They aren't at the old diner anymore. Their creators decided to close down and move onto another style. A pizzeria. It's nice enough, even though SpringBonnie never gets to be on stage. He isn't broken, but without Fredbear, it got too lonely. But it's fine. The new animatronics do a good job at pleasing the children. In fact, the kids don't seem to cry as much upon seeing them, but maybe that's because a certain child is gone.
SpringBonnie walks to the back room, his movements getting slower with time. Fredbear is in there, slumped against the far wall. He can't move or talk, but he can still understand things. SpringBonnie realized it a little while ago when he described about the new performers. Fredbear remembered what he said the next day and it sent sparks through the golden rabbit's heart.
Now, he sits down right next to his partner, almost in a cuddling position. He leans his head against Fredbear's shoulder as best he can and shows the drawings he's been holding. "They still draw us, Darling." He says in a sweet tone. He traces out the drawing with a single finger, outlining the awkward shape of a child hugging Fredbear. Usually, SpringBonnie assumes any bears drawn are of Freddy Fazbear, but this one is different. This one has a purple hat and bowtie. It has to be Fredbear.
He shows the next one, a drawing of Fredbear holding up his microphone. The drawing was done by a slightly older child, based on the better use of crayon colors. "They still love you, even if you aren't on stage. The kids will remember." SpringBonnie can feel how Fredbear relaxes at the statement, even if he doesn't move. They've both been worried about it, being forgotten. It was the first thing SpringBonnie thought when he saw those other animatronics. Would they be replaced? Will the children just move on?
The last picture is of them both. It's messy and there are some random oranges and greens along the edges, likely from other children, but they're still there. Fredbear's taller -which isn't really true to reality- and SpringBonnie has his banjo. There are some carefully drawn music notes too, though, it's void of actual lyrics. But that's okay.
SpringBonnie puts the draws down on Fredbear's lap so he can continue to see them. With nothing else to do, the rabbit curls up closer and begins singing their favorite song. It was the one they sang together on opening night of Fredbear's Diner. "Wise men say..." His voice is a little high, nothing closer to Fredbear's deep tone, but it's all he can do now. SpringBonnie was never really the singer. He played his banjo and carried the harmonies.
Now, he'll never hear Fredbear sing again. But it's fine. He'll live with that so long as they can stay together.
Bonnie stares as the mechanical team works hard to replace wires and broken metal. It feels like a waste of time, honestly. There's no way that suit still works after so long. It's a miracle it still exists at all. Nothing survives that long buried in the dirty. But Freddy still has hope, it's obvious in the way he peeks through the glass of the protective cylinder. He thinks there's a chance, so Bonnie will stay with him until either another miracle comes or disappointment sets in.
"Damn these joints! It's like this thing sat in water all this time!" One of the mechanics sighs. They're all wearing protective gloves so no one get's cut during this process. Bonnie can only imagine how many health risks that thing has. "We'll be replacing the whole endo at this point."
"Just shut up and lube them, okay?! I'm working overtime because of this and I don't want to hear you complaining on top of it." With that, the first mechanic goes quiet and continues pulling at the shoulder joint.
Bonnie flinches when it snaps off, but they quickly replace it with a newer one.
"What if he doesn't wake up?" Freddy's voice makes Bonnie turn to him. "What if this is all for nothing?"
Ah, so the disappointment is starting to set in. It's funny how positive Freddy seemed to be when he was helping Gregory. If only the boy knew how much Freddy worries, even over the smallest things. Not that this is small in any way, shape, or form.
Bonnie locks their hands together. "I don't know, Fred, but it's worth a shot. And if he never wakes up, then he'll be at peace, right?" Bonnie won't lie to him. He won't pretend like this has even a slight chance of working, but he also can't tear down his partner.
Freddy lets out a soft laugh as he looks back into the cylinder. "I don't think animatronics can be at peace. I think they just die."
Bonnie doesn't know what to say to that. Ever since that fight against Afton, Freddy's been very...interesting about that topic. He's tried to support his partner through it but sometimes, he just says things that feel weird. Bonnie shakes his head and just holds Freddy's hand closer.
