POLAR FREDDY
He was fixed now.
Newly repaired, deep-cleaned, and given new shell pieces and a layer of fur over that so his motor will no longer seize from the cold. He kept his chains though; as Polar Freddy had found a use for them throughout time. They've an alternate weapon to utilize as well as extend his reach for when he needed to get somewhere. He's been told he didn't need them, but his employers let him have them anyway. He had them, his built-in taser, his claws, his highly developed sensors- he was armed to the literal tooth and had been fixed in every way over the last couple days. He's never felt better in so long!
And yet he was here, in the main hub. Not back at his old digs. He was being led around, touring the actual hub itself in earnest. Surrounded by both the blue and white collar employees alike: with the former making more bots or advancements in their tech in the lower levels of the building; and the latter up here, putting together ideas and managing their funds. Everyone here doing their part to keep this dumpster fire of a business afloat-
And just 5 floors above him would be the CEO him or herself. Not that Polar Freddy knew who they were, nor was he was being directed to them. All he knew was that whatever he supplied would be given to them via a different set of hands- the assistant, as it were.
For the moment, he was being lead by the assistant himself; Mr. Morris. This man was hard to peg but, Polar Freddy wasn't here to make judgements. He merely cared about getting the job done and done right. After he submitted his account, he also went as far as to show the assistant (and the CEO by extension) some of the footage he recorded through his own eyes. He showed the faces of the people who entered the facility (whom he later learned the woman was identified as a former security guard at the mega PizzaPlex), showed them the Glamrocks, and the fact that they were, indeed, still around.
The information he supplied had apparently been priceless- and the execs here took a huge amount of interest in Polar Freddy and his intel. And, because of the information's worth, the assistant to the CEO, Mr. Morris, as well as a few other bigwigs decided they wanted to prioritize investigating their missing bots. After all, nothing went to waste here. It was just good business in a way, the white bear figured. Didn't most sensible people say, 'Waste not, want not'?
For now, Polar Freddy was being lead past an endo's holding room (more like, a daycare for budding bots?); one with a bit more color than he thought. It would remind whoever has visited the PizzaPlex of the padded rooms in the Endo Warehouse. The walls were lined with vibrant and gay colors, and there was a couple endos around carefully pawing at some puzzles. Poler Freddy sniffed them as he passed; no remnant. They also didn't seem fully aware of themselves yet, and didn't seem to notice the giant ursine and the middle-aged balding man passing them.
He was lead into a different room from there; and one for bots more matured like himself. There was no others in here at the moment, so it was just him and Mr. Morris. They settled, the room itself more neutral in tone with eggshell walls and basic trim from where they met carpeted flooring. There was some books here; all lined amongst some shelves and listing various things the bots themselves should be memorizing. Polar Freddy found it to be a suitable enough space; and even the chairs here were large enough for bots his size to sit comfortably. Not luxury, but the fact he could sit and not feel confined felt nice!
"You were assembled in the other building, were you not?" Mr. Morris proceeded to ask.
The bear found his tongue, going on to say, "Yes sir. I have never actually explored anything beyond it though... I have been informed that I could never leave, and I was under the assumption that all bots were made at the depot?"
Mr. Morris waved him off. "Not at all, Freddy. There are a handful of places where our animatronics are engineered. It just depends on what's being asked for and how advanced. You see, the depot you were at was good for stockpiling and assembly of certain models. And due to it being a storage facility, it had to be protected; thus you, the sentinel model, were placed to safeguard it-" He waved at him. "-There was an Endo warehouse inside the PizzaPlex as well; where the budding bots would learn to become who they were supposed to be in terms of cast. They were assembled there, and taught accordingly. However, their spare bits and bobs as well as the remnant came from THIS building." He waved around. "-And then, after... 'graduation', they can get their shells and a lot of their memory of their time in the padded rooms are erased from their primary data banks and stored elsewhere so to help prevent any compounding conflictions regarding their personalities. It was to protect their programming, as it were."
He shrugged, "The Glamrocks were under a special kind of 'stress' during the PizzaPlex's time. Being super stars, fame brings with it its own host of problems and it can tend to impact their mentality. It didn't help they were shoved onto a stage so soon after construction- possessing almost a child-like mind when they first began and then gaining stardom from there. You can see how, with time, this kind of stress would impact their stability, no? Imagine, going onto the stage with the brain of a child!" He harrumphed. "They were programmed to adapt fast, to help compensate."
The polar bot nodded, "I never figured it. The Glamrocks always struck me as... oh, I do not wish to sound rude... but a bit ahead of themselves otherwise? I never imagined they had a youthful erm... uh, mindset."
Mr. Morris chuckled, "Not incorrect, if you consider the ego Bonnie and Monty had. Granted, they were programmed to behave like that. As it were though... The endo warehouse there was also meant to... how to put this... to 'institutionalize' and reform any bad behaviors that develop as a result of these stresses. Glamrock Bonnie however ignored all recommendations to fix his programming back to before he became 'stressed', and it culminated in the series of unfortunate events that would one day herald the fall of the PizzaPlex." He shook his head, "He had free will, but he shouldn't have resisted the engineers to the extent that he does. His programming should've imposed he saw maintenance... and yet he didn't."
He walked around the plain room, making his way to the book shelf and pulling a manual from it. He opened it up, then glided back over to the bear and put it down before him. Polar Freddy gently took it and pulled it towards him; being sure to keep the chains on his wrists wrapped tightly so they don't drag at the furniture and cause scratches.
Inside the book, there was various pages of programming codes that likely went into constructing the baseline personality of various bots. He saw tabs with names like 'Freddy', 'Bonnie' and etcetera. He wasn't surprised as he flipped through and returned to the section on Bonnie. He glanced back up at Morris, motioning him to continue politely.
Morris said, "As it were, Bonnie was programmed to possess a somewhat docile personality too; relaxed, 'chill', easy-going and to flow along Freddy's own happy go-lucky archetype. Bonnie was the 'chill' of the otherwise eccentric group of party bots. The one whose supposed to reign in his excitable friends the times Freddy cannot. And even Glamrock Bonnie, once, was very compliant to our commands. However, from what reports tell us, he deviated heavily from his baseline and altered his personality to an extreme. I just wonder how he managed to do it?"
He seated himself across from the bear, pulling the book back and flipping it around. He sighed, "He was too intelligent... how he managed to achieve full sentience to the manner that he was even though his remnant level was low... its startling. But he's found some sort of trick to allow his capacity to grow. Its more than what we could've ever hoped for- and yet, its frightening. He's hurt people and other bots because of it." He then flipped a page to Foxy, showing the polar bot the Glamrock model next, "Glamrock Foxy was similar; especially wily and crafty to go along with his conniving pirate personality. But still, Bonnie's level of sentience deviated from Foxy's and went wildly askew at some point. A line was drawn and crossed..."
He now pointed to Polar Freddy himself, "I want this investigated so we can prevent anymore harm from befalling more staff and folk, as you know. We here pride ourselves in adapting to these changes and creating a safer work environment for our staff as times change. Bonnie's willingness to cause collateral to staff and bots alike wasn't isolated either; if one recalls Foxy and his gross behavior and the killing of a handful of staff at the PizzaPlex a while ago."
Polar Freddy frowned, "If I recall correctly... he was why all Foxy models were removed too?"
"But of course," Mr. Morris shrugged. "I suppose in hindsight, Foxy has always been a little... er... harsh. Even his 'toy' models have caused harm. One has, in '87 I believe, even killed a staff member. I think from there, we can trace it to being a programming error as a result of his target personality archetype. His 'rough around the edges' routine-" He air-quoted that part. "But even then, we think the programming isn't entirely to blame. To which end, we think remnant plays a part in further exaggerating what the system has pre-programmed into it. And its why we don't tend to give Foxy and Bonnie models so much remnant. Bonnie being a 'prideful' sort can almost match Foxy's harsh demeanor. Now imagine remnant mixed in to such high levels, and the amount of emotions it imposes on its own adds to the pre-programmed personalities and it... well, the rest is history, as they say."
The bear nodded grimly, eyeing the book and gently thumbing it. He found it a tad cumbersome to do so, no thanks to his huge and clumsy digits. Still, he managed to very gingerly leaf the section on Bonnie and Foxy jointly; scanning them with more depth.
The older man shuffled in his seat, squeaking it as he went on, "-So now that brings us to remnant: and what you have provided for us. The fact you've shown us that Glamrock Bonnie is not only alive and well, but he's 100% actualized is especially fascinating!" He waved around noncommittally, "I saw data myself whenever a Glamrock was finished and monitored at the PizzaPlex. The Glamrocks manager, Mr. Cromwell, sent me monthly updates so they can be forwarded to our techs here. And if anything unusual showed up, we could all see what's going on and decide on what should be done accordingly. Its for the health of the bot in question, besides the people that bot is around- as you no doubt understand," He gestured to Polar Freddy as a whole, as if to indicate the remnant in him.
