Present Day-
GREGORY
He couldn't help but be cautiously excited about getting his other best friend his body back!
They can make quicker progress towards Cassie if Gregory wasn't carrying Freddy around; and the bear can heft their obstacles away. And while Vanessa clearly hesitated about the idea of grabbing the body at first, she's on board now. Perfect! They can be faster and more efficient. And with Freddy's body carrying their supplies, they can have hands free to move as well. Its bad enough poor Vanessa was carrying a CRAP TON of weight. Gregory inwardly commended her and was silently saddened by the fact he couldn't do more. He was carrying a lot himself; the labtop aside, he had Freddy's HEAVY head and their 'weapons'.
And by 'weapons', he meant the fazcam, fazerblaster, and a... device, he won't ever touch: The animatronic taser. Vanessa apparently had a couple on hand.
He looked at her now; the poor woman huffed as she lifted the tool bag and situated it on her shoulder again. On her other shoulder was the car battery and her personal Chica backpack with all their food and medical supplies in it. Side note, who would've guessed that Chica was her favorite? Gregory certainly didn't know! Granted, he supposed he should've guessed with the fact Vanessa loves pink, nail painting, and cupcakes. She was extremely girly. And if her life hadn't been so fucked up, Vanessa would've no doubt liked the bots more and tried to hang around the chicken. Freddy thought it was adorable when he learned about it a couple months ago.
"Chica would've given her the biggest hug if she saw her nails and cupcake themed bed sheets-" He chortled discreetly to the boy, at the time. "I've no doubt they'd go baking together. I wish I could see it..."
Now as for the animatronic taser... Gregory had winced when he first saw it. It looked awful; a large, HEAVY box with a powerful battery and sharp prongs meant to latch into the bots by FORCE. They wouldn't be able to rip it out too fast and easily; and it left scratches in their shells once latched on. No doubt the penetration of just the tactile sensors was a gross violation within itself- let alone the horrid discharge of energy powerful enough to stop a moving car and stall it.
"Why is so POWERFUL?" Gregory once asked. "That's just... overkill. And straight mean!"
"So, funny story," She once told him a while ago in response. "The tasers are because of another bot that used to live at the PizzaPlex too. He was very... quirky, to put it mildly. He used to be the daycare attendant before Sun and Moon."
Freddy gritted his fangs and produced a winced expression, "Ohhh... Oh. Ohhhhh- yeah. That wasn't... oh."
"-'Oh', what?" Gregory pressed.
"Dunno how much you know of Fazbear Entertainment's original cast but... you know Foxy, the pirate?"
"Yeah-? Wha- WAIT-" Gregory pumped his arms and gasped audibly. "FOXY? FOXY WAS THERE? NO WAY!"
"Yeah... he was."
"What happened! WHAT HAPPENED," He grabbed her hand and shook it.
She bobbed her shoulders unhelpfully, "I don't the details but... he hurt people. Bad. He was a hard lesson in the school of Knocks, to put it mildly. He went on a crime spree- and no one knew why he malfunctioned that day. He was so strong too- the shock on the doors where the only reason why more people weren't... weren't..."
And when she fell silent, Gregory wasn't sure how much more he'd wanted to know. Its bad enough Freddy looked like he wanted to change the topic.
And now, after Vanessa's story of Glamrock Bonnie's weird behavior, it lead Gregory to wonder if Foxy somehow evolved as well; or if he simply malfunctioned. Vanessa said she never met Foxy though, and couldn't tell him in detail what he's like. She'd barely gotten the name from fellow staff when she first started. So Gregory asked Freddy what happened instead.
In which the bear could only sadly reciprocate, "I don't recall... when they decommissioned him, I think they wanted to scrub all traces of him from the record. He did something REALLY bad on top of the attacking."
"Wha- ON TOP OF ATTACKING AND HURTING PEOPLE?" Gregory was rightfully incredulous.
If the bear could shrug, he would. His ears flapped once as if to make up for it. "I don't know what it was myself, as I don't have the incident logged in my memory bank. It was before I became more... aware of myself as an individual. I wasn't as complex at the time nearer to my creation. We had to develop over time you know... and I didn't, or wouldn't, have the foresight to protect that memory from the incident. They only managed to delete my logs because I didn't yet understand the complexity and wrongness of the action."
"So you don't remember ANY performances with him?"
"Negatory, my fine boy. I'm sure he was a verified Glamrock... Foxy's popular, as you know. He's always been ever since his very conception. People love the underdog and misfit types, and that was his whole shtick!" He bobbed his ears again, "But sadly, I have nothing to say on my own personal experience to account for. All I know is that they wanted him scrubbed from our history and I cannot fathom why! All it did was teach the staff that they needed to carry portable methods of defense. Security doors were buffed... and new rules were imposed about our free will. He truly was, as far I know, a wild card."
