Sometime during the PizzaPlex's prime-
GLAMROCK BONNIE
In the wake of night 3. Time stamp is 1:03 pm in the afternoon. PizzaPlex closed for the day thanks to kidnapping incident.
Monty showed him the endo warehouse graffiti, as it turns out Vanny liked hanging around inside the place. Why? Well... does attacking endoskeletons somewhat kinda answer that question? Did the last few days already not answer that either?
Guess she likes booby traps a little too much.
The endos nearer to the padded rooms did not want anyone in there. Bonnie didn't know why, but it seemed worth investigating. They found a security room in the padded areas- which made Bonnie raise a metaphorical brow. Did Vanessa really just sit in this creepy place and watch them from here? In this cradle-bed of wannabe or would-be replacements her other lair? Surely she had another place to hang out from?
Granted, choosing the padded room as a security was smart simply because it never got any through traffic from other human employees. Nobody liked coming in here, ever. Too creepy, remote, and it isn't supervised or monitored at all.
Yup... that checks out.
Monty and him tore a couple of the attacking endos apart and left them as junk piles in the halls. With this strength augmentation Monty had so kindly given him (plus a couple nifty drive upgrades on the side- something to later address), Bonnie found no issue with clawing them to ribbons. And with him and Monty together, it's easy pickings. Glamrocks were just a tier or two above normal endoskeletons- even though they're technically made of the same stuff and in the same way. It's an interesting observation to make. Its funny the kind of difference a couple new pieces can do for an individual.
Inside the room, Monty ambled around as Bonnie checked the monitor- he didn't bother touching the security badge. He didn't want to think about the fact he also just tore what could've been a baby version of himself or his friends. Its bad enough he knew that ALL of them started off like that in their earliest days of their creation; and its quite possible he could've killed- yes, KILLED- a maybe potential new family member the techs have been studiously testing for sentience. The early testing phases of intelligence had them training the endos to apply care and love to human patrons and desensitize children to the sight of the them. To improve relations, so to speak.
But, the children were naturally afraid of the frightening looking endos and don't tend to visit this place for a reason. Just too scary! So, the padded rooms were somewhat left in neglect beyond testing them sometimes for any signs of budding intelligence. And if they showed the potential, programming and development formed new personalities that can be graphed into actualized chips. For all Bonnie knew, any of this guys could've been a maybe Mr. Hippo in here.
Stop thinking about it.
He kept his maroon eyes on the monitor, clicking around on it as he very illegally did the thing he told Monty about- and its a something he'd never tell his friends. As much as Bonnie told himself he'd say something eventually, he had to be honest with himself here: He definitely didn't have the guts for this one. This broke all kinds of laws and bastardized the true meaning of being an individual. Freddy may not talk to him again for months if he knew what he's doing right now. It was a pipe-dream to think they'd later thank him for the foresight.
Monty was keeping watch in the meantime, as if trying to parse out where Vanessa was. The gator kept his mouth open; with Bonnie realizing the gator had a very... interesting upgrade he never told anyone about. Bonnie had his whiskers that doubled as pressure sensors- and Monty had this plethora of sensors in the snout itself. Its almost as if he can feel what's going on in the air around from his MOUTH. Did gators in real life do this? Bonnie could've swore gators had actual impressive sensory features somewhere... but it seemed Monty had this interesting set of 'internal' whiskers in his nose and roof of his mouth. He could detect shifting conditions in the air itself as Bonnie can with his whiskers in Security mode.
Honestly, it's amazing. It prompted Bonnie to want to know what other features his friends had that were unique to them and their baser animal personas. Freddy himself surely had pressure sensors in his own body too, but not to such an extreme as Monty or himself. Roxanne had her smell in her muzzle and her endoskeleton was more flexible than others; she had more movement range then the rest of them thanks to a couple extra vertebra. Chica meanwhile had a durability that helped her resist the high acids of the foods she represents. She's also lightweight (relatively speaking) and fast when she runs; probably the fastest of the bunch besides Bonnie himself. Each bot had a little something to add to the illusion of their animal sides.
In the meantime, Bonnie typed away on the computer; baring his teeth when he indeed saw Vanessa had been tinkering away in here. Was she a technician too? She'd need a technician's clearance for the shit she pulls-
Oh. She WOULD, wouldn't she? She probably knew tech a bit better than she let on. He wondered if this was partially the reason why the manager and their higher ups wanted her around- as she could have multiple talents that line up with their interests- they're just gently omitted from her resume.
"Okay then," He muttered to himself as he scanned the computers contents. "Almost finished here."
"I know I said I'm fine with this but... is this really necessary?" The gator grunted nearby from his watch position by the door.
"I hafta... I dunno if our friends would much like it but... with Vanessa hacking them and hurting everyone, I'd really rather have them saved than not."
"Wouldn't she find the files eventually?"
"Oh, she will... but it don't mean she can get to them or do something with them. Its why I'm encrypting them. I'll be making a couple sets of each, in that respect- just in case she wants to send me another love letter and does something we'll all regret with the files she finds. Saving some of the files for myself in another place too. Yunno?"
Monty turned to look at him for a moment, his gaze completely unreadable. He gently pointed a finger to himself, "Me too, then?"
"Yeah. Everyone. If Vanessa can mess with all of you already just to test her hacking, I wager she'll eventually tamper with all of us here in time- out of spite. She already hated us even when we first met!" Bonnie paused and looked up at him. "Have I ever told you about the first time I talked to her?"
