GLAMROCK FREDDY

The van was parked in an nondescript area of the depot; the employee's reserved parking at the back of the building. There was a lot of tree cover here, and it was weirdly suspicious and unkempt. It prompted Freddy to wonder why it was so woefully over-grown- but, one can attribute this to the facility having not been used in quite some time. However, with the way the trees were devouring the asphalt and the amount of weeds that stubbornly resisted the frost and snow just to poke their browned, tentative heads into the biting air, it left the impression that this place was neglected for far longer than that.

Bonnie's scans read that this place had working cameras- that was strange but not so much so if you consider how Fazbear Entertainment worked. They could run a whole host of brow-raising tasks here in the cover of the woods; and seeing how the animatronics used to be made, once again, Freddy couldn't help but ponder. The cameras being active was odd enough- but its a problem that was quickly taken care of by M.X.E.S.

M.X.E.S was seen showing up in Freddy's Hud and Vanessa's borrowed fazwatch as he said, "Security measures disabled. You may now enter the facility- but be wary: There seems to be another user in the system and they have no doubt taken notice that this unit has hijacked the systems. Even now, they are attempting to fight this unit's hold on controls."

Vanessa blinked rapidly. "Wha- someone's... in THERE?"

"So it seems. This unit cannot divine who it could be though. They also betray a technical expertise and responsiveness that suggests it is more A.I in origin. This unit assumes there could be another bot functioning inside. From what can be discerned... it may just be the one though. Curious."

"Just one-" Freddy mumbled.

"That'd explain Luis' disappearance a bit-" Bonnie mouthed next to them, a paw on his chin. "Still... why'd it wait so long to activate and do something about Luis now? He's been coming in here repeatedly for the last two years- and he's never run into a problem until today."

If the security program could shrug, it would. Its usually pragmatic, robotic tone suggested a sort of confused inflection. "This unit is looking into it as we speak. The door is unlocked for a brief period of time- so take this chance to enter. However, be wary: It will lock behind you once you enter. So grab whatever you need first and quickly get inside."

"Roger," Vanessa huffed. She went to the back of the van and fetched her Chica themed back-pack (containing her emergency supplies and food). She also grabbed her personal labtop and tool duffle- the same items she took with her to the mega PizzaPlex two years ago. Freddy took the tool duffle and put it inside his chest cavity; having taken out his artificial stomach to make room for the supplies. He had to undo the velcro slit and fully pull his fur open to permit his chassis doors to open; and it was awkward when the skin stretched so tightly. At least the design admitted him the ability to even access his stomach hatch. Vanessa meanwhile kept the backpack and labtop on hand.

Monty was leaning coolly on the van with a raised brow at the building, producing the occasional noise from clicking teeth. He stretched his arms up over his head and sighed dramatically; then he took the lead into the building while chortling to himself. "This is gonna be fun," he smartly commented. Freddy couldn't tell if he was being ironic or genuine.

Bonnie frowned at him, "How is this fun? Luis is in danger, man."

The leather-skinned bot merely retained his smirk, "I was getting bored just lazing around and playing music 'n shit. Not like I ain't much use in doin' much else-" His expression wavered briefly, betraying an odd inflection to the group Freddy couldn't immediately make out. "Guess I just felt useless in general. We haven't been able to do anything really sufficient since we came to live with Ness here."

Vanessa shrugged him off, "You guys have been plenty of help! I mean, beyond the house work at our own home- House flipping became a pleasant job to do with you. It'd take me months just to do a single residence alone! We've been getting some hella cash doing this- and because of you guys being so damn good, we're this close to getting a damn fine upgrade and leaving this stupid state and Fazbear Entertainment's reaches forever. If you guys haven't been around, I don't think I woulda started attempting this otherwise."

Monty shrugged, "I admit... its kinda fun? But like- I dunno. I still felt outta my depth 'ere. Ain't like we're officially being employed or nuthin'. I can't imagine if you were anyone else, we'd be 'employed' for anythin'. I mean, who the hell would hire Fazbear-made bots?" His expression deepened. "I feel like, useless. Outside of the flippin' we do."

Vanessa bobbed a shoulder at him, gently bumping her elbow with his own. "Monty, I told you: We're still figuring things out here. Two years ain't really huge if you consider the fact you're still trying to adapt to the world outside as well as recovering emotionally and physically from what we had to deal with. And taking a job too that isn't playing music and keeping out of public eye? Its jarring."

Bonnie huffed resignedly. "I still hesitate walking out into public sometimes. I'm paranoid we'll pass a former employee and they'll report us to the CEO himself-" He glared at a line beyond the trees. "Ain't like the actually freaking official building ain't right there. Being here is making me itch! I swear I feel like the big bosses themselves can just stick their heads out and see we're walking around and come claim us like the possessions we are."

Freddy bared his teeth briefly, "Bonnie, we are not toys. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"No. We're things, apparently," the rabbit scathingly bit. "In which Fazbear Entertainment can ever-so legally come sweep us up and take us back. And then, dismantle us ever-so slowly and painfully and repurpose our pieces for another fucked up-"

"Enough," Vanessa grabbed his arm and gently gripped him. Bonnie hissed through his buck teeth there. "Its okay, blue boy. Take it easy- breathe. We'll be leaving this all behind soon. We made it so far, we're only another house or two away from our goal. We'll be gone soon- I promise!"

Bonnie's frown betrayed a faintness and uncertainty that compelled for Vanessa to close the gap and gently brush her side with his own. Not a hug, but the gesture behind it was no less appreciated. The rabbit's eyes flickered like he was in pain here and there.

Sometimes, the way Bonnie's emotions spiraled around and flipped like that freaked Freddy out. He's never been like this back at the PizzaPlex. He couldn't help it sometimes- couldn't control himself in some moments. Perhaps Vanessa wasn't wrong in thinking he needed more than just time to acclimate to being outside the PizzaPlex. After all, Bonnie had been made a prisoner in a plethora of ways and its definitely crippled his confidence in gut wrenching ways. Housing a human soul aside, he'd been in isolation in a lonely room inside the bowling alley for months on end and with no contact with the outside world. A real prisoner, one who once thought he'd never see the light of day again. And now, he was still balancing emotions that he wasn't completely familiar with as a result of housing said soul.

Vanessa called it 'PTSD'. Freddy didn't think it was possible, but Bonnie likely had something like it. Chica sometimes acted a little strangely herself though, on that note. She tended to recall very specific parts of her ordeal at the PizzaPlex and ALL of it involved pain. Her being trapped in the compactor was only the beginning of it. She didn't remember much beyond the parts that inflicted harm on her or the people around her. And the way her emotions can sky-rocket on a dime? Also alarming.

It hurt Freddy to see his friends like this. Even when they're living their best lives, they've never truly left the PizzaPlex behind. In spirit, one can argue they were still trapped in its confines and lost in darkness.

Freddy grabbed Bonnie's paw and held it- and he was gladdened when the rabbit clenched back and didn't let go. He'd keep that grip too, even as they entered the building and the door shut behind them. Its from his grip on Bonnie's paw did Freddy notice the alarmed jump that spasmodically compelled for that twitch in his digits. Bonnie already felt trapped in here and it was making him as flighty as a real rabbit. Freddy rubbed his thumb encouragingly into his friend's knuckles, passing him a wane but solid smile.

Bonnie's nose was twitching rapid fire now, his LED eyes darting and flicking in the ambient bleakness of the facility. His ears swiveled crazily as he gazed around. He barely saw Freddy's smile, but he acknowledged it with a faint dip of his head. His tail was also completely erect now too; more like a deer that was flashing a warning to its kind to flee.

He's way too skittish. Maybe bringing him here was a bad idea, Freddy couldn't help wondering.

Vanessa shuddered and fixed her jacket more securely as they came in, "Man its cold in here! We need to find Luis and fast! I know he brought his own jacket... but, knowing that idiot, he probably left it somewhere. He'd forget his own head if it wasn't attached to his body."

Monty once again perked a brow. "Who'd take off their jackets in this? I swear to shit my motor's skipping from how damn bone-chilling it is!"