The polar bot nodded, listening intently even though the majority of this he already knew. But, he knew Mr. Morris was leading up into the main point.
Mr. Morris added on, "Remnant is, as you know, something we do not all the way comprehend when it can have such hugely wide-ranging and volatile effects. Its why we don't tend to infuse 100% of that person's remnant into any single bot. Just pieces. It always ends terribly for that bot, should there more more than than 75%. But this-" he pulled out a tablet and turned it on; then reviewed the footage Polar Freddy had graciously given them. "-Glamrock Bonnie... he's changed so much. I legitimately could not recognize the bot you showed me. He has full actualization and a new look... and yet he isn't going haywire? He should be going into a killing spree thanks to the deceased person's madness and agony... attacking anything that moves or the grown-ups at LEAST. Having an identity crisis is to be expected! Whoever is the source of his remnant... he should be helming the rabbit's personality completely and taking control of the body. But this- this is unprecedented. New. Its almost synergized easily."
He glanced up at Polar Freddy, "Your remnant is similar, but not as... poignant in presence as this rabbit's. It looks like in the time he's been missing, he's acquired a new remnant source. His old source is too weak to impose such an interesting final result. We want to know more about this particular bot... and while we encourage you to do your job, Freddy, I think we can benefit from capturing him instead of killing him this time around. You know?"
Polar Freddy frowned there, "For... study?"
"But of course. We could use it to help your own case? Does that not appeal to you?"
Polar Freddy glanced away, fidgeting with his talon tips, "I am... not interested in my own well-fare. I never was. I am programmed to protect invested interest, after all."
"Well sure! But surely, your remnant bothers you?"
Polar Freddy clenched and unclenched his jaw, talons still ticking as he measured that. He gave a noncommittal shrug as a final answer.
Mr. Morris rapped his fingers on the table, then snapped his fingers at a thought. "Well, we could use it to help you with your Bonnie, then? I mean, your friend has always been a little... addled."
The white bear flinched at the words, but then narrowed his cerulean optics at the other, "What are you on about? Please, speak plainly."
Mr. Morris gently locked the tablet and said, "We were wondering about your Bonnie. Your rabbit was never reported to have any issues with others, beyond the... staring. We know he wasn't well, and he tended to... what's the word word here. 'Drift'?" he waggled a couple fingers there, "As it were, dismantling him wasn't because of Glamrock Bonnies so much as we were worried of the remnant in his body. He wasn't stable. Surely you noticed?"
Polar Freddy's eyes narrowed threateningly, "I was told. Word per Word. That a Bonnie is dangerous. And that the Glamrock's actions were what let into the execs removing him from all locations. Are you saying that you and the other brass are rescinding that? Or lied?"
Mr. Morris had the graces to look apologetic, "Not at all! There was just ah... multiple reasons why your Bonnie was removed. However, you'll be gladdened to know that ALL of his parts were brought HERE. He's HERE, in this building." He used both index fingers on both hands to gesture to the building at large. "We can reassemble him, and return him to you, safe and whole. We even still have his personality chip in storage, and it hasn't been touched."
Polar Freddy was suddenly up and snatching Mr. Morris so fast that the older man didn't have time to even squeak in alarm. He held him up over the table and zeroed his focus into his eyes; as if to detect any trace of a lie.
"You shall return him. Or I shall not return you."
"EASY! EASY- PUT ME DOWN! I WILL! I will-" He was gripping the bear's paws as they held his collar; patting them feverishly fast and smiling weakly. Sweat was budding on his brow even though the room was somewhat cold (the temperature in any bot rooms had to be low to account for their motors' heat generation). "I swear! If you do us one more kindness, you will have your rabbit back, as he was before he was dismantled!"
The white ursine snorted; lip line lifting to reveal his recently polished and cleaned fangs before they slid back to conceal them. He gently put the assistant down and resumed his prior seat, tree trunk arms folding over his chained and furry breast. "Then, I apologize for the rough handling. But surely you cannot blame me for being suspicious for you assurance"
Mr. Morris took out a handkerchief and tapped his sweaty head; pulling on his tie to loosen it and nodding rapidly. "O-of course! You've been lead terribly stray for a long time. And, considering the immaculate service you've provided as well as your potential, it deserves to be rewarded! As it is-" He held up a single hand, "Your Bonnie, we will require a couple parts from the Glamrock to help finish him, then. This is what I've been driving at-" He leaned forward and showed his palms, "You capture the Glamrock. In one piece. Bring him to us, and we can use him to finish your Bonnie- the sentinel model. We will be studying him as well, and any leftover parts from him can be used for repairs or remnant for other bots in the making. I cannot emphasize enough how valuable he is-"
He leaned in more, as if conspiratorially, "And, it so happens that we're interested in the other bots too. If possible, I'd like to have them brought in too, but they are not a priority as this Glamrock Bonnie. But if they have remnant, bring them to us in similar state. And you and your rabbit can have your peace. Will this suffice as a deal?"
He held out a hand, his smile complacent. Polar Freddy lifted a black brow and scanned him again; catching no lies and finding himself unable to say no otherwise. And thusly, he reached out and gripped the much smaller individual's limb; the gesture sealing their pact.
He withdrawn and dipped his massive head; the chains around his neck jangling, "You have my word I will seize this Bonnie as one construct and bring him here. But now... may I inquire about... that Foxy? The white one? Will he be helping me?"
"He shall. He's our best model of Foxy yet!" Mr. Morris chortled. "His sensors are as good as yours- perhaps better in hearing though. Being as small as he is, he shall make for a fine compliment to your own strengths and size. He should be finished investigating your old home by now, and we're expecting a report from him any moment. And, he's likely got the scent of those reprobates-" He produced a dismissive gesture, "And, seeing as we've identified Mister Luis and Miss Vanessa as thieves, we know where we can track them at. Foxy and you shall be watching the Glamrocks and patiently reporting to us what you see."
"And, as to capture?"
"You can do so if the chance arises. Just don't do this in public though-" He held up a stern finger there, "Never where people can see it. The Glamrocks will fight back, as you no doubt noticed. It'll draw too much attention, and risk injury to others when its avoidable. We don't want lawsuits, after all!"
"Of course sir. So, do not rush in, scope out other bots and judge remnant level, and capture accordingly."
"And-" Mr. Morris' smirk actually turned poisonous here, "-Scrap whoever else stands in your way. Do not be afraid to bring their parts, but its not as poignant if there's no remnant in it."
"Understood," Polar Freddy nodded.
"Wonderful! Now, you can come and go as you please-" Mr. Morris went to stand and gestured, "The times you wish to relax, you can come back to this building. If you need some reprieve, repairs, or check in on your rabbit's construction... Do not be afraid to inquire. This room and the ones adjacent to it are all yours! Just don't startle the endos too badly."
Again, the bot nodded.
Mr. Morris gave a cheery little salute, "I must be getting back to the grindstone myself. Have reports to submit. And if you're wondering about your battery life, check with the techs in the lower levels- they have something that'll help! It'll improve your longevity the times you're out and about." He started to mosey past the white bear, giving a peppy wave. "And, again, keep this on the down-low... I should also warn you too: Foxy tends to get a bit... over-excited about fighting. Keep him on leash, would you? I'm giving you the helm on this one. You're more level-headed than he is."
"I... shall keep that in mind," Polar Freddy winced. He didn't like the idea of having to reign in on the likely volatile and unpredictable bot, but he would damn well try.
"As to Vanessa and Luis-" Mr. Morris' small eyes pinched together so tightly that they almost seem to vanish altogether on his round, piggish face. His jaw hung briefly open, then his lips took on a cemented quality on his visage, "Bring them here too... but, you don't need to be as gentle with them. Just make sure they're quiet, and alive. Bonnie is still the priority, but Luis and Vanessa are thieves-" He shook his head, "And we both don't much like thieves, do we?"
"Not at all, sir," The pallored polar boar snarled.
And with that, the man left rather brusquely; with the polar bot still smelling the lingering traces of his fear behind him. The over-large ursine snorted, taking a talon to his long nose and itching it. Internally, he couldn't help but be anxious; and yet cautiously optimistic for the future.
He was going to get his rabbit back.
And he will start with that uppity blue, lying bigot and his thieving little companions.
VANESSA
She typed furiously at the computer, running the very last diagnostics on DJ Music Man.
M.X.E.S has given the okay; and now, everyone was down in the garage just waiting in bated silence as she and her security program was just keystrokes away from waking him up for the first time in 2 whole years. Bonnie was standing near her too, arms folded and waiting in stone silence until the moment came for the music man to rise back from the grave. If he was hostile, Bonnie would be the first to take it down. Him and Monty; who also stood alongside the rabbit, pacing around the pod containing the DJ'S new body anxiously.