"Nah. How'd that go?"
Bonnie produced a raspberry sound, "She let me know right quick how she felt about talking to a buncha, and I quote, 'expensive children's toys.' She doesn't see us as individual beings. Woman wouldn't even shake my hand when she was first introduced to us."
Bonnie emulated the gesture real fast, his expression artificially joyful and voice exaggeratedly higher-toned when he said, "-'Hi! I'm Bonnie B. Bunny- the bassist- and no, my middle name ain't BASSIST! Its very nice to meetcha! How about we-" Then Bonnie transitioned to a smacking gesture and a scoff, his expression darkening. He stared hard at Monty there, "I haven't even finished the intro before she literally smacked my paw, grunt at me and turned to walk away. Dude, I even made a funny and I couldn't get more than a... disappointed scowl from her. She's a real fine piece of work. She doesn't think us as anything but disposable- maybe a means to an end, at best."
The gator hissed lowly.
"So... Thus the backups," he continued to type. "I'll just say... the manager authorized it. Nobody will be touching these files if they think they're his doing- not even Vanessa."
"Won't he just know something's up?"
"Oh please... he never actually checks. That's what he pays the technicians to do. He just stands around and looks pretty (or as a pretty as a deathly scarecrow can be) most of the time and throws obscured threats around to make sure everybody works faster."
Monty folded his arms again, blinking once. "More lying?"
"You bet your reptilian ass I'm gonna lie about this. Lying seems to be the only thing we can do now in order to defend ourselves."
"M'shocked. You won't even tell Freddy?"
"Nup. Told him all I could. Its bad enough the vicious bunny woman decided she'll hurt anyone if I open my trap anymore than I already have-" He paused, threw Monty a look, then grunted, "You getting involved wasn't in the plans until she hacked you. Its probably why she hasn't attempted it again since- likely an error on her part but... I ain't too keen on dragging all of you into this sordid mess anyhow."
There was some sort of chuckle from the gator; then a full-on laugh that sounded border-line cruel or ironic- perhaps both. "Yunno, I thought there was a reason why I liked you. I usedta think you and the bear where a pair of fruit pops but you proved me wrong!"
"Uh... thanks? I guess...?" Bonnie reciprocated uncertainly.
"I'm just sayin', you git shit done. I reckon I 'preciate that more than anything else. And while I'm not sure how I feel about my personality being copied over... it makes me feel a bit... safer. Kinda. Yunno? I think it'll save Chica the trouble one day too, at least. I mean... with the way she eats-" Monty threw a thumb over his shoulder, "I'm surprised the techs don't consider making spare files of our personalities and update them regularly. Yunno?"
"They wait 'til we're broken to do something about it. Its a load a crap."
"No shit! Anyways, its still weird knowing there's an old version of me in there but... yunno. Again, still rather have it than not, in case this woman decides to scrap us."
"Yeah... that's the intention," Bonnie mumbled, his voice taking on a forlorn note. "Anyways, done. We need to get out of here. I'll delete the footage of us meandering around here too. There's no cameras in the padded rooms-" He waved around. "But there may be a couple that caught us coming in."
"You are something else."
"A good rabbit always has tricks, as I like to say. And what's a Bonnie that ever obeyed the rules anyways? Just cuz he's supposed to a suave and chiller dude don't mean he's a good boy all the time! Come on. Don't every rock band need that one bad boy here and there?" Bonnie shrugged ever-so-casually and tossed the gator a crooked smirk. "I mean, come on, my guy. When we party, we party hard. We're fucking party bots- Literal party MACHINES. They told 80's style rockers to NOT break rules and stay clean? How well did they think that'd turn out? HA!"
Monty produced a full-throated laugh there, hands on his stomach hatch and head thrown back. Both of them bellowed for a solid minute before beating each other in the shoulders as they meandered on out.
Time stamp is 5:36 pm, same day. PizzaPlex closed for the day thanks to kidnapping incident.
Freddy was terrifying in his own way- Bonnie never had to see it before in all the time they've known him, but last night was barely a whispering glimpse of the real ursine that actually lie beneath the huggable, teddy bear portion. The bear and the BEAR.
Security Mode was an awful thing. It makes all of them a bit kooky. And when Freddy himself was in that mode, there's something especially nasty about his temper- its only a smidgen of a feeling one got; but it existed somewhere, deep beneath the surface. Bonnie only saw its ghost for that moment when Freddy told him to, and he quotes, "Drag the woman to me." Like seriously. He just HAD to word it like that. He couldn't just say, "Bring her to me," no no. It's 'DRAG her to me'.
He'd chosen those words- and Bonnie knew they were words with violent implifications in them. It alarmed him at first- alarmed and cowed even himself despite being Freddy's absolute best friend. Literally, the two were inseparable and were 'born', or created at the same time by the same makers. They were pretty much the bot version of brothers- and in all that time, Bonnie's never seen an inkling of the BEAR beneath the surface.
But that will never leave his mind.
It didn't help that Freddy cornered him in his own room- yeah. Cornered him. He wouldn't let Bonnie leave his room as they talked. And it went something like this:
"You said, you had it covered," the bear continued, his huge arms folded across his wide expanse of breast plate.
"I-"
"You said."
"I know what I said, man."