And, seeing how they've wanted to erase Bonnie from the records in similar fashion, Gregory started to see connections. And again, it brought him to wonder just how stable Foxy was and how complex his personality is. But if Vanessa's story of Bonnie was anything to go by, its likely Foxy gave no fucks about HOUSE RULES. No decently programmed PIRATE gave a damn about rules. It'd stand to reason that a developing A.I like him may have been the pioneer of complex development and just couldn't stand the weight of his intelligence during his young age as a new bot. Maybe he grew too fast and couldn't keep up- or it could've been something else entirely. No one knows!
Its an educated guess, but it made Gregory wonder about the animatronics around him NOW. How much more complex can they get under duress? How smart or resilient they can be with time? Well, if any of them can do it, no doubt the Mimic can too- and its something it's already enacted upon by tricking Cassie as it had. All the more reason to deal with it.
In the meantime, the trio found themselves inside the ruins of Fazerblast; with Freddy producing a sad vocalization that bordered a whine, groan, and a sigh of defeat. No doubt this was hard on him. Gregory was taking in the sights himself; blinking rapidly when he found a slab of broken wall with graffiti on it. He grabbed Vanessa's shirt and tugged a couple times to get her attention.
"What- oh?"
The trio arrested their now wary gaze onto the yellow, hastily air-brushed words; Gregory feeling something like a lump seep into his gut as he read in capital letters, "IT CAN'T SEE YOU."
"The heck-?" He started.
Vanessa walked over to it, looking around the wall for any other clues. Nothing stuck out, so she sighed and turned back to the boy and bot. "Freddy, can you see your body anywhere?" She queried immediately.
The bear scanned with Roxy's eyes; eventually replying with, "No. We must venture a bit further in. I think I fell around the uh- center structure-? Oh... its in pieces. How will we get there?"
"Very carefully," Vanessa replied smartly. She wore a wry, ironic smirk on her face. No doubt she wasn't finding this fun in the least.
The group ventured in, hearing the occasional spark and crackle of electricity. This prompted raised brows from each; as it indicated there's still power in this area. Moreover, the weird amount of S.T.A.F.F bots trying to hold up the walls was strange- like they were fighting a war with the wreckage itself and lost. Some of the bots were buried beneath panels of walls and ceiling; limbs poking out as if begging for help. This place felt weirdly like a graveyard.
"Creepy..." Gregory mouthed.
"You can say that again," Vanessa murmured next, gesturing to Freddy for another scan.
The bear did so; narrowing his eyes when his optics locked upon a certain point to the other side of the claustrophobic arena. "I see movement... hm. OH! THAT'S IT! My body's just- just..." He fell quiet. Then, the alarm slowly took his face. "DUCK!"
If he hadn't seen it coming, they for SURE would've been hit by the huge slab of metal wall that went careening through the air like a killer frisbee- and it would've taken their heads clean off with it. Vanessa pulled Gregory down with her; covering him with her own body as it roared by with hell's own wrath in its wake. The force of the wind ruffled hair; the sound of screaming metal freezing blood in their veins. Freddy "Oomph"ed when he collided with the ground.
Now Gregory looked up- and nearly pissed himself when he saw Freddy's feral body stumbling haphazardly but doggedly towards them. It lurched blindly around; claws scraping and sliding against walls and bots alike with an abandon not unlike a rabid zombie. It even stopped briefly for that second; as if to try and sense them since it was blind. It opened its chest cavity, then, produced this groaning, rolling, primal tremor akin to a roar as it proceeded unerringly towards them- naked claws swiping even before it neared. It accidently but cleanly caught a S.T.A.F.F bot's head and lopped it off with liquid ease along the way.
"FUCK ME!" Vanessa yanked Gregory up and pushed the boy ahead of her- throwing her tools down on the ground for the sake of speed. "FUCK ME FUCK ME FUCK ME FUCK ME- FREDDY! YOU DIDN'T SAY YOUR BODIES CAN DO THAT!"
"I DIDN'T KNOW THEY COULD DO THAT EITHER!" He sobbed. If it wasn't for the situation they're in, it would've been funny.
The body snapped its busted torso pieces; flapping them obscenely like the gaping jaws of a carnivorous fish trying to suck in prey. Its claws scored metal sheets with a sharpness that suggested they wouldn't get worn down anytime soon. At one moment, the body bumped into obstacle; screamed at it; then threw it out of the way despite it being a chunk of ceiling clearly heavier than IT is. Its arms whined with the force- as if its doing damage to itself.