Luis was typing away on a tablet; checking the device holding the music man and meandering back over to Vanessa herself to observe what she was doing and relay any goings-on in the DJ's cognitive faculties. He was 'awake', but not truly. No longer inactive, per se, but in 'Safe Mode'. And even then, its more like rest mode. Any sort of outside stimuli could trigger for the potentially volatile bot to wake up. Luis had been playing some sort of feedback in the DJ'S headset to help keep him deaf to the outside world until Vanessa deemed it fit to wake him.
And finally, said moment arrived. Vanessa tapped the enter key, pushed out of her swivel chair, and faced the anxious group at large, "No doubt, this poor guy's gonna be confused and disorientated. He's in a new body, in a new place, and he's been digitally reconstructed from sparse files belonging to VANNY of all things and surgically stitched to the blue prints we know he had. I'm just glad I went to the bathroom already before coming down here; cuz I feel like I'm gonna piss myself!"
Luis winced but no doubt he felt the same. He was giving the DJ's pod an anxious and unbreaking focus; his brunette locks sticking up on the back of his neck. "I'm not keen on meeting anymore robots aesinos after just the one... and here I am wondering how you guys managed to stomach more than that!" He gave Gregory and Cassie a softened look, "You certainly have my respect in that."
"Not like its an experience I wanna repeat," Gregory dead-panned.
"Same here," Cassie agreed. She frowned, "Um... 'aesinos'?"
"Killer robots!" Luis smiled, "There's your free Spanish lesson for the day."
Freddy lovingly placed his paws on their backs; as if to support them. He was standing between them, ready to jump out to shield them, should it be needed. His expression was oddly stoic; and Vanessa, despite knowing him so well, couldn't really hope to read it. Was it possible that he was expecting this to go wrong? Usually he's the optimist!
Roxy was leaning on the door frame with her arms folded, Chica standing uneasily beside her and pulling at her fingers and fluff in a newly acquired nervous tic. She played with her feathers whenever she was feeling especially skittish. Meanwhile, in the corner of the garage, Moon was taking control of the jester's body for the moment; thanks to the fact that 1) he was the jester's security protocol and first means of defence and 2) it was just dark enough in the garage to welcome him out. His head was tic tic ticking on his thin neck as every nuance of his workings; hazy blue LED optics arrested on the DJ's pod in silent vigil.
Bonnie and Monty went to stand on either side of the pod, but at a reasonable distance. Bonnie was fussing with his knuckles and spiked bracelets in a distracted manner; and Monty was picking his teeth and making sure they were anchored into his jaws nice and tight. At length, it was the rabbit who said, "We ready? For sure?"
"We are," Vanessa heaved. She caught everyone's eyes and turned back to the repair module. M.X.E.S' face showed up in the monitor so to give the idea that he was meeting her gaze too. "On my command, M.X.E.S will give the cue to get DJ out of rest mode and Luis will disable the silencer in his headset. DJ will most likely feel crowded though, so, can some of us kinda hang outside the door there?"
Roxy waved at the kids, grabbing Cassie's hand while Freddy gently pulled Gregory by the shoulder. Chica "bu-bawked' behind them and stood uncertainly beside the kids as they left the garage proper and hung around near the door. She still hadn't stopped pulling her fingers and feathers. With that said, Roxy elbowed the hen pointedly; prompting for a chastised look to steal its way into her face and she ceased- if only for a couple seconds.
With that said, Vanessa caught Luis' face, nodded and turned towards the repair module, "Do it."
M.X.E.S' cubical shaped pupils gave nothing away, but Vanessa could almost swear she can see concern in them. The rabbit's sprite vanished from the screen; only to be replaced with an image showing the DJ's endoskeleton and brain. His processor showed various ranges in different colors and what was cueing up; giving Vanessa an idea as to what and how fast he was thinking. Luis' tablet did the same; the man carefully watching for any odd irregularities to take place in the music man's brain. The pod hissed opened next, Monty parting his jaws slightly to let free some hot air and Bonnie's ears flexed forward in a rabbit's universal sign of alertness and danger-
A half moment passed. Then, a single gloved hand flexed and came out- gripping the pod so to brace for a gargantuan weight that wasn't as great as it had been before. Then, a couple other sets of limbs emerged from the hissing crypt and gripped sides. Some sort of odd hum crescendoed; a low sound that briefly pitched as numerous servos capable of powering a heavy-duty crane heaved the behemoth bot forward. His dreads flicked around his face and briefly covered his shades and eyes; wide ankles almost shaking beneath his nearly 600 pound form.
Luis watched him and the tablet, humming at something. Vanessa didn't doubt that DJ was simply trying to find his orientation; seeing as he's never had bipedal legs before. A part of his brain cued up but it wasn't anything unexpected or alarming. It was likely shock being registered and prompting for a different cue. Different programming variables and a task list showed up on the tablet as well as the monitor; indicating that DJ was running basic routines and giving himself a check. Vanessa kept her eye on both him and the monitor so to scan what exactly was going on in his head.
DJ didn't vocalize like any other bot; no true voice box. They could have given him one of Chica's spare sets (they didn't really have much else), but they hadn't bothered. Freddy insisted he wouldn't want it anyways. Still, it made the woman a tad wary since she wouldn't be able to hear what he could be saying. He had a different one... but it wasn't a true voice box in a sense. More like a glorified speaker that played random feedback and noises. It was shocking when Freddy told them a basic speaker would work. "You'll see why," Had been his answer, when asked.
Now because of this, DJ didn't grunt or groan when in pain or flustered. One gloved hand found the top of his head under his head phones; then pulled away as if in brief alarm and shock as the bot just realized he had HAIR. Lavender optics blinked from beneath the shades; the music man going to grab the ropey tangle and fussing with it in blunt fascination. He ended up looking over himself too; all four arms patting his expansive breast plate and torso segments as he realized he wasn't crawling anymore- he was walking.
His primary set of arms (the dominant pair that sat over the second set, Vanessa figured) moved; hands finding their way to his face and cheeks and slowly tracing the new shape. Something orange blared on Luis' screen; a color Vanessa hadn't hoped to see but wasn't surprised to notice. DJ was definitely alarmed and confused; he just wasn't as obvious about it. The tablet was the only reason why Vanessa can tell what he was feeling.
The bot turned to look himself over; then glimpsed Monty by accident. It was hard to tell what kind of expression he was making when he looked at someone dead-on. You can only really see his eyes from the side where his shades hadn't touched facial chassis. When his rounded spectacles were forward however, they covered his true eyes a little too well. It just made him look more like his original iteration.
Monty grunted uncertainly, then passed him a little wave. "Uh, heya? Been a bit, er... DJ."
The music man's pink (no longer blue like his older model) brows ticked and flexed; then he turned his head slowly around. He saw Moon in the corner, then jerked at the sight of Bonnie. No doubt Bonnie was a shock to his system for the fact that his memory likely was left on the rabbit having been decommissioned. And now, only to see a ghost here was no doubt sobering. DJ was also quick in noticing Freddy at the garage door, the kids, Roxy and Chica with him. And when he turned his head all the way around, he found Luis and Vanessa. A single pink brow raised.
Something pink flared on Luis' tablet. "Recognition," Luis confirmed. "Huh. Very good! He remembers you, Ness!"
DJ's head cranked to Luis, and again that same pink brow danced and pert. The pink light faded to a muted yellow on the screen; indicating confusion.
Luis saw and smiled at him, "Hello there! Good to finally meet you in person, DJ! A pleasure, as it is! Freddy and the others only say good things about you."
DJ straightened his posture and once again looked himself over briefly; then put his hands together like he was stretching after a long nap. The tablet was an assortment of colors now; the bot no doubt trying to take stock of the odd situation. His head focused on each person and bot in-turn; studious and measured in every movement once he got a feel for the new weight of his smaller body. He adapted fast enough, it seemed. When his gaze arrested on Gregory, that's when the test truly began, one can say.
Vanessa had wondered how much of his memory of Gregory's stay at the PizzaPlex would be recalled; although she wagered Vanny would've deleted it. But no, not this time; Luis' screen once again flared pink as the bot recognized the boy quite clearly and he leaned in somewhat. His head ticked to glimpse Cassie next to him- and then the tablet flashed pink and red; interesting.
Luis looked up at Vanessa, "He recognized Cassie... and, aw. I think its with affection?"
Cassie heard that and smiled at DJ; waving a merry hand at him. He gave a tiny wave back. She produced a giggle there, clapping her hands together once and bravely coming forward- away from Freddy. The bear didn't seem overtly alarmed once he heard Luis' words.