Freddy's jaw line moved; it's hard to tell since its so subtle, but the cute, adorable mug he had does move minimally. It can lift a tiny bit off his teeth; to simulate actual lip movement when he sings. But in this effect right now, it almost looked like a snarl.
Freddy never snarled. Never- but damn if Bonnie didn't feel like that's what he's looking at right now. He knew Freddy wasn't TRYING to look scary- he'd never do that to his best friend. But... again, the illusion was there.
"I don't care what you have to say about tonight, Bonnie: I will be helping out this evening. You can bet on that. There will be no debate on the matter."
Bonnie couldn't tell his best friend/kind of boss no, so... he didn't. Not like he COULD after what nearly happened to Brigid last night. So, he conceded to Freddy with a single nod and Freddy bade him a good eve; to rest up as best he can for tonight.
What Bonnie didn't mention... was the bunny woman's name. And the fact that he maybe-kinda-sorta upgraded himself before Freddy cornered him. Monty gave Bonnie the strength upgrade- and that had been an illicit operation within itself. The bots upgrading EACH OTHER was unprecedented- and was part of the whole 'Fox in the henhouse' rule. If Freddy knew what Bonnie did just before this conversation, there's no telling what he'd say- beyond Bonnie taking it off and never doing it again.
But the rabbit won't concede. Nope. Not this time, best friend.
The only way Bonnie could've been upgraded in the manner he'd been was to hack his way into the network for the permissions. Already he's abusing that power. Sure, the bots can help repair each other without technician input here and there; no harm no foul in that- but UPGRADING each other with actual intimate and unique pieces took a certain security level the bots just didn't have. Bonnie bypassed it however- and with Monty, upgraded himself in more than ONE way.
He also tuned his processor and expanded his memory that day. He needed the additional computation for the things he's been doing- and he wanted to not over-heat as often. He replaced certain pieces inside his body and gave himself some more coolant; with Monty doing the bits for his head. It's a pragmatic decision but carried its own risks- and the staff will no doubt see what he's been up too once they checked his upgrade history-
Too bad the rabbit used his new and extra computation to delete said history.
Whoops.
Bonnie let Freddy leave with no further argument; his mouth loyally zipped shut as he weighed what else he can do since he was more advanced than before. He was angry and frustrated that such precious upgrades like additional memory and enhanced, more efficient computation was available for the taking. Why did the technicians omit this? Why did they never say anything about these precious tools that could help the Glamrocks? Bonnie didn't know the answer, but he suspected he had an idea that Fazbear Entertainment didn't want them so fully independent. It'd put their human workers out of a job completely.
The bassist was also sure there's more to it than that and it eluded him. All he knew now, was that he's carrying shiny upgrades and he ain't telling a soul. The only one who knows was Monty- and the gator was actually great with secrets. In fact, one can say his reception of such heavy portents was unusual within itself. He received the idea of Bonnie's other 'pet project' super well- even though it was, in one way, kinda-maybe-sorta unethical and he was pulling a fast-one behind his friends' backs. Like literally ALL OF THEM.
Yup. He's definitely not telling anyone else about this one either. Why should they know? He wondered about telling Moon, but the lack of mental stability in the bot made telling him anything a little difficult sometimes. Sun can blurt something out and not mean it, and do so by accident. And they ARE unstable to begin with; Bonnie had no doubt that sooner or later, Vanessa would hack them and have no difficulty with it- given she already hasn't. And when that happens, she doesn't need to search the attendant's data for what Bonnie could've divulged.
No. The fewer people who knew, the better. They would be safer that way, in his books.
Time stamp is 9:10 pm, same day. PizzaPlex closed for the day thanks to kidnapping incident.
Bonnie's ears caught the sound of feet toeing towards his door; with the rabbit groaning audibly.
He had the fazwatch in pieces before him right now; having taken it apart after Freddy left. He wondered if there's something else he can do with it before Vanny messaged him tonight- all part of his little project, as it were. So when he heard heavy toes hovering around his door, he very carefully covered the plate of scattered watch parts with his shades handkerchief and slid it very delicately into the drawer of his vanity. He frowned, ear twitching as he tried to discern who it was.
God dammit. If its really Roxy... AGAIN, he was in no mood for her sass. Likely she wants her turn to chew him out for not saying anything. She's knocked several times today yammering about how mad she was- which translated to "I'm incredibly worried and I want to talk to you". He knew they cared, but, this was a bit out of hand.
He also knew the two (Freddy and Roxy) were aware of the fact the hacking was the reason why DJ was missing his hand and Bonnie a part of his ear. And the whole PizzaPlex now knew about the incident with Brigid and Jacob so... yeah, that about sums it up. Freddy already wanted to run interference in whatever happened tonight- not that Bonnie would let him do so, within reason. Several times, Roxy had knocked on his door today- with Bonnie locking it and pretending to be in his recharge station every time she tried approaching.
But now, he was going to be blunt about it. He didn't want to do this, but he was done with it. Freddy was already bad enough with the insistence on helping.
"Roxy, for Pete's sake-!" he called to the door. "Door's locked for a REASON. Get lost already! You can bite my cottontailed rear later!"
"Bu... buh... I- Oh."
