Brought Home

Bonnie wanted to hit something. She didn't know what and she didn't know who. Part of her knew that it probably wouldn't help, that it would only make things worse. But right now, she just didn't care. She sat in one of the far corners of the truck. Her leg twitched restlessly, her arms folded as she continually clenched and unclenched her fists.

Chica would know what to say. She'd tell her what she needed to hear, stop her from doing something stupid. Foxy would probably say something in a pirate sort of way and she'd hit him to get out any aggression. He'd hit her right back and they'd laugh like idiots. Freddy would tell them to stop being childish and say something that would turn the whole thing around.

But they weren't here. It was just her. Her and Goldie. She wasn't back here with her, but with Mike in the front seat. Just like her. She couldn't even face up to the fact that, once again, they were broken up because of her. That she was the reason Freddy, Chica and Foxy had been left behind. Just because she thought she was so important, so special that they deserved to be left in the dust for it.

"Hoo-wee! Man, it's pretty crazy what's happened, huh?"

Bonnie felt her ire rise. She glanced up to see Hermana. She plonked herself next to Bonnie, that stupid, air-headed smile that Bonnie wanted nothing more than to wipe off. How could she be smiling at a time like this?

She restrained herself. Just. But it became harder to when she carried on talking.

"I mean, first we were gettin' in there, really stickin' it to 'em. That felt really good, dunno about you but wow it was a rush! Then suddenly, boom! Whole caper gets turned upside down. Bots crawlin' all over, that crazy guy laughin' it up over the speaker, it was nuts! I didn't think we were gonna make it outta there but here we are. Isn't it great?"

"Yeah, sure." Bonnie hoped the short response would deter her. It didn't.

"Hey, glad you think so. I know it seems bad and I mean real, real bad. Like, woof, clean-up-on-aisle-four-get-the-mop-and-bucket kinda bad. But call me crazy, I think we still gotta shot, ya know? It's gonna take some doin', but with a lil' work, I think we can turn this whole mess around and really-"

"Oh my god, will you SHUT UP?" Bonnie slammed her fist into the side of the truck. "I don't care what you think, I didn't even ask about what you think! So if you can hear this over the sound of your own voice, here's what I will tell you: go away and leave me alone!"

"Both of you shut up," came Clyde's voice. "Guy's trying to sleep over here."

"Yes, I second that," muttered Theodore.

"Screw you both!"

Clyde waved a hand and turned away, lowering his ears down. Theodore only glanced up, but didn't say anything and the humans in the front kept quiet. Good. Bonnie didn't want to repeat herself. She lowered her head, staring down at her lap.

But Hermana hadn't left. A sidelong glance showed Bonnie that her smile had gone. It didn't make her feel any better.

"I said-"

"I heard." She looked away from Bonnie at her feet, tracing circles around her elbow. "I'm sorry, I just… wanted to make ya feel better."

Anger flared up in Bonnie again and she couldn't stop the words spilling out of her mouth.

"Why, because you want to be like your sis? You think because you were made to reflect her, that you can just make everything better with a smile and a wish? Well, you can't. Because you're not her. You'll never be her so stop trying to act like you can!"

She didn't look directly at Hermana when she said all of this and went back to staring resolutely at her lap. But then she heard a sniff. She couldn't help it. She looked. Tears were forming in Hermana's eyes and her lip was wobbling.

Now, Bonnie felt even worse.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I only… I'll go."

"Wait." Bonnie surprised herself a little when she said that. "That wasn't… I didn't mean… I'm sorry." She sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. "You were right. I'm… I'm a bitch."

"No, no, I didn't mean that, Bon," she said quickly. "That just slipped out, it wasn't-"

"Yeah, it slipped out because on some level, you know it's true. I always do this. When stuff like this happens, I get all wound up and just… lash out. I was meant to be getting better at it but I guess… that's not happening." She laughed bitterly. "I'm the one who should have gotten caught."

