A Chat

"So then," began Freddy, "here we all are."

They were taking up one of the tables. The originals were on one side and their counterparts sat opposite. The exception was Foxy, who was over by Kid's Cove and working up the nerve to go inside. Phil took a seat at the head of the table, per Freddy's direction. Freddy waited for a moment after he spoke, but nobody else did, so he continued.

"Now, doubtless we are all aware why we are here. Certain things have transpired between our two groups, most of which are certainly… questionable in nature."

Bonnie scoffed. "If that's what you wanna call it."

"Yeah, because that's a great way to start things off," remarked Clyde.

"Hey, no one asked you, faker."

"Right back at you, purple princess."

"Bon." Chica took Bonnie's arm, stopping her as she stood up. "Calm down, rise above it."

Bonnie glared across at Clyde, but slowly slid back into her seat. Clyde allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk and it took all she had not to punch him in his stupid face. Jeremy called Clyde's attention and shook his head.

"What? She was the one who started it," he said defensively.

"Yeah, that doesn't give you the excuse to be a jerk about it. Shut up and don't be an ass," Jeremy retorted.

"Yes, yes indeed!" declared Theodore. "Good show, Jeremy old sport, good show. Couldn't have put it better myself."

"Kiss ass," muttered Clyde.

"Hey, listen to Jeremy, Clyde. Don't be an ass," parroted Bonnie with a smirk.

Clyde threw his arms up in in protest. "Oh, look, now she's doing it too! You going to tell her off?"

Jeremy looked across at Mike, who glanced about uncertainly.

"Um, Bonnie?" he said. "Maybe uh, maybe don't do… do that."

"But it's fun to do," she replied.

"Bonnie, come on," he pleaded. "We have to b-be fair about this."

"I am being fair. I'm just returning the favour for him."

"Okay guys," said Phil, holding out his hands, "let's not all go around in circles with uh, who started what or whose fault it is. O-Otherwise we're never going to get anywhere. We haven't even started yet. At least let Freddy get a word in edgewise. Then we can get to uh, saying whatever we want to say after."

"Thank you, Phil and thank you, you two, for illustratin' my initial point," said Freddy sternly. "There exist certain divisions between us, due to past actions and circumstances. What we must do now is work together to move past these things and usher in a better atmosphere of cooperation between us."

"That a fact?" asked Clyde.

"Indeed it is," replied Freddy with an even tone. "For one thing, while Bonnie's attitude towards it is far from acceptable, it is certainly understandable. Though I understand that you were all under the control of the Puppet, you were still responsible for our capture and imprisonment."

"Are you saying that we are accountable for actions we were not in control of?" challenged Theodore.

"Yeah, that doesn't seem very fair," agreed Jeremy.

"Neither is what happened to them," argued Mike. "They were scared and running for their lives. When they were gathered in one place, they all got beaten up and dragged away to be put under that Puppet's control."

"Mike's right and that's not something I say often," said Bonnie. "If we're supposed to be helping you guys, you at least need to own up to that. What you did to us? That was messed up."

Jeremy mulled it over for a bit, then nodded. "Yeah, I can't really argue with that. Guys? You can't tell me that you wanted things to go down the way they did."

"I didn't." Hermana surprised them, both by speaking first and by how sincere she sounded. "I never wanted to hurt them, 'specially not my new sister. I'm really sorry, Chica. You musta been really scared."

"Well…" Chica mulled over her answer for a moment. "Yes, I was. What you did to me, to all of us… it was horrible."

Hermana winced, but didn't protest. "I really am sorry, Chica. I promise, I'm gonna do my best to make you smile from now on to make up for it. That sound good?"

Chica didn't say anything, but she nodded appreciatively.

"Yeah, it sucked for us that the Puppet made us do that. But I guess it was pretty bad for you guys too," said Clyde, looking at anything but the synths across him. "I'm… I'm sorry."

"Sorry, can you say that a little louder?" asked Bonnie. "And look me in the eyes when you do it, faker."

"You know what…" He shut his eyes, bit down whatever it was he was going to say, then managed to make eye contact with Bonnie. "I said I'm sorry. There, that good enough?"

"It's a start," shrugged Bonnie. "Your turn, Teddy."

"It's Theodore! And quite frankly, I find this most unreasonable," he grumbled. "We had our instructions and you forced the hand of the Puppet upon us. If you had simply complied with our wishes, this wouldn't have happened."

