Chapter 16 - Damn Rules...

After Mr. Fazbear leaves the building, all is quiet. Everything's been closed up for the weekend, making it the perfect time for the animatronics to come out of hiding. Kitten makes her way back inside Pirate's Cove as Fazbear leaves, trying to make sure he doesn't get suspicious that someone might still be inside the building. She opens the door and closes it behind her, using her power to flip on the light switch for her to see as she approaches the stage. "Ahoy, Captain! I'm back," she calls out, then hops up and moves behind the purple curtain.

Foxy, now in human form to stay a bit more comfortable, turns around to see his first mate, his face holding a small smile. "Well, that was an excitin' night, eh lass?" the fox asks, putting both hand and hook on his hips.

The young redhead smiles a much happier smile at him as she pulls her tail out from inside her pants, it now swaying back and forth behind her like a happy dog. "Mm-hmm!" she nods, moving her hat so her ears are out again and they twitch a bit at their freedom. "Thank you so much, captain!" Before he can say anything, Kitten steps forward and surprises him with a big bear hug, which he feels could snap him in half.

The taller male flinches a bit from the sudden hug but quickly returns the embrace. "Yer welcome, Kitten," he smiles down at her. "I'm glad yer friend is still alive. It's lucky she has someone as grand as ye."

The girl quickly feels her face grow warm from a blush creeping up on her from his compliment. "I… I really want her to feel safe here again," she kind of mumbles, nuzzling her face into his jacket like a playful child hiding away.

His face is getting red also, feeling her warm body on his. Kitten really is just a kitten looking just for attention, and it is cute, but a little uncomfortable as well. "O-Okay lassy, ye made yer point," he says bashfully as he moves his hand and hook up onto her shoulders and says, "Ye need to rest now."

He hears a whine from her in protest as Foxy looks down at the pirate girl. "I'll only rest if I rest with you," she demands, blushing at her own statement.

Foxy sighs to himself. This might not be the best time considering Freddy would be leaving the stage soon. "Ehhh… Well…" he starts, then looks away, feeling embarrassed at the moment. "Kitten… I might not be able ta rest. I have ta talk to Freddy an' the rest 'bout… everything that's happened over th' week," the captain explains, unable to make eye contact with the feline.

Not taking his excuses lightly, Kitten lifts herself up to meet him on eye level and shouts, "Then I'm going with you!"

Foxy flinches for a moment then sighs. "Kitten, ye might not wanna see how angry Freddy c'n be. If I were ye, I'd stay away till 'e calms down before he blows that big head off his own shoulders," he finishes with a slight snicker.

"But, it's my fault he's mad… isn't it?" she asks him with sad eyes, obviously feeling guilty for causing all this trouble.

Foxy's good hand grips her shoulder tightly, causing Kitten to look up at him. "Lass, ye may think it's yer fault, but ye were help'n yer only friend. Them three know that, an' if they knew how much she cared fer ya, they might go easy." The pirate captain gives her a soft pat on the shoulder and a warm smile. "I'll take the hit. I am yer cap'n an' yer supervisor after all."

"But-" Kitten tries to object until he silences her with his finger on her lips. The soft-touch makes her blush brighten even more. Honestly, she really likes it when he's with her, especially holding her in his strong arms.

"No buts," he demands, gently pulling her off of him. "As yer captain, I order ye to take a rest an' let Cap'n Foxy take care of that ol' Freddy."

The feline looks down at the floor, still feeling guilty for allowing him to take the fault, letting out a sad sigh, and says, "Aye captain…" Her ears fall like a sad little kitten who got in trouble.

The male pirate smiles at his first mate, loving how adorable she looks. It's one of the things he likes about his first mate. He moves his hand away, then raises it up to pat her head and says, "Hey… be happy, lass. Ye got a great friend out there fer ya. Don' f'rget about that."

