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.

23. Phantasm's Fondness

~Wednesday. Moments after attack~

ECLIPSE

He couldn't feel more guilty.

While Eclipse and his other sides were quite aware of their weaknesses and figured they've accepted it, he hadn't realized just how poignant they were until push came to shove. Cassie had been kind and understanding in the fact that she knew he wasn't built like the others, but it still costed them. Vanessa was hurt- BADLY. And Freddy? Well- he couldn't blame himself for THAT one; that much he knew.

But back to Vanessa...

He shouldn't have let that other Chica pummel him like that. That alien-looking, false hen shouldn't have been able to weaponize HIS own body and hurt their caretaker like that. While Eclipse can take a beating in stride and know there's some things he cannot help, letting the enemy use him like that just WASN'T tolerable. He never imagined in a thousand years another bot could weaponize his own body against one of their family.

He wanted to help Luis get Vanessa to their car (Luis' own personal silver vehicle) and shuttle her off to the hospital. While he can't do much with one arm, he could lend support where he can to make up for where he failed. So, he was supporting Vanessa's side (Luis had the opposing side) and carted her to the car; helping her into the backseat as gingerly as possible. To her credit, Vanessa went in without much groaning- but her injuries were still quite serious. She still whimpered the times her ribs acted up; her breath quick and painfully shallow.

After which, Luis got into the car and warmed it up; cursing in fluent Spanish when his little sedan took what felt like an extra second or two to start up. He turned to the children next, "Cassie, can you stay here, miha? Please. Wait with Eclipse and DJ for the others to get back. Greg, you come with me, okay?"

"Wha- why? Why can't I go," Cassie stared at him like he was spouting nonsense- and honestly, Eclipse thought the same.

"For Bonnie. He isn't... he isn't stable, but he was listening to you, si?" Luis frowned at her, fixing his glasses to his face as he did.

The epiphany dawned for all of them; every person present nodding in understanding. It was true: Someone Bonnie might listen too would be needed to stay present when he's feeling his most emotionally volatile and dangerous. It seemed just from the brief instances he was possessed, he was still listening to Cassie at the very least. No more accidents needed to occur after what they just went through.

Luis turned to Gregory, "You getting in, Greg? I understand if you wanna help Cassie out with repair, or-"

Greg said nothing, but his cold, teary-eyed stare drifted to Vanny meaningfully. With the garage door being opened, all the remaining family present can peek over at her monitor and see she was watching them in-turn. The boy was silently asking the ghost doe what was up; seeing as she had control of the Snowshoe Bonnie variant. She should be seeing what's going on right this instant.

Vanny felt their stares and passed them an unreadable stare; not even smiling at this point. There was no mocking sneer or jeering commentary; no half-lidded, messed-up barbs or playful jabs at how she saw them as cutesy toys. She just seemed... distant. Spaced out, or simply out of it. Its as if she was having trouble absorbing what happened too; not that Eclipse or the others understood why. Out of everyone here, you'd think Vanny would be able to get with the program quicker.

Shouldn't she be laughing? Enjoying our suffering? Why is she now so quiet? Eclipse pondered.

So Vanny finally said, "Right... the fight. Well, from what I can see- it seems like Glamrock Freddy's body made a getaway-"

"NO!" Gregory all but hollered.

Luis sucked in a harsh breath; with Vanessa moaning in the backseat. Whether from pain or surprise or both, couldn't be discerned.

"He didn't get away alone," Vanny continued. "Seems that owl thing... that wannabe Chica, it had a special voice box like your Chica does. Seems Fazbear Entertainment kept the whole glitchy speech idea and weaponized it just for her. She used it and... well-"

"Mierda," Luis banged a fist on his dashboard, now half-stepping out so to hear her better. "So Bonnie and- other Bonnie. They're both deaf and-!"

"-Unable to fight," Vanny finished for him. She then continued to grimly elaborate, "Both are off-balance and swaggering around drunkenly. The other bots are trying to help them back here. They're making their way back right now, actually. Mind you, Glamrock Bonnie is DEFINITELY not in a forgiving mood and has tried taking a swing at the others so he can pursue Freddy-"

"He- what?" Gregory slapped a palm to his head.

