The drive to Freddy's, or Fazbear's Frights, was relatively short and uneventful.
Vanny had nearly hit a rabbit that had scurried across the road and had barely managed to miss it. Unlike humans, she didn't enjoy hurting animals. She tapped her fingers nervously on the steering wheel as she continued down the road, heading towards Fazbear's Fright in the cover of night. It was a starry, cloudless night. The moon was in the sky, illuminating the forest around her as she drove down the country road towards town.
Freddy's wasn't in the middle of town; It sat tucked away out of sight near the edge of a forest.
There most likely wouldn't be anybody there at this time of night, so Vanny was counting on relatively no witnesses. Just in case someone was there, she had brought her mask along.
It had been quite a while since she'd carried out anything questionable while hiding behind that toothy grin. She'd taken great care of it over the years; it was still good as new.
The fur was soft to the touch and the eyes were a glossy, bright red.
When Freddy's came into view, there was a singular car parked in the lot.
"Dammit." The woman muttered under her breath. The parking lot was barely lit by a singular functioning light that loomed under the old, brown vehicle. Vanny realized that there was a good possibility that the car belonged to a security guard. The owner had most likely been threatened for even creating Fazebear's Frights. Hurricane's residents were pretty pissed about the attraction's existence, to begin with. The best course of action was to have someone there 24/7, Vanny supposed. Hurricane's residents had proven to be rather … aggressive in the past.
The possibility of angered ex-parents storming over to damage the place or burn it down was pretty high. Vanny pulled the car off of the road and into a patch of trees that extended out from the forest. She didn't need to be spotted by anyone. The car would stick out like a sore thumb if she pulled into the parking lot; nobody else in Hurricane had a purple vehicle and everyone would immediately know who owned it. Being caught breaking and entering wasn't another thing Vanny wanted to be known for. While she wasn't above such a thing, giving the town yet another reason to complain about her didn't sound too appealing.
The grass was tall and unkept in the area where Vanny had parked, and as she got out, the grass brushed against her bare legs. Spring was practically here but the nights were still bitter cold. A small breeze made Vanny shiver and wish she had worn pants rather than shorts.
Carefully avoiding stepping in a few muddy puddles, Vanny began to creep out of the cover of the trees and towards Fazbear's Fright. The place was in worse shape than it had been since her last visit. The outside walls were covered in moss and the paint had peeled and faded.
Vanny didn't have to wonder what the inside would look like for long.
When she finally reached the building, Vanny stretched out her arm to brush her cold fingers across the wall. It was ice cold and wet with dew, but something about how it felt comforted Vanny. She had been here only once before it had shut down but had felt much too old to truly fit in. It was odd how quickly things could change and rot; back then her biggest concern was what she was going to eat for dinner. Now she was breaking into a rotting building to steal a run down animatronic from Freddy's. Things were always changing, weren't they?
Vanny wasn't sure if the building had been left in such a state of disrepair on purpose or not. She could see the appeal of the rotting look since it was going to be a horror attraction, but there was a very high chance that the man who had bought it simply didn't have enough money to pour into building repairs. Vanny could practically picture the inside now; crawling with rats and filled with mold. On second thought, she should have brought a mask to avoid sucking in the air. Oh well… Her rabbit mask had to do. Vanny looked down at the mask she held in her hands, then smiled as she slipped it on. Here went nothing.
There were no windows that Vanny could break in through. They had all been boarded up. Dragging a huge animatronic through the windows didn't sound very easy anyway.
Vanny gently held the key to the building in her hands, running her thumb over the cold surface.
She had secured it around her neck on a lanyard; losing it wasn't an option.
Vanny paced around to the back door with purpose in her step. The giant metal door was painted a dark green that had chipped away over time, showing off the rust underneath.
The doorknob looked just as old as the door itself; had it not been replaced?
