"Here, sit down." Chica said softly, guiding Bonnie into the Protective Cylinder of Parts and Service and helping him lay down in the maintenance chair. His power had dropped to the lower levels during their journey here, and it had started to take effect on his body.
"Go into rest mode whilst we try to fix you up, okay? It'll make this easier." The guitarist smiled, rubbing his cheek with her thumb before turning and walking out of the cylinder. For small repairs to exterior modules, no one was required to be inside the cylinder with him. Carefully, Chica removed his sunglasses from his face, and folded them carefully in her hands, before walking out to Roxanne
"It's just exterior damage to the arm, right? Is he okay otherwise?" Roxanne asked, leaning down and peering at the screen of the old computer sitting outside the cylinder. Chica looked from the Wolf, to the Bunny, then back again.
"I think so..." Chica said with a nod, walking over to the computer and looking at the screen over Roxanne's shoulder.
Carefully, Roxanne guided the mouse over to the 'Repair Exterior Damage' button and clicked it. Another menu popped up listing arms, legs, chest, and other modules that could be damaged. It didn't take them long to track down the 'Right Arm' Module, and once they'd clicked it, the six-armed machine set to work, humming and whirring as its many appendages worked on fixing Bonnie's casing.
"I can't believe they're treating him like this... After how loyal he's been..." Roxanne grumbled, looking through the window of the cylinder watching Bonnie under the light of the machine. By the look in her eyes, if it made one wrong move, she'd tear it off the ceiling and ram it into one of the character-themed bins in the area, even though it'd never once made a mistake during repairs.
"I'm sure they aren't doing it on purpose Roxy..." Chica replied, trying to calm her friend down, folding her arms and resting her weight on her hip.
"You think? You know how scummy Management really is. We've been dealing with them for over a year now, and you're still defending them?" Roxanne asked, her expression and tone only getting more frustrated.
"I know they are," Chica responded, frowning at Roxanne. "But, they're not all bad, and you know that. Look at Officer Vanessa! She'd never let anything bad happen to us." She added, looking back into the Protective Cylinder to where Bonnie was almost repaired. His arm, from what she could see through the perspex glass window, was almost completely repaired, with the progress bar on the monitor creeping slowly towards one-hundred percent.
Roxanne let out a small growl but didn't bother arguing with Chica. Both of them were undefeatable in arguments, and both of them knew that it was best to avoid conflict with each other. Even then, they knew neither of them meant anything that might've been said.
"What are they doing..." The wolf muttered to herself. Chica looked over at her from the corner of her eye and felt her heart sink a little. It wasn't often that they saw Roxanne looking so down-trodden. Usually, the only person she truly showed how she was feeling too, was Bonnie, or maybe Freddy on occasions. It wasn't that she didn't trust Chica or Montgomery, but more the fact that she hated showing vulnerability.
"Who knows hun... We'll never know what they're thinking; we just do as we're told." Chica responded with a shrug. Roxanne sighed and looked around the grubby tiled floor, lightly kicking the leg of the wheeled trolly the computer was sitting on. The clang echoed around the space, but only briefly before they fell back into the ambient hum of the Repair Machine.
It was then that a pleasant little jingle played out from the monitor, and Hand-Unit's voice came through the speakers.
"Exterior repairs are now complete. You are now safe to enter the Protective Cylinder."
Normally his voice didn't bother Chica at all, but for some reason, after the crazy day she'd already had, and with current circumstances, it just annoyed her. Roxanne quickly stepped forward and waited as the door to the cylinder slowly lifted, hissing as it did.
Once it'd raised fully, she entered, stepping to Bonnie's side and looking down at him with a deeply caring expression. Then, leaning in, she carefully pried her fingers under Bonnie's chest plate, and pulled it upward, causing the mechanism to sense the force and open his stomach hatch. Again, since he shared blueprint bases with Freddy, Bonnie was equipped with similar attributes, like the large Birthday Cake and Piñata hatch. He was one of the main entertainers for small parties, so it made sense.
With a small click, the lights in her eyes turned on and shone into Bonnies Chest. Carefully she scanned around his endo, looking for the button to bring him back out of rest mode. Normally they'd be able to do it without doing anything physical, but once they reach emergency levels of power, that was an ability they lost.
"You got it?" Chica asked softly, watching as Roxanne leaned in a little closer.
"I... Think so..." She replied thoughtfully, reaching into him. A faint click could be heard after that, and Roxanne stepped away from him, turning off her eye-lights.
Bonnie groaned and his body twitched for a moment as his system came back online. After a moment, he came to, and slowly sat up, swinging his legs down off the seat and onto the floor with a heavy clunk.
"Ugh..." He sighed, falling forward and leaning his elbows on his knees, his head lowered as his power continued to deplete.