Vanny just shrugged at him, "Don't be mad at him; he literally can't control his emotions right now in this state. I have to say, its perhaps fortunate his hearing is temporarily shot; as he's unable to fight in this condition and do harm to the others. So asking Cassie to stay put here was smart. Meanwhile-" The ghost doe narrowed her eyes at them, "I believe you should be taking Vanessa to the hospital. Its likely she has several bruised internal organs and COULD maybe have... oh, I don't know~ internal bleeding?"

"Maldito infierno-" Luis sputtered now. "Greg? You coming?"

"I... okay."

Greg was smart enough to recall that they ARE standing out in the cold; so he dashed back to the house to grab their coats. DJ meanwhile had pulled himself over to the others and huffed; holding his waist and grimacing on occasion. He limped too; his bent leg still warped inward instead of out. Even despite his condition, he pulled the garage door from its track and started yanking it shut; waiting until Gregory came back out with the coats and a blanket before he would do so. The garage didn't need to be open anymore; as the tech in here would start to freeze. Vanny's terminal already had flakes of snow blowing onto it thanks to the wintry breeze sweeping its way inside like some unwanted guest.

Cassie, before he could finish shutting the door, stopped by the car and peered in at Vanessa. Gregory was bent over her and pulling the blanket over her to keep her warm, even though Luis had the heat going full blast. The small girl even reached in a hand and touched the woman's own; her adoptive guardian squeezing back once. Vanessa gave the girl a small, faint smile that was more ghost than gesture; trying her best to look as calm possible.

"Be good," she huffed quietly. "Please. For Bonnie. He-"

Cassie leaned in as best she could and said, "I know. You don't need to worry about him. Worry about you and coming back home. Please? Don't leave me. Don't leave me or Greg. Please..."

Don't end up like my dad, was the unspoken words here. Eclipse almost winced at the imaginary part of him that thought he heard it- though it wasn't actually vocalized.

"Didn't. Plan. On it," she puffed back in a shallow murmur.

Eclipse couldn't help it; he reached out towards Cassie and put an arm on one shoulder; gripping it gingerly and pulling her to himself. He rubbed a thumb across it and passed Vanessa a piteous look, "Please get well, Ness. We are not a family without you."

Vanessa couldn't muster anymore energy for words. She only smiled at them and pulled the blanket tighter. Gregory finished tucking her in and went to the front seat to sit with Luis. He passed Cassie a meaningful look however; something Eclipse couldn't hope to read. While he couldn't read it though, Cassie could. They watched each other's eyes for a full few heartbeats before Gregory shut the door and buckled up.

Cassie kissed Vanessa on the head and shut the back door; moving away with Eclipse as Luis pulled out into the scuffed, snow-churned road. Both bot and girl were horrified to see that, as Luis left, that all the neighbors from all up and down the street were ogling them. Some people were now daring to peek out their houses; whilst others stayed smartly cooped inside. The neighbors whose yard got damaged by Freddy being thrown at their lawn were still in the window of their home; white-faced with anxiety.

"Oh goodness- let's... oh god. The cops will be here, won't they?" Eclipse mumbled.

Cassie sighed in a fatigued manner and put a hand on the one holding her shoulder. She turned and guided the attendant back into the house without a word. Already, the attendant took that as a bad sign.

The last thing we need... is for the possibly-maybe-kinda-sorta-corrupted authorities in town coming to sniff at us. Not that we did anything WRONG but... I do not know how we can handle them, the former attendant wondered. And if they show up when Bonnie is in a fit... oh gods.

Please let him be calm when he gets here.

DJ suddenly snapped his fingers, then motioned towards the yard. Eclipse paused alongside Cassie, blinked, and followed his fingers to the spot where Foxy lie in pieces. The attendant frowned and suddenly "Ah'd" at what the music man meant.

"We can use him for parts," Cassie said aloud.

"How karmic," Eclipse smirked. "Yes, he'll be great for study and scrap. We can check out his upgrades and see what we can install in the others."