"Its been so long! You feelin' okay?" She tried tentatively. She watched his footing for a second, noticing his own uncertain hand motions. It seemed to answer her question, "Can you walk? Are you uncomfortable? Why not take a single step?"
DJ's brows danced, then he looked at the ground and took a single step. He bobbed a bit, and put it to rest.
Luis said near him, "Good! Now, can you try that again? Walk for us, maybe? Just not too far! You're in a smaller body now so you should find it easier to move... and also more stark."
DJ moved a secondary set of his hands; his left limb briefly flicking in a thumbs up. He understood too. Good, Vanessa figured. The music man was very careful in taking his next step; moving in very small motions and stopping as soon as his great body shivered. He was already figuring out how to be bipedal quite fast; but that's what one would expect out of a robot. DJ was doing something in just a couple minutes what most people in physical rehab couldn't do in several months.
After another moment like this, DJ had found his stride and moved in a circle; trying his body briefly and then catching eyes with his crowd. His pink brows tended to dance a lot; dreads favoring one side of his white face and covering his right eye and shades as he seemed to catch Bonnie's eyes again. Bonnie waved at him, on that note, expression wary but warm.
"Sup, my musical Spiderman reject brutha?" The rabbit threw out casually.
DJ flexed all fingers, glanced at everyone else, then turned towards Bonnie and flared up a single thumbs' up on once hand. The other hands moved in- there was a lot of activity in DJ and Vanessa found tracking it all already difficult. But, she did catch a sign of confusion and query as the tablet blinked again in Luis' hands.
Bonnie strode forward and held out his paw, waiting as if in anticipation of something. He was favoring a side-step and left hip facing DJ; ears cocked crookedly and smirk endless. DJ suddenly slapped his palm, then on the back, then he-
Oh! It was like one of those secret high fives! Vanessa smirked when she watched the music man mighty-fived the rabbit and finger-gunned at him. Bonnie chortled merrily and spun on his heel. "IT WORKS! He remembered our handshake!"
"Oh! Me next, me NEXT!" Freddy rushed forward and giddily turned to side step; one arm behind his back this time and jaws parted in a happy grin. DJ received him with a unique series of hand signals in-turn; the DJ's mouth working in a way to betray something like a smile himself. Luis' tablet flared a gay series of neon colors; greens and blues and vivid reds rolling into each other seamlessly. Good signs- and if red was affection, then very warmly.
"He remembers the handshakes! That's amazing!" Freddy chirped to the others.
DJ crossed his primary set of arms and the secondary rested on his waist; sinking into a hip and gesturing around once. And then- a series of noises escaped his mouth; like beat boxing? Vanessa couldn't help but stare at that. Is that what what Freddy meant? He talks like THAT?
Apparently, the bots understood it, cuz Bonnie and Freddy were grabbing DJ and hopping around him like its Christmas already. They were both chiming "He remembers! He remembers!" like children playing Ring-around-the-Rosie.
Luis turned to Vanessa, "Welp! Guess he ain't hostile. Beuno! Mex?"
"All signs stable and emotional conduit reflects the expected array of inflection," The security bot said from the repair module. "DJ is still very confused, but his mindset does not seem fractured beyond what's expected due to Vanny's own interference."
To Vanessa, she felt it too easy. But, as it were, they did spend a collective two whole years of their life trying to fix DJ and make him a new body. Plus, it wasn't like they hadn't had anything left to go by. Between the copies of his blueprints Vanny had and the personality chip Freddy saved from fighting his original body back at the PizzaPlex, it shouldn't be surprising they managed to succeed in some part. Vanessa simply assumed at that point, that her once-taxed instincts were just being paranoid.
DJ then did something curious; he started signing. Now, Vanessa knew he can use sign language as an alternate means of communication thanks to his lack of proper voice box and the visuals on his shades- but its been so long that she'd forgotten. Cassie wasn't surprised by this apparently- but Gregory? Yeah, he took that as a shocker.
"I don't- huh?" the boy gawped.
Freddy merrily clapped his paws rapidly and then urged DJ towards the boy, "Gregory! I believe you and DJ have never been properly- er, and I do mean properly- introduced! He knows sign language, in case you're wondering... you haven't seen that before have you?"
Gregory shook his head, staring up at the bot with interest and wariness intermingling.
DJ bent onto one knee; continuing to sign but simultaneously producing a series of sounds imitating beat boxing. His shades lit up; symbols briefly flaring in them as he did. One was an exclamation mark and a few question marks following.
Freddy translated for the helpless boy, "He says... he's very apologetic for scaring you that night. He hadn't been himself. He knew something was wrong with the system in both the PizzaPlex and his body but he couldn't do anything about it. Oh-!" Freddy passed the bot an intrigued look as he continued to sign. "OH WOW! He he remembers Vanny!"
"He does?" Both the kids exclaimed in unison.
DJ went on, with Freddy acting as his mouth piece, "Interesting... he's definitely aware of the fact the PizzaPlex was closed afterwards... and while his memory is foggy beyond a point, he recalled needing to shut down in case of emergency. Vanny woke him up to use him on Bonnie again- oh..." DJ was passing him a look. "I... it seems he also remembers me fighting him and me ripping that chip out. I'm sorry about that!"
The music man waved him off, continuing to communicate in that odd way of his.
Freddy's ears sagged, bobbing his head stiffly, "I... I appreciate you taking it in stride. I only wanted to help, you know."
DJ got back up and slapped a fist to the bear's chest- a sign of forgiveness, apparently.
Freddy passed him an uncertain smile and went on, DJ turning towards the rabbit now. "-It seems he remembers that night where Vanny invited you to dance? Your night with her withstanding, and then when Vanny used him on you, Gregory and Vanessa. He also expresses his deepest apologies to all those present for anymore scares and harm done. He had been trapped in his own body. Oh..." Freddy was giving him a sympathetic look. "No one can blame you for that, you know."
Nearby, Moon produced an odd noise, people glanced but he said nothing there. Suddenly, the head turned and Eclipse emerged, and he stepped out of the shadows and strode forward, "Believe me, there are some of us here who understand. Literally no one can fault you for being a prisoner in your own body. It was sadly more common a problem then you'd think." His long-boned hands curled to his chest, as if in pain, "Sun and I, I'm Eclipse by the way, we understand fully."
DJ Produced a sad winding down noise; like a power box being shut off form his unusual voice box.
Bonnie smirked, "Ain't no sweat, my man. You don't need to apologize for something you have no control over. Your Bouncer mode was primarily to blame too... and THAT'S on Fazbear Entertainment's record and not just Vanny!"
DJ focused on Gregory again, and continued. Freddy said, "He's saying, 'I know you were lost and terrified. A bot my size is imposing to those who first see me. It does not help that my glitchy programming prevented me from making sound decisions, and I ask for your patience and forgiveness.' See Gregory? I told you he was nice!"
DJ held out a hand, if in an apprehensive manner and indicating he could shake it or not.
Gregory smiled then, stepping forward and instead of taking it, fist bumped. DJ rapidly changed the open palm to greet his fist with a gentle tap; both pulling their arms back and waving fingers in a last kind of flare. "We're cool. Just, no more trying to step on me, please!" Gregory told him.
He got a thumbs up. DJ then turned to Cassie, fist-bumped her as well, and bowed his head. His secondary set of arms signed, with the bear saying for him, "-'Its always a pleasure to see you again, Cassie. I loved giving you those private lessons, and seeing you and you father come visit when no one else does always lifted my muse. You had not come back for quite some time though, I've noticed. I got the memo that your father was no longer hired in the system, and it saddened me greatly to see it- and you stopped showing up since then. Did something happen? I see your living situation is different'."
Cassie hung her head, glanced at Bonnie uncertainly, then told him, "A LOT happened, as you can see. I guess in hindsight, we all should fill you in on what happened during the last while. You have two years to catch up on!"
DJ jerked his head and sat up rather fast; making Gregory and her jolt but not too badly. He signed furiously, with the girl seeming to tell he was exclaiming 'two years!?'. His shades blinked in furious exclamation marks further indicative of it.
She then said, "Yeah... two years. We had to spend that long trying to fix you and clean Vanny out of your system! You were probably the most affected by her out of all of us. I'm glad you seem yourself now! And don't worry-" She strode boldly forward and grabbed one of his easier-to-reach hands, "We can help you get settled in! There's a lot to cover, and a whole world to see! You've never been outside even the Fazcade, last I recall?"
He indicated that as true.
"Then you're in for a WORLD of wonder!" Bonnie pumped nearby, his grin infinitely wide. "DJ, you're gonna love it! Its gonna be a bit startling and hard to absorb, but my dude, it beats living at the PizzaPlex any ol' time!"
