"What was it ye said? 'opelessly in love wiff me?" The fox's tone was bitter as he looked away from Freddy again. "Ye loved the attention, not me, aye Fazbear?"
"Is that what you want to hear?" The bear asked as he looked back at the frame he was holding.
The picture inside had faded from years of neglect and the guard they had once stood beside was long dead. It had been an awful night for them all, seeing as how that particular guard was the last thing that was protecting them all from the humans who left them to rot.
"Foxy, I don't agree with everything that's happened." Freddy started, his grip on the frame tightening as he kept his eyes on the photo. "Look at what we've allowed. We have lost Goldie to these spirits, who can't seem to listen to reason even when we found their rightful killer… We have killed seemingly guilty associates, innocent guards, and we have doomed ourselves to this fate."
"Oi didn't make those choices."
"You are just as responsible as the rest of us! You have killed more guards than both Bonnie and Chica, and you have done nothing to stop the other changes here." The shorter android pointed out, narrowing his eyes as he finally tore his gaze from the face of the guard.
"If Oi did anythin' t' stop it," The fox finally met Freddy's gaze, moving closer to him with his sharp teeth bared and his hook raised. "Oi would b' shut down! The demon tore me apart fer' nothin'!"
"You never stop talking about that!" Freddy raised his voice, tossing the frame onto the broken table beside them as he turned to face the taller android. "It's always how I abandoned you, how you were hurt and how we're all the horrible monsters for leaving you behind! You never consider the fact that there are rules we all had to play by!"
Anger had finally chipped away at Freddy's calm behavior and now rage was beginning to boil in his systems. The bear was absolutely furious, his hands balling into fists as he resisted his urge to shove Foxy down and shut him up any means possible.
"I had to choose between you and all of our lives! Do you think Goldie allowed us to repair you, to help you, or for me to even see you?! I can understand you want to hate me, but I refuse to let you insult me like this!"
"Ye b' nothin' but a selfish lyin' sluggard!" Foxy spat, his anger seeming to instantly match Freddy's as he pushed the shorter bot backwards. "If ye even tried t' care fer this ol' sea dog, ye would 'ave done more than 'ide like a yellow-bellied sorry excuse o' a cap'n!"
Freddy gritted his teeth as he glared up at the fox. Had he not been busy thinking of the many ways to rip out the pirate's vocal chords, Freddy would have been impressed with how dense Foxy really was. "I assume you care just as little! You call yourself a captain, but you know nothing of leadership! I have put aside everything to keep all of us functional!"
"Look what good that b' doin' us, Fazbear! We b' trapped in 'ell!"
"Our surroundings mean nothing, so long as we-"
"'Ave each other?" The fox stopped to laugh, even going the extra mile to lean back and over exaggerate his mocking tone before he regained his bitter tone. "Ye b' far more daft than Oi thought. Sittin' 'ere, rottin' away b' yer grand idea o' us livin'? We b' as dead as the 'umans trapped 'ere! Ye b' scared t' see what 'appens when we deactivate, but ye don't see that ye only b' stallin' the inevitable, ye are. Ye only want t' save yer'self, but ye only dammed us all!"
The bear raised his hand and before Foxy realized it, he could feel his cheek stinging from a hard slap. The fox immediately closed his mouth, stunned by Freddy's reaction. Sure, the fox had taken many punches, and shoves from the shorter android, but the pirate could never recall a slap in all his time in the pizzeria. Though it was confusing, somehow the action hit Foxy harder than any previous wound as he looked into Freddy's blue eyes.
"You know nothing." Freddy's tone was cold enough to make the artificial blood running in Foxy's body freeze. "I begged for your pitiful life. I was convinced that somehow, perhaps that you and I could move past what had happened and at least be friendly towards one another. I suppose I was wrong."
Foxy was unconsciously backing away from the bear with every word, unable to speak as he felt the impact of what was being said.
Freddy made no attempt to move closer to the pirate, nor did he have his usual mocking grin whenever he ended one of their fights. This time, it felt as if this was an ending that the fox had no intention of knowing.
"Do you want to know what is pathetic?" Though there was a pause, it was clear the bear wasn't waiting for an answer. "It was the fact that I still love you, despite how you can't seem to do anything but get on my nerves at all times."