DJ nodded, watching as Eclipse briefly parted from Cassie's side so he can grab and drag Foxy inside. While the attendant only had one arm, Foxy proved not too difficult to hull in. His small size was roughly the attendant's own frame; with most of his weight surprisingly being in his lanky limbs and long head. His tail was almost all fluff. With that said, Eclipse still threw the fox's head onto his torso so he can concentrate on dragging the deadened body inside the garage.

Eclipse could still feel the eyes of the neighbors however the entire time; only too glad to have their scrutinizing gazes broken by the pull of the heavy-duty door behind him.

---

The next little while was its most tense after the storm.

Vanny reported something unusual too; not that it helped matters too much. While running repairs on DJ (Eclipse's arm was reattached easily- and the spare parts for his shell was easily applied), she ended up saying aloud:

"Snowshoe Bonnie is no longer under my control."

Right then, literally all the remaining family in the house were gawping at her like the world was coming to an end. DJ turned his head as best he could in his seat; making sure to keep still as the armature above worked on his ridiculously damaged motor and core. Cassie was overseeing his repair with M.X.E.S from Luis' tablet; whilst Eclipse was fidgeting anew.

Vanny then added with a lilt of confusion, "Its apparently... not a bad thing-? He's... well. He's kinda HELPING now? He's helping the others hull Glamrock Bonnie home. He fought me digitally and managed to kick me out of his body a short while ago..."

"A 'short while ago'," Cassie air-quoted irritatedly. "REALLY? You coulda stood to mention that sooner!"

The doe shrugged, "Eh. I didn't pick up anything hostile from him. No alarming prompts for violence or compulsions to do harm like he did earlier. He had some fail-safes in him that took a bit long to trigger and he uh... how to explain? Looks like Fazbear Entertainment was doing something to him programming-wise so he can't fight back against them. I think he was being FORCED to do something he didn't want to do. Honestly, he has a passive prompt in him right now that says he wants to not do harm-"

Vanny put a paw to her chin in a thinking position. "Apparently, he had ANOTHER fail-safe in him that triggered and conflicted with FE'S own commands and my own. He had a three-sided internal battle with us AND dealt with being deaf on the side. He even auto-corrected his gait after a few minutes and started walking normally. So... he's pretty impressive, honestly! He won control for his body against me, FE, and stomached being thrown off by his disabled physicality-"

"-And?" Cassie folded her arms, looking quite cross as she scowled at Vanny's monitor.

"As for the 'not hostile' part... apparently he immediately disabled the normal Bonnie when he started clawing at everything and everyone around him. Glamrock Bonnie was DESPERATE to pursue Freddy, despite his injured state. Chica was almost right behind him- but Roxy and Monty convinced her to help them restrain Bonnie and drag him home. Man he's in HYSTERICS-" Vanny chortled, looking more like her usual self. "I didn't think I'd live to see the day he'd lose his temper like that! He's more dangerous right now than the HARE!"

"He hasn't actually hurt anyone, has he?" Eclipse bluntly asked.

"No, but he TRIED-" Vanny shrugged again. "At the moment though, he seems to be out cold right now. Total system shut-down from what I can see."

"That would be MY doing. I have disabled him when I temporarily had access to his system," M.X.E.S suddenly chimed in, his pixelated face showing up in Cassie's tablet. "Forgive my silence; as I have been running scans between the others while busying myself with Bonnie's system while I can get into it- as the spirit inside him sometimes blocks me out. I recorded footage of their skirmish as well; and evaluated that Bonnie is at his most dangerous when awake. Turning him off completely was the only way we could wrestle him back into a more 'passive' state."

"I figured you were doing something important behind the scenes- besides helping me with DJ," Cassie said to him, passing him a wane but thankful smile. "We didn't want to disrupt your concentration."

"You cannot interfere with this unit's 'concentration', user Cassie. No need to fret," M.X.E.S assuaged. "It just takes a bit of time for me to do my job- especially when multi-tasking."

"In the meantime-" Vanny grumbled, looking sideways as some errant thought struck her. "I'm wondering why the snowshoe bot is coming home with the others without being restrained himself? I coulda swore he was working with FE willingly. I wonder what changed?"

"I don't feel comfortable with this," Eclipse groused, waving his arm about dismissively. "I'd think you or Mex would be able to get him under control again-?"