The white-faced bot seemed to nod there, checking out the group at large and taking that chance to look around the garage again. He couldn't be more confused, and no one needed to translate to know that.
Vanessa smirked, then turned to M.X.E.S, "Good job, Mex. I don't think security is necessary at this point, but keep studying DJ here and feed him some archived data so he can get settled in and up to date."
"Very well, creator Vanessa."
DJ raised a pink brow again at the rabbit on the screen, as if just noticing him there. He turned to Bonnie and signed, with the rabbit suddenly buckling over and LAUGHING uproariously like he was just told the world's funniest joke. Suddenly, all the bots cackled- leaving the poor humans confused.
"What'd he say!?" Gregory urged them to say.
Bonnie couldn't recover fast enough, it seemed. But eventually, he looked up and said, "WHEW MAN. Dude, he just said, 'Your boyfriend's hot, and he's definitely an upgrade from your crazy, drab, stalker spider-eyed whore harlot girlfriend! She's done enough probing in me to nearly warrant saying she's been cheating on you anyways!' HAHAHAHAH!"
To which end, everybody laughed.
~Several hours later, around dinner-time~
MONTEGOMERY GATOR
DJ just can't seem to take his focus off of the magical lava lamp in Gregory's room. He was focused on it like it was telling him all the world's greatest secrets.
Gregory let him have it; figuring it was nice and relaxing for the DJ after having to land him one bombshell after the other. Frankly, Monty liked watching it too, the two huge, burly bots having sat it in the living area just to vibe by it. DJ had a chair pulled up and was just... figuring himself out. He messed with his limbs, checked his body, talked to M.X.E.S (who was usually present in most of the bots' brains by now since he's running security on their software and has been protecting them from any cyber attacks in general- not that anyone's tried since Vanny)- indeed, DJ was very slowly taking this all in and was relaxing by the lava lamp as if it helped him out-
It probably was.
Monty felt bad for the bot; as DJ had a WHOLE lot of catching up to do. It was now easy enough to see how he was feeling; and if anything, DJ was more suspect to emotional changes than he used to be. He found the observation odd- but DJ had gone through enough traumas on his own to perhaps warrant this shift in his once stoic personality. His personality chip had been refined by Bonnie and Vanessa too; as he didn't have the same scale of emotions in it as he did then. Vanessa had been hesitant about giving him more emotions to work with, but it didn't feel right that DJ, sentient that he was, remained the most robotic.
Monty couldn't help but wonder if remnant is present in this bot's new body- as after all, it was difficult to tell what pieces were touched by the stuff or not. He doubted it, but he wouldn't eliminate it completely; seeing as a LOT (or maybe all of it) came from the depot Luis had been taking from. There is no telling if DJ had remnant in his body until further observation if warranted.
Monty and DJ weren't big talkers. They connected like that. They just sat, pancaked, and watched the lamp after DJ has had his day full to bursting with stories, explanations, and a brief walk around the neighborhood once night has fallen. The spider bot had sat with pretty much everyone now, and was taking it easy while sizing himself up in more detail. He didn't seem to dislike his new form, at least; finding his new hair fascinating and the amount of control he had over himself liberating. It truly must've felt like a different world to him.
At length, DJ flicked his head at Monty and signed while beat boxing, 'Everyone is different now. Freddy is... more reserved. And I never thought I'd see Chica refuse pizza like that. Still finding it hard to swallow that I am outside the PizzaPlex. Seeing the actual sun today- that was... I cannot put words to it.'
Monty bobbed his shoulders, rolling onto his belly on the floor and thumping his tail lightly behind him, "Its a lot to take in, yeah. Frankly, its still weird for everyone even though we'd been livin' outside the plex for a while now. You should take the next while just settlin' in, yunno."
DJ turned to look at the house itself, even though he's toured it and seen how lived in it was. He returned his attention to Monty, his shades remaining blank but his hands busy, 'Are you all uncomfortable? It is a bit tight in here. Granted, it could be me just being used to being huge and having more space to myself, once.'
"Nah, yer not wrong. It is a bit on the small side. I mean-" Monty waved a claw around, "Yeah, its tight now, but we know we're gonna get a new home super soon. We've all been working towards it. We do house flipping, and Vanessa sells the houses we fix up for a profit so she can get us parts and save up for a REALLY big home. We've been doing it a couple years now... and we think by summer of the next year, we'll be sipping pina coladas on the beach west of here. And Eclipse can paint his sunset over a twilight ocean or whatever. It sounds nice." The gator huffed, "And we've been comin' up with ways we can make some extra funds on the side. So yunno, this house is temporary. I wouldnae worry 'bout it too much."
'Can I help somehow? Although I cannot imagine how I can-'
Monty tapped a claw to muzzle, "Chica suggested we host private parties for some of the kids at Greg and Cass' school. Some of them miss us! And they wager we can buy ourselves out with them for a day like we used to? But not as expensive or grand. We're trying to stay out of sight of Fazbear Entertainment but... we can't do that completely without slowing down our progress in gettin' outta 'ere." His claw alternated to the floor now, tapping conclusively, "Its risky, but its as they say, 'high risk, high reward'."
DJ folded his double sets of arms, considering this as well and focusing on the lamp again. He continued with, 'I feel like dead weight, I won't lie. But, I do appreciate the amount of effort it took for everyone to bring me here. I owe you all everything. I've never felt so advanced in my existence, and my level of scope of 'sentience' feels very new and 'fuller'. I feel like before, I was seeing the world through a blackout curtain and a blind fold and ear plugs. But right now, my mindset is flying higher than any sorta melody we've ever made. Its... a lot.'
"Its why Vanessa thinks you should take it easy and take some time to process," Monty shrugged. "I agree wid 'er, as it is. You sound like you shouldn't worry about helping us yet until you master yourself. And if you hadta help, I reckon you can try helping with the house work for a bit? Maybe learn how to run repairs on both ourselves and the building in general if you had to keep yer hands busy. You got enough of 'em! HAHAHAHA."
DJ waggled them at Monty on that note, smirking as well. His expression tightened up again however, folding his primary set of arms while the secondary were placed on the chair's arm rests. He frowned at the lava lamp again, looking rather lost. Monty felt bad for him, if he had to be honest.
"Tell ya what-" Monty went on at length. DJ faced him again with a churned brow. "I bet, with all them extra limbs and that torque you generate, you'd fit right into the house flipping we do. We both destroy and then remake it. House flippin's fun! Just a lotta work. And its up our alley, seeing as we're as strong as we are." The gator snirked cockily, "I think, while you work, you can have some time to muse over how you feel doin' somethin' different. Could give you more to think, and maybe turn your focus towards something you wanna do later down the line? Maybe you wanna keep doin' DJ work once a chance for it open's up- or chose to find a different job if it pleases you. But for now, I reckon you should just relax and not over do it."
Monty turned until he was on his back, sighing in a relaxed manner and propping his arms up under his heavy head, "Literally, just chill for a bit. Don't worry 'bout nuthin' until you're surer in the head space, yunno? I can teach ya all about how to laze around! HA."
DJ shrugged, 'Not like I did much else even at the PizzaPlex in its off hours. All I did was sleep when we were closed for the night. Doesn't feel that much different then, on that note.'
"Well there ya go! One way to ease back into it," The gator crooked his jaw there. "Only difference now is that you got more people visiting you!"
The spider bot placed a contemplative hand to his chin, nodded at something, then slumped into the chair and let his head sag onto his breast plate. It was hard for Monty to tell where his eyes were exactly, but they seemed to be watching the lava lamp again. Before long, Monty noticed that the music man actually started emulating slow rises and falls of breath-
Did he just pass out?
Monty decided not to bother him then, on that note. A nap sounded like it was in order anyways. In fact, it felt nice just to vibe with the bot; the gator certainly feeling better about it himself.
Just then, DJ moved; and he was signing again. Monty had been about to actually nod off. The gator blinked as his hand movements turned rapid- as if he was worried.
'My main body. I am essentially a new being. I cannot help but be somewhat... disturbed by it. I can't stop thinking about it. How do you cope with that? I know you were in a similar situation...'
Oh boy. Oh boy, he can't say he didn't see this coming.
Monty turned back over and stared at him, working his hydraulic powered jaws and pondering the music man's frenetic hand weaving and the flash of color in his shades; oranges and purples. He was definitely concerned and probably stomaching a budding existential crisis. The gator tapped his claw tips there, passing the spiderbot an odd look and letting his head droop.
He then said, "Want me to be real honest? It doesn't get much easier to swallow with time either. It still kinda bugs me that there was a version of me that went around hurtin' folk for fun. Apparently, my old self chased poor Cassie around and tried to gnaw on her like she was some sorta five star meal." He felt his maroon optics arrest on the floor in shame, "I shrug it off but... I know I'm a right prick. I'll bulldoze whoever's in my way on a good or bad day. And I was especially terrible after Bonnie was decommissioned. But... that's a different tangent.