The voice caught him off guard; that wasn't Freddy OR Roxanne. Twitching an ear, he got up and went to his door himself- pulling it open and finding himself eye-to-eye with Chica. The hen clucked softly to herself; a low, soft and contemplative noise Bonnie learned to associate with her being piqued or invested in something. Usually it tended to mean contentedness, but not in this instance. That much he knew. In fact, Bonnie always found it curious that Chica was programmed to be the most animal-like in terms of vocalizations out of ALL the bots.
Freddy can roar. Yes, he CAN. But he WON'T. He will not, shall not, and would not do so. He was afraid of frightening the children with it. Monty meanwhile roared and the kids LOVED it; thinking he sounded like a T-Rex or some other dinosaur. It always got a rise out of the tots- and they asked him to roar on command. It'd make him puff out his chest in pride here and there. Roxy can howl, whine and bark- not that she'd ever be caught dead BARKING. And Bonnie himself meanwhile... well, he's a RABBIT. He doesn't make many noises that are very rabbit-like. He could growl, hiss, and chuff (yes, rabbits can GROWL)- but not do much more beyond that. He never even figured on using some of these sounds before- as both the character blueprint for Bonnie and his animal programming said he should remain quiet.
Now as for Chica...
He wondered why she was like that- why the technicians programed her that way. She was a very vocal hen; and besides clucking and chattering, she produced these cute little thrill sounds. They were a chicken equivalent of a purr but not quite. Her ranges were also far wider than the others- and something only matched by the amount of noises Roxy was capable of making. It was strange.
Back in the present, Bonnie dipped his head and twitched his wounded ear. "Sorry," He began sheepishly. "I thought you were Freddy or Roxy. They've been bugging me today on and off- well, no, I lied: ROXY'S been bothering me. You need me for something?"
She did it right then- produced a soft whine- not that many would call it a 'whine' per se. Bonnie couldn't ever tell what half these noises mean from her- as there's no telling the weird complexity of her vocalizations and quirks. It didn't help her chip was also a bit buggy. He cocked his head in the meantime; ears flopping as Chica gesticulated shyly to his room. She wanted to come in and spend time with him, apparently.
So, he let her- despite the fact he'd have to see Vanny soon. He stepped out of the way and shut the door behind her; watching her thrill once or twice before falling silent again. Her head sagged visibly; then, she RUSHED around and bolted right into him- throwing her arms around his waist and thrilling uncontrollably before it evolved into full out crying.
CRYING.
"Sh-CRAP. Crap baskets! Chica I-" He hugged her back, patting her spine and rubbing up and down. He was so confused he didn't know what to do. "Geez Chica! I ain't going anywhere! What's up?"
She beat on his breast plate; her crying increasing in octave until it started to make his ears hurt. Worse, he was on the cusp of a system shut-down again!
"Ch-Chica! Please- please quiet yourself. You're gonna knock me out!"
She seemed to just then remember her wacky voice box; clasping her hands over her beak and looking alarmingly back up at him. One hand tentatively reached up and touched his wounded ear; the sensation softer than satin despite the hard material her chassis was made off.
"I'm so sorry," she burred. "I'm- I'm so sorry!"
His hand went over her extended one; his smile small but certain as he took it and cradled it in-turn, "You're good! I'm not on the floor twitching this time!"
She gakel'd; which was pretty much a strange equivalent of her being distressed. It was like a whine that lilted. And again, not for the first time, Bonnie wondered why their creators made her as VERY chicken-like as possible. Did real chickens eat the way she did? He thought he heard chickens were huge eaters... That'd line up.
He leaned over; touching his nose to her forehead and stepping back for space- just for her to close it again and hug him. Yup, nope, she was NOT going to let him go anywhere tonight. Not great.
"Chica- can I ask what this is about?"
"Why are you hurting yourself? Why are you fighting everybody? Why is your ear torn? Why are you locking Freddy and Roxy out? Why are you refusing to let technicians see you? Why is DJ hurt? Why was Monty hurt a few days ago? Why won't you talk to me? Why haven't we seen you at rehearsal? Why why why why whywhywhywhywhywhy-"
Oh JEEZ- she was worse than upset. Bonnie returned the hug yet again and rested his head on her own; staring at his vanity as he tried to mull over what to say. He watched their reflections for a moment, unsure as to how much of this Chica knew. By the sounds of it, she may be the only one here who DOESN'T know about the hacking that's going on and what he may be after. Monty knew now... Moon knew, Freddy and Roxy weren't all the way ignorant-
"Oh Chica- I'm so sorry," He apologized back. "I guess I do owe you something, huh?"
She nodded rapidly; gakeling once more in reply.
"Sit with me? And I'll tell you what I can, okay?" His voice had taken on a similar note as Freddy's would when dealing with a lost child; parental and warm. In his own case, it was a bit throatier.
He moved a large plush of himself from off the couch; then seated himself on the left side of it. Chica took a spot on his right; but was immediately closing distance again and attaching herself to his side. Yup, no personal space today. Between Monty, Freddy, and Roxy's breaking-and-entering attempts, and now this, guess he can kiss that dream goodbye.
Bonnie wasn't annoyed though, instead gently taking an arm and resting it around her small shoulders. She was strangely fragile-feeling compared to the rest of the Glamrocks; though he knew her endoskeleton was the opposite. Chica was tough stuff; and if she wasn't she'd be worse off mentally thanks to the way she eats. Her endo's durability was a unique feature she was given thanks to being a food mascot.
"Hey," he muttered to her. "You doin' okay?"
