Chapter 3: Close Your Eyes and Think of Go-Karting
EXIT INTERVIEW: Jason Dayton, Animatronic Engineer
I am sorry for going behind the back of the rest of the team, but I did what had to be done. I know I was explicitly told only to make a suit for Montgomery Gator, and have it made identical to the original but with this emergent technology. I stand by my choices and will elaborate my reasoning.
We do not have normal animatronics here. They are not some steel and rubber puppets fixed on a stage and moving around with pneumatic actuators. These are real, living, thinking, creative robots with artificial intelligence that has granted them sentience. And in my years of research and development, it is only a matter of time before they begin experiencing self-actualization, which may lead to more tragic implications if this company continues to treat them like disposable toys. The NMS suits are far more than just a fancy new type of covering; they are the key to their independence.
I have fully produced one suit using this technology and design principles for Roxanne Wolf. From my analysis of her behaviors and based on feedback from the maintenance team, she is perhaps the most vulnerable to a mental breakdown in the long-term. The suit is in part inspired by two sources: the mascot artwork from our company's own marketing, and the countless artwork by fans that have taken the time to draw her in their vision. The suit was quite expensive to develop, but I believe it will pay for itself in the long term. And yes, having fully detailed and functional anatomy is part of that self-actualization process, and I do not appreciate the childish snickering about "wolf titties".
I will leave my contact details should you ever regret this decision and want to expand this technology to the rest of the cast.
Every S.T.A.F.F. bot was fixated on Roxanne, their eyes glowing a piercing red. And now they were advancing towards her. She turned and saw the blaster return bin on her right. She kicked it over and grabbed two blasters that fell out. She couldn't die now. She had to protect Marcus.
As one bot dashed toward her, she blasted it in the face. She blasted one after another, but they kept coming and coming. They threw themselves on top of her. They grabbed and ripped at her casing. There were too many to count, and they were relentless.
The blasters ran out of fire. Roxanne ripped the bots with her claws and bit them with her fangs. But the more she destroyed, the more that seemed to come. She threw herself through the pile, knocking them over, grabbed and smashed them into each other, and rushed towards the exit. The bots were making horrible, monstrous screeching noises behind her, noises she had never heard them make before. She ran down into the hall, too narrow for all the bots to follow, and heard the door close behind her with a satisfying thunk. One bot managed to get through, but Roxanne grabbed it by the chest and slammed it hard into the wall. It deactivated and slumped to the floor, leaving a huge indent in the wall.
She saw a nearby locker and tipped it down on front of the door, just to make sure none of the bots could get through if the door opened again. She panted, leaning against the wall as she tried to assess what damage had been done. All her system and physical functions seemed to be normal, but the toll of the fight had drained her battery. She put her hands on her face.
Or rather, the space where it should be.
Oh god.
Her eyes were there, but that was all. Her fingers touched endoskeleton metal. Her whole endoskeleton face was exposed. She looked at her hands, and saw the covering was gone from most of her fingers.
Oh god, oh god, oh god.
She felt nauseous, but then remembered Marcus. Where did he go? He wanted to help her reboot the others. In her state, she couldn't use her specialized vision properly, so she had to take a leap of faith guess. Maybe he went to the east arcade to reboot Freddy. He'd be the biggest help for stopping the other two if he was restored to normal.
She rushed towards the arcade. Everything around her faded way into a dark, blurry tunnel, her eyes only focusing on her path forward. She passed El Chip's and entered the arcade, looking around for any sight of Marcus. She tried to relax, calm herself so she can use her eyes. And then she heard whimpering nearby. She turned and saw the glow of Marcus's Fazwatch through a Monty-shaped trash bin. She could tell he was shaking and crying.
She stepped close to him – too close, and too quickly. Startled, Marcus popped out of the bin like a jack-in-the-box and shot her right between the eyes with his blaster. She howled in pain, clutching her face, and fell to one knee. He gasped when he recognized her voice and climbed out of the bin. She removed her hands from her face to see him staring at her, eyes wide and his skin pale.
"Roxy?" He quickly held up his Fazwatch and used the mini flashlight on her. She squinted as the light hit her face. He let out a shriek of terror and then fainted.