"Like I said... no need to. He's the one who held Bonnie back when he started throwing hands. Monty helped too, don't get me wrong," Vanny shrugged helplessly. "He also started actively blocking me and M.X.E.S out of his system, so its not like we can hijack him and get him under control again once he broke free. He's got a more powerful motor and processor than we thought. I think we interrupted something from FE's end though when we started hacking him initially. They can't seem to get back into his system either. There's been several attempts- that much we can see."

The group passed glances.

"Sooo... this hare," Eclipse now pressed. "With no real primary processor for his brain, and no personality chip. He's willingly helping his former enemies home, even though he should have nothing holding him back from his prime directive as one of FE's toys? I'm sorry but... something about that seems wrong. Right now, he's literally nothing more than a basic automaton!"

Vanny shook her head at him, "I don't exactly know what's going on in his head. Even though I was just in it, doesn't mean I can completely discern what he's calculating. He had some interesting folders in him that could be hiding what he needs, but that is all I can tell you."

Eclipse snorted, but said nothing else in answer. He still didn't (or couldn't) believe that this hare was so willing to assist them so suddenly after he brazenly attacked the others- whether or not it was against his will.

He blinked and looked down; noticing Cassie leaning against him while still holding the tablet. The girl huffed, burying her face into his new shirt (his previous one had been torn by that idiot owl-Chica). The sight of it had Eclipse threading his spidery digits into her unwound hair and combing it; enjoying her company and love in spades.

Cassie was important to him- not just important to Roxy and Bonnie. In fact, one can say the amount of time he's spent around her back at the daycare was some of the better times in his bitter life (and its fair to say he's spent the MOST time with her and knew her the best around here). He was alone with her for some long hours, seeing as her father spent long shifts and couldn't get her a proper baby-sitter. He was also dealing with divorce at the time, so it was a no-brainer why Cassie was so faithfully attached to the bots as much as she was. She saw each of them as some kind of guardian or parent figure; even if the bots themselves do not consider themselves as such.

Eclipse knelt down and wrapped his arms around the exhausted girl; pulling her up and holding her even though she was getting too big for it. It was a bit jarring for Sun, Moon, and himself to realize just how many years had gone by and how easily he'd been able to hold Cassie back at the daycare. She was as small as Greg; and was about as tall as the wet floor signs at the PizzaPlex during his active tenure as the attendant. Playing chase with her, hide-and-seek, doing crafts- The Sun part of him remembered every day with her and never regretted a thing of it.

His only real regret? It was letting Cassie go after she rebooted him and put him into safe mode. He let her wander the wreckage of the PizzaPlex alone! LIKE A DAFT FOOL. She got hurt and nearly murdered for it. They had all come this close to losing this precious, shining star. And had that happened... none of them would've ever left the PizzaPlex. None of them would've ever been fixed. Bonnie would've never been found again. Roxy would still be pursuing Gregory's shadow. Monty would still be a chittering, feral wreck and Chica would be a rotting corpse in the garbage heap below the PizzaPlex's foulest underbelly-

And he probably would've wound up as the wrathful, murder-happy Moon again in due time.

Cassie was his light too. It was hard to steal her away from Bonnie- seeing as he had Cassie's actual dad trapped inside of him- but he savored all their contact when he could. He understood Cassie's partial preference to Bonnie's company sometimes; seeing as the spirit in him seemed to be making up for lost time. As a living mortal man, her father just couldn't spend any real time with her. He was gone too many long hours; 14 hours a day, 6 days of the week. Cassie was in the daycare a lot of those hours, sighing and crying about the fact her family had been falling apart and her father was trying to make ends neat. He gave his life to Fazbear Entertainment in the end; trying to scratch up the money for her care and her eventual birthday present; The Glam Roxy Deluxe Party Package.

But at what cost did his affection for her go? Cassie said she would've given anything to have more time with her father; even if it meant she couldn't spend a few hours with Roxy. While Cassie loved what he got for her birthday, her birthday still wound up being one of the saddest days of her life. It was as if all his work was for naught- and its quite possible that on some subconscious level, he knew that.