"I'm supposed to be asking YOU that-" She sobbed.
Another pat, the rabbit smiling at her easy display of affection. Chica's forward nature about her love for them always made him and the others glad they can't blush. "I'm okay. Monty and I have been hangin' out. He's super chiller- just needs a little prod in the right direction. Been giving him bass lessons too."
"Has he been the one fixing you?"
"Yeah! He's really helpful. You'd be surprised-" He shrugged, his mind back on when he lost to DJ thanks to his lack of strength. "-He's been very supportive and helpful as best he can. He's super chill- just takes some patience and energy to be around."
Chica rubbed her head into his breast plate once or twice; then thrilled again as she listened.
"Anyways, he's been helping me with a pet project too... and it kinda plays into my silence here. You know how Freddy vanished not so long ago? Well-" He stuck his claws worriedly through his hair again, "He'd been hacked. Roxy, Monty, DJ- and I think you said you had a blank spot in memory at some point? Someone's been hacking us. I've been routing them out, and they don't like me that much. Thus the ear-" He took that same paw that went into his hair and tapped the frayed tip of his limp left ear. "I've been giving them a run for their money. Hoping I can snag 'em before long. So I ain't doing this completely alone..."
"But... you're not letting us help," She wisely inputted. "Why?"
"...That's difficult to explain. But the ugly short bit of that is they threatened to hurt you all. I ain't keen on that."
"...But Monty gets to help?"
Bonnie scratched his head sheepishly, "He got involved when he was hacked directly and forced to fight me a couple days ago. So he's kinda in the knowing. Yunno? There's... more to it than that, don't get me wrong-" He gritted his teeth in a show of wincing, "Though I dunno how to broach that without sounding like a total fool."
The hen frowned, "And Freddy got involved the instant he disappeared."
Bonnie had the graces to look contrite at her mutinous, venomous expression.
"You don't want Freddy, out of ALL of us here, to help. But Monty?"
"Got something against the gator?"
She shook her head, "No. But, that's couldn't be more suspicious. Freddy wouldn't let you do anything he knows you'd regret. You know-" Now she leaned into his face, "Enabling bad behavior."
His ears fell lower. Dammit- he really needed to learn to not emote so much of his more obvious nuances like that. Chica knew she had him when she saw the tips hit his couch's head rest. "You're doing bad things, aren't you," her words were dead-pan.
"Nothing that doesn't involve protecting you."
"And again, we go back to you not letting us protect you back."
He sighed- and that was all he could do. No excuse, no words, no reasoning. That no doubt peeved the hen.
Chicken blinked slowly; pulling her legs in and leaning fully into the rabbit- it gave the impression that she was pinning him in place. Bonnie felt trapped to his furniture; unable to move as the hen slumped over completely; her head on his lap and hand getting a hold of his knee. She fidgeted with the edge of his thigh plate. The rabbit conceded, and carefully patted and rested his paw on her smooth head.
"I wanna help," she murmured. "Can I help?"
His expression fell- not that she saw it. He shook his head slowly, but then had to vocalize it with, "No, sweet Chic-a-rita. I'm sorry, but if anyone else jumps into this, I'm afraid more than just US gets hurt. Recall the kids last night and the cops being here this morning? We're dealing with a psychopath here- true and tried. An actual, malicious killer who will strangle babies and throw your pieces into the sewers to never be seen again. She doesn't want me having help."
Chica produced an angry, rather loud gakel again; her own teeth showing in a display of annoyance. She looked up at him, "If I find them myself, I'll SIT on them and teach them some God-dang Ba-BAWK! Manners."
He chortled at the natural censor; her program no doubt having to run several routines and prompt for the cluck so it can't be vocalized. If only she knew that she can bypass it! She already CAN, technically- in fact, it was because of CHICA that Bonnie managed to learn to rearrange his own behaviors. Her ability to bypass the safety feature so she can go at some pizza or Monty Mix was his guide. He wondered about telling her, but was a little apprehensive when she already showed little to zero care for the well-being of others when pizza is involved. He wanted to help her with that soon- after this ordeal.
He stroked her head again; wondering what real chicken feathers would feel like on her. Maybe it'll make her even prettier, for all he knew. Real feathers were intricately designed and had nuances and patterns; not to mention were softer and more interesting to stroke. The hard plastic and metal shells they had sometimes bugged him. It feels like a perpetual barrier between them. Didn't really old-style animatronics have latex or artificial skin and hair?
Although... he supposed real feathers can cause someone to sneeze. He forgot about the fact people could have allergies to feathers- so he supposed the design choice wasn't the worst. But would synthetic feathers be bad too? Questions for later, he figured.
"I bet you would," he continued in the meantime. "But if its any consolation, Chica, I think I know whose doing this and I'm hoping to catch them tonight. That or next night."
"Who?"
"I'm pretty sure its the only security guard whose LEFT. But I'm going to scratch up proof and see what I can do."
"...Vanessa?"
Bonnie shrugged, pretending to be unsure about her. He didn't want Chica trying anything in his absence so he added on, "Its why I'm diggin' around. Maybe I'm wrong and its someone else. The person who tied up those kids was definitely female though."
"I trust your judgement with that," she doled out candidly. "You've always been right. And smart. And cool."
"Tell me something I don't know," He breathed on his talons, rubbed them on his breast plate, then feigned looking at his reflection in them.