Now the group looked around: The employee entrance wasn't anything noteworthy; just a main hall that lead into a series of offices. One door however lead to the loading docks; used to admit trucks with supplies for crafting the pieces. Another door lead to an assembly line; with Vanessa walking up to it and looking through its foggy glass and into the spacious room beyond. The assembly line was a large enough room with a series of conveyer belts and the occasional pieces of metal or endoskeletons parts. All in all, this place looked very typical of a factory.

She pulled away from it and turned to Freddy, "Smell anything?"

"Give me a moment," he held up a finger to cue for silence; reluctantly letting Bonnie go so to move around. Bonnie's muzzle kept waggling and twitching all the while; the rabbit turning his head around and letting his ears and whiskers do what his eyes or Freddy's nose couldn't. Monty opened his jaws beside him; using the atmospheric pressure sensors naturally built into his mandibles to do the same.

Freddy bent double and snuffled along the ground. Due to his physique being more humanoid then actual bear, being on all fours was uncomfortable for him; but he found a decent ease with the gait he employed. His nose stayed glued to the cold, concrete floor; touching it constantly and blasting heated air around him every so often. Everyone moved out of the way for him; following behind him as Freddy slowly lead them into the building's confines. His blue-painted talons clicked on the floor each stride.

"I can confirm that I do smell Luis-" he assured. The sharp musk from a pine-flavored men's body wash made itself known to him- as well as trace amounts of the man's own unique scent. "He was here... 6 hours ago, roughly, in this hall. And then... he moved this way-" He mumbled thoughtfully as he passed the conveyor room. He lifted his head up and noticed a security office nearby. "Ah- he went into here briefly. Looks like its on lock-down now though."

"M.X.E.S?" Vanessa ordered on her fazwatch. "Run a scan and see if you can unlock it. Any footage of Luis?"

M.X.E.S' chiseled face showed up on her tiny screen, "Door control override initiated. It is now unlocked. As for security footage- it seems Luis went into this room for a few minutes but this unit has no recorded surveillance of him walking out. The security measures from this other bot is preventing me from seeing where he's gone from there. We will have to track him via Freddy's scent, on that note."

"Dully noted," Vanessa sighed. "Freddy?"

"Hm..." He opened the door and peeked in; typical two-way security office one would expect to find in a Fazbear owned joint. A door on the left and right sides of the computer terminal; and both were electromagnetic. The bear stopped and leaned over the computer; sniffing carefully at the keyboard and seat and confirming that Luis had used it previously.

Vanessa came in next; making the room a bit crowded as she did. She sat at the chair, cracked her knuckles, and typed. She frowned as she checked the recently opened menus and controls. She couldn't find much in terms of trace otherwise; meaning Luis had been diligent in deleting his digital footprint. It made tracking him harder, but it was smarter too. She eventually huffed and turned around, "Freddy? Can you tell which side he took?"

"He went out this other door-" the bear continued, stooping again to both dodge the frame and bend towards the floor. "I do not know what he was doing on the computer but... he may have unlocked a certain, closed off area and proceeded towards it- yes. It goes this way-" he gestured next, flicking a claw down the hall.

The four left the security room and eyed the other offices as they passed. None of them have been used recently; save for one of the doors in particular labeled 'Archives'. Vanessa went in there first; Freddy snuffling close behind. Bonnie's slowly calming ears suggested a lack of danger as well; with Monty watching their rear. The four would spread out from there; checking out the filing room itself. It wasn't huge but large enough to prompt the action. There was basic cabinets around; all alphabetized and a couple even turned over. Freddy bent down and detected Luis' scent in here; finding that the man has been handling the papers.

"Hm... a list of parts. Nothing interesting," he commented aloud for their expense. "Oh- looks like he was looking for parts for me today? Me and the attendant..."

"Sun, Moon, Eclipse- he's hard finding pieces for," Vanessa bantered. "Luis legit struggled to find enough for him. Every time he comes here, he tells me that's the first thing he's tending to look for. There's been... many Freddys, Bonnies, and Chicas throughout history- and their parts are interchangeable-" She bobbed her hand while gesticulating to the matter as if it was physically tangible. "But the daycare attendant in general is one of the more unique bots ever made. Not many of him has been made- in fact, I think the one at the mega PizzPlex was the only one on record that's active? He was an experimental bot and they wanted to see how well received he could be by the public during trial. It was cheaper to keep him around once they realized what they can purpose him for."

"The only one-" Bonnie muttered, holding his chin in a pensive manner. "So he's a prototype, right?"

"Yeah. With this said- anything made here would be JUST for him- but not a lot of it. Its likely the case where, if he needed parts, they'd need to be requisitioned and they have to be made to order as needed- like Roxy's eyes because they're so expensive and unique. So he may not have anything in here left... it would've been brought to the mega PizzaPlex or Luis found all that remains," Vanessa supplied. "I don't think many of the daycare attendant has even been made, period. If there were other ones, I don't know about them. It doesn't sound like there was, though."

Freddy turned the paper over and frowned. "This pen mark is recent. The smell tells me so. Luis was using it as a checklist. He must have used the system to see if he can find anything for the attendant and then relocated his focus onto us since this was his last visit here." He flipped the paper, stopped, then checked the others. "Some new paws for me- Spare optics for Roxy. And... ah! Here it is. He was trying to find something for Bonnie too."

He walked over and handed the paper to Vanessa. The woman checked it over and frowned, "Bonnie being decommissioned at the PizzaPlex would've stopped production here. And yet- OH. How weird! This was dated to after Bonnie was removed as a mascot... and yet there was parts for him being asked for-? That's so strange."

"And a waste of resources," Bonnie narrowed his eyes while raising a meticulously shaped brow. He shifted weight to one hip and sank into it; folding his arms casually all the while. "Who the hell would order something for me?"

Vanessa shook her head distantly. "Could be Vanny using me so she could build Afton... That or these parts were being made for you and these guys learned too late what happened. Luis must've went to get these parts. I think if we went to B wing, we'll be able to track him from there. Freddy?"

"I'll lead the way," the bear nodded.

He stopped again, nose to the grindstone. His Hud showed the map of the building; and sure enough, his nose was leading them to B wing. Freddy chuffed a few times; a small cloud of vapor misting his muzzle once. Talons clicked away as he shuffled along.

They'd find B wing in short order; and, as it happens, they saw it was a Bonnie-exclusive section that produced shells, furs, and pieces for his ears. It was a small sector; not much larger than the Parts and Service control area of the PizzaPlex. There was a small assembly line feeding into the wall within, with endo pieces that had been scanned recently but many were in bins across the room. On the walls, there was shelves and mannequins with a very scant few of his Glamrock segments. It was despairingly empty otherwise; suggesting that the workers repurposed the majority of the shells or Luis had been taking the pieces back to the house.

Freddy touched the floor, "He was here... hm. I cannot help but wonder though-" He turned to raise a brow at Vanessa. "With these assemblies here... by chance, were there other PizzaPlexes? And wouldn't they need to make this stuff in bulk for these other models? I mean-" He gestured to his foot, "I'm a prototype Freddy... er, well, a prototype Glamrock, anyways. So... it just suggests that there could be other Freddys like me? And... I wonder about what we are seeing here-"

M.X.E.S chose that moment to interject; his face showing up in Freddy's Hud, "There are apparently a handful of other PizzaPlexes across the United states- but the closure of the mega PizzaPlex here in Utah seemed to domino into the others into closing as well. You were correct in your assumption too: These parts were being made for other Glamrocks besides yourselves and shipped accordingly. However, once Bonnie was removed as the mascot at the primary PizzaPlex, corporate decided they will do the same and keep to the new gimmick at other locations. Monty was made into the new bassist at all locations and assembly here for Glamrock Bonnie was stopped altogether. What we are seeing here is just the scraps leftover from them stopping production."

The bots shuddered- Bonnie hugging himself and wincing, "Great! Fantastic day for another existential crisis- now I know for SURE I'm a token bunny and there was a half dozen other mes around!"

Freddy waved him off, "Nonsense! You couldn't be more distinct. With the experiences you've endured, my best friend, you are an exemplar amongst the others. I wager if you stood with a bunch of other yous, I would still be able to pick you apart from them." Freddy got up and extracted Bonnie's paw from his forearm. He clenched it again as he did earlier, "To take the words from Vanessa's mouth: Your experiences make us into what we are, not your parts. Our love and the way we developed since leaving the mega PizzaPlex- that is all unique to us. No one else can hold a candle to the burning conflagration that has brought us back together."

