Sunday, November 14, 1993
Mike gaped at the sight before him, just as shocked as Greg. He moved a hand to his face, wincing as he thumbed some of the dried blood from his nose to make it slightly easier to breathe. A small noise of pain escaped as he shifted his broken nose. His entire body ached with pain, particularly his face and chest where Greg slammed him into the table, and his legs where the bigger guard weighed him down. The tape recorder dug into his side. His head throbbed as he stared at Bonnie, her features slightly distorted from the pain.
Nearby, Greg backed away in disbelief, until his back met the closed left door. Any words he had died in his throat.
The ghost of Bonnie Wickes stood even taller and more imposing than she did in her pictures. Much like her creation lying on the floor nearby, her dead, golden skin and sunken eyes only made her more intimidating. Spring Bonnie and Fredbear's faces shone almost like a badge of honor at her chest. She kept her glare on Greg, but stayed near the Spring Bonnie suit.
As his head better cleared, Mike briefly recalled how Puppet shut down the night before, when Vesper tried to leave it. Spring Bonnie was shut down now.
Had Bonnie Wickes done the same, only succeeded in leaving her vessel? And what became of Jeremy?
Greg finally choked something out.
"H-how are you-?"
Bonnie took a quick note of Mike. Her anger softened for a moment, before she honed back in on Greg, who pressed himself more tightly against the door.
"I've been here all this time," Bonnie said, "trapped inside my own creation...where you put me."
She pointed an accusing finger at Greg, whose face began to drain until he was almost as pale as Bonnie herself. Mike stayed away from him, curling into the corner near the door switches. He looked back at Bonnie...and suddenly, he understood how she came to be. He kept quiet, wanting neither Bonnie nor Greg's attention on him.
"Bon-" Greg started.
"How many more, Gregory?" she asked, refusing to let him finish.
A small glance at the poster on the wall, at the animatronic band onstage and the cheerful reminder to CELEBRATE!
"All those children," she said, turning back to him, "Jeremy Fitzgerald..."
A thought seemed to come to her.
"...Did you take my Freddy-bear too?"
At her suggestion, the lights above flickered. The three semi-working monitors turned on along with the one Mike normally used, catching the attention of all the room's occupants. Images distorted on their screens, the views randomly cutting in and out between pictures, darkness, and white noise. One of the monitors showed part of a tile floor, the angle of the tiles changing to show the edge of a game cabinet with them. Another remained on white noise, though Mike felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as a familiar sound from it cut in and out.
He recognized the deep distortions from the indecipherable phone call the other night.
The final two monitors only showed eyes, with the images cutting between the dim, black glow and white noise so quickly, the only details anyone picked out was their brown color and faint glow.
Greg's face remained white as he stared at the images on the screen. His breathing tightened as he reached to loosen his tie, before his hand trailed down the thin black cloth and clutched at his chest. His thumb ran along the edge, as if in comfort.
Bonnie Wickes' voice echoed above the white noise.
"What did you do with him, Gregory?" she asked. "Where's my Freddy-bear?"
Greg gaped. He shook his head in lieu of an answer, but his silence said all it needed to. Bonnie glowered at him in the flickering monitor light.
"...He's always been here," Greg snarled, finally regaining some of his composure. "Just as you wanted."
Mike saw a glimmer in Greg's eye, a distinct change in his face.
How he carefully took in details as he looked Bonnie over, and where the light from the monitors fell.
Mike glanced up above him. The door switches were just within reach. Greg still pressed against the door, readying himself to step forward. His bent legs kept his feet a few inches from the door.
"Bonnie…" Greg said, softly.
Taking a breath, Mike carefully slid a leg behind Greg's ankles. He then weakly reached up to smack the left door switch. The heavy metal door slid up with ease. Mike then quickly pulled his leg forward to catch Greg's ankles.
"I can't help but notice there's a wi-aaaah!" Greg cried as he fell back.
As Mike hoped, the larger day shift guard tripped and fell back into the hallway, his head smacking into the door with a metallic bang as it slid up into place. Greg turned on his side as he fell, collapsing into the tile below. Mike quickly hit the switch again to close the door. With a growl, Greg shoved his leg under the door frame as the metal slab came down.
Unlike the other night, when Bonnie attempted this same trick, Greg got his leg in far enough that the door halted just before it could hit, a small alarm ringing as a sensor detected the blockage.
