FNAF Security Breach: Whistleblower

by FrostByterFang

Sequel to Ruination. Takes place 2 years after the fall and collapse of the mega PizzaPlex. Luis' free runs into the supply depot finally catches up to him in the worst way possible: Bringing about a series of consequences that could bring trouble to the bots and the rest of the family. Vanessa meanwhile decides to orchestrate a rescue operation to save him. Full summary inside.

5. Ruminations of the Restless

CASSIE

She couldn't go to sleep.

She and Gregory both had been lying awake in their respective rooms, having been told by Vanessa before she left for the depot that they still had a curfew to get to. After all, they had school in the morning. However, the two have been unable to get to sleep while worrying for the rest of their extended family; with Cassie literally stewing on a million ways this whole expedition could've gone wrong. Its bad enough Luis was trapped inside another Fazbear Entertainment owned building- he didn't need to end up hurt or worse like Cassie and her own father had been.

Therapy has been helping- and she was glad she's been going for the past while. Greg was right too; his therapist adored Cassie and they spoke like old friends after a while. And the comfortable back-and-forth they had allowed Cassie to open up further with time. It's been difficult mentioning the PizzaPlex, but even she had to tell the woman after a point that she went inside of it to save Gregory. So to date, at least one person outside of their family knew of their interesting positions. Gregory also seemed to have told Miss Howler about it- and the therapist, professional that she was, even she was taken aback by their adventure inside.

Likely wasn't sure to believe them, but she listened. She gave no judgement, merely sat and heard the epic told in its entirety. Even the animatronics had been mentioned- and Vanessa herself told the story. So yes, you can bet this woman was not only surprised by all of their accounts, but the fact they were living in a crowded house and the bots were essentially family only added to it.

The one thing Cassie omitted in all of this had been the fact Bonnie was housing her father's soul. She never mentioned the whole 'remnant' thing, or the fact that the paranormal had some root in their logistical world. Sometimes, even though Cassie herself has gone through it and seen the proof in the pudding, even she found it hard to believe. She couldn't imagine what her therapist must've thought about the bots being what they are as is!

One day, Miss Howler betrayed an interest in meeting one of the bots (maybe it was to convince herself it was real?). Vanessa herself must've trusted the woman enough to pitch the idea; as Vanessa said she'd like to see some of their friends get the help they needed. Bonnie... well, even Cassie agreed he isn't all there sometimes, and he was off most days. She can only imagine Miss Howler can help him. So, soon, Vanessa said once she can get a bot to agree, they can have him or her come in and meet Miss Howler. Cassie wagered her dad/Bonnie would probably go and scope it out. He had the raging curiosity that has killed him once already.

...Technically... two times... if you consider he's two-in-one? So he's technically died twice? Maybe...?

Confusing tangents aside, Cassie sat up in her bed and rubbed at her noggin; small hand brushing short hair that's very slowly growing back on the back of head. Her undercut was so ugly- but at least it was coming along. She suspected her hair would be back to what it used to be in another year or two at most. She still hated it enough to warrant a bandanna though; even in her own home. Even now, she was reaching over and grabbing her purple Roxy-themed bandanna and tying it around her scalp (Chica hand-sewn it, and it was one of Cassie's most priceless items). She clambered out of bed and went to sit in the nook at her window- simply gazing out into the vacant, snow-covered streets.

Roxy was outside with Eclipse. The wolf was salting the driveway and shoveling new fallen snow out of the way while Eclipse himself was cleaning it off their other van. Chica was most likely cleaning the kitchen downstairs still; that or mopping. With the amount of traffic in their own house, sweeping and mopping became a requirement and all these pairs of feet shuffling around demanded a constant upkeep of their floors. They had to replace some boards sometimes since the bots were so heavy and can warp things without intentionally doing so.

Cassie leaned against the window; breath fogging the glass. She ended up doodling in it to alleviate boredom. She just couldn't sleep- not while knowing Freddy, Vanessa, Monty, and Bonnie were out there rescuing Luis from another Fazbear-owned joint. After her own visit to the PizzaPlex, how COULD she sleep? Its bad enough she sometimes had nightmares about Vanny!

She'd been reluctant to tell anyone about that... but Gregory and Bonnie knew about it. Bonnie however only knew because he can hear the nuances of her body and he knew when she was having a nightmare. One night, he'd been over her bed and helping her wake from a Vanny-related dream. She cried for a while and ended up telling him the whole thing- seeing as he was right there.

The girl huffed again, doodling anew as she pondered her life and the people in it. She just didn't have a lot of 'people' to account for. Yes, she had Miss Howler, Vanessa, and Gregory, but any humans outside of that were... sorely lacking. Unless you counted the remnant in Bonnie, of course. It still rendered the number of 'humans' Cassie can interact with on one hand, and that was a tragedy. She still couldn't make friends in school and she just didn't know why!

Correction: She knew why... she had Marvin to somewhat thank for that. That horse's ass of a kid ruined her social life by spreading nasty rumors about her 'furry' family and how weird they were. He's seen pretty much all the bots by now (each of them have taken Cassie and Gregory to and from school at least a dozen times each by now). So yes, even Marvin knew who was who. He loved pointing fingers and trying to rub in that Cassie's family was as strange as they were- not that Cassie would trade them out for the world. Why would she? She wasn't ashamed of them in the least- but it'd be nice if Marvin could fucking quit it.

Cassie noticed Roxanne's ears went pert outside; the wolf sitting up and flicking her appendages all around before arresting her amber gaze onto the other end of the street. She heard it too after a minute; the sound of the other party bus as it rolled into sight. Cassie was already up and leaving her room before it even pulled into the driveway.

Outside her room, she caught Gregory sprinting from his own bedroom and coming to join her side as they leapt down the stairs. Once they hit the ground floor, the pair was bolting for the front door and hardly taking that second to grab their coats from the rack right by it. Chica heard and poked her head out of the living area, having a broom in hand and clucking at them in surprise.

"What in damnation- what're you two doin'?! You can't go out there!" She clucked as she bustled over to them.

"They're home!" Gregory barely exclaimed as he pulled the door open.

Cassie tightened her bandanna over her ears to protect them from the cold as Gregory rushed out into the night. "They just got back," She told the hen. "Come on!"

The hen burbled and tossed her broom aside, following the pair out.

The party bus parked; with Roxanne turning her head to catch the kids and the other female bot coming to stand beside her and Eclipse. The doors opened in both the front and the back; with Monty helping Bonnie out from the rear of the vehicle and Freddy coming out of the driver's seat- Cassie frowned when she caught his expression and no sign of Vanessa and Luis.

"Wha- WHERE'S MY MOM?" Gregory raced past the female bots to come straight to Freddy's side.

The brown ursine's eyes were slanted in a way indicative of pain; his paws flexing and revealing damage to them thanks to the porch light. Cassie was also alarmed to see he had damage sustained to his belly and he was shivering like he wanted to collapse.

Now her attention was on Bonnie and Monty- and she nearly SCREAMED when she saw Bonnie's breast. He had a new hole in it! And the rabbit was... he couldn't hold himself up? Chica's expression went hollow beside her; the two of them rushing to he and the injured gator. Monty's side and belly was also dented, and his leathery skin had tears in some places. His right hand was broken- clearly.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Chica roared so loudly that a neighbor's light went on. The hen caught that, cringed, and started ushering the boys in.

Bonnie's eye twitched- he seemed to be having trouble focusing. And his ears were flopping like he had no control of them. The fact he didn't seem to acknowledge Chica was troubling. Cassie grabbed his free paw and walked beside him; the rabbit finally looking down at her and clenching.

"Hey... honey face," he drawled out super slow like he was trying to not slur his words.

Nope- his lights were on but nobody's home. Cassie didn't know what he did, but something was clearly wrong with him and he was more than addled.

Cassie caught Gregory walking with Freddy inside. Roxy and Eclipse helped him out and the entire family bustled in. Bonnie was put to rest on the couch; the rabbit constantly shaking his head like he was trying to dislodge something in his ears and couldn't get it free. He even brought a paw to one flopping appendage and scratched at it like he was annoyed by it. Cassie suddenly got the impression he couldn't hear too well or at all.

So she tried, "Bonnie?"

Nope. No response.

She turned to Freddy, who actually did collapse onto the floor in front of the fire and bowed over. Monty meanwhile finally spoke for the group and said to Gregory, "Rest easy, varmint. Yer ma and Luis are in the hospital- and NO Vanessa's not hurt! She's just stayin' with Louie. We're gonna go get her once she says the doctors inevitably shove her out-"

"Then, what's wrong with Luis? What happened?" Gregory whimpered.

"He's hurt... but he should be fine-" Monty uncertainly reciprocated. "But uh-"

Gregory's expression turned war-like. "What. Happened," he pressed.

"We... shit. How do I even explain what we saw-?" Monty mumbled.

The fact Freddy wasn't responding had been ominous enough- with Roxanne and Eclipse rubbing at him. The bear shrugged them off, his lip line lifting marginally as if in annoyance. Roxanne got the hint and shuffled over to Bonnie; who still hasn't responded to anything verbal. Chica was suddenly bent over him and pulling his ears to look into them; moving the artificial epidermis and peeking into his cranial cavity.

"Oh my god... WHAT DID YA'LL DO TO HIS EARS? HE'S DEAF!" She thundered at them.