"M-Marcus?!" Roxanne cried out as she dove forward and caught Marcus before he hit the ground. And she looked – really looked – at her hands and arms. There was so much exposed wiring and metal framework. It made her so sick, especially seeing an innocent little kid in her arms.
This isn't you. This isn't Roxy.
She heard something in the distance, making her alert again. Holding Marcus tight, she rushed over to the nearest bathroom. She carefully laid him out over the long row of sinks to make sure he was unhurt. Thankfully, other than his fainting, he seemed fine, no cuts or bruises anywhere. He even managed to hold on to his blaster.
And then she looked up in the mirror.
Where her face and muzzle were supposed to be was a large gap, completely exposing her endoskeleton face. Only the top and side portions of her head remained, so she still had her hair and ears, but with the haunting artificial face sticking out. Her chest, arm, and leg plates were completely mangled, exposing all the endoskeleton limbs and wires that had lurked underneath. What looked like oil and coolant stained most of her body.
She felt something horrible twinge deep inside her.
He saw you.
The real you.
…
For fuck's sake, Roxy! This isn't the time to a personal crisis!
She forced herself to breathe. She had to stay positive. She looked again and saw her unique eyes looking back at her. Despite everything, they seemed to have endured without so much as a scratch. That brought Roxanne some relief at least. She couldn't imagine what losing them would be like for her.
She heard someone's heavy footsteps just outside the bathroom door – and moments from entering. Then she heard a voice. "Roxanne?" Freddy called from the other side of the door. "Are you alright? I heard you scream a moment ago. I hope you are not injured."
Marcus was starting to stir. Roxanne clenched her fists. There was no way she could let Freddy in, no matter how sweet and sincere he sounded just now. How was he able to fake it so good when Chica and Monty couldn't? Before, she had been worried but confident in being able to keep Marcus safe. But now, with her friends brainwashed into killers, the S.T.A.F.F. bots and a creepy rabbit girl hunting her down, and her whole body being mangled from head to toe…the whole weight of the night's terror hit her like a concrete brick.
"Roxanne? If you need assistance, I can come in and help you."
She tore her eyes from the mirror and towards the door. She couldn't dwell anymore. She had to act. She carefully picked up Marcus, sat him inside one of the stalls, and closed it before she exited the bathroom door. Freddy had his hand outstretched, about to open the door himself. His eyes widened when he saw her.
"R-Roxanne! What has happened to you?!"
"I…I don't know!" she howled in despair and pain. "Th-the bots, they…they just went nuts on me!" She started to sob; it was partially an act to disarm him, but also brutally raw. She was hanging by a thread and didn't know how badly she needed to cry until now.
Freddy looked distressed and uncomfortable. The Freddy she knew would've tried to comfort her right away. "A-and what of the missing child? Did you find him?"
"F-Freddy…" she hiccupped and sobbed. "I'm a mess…I don't know if I can go on…"
Freddy paused, as though he was trying to find the right thing to say or do. Then he held out his arms, stepping forward to comfort her. She threw her arms around his torso, holding him tight, her body wracking with sobs. "Roxanne…" he sighed softly as he stroked her hair. "No matter what happens to you, you are still beautiful."
Roxanne wanted to believe him, to think he was truly being sincere. But she felt the power switch compartment on Freddy's back and remembered herself. In one quick, smooth motion, she flipped the panel up and pressed the reboot button.
Freddy's body convulsed against her, and his eyes rolled over before closing. The whole weight of his body came crashing down on her as he shut down, falling through the doorway and pinning her to the bathroom floor.
The low battery warning flashed over and over in Roxanne's HUD. She couldn't remember the last time she had charged. She pushed Freddy's unconscious body off her and pulled up on her hands and knees. She put his arm over her shoulder and tried to lift him up, but she could feel her systems starting to fail her. She was entering rest mode, whether she liked it or not. Her strength left her, and she fell to the floor again. Hello floor, my old friend.
A bathroom stall door creaked open, and Marcus, now awake again, stepped out. He saw the robot pile on the floor and froze up. "R-Roxy? Is he…did you turn him off?"
Roxanne tried to reply but couldn't; the rest mode had deactivated her voice box.
"Um…blink once for yes, twice for no."