She rolled her lavender eyes, "I shouldn't have said anything. My god you're incorrigible."
"And good looking!"
"And insufferable."
"And charming!"
"And full of it."
"And talented!"
"Oh my god stop you're killing me here. Roxy was right and I hate saying that."
Bonnie chortled loudly and leaned back, his hand moving to Chica's own and propping his leg up a bit more. "I'm only so confident cuz I have all of you: You are my greatest loves in this world. And that is fact."
She burbled contentedly and squeezed back, "Same to you, my big brave blue bun-boy."
He fell silent; closing his eyes and running basic programs on his Hud as he looked at the timer. It'll be time to move on soon. But for the moment, he enjoyed just staying with Chica and savoring every peaceful moment he had with her. Chica reached out at some point and rubbed at his face and whiskers; making his nose ITCH like crazy. Its not like he can sneeze, but he could swear he felt something close to it- whatever the animatronic version of sneezing would be. He sometimes forgot his whiskers were an actual thing on his face until someone grazed them.
"I love you," she said after a short while.
"I love you too, egg-head."
She produced an annoyed noise- something like a long groan that ended in a lilt? Her head literally looked like egg in some of those cut-outs and it just tickled Bonnie to death. He loved teasing her with it as well.
"Big foot."
"Food fiend."
"Cottontail."
"McNuggets."
"You're mean."
"You're meaner."
"I hate you."
"I hate you too."
She continued holding his hand all the while, thrilling on occasion but saddened she couldn't help. "Please be safe," she told him just then, out of the blue. "Please?"
He sighed. Then, "I'll give you the same words I told Freddy: I promise to try."
"That's not good enough."
"It has to be until this is dusted."
"Promise me, Bon-bon."
"Ew, no. What did we say about that nickname?"
"Promise me you'll be safe and I'll stop using it."
"Did anyone ever tell you you're a deceitful, mean, cruel-hearted little McNugget-brained pain in my fuzzy-wuzzy tail?"
Chica said nothing to that, waiting expectantly for the rabbit to concede.
She'd be disappointed though when Bonnie's only answer was, "I guess I better get used to being called 'Bon-bon' then. Cuz I ain't promising anything I can't deliver on. Sorry."
And to which, the hen would only softly sob in reply; her hand squeezing his own with renewed vigor.
Night 4. Time stamp: 11:50 PM
Bonnie was fussing with the fazwatch again; having resumed tinkering with it after Chica's departure. He's just now finishing with putting it back together; blinking heavily and out of sync as he realized his charge on his power modules were a little... sluggish. Its not that he missed a recharge today... but... he hadn't used rest mode in a couple days. Could a bot feel tired? He supposed that's what he was feeling now; or at least some strange variant of it. Why did the technicians program being tired into them? He's never felt it before- not really.
He paused, then slumped into an open palm and leaned on one elbow on his vanity. He blinked blearily at his reflection, watching the bot on the other side of the looking glass. Bonnie as a character was always said to be a somewhat sleepy-eyed individual, but now he was starting to FEEL the part. It's honestly annoying and he didn't much care for that rather organic feature. He watched his blinking pattern too- definitely slower and not timed correctly. His left eye had a tendency to blink 2.8 seconds behind the cue for the prompt for his right eye.
Ouch. Definitely strange. Was this what neglecting rest mode really entailed? He wondered what benefits rest mode had for their advanced bodies that he didn't know about. He did know this much: During rest mode, computation came to a near stop in their brains and it allowed their bodies to cool dramatically quicker after high energy activities. His motor had been running irritatingly more warm since he stopped using rest mode. Technically, its like turning a computer on and off and it helped.
Okay. Now he understood why the feature was there. He should get back into the habit of it, but he was still deathly paranoid that Vanny will hack him next. No way in hell he's going into rest mode until after he's caught her.
In the meantime, he finished with the watch and turned it back on to test if it worked again; and sure enough, it did. He's gotten pretty good with tinkering himself. Observing the technicians and downloading some of their manuals from the main server was paying off. There was so many illicit things he's been doing in the last day that he's already lost count. He tapped his claw on the watch's screen; then felt his nose flare as a new message beeped into view.
And it was, as one can suspect, from Vanny.
He had a name now. It's such a strange feeling. He's technically won the bet, but he knew she won't concede to it. She was right: they were both sorry cheaters. And Bonnie couldn't be less sorry for it than one would think- as well as pondering if its in a rabbit's nature to be crafty and cunning like the things that hunt it- it'd make sense. He'd cheat again and again if he had to- and grossly enough, now that he knew he had this kind of power in his arsenal, he was reluctant to let it go. What helpless creature wouldn't want to seize control of its spiraling life?
He blinked once or twice; then frowned as he eyed the screen again to make sure he was seeing it right. He clenched his jaw and flipped an ear next. It only had one word in the message- and it was still leaving him with chills- or the bot version of it. His motor skipped, his frown deepening as he read the word over and over:
"Sinkhole."
Sinkhole.
Why though.
Bonnie was once again doing the same thing he did last night; heading towards the raceway. He hadn't waited on Freddy; no no. The instant he got that message, he bee-lined it for the raceway. He didn't wait the few extra minutes for Midnight to strike. He knew the bear won't be long in coming; and no doubt Freddy will track Bonnie down with ease. Again, Freddy had a sense of smell too- its a little hard to miss the smell of disinfectant from spraying too many rental shoes and pulverized blueberries- with a hint of carrot.