Vanessa was seen smiling from behind him there.

Bonnie blinked at him, then slanted a demure smile himself and glanced away in a sheepish manner. Freddy tightened his hold on his lapine friend briefly and then brushed his nose against the rabbit's forehead in passing. Once he withdrew, he turned back to Vanessa, "Still... I cannot help but wonder about the request for parts for Bonnie when his production was supposed to be stopped... how late was that requisition and what were the parts?"

Vanessa clicked her tongue and checked the paper. She frowned again, "Waaayyyyy late- wow. Literally a couple months after Bonnie was removed as an official mascot. That's suspicious. Someone ordered these parts... and... the location that requisitioned them was... was... What?" She pulled the paper so close to her face it looked like she was trying to become one with it. Her eye twitched once. "...This... someone here ordered more of Bonnie. Literally, someone who worked here ordered it. But the name is redacted-?"

Monty was heard clicking his teeth pensively next, "What in the bloody hell? You sure it ain't Vanny, right? Not asking for someone to bring them to the PizzaPlex or nuthin'?"

"No... this wasn't her work. No," Vanessa shook her head. "Someone HERE definitely asked for it. Looks like the employees stopped it though and the request was cut just as production began."

"How does this help us find Luis-? Sorry," Bonnie bobbed his shoulders. "Trying to keep us on track here."

"No no... you're right. Let's just get back to it-" She pocketed the paper though, nodding to Freddy.

The bear returned it and bent down. He sniffed in a solid circuit across the room for a moment; then started to lead them out. His ears waggled and bounced a couple times as he paused; azure optics shining down the dark hall. "Luis checked the archives for this history on Bonnie... got curious himself... and... it looks like he got too curious. That is my guess so far, anyway," he supplied to the woman behind him.

Vanessa face-palmed. "Of course he would... Luis can't keep his nose out a good mystery. You ever see his mystery crime novel collection? Man's a hoarder."

Freddy shook his head, his expression affectionate but mixed. "Let's see... M.X.E.S? By chance, you haven't found anything out yet, right? No recovered footage?"

Once again the sprite appeared in his Hud's corner in a flash of pixels. "Negative. It seems every time he comes here, he has this unit delete or edit certain snippets of his circuits here at times. And then, there's something else-" The sprite showed a flashing panel listing history. "Luis' coworkers who allow him to enter this place... they come here sometimes to check what he has been doing. They have been taking some of the footage for themselves too."

"Coworkers... do you know which ones?" Vanessa hazarded.

"William Sanders and Jamieson Forest. William works in Marketing alongside Luis and was one of the workers allocated to marketing during the move. He was formerly a programmer, same as Luis. Jamieson is still a programmer meanwhile- and he is someone this unit would recommend we scrutinize..."

"Why so?" Bonnie narrowed his eyes.

"He is the one that's been fiddling with the history here and editing Luis' visits... Luis informed this unit that Jamieson has been warning him of further visits. Likely, he has well-worn his welcome here and it would not surprise this unit if he activated the security protocol used to wake up the 'sentinel' here."

Monty blinked several times, then snapped his over-large mouth. "The what? Dude, did you even get anything on this 'sentinel'? Da hell izzat anyways?"

"The 'Sentinel' is an animatronic character that was repurposed for security here. He or she is the one fighting this unit for controls on the system right now, and is doing everything it can to reactivate the cameras I'm keeping off. It is assumed he or she is a PizzaPlex character that never got shuttled to a new location after being pre-built here... perhaps a Roxanne, Chica, Montgomery, Freddy, or least likely, a Bonnie? Perhaps a Glamrock Foxy- though I am doubtful the latter is the case."

Freddy opened his mouth to say something- then blinked when he heard the casual slip of 'I am' instead of 'this unit'. He frowned, considered saying something, then decided against it. Now wasn't the time.

"You have any idea whom they are? Or..." Vanessa spun her fingers around as if to motion him to go on.

"Hm. Maybe this bot was premade for a PizzaPlex but was never sent over because of the changes corporate has been making. Maybe it is a Bonnie, but this unit is uncertain. It could explain the requisition for parts though..."

The rabbit himself was cringing. "Please, for the love of god, don't let it be another me... one of me is more than enough. Rabbits multiply enough!"

Monty slanted him a look, "Really dude? A joke? Here?"

"Let me cope, man. I'm bouncing around enough!" Bonnie harrumphed.

Freddy frowned, "Another one of us... oh dear. And they are chasing Luis around! If its a Roxy... she'd be able to see where he hides and maybe follow him into the vents... she's just small enough! And if its a Bonnie instead-"

"...Then, there is one place Luis could have gone, should that be the case," the program went on to say. He suddenly pulled up a map of the basement levels, "There are only a couple safe rooms here. There is one on this level... it seems to be sealed off. The other is in the basement-"

"A creepy basement in an abandoned factory!" Monty chortled. "FANTASTIC. I swear to god, you can't make this shit up. My money's on Luis going to the absolute bottom of this building to hide from this thing."

"It may be so..."

Monty snorted.

Vanessa turned to Freddy, "Your nose tell you as much?"

The bear paused now, lowering himself to the ground and getting on a knee. Bracing himself on the cold, cement floor, he snuffled and rasped a claw along it. He froze, his optics going wide in his sockets when he noticed an odd detail they've been stepping all over and hadn't noticed:

"Claw marks-" Bonnie said beside him.

Monty stooped beside Freddy and glowered at the floor. The marks were noticeably deep; as if the owner weighed as much as the gator himself or more. He hissed at that and then gazed at Freddy, "By chance... you smellin' Luis here still?"

"I am... and-" he turned grimly to look down the hall. "It looks like... its following him? This couldn't have been older than a few hours. Luis' scent doesn't betray that he was alarmed yet... so he had not known he was being followed for a bit."

Bonnie's pointed stare grew even more severe in countenance; the rabbit taking his turn to smell. He didn't have the additional olfactory sensors that Roxanne and Freddy did, but he had more than plenty to work with here. He too stooped and bobbed along as he followed the path of claw marks.

Monty hadn't got up, meanwhile. He was scowling at the floor with this severity that left Freddy ponderous. The bear had to ask, "You see something else, my friend?"

"Look, fatbear. You ain't gonna find a better expert on property damage than me-" He jabbed a finger at himself. "So believe me when I say, I know claw marks. And from what I'm seein' here, this thing's as big as you or me- maybe bigger. See how spread out they are? It could be a really heavy Bonnie too but... I don't think it is. Bonnie doesn't have claws on his toes like we do. Us, Roxy and Chica meanwhile... we have claws on the feet. These here-" he pointed. "The weight too... the pressure. Likely a male bot- so its not Roxy or Chica... the ladies are too light. And Bonnie has no claws on his feet... so, that just leaves-"

"...Either its a Foxy... or, it's a me or you..." Freddy felt his ears sag at the idea of it. A double of himself or Monty!

Bonnie's ears flicked nearby, the rabbit passing them an uncertain glance. Vanessa frowned as well. "Shit..." she muttered. "I really don't want to meet another Monty. For the love of god, I don't think I have the mettle for it."

Monty chortled at her, "Wha- you intimidated?"

"Dude, you're a quarter of a ton of raw Moonshine-charged bumpkin and you're meaner than rattlesnake spit and piss," she bit at him. "And the character blueprint for Monty ain't nice to begin with. I really don't think we can contend with a SMART, likely upgraded, Mega-Monty wandering around here. Not that a Giga-Freddy is much better either..." She folded her arms. "If our Freddy here can take on DJ Music Man at full size and underneath the thrall of a Vanny Virus on his OWN- which, may I remind you, removes all blocks on strength and emotional limiters that imposes restraint- than I really don't wanna meet this monster bot. He could rip us all apart!"

"Nice way of calling me a fat, drunken redneck," Monty muttered.

Bonnie spat a swear and got back up, "Still all the more reason to MOVE. Its bad enough this thing knows we're here."