Roxanne blinked once. Marcus sighed in relief and hurried over to her side.
"Are you okay? Why can't you talk or move?"
Just then, the heard Freddy stirring back to life. He pulled himself up and brushed himself off. "Roxanne!" he said triumphantly. "You have fixed me! I am at last myself aga—" He stopped, looking down and seeing the state of her, quickly putting two and two together. "Oh no! Roxy! Your power levels are critically low!"
Yeah, no shit. Roxanne's head slumped against the tile.
Freddy turned to Marcus. "So, Marcus, was it? We must get her to Parts and Service right away. She will be able to recharge, and we will be able to reassemble her with new parts." He lifted her up in his arms. Roxanne glanced over to see herself in the mirror again and wished she hadn't. She had even more wear and dirt on what remained of her outer shell. She looked like she had been fished out of a garbage dump. Even in her low power state, she couldn't help but quietly sob.
Marcus said something in response, but Roxanne couldn't hear him, his voice muffled by her own internal monologue as she stared at the mirror.
This is you. The real Roxanne Wolf. An ugly, mangled endoskeleton, no different from the hundreds of others lying around. Maybe except your eyes and voice box, but all those are interchangeable. Take them away, and what are you left with? Your personality? Your toxic narcissism? Your insecurity? Your drive to win? Your haughty elitism? Beneath it all, are you really just a collection of unpleasant personality traits in a pretty wolf girl casing?
In that moment, she wished the bots had finished the job back at Fazer Blast. Monty aside, she had always been seen as the most antagonistic animatronic in the eyes of the guests, and Monty was an actual psychopath, hiding how dangerous he is just so he wouldn't get scrapped.
And are you really any different?
No, you're better than him. Better than this.
She wanted to believe it but couldn't find the will to do so.
What makes you a good, worthwhile person? What gives you value? How do you even know you're a "she"? The way you look? The sound of your voice? The way the some customers ogle you? In the end, aren't all endoskeletons identical and androgynous anyway?
She just wanted to curl up into a deep, dark hole and disappear forever. For a moment, her mind was lucid again, and realized Freddy had put her over his shoulder, with Marcus walking beside him.
"Do all of you look like that underneath?" Marcus was asking, his eyes fixated on one of Roxanne's dangling arms.
Freddy nodded. "All of us share the same default endoskeleton build. Roxy and Chica's are slightly modified for shoulder width and overall height, however."
Marcus thought about it for a moment. "…Oh, kinda like us people do!"
Roxanne's ear perked up.
"What do you mean, Marcus?" Freddy asked.
"Well…we all look different on the outside, but inside, we all are made of the same stuff! Same skeleton and meat and everything."
Somehow, that made Roxanne feel just a bit better. Unnerved, Freddy opted to change the subject. "Are you certain you do not wish to travel inside my stomach hatch? It may not be a designated play area, but it would do well to hide you from the others."
Marcus nodded. "Um…yes. I kind of…went inside Roxy to hide from Monty."
"What?! But her chest hatch doesn't open all the way without the proper equipment!"
Marcus narrowed his eyes. "Yes."
Freddy realized the implication. "…OH. That must have been hard for you."
Marcus bit his lower lip. "Y-yeah…but she did it to protect me. It was just very sudden."
Roxanne couldn't move her arms, but still wanted to beat herself up.
"Yes, Roxy can be quite brash and spontaneous," Freddy said calmly. "But she never means harm. I hope you understand that, Marcus."
She saw Marcus nod. Freddy pat Roxanne's hair. She wasn't sure if he knew she was conscious again or not. Maybe he suspected.
"Despite looks – or, rather, first impressions – she does have a heart of gold. Well, in part, all of us do. And not just because it makes for good semiconductor material."
Freddy…the eternal straight-man, goody two-shoes Freddy, just made a joke. A fucking dad joke. Roxanne couldn't help but wheeze in weak laughter. For a moment, she forgot her woes, completely caught off-guard. Freddy's just…nice, even when he doesn't have to be. He had said before the stuff he admired about her, but in that moment, she wished she could say the same to him.
Freddy and Marcus heard her wheeze. "Roxanne!" Freddy said in delight. "You are conscious! And in good spirits too, it would seem!" He stepped onto the main stage and pressed the button to go down to Parts and Service.
