A/N: There's a little more excitement in this chapter! This is the first of three climaxes.
And, it might be difficult to keep track of who's speaking, so pay close attention!
-{[(•)]}-
The boys enjoyed the most peaceful week of their lives at the Fun Palace. Jeremy and Fritz spent their days playing everywhere they could, and Fred and Marion carried Mike so he could watch and not get tired. The brunette mostly napped and ate; the animatronics put a lot of pressure on him to get better. By the end of the week, Mike was well enough to walk around on his own for short periods. Altogether, it had been an amazing week.
The only odd thing had been the area they weren't allowed to play in. Obviously it could be dangerous to play around in Parts and Service, but the animatronics didn't even want to show them into the room. Fritz seemed happy to ignore the room altogether, and Jeremy had gained some respect for the animatronics and actually wanted to obey them.
Mike was curious.
He didn't want to upset the animatronics or disrespect them or anything, but he just wanted to see what was back there. It couldn't really be anything so bad, could it?
-[]-
Mike was sitting in Fred's lap again, watching Jeremy and Fritz running around in circles with paper plates, party hats, and kitchen utensils. Fritz had wanted to play knights and had insisted they dress the part. Mike had drawn the castle for them to defend, and Marion was playing the dragon. Mangle and Chi were the damsels in distress, Balloon Boy was the king, and Bon Bon was the court jester.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Mike leaned up and whispered in Fred's ear. The bear nodded and patted his back to help him get up. The animatronic started to get up after him, but Mike crossed his arms. "I can go by myself!" Fred stared at him for a long moment.
He sighed. "If yer sure. You know how to get one of us if you need us."
Mike nodded and quickly scampered towards the restrooms. He did need to go to the bathroom, but this might be his only opportunity to see what was behind the door of Parts and Services.
After he took care of himself and washed his hands, he crept up to the closed door and stared up at the sign. He steeled himself and tried the handle. Locked. He frowned lightly. Maybe...
The eight year old knocked gently, calling a quiet, "Hello?"
He waited for a moment. Finally, he let out a disappointed sigh and turned to leave. There was a creak and a hand suddenly yanked him backwards. A startled yelp escaped his lips just before he landed on his butt.
The door slammed shut.
Mike clutched at his chest, breathing heavily. A cough tore past his lips. He whimpered.
It was very dark in here, and any light reflected off sharp parts and broken equipment. The air was dusty and stale, making it hard to breathe. It smelled like rot and mold and everything bad. Coldness started to seep into him.
The boy's eyes watered.
"H-Hello?" He repeated and shifted around on to his hands and knees. He moved until his back was to the door.
A shadow moved in the darkness.
"Who a-are you?"
A light briefly flickered.
Mike reached out. His hand touched something furry and soft.
It latched on to him.
Too terrified to even scream, Mike's breaths came heavy and fast. Tears ran down his face, and he weakly pulled back against the thing holding him.
Fingers stroked through his hair, and there was the quiet hiss of air from directly in front of him. The creature pulled him into its lap, petting him and rocking him jerkily back and forth. Other hands cautiously soothed him with their touch.
Mike silently buried his face into the chest of the one holding him. His sobs had died down now, but he still trembled in the face of the unknown.
The light flickered again and turned on.
It was the eyes of an animatronic. Looking up, Mike recognized the face of a bear. Another set of eyes turned on, and he saw a fox. A third set of eyes brightened, and he could see a bird and a bunny nearby. The bunny didn't appear to have the glowy eyes of the others.
Mike was sitting in the lap of the fox, a pirate fox by the looks of his hook and eyepatch. The bird was missing the lower half of its arms, the bear looked damaged and worn, and the bunny was missing the top of its face.
"Y-You're animatronics," the blue eyed child recognized. "What happened to you?" The bear's jaw moved up and down, but there was no sound. The fox tried as well, and the bird, but no one could tell him anything.
Finally, the bunny pointed at the door.
"Out there? What's out there?"
Everyone pointed at themselves.
"You? Bu- Wait, do you mean animatronics?" Mike stared at them for a moment. "Did the animatronics do this to you?" The bunny nodded. "Why would they..." The boy curled into himself, deep in thought.
"Do you know sign language?" He asked.
The bear made a few gestures.
Mike grinned.
-[]-
Eventually Bon Bon had gotten fed up with being the court jester and went to did beside Fred. They sat for a moment, watching the others playing. Bon Bon looked at Fred, about to start a conversation, when he noticed something.
"Fred... Where's Mike?"
The bear jolted and looked at him in surprised. "Shoot! Ah forgot. He went ta the restroom a while'go."
"How long-"
"GIVE IT BACK!"
A furious bundle of eight year old slammed into Bon Bon's chest. Everyone startled and turned to the spectacle, shocked by Mike's sudden violently angry behavior. The rabbit quickly moved to his feet, with Fred standing as well.
"Mike, what are you-" the blue animatronic started.
"GIVE IT BACK! YOU STOLE IT, YOU FAKER!"
"Mike!" Fred warned. He opened his mouth to advise against calling others names, but the child cut him off.