Perhaps it was why Bonnie haunted Cassie's side unconsciously? On the one hand, it couldn't be more obvious that a part of it was the rabbit himself who thanked Cassie for finding him and repairing him again. She gave her life to rescue him; risked everything she could to pull him from the digital darkness of the AR world. Cassie had been one of the only fixed points of social contact he had with humans in his entire, short-lived life; a sentiment he and the attendant had in common.

And then there was her father; who wished oh-so dearly to be with the girl whose childhood he's sadly spent too much time missing. It was no-wonder the rabbit was somewhat clingy and smothering at the best and worst of times. Cassie allowed this of course, seeing as she desperately craves and misses her father and the buck in nearly equal measures. She was having a second chance with her father again in some way- however messed up it was. It was more than what others can say, and she wasn't going to miss it. She knew who her father was, no matter the vessel.

Eclipse sighed and tucked her closer; feeling her rest her head on his shoulder. The days Sun spent supporting her like this was too numerous; too much. It was time she could've spent with her real dad- not that Sun was complaining about it. If anything, the selfish side of him especially savored their extended time together. It was no wonder Cassie risked her life for him. Moon threatened to kill her, but even still Cassie fought to reboot him and bring back Sun. Eclipse was able to emerge too; and the both of them adored her for her courage and love. It was more love performed in one act than any he's ever known in his entire life; and more than he's ever thought he'd get from ANYONE. He loved her just as much as Bonnie loved this girl.

I may not be her parent, but she is my heart too. And yet... I let that stupid owl walk all over me.

Never again, said Moon inside him.

I agree. Never again, Sun added with steely conviction.

Eclipse meandered over to DJ, watching him as M.X.E.S continued to work via the armature. He felt Vanny's eyes on him as well, turning to glance at her but noticing her oddly contemplative expression. She hadn't acted like herself recently and it was somewhat worrying. He frowned and then realized she wasn't watching himself, but Cassie in his arms instead.

"You have something to say?" Eclipse tonelessly entreated.

Vanny blinked- not that she needed to. In fact, she looked away. Nothing. Not a word from her.

What's up with her?

Eclipse raised a plastic brow plate above his moon-side eye; trying to review what he knew of Vanny:

She liked Cassie. She admitted as much; and she even claimed that being inside Cassie's head got to her. It was why Vanny let them leave the burning PizzaPlex in the end instead of killing them all. She could've killed Bonnie again too; literally having her talons wrapped around his mechanical heart- and yet she didn't.

Yes, she had her kindnesses (as alien a concept that was...), but that didn't absolve her crimes in any way. She's tortured and murdered children for SPORT. It was strange she made a call with Cassie and chose not to hurt her; beyond controlling her briefly. It was still questionably out-of-character, even though Vanny full-on told them explicitly that it was because of Cassie's own mentality that she changed somewhat.

Granted, she's been inside Cassie's head. She's never been in the heads of the other children she's abducted and tortured. Was literally being able to see things from the eyes of this girl all that was needed to prompt this change in her? Was she slowly turning over in some way?

No... she was in Vanessa's head too, once upon a time. And she didn't do anything to hesitate during her time in there, he wondered. She didn't change from being a part of Vanessa; whose just as kind and loving in her own way. She didn't hesitate to instill fear and worry in both Vanessa and her other victims. She LOVED torturing her host and those children... she's seen through the eyes of other mortals, and she hadn't changed then.

Suddenly, it clicked to him that it was quite possible that Vanny may still be holding out on them. It seemed quite likely she wasn't giving them the full truth when it came to her motivations; but that wasn't totally surprising. If anything, that much was in-character for her. If there was some alternate, selfish reason she let them all go, they've yet to see it.

He was roused from his reverie when M.X.E.S suddenly spoke aloud from both the tablet and his Hud, "The others have returned. Open the garage for them."

Eclipse put Cassie down and gently combed his fingers through her head again; then made his way to the car door and pulled it open. He had to step around Foxy's corpse as he did. They wanted to use his motor for DJ, but they still had to finish scanning him first; and Vanny mentioned the odds of him having remnant too so... no need to shove any haunted pieces into their friends so quickly.

