Back in Black

Liam happily gazed at the pizzeria as he was about to enter once again. It had been five nights, and the manager was demanding both him and Cordelia to return. He thought it was hilarious that the place couldn't run properly without the two of them; in the back of his mind, he wondered how it functioned without them before.

A sense of dread hit him at the same time despite his elation to be back and see his animatronic friends. The thought had occurred to him while sitting lazily at home was that he was the best mechanic the company had for this establishment. The memory of Bonnie's horrible mix matched wires proved that. He knew he was going to have so much to do upon getting back.

These thoughts and feelings were pushed aside at the same time that he pushed the door open. A smile was glued to his face while his feet pulled him through the threshold of the children's paradise. He held the door open for Cordelia, who was right behind him, to enter

"THANK GOD! You two are back!" the manager exclaimed as soon as his dark eyes took in the sight of the tall lanky boy and short girl. Both of them watched him with widened eyes as his chunky arms wrapped them in a close happy hug that surprised them both.

"Um, sir?" the girl questioned awkwardly as she shifted nervously. Liam after getting over the initial shock joined in on the hug with a smile.

The manager broke his hold on the two and backed up before explaining, "This week has been terrible. Lights are out everywhere and so many things are malfunctioning. Toy Bonnie is a wreck. The night shifts have been terrible; I didn't have the same night guard for more than a night."

Both knew what that meant; the animatronics had been on a spree. Their faces looked like they were nervously happy. Happy because they felt needed and appreciated, but nervous over the fact that they knew several people had died in their absence. The night guards had to stay a minimum of a week after signing. They were either dead, in an insane asylum, or in a law suit.

"Wait, what's wrong with Toy Bonnie?" Liam asked curiously while noticing the girl's equally curious but also worried look.

The older man just threw his arms up. "I have no damn clue what's wrong with it. He went sparky on me the day after you two took off. Every time I tried to get someone to fix him they made it worse. To be honest, they have all been acting up. We have been neck deep in the flames of hell here."

The manager looked like he was done. He did not even want to deal with this anymore. His dark gaze drilled into the two. "That's why the place is closed today. It will give you plenty of time to fix things and calm those machines down. Also the older Chica and Freddy suits need to be cleaned. I will be going home, and you can call this number for help if you need it." Not waiting for a reply he left.

"Well…." The black haired boy stated as he stood while not knowing what exactly to do.

His blue eyes then locked with the night guard's green ones. "Do you want to fix Toy Bonnie first? He is probably in the parts and service room."

"Sure," he replied while his feet started to pull him in that direction. "Then I'll start fixing other things. The animatronics can actually roam today since the pizzeria is closed."

The pair slowly walked into the dark part and service. The light was broken in the room so they squinted into the dark. Both were startled when they heard a static voice pop out of the shadows. "Hell-hello."

After a few seconds green eyes lit and the workers both looked wide eyed at the blue bunny, who they could now vaguely see after their sight adjusted to the low light cast from the open door. He was slouched on the wall. His blue form flinched in a glitchy way, but other than that his body looked fine.

It was the way that his eyes looked at the two that made them feel distraught. His green eyes, though lit, were hazed over with an emptiness. He didn't seem to recognize the two. Liam's mouth was agape while Cordelia looked heartbroken.

"Bon?" she asked lowly as she slowly crept toward the bunny and stooped to his level. The mechanic with a sad expression watched from the door since it took a solid minute before the animatronic responded. Finally the mascot looked up, and the girl gave him a weak smile.

In that moment, Toy Bonnie latched onto her. His blue arms were holding her in a bone breaking hold that tightened every time he glitched. A pained gasp shot past her pale lips as he squeezed her.

"Uh," Liam started nervously, "Toy Bonnie, You might want to let her go."

"N-n-no. She is m-m-mine. I-I-I won't-t let you take h-her from me," he answered harshly.

Her face had a pained look but was still smiling. "You don't have to worry. I'm not leaving, but if you don't let go, you will loose me anyway." Her pale face was loosing what little color it ever had.

The bunny seemed to register what the two were getting at and loosened his grip but did not for one second think of letting her go. Instead he nestled his face into the crook of her shoulder and into the now healed bite mark that he had made before the 'firing.' His voice came out muffled and full of static, "Please, d-d-d-don't lea-lea-ave me here-re alone. I n-need you."

The black haired boy just didn't know what to make of this. He felt horrible for the animatronic; the bunny was clearly a mess on the inside in the most literal sense. The attachment he had made to Cordelia, in Liam's mind, might not be a very good thing. The bunny would always be stuck here, and Liam could only assume that the girl would eventually move on somewhere else. He wasn't weirded out by the other parts that might be happening in the relationship; he knew the bunny had a more human shape, and even if he didn't, Liam wouldn't judge. It was just that he had no clue how it would work long term and affect the bunny.