That sentence alone is able to bring a small smile back to her face. She looks back up at her captain to show that said smile, but still couldn't help but felt a little sorry for him. "Yeah… But I don't want to see you getting yelled at or hurt…" she admits worriedly.

"Bah! Kiddin' me? I been here longer than ya, an' I dealt with his brown blubberin' booty every day! So, I think I c'n handle his yellin' fer another several years. So, no worrin', 'ight?"

Hearing him mock Freddy like that, Kitten had to hold back from laughing. "O-Okay... But, when you get back… could you… lay with me?"

Foxy's eyes widen, surprised that she's acting like this again, and his blush Immediately returns. "Duuuh... W-Why this all'a sudden? Yer really actin' like lil child," he says playfully, yet still feeling a little weirded out.

Kitten shrugs a bit as her blush continues to grow redder. "Alyssa mentioned that she wanted to cuddle that huge Freddy doll we have out at the prize corner. So… I thought…" the younger pirate looks down at her feet, twisting the tip of her left boot against the wooden stage like it's drilling the floor. "You know… the idea of being held by someone big and special would be nice."

Her captain has to look away, recounting the event from last night before her shift. Now, Kitten wants to cuddle him? The thought of holding someone again did sound satisfying considering it had been a while since he was taken away for 'repairs.' Maybe having someone like Kitten to hold would feel like a child hugging him again. "I ain't no plush toy…" Foxy starts, looking back at her with a calmer blush than normal, but smiles anyway. "But, I don't mind if we cuddle when I get back."

The feline's tail, once again, sways back and forth happily. "Yay! You may not be a plush doll, but you sure are soft like one!" she says in a cheerfully childish way.

Foxy chuckles at her childish tone. "Aye aye. Jus' stay 'ere while I talk wit' 'em," he smiles, then gives her a slightly more serious, and kinda evil, smile. "But if ya come out the cove, ya might not get the cuddl'n."

Her eyes widen in shock. "No!" she whines, grasping him tightly again. "Don't take that away from me..! I'll be good!"

"I'm jus' joke'n wit' ya, lass. Be'ave in 'ere till I get back, understood?"

Kitten continues to whine, but they come out muffled from her face being squished against his chest. She finally gives in with a heavy sigh and releases her grip on him. "Alright…"

Foxy smiles down at her and says, "That's me first mate. Don't ya worry, Freddy Bear can ne'er get rid of ol' Captain Foxy."

Before he can say anymore, a loud and angry shout echoes from outside of the cove, causing the poor girl to jump and Foxy to groan. "An' that be my cue." He pats Kitten on the head again, ruffling up her hair playfully before pulling his hand back. "I'll be back in a few, Kitten. Jus' stay 'ere an' no leavin'." With that, he quietly walks past her, grabbing the curtain and sliding it to the side for him to go through. Hopping off the stage and walking out the door, Foxy leaves Kitten alone in Pirate's Cove.

The young pirate cat girl watches her captain leave the room, still feeling guilty for him taking all the blame for her. Once the door closes, she quickly and quietly rushes to the back of the stage and carefully moves the pirate ship prop to find it hiding the maintenance vent with the cover off. Even though she hates being left alone, Kitten found out she can crawl into the vents to spy on others around the restaurant. However, she hasn't told anyone about her discovery, aside from Alyssa. Kitten is honestly afraid that they'll be very angry with her, and/or seal up the vents so she can't access them.

Kitten drops to her knees and begins crawling through the metal ventilation shaft on her hands and knees. Since the vents are for maintenance, they were on the ground level, so the pirate didn't have to worry about her weight being an issue. Passing the utility room vent, Kitten came to a closed vent leading into the main party room where the meeting is taking place. She moves up close but keeps her body away from the light so she wouldn't get noticed.