Vanny held her breath as she slid the key inside the lock…. It fit. With an excited intake of breath, Vanny twisted the key. There was an audible click, signaling that the door had been unlocked. The door protested with a loud squeal as it was pushed open, revealing a dark hallway. Vanny removed the key from the lock and then stepped inside with a cautious glance around. The corner she now stood in was illuminated with a red glow from an exit sign that loomed directly overhead. She took care to make sure that the door closed as quietly as possible. Her suspicions were confirmed about a security guard when she realized the first room in front of her was a security office. There was a faint humming from inside but she couldn't see the source of the noise. Vanny's eyes drifted up slowly. There was a red blinking light in the corner and Vanny realized a little too late that it was a security camera. There was a shuffling from inside of the office that sent Vanny rushing down the hall; there was a wide window that stretched across the wall of the office. As Vanny ran down the darkened hallway, she glanced through the window and into the office. It was just as run-down as the hallways; complete with old children's drawings and other decorations that had been abandoned.
Even through the mask, the smell of rot and mold was strong and sickening. Vanny did her best to ignore it and continue deeper into the building, though. The security guard hadn't been in the office when she had run by, so she assumed he was on her tail and that was what she had heard from inside of the office; he was most likely coming out to check out the odd woman in a rabbit mask that had appeared on his monitor. The building was a maze of dead party rooms and broken arcade machines and in the darkness, it provided Vanny perfect cover to slip in somewhere and hide. That was exactly what she did. Vanny found an arcade room and slipped inside. It was quiet and still and the air was damp. Vanny squeezed in between to of the arcade cabinets and remained perfectly still. She'd let the guard tire of looking for her and then start nosing around for that robot. In the darkness, there was complete silence, but Vanny wasn't alone in that room.
In the corner, tucked away from her line of view, was a horrible, rotting monstrosity.
The thing stood motionless in the corner; not daring to move. It hadn't woken just yet and its eyes were shut. While it didn't need to sleep, it didn't see a need to spend every moment awake, either. Just like everything else in the building, the monster, too, had decayed.
Their fur was a disgusting mess of mold and dirt; it had become a ratty, tangled mess that would most likely never return to its original color. Its eyelids began to lift open as it began to come back to a conscious state; it swore it had heard something...
Vanny removed her mask from where she stood, wedged between the two arcade machines. It was much too hot in here for it and the lack of air was making her claustrophobic; she needed to get out of that room and find that robot. Vanny walked out from the machines quickly and slipped into the hallway, clutching her mask at her side.
So he had heard something… The monster watched as the woman hurried out of the room. He made no move to follow her just yet, though. His sight remained foggy for a moment as he tried to fully push away the grogginess that being asleep caused him. He had seen his guest well enough to tell that it was a woman, though. What he failed to see was the mask that she carried along with her. As the giant robot moved away from where he was leaning in the corner, he felt an excited shiver rush down his metallic spine. This would be fun.
Vanny paced down the halls, peeking into each room as she passed by. Despite how dark many of them were, she could tell that there was no animatronic inside. There was no sign of any complete animatronic anywhere. There was a lamp in the hallway that used a Foxy mask as a lampshade; which was no doubt a fire hazard. Bits and pieces of suits were scattered in the rooms; reminding Vanny that what William had once been so proud of making was now in pieces. There was no complete animatronic; there was nothing here for her. Vanny paused when she came across a large gift box in a corner of one of the party rooms. Maybe it was in there? Vanny paced forward slowly, prepared to bolt if the thing was active and aggressive. When the lid to the box was lifted off and she was met with nothing but emptiness, she let out an annoyed huff. She had little care if the guard had spotted her on the cameras; if he had seen her on her way in, he had most likely already contacted the police. She had to hurry; now that the owner's fears were confirmed about a break-in, security would be a lot tighter. Vanny sat her mask down on an old party table for a moment with a sigh. They may even change the locks as well… The woman swallowed down her worry and turned away from the empty gift box. There were only a few rooms left to look in. Vanny walked away from the table, leaving her mask behind with the intention of retrieving it in a few moments. As Vanny stepped out into the hallway, a grinding noise caught her attention. Her eyes widened fearfully as she turned and looked down the hall from where she had come from. There, in the center of the hallway, stood the animatronic. Its body was in a state of disrepair and one of its big, floppy ears was mostly gone. Holes littered this thing's body, and its feet had no remaining fur. Bits of broken, jagged metal stuck out from its ears along with wires that had been split and ruined.