"Deaf!?" Cassie and Gregory blinked.

Bonnie kept flipping his head, ignoring Chica's touching. The hen burbled and pulled his paw, finally gaining his attention, "Bon- oh... oh my poor, beautiful blue boy!" The hen whimpered as she looked at his chest too.

Monty continued, "We... we met another Freddy."

Now the room was silent. Both kids were looking at him, then looked at the brown bear by the fire. Gregory's mouth moved, but no words came out.

"This Freddy-" Monty continued, noticing Chica, Roxanne and Eclipse were also gawping at him too. "He wasn't... he was... shit. I have no idea what I can say about this dude but... he wasn't okay. He's hostile, loopier than a slinkie going down a stairway, and he was HUGE!" The gator shot up and brought an arm above his head level- 8 or more feet into the air. "OH MY GOD- HE WAS HUGE AND MEAN! I admit I don't think I've EVER been terrified of another bot before in my entire life! He fucked us ALL up and he almost killed Luis!"

"Another..." Roxanne slumped, blinking rapidly like she was dizzy.

Eclipse suddenly darted over to Freddy, Gregory doing the same. The boy meanwhile settled against the bear's side, resting a tiny hand on his bicep and leaning against him. Freddy didn't shrug this off; in fact, he turned somewhat and scooped the boy up into his arms. He didn't react to Eclipse's touch but he didn't brush him off as he did the others.

Chica produced a distressed thrill noise; then she was looking into Bonnie's chest. "Hn... no damage beyond the superficial here. So, how bad off is Luis?" She turned back to Monty.

"Bad 'nuff... but he'll live. He's a resourceful little varmint. He got wounded by that frost bear and he cauterized his wound with some spare Freddy paws he had. Oh- he left those in the van, by the way," Monty flicked his head towards the direction of the buses. "He was talking coherently, and he was able to walk so, he'll be okay. I wager the doctors will have 'em out in the next day or two. Can't imagine he'd be gone longer."

Chica turned back to Bonnie, whose expression remained foggy. The rabbit blinked several times like he was confused and disoriented. Now she was staring at Monty with this crisp coldness that could snap-freeze water, "And... by chance... Bonnie here is the way he is because someone used my voice box on him, huh?"

Monty glanced helplessly at Freddy, "He had to... the frost bear held Bonnie hostage, told us to leave without him- but Freddy, well, you know him. He wasn't going to leave it at that. He had to use the voice box to stun the other bear. It worked... but obviously Bonnie was caught on that end too."

"His sense of balance is shot," She snarled. She waved a hand at his face; in which he did react and frown, but the motion was sluggish. He flinched with every sharp movement, as if he was photo-sensitive. "And he's having trouble processing," The hen added.

"I'm... sorry," Freddy whispered nearby. "I... I just-"

Chica pulled away from the rabbit and zipped over to Freddy; throwing her arms around his shoulders from behind and burying her face into his great ruff. "I'm not... I was mad but... you did what you have too to bring our bunny home. Luckily, we have the parts on hand to repair Bonnie. I'm just glad you guys aren't worse off or dead! Oh-" She buried her cheek ever more deeply into the wave of fur around his neck, "Its okay, Freddy. Its okay."

Freddy very slowly turned his head to face her, his optics shining with the reflection of the fire's glowing hearth. It gave the odd illusion of tears; prompting Chica to tighten her grip on his heavy neck and burble into his cheek. She produced several crooning noises; a series of rapid chirps and deep-throated grumbles like purring. Freddy leaned back into her, no doubt appreciating the sound indicative of an actual chicken's contentedness.

Roxanne had her turn at Bonnie's side, sitting beside him and Cassie and resting a paw on the top of his head. She scratched at his mop; the rabbit falling ever more limp into her hold as she used her long talons to dig at him. He practically turtled into his own fluff; slumping onto the couch in a way that shouldn't be comfortable. Cassie was touching at his face too; noticing he was at least aware of them and their attempts to help. His maroon optics darted to her once, his expression lightening up despite being clearly heavy-lidded and out of sync.

"We'll fix you up," Cassie coaxed- not that he could hear. "Roxy? Can you help me get him into the garage, maybe? I can help replace the auditory emitters."

"I keep forgetting you know how to do this too-" the wolf mumbled. But then she leveled a frown at Cassie, "You should be in bed though."

"I can't sleep... and now, hearing this, I don't think I can," she admitted. "I was lying awake for a while."

The wolf fixed her mandible in place a little bit, then turned and looked at Monty, "Tell us the whole story in a bit. We should wind down- I'll help Cass fix blue boy here and get her to bed."

The gator sighed, "Sorry... sorry bouta... sorry."

Roxy shook her head tapped him lightly on the shoulder, "Not your fault. Not like you guys anticipated meeting another Freddy. What I don't understand is why he didn't show up in all those times Luis' has been to the depot-?"

"He'd been asleep. M.X.E.S thinks one of the dudes who let Luis into the depot betrayed him. Woke up that lunatic just to kill him-" Monty snarled.

There was another pregnant silence; with Eclipse finally drawing himself up to his ridiculously lanky height and folding his arms, "A coworker- trying to to kill another- that can't bode well. If he realizes Luis escaped..." he trailed off. "Couldn't he, you know-"

Roxanne growled.

Monty meanwhile said, "Dunno... but we do know we needta leave this place. Living here wasn't gonna be long-term anyways. Vanessa might as well ask Luis to move in with us where he'd be safe. And then we can move out together, I reckon."

"I agree-" Chica nodded, her grip on Freddy unrelenting. "Yeah. Vanessa says we have only one or two more houses to do and once they're sold... we can leave. She's got a lot of money put away now. We haven't picked a place to go yet though."

"No state in mind?" Monty muttered.

"She wanted everyone's consensus," Roxy shrugged. "Guess we may be including Luis in on that too. I can only assume..."

"Might as well do some house hunting," the reptile muttered.

Roxy shrugged, then went to stand. She pulled Bonnie's arm, suggesting he do the same. The rabbit blinked blearily like he couldn't see straight- wobbling once he got to his feet. Roxy encouraged the rabbit to lean on her so he didn't drunkenly run into anything. Cassie hummed in a distressed note as she realized he truly wasn't okay.

"Wow," she murmured. "I didn't think Chica's voice box could do THIS kind of damage to him- that's ridiculous!"

"His hearing... well, ALL of us actually have a feature that's built similarly to humans, see," Roxy told her, grabbing Bonnie's other paw and pulling him towards the garage. "Our hearing is tied to our sense of equilibrium in our cranial capacitors, just like you. A lot of our processing power is anchored to our senses too... and it doesn't help that Bonnie's is super sensitive thanks to not just his ears, but his whiskers. His processor has to account for the data he gets not just from touch, sight, hearing, and so on, but pressure. But, the same can be said for ALL of us; and Monty's got a really HUGE part of his brain that's dedicated just to the pressure sensors in his jaws as it is. They had to add that into him once he was deemed fit to be a Monty. Its why we had to salvage as much of the old one we had when we remade this one-"

She seated the rabbit in the chair, then went to the repair module to turn it on. Bonnie seemed to understand what she was doing and just relaxed into his seat; his paw tightening around Cassie's hand in a way to reassure her that he'd be fine. Cassie leaned up against his chair and continued listening as Roxanne went on.

"At any rate, a huge part of Bonnie's brain is dedicated to just his whiskers and ears; to their control, the sensors running beneath the chassis covering them, to the tactile sensors in them, and to processing the input he gets from them- like temperature, what decibels are being heard, and whose touching him. His endo had to be augmented to account for it. Like how mine had to be enhanced to account for my sense of smell and sight?" She elaborated. "So whenever Chica's voice box hits him... it does more than than just put him into a system restart, as you can see."

"Its does physical harm too..." Cassie mumbled. "Gosh, that sucks."

Roxy shrugged helplessly, "Would you believe me if I said this isn't his first time being on the receiving end of that?"

Now the girl was blinking. "You serious? When was this?"

"Some years ago... around the time Chica first got her new, experimental voice box. She went to perform with him and... well, god. He looked like he was having a seizure or something. EVERYBODY freaked out-" Roxy waved her hands out as if to demonstrate. "The engineers had to requisition Bonnie's ears... so that took a couple days to do. He stayed deaf and pretty out of it for a while after that. Chica was so ashamed of herself, even though she hadn't known it could happen. Nobody did!"

Cassie shook her head there, glancing back at Bonnie and sighing. "Kinda glad I ain't someone with hearing like his."

"Same. And we're lucky Luis found whatever little he had for Bonnie from the depot... so he'll get fixed up easy. He'll be good as new in literally a couple minutes. However... his ear upgrade will need to be replaced, as well as a couple other parts."

"Do we have a set of those somewhere?"

"Just the one pair," Roxy sighed. "He'll have full functionality. Problem is that we can't throw out his old set... I want to repair those, seeing as there isn't anymore Bonnie pieces in the world. The two we have are valuable and not replaceable, even if broken."

