Chapter 12: Black Claws
"Why is your appearance constantly changing?" Fredi said in a confused tone.
Embarrassed, Glenn tucked his rabbit feet under the couch and gripped the sides of his felt-covered arms. "I told you, it's a metaphor of your growing awareness of what you really are."
"Maybe, or it could be your true nature revealing itself," Fredi guessed.
"You can't take me at my word?"
"No, and frankly I haven't since we first met."
As Fredi got up from the couch and walked down the rotting hall between the living room and his room, Glenn followed right alongside him.
"How can you not trust me when I'm a creation of your mind?" Glenn asked. "Besides, if it wasn't for my suggestions, you would probably be dead by now."
"I'm not even sure you are an imaginary friend," Fredi replied. "The animatronic manuals Ozzie gave me say animatronics can't dream or have vivid imaginations. And since staying in this house, I've had no dreams."
"But maybe you're different. After all, you did protect Gregory when the other animatronics were ordered to nab him."
"The reason I protected Gregory was because I followed my primary objective, which was to protect the guests of the pizzaplex and not harm them."
"So you're thinking the other animatronics were malfunctioning?"
"Well, I do remember there were technical issues in the pizzaplex. I know Roxy talked to herself a lot, which was unusual."
"Yeah, you're right. I also remember an animatronic who ate garbage and one who broke stuff."
Embarrassed, Fredi said, "This is why I don't trust you. Because you seem to remember more than I do."
"Look, I'm just as clueless as you are," Glenn admitted. "Have you ever considered that maybe I'm not really human? Like, I could be an animatronic too?"
Fredi gave Glenn a confused look. "Are you saying you're a memory of an animatronic I know, or that you're literally an animatronic?"
Sighing, Glenn said, "I'm saying I might be an AI."
"Artificial intelligence?"
"Exactly, like the one you have. It's what gives you a personality and makes you think like a human. So maybe I'm a separate AI that was programmed into you by someone."
"How would a second AI benefit me in any way?"
"That I don't know. But judging by your discomforted look, I take it you still don't trust me. Fine, then I'll leave."
Glenn's figure then started to fade like an image on a television screen, causing Fredi to hold up his hand.
"Wait, Glenn," Fredi said. "Please, don't go."
Folding his arms, Glenn responded, "Give me one a good reason why I shouldn't."
"You're right. If it weren't for you, those Melody animatronics would have killed me. And I shouldn't not trust you just because your knowledge is as inconsistent as mine."
For a moment, Glenn's eyes lit up. Then he became solid again.
"I'll accept your apology for now, but don't push your luck," Glenn said. "Cross me again, and there will be lasting consequences."
Unsure of what Glenn meant, Fredi reluctantly nodded. "All right. I'll try not to make you mad in the future."
"Good!"
Then Glenn poked Fredi on the nose, which surprised him, and he lay down on the floor staring up at the ceiling. Fredi was tempted to lie next to Glenn, but instead he went into his charging station to replenish his battery life.
"So what did that police chief on the TV remind you about?" Glenn asked.
"His hairstyle is the same as the guy who killed the purple-haired person in the attack," Fredi said from inside the charging station. "Also, those leather gloves the chief was wearing seemed suspicious to me."
"Agreed, since no one in their right mind would wear leather gloves like that all day."
"He could be hiding something."
"Like black claws?"
Thinking back to his fragmented memories, Fredi suddenly realized the guy with the mohawk who was punching the purple-haired guy had black claws on his hands. He then mentally superimposed the black claws onto the hands of the green animatronic he was trying to remember, and thought back to the name Roxana said.
"Monty," Fredi murmured. "That name must have been a reference to Chief Monro Jacaré, who was one of Roxana's group of attackers."
"Given the two names are similar, I would say you're probably right," Glenn agreed.
"So that means he was the one who hit me hard enough to make me lose my memories, and killed one of the two people I was with."
"Yeah, that fits."
"But I think Monty is also Jacaré's real name."
"I seem to recall an animatronic at the pizzaplex by the name of Montgomery Gator, also known as Monty, who replaced another animatronic named Bonnie on bass guitar in the band you led."
Hearing the name 'Bonnie,' Fredi was suddenly filled with deep sadness he couldn't explain. Then just as Glenn was about to ask him, Ozzie suddenly burst into Fredi's room.
"Fredi!" Ozzie cried. "I've cracked the encryption on the camera!"
"Already?" Fredi blinked.
"It didn't take as long as I thought it would. Let me show you what I've found."
Ozzie then left the room with Fredi following after him. They went down the hallway and back into Ozzie and G's apartment. G was sitting at the table not looking at Fredi as he was drinking another beer. Fredi was tempted to talk to G, but decided not to right now as Ozzie sat down and pulled up a seat for Fredi.
"Everybody sitting comfortably?" Ozzie asked G and Fredi. When neither of them answered, he said, "Okay, then let the picture show begin!"
Pressing a button on his computer, Ozzie brought up a file that said, 'Fazcam,' which revealed a playable video. On it, a woman with short white hair was pointing the camera at herself. Behind her stood Roxana, Chief Jacaré, who was wearing purple pants, and a guy with a crooked face.
"Hello, Mister Bernstein," the white-haired woman said. "We're currently standing outside the apartment where our fellow animatronics have been staying since the pizzaplex incident. And now, we're going to attack them to see how we animatronics deal with stressful situations. You guys ready?"
The white-haired woman looked over her shoulder at the others standing behind her, who all nodded in union.
To be continued…