Nobody wanted to say this aloud, but the odds of Luis being alive was starting to look slimmer each minute. With this said, the group pushed on in silence; all the bots smelling away and noticing that the claw marks and Luis' scent together lead into the underground. And from there, it didn't take long to find the next, horribly ominous sign of their arrival here being perhaps too late-

Literally not five full minutes after they arrived at that portent, did Freddy smell it: Blood. The bear surged forward; gave no cue for the others to follow- but they followed regardless; Bonnie and Monty soon catching the scent themselves. The smell stuck out in the weird, dust-choked atmosphere here; freshly fallen copper amidst old iron, oil and steel.

Freddy lead them hurriedly into another Parts Assembly room; a room that had a few bins worth of spare bits and bobs. This room itself wasn't huge otherwise; it had the aforementioned bins with miscellaneous endoskeleton parts, more chassis segments, and maybe the occasional unique pieces meant only for certain characters. There was a couple spare bass player model claws here as an example; not yet painted. Freddy could see some voice boxes lying around- maybe Chica's model, but he doubted all of them were meant for her.

He found the source of the scent nearer to the back wall; a puddle of it. Vanessa was heard garbling nonsense next to him; the woman rushing over and bending over to take in the sight of the mess herself. Her visage pallored in a flash; looking more like someone has suddenly and violently drained her of all the blood she had in her body. Her flaxen hair fell around her eyes and cheeks; a wild mess in its display.

The puddle wasn't an isolated spot either; with some of it being splashed onto the wall from the initial strike and a trailing patter of black rain leaving numerous splotches across the concrete floor. It lead towards another door they hadn't immediately noticed upon entering this place. Freddy felt the beginnings of a snarl build in his voice box; the rolling rumble of an engine stalling and starting greeting the ears of those present as he followed the inky trail. From there, they were easily able to gather that Luis had to run for his life and beelined it for the only safe room in the lower basement.

Freddy didn't need to lead them. The trail was plain enough; the blood splatters here and there, alongside the sight of a series of gouge marks indicative of a heavily clawed behemoth was beacon enough. Bonnie took the lead out from there; the rabbit flexing his ears towards the area and frowning there-after. His steps quickened, but there was an eerie calm on his face no one can immediately discern.

"I don't hear anything-" he told them. "No servos whirring... no breathing. The safe room's right-"

He trailed off as they paused before it; and sure enough, they saw signs of claw marks on the electromagnetic door. The lights on the door's locks weren't engaged however- so them being closed was already curious. And, not to mention the lack of this 'sentinel' here too. It looks like it had been chasing Luis, got locked out, and lost interest.

Bonnie pressed his head against the 6-inch thick door; ears arrested firmly on whatever could lie within. His expression pinched up when he couldn't detect anything. He shook his head at the group, "I don't see any blood leaving this place... and the locks are disengaged. And I don't hear breathing-"

Vanessa's hands went over her mouth; her blanched expression only worsening at the portent dropped.

Freddy frowned and pulled at the door's side- and yet it resisted. He scowled, then said, "M.X.E.S? Explain. Can you see anything within?"

Once again the pixel security program flickered into view on his Hud, "It seems these electromagnetic doors lost power more than an hour ago... it should be open. As it is, the lock itself suggests burn damage- meaning Luis may as well have welded it shut. It likely saved his life."

"I don't hear him though-" Bonnie pointed out. "Is there no surveillance in there? No way to tell if he's... yunno."

There was a contemplative noise from the other rabbit. "No cameras inside. This unit cannot detect any life signs from this room-"

"Oh god..." Vanessa hoarsely muttered from Monty's side.

Freddy's jaw set, then he whipped around and banged on the door, "LUIS! DO YOU HEAR ME? IT IS ME! FREDDY! WE CAME WITH VANESSA TO FIND YOU!"

"Outta the way, fatbear- cuz a ton of bumpkin is comin' through!" Monty spat.

Freddy just side-stepped Monty as he surged into the door; shoulder ramming it with enough force to stop a charging elephant dead in its tracks. In fact, the amount of kinetic force was great enough to bend and warp the door a tad despite it being the thickness it was. He even locked his talons into the hinges and clawed frenetically. Freddy decided to join him; punching at the locking mechanisms directly. Bonnie too joined in; his claws scouring the edges with more care than the other two and focusing on the locks as much as he can without interfering with Freddy's gouging. He was also trying to slide a talon through the piece keeping it shut.

"Luis!" He called. "-If you're in there, we're coming in! Clear the door!"

Vanessa meanwhile stayed far back from them; her hands over her mouth and her face scrunched up as she observed them. She paced around a little, only to end up stopping and huffing like she was having trouble breathing. Bonnie turned to look at her at length, slanted her a concerned and empathetic expression, then continued his own (albeit less reckless) assault on the door. The rabbit flattened his ears to his scalp to keep Monty from accidentally clipping them.

Monty got his talons hooked into it in such a way that it did give slightly; it shuddered, and slid along its track as he attempted to pull with all his weight. Looks like the locks were finally broken enough. With this said, Freddy and Bonnie threw in their own sets of talons and wedged the tips into the door's slowly widening aperture; yanking as a team and gaining more and more space in the doorway as they went. As soon as it was opened wide enough, Vanessa was squeezing herself into the room without waiting for the bots to finish.

"Luis! Luis-" She looked around the room, the woman taking pause when she found no person inside.

Bonnie stuck his head in- not that he could get the rest of himself in either, "You see anything-?"

"No... he's not in here-? How'd he-" She meandered in place. "WHERE HE GO NOW-?"

Freddy frowned and sniffled; only managing to get his head in as well. His eyes arrested on the plethora of dark spots on the floor; Luis having bled considerably. However, there was also the rude smell of burnt flesh. Freddy wanted a closer look so to gauge what he was getting here, but they couldn't get the door to give more than it did.

Apparently, even Vanessa can smell it now that her panic subsided enough for her to notice. She put a finger to her nose, paused and frowned, "The hell did he do to himself-? Where'd he even GO?"

"This unit believes he may have cauterized his wounds shut with the same device he used for the door," M.X.E.S supplied. "Creator Vanessa, check the vent. It shows signs of being tampered with."

M.X.E.S only saw it because Bonnie did; the security program using Bonnie's body to gather visual information when cameras failed. The rabbit carefully scanned the room; taking pictures and letting the security program in his body use what he supplied. In fact, M.X.E.S went as far as to temporarily take control of Bonnie's head so he can turn it around and identify the scene before him. It was disorientating sometimes to know this thing can control his friend at will, but Freddy didn't wholly disagree with it- it helped M.X.E.S and Bonnie certainly didn't complain either.

M.X.E.S used Vanessa's fazwatch to speak through; not using Bonnie's own mouth for it. "It seems he escaped into ventilation, but this unit doubts he will get far into it without wedging himself in. He may be possibly stuck."

"Then its a good thing I came along," Vanessa resolutely started. She glanced at the other bots. "I'm gonna slide into the vent and see if I can find him. Can you guys stay here and keep watch?"

"Not like we can do much else," Monty shrugged.

She turned to Bonnie, "You still don't hear anything?"

Bonnie held up a single talon and shut his eyes. Ears moved again; pivoting to certain areas in the walls. He ground his teeth a couple times, then squinted at a space off to her left. "I can't tell but... stick left as you go. I think- and here I'm using the term loosely- that he may be in there."

"You heard something?" Freddy queried.

"Maybe... I pray I'm right and he's alive," Bonnie shrugged.

Vanessa nodded and took off her jacket; the woman shivering as she did. Its bulkiness would only impair her navigation otherwise. She handed it to Freddy in the doorway, unable to fight the cold that gnawed through her cardigan. "You boys be careful here; and if that thing shows up, hide somewhere! Me and Luis can probably stay hidden in the vent itself, at worst. I don't want to hear you guys getting torn apart and we hafta spend an entire year trying to fix it. Yunno?"

Freddy chuffed, "Not a year! Just... a couple months... given the resources are on hand."

"Still reason enough to play it safe," She told him. "Please, I don't want Greg and Cassie crying over you lot. You know that."

The bots exchanged looks, with Freddy smiling gingerly at her, "I have no intention of letting myself be harmed, Vanessa. Believe me. Just do not get stuck in there! I don't think any of us would be able to get you out. At that point, only Chica would be able to crawl in after you- and if we had to call her here..." He winced, still remembering her threat.

Vanessa smiled, but the motion was clearly strained, "Well we mustn't have that. Don't need to be calling our broody god-mother over."

