SpringBonnie holds Fredbear's lifeless body in his arms. It's weird and the bear is a little heavy, but it's fine.
Henry was watching a romantic movie in the repairs room earlier and SpringBonnie just so happened to find a good peeking spot. He didn't care for most of it but one part really stuck out to him and he's been dying to try it for himself.
Granted, this would be easier with an animatronic that could hold itself up, but this is worth the effort. SpringBonnie hasn't danced with Fredbear is forever and now seems like a perfect time. Besides, no one else would've been willing to try it out. They're too busy with their own performances.
"-And then your arm goes here!" SpringBonnie smiles once they're finally in position. Fredbear's head is resting on his chest and his arms are flopped over his shoulders, but it works. Now comes the fun part. "Hold on time." SpringBonnie warns, even though Fredbear can't. It's fine. The bear knows Bonnie won't drop him.
With a little effort, they begin spinning around in circles. It's tricky to figure out at first, but then Fredbear's feet drag to the side, giving SpringBonnie enough room to move on his own. Now, they go back and forth in that same circle.
It's some sort of waltz, as far as SpringBonnie knows. There's no music, but he hums the tune from the movie as they go, his heart stretching with love as their metal tapping fills the area. They're doing it! They're dancing!
At some point, Fredbear's foot catches onto something and the two of them tumble to the ground. Immediately, SpringBonnie crawls over his lover, apologizes spilling from his mouth.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Are you okay?!" He can feel the misery coming off of Fredbear and it makes SpringBonnie feel even worse. He pulls is lover to the far wall and leans him against it. Then he curls up next to him. "I'm sorry. Maybe we shouldn't do that anymore." He tries to put on a false happiness, but it melts away quickly. This was a stupid idea. He never should've moved Fredbear from the wall.
Maybe next time, he'll just talk about the movie instead. He'd rather be left with the longing to dance than have Fredbear get hurt again.
Spring looks down at the growing piles of dirt. He's not really supposed to be here, especially since it's not even closing yet, but the construction crew is gone for their lunch break and he wanted to see it.
Questions swirl around in his mind, all of them more pressing than the last, but he has to ignore them. He won't let himself get hopeful just to be disappointed.
Spring knees in front of the large crevice, whistling softly at how far it goes down. He can just barely see the bottom, but it's covered in a layer of fresh dirt. According to Bonnie, they've cleared everything they and are now filling it up again to hopefully restart on Roxy's Raceway. Spring wonders just how far down it went before and where exactly he was in all of it.
What if someone else is down there too?
He shakes the thought out of his head. It's stupid. The only other thing they could find down there is Afton and that wouldn't be a reason to celebrate. If anything, it would cause more problems, though, a part of him does want to make sure the monster's dead. He wants to see what Afton's body might look like once it happens.
Looking away form the massive hole, Spring turns his gaze to the pile of dirt they dug out before. It's a different kind than what they're filling it with. The dirt they managed to pull out is a lot softer, which could explain why they had a sink hole problem. Well, no, actually. Spring is pretty sure the sink hole happened because there's a whole restaurant under it and then a hidden area under that. But the dirt could've helped. Either way, they're fixing it now.
Just as Spring is about to go back to his room, he sees something shift. He freezes, his eyes never leaving the spot. It could've been anything, from the dirt resettling itself in the pile to...well, something inside. He would be an idiot not to look, though. The only reason no one found out about Afton's murders was because they assumed the odd things were just coincidences. No one bothered to investigate and it costed many children their lives.
Spring takes a step forward, his eyes still trained on the area that shifted. He only looks away for a moment, in face he catches something else moving, but his gaze returns just as quickly. Then, once he's right in front of it, he digs through the dirt. He finds nothing at first, but after a little while, he hits something hard. He jumps from it, but immediately starts pulling it out.
One end slips out of the dirt and he's met with a long, black wire. It's frayed at the end and very limp in his hand. Spring stares at it for a long while, the disappointment already setting in, before he starts looking further. Was there something under the wire? When he's about a foot deep into the spot, he's forced to stop. It must've been the wire.
But as he looks at it again, he finds that there's nothing special about it at all. It looks exactly like the others they've found. He tries pulling at the end that's still covered again, but it doesn't budge. It's probably really long. Bonnie said there were generators down there with lines that went all the way back up to the surface. This must be one of those.
"Hey!"
Spring jumps up, the wire falling back into the dirt as he opens his mouth for a defense, but stops upon seeing Roxy. What's she doing here? Doesn't she have a performance or somethin? Little kids to trash talk while racing?
She walks down the stairs and greets him with a lazy wave. "Hey, come dance."
"...what?" Spring blinks, unsure if he's forgotten something or not. Dance? Right here? Why?
Roxy highs dramatically, kind of like Chica. Are they rubbing off on each other? "I mean, do you want to come dance at the arcade with us? Music Man's the best DJ in the world and you really haven't lived until you've seen it. The others are going." She adds the last part almost too quickly, like she's actually trying to convince him.