Cassie nodded, then released her hold on Bonnie's paw and went to help him with his fur. The rabbit was unsteadily trying to undo it from his upper body. His head piece was independent of his body; and the fur on the ears were stretched to a degree where taking them on and off was a chore. As it was, his ears themselves didn't need to be dissembled. The emitters inside his head itself was what they had to go for. He'd just need his ears tuned after the repairs were made inside his skull. He handed the fur of his head to Cassie and smiled at her gently, betraying his thanks. He leaned slowly back and sighed; as if truly tired.

Cassie moved away so the armature can get to work; watching in fascination as his facial plates were extracted and the machine got to work removing the damaged 'secondary' ears naturally anchored into the endo. Bonnie's particular set was indeed special however; being larger than the others and they had a series of extra wires anchoring them in place. Cassie placed his head fur on the desk and went to the metal cabinet on the other side of the sealed garage; extracting a set of large emitters and the wires needed to anchor into the armature. She frowned as she looked at them; indeed seeing its just the one set. She could've swore they had more but it didn't appear to be that way.

Roxy glided over to a large 'wardrobe' (its a huge cabinet that held their other furs and chassis pieces) to pull out a breast segment; a repurposed Freddy chest that was painted stone blue like Bonnie's fur. Thanks to the boys being of similar construction, they can interchangeably use each other's parts. Even their endos were similar at their base; minus the obvious changes to their faces and joints so to give them the illusion of they animal they are.

From there, Roxy attached the new chest piece to the armature and waited for Cassie to attach the emitters and wires. Seems she got the right ones and knew which was important. Bonnie's old upper body piece was set aside so they can send it the welder Vanessa has been commissioning. Nothing was going to waste here- there was no luxury for it.

Cassie stood aside and watched as the armature auto-corrected Bonnie's sensors and tuned his ears directly; repair on them done in a flash. The new emitters were put in, wires were replaced, and his head chassis was reattached and soldered on. The terminal then woke the rabbit up, and he was moving already. All of this took only 5 minutes to do.

"Do you hear me," Roky asked him in a low tone- her voice barely above whispering level.

"Ye-yeah. I can hear you now," he said, shaking his head like he was still a little foggy. It wasn't the case but he was no doubt still confused about the fact the entire world had gone silent for a while there. He pulled himself from the seat and reached for his facial fur; grumbling as he pulled it on. "I'll be- arg, alright now. Thanks again Rox-and-roller."

"Lemme help with that- I know fitting those furs is a damn pain," Roxy shrugged.

"I got it."

It took him a minute (literally, a full minute of disgruntled fussing) to get it on. He then pulled his fur on his torso back up. The fur itself on his body was a one piece- and it had been hanging at his waist like a tied-on sweater. As he pulled it taut, it tightened and stretched to a great degree. He groaned at the hole in the chest though.

"Aw man... these furs ain't exactly easy to replace," he complained.

"We'll get it to a tailor or whatever. I'm just glad you're okay," Roxy continued.

Bonnie snorted, then turned to smile lovingly at Cassie like she was the only thing that mattered. The sensation of it always left her giddy with delight; the girl scampering over to throw her arms around his middle. His paws went around her shoulders, the rabbit staying anchored in place for a solid minute simply holding her.

Cassie then said, "Did you really have to fight another Freddy? What was he like?"

"Figured Monty said somethin' about it-" Bonnie sighed. "But yeah. We met another Freddy. I... I'm not going to lie, love. I just... that bear. He's something else. He's... special. He's SO much more different than anything we've ever had to deal with." His expression darkened, "I don't wanna say, but... he actually isn't unlike me. He's... how can I say this-?"

Roxy blinked several times fast. "Wait- wha-?"

"Yeah. He's like me-" Bonnie jerked a thumb to himself. "Actualized."

Cassie pulled away now, gawping straight up into his face. There was a silence that smothered them; choked off any other words.

That explains Freddy's reaction, Cassie wondered. He just met another version of himself. And if that wasn't weird enough... but a version whose HAUNTED?

Bonnie shook his head, "He's super... I know this sounds mean being as blunt as it is, but he's CLEARLY insane and he's been built for different specifications than any other Freddy ever. He's a Freddy model... but he couldn't be more unique, and yet-" His expression grew doleful, "He still had a Freddy heart. The way he talks about his Bonnie- how he looked at me when he thought I was his missing bestie. Oh-" He noticed their expressions, "He thought I was his missing Bonnie. Apparently we wore the same fur and have the same smell. Before he figured I was the Glamrock, he was treating me as kindly as any Freddy would treat his bandmates. He's still a wreck but... I dunno. I just never got the impression he was truly... yunno. Mean-spirited. Dealing with him was difficult because... I just-"

His expression fell. "I just didn't have the heart to defend myself against him. I got caught and... I just... gave up. When he got a hold of me, I couldn't get away, and I didn't have the bravery to do so. I'm so stupid! Letting myself get caught up like that... Its why I got hurt! Our Freddy had to save me from him cuz my dumbass went limp in his damn hands! I could've fought back but... I just couldn't, for some reason. I didn't want to hurt him!" One paw went to his forehead to hold it, the other arm going to support it by holding his elbow. "I just don't think... I don't... I... A Bonnie, telling a Freddy- ANY Freddy for that matter... telling him 'no' or resisting him- God damn. If our Freddy told me to jump off a cliff, I think I would!"

Cassie shook her head at him incredulously. "Maybe... its a programming error-?"

Bonnie shrugged at her, "Maybe... when we were first built they tried to impose affection in us. To make us LIKE each other so we don't go around clawing each other to pieces. It'd make sense if my demeanor being what it is to a Freddy is how it is. I just can't picture myself hurting ANY Freddy in ANY lifetime otherwise. I just love our bear and even my last words to him, before Vanny decommissioned me, was just how much he mattered to me. And the way this other Freddy talked-" His expression darkened, "I know he loved his Bonnie just as much. Disappointing him is absolutely crushing."

"You're gonna hafta tell this whole thing," Roxy jabbed a green talon at his nose. Bonnie twitched his whiskers in response there, arms lowering. "And NO skimping on the details!"

"Didn't plan on it," He shrugged.

Cassie hung her head, fidgeting anew and sighing. "So, you have any idea when Vanessa will be back? I know you couldn't hear but-"

Bonnie bobbed a fuzzy shoulder at her, "Let's see. I'm curious about Luis' welfare myself. Might as well see if we can call Vanessa at the hospital and see what's up. My guess though is that Luis is getting a blood transfusion. He lost a lot of it before we found him... He was pale, shaking, and kinda out of it when we got to him. He had to burn his wound closed- its the only reason why he's still alive."

Cassie was forcibly brought back to her own father's condition; where he too had been injured doing something inside the PizzaPlex and the transfusion he got was too late. She shivered, suddenly grabbing Bonnie again anew at the recollection. Bonnie rested a paw on the back of her head and stroked it gingerly; talons weaving into her fluffy hair while his expression betrayed that he was also thinking about it.

"Don't worry, my love. He'll be okay. Like I said; he managed to close his wound on time."

But my father couldn't... and its why you're here as you are.

She nodded, not vocalizing that horrid thought. It still scared her sometimes, the fact that her father was taken from her because of his supposed 'accident' at work. Fazbear Entertainment hadn't wanted to let him go to the hospital because of their fear of lawsuits; and one of their own rules was that no one call any facilities outside the PizzaPlex should something happen. Sadly, this turnabout was why Cassie's father couldn't get to a hospital on time; them being delayed in their reaction. His death had been completely avoidable in that scenario. Its almost as if they wanted that delay because they hoped his wound would finish the job- Cassie sometimes wondered if that was the case.

She blinked furiously; having not expected her treacherous mind to sweep there and remain thus. Her father was dead, but he wasn't gone. Her grip on Bonnie tightened, her gaze somewhat watery as she eyed the somewhat flummoxed rabbit bot. He can tell she was thinking about it, his claw tips velveteen in their trajectory across her sensitive scalp beneath her bandanna. His expression was solemn; eyes slanted in a way that emulated the sensation of fighting tears that just wasn't there.

"Call her. Please," Cassie beseeched. "I NEED to know if Luis is okay."

That he won't end up like you did.

Bonnie worked his jaw and looked at Roxanne; the two exchanging brief glances. He nodded, then very slowly settled back onto the armature's chair with Cassie in hand. He pulled the girl into his lap, one paw at her back to support her while the other went to the side of his head like he tapping an ear piece or something. He wasn't really, but she supposed the gesture was meant to be visual in a way to show he was calling Vanessa in his head.

The bots didn't need a phone. They had direct contact to Vanessa's own as well as the two fazwatches they had on hand. Bonnie pinged her cellular though, his optics still on Cassie but not completely focused on her so much as its the Hud in his internal screen. His ear flicked, then he put her on speaker for Cassie's benefit. Roxy settled lightly on the arm of the chair and leaned over him, being sure to not put too much of her weight on it.

"Hello-?" Vanessa started.

"Hey Summer-Eyes. Doin' okay?" Bonnie greeted.

"Oh-! You have your hearing back-"

"Yeah. Rox and Cass here had me fixed within 10 minutes of me walking in the door. No sweat. Freddy and Monty need to be done next. Anyways, how you doin', and how's Louie?"

"Doctors' took him in. Giving him the transfusion now. They tell me already his outlook will be good though, so there's something!"

Bonnie grinned at Cassie, the girl clapping her hands merrily. "That's fantastic! You have any idea when he'd be out at all? I know he just got in but hafta ask for the benefit of the kids here. You shoulda seen Gregory- he looked like he was gonna gut us!"