"No inhibitor on the strength- SHIT." Vanessa spat as they turned another bend in the labyrinth of walls. "I think its running Vanny's tampered version of the Security program! It takes ALL blocks off!"
"...BISCUITS!" Freddy grunted in place of a swear as he bounced on Gregory's chest. "We can't go near it then! We need to leave- right now!"
Gregory glared, then turned down a path without Vanessa while throwing his labtop at her. The woman slurred and screamed after him, "THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"
"I need to get somewhere out of the way! Duh!" He said over his shoulder. "We can use the laptop! And it can't chase both of us at once! Hack it! USE M.X.E.S!"
Vanessa glared, conceded, then took a different route.
It was hard to tell what the body would go for; Gregory or Vanessa. But for some obscene reason, it chose Gregory. It went bumbling after him; screaming and groaning as it banged into another wall and scratched an indentation no less than 2 inches into solid surface.
"WHY DID I RIG YOU WITH MONTY'S CLAWS!" Gregory screamed as he ducked into a room branching off from the laser tag arena.
Freddy didn't answer; as his eyes suddenly caught movement from somewhere else- he opened his mouth to warn Gregory-
And then both of them got promptly SCOOPED up by a pair of lithe, over-long limbs that continued to lift, lift, lift. They were air-borne; the static-charged, coppery stale air hitting Gregory's face like a clap of live wires. Gregory of course yelped and almost dropped Freddy's head; bumbling it and grabbing him accidentally by his left ear when he slipped in his grasp. He pulled him back up and stared flabbergasted at his rescuer-
Then he SCREAMED.
"Whoa! You're safe with me little man! Calm yourself!" The daycare attendant told them.
His wire was stuck in the ceiling somewhere- not that Gregory can see where. But once the attendant found a stretch of catwalk above the Fazerblast arena, he landed gracefully upon it without a single wasted movement. He deposited Gregory on the grate; then reeled in his cable into his back. Gregory could only stare at him in blunt shock; unable to discern who this was. Sun? Moon? That didn't sound like Moon- he just saved them!
Another roar brought their attention back to the ground level; where they saw the bear's body was bumping and stumbling over another S.T.A.F.F bot and clawing madly at its spot on the floor. Some debris came off of it; a piece of metal goring into the pelvis of the chassis having come loose. The body got up; turned confusedly around, and attempted to go after the only other person at ground level with it-
"VANESSA! ITS ON YOU NOW!" Gregory bellowed.
The former security guard's pallored, sweat covered visage was almost a beacon from where she crouched. She typed furiously away all the while; no doubt hearing the wretched husk groan its way over. Once it got within a few meters, she booked it with the laptop still open in her hands- though she couldn't finish hacking it when she was too busy watching her feet to keep from tripping over debris.
Gregory turned to the attendant, "Help her! PLEASE!"
Why was it hesitating? The bot clearly heard Gregory though, producing some sort of noise of resignation before throwing its cable up into the rafters above. He stood on the catwalks' guard rail and dived; swinging with the expertise of a true circus athlete towards the woman. He may not be able to hold her long, but long enough to get her ahead of the malfunctioning, munching menace. Gregory could only watch in bated horror all the while.
Vanessa heard him, lifted her arms while still grasping the computer, and allowed the attendant to elevate her briefly off the ground. Once they got far enough from the body, he deposited her and sailed away again. She took the time to type- looking up every few seconds. Gregory was biting his nails at this point; not noticing Freddy was lop-sided on his chest.
The husk still managed to find her- how was it doing that? It couldn't SEE. Was there some sort of sensor none of them knew of? Even Freddy hadn't known it could do that. Its bad enough it seemed to be computing its own decisions- it must've had a second CPU unit in the motor somewhere that existed outside of the main brain's will in the head. That was all Gregory can assume since it was still coordinated enough to do path-finding and control the limb mechanisms.
A second brain... like a cockroach. Ew.
Gregory felt his gut wad up into a slimy mess as he watched Vanessa bolt again. To her credit, she was doing well- and she wasn't screaming or panicking in the least. The boy felt an increased surge of respect as he watched his guardian do her best to disable Freddy's reanimated body; and all the while on the move.
The attendant sailed down again; and once again, the two were air-born. It seemed the attendant had a weight limit to his cable though; as Gregory heard some sort of noise whine from the the cable met his back. The attendant- Sun or Moon or whoever it was- barely got Vanessa back to ground level before it seemed to jam. He steered away from her; then landed somewhere nearby. It seemed he couldn't get enough height so he can get her to a safe place to finish what she was doing either.
Dammit.
