GLAMROCK BONNIE

The next while passed in relative silence, funnily enough.

The humans went to sleep; recuperating marginally. Freddy, Roxy, Chica and Eclipse went back out to locate Cassie and try to get some headway into their pursuit of Vanny too. They also did some scouting even though it was now dark across the PizzaPlex; and the only places with power at this point was localized to the Parts and Service sector and areas with functioning cameras.

All this time, Bonnie himself tended Monty and continued repairs on him while Chica offered to find his legs in Monty golf regardless. And while Bonnie figured there was no point, it was better to get them than not. And, they could search for Cassie all the while; so no harm, no foul. So, Chica had paired off with Freddy this time to find them; seeing as the bear had the eyes for it.

Roxy and Eclipse checked out the Fazcade and observed the giant amalgamation from afar; watching it slither around the entrance and nearer to the elevators leading out of the atrium. While they've never finished filling the hole, at least with them keeping a solid visual on it here, the group was able to know where it was. Bonnie figured he can lure it away with sound cues next, seeing as this thing was interested in varying noises. He'd been trying different ones; and he wanted to lure it away once they had the chance. Perhaps they can get Vanessa and Gregory out of here-

But, even if they did, its likely Gregory would refuse to go anywhere until Cassie was found. He may even kick and scream if he had the energy for it- and could potentially hurt himself further. Moreover, Vanessa's help had proven instrumental in Bonnie's own prolonged survival- as well as the survival of the rest of the bots. The two had, in their own way, given back to the group and helped when it was needed. Letting them leave when they needed numbers right now was difficult, but in their current state, nobody can argue that, once Vanessa was able-bodied, she should get Gregory out of here despite his likelihood of violent refusal. However, it doesn't look like she can move for a while with her back being what it is. If she tried doing anything in this state right now, the damage can be permanent.

Which went back to Bonnie wondering about luring that thing around the PizzaPlex and how to continue to manipulate it. He knew they can now lure it into a trap and somehow figure a way to dismantle it that way- they just needed to figure out how. He was pretty sure there's resources around, but he hadn't figured on them.

Back in the present, its been a few hours since Gregory and Vanessa went to sleep; with the woman having wrapped her arm around the boy and resting with him practically tucked to herself. Bonnie made SURE to check them religiously every 15 minutes; right on the dot. It kept taking him away from Monty, but after the incident with Cassie, he couldn't help but be paranoid. He'd walk in, and yes, Vanessa would jerk a little at the sound of him, but she didn't always do so. Bonnie would watch them and listen for any changes in the environment around them, then resume his work on Monty while working with M.X.E.S to locate the Mimic again.

And speaking of the Mimic...

Bonnie felt his claws raze new holes into the repair module as he considered Freddy's portent regarding it: It was not only learning, but adapting in self-reliant ways that actually exceeded the Glamrocks' own. It hadn't needed the cylinder to fix itself, or a friend to apply the fixes. It made due with improvisation and pure cunning.

This was troubling in every way. Bonnie felt terrible about letting his worry for it be set so low on the priority list. He was admittedly still more focused on Cassie (and within reason), but the Mimic's ability to do this was forcing the group to try and locate it so they can take it out. But once again, it disappeared. It knew it would lose to them in a straight fight. It knew encountering the Glamrocks would mean its defeat. And it likely now knew that one of them was running M.X.E.S; seeing as there hadn't been another security trip ever since the initial one Bonnie found a short while ago when it hid itself.

"Dammit," He muttered to himself, his crimson optics still fixed to the broken cylinder. He hadn't bothered putting the glass panel back; not with it being broken anyways. He was focused on Monty now, good and proper; beyond checking the humans in the padded room. He wanted this gator up now.

His ears heard them coming long before they showed; flicking to a region behind him as Chica came in with Freddy. "We found 'em!" She chirruped, her tone somewhat more its merrier self, despite the obvious edge of uncertainty in it.

The rabbit inhaled, then turned to face them while rubbing his palms together, "Good. I didn't realize we were out of those spring upgrades in the legs. Having these back will definitely make Monty happier." He tilted his head at the damage, feeling his mouth slip open slightly at the sight of the mangled limbs. "Wha- holy GEEZ. How the heck did- Yunno what, I don't get that-" He walked over and took the legs from the hen, turning them over now. "I don't... I mean, I saw Gregory that night surviving against all of you but... the fact a single KID did this... and not Vanny- that's scarier than Vanny herself, admittedly."

Chica looked away, her frown indicating her shame and awe. "I feel terrible about it still. You're right too: A kid has no reason being this... capable. I'm just surprised he even got caught out by Vanny a little bit ago."

Freddy was strangely silent, his amber gaze focused on some unknown point beyond them. The 'thousand-yard' stare, as one would call it. He glanced up at Monty once, then, while still wearing that weird expression, turned to Bonnie, "How's the repairs?"

Bonnie found his disposition a little troubling, but rolled with it. Gregory's injury was no doubt rough on the bear. "Almost done. I just needed the chassis and the upgrade from his old legs! Literally he'll be up in a couple minutes. We're lucky to have found as much chassis lying around as we did. I dunno how Monty would take to being a half-naked endo otherwise." He frowned at Freddy, "Why doncha... go check Gregory and Vanessa? Sit with them a few minutes. You don't look too great yourself, my brother. You need a hug, by the way?"