Outside of it, indeed, he found the others coming down the road and lugging around the unconscious Glamrock Bonnie. He was braced on the shoulders of Monty and... curiously enough, the white hare. Chica was watching him like she was going to gut him with her sword-like toe talons if he tried anything; and Roxy was much the same, flexing her green claws anxiously. The hare didn't seem affected by their stares, ignoring them and staring emotionlessly ahead. He was no longer swaggering around, just as Vanny said. His ability to auto correct his inability was better than their own Bonnie; something that still stood as alarming to the group.

Why would a dangerous, emotionless bot help us once he got free of Fazbear Entertainment? Eclipse narrowed his bi-colored optics. Something isn't right here... that or we're over-thinking it?

DJ was seen getting up from the chair, his motor now mostly repaired. He was likely going to let Bonnie get his ears done before he got more dedicated repairs. He was fine enough now that he can wait for a more thorough job; his knee fully functional and his motor no longer hissing and sputtering in cracked protests. Bonnie's ear upgrades were sadly unique and irreplaceable; so repair on them was absolutely paramount. It would only take a few moments to get them done anyways. On the side, DJ wanted to stand at the ready in case the hare did something else suspicious, so it made sense he was getting up before he was fully fixed.

The family lumbered inside the garage, with Eclipse shutting the door back behind them and making sure it was sealed. The cold air made Cassie shiver; prompting her to pull her little jacket closer to her body (she got it and her socks on a few minutes ago) and gave her resting father figure a rueful gaze. She also walked straight up to him, completely dauntless of his abhorrent, other-worldly tempers. She reached out and gently grazed small, mocha-skinned hands across his bloody, ruined features and gently ran a thumb over his cream muzzle. Her fingers touched ichor once; the girl narrowing her eyes at it and feeling the material in general.

"So strange," she mumbled as she fingered it. "Its got such an odd consistency. Kinda like thick oil but... not quite? I still can't wrap my head around it. Its like you tried to water down molasses to make it a bit runnier but it failed part-way... kinda? Best way I can describe it."

"Still stains," Roxy huffed, giving it a disgusted look. She shuddered at the sight of the black material like it was the real horror-show here. She has turned into a sizeable neat freak in the years she's spent living here however, so perhaps it was that nightmarish to her in some part. "And it STINKS! We'll need to get the fur off him when we can before it finishes setting. He'll look weird if he walks out into public with this gross black shit stuck to his stone blue fur forever."

The girl hummed there, turning back to the buck. "I wonder if its like... actual ectoplasm? I thought it would be like... green stuff or something."

"Things are never like what they are in those ghost movies," Eclipse said to her. "So if it IS ectoplasm or remnant residue... its hard to discern. Maybe it is? Huh."

She knitted a brow thoughtfully, then focused on the blue buck. "Bonnie?" She tried, though they all knew he wouldn't react regardless. In this state, he was not only harmless, but deaf. So there's that.

When he gave no signs of waking, she released him and stepped away; letting the others guide him to the repair armature. He had claws marks on his paws and his backside was scuffed and covered in flakes of snow; which was going to melt in the next moment or two. Beyond that and being filthy and smelling strongly of blood and the mysterious ichor, he seemed fine. His fight with Freddy and the hare actually hadn't done any real damage to him. He was however bolted into the chair though; just for good measure. There was no telling what the girl's wrathful, angry father would do once he got his faculties.

Everyone stepped away and let M.X.E.S run his diagnostics, turning instead towards the hare now. He did nothing but stand there unblinkably. Literally; he did nothing. Just... stared at the Glamrock version like he was the more fascinating individual in the room. His servos didn't whir, meaning he was doing his best to stand absolutely still. He looked like he was awaiting a command prompt or something; a robot truly standing at attention for its next directive.

"God... that's so... I hate that," Roxy said while shuddering. "That isn't... flaming hells, that's just scary."

"What is?" Monty blinked at her.

"THAT! He's just standing there. I know he's deaf 'n all but... the fuck is up with him? The least he can do is blink. Hey, Vanny-" Roxy turned to the monitor now. "You're doing this, right?"

"Nope. He shook me out of his system a while ago. He's doing this completely of his own... volition? I think. If you can call it that," Vanny placed a hand to her chin and watched the hare carefully.