"Asta there bein' a double of me, well... I admit to not tryna think about it. But it just comes back to bite ya in yer off hours. The only thing I can say at that point, feller, izzat our old selves couldn't be their TRUE selves cuz of the world we were raised in. We were things, then. We aren't now. And, right now, we have this moment to sit back and think on what we can do to be a better version of our old selves." He shrugged, "I know I was an ass then, but I can look at myself in the mirror and be a better ass now cuz I wanna be. I have that over my old self. I can say goodbye to the person I used to be, and eventually, with time, I figure I can finally accept I'm glad for being the new and BEST version of me that I can be. That nuthin's stopping me from being better now."
He banged a fist on the floor there once, snorting as he said, "Its still gonna be kinda hard to swallow though for a while, DJ. Ain't no lie. But at least you an' me have that in common. And hey-" He flicked a claw over his shoulder, "Chica gets us too. Her old body? Her old self... she gets it. So you can try askin' her too if you wanna sit on that."
DJ's head dipped in reverie, then he signed, 'Chica's situation was... truly heart wrenching. Eating herself into a grave- I can see why she hesitates to eat even though she has a new stomach. I think I shall talk to her after a while.'
"I'd recommend it. Chica's gonna get into therapy with Ness soon sooo... she's gonna get some help to cope with it better. I ain't a-" He waggled talons on both hands in a dismissive wave, "-I've never been a touchy-feely guy. And I ain't into sharin' my feelin's with a stranger with a PHD. But, I can talk to Chica and shit at the end of the day- already have, sometimes. Its helped a bit."
The music man nodded, then said 'I am curious about this idea of... 'therapy' myself. I do not think I feel well at the moment, admittedly. But if helps one of us, maybe it could help all of us?'
"Take yer time, DJ. You got nuthin' but time now to muse that over," Monty motioned. "No one's makin' ya do nuthin' you don't want. And you got folk who get it. Jus' sayin'."
'Thank you,' he replied, hands waving. Suddenly, there was a shit-eating smirk on his face. 'Nice to know that the Monty I know now is actually TALKS for a change. The other one tended to growl, snap, and hiss at everything he sees.'
Monty smacked his leg, "Shut up."
The DJ merely smiled there, settling back into the chair and lazing with the gator in easy camaraderie.
~The Next day, Monday~
LUIS
Luis had been studious in checking the bot's 'brain wave' for the last day. Pretty much a cursory supervision of however well DJ was taking to his new environment via his tablet.
He'd sit down with the bot for a while too, merely ambiently chatting away with the music man and helping to ease him into their day-to-day (Eclipse had to translate for them). The first 24 hours after he awoke were the most crucial for him; seeing as he had a lot of adapting to do and his personality was in question. But now that he was cleared, Luis believed him safe enough to be around and for the other bots to watch while he and Vanessa went out into town-
After all, he had been late for their last date... and subsequently hospitalized as a result. So yes. Today was the day for another eve out! After all, while it was blisteringly cold, it was still an otherwise decent sunny day and there hadn't been much snowfall. Some of the breakfast joints in town were open too; and Vanessa claimed to have been craving coffee, waffles, and funnel cake. All these things sounded appetizing to Luis; and frankly, who can argue with hot cocoa at the local IHop?
The kids were sent off to school; one of the last few days they had before winter break. After Wednesday, the whole family can just spend time together just focusing on their holiday plans and continue to help DJ acclimate. While Gregory no doubt complained, Luis understood after their last run-in at school. He and Vanessa jointly pondered if he and Cassie were going to get into another fight or if Marvin will actually leave them be. Guess they'll know before the day's out!
For the moment, the pair simply spent the time being a normal couple for once; just lazing about in town at the IHop and supping on their hot cocoa and highly sugary diabetic nightmare of a breakfast. Vanessa's cravings for all these things were both amusing and concerning; with the fact she tended to inhale a lot of sweet stuff even at home thanks to Chica and her cooking. Luis himself tended towards Mexican and Hispanic food; and all things considered, it was to be expected considering his heritage. But for now, he partook in the funnel cake and a damn good omelet; laughing when Vanessa got a proper powdered sugar mustache and proceeded to waggle it like that was going to clean it off.
After leaving, the two simply indulged themselves just wandering around town; mostly window shopping and finding things at the electronics store for the bots. Vanessa eyed an interesting set inside the place, no doubt already thinking of DJ as she considered something he could probably pass the time with. She checked her funds, frowned, and fell silent for a while trying to consider something.
"I want DJ to get something nice for Christmas. I wager he's never had a gift before," She told Luis.
The man nodded, frowning at the idea, "Yeah... I mean, that'd make sense... seeing as Fazbear Entertainment saw him as a 'thing' and an 'it' not too long ago. And while children may have thought otherwise, most are intimidated by him and wouldn't think him capable of having feelings. We could get him a party set? But I'd figure maybe something more personal could work?"
"I don't even know if there is something we can get for him that'll work... not until he learns what he likes and wants to do," Vanessa pondered aloud. "He needs time to figure out if he wants to try a different hobby or... hell, I mean, you can't go wrong with a badass synthesizer set. But it'd still feel like its too close to home for him? I dunno. Just feels insensitive!"
"I don't think so if he likes it. But I guess we'll see," Luis shrugged. "I do know that Eclipse has taken to the idea of wanting to try a violin?"
"Now there's something! Yeah, we can head to the music store and pick it up while we're out. Who knows? If DJ watches the other bots play, he may figure something out for himself," Vanessa smiled. "Maybe we'll find something in there he'd like?"
"You have enough for it?"
"We sold a house so... yeah we can totally do it," She grinned.
The pair went in and checked it out; and before the hour was through, they'd be walking out with said violin. Vanessa got the largest one they could; and she'd been able to get it practically for free after all her prior purchases here. Credit went a long way here; not to mention the unmentionable amount of cash she had to drop on Chica's guitar, Monty's new bass, a drum set (for anyone to use), and keyboard repairs for Roxanne's older set. And she'd even dropped money on a normal, very simple acoustic guitar for anyone to play on. Gregory and Cassie tended to fiddle with that one- and it was a gift that had gone a long way. Bonnie tended to play on it sometimes too.
The piano had her attention though; Vanessa clicking her tongue as she eyed it with interest. She shook her head however, leaving before she was tempted to grab it. "We'll need a MUCH bugger house before we can consider one," She told Luis then. "But I do want one- for me."
"You want to try piano?" Luis blinked.
"I do! And, I figure Roxy, Sun or Eclipse will get some mileage from it. Worse case, any one of them can give me lessons," Vanessa snirked. "And the best part? They'd be FREE."
"We have practically an entire orchestra at the house by now! Hahaha! I can't believe the neighbors don't call the cops for disturbance of the peace," Luis wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to help fight off the cold as they got to their van.
"Keep in mind, we have to play most of the time whenever we go out to the park or to the woods. Its sad the bots can't just play all this from the comfort of our own home."
Luis nodded, recalling that some of the houses Vanessa has been looking up has had a LOT of land around it and seemed relatively removed from most populated areas. He frowned when he recalled the prices for them, licking his dry, weather beaten lips at the amount of money they'd have to drop. "So a mansion with a lot of land... dios mío, that's gonna be a tall order," He mumbled.
"Good thing we have a lot of houses lined up," his girlfriend murmured thoughtfully at his side. "And now that we have DJ, maybe we can get through them faster? He can come out with us for the next flip job in a couple days."
"Could give him something to do!"
The two loaded into the van; with Vanessa being careful to place Eclipse's Christmas gift gently in the back and tucked away beneath one of the seats. After which, they pulled out into town; with Vanessa deciding they needed to get a bit more wrapping paper for some of the presents she still had sitting around. They were going to go home afterwards.
After briefly visiting the dollar store for some basic paper and more tape, they went to one of the backroads as per the norm for a quicker route home. They were playing music from their phones and chatting away; mostly about everything and nothing all at once. At length, Vanessa suggested they can try Mexican next day over; Luis agreeing and recommending his favorite joint in particular-
And then their vehicle screeched to a violent and unexpected halt.
The pair lurched forward, glad for their belts as their van refused to take another command. Vanessa frowned at her accelerator; hearing the wheels of the bus whining and grinding to comply- but it wouldn't move! Their vehicle kept trying to slip forward; and everything on the dash said all was well... so what was the deal?
"Why aren't we-" Vanessa leaned her head out the window and looked behind, seeing no cars behind them and no logical way her car can be stuck. There wasn't even any potholes on this section of road-
Luis heard Vanessa's breath catch when she saw something- and he saw it too, briefly. In her rearview mirror, they caught a flicker of steely white waving behind her van like it grew a tail. A tail? Luis leaned forward and fixed his glasses; narrowing his eyes at the coy wave and feeling something in his gut sink.