"YOU'RE NOT THE REAL FREDDY! HE'S NOT THE REAL BONNIE! YOU'RE LIARS!" The boy's face was red with anger and exertion.
Chi gasped, and Mangle made a heartbroken sound. Bon Bon was starting to look angry.
"Now, Mikey, where did you hear such a thing?" Fred tried.
"The real Bonnie," Mike snapped. He pulled himself up to his full height. "And the real Freddy and Chica and Foxy. You're trying to replace them! I know you stole Bonnie's face!" Bon Bon actually managed to look ashamed, but the boy was on a rampage and just turned on his instead. "SO GIVE. IT. BACK!"
That was when the original four decided to make an appearance. Freddy quickly scooped Mike up, restraining him against his hip. Bonnie signed something rapidly at him, and Chica waved her arms up and down in alarm at his actions. Foxy hovered just behind Freddy, watching the toy animatronics with extreme wariness.
"Mike?" Jeremy called and shuffled his way over. He gently grabbed the brunette's hand, and the younger boy's fire died instantly.
"It's not fair," he cried, little tears dropping to Freddy's arm. "It's not fair. They can't just take Bonnie's face, Jeremy. It's not fair."
"I know, Mike," the blonde nodded. "Why don't we ask for it back? And... Chica's (?) arms, if they have them." Jeremy turned back to the newer animatronics, eyes filled with pleading and doubt.
He thought they were safe here. Could maybe stay here.
He wanted to believe they weren't liars like everyone else. Wanted to believe they could be trusted.
"Bon, get the ol' rabbit's face," Fred sighed. He turned his face away from the boys, not wanting to see their looks of dismay. "Mangle, get Chica's arms. Balloon Boy, fetch their voice boxes."
"You tore them apart," Fritz whispered. Chi tried to step forward and comfort him, but the redhead quickly stepped away and lifted his paper plate in defense.
"W-We're sorry, b-b-boys," Mangle offered and dropped Chica's arms at the older chicken's feet. "W-We didn't w-w-w-want you to see t-th-them."
"They killed the security guards at the other locations," Bon Bon muttered and tossed the purple rabbit his face.
"We thought they deserved it," Chi stated, voice shamefully quiet. Balloon Boy helped each of the older animatronics get their voice boxes and missing parts back in place.
Freddy moved his jaw for a minute, adjusting his voice. "If you would have let us explain," his voice came out staticy and soft. "HE changed our protocols, messed with our programming. We didn't know."
"We couldn't have stopped it," Chica added miserably.
"It weren't a choice," Foxy rumbled. He gave into his desire to comfort the still crying Mike.
"I guess y'all deserve an apology," Fred admitted. "We... We should have listened to what you were tryin' ta tell us. Might have saved us from... from bein' shut down..."
"None of us could have known," Bonnie finally intoned. "We didn't know what we were doing, and by the time we had figured it out it was too late. You were just trying to protect the humans. None of us can take any blame."
The room was silent.
-{[(•)]}-
They city-hopped for a while. No city offered many benefits. One lacked a source of water they could easily get to. Another was difficult to find shelter in. The one after that was impossible to find work.
When they finally found a city that could support them, they quickly set up jobs, resources, and a place to live. An especially clean alley was protected from the wind and even had a roof. Jeremy helped load trucks in the industrial district, and Mike got a job as an assistant for a secretary.
As they were walking home one day, they saw a car crashed into the side of a building. They would have ignored it, if it wasn't for the bright flash of red that drew their attention. A small, redheaded boy was sitting outside the car, crying in fright as police men and medics tried to get near him. At the last possible moment, the boy darted away from the scene. He barely missed getting caught by a police officer.
"Come on! We have to help him!" Mike cried. Jeremy nodded, and they wove their way through the crowd. They ran through alley ways and around traffic. They managed to cut the boy off and hide him just in time for some police officers to run by.
"I want my Mama!" The boy sobbed as soon as Mike grabbed his hand. "She wouldn't- wouldn't wake up!" Mike frowned sadly and pulled the child in for a hug.
Jeremy stood awkwardly off to the side for a moment. "What's your name?" He finally asked. The boy wiped his eyes but still looked upset.
"F-Fritz Smith. I'm six," he held up three fingers on each hand.
"What happened, Fritz?" The eleven year old continued.
"Mama said it was time for me to have a little sister, so Daddy was taking us to the doctor place. He was really s-scared and was shaking the car a lot. T-Then he turn-turned too f-fast... And we... we h-hit the building a-and Mama and Daddy were a-asleep and I-I... I couldn't w-wake t-them uh-hup and n-now the bad men are ch-chasing me and... and... AND I JUST WANT MY MAMA!"
Mike quickly pulled the child back into his arms. He looked to Jeremy in desperation, and the blonde sadly joined the hug.
They both agreed to never be the ones to explain the concept of death to Fritz.
-{[(•)]}-
A/N: Who else agrees that the animatronics should know sign language in case they interact with a deaf or mute kid?
A/N: What is your favorite Disney movie? I like Teen Beach Movie, but my absolute favorite is probably Big Hero 6. (Which by the way, is one of the fandoms I happen to write for... *cough* *cough* Shameless self-advertisement *cough*)