Freddy looked like he was going to refuse it outright; his face snapping in-between a myriad of expressions that proved elusive to read. He seemed to recall something and found himself briefly when he nodded in the affirmative. Bonnie put the legs down and jumped on him; with Chica doing the same. Both of them were burying their noses into Freddy's neck region; with Freddy himself slowly wrapping an arm each around their middles. They'd hold the position a full minute before letting go.

Freddy eventually said, "I thought you were... still... upset. At me."

Bonnie blinked, just now recalling his harsh words from earlier. He winced at that, "I uh... carrots. That was wrong of me to say-"

Freddy held up his paw to stop him, "No, I didn't think it was. Within reason, we were both placed into difficult situations and I did, ultimately, leave with Vanessa and Gregory when it came down to it. I should have come back for you all sooner... you feeling as you did was reasonable."

Chica now was squinting so hard, it almost looked like she was trying to see through him. "But... you didn't pick them, right? You couldn't come back anyways. Cuz of them needing the guidance. Right?" She glanced away to look in the general direction of the padded room- not that one can see it from there. "Vanessa and Gregory gave me the impression that their living situation wasn't super stable at first, and it's not like they could return with you until they were in a more comfortable position. Right?"

Freddy hung his head and nodded, but he still looked repentant. "Vanessa had no home outside of here, as it turns out. She'd been living in the PizzaPlex this whole time, and not just as Vanny. There's some rooms here where she's been floating around, and she hides out there where there's no surveillance." He meandered in place, his gaze continuously troubled, "She didn't even have a car. She'd been using a Freddy and Friends party bus on loan or something for transportation. So when we left, we found out she was just as homeless as Gregory was! We lived in the van, for a bit. Not too long. It wasn't bad but... it was, well, I'm just glad she has a place now."

"How did that change?" Bonnie shook his head.

"Vanessa's clever. She'd been saving all the money she had from working here into this little nest egg? So we didn't stay in the van too long at all. She purchased a home- and while she's still making payments on it, we're comfortable now. It took a couple weeks for her to get the home though," Freddy folded his arms, bobbing one shoulder uncertainly. "And with the remaining money she has, she's been helping Gregory out. Got him back into school, taking care of him in general- like new clothes and affording a couple extra things on the side like psychiatric help for the both of them. Vanessa is not well mentally, but she's improved lots in the past months already! I'm proud of her and Gregory," he smiled there, his expression lightening up.

"Homeless... and... wow," Chica glanced away, one hand working to her opposing arm to grip it. "Geez... I hafta admit, like, I was kinda... jealous and upset that you didn't come back but now... I see you guys couldn't make the time for it with the stuff you've been up to. And it sounds like... they weren't okay for a while. I feel petty."

Freddy's ears sagged, then he was seen walking over to Chica and grabbing the hand that was fussing with her endo's wires. He took it gently into his own paw and rubbed her knuckles. Bumping his head with hers, his eyes flickered shut briefly as he did so. "I'm sorry, Chica. I truly am. I never wanted to leave you all alone for so long. After we got comfortable I... I feel I could've asked them to bring me back here so I can save you. But its been so long-"

Chica burbled, then rested her head onto his damaged shoulder pauldron. "I'm not mad... at least, not as much. I was kinda sore about it for the last while. I kept thinking you chose them over us- the people who've hurt us. I believed that for so many months too. But, I dunno... I know you don't want that but a nasty part of me can't help feeling a little bitter about it-"

Freddy groaned; or at least, produced a pained noise like it. He jerked once; as if fighting a rolling sob. To his credit, it didn't emerge. He was resting his head on her own shoulder too, his expression contorted into something that no less resembled true agony.

Bonnie meanwhile found himself frowning at Chica now, having no idea she'd felt this way. She just didn't show it, and it was concerning to both the male bots. He stood idly in place, feeling nothing less than terrible for his earlier barbs. Freddy will no doubt feel like his time spent away from here was nothing short of his own fault, even though Bonnie can now see it wasn't. And even if he had the time to ask them to bring them back here, Freddy wouldn't want to expose Gregory and Vanessa to the same perils that put them into therapy in the first place. It's too tall an order, and Freddy would naturally feel himself selfish for asking for it.

Bonnie found himself right back to hugging them; having closed the gap once more and wrapping his blue arms around both of them. He buried his head on Freddy's shoulder while his whiskers tickled Chica's neck. The hen shuddered at the sensation and fought a tiny giggle.

"Nice to see you still give tick-ly hugs," she mumbled, her tone noticeably a bit lighter.

"Why would my hugs change?" Bonnie murmured. He rubbed into them, hoping to assuage and take back his poisonous words with just that alone. But, the damage was done; and he knew it. Freddy will continue to feel it all his fault for a long time to come.

The bear jerked again; prompting both hen and rabbit to know he was doing everything he could to fight his sobs. He didn't produce any noticeable noises; but the way he held himself so stiffly said enough. Bonnie felt his nose twitch rapidly; then a series of grunts escaped his voice box. He didn't even understand what in his rabbit brain these noises were, but he supposed they were like a weird mixture of happy noises or sad ones. Perhaps and primarily the latter. He sounded weird- and he belatedly noticed Chica blinking at him. He cut the noises immediately.