As the stage traveled down, Marcus stepped over to look at her. "Roxy? Does it…hurt? A-and are you still…you?"
Roxanne blinked slowly.
"Marcus, she cannot speak now due to her low power level. But I assure you, Roxanne is still Roxanne. We would not want her any other way."
He had intended it to sound reassuring, but it got Roxanne's self-deprecating thoughts to return. Would they accept you if you changed and grew, became someone outside of their idea of who Roxy is? Would they still love you if you if you changed completely? Would you still be Roxy? Who is Roxanne Wolf?
She closed her eyes, thinking of one of the mantras she told herself after shows.
"Your performance and perfect tonight! Your hair is beautiful. Your tail is beautiful. Everyone was watching you. Everyone loves you. Everyone wants to BE you. You are the best!"
Is that who Roxanne Wolf is?
Roxanne Wolf is…a self-important narcissist, who's also an insecure, weak baby, a sore loser, and a worse winner. But apparently, people also love her? Are you still just that person? Have you grown beyond your programming? Are you making your own choices, or are you a slave to your code? Do you have free will at all?
She looked for answers, and none came. Her voice box let out a little howl of distress.
"Roxy!" Marcus reached up and took her shattered hand into both of his.
Freddy sighed sadly. "I believe she is suffering some manner of mental anguish. I do not think we, as sapient animatronics, were meant to see our own endoskeletons and start thinking about the wider ramifications."
They made their way down the hall, through the double doors and into Parts and Service. Freddy stepped towards the protective cylinder and gently laid Roxanne out on the seat. She never really liked going down here, even on a good day, but for the first time, the chair felt kind of relaxing.
Still unable to move, she could hear Freddy speaking. "Now Marcus, help me find replacement parts for Roxy, please."
"On it!" he said bravely. She heard the two walk off in different directions, checking the various storage rooms on either side. After a while, she heard Marcus speak up. "Freddy, what's this? It's a laptop with a sticker of Roxy's face on it."
She heard Freddy step over to him, followed by the whir of the laptop waking up. "Hmm…" Freddy said. "Most curious. It appears to be the development logs of a member of the Research and Development team. Along with some sort of blog. I am unfamiliar with this… 'FurAffinity' site that he had bookmarked."
Marcus said something in response muffled by the sound of keyboard taps.
"Why yes, it would seem he is no longer with Fazbear Entertainment, despite the hiring manager and supervisor both considering him an engineering genius. He had been designing real-seeming flesh and fur modules using nanobots as a base…which, and I do hope I'm reading this correctly, 'harden in response to physical trauma'. They can memorize an exact form, and do self-repair should their barrier be penetrated. This log says the features were requested after repeated instances of guests getting upset and rowdy, and as a manner of insurance in case Monty should ever lose control completely."
"But if this guy was so smart, why was he fired?"
"It would seem he was fired for…" She heard his voice crack and cough. "That is unsuitable for the ears of children. Now, let's see here…Aha! It appears he had completed and had produced a new shell with this new technology for Roxanne. It is in a storage unit labeled NMS-7699...ah, and there it is. Now we can begin." He stepped over and picked up a long power cable and plugged one end into the base of the seat. "Marcus, please take the other end and plug it into the recharge station. It is outside the doors, immediately to your left."
Roxanne heard Marcus scamper away through the doorway. Freddy entered the cylinder with a large, black case with her symbol on the top, and the serial number etched beneath.
"Roxanne, I must warn you before we begin. These parts provided are rather…unconventional. But I cannot leave you in the state you are in."
Just then, Marcus plugged the other end of the cable into the recharge station. She felt a wonderful surge of energy flow throughout her body, followed by a deep sense of relief. She sat up and saw Marcus coming back through the doorway, and partially covered her face with her hands as not to scare him. "Thanks, kid."
Did you really just say that? After all that? You know his name, you douche!
But Marcus didn't seem to have the same grievances she did. He just beamed at her and gave her a thumbs up. She blinked and returned the gesture.