"The kids are AWAKE? Oh come on... They need to be in bed for school tomorrow!"

"We couldn't sleep," Cassie told her directly. "I'm sorry... but Greg and me couldn't go to bed for a while cuz we were worried."

There was a sigh. And then, "Nevermind then. I understand, sweetums. Look, forget it. You and Greg just stay home tomorrow then- you wouldn't be able to focus in class regardless, since its so late now. We could use the day to visit Luis once he's in the clear."

"Thank you, Vanessa," Cassie politely reciprocated.

"No problem. You get good grades anyway. Its GREG I'm worried about sometimes. Now, as to LUIS, I wager he'd be out in a few days. I'll be home by morning, as it is. I'm gonna stay in and wait until the doctors are done and resolve some questions with them. Trying to figure out how to explain that nasty wound though..."

"Bear attack," Bonnie dead-panned.

"Oh my god you smart ass Bugs Bunny reject. QUIT with the cute crap. I liked you better when you were quiet!"

Bonnie grinned, "Well its the truth!"

"How the HELL can I explain the burn and the fact that bears are, yunno, EXTINCT? HELLO!"

"Dog attack? Just say you and Luis were out for your date and some person's dog got out. As to the burn... well, you can just go along with the truth a bit there and say it had to be closed THEN and not later since it was so bad. Maybe ya'll were taking a tiny hike for your date or something in a remote spot? Maybe camping? I dunno!"

Vanessa gave another exasperated groan and said, "That may be the only thing I CAN say... whatever. Just... just behave and do something with Freddy. The poor guy isn't taking this too well, you know. And when I'm done here, can one of ya'll come pick me up in the morning?"

"We can," Roxy said this time. "No sweat."

"Thanks. Good night assholes. I love you like I love another aneurism."

"Feeling's mutual, Summer-Eyes," Bonnie leered.

Vanessa hung up after that, the rabbit sighing heavily and smiling at Cassie, "See? Luis will be okay. So you can rest your pretty little head, sweetness."

She nodded uncertainly, now actually feeling tired. She rubbed at her eyes, yawning some. Bonnie tutted at her and went to sit up. "NOW you wanna go to bed?" he goaded.

"I do... but, I wanna check on Freddy first," Cassie said. "He's... he was acting so odd..."

The rabbit sighed heavily there, turning to Roxanne and bobbing a shoulder at her. The wolf nodded, then the pair were leaving the garage. Cassie loped out behind them, blinking more often now as a sign of her sleepiness but not willing to go to bed until she's sat with Freddy next.

The bear was still sitting stubbornly in front of the fire, Chica talking lowly at him. The hen looked distressed, and Gregory hadn't budged this entire time. Bonnie coughed behind them, then went to settle beside the bear and nudged him with an elbow. Freddy turned to slowly look at him, blinked several times, then squinted.

"You better?" He queried in a hushed tone.

"I'm good, my man. Its all chill. Can actually hear you now and ya'll can make with the jokes about how I look like I was trippin' balls on something. Hah!"

Freddy's smile felt... well, not only forced, but piteous. Bonnie winced at the sight of it.

"At least you're better," Freddy reached out and lightly grazed the back of his knuckles on the rabbit's cheek. The touch was fleeting however, claws flopping limply back onto his lap right after.

Bonnie frowned, "Yo... um, maybe you and Monty should get checked out? Your paws are kinda... yunno. Luis went through all that effort to get the dang claws so... maybe we can replace them?"

"Oh! Oh... you are absolutely right, actually. Yes... but, Monty first-" he looked at the lounging gator. "I insist!"

"You keep on insisitin'. Cuz I ain't movin'. I'm comfortable and I ain't keen on breaking that," The gator harrumphed. He threw one arm under his head to support it, his tail hanging off the couch in a lazy manner. His damaged hand rested itself on his belly. "It don't look it, but I actually don't feel bad at all. I'll just do it after my nap. No biggie."

Freddy frowned at him, but it was Roxy who silenced him, "Just let the lazy gator sleep it off. He'll be fine, you know. I'll go grab the spare paws and meet you in the garage, Fredbear." With that, Roxy gently butted her nose with his, tail dragging a slow wave behind her as she turned to leave. She stepped out into the cold thereafter.

Gregory looked up at Freddy from his position in the bear's lap. "Go get fixed... and, why not come join me in my room? Maybe we can sit together there or do you wanna just hang here in front of the fire? Actually, either or don't sound bad."

"Hm... the fire's nice," Freddy admitted. "But you should be heading off to bed-"

Bonnie lightly elbowed him, "Vanessa says they're fine. They won't be able to concentrate in school with only 4 hours of sleep, yunno. They can stay home. 'Sides, she also said they can come visit Luis tomorrow."

"Sweet!" Gregory pumped his fists.

Freddy actually narrowed his eyes in blunt disapproval, but he didn't seem able to argue. He merely shrugged and slowly got to his feet. Gregory moved to give him space and Chica and Eclipse stepped away. "I'll... get fixed then. I suppose," The bear sighed. "Then we sit here some more. Honestly it sounds nice."

"Want me to play us some music?" Chica queried.

"That also sounds wonderful. Yes, I'd love to hear a song," Freddy gently smiled.

The hen burbled, then paused and glanced at the former attendant. "Hm... how about you do a song with me? You're REALLY good. I love your lullaby tunes! Makes the atmosphere feel super cozy," She encouraged. "You can borrow my guitar if you want?"

The multi-faced bot gave a slight tic tic of his head and shrugged, "Alright! Sure, I don't mind."

"My guitar's just over- there ya go," the hen started as Freddy turned to head for the garage. She watched him go, then immediately snapped her attention to Bonnie again, "You sure you're doing okay, hun? No weird after-effect or anything?"

"I told ya, I'm fine!" Bonnie snirked. "You don't hafta worry, Chic-a-rita. Roxy and Cassie here fixed me up good."

The hen's expression tapered into something like affection and concern- but concern won out. Her next breath was resigned. "Okay... okay. Now we just gotta get Monty up..."

"Don't bother. The guy's already ASLEEP," Bonnie jerked a thumb at him- in which all of them just started hearing the light snores. "Once he's in rest mode, I doubt anything but an earthquake will get him up."

The hen clacked her beak once, then rolled her eyes. She watched Bonnie for another moment, smiled, and then pecked her beak to his cheek in a light approximation of a kiss goodnight. "I'm gonna finish my work and let Eclipse play. Also, since we're sitting here, maybe you and Freddy can tell us about this... what did Monty call him... uh, 'frost bear'?" She air-quoted at that last part.

"He looked like a polar bear version of Freddy. Super interesting design actually," Bonnie shrugged.

"Oh... huh. Weird."

Cassie and Gregory passed looks, then seated themselves closer to the fire. Bonnie was seen taking a log and tossing it in, one ear flexing towards the waiting attendant, "Go ahead, maestro! Play away. The story can wait until after we chilled a bit. Or... rather, warm up. Its cold enough out there, right?"

The jester smiled, "Sure. Of course!"

And with that, the group sat and listened, retaining their silence for the duration of his song. Chica watched them as well, the hen finishing with her sweeping all the while. Gregory and Cassie would lean up against the rabbit and his fur, gently nodding in and out as Eclipse played. Freddy and Roxanne would soon rejoin them, further completing the cozy picture.

---

~The Next Day~

GLAMROCK CHICA

She was the one driving this time. After all, Roxy was still 'grounded' after she got Vanessa in trouble for speeding in her vehicle. She was taking the kids to the hospital to see the Luis and pick up their adoptive mother; and to relax for the day. Monty had been repaired this morning too; so beyond Luis being in the condition he's in and Freddy acting... out of sorts, the family was alright.

But still... the fact that one of Luis' long-time coworkers would just change his mind and try to off him was more than upsetting and questionable. Eclipse hadn't been wrong when he said the whole idea of it was fishier than an over-used sea port during summer. Jamieson, whoever he was, was on Chica's shit list. And while Chica didn't view herself as violent towards humans, Jamieson rankled something fierce within her.

But now, she wondered what could've prompted his change when this was supposed to be Luis' last visit to the anima supply depot. Why wake up this other Freddy JUST as Luis more than likely told him he didn't plan on more visits? Did Fazbear Entertainment put him up to this? Did he do it out of spite? She just wasn't sure- but the fact that he was noteworthy for apparently being a more faithful employee already wracked points against his favor. But on that notion, it made it strange that he'd tolerate Luis pilfering the parts for so long.

Did he know the animatronics were living with Vanessa? Surely he figured that out, yes? Hopefully not, she prayed. She didn't want to see Fazbear Entertainment pull up within the week just to hull them away after Luis and Vanessa (as well as the kids too) spent a whole 2 years fixing them up and improving them in general. The bots couldn't be more at their peak in terms of performance and functionality. What if Fazbear Entertainment knew and they've just been tolerating Luis doing this so they didn't have to put in the money or effort to fix them? That'd line up- seeing as they've neglected the daycare attendant so badly (as an example) and hadn't bothered maintaining him after a point; prompting for the glitchiness of his personalities.

Stop being paranoid. That can't be true. That's just- Chica shook her head as they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. You don't even have a basis in that assumption. No hard proof anyone knows about you. You're fine. You're fine. No one's gonna hurt you anymore.