Now he noticed Vanny. The hare slowly turned his unblinking cochineal gaze to stare at her in-turn. The motion was so slow that everyone can hear the meticulous workings of the servos in his neck grind like a security camera on a mount.

Vanny shuddered, "Yeah... that's not my doing. He threw me out of his system and helped you all home. Dunno why he did that. He's freakin' weird... but a real looker though. I like his spots and multi-colored claws! Decent design."

"Cheatin' on Glamrock Bonnie now, aren't we?" Monty goaded.

"We were never an item so... technically not," Vanny chortled innocently. Her expression grew serious again, "Although, I find his current behavior quite interesting: He has no emotions whatsoever, and yet he did this because he WANTED to? I can't explain how that is... I just can't wrap my head around it. There could be another reason for this errant behavior though."

Everyone was practically leaning in there.

Seeing as she got all their attention, she went on with, "I think its because he has remnant in him. I thought I sensed SOME trace of it while I was in his head. If he's anything like Polar Freddy -and its quite likely he is- he may have it. The presence of remnant means he'll still have SOME emotions, even without his personality chip. Albeit, it'll be a bit more trace. He could actually be feeling something right now and he's just not letting it be super obvious."

Roxy folded her arms and glanced back at the white hare. He did not return the motion, still keeping his seemingly lifeless gaze on Vanny instead. She narrowed her optics, "Its so creepy... remnant or not, I can't help wondering how much WE'D be like that without two simple pieces in us."

Vanny chortled darkly, showing more of her usual self. "Oh, more than you think, wolfy," was her playful response there.

Roxy scowled at the doe but didn't rise to the bait. Instead, she snarled out, "You sure he has anything going on in that vacant head space of his?"

"Not completely. I'll admit that much," Vanny sighed while looking deflated. No fun, Eclipse can almost imagine her saying.

Roxy walked over to bleached white stranger and cautiously circled; the hare finally removing his unblinking gaze from Vanny just to watch her instead. His black-tipped ears flicked, but its likely he still couldn't hear anything. His paws stayed perfectly still at his sides too, his deer-like tail droopy on his narrow pelvis piece. He had fur, and it looked pretty immaculate- minus whatever scratches he suffered from earlier today.

The power in his legs, Eclipse wondered. If he really wanted too, he could take all our heads off in one swing if we all get within striking range. He could kill Roxy right now if he really wanted to hurt us. Maybe Vanny was right... maybe he's truly docile? Or at the very least, neutral.

His hands found Cassie, and he was suddenly pulling the girl close again out of paranoia. Cassie passed him a surprised look but didn't fight it.

Meanwhile, M.X.E.S finished his procedure on Glamrock Bonnie, but didn't release him. The cuffs on his ankles and wrists held him steadfast to the chair; the security program doing his job of scanning him to make sure there wasn't anything else to be worried of. There was a beep from Cassie's tablet; drawing the girl and attendant's eyes as she held it up and looked at M.X.E.S' pixelated visage.

"Scanning and repairs complete. Scans show he is still sadly under the influence of your father, user Cassie. I have control of his faculties for the moment, but he will wake up shortly despite the fact I have forcefully put him into safe mode. Already he's fighting me for the body's current status."

"Wha- He's in safe mode? Oh wow," Cassie blinked, her expression falling noticeably. "He must really be in such a state-"

"He is. It seems your father's ire as well as Bonnie's own may be mutual and could be what's causing this. The focus on Cromwell and their situation is... rather fixed," The blue bunny went on to say. "I can almost feel it for myself. It was... I found it alarming. I cannot stay in his head for long, for it is a toxic influence on other bots. It would inspire permanent negative behavior in newer-brained individuals."

The family all shared looks of concern and mumbled to themselves; Cassie shaking her head at the digital bunny and saying, "You don't need to be in Bonnie's head if its just messing with you. If its truly that bad, I give you permission to abort the body, if need be. I don't want this... unnatural, paranormal thing inside you as well."

"Dully noted, user Cassie. Thank you."

Vanny hummed nearby, then added, "It could be possible this shared anger may be TOO overwhelming for the vessel as well. The fact they feel the same about a certain target could be what's keeping Cassie's pops in the most control. However, if Bonnie grows more worried for Freddy personally instead... we could bring him back or wake him up?"