"Now Marcus," Freddy said, "I will be putting the protective screens up on the glass as I repair Roxanne. We should be quite safe down here. However, keep your blaster ready in case of an emergency. If something goes wrong, knock on the glass three times, and I will step out to help you."
Marcus nodded. Freddy pressed a button on the side of the chair. The door to the cylinder closed and black coverings came down over the windows. "Freddy?" Roxanne said. "Was that really necessary?"
Freddy gave her a stern look. "Yes, I am afraid so." He put the box down on the floor and lifted one of the parts out to show her. It was her midsection component, and it was…rather anatomically detailed.
"Oh. Yeah, I see what you mean," she said, trying to sound cool and nonchalant, but would be blushing solid red if she had blood. And a face.
"We will deal with it as it comes. There also appears to be a change of clothing at the bottom of the box. As you may have surmised, clothing will be a requirement for you going forward. Now, please, lay back, close your eyes, and think of go-karting."
She nodded and laid her body back down in the seat. She closed her eyes. She heard Freddy shifting the new parts into position on some of the assembly machine's mechanical arms, tap something into a console, and press a button. The machine whirred loudly into life above her. She knew what would come next and didn't dare open her eyes.
The intercom crackled. "Welcome. Repair module booting. NMS upgrade equipment detected. Congratulations! Fazbear Entertainment has authorized an experimental body and system upgrade for this model. Commence previous shell removal."
One by one, the various appendages felt all over her body and removed what little remained of her old, damaged shell. It didn't necessarily hurt; she was designed to be taken apart by this machine, after all. But she hated feeling so vulnerable. And ugly. Hate, hate, hate, hate. And afraid.
A little whimper escaped her voice box. "Roxanne!" she heard Freddy shout, clearly startled. "Is something the matter? Should I stop the procedure?"
"N-no," she said meekly. "Keep going." She imitated breathing again. If it helped humans with stressful situations, she could at least try it too. She tried to tune out the whole world, to not focus on the messages from the intercom. She remembered Freddy's advice.
Think of go-karting.
Her mind drifted. There she was on the racetrack. Bright lights lit up the room. The massive mural of her, wearing sunglasses and a biker jacket, waving two checkered flags, loomed over her on the adjacent wall. That version of Roxanne Wolf, the one whose artwork decorated the halls and posters of the Pizzaplex, had no animatronic seams at all. She was an anthropomorphic wolf through and through. This was the version of herself Roxanne sometimes saw in the mirror, and when she closed her eyes at night. The one that couldn't be thrown out as just another novelty toy.
3…2…1…GO!
She was tearing down the racetrack in her go-kart, leaving legendary professional racecar drivers in the dust. She felt the new parts clicking into place. She breezed through the first lap and rushed into the extended track in the tunnel. The nanomachines were latching onto her endoskeleton. She felt her whole body start to tingle. Were they repairing and transforming her endoskeleton too? A racer was coming around the corner, but her beautiful amber eyes saw him coming. She drifted down the next curve with perfect precision. She could feel her jaws again. They felt different. Final lap! She heard the crowd chanting her name, and it filled her with life. Her body felt warm, like she had a heart pounding with excitement. The finish line was just ahead. Her systems were automatically adjusting to her new form. She slammed on the gas. Now or never, Roxanne.
She dashed through the finish line and braked skillfully to a stop. The crowd roared with excitement. "Roxanne! Roxanne! Roxanne! Roxanne!" She stepped out and waved at her adoring fans in the stage. She tossed her hair and smiled triumphantly.
Wait…smiled?
"Animatronic shell upgrade complete," the intercom blared. "NMS adjustments completed. Good job! Roxanne is all patched up and ready for the big show. You may now exit the protective cylinder."
She opened her eyes and sat up. She blinked as her vision readjusted to the light, and she looked down at her arms. Fully covered, no endoskeleton in sight, and no obvious robotic joints either. She put her hands on her face and felt a muzzle again. She opened her jaw and felt teeth, and…a tongue? That she could use? That was new. She looked over and saw Freddy watching over her. "R-Roxanne?" he said uneasily. "It appears your new parts have installed successfully. How do you feel?"