She huffed, turning to watch the kids step out of the front seat. She was the only bot here for the moment; the rest was at the house trying to clean it up and help Freddy out- as the bear was still dazed about meeting another version of himself. No one could blame him- and he wanted to be left alone for a while. It was so strange that Freddy hadn't wanted to come along- but it goes to show just how bad off he was feeling. Chica's frown had stayed present throughout the day because of it.

Sitting at the front of the hospital doors was Vanessa; who receieved the kids with wide arms and a small smile. While Chica didn't have Bonnie's ears or Roxy's smell to be able to tell, it seemed Vanessa was at ease. A good sign, at least. Chica hadn't got out of the vehicle as is; not wanting any of the cameras around the hospital (given they exist) to catch sight of her beyond the tinted glass protecting her. Vanessa was seen holding both the children's hands and walking over to the car with them, Chica rolling the window down and smiling at her.

"Hey you-" Vanessa chirped. "You alright this cold morning?"

Chica bobbed a shoulder, "We're okay! Our furs and my feathers are doing the job fine. Just... well, as you can see, everyone else is at the house. But we're all interested in hearing how Luis is. And seeing the smile on your face, I'm going to assume he'll be alright for sure?"

"Yeah. He's already up and at 'em. Already anxious about leaving," Vanessa continued. "Doctors said he'll be out maybe tomorrow or next day, by latest. They're keeping him at this point because of that nasty wound in his shoulder being hastily done as it is. It won't scar pretty, but oh well!"

Gregory smirked, "We've matching scars now!"

Vanessa shoved him playfully, "You little weirdo. Only you would look at it like that. Anyways-" She turned back to the hen. "You staying here? I mean- it'd be pretty boring if you had to sit here. I'd understand if you wanted to drive off for a bit and I can contact you after we talk to Luis."

"I actually wanted to see if I can pick up something from the grocery store but... you know. That's up to you if you want me to try it?" Chica tilted her head slightly.

The bots sometimes -albeit rarely- ran errands like this independently (its bad enough they had to ask Vanessa for her card use sometimes). They were paranoid about it, seeing they were walking around in public as they were, but they prayed most people saw them as eccentric cosplayers or something. In fact, most times, people tended to stare at them and do nothing else. Bonnie caught whispering sometimes but he said it wasn't ever anything too negative. One set of people once said their 'costumes' were stylish and amazing representations of the Glamrocks. Chica took that to heart and hoped that it meant nobody actually suspected them of being actual freaking robots walking blatantly around in public and in plain view of everyone. But they get anxious staying cooped up in the house, so its not like anyone can blame them for wanting to do small errand runs like this.

At any rate, Vanessa was seen fishing out her wallet and handing it to her, "Just be careful. I have- what, $200 on the card right now? Use that to get the kids some dinner stuff. Decide what you want to make tonight. I can do the cleaning."

Chica took it and bobbed a shoulder, "Sure, bestie. You have anything in particular you want though?"

"Not me... but I think Bonnie said something about running out of ice cream materials?"

Cassie was seen pulling on her, "Oh my god! He was out of yogurt and vanilla extract. And he wanted fresh blueberries since... I might've... eaten the carton," she reluctantly admitted.

"Hey, they're good for you. No one's gonna complain," Vanessa shrugged. "I'd rather see you eat the blueberries as they are."

Chica smiled, "Okay, so lotsa blueberries, vanilla extract, and yogurt. Plus stuff for dinner. Anything else?"

"Carrots. Roxy and him were craving carrot cake," Vanessa rolled her eyes.

Chica did the same, "You kidding? He probably just said that so he'd eat the whole dang bundle."

"Roxy wanted the cake too so... I dunno. Its up to you if you wanna get it," The woman shrugged. "I only want you to be careful while you're out. That's all. And keep your motor and ocular wiring warm!"

"I know. You give Luis my love, okay? ALSO-" She blinked at a thought, "I wanted to ask- you figure on actually asking him to come live with us?"

Gregory and Cassie looked up at Vanessa there, the woman's brow twitching funny. She glanced away, "I... want to ask him. Yeah. I mean... he visits often enough anyway..."

Chica leaned over, "Do it. Ask him! You KNOW he'd say yes."

Vanessa waved her off, then grabbed the kids hands anew, "I'll try to pony up the nerve. Just be careful in the store and keep your head on a swivel."

Chica cackled, "Like it already isn't? You're the one who added the extra vertebra!"

The two laughed it off and then parted, the hen rolling the window back up to keep the heat inside the van. Her expression slanted back into its prior concerned one as she pondered her earlier thoughts.

Make this shopping trip quick, she told herself.

---

The grocery store nearby wasn't more than 15 minutes away. So Chica was able to get there in short order and get inside.

And yup-

People stared.

That was normal however; in fact, some people seemed to recognize her being one of the local 'eccentrics' and thankfully looked the other way (this town was pretty small). Others however couldn't help but turn heads and watch her move; as if studying the person beneath the artificial chicken fluff and clothes. And while Bonnie told her them staring was just them being appreciative of the view, sometimes, Chica didn't feel like that's the case. She knew her walking looked a bit too long in stride to belong to that of a small woman holding up an entire 7 ft tall Chica outfit. And her extra vertebra and the amount of control exercised in moving around at all sometimes exceeded what the average human can manipulate. She was too elaborate a 'puppet' to be moving as well as she does, she realized.

So she walked like she had a pole rammed up her butt; stiffly, like someone was having trouble controlling the outfit. It looked ridiculous but it might've helped sell the idea she was just a Chica enthusiast and wanted to show off her winter Chica themed outfit.

Little kids pointed though- and they LOVED how she looked. One even asked her mother if she can go over and check her out, but the mother gently shook her head and went on her way. A few men stared a bit too long, and it rankled her feathers. She had to force them to stay flat and uniform to her neck whenever that happened.

And then, this happened:

Chica was pushing a cart around, moving about slowly while looking for the yogurts and opening the refrigeration unit housing the desired Greek yogurt tubs. She read the brand, once again contemplating the innocuous action of herself living a human life as she did. She spaced out for a second there; actually in awe of the fact that sometimes, she wasn't trapped in the PizzaPlex. And while the bots have been existing outside of it for quite some time now, it still sometimes struck Chica just how strange it was they were here now. So dazed as she was, she hadn't heard that 'Gasp!' and a pair of little feet scampering over-

The chicken "Ba-bawked!" out of alarm when a pair of tiny arms wrapped around her middle and would not let go. Chica was startled so bad out of her ruminations that her neck DID fluff up and her eyes went perfectly round in their fine-boned sockets.

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god so cool so cool so cool-!" Squeaked the little girl latched onto her waist like her life depended on it.

"Ariella! Oh my god I'm so sorry-" one mother immediately apologized as she bustled over to snag her excited bundle of joy.

"So cooooooool!" Ariella chirped as she looked up into Chica's face, "She's so pretty! Prettier than ever! Hiya Chica! Hi! hi! 'Member me? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

Chica blinked rapidly and felt her beak flop open. Yeah- she DID remember this child!

"Ariella Summers-?" she mumbled.

The girl squeaked in delight and spun rapidly on her heel. Her mother, Erin Summers, snagged her arm and started tutting her offspring. "I'm so sorry! She gets so excited and- wha-" Now she was squinting to look at Chica properly. "You... you know my-? How do you know my kid's name?"

Chica slammed her beak shut. Her expression wanted to fall to alarmed but she fought it as best she could. She smiled pleasantly instead, then said, "I uh- I was one of the overseers of the guest profile management when the PizzaPlex was open so... yes? Technically?" They didn't need to know she was the real Glamrock Chica; that'd open up too many cans of worms. And that would take too much explaining to the concerned parent here. Not to mention, the less people knew, the better.

Erin blinked at her and looked her up and down. Meanwhile, the eight-year kept bouncing on her heels trying to go for another hug seemed ignorant to the half-baked lie. "That's some costume," Erin continued with. "Doesn't look like the Glamrock herself but... its not bad."

"She's pretty! Ain't she pretty, momma? She 'members me!"

Chica definitely remembered Ariella. She smiled, trying to fall more easily into her old charm routine. No need to alarm the child and parent too bad. So she smiled lightly at the mother and said while glancing at both, "I certainly do, baby-bird! Wasn't your favorite cake decorated with pink frosting and vanilla flavored? With those cute little yellow chicks and blue baby bunnies around the corners and sprinkles?"

It was very specific, but even the cakes and designs were logged for the child and what the parents requested. It wasn't unusual for the staff to know what was being asked for when parties came around. So while Chica recalling the cake right then seemed ridiculous (which it still somewhat was), the parent before her would already understand that the 'staff' beneath Chica's fuzz had access to the information. It helped that some cakes and how they're presented were easy to recall. Ariella's here, as Chica contemplated, had been an interesting hybrid of tastes- seeing as the little girl loved both herself and Bonnie. her mother had paid extra for some of the cake's final look and bake.

"Yah yah! See, momma? She 'members! That's her, momma! That's her-" She pointed with enthusiasm that was younger than her actual age.

Erin lowered her girl's arm and chastised, "Its rude to point! And, sure-" She went along with the light ruse. "Yes, Chica remembers! That's so sweet."