All three animatronics had changed into their own human forms after everything had gone silent inside the building and all the cars had gone. Jumping off the stage from his usual place is a slightly tall male wearing a dark tan suite and a white apron tied around his waist, similar to a waiter in a fancy restaurant. He has short brown hair, brown eyes, and round brown bear ears. His iconic black top hat sits perfectly on top of his head, just behind his ears. He scans the main room with an enraged look on his face "FOXY!" he yells at the top of his lungs to get the fox's attention, which Foxy and Kitten did hear all the way inside Pirate's Cove.

A younger and much shorter girl is standing to the far right. She's wearing a yellow lolita-style dress with medium poofy shoulders and decorated lace ribbon sewn on the ends of her umbrella-like skirt and waist. The girl's hair is super blonde, like the color looks very yellow, and is styled up into two puffy pigtails with a little pink bow barrette clipped to her bangs. She hops off the stage next, landing on her white shiny pumps, and stands up with her hands on her hips. She, too, didn't look very happy with the previous day and night happenings. "He's in for it this time..." she groans.

A much taller male is standing to the far left. He's wearing a black vest and pants with a white and purple button-down shirt underneath, his usual red bow tie resting against the center neck of his shirt. He places his red guitar down carefully onto its stand, then sits down on the edge of the stage. "This isn't going to end well…" he sighs, taking out a hair tie he keeps in his pocket, then carefully gathers up his lower, shoulder-length, bold purple hair, tying it into a downwards ponytail, or a rattail, as some would call it.

Walking down the hall from Pirate's Cove after being called, Foxy walks up to the three, waving his hand back and forth as if he's bored to be there or simply just done with the fights. "Aye aye… I'm here," he sighs, stopping in front of them with his arms crossed. "Let's get this over with. Kitten is restin' fer now. I'm 'er captain, so I do 'er talkin'."

The male sitting on stage looks at the pirate, feeling more nervous than upset. "Foxy, w-what she did wasn't really a good thing. Sh-She almost ruined our show for good and helped the guard when she should've killed her," he explains.

Foxy glares at him in response, causing the other male to shrink back a bit. "Look, Bon Bon, she had a good reason te save that girl." He turns away to look at the male standing in front of him. "Freddy, she doesn't know our past, an' she has made the only friend she's had since she bein' built. That there guard may be different from th' others."

"It doesn't matter, Foxy! Rules are rules. And she should have known that she wasn't allowed to walk around during the day and to NEVER talk to people, especially the guards!" Freddy sternly declares, not letting up his anger whatsoever. "You cannot allow her to talk to that guard anymore. She is risking our secret by doing so!"

The young girl sits down in a nearby chair, now with her arms crossed like a pouting child. "Not to mention that they locked the doors for the last two hours!" she adds in.

The pirate's anger continues to grow, hearing how they're trying to control someone who he cares about and protects on his own terms already. "It may of been harsh of 'er to ruin the show, but all of ye know that since she's been 'ere, she hasn' got the friend ye all had before!" He turns to the blonde, causing her to jump a bit from the look he's giving her. "Chica, 'member that lil lass who loved ye so much she gave ya the bow yer wearin' now in yer hair?"

Chica pauses for a moment, then turns away. Unable to respond to his question, but raises her hand up, covering the barrette he's talking about. Foxy quickly turns to the violet-haired male on stage. "Bonnie, that kid who 'eld yer leg! He never wanted ta leave ya an' almost broke it!"

Bonnie glances down at his feet while raising his finger to scratch his cheek nervously. "I remember… It hurt, but it felt amazing that some kids never wanted to leave me…" he mumbles with a small smile, feeling happy inside.

Foxy finally turns his attention back to Freddy, keeping the same angered look on his face. "An' all them kiddies runnin' in 'ere every day ta see you wit' smiles on them faces! Maybe that's what Kitten wanted and damn it, I'll help 'er get what she wants! Don' take that chance away from 'er, Freddy…"

Freddy's expression now appears slightly calmer seeing how hard Foxy is trying to reason with them. Yet, what Kitten did almost jeopardized their mission. He exhales, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. "There's only one difference, Foxy," he starts before opening his eyes to face him. "We were all in our animatronic bodies, not these bodies. Kitten has revealed herself to the people as being human. What happens if someone goes into Pirate's Cove and she's not there?" He grows more serious with each word he speaks. "She'll be removed, Foxy. And the people will take your memory chip of her out of you. You wouldn't even remember she existed."