"Wow…" she murmured, flexing her fingers as she got used to all the changes. Even the robotic distortion of her voice seemed to have faded. "I…I feel amazing!" She stepped out of the seat and gave Freddy the biggest hug she could, her tail wagging. "Thank you, Freddy!" She registered a strange new sensation of how her new chassis deformed as it pressed into his hard plastic one, although it wasn't unpleasant, and went back to normal when she pulled back.
Freddy's eyes were darting side to side, visibly uncomfortable. "I…I will exit the cylinder and allow you to dress in privacy," he said and promptly hurried through the door.
Roxanne nodded and picked the box up off the floor, setting it down on the seat. But before getting dressed, she thought she'd poke around her new casing to get a good feel for it.
It was nothing at all like her old one. Her body overall felt like it was thickly padded. She didn't know how to describe it. Like…a fur rug over a layer of silicone? The fur on her body wasn't just a painted color like before either; it looked and felt like the real deal. She checked her internal temperature and saw it was hovering around human body heat. She looked at her left arm and gently squeezed it. It was mostly soft but soon reached a stiff point where she could feel her endoskeleton beneath.
Anger, shame and disgust suddenly overwhelmed her when she remembered what she looked like beneath all this pretty new casing. She drew back and slapped herself hard in the face…and found it didn't hurt. It wouldn't normally hurt anyway, but this was different. She reached her hand up to her cheek and found it had hardened to response to the slap. She held her hand over her cheek, and felt the spot soften against her fingertips. Wait…she looked down at her hands again. Five fingers? She only had four before. And she had been moving and using them this whole time without even noticing the change.
Looking down, she looked at her feet. Same deal: instead of giant cartoonish feet, she had much smaller feet that closer were to scale with the rest of her body. And five toes on each, too! Then she saw something on her chest. Two large, round, soft breasts. She was flabbergasted. She poked and prodded them curiously, and they wobbled around. What the hell? Whoever designed her was damn generous with her assets. Something between her legs had changed too, but she looked up and saw Freddy still waiting outside the cylinder, trying not to look. Hastily, she went back to the box and picked up the clothing. Whatever was going on with her new body, she could figure it all out later.
The outfit provided in the box was essentially identical to her old casing's painted-on clothing. She didn't mind that one bit; she quite liked that glamrock outfit. Her breasts stretched out the red top, and the top in turn kept them from bouncing around so much. After a couple of minutes, she figured out how to put everything on and was fully dressed.
She stepped out of the cylinder and Freddy turned to look. He seemed to be easing up now that her casing wasn't naked anymore. "Hmmm. Fascinating. The new casing really does bring out a lifelike appearance. Perhaps management was too hasty to fire that engineer."
"Oh?" Roxanne said with a grin. She didn't have a mirror handy, but she could feel her expression change. It was wild for her to be able to move more than just her lower jaw up and down. "Do you want this upgrade too?"
Freddy hesitated. "P-perhaps I need time to think it over."
Roxanne chuckled as she folded her arms and leaned against the doorway. "So, what's next?"
"While you were dressing, I found an additional upgrade available that is compatible with your new casing, should you wish to try it. It appears to be a hand-embedded taser, which can produce a shock through your fingertips to quell unruly guests or stop intruders."
Roxanne thought about it. "Well, it would help bring down Monty and Chica so we can reboot them. Sure, let's do it."
"Great. I have the component here," he said, picking up a small cardboard box on the counter. "This shouldn't take too long."
She sat back down on the chair, not leaning back this time. She turned her right hand around, palm facing up, and bent her hand back to expose her wrist. Strangely, she didn't need the cylinder's robotic hands to open her; she was doing it herself, like it was second nature. The arm panel extended outward, exposing the color coordinated insertion points.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. Marcus was frantically banging on the window. "Roxy! Freddy! Someone's coming!"
Roxanne reactivated her specialized vision and looked through the doorway. Monty and Chica were on the stage elevator and making a beeline towards Parts and Service.
"Shit. Freddy, they're here," she said. "What now?"
Freddy looked at the door, then at Roxanne's still exposed wrist. "I'll stay outside and hold them off. Marcus will finish your upgrade so you can help me."
She nodded. Freddy put her arm down and stepped out toward Marcus. "Marcus! Get inside the cylinder with Roxy! Help fix her wrist while I keep you both safe."