Bonnie's weird smell baffled even himself sometimes. The carrot was from his second favorite thing to eat after ice cream; that's right, the ever-so-obvious carrot cake. Its something he and Roxy both enjoyed together. The disinfectant was just permanently stuck to his claws from him cleaning the bowling alley top-to-bottom some days- not that he's done it recently. Too much to do thanks to that awful woman. He smelled more like carrot and blueberry now. He believed the blueberry scent was something his creators wanted him to smell like when he was built into a Bonnie. Somewhat like an identifying and individualized personal smell. It originated from somewhere inside his chassis- not that he can put a claw on it.
Anyways.
He looked over his shoulder for Freddy; ears flexing when he thought he heard something, but it really wasn't anything but the low ambience of the PizzaPlex playing background music as the later night churned on. He sighed, claws tucked into his chassis crevice and mind adrift as he weighed the crap he's done between last night and now.
He was a sore cheater. A sore WINNER too. And here he thought Roxy was competitive.
"Now I can't help wondering if they'll all hate me for this," He pondered aloud as he winced at the fact he'd been sneaking around so much. Save Monty, it seemed Bonnie hadn't been able to confide in his friends about these worries.
And speaking of Monty... Bonnie instructed him to stay away for a bit; and Bonnie will ping him for help as needed. He also taught Monty a bit more about guarding his personality from rearranging his priority and managing behavioral ticks today. It'll keep the gator safer from Vanny for a bit longer, at least. But for how long, he wondered.
The rabbit floated over to the back of the raceway; finding the construction elevator and glaring at it. The thing had a fence in its entrance, but clawing it open was no issue for him. Why did management think a chain link fence with a flimsy padlock would keep a bot out? Pul-lease. Bonnie practically seemed to waltz in as he pressed a button to head down.
And then, his watch beeped.
He extracted it from inside his stomach hatch and held it to his face; snarling minutely as Vanny appeared within the tiny screen. She waved, then leaned into the camera with her hands tucked neatly beneath her chin as if she was about to blurt out some juicy gossip. As it were, it would be just that in a sense with her next words:
"So. There's a nasty little secret here. I wanted to share it with you since we've been getting so close. You deserve to know," Her voice ALMOST sounded kind. Hilarious. "I wanted to let you get to know me better. Methinks we've been rushing it!'
Bonnie passed her an unimpressed expression. He was listening, but hell if her voice didn't bug him.
Vanny meanwhile continued, her tone taking on a more mysteriously... somber, note. "I want to ask you something, since we have this moment together. But first, let me clarify: How desperate are you to find the truth?"
"You should already know the answer to that," Bonnie reciprocated casually. "As if the last few days hadn't said enough?"
She shook her head as if chastising, and in sympathy. So strange. "You do not understand just how... different, you bots are. You think you know, but truly- you don't even know the half of it. Tell me something: Do you really know how older bots used to be made? Why they were so ahead of their time, despite the tech at the time being what it is?"
Where was this coming from? Now he was really confused. The confusion must've showed because she continued.
"The bots you see everyday in the Rockstar Row museum... the older variations of you. You cannot even comprehend the amount of pain and suffering it goes into making a single one of you. A Glamrock is different, yes-" She held up a single finger, "But not as much as you'd think. More advanced for sure, but there's more to it. You are admittedly the first actualized and acknowledged A.I- that is truth. But... the others who came before... they were different in ways no bot can truly understand. Even their own CREATORS cannot fathom it- let alone normal people."
The elevator stopped; the doors sliding opening and letting Bonnie out into the tunnel he's seen before: The very place he and Roxy rescued Freddy from.
"I can say this for tonight: You have an option here. You can continue to press on, or you can head back up right now. We can meet in person one last time tomorrow night, regardless of what you find here."
"So generous..." Bonnie tilted his head. "Can I ask what the change of heart is for? And really, you're giving me an option? I'd daresay that's gotta be the most unexpected thing you've done yet. At least you're not boring!" He rubbed his chin, "I never liked boring women."
"You hang around Roxy and Chica. That says enough."
"...Eh, true."
She almost seemed to point; her gesturing towards the tunnel in front of him, "I don't want you totally out of it before our meeting tomorrow. So I'm giving you this: Take it as a gift. You have the chance to turn back. You can even hang with your friends for the night if you wish. After how fun you've made our interactions, I think you deserve that."
She leaned almost conspiratorially, "But if you have to go on, ask yourself this first before you set foot out of this death trap of an elevator: Just how far does your desperation to better understand your place in this paltry life of yours as a child's entertainer go? To what extremes are you willing to push towards? And to what level of sanity are you prepared to lose with that truth? And above all-"
He can almost imagine an evil smirk behind that awful mask as she said, "Do you REALLY want to see what happened to those people I take so lovingly into my arms? Let me tell you: I'm not the first nightmare this company has ever nurtured; and I'll be far from the last. Oh yes. There is a reason why disappearances at Freddy's is so... common. Pretty much a trend each generation, you know?"
Bonnie frowned further, his face emulating the knotting of brows even though his facial structure was a rigid form. His eyes seemed to cross slightly as he gazed into the screen; blinking rapidly a couple times.
What the fuck is even going on here? What was she pulling now? It almost sounded like a warning. He knew it was a trap but... this couldn't be more irregular.
