The systems didn't notice anything wrong, but sometimes, the body and soul didn't exactly work together— they couldn't sense the same things. His soul felt the intrusion into the vessel, and he had reacted.
Now, Freddy is standing before someone his souls consider a big threat due to having trespassed on the vessel he now calls home. An urge to strike out and get rid of this perceived threat, something Freddy had felt many times before, and his body obeyed the soul's vengeful command. Now, with a much better system and mechanical parts, it made Freddy much more aware of his surroundings and made him see that the one who provoked his soul into a vengeful state; was a person. A terrified person, someone who had no idea of what he had just unleashed. It takes much of his willpower not to attack this poor man as a large part of him wants. He forces himself to stay still, not move, yet his soul's anger and fear reveal at the quiet snarl on his facial features.
They were at a deadly standstill; the young man instinctually knew that if he moved, he would provoke the teeth-baring and black-eyed robot before him. The said robot bear fought against the dark urges to attack, to defend himself against a perceived threat, and only his upgraded form allowed his will to stand against the vengeful rage his soul got from how his existence was in the past. The two contenders knew, yet unable to stop this deadly game, they could only wait for the other to make the first move.
Another sensed this, and although they perished in one of the worst ways possible, it didn't affect the light in their soul. Unbeknown to it; saved the soul from a terrible fate. Not aware enough to fully know what is going on, only that dark emotions are high between one they are set on protecting, and another the soul mistook as a friend. Like they did back when alive, the soul reaches out to the other, asking it to calm down and be kind as it knew the animatronics were.
He sensed the presence, the one that pulled him into action in protecting his vessel— the seal that keeps him bound to the material world, thus to the people still alive. He cannot see them but is keenly aware the other one is right before him. He cannot hear, not see, only sense, yet that is somehow enough. His eyes are on the terrified person before him, but it's not truly what he sees. Instead, he sees hands doing signs he recognizes, translated by his mind from what the other one is trying to say. The other apologizes for overstepping an unknown boundary and asks him to calm down; the little brother didn't mean to anger him. He responds in the same elusive manner, making the other one see another spirit, showing signs of the trauma he has endured as Freddy, yet still able to fight past it. The other one can understand the silent words; he wants to hurt the same people who hurt him and is aware this isn't one of them, but it does not matter. The one the other one protects has opened that old wound.
The protective spirit cannot understand this conflict happening inside the one using this vessel. It asks why this other spirit keeps holding onto the pain instead of holding on to the better times.
It makes it sound so easy. It would've done the same if they had been going through what he did in the past. A young soul like his does not know how to handle that kind of terror and suffering. It needed to turn the fear into a rage; it was the only way to stop the pain.
They have gone through something similar; their life wasn't easy. There was little to no love. Still, this spirit kept on loving the family. No one wanted to like their attempt at making art through the voice. Still, this spirit didn't stop trying, thinking that the voice would obey one day. They made the once vessel of this soul do things they didn't like, but they did these games to make the family happy.
Their life was painful, but the protective spirit never kept onto this pain, instead the small joys.
This spirit is a very simple-minded one. But he can admire the will to only see the light in an otherwise dark existence. Wish their life was better.
Wish the same, but at least they can still keep the brother safe. It has no wish to fight him, but it will if the other one dares to harm the brother.
He believes this other one. Can sense the strong aura of this protective nature, the strong positivity and wanting to keep a loved one safe; it calms his vengeful urges. Freddy closes his eyes; like the spirit that soothed his own soul, he looks through his memory bank to all the happier times. When opening his eyelids again, the eyes are back to normal. His spirit is calm again, but that does not mean he is pleased about what this foolish person had done. He leans over to the shaking person, a glare of indignation at what he would've done if not for the protective spirit. "You made a foolish decision. Do you have any idea what could've happened if your brother hadn't been here?" He sneers down at this young man, ignoring the eyes become twice their size at him knowing about this. Freddy isn't sure how. He only knows he and the other spirit communicated, and they share a unique bond he hasn't shared with anyone before.
"Wh-what are you?" He asks the enraged animatronic before him. This isn't a robot talking; the standoff moments ago revealed as much. He winches back at the bear's head coming millimeters from his, the blue eyes so angry, yet deep down, he senses something else. Something once innocent turned dark. He remembers of had seen that same glare when his brother awoke it inside that other Parts and Service room, yet his brother was too stupid to know the danger this animatronic clearly was. "What kind of A.I did they give you?" The bear lets out a small growl and steps away from him. He is still too afraid to move but is starting to see what his brother might have seen. "Is this why he liked you so much? Because you're sentient?"
The bear stays in the dim light, quietly and still angry; if the raised back hair is any indication. A sight escapes the bear, and with their back turned to him. "Your brother saw the goodness in me. It's… it's a very admiring ability to have. More so towards one who had lost themselves to the darkness."