"Where you been Chica? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

Chica sidled uncomfortably, not that she tried to. "I was uh... I retired. Yes, retired from show business. I just play music on my own time now. I hang out and sing all day! And-" She looked at her cart of groceries. "I... I was just getting Bonnie his carrots and blueberries."

"I missed Bonnie..." Ariella sighed sadly. "I liked him too! I wanted him for my next birthday- then they said he retired too? He was always so nice. He always gave second helpings of ice cream for free! He was always letting me ride his shoulders! And let me hang from his arms!" She frowned, "I was so sad when Monty replaced him. I don't like Monty that much- he's kinda scary?"

"Scary? Aw, I'm sorry about that," Chica crooned. "He doesn't try to be! And he and Bonnie were actually good friends!"

Ariella puckered her lip, "Really? Cuz some people said nasty things about Monty hitting him just to take his place."

Chica blinked rapidly. "Who- who said THAT?"

The tiny girl shrugged, "I dunno. Some friends in school. Bonnie's just nice though so, people wondered if he'd just step off because he's that nice?"

Erin watched Chica warily- and with more scrutiny than Chica liked. It was making her shuffle in her feathers.

"Yeah, Bonnie's very nice," Chica agreed earnestly this time. Her lavender optics sometimes flicked to Erin more than then her child. "I missed him a lot. He's half my heart, yunno. He was missed by a lot of people- especially Freddy! A lot of people asked about him."

"He okay? You say you getting stuff for him so... he with you?" Ariella continued. She even looked up and down the aisle, as if to find him.

Chica ruffled the girl's hair, "Bonnie is... taking more time to himself. But yes, he's okay. He's waiting for me to bring him some dinner home. You know his favorite snack? Do you remember?" Keep playing along, keep playing along.

"He loved carrot cake! He and Roxy love it," Ariella immaculately recalled.

"That's right! Yes. Bonnie loves his carrots and carrot cake. That's what I'm getting for him."

Erin pulled her girl closer, watching Chica suspiciously. Did she suspect anything? No, she probably assumed Chica herself to be some freaky cosplayer and was likely judging her for being out in public like this. Its bad enough her child ran out to just hug a random stranger the way she did.

"Well, Ariella, say goodbye to Chica! She's very busy, apparently," She waved at the cart.

"But mooom-" She started. "I wanna ask Chica to my birthday this year! Can I ask? Please? Please? Please?"

"You heard her; she's retired," She emphasized.

"I'm sorry little one, but your momma's right," Chica knelt and looked the girl in the face. "But I am retired now, and trying to take it easy. I loved seeing you again, baby bird. Its been far too long," She added by giving the child a soft boop to her nose.

Ariella looked absolutely bummed out- like Christmas was cancelled that year. Chica wished she could hug it away and rescind her prior excuse, but it wasn't like the Glams hosted birthdays anymore.

Granted... if we did private parties... that could be more money in our pockets-? She suddenly thought.

Erin pulled Ariella away, thanking Chica for her time while the little girl starting badgering her parent for more of Chica's attention. The hen sadly watched her go, suddenly sorely missing one thing about her life at the PizzaPlex: The fact she'd been able to interact with so many children and having the time to spend with all of them. She knew Sun felt the same; him, Eclipse, and Moon had expressed a similar desire. In some ways, all the bots missed interacting with children; as it was dictated in their programming. Yes, they had Gregory and Cassie and nothing shall ever satisfy them more than them, but having the chance to party with some kids and that feeling of happiness knowing you're someone's favorite was always missed.

Chica would be sitting on her knee for a full minute after Ariella left, very much wishing she could attend the girl's birthday. She eventually drew herself back to her full height, sighing forlornly at the one good thing the PizzaPlex had given her.

God how much she hated that feeling.

---

The idea of hosting private parties never left her mind.

On the way home (she was doing the driving for Vanessa since the woman was clearly too tired to keep her eyes open), she couldn't stop thinking about it. She truly missed doing parties for other children. It was nice being able to party with herself and her friends- but having the sublime pleasure of celebrating with others had been a delight the PizzaPlex endowed. She wouldn't ever return to that life, don't get her wrong, but she still missed some things about it.

Once they got home, Sun was standing outside messing with the Christmas lights with Roxy. Roxy was holding him up and keeping a ladder steady whenever he needed it. The lights have been up a couple weeks already, but the snow sometimes displaced them and covered them up. Chica flexed her beak when she noticed the former attendant was also fixing some of the bulbs. The pair turned around and smiled at the sight of Vanessa and the kids; with them stopping what they were doing and coming to meet them halfway. Sun cartwheeled into Vanessa's face and got within an inch of her space, startling the poor woman awake again.

"So how's Luis? Huh? How is he? Is he here? Is he home? Is he okay-" Sun grabbed her shoulders and dramatically hung onto her (he didn't put any of his ridiculous weight into it though- as he was still big and powerful enough to break her bones if he wasn't careful). "Don't keep us in suspense!"

"Oh my god, Sun. Its FINE. Luis is fine-" She flicked her head and pulled his hands off. "He'll be out tomorrow or the next day, by latest. He's okay! Its just a matter of waiting until the doctors clear him."

Gregory rushed forward to the lanky jester, "Luis also said he wants to live with us! Ain't that great?"

Sun clapped his hands merrily and cartwheeled around them in this bout of excitement; Roxy calmly shuffling her weight into one hip and rolling her amber eyes. The wolf then snorted, "Is... is that okay though? I mean... You took so long to ask-" She flicked her head as if inclination. "And... I- are you really sure about this?"

Vanessa smiled, the motion cautious in its display, "You and I both know he'd be safer with us. I wager ya'll have been thinking about his... well, the whole thing with Jamieson and what it could mean... In hindsight, I think its better this is done sooner rather than later. I want to see if we can pick out our new home together once we finish accounting for ALL the new faces. You know?"

Roxy sniffed, a cloud of steam escaping her nostrils. She strode forward and clapped a paw onto Cassie's shoulder, gently squeezing in an affectionate way. She inhaled, then said, "It'll hafta be a BIG house then... cuz, Bonnie tells me just a few minutes ago that he's finished DJ. On that note, he's BEEN finished- just hasn't gotten around to waking him up."

Vanessa was slack-jawed, one hand flying to her hairline. "Oh my- He's just been SITTING on that?"

Chica blinked too, coming forward and folding her arms. Her stare hardened. "What's his excuse for that? I swear- that rabbit and his secrets!"

Roxy produced a shrug, "Turns out, he's hesitant about waking him up because he's still skeptical about DJ's personality... he had to repurpose the code Vanny had stored. Remember? And since this is VANNY'S code and her files we're talking about, he wasn't sure about waking DJ up in our house. For good reason. Frankly, I agree with him."

Both the hen and Vanessa blinked there, then relaxed. Vanessa meanwhile continued, "He's been poking that chip for... god, how long? I'm surprised he could find spare files in what was essentially Cassie's dang brain transmitter. That's still sketchy..."

Roxy passed them a helpless stare, "Another reason why Bonnie hesitated about it. He's had M.X.E.S confirm that Vanny's backed up personality files on bots she tended to control more often. She apparently had a pattern to which ones she preferred, and every time she controlled DJ, his core personality would get scrambled. But then when she goes to release her control of him, she'd have to reimplement the base personality he had to prevent any lingering damage and remove traces of her touch from his system. Otherwise, I woulda thought DJ would've noticed sooner if he was being hacked. He was just getting his personality replaced and restored to before she touched it in the first place. Smart move on her behalf."

Chica narrowed her eyes, "She... she did this to all of us, didn't she?"

Roxy flashed her an odd, bemused look. "Yeah but, apparently, get this: Vanny actually had the worst amount of control over you. YOU were the most difficult bot she's ever tried to take over because of your ability to override protocols. She never attempted Bonnie for the same reason- as trying to control YOU was hard enough. So she struggled most often with you and had to keep some backups especially for you."

"Bu-bawk?"

Gregory raised a brow there, then glanced at Chica himself. Obviously he was considering his night he spent running from her. "I remember... you were really weird, Chica. Like, something was clearly up with you and whatever Vanny was doing. I mean, you glitched out funny, and walked strange- meanwhile Monty and Roxy acted like... I dunno. More themselves than you. Can't put a finger on it, but you were definitely the most odd of the bunch. Like... more robotic and all?"

Chica supposed that should be a good thing, but it didn't feel like it- in fact, quite the opposite. It still meant she had a hand in killing Bonnie- a memory she still wished she can erase sometimes (more like, she COULD erase it, but she wouldn't). She hung her head, still feeling very strange about the shift in topic. She politely cleared her voice box and glanced at Roxanne again, getting back on topic. "So, as to DJ? You were saying," she prodded.

"Oh, right. Yeah, Bonnie and M.X.E.S have been busting their asses apparently the last month trying to see if what they have for DJ is legit. They've been reviewing his core code, his protocols, his everything. They hesitated because this was Vanny's backed up files, and while he looked intact, they also didn't want to wake him up in our house in case something else kooky happens." Roxy produced a waving motion, "And now, since we can get him up, it makes me wonder just how big of a house we'd be needing. We'd need a mansion at this rate!"