"Oh you didn't just say that to me," Bonnie snarled. Chica gripped her arm again, but she didn't relax this time.

"Even for you, this is pretty crappy," remarked Clyde. "The rest of us had to suck it up. What the hell is your excuse?"

"I don't have to explain the situation to you, Clyde or any of you!" retorted Theodore. "We were victims of circumstance as much as you were, Frederick. It's unfair to expect us to shoulder the blame when there effectively is none!"

"Theodore, you are being very unreasonable and inconsiderate, which I might add is puttin' it mildly," said Freddy sternly.

Phil held up his hands again. "O-Okay, how about we calm down a sec. Look, I can kind of see where Theodore is coming from. Now, wait, hear me out," he said quickly. "He's right, the Puppet was the one that made them fight. You know, you can't deny that. But Theodore, you can't start victim blaming the others. E-Even if you weren't in full control of your actions, it doesn't change that what the other synths went through was pretty traumatic. Neither side's trauma is invalid, but they both need acknowledgement. If uh, that makes sense?"

"Couldn't have put it better myself, Phil," agreed Freddy. "Surely you can see what he means, Theodore?"

"That is poppycock! I am in charge of this group and I refuse to take responsibility for-!" Theodore suddenly clutched his head and hissed in pain. "Make… make it stop."

All of them stared. Though that was said with Theodore's voice, it sounded completely different in its tone. It held none of his bossiness.

"It hurts. I'll… I'll do anything. Anything to make it-" He let out another hiss, then shook his head. "Goodness, this whole affair is giving me a headache."

"Theodore," Freddy said slowly, "are you quite alright?"

"Of course I'm bloody well not." His voice was back to normal now. "I'm having to sit here and justify myself to you lot, enduring this endless bickering."

"You sounded like you were really hurt," said Chica gently. "You were begging to make the pain stop."

"I said no such thing. But if I did, it wouldn't be so surprising, really," he said dismissively. "This entire farce is torture in itself, really."

"Okay, I've had it!" Bonnie was only just pulled back in time by Freddy and Chica when she tried to swipe at Theodore from across the table. "You pompous, stuck up-!"

She continued to struggle against their grip while Phil made repeated attempts to call for calm. Theodore had leaped away from the table with a yelp and was starting his own tirade about how out of control Bonnie was. Jeremy exchanged a look with Mike across the table, who nodded in return.

"Enough!" Jeremy bellowed. "Theodore, get a hold of yourself and sit down. Bonnie, I'm sorry he's being such an ass. I'll deal with this, just don't knock his head off. At least for now."

It had the desired effect. Everybody stopped. Bonnie was clearly still seething, but she relaxed a little and slowly sat back in her seat. Theodore didn't look very happy either, but he did as instructed.

Jeremy waited until they had fully settled, then looked at Theodore. "Come on now, Theodore. We've already had this talk. I get it, you and the others went through a really rough time before. But you're not the only ones who suffered because of him. The only way you're going be able to move past it is if you start to own up to it and it starts by apologising for attacking them. If it was you in their place, you'd expect the same and don't try to deny it. You're always talking about being a good leader? Well, here's another part of it: making personal compromises for the good of everybody else."

Theodore listened while Jeremy spoke. Mike had to admire how much command and respect Jeremy seemed to have over the new synths. He certainly didn't think he could have handled somebody like Theodore, yet Jeremy seemed able despite his relative youth.

"Very well," he finally said. He cleared his throat. "I am… sorry for what you went through and for whatever part that we played."

Bonnie scoffed at how forced it sounded, but Freddy spoke before she could add anything else.

"Thank you, Theodore. I appreciate that this is challenging for us all, but let us not forget that there is, quite literally, nobody else like us. It will be difficult, but this is the first step towards better understandin' each other and ourselves, to work towards a peaceful resolution."

There was a loud crash from Kid's Cove that made them all look around. They became aware of the sounds of what could only be fighting and it didn't take a detective to know who it was taking place between.

"Should uh, somebody go and deal with that?" asked Phil.

"Given that one of them is pretty much pure rage and the other literally bit a guy's head off? Probably not," remarked Jeremy.

"Yeah, I think we'd best just let them work it out." Mike winced from the sound of something else breaking. "Just so long as they keep it in there."