Gregory beat on the rail as he watched the husk turned confusedly towards where it sensed its contenders; but once more staggered towards Vanessa. Why? What programming dictated it stay focused on her? Was it just coincidence? The boy had no clue-
The husk just then hulled up a solid metal sheet; lifting high over where its head should be. Then, it HURLED it over at her! Vanessa screamed and duck; the killer slab landing so close to her that its nearly caught her leg. She yelped and CONTINUED TO TYPE.
And then, just as it started to surge at her again- it came to a stop; the attendant latching himself to its back! He pulled its heavy arms over its nonexistent head; the claws flapping and gripping at empty air. Like prolific body builder who couldn't reach that spot in the middle of their back, it failed to snare him. It did however throw itself around; snapping its chassis pieces open and closed every second- It even ran its back into the wall; nearly knocking the attendant off-
And then, it finally stopped. Literally, just came to a dead stop, and steadily slumped over from its own weight. The attendant jumped off just as it did; dusting his hands off and politely fixing his cable as best he could. He was shaking a little, jarred but not more damaged than he already was.
Vanessa meanwhile went "Phew!" and shut the laptop. "Got it! I disabled Security Mode on it! Greg, you okay over there?"
"Yeah! Oh my god, that was AMAZING!" He pumped his arms up in the air, then bellowed, "WOOHOO!" Dramatically. "THAT WAS SO COOL!"
Freddy meanwhile was grinning ear-to-ear, "You both rocked that stage! Fine work!"
The security guard had lost her hat at some point; and she only just know noticed when she tried to grab the lip of it just to pull it over her eyes in a show of sheepishness. She only shook her head then, breathing in and out slowly as if to catch her breath. Then, "Can you get down from there?"
"I'll find a way down! Gimme a sec!"
Gregory went to do so; noticing several areas in which he could. He watched the attendant from the corner of his eye though, a little wary and suspicious of the change in heart. Who the heck was this? Why'd he help? He was glad for it but... it seemed he wouldn't bother for a moment there. Like he seriously considered leaving Vanessa to die.
Guess it was time for answers.
ECLIPSE
Why'd he do that? Why the hell did he save that wretched beast of a woman?
Oh... its because a child asked him to, huh? Of course. And as it happened, he was in safe mode. He couldn't make up his mind about leaving Vanessa down for that hot, horrible second. One side of him said to ditch her and leave her to the flailing body to maim- but the rest of him was programmed to help any child who asks for it- so he supposed in hindsight, Gregory's plea was more important than anything else. And, he supposed he wanted to see Freddy fixed too, and the only way to do so was to stop the body from moving. And Vanessa was the only one with the means to do so.
Mutual benefit, he supposed.
He paused when he heard Gregory shout how cool that was; and then couldn't help his invisible blush when even Freddy chimed in with that excited bit of praise, "You both rocked that stage! Fine work!"
Now, at heart, Eclipse and his other sides had always been performers; so a tiny part him- or rather, a LARGE part of him couldn't help but take a bow. And take a bow he did! He heard a clap close by; from Vanessa no less! What a pleasant surprise.
It... made him feel good. Like he did exactly as he should have. Like what he's always meant to do.
The realization had the bot wondering about his whole life for that one second, recalling his prior life as a stage performer before being made into the glitchy daycare attendant. He knew he'd always been unstable since the transition but... right now, he felt complete. To have done as he's been built to do- to do something daring and interesting! To hear even a small round of applause or praise! He was blissfully whole for one second- all sides quiet and content and humming with victory.
He was WHOLE.
He was a performer again for that moment. And it was a feeling he'll later dwell on.
"That was pretty epic," Vanessa said to him, her smile far kinder and easier than he's ever recalled. Wasn't she always so disgruntled and bothered by something? Last he checked, she had no respect for the bots. What happened here? She went on though, sounding awkward as she did, "You uh... thank you. By the way. For the help? Er- Can I help with that?"
He blinked at her, then raised a single long-fingered hand in a sign in the negative. "I got it," he replied uneasily as he rolled up his cable. He opened his chest hatch and pressed something; the rest of the wire rolling in like a length of measuring tape. It snapped to a close within seconds; then the attendant ended up eyeing Gregory as he ran over while carrying Freddy's head. The bear was still smiling, albeit a little uneasily. He didn't seem addled...
OH. HIS EYES! HE DID HAVE ROXY'S EYES!
Eclipse found himself locked onto the bear as Gregory ran up to him to stand by his side. He threw a piece of debris at the unmoving body- and when it didn't budge again, he started to toe his way towards it-
Then Vanessa reached out and shook her head, "Gimme Freddy. I'll do it. You go grab my duffle. I left it near the center of the arena, bottom of the platform."
"-'Kay."
The boy watched Eclipse warily next, relenting and giving Freddy's head to the woman. She sighed, then steadily made her way over and knelt down. Eclipse shuffled from foot to foot as he watched her start evaluating the wires.