"Hell nah," Monty sniffed. "I'd rather throw myself in another pool of electrified water and kill myself the way my other self did- my death be quicker than whatever way Chica'd have planned."

The former security guard huffed, unable to add to the comment. There was another nod from her, then she turned towards the vent. Her expression was wane as she measured the sight of the blood and damage; but she braved it and dove in regardless.

Freddy withdrew from the door, leaning up against it and passing his brothers an uncertain glance, "Now what do we do?"

Bonnie folded his arms, "We wait, I guess. And listen. I'll keep my ears out for anything weird. I just ask ya'll to be quiet as I do. I want to focus on hearing wherever this... thing, is."

Freddy bobbed his shoulders and slumped to the floor, his mind arrested on Gregory. "Oh... I should send him an update. He's likely anxious... I told Gregory I'd send pictures and such as needed... not that I want to show him this-" He stared at the bloody spots. "Oh biscuits... I do not know what I can tell him!"

Bonnie frowned, "Just... text him and say we're close to finding Luis. Distract him or something- I don't wanna hear Cassie whimper again... it just-" He threw up his arms. "It sucks the bravado outta ya. Breaks your damn heart every time."

Monty thumped his heavy tail, "I don't talk to her much but... she's a good'un. And I like Greg's fire... makes ya feel like you can push further. Yunno?"

Both the other bots agreed- with Freddy struggling for the next couple minutes to ponder what to send to Gregory. Bonnie loped around meanwhile; his maroon eyes focusing on the halls around them and his ears giving him the data his vision and nose couldn't catch. Monty sat with his jaws parted; and he was absolutely still as he did. He emulated a real gator well enough; like it was sun-bathing or waiting for prey in ambush. He literally didn't move the whole rest of the time unless its to direct his head in the opposing direction of the hall.

All the while, Freddy couldn't help but wonder why he felt like they were being watched.

VANESSA

God. How many times in her life has she found herself in a vent? For that matter; how many moments of her life was spent slithering around in one?

She sincerely didn't want an honest answer to that; sputtering swears in-between breaths as she hulled herself down the metallic length of tube. She didn't have the bots' sense of smell, but she can almost swear she can smell Luis herself. The cobwebs also looked recently disturbed- so its safe to assume he's been this way. At least he wasn't leaving more bloody spots in some areas- meaning he's succeeded at stemming his wound.

But... he still bled a lot, and if he WAS down here... he may very well be unconscious from it. He definitely needs a hospital, she figured. Still, the dilemma posed a problem the woman simply didn't have an answer for. Vanessa wasn't sure she could bodily drag him back the way she came. Luis was slightly heavier than she is; and taller. Worse, she had no room in this tight space order to do so, or the means. In the end, she resolved to just prod him awake and hoped he responded.

He couldn't be dead. He was too smart for that.

As to Bonnie's words, she hung left and shined her light down the tunnel; thanking the upgraded fazwatch for the feature. While its light was dim and weak, it managed enough so she can see down the length. Still no Luis, but she was almost positive she was close at this point. It wasn't a long time coming either until she found a space beyond her where a fan should be spinning- and it was just large enough for a person roughly Gregory's size to sit tucked into a fetal position-

Luis. He WAS here!

Vanessa felt her brows ascend; the woman banging around with increased fervor as she crawled on her belly. "Lu- Luis! LUIS, For fuck's sake-" she hissed as she went.

He didn't respond- the man was curled as much as he could be; having a sickly, odd look like a cat that wanted to crawl somewhere just to die in peace. The intrusive simile had Vanessa feeling nauseous as she neared; gritting her teeth as she stopped close to him and touched his leg. The man's face wasn't seen; his arm was blocking her view. She saw bloody tears in his shoulder too- but his clothes covered the severity of his wound. She couldn't gauge it from the crunched position she was in. And from her position down the tunnel, she couldn't see much beyond his legs and waist to begin with.

She seized his ankle and shook hard, "Luis! Do you not hear me-? Oh Luis, for the love of god- please answer me!" She pulled on it next; as if to pull him backward- not that she succeeded. He was still marginally larger than she was, and heavier.

She paused eventually; straining her ears as she picked up breathing. Bonnie had heard him- she'd have to give rabbit credit for being able to pick up something so subtle. Luis didn't sound to be in pain- almost asleep, one would think. Sadly, the fact he hadn't stirred when she grabbed him was odd enough. Luis was a light sleeper, so he may just be in shock and fell unconscious. If this was true, she had to wake him up NOW. There was no telling how long he's been out and he can't remain in this state.

Vanessa slithered forward a bit more- but now the space was too constrained to allow her to crawl over him. She grabbed his hand clumsily; finding it eerily chilled. She saw his face finally too; blanched, and he's missing his prescription glasses. They must've been lying around somewheres and the group just over-looked them. Sighing, she shook his hand and clenched tightly; hoping to warm them up. Her other hand brought her watch to her lips.

"Bon, I found him. He isn't responding though-"

"Is he breathing? How's he looking?"

"He's ice cold... and he's lost too much blood. Pretty sure he's in shock. I may have to drag him out but it'd take way too much time... Trying to shake him awake but I don't know if I can succeed."

"Keep trying. We'll try to get this door more open and see if we can get into the safe room... I doubt I'd be able to get into the vent though to help..."

"Don't. If its tight on me and Luis as is, you'll just get stuck, period," she informed him. Bonnie was slightly narrower up his shoulders than Monty and Freddy, but even then his build wasn't sufficient enough for this space, she estimated. He'd have to be Chica's size in order to be able to get in.

"Alright then. Also, I think its fair to warn you- I heard something a moment ago but I wasn't sure what it was... Hoping it doesn't belong to this 'sentinel'. I don't wish to hurry you but- you know."

Vanessa hissed, "I'll be fast. Get to safety if you hear anything else strange. I'll stay in the vent if I have to."

She disconnected from there, proceeding to prod Luis repeatedly and warm his hand. She was more than uncomfortable now; cold herself, and shivering in some places. Luis having parked himself in a ventilation shaft blowing chilling air hadn't been good but... on the plus side, its slowed his heart rate and it probably helped in keeping him from advancing further into the condition he's in. With this said, she spent the next fruitless minutes trying to get him to respond and then attempted to drag herself backward- she moved a bit, but crawling back out will be difficult.

At length, Vanessa grabbed Luis' ankle and pulled him back with her- it didn't work, as one could figure. She spat more swears, kept a hold of his ankle, and used her other hand to gain some grip on the shaft and pulled back again. He budged this time, but it wasn't a lot.

"Fuck me-" she muttered. "Fuck me. Fuck me. Come on Luis- fucking move!"

"Creator Vanessa- we have run into a new problem," M.X.E.S finally spoke up.

"What now?" She hissed into her watch.

"The sentinel has seized control of the systems this unit had a hold of. It has bypassed my measures and locked me out. We will have to find a new means out or literally go through it in order to leave-"

"Are you fucking KIDDING ME?" Vanessa hollered.

Apparently the other bots heard that too, with Bonnie once again speaking, "We'll crack down on that breach, Vanessa. Freddy, Monty and I will help M.X.E.S gain back control. I doubt he can fight us all at once."

With how far the bots have progressed in the last couple years (not to mention Bonnie's upgrades so he can house the bulk of M.X.E.S itself), Vanessa knew they'd succeed- but it'd still take a bit of time. Still, she wondered about this sentinel and how he could've done it. He wasn't supposed to be as advanced as her bot friends, but here he was; waving a digital middle finger at them. How advanced was this other automaton? Was he really a giga version of her compatriots?

She didn't want to keep questioning it; so she redoubled her efforts on pulling on Luis. She was likely bruising him now but she had no choice. She even pinched once; wondering if he'd stir at all-

He definitely jolted that time. The sight had Vanessa wondering if should try it again, but she was truly at a loss here. She didn't want to hurt him when he was already in questionable condition- but if it woke him up, she wouldn't complain. So, she pinched him hard on his hand; the man flinching and grunting. His leg actually clipped her in the jaw!

Vanessa's "OW!" and reflexive smack had him moving good and proper. The woman slapped her hands over her jaw and slumped into her arms; going watery-eyed from the incidental strike. She barely registered Luis finally climbing back to some semblance of sobriety; the man blinking blearily and coiling into a ball again. He grunted and immediately pulled away from her; unable to properly identify Vanessa immediately in the gloomy space.