Mike quickly crawled away as a pained grunt echoed on the other side of the door. Beside him, the monitors suddenly shut off. A pair of hands slipped under his shoulders, helping him back onto his feet. Mike accepted the help, and noticed the pale gold hands holding onto him. He turned to see a familiar red polo and a soft, relieved smile. Mike quickly thanked Bonnie, before he turned back to the door.
Greg pulled his foot back as the door began to slide back up.
"Fuck!" Mike screamed.
He pulled away from Bonnie and leapt for the door, his hand outstretched to grab the switch. It would only take a few seconds for Greg to get back onto his feet. And in those same few seconds, he could lock him out.
"Mike, don't-!"
Mike was already halfway there. As his fingers grazed the red door button, a strong hand reached in from the dark hallway, ensnaring his wrist. Greg yanked him down, eliciting a shocked cry from the night guard.
"Nice try, Schmidt."
Mike yanked his hand back and braced his foot against the door frame to prevent Greg from pulling him out into the hall. Behind him, he heard something large being scooped off the floor. In another moment, the desk chair came flying passed him, knocking into Greg. The larger man let go of him, and as soon as the doorway was clear, Mike slammed the button to shut the door.
After taking a moment to compose, he turned to see Bonnie regaining her bearings.
"So this was...your plan," Mike said, softly.
He winced as he spoke, his chest aching from where Greg slammed him earlier. A bit of residual blood leaked from his nose. Mike braced himself and wiped it on his sleeve to breathe a little easier. Bonnie didn't answer as something furiously banged on the window. Both of them jumped as they saw Greg on the other side of the old pane.
"I'll give you this much, girlie," he called through the glass. "You look just like her, and you play a good game."
He narrowed his eyes.
"But you two can't stay in there all night. If the power doesn't go out first, I still have the old man to play with."
Mike glowered, but realized Greg was right. He immediately looked over to the monitors, and powered up the single working one. It wasn't quite 12:20am yet, and the power had already lowered to 92%. Mike shut it off, then turned to Greg.
"So are you g-going...or staying?" Mike called back, ignoring the aches in his chest.
Even so, he struggled to speak, having to pause at times to let the pain subside a bit.
"What do you mean?" Greg asked.
"You can wait there...a-all fucking night, Greg," Mike told him, "but it's gonna...gonna be a while if you d-don't...have Will with you."
He smirked.
"And I on-only need one door shut at a time to...keep you out."
Greg slammed his fist on the window again in sudden fury, as if trying to smash through it. Mike let out a pained laugh. If Foxy couldn't weaken the glass with that hook, there was no way Greg could get through, either. He then gestured to the monitors on the desk, further rubbing it in that he had another advantage over Greg.
"This has been my...l-life the last week: k-keeping creeps like...like you away from me," Mike continued. "I guess I should th-thank you. If the anima...animatronics aren't working...you're the-the only one I have to worry about."
He smirked again.
"Welcome to the-the night shift, asshole."
That got another glare from Greg, but the day guard finally conceded and headed down the hall. Mike turned the cameras back on for a moment and tracked his movements. Greg likely knew the camera blind spots, but he would know the second the day guard moved out of sight. He didn't look up as he spoke to "Bonnie" again.
"Why didn't you...tell me?" Mike asked, wincing more as he spoke.
Greg really did a number on him. Now that he wasn't fighting for his life, he began to feel every bruise, scratch, punch, and wound. His nose, head, and chest in particular pulsed and throbbed as the residual adrenaline wore off. The wind from the fan gently shifted through his hair. Wherever his hat fell off, it could stay.
"You believed it," Vanna said, reaching up to unhook a wire from behind her ear. The moment she did, her voice stopped echoing. "And because you believed it, he believed it too."
She reached behind her to pull off a small voice changer from her belt, and a spare flashlight, setting them both on the desk. This close to her, Mike could see some of the makeup on her hands starting to wipe off.
"It's why I couldn't tell you," Vanna said. "I needed you to be genuine."
Mike nodded as she moved to the right door, stepping carefully so she didn't trip over Spring Bonnie. The rabbit took up a good portion of the office floor, its feet stretching out into the east hall. Vanna frowned and crouched down, grabbing Spring Bonnie's shoulders. With a breath and a heave, she pulled the animatronic up into a sitting position, then quickly dragged it to lean against the left door frame.
"Huh," she mused. "It's lighter than it looks."