"If you can answer any of these comfortably and confidently, then I believe you can make the trip here and maybe not totally and completely lose yourself along the way. I almost encourage you go back-" She produced a cruel giggle then, "But then again, neither of us really liked boring, do we? You are a showman, after all."
"And I enjoy it," He shrugged, twisting his ears around rapid-fire despite the fact she'd been talking. "Somebody's gotta help Freddy rile up the crowd. Isn't a real Bonnie supposed to be his hype man?"
"Or maybe, you ARE the hype."
He chortled, "HA! You are a sweet-talker when you want to be. But seriously, buttering me up? That's beneath you."
"Hnnn... well, you know me: I always like watching my victims get so excited right as they're on the precipice of victory-" And there was no denying she was smiling when she said, "-Just to see it smited from their ghostly, ghastly faces at the final hurdle. Its a beautiful feeling. And now, with that said-" She seemed to take a bow as she gestured again to a region over her shoulder. "I bid you a goodnight, Bonnie. And please, do try to survive this night. I'd be terribly lonely without you tomorrow night- given something happens. I look forward to our last dance."
"M'flattered. You have a PEACEFUL night, Vanny," He lowly returned.
If she was surprised by his knowing her name now, there was no obvious way for him to know. She however giggled in response; and the video feed cut. He won, and she knew it- so hopefully, his emphasis on 'peaceful' wasn't lost on her. Hopefully, she won't be touching anymore souls tonight as part of the deal. This was all he can do to buy whatever victim she may have some time.
And speaking of which...
"Do you really bring your victims here? I wonder," he muttered aloud as he looked down the tunnel. The elevator's light had been the only thing he'd been using, but now he switched on his LED eye lights. He put the fazwatch back in his stomach hatch; then carefully stepped out into the encompassing darkness. He'd long since left his shades back in his room- no need for them tonight.
"To the end of truth," he muttered to himself ever so casually- even though his motor couldn't be skipping more.
GLAMROCK FREDDY
Freddy knew his bestie better than anyone-
But how the heck did he STILL lose Bonnie?
He'd been right behind him too- not like Bonnie can sneak on by without Freddy literally smelling him. Its hard to miss the smell of berries, carrot cake and shoe spray. But somehow, Bonnie got away- the rabbit capable of crossing distances Freddy couldn't hope to close in several minutes. When Bonnie hopped to the second level of the atrium, that's where Freddy lost him. Freddy was forced to use the escalator then- and then he got ambushed by MAP BOT.
MAP BOT.
Why was this thing ambushing him?
"Take a map! Take a map! Take a map! Take a-" SMASH!
Freddy didn't know why, but he straight punched that bot in the face. He didn't know why, didn't understand the impulse that surged into him to do it. But here he was, socking the bot in the face and finding himself unable to give a damn. In fact, he wouldn't admit it, but he enjoyed that and could almost see why Roxy did it. Usually, he'd apologize endlessly, even to the S.T.A.F.F bots. They weren't sentient and were incredibly irritating to be around- but even then, even under normal circumstances, he'd still apologize for inconveniencing them-
Until now.
He stepped past Map Bot's fallen body and glared around, sifting through the air with his own sense of smell. He had the second best smell in the group- not that its something he tended to use or think about. He literally had no use for it until recently. But his creators did give him a bear's sense of smell- which so happened to rival Roxy's own ability. And frankly, Bonnie's pulverized berry smell was a sweet thing that he couldn't miss.
And it so happened that Freddy learned tonight that maybe, just MAYBE, his smell might be a tiny, itsy bitsy bit better than Roxy's. And that was a nice, useful thing to note.
So no, Bonnie can escape his legs, but not his honking sniffer.
Freddy got lower to the ground, sorted what he could pick up then pushed on. It lead towards the raceway? Again? Why? What was Bonnie doing now? How come he didn't wait up? Freddy told him that he was coming tonight, whether he liked it not! Did that vile woman tell him to return here for a reason? What was here anyway?
Freddy didn't recall much of his time digging that tunnel out. His brain had been... well, obviously hijacked. All he knew was after waking up, he was missing his shell on his paws and feet, he was borrowing Roxy's battery, and he was broken in some places where his joints connected. And his stomach hatch door wasn't anywhere to be found! He had the bot version of amnesia and he was literally in some (minor) pain. What the heck was that about anyways?
The orange bear chuffed; blinking once as he turned to stare at the raceway as he entered it. Bonnie was definitely here, and not too far away. But as to where he was going... why? Did the lady who nearly killed those kids want him there for a reason? Was she luring him into a trap and he's springing it on purpose? Why would Bonnie do such a thing? Where does this all end? Why was she doing this? WHO EVEN IS SHE?
"I know you're a ladies' man at heart, my friend. But this has got to be worse case of obsession I've ever seen," Freddy mumbled to himself. "Why are you doing this? Why won't you even talk to me?"
Freddy briefly hung his head, his paws balling into fists as he tried to see where this could've gone wrong between them. They never actually fight... if ever. Today was different but that had been because children were involved. And even then, Freddy hadn't been mad at Bonnie- not in the least. But why did his bestie insist on doing this alone?
Well, he wasn't going to get his answers standing here. Freddy sighed, then simply continued on towards the direction of Bonnie's scent- unsure of what either will find in that ruin beneath their feet.