Vanessa folded her arms and shook her head; one hand resting over her nose. Chica felt bad; no doubt the woman was stressed. "How're we gonna- I mean, we have enough now for a definitely sizeable home, but a MANSION? Shit. We'd need to find way to-"

Cassie stopped her by pulling on her elbow. Vanessa looked down, and then the little girl said, "You know Luis wouldn't let you do this by yourself. We'll have the money! I bet you're over-thinking it."

Gregory glanced away, then frowned at something else. Now his gaze narrowed. "Vanessa, didn't you say we were a couple houses away?"

"We were but.. now we're talking about including two more into our family," The woman clarified. "I really want you guys to have your own rooms... and a dedicated spot for that repair armature besides the garage."

"Well its no sweat- we can still do this," Roxy said. "Surely there's something else we can do to help?"

Chica pondered back on her earlier encounter with Ariella, but she still wasn't sure about the idea. She gritted the teeth in her beak; clacking it and producing a low-toned gakel that thrilled at the end to indicate her displeasure at the idea of it. But then... they were literally scratching their heads here.

"I think... I think there's some way we can help get some pocket change or... something," Chica finally offered. "But... I'm not sure about it because its... kinda digging too close to our roots."

Everyone turned to face her now, noticing her hesitation to offer the idea.

The hen continued hesitantly, "See, when I was in the grocery store- OH RIGHT. We need to get those in-" She jabbed her hands at the van. "I'll tell you the idea inside."

Sun went over to help her with the groceries; meanwhile Roxy pushed Cassie and Gregory towards the house, "Go on you two. Get warm. Chica's honestly right; I don't think we need to be standing out here much longer anyways."

"Honestly ain't a bad day for snow angels!" Sun chirped at her. "Its cold but not unpleasantly so today!"

Vanessa shrugged, "Snow angels is fine and dandy, but I'm tried. Been up literally since yesterday rescuing and worrying about Luis. Lemme hear Chica's idea, nap, and then maybe we'll consider snow angels later."

"Aw. Alright! Moon would agree with you-" Sun reluctantly admitted. "He's urging you go lie down."

Vanessa passed a pained grimace, "Yeah... no. He doesn't need to pop out to tuck me into bed. No thanks. I'll do that myself like a responsible adult, thank you."

Sun merely chortled and helped Chica with the groceries; nosing his way into the bags and humming at the articles. He jumped for joy when he saw pudding and ingredients for a cheese cake; some of his favorite foods. He passed her an excited glance and held the door for her; bustling inside and practically flying into the kitchen.

Freddy was... Chica frowned again as she glimpsed him. He was just sitting there, on the couch. He wasn't moving, staring into the fire like he was contemplating the infinite universe. For all she knew, maybe he was. She was pretty positive that he was mulling over this other Freddy though; and no doubt pondering how to help him and what to do with him. Sometimes, Freddy and Bonnie jointly would end up spacing out when it came to the topic of Fazbear Entertainment and it being open still. Everyone here agreed it needed to close for good, but its not like a bunch of kids, a couple of adults, and a handful of expensive, glorified party bots and over-sized toys can do something about them.

Cassie was within the realms of suing after what happened to her father- but she never did, nor did she want to draw possible attention to their family. Worse, she believed her dad might've signed a waiver about releasing his employers of all liability during his employment; and considering how the company worked, she may be right. Chica felt terrible about Cassie's predicament sometimes; knowing the poor girl was still suffering from the tragic loss of her father thanks to whatever work-placed accident that could've killed him and bound his soul to Bonnie's body.

Back in the present, Chica hovered over to the bear and wrapped her arms around his thick neck; burbling and purring into the fuzz. Yes, chickens can purr- a throaty sound that somewhat thrilled and tapered off and vibrated. Freddy himself said he loved the noise; the bear actually responding in kind by placing a paw on one of the arms holding his neck and gently rubbing it. He leaned back into her, sighing heavily.

"Hello, Chica,"" he said simply.

Chica crooned a bit more, then passed him a saddened look, "You okay? Something I can do?"

"Not at present, no. Thank you though," he wanly reciprocated.

"Want me to make you something? Play something? Sit by the fire with you?"

Freddy passed her an equally as wane smile, his saphire optics warming somewhat. "I'd appreciate the company in general, when you can give it. I do not wish to impose."

"You never impose," She assured. "I'm the one that imposes sometimes."

He waved her off, with the hen coming to sit by him. The two would continue to remain until Roxy, Sun and Vanessa entered the living area, the kids bustling by them too. It was Vanessa who began however, going on to continue their earlier topic, "What was your idea? I think you said you wanted to make more money but, you hesitated on it?"

Chica's expression saddened, the hen going on to pull nervously at her digits. Freddy was leaning heavily on her, not that she minded. His presence felt comforting and solid; bolstering her nerve marginally. She began with, "Today, when I was in the store, I ran into a girl I hosted a party for once; Ariella Summers? She's eight now, and she seemed to recognize me despite my appearance being changed. Her mom was... not pleased by the behavior. She found it weird I knew the girl's name, right? Since she likely thought I was some freaky cosplayer. So I told her I was one of the managers of the guest profiles and I knew their names because of that-"

She waved a finger around in a circle, indicating a cycle back to the topic, "-Anyways, she wasn't thrilled about being around me, whether or not I was a cosplayer or a former Fazbear employee. Ariella meanwhile kept firing questions at me left and right- and she was quick to ask me about hosting a party for her again. I said no, that I was retired, and her mom played along with my ruse. After I told Ariella I couldn't play though, and they left, I was struck by something-"

She passed Vanessa an odd look, "I admit... to missing the parties I used to do. Being able to bring joy to children as a whole. And the fact that Ariella still cared to see me even though its been YEARS? After I spent so long thinking I didn't matter too much to people outside our family, it felt really good realizing that some people out there still care to see me and... And it... it hurt me to say no to her request to a party; something I was programmed to say yes too all the time. I was just as bummed out as she was."

She pulled her scrawny legs onto the couch- something she tried not to do, and ended up hugging them. Freddy's weight became incrementally greater as he leaned on her; one arm eventually going to wrap around her shoulders and pulling her into his fluff. He felt like a giant pillow, and it felt nice in all actuality.

"So... I wondered about maybe doing privately requested parties or something... I dunno. I don't know how we'd even set one up or even do one. We spend so much time trying to stay private and keep to ourselves, but I'm not always comfortable with that. I miss being able to socialize and interact with more people- I LIKE people. I like being around lots of people. And most of all, I LOVE brightening a child's day whenever I can. I never thought I'd miss it so much until today but-" Her expression contorted, "I just wondered if maybe we can try it? And maybe get a little extra money doing it. We don't have to be as big or grand or expensive as when we did it at the PizzaPlex, but if it stays small and localized to a home... we can still be able to do what we were made to do: Party, and make a tiny bit of extra money doing what we're good at; and doing it in an earnest, honest way so we don't have to rely on you, Vanessa."

Chica passed the woman a helpless look, "I feel so bad having to ask for money from you sometimes. Its bad enough we have to rely on you so often- and if you didn't do the house flipping thing, we wouldn't be able to do anything on our own... YOU have to give us the money you make from the house flipping business to use to make it look like an honest paycheck and such as is- even though we help, I sometimes feel like we depend on you too much. You know what I mean?"

Freddy's prior troubled expression was now altered in quality; the bear passing her a rueful gaze and bumping his head against Chica's own. He breathed; the exhalation of steam wafting around Chica's neck and stirring feathers. The warmth felt nice after being outside in the cold for a while.

Meanwhile, Roxy and Sun's expressions matched Chica's own and they too looked away. It seemed they agreed. Vanessa meanwhile sighed heavily, folding her arms and heavily pondering the idea. Gregory and Cassie was passing each other looks, with Gregory suddenly brightening up. He snapped his fingers with finality.

"I got it!" he chirped.

The bots and girls looked at him, Vanessa raising a brow at him.

"Maybe I can set you up with some private party requests?" He jovially told the hen. "I mean, Cassie and me ain't real popular at school but... there's some kids there that miss you guys. I hear it all the time; some of them really do miss you. If Cass and me approach them, maybe we can set you up with them? See if they're interested in having you over for a day? I can't see any harm that- Worse they can say is no. But even then, if you did this private party thing and the parents seem hesitant, I wager if you offer them a price that's half of what you used to do, I wager they'll say yes then. Who the heck can say no to a discount from a Glamrock?"

"But people think we're gone-" Roxy reminded him. "And I could swear we're supposed to be keeping it that way... Worse, the parents would likely think we're just a bunch of... er, uh, freaks, who just want into their house or something. I dunno!"

Gregory shook his head, "I bet I can fix that. We just need to find a way to pick this up... I bet if we find one parent that wants to bite at this lure, we can get them to spread the word to another parent; private word of mouth, nothing too loud, and it stays under Fazbear Entertainment's radar. And you guys can prove, if you wanted to, that you're the real deal. I mean, it ain't hard if they see your chest cavities are hollow and such. They'd have to believe you're the real thing after a point."

Cassie folded her arms and frowned at him, "Greg, NOBODY IN SCHOOL likes us. How the heck can we, the local weirdos, can get any kid to talk to us, let alone get them to say yes to this idea?"

Roxy shot Cassie an incredulous look; and she wasn't the only one. All the other bots and Vanessa was giving her the same expression when she so candidly stated they weren't liked or generally talked to by their peers.