With the right door properly unblocked, Vanna retrieved her flashlight and shone the beam down the hall to keep watch. If Greg tried to sneak up through the east hallway, she would know well in advance. Then again, he could probably see the flashlight beam from the dining room and know it was a fruitless effort, at least until the power ran out.
And with the two of them working together, that was a long time coming.
"There's n-no way you did your...makeup that fast," Mike noted.
"Hell no," Vanna said. "I told you I had more to do before I came in."
She ran her fingers through her now-straight hair to better make her point.
"So you were going to...come right in l-looking like your aunt?" Mike asked.
"I figured it'd throw Greg off if he saw me and give us some time," Vanna said, "And it worked, didn't it?"
Mike had to concede her point. Vanna did distract Greg long enough to kick him out of the office. He watched her check the hallway again.
"Nice work with the monitors, by the way," Vanna said. "Almost me threw me off, but it scared Greg pretty badly. He looked like he was having a heart attack."
Mike perked.
"That wasn't me," he said.
Vanna frowned.
"Maybe Vesper did something," she said.
Mike nodded, accepting it for now. There were more important things to focus on.
"What about our other plans?" he asked.
He opened the left door for the moment, as he had eyes on Greg in the dining room. Mike watched the dayshift guard perk at the sound of the door opening, before continuing doing whatever he was doing.
"Well, I knew Plan A was shot as soon as I found Will in the kitchen," Vanna explained, keeping her voice down so it wouldn't echo down the hall. "Speaking of, you should probably try to locate him before Greg does."
Mike nodded and flipped through the camera views quickly, making sure to immediately flip back to Greg before checking another room.
"The kitchen?"
"Greg locked him in the fridge," Vanna explained. "I was headed your way when I saw Vesper. Freaked the shit out of me, but she lead me to him. I had to get him out. Without Puppet, she can't interact with anything."
Mike just nodded, accepting it for now.
"Where did Will go?"
"I don't know," Vanna said. "After I let him out, I came to help you."
She gave a quick glance to Spring Bonnie.
"Anyway, by the sounds of things in the office, not only was Plan B shot too, but Jeremy stopped talking," Vanna continued. "Which meant it was time for Plan C: improvise."
"And it l-looks like that's what we're going to...h-have to keep doing," Mike said. "At least for now."
He checked the cameras, looking for Will.
Nothing backstage except empty heads. Only Greg in the dining room. No audio in the kitchen, and the supply closet was empty. The curtains at Pirate Cove were still shut, and the bathrooms, while potential hiding places, had nothing beyond their entrances. Mike frowned. Out of habit, he went to the stage show. Bonnie and Freddy stared ahead as usual, but Chica seemed to be moving strangely.
Had she somehow powered back on?
He ignored it for now and went back to Cam 1B to check the dining room. Greg now carefully walked towards the camera...meaning he was heading for the stage show. Mike flipped the camera view back to the stage. Chica seemed to be adjusting, but he saw the top of a familiar blue hat just behind her shoulder, and flecks of salt and pepper hair.
Mike quickly flipped back to the dining room, where Greg was still quietly heading toward the stage, picking his way carefully through the tables. His quiet and calculated movements spoke enough of the day guard's suspicion to whatever was moving behind the stage curtain.
"Shit," he whispered, pointing to what he saw on the screen. "Vanna, we have to do something."
Spring Bonnie twitched a bit. Both Mike and Vanna winced as they heard robotic static rattle the insides of their skulls for a moment, just as they had the night before.
"...Jeremy?" Vanna asked.
The static became a long, jarring whine. Both of them braced themselves, knowing it would pass when he powered back on. Mike tried to ignore the dull droning as he kept an eye on Greg. He flipped back to the stage show, where Will was still doing whatever he was doing. He briefly wondered if he should shout down the hall, or if that would only confirm to Greg that Will was nearby.
"Mike."
Mike looked over to Vanna. She handed him the flashlight, then headed for the left door.
"Cover my post."
Before he could get a word out, she ran over to the left door, crouching down as she quickly crawled out into the hallway.
"Vanna!" Mike hissed, keeping his voice down on the off-chance Greg heard it echoing.
But she was already out the door. Spring Bonnie twitched again as the droning became white noise, making Mike shudder from the sudden static and the subsequent irritation. The white noise faded a few seconds later, allowing Mike to realize Vanna's plan. He turned the monitor so he could better see it from the right door, then aimed the flashlight back out into the right hallway. With the dining room view up, and with Greg still moving with finesse, the day guard hadn't noticed the flashlight beam shift from the east hall...which meant he wouldn't suspect one of them left the office.