The mechanics seem to reach a middle point where the joints are mostly functional. They all sit back, resting for a moment, before one tries connection the suit to the charger.
They wait, mostly with low expectations, as the suit jumps slightly but stays still otherwise. Maybe it really is impossible. Maybe It was a bad idea to come here with Freddy, even if he was curious himself. This thing really won't be getting up and that's obvious now. It's best they leave it in display case and-
The suit jolts upright, a painful sound screeching out of it's voice box. The workers all jump away with a shout and curse, their backs against the wall furthest from it. Then, they watch as the Spring suit sits there, it's head twisting at an odd angle before going back to normal. Then, it's eyes scan around the room. It twitches and jolts every so often. It stops scanning once it's eyes land on Freddy.
Bonnie instinctively gets in front of him, wanting to protect Freddy from whatever soul may be inside of that thing. It can't be Afton, but those children were just as vengeful.
The suit's eyes turn to Bonnie now and it's mouth opens again, but nothing but grinding metal comes out. The mechanics flinch again, but none move closer. Bonnie thinks of getting them out for a moment, before deciding that the risk is too high. If that suit gets away, then they'll have far worse to deal with than empty job slots -as cruel as it is.
The eyes widen, then and leave Bonnie. They go down to the suit's form and shaky hands trace along the rotten fabric. It feels along the holes and touches the top of a sprouting plant. It jolts up again, almost unnaturally, and looks around the room. It begins curling in on itself.
"He needs help!" Freddy says and in moments, he's gone. Bonnie tries to follow after him, but then the cylinder's door is opening and Freddy steps inside. The mechanics all run out like a mini stampede. Bonnie feels panic take him as he pushes past the workers to join Freddy in the cylinder, as well as close the door behind him. Someone will come back to let them out and until then, they can fend off this rotting suit. It shouldn't be too hard.
Freddy starts to move closer, but Bonnie holds him back. They stare at each other for a quick moment. "Freddy, don't. This is stupid." This wasn't supposed to happen in the first place.
But the bear shakes his head, looking desperate. "He needs us, Bonnie. Look!" Bonnie does and he pauses at what he finds. The suit is hold it's head tightly in both hands, it's whole form rocking slightly as more sounds escape it's mouth. It looks like a crying child.
Freddy breaks out of Bonnie's hold, but the rabbit lets him this time. He stays on guard and prepares to intervene at any moment as Freddy gently touches the suit and it flinches away. Freddy doesn't give up when it slips off of the work table and backs itself into a corner. "We will not hurt you." Freddy says with an even, calm voice. "You're in Fazbear's Pizza." The suit stops. "It may not be familiar to you, but it is still the same. I am Freddy and that's Bonnie. We're animatronics, like you."
The suit tries to say something but no words come out. Freddy frowns and turns to Bonnie, pleading in his eyes. Bonnie isn't sure what exactly he wants, but he does get an idea. "I'll get a replacement." He says hesitantly and Freddy smiles. That must've been it.
The cylinder door opens and Bonnie rushes to a side room to grab an extra voice box. He listens closely for any cries of help, but none come. He quickly returns to the cylinder and finds that Freddy's managed to get the suit back on the table, though, it still looks beyond frightened. Once Bonnie enters, Freddy turns to him and takes the voice box with a smile.
"Once we replace this, you will be able to ask all the questions you want, okay? Now, open your mouth so we can access your voice box." The suit stares at him for a long moment, but just when Bonnie thinks it's a lost cause, it does as told. He does as told. He doesn't really act like a mindless machine.
Freddy gives praise as he reaches in and takes out the old voice box, handing it to Bonnie. The rabbit looks it over with disgust and sets it down on the floor. He's surprised anything came out of it at all with how much dirt is caked into it. At least, he assumes it's dirt.
Bonnie's head snaps up again when he hears a loud crack and he sees Freddy breaking the replacement voice box open. Bonnie's about to protest when Freddy pulls out the insides of it and gently places it inside of the decayed suit's mouth. There's a long moment of silence where Freddy welds the wires into place. Then, once he's done, he takes a step back and they watch the old animatronic looks at them nervously.