"Agreed," said Freddy. "Now, onto the next order of business. Now that you're free of the Puppet's control, we're goin' to help you with adjustin' to your new circumstances. There's no denyin' that you've been through some tryin' times under his influence, but we hope to be able to help you move past that and come to terms with it."

"What's to come to terms with?" asked Clyde. "He controlled us, fine. But it's done now and we can just do, well, whatever we want now. That's all that needs to be said."

"That's… one way of looking at it," said Chica unsurely. "It might be that you're not ready to talk about it yet and that's okay. We can take as long as you need to until you want to."

"Sure, yeah. You want me to lie down on the couch and talk about my feelings? You can stop the amateur therapist act anytime you like, chickpea," he said, rolling his eyes.

Bonnie started to speak, but Chica held up her hand. She took a breath and looked unflinchingly at Clyde.

"Clyde, we all have different ways of processing our feelings and I respect that. But I will not excuse you being rude when all we're doing is trying to help. And don't call me 'chickpea'," she added icily.

"Okay, okay. Jeez, learn to take joke," he muttered.

Hermana cackled with glee. "Ooh, she got you there, Clyde. Way to go, sis! That'll teach him to be a grumpy face." She suddenly gasped. "Ooh, ooh, ooh! You know what'd be a great idea? We should have a party!"

"Oh do be quiet, you hyperactive twit," groaned Theodore.

"Actually, I think that sounds like a lovely idea," said Chica.

"You do?" Hermana asked, surprised.

"Nothing fancy, but something small and personal," she elaborated. "It might help provide a more relaxed atmosphere and give everybody a chance to get to know each other better."

Hermana's surprise turned into a wide grin and she cheered. "Yay! Finally, we actually get to have some fun! This is gonna be so great!"

"See what you've done now?" grumbled Clyde. "Now she's never going to shut up about this."

"I dunno, I think this could be pretty fun," said Bonnie with a smirk. "If it means getting to watch you be all sour about it, that is."

"Whatever, just don't ask me to do anything for it," he said.

"Oh no, you don't," chimed in Theodore. "If this little soiree is what we decide as our course of action, then I expect everybody to play their part in putting it together."

"Ugh, only you could make planning a party sound dull," groaned Clyde.

"Come oooon, guys, we all gotta just put on a smile and try to-" Hermana gave a loud squeal and clutched the sides of her head, shooting to her feet. "This can't be real! This can't be happening!"

"Hermana?" Chica was at her side in moments. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"This isn't real, this isn't real! It can't be!" Her voice was panicked as she grabbed Chica's shoulders. "Please, tell me this is all a dream! Tell me this is-!" She cried out again, a smile bursting back onto her face. "Oh, hi sis!"

"Um… hello," Chica responded uncertainly. "Hermana-"

"Sis, come on, it's Hermy."

"Okay. Hermy," she reiterated, "what just happened there?"

"What happened where? How come we're standing up?" She let out a gasp. "Did you wanna dance with me? That would be so great!"

"No, we're not dancing. I just want to-"

She pouted. "We're not? Aw, why not? Come on, there's no need to be shy. Like Freddy said, we gotta start bein' friends now. What better way to be friends than by having a little dance? I'll lead!"

Before Chica could say anything else, Hermana grabbed her hands and spun her around on her roller skates. Those nearby had to duck as Chica's zoomed over their heads while she screamed in distress and alarm.

"You bloody oaf! Put the young lady down this instant! Clyde, put a stop to this!" ordered Theodore.

"What do you want me to do? I'm not going anywhere near that cyclone, I want to keep my head," he said.

"Of course," sneered Theodore, standing to look contemptuously at him. "I should have expected an answer like that from- OOF!"

Theodore hadn't paid attention to his proximity to said cyclone and was knocked to the ground by Chica's leg. Clyde looked down at him and laughed, which was cut off by Bonnie walking by and smacking him upside the head.

"That's my friend you're getting your kicks from, jerk," she said.

She stopped in front of the whirling tornado of yellow blurs, waited a moment, then took a stable stance and reached out quickly. She managed to grab Chica's legs, forcing Hermana to stop, then yanked Chica out of her grip. Aside from being very dizzy, Chica didn't seem any worse for wear but that didn't stop Bonnie from giving Hermana a withering glare.

"How about you actually listen before you go and do something stupid like that?" she snapped, guiding Chica back to her chair.

"I'm sorry," said Hermana sadly. "I was just tryin' to have a little fun. Are you okay, sis?"