Vanny stared in awe for a long moment. That was it. That had to be Bonnie.
Despite her better judgment, Vanny took a slow step towards the rabbit. It seemed a little surprised by this if its widening eyes were anything to go by.
"Hey, Bonnie," Vanny whispered out in a soft voice. She took another step closer.
The rabbit's eyes narrowed at the use of that name, but he didn't speak. He let the woman continue to approach. Was she just stupid or was she planning something?
"I'm here to fix you," She lied. If she could just get closer and power the rabbit down, she could bring him home without worrying about him turning hostile.
The yellow rabbit took a step towards her. He kept a blank expression on his face but approached her as she approached him. His steps were mechanical and odd; Vanny had never seen one of William's robots walk like that. This one had no doubt rotted away and been damaged in some way. She didn't know much about robots, but she was sure there was something in William's belongings at home that would explain how to fix the rabbit's legs.
The rotting rabbit stared down at her. Something about her seemed familiar to him, yet completely foreign. Vanny continued to approach the rabbit after he had already stilled in the hallway. He moved nothing but his eyes as she approached; the glowing white pupils followed her movements like a hungry predator about to pounce. Vanny felt like she was being stared down by something terrible, and she was. This was for William, though. She needed to get this robot home-
The animatronic lunged forward, slashing Vanny across the face with his sharp claws.
Shocked and in pain, Vanny stumbled backward as she raised a hand to hold her bleeding face. The cuts were deep and blood was streaming down her cheek and splattering onto the black and white tiles at her feet. The gash burnt under her palm; she needed to disinfect it when she got home. By the state that animatronic was in, it was bound to get infected.
Vanny snapped out of her shock and began running down the halls, away from the rabbit.
She made her way into the main dining area and rushed through the rows of old chairs. The sound of mechanical stomping behind her was deafening as she fled for her life.
What in the fuck was the attraction doing letting this thing run around freely?
What in the fuck were they thinking when they decided to keep it active, to begin with?
The sound of tables and chairs screeching across the floor behind her gave Vanny a good idea of how close the rabbit was. He was much too large to navigate through the rows like she was able to. She needed to find somewhere to hide or get away from the rabbit.
Vanny still intended to somehow detain it and bring it home, but her main priority was getting somewhere safe first. If the animatronic had sharp enough claws to cut her face the way it did, her throat would be very easy for it to slice through. Bleeding to death on the dirty pizzeria floor wasn't something she wanted to experience. Maybe if the thing did get ahold of her and maul her, she could haunt this place and torment the owner…
As much fun as that hypothetically sounded, Vanny ran up to the show stage as fast as she could. There were no animatronics positioned on the stage; it was empty and void of the artificial life it once sported. Freddy and Chica were nowhere to be seen, but Vanny had a pretty decent idea of where Bonnie was. With one good leap, Vanny was up on the stage.
She sucked in panicked breaths and turned around to stare at the rabbit as he slowed his pace.
He stared at the stage for a brief moment, then came to a halt. His legs were damaged, Vanny knew. If she was lucky, he wouldn't be able to climb up on the stage.
The rabbit glanced up at her with a blank stare, then narrowed his eyes. A horrendous growl rolled out of his throat, and his ears flattened in anger. Vanny kept a good distance away from the edge of the stage; having it lunge up and grab her would mean her end. She wouldn't be able to overpower that thing. Once she had caught her breath, Vanny spoke to the rabbit.
"Let me fix you, Bonnie." She pleaded in a small voice. "The cops are coming. I don't have much time. Come on." The rabbit tensed at that last part. His jaw opened slightly, and he let out a horrible hissing sound. It reminded Vanny of an angry cat, only much deeper and creepy.