"Don't say that!"

"Why not? You'd be better off with any of the others. All I've ever done is mess things up for everybody else. I get mad and it just makes things worse. Whenever it's left up to me, somebody else ends up handling it because… because I'm just a screw-up." She wiped at her eyes furiously. "Look at me. Even now, I'm making this about me. You were just trying to help and all I did was… what I always do. I'm… I'm sorry."

She pulled her legs up, wrapped her arms around them and rested her head on her knees. She expected Hermana to leave. She wouldn't blame her if she did. A hand brushed gently against hers. Bonnie flinched from the unexpected contact and the hand retreated.

"Sorry, sorry!" said Hermana quickly. "I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, it's fine. It's not you, just… not a fan of being touched. Don't know why, I just… don't like it."

"That's okay. I won't do it then." Hermana was turned fully towards her, kneeling on the floor. "You're right. I'm not Chica. But when we were all in that place Goldie made for us, she said to me that whenever she felt bad, it was better 'cause she had her friends. Includin' you. A lot of your friends aren't here, so I figured 'hey, maybe I could be your friend and maybe I could help', but I still don't really know how so I tried to cheer you up and that just made you mad, but you were already really mad anyway and…" She trailed off and laughed awkwardly. "There I go again. Motor mouth, am-I-right?"

Bonnie found herself laughing a little too. "Hey, welcome to the club. I run my mouth all the time."

"Yeah? Must get pretty tired then."

"Huh? What do you…?" Bonnie slapped her forehead and groaned. "Oh god, that was terrible."

"Yeah, but you're still smilin'."

"It's a pity smile! God, I thought Freddy had bad jokes but that's just…"

Bonnie couldn't help herself. She was laughing like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. Hermana was as well. If Theodore or Clyde had any commentary on the situation, they kept it to themselves. The two women laughed until they had to wipe their eyes again.

"Thanks," said Bonnie when she got her breath back. "I think I needed that."

"No probs. And Bon? I don't think you're a screw-up." She offered a lopsided grin. "Trust me, that's comin' from an actual screw-up."

"Oh come on, you don't mean that."

"No I am, really. Ask these two, they'll tell ya all about it."

Bonnie glanced at them. "Yeah, but what does their opinion count for?"

"Heard that and for the record, she is," remarked Clyde.

"Once again, seconded," added Theodore.

"You were meant to and nobody asked either of you, so can it." She looked back at Hermana. "Don't listen to them, you're not a screw-up."

"I am though. All I ever do is bug people and drive 'em up the wall. I'm tryin' to do better, but…" She went back to tracing circles on her elbow again. "I'm not very good at it."

"Hey, the fact you're trying still says a lot. And look, you may not be Chica but if she was here, I think she'd be pretty proud of you."

Hermana beamed at this. "You really think so?"

"I don't think, I know. You can call yourself her sis, but don't forget who was around first." She punched Hermana very lightly on the shoulder. "Just don't stop trying, okay?"

"Same to you. Who knows? Maybe one day you'll be less of a bitch," she giggled.

"Hey, let's not get too crazy here." She relaxed herself again and let Hermana get a little closer. "How about you? You okay?"

"I wasn't before, but I'm doin' better now. Nothin' like a little time with your girlfriends to perk you up." Hermana gasped. "Hey, that's an idea! When this is all over, we need to have a proper girl's night. You, me, Chica, Vevvy and Goldie. Oh it'd be so much fun!"

"You know, that actually does sound like it would be a good time. Synthetic ladies tearing up the town on a Saturday night!"

"Woo yeah! They won't know what hit 'em!"

"I tremble for the world," chimed in Theodore.

Hermana stuck her tongue out at him. "You're just ticked you can't come."

"I can assure you, I have better things to do with my time than 'tearing up the town'. Besides," he added, "while you have your 'girls night out', we good fellows shall teach you the true definition of a good time, eh Clyde?"