Kitten's eyes widen in horror. Able to hear everything, she tears up once again in silence from the vent. 'B-But... Alyssa…'

Foxy feels his body twitch nervously. What Freddy said might be true and he would hate himself forever if Kitten leaves. He moves his hand up and places it on his hip, sighing to himself. "I understand, Freddy. But we ne'er told her about our past. She doesn' know why we are like this. How we kill the other guards. Her chip makes her act as a child. My lass wants to explore, meet others, befriend people. That is what children do."

Bonnie slowly turns back to him. "Foxy… have you told her yet?" he asks softly.

The redhead shakes his head, keeping his eyes focused on Freddy. "She's not ready yet..."

"Maybe once she hears it, she'll understand and actually listen to us," Chica points out.

Freddy looks over at Chica and nods, then back to Foxy. "Honestly Foxy… all-in-all, she's your responsibility. So, it's up to you if you want to tell her. We don't want what happened to us to happen to her."

Foxy gives him a very serious look; a look that would kill if it could. "I'd give me own life to protect 'er. She's like a daughter to me. I won't let that son of a bildrat get to her!" he vows loudly.

The spying redhead feels a tear run down her face seeing him so serious and determined when he said that about her.'Captain…'

Bonnie shivers a little from his reaction to what Freddy had said. "Whoa...!" he gawks, then quickly changes the topic after remembering what Foxy said before. "Wait, what did you mean when you said that this guard might be different?" he asks with a small tilt of his head.

The pirate crosses his arms and looks away, closing his eyes. "Honestly, I don' know fer sure. But I've been observin' that girl fer a bit, even noticed as I came to the office last night, she was protect'n me first mate and say'n she's like a sister to 'er." Foxy opens his eyes, then turns back to the three and continues. "Kitten told me that she be here to get money for 'er sister outta state. Say'n she needed money fer medical reasons."

Hearing this causes Freddy to shift a bit in place. Normally, the guards and other employees work for either rent and food or just money to spend on things. But the fact that this one is saving money for her sick sister? That is something surprisingly new to even him. Unfortunately, it still doesn't help sway his mindset. The leader sighs quietly to himself before responding. "Foxy... I know you want to protect this night guard because she's Kitten's friend… but we don't know if she could have been the one we're after. A night guard is a night guard, and... until we find the one who wronged us…" Freddy slowly stops his thought and looks down at the floor sadly.

The blonde looks away at a wall and the guitarist looks down at his shoes, both feeling heartbroken remembering that night. Chica rests her arms on the table, then lays her head on top of them like a pillow.

Noticing all the tension in the room, Kitten now knows they definitely are not telling her something important. 'This "night guard" must've done something horrible to them… but why won't the captain tell me?'

Foxy closes his eyes, trying his hardest not to remember that fateful night. He clenches his only hand, feeling it shake in rage, wanting so desperately to rip out that bastard's throat for causing them so much pain. He slowly relaxes and says, "I understand…" He opens his eyes again, now looking at his friend. "But… if she were that bloody bastard… she'd've done away with Kitten when she got the chance! She was wit' 'er alone many times, yet no death."

"He's got a point there…" Bonnie adds in quietly, looking at Freddy nervously.

The icon of the restaurant can't argue with those facts, but he can still go with his gut instinct. "I still don't trust this guard, Foxy... and neither should you. Evil hides behind innocence. If you allow Kitten to continue walking around during the day, you are the one putting her life at risk."

"An' how would ye know, Freddy? Ye only stay on stage not understand'n anyone at all! At night, ye only come out once ta kill 'em! I may not know how they act being the one locked in me own room fer the whole day, every day, but I will defend me first mate an' I trust her wit' me life!" the pirate explains sternly.