"I will be here," she cooed as he still held her tightly but now tenderly with only short sharp jolts that rushed through him on occasion. The animatronic did not even notice the mechanic as he warily but quickly approached from behind and switched him off to work on. The blue body fell limp into the girl; he actually looked peaceful.

The girl shifted around and laid the bunny in a way that Liam could do whatever mechanical operations he needed to do to fix the robot. He whistled and twirled the wrench in his hand as he threw her a wide grin. "No worries. I'll have him good as new!"

His face then turned dead serious. "But," he started in a tone that was so grave the girl had to meet his blue gaze. He had paused making the situation seem more unsettling than before. Then he continued. "You need to know this."

She waited anxiously for what he was going to say. Her palms were sweating, and she had a nervous itch up her spine. The nightguard had a feeling he was going to make some comment on her relationship with the bunny. How it was dangerous, stupid, and/or insane.

"You need to know that," he said, "the only reason I have the power to do this is through the nutrition I gain through the mass consumption of pizza. It should also be noted that I have been without it for a duration of 5 whole days. 5! Do you understand? 5!"

She could have fell over right there, but instead watched him with a flat expression. Stoically she asked, "Do you want me to order you a pizza? I can get Toy Chica to make it since the cooks are not coming in, and I have to clean Chica #1."

Even in the dark room she could see his blue eyes twinkle in delight like stars reflecting on a rippling pond. "Yes!" he cheered as she started to walk off.

Liam sighed heavily as he fixed another wire in the in the blue bunny. It was taking quite a while. He had even taken a break from the malfunctioned animatronic to fix some of the establishment's other problems because the bunny was just so messed up on the inside that he couldn't sit there anymore. He'd even taken a pizza break, but after he ate the pizza he was filled with enough determination to go back and finish the bunny.

Now he was back though and toiling away on the blue mascot while Bonnie watched. "So the manager looked like he had been through hell. What happened while we were gone?"

The purple bunny rocked on his ankles nervously as he started at his feet. "Well…. You see…" he trailed off. Liam wiped his brow and let his blue eyes watch the nervous bunny as he continued. "We didn't know you guys weren't coming back so we got angry and well…"

"You don't have to say it," Liam said swiftly to his purple friend. "If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to tell. I can probably come up with a good idea anyway, but don't worry. I don't hate you or hold the violence you do or did against you."

The purple bunny gave his friend a small but grateful smile. "I'm glad you are so understanding. We were all scared we wouldn't see you again," he said then looked toward his blue counterpart. "He got a too worked up about the idea of not seeing the night guard again."

"You can say that again!" Liam exclaimed. "He was wreaked before I got here. I know some of it was him, but a whole lot of damaged was caused by the people 'repairing' him."

Bonnie rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile plastered onto his face. "Is his AI okay?"

Liam's face went blank for a second as he thought. "Um, I really don't know let me check." His eyes scrunched. "They are actually a little low but not too bad. Why?"

"Just curious." Liam gave him a questioning look, and Bonnie decided to explain. "Well we tried to adjust it when the other mechanics made him worse. We made it too low once, and it was like he was drugged and loopy."

Liam struggled to hold in a laugh. "I actually really wish I could have seen that." He stood up and dusted himself off then gave the purple bunny a thumbs up. "I think I'm done here. I'm going to keep his AI low for a few days just so he won't kill Cordelia with a hug."

They both exited the closet since the toy would take an hour or so to reboot after all the repairs. The two entered the main party room and saw the older animatronics at a table where they sat in their human forms. Since they were by the window, they figured it best to look human as they sat and chatted.

"Hi, Liam," Chica chirped happily as she swung her arm up and around him to give him a half hug from her seat.

"Would ye like to join us matey?" Foxy asked as Bonnie slid in by Chica.

Liam shifted on his feet with his happy sloppy smile on his face. "It's actually getting kind of late. I think my ride might be here, too." His blue eyes peered into the darkness of the night and headlights were approaching the establishment. "Thanks though, guys. I will definitely see you tomorrow."

"We better see ya," Foxy called after the boy as he retreated out the door as all the others told him goodbye.

Liam entered the cold air of the night, but quickly slid into a warm dark purple car. "Hey, Vin. Thanks for picking me up." He looked to the driver who was as usual in purple although it wasn't his uniform.

"No problem," he replied. "Ready for some pizza and beer?"

"Of course," the black haired boy cheered. "I'm always up for pizza."

Sorry for not updating in such a long time. I've been super busy with college and other things. My computer also decided it didn't want to work for a while. Anyways, enjoy!