Clyde looked over his shoulder, raising his eyebrows. "Yeah? And what exactly would that involve, Ted?"

"Well naturally, we would begin with an outlining of the schedule so that everybody is on the same page. Afterward, we would start off with a brisk early morning walk to get ourselves ready and raring for the day. Then I believe there is at least one art gallery in Greater Borealis. We shall examine the works on display, of course taking notes for our own interpretations of various pieces to be discussed at length afterward. Oh and how marvellous it would be if we were to-"

"Yeah, sounds like a really wild time, Ted. Can I come with you guys?" asked Clyde.

"Sorry, Clyde. Girls only." Bonnie offered Hermana a fist which she bumped. "Besides, would want you to miss out on some real intellectual stimulation, right Ted?"

"Oh yes indeed. You see, Clyde? The good woman knows a genuinely engaging activity when she hears it. Just a shame you can't join us, Bonnie. Boys only and all that."

"That's okay, Ted. You guys can have all the fun we'll be missing out on."

"I can't wait." Clyde ceased mid-eye roll and snapped his head towards Theodore. "Hey, since when did you let people start calling you that?"

"Hey yeah, you always used to be like 'I'll have you know, it's Theodore, harrumph, harrumph'." Hermana gasped again. "Does this mean you like bein' called that now?"

His cheeks flushed blue. "Certainly not! I've simply become tired of constantly correcting you all. I still insist on my full and proper name as it was given to me, thank you very much."

"Whatever you say, Teddy," said Bonnie with a smirk.

He huffed and folded his arms, but didn't say anything else. It may have been a trick of the light, but Bonnie could have sworn she saw the tiniest of smiles tug at the corners of his mouth.

They felt the truck make a left turn. It began to judder, moving off the smooth asphalt of the main road and along one with far more rocks and bumps. Just as Bonnie was about to ask what was going on, they heard Lidiya's voice from the driver's canopy.

"We're here. Let yourselves out of the back."

Theodore, being the closest, opened the shutter and they all jumped out. Bonnie took a moment to stretch her legs and arch her back before taking in their new surroundings.

Lidiya hadn't been kidding when she said this was out of the way. The road they'd just travelled was just a dirt track, moving beneath a canopy of trees which encircled the area. Even though she'd spent some time living out in the woods in the old diner, the change was still a little jarring for Bonnie. There was another similarity to the Diner location and that was the single, man-made structure which nestled atop a small hill among the trees.

It was a house. There was nothing incredibly remarkable about it. Two stories, triangular roof with a chimney and an attached garage. The whitewashed walls contrasted unremarkably with the darker roof tiles, with a bright red door at its centre. Bonnie half expected somebody to come out and meet them, but there was no sign of life at all.

"How quaint," remarked Goldie, still being held by Mike. "And you say this is where Sid created his synths?"

Lidiya only nodded shortly. She still looked really shaken up. While Bonnie wasn't entirely certain if she could be trusted, given her allegiance, but if they just kept a close eye on her it should be fine. Besides, she'd been caught up in the same crap they all had been.

"Okay, since no-one else has said it, I will," said Clyde. "If Hawthorne knows about this place, how can we be sure we'll be safe here? What's stopping us from tracking us straight here?"

"He won't." Lidiya still wasn't looking at any of them. "He um… he was sending me home before e-everything happened. I-I was able to get away when that other AI took over."

Clyde quirked an eyebrow. "Another way of saying you almost ditched us? That's encouraging."

"Okay, cut it out," Mike said sharply. "She got us out in the end and anyway, that's not the point. Lidiya, other than you, Sid and probably the Puppet, does anybody else know about this place?"

She shook her head. "I-I don't think so. No, nobody else knows."

"There we go. If she wasn't caught like the rest of us were and Sid was sending her home, they won't know that she's with us now. That means they won't know that she's brought us here."

"They could potentially work it out. After all, we did steal one of their trucks or they could have seen her on the cameras," said Theodore.

