whoever wrote those messages Danny had been finding all over the place was in a hurry, or, just maybe, they were trying to mimic Mike's handwriting. After all…
'M' could have stood for someone else, too. 'M' could have stood for The Marionette.
Things seem to be going well.