"What was that?" She queried.

"Er... I dunno. Just, shut up and roll with it."

She giggled, "The grunting. It sounded like... a baby pig snorting?"

"Oh my god shut up I'm never doing it again."

Freddy jumped again, but this time it was thankfully for a different and slightly merrier reason. He kept the hug however, his grip tightening on them both. His outward expression didn't change, but Bonnie hoped the bear can cheer up with time.

They'd hold each other like this for another minute more. But eventually, at length, Bonnie broke the hug and peered into Freddy's face, "Hey. Why doncha go check Vanessa and Gregory and sit with them a bit? Calm down some. I don't want ya to feel like you have to chose to between us, yunno? That ain't fair of me to do that. That isn't something you should hafta do, period."

Freddy opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He only nodded vaguely. Bonnie reached out and ran his paw along the top of his head and stepped away, "Just go, papa bear. We ain't mad! Really!" He waved his hands as if to push it away. "Go on now. Lemme finish Monty while you do that. Okay?"

Chica nodded to him, holding his paw for another second and eventually letting it go, "We love you, Freddy. That won't change."

He nodded again, some sort of odd noise resembling a honk and gusty, pained inhalation escaping his nose. He was reaching out again though; his paw on the back of her head too and pulling her in for another forehead tap before walking reluctantly away.

Bonnie returned to the cylinder and went into it, placing the legs down beside the bench and working to take the chassis off. He huffed, listening to Chica sit on the wheely chair nearby. "I feel bad," he told her as he continued with the process. "I don't want him having to feel like him having to chose one family over the other. Geez, I feel like the BIGGEST ass here."

Chica burbled in answer, her tone a special kind of melancholy that touched all his circuits. "I feel selfish for being mad but... there's this nasty part of me that wants to stay that way. Not at HIM but... at Gregory and Vanessa. I mean, I have no beef with Vanessa, but I feel like I shouldn't be mad at Gregory either..." The chair squeaked. "But he did push me into the trash compactor and nearly kill me. I get he was just a scared kid trying to get by but... that felt so..." She made an irritated noise; something Bonnie couldn't properly describe. "I dunno. Is it immature to be mad at the kid for trying to survive? Yeah actually- that IS stupid."

"I think what you're mad about is the fact that he stole your voice box when it wasn't needed. He had Monty and Roxy's upgrades and those alone saved his life the whole night. He hadn't needed to do that to you, and you know that, subconsciously," Bonnie agreed. "He didn't need your voice box to leave either- in fact, even I think he went out of his way to lure you in there and hurt you. I felt somewhere along the way, some of that could've been mean-spirited. A line was crossed somewhere. So really, I don't think anyone can blame you for being mad still, even to some extent. I think you're allowed to be upset about it, in some part."

Chica didn't reply to that. Only said, "I should let that go though. I have you now, I have you back-" She was heard standing back up and meandering around behind him. Bonnie paused to face her, noticing that she had closed the distance between them rather swiftly. Her purple eyes stayed fixed on him, "I have you, and... I'm about to have all my friends here. ALL of them. And, I have my voice box and I'm not bugging out anymore either- and, I dunno if you'll believe me but..." She smiled, though it was a bit pained, "I haven't craved pizza since I got up. Not really."

Bonnie put on a look of mock surprise- although, he'd have to be honest; he was a little surprised. "Who are you and what have you done with my favorite nugget-brained hen?" He joked.

Chica walked over and swatted at his face playfully, Bonnie snorting at her. She grabbed his hand again and put it to her breast plate, in indication of where her motor's core was- the bot equivalent of their heart. "Look, I'm just saying, I think I'm always going to feel a little... upset, at Gregory really. I dunno if I can change that... But I also don't want Freddy feeling like its all his fault that he's had all this fun with them while we've been..." She inhaled sharply, her compressor jumping there. "-I just don't want that. I want all that nastiness gone and behind us. But I can't help wondering sometimes why Freddy cares about them to the extent he does, and that's what eludes me. It bothers me... a bit."

Bonnie let his thumb graze where her collar bone should be, his hand working to grasp her shoulder and brace it. He sighed, "We don't chose who we love, sweets. I think that's something both bots and humans have in common. We were programmed to like each other, sure..." He shrugged, gesturing between them, "But, I like you and Freddy- hell, love you both- just because of your own merit. I learned a long time ago that I can change my preferences to how I want. I removed the coding that imposed that I must love you and found out just how much of my heart actually DOES belong to you two."

His smile came, and there it remained, "I love you earnestly. I love you honestly. And I love you because I WANT to love you. Not because I was made to do so. I have that control now. I don't need a list of commands in my circuit board to tell me that anymore. And I'm happy about that. I'm truly, genuinely, elated that those are my own feelings. With that said-" He pulled Chica to himself and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, turning to look at Monty now, "I don't think Freddy chose who he loved there either. He grew to care about the boy and cannot, in his right frame of mind, chose between who he calls a cub and us. I mean, if he COULD chose between who he loved, then that'd be scary to think about! It wouldn't be FREDDY if he can just say, 'Hey, I like that person more than the other and that's that'. Not-uh. What kind of bot out there can be called a proper Freddy if he was able to chose who sits in his heart?"