"I think… I'm going to be sick," she groaned.

"We can't be sick, Chica. We weren't designed to do that," said Freddy.

"So why do I still feel like I am?" she replied, her head wobbling a little.

"Yes, nobody be too concerned about me," complained Theodore from the floor. He stood up, huffily straightening his tie and putting his hat on. "I'm quite alright, in case anybody was wondering."

"Can't say I was," replied Bonnie, not even looking at him.

Theodore growled as Clyde sniggered. "Quiet you! This is unacceptable, completely unacceptable! Frederick, your compatriot barely offers a modicum of respect."

"I don't even know what a modicum is, but he sure as hell isn't getting any," she said, quietly enough for only Mike to hear.

He tried to hide his laughter, but couldn't stop the snort escaping. Theodore rounded on him now.

"Even this one mocks me and he's supposed to be helping to keep your lot in line! You expect us to meet with you in comradeship, yet I see nothing but derision and scorn directed upon me!"

Freddy held him in an even gaze, allowing the silence to linger before replying. "First of all, Theodore, I resent the way that you refer to us as if we are some unruly rabble. Second, Mike is not our handler, he is our friend. Third, whatever respect that others here may or may not have for you doesn't hold a candle to the sheer contempt you appear to hold for us. Now I apologise for whatever slights your pride has endured, but I will not allow you to continue to address us in such a crass manner."

"Theodore, come on now," said Jeremy. "Just take a seat and-"

"No, no, not this time, Jeremy," he said curtly. "Sometimes, compromise can only serve to, well, compromise. You must also be willing to stand firm, be unshakable or else people will walk all over you."

"What is there to compromise on? You fell after being knocked down because you got too close to Hermana and Chica," protested Mike. "Look, I'm sorry that I laughed and that we didn't check on you."

"Apologies are only a small part of it. It's also the principle of the matter," said Theodore.

"What principle?!" Jeremy asked incredulously. "There's no principle here!"

"I knew it. I knew this whole thing would be a stupid waste of time. Vevina had the right-" Clyde stopped talking, his fingers pressed against his temple. "There's no point. No point at all…"

"Typical," remarked Theodore. "Always backing down when things start to get difficult."

"Always pain, always hurt, no matter what. The only thing is to-" He yelled again and furiously shook his head. "Damn, that hurt."

"No kidding, but you didn't have to get all whiny about it," said Bonnie.

"Hey, I'm allowed to feel pain if I get a headache. I hate to sound like I'm agreeing with the windbag, but I guess it's not too surprising I'm getting one with all this crap," he complained.

"I-Is anyone else thinking this is a bit weird? Like, why are you all starting to get these bad headaches all of a sudden? Have uh, have you guys ever had anything like that?" Phil asked the originals.

"I don't think so," answered Chica. "Certainly we've had headaches, but you all seem to have it quite badly."

"And you keep saying all of this random stuff," put in Bonnie. "Like Clyde was saying there was no point to anything."

Clyde's eyes widened. "Huh? I never said that."

"You did. I heard you, clear as day," said Theodore. "Come now, Clyde, there's no need to be quite so pathetic about a headache."

"Like you're one to talk," he snapped. "Begging and pleading to make the pain stop."

"I tell you, I said nothing of the sort!"

"I think you'll find that you did," said Freddy. He looked around at everybody else, who all nodded. "In fact, I can't help but notice a pattern here. At the same time these headaches occur, it's almost as if you undergo a shift into a completely different personality."

"And then when it's over, none of you can even remember it happening," said Chica.

The three newer synths looked around in a mixture of disbelief and concern. Hermana eventually broke the silence, with a feeble attempt at optimism.

"I mean, that sounds pretty bad, but it can't be that bad, right? Right?"

"Right now? Maybe not. But I'll bet if we don't figure out what's doing it, it'll only get worse," said Bonnie.

"Oh wow, you sure are a drama queen!" Hermana forced a high pitched laugh, ignorant that nobody else joined in.

"You're right," said Jeremy. "And they're not the only ones I've seen act like this." He rose from the table, heading for the breakroom. "We need to find Goldie and see if she tracked down Billy. I have a feeling this isn't anything good."

ArchineerRob: That's how it's done XD

Arc of Carona: Yeah sadly it's gotta be this way.

Zanza Flux: Gotta give thanks for small mercies.

Guest: You've broken it down rather well.