"Aw, come on. Don't tell me I'd need to go all the way to Parts and Service for new neck connectors after ALL that?"
"I think there's enough here that are useable," Freddy supplied. "I can control my body and make it move, at least. I'll also have control of my limbs, but I can't say it'd be articulate... And we can salvage some of the wires in these S.T.A.F.F bots too?"
"Oh, that's a good idea! Alright," Vanessa conceded, then checked his head again. "I think we can work with it. It'll be temporary. Anyways-" Now she glanced back at the Eclipse, "Who am I speaking to, exactly? Can't figure it."
"Oh! I am Eclipse-" He bowed with a flourish. "The third and final personality."
"How eloquent," Freddy praised again.
Gregory stumbled over, grunting as he carried the bag. Eclipse swiftly walked over and helped him with it. "I got it, little one. Please rest!"
The boy raised a brow and relented, confused as he eyed the detail of Eclipse's hastily repaired outer form. "So... there's three of you? Why? What? I'm confused."
"Sun and Moon are characters in what would've been a play," Eclipse supplied as he gave Vanessa the tool bag. "I, you could almost say, am the default personality. Like erm- the narrator to a stage play? I was supposed to be a performer- not the daycare attendant when I was first built."
"OH. That explains it!" Gregory put one fist into an excited palm. "Right. The daycare theater- okay. I get it now!"
"I also did stand-up! A little-" He pinched his fingers together there. "I wasn't a performer for long before I was rewritten to be a caretaker instead. I was never properly upgraded or fixed so... my third personality was lost amidst the transition between Sun and Moon-"
"...Did you know Foxy?"
The question took him off guard, but he waved a noncommittal hand, "Not super well. But kinda?"
Gregory was about to ask- but Vanessa cut him off. "How'd you get set back to Eclipse?" She queried, showing actual interest in himself.
Huh. She's helping them. And being polite. Why? Didn't she try to kill Gregory not super long ago? Didn't she destroy Bonnie not so long ago? Use those awful tasers on him once?
Eclipse drummed his spidery digits together, frowning as he tried to get a proper read on her, "Cassie helped save us. She's been helping us all over- Sun requested a reboot and she obliged- despite the harm Moon would've posed. She is a very caring, loving soul. And the rest of us are here to try and make the most of it with her here. Are you here for her, by chance?"
"OH MY GOD!" Gregory pumped his arms again, running up and nodding rapid-fire, "Yeah! We came here to find her but kept running into obstacles- so we veered over here to see if we can use Freddy's body to shorten the work- we wouldn't have been able to help her if we had to carry her out... and we're carrying all this stuff. We brought medical supplies- food, all kinds of things! Its a bit much honestly..." He shook his head, "So, you know where she is?"
Eclipse flicked his stare between them. Could he trust them? Maybe Gregory and Freddy- but NOT Vanessa. He frowned anew, then tucked his hands to his chest to pull on his wrists and fingers in a show of anxious nuance. "Yes... we know where she is. She's sleeping right now, and we're currently trying to find ways to help. We're a little short-handed on supplies..."
"Good thing we brought some," Vanessa hummed. She put Freddy's head on his body; dragging out a pair of pliers and messing with the wires now. Gregory walked around the body for a second- the boy's eyes narrowing at the damage as the woman went on. "That Chica bag has our medic kits. Take them for her. And the food's there too- I bet she's hungry. How is she, by the way? Is she hurt?"
"Yes, unfortunately. She has a leg fracture and bruised ribs- She can talk but not without difficulty. She's also covered in a vast number of nasty cuts and bumps," He grabbed the bag, checking inventory in it. He couldn't be more glad to see that they've brought something so valuable here- Roxy will be pleased. But... he was still confused about their intentions and Vanessa's past. Bonnie's words swirled around his head endlessly, his stare hardening into a glare as he watched the former guard. At least she had the graces to look horrified by the portent regarding Cassie, "We wanted to get her some help but... I'm afraid we're trapped here. And we wouldn't have been able to send for help unless we made our way to the exit and get a localized signal- but we also didn't want to move Cassie anymore than needed until after she's rested some. Rightfully, our options are a bit limited."
Gregory's expression contained an inflection that prompted for Eclipse's programing to reach out and hug it away- but he did no such thing. He still recalled Roxy's toxic words about his behavior too. What the heck was he looking at here?
So now he turned towards Freddy; trying to best judge the situation from observation of the bear. He seemed himself... and he wasn't worried. Was that good? Was he tampered with?
Gregory was seen bending down and prodding at something on Freddy's right foot nearby. "Huh," he was heard saying, "Heya, Freddy? Did you know you had something on your foot here?"
"A what now-?"