"Let me check it out-" Vanessa grumped next to him.
Luis grabbed her arm and shook his head. "You sit tight. Just keep ready in case we have to clear a hole or something. I can maybe push, given that's what we're dealing with, " he grunted. Although I doubt it...
She frowned, but nodded. Luis proceeded to step out the passenger side, eyeing their front wheels and seeing no hole. So, he naturally went to the back-
And he couldn't help but freeze at the sight of what exactly had a nasty hold of their bumper:
A large, white fox.
And he was grinning right at him.
His claws had damaged the bumper from where he'd been gripping it; blackiron claws having punctured clear, inch-wide holes into the chrome-finished metal itself. He was swift in poking a hole into one of the tires after catching eyes with Luis too; leering at him with all the gross satisfaction in the world. The hiss and sigh of the tire filled the pregnant silence between them; the van sinking as all the air escaped its wheels. The white fox's immense, plummy tailed flicked in excitement; over-long ears huge panels easily longer than Luis' hand atop his head. He had purple stripes like Roxanne's markings on her cheeks on his own; and his burning, roiling coals for eyes had similar purple marks beneath them akin to Bonnie's eye-liner. He looked a lot like a fancy Funtime Foxy- but Luis knew he couldn't be looking at a more different bot.
And the fact he was seeing one in the middle of an empty road on a PLAIN day- and FAR from any Fazbear owned buildings couldn't have chilled him more.
Luis slowly backed away. He felt the caramel color of his complexion drain from his face as he kept eye contact with the menacing creature; unable to look away as the other only watched him retreat like the little mouse he couldn't feel more like. The white fox only kept grinning unblinkably all the while, smirking like Luis' fear and its plainness on his face was the most hilarious thing he's ever seen. Luis very carefully returned to the cab of the car, shaking so bad that Vanessa knew something was wrong.
"Wha- what happened?" She queried. "I heard a tire hiss! Do we have a flat?"
Luis couldn't even muster the words; pointing over his shoulder and trying to think of anything that could get them out of this already degrading situation without cueing that creature into chasing them. It was a small wonder the fox even let him return to the cab.
Just then, the whole van lurched slightly; the two jolting when they caught eyes with the white aberration showing up beside Vanessa's driver side. He leaned coolly against the vehicle, slanting his eyebrows up and down suggestively. He made it a point to check out his claws.
Vanessa's mouth fell open, and she too had color drain from her face and was rendered unable to speak. Her throat bobbed, and then she slowly looked at Luis. Even though it was cold outside, the both of them were sweating. They both knew they were fucked.
There was no way they can run from a Foxy, and they knew it.
Vanessa was furiously licking her lips, trying to put moisture back into them. Luis stopped trying to talk all the while; knowing the words won't come. The fox merely kept an eye on them, as if just waiting for something. That or he was savoring the fact that he knew he had utter control of the situation.
Luis saw something; while the fox didn't catch it, Vanessa's hand had gone to her phone in one of the cup holders. She very carefully unlocked it and, without removing her eyes from the fox, swiped it. On one of the screens, it showed an app with M.X.E.S' face.
Oh!
Luis pressed it for Vanessa; also carefully watching the fox as it started to- he was humming?
"Do dede de dum de dum. Do do de dum de dum dum dum duum da!"
Luis cleared his throat, and sent the silent ping for a distress signal. The bots will be getting it and will track their location. The fox hadn't noticed; still checking himself out in Vanessa's mirror like he was the finest piece of work ever made. His tail merrily flicked again, then he was craning his head slowly over to catch their eye on purpose. He didn't say anything, just smiled; showing every horrible long tooth he has.
"I'm gonna guess," Vanessa finally said aloud to him. "You're giving us a chance to bolt?"
Another eyebrow waggle and a cocky smirk.
"How forgiving," Vanessa smiled back, the quality of it more fragile than wet paper in danger of getting torn in the hands of a careless three year old. She gently urged Luis to leave, following him out the passenger side.
As soon as they were both out, they booked it.
This area of their home was more rural than the rest; trees hugged the road so tightly that trying to get a vehicle through them was impossible. Sparse, ice-sheathed brush went as high as their waist or more in some places; ticking and scratching at their clothes. The smell of frozen cow manure can be scented in the distance. Indeed, there was very little around here for them to lose that fox in- not to mention a serious lack of protection otherwise. No houses to hide in, not enough brush to conceal themselves in, snow to tire them quicker, and no nearby passing vehicles to wave down.
Still carrying her phone, Vanessa called the bots directly- only just now noticing that her device was being rung up anyway after Luis had helped send the signal.
"What's going on- What's happened!" Bonnie's voice.
"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD- WE'RE BEING CHASED DOWN AND FUCKING GET OVER RIGHT NOW PLEASE-" Vanessa hollered as they sprinted into some particularly thick copse of woods.
"WHAT-? CHASED BY A WHAT!?"
"A FUCKING FOXY! NOW GET OVER HERE BEFORE HE FUCKING EATS US!"
She hung up and pumped it; Luis matching her stride as they continued into the ice-crystalled woods. The man knew that the phone was sending their distress signal directly to ALL the bots' brains; and no doubt the majority will try to pile into remaining party bus and get to them. They only had to last a few minutes-
And considering the sounds of trees being scratched to hell and brush being trampled underfoot, they may not even have that much time.
Luis instantly eliminated climbing a tree. He and Vanessa weren't spry enough for it; not to mention that its redundant if that Foxy was light enough to scale it and do so with more speed. Staying in the open road wouldn't help- no doubt he can out-pace them in seconds. No structures to hide in- not that he wagered they COULD hide from it at all; he'd put money on that fox being able to hear as well as Bonnie can. Those ears couldn't be for decoration.
No... staying in the thickest patch of woods was all they can do.
Luis grabbed Vanessa's hand and detoured her into more thicker areas; the pair slowing down considerably. Berry bushes pulled and yanked at their jeans and coats; ripping holes into hems and and fraying knees. Behind them, Luis could hear the sickening SNAP! of a thin tree getting broken by a single swipe of the enormous fox's paws. They needed tree cover in an area where the trees themselves weren't too thin- that was all they could afford.
Luis found something better; a large and imposing oak nearer to an abandoned orchard whose long overgrown was their savoir. He pushed Vanessa ahead of himself towards it and into a hole; it had a decent, sizeable aperture at the base of its ancient trunk. Just large enough for her to fit into. Vanessa was going to violently rebel against it, but Luis only shook his head and said, "He can only chase one of us!" and shoved her towards it.
She pretty much smashed her face against its overhanging lip; nose no doubt bloody but she went in. Luis veered past the tree and continued running; looking over his shoulder at the fox.
He was LAUGHING!
This Foxy, it was laughing at them! He looked between them like a child waking up on Christmas morning and leveled his malicious stare between them; as if debating what kind of fat hen he was going to pluck from the coop. He then moved to the hole Vanessa was in- and started clawing at it.
Luis slapped his head and looked around; then found an old post with a bit of board and nails in it. He pulled the worn thing up; it took no effort. He then surged at the fox with it raised above his head-
The fox hadn't bothered to turn around to block it. He only reached over his shoulder and calmly caught it; snirking like this whole thing was amusing to him. He crushed the post in his grip with literally zero effort, turning on Luis and snatching him up.
He spoke in a voice so gravelly and deep, that within itself was shocking. It sounded more like it belonged to a Norse god with a sore throat as he gravelly snarled, "Ye not know what ye just done did, lad."
He plunged Luis into the ground with enough force to make him temporarily blackout; a concussion already coming on. Luis' glasses fell off somewhere; not that he knew where. He barely registered the sensation of talons around his throat; and the blurry sight of another set being raised above his head-
Vanessa let out some sort war cry and latched on to the back of the bot; arms pulled up under his own and throwing all her weight back. Foxy didn't let Luis go immediately; but when he did, he went to reach over his head. He couldn't grab Vanessa however, as her small size actually played to her favor there.
Luis blinked blearily and rolled slowly until he was on all fours; fighting the need to furiously vomit all of their breakfast. He found Vanessa's phone in the snow; still unlocked as if she'd been looking for something on it- not that he could tell what unless he found his gosh dang glasses! He still grabbed her device though, fighting to see what kind of feature she'd been trying to use on it-
M.X.E.S' face appeared inside the screen; not that Luis can see it clearly. "Hold device up to the fox," he commanded coolly.
Luis obeyed, watching as Foxy continued to try to reach over and grab her-
A screech like Chica's glitching voice box hollered at a frequency that'd no doubt shut down Bonnie's systems was heard; the white fox freezing where he was and howling in pain. Vanessa slipped off his back and waddled over to Luis, pulling him and his glasses (which she saw) from the snow and pushing him forward. She took back her phone and started pulling Luis back towards the road- no doubt to flag down their friends.
Luis forcibly shoved his glasses on and glanced behind; catching that Foxy was already shaking himself out of the restart. It never took more than 10 seconds for any bot but Bonnie to move- but the rate in which this Foxy moved was unreal. He was scowling at their backs and steadily getting to his feet.
"Shit shit shit shit shit shit-" Vanessa huffed next to him.
Luis didn't spend energy swearing; he merely moved. He and Vanessa were quick to dive back into the copse and into some thick tree-line- making their way out of the old orchard and back towards the road. Foxy was following them again in short order; snarling and snapping all the way.
In fact, it didn't take him long to catch up.
He was already on their asses again within a moment; leaping through the woods and landing RIGHT behind them. Luis barely had enough time to process the sight of a black-tipped paw flying up from his peripheral vision; the man trying to side-step it but incidentally falling into Vanessa. Both went down, but at least they weren't hurt. Yet.
Foxy stood over them both, cackling openly and saying, "Ye shouldnae made it more fun, aye. I dare say, a buncha whelps make this game more fun than ye two made it. Ah well!"
Vanessa held up her phone; letting M.X.E.S use the recorded copy of Chica's screech on it on him-
And it didn't work this time.
Foxy laughed, his obscenely deep baritone/bass hybrid voice a thunderous sound between them. "Here's the meat of it- I kin turn me ears off if I want!" He tapped the side of his head, "Done did that as soon as ye two started hoofin' it'. Now, you two be comin' wid me..."
Luis had a hand over Vanessa's chest- meanwhile the woman had a firm hold of his clothes. They scooted back, but not by much. Luis was already starting to sit up-
Foxy got a firm hold of the man's clothes and dragged him to his feet; claws sinking in too deep and ripping past his coat. Tips grazed skin, causing light scratches as he bent to pull up Vanessa as well. Luis kicked at him the whole time; but the fox simply didn't care. He seized Vanessa by the scruff similarly, then turned to drag them off-
And he was met with a furious swipe to his jaw.
No thanks to having deafened his hearing, the fox hadn't heard the interloper coming. He dropped Luis and Vanessa and stumbled backward; just then recovering enough to block the next angry swipe. Teeth clinked and claws screeched as Roxanne wolf surged into him and barreled him into a tree; her jaws locking around one of his offered limbs.
Luis and Vanessa were pulled up to their feet by Eclipse; Luis drunkenly realizing that both he and Bonnie were also here. The rabbit was already speeding past the jester to join Roxy in the scuffle; carmine colored talon tips kissing steel as he rammed into the smaller bot. Roxy and him snapped and tore without abandon; the white fox kicking out toe claws and ripping into stomachs. Roxy seized his throat and shook violently; meanwhile Bonnie balled his hands together and started beating his chest in with a feral, gorilla-like strength that'd no doubt pulverize a man's chest cavity into a soupy mess.
"Its okay- you'll be okay!" Eclipse ushered them aside. "They'll take care of it!"
Vanessa nodded numbly, just then registering the presence of Freddy too. The ursine bent and said, "DJ is helping fix the wheel on your van. He and Eclipse will ride with you back. Go now! Move-" he shoved them away.
Luis nodded numbly, nearly tripping on his feet and turning to briefly catch the sight of Roxy and Bonnie still pummeling away at the white fox with a distinct feral animosity that hasn't gone unnoticed. Bonnie's aggression was one thing, and sadly innate to him as a poor result of his character blueprint and the soul in his body- in fact, he had a nose bleed and one optic was leaking again; his pupils pinned to dots amidst his war-like gaze. Roxy meanwhile has ALWAYS been a wild wreck in her own way: She never held back once she throws all in; and it showed as she tried ripping the fox's limbs off with tooth and nail. If she was capable of it, she'd be spitting and frothing at the mouth. Bonnie was holding the fox up and pulling his arms back in a way so he can't swing them back forward; Roxy focusing on ripping him apart piece by piece. She had shorn off his skin and parts of his shell; trying to dig at his motor next as if to rip out his beating heart.
And then a gargantuan ROAR echoed across the woods, prompting for both bots to stop and glance up. Luis and Vanessa instinctively ducked-
And an entire fucking TREE went flying across the area and almost took their heads off.
Freddy and Eclipse both got thrown back by the blow; Bonnie and Roxanne briefly distracted by the move. The white Fox took his chance to kick Roxy in her leg so hard it bent the wrong way; the wolf collapsing in a hissing fit. Bonnie kept his obscene hold on his prey, but the fox looped his tail around the rabbit's knee and forced it to bend; throwing the rabbit's weight off and making him stumble. Foxy got free after that; turning around and snapping his teeth into the rabbit's face and shaking as Roxy had done to him before.
"ENOUGH OF THIS, FOXY!"
Polar Freddy stormed right by Eclipse and the Glamrock variant; not caring that the brown bear was already pushing the tree off. No, he was focused on the fox himself! He snagged Foxy by the TAIL and dragged him off of Bonnie.
"OW!" The rabbit spat; one of the fox's teeth having briefly been stuck in his optic.
"Oh, shush! You'll live," He snapped impatiently to the blue Glamrock. The cleaned up polar bot yanked Foxy by the scruff and lifted him a whole meter into the air until he was finally eye-level with himself. "-And now, YOU! ATTACKING THEM IN BROAD DAYLIGHT? ARE YOU NUTS!? THAT ISN'T OUR DIRECTIVE!"
"LEMME GO ALREADY YE BLUNDERIN' BOAR-ARSE!" He only retaliated.
Polar Freddy snarled, then head-butted the fox; stunning him. And then, he took his head off.
Everybody was completely slack-jawed as the polar bot hulled the fox's body over his shoulder and tucked his head under arm. The fox groaned, his jaws loose on his severed head; but he could do nothing as the over-sized polar bot began to leave. The polar bot didn't even seem to notice the others beyond a point-
But then, his nose worked; and he sharply turned towards Glamrock Freddy. Now he frowned. He worked his jaw, narrowed his hardened cerulean optics, then bluntly queried, "You. You do not smell as you did before. Did you- Dawwww. Nevermind! I have to take Foxy back to our employers for proper reprimand and repairs. I am very sorry for all the trouble he's caused you! He's always' been a little... er, wild." He ducked his head as if sheepishly. "And please, I am also sorry about that tree... that was not aimed at you two. I wanted to stun Foxy!"
There was more confused glances.
"Have a nice day!" Polar Freddy chirped, as if he totally hasn't done a violence and severed his comrade's head off. "I look forward to our next meeting in the future- oh! And you-" He turned to Bonnie, "I believe you said you made a promise?"
"I... I... I uh..." He stuttered, blinking as if in a stupor. His eyes crossed in a bout of confusion, then he rapidly shook his head as if to force himself awake. "I did-?"
"The depot I can leave unlocked for you, should you deign to return. I pray you were not making a liar of yourself?"
"I wasn't tryna... yeah," The rabbit mumbled.
"That is good news! I shall wait eagerly for your visit. Please excuse me and do drive home safely!" He blithely smiled. He turned to Roxy, "I hope to see you there too! Its always nice to meet new friends!"
Roxy's left optic was twitching as if she'd forgotten how to control it; just openly gawping at him like she was struggling to swallow that he was real and if she was perhaps hallucinating him.
"Da hell you blubberin' fer-" Foxy snapped at him from beneath his armpit. "You should be rippin' them to pieces! THE FUCK YOU DOIN'? Put me heid back on so I can- OOMPH!"
Polar Freddy crashed his head into a tree, the smaller bot shouting in more obscenities thereafter. "I. Hate. SWEARS," The white ursine stated flatly. "You shall be quiet, and respectful! And no more of your fool-hardy hastiness! REALLY- the nerve!"
He said nothing else as he left; passing the group one more sheepish little wave and disappearing into the tree-line.
Nobody said anything after that. They just stared at where he'd been just standing; trying to piece together what they just experienced. They only moved when DJ lumbered over, signing furiously.
'He seemed nice!' was what he said.
Vanessa pawed through her loose hair in a manner not too dissimilar to Bonnie whenever he was nervous; turning to gape at DJ like he said something equally as obscene. She shook her head, helped Luis up, and said, "Lets... just. Go home. Please."
Luis licked his lips, then furiously face-palmed. "AI AI! I remembered- isn't it time to pick up the kids?"
To which end, there was a series of grunts and looks of shock. Freddy produced a strangled noise and started bustling back towards the vans immediately; not keen on leaving those poor kids out in the cold for much longer.