"Ye call threats, insults, and fightin' love?" The words seemed to come out of Foxy's mouth on their own as the pirate finally dared to hold his ground. "Ye b' thinkin' that this will all just go away, Fazbear?!"
"No, no I don't." The bear sighed, seeming to calm himself down as he held his head in his hand. "That is why I don't expect you to ever forgive me, no matter how I feel. I only wanted to try and make things right so that we can continue our shows and make the kids happy together. I demand your participation, but not forgiveness."
The words seemed to hang in the air as Foxy looked over at the bear. Though it wasn't worded as such, an apology was exactly what the pirate had been waiting to hear for all these years. However, that alone wasn't enough to satisfy him. As Freddy looked at him expectantly, Foxy felt a rush from the dominate position he had been placed in. All he had to do was speak and he could either make peace or completely destroy the shorter android.
The memories of previous fights were all too vivid in the fox's mind. The threats, his weakened endoskeleton… That alone was enough to shut down any plans Freddy had, and Foxy knew he had every right to do so.
"Did ye really think Oi would just toss everythin' aside so easily?" Foxy stood tall as he looked over at the bear, a wide grin on his face. "Any sane man would 'ave ye walk the plank 'n b' rid o' ye!"
"I think it's safe to conclude that none of us have been in our rightful minds for quite some time." Freddy was silently urging Foxy to continue, his blue eyes almost pleading for any kind of clear answer.
"Answer me this, Fazbear. If there b' rules t' play by, if ye b' tellin' me the truth…" Foxy's grin faded as he glared at the bear. "Then why did Oi get torn up t' begin wiff? Why me 'n not the others?"
Silence quickly fell over the small office as the pirate waited for an answer. Freddy's expression quickly changed to a look of pity as he moved his gaze away from Foxy.
"I don't know the full answer myself, but…"
It had started off as a bright morning for Freddy as he finally sat himself up. The sunlight drifting in only made the cove slightly brighter, though the bear didn't mind the darkness. He could feel Foxy's warm body curled up beside him, the fox's long tail gently brushing against his bare lap. It took a moment for Freddy to finally pull himself away, careful not to wake his beloved pirate as he tried to search for his clothes that were scattered along the wooden floor. After all, it was the beginning of the month, meaning that the pizzeria was closed in order to give the androids time to rest their overworked systems. It was no secret that Foxy had been putting off sleep mode for the past two months now, so Freddy was relieved to see that the redhead was finally resting.
It didn't take long for Freddy to dress himself, leaving his bowtie undone and top hat looking askew as he left the cove. The moment Freddy had climbed down from the small stage, the air in the pizzeria drastically changed. It was almost as if everything had become electrified, the tension quickly growing and threatening to swallow the bear whole. However, no matter how many times Freddy scanned across the party room, he could find nothing wrong. Bonnie and Chica were seated on the main stage, both quietly resting their circuits in sleep mode.
It was hard for Freddy to hear at first, but as he continued to move across the carpeted floor of the party room, he could soon make out the soft muffled sounds of someone sobbing. As the bear rounded the corner of the room and peered into the west hallway, it was clear where the sounds were coming from. In the corner of the hallway sat a much smaller android, no taller than an average child, their body slumped as they faced the dirty walls of the corner. From where he stood, it was impossible for Freddy to see what exactly the tiny android was doing, though he could hear the split voices coming from them quite clearly.
"Gone!" The tiny andriod's voice was filled with such misery as they wailed. "Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone!"
"Goldie?" Freddy finally worked up his courage to take a step closer to the android, a strong sense of sympathy filling him. "What are you doing back here?"
Freddy's voice seemed to catch the smaller android's attention as they turned their head to face him. The lights were dim, but it was easy to make out Goldie in the distance. Goldie's golden hair was neatly combed back in a style similar to his dear Uncle Freddy's, wearing a small navy blue top hat on his head which sat perfectly between his stubby bear ears. The bear also had an outfit similar to Freddy, though his clothes were mostly navy blue and periwinkle instead of dark brown and tan. His usual hazelnut brown skin was oddly paled, his once blue eyes now black with tiny white pupils.