It took a moment, but then he narrowed his dark eyes and mumbled, "Va- Ness?"

Vanessa banged her fist on the floor of the tunnel. God DAMN that hurt! She'd bitten her tongue good and she was bleeding now. She couldn't say anything immediately- obviously. Her head stayed buried in her arms as she detected a coppery wave trickling from her lips.

Luis was attempting to turn around in the space- not that he could. He hissed and thumped his head; then he had to slide forward towards the tiny nook where the fan was and get dangerously close to it in order to turn somewhat. He finally managed- miraculously, to turn around and see her. He frowned and squinted a lot; no doubt struggling to see her no thanks to the lack of his glasses. The woman wagered he was seeing a blob with bright blonde hair.

He reached out and touched her face gently; fingers ghosting her short hairs dangling in front of her eyes and always remaining rebelliously outside of the ponytail she tended to favor. "That is you!" He scuttled a bit forward, his brows slanted. "You okay? Did I... did I hurt you-?"

Vanessa nodded, licking her tongue against her teeth and swallowing several times. She hated how nasally she sounded but she eventually said, "Been. Trying to- get you to move. You okay?"

Luis blinked slowly, slumping forward on his elbows with an expression suggesting otherwise. He already looked like he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Vanessa blinked at that, reaching out herself this time and touching his cold hands as if to help him out of that strange funk. He could even slip from the conscious world again if she didn't give him something to be distracted with.

"We. Needta go. Others waiting," she burbled through her puffy tongue.

"Others-? Oh... The bots!" His eyes widened and he looked alarmed; perhaps looking the most active as he could be. "Ness... this thing. This thing here... it... You guys didn't meet it, did you?"

She shook her head.

"The sentinel-" he started, looking around the cramped space like he could spy it coming down the vent after them- not that such a thing happened. "Its a Freddy- and he's meeaaaan! You wouldn't think so but... it's the damnest thing!"

"A... A Freddy?" Vanessa shook her head and jerked back like that's the wildest surprise in the world- and it kinda was. Of all things, the sentinel was a damn FREDDY? The friendliest bot out of all the characters besides Chica?

Luis nodded rapidly, his black hair bobbing into his face. "We need to go... he's like, I don't know but... he has a million upgrades and he's... I can't explain it, but there's something very wrong with his personality. He couldn't be more removed from our Freddy- only thing they have in common is the appearance-" He took in a slow breath, "And even then, its a stretch. He's gone mad, I swear! Imagine like if Bonnie never escaped that back room- and he's worse in the head?"

"You mean like, insane in the mainframe?"

"Yes! Exactly that. I swear, you wouldn't think a Freddy of all things can act like that-" Luis continued. "We need to go- now! Its bad enough you guys came here for me! And if you're here... he no doubt knows you're here. And worse... I think he tolerated letting you guys in on purpose just because he's bored!"

It sounded like a Vanny thing to do, Vanessa intrusively wondered. The idea of a Freddy model being completely bonkers was the most insane thing ever, but anything can happen in this world- for Pete's sake, Bonnie was HAUNTED. Of course stranger things have happened. Still, it wasn't like dwelling on it was going to do anything. Luis wasn't wrong in saying they needed to go.

Vanessa was acclimated to her tongue now; not that dealing with the pain was any easier. She blinked at him and retained her contemplatively skeptical visage. She then said, "Alright. I'm gonna try to back up. Bonnie, Monty, and our Freddy are waiting back there."

"...Oh dear... Bonnie is with you?" Luis muttered in a hoarse and anxious undertone.

Vanessa nodded.

"He needs to get out of here- If that Freddy sees him-" Luis shook his head. "He may get more extreme!"

"Wha- how, why?" Vanessa fluttered her lids there. Why is it always that dang rabbit?

Luis scooted forward a tad, as if to mutter something in secrecy. "I don't think this Freddy took Bonnie's decommissioning too well... much worse than our Freddy did at the mega PizzaPlex- and we all know he took that quite badly already. Now picture him not reacting with sadness, but madness. And you likely saw how empty this place is... a sane mind would come unraveled here with enough time in complete isolation," he started. "I really don't think he'd want to let Bonnie leave. Granted, its likely he won't let anyone leave to begin with-"

Vanessa held up her watch, tapping on it, "Yo, bun-boy. Got Luis up. We're crawlin' out. Keep your wits about you; apparently the 'sentinel' is, according to Luis, a Freddy."

"A super-powered, super evil, super CRAZY Freddy," he added.

"Yeah, that."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, and then, "A... Freddy? You're joking?"

"No! We need to leave, right now," Luis rasped.

Vanessa caught muttering on the other end of the line. Then, "Roger. We're still working on the door but it should be mostly open by the time you waddle back. M.X.E.S is still working on trying to capture controls on the exits and cameras- but no such luck yet."

"We need to make sure the footage in the cameras is wiped... no one needs to be seeing you," Vanessa emphasized. "Focus on those. I know that sounds crazy, but do so."

"Dully noted."

Escaping from here wouldn't matter if her friends got picked up by Fazbear Entertainment the next day over- and while leaving the premises was definitely more important, Vanessa wasn't prepared to expose Freddy and the others either. She began crawling backwards, unable to turn around. She winced as her bare skin kept touching cold aluminum and metal. In front of her, Luis began to move too; struggling to make out her face. He pulled something else forward; Freddy paws. Vanessa realized he must've used the lighter in them to help with his wound and door.

Speaking of said wound; Vanessa tried to catch sight of it since Luis was actually facing her now- but she couldn't see it. He'd pulled his shirt and coat over his shoulder. However, the amount of blood on his clothes was definitely noticeable- and he will either need to toss those in the garbage or find a really good tailor. Likely the former, was her thought.

"I'm so sorry," he started, distracting her from her observation. "To get caught out like this-"

Vanessa rattled her head, "Luis, I don't think anyone can blame you there. M.X.E.S said he wagers Jamieson sold you out. That's not on you."

"Jamieson? Oh... Oh dear. I swear, its like I can't trust anyone at work anymore! I think at this point YOU are literally the only one that's like..." He waved a hand, "Remotely nice."

"Its good you're quitting, then," she mouthed.

Luis hung his head briefly, "I wanted to join you on the house flipping projects... and, I got an online job for web designing? Or, programming HTML code in general for small businesses. It seemed like an easy way to make money. And I can be around you guys more-" He sighed, "No more 14 hours shifts at least! I wanted to tell you during our date."

Vanessa passed him a smile- not that she wagered he could see it. His sight was too poor for that. "It'll be nice-" She grunted when she reached the turn from earlier. She frowned, then started to turn her body in the space. "-To have you at the house more. Gregory's taken a shine to you as it is. You two can be nerds together."

"Gregory's talented... his art, I mean. I can see him helping with graphics for the businesses I'm designing the website for? It could be an easy first job for him-" He wondered. "And, it helps he's been picking up programming as much as he is. His talents wouldn't go to waste."

Vanessa paused thoughtfully there, passing Luis a brief, sheepish expression and her eyes darting away before they can snag Luis' own- not that he could, again, tell. "Funny thing, actually. There's been something I wanted to ask you. When we get out of here, I wanted to mull it over. Not now though..."

He inclined his head at her, obviously curious.

She waved it off, "Like I said, later. Its nothing bad! I just- it'd take us sitting down together to talk about it. Yunno? During the date you owe me."

"Okay, yeah. Alright," he nodded. "Yeah... I was late for it, wasn't I?"

"You had a good reason to be, but yeah."

"Oh... crap baskets. I'm sorry about that. I swear I'll make it up with another date! I-"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Just stop. You don't need to make for anything, you stupid nerd. Just don't get yourself killed, come home safely, and spend some time with the family. Then I'll be happy. Yunno?" She stopped scooting back, reaching briefly to touch his hand. Sometimes romantic gestures feel odd to her- seeing as to date, Luis was the only boyfriend she's ever had. Sometimes physical displays with him struck her as odd- not that she was unwilling to try. She couldn't do more right now however, considering the situation they're in.