He's at first not sure what the animatronic meant, but slowly, he understands what made this animatronic calm down around his brother and what that security guard meant about this company's dark history. He has no wish to dig much deeper into this mystery, but there is one thing he needs to know. "What killed him? His body was torn to pieces when my parents got my brother."
"I don't know what took your brother away." Freddy says. He honestly does not know, but he got the idea that Vincent was the cause of it. How that man did it, he does not know. "I wasn't as aware back then as I am now." The young man nods, looking disappointed, and Freddy wishes he could be of more help, but he didn't even recognize this spirit before they made contact. "But if you like, I can ask around."
"No need. It's enough to know he was right about you." The younger brother shakes his head; he does not need to know what killed his brother. All he wants from this bear; is to stop his own form of pain. "Honestly… I want to leave all of this behind me." He gestures where he can sense his brother's presence, "Him included."
He cannot sense what the spirit thinks of this, but Freddy has an idea it makes it sad. While it angers him how this younger brother throws the other one aside. "He stayed to keep you safe…!" He sneers. During their 'talk,' the spirit gave him a strong sense that it adored its brother and wanted to do anything for him. And this is the thanks this light spirit gets? "and now, you're throwing him away?"
"I want to live my life!" The young man shouts back at this sentient robot. The dam finally breaks, but no tears, only anger. "I am sick and tired of being reminded of the past. He is a constant reminder!" He points at the bear, "Maybe I should've been a better brother. But don't you dare tell me I have to keep him around for the rest of my life!"
Freddy narrows his eyes and frowns with anger at how this person is handling the death of his brother, more so when he can see that this young man kind of has a point. Mike… refuses to let go of them. He and the others… refused to move on after they got released. They all are holding on to something that should've been long gone by now. Their grip has only gotten stronger after their return.
The young man gets back up on his feet, he's still afraid, but it has been overridden by a strong need to be free from this curse that has befallen him ever since his brother decided to work for this company. "if you want to be stuck in the past, fine. But I am done." His hands' fists, turning white at the emotions raging through him.
He wants to argue and tell this man that running away won't solve anything. But his more logical side reminds Freddy that he has no right to do that. This man has chosen to move on, although Freddy greatly dislikes how he does it. He cannot entirely fault him for it either. If he had the option back when he was mentally younger, still in pain and filled with so much rage. Then Freddy would've done the same. "Fine," He growls, reluctant to admit defeat in this young man's choice. "if that makes you sleep better at night." He opens the hidden door, guiding the man past their human shapes, which the young man cannot see thanks to the darkness. He opens the second door that leads to the outside.
The young man stops a few steps on the grassy field. "If it's any consolation, I won't sleep better." He turns, and Freddy is surprised to finally see tears in them. "Take care of him. Alright?"
Freddy wants to tell him that it was his job, that his brother wanted nothing but to be there for his little brother. But… he knows it's not right. "I will." He tells the young man. The person nods and leaves the area. Freddy turns his attention to the building, sensing the other spirit, but he does not think it is aware it has been abandoned. Goldie mentioned that most spirits are incapable of forming new memories, so this one may think it is still protecting the younger brother. "I guess we have that in common." He muses about where he thinks the spirit is. "We're both protectors and will do everything to ensure the safety of those we love."
Except for the one he sacrificed his life for is unwilling to let him go, and in some ways, Freddy is grateful, yet a small part of him knows that it's holding Mike back.
Freddy returns to Parts and Service, waiting for the door to open.
It does after closing, and it's Goldie who opens it, being exceptionally careful. Red meet blue and Goldie relaxes instantly at seeing him sit calmly on the floor. "Oh good, for a second, I thought you were in some sort of attack mode."
"I was some hours ago." Freddy admits, but he is not going to say what caused it. He does not like it, but Freddy thinks he owes that young man that much as that one is most likely going to keep their secret.
Yeah, they thought that was the case, hence why they locked the door instead of checking on Freddy when his human body shut itself off that suddenly. For people, it merely looked like the owner of the place collapsed, and they kept them believing that. "Any idea what happened? You turned off so suddenly."
Again, he does not tell the truth. Freddy does not like lying, but this is something he does not wish to share "I think it was a malfunction with my human shape."
After a moment of thought, Goldie nods, "I think we have to stay off them. At least until we get them checked for possible malfunction."
Freddy merely nods in agreement; he feels terrible about what had happened and what easily could've happened if not for that other spirit. He hasn't told anyone, not even Goldie, but Freddy knows that deep inside if provoked as he was today. Then he is extremely dangerous to people around him, and its sheer luck has it that the one he actually managed to hurt survived the whole ordeal.
If I ever write a continuation of this mini-series, this spirit Freddy shares a unique bond with will become a significant character. I kind of hope I will get to write a sequal, but it all depends on how many want me to continue on this AU.