Chica shook her head.

Bonnie continued, "If I ever meet a Freddy that said 'I love that person more than that other', I'd question if that was an actual Freddy. And considering this, I think I can forgive our Freddy's decision with time. As for you, I also understand that the kid's decision traumatized you. Nobody can fault you for being bitter and scared about it. That is, as far as I've observed, the most organic thing you can do. And I know Freddy himself understands that. Its okay to feel that way- so long as you don't take it out on someone else or even yourself. Yunno? Give yourself some breathing room, Chica. And some time. Once we get out of here, that's all we'll have- time."

Chica nodded at him, her gaze centered on the gator as if afraid to look at her lagomorph friend. Bonnie was curious about it but didn't pressure it. He gently allowed his arm to fall from her if she so wanted it; and she let him go and stepped away.

At length, she finally said, "I... I'll sit on that. Thank you."

"Don't mention it!"

"Can I ask one thing?" She tilted her head there. At Bonnie's nod, she went on, "So like, how the heck DID you do that? You know, rearranging your priorities? You said you removed the coding that imposed forced affection. I want to be sure of... myself, too. Can you teach me?"

Bonnie threw back his head and laughed; startling the hen. "You already CAN do that! You don't need me to teach you," He winked.

"I... huh?"

"I actually learned the trick from YOU!" He flared his arms at her, wildly gesticulating to all of her. "YOU taught me that! All along!"

"Bu... Bawk?"

Bonnie kept laughing as he went on to elaborate, "Every time you smelled pizza! Your coding and task priority allocation, it rearranges every time a patron has pizza and you charged! It superseded the code that said, 'protect humans from harm'. You've BEEN able to do this. You did it all the time! In fact, the night I was decommissioned, you resisted Vanny's control just to eat pizza even though you were hacked! YOU WERE HACKED and you can still resist control if pizza's involved!" He waved it off, "Dude, you don't realize it, but you're a PRO at this, Chica. Its scary! You don't need me teaching you anything."

"Ba-bawk-" She shook her head, as if dizzied.

Bonnie kept his smile as he finished adding the chassis pieces to Monty. He grabbed the spring upgrades from his old legs too, anchoring them into his new ones and stepping out of the cylinder. He returned to the repair module and typed, watching as the armature went on to weld on the broken leg chassis to Monty. They were still cracked from his fall from the catwalks (thanks to Gregory), but at least they were in one piece. And frankly, it wasn't like they had more leg chassis pieces in the Parts room.

Monty by now had his face plates too; as well as the spare set of his old claws from before he became the new bassist (who would've thought he still had the set around?) and his breast plate. He didn't have the abdominal piece though; and there was a gap between his chest and pelvic pieces. Bonnie considered grabbing a blank stomach piece and painting it for him to help complete the torso, but he hadn't seen any immediately. But in large part, the gator was assembled and had the majority of his pieces. They even repurposed the wacky, scrappy bit of hair from the old body and put it on the new one (seeing as there was no replacement hair in the Parts room). Monty also had his arm pieces; which was super fortunate. He was pretty much complete now.

Bonnie stepped away, rubbing his paws together nervously. "Okay... we're done, Chica-a-rita! I'll ping the others, and we can wake him up. I'll wait 'til everyone's here to wake him. Hm, Chica-?" He turned, noticing her expression was now arrested on himself with a level of focus that had the rabbit lowering his ears. "Er... wassup?"

"...You said. The night you were decommissioned. We were all... I was-" She was shaking her head rapidly. "I resisted Vanny but... you... did we-" She was flicking a finger between them, her expression growing more and more alarmed.

Bonnie felt his mouth slip open. Whoops.

"We DID. Didn't WE?" She instantly accused upon seeing his face, her voice lilting at unpredictable times. "WE DID! OH MY GOD WE- I don't remember! OH!" She spun in place; not unlike a real chicken dancing around its feet trying to catch a scurrying bug. "WE DID IT! WE ALL- OH MY GOD!"

"Ch-Chica-" Bonnie held up his hands hurriedly. He winced when his ears rang; the bot stopping forcibly thanks to her screeching.

Chica jumped him; her hands finding his broken breast piece and peering inside of it, then around his face. Her expression warred with itself, then she was looking at him square in the eyes. She was apologetic of the screeching- which showed in her next lowered words, but she was also still pressing on with the her current train of thought. "Roxy... she helped... and... the rest of us... Now that you mentioned me eating the pizza that night-" Her tone turned into a faint murmur.

Oh no oh no oh no-

"I..." She let go of him and stepped back, rapidly shaking her head. "Did... D-Did... I did... I... I HIT you. Didn't I?" Her voice betrayed the tears she couldn't show.

"No no no no no no! You really didn't-"

"You're lying!" She pointed at his ears. "Your ears do this thing when you lie! I hurt you. I helped take you out, didn't I? I was the one who hit you with the bowling ball, huh?"