Gregory meanwhile waved it off, "We need to just ask and KEEP trying, Cass. I bet if they met one of you guys and SAW you're the actual Glamrocks and not just some freaky cosplayers, they'll come around! Why not get a meet and greet going first? Literally, the parents can't argue if its supervised, and their kid gets the satisfaction of seeing you guys again. And they can see if you're real! AND they can talk to you guys about a reasonable price in which to do this party. As long as its not as expensive as the Glam Deluxe packages you guys did, I literally can't see them saying no after a point." He grinned impishly. "We just have to be determined and convincing! After all, Chica. YOU are the master of advertising, right? That's what you need; determination and charm. Right?"

The hen burbled, then glanced at Freddy. Roxy and Sun did the same. The bear was definitely mulling this over, if his contemplative jaw setting and unblinking gaze wasn't anything to go by.

Not too far away, Monty, who'd been lying on the floor like the giant leathery pancake he was turned over and has been watching them with interest. He was grinning widely, passing some cheeky brow raises and thumping his tail on and off. He got up with a 'Umph!' and moseyed over with a swagger that betrayed his enthusiasm. "I'm IN! Do it do it do it do it-" he tried goading the bear. "You know you wanna!"

"Well of COURSE I 'wanna'," the ursine assured him. "But now I'm mulling over how this can maybe not go too well... what if the wrong people hear about this?"

"Well its a good thing we're moving then," Gregory harrumphed. "Besides, they see our dang party buses across town. If Fazbear Entertainment really wanted to be vultures and swoop in on us, they woulda done so by now. For some reason, they haven't and I wanna lean on that while we still have the chance."

Monty whooped and seized Gregory's head; giving him a good hearty shake and exclaiming, "MAN I love your bravado, kid! BOOM. Ya heard the runt! Why not? COME ON- we're just toeing the waters here!"

Freddy hummed, then nodded. He looked at the others, "What do you feel?"

Roxy hesitated visibly, but even she nodded. She glanced at Sun, smiled, then said, "Maybe we can get him on it too? He plays damn good. Could be fulfilling for ALL of us-"

Sun flinched there, pulling uncertainly at his own hands like Chica had done. He didn't say no there, instead nodding in a jittery fashion betraying his anxious excitement.

Roxy turned to look in the general direction of the garage, and, just as she did, she caught sight of Bonnie's head. He'd been poking it out and listening in. "HEY! Carrot-breath. Whaddya say? How do you feel about this?"

The rabbit's nose sniffled rapidly; like he was smelling something unpleasant. His expression narrowed- an odd sight within itself. He came fully out of the garage like an actual rabbit would cautiously peek out of its warren; afraid of some sort of hidden danger crouching around his home. His ears were fully erect; brushing the ceiling of the house and his blue arms folded. Everyone was already baffled by the physical display that couldn't be more of a pronounced 'no'- but it was what he SAID that got their respective goats:

"I ain't doin' it. Hell nah," He dead-panned. "I RETIRED. I said this the night Vanny fucked me over with her 'truth'. I told Freddy this already, not that he could remember, thanks to our illustrious 'manager'... but I retired. Officially. I am DONE with being someone else's token joke and show-pony. Er, show-bunny. I only perform for my friends and family. NOTHING ELSE." He slashed an arm through the air like he was cutting it physically; carmine claws a deadly red arc. "Ya'll can do this, and I say, go for it! I won't stop you, and I'd encourage you do something that fulfils you. But don't ask me to perform again. I can't and won't do it."

Vanessa's brows had ascended into the ether at his proclamation; and Freddy? He was more so surprised. He pulled from Chica's side and slanted the rabbit an odd stare, "I mean... I understand, my friend. But I'm surprised at you; if a child asked you directly to perform for them, could you still say no?"

"I'd find it difficult, don't get me wrong," he held up his hands in submission. "And if they started crying about it, I may even say yeah on a bad enough day- but so long as I'm not faced with an actual KID that's begging me to perform, I can comfortably say FUCK THAT." He turned on the ball of his heel and lifted an arm like he was saying 'Sayonara'. "Peace out!"

He dashed back into his man cave- and yes, that would be the garage.

Everyone was left blinking in his wake, with some jaws hanging slack on their owner's faces. Brows were slanted everywhere, and Freddy especially looked the most confused; his eyes nearly crossing like he was trying to focus on something sitting directly on his nose.

"That was... okay. Okay. That was definitely weird-" Monty began for them. He continued with, "But I ain't saying no to this. I want in on this idea. I'm still going for it."

Cassie blinked rapidly at the blue bot, then looked at Greg meaningfully. The two seemed to exchange silent glances, then she said, "We can try... I mean, I'm not very charming or convincing though. If I couldn't even get my own 'friends' to visit my party, I dunno how I can do this-"

Chica got up there, stopping before Cassie and kneeling before her. She planted both of her hands on the girl's shoulders as if to brace her, "Cherry pie, you're easily the strongest muse we have- the reason why we're all here now. The fact others don't see that still saddens me, but one day they'll regret not seeing that beauty for what it is. What kind of friend they're missing out on. You're an inspiration, hun. And the sweetest treat this side of any of bakery-" She leaned in, lavender optics arrested onto the girl's honey glazed set, "The only thing I can imagine is keeping you held back at this point is your own confidence. Put your best foot forward like you did for us at the PizzaPlex, and that'll never fail you. It'll feel like it won't work at first, but it will pay off. I promise. You just need to keep trying, sweetie."

She gently pulled Cassie into a hug, her feathery arms like a white cloak over the girl's back, "You will never lose in life if you keep doing that. I understand if you don't wanna try this and if it makes you uncomfortable. That's fine! All I ask is you keep trying to be more forward for yourself, not just for others. And if you do that, they'll come around. I assure you. I PROMISE you."

Cassie's own arms wrapped around Chica's own shoulders; the girl leaning heavily on the hen. Chica crooned and burred at that, then parted when she did. It was sad to see that Cassie struggled so badly with confidence so often, and the fact that she was, incidentally throughout this conversation, was just putting herself down was noticeable. Sometimes it shocked Chica just how fragile the girl was at heart.

From the garage, a blue ear had poked out to catch it, but pulled back in. No one saw it though.

As for Cassie, she nodded fast and fought a clear sniffle; eyes watery at the words. She passed Chica a look, "I can try. I wanna help- that's all I wanna do."

"Hun, you don't need to if you think you're uncomfortable with it. No one's forcing you," She stated pragmatically. "Its not a HUGE deal!"

"It is for us if we can make a bit extra money and get us a nice place to live- and to give you guys some space," Cassie interjected. "I'll help do this! I will! I wanna-"

Chica frowned, "You sure?"

"Yes!"

Roxy's paw once again found itself on her shoulder, gripping assuredly then turning to the others. "Anything else anyone has to say? We doing this?"

There was glances of certainty that greeted her questions, so Roxy smirked and turned to Chica now, "Guess we're going with your idea! So, master of advertisement, how do you think we can go about this?"

Chica fixed her beak in place and frowned politely. Then, "Lemme sit on it and I'll get back to you. I think for now, this is all we can do. Vanessa? You should get to bed, finally. You look dead on your feet."

The woman nodded in a stunted way, waving a hand over her shoulder. "Yeah. I'll sleep on that- I'll- night."

She actually bumped into a door frame on her way out of the room; the whole group jumping when she did. Vanessa corrected herself and started going up the stairs.

Sun's new brows slanted as he said, "I feel so bad for her... she does too much for us."

"She does," Roxy agreed.

Gregory sighed and said, "All the more reason to try to get this little operation up! It can help take a load off her shoulders!"

Chica grabbed Gregory now, her hand on his head as Monty had done, "Thank you, Greg. Thank you."

He nodded at her, then stretched out. "Now! Since we're out of school today... Cass, you wanna go outside and make snow angels with Sun?"

Sun 'Eeeeeee'd!' and was already picking up Gregory on the suggestion of it. Cassie giggled lightly at that and replied, "Yeah, sure. Why not? Chica? You wanna too?"

The hen burbled and grabbed her hand. "Sure. But then I needta get into the kitchen and start making ya'll some deserts!"

"Desert before dinner! SWEET," Gregory pumped his arms up.

Freddy 'ahem'd!' at them, folding his large arms and slanting a chastising brow. Chica waved him off, "Don't worry, Freddy! They'd only get a slice of the cake I'm gonna make if they FINISH THEIR HOMEWORK FIRST-" She threw at the kids.

And there, Gregory was heard groaning. Cassie meanwhile snorted at him, leering back at the hen and saying, "Who said I didn't already finish it?"

"Good girl!" Roxy chirruped. "Alright. Fuck it! OUTSIDE WE GO!"

The group ran out, with Freddy passing Monty a look, shrugging, and doing the same. Monty meanwhile waved them off, grinned, and stole Freddy's spot by the fire and simply fell back asleep.

As they slipped outside, Chica dwelled on the idea she offered as well as the earlier topic of DJ. As it were, she decided if Bonnie didn't want to wake him up too fast, they won't do so until after Bonnie and M.X.E.S were completely done with his scans. After all, they still had a lot to do and some things to prepare.

For the moment, the simplicity of making snow angels with the children she can also call her own was more than enough, if even for a minute.