"Bonnie, you okay?" Roxanne asked, stepping forwards and putting her arm around him. The bass player didn't respond, rocking a little with low eyelids. It hurt her, seeing him in this state. It was normal for them to reach low power levels, but there was something about seeing Bonnie in this state, especially after recent events, that hurt her a little.
"Y-Yeah, I'm alright." He finally replied, his voice quiet, and tired.
"Come on, let's get you upstairs. You can stay in my room and borrow my charging station. I'll charge in rest mode and finish the rest off in the morning." Roxanne offered sweetly, her tone much softer now as she pulled Bonnie's arm over her shoulders, and helped him to his feet. His joints creaked as his weak servos tried to pick him up, but once he was to his feet, he looked stable enough to start moving again.
"That... That sounds good, actually. Thanks Roxy." Bonnie said, still putting on a smile as he let Roxanne lead him towards her Green Room elevator door. Chica followed quickly behind and scooped Bonnie's other arm over her own shoulders.
"let me help you. I'll feel bad if I just watch." She smiled. Bonnie let out a weak chuckle and smiled at the floor, his heavy feet dragging against the stairs and they climbed up to the Green Room elevators. She'd forgotten just how heavy Bonnie was. It wasn't often that she had to help carry Freddy, Monty or Bonnie around, so heaving the weight of one of these heavy lads on her shoulders was mildly unpleasant.
Neither of them said anything to each other, or to Bonnie as they headed down Roxanne's hallway, and into the elevator. Carefully the keytar player manoeuvred herself and pushed the up button of the lift. The doors slid shut, and they began their ascent. A bouncy version of the same song that seemed to be playing everywhere met their ears, and even in his current state, Bonnie was tapping his foot along to the beat.
Chica couldn't help but giggle at him, and even Roxanne let out a tired sounding chuckle as they finally reached the Green Room supply area. The doors slid open to reveal a dimly lit room. Amongst shelves of Roxanne Wolf merchandise, spare paint pots and cleaning supplies, was a tall, rounded structure, painted red with black stars covering it. Six lilac illuminated pipes stuck from its sides with a single larger one sticking into the ceiling, and a thunderbolt of the same colour was glowing on its door.
"Come on big guy, get in here." Roxanne grunted, leaning forwards and pushing the button on the door. It slid open with a smooth hum, and the two girls helped the large bunny into the Charging Station. It was almost like moving around a deactivated endoskeleton, or even two at this point, but still Bonnie tried to help them, pressing his hands on the walls for support as he moved his back against the rear wall of the station.
The stations worked similarly to wireless phone charges, except this one was about five times the size, and ten times as powerful.
"Cheers girls..." Bonnie sighed, taking his glasses from Chica, who'd been keeping hold of them for him, before standing up straight and putting himself back into rest mode, which in turn, would lock his servos. Carefully, Roxanne and Chica stepped away from him, making sure he was firmly in place before the door slid shut, and he stood resting in the charging station.
Roxanne let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the Charging Station door, resting her head in the crease of her elbow.
"Come on, we should get some rest too, it's been a busy day." Chica said, patting Roxanne's shoulder and heading towards the door to the main part of the Green Room.
"Yeah... Yeah, we should." She responded, following after the guitarist as they entered Roxanne's room. "I wish he could say here... I don't understand why they ever moved him." She complained, diverging from Chica's path to the door and sitting on her sofa, before lifting her legs up and laying across it, folding her arms across her chest.
"Again, we'll never know. It'll all be okay, I know it. He'll be here when you wake up too, that's what matters right now." Chica smiled, turning and smiling at Roxanne as the door slid open behind her.
"Yeah... You're right..." Roxanne sighed. Although Chica couldn't see her face, she could tell the wolf was smiling. So with a yawn and a stretch, Chica left Roxanne's room and headed to her own.
She might've tried reassuring Roxanne about the whole Bonnie situation, but she too was just as bothered by it. They all were; even Monty. It didn't make any sense, and it's not like the higher-ups will ever tell them the reasons. She wished, more than anything, that they could do something to have Bonnie moved back. Maybe they could teach him a new instrument to get him back in their band. Their programming was adaptive, so over time, they could learn, just like people could.
What was the use in thinking about that now? It's not like she could do anything to change their minds. She was too tired to worry about it anyway. All she wanted to do right now, was sleep.
CAUTIONARY REBOOT... STARTING
STARTUP CHECKS INITIATED...