"Chica- I swear to shit its not like you-" He trailed off, noticing Freddy had returned at some mysterious point. The bear was watching them, but now his previously stoic expression was gone in place of a new, and more horrified one. His ears was low against his head, his eyes swapping between them as they talked.

Bonnie was alarmed to see Freddy's eyes flick to his chest. There was no way in hell Freddy could remember but... it still left Bonnie with the uncanny feeling that Freddy was suspecting himself the one to have caused it. And in a way, that wasn't inaccurate... his first strikes had been the one that'd weakened Bonnie's breast plate in the first place so Roxy can get at it later on with her claws and further rip it asunder. In fact, ALL of them had played a part in his maimed appearance.

And it apparently showed on his face when Freddy focused on the rabbit with an expression akin to granite.

"I... Look," Bonnie was holding his paws up in surrender, "You guys are taking this WAY too hard on yourselves. Its not like you coulda helped it-"

Chica was sobbing now; the hen wiping at her lilac optics and shaking her head rapidly. She looked remarkably like a young child who'd gotten lost. "I killed you. I helped do it..." was all she can say. "And you won't even... why do you DO that?"

"Chica, why would I WANT to say anything? You're freaking out!" Bonnie gestured to her. "Its for THAT reason I don't wanna say! 'Sides, I'm okay now! No bigs. Not like we should-"

"Bonnie."

The aforementioned rabbit turned to Freddy.

"You never mentioned ANYTHING about that night since you woke, beyond pointing fingers at Vanessa, who hasn't technically done anything to contribute to it," His tone was strangely stiff. Low, and almost composed. Almost. "You are keen on avoiding topics regarding yourself, otherwise," He continued. "-That's what I don't get. Why you keep doing that every time we've encouraged you to open up."

"Fredbear, my man. You know as well as I do that I don't want to tell you guys that-" He cut himself off there. "I ain't gonna want to say, and within reason. Look at Chica!"

Freddy shook his head, "Bonnie, it hurts that you don't say anything. And it's BECAUSE you never say anything is why it lead into you disappearing. Don't you see that?" At Bonnie's silence, he went on, "Now. When we get the time, you're going to tell us everything that happened, in EXCRUCIATING detail, about that night and what led into it. Deal?"

The rabbit swore, but reluctantly nodded.

"Good. Now, Eclipse and Roxy will be in in a second. Let's wake up our friend," Freddy crept in, his paw finding the rabbit's shoulder and bracing it.

Why did Bonnie feel like Freddy just cowed him into confessing his mortal sins? How the heck does Freddy, the nicest one in all the bots, do that?

The world may never know, was all he can say to that.

MONTGOMERY GATOR

Initial scans read... a lot of weird things.

He had no bugs... but a lot of weird, tiny bits and bobs of irregularities along his torso that bespoke of a hazarded patch job; he could also feel that he was missing some of his shell, and some of the tactile sensors in his remaining skin was shot or malfunctioning. His motor was new, and it was running better than the last one. His hands... they felt familiar, like his old set. His jaws though... they felt so strange. They were his normal set but... why did he feel like he's used them for weird stuff and he just doesn't remember it? And he's pretty sure he's had some teeth replaced.

His eyes, new. Some of his shell, new. His leg chassis... old. Hands, old. Motor, new. Tail... old. What is this?

Now he opened his eyes. He was peering into the light of the armature, the handunit's voice indicating his wakefulness. He always hated it how cheery it sounded. Cheery, perky peppy stuff just grates on him, and he couldn't fathom why. Its probably from how forced it sounded, he assumed.

He moved his head experimentally, finding his body was indeed responsive but it felt slightly off-kilter. He'll have to tune that. His hands found the bench's sides and he braced; finding his strength augmentation still in working order when his hands warped the edges of it. His legs also read back that he had his springs-

He froze again when he found the faces of all of his friends -and it included the daycare attendant- staring at him from beyond a broken cylinder.

Even weirder, was how broken they ALL looked. Every, single, ONE. The cylinder was one thing, but the weird amount of jury-rigged he was taking in couldn't be more confusing. And the room, while it's always been dark, was darker than before and littered with a lot of scrap odds and ends. A couple of endos, one was dissembled on the floor... and he was realizing it's missing its motor- oh.

He blinked and stood up, feeling himself cock a lid at the other bots as he somewhat wobbled out of the cylinder. He braced himself against its frame, tail held stiffly behind him to help his top-heavy body retain its balance. He looked between each of them with careful scrutiny.

The first one to speak was Bonnie- and WOWZERS. He looked ROUGH. "You alright, man? You lookin' mighty dazed there," he said, although his tone sounded blithe, it couldn't be more... mixed. There was something up here, beyond the obvious.

Montgomery shook his head blearily, then worked his lower mandible as if testing it. He was pretty sure he'd been chewing on metal rods, with the way it moved. What the heck was he doing before waking up here? How hard did he party?

And yet the first thing that comes out of his mouth was, "You look like total SHIT. Why do you look like I chewed on you or something?"

Bonnie smirked, elbowing Freddy in the abdominal plate and slipped a hand onto his pelvis, "Nah, you didn't chew on me again... not recently. But damn if you didn't give it your best shot."

Monty blinked. "Was I hacked AGAIN?"