"You have a word on your foot. Hm. 'Prototype'?"
The bear couldn't exactly move his head to see yet; as Vanessa was trimming the connector wires and slipping them into his head. The woman frowned and briefly leaned over to see. Eclipse did the same, feeling himself fidget anew as he eyed the print on the bottom of Freddy's foot. The former security guard grunted, then resumed her work, "Guess you're the first Freddy built here. Congrats on that. You're not a clone!"
"I- what?"
Gregory stared at Vanessa now, then seemed to recall something, "You didn't have this on when we were here-"
"There's signs of coverage on his foot. That's residue was from rubber cement, not just dirt and debris- it was adhering a fine strip to the bottom of his foot to appear flat and uniform with his color coat," the woman supplied. "I wager the strip was like professional duct tape but not quite? They don't want to freak out their developing, intelligent A.I baby bear with a word as incriminating as 'prototype' suggesting that they probably made more of you. They want you to believe you're special-"
Now both bots were giving her a look of concern.
"See? Right there. THAT'S why that's covered up. At least Freddy can rest easy knowing he is the first one built here. Probably the first ever Glamrock Freddy ever!"
That didn't seem to appease them; because now Eclipse was wondering if there was more freaky variations of himself- like he needed more of that when he can barely stand himself as is! He was fidgeting increasingly more. "There's... copies... of us?"
"Shit. Opened a can of worms here. Yeah, there'd be more of you if there's other locations open out there... but I haven't looked those up. Let's not worry about right now," She continued to supply. "Let's say this, and I hope it helps: There can be a bunch of you with the same faces and characteristics, but you know you're special because you're experiences make you who you are. You are the culmination of experience; and no other bot or person out that can share that with you. Your reactions, your emotions, and what you feel towards certain situations are uniquely tailored thanks to how you grow and receive those feelings. And in hindsight, even if there is more of you guys out there-"
She waved around and continued her work, "-They wouldn't ever be like you at heart. They may be programmed to have some of the same traits, but they don't have they same nuances to their emotions as you would now. You guys have been through hell and back here. I can assure that what happened at this PizzaPlex was unique- even if there were others out there. You can count on that. Freddy-"
She looked him in the eye, "Remember what I said about your Bonnie? I bet no other Bonnie out there was half as smart or crazy as your buddy was. Your Bonnie is in his own league with that weird resilience of his. He was pushed through different extremes that no other Bonnie would have. It made him different- unique. He, as well as the rest of you, are your best selves now thanks to your experiences being unique to you. Do you get what I'm kinda going with this?"
The bear said nothing to this, but there did seem to be a shift in his expression. Eclipse meanwhile continued fiddling with his twitchy limbs, then said, "And... what if there's other me's? What can you say about that?"
"Those other yous don't have a Cassie to reboot them. You are your best self now, and no one can take that away from you. Your experience here, though terrible, wasn't ALL that bad now with the right company, right? That's more than what your other selves can say. Your friends and the people who care about you aren't shared with those other versions. They likely wouldn't know how complex their life really can be if there's no one there to show them the right way."
"...Huh."
Gregory was grinning now, then he said to Freddy, "I guess that answers your question! From that time we visited the warehouse here together? And all I can say was 'its not good for your programming'-? Guess you're still art, in another way!"
"Yes, I suppose so. Any other me's wouldn't have a Gregory or a Vanessa to save their life," he smiled back, finally. "And whose to say they may actually dislike people? I know I don't feel that way."
"There you go!"
Eclipse won't lie; when he'd gone into Parts and Services earlier (as well as the padded room so he could set it up for Cassie), he'd been on a downward spiral with the idea that maybe he too could've had other variations- he never said anything aloud though; seeing as his concern had lie with Cassie at the time. But hearing this helped, a little.
Not too much, but a little.
Back to the matter at hand, Gregory was seen dragging out a... what was that? He didn't know, but it was a large black box with prongs on it and... he had no clue what it was but it reminded him of a battery. The boy had a hard time with it though; so Eclipse bent and picked it up-
"OH CIRCUITS. What is that?" He quacked as he held it. It was so heavy!
"Car battery! You guys can apparently run on it," Gregory happily supplied.
"Car... batteries... we can run... on?" He echoed back.
"Yuh-huh! See those prongs there? You guys can get jumped- oh, you're still confused. Um... you can charge off those prongs with a couple of wires. Help us turn Freddy over, and you'll see!"
The battery was... wow. Wasn't he just a short while ago wanting to see the outside world and lamenting not knowing a way out? And yet these guys show up with literally all they needed?