CHARGE LEVEL: 100%
EMERGENCY POWER RESERVES: 100%
CORE SYSTEMS AND FUNCTIONS: ONLINE 100%
NERVE, SYNAPTIC AND NEURAL CONNECTIONS: ONLINE 100%
AUXILIARY SYSTEMS: ONLINE 100%
BALANCING SENSORS: ONLINE 100%
CHEST CAVITY HYDRAULICS: ONLINE 100%
VENTILATION: OPEN
OPTICS: ONLINE 100%
AUDIO AND OTHER SENSORY RECEPTORS: ONLINE 100%
EXTERIOR CONDITION: EXCELLENT
RUNNING SCAN AND BACK-UP OF MEMORY...
DONE... MEMORIES SUCCESSFULLY BACKED UP...
OVERALL SYSTEM CONDITIONS: EXCELLENT
BOOTING...
Bonnie's eyes flickered to life as he lifted his eyelids. He felt his body buzzing. It had been days since he'd last been at one-hundred percent charge, and it felt incredibly refreshing; like he'd just come off the assembly line.
Pulling himself off the rear wall of the Charging Station, he pushed a button on the door, and it slid open, allowing him to leave. He took a deep breath and stretched, wriggling his fingers. His joints still felt slightly stiff, but it didn't take long for them to have loosened up.
Where am I... He muttered to himself, looking around the supply room with a confused frown, his eyelights illuminating the messy area. Then, he remembered Chica and Roxanne, carrying him up here after helping him fix his arm in Parts and Service.
He looked down at his now spotless right forearm, and smile. A little excitement bubble up inside him when he remember he was in Roxanne's room, and he slowly made his way to the door, trying to be as quiet as he could in case she was still asleep.
It slid open quickly and revealed the Green Room. It looked painfully purple in here, even tho the lights themselves were white bulbs, and the green overhead starlight cast a contrasting hue over everything in her room. He noticed his guitar set neatly on the stand where her keytar would normally be, with the keytar itself propped up against the wall beside it.
Roxanne was on the sofa, her arms folded and facing the wall, quietly sniffing. Was she crying? Seeing Roxanne cry wasn't unusual, at least not to him, but it didn't make it any less concerning when it happened.
"Roxy? Y'alright pup?" Bonnie asked softly, stepping out of the door and into the room. She flinched as the door slid closed with a clang. Clearly she hadn't noticed him come in.
"B-Bonnie, you're awake!" She exclaimed, quickly sitting up and sniffing, forcing herself to stop crying. "How are you feeling?" She asked, forcing the subject elsewhere.
"Good as new." He smiled, walking over to the sofa and sitting at her side. Roxanne didn't look at him, diverting her eyes to the brightly decorated carpet.
Why are you cryin'? What happened this time?" Bonnie asked, putting his arm around her and rubbing her back gently.
"It's nothing." The wolf replied sternly.
"Yeah... It's never nothin'." He replied, smiling and pulling her closer. She rested against him, still looking at the floor, before a small whimper escaped her and she put her arms around him, crying again.
"I'm not a loser..." She grumbled. Bonnie lightly chuckled.
"Did someone beat you on the track again?" He asked, even though he was already fairly sure the answer would be yes. Roxanne nodded, wiping residual tears from her cheek.
"I've told ya this before, it's okay to lose. D'ya think I win every bowling game I play?" He asked rhetorically.
"It's not that," Roxanne stated. "They called me such horrible names... I never did anything bad to them..." She whined, Bonnie cradled her head against his shoulder with his other hand, rubbing her hair gently and smiling.
"Pay 'em no mind Roxy... They're just kids, you know how they can be sometimes. You should talk to Freddy about ways to handle it! Being the face of basically everythin' here, he deals with this sorta thing all the time." Bonnie smiled. Roxanne let out another little whimper and leaned into him a little more.
"It's okay to show how you're feeling, Roxy. Sadness ain't weakness." Bonnie said softly, still smiling as he cradled her.
"You're the best. Keep tellin' yourself that. Eventually, you'll believe it yourself too, and this sorta thing won't get to you anymore. Ya can't let the negatives outweigh the positives when you experience 'em so much more." He whispered, pulling her into a full hug, resting his head on hers.
Roxanne accepted the hug, letting herself sink into her friends body, at least, as much as she could with them both being made of plastic. She could never explain why Bonnie made her feel so comfortable.
Again, she trusted her friends, but for some reason, she felt like she could really rely on Bonnie. Ever since she was first built, Bonnie was there for her. It wasn't that Freddy or Chica didn't care for her, because they did, but Bonnie was the one who was able to invest the most time into caring for her early on. That was why she was so bothered by the fact he was seemingly getting mistreated by Management.
"I need to get back to the alley now. Vanessa'll be doin' her rounds soon, and she can't find me here." Bonnie spoke up after giving them a minute of silence.
"Really? Why?" The wolf asked. She pulled away from him, glaring daggers.