The robotic droning still echoed in his mind as Mike gave a quick glance to Spring Bonnie. The rabbit rested against the door frame, its silver eyes hollow, its nose and forehead smashed in from Greg's prior chair abuse, its smiling jaw hanging wider than usual. Mike frowned and walked over to Spring Bonnie. He gently gripped the nose, pulling it forward to fix it as much as possible. There were still distinct creases in the cloth, but just that simple act made it look more whole again.
Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much longer when Jeremy powered back on. With his help, Greg wouldn't have a chance against the four of them.
Mike then turned back to the camera. He saw something move in the back of the dining room: Vanna. He watched her rise up from behind one of the tables, carefully lifting one of the party chairs as she did. Greg was no longer in sight, which meant he probably reached the stage.
He heard something hard clatter as he flipped to Cam 1A to check the stage. Sure enough, he saw Greg standing in front of Freddy, with Will more in sight from behind Chica. The janitor held a wrench, and from the way he pulled it away from Freddy, it looked like he'd swung at Greg and missed, knocking it into the bear's head instead.
"Hey, Greg!" he heard Vanna call.
Mike watched Greg turn to look behind him, and quickly switched back to the dining room view, just in time to see Vanna hurl the chair in the direction of the stage.
"Have a seat!"
He didn't care about watching the aftermath, leaving the camera view on the dining room for the moment. Mike immediately shut the right door behind him so Greg couldn't attempt to sneak in from behind, and ran over to the left to watch for his best friend so the second Vanna was home free, he could lock the day guard out. From the dining room, he heard the chair Vanna threw knock into something tall and heavy.
He hoped it hit Greg.
Something large and heavy collapsed, and a loud clamor followed it, immediately accompanied by a man's pained, startled cry. Not long after, he heard a few sets of footsteps running on tile. Mike peered into the west hallway, shining the flashlight down it to look for Vanna. He saw a red polo appear at the end, and then watched her stumble forward as a chair knocked into her, throwing her into the ground.
"Ladies first!" came Greg's mocking retort.
His heavy footsteps started to come towards the west hall.
"Vanna!" Mike screamed.
He started to run for her, before the robotic whining that he previously managed to shove to the back of his mind suddenly increased in volume, forming into a wretched, robotic cry. The noise made his head throb with sudden agony, literally blinding him with pain for a moment. Mike screamed and dropped the flashlight as he reached his hands up to cover his ears, not that it helped. The tips of his fingers clawed at his nearby roots for something to grip as he stumbled down on one knee.
From down the hallway, a tortured scream from Vanna told him she felt it too. Above them, the lights flickered more frequently than before.
The noise stopped as quickly as it came. The lights normalized. And with them, the pain subsided.
...st...ill her…
Mike took a breath and looked behind him, everything else forgotten for a second. Spring Bonnie shifted, the animatronic groping for the edge of the desk.
"...J-Jeremy?" Mike breathed.
...M...st-still…
He watched Spring Bonnie pull itself back onto its feet, its head still slumped forward. A crackling sound filled the office.
I-I-I'm...st-still...
Spring Bonnie looked up, the ghostly pinpricks now shining from behind the silver discs.
"...Here!"
The last word distinctly came from the animatronic's old, decaying voicebox. The sounds of a struggle got Mike's attention as he turned back to the west hallway. He forced himself up onto his feet, his movements pained and stiff. Just as he managed a step, something firm and strong gripped his shoulder, preventing him from getting too far. Mike turned around, to see Spring Bonnie keeping him back.
"Jeremy-!"
But Jeremy didn't answer him. The golden rabbit simply pulled Mike back into the security office and gently shoved the night guard behind him. With a low growl, the animatronic headed out of the room.
Power: 72%
Auto update date and time: 11/14/1993 12:42:23am
Vanna watched as Greg barely managed to duck in time, and cursed under her breath.
She missed.
She fucking missed.
Vanna turned for the office as the chair she threw knocked into Freddy, knocking the large animatronic off-balance. Being currently inactive and unable to recalibrate, he swayed and tilted over into Chica, sending her dominoing back into Will, who realized too late what was going on.
"Mr. Will!" cried a young voice. "Look out!"