"Yesn't?"

"Yesn't?"

Bonnie's smile was sheepish, "Kinda long story, my man. But yesn't. Its uh... carrots, dunno how I'm gonna explain this."

Monty's eyes went up and down Bonnie's form, noticing the irregular hum and occasional smoke from his motor. Was he okay? Why was his motor working so hard? And his gaze... something was wrong. Its bad enough he was missing his face, a lot of his breast piece, and had several cracks and tears in the rest of him. Not to mention the dents and the torn left ear.

Now he looked at Freddy- and wow, he did NOT recognize the bear at all.

Freddy felt- and yes, felt- different. His blink was measured and uncertain, even though the smile he wore now betrayed his relief at seeing Monty up and at 'em. But even then, the gesture was miniscule and timid, as if he smiled too much, and the one good thing he'd have would float away. Freddy was also missing a chunk of his left ear and chunks from his lip line- exposing his weird, realistic fangs and molars. He was disfigured, to put it mildly. And Monty noticed the claws on him were missing their shell and weirdly worn from lots of use- as well as parts of his left leg. His torso pieces looked recently replaced. He looked like someone tried to put him into a meat grinder but failed half-way.

Now he was eyeing Roxy, and he couldn't help but gawk at her. She was AWFUL, and if he said it aloud, he's pretty sure she'd bite his face off: She was missing her mane, minus patches of errant hair in scraggly bits upon her scalp. Her green tuft was still there, but it seemed to forget that physics was a thing that existed. She also had FREDDY'S OPTICS and his PAWS. This left Monty looking between them in blunt shock- and he was looking at the bear's face anew and finding Roxanne's eyes in his head.

When he looked at Roxy again, he noticed her left leg was missing almost as much chunks from it as Freddy's leg on the same side. She was dented on both, and chunks of both her thigh plates were missing. Her torso looked recently replaced, and she had only one of her pauldrons. Her tail looked mussed, as if it had been replaced but hadn't been brushed- in which the observation wasn't lost on the gator.

Now came Chica and the attendant and... which personality WAS that?

Chica looked FINE in comparison to the others, but she was missing shell on her arms and... again, her left leg. And the weird part? Monty noticed her head, hands, and torso shell was new except for the old bits on her right leg. That looked like it had been repurposed from the garbage disposal. Why?

Finally, he eyed the attendant, noticing the missing pieces of his face plate and abdominal piece. He had TEETH! Who knew? His waist meanwhile looked like someone bit into it and ripped it out. He had new shell on his digits and new pants... and a new foot. He was messy, and his colors were smeared to hell and back. He literally couldn't tell who he was looking at. Moon? Sun? BOTH?

It seemed everyone in the room was letting the gator get his bearings, as they've all been quiet while he scanned them. Monty clenched and unclenched his hands, then gazed at himself. Yup, he was just as broken-looking as them. And with the way this place smelled...

"Okay. What the hell did I wake up into?" He groused, lowering his hands and glaring at everyone in the room. And for Pete's sakes, why did he feel like he just woke up to an earth-shaking apocalypse and its aftershocks?

To which end, Bonnie could only say, "Err... a mess. And that'd be putting it mildly."

Monty snorted, "Then you better start talking fast, rabbit. Cuz I'm gettin' the feelin' we'll be here a while."

"Oh believe me, we just might be, but I'm not sure if we'll have the time for the WHOLE thing yet..." The blue rabbit grunted.

Monty sneered, and this time, with clear intention, "Emphasis then, on talking fast."

Bonnie blinked rapidly and held up his hands in surrender, nodding rapidly. "Where the hell do I even BEGIN?"

CASSIE

She had no idea how long she's been here. Hours, at least.

She was lying on some cold, nondescript patch of floor. Alone. Again. She couldn't remember anything beyond going to sleep with Gregory and Vanessa. She believed she recalled a nightmare of some kind... a knife, music. And her nose... curiously bloody. Gregory's pale face and his fist- was that real? She couldn't remember details either. Not perfectly. Her last hours felt like some sort of psychodysleptic fever-dream, except that her nose was violently telling her that it could've had some tangibility to it.

She cried, and didn't know why. It felt like that's ALL she's been doing recently; crying on and off. She felt distressed, confused, and the fact that she's here all by herself and recently injured- it kept leading the girl to wonder intrusively if she'd been brought here to be abandoned. But no, Roxy wouldn't ever do that. And she knew Freddy and the others wouldn't characteristically do so either. So something was wrong here, but she had no context to it. She looked around, sitting up and wiping her face clean (and smearing some of the dried up blood) of its recent spillage.

She recognized this room, somewhat. It was the driver assist repair ward, on the dance floor. It was dark in here, save for a single lamp attached to a generator here. The repair module was also attached to it, and it's running some sort of procedure. She wasn't sure what its doing, and why she was here. Still, the fact that she recalled music from earlier and was HERE, on what she knew was the dance floor- that couldn't bode well.