Eclipse nodded, then helped turn the bear over and propped him up on the wall; then, he saw Vanessa take a pair of thick cables from the duffle and attach them to the bear's endo inside his chest cavity. She removed the weird, warped, and slightly crushed present in his belly; handed it to Gregory and placed the car battery where it had been. Then, she took the ends of the wires and attached them to the battery-
Freddy JUMPED. Literally, the motion had him jerking enough to startle Eclipse into jumping back with Gregory out of defense. The boy yelped; then sputtered, "I-Its fine! Put me down already! He's fine!"
The bear moved- then, he was on his feet in a second despite the battery in his belly. In fact, he was wearing the biggest, DOPIEST grin ever. "I feel INCREDIBLE!" He told them with a vigor that seemed contagious. "Like I won't lose a charge for- Perhaps a day? More?"
"A DAY?" Eclipse spat.
"Yes! Wanna shot at it?" Freddy chirped at him.
The attendant waved his hands in the negative. He still knew too little to try anything yet.
"Perfect," Vanessa grinned. She didn't remove the battery from him, instead putting her tools away and standing up to meet the attendant. "Now we can get going and grab Cassie ASAP. Eclipse, can you take us to her? We can get her some care-"
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" He shook his hands in the negatory, frowning at Vanessa specifically. "I still hadn't forgotten what you've done! And while I love the idea of letting you just walk out with Cassie to get her the help she needs- I have no way of knowing if your intentions are all good! Supplies or no!"
"Wha- Really-?" Gregory started.
The attendant snapped his hand over to the boy, "Yes- really! You BOTH started a heck of a lot of trouble when you were here! This place looks like this thanks to you TWO. And now that I think about it-" He glared at the woman. "Weren't you trying to hurt this boy before? I don't understand. Before Roxy and I can pass her care off to someone else, I need to be sure you don't plan on hurting her further! AND I'd like to know if Freddy here is himself! I know you were the one who messed up Moon!"
Vanessa held up her hands in surrender, her expression contrite-
"But that's just it-" Freddy planted a bare paw to the remains of his chest plate, interjecting rather loudly. "I am me! I can prove it too!"
"Let us run a brief diagnostic on your system at Parts and Service- which will take two minutes, then we'll see," The attendant stubbornly asserted, arms folded. "I want to be absolutely sure you're not being controlled!"
"Done," Freddy snapped vehemently. He was already turning to scoop up the supplies; throwing them over his shoulders in a flash. He bumbled a couple of things; his fingers fighting him for trouble for a second thanks to the damage in his connectors. He helped Vanessa to her feet after that, briefly eyeing her for any injuries. "Then we're taking Cassie, you, and the others out of here. No more rotting away here! I won't ALLOW it."
The bear's words... no, his tone. There was something sharp, barbed, and authoritarian about it that startled Eclipse- something unheard of. The sound had a finality to it that silenced everyone present; including himself.
Eclipse twiddled his fingers, not sure as to what to say here after a point. He could only gesticulate to the exit, "Then... I guess you can follow me. Cassie's resting where we need to go anyways. Roxy may be back by now- so, I need to warn you ahead of time... she may not be in a good mood with any of you- especially you-" He pointed at Gregory.
The boy flapped like a beached fish at him, "You're kidding? MAN she can hold a grudge!"
"Let me deal with her," Freddy had his turn to get into the attendant's face there, "There will be no more of this senseless madness and violence. This I swear." His face was a bit damaged; although it looked like there'd been some attempts at repairing his friendly mug. But here, Eclipse couldn't help but notice the weird lack of lip line over some teeth and how it gave Freddy a terrifying, fierce look to go with his militant gait.
The bear turned and fixed the packs over both his shoulders; waiting for Eclipse to take the lead out. His ears wiggled a couple times, eyes unblinking as they went to leave.
Eclipse wasn't entirely sure about them still. Even now, he wondered if he should be doing SOMETHING to Vanessa- he didn't trust her. But Gregory was seen grabbing the woman's hand once or twice, looking up at her with excitement and concern intermingling. The observation had the former daycare attendant rightfully confused.
Guess we'll see who you really are before long, miss.
They stepped out into the atrium, the attendant checking his internal map and contacts to see if Roxy had been on the move. From what he can see, Roxy was actually close by. Literally moving towards the bowling alley above them.
The attendant looked up once, but didn't see them through the obvious hunk of floor in-between them. He didn't want Vanessa near Cassie yet either- not until Freddy was checked out and virus or hack-free. He didn't let any of his current party know that literally just one floor above, Roxy and Cassie was about to walk into the bowling alley to no doubt find Bonnie. The wolf had messaged him about it not too long ago.
"Tell me something," Freddy began again in the silence that followed. He looked at Eclipse directly, his expression solemn. "How is... did you see Chica? Or Monty?"