Lidiya shook her head. "The uh, the little boy one. H-He'd broken the closest cameras."

"Yes, that does sound like something he'd do," said Theodore with a slight smile.

"Exactly and they won't know who was driving," said Mike. "Even so, we just need to keep our eyes open, in case they do work it out. Besides, like Goldie said, they'd know if we used any of the other places we could go to. We don't really have much of a choice."

"Mike's right," said Goldie. "While it may not be ideal, it's our best option. For now, let's make certain it is just us. Bonnie, mind doing a quick sweep of the perimeter?"

"On it. And Goldie? Sorry about before."

She could hear the smile in Goldie's voice. "Think nothing of it. It's not an easy situation we've found ourselves in. But we'll get through it, okay? We'll get them back."

"Hell yeah, we will," she said and believed it.

Running around the house revealed nobody around. She bounded up to the rooftop and looked out across the landscape. There wasn't any visible sign of the main road, obscured by the trees and rolling hills. If there were other people living nearby, they didn't frequent this place.

"Very good," said Goldie when she reported back. "Lidiya, if you'll admit us? Bonnie, give it a quick sweep inside too."

Taking a ring of keys out of her pocket, she unlocked the door. Bonnie gently pushed her aside to go in first and noticed how she seized up at the contact. When she offered an apology, Lidiya didn't reply and quickly backed away. Shrugging, Bonnie paused mid-step when Hermana got her attention.

"I'll check downstairs if you check up?" she suggested.

"Sounds good." She let Hermana in first, taking the L-shaped stairs up to the next floor.

The corridor ended in two doors on the left, leading to a bathroom and a closet. Nothing in either of them. It went on for a little longer on the right with two doors opposite each other. One was definitely a kid's room. There was nothing especially interesting about it, other than that everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. A few toys scattered on the floor, including a blue phone with eyes, two sets of blue drawers with a matching colour carpet and a closet with a collapsible door.

Curiously, on the kid's bed, was a bear. But one that was very familiar to her. It looked just like Freddy's suit he wore for his animatronic disguise, but much more cartoonish. She picked it up and gave the nose a honk.

"Guess that's a feature," she murmured before putting it back.

The other was what she guessed was the parent's bedroom, with a large double bed, dressing table and its own bathroom. She was about to leave when her eye was drawn to a photograph on one of the bedside tables. She picked it up and examined it closely. It was a couple, the parents probably, standing in front of the house itself. The lady looked nice enough, but it was the man that got her attention.

She had to take a moment to really be certain, but there was no question. The same rich brown hair and moustache, kindly smile and vibrant blue eyes. He didn't have the same kind of muscle and no sideburns, plus he looked a lot younger, but he looked just like Freddy. Except it couldn't be him. No bear ears for one thing. Which meant it could only be…

Bonnie hurried out, pushing past Clyde coming up the same way.

"Hey, they wanted to know why you've been gone so- hey, what gives?"

She ignored his protests and ran straight to Goldie. She'd been set on the kitchen counter by Mike and the two were looking at another photo. It was him. The same man. She silently showed them her own photo, her stunned expression mirroring theirs. Or Mike's at least.

"That confirms it," murmured Goldie. "This is Fred Fitzbar's home."

"How do you not know that? You must have been here," said Bonnie.

"Not in those days. I never left the old facility in the city and my capabilities were much more limited back then. Fred was quite reclusive outside of work. I don't think he ever brought anybody back here."

"But how could we have been created here?" Theodore came in from the living room. "While it's a perfectly lovely home, it's far from equipped for such things."

Clyde re-joined them from upstairs. "Yeah, unless there's a secret lab hidden beneath this place."

"This way," Lidiya called from somewhere in the house.

They followed her through to the garage. There was no car inside it, with only a few shelves of tools and a workbench nearby. Lidiya waited until they were all inside, then lifted up the light switch to reveal a number pad beneath.