Luis meanwhile smiled, nodding timidly. He'd fix his glasses in his nervous display- had he had them. His free hand reached up once, as if to touch the bridge of his nose, only to realize they weren't there. Instead, he focused on pushing forward while handling the spare Freddy paws.

Vanessa couldn't be more relieved when she finally found the exit; and she hurried to get out of the vent. She even flopped out of the vent entirely; nearly hurting herself in her haste. She helped pull Luis out, taken aback by the amount of cold in his hands.

Over her shoulder, the bots had been working on trying to get the door more open, but haven't succeeded. It's perfectly jammed at this point. Bonnie however was just able to wiggle himself partially in; his ears flexing towards Luis and no doubt picking apart his metabolic rate and general health from hearing and scent alone. He frowned, his sharpened countenance exaggerated as he scanned the wound on his shoulder.

"You're gonna need to see a doctor, man. You don't sound or look great-" he mumbled.

"I... I don't feel great either," Luis reluctantly admitted. He passed Bonnie a troubled glance, "And you shouldn't be here! That sentinel... he- he's something else!"

Bonnie bobbed a shoulder, "Eh, I'm used to being in high demand. That ain't weird for me at this rate! I mean, I'm a damn STUD. Have you even looked at me?"

Luis coughed.

"Oh right- you're missing your- Nevermind. Sorry!"

Vanessa helped the man stand straight, bracing herself beneath his arm and moving towards the door now. Luis used his other hand to stubbornly hold onto the very things that's saved his life. Bonnie shuffled out of frame as she said, "You catch anything?"

"Nah, Summer-Eyes. Its as quiet as a church. Been wondering about this sentinel though- he's making it hard for use to gain back control. I wager we'll have control of one of the exits by the time we get to one... but I'm a little paranoid about the cameras now..."

"This unit has come to a solution-" M.X.E.S suddenly spoke. "We cannot gain back control of all the system, but we CAN control one camera at a time. I have shut off the one in this hallway, for instance. When we leave its frame to head to another room, I will re-enable it so I can control the camera in the other room. This sentinel doesn't have quite enough processing power on his own to stop me from doing this. He will still know where we are in large part, but not quite as well."

"Thank you, Mex," Vanessa told it.

"A pleasure, creator Vanessa."

The response left her raising a brow. M.X.E.S' awareness as an individual was constantly developing every day- and no doubt he obtained sentience 2 years ago. However, even then it's taken him this long to finally start using the terms 'I' and 'me'. And now, he was using formality and showing gratitude in small measures- those are very recent developments.

Whatever the case, Bonnie's lack of alarm assured this sentinel wasn't physically around. With this said, Vanessa pushed Luis through the door's aperture and followed through. Freddy gave Luis Vanessa's heavy jacket briefly; trying to help warm him up. He even picked up the man; holding him bridal style, funnily enough. Luis squeaked at the sudden movement and latched onto Freddy's ring of fur on his neck in reflex- tucking the paws over his gut.

"T-tha-that isn't necessary!" he tried dissuading.

"Nonsense. I do not mind doing this for you. And, take no offense, my friend, but you are in no condition to walk around in the state you're in," Freddy started. "Please. Let us do this for you. I insist!"

The fact Luis couldn't argue back said enough.

Bonnie flexed his ears all the while; and Monty beside him clamped his jaw shut and reopened it in a manner betraying his attention on the atmosphere. The gator put Vanessa in front of himself; covering their back all the while. Bonnie was the one who lead them down the way they went.

"Heya, M.X.E.S?" Bonnie began again after a minute, "Give me the skinny: the hell's up with the defenses here? Are there not any? Besides this sentinel guy-"

"There does not appear to be any other defensive features... Scans reveal that if there were others, they've been disabled with time," The security program continued. "This unit believes the sentinel was put here to compensate. That or... the sentinel himself disabled them. Luis has repeatedly disabled a couple and re-enabled them so to prevent suspicion."

"I musta tripped the system somehow... I'm sorry," Luis started.

"No... it is perhaps Jamieson who woke this bot up," M.X.E.S retaliated in his typical monotone. "This unit simply does not see this sentinel awakening underneath any other circumstance otherwise- you have been carefully to circumnavigate the defenses put in place here for the last 2 years. It is likely Jamieson, as a loyal employee, simply grew tired of your theft. You've exercised the proper amounts of caution until this point otherwise."

"Yeah... When you put it like that-" Luis scratched at his temples.

The group fell silent after that; heading towards the stairway leading to the ground floor. M.X.E.S systematically kept turning singular cameras off all the while; with the group idling in place every time it took the security program a little longer to disable it. Bonnie's ears were their guide and early warning too; and if he jerked a certain way, they tended to do the same. Nothing unsavory came to greet them though- and Vanessa couldn't help but be unnerved by the placidity of the security.

"Luis," she started again. "The sentinel... you sure its a Freddy?"

Luis' current caretaker stared down at them with intrigue.

The man meanwhile nodded dully, "He's not... he's not all there. I learned that the Bonnie model was disabled everywhere; including this place. And I have reason to believe the Freddy here simply didn't take it too well. I saw a requisition order about Bonnie pieces a little bit ago, right? And I think he might've been trying to get another Bonnie built here or... I dunno. He comes off as..." Luis narrowed his almond eyes. "-He seems lonely. I feel bad but... he's definitely not okay to be around. His lack of inhibition when it comes to wanton harm is something else."

Freddy himself meanwhile slanted him a piteous look, his muzzle clenching in uncertainty. He passed Bonnie a glance; the two bots briefly catching each other's eye. Bonnie produced a pained grimace in response to the portent.

Vanessa frowned as well, already feeling for this other Freddy but she certainly didn't care for its willingness to hurt Luis- someone who was harmless. An errant thought came to her, "So... he just woke up... this other Freddy. Thanks to Jamieson. But... from the sounds of this, it seems like this other Freddy was awake around the time Glamrock Bonnie was decommissioned too. Sounds like somebody shut him down at some point-"

"He was," Luis confirmed. "He's too dangerous to keep active. There's reports here that say he hurt some of the staff when Bonnie was disabled. Not unlike Glamrock Foxy at the mega PizzaPlex, he went into some sorta tizzy. They had to taser him and lock him away."

Monty peered at them, "This is a warehouse though... why is there any active Glams here? Wouldn't they only activate 'em once they arrived at a PizzaPlex? It seems like it'd negatively affect our programmin' if we woke up here first then get carted off to that greasy jail for the rest of our functional days."

"Guess they wanted an alternative security solution... or they were doing something else here we don't know of. All I do know is that this sentinel has never been exposed to children or performed on stage as our Freddy has. He doesn't have the social skills. I think they made Bonnie here to help stabilize him? I didn't see any other active bots," Luis shrugged.

Vanessa gave him a horrified look. To think- they'd build these bots here to be pet guard dogs and restrict their social interaction to just each other- and then, they go and disable this other Bonnie- already, the more Luis went on, the more disgusted she grew.

Apparently, their Freddy doubtless felt the same. He even stopped once, his expression hardening, "Should we... I mean... I still aim on getting you to a hospital but... should we do something for him? It doesn't sound like he's seen any kindness..."

Bonnie hung his head too. He definitely looked like he wanted to help but he didn't speak up.

"I dunno what we can do-" Vanessa told her bear. "It doesn't sound like he's easily reasoned with... and frankly, I want to prioritize getting out of here above all."

Bonnie twitched an ear, sighing next. He obviously wanted to say something, but didn't. He stared at his best friend once, gently brushing the bear's side in empathy.

From hence, the bots proceeded to the ground floor and found themselves at the security office from before. It was here they were stopped; the group noticing that the doors were shut tight and the locks engaged. Monty hissed next to them; going past Vanessa, Freddy, Luis, and Bonnie in that order so to slam his fists on the door. He snapped and growled; shoulder ramming into it and banging with a ferocity that bent it. His claws razed and scoured; peeling and pulling at the edges in a vain attempt to pry it open.

"That's odd-" Bonnie blinked. "Why's it active now? This place has no power- nevermind. Stupid question."

"I'm gonna hazard this sentinel doesn't want us to leave and went as far as to reallocate power to the exits JUST to make it hard on us," Vanessa hissed. "M.X.E.S, any other ways out?"