"I dunno..." Bonnie responded truthfully, looking down at the floor and sighing.
"You're lying." Roxanne said sharply. Bonnie didn't look at her. "Why are you lying to us?"
Again Bonnie didn't respond, and it was really starting to cut away at her fuse. Why wouldn't he tell her! She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, but it didn't do anything for her.
"I'm not telling you because I don't want any of you to worry." He said finally, looking up at her. His face was sullen and serious, and it was a very intimidating sight. Bonnie wasn't a very serious bunny for the most part, so to see him looking so, severe, was concerning to say the least.
"Just remember, No matter where I am, I'll be there for you... For all of you..." He said, getting up and looking down at her. He was smiling, at least, it looked like he was, but she could tell he was faking it.
"I'm gonna go see the others too, before I go." He said, starting over to the door, before stopping again, turning to face her as he grabbed his guitar from her stand and slung it onto his back.
"I love ya Roxy. Keep ya chin up." He smiled, before stepping back out of her room, the door sliding closed behind him.
The wolf felt something inside her twist. That wasn't the first time one of her friends had said it to her, in fact, they all said it from time to time on friendly terms, but there was something in how Bonnie had said it just then that was different than before.
She felt frozen, staring at the door where he'd been. She was still too tired to process everything that was going on. So, with Bonnie gone and her Charging Station free, she headed to the Supply Roon. Fifty percent power wasn't going to be enough to get through the day, at least not after how yesterday had gone.
Bonnie stared at the marble floor as he walked across the Atrium towards the escalators that would take him back up to his attraction. His reflection stared back at him, it's desolate expression making him feel even more alone.
He felt his insides twisting with anxiety. Not even he'd really been told by Management why he'd been moved. All he knew, was that they'd planned to introduce Monty for a while, and that he would be manning his bowling attraction, full-time. There was something else he'd been told could happen, but it have a very slim chance of coming to pass. He was going to be decommissioned.
It seemed so unnecessary, replacing him. He'd done nothing but be loyal to the pizzeria, and according to some of the items in the glass cabinets of Rockstar Row, his older counterparts had been around right from the start, countless decades ago. He missed Freddy and the others so much, and he hated that he couldn't get to know this Montgomery Gator more. He just wanted to be with them.
"Bonnie?"
It was Vanessa's voice saying his name from somewhere ahead of him. He stopped just before stepping onto the escalator, looking up with suprise and seeing her standing on the landing of the second floor.
"Officer Vanessa, g'morning..." Bonnie started, putting on a smile. Was she looking for him?
"What are you doing here? I tried looking for you around Bonnie Bowl but couldn't find you." She said.
"I was visiting Freddy and the others." He admitted. What was the point in lying? Vanessa was someone they could trust, unlike the sly bastards higher-up.
"You know you shouldn't be down there, Bonnie" She said sternly. "You're lucky it's me who found you." She added with a smile.
"Is-." He started, before she cut him off.
"Could you come with me? Parts and Service asked for you..." She said. He was startled by her perking up, but that surprise was quickly replaced by confusion.
"Parts and Service did? Why?" He asked, frowning curiously.
"I-... I don't know... The head sent me to collect you." She said with a shrug, looking at the floor with a sheepish look on her face. Was this it? Was he going to be decommissioned? He had no idea what decommissioning meant, or what would happen to him afterwards, but when he'd first been told about it by the head of Parts and Service, it didn't inspire any confidence.
"Am I getting decommissioned?" He asked, stepping down from the step and standing straight, staring up at her with an unbreaking gaze. Vanessa shifted uncomfortably under. She'd only started here over the last few months, and in that time, she'd gotten quite close to Bonnie and his friends, even if she was quite strict sometimes.
"I don't know Bonnie... You know I would never let anything bad happen to you..." Vanessa said with a small smile. "But..." She added. Bonnie felt his heart sink a bit further.
"I have no power against Management." She stated simply. Bonnie let out a troubled sigh and looked to the floor. He was terrified in every way of the word. He didn't want whatever decommissioning was, to happen to him. If it meant he couldn't see his friends again, then he was going to do everything he could to stop it from happening...
"Come on, let's go." She said, walking past him and towards the stage lift that would take them down to Parts and Service.
"Yes, Officer Vanessa..." He muttered obediently, turning from the stairs and following her across the enormous space. He looked back over his shoulder towards the Atrium lifts one more time. He'd see them again. He wasn't going to let anything bad happen to himself, and definitely not to his friends. They needed him. Roxanne needed him.
But, like Vanessa had said, she didn't have any power against Management, and neither did he. He'd hope he meant more to the company than just a source of income, but it seemed in the end, that he was just a machine to them. Nothing more. Nothing less.