"Wait, I was just kidding," said Clyde while she typed in the code. "That isn't really what's happening here, is it?"

She ignored him and pressed the final number. The floor suddenly juddered and started to sink below the ground. Bonnie wasn't sure whether to be impressed or concerned. She was still processing the fact that this was the home of their creator. He had lived here, walked in those corridors, slept in that bed.

"Did you know?" she asked Lidiya. "Did you know whose house this was?"

She glanced at Bonnie, but didn't respond at once. "Mr Hawthorne told me the man who created the technology lived here. I found out the rest on my own."

"What about his family? Where are they?"

"Dead." It was Goldie who answered. "His wife, Bella, died during childbirth. So did his daughter."

Bonnie thought back to the kid's room. Had he put all of that work into preparing it, only to lose the very reason for its existence?

"Christ…" she whispered. "How come you never said?"

"You know as well as I do, Bonnie, that the mind-set I was in after you were all given your bodies was far from divulging."

"Right yeah, sorry." A moment of silence passed, with only the whirring of the elevator. "Guess it wasn't something he liked to talk about?"

"I was lucky to get that much out of him. One thing he and his synthetic creation share in common is keeping their cards very close to the chest."

Mike nodded faintly. "I can't say I blame him. I mean, Goldie's meant to be based on his sister and she died too."

"Jeez, rough luck," murmured Clyde.

They stopped moving, the doors in front of them opening automatically. Lidiya lead the way, not checking to see if the rest of them followed. They emerged into a control room of some kind, with another corridor going straight on and two large viewing windows on either side. A faint blue glow was coming from the one on the left. Lidiya pressed a few switches on the control panels and the lights flickered on.

The room on their right held five large cylinders, with transparent glass or plastic around their circumference. Bonnie recognised them. These were the same kinds they'd taken their first steps out of but for Sid's synths instead. The three with them came to the same realisation, with Hermana pressing herself right up against the viewing window.

"That's where we were born?" she whispered. "Whoa…"

"Yeah," agreed Clyde. "This feels so… weird. Like, we came out of those. We were in those."

"It is rather surreal," murmured Theodore.

"Mr Hawthorne… Sid brought me here after you were completed," explained Lidiya. "He told me this is where his competitor had concealed his secrets and this was where he reverse engineered the technology to do it. Apparently, it took some time to track him back here. The files were nearly purged when they did, but the Monitor was able to save them."

"So wait, instead of running far away or even leaving the country, he just hid down here? And they never found him?" Bonnie asked.

Goldie suddenly laughed. "Oh, that is just like Fred. He had Sid running around in circles when he was really… oh, that is just brilliant."

An announcement system crackled to life. They all jumped and whirled around when an oddly chipper voice sounded through it.

"Notification: Genetic Operations Logistic Diagnostic ENgager voice signature detected within facility. Please confirm."

Lidiya noticed that every eye was on her. "Don't look at me, it's never done this before."

"Please confirm," the voice repeated.

"Um… confirm?" replied Goldie.

"Verifying." A humming sound followed. "Identity confirmed. Welcome, Goldie! Beginning playback."

The voice that spoke next was one that sounded very familiar to Bonnie. It sounded much older and more tired, but the resemblance was uncanny. But it couldn't be…

"Well, well. You've come home, at long last. Hello there, Goldie. It has been a very long time."

Goldie's voice was in a whisper, but even then, Bonnie still heard it.

"Fred…?"

Alanuki: Yeah to say the least XD

Monkey999Boy: Be biased as you like, it's fine to have favourites XD Well ultimately, what Spring wants is kind of acceptance. He's been left on his own for a very long time after being abandoned so there is some sympathy to be had. Even if he is going about it the wrong way XD

Arc of Carona: It is sadly the canon fate of the Phone Guy.

Vyrhys: I'm so sorry XD

Yellowscar1: Hey good on you for it XD and as to that, you'll have to wait and see.