Marcus dashed into the cylinder and the door closed behind them with a firm thud. At that moment, Monty and Chica barged through the front doors.
"Knock knock!" Monty growled, his jaw hanging open to show off his many teeth.
"Marcus!" Chica said in her faux cheerful tone. "Let me take you to your parents!"
Roxanne barely managed to see Freddy tackle Monty like a football player before the door shut. She looked down and saw Marcus staring at her. She couldn't tell if he was in shock by what was happening, or how she now looked, or a combination of both. "Marcus, listen to me," she said softly. "Have you ever played 'Simon Says' before?"
Marcus nodded, then looked down at the taser component on her knees, the wires, and her wrist.
"You see the colors? Just press them in the same order that they light up. W-wait, but first you have to snap the capacitor rod into place!"
The poor kid looked like he was about to puke, both in fear of the other bots and from having to do surgery on her. She put her other hand on his shoulder.
"Steady, calm and ready, rock star. You got this." One of her personal mantras, which she passed on to him.
Marcus looked down at her wrist. He picked up the capacitor rod and snapped it into place on an inner part of her wrist. "Good job," Roxanne said with a smile. "Nice and easy." The colorful light of the component indicators lit up. Red, yellow, blue, green. His hand trembling, he reached down to press. Red, yellow, green—
Her body shook violently and her left leg kicked up, just barely missing him. Marcus jumped. "S-sorry, sorry!" Roxanne said. "Try again, okay? Breathe in, breathe out."
The whole cylinder shook as Freddy slammed against it from the side, with Chica having jumped on his back, trying to yank his head off. Freddy grabbed her and threw her off, but Monty jumped him and started raining one powerful punch after the other on him. No normal eye could keep up with Monty's movements. Roxanne's could. In that moment, her blessing was a curse.
Marcus gulped. Then breathed in, and out. He looked at the lights again. Red, blue, green, yellow. He reached his finger in. Red, blue, green, yellow. The wires all slipped in with four very satisfying clicks. "Looking spiffy!" the intercom said as the taser fastened into place. "As with all NMS-series upgrades, there is no need to test this component. You will know if it doesn't work."
Roxanne stood up and rubbed her wrist. She could feel a surge of electricity flowing from the core of her body to the taser charger and into her fingertips, priming it for use. "Great job, Marcus! I'm going out to help Freddy. Try to stay hidden and use your blaster if you're spotted."
He nodded. Roxanne opened the door to see Monty kicking Freddy in the crotch while Chica held him down. Her lopsided head cocked upward when she saw Marcus peering through the door. Before Roxanne could say anything, Marcus lifted the blaster and shot right between her eyes. Chica let out an awful clucking noise as she reeled over. As she tried to get up, Roxanne pounced on top of her, pinning her to the floor by her wrists to subdue her.
Monty rolled Freddy over with his foot and was prepared to stomp him when Marcus started shooting the blaster at his face. Monty sneered as he turned around, tapping a finger against his sunglasses. "Really, kid?" he scoffed. Roxanne's ear perked up and she spun around, towards Monty. He grabbed a heavy wrench off the floor and flung it. Marcus screamed and tried to dodge, but it struck him in the stomach. The sound of him crying out in pain as he fell over, clutching his stomach, rang painfully in Roxanne's ears. Her vision went red with rage. Words failed her. A growl escaped her lips.
She lunged at the soon-to-be-handbag, digging her sharp claws into his plastic shell. He hissed and roared at her, trying frantically to kick her in the stomach, but her upgrades blocked every blow. She reached down, grabbed his upper leg, and deployed the taser shock. His whole body jolted and went limp for a moment, and she took the opportunity to grab the back of his head and slam him face-first into the ground. She had always wanted to do that, ever since he beat her at Gator Golf. Even though he was her best friend.
Do you always see your friends' successes as threats to you, Roxy? No…it's not time to dwell on that.
Just as she found Monty's reboot button, Chica's foot came down hard, stopping Roxanne from pressing the button. Roxanne howled in rage and tried to knock her off, but the trash chicken was too quick. She had grabbed a crowbar and was about to strike when suddenly, she was yanked backward by her other leg, squawking in confusion. It was Freddy, gripping Chica's leg tight. With her hand free, Roxanne opened the panel and pressed Monty's reboot button. He violent convulsed beneath her and then fell silent.