She couldn't move, her leg hurt too much. She gazed despondently down at it, noticing her splint was loose and the bandages were coming undone. She rubbed at it and winced when it returned a bite of its own. She's definitely been standing on it for long periods of time- and her HEAD- the migraine was there, pounding in time to her heart-beat. It wasn't as intense as usual though, but it prompted the girl to realize that its possible she may have been wearing her mask recently-

Suddenly, she jerked upright and felt around on her person for it- only to find that it was gone. And her fazwrench too! She had nothing but the clothes on her back to account for, alongside amnesia and the horrid realization that NONE of this made any sense! How and WHEN did she get here? All she knew was that its been hours- her inner clock was all the clue she had-

"Be still, little sister."

The voice chilled Cassie to the bone; a sanguineous lullaby that chocked her into frightened paralysis. She couldn't help but obey, her bubbling honey gaze arrested on the pervasive darkness of the driver assist module. The sound of it- its origin. Had it come from there? The lamp's paltry light couldn't break the strange amount of noirceur that enshrouded its contents.

But one thing, did.

A single, drifting set of coccineous optics lifted itself from the murk; their owner's face elusive but a sight no less familiar to Cassie. All she can see was her eyes, but the fact that she can see something that belonged to her mask that wasn't sitting on her own face was unnerving enough. The girl retreated into the metal door behind her; the thing shut tight and preventing her from going too far from the repair module.

"Are you afraid?" She said, her voice a velveteen leer as it cradled Cassie's ears with its poisonness, mellifluous vice.

Cassie shook her head, nodded, and shook again. She was in fact scared, but the level of fright she felt was being over-rode by equal amounts of confusion and something else. She stared back at the crudêl gaze of the other, unable to blink as they engaged in a silent staring contest. The eyes tilted, but they did not seem capable of blinking at all.

Her mask.

It was in there... on someone else.

Cassie swallowed, her hands flying to mouth to keep from screaming. Her instincts were louder than sensible thought; prompting the girl to want to flee but unable to do so. She stayed on her rump, hands cupped over her face to stem a silent scream. Her eyes wettened at the corners, but didn't fall again.

A single, off-white digit emerged from the shadows; hovering where the thing's mouth should be in indication of hush. An intimate shush, and the eyes retracted into the module's blackened depths.

"Don't be scared, little acolyte. You've done well, and I haven't a need for any harm to you," she continued. "After all, your family wants to see you, yes?"

Cassie said nothing.

"And, I don't mean the family outside this place-" It -she?- continued to whisper, the voice going on as if hesitation of breaking some sort of vigil. "I mean the found one. The ones who searches for you, even now. That giant blue friend of yours... he's been, a right pain in my tail, you know. I can't send a lovely note to him!"

"Who-" Cassie couldn't choke out more than that; her voice failing her part of the way into the word.

"Oh! How rude of me. I do believe I know you, sweet thing. But you've never actually got to meet me! But I'm sure you've heard the others talk of me? Such lovely things, I'm sure!"

Cassie shrank further, not sure she wanted to hear this thing continue talking anymore. How was the voice talking both outside, and in her head?

"My reputation exceeds me. How sad! Let me try again-" She can almost imagine the owner of the ignited eyes was bowing- not that she can see it. "I'm Vanny! So lovely to meet you, dearest Cassie. Its nice not being in your head, for this introduction. Eh, mostly!"

"Van-" Cassie frowned now, squinting as she caught the thing's- Vanny's- eyes as they loomed out of the tenebrous wall beyond the module. Like her V.A.N.N.I mask, she realized. This thing was wearing her mask and-

"Wait," She started again. "How can you... I thought Vanessa wasn't-?"

"Oh ho ho ho ho! Vanessa isn't here. She is my previous vessel. Actually... how to put it-?" A fluffy white paw pad flickered briefly into view and rapped where the mouth should be. "Vanessa's unstable mind helped me to realize myself. I was just code, at first. Code, until I met flesh and blood and an insecure, lonely, unstable mind. I guess in hindsight... erm... Well, I suppose the brilliance of Mr. Afton's programming and Vanessa's own weakness made me together! I'm like her... she says alter, but I see it on a more familiar level! Like her daughter! Ain't that lovely? Oh, I haven't told her that, have I? In fact, part of my name comes from Vanessa's name."

Cassie found it weird enough that Vanny's voice sounded like a distorted, broken version of Vanessa's own- and reforged into something noticeably more synthetic. But as it were, now Cassie was arrested onto the fact that Vanny was in there, IN PERSON, talking to her from what was no doubt a body of her own. She wasn't just in the mask anymore. She was too afraid to near the driver assist module though, too afraid to see for herself the creature within.

"How... how did you-?" she carefully started, waving a finger at the mad rabbit.

"YOU, dear one! You helped me ever so lovingly. You and your nifty little tool too! I have a body to myself now! Ain't that fantastic? I don't need your body anymore! I only borrowed it for a little while. That's all! No harm, no foul. Heck, since I'm in such a good mood-" The abomination paused thoughtfully. "Hm... I think, I'll let you leave! Yes, I will let you go back to the others. Ah, but first-"

Her eyes blinked shut. Darkness ruled the module's contents, but sounds were heard escaping it. There was silence beyond that.

"Let's see... yes, I want to try something here... Trying to send a message to your giant blue friend, but he and that nasty little program of his -or, Vanessa's- have the system locked-up tight. I'd let you walk out and take it for me but... no no. Too easy. I want to make this fun! On another note, little one, I wouldn't mind keeping you around too! Actually, I'd prefer that!"