Goldie stood up, trying to wipe the tears from his eyes though the massive blue ribbon on his neck made the action rather difficult. In his right hand there was a crumbled sheet of paper that appeared to look damp, most likely the cause of why the golden bear was crying.
"Gone." The tiny bear repeated, his body shaking as his face twisted in a painful expression.
Freddy didn't hesitate to rush to Goldie's side, kneeling down so he could be at his nephew's eye level. "What's gone"? He asked, keeping his voice gentle despite the fact that he was disturbed by the multiple voices that came from Goldie.
"Alone. All alone!" Goldie sobbed, throwing himself into Freddy's arms and holding onto his uncle's dress shirt tightly "Bad, bad, bad! I don't like winter!"
Between Goldie's broken voice box, his hiccups between sobs, and the six other voices mixed in with his own robotic one, it was hard to understand what was being said. Not that anything the younger android said nowadays made much sense anyways… Ever since the humans were forced to shut Goldie down for a malfunction in his system, Freddy couldn't understand anything about his nephew. The golden bear would often isolate himself, then scream and cry that he was being alone. Goldie also seemed to make a habit of spewing odd sentences out of nowhere, especially when he was in a mood like this one.
However, Freddy nodded as he gently stroking Goldie's hair to calm him down. "It's alright… You're not alone. I'm right here."
The words seemed to comfort the golden bear, Goldie slowly tilted his head up to look at his uncle clearly. He made a face, scrunching up his nose as he frowned at Freddy.
"I'm not lying, Goldie. I'm your uncle, I'll always be here for you." Freddy laughed, moving the golden bear's hat to kiss the top of his head.
"…Bear…" Goldie stared at Freddy, giving a slow nod as if trying to figure out what Freddy was saying to him. "Bear mine? Always?"
"Of course. We're family." Freddy sighed in relief as he saw Goldie finally relaxing in his arms. It was always difficult to tell if the tiny bear understood, usually their discussions taking much longer to solve.
"And…" Goldie's voice still shook as he looked at Freddy with a serious expression, his hands still holding onto him tightly. "…No bad will come? Bear stay?"
Freddy nodded, smiling as he looked down at his nephew. "There's no more bad things now. You're safe."
The answer seemed to upset Goldie, causing him to slam his tiny fists against Freddy's chest with a surprising amount of strength. Had he been human, Freddy was certain Goldie may have broken his bones.
"Bear stay?! Bear mine?!" Goldie screamed, tears starting to form in his eyes again as he kept beating his fists on Freddy.
"Y-yes, absolutely." Freddy responded, sounding out of breath from the hits despite the fact that he had no way to physically breathe.
This time, Freddy's words were enough to satisfy Goldie. The tiny bear relaxed instantly and gave a smile as he hugged Freddy tightly.
"Family." The tiny bear hummed, finally pulling away from his uncle.
Another wave of relief surged through Freddy as he smiled back, thankful to see the tiny bear less troubled, if even for a brief moment. The air seemed to slowly go back to its normal atmosphere, the tension dying down every second the tiny bear smiled. However, the smile faded from Goldie's face all too quickly as he studied Freddy once more.
"Fox." The bear mumbled, just barely loud enough for Freddy to hear over the echoing sounds of the generator. "Bad…"
"I had no idea…" Freddy frowned as the memory faded from his mind. Perhaps it was obvious, even then, that the golden bear would do anything to get his way.
Foxy shook his head, his body visibly shaking. "So ye b' tellin' me that Oi was torn up out of jealousy? That b' it?"
"That's the only thing that I can think of. That is why I distanced myself from you! Do you think that I took pleasure in watching you suffer?" Freddy asked, taking a step closer to the pirate.
Freddy was on edge as he knew full well that the fox was unpredictable and was in a position to do just about anything. He was expecting another attack as Foxy took a large step closer. In an instant, Freddy could feel himself practically be thrown against the wall.
What he didn't expect was Foxy's lips to suddenly be pressed against his own.
"Oi won't forgive ye, but… Ye better make this worth it, Fazbear." Foxy growled as he kissed him again.
Freddy was beyond confused by the sudden change of mood, but he wasn't about to point that out. He often preferred when Foxy was like this, too far focused on what's only right in front of him rather than the overall situation. That's what made Captain Foxy so great, after all.