"You could try the loading docks... and there is but one fire exit. However, knowing this sentinel, he may have barricaded or locked down those other exits too," It supplied.

Monty thundered, "I'll git this damn door open if its the last thing I do! I ain't runnin' around this god damn death trap and repeatin' the fuggin' PizzaPlex! If we hit this thing hard enough, it'll give! Just like that safe room door!"

Freddy snorted, then gently lowered Luis, "I don't commonly agree with Monty on brute force being the answer but- I think I have to agree here. The security door here will not hold up to all of us- and we're right here, so we might as well take a whack at it. There's no telling if there's traps by those other places-" He approached the gator's side and poked him at the shoulder, "Stand aside for a moment. Let me try!"

Monty snirked and bowed out of the way.

Freddy's lips lifted off his teeth; showing a snarl as he squared his shoulders and braced his weight on his legs and lower back. He then surged forward with a growl; as if to pony up the strength to move it. His blue talons locked into the frame of the door- no, literally, its frame and not the door itself. He pulled backwards; head craning back and his motor roaring in tune with the quaking rumble of his voice box-

And, amazingly enough, Freddy's strength literally started tearing the frame off around the door itself. It shrieked as it gave way; the bear falling backwards as he ripped it free from its foundation. Vanessa and the others were more than impressed as they watched it methodically peel away in a groan of metal and rebar.

Monty joined back in; and the two managed to destabilize the frame to the extent they did. Once it was peeled, the door had no real means of staying anchored. It remained fixed to the magnets in the floor, but it wasn't as secure as before. The two bots simply pulled the door off after the frame was removed.

"Holy-" Luis threaded his hand through his mousy hair.

Vanessa sometimes forgot how strong these guys were- but she hadn't forgotten how strong Freddy especially could be once he put some oomph into it. She recalled his battle with DJ with a start and shook her head, glad he was their friend-

But then, it worried her just how strong this other one could be.

"Luis... couldn't the sentinel... you know... do... that?" She told him. "Why didn't he?"

The man frowned, having been leaning on Vanessa as the bots went to work on the other door beyond. "I think he was playing with me after a point. He could've ripped my head off when he struck me... but he didn't. I think he's just bored." He turned to look down the hall at the camera in the corner. M.X.E.S had it off, but he still must've felt like they were being watched because his gaze didn't falter, "Like I said: He's just... he doesn't seem like a Freddy anymore. If he was more like one before, its gone now. And I doubt he'd be quick to return to that isolation."

Bonnie pondered his words especially, watching the man with a contemplative pinch of his brows. He didn't say anything however, focusing on helping Vanessa hold Luis up.

Freddy and Monty meanwhile, after having thoroughly ripped the office frame apart, lead the way past to the hall they first arrived in. The group moved uniformly; staying in pace with Luis' slow gait. Once they finally saw the empty, cement floored main hall again, they started to breathe easy-

Only to take pause when they saw a huge, bulking shape move from one of the adjoining offices and sit in front of the way out.

Bonnie's ears flexed towards it, his expression alarmed. The fact he hadn't heard anything until now was strange enough- and it showed when he jumped like a startled horse and frowned at the silhouette somewhat hunkering down at their final barrier. Monty hissed; steam fogging around his muzzle. Freddy himself meanwhile took position in front of Luis and Vanessa defensively, his lips pulling from his teeth, but not all the way.

The bulky shadow at the end of the hall clinked; like chains disturbed in some decent bout of wind. A series of servos whirred next; a very low hum nobody could hear too well unless they truly listened. The figure pulled itself to its fullest height; an imposing 8 feet tall and easily above eye-level with the other bots here. Head and shoulders, one can say, taller than the rest. Every other bot maxed at 7- with Bonnie being the exception with his ears giving him the additional height.

LED eyes blinked alive; the pupils pinning and dilating as they scanned the group with a patience that gave nothing else away. They were cold cobalt in color; akin to ice on steel and just as unfeeling as an impassive northern wind coming to sweep away the last vestiges of autumn's fleeting grip and plunge the darkening world in an endless, long, and perpetually abyssal winter. A clouding of mist fogged before those optics; the muzzle a tad more pointed and more or less shaped like a real bear's own and less of the round, circular symmetry of the Glamrock variant. He tossed his head; ears flopping with earrings and a single tag displaying an identification number. Chains clanged more noticeably as he drew himself up.

There was a wrongness in the air; something still and expectant that gripped Vanessa's esophagus and drained the air from her lungs as she beheld the other Freddy before them. What she didn't know at the time was that this same wrongness was what Cassie had been greeted with when she found Bonnie in that back room; the same sort of haunting, alien, anomalous aura that spiked hair along her body and put her into flight mode. Some ancient, primordial part of her monkey brain said to find the nearest hole and bury herself in it.

Bonnie seemed to notice it too- his ears lowered flat to his head and his expression absolutely plunged into a display of raw fear. He ducked so low as if he wanted to bolt; his jaw parted in a silent gasp. His nose twitched a million miles an hour; eyes almost bugged in their sockets.

The sentinel pulled himself further into their line of sight; meeting the LED beams of the others and showing himself properly now: He had the Glamrock paint job at some point, but it looked like the orange chassis was dulled down dramatically; worn, chipped, and uneven in coat from neglect. The blue blaze of bolt on his breast surged a neon glare; as if suggesting a full charge. He looked... paler, like a filthy polar bear and less like a blonde grizzly. Maybe more like a hybrid of the two, if Vanessa can guess. A polar bear that forgot how to groom itself and rolled in the soiled remains of his deceased food for fun after dinner.

He had chains around his neck- and while it looked like they've been used on him by people, he wore them now like a badge of pride and seemingly preferred fashion statement. He could easily take them off, but he hadn't bothered. He also had chains on his wrists and lower torso; and there were wrapped several times around whatever areas they inhabited. Perhaps several revolutions, from glance alone. The bear's jewelry studded ears clinked again as he tossed his head in a lazy shake; his azure claws flexing as if in contemplation of them.

These talons were a match for Glamrock Freddy's own in terms of color- but that was where the similarities ended. His talons were... Vanessa had to fight a cringe here; they were longer than Roxy's own; and Roxy was notable for having slightly more exaggerated nails for styling and painting purposes and being able to have the reach for her keyboard. This Freddy's talons were 5 inches long at least- way too long to belong to a singer. And worse, they were still stained from earlier; coated in rusty brown from when he struck Luis.

He briefly showed his teeth in a smile; one born from roiling acid pools and corrosive enough to melt through diamond and devour flesh in seconds. His expression was lazy, relaxed, patient. One can even almost call it friendly. His cerulean gaze locked once onto Bonnie, stayed for a pointed minute, then swapped back to the others. He clapped his platter-sized paws together; a sound of a thunder's recourse amidst a dying storm and sandpaper upon metal.

"Oh look! Guests! Its been far too long since I've seen anyone else here!" He began blithely, merrily clapping his over-sized white paws together like a child being pleased by something.

His voice was... Vanessa was taken aback by the sound of it. He sounded just as friendly as their Freddy; it even almost possessed an inflection suggesting he was on the cusp of breaking down. Like he wanted to squeak and was barely containing his fragile and tentative joy at the sight of a long lost friend. There was a weak pleasantness in it that was both lyrical and musical, despite his rough image- he definitely had a singer's voice, speaking in a honey-flavored baritone that could easily lull a child to bed. However, one cannot deny there was something else within it that betrayed the aforementioned fragile nature of his inflection as she rolled it over in her head.

His more narrow jaws parted in a lop-sided and wrong smile, his expression truly enamored by the sight of the rabbit before him. He even 'Eeeeeee'd!' gaily at the sight of him, shaking his paws in a brief tizzy of excitement. "Oh my- and you brought Bonnie here too? For me! Oh how sweet! I don't think anyone's ever done anything so nice before! I've missed him so much! Welcome back, friend!"

He took a step towards them- and Bonnie meanwhile, took a huge step back.

"Come now! Why not stay a while? Pull up a chair, relax! Or maybe we can finally share a dance again?" He started. Ice eyes flashed to the humans -to Vanessa and Luis- and there was something there she knew that couldn't be more rotten or colder than the biting air around them. The wrongness in the atmosphere plunged another degree.

She had no idea why, but she suddenly doubted she or Luis were going to leave this place in one piece.