But why? Why would they want him to come dancing with them? Even though he can move freely again, he's never been much of a dancer. At least, not in the way he assumes they are. But something about the way Roxy looks at him..."Sure, I guess." He shrugs. She doesn't smile, but she does look relieved as she leads them out of the room. Spring looks back at the wire one more time before following after her.
Monty steps onto the dance floor, still not sure why Roxy came marching into Gator Golf and pulled him away. And in the middle of the day. Can't this stuff wait until closing?
He sighs but it comes out more like a huff. Roxy and Chica both have the tendency to throw parties like this no matter the time. He just hopes he isn't there when they finally get busted.
"Ah, Monty! It is nice to see you!" Monty grimaces at Freddy's overjoyed tone, but he still gives a greeting. They're on...odd terms. Monty usually avoids him, since he's around Bonnie so much, but there are times like these where Freddy will seek him out. That, more maybe Roxy just invited him too. "I was told to meet here, but I did not know you would come as well."
"I almost didn't." He grumbles, still hating that Roxy had to drag him away from Gator Golf. What if someone's breaking the rules? Or a kid's having trouble getting their ball in the whole? He could be helping right now -since it's his, you know, job!
"I am glad!" Freddy says and stands right beside him, looking unaffected by the fact they shouldn't even be here. Why didn't he refuse? He's usually the one following the rules the best, though, maybe it has something to do with this Afton stuff. Monty isn't sure.
They stand in silence for a long while, neither sure what to talk about or if they even should continue the conversation. Monty taps his foot anxiously, his eyes going to the doorway a few times. He can't take this anymore. "Where's Bonnie?" He asks at last. If he's coming to this party too, then Monty needs to leave. He can't stand the rabbit's looks or the way just being around him pulls all of that suppressed guilt right back.
Freddy looks away for a moment and the silence is incredibly awkward. "No. No, he is at the bowling alley. Roxy did invite him, but he declined."
Monty just nods, feeling only slightly bad when the answer puts him at ease. They've been like this for a long time. So long, that he's gotten used to the way Bonnie makes him irrational. It's improvement and at least he can actually say the rabbit's name now. And from what he heard, Bonnie doesn't always flinch at his either. It's progress.
"You guys made it!" Chica shouts as she rushes to them, Roxy and...something else behind her. Monty stares at it instead of responding. It looks like a rabbit of some kind, but not like Bonnie. It's almost really poorly made as far as he can see. Each part of it's casing is cut off into sections, exposing some of the endo inside. It's a bad design and Monty isn't sure why it's even here.
"Good. Everyone's here." Roxy crosses her arms as Music Man starts to stand up. She gestures to the new thing. "Monty, this is Spring. Spring, Monty."
They lock eyes and Monty is glad, not for the first time, that his own are covered up by his glasses. "Montgomery Gator." He reaches a hand out, trying to be polite. The other animatronic nods slowly as they take it. "I run Gator Golf, so you won't see me much."
"Monty...that's a good name." The animatronic's voice is odd to say the least. It's at a completely different frequency than the rest of them and it kind of messes with Monty's sensors. "I'm the original Bonnie. SpringBonnie, I guess."
Wait, he recognizes it now. Monty saw the fliers last night when he went walking around the atrium. It's supposed to be a flash from the past kind of thing, where they show off some really old animatronic they found. Honestly, Monty found it pretty cool. He's never met an older animatronic before.
"You're playin' that show, right? This Saturday?" Monty asks, even though he knows the answer. And when Spring nods shyly, he gathers that maybe it's not a topic to talk about right now. That's fine.
Monty turns toward Music Man, who starts playing music. The dance floor lights up and the room dims down. Immediately, Freddy starts his own kind of dancing, which is really just a random assortment of movements. It's awkward to watch, but the others find it funny.
"Holy Shit!" Monty turns to Spring, both surprised by the exclamation and the word choice. The poor thing is staring down at the floor with a deep frown. The lights around them completely wash out the yellow color he was, almost as if he were just white. The rest of them were made to hold most of their color in situations like this, to remain recognizable to the kids during a performance.
It looks like this one wasn't made for strobe lights.
"Hey, you good?!" He shouts over the music. Monty taps Spring's shoulder and the rabbit jumps, looking panicked. Well that's not good. "Hey, it's alright! It's just lights!"
But Spring shakes his head quickly. He says something, but it's lost to the music. Monty leans closer. "Say that again!" This time, his sensitive ears do pick it up.
"It's too much!" Spring sounds desperate to leave, but with how he's braced, he probably can't on his own. "I'm not made for this! I can't..." He goes quiet, his eyes now staring into space. His limbs begin to shake and Monty decides the old guy's had enough stimulation for today. He grabs Spring by the shoulders and easily pulls him away from the lights and music. They walk into the arcade area, which is closed for reconstruction after they found glitches in most of the games. That's probably the only reason Roxy managed to throw this little party.
Monty gets them up the stairs and into the back halls. It's just far enough that they can't hear the music anymore. Then, he sets Spring down and the animatronic just falls. "Sorry 'bout that." Monty scratches at his hair, not sure what to do now. Should he leave Spring alone to sort himself out, or should he stay? They met minutes ago and it could be awkward to have Monty just standing there.