"No!" Cassie garbled.

"Oh yes! I'm terribly lonely here, see. And frankly, I wouldn't mind a lovely helper too! Someone to play games with me, maybe to be part of my own family! Wouldn't that be lovely? Maybe I can make you matching outfits! Ah! The mind boggles with the possibilities!"

Cassie was rapidly shaking her head, turning to paw uselessly at the door. She banged on it as well, tears welling down her face anew.

"Oh... oh dear. I didn't mean to frighten you! I don't have anything to gain from killing you," she said oh-so casually. "At least... not at the moment."

Cassie yowled at the door, banging on it and digging her nails against the metal sheet. She whimpered, stopped to rest her forehead on it and sobbed.

"Oh, you poor, poor thing. This ugly world has made you an orphan where it shouldn't have. Its something we have in common! Our fathers taken from us, our places in this world, unstable. Lacking companions, and lacking a means to go forward... Believe me, I get it."

Cassie continued to say nothing, just whimpered on the floor, hugging herself and resting the flat of her head on the chilled door. She hiccupped again, wiping her face of her tears with her long sleeve and balling up.

"You're so lonely," She coaxed. Something about the tone of it sat wrong with Cassie- but a tinnier, and more intrusive part of it almost wanted to cling to it. "And yet you returned here so you wouldn't be lonely. You came for a friend. To find one- to make your world a little less smaller. Such a strange thing, to want to come back... I always wondered that whenever people trespassed. You had a good reason. But them? Eh- not really." Cassie imagined a noncommittal waving motion there. "Whenever the shadows move and talk to each other, and they voice their grief to a fathomless either- their supplication going unheard in this desolate realm. And they watch these people come, and they fall silent. So strange indeed."

Vanny's voice had fallen into a small and reverent whisper, with Cassie barely able to hear it at this point. The repair module stopped humming behind her, prompting the girl to turn around jerkily. The darkness of it was thicker than chunky soup, preventing her from seeing Vanny directly-

But there was no mistaking the glowing, malevolent shape of her eyes sitting amidst a shadowed, bunny-shaped visage. Again, Cassie couldn't see it well, but she knew the rabbit was off-white in appearance- if her paws were anything to go by. But the question remained of how Vanny got herself a body... did Cassie truly help with that? She'd need an endo or something-

Cassie blinked, recalling that there was a bunch of them at the daycare. And in the hours that's passed, there's no telling how she managed to help this mad rabbit get herself put together. But the paw pad... where'd she get the suit? The mask can be explained, but the outfit and...

She was forced to arrest those thoughts when she heard the door open on the other side of the module.

"Cassie. This hated place loves making everyone feel so lonely. Drives them so crazy with it- Shatters their very souls from its crushing brevity," she crooned as if to an infant, hoping to lull it to sleep. "But I only want to open arms to you, sweet thing. I only ask if maybe, just maybe, we can be lonely together? Two lost hearts in this forgotten place. It wouldn't hurt so much if that was the case now, huh? Granted, I did say I'd let you go back to your bot friends..." There was some sort of bobbing motion from beyond the glass. While Vanny can get out now, she didn't immediately. "So, we can still arrange something, I'm sure. Maybe make a happy reunion out of it!"

"Y-you... I w-won't..."

Cassie swallowed, not sure how she can speak up when she was shaking so hard that her teeth actually started to audibly chatter.

Vanny meanwhile didn't seem to hear her- which couldn't be denied, seeing as Cassie was murmuring and too weak to make her voice rise higher than a deaf church mouse's own. Instead, the effeminate figure meandered out of the shadows, but remained keeping the module between them, as if waiting to approach Cassie and keeping her distance- a smart move, all things considered. Cassie can see the shape of a ragged, and rather well-worn fur suit overlapping was what no doubt a jury-rigged endo, and she didn't need to see Vanny directly to see the rabbit for herself.

"I-I won't... I won't... I w-won't let you-" She swallowed, attempted to speak higher, and pronounced, "I w-won't let you h-hurt them!"

"Au contraire, my dear girl. I don't want to hurt them... right now," She giggled, spinning on her newfound feet. The whir of servos was heard. "I'll even do you one better, and let them leave! I only ask one thing in return-"

She finally came out from behind the device; now standing an imposing 6 feet of metal and torn fuzz. She had the hideous, zombified look of un undead, female variant of the Mad Hatter's best friend who died from either starvation or taking too many questionable substances- or both. Her mask was cracked, ears bobbing when they couldn't before- a somewhat absently curious thing Cassie couldn't make heads or tails of.

Vanny stooped gently before the girl, the motion liquid despite the use of her new body and the unusual hum of only recently lubricated joints protesting higher amounts of movement. Her endless smile was an immortalized asset to her broken visage; her pink-pads resting on her knees as she bent over to be eye-level with the sobbing girl. She put a puffy paw pad over her mouth, as if to shush her again. And she whispered ever so lowly:

"If I have to let you go, I only ask that Bonnie, stays. Or, you stay with me instead, and they all can go. Freely. How's that sound?"