Vanny watched the rabbit as he began to pace along the edge of the stage; there were no stairs for him to clamber up, and while he could crawl up there, it would most likely damage him in the process. Things were barely holding together as it was.
"Do you remember who made you?" She asked it. The rabbit looked over at her from the corner of his eye but continued his pacing as he tried to figure out the best course of action. It didn't speak a word. The animatronic looked determined to gets its hands on Vanny, and that was exactly what it was going to do. The rabbit leaned on the edge of the stage, glaring at Vanny in the dim light. He let out a wicked chuckle; it was distorted by a mechanical voice that skipped and glitched. Vanny watched it with a sympathetic look. Could it even speak? Its voice box seemed to be damaged. The woman took a step closer to the edge of the stage, making sure to stay far enough away that she was out of danger. The rabbit's eyes locked with hers as one of his hands slowly extended out without her noticing.
"Let me fix you, Bon."
Once again with speed that should have been impossible for the decaying robot, he lunged forward. He hadn't been leaning in as far as he could like Vanny had thought. His withering fingers wrapped around her ankle and yanked her as hard as he could.
Vanny's head smacked against the stage as he pulled her off of it. Struggling was useless, but Vanny attempted nonetheless. She kicked and squirmed and growled as the animatronic grabbed her neck and drug her across the room. He brought her to a corner and roughly slammed her against it. She was like a ragdoll to this beast, and he fully intended on taking her life. Vanny kicked and struggled as the rabbit lifted her up by her neck, slowly suffocating her.
The scent of her blood was teasing him; he wanted to smell more. He wanted to gut her and feel how it felt to rip someone apart in this body. She smelled like blood and ….
The rabbit paused. He stared at the woman's face in the darkness. Her features were hard to make out but… He lowered his hand down to allow her to breathe and instead held her up from under her arms. With a low growl, the animatronic pushed his nose against the side of her head. He sniffed her just like a dog would; taking in her scent.
It was familiar. He knew this scent. She smelled like a mixture of men's cologne and some kind of feminine shampoo; Springtrap knew this scent. The rabbit continued to sniff her, and as he did, he began to realize more things about her that were familiar. The jacket she was wearing looked very much like something he would have once worn. Her muddy boots had stopped kicking at him for the time being; now she was just staring at him in a state of confusion. She was wondering why she wasn't dead, no doubt. Springtrap pulled away from her but continued to hold her against the wall. His eyes scanned down her body, then back up to her face.
A gap in the boards along the windows was enough for a small amount of flashing red and blue light to flood into the pizzeria; lighting up her features.
He didn't recognize the face in front of him. Her once wide, excited eyes were tired and dull. Her hair was frizzy and lighter than it had been the last time he had seen it. When he had watched her wander throughout the empty rooms, she no longer walked with that happy bounce in her step; she walked as if she was heading nowhere and saw no final destination in front of her. Those eyes were still hers, though. She was still herself. And she was his.
He knew it was her.
Springtrap carefully lowered her to the floor and made sure she was steady before removing his hands from her arms. She stared up at him with wide, confused eyes. The rabbit cocked his head sideways as a horribly sad look washed over him. He used one of his fingers to brush over her cheek, feeling along the cut that he'd given her. Her blood soaked up into his fur, but it didn't excite him anymore. It didn't make him happy. The touch made Vanny gasp and wince, and Springtrap pulled his finger away like he'd touched something hot. Vanny watched in silence as the rabbit bent over so that he was eye-level with her. There was a long moment of silence before Vanny sucked in a shaky breath. Her hands found themselves on his nose and cheeks. Her fingers sunk into the dirty fur as she held that precious face in her hands. She didn't speak; she couldn't find words. The fur she held had never been purple; it had never been the Bonnie she knew. The eyes had never been magenta, and the black that filled those sockets had never expressed such a softness. Tears ran down Vanny's cheeks at the robot opened his mouth to speak. Instead of a goofy robotic voice, she was met with a much softer, familiar one. It had an accent she had grown to love; it had that tone that always calmed her.
The voice was his. It was him.
"Hello, Darling…"