But when Monty moves away, Spring reaches out for him. "Wait! I...don't leave just yet. I don't want to be alone." The gator sits next to him wordlessly, finding the silence actually peaceful. "I'm sorry, it's just...I'm not used to that sort of thing. There were never lights like that when I was around. And the music wasn't that loud either."
Monty shrugs. "It's cool." He's seen Bonnie's mini concerts in the Ice Cream shop in Bonnie Bowl. They're saw less hyped up. It's just him on a little chair with his acoustic guitar. He can only imagine that's what Spring is used to doing.
The silence drags out until it is awkward and the urge to talk becomes overwhelming. "You've met Bonnie, right?" He doesn't really wait for an answer, but he does see Spring nod. "We used to be close. Before Gator Golf was finished, we'd hang out and he'd show me cool tricks on the bass. It was a fun time. He'd play something and I'd try to play it back." Monty taps his fingers against the hard floor. "I didn't mean to hurt him, you know? It was that Afton guy or whatever. He started messing with my moods, making me angry. I could usually feel it too, which only made me more mad."
He goes quiet again. Spring leans into Monty's line of vision. He still looks a little shaken up, but not nearly as much as before. "What happened?" He asks in a way that makes Monty think he already knows.
"Well, Bonnie came in all huffy and stuff. I don't remember why, but he was all mad. Then I got mad and I felt Afton taking over and...I just lashed out." Spring stays quiet and Monty appreciates it. "I stopped before I did something I'd really regret, but once he got all repaired, Bonnie stopped talkin' to me. I guess I can't blame him or nothing. I did really mess him up, but...It wasn't me, you know?" Spring nods again. "And he knows that! He was there when they found Afton, but he still won't talk to me! It's stupid!" Monty crosses his arms.
Now he's mad again.
"I know how you feel." Spring says and Monty suppresses the urge to shout that he doesn't. No one knows how he feels. "Well, maybe not exactly, but I've been controlled like that before. By the same person, actually. I was trapped with that fucker for thirty years and it's changed me so much. I got mad at Freddy just the other day, screaming and shouting. I never would've done that before."
Dang. He can't imagine being that mad at Freddy of all people. "I don't know what I was like before, though." Monty turns to Spring. "I've always been angry because of Afton and now, people just expect it from me. I'm tryin' to be better, but how can I when others just let me lash out like it's nothing?!" He huffs and looks away. "It's stupid. Why should I be mad at them for not gettin' after me?"
"Because you want to be held responsible." Spring pauses, looking lost in thought. "I used to love someone a long time ago. Well, I still love him, but he's gone now. And because he's gone, I feel like I can't return to who I was. Because no one knows who I was anymore. Those animatronics are all gone."
Monty wonders just how old Spring is. He was guessing a few years, but from the sounds of it, that might not be true. Hesitantly, he leans closer. "Who?"
Spring looks down. "Fredbear. You probably don't know about him." When Monty shakes his head, Spring gives him a sad smile. "I figured. What about Freddy Fazbear? Not Glamrock Freddy, but the first one? And Foxy?"
"Sorry, Bud. There's been too many to remember." And that's not including the others. He's seen the cutouts of other animatronics. Some look more like humans and others are just completely different. He remembers looking for another gator, but there wasn't one. The closest thing was a purple hippo.
"And that's what I mean. No one's holding up accountable for what we do, because they don't know it's wrong. They let you get angry because they just assume that's who you are, even if it's clearly not! I mean, no animatronic is just made to be angry! That would be stupid!"
"Yeah!" Monty smiles. He gets it! It doesn't make sense for him to be created like this if he's for children! And he isn't angry around them. Monty's learned to really hold back, to make sure he doesn't scare them away. It's just when they're away that he gets really upset. "Man...you're like a wise old guy or somethin'. I feel like I've learned so much about myself."
Spring laughs and it sounds a little funny. It sounds like his voice box is crunching to get the noise out. "I guess I have a lot of experience. I've seen a lot of animatronics in my time and all of them had different issues to get through." He laughs again. "Actually, the original Freddy was kind of the same. He used to get stressed about being the lead. I guess this Freddy might feel the same too, especially with how many expectations are put on his shoulders."
Monty isn't sure how to reply to that, so he doesn't. He figures it would make sense, but Freddy's seemed to calm to him. He doesn't really look stressed at all, but maybe that's the point. He doesn't show it because he's the leader and it's expected of him to take on that pressure.
Man. Spring really is wise.
After a moment, Monty stands and he helps Spring to his feet as well. "The Plaza should be closing soon. If you wanna check out Gator Golf, you can. It's pretty low key."
Spring smiles. "I'm not exactly sure what that means, but yeah. As long as it's not like that, then I'd like to check it out."
They stand in front of each other for another awkward minute before Monty finally leaves. Spring follows and they walk silently until they part ways.
I'm sorry I didn't get to Sun in this chapter! I couldn't find a good reason to bring him out of the daycare! He will come back eventually, though!