"You think that'll even work?" Chica asked hopefully, her expression slanting into a doleful countenance.

"I don't truthfully know. What I DO know is that maybe Chica should take a crack at him, maybe?" Vanny added next, much to everyone's confusion and surprise. She turned to look at the hen, "You were given the ability to hack for a reason, you know. You can take over for Mex!"

Chica was shaking her head as a reply initially- but then she stopped and abruptly nodded like she changed her mind on the fly. "I can do it... heavy emotions aren't as troubling for me as they would be for Mex. If its so bad, I can abort too, right?"

"I don't see why not, but-" Roxy leveled her a concerned look. "I don't think you should HAVE to do it. 'Sides, Bonnie wouldn't want you exposed to the poison in him in any capacity. At least, I wouldn't think he'd ask."

"He wouldn't want me anywhere near his core systems in this state, realistically," Chica heaved in a beleaguered manner. "But he was inside mine so... I know what's in him normally, and he knows what's in me. Which is totally freaky, weird and... sounds very inappropriate, out of context-" She produced a weak chuckle there. She ended up scratching behind her head and adding in an undertone, "And embarrassing... why hadn't I considered-? Nevermind."

Nobody was going to make her do this, but it seemed no one was going to stop her either. Eclipse however spoke up here and exclaimed, "I wouldn't bother. Its best you stay away from him in case he swings at you or something! He'd hit you by mistake at that point- and that'll KILL HIM if he realizes he hurt you in any capacity. After just losing Freddy in the manner we had, I don't think he can take it if something happened to you as well." He kept his hands on Cassie's shoulders, his grip marginally tightening but not to an uncomfortable degree as he pressed, "Besides, he's cuffed right now, and we have Cassie right here. He'll listen to her. No need to expose yourself."

Vanny muttered nearby, prompting Eclipse to flash her an annoyed glance. Was the doe secretly trying to hurt Chica? It wouldn't be out of character for her, but Vanny also helped put Chica back together in her own way. It didn't make any sense for the hen to potentially risk getting maimed by a possessed buck. Was there something else she was aiming at?

As for Chica, she nodded and conceded. She turned to Cassie, "You think you can get through to him, sweetie?"

"I'll try. I think he'll listen to me a bit," Cassie pinched her fingers together. "He listened to me earlier! And really, I wanted to see if we can try asking him some questions while he's in this state. Maybe we can get some actual, direct answers for once? Maybe figure out how he died or... why he keeps trying to go for Roxy-"

Roxy glanced away, arms folded over her breast as if to close herself off.

Eclipse huffed, glad everyone had listened. It always seemed like the Glam fam always went to him when they needed a second opinion; and the acknowledgement was appreciated. It made the attendant and his alters feel a bit more valued as the individuals they are; to give him a purpose when the rest of the world turned blind eyes and ears to him. Even now, it helped him to feel a bit better after getting his ass so thoroughly spanked by that owl Chica.

Chica meanwhile passed an uncertain expression at the girl, "But... Cassie. You sure you can even- you know. Ask that? Like... I get it if its too painful-"

"No! I WANT to-" Cassie asserted. "I don't think I can stand this silence and this ambiguity anymore. I want to know why my dad is so upset and how he... you know. I want to help him with it! This could be my one chance. We couldn't talk to him all throughout this time-" She waved around. "We had two years to see if we can connect to him... and only now it seems we'll get that chance. I ain't letting it pass me by. No way."

Cassie lifted up the tablet, putting one hand over the attendant's own on her shoulder and squeezing. She was silently thanking him while she spoke, "Okay, M.X.E.S. Let Bonnie wake up. Let's see what we can learn from this. Vanny-" She turned to the monitor. "You record it, okay? And tell us if something is weird or... wrong. Well, MORE wrong."

"...I shall."

Her reply was delivered almost softly; making Eclipse wonder, not for the first time, what was going on in her head.

"Okay then-" Cassie turned towards the resting rabbit, clearly nervous but glad for the attendant's brace on her shoulder. "Mex? I'm ready... I think."

"...Acknowledged."

Everyone's eyes on the room (including the ever-silent and deