~Thursday~

ROXANNE WOLF

"You think its not too much?"

"Not at all. You look so fucking fly you could go superstellar!"

Roxy was leering into Chica's face as she helped the hen with her outfit; even going as far as to apply make-up to her lids and accenting the more subtle shapes of her face. Chica was wearing a nice, professional dark purple capelet coat; plus size of course to fit her Glamrock physique. Beneath, she was wearing some simple pink turtlenecks and, what Roxy would dare say is a cute knee-length skirt to go with it. She had eye-shadow that was about as dark pink as her prior Glamrock markings; but on both eyes this time to help give some symmetry and a more professional air to her face. Roxy herself did the whole thing herself; and wanted Chica to feel more comfortable with going with Vanessa today. Its bad enough the hen seemed to hesitate as much as she was.

Roxy stepped back and felt a twinkle come on as she turned the hen forcibly around to look at herself in the body mirror they had in the spare room; a room the Glamrocks all put the majority of their accessories and whatever few articles of clothes they come to get throughout the last two years. There was also a vanity, wardrobe and a chair in here; to make applying make-up a bit easier for whomever wore it too. There was also a couple chests around with more of their artificial skins in them and the rest of their clothes; making even this fairly sized room feel claustrophobic. On a good day, this room wasn't super messy- but it maintained a certain level of cluttered chaos that stayed immortal no matter what Sun did to clean it; nit-picky as he is.

In Roxy's opinion, she couldn't wait to have her own room and a closest. Sharing with everyone had been so startling after having had her own room to herself since her very creation. And in the 2 years the bots have been living in this house, a lot of things tended to get mixed up or lost. There was sometimes a few little arguments about whose jewelry was whom's and whose make-up set got misplaced. Thankfully, a lot of these spats that could've involved actual fabric clothing never had the chance to form since the bots each had unique tastes; like Monty loving cargos and Sun wearing these bright, gay looking suits that can ONLY fit a lanky, lithe and thin-boned individual. Bonnie and Freddy tended to wear practically the same things; but if their clothes got mixed up, they don't care. They literally laugh it off and mix and match their outfits on purpose after a point. They even exchanged shirts some days.

Roxy's love for leather and denim couldn't be denied; and it felt like a core aspect of her punk personality. She could pass as a motorcyclist with the way she dresses. Nobody in the house dressed like that; and the only ones who could maybe have a similar taste was Bonnie or Monty (it felt like Bonnie liked EVERYTHING though- he was not picky about clothes).

Back in the present, Roxy watched Chica size herself up and turn around to look at herself; her head doing a full 360 on her weird, flexible extra vertebra. Looking at herself from behind had never been an issue for her; and she was probably the only bot who could do this, besides the jester. The hen hummed appreciatively at the outfit and fluffed up a bit; giving herself a mighty shake as if to bolster her nerve.

"You really are the best at this," the white hen amicably commented.

"Did you expect anything less?" Roxy fluffed her mane.

"Not at all. Its kinda a no-brainer why the kids ask you about looking good for picture day," Chica smiled. Roxy kept her prideful, toothy smirk as Chica flattened out any remaining wrinkles in her outfit; then she turned to face the wolf fully and continued with, "I wish I had your confidence too. I can't help feeling like I'm making a fool of myself somehow... and that I shouldn't go or-"

"Don't start with that," Roxy snapped, although not unkindly. "Its like what they say, 'a wise man with no confidence will think himself a fool when he stands next to a sanguine one'. You ain't winning any races if you don't feel like you do!"

Chica blinked several times and frowned, "Hm, so, who made up that saying?"

"Me!" Roxy jabbed a jade talon to her breast fur. She even puffed it out, "And I know I'm right! It also doesn't take a genius to know he's gonna lose if he shoots himself in the foot before a leg race. Come on, Chica. Keep up with me here!"

The hen clacked her beak, then lightly snarked, "Isn't the short-hand of that saying 'mind over matter'?"

"Shut up and agree with me!"

"Ah, yes ma'am!"

"See? See what I did there? I got someone whose already learned themself to agree with me cuz I feel good!"

The hen blinked rapidly, nodded vaguely, and dipped her head. "You're right. Thank you."

Roxy pumped a fist and pushed her towards the door, "Now then, you're gonna go and talk to Miss Howler. Then, you're gonna come home and tell us what it's like. If this goes well, I wager a couple more of us will be going with you to see her at some point! And out of all of us here who need going-" She narrowed her eyes, "I think its Sun or friggin' Bonnie. Monty is a close third. They're all fucking crazy."

Chica hissed through her teeth, but she didn't deny it.

After a point, Roxy walked her to the door downstairs and stopped; noticing Vanessa talking to Luis close by and- ew. Roxy looked away and poked out her tongue as Vanessa talked with the glasses-wearing giga nerd via mouth-to-neck. She really didn't need to walk down here and catch them. This house felt way too small as it is, on that note.

Vanessa didn't even have the graces to look repentant as she migrated to the door; grabbing her keys for one of the party buses. Luis muttered something at her in Spanish; and while Roxy can translate it, she will not. The wolf kept her resting bitch face as Luis had the audacity to smack her ass once and laugh as he went back upstairs to no doubt continue his marketing work. Vanessa's brow twitched but she said nothing as she looked up at them.

"Ready to go?" she asked, as if she totally hadn't been necking her man.

"If I'd been Gregory or Cassie, I would've screamed," Chica dead-panned for the wolf.

"Well, good thing Freddy's with them, huh?"

"What's he up to?" Roxy queried.

"He's in the garage with them; letting Cassie check his coolant level and maintaining him while they dress to go to the park," Vanessa shrugged. "Greg asked yesterday to go. Maybe you should go with him? For the sake of the buddy system."

Roxy inhaled, held and glanced away. Going out into town didn't sound like a bad idea. "Ain't that insufferable blue smartass gonna go with his boyfriend like usual though?" The she-wolf smirked while settling into one hip.

Vanessa produced a snort, "Bonnie's hibernating. Look in the living room; I think he's got a bout of the... whatever you call being particularly... er, possessed?" Her eyes fluttered like she was dizzy. "Yeah, I still don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that."

Chica warbled sadly, then she was seen peering into the den. DJ and Monty were... what were they doing? Now all the ladies were all peering in and watching them with interest; noticing that they were bent over the rabbit's crumpled form on the couch. His limbs were all over the place; hanging off the arm rest and a leg barely doing its job keeping him in the seat. Bonnie was indeed deeply asleep; mouth open and body completely limp and silent. His compressor was barely doing its job to cool him down; not that it was needed and he was generating any heat. For all intents and purposes, he looked dead.

Next to him and bent onto one knee, Monty had a sharpie in his talons and was-

OH.

Roxy fought a cackle and shoved a paw over her muzzle as the gator was drawing on the rabbit's face. DJ looked concerned, but the fact he wasn't stopping him made him an accomplice by proxy. Roxy sniffed the air there; noticing that Bonnie was indeed pretty much comatose for the day. Some days, he wouldn't be quite himself and would just 'shut down' like this. Right now, the rabbit wasn't hardly even breathing. And while it would worry anyone else, this wasn't too unusual for the family. Monty found it a day to make with the mischief whenever that happened.

In the kitchen, Sun had poked his head out to catch them. Then, the idiot skipped in, took the marker from the gator, and added to it.

"Oh my god- GUYS," Vanessa snapped. "Don't be mean! I pray you ain't drawing dicks on him!"

"No dicks," Monty snirked. "Nah. That's tasteless, even for me. Just some buncha fun stuff... like rainbows. Yeah. Mostly rainbows..."

Vanessa frowned at him, stomped into the den, and looked at him-

She inhaled sharply and fought a cackle; trying to look adult but failing. She managed to school herself back to normal and took the sharpie from Sun, "No more, okay? Bonnie has a hard enough time trying to clean his face off whenever he does that... thing... he does. I swear I feel like I'm raising more children than just Cassie and Gregory!" She stole the sharpie from them; no doubt not leaving it to chance that they'll continue. "Behave while I'm gone! And don't let Luis wander off on his own and get himself deaded. I'll be very sad and PISSED if I find out my man died because you guys are too busy drawing fucking unicorns shitting rainbows on his- oh my god, WHY." She gave up and slumped against the door; fighting the need to laugh as she found her ear muffs. "For fuck's sake, kids live here you know!"

"You said yerself they'll be outside for a while," Monty sneered.

"Shut up, I swear to god. I don't want to come home and find his expensive fur covered in humping unicorns next!"

"Don't give me the idea."

Vanessa flipped him off, then turned to Chica, "Come on. Miss Howler is waiting."

Chica was gakeling at Monty like she was going to string him up by his nonexistent balls, lavender optics narrowing like she was trying to fire lasers. She jabbed a feathery digit at the gator, produced an annoyed cackle that lilted threateningly (like a rooster gearing up for a fight), and scratched at the floor once in promise of harm to come in the future. "I'm the one who ends up cleaning your furs and stuff all the time, whenever you guys don't have the time to do it! So knock it off," She snarled. "Or I'm gonna make YOU clean his fur this time."

Monty threw up his hands, "Geez! Fine! Just get out already!"

Chica pointed two fingers to her optics, then back at him, and started to head outside. Before she did, she paused as Vanessa roared over to the garage, "Kids! We're leaving!"

"Alright!" Came Gregory's voice.

The woman and hen went out after that, Chica waving at Roxy as she did.

As soon as they were out the door, Monty turned to Sun and said, "Quick, get me another sharpie! I ain't done here."

"What, you serious?" The jester shrugged.

"Hella. Now do it!"

Sun simply shrugged and left; with DJ throwing his hands up into the air like 'Yeah, I'm noping out' and just sauntered over to the reading chair by the bookshelf.

Roxy rolled her eyes, "Guys, seriously. Stop. Leave that idiot alone."

"Dude, I started drawing, and I'm gonna finish it," Monty retorted. "And I'm getting him back for being the one to actually draw DICKS on me that other time! That was HIM, not me! You guys act he's a fuckin' angel! Hell nah. You remember that last drawing he did?"

Roxy threw back her head and guffawed loudly, "Oh my god, best drawing ever. He drew a pair of balls on your crotch, right?"

Monty growled, then kept at it. "Golf balls, to be exact," He snarled. "And while I appreciate the humor in it, he didn't hafta draw 'em right where my own should be. I have half a mind to draw a bass where his dick his should be."

Roxy only laughed harder there; slapping a paw to her face and just keeling over. In fact, she even goaded him with, "Do it."

The reptile snirked, "Sun, we're fuggin' drawing some humping unicorns on his naval and that bass."

"What and why there?"

"He's tramp stamp material. That's why. I mean, just lookit 'em! What part of you doesn't think he looks like a fruit tart trying to lay out for someone?"

Sun looked flabbergasted, but the fact he wasn't trying to do anything to say no or resist was bad enough. He looked around, then stared at Monty, "Not... the unicorns... procreating. But... maybe something a bit more... erg, less suggestive?"

"No promises," The gator snorted.

Roxy didn't stay to find out if Sun would stop him or not; moving towards the garage and opening the door. She found Freddy in the repair armature; with Cassie running a diagnostic on his internals and the overall functionality of his servos. No doubt she was making sure everything was in order. Gregory was on the computer itself with M.X.E.S on the screen; likely helping with any programming improvements. They were already finishing up though, if Freddy's relaxed smile and shutting of the various hinges on his belly and arms were anything to go by. He was pulling his fur back on next.

"Okay. Put in an order for one new servo," Gregory pushed off the desk and got up from the rolling chair; pulling his arms over his head and yawning. "I need to run around. Too tired sitting at desk today."

"Something up?" Roxy queried.

Cassie passed her a little shrug, "Nothing really. Freddy just needs one servo in his right arm replaced; its giving out and locking up. The one in his wrist? It still works, just not totally great."

"Don't we have spares lying around?"

"Not that particular one," Gregory pointed out, tone stiff. "Its one of the strength augmentation servos; the fancy ones that produce more torque."

"Oh... the Monty-grade stuff," Roxy crossed her arms. "Right... okay."

The strength augmentation upgrade was an expensive feature they had; and it can easily roll into a few hundred dollars for a single one; thus why they couldn't order them in bulk. It gave the bots the ability to perform greater acts of strength far above their weight limit. The particular one Freddy and Monty had were similar models (Bonnie kept the illicit set he took from the PizzaPlex from his time dealing with Vanny; so they weren't alone there); and it was given to them by Fazbear Entertainment itself for some unforeseeable reason. Roxy guessed it was supposed to fall in line with the idea of bears and gators being big, strong, fearsome predators or something. It made Freddy and Monty ridiculously and stupidly over-powered however; and Monty, even on a bad day, can hurl a CAR down the road with ease.

Bonnie theorized that the upgrades were deliberately done to make them more dangerous. After all, they used to have their security mode to account for the fact that, if they ever caught armed intruders inside the PizzaPlex, they needed whatever advantage they had to stop them. Roxy also agreed that, therein, Fazbear Entertainment simply wanted their bots to be powerful enough so they can help protect the company's secrets. The idea of it was dark enough if one considers that the company doesn't like leaving loose ends.

Still, the upgrades nowadays were nice for their flip jobs. And once, Freddy actually picked up the party bus above some traffic and casually walked out of it. That definitely had people staring, but him toting the bus like that at least kept Roxy from going stir-crazy from frustration and probably wrecking another vehicle as a result.

And then there's this Polar Freddy and that other Foxy to account for... so yes, these upgrades were super important and still sadly detrimental to both their well-being and progressing of their day-to-day.

"Roxy! You wanna come with us to the park?" Cassie went on to say. "Get out of the house for a bit?"

"Hm... yeah. Why the heck not?" the wolf smiled, walking over to the girl and placing a hand on her bandanna-covered head. "I can stand to get away from the monster iguana and Sun's OCD ranting for a while. They're already bugging me-" She winced, "And Monty's taken to drawing on Bonnie's face."

"What?" Freddy squinted.

"Vanessa told him off before she walked out the door but... you know Monty," Roxy rolled her eyes. "He's still bent outta shape about the balls Bonnie drew on this crotch that time."

Gregory sniggered unashamedly there; with both Freddy and Cassie casting him the look.

Freddy eventually looked away and tapped a blue claw tip to his lip-line, then 'ah-ha'd!' at something. "Why don't we take a couple instruments and play for ourselves too? We can play on the bench while we watch the kids!"

Gregory suddenly snapped his fingers at an idea, his littler gremlin smirk in place, "I got a wicked idea for that too! What if there's some parents and kids there? Maybe, if they see you guys as actual bots, we can rope them in for possible parties!"

Roxy and Freddy passed each other looks, with the wolf going on to say, "I can't see the harm... but do you really think there'll be other kids out there today?"

"They're out for Winter break! Why would they NOT be? And 'sides, worse case, there ain't anyone out there and we can just have the park to ourselves! No biggie..." Gregory frowned there, "Unless... that Foxy is brave enough to... just... jump out. And attack us... again."

Freddy snarled, his eyes akin to cut diamonds shaped to razor sharpness in his visage, "He will not touch any of us again. I will make sure of that."

Roxy blinked rapidly at the very sudden and severe drop of his usually merry baritone. The kids had noticed it too; watching Freddy with both confusion and worry.

Freddy meanwhile blinked out of whatever odd headspace he'd been in and coughed uncertainly, "Let's just erm... go. Yes. I'll pack us a lunch!" He bustled past them, looking rather sheepish as he did.

"That was weird," Gregory dead-panned.

Cassie shook her head, "Not weird considering he's like Bonnie now... I can't help but wonder whose stuck inside him?"

"I wish there was a way to find out," her adopted brother went on to say. "Only thing I can think is like... you'll laugh but, a spirit box? And then just ask the spirit or something why they're haunting the bot?"

Cassie folded her arms, "You really think a spirit box would help?"

"Cass, I used to very firmly disbelieve in spirits and all that voo-doo hee-bee jee-bee bull crap just about as much as any sane person," Gregory waggled his fingers like he was imitating a spirit poorly. "But then I met Bonnie and seriously had to review my every life decision. Dude was terrifying chasing Vanessa that time! I can never forget how horrible his temper was and what being possessed can do to your emotions. Freddy's told me a lot about his past with Bonnie and... well, I know you heard it too. Bonnie's way too different for us to not take notice of. And now that Freddy's like that, I think we can stand to learn more from it."

"Yeah," Cassie glanced away. "But a spirit box? Last time I checked, those things aren't reliable cuz the ghost or something wouldn't even like, respond? Or just bother in general..."

"Unless Fazbear Entertainment had some sorta way to track what they're doing, who even knows?" Gregory started to move past them. "Anyways, let's just go out and enjoy our day. I'd rather not think about this right now-"

"MONTY! OH MY GOD WHAT DID YOU DOOOO?"

Both children and the wolf jumped there; Freddy's authoritarian baritone a thunderous, raucous noise that startled them out of their respective skins. Roxy was grinning like an idiot when she realized what he was so hyped up about, and wound up sauntering into the main room to catch some of the fun.

Sun had wisely vacated the room once he saw Freddy; sneaky. No doubt he'll come back in here to sit in his little fort in the corner when he could. The blanket covering it had its corner attached to the sitting chair DJ currently occupied; the spider bot just flipping through a copy of Vanessa's big book on animals (something the bots wanted for a better scale of reference for their animal inspirations). He blatantly ignored the bear and gator as the former scolded the surly reptile regarding the new array of impromptu 'tats' in various and interesting places on the catatonic rabbit's body.

Gregory ignored Roxy- who reached out for him once she saw him move- and glided over to the couch to inspect Monty's work. The boy was cackling like Chica does whenever she made a particularly delightful dish; spinning once on his heel and bowing over like its the most hilarious thing. Cassie and Roxy ended up joining him, a little too curious about what the gator did- and yes, Roxy had to pull both boy and girl away and cover their eyes at what she saw:

Monty had removed the fur on Bonnie's torso. It was a sensible move so he didn't damage the recently repaired skin; but now his painted metal chassis was exposed to the open air and had all kinds of crudely drawn images trailing from his neck to pelvic piece. Roxy couldn't help but smile at the various rainbows, unicorns doing questionable things, and a few random bunnies doing some of the same things the unicorns were doing on his belly. And sure enough, he'd been drawing that bass too- not that he got too far before Freddy walked in.

Freddy looked furious, to say the least. Looks like they may be here for a bit longer until he blew himself out and Monty finally lost his temper listening to him. In fact, Roxy didn't want to say this, but she may have to play referee in case the gator tried throwing a swing at him. The chance of a fight between Freddy and Monty had never been too far; even though Freddy does love and respect Monty, she can't say it was shared with the reptile. Yes, he DID care in his own way, but he seemed to see Freddy as a friend and not family a lot of the time. Or maybe he really did see the bear as family and it annoyed him so much that he had to swing at him? It was hard to tell with him.

Either way, Roxy watched as Freddy scolded the reptile, then turned on SUN! Nope, no one's safe from him today. He was in full parent mode; and he wasn't going to let anyone get away with the fact Bonnie had a horrible picture of humping unicorns on his pelvic piece. Looks like Monty got his wish and did just that.

God, Bonnie will have a heart attack when he gets up. Its a small wonder he hadn't noticed or felt anything that whole time; but when he was out cold like this, perhaps not as surprising as one thought. Still, Roxanne urged the kids to leave the room so they didn't have to look at him; then she helped pull the fur back over him so to shield him from view. He can clean up whenever he stirs, she figured. Best to let him have this 'spell' in peace.

Or rather, whatever little of it he had left anyways.


Freddy and Roxy turned up the radio to as loud as bearable on their way to the park after that; Roxy banging her head as a plethora of classics poured from the speakers. Roxy herself quite adored 'Sweet Dreams' as an example; grinning like a toothy maniac as the rhythm nearly dangerously put her into showtime mode and her body forced itself to reflect its disquiet in some way. At the back of the van, she was moving around and partially dancing as a result. Songs that catchy were so terribly contagious that it seemed even humans couldn't help but bob their heads. Cassie and Gregory were doing something similar on their way to the park in the front seat; the whole van almost in sync to constant thump of its occupants.

Once they arrived, they turned it off and were somewhat glad for it. As great as the music outside the PizzaPlex was, it's almost a no-brainer why half the time the copyrighted stuff was not allowed. The music that inspired their gimmick and time era was good stuff; and the bots all enjoyed them to the extent as one would think. But damn whenever they played; as none of them can't help but move with them to some extent.

Roxy pulled out her keyboard and handed Freddy Bonnie's antique bass; something the rabbit more than willingly shared with the ursine. He threw the strap over his shoulder and shut the doors; huffing in the wintry afternoon and looking much better than he did at the house.

"I say, getting out for ourselves was a splendid idea, Gregory," he informed the boy. "Sometimes, I admit to feeling a bit confined at the residence... not that I dislike it!"

"I know! Its crowded, and no one can blame you for it," Gregory shrugged. "You guys are used to living at the PizzaPlex still in some part of your minds. You had your own rooms, stuff, and the PizzaPlex itself wasn't small by any means. Even people who're used to small homes struggle with that normally; let alone you guys."

"Well, Sun was right in saying its snug," Freddy added.

"True. But the lack of privacy in some places is admittedly a little aggravating," the boy elbowed him in a sympathetic manner. "Its okay to complain about it sometimes. Its normal, yunno."

Freddy only shrugged there, taking Gregory's hand and walking with him into the park. Roxy did the same with Cassie, the two feeling completely at ease with with motion. And yes, while the kids have done some growing in the last couple years, it seemed Cassie never grew tired of the hugs and hand holding she got. Gregory was more likely to let go at times, but even then he did so rarely when it came to Freddy engaging the contact.

Roxy felt a tiny bit self-conscious of her appearance when they noticed indeed, there was a few parents and couples out today. Children played but it wouldn't be for long, Roxy figured. Once their clothes was wet enough from the snow, they'd be ushered away by their family and brought somewheres warm. Likely she and Freddy will look like the odd ones out; appearances aside.

Cassie and Gregory scoped the scene, with Gregory turning to say to the wolf and bear, "You want me and Cass to try and talk 'em up?"

"No no. Focus on being yourselves and have fun," Freddy urged, gently pushing the boy forward. "Go make friends! Think of nothing else. Roxy and I will content ourselves with watching you and playing if we so choose. If you get hungry, I have your food in my stomach hatch, staying warm."

"You brought lunch?"

"Why not?" Freddy smiled.

Roxy snickered at his expression, "He also forgot to say he wrapped it all up in a blanket. We both have a couple small throws on us in case you guys get too soaked." They had to remove their artificial stomachs to do so, but it was needed in this instance, the bear and wolf both figured.

"We're not invalids..." Gregory rolled his eyes, but he didn't seem unappreciative. He just showed it funny, as Roxy knew. "Still, I feel like its too much!"

"I wouldn't think so, considering its cold enough and its snowed this morning," Freddy extended a paw and watched as a flake or two fell; but it was trace. It was already melting within a breath as he turned to focus on them again. "Go on now! Go have fun. We'll be sitting just over here on the bench!"

Gregory shrugged, then gently pulled Cassie along. The two raced off; wadding through the ankle-high drift and puffing immediately from the effort.

"The blankets are gonna be a smart call," Roxy told him as they seated themselves. She pulled her keyboard out and over onto her lap; turning it on and finding the settings she liked.

Freddy strummed the bass; and of course it was already in-tune. He performed a couple exercises on it; his smile placid and gentle. He even wore a dreamy look as if he wasn't quite here, at the moment. He was already unwinding after the fairly rough start to his morning; between realizing he had a failing servo and Monty's oddly juvenile outburst. Even then, Freddy was still the winner of his own day just by finding the positive of the moments that befell him.

Roxy never said it aloud, but she admired that about him. Monty always found his peppiness 'unrealistic and aggravating'. But the others enjoyed having an upright and blithe comrade that they can bounce off of whenever they've felt their worst. Roxy's lack of confidence and Chica's own faltering uncertainties at the PizzaPlex were glaring issues that followed them around like a bad nightmare; but Freddy had always been the one to help chase it away, even temporarily, so they could perform. Roxy didn't want to admit it but this solidarity was their back-bone when they needed it.

And the times Freddy himself had been down and out? Well, he used to have his hype-man at his back: Bonnie. Freddy's smile had been untouchable when Bonnie had been in the band; and the easy confidence they both exhumed had been a contagious force that compelled the rest of the group to stay strong and follow along. Roxy was glad that the two were what they were; even despite it being a pre-programmed character archetype. Why was she designed to feel like a failure? Was that her engineer and programmer's own faults or her own? She never knew the answer to that, and it frustrated her at several lengths.

This odd observation led her into Freddy's behavior after Bonnie's passing; and how lonely and off he'd be some days. He was still trying to keep them afloat, even when he himself had been in a sinking ship. Roxy felt bad about it a lot and often, but she couldn't exactly give advice or support when she herself sponged off of his own. She had zero confidence in herself some days, and she knew she wasn't the best at making others feel better about themselves when they needed it the most. Some emotional displays even intimidated her; like that time Chica had been smashing pots and pans together in the wake of Bonnie's death and she couldn't find a way to calm her down.

But it had been Freddy who swept in to make her better.

Roxy felt the bear elbow her suddenly; his cerulean optics on her own amber set as he noticed she'd been carried away with her own musings. "You alright?" he queried politely.

No wonder Chica hugged him. He deserved it, she figured. He deserves all the love and support back he gives to others.

Roxy did something she's never really done a lot before; leaning heavily on him as akin to some of the couples nearby. Her tail flicked around them and settled on their laps; and no, it didn't hurt when the instruments were set on it. It even kept the chill of the instruments themselves off their bodies. She adjusted her keyboard on her so it wouldn't collide with the old bass; her back more or less on his side than anything. It was uncomfortable, but it wasn't at the same time; funnily enough.

"I'm fine. Let's just play," She smiled. "Don't let that failing servo stop you."

"I didn't intend on it. So uh, can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"Can you sing for me?" He asked, smile dopey. "I like your rasp. Its like- oh, I do not want to sound weird but-" Now his smirk died in favor of a flustered frown. He eventually settled with, "Biscuits... What's a good term for it? Well, I guess I can say its sexy! To put it bluntly. I cannot find many other apt ways to describe it."

Roxy blinked rapidly and suddenly found looking at him difficult. Something in her motor stalled but it was brief. What was that? She couldn't say, but she can reply with, "T-thank you. If I sing though, you start us off. Don't tell carrot breath but I like the bass solos at the beginning and middle of our songs? They're killer. I just don't want that to go to his head! You know how he goes full ham on them as it is."

Freddy chortled. "I will not say. But, I am inclined to agree with you! I quite love them myself and I will tell him that much. I will not say you said as much though," He assuaged.

"That's good enough for me."

Freddy complied to her wishes and started; blue talons weaving masterfully across the old instrument. Vanessa and Luis had managed to get him the pieces needed for his own bass playing claws and crafted the set he wore currently from spare pieces of parts recovered from the depot. They were his own set; no one else's. And while they were still powerful and woefully sharp, Freddy had blunted the tips somewhat for safety reasons. Not by much, but a little. He also claimed the tips not being AS sharp made grip on the strings not as difficult; being able to hold them down across the bridge and produce a few savory, warbling notes that danced during the solos. Honestly, the revised touch was both practical and safer! Bonnie, as soon as he saw what Freddy did to his new claws asked to blunt his too; and even Monty had done it once they realized what they can do with their instruments.

Roxy hummed contentedly as he played; then remembered to play as well and joined in. She started singing whatever came to mind. Still somewhat charged by the song 'Sweet Dreams', she went along with the idea of its beat but used it as a lose inspiration. She was smiling like a dope as well as her ursine friend as she started weaving together a stanza born from newfound confidence. Freddy adjusted easily and well; and while no doubt not as quickly as the rabbit (after all, Bonnie's ear upgrades were specifically meant for him to catch the nuance of any song instantly adapt), he was still very swift in picking up her melody and flexibly followed along:

"So many songs say 'take it easy'~

Too many more say 'life is TOO hard'~

More hearts pound in sync to 'I love yous'~

But I'm here to say 'there's so much more tooo DO~

.

Don't let the word 'hard' beat you down.

Don't let 'easy' have its way.

Go on and earn your crown.

Redefine the line and win the daaay~"

Roxy's green digits sang as they wove across the white face of her keyboard; bobbing her head and noticing Freddy's foot started tapping in the snow. Feeling even more full of pep, she kept going with a far more rapid beat and in something nearly akin to a hybridized rap:

"Feel your heart roar and the fire burn in your core.

Take your tour and don't wait for more.

Take the hardest test and do your best~

You can do the rest and do the impossible~

While you sing ''I can make it all plausible!'

.

Don't let the word 'hard' beat you down.

Don't let 'easy' have its own way.

Go on and earn your crown~

Redefine the line and win the daaay~"

.

Come alive in the dark and set the pace~

Make your mark, win the race and set your heart ablaze~

You're the winner, ground setter, chain breaker, and earth shaker!

You're the god to kings, master of rings, and the wind in heavenly wings!

.

Don't let the word 'hard' beat you down.

Don't let 'easy' have its own way.

Go on and earn your crown~

Redefine the line and win the daaay~"

.

You're the child of the wild and make victorious look glorious!

You're a war machine that keeps on twisting and churnin'!

You're the shining expectation in a degrading situation!

You are the ender to make them all surrender!

.

Don't let the word 'hard' beat you down.

Don't let 'easy' have its own way.

Go on and earn your crown~

Redefine the line and win the daaay~"

.

A wine-toasted ascendency and total supremacy!

Your light is all we can see and the sun's own envy!

Be worthy and make history and bask in glory!

No more ruminating, contemplating, hesitating!

.

Don't let the word 'hard' beat you down.

Don't let 'easy' have its own way.

Go on and earn your crown~

Redefine the line and win the daaay~"

Roxy had, at some point, pulled all the way away from Freddy and was rapidly beating her head to the rises in the song; and the bear himself was doing everything he can to keep up and doing a fine job of it. At some points of the song that felt proper, the bass sang its way in by itself and hit some of her notes in just the right way. The wolf almost let out a whoop at several intervals but kept it steady as needed.

It was once the song ended did they realize, ever so foolishly, that they've acquired a few watching eyes and ears. Both blinked rapidly at the realization and even kept playing a bit; finishing with the bass solo as it had began. And when it finally came to an end, did Roxy have the chance to see just how many people were around:

A couple or two likely on their dates, and a few more parents with a half dozen children was watching them. Not a huge crowd, but huge enough and they ALL started clapping. The children were bouncing up and down; faces ruddy from both cold and excitement. One even ran circles like they were having a sugar rush; bee-lining it towards them despite a mother reaching out to stop her.

"So awesome!"

"I wanna touch her tail!"

"THAT WAS COOOOOL!"

Roxy jolted and couldn't help flinching when a child that wasn't her own stopped before her; a tiny girl that couldn't have been older than Cassie was when she first came to the PizzaPlex. Maybe 7, 8 years old? Single digits at least. Her ears flattened briefly, then flexed back up as the girl jubilantly squeaked her excitement. Her mother was at her side in an instant.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for her to- she just gets so excited and-"

Freddy did the talking for her and smiled that charismatic, crowd-winning grin of his, "We find no offense! It makes us happy to see the children get so excited. It just means they had a great time too!"

One of the couples was whispering; Roxy just then catching their names. A man, probably in his twenties (likely not much younger than Luis, on that note), stepped forward, "Those uh... either those are really good costumes, or you're like, the REAL deal. Cuz you guys make for an awesome Roxy and Freddy." He pointed at the instruments, "Even those are... wow. Just wow. You sound like them, the instruments WORK and aren't props... like wow."

Freddy narrowed his eyes, leaned towards him, then an expression of recognition ignited on his face. A beam of light even went over the man's face; making the crowd 'Ooooh!' at that. Freddy's scanner apparently got a result too when he said, "Reggie? You're Reggie Willis! You came to the PizzaPlex on the 15th of March, at noon, for your younger sibling's birthday as of 4 years ago!"

Roxy searched her memory banks; and came up positive for a PizzaPlex membership. She faced him now, feeling stupid for not scanning sooner.

The crowd was muttering, apparently interested in this exchange as Freddy managed to give an exact time and date for this man's visitation.

Reggie blinked several times, pointed a finger and stepped away from his girlfriend. "No effin' way-" He said, looking completely gob-smacked.

"You're Mathias' brother!" Freddy continued effortlessly, clapping once with finality. "He liked the Chica cookie dough cake! He turned 11? He wanted-" He trailed off, expression briefly sobering. "He wanted Bonnie... Bonnie was his pick that day."

"...No freakin' way-" Reggie smiled and turned and whipped around again, "No freakin' way you're Freddy freaking Fazbear."

"I be him! And this is my coworker, Roxanne Wolf herself-" He pulled Roxy close, "We just had some upgrades is all!"

"The bots... from the PizzaPlex-" Another parent mumbled. "-Are sitting here. In the park. Long after its closed. How and why?"

Gregory and Cassie were standing nearby, smirking a little too widely at this. They weren't playing in the snow anymore; instead scoping out the scene before them like they were fielding possible victims. Looks like Gregory was cooking something up in that scrappy little head of his.

Roxy took the chance to speak for Freddy there, "We quit, to put it simply. Found some good friends to stay with-" She reached out for Cassie, the girl coming to her side easily and leaning against her. Gregory was at Freddy's in an instant as well, "-And they housed us. We just do our own work now."

"...You can do that?" Another parent asked.

"Our former employers made us sentient so... I'd like to think we have the liberty?" Freddy queried rhetorically. "Not like we can stay at the PizzaPlex when it turned into a condemned hazard!"

"No one came for you?" Reggie asked this time, looking actually upset.

Freddy smiled, his paw no doubt a reassuring weight on Gregory's shoulder, "Someone did. They put in the effort to fix us and give us new things!"

"The fur's different... yeah," Reggie walked around them. He was heard wowing at the pelts again appreciatively; with Freddy even letting him touch his arms and feeling the material. Roxy jolted when the little girl from before grabbed her tail; but the wolf did nothing to stop her. The mother nearby was watching them with far too much interest to seem to notice. And now, because of Reggie's boldness, some of the kids were coming up and touching as well.

Meanwhile, Reggie stepped away and continued with, "Honestly, my little brother would LOVE to see this. Is Bonnie around, by chance? I can't imagine how good he'd look with fur like this!"

That's when Gregory took his cue; the conniving little brat. He wore a smile that could match Freddy's own easy one as he turned and said, "Bonnie's around! He's just... taking it easy. As for the others though, turns out, our friends still like performing for people when they can! They offer private party services at the comfort of your own home! Maybe your brother can see a Glamrock again? The others are available..."

"All of them?" A woman, Reggie's girlfirend, asked.

"YUP. We got Montegomery Gator, Glamrock Chica, and even the former daycare attendent, Eclipse- now fixed and upgraded-" He was quick to add, and he was sure to use the personality that wasn't over-whelming or too pushy in the name list. "-At home. They all play different things too! And DJ Music Man is in a new body! Everyone there would love to perform for you all!"

He hadn't included Bonnie- interesting. Granted, Roxy recalled that Bonnie had been adamant in not performing anymore. He only sang at the house, she realized. And only around the family.

"We do meet-and-greets for free," Gregory continued, "And parties can be arranged so its reasonable for everyone involved! And they can promise-" he gestured to the bots with a joking air, "-That there won't be any blood sacrifices for money this time! Not anything like the Glam Deluxe package."

You oily little shit, Roxy smirked. You better watch out, Freddy. I think we have a little Mr. Cromwell here.

"Could... could my brother get a party?" Reggie asked.

Bingo.

Gregory elbowed Freddy, raising a brow at him. Freddy was the one who addressed him with, "Yes! I can't say Bonnie would want to play anymore... I apologize for that, as he is doing his own work now. But maybe you can meet with anyone else in particular?"

Reggie flapped his jaw, folded his arms, and shrugged, "I can ask him... is it possible we can meet somewhere?"

"Of course! Where would you feel comfortable?" Freddy gently urged.

"Can I get Chica to play for my sister again?" A woman asked, walking up.

"I wanna hear the pretty wolfy sing again!" The little girl who approached Roxy from before chimed to her mother. She still had a firm hold of her tail. "Can she come home with us? Please? Please please!"

Roxy grinned warmly at the compliment; glowing visibly as she watched the parent hesitate clearly. No doubt wondering about the price. Pretty wolfy sang in her head.

"For the record-" Roxy told her with a relaxed air. "We adjust prices as according to the party's size, supplies, and your own budget. If it doesn't seem do-able, we can arrange something. We're the ones doing the supply purchases and set-up at the end of the day."

"I... Could I think on it?" She asked.

"Of course," Roxy nodded her head. "Want our numbers too? Mind, it goes to our... manager's phones directly. Miss Vanessa and Mr. Luis. They let us know if someone's making a request for us."

She nodded after a moment of this, pulling out her own phone, "What's the digits?"


That couldn't have gone smoother!

Roxy couldn't believe it; they had their first requests! Before they left the park, they left with literally the majority of the crowd's numbers and assigned dates for greets! It was INCREDIBLE. She couldn't have felt more whole, complete.

She supposed, seeing as they were made to be party bots, this was what they're meant for; to conduct parties and make people smile. And to do so today left both she and Freddy in an especially glib mood. Once again, they were playing 'Sweet Dreams' and didn't give a damn if they went into showtime mode; they were having too much fun!

"Shame Bonnie doesn't wanna play anymore," Gregory eventually said. "That was hard trying to explain. His name seems to come up a lot..."

Freddy turned down the music briefly to say, "Well, Bonnie was, back then, probably the second-most requested Glamrock after me. I guess part of it comes from being an older character whose been around the longest, besides me- and having an established reputation. I think another part of it was his confident personality and the way he can make you feel like you can shoot for the stars! I certainly know that charm of his works on ME. Hahaha!"

Cassie bobbed a shoulder, "He's been my dad's favorite since he was in his single digits. Kinda a no-brainer."

And no wonder he attached himself to Bonnie, Roxy didn't say aloud. It sounds like Bonnie was some sort of important childhood staple of far greater, sentimental value than we thought. Although, I suppose its also because of Bonnie that we've even met Cassie... her father's love for him was why he started bringing her around. And if it wasn't for that... we would've never left the PizzaPlex.

We'd still be rotting in hell if it wasn't for this love of the rabbit.

Gregory frowned, "I've never actually seen Bonnie in action or... in his prime. Before all the craziness. I wouldn't know how different he was then."

"Very," Freddy stated with a certain level of grim resignation. "I mean, he was still... confident, loud, boastful, and a total show-man. That much is the same-"

"You mean arrogant, pompous, self-absorbed, and full of shit?" Roxy snarked.

"Hush, you," Freddy smirked at her before continuing. "Anyways, Bonnie's bravado and highly sociable personality made him seemingly magnetic to the masses. He was designed to... oh, how did he put it?" Freddy then chortled, "To take a quote from him, 'I reel in the girls, and you take them home with you!'. Haha! His role as the 'hype-man' was super important too; as he helped the crowd get especially riled up for every performance. He actually improved sales doing that, getting people to return simply because he literally does just that; hypes us up! And he could smooth-talk his way out of most spats between disgruntled consumers and the employees. His voice was even upgraded for it."

"Seriously?"

"You know that Steve-Tyler style tenor of his? That is his second voice. He had a higher pitched one from before that was more reminiscent of the classic Bonnie... but the higher-ups figured he didn't need to be singing counter-tenor when we had Chica singing soprano at the same time- two high-pitched voices in one place. This was also before Chica got her voice box changed-" He quickly added. "And it so happens, that with the voice he has now, the older audience were drawn towards it because it reminds you of- well, Steve Tyler! The singer to 'Dream on'? Doing a voice change was a clever marketing strategy as well as a way of mediating between diversity of voice range and practicality. And it helps that the older people who are bringing in their kids and grandkids to the PizzaPlex could get something out a visit listening to him."

"Huh. I never knew," Cassie mumbled. "My dad talked about some of the nuance of you guys he came to learn but I dunno if he knew that... and if he did, he never told me!"

"Anything you can tell us about your voice?" Gregory asked.

"You mean that strict baritone I had then? Oh-" He remembered that the voice box he was currently using belonged to the classic Freddy; a bear with a smoother tone than the metal-head rocker rasp the Glamrock variant used to sport. "Yeah, you know the voice you're hearing now? From the older Freddy? It turns out, I was supposed to have something like that- but they decided last minute during my er- how to put it... my 'integration' into a fully-fledged Freddy to give me the baritone voice box. This was just as I was getting a shell."

"Do you remember anything of that time?" Cassie asked this time.

Freddy gave Roxy a concerned look; the two briefly sharing glances as they attempted to scrape up what little they recall of their days as a plain endo.

The ursine went on with, "I do not, sadly. I do not think we were meant to recall too much of our days as a endo on purpose, to help us stay stable mentally. What I just told you was what I heard tell from our own manager, Mr. Cromwell. He apparently oversaw some of our integration and testing. He's been literally our manager since the beginning of our days in the PizzaPlex."

"God I hated that guy," Roxy bit randomly, resting her arms on the head rest of the seat. "Him and his thinly veiled threats and the bull-shit... I swear, if he had his way, I bet he woulda tried clawing up the staff ranks and take over the PizzaPlex in its entirety if he could! Did you kids know that Monty joining us was because of Mr. Cromwell?"

"Really?" Cassie blinked.

"Yeah. I think, secretly, Mr. Cromwell liked Monty. But... I could be wrong," The wolf shrugged. "That guy was always looking for a way make more money. He saw Monty was doing well on his own stage in the Gator Golf course and just shoved him at us one day. And if you recall Bonnie's account of his last conversation with Mr. Cromwell, I wager the man woulda wanted Bonnie out of the picture sooner if he could. He was trying to take control of the place, I betcha!" She waved an arm there, expression stiff.

"Well, he's no longer a problem," Freddy said. "So let's move on! I'm just glad today came out half as well as it did- and its fair to say I'm pleasantly surprised by it."

"You think carrot-breath woke up by now?" Roxy wondered aloud.

"We shall see... and I hope he has... because I do not want to hear him yell about his chassis-" Freddy sighed.

Roxy just then dramatically threw a paw over her face; as if she was about to faint. She then said in a terrible impersonation of the rabbit, "-'Ah! My beautiful face! And my sexy rocker bod! What have you DONE?'" She made more sighs like she was fainting in slow-mo, smiling when the kids all laughed.

"Hey now! Come on, that's mean," Freddy pouted. "Why is everyone being so mean to him today when he's having an off day?"

"Dude, come on. You can't say you can't picture him making a bunch of fruity noises and squeaking like the bottom he is about his face," Roxy rolled her eyes. "I bet my next servo on it that's what we're gonna hear."

Freddy harrumphed there, pulling them into the house's driveway the next minute later. After all, they never lived too far from the park. They were inside within a minute; with the kids throwing off their wet clothes into the bin in the washroom and changing out. Roxy and Freddy put the empty lunch bins into the sink (Cassie and Gregory had eaten while they've been out and they had to deal with that crowd). Then, the two went to sit in front of the fire so its heat could dry the snow from their furs.

Bonnie was still on the couch, and he hadn't moved. Roxy winced at the sight of him; finding it concerning that he hadn't even twitched or changed positions at all. His 'spells' varied but damn if the sight of his inanimate body lying limply the way it was didn't bother her and Freddy jointly. At least he wasn't bleeding from the mouth, nose or eyes at all this time.

"God that is so creepy," She mumbled without meaning to.

Freddy's expression fell, the bear gritting his fangs as he suddenly threw out there, "I wonder if... I will endure the same? Or if it'll be different?"

Roxy gave him a sympathetic look, finding herself whining and suddenly feeling abashed for it. Freddy passed her a wane expression, then glanced away just as quickly.

"Have you... felt at all weird?" Roxy found herself asking, at length.

"Hm... not beyond dreaming-" He frowned. "And in which I feel like I was sold a false bill of goods! I was told dreams were nice to have. But they're so vivid and... they leave you terrified and confused and... wanting more. I somewhat despise them," he shrugged.

Now the wolf was blinking, "You... never mentioned these dreams."

Freddy's mouth fell open; oops.

Roxy's did so too, but now for a different reason, "You've been keeping that from us?"

"They're not anything worth mentioning!" He quickly went to assuage. "And besides, Bonnie was sure to ask about them. I've said all I could-"

More like, he goaded you into speaking and you HAD to say something...

Roxy frowned at him, folding her arms primly. "By the sounds of it, they seem more like nightmares!"

"Er... yes and no? Ah... that sounds bad. Let me rephrase," He waved a talon, "They're really not anything that is unusual for a dream, I've been told. And even if they were, Bonnie says its possible that I may be seeing a normal dream as a nightmare seeing as I'm new to it? They are all confusing and... disorienting to deal with, no matter what form they take. I truly do not like dreams. Logic literally isn't even a concept in them-" He pulled at his ruff, "Although its also because we're constructs whose built around logistics. So the idea of dreams are just something I cannot properly wrap my head around until I've experienced them properly and more often. Bonnie seems used to it though so, I can only assume it'll one day be the same for me!"

"I hope so... I don't want to see you endure what big foot there is dealing with right now," Roxy huffed wistfully. "He looks like a corpse. God damn, I'm gonna wake him up!"

"You know that does not-"

Freddy's words went ignored as the wolf approached; bending over and putting a paw to his oddly cold breast. Bonnie of course did not wake up; body moving when Roxy shook him. "Hey! HEY! Hey Bon! For fuck's sake- get up already you fucking weirdo! Dude! Do you hear me?"

Freddy placed one arm over the other; as if to hold it. His expression slanted into uncertainty and clear worry, but he apparently knew what to expect here. His nose worked; then the bear was sniffing Bonnie again and frowning.

"Huh... I've never noticed it before but... is an actualized bot supposed to smell like that? So strange..."

"Whaddya mean?" Roxy snapped. "Out with it! He smell any different than normal? He only smells like carrot cake and blueberries to me!"

Freddy blinked, then, Roxy was treated to a hilarious show of him smelling his arm pit and lower body. Freddy sniffled both Bonnie and himself; then blinked like he smelled something unpleasant, "That is so odd. I cannot explain that! What even is that smell?"

Roxy looked at Bonnie again and queried, "Dude, you have me on suspense here. Clarify, please?"

"I mean... I mean no blood or... whatever other random fluid that seems to come as a result of being a haunted object..." Freddy grumbled, as if he still couldn't understand himself. "But its like... how does explain something like... oh, its like mucus. But not? Its gross, and... oh- WE SMELL TERRIBLE!" He produced a distressed noise, "I'm going to spend the rest of my night cleaning myself out! I cannot stand that!"

"You think that's what Polar Freddy means when he was able to detect that Bonnie was actualized?" Roxy folded her arms, "Like a mucus smell?"

"Perhaps... but why mucus? Its so... filthy!" Freddy produced a disgusted groan there.

Gregory and Cassie had come into the room at some point; the girl moving to Bonnie's side and gently brushing his face. The boy meanwhile said, "Freddy, I think you're describing ectoplasm."

"Echo- prism?"

"Ectoplasm," Gregory said. "Remember the Ghost Hunters and The Midnight Mare movie we watched? The fluid the ghosts make? Ectoplasm. Its like some weird kind of substance ONLY ghosts can make. No other creature or thing in existence can generate or emulate it."

Roxy sniffed both Bonnie and Freddy, shook her head, then said, "I still can't smell it... I have no idea what it is I'm even supposed to be smelling! I only know mucus from crying children! Is it the same?"

"Er... not quite. Its different. Nobody can say why or how," Gregory shrugged. "And I think only an actualized bot can understand what is being detected here, so I doubt you'd be able to know what you're scenting unless you experience it."

Cassie was petting the unconscious rabbit but was now focusing on Freddy, "And you are just now noticing it?"

"Its subtle," Freddy shrugged. "Too subtle for anyone to immediately notice unless they're looking for it or they're close enough. I very much doubt Roxy can smell it even if her nose was 5 times better! Sorry..."

"Don't apologize," The wolf waved him off. "Geez."

Cassie put one of Bonnie's heavy arms over his fluffy breast; then moved to open an optic so to peer into it. She ended up waving at him as if to check for some reaction, but she got nothing. She sighed, put off by the lack of any profound movement from him and wound up laying across his chest and dramatically slipping to the floor.

"Oh my god he needs to get up... I really hate it when he's like this. It never gets any less scary."

Roxy wound up fidgeting with her claws, catching the look on Freddy's face nearby. No doubt he was still thinking about himself and if he'll have 'spells' like this; or his emotions will show in different ways. He had that nosebleed that one time, but he otherwise hadn't shown any other sign of being abnormal beyond his observation of Bonnie's and his own scent.

At any rate, Roxy glided over and grabbed Cassie's shoulder; turning her and pulling her into her arms and standing back up. She patted the girl's back, her own optics on Bonnie and trying to picture what the heck was going on in his head; given he was perhaps dreaming. She gently rubbed Cassie too; unable to find any words to help soothe her.

Of course Cassie was worried about her dad and his influence on Bonnie. Of course she was worried about Bonnie and him remaining as independent entities. Of course they all wondered if these catatonic spells of his only meant that the soul was being more anchored into its form? Or if, along the way, they will lose Bonnie entirely. Its bad enough that he's changed as much as he had; but Roxy would like to attribute that to just him dealing with Vanny and not just the apparition in his body.

I wonder... If Bonnie's conscious and personality was moved to a different body, if this one will... move. On its own.

The idea of his body moving without his brain terrified her. Maybe having them as one individual wasn't so bad so long as they continued to 'agree' with each other-

Now she was focused on Freddy again, worried if the person inside him would be as gentle and understanding as Cassie's father. Cassie's parent was a kind enough man who wouldn't take the control of Bonnie's body away from him willingly. But if circumstances were dire... would it be the same to Freddy too?

Meanwhile, Freddy was seen shuffling out of the room; no doubt worried to hell and back. Roxy eventually put Cassie down and sighed, eyes slanted in concern at where the bear had been standing. Gregory too was making a similar expression nearby; his hazel eyes arrested on the prone rabbit.

"Guess I got more research to do-" Gregory huffed at length, going to leave.

"How do you mean?" Roxy started after him.

"I know I'm still ingloriously and spectacularly grounded from using my computer, but... I want to keep looking up stuff on ghosts and see if there's more we can find out," He told her. "By chance, so long as M.X.E.S is supervising me, could I use my computer for the sake of research? Please?"

"If you do so, I'm helping," Cassie told him.

Roxy nodded, "Both of you do so. And Cassie- tell me if Gregory is trying to game on it or watching videos. I only want to see it being used for research and making a requisition for parts!"

"Alright!" The kids chimed as they left the room.

Roxy returned her attention to Bonnie, huffed, then glided over to him. For all her complaints of him and his more annoying vices, she'd still settle for having them than not. She knelt down on that note; grazing a claw along his face and tracing his whiskers. She even tangled her talons into them and twirled them; not something he'd let her do under normal circumstances. His whiskers were the most sensitive parts of his body; capable of taking in pressure changes and processing temperatures both in the atmosphere and even in the people around him. He can 'smell' if someone had a fever. More like, feel it. The fact he still hadn't moved to her claw tangling was still worrying.

She eventually quit and laid her head on his breast; rabbit fluff tickling her nose and the tart aroma of smashed blueberries a calming and familiar blanket that cradled her head space. He always seemed to have that smell stuck to him thanks to him making ice cream so often. He even sometimes had the smell of vanilla extract mixed in there; although it tended to be far more trace and brief. Carrot permeated his body cavity no thanks to his frequent consumption of it and its cake variant. He always smelled nice, she figured.

So for Freddy to say he stank somehow- it was odd. And upon recollection of the thought, she smelled him more intensely; getting nosefuls of his of earthy and tart aroma. Even with a full scent inspection, she STILL couldn't smell anything suggesting this 'ectoplasm'. Freddy had a stronger sense of smell than she did however- which she only just NOW recalled. Granted, it wasn't a huge difference, but he had an advantage over her in terms of olfactory senses seeing as she has her eyes to compensate. Maybe you had to have a bear's smell in order to-

No. Bonnie can detect that wrongness too- but he never said he could smell it, did he?

What did he say... he could feel it? Roxy pondered. Now she was frowning, No way... he can 'feel' it... could he tell through his damn whiskers or something else? What word did he use- instinct?

She'd have to ask him when he was next up. With that said though, she went back to smelling him and growled under her breath when no changes occurred. She did as Cassie had before and lifted an optic's lid; noticing the lights in his eyes are naturally off and he felt cold to the touch. His fur was still keeping him warm enough, but his motor hadn't run in a few hours. His metallic chassis beheld no kind of warmth beyond what little the artificial epidermis gave. And thankfully, the fire nearby kept him from getting too chilled; so its not like any fluids would freeze on him-

Wait.

Roxy then decided to pull the flap of skin that was velcro'd to his side; the stomach hatch now unveiled. She blinked at the sight of Monty's drawings; having forgotten about them during her musings. She ignored the sight of humping unicorns as she pulled away the fur so to touch the metal directly; and then jolted at the stark temperature difference between him and the environment.

He was ICE cold. Literally. You could even set a bowl of ice cream on him and it wouldn't melt.

"Oh my god- DJ!" She turned around; having noticed that DJ was asleep in the sitting chair nearby. Looks like he slipped into rest mode during his reading earlier.

The music man meanwhile jumped and turned his head. A pink brow ascended over his shades.

"Help me get carrot breath to the fire! He's WAY too damn cold- its unnatural," She gestured to him. "Feel this! Its fucking ridiculous! Tell me I ain't crazy?"

The spider bot worked his jaw, then gently made his way over and touched; blinking rapidly behind his shades and producing a wind-down noise from his odd speaker box.

"I KNOW! Fucking hell- if it wasn't for his fur, he's be a block of ice! Help me warm him up-"

She started pulling him from the couch; grabbing his arms while DJ got his legs. The pair brought him to the rug that sat in front of the hearth; laying him down on his back and Roxy went to pull the fur back over his freezing belly. No way she can get his stomach hatch to open up without fighting the likely stuck hinges.

"My god- is being cold normal for possessed crap? Actually-" She stared where the kids vanished. "GREG! LOOK UP SOMETHING FOR ME!"

"WHAT?"

"IS BEING COLD NORMAL FOR POSSESSED SHIT?"

"HOLD ON!"

The wolf sat crisscrossed on the floor; shaking her head at Bonnie's lifeless form. She opened his eyes again, waved a paw at them, and even pulled his whiskers. Still nothing. DJ was watching apprehensively above her; and then he was signing.

'What am I seeing here? What is going on? What is this? I do not understand-'

Now Roxy face-palmed. OOPS. Guess they forgot about the whole 'possession thing'. And while Bonnie no doubt regaled DJ with the fact he had Cassie's father's soul in his body, no doubt he hadn't bothered to give DJ the skinny about what living with it entailed.

"Apparently... its normal... I guess... for Bonnie to pass out on occasion," She began hesitantly. "He even did this once at the PizzaPlex, in front of the tangle thing? I think certain days and certain emotions trigger this. He just... shuts down. Literally. He can't control it, but he has tried to get it under control-" She shrugged. "This is rare but not unheard of. But to be that COLD though- that is abnormal."

Gregory came into the room then, blinking rapidly at the sight of them near the fire. Apparently, he wasn't the only one; by now, Sun showed up with an apron around him. He twisted his head around and gesticulated at them, "Something wrong-?"

"He's too cold to move, even if he wakes up. Trying to warm him back up-" Roxy dead-panned.

Gregory frowned. "So apparently 'cold' only applies to the air or something? Like a cold spot in the room indicating a ghost is there? Couldn't find anything on OBJECTS being cold though." He folded his arms there, "But... I think its safe to say that 'cold' isn't too unusual to see? And frankly... seeing as Bonnie's cold... its just another 'symptom' of being haunted, I think."

"So, not anything to worry about?" Sun asked this time.

"I don't think so... but I'm gonna double check," The boy pointed over his shoulder.

"See what else you can find," Roxy told him. She glanced over at Sun and Freddy; who has also peeked back into the room. He was at her side in an instant; kneeling down and touching him.

"Biscuits! What even-" Freddy shook his head. "Has he ever been that cold before?"

"I don't think so..."

Freddy got back up and was seen going up the stairs. A moment later, he was down again with Vanessa's hair drier. Roxy 'ah'd!' at the idea of it.

"I'm going to keep his ocular fluid warm and his extremities," Freddy supplied. "Even if he woke up now he wouldn't be able to see very well and he'll be very disoriented. I also do not want him to swing at anybody by accident simply because he gets startled!"

"Good point," Roxy frowned. "He's a hazard like this. I'll hold his arms- just in case."

Freddy went on to plug it in and start blowing; focusing more on Bonnie's face than anything. He didn't really go to his fingers or limbs. He also said a moment later, "Hm... yunno, while we're here, might as well scrub that... graffiti... off him. I hate looking at it!"

DJ left there, heading out the room with Sun to find a bucket to fill with soapy water and a rag.

Roxy then said, "Hey... where the fuck is Monty anyway? I hadn't stepped on him on our way back in... And weren't you going to take a bath?"

Freddy huffed, "That's actually what I got distracted with; trying to find Monty. M.X.E.S? You there?"

The rabbit's sprite showed on their Huds.

"User Frederick. What is your query?"

"Monty's location. Where is he?" Freddy asked.

"Scanning... position confirmed: User Montgomery Gator is out with user Luis Cabrera for a brief excursion. They went to grab firewood and meet with creator Vanessa and user Chica in town. Considering the gator's signal, I say he is well and safe. Had you not noticed the absence of the other party bus?"

Freddy winced, "I hadn't known that was him... oh. Alright! I'm just glad for it."

"Will that be all?"

"No, actually. Can you scan Bonnie at all? He's kind of- this feels abnormal," The bear waved at the rabbit, letting M.X.E.S see through his eyes, no doubt.

"Scanning... hm. All systems seem to be shut down; minus the most basic rudimentary programs. Cannot properly run diagnostic on cranial activity. Body and core temperature below safe parameters. Warning: Any attempt at tampering may be met with hostility. Due to temperature fluctuations, user Bonnie may even swing if he is disturbed. It is best to step away from him until he wakes."

Roxy huffed, "All the more reason I hold him down! Can't have him hitting anyone by mistake."

Freddy's muzzle flexed into a grimace, "Let me hold him. I'm stronger than you are. You use the hair dryer on his face and get inside his chest cavity. His motor is too cold."

They did just that; with the bear watching Bonnie the entire time with an uneasiness that didn't leave much to the imagination. Roxy can only suspect he was thinking of himself and if he'll be like this; and its no doubt that he was concerned about the rabbit in equal or greater measure. At any rate, M.X.E.S was then commanded to take recorded diagnostics and compile them for future reference and study.