"Cassie's seen Monty... I don't wish to say this, Freddy, but Monty's gone. Cassie can confirm it too-" He gauged the bear's expression quite carefully. It seemed earnest. "He was in some water when a power surge reignited a neon sign and electrocuted him. He didn't surface again, according to her."
The bear stopped for that second; his chin dropping to the tattered shards of his chest and his gruesome, weirdly realistic bear teeth briefly visible. He continued to walk after that; unable to look anyone directly in the face as he asked next, "...And Chica?"
"...Roxy sent me a not-so-great message about her. When we get to Parts and Services, you'll see. But it won't be pretty. Chica's resting right now... but it doesn't look good for her."
The sound that escaped the bear had everyone looking up in shock; the sound something like a hollowed-out whine that grated and rasped like a metal pole over concrete. It was an AWFUL noise.
"...Can I ask... and dare I say it..." He cautiously ventured next. "But... Bonnie?"
"...How do you know about him?"
"Bonnie's sending a signal. M.X.E.S picked it up!" Gregory supplied in reply to long-limb attendant.
"...What's a M.X.E.S?"
"Its a security program Greg and me were working on to help try and keep this... thing, sealed here," Vanessa replied this time. She pointed to the labtop Freddy carried, "We've been needing it run damage control here and there. Sounds like there's a lot of explaining to do on all sides. Anyways, about Bonnie-"
Eclipse couldn't fight the frown he wore; his sharp bi-colored eyes briefly fixed on the woman and unrelenting in their trajectory. "That data is pending. I don't know anything about him myself beyond the fact Cassie says he's sending out some sort of distress signal and he needs to be fixed. Roxy is likely going to grab him-" He didn't want to say Cassie was gong along with her either at this exact moment. Not yet.
Vanessa definitely looked worried now. Why did that satisfy Eclipse? "She shouldn't... oh dear. You guys need to seriously rethink that."
"And why so?" He folded his arms and got right into her face.
"...Because he's dangerous, unhinged and violently unpredictable. And he doesn't give a DAMN about collateral," she ticked off on her fingers. "And did I mention, blood-thirsty?"
"Excuse me but what-" Freddy rightfully pressed. "I believe you didn't mention that last part before? Also, I cannot- I do not believe that! Goodness gracious... BONNIE BUNNY. Bloodthirsty! Why is that hilarious?" He waved it off with one of those weird laughs following, "Don't be absurd!"
Gregory's eyes were on Vanessa again, the boy's expression pensive. Eclipse wondered about his opinion her and their general relationship. Guess this was his time to know- he can watch them for a while, at least.
Vanessa went on, "Anyways, I SERIOUSLY wouldn't recommend that Cassie wake him up. He won't hurt her but- I dunno. We should focus on Chica first, at least. She's in dire need."
Eclipse kept his arms folded as he watched her, then slid Freddy a look. It seemed the bear didn't believe her too much either... huh. Guess he may be himself! But Vanessa's reluctance about Bonnie struck him as odd- and not for the obvious reasons.
"What did you do to him?" He pointedly jabbed.
"He... did it to himself. After a point."
"That's exactly what a KILLER would say!" The bot snapped back.
"No- you don't understand-" she held up her hands in submission, "He's been rearranging his behaviors and-"
Freddy snorted- the sound rather pronounced and clipped all the while sounded like a dismissive chuff. "Enough of this! I don't want to hear anymore hostility here! Although, Vanessa isn't wrong in one way; Chica needs help first. Bonnie's still er... 'asleep'. And Roxy seems to be taking care of that. So it leaves our paws free to help our friends as needed! And then we can all sit down and talk peacefully about what's going on-" He lifted his talons and made a walking gesture with his middle and index, "-And walk out this place with no more issue beyond dealing with this Mimic creature. Am I clear?"
"...You know about the Mimic?" Eclipse queried.
"Ai ai ai- Seems we all gotta get talking," Gregory sighed. He stared at the attendant now, "Please don't tell me you ran into it?"
"No... but Roxy had. It violently beat her within an inch of her life and chased Cassie down. Cassie was barely able to get away and come back for Roxy to reactivate her. They'd have to give details."
"Yup... definitely gotta talk about this," The boy huffed; blowing hair up out of his face.
Vanessa all the while wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, no doubt her mind back on the rabbit in question. Eclipse still wasn't sure what to expect here, but something about it unsettled him. He wasn't gong to lie; he knew Vanessa was a lying, cheating, horrible, vile wretch who caused a lot of mayhem- but even Moon wouldn't deny that Bonnie's behavior was a little strange after a point. He supposed indeed, there was more than just talking to do.
He just hoped that whatever caused that expression on Vanessa's face right now wasn't something they'd actually have to deal with.