Both animatronics crashed to the stage floor, with Will crying out in shock. Their combined weight pinned the old man in place. Will struggled to pull himself out from under the heavy robots, but his back and one hand were firmly wedged under them. A pale blue light nearby flickered, then disappeared.
Content Will was trapped for a moment, Greg then set his sights on Vanna. Taking a leaf from her book, he picked up a nearby chair and heaved at her.
"Ladies first!"
Vanna ignored him, her focus solely on getting back to the office. She gasped as something hard and heavy crashed into her spine, sending her careening into the floor. Vanna groaned as she struggled to push herself up. The chair clattered beside her, and just as she got onto her knees, a loud, jarring scream sent her shrieking in sheer agony, the noise threatening to burst from her mind.
She collapsed again. Above, the flickering lights messed with her vision.
By the time the screaming stopped and the lights stabilized, Vanna found herself unable to breathe...due to the strong hands currently wrapped around her neck, the thumbs digging into her larynx.
"This brings back memories," she heard Greg say.
Her vision cleared only enough to pick out the edges of his face, his wild eyes, his lips trembling in fear and fury. She felt his weight over her, with one knee forcibly digging into her stomach and making it even harder to breathe. Vanna clawed at his hands, trying loosen his fingers. Somewhere in the far reaches of the room, she heard Will shout something, but couldn't make it out.
"You look just like her," Greg continued, tightening his grip.
His voice sounded further and further away with each word he spoke.
"So young. So beautiful."
She struggled to breathe as she tried to throw him off, but he stayed firm as she tried to wedge her fingers under his. Tears streamed down her face as shadows clouded her vision.
"...Who are you?" Greg demanded. "Why do you look like her?"
As he looked her over, a translucent face appeared over Vanna's.
A young, familiar face, pale and glowing, with empty eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. Her lips trembled, and from the back of her sockets shone two bright pinpricks.
"L-leave her alone!" the specter cried. "Leave my sister alone!"
Vanna heard the stunned gasp. His fingers loosened from around her throat. In the distance, she heard metal feet on tile. The echoes of their approach faded in and out. The hands around her neck finally let go. His weight came off of her. With her neck and stomach suddenly released, Vanna sucked in a breath as she collapsed onto the tile.
A blur of gold passed by her, a long ear catching the faint light above. A familiar robotic scream filled her mind and ears as she forced in another breath.
"...B-Bun...ny…"
Vanna tried to push herself up, but found her stomach tight with pain from when Greg pinned her before. She barely managed to push herself up onto her elbows, in time to see Spring Bonnie shove a retreating Greg into one of the tables.
The table crashed to its side as the day guard crumpled into it, sending party hats flying and knocking chairs to the floor. Greg tried to stand, only for the large animatronic to grab his collar in both hands, lifting him up off his feet. His eyes widened as he stared at the yellow face. The eyelids turned to give the animatronic a furious expression, its forehead partially caved in from the office chair attack, its smile widened in almost wicked glee.
Vanna tried to push herself up a little more, only to find a set of hands helping her sit up. She turned and briefly saw Mike behind her. He tilted his head towards the prize counter. Vanna gave him a small nod to confirm the plan, but stole a glance behind her as they crawled to safety.
Vesper's ghost remained where it was, her spectral form hovering about a few feet off the ground to better witness the action before her. The disassembled remains of the Puppet were still scattered over the tiles nearby, its long arms lifelessly dragging outside of its box.
Over near Pirate Cove, Greg kicked at Spring Bonnie's chest, trying to force the animatronic to let him go, but Spring Bonnie held firm. The metal fingers tightened around the murderer's collar, further preventing him from getting away. Greg grabbed the thing's forearms to prevent his own weight from dragging him down. After taking a few seconds to comprehend his situation, he forced up a smirk.
"Y-you wouldn't dare, Fitz...Fitzgerald," he said, pulling up his normal composure between careful breaths. "I saw your eyes when you were...still alive. You don't...have the guts."
Mike and Vanna both peered over the top of the prize counter to see how Jeremy would handle this. From the stage, Will still tried to free himself from underneath the animatronic pile.
Spring Bonnie tilted its head. The old voicebox crackled as it spoke, its jaw creaking with movement at each word.
"J-Jeremy-Jeremy Fitz-g-g-gerald isn't-isn't here right n-n-now," it said.
With each word, the old module cleared up a little more. Spring Bonnie's smile shifted, almost amused. As the voice module gained more use, it took on a distinctly feminine tone.
"B-b-but-but you're going to-going to wish he was."