Freddy remains calm while his old friend continues to grow angrier and angrier with each sentence spoken. "I see much more than you think. I've seen Kitten walking around with other people, mostly the guards. If you really want to protect her, keep your eyes open and don't let her wander around anymore."

Now, Foxy is done with Freddy's criticism. "Maybe instead of follow'n yer damn rules, I could be out 'ere as well with the kiddies rather than wait'n fer a blasted party. It was ne'er my idea to stay in one tiny black hole of a drafted room!"

And Freddy is now done with Foxy's stubbornness. "You got your own room after you were fixed. Be happy they can still see you after what you did to that kid!"

Chica's eyes widen, quickly standing up while keeping her hands on the table, and looks back at Freddy with horror. "Freddy!"

Foxy freezes at the sudden flashback to the bite and his eyes widen, mouth open in shock that Freddy brought it up. His eyes held a look of horror remembering that day; that young boy, the feeling his head in his mechanical mouth. The taste of blood, screams of terror, it all filled his head, being forced into another horrific nightmare he'll never wake up from. Foxy lowers his arms and his head, breathing in and out slowly, closing his eyes tightly, and growls. "That… wasn't me fault…" The pirate's voice now sounding distorted and hurt.

Kitten backs up a bit in the vent out of fear seeing what's happening in front of her. This is a side she hasn't seen from Foxy. He never acts like this. It isn't like how he acts at night, either. It is very unnerving for her.

Bonnie shifts a bit in place. "F-Freddy… I think you went too far…" he mumbles quietly.

Chica nods, unknowingly shrinking back in her seat. "H-He's right. Please don't bring that up…"

Freddy watches Foxy continue to slowly calm himself down, or at least try to. He's seen this side many times, even when he doesn't bring up the memory. The bear quietly sighs to himself again before speaking up again. "I apologize. But do you understand where I'm going with this, Foxy? It's rough around here… and we have to be careful."

His fist clenched tightly again, feeling it shake a little out of anger. Foxy slowly looks up halfway to the brown-haired male, opening his eyes to reveal a saddened, yet furious, glare. "Fine. Do what ye wish…" he growls quietly, then turns away from the three and says, "But… ye don' know Kitten like I do. She's not yer property to order around."

"Foxy… Please…" Freddy says, wanting Foxy to understand his viewpoint. "I don't make the rules to be mean, or to take away the fun… I put them down to protect us all. I'm sorry if it's hurting you and Kitten, but please consider what I've said."

The three stare at the red-headed male, wondering if he'll comply or retreat. Waiting for what seemed like a few hours to them, Foxy slowly turns his head to glare at him with, for the first time, pure hatred. "Very well then…" the captain says in a low and threatening tone. The fox turns to face forward, then starts walking back to his room. "But ye know I'm right…" he finishes before disappearing down the hall.

Noticing that Foxy is headed back to the cove, Kitten quickly scrambles around until she's able to crawl through the vent and make it back to her room. While she crawls, thoughts of what she heard continue to cloud her mind, along with several questions. 'Foxy didn't look so good after what Freddy had said, but... who was he talking about? Why did Foxy look so horrified? Maybe I'll ask him when he's calmed down.'

After watching the pirate captain leave, both Bonnie and Chica flinch from the loud slam of the Pirate's Cove door. The other male slowly looks back at Freddy and nervously asks, "Freddy, what'll we do when the guard comes back on Monday?"

Crossing his arms and looking down in thought, Freddy mumbles a little to himself before turning to his bunny friend. "We continue as normal."

"And if Kitten tries to interrupt again?" Chica adds in.

"Then we'll have to change our patterns up a bit." With that, their leader turns on his heel and starts making his way out of the main room and to the kitchen.

Bonnie sighs quietly as he watches his friend leave, then looks at Chica with a worried expression. "I hope this doesn't tear us apart…"