DJ and Sun returned a short bit later with a boiling hot bowl of soapy water and a rag. The group settled in to trying to help the freakishly out-of-it- rabbit; with Sun looking guilty for adding to the graffiti earlier. He did the majority of the scrubbing; meanwhile DJ went to replace the water as needed. The hot water helped warm the rabbit's metal chassis back up, at least; all the while Roxy opened his hatch and blew into his chest and sometimes alternated to his face.

Cassie returned this time, stopping to eyeball them and fidgeting. She walked over eventually, but was stopped when Roxy cautioned, "Stay back, sweetie. Bonnie isn't awake but when our core temperature is like this, it tends to mess with our behavior. He may swing if he moves now."

"I- oh..." Her head drooped. One hand balled to her chest, as if to hold her heart. She probably wanted to hold his paw, Roxy figured.

"Did Greg find anything else out?" Freddy tried this time.

"Oh, um... he's cross-referencing a buncha sites and seeing what's consistent?" Cassie blinked as she weighed what she's been seeing. "So cold spots, bloody marks, and typically, stuff being thrown by a poltergeist. Which is something we've never seen happen so I can assume my dad ain't one. But... apparently, ghosts typically stay in this world because of the pain of their death, or they never finished something in life? Or they heavily regret something-" Her honeyed eyes grew steadily heavier and more leaden as she watched the rabbit. "With this said... I wonder..."

"You think your dad regrets something?" Roxy wondered.

"Hm... no. He didn't really have any regrets that I know of-?" Cassie continued. "I think the most he said he's felt bad about was upsetting my mom when she was still around. She and him fought a lot- she kept saying to not bring me around the PizzaPlex." At this, Cassie's brows furrowed, "I don't think its my mom that'll be the reason why he's still here though... maybe the way he died he regrets-? Or..."

Freddy then offered, "Maybe he loved you and worried about you too much to let you stay alone. He knew you had no meaningful family left that could take proper care of you. I may be wrong but... that is my guess! And I know if I left a child alone in this world, I'd do anything I can to make sure they don't remain that way."

Cassie smiled at him, but the motion was paltry, "Then, why would he stay in Bonnie's body? I'm okay now! I have you guys, and he knows that."

"Maybe he can't leave by choice?" Sun tried there, shrugging as he glided over Bonnie's stomach and chest hatch lid. "Maybe he doesn't know how. Or... maybe... huh. I wonder- Cass, his accident at work, what if that may be why he's still here?"

Everyone glanced at each other there, all expressions knotted.

"My guess," Continued Sun. "Is that maybe, his accident... what if it wasn't one? What if he was just dissatisfied with his death somehow? Did you ever learn of any details that could've led into his accident?"

Cassie's expression was now venomous, "I know not to eat whatever crap Fazbear Entertainment tries shoving down your throat. They said my dad's 'ineptitude' lead into his injury. And we all know he wasn't inept at his job! I never found out anything else meaningful, nor did they give anything conclusive about whatever led into it."

Freddy blinked rapidly, then a fang glinted briefly into view, "That already sounds shifty. But now I cannot help but wonder if his accident was... I do not wish to say, but deliberate? And if someone wanted him gone for a reason? Now, this is a shot in the dark, but I wonder if he met Vanny or... something at the PizzaPlex to have caused a wound bad enough to kill him?"

"You think he coulda met Vanny?" Roxy wondered now.

"Bonnie once said, 2 years ago, that he wonders about it himself. He never said anything in elaboration however- and I do not think even he had a basis in that assumption," Freddy shrugged. "I wager he himself is skeptical. But early on, he's had his suspicions that Cassie's father is upset about his passing and it may possibly be foul play. The company not permitting him to get a transfusion withstanding, it makes one wonder what could've done this and why?"

"You think its a cover-up?" Sun asked this time.

"That is Bonnie's own hunch, and I'm inclined to agree with-"

Just then, Freddy jolted and his arms shook; and Roxy found herself with a SKULL in her lower mandible. The collision was so fast and so HARD, her teeth clanged into each other and something chipped. Not to mention that it threw all bots off and Bonnie was suddenly on his feet. The sound of steel teeth clanged; then, carmine-painted talons wove through the air-

Roxy didn't have enough time to react before she found Bonnie's paw around her throat and squeezing the life out of her. His claws sank into her with the same amount of force that can warp steel; the groan of metal apparent as her chassis caved beneath his vice. His weight settled on her waist and she was rendered unable to move!

"BONNIE! STOP!"

Freddy was seen throwing himself onto the rabbit and pulling him; but he wouldn't BUDGE. DJ pulled now, and it was the only thing that could work.

Roxy gasped as Bonnie's talons dug deeper with the motion; the wolf producing weak protests at the motions her friends made to attempt to save her was also making her injury worse. Her voice box was knocked askew; the lupine bot garbling in static as her amber eyes made the mistake of contact with Bonnie's own roiling set-

Roxy felt her optics widen into platters.

His eyes.

There was so much wrath.

She couldn't deny it, but there was a LOT of vitriol in his hellish gaze; LED optics flickering and blinking once to red and then absolutely black with ichor. His mouth chittered creepily and rapidly open; blood seeping from his lip line and nostrils and teeth grinding in a nail biting frenzy. A grotesque, thunderous hiss sighed from his flapping jaws; steam rising as he rapidly and alarmedly heated back to normal parameters. His optics, the whites in them, had turned and remained black completely; his maroon pupils brightening to a laser light brightness that pierced her.

He was going to kill her. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He didn't recognize her anymore. There was literally nothing there but raw, untainted vitriol.

His other paw had rose with the intention to finish her; but it was pulled back by DJ and Sun jointly. Freddy had a hold of his other arm; trying to dislodge his talons from Roxy's throat pipe. Cassie was screaming nearby; the sound so bad that Gregory had returned to the room-

"OH MY FUCK!"

The boy ran back out- to do what, Roxy didn't know. All she DID know was that Bonnie was too freakishly powerful; his stolen Monty upgrades allowing him to resist Freddy, DJ, and Sun all at once. He was pulling with enough power to tow a truck and hurl it away. A human would be pulverized beneath him if anyone got near him right now.

Gregory came back in; and he was armed with the taser. "Everyone let go of him! And sorry, Rox!"

Roxy wasn't mad. She only braced as the prongs shot free of the taser and hit Bonnie in the side and back- but due to his contact with Roxy, she felt the current too. Not direct, but enough to stun her. Bonnie meanwhile jerked and twitched wildly; head thrown back enough to nearly break his own vertebra. Limbs spasmodically curled to his chest like a spider in a death throe; jaws snapping wildly-

Then he fell over; smoking from all of his orifices and fur.

The room was full of the scent of slightly scorched fur and panic; Roxy huffing and puffing as Bonnie limply collapsed atop her and remained thus. Everyone else was struggling to recover mentally, Cassie whimpering and crying nearby and Gregory heaving like he ran marathon.

M.X.E.S was the first to speak, "I could not obtain control over his extremities. I apologize, Roxanne. Something unnatural was blocking my emergency command override prompt."

She said nothing; unable to do so when Bonnie had damaged her voice box and knocked it askew.

Meanwhile, M.X.E.S said, "Creator Vanessa and the others have been informed. I recommend taking Bonnie to the armature room and strapping him down until he is sober. I will run repairs as needed."

"Thank you, Mex," Freddy sighed, being the first to rise.

DJ and him went to work dragging Bonnie out of the room; with Sun going to Cassie's side and pulling her close. Roxy meanwhile sat up and put a paw to her neck, shaking so badly that it was visible.

For that one instant, she could smell it.

His own fury- the wrath of the dead man beneath. The smell of acid and cyanide mixed with mucus. Despite what Gregory said earlier, she could smell it for that one instance. It was brief, but the toxic aroma of death's own poison had permeated her olfactory sensors and left her with an unforgettable stench. She couldn't remove its disgusting presence from her nose quick enough; the wolf snuffing and snorting like she inhaled black pepper.

Cassie, Sun and Gregory went to her side next, the girl throwing her arms around Roxy and embracing her like she the last most important person on this earth. She'd be crying until Vanessa and the others came home a couple minutes later; unable to do more than fall into disheartened whimpers as she was embraced by all parties. She was eventually taken to her room, and Vanessa would be the one to repair Roxy's neck and voice box. Gregory would have gone with Cassie to help her out; all the while Monty and Chica freaked and checked both the wolf and rabbit.

Well, Roxy can say this much; its safe to say that her dad had died of foul play, there can be no doubt. And whatever or whomever killed him, had never been forgiven.