Chica used her free leg to kick Freddy like a goddamn cassowary, knocking him out cold. Roxanne lunged at her, but she dodged and grabbed Marcus's fallen blaster. Roxanne noticed, but just too late. Chica fired, sending a searing pain all through Roxanne's systems. She howled in pain and opened her eyes to see Chica punch her in the gut, knocking her back and making her trip over Monty's unconscious body. She winced as she sat up.
Chica loomed over her and pointed the blaster at her. "All of this could've been avoided if you were a good, obedient doggy, you know," she chirped, her voice an unrecognizable low, hissing growl. But Roxanne felt something vital under her hand: Monty's sunglasses. Just as Chica finished talking, Roxanne grabbed the glasses and put them over her eyes. "Wha—?!" Chica let out a confused, angry squawk as she tried to shoot, over and over, to no avail. Roxanne grabbed her left arm, yanked her in hard, and punched her so far in the face that her head started twirling like a top. She fell to the floor on her hands and knees, and Roxanne took the chance to flip the panel and press her body. With one last, weak squawk, Chica shut down and collapsed.
Roxanne panted and stood up, surveying the room. All her friends were knocked out now. The room was quiet for a moment…and then she heard Marcus panting and whimpering.
"Marcus!" She dashed to the cylinder and found him curled up on the floor, his arm around his stomach. As gently as she could, she held him in a firm hug. "Marcus! Are you alright?"
He coughed violently and opened his eyes. "It…hurts…"
She checked her vision options and switched to her x-ray view. "Hold still," she whispered as she looked him over. Just as she thought, the poor kid had a broken rib. Nothing lethal, but still fucking awful. "There, there, you'll be alright…" she cooed softly. She held the sobbing boy close and kissed him on the forehead. It was something she could never do before, but now came naturally to her in his new body. She picked him up, holding him firmly against her as she stood up.
She heard whirring noises as her friends started coming to. Monty's shell had so much paint scratched off it from the fight and Chica seemed completely disoriented about where she was, but they seemed otherwise fine. But Freddy wasn't moving, and Roxanne could only tell he was online by his eyes faintly lighting up.
She gestured to Chica, and then pointed to Freddy. "Fix him!" she barked.
Chica blinked, stared at her, mouth agape, as if she was trying to protest or say something. She faltered under Roxanne's piercing gaze and pulled Freddy into the cylinder.
"Monty! Find a med kit!"
Monty blinked, staring at her, like he was waking up from a bad dream.
"NOW!" Roxanne snapped.
Her nervously held up his hands defensively as he stood. "A-alright, bitch, calm down."
"What was that?!"
"You're a lady dog, aren't ya?"
She snarled at him. He winced, realizing she wasn't fucking around, and hurried over to find the first aid station. The room went quiet again, and Roxanne gently stroked Marcus's head, humming and singing softly to keep him calm.
About five minutes later, Monty was back with his hands full of every first aid kit from the station. A little overkill for sure, but appreciated. "Thank you," she said with earnest. She gently laid Marcus on the floor and started to patch him up.
Like the others, she was programmed for handling light injuries, for instances such as kids falling from the play structures at the daycare. This was more intense than that, but she did her best regardless. Once she was finished, she gave him some painkillers and sat down, letting him rest his head in her lap as she stroked his head.
"Whoa…Roxy…you look different," Monty said. Roxanne looked up and realized Monty had been staring at her this entire time.
"What, you just noticed?" she scoffed.
"I mean…I never saw you smile before."
Roxanne blinked. She hadn't realized she was smiling while she was petting Marcus's head. "O-oh…still getting used to all these new features, I guess," she said.
"I think it's damn cool," Monty said.
Just then, the doors to the cylinder opened. "Freddy's got a charge going, gang! He's gonna make a full recover—"
Suddenly, the lights flickered out. The backup generators roared into life, and the lights came back. "Damn!" Monty huffed. "Power's been cut like a prison snitch! Why? How?"
Roxanne figured it out immediately and squeezed Marcus's arm protectively. "No, Monty. Who. And it's her."