"Did it-" They all jump at the clear voice, but Bonnie starts smiling despite himself. It actually worked! He thought the suit was so outdated that anything they tried wouldn't be compatible. Oh, that's probably why Freddy broke open the voice box. Because it wasn't the right size or shape.
"It is okay! You can speak to us now." Freddy's smile is far wider as he helps the suit sit up right again. They wait for a moment before the spring suit talks again.
"How...How am I awake?" He asks, looking afraid again. "What is all this?" He gestures weakly to the machines all around him, then his eyes land on Bonnie. "You aren't the animatronics from Fazbear's. Who are you?"
Bonnie exchanges a look with Freddy before he decides this requires a logical mind. "You're in the Mega Pizzaplex." When the suit looks even more confused, he elaborates. "It's like a big mall. It's been decades since the first Fazbear's Pizza closed." There's really no way to sugar coat it. There's going to be a shock no matter what he says, so he might as well tell the truth and let the suit figure things out from there. "And as for why you're here, well...we found you under the building."
The suit seems lost to this new information. Freddy tries to smile and give comfort, but it's rejected almost instantly. "I am...where's my creator?" He asks, still not looking at Freddy. "Henry Emily and William Afton. Where are they?"
"Gone." Freddy says, his smile slipping away quickly. "Henry has been dead for many years now and Afton...should be in the same state now." Freddy suddenly looks serious as he looks at the suit. "SpringBonnie, I have a question for you now. What is the last thing you remember?"
The suit -SpringBonnie- goes silent as he thinks it over. They wait, knowing how difficult it can be to recall memories from a past life. Then, he looks up. "There was a fire, then a woman picked me up and...I don't remember. I don't remember anything."
Freddy seems to understand. Bonnie's completely lost but he's not the one who knows the most about this stuff. He knows about Vanny, but she's not any issue anymore. Not since they got rid of Afton. Now, Vanessa's mind is clearer than it has been in forever. She's safe enough for them to trust her with Gregory.
"Spring, you're safe here. We will help you remember things and in the meantime, you can stay with us." Freddy gives Bonnie a look so sweet, so trusting that he has no choice but to agree.
"We'll introduce you to the other animatronics and keep you charged."
Spring looks unsure, but he eventually nods and gestured for Freddy to take his arm. The bear does so and slowly, carefully, Spring manages to get onto his feet.
For the first time, Bonnie realizes how tall Spring is. It makes sense, since the Glamrocks were meant to match the average human's height, while the springlock suits went over a human. Afton also had the reputation of being very tall, so it makes sense for Spring to be a few inches taller than Freddy, but it's still a shock.
Spring takes slow steps, his joints creaking and shifting with the weight. The replacements all hold, though, letting Spring stumble closer to Bonnie, who takes the other side of him. Together, they all exit the cylinder and come face to face with a very surprised Vanessa.
"Holy shit, they really weren't joking." She says, her mouth hung open. "It's really him. The original Bonnie suit." She takes a step back, then sgathers herself and stares dead at Freddy. "You didn't bother to tell me you were reactivating him?! Are you kidding me?! Do you have any idea what he could have-"
"I am aware, Vanessa." Freddy interrupts, sounding unusually cold. He seems to realize it too, and his face softens. "But he is no longer fused with Afton, I assure you."
Vanessa looks between the three of them. "You know they'll want to use him. They might even put him on stage."
"I am aware." Freddy says and Bonnie doesn't miss the way Spring's eyes go wide. He can't tell whether it's a good surprise or not. "I cannot control what the owners do with him, but Spring deserves better than to be thrown away."
She sighs, then, but nods. "Fine. Fine. You can keep him, but just know that you may not like what they decide to do." With that, she leads them out of the Parts and Services, making sure no one sees them passing through the halls.
Bonnie wonders who's room Spring will end up staying in and he half hopes it's not his or Freddy's.
I heard that people wanted more, so I will deliver! I don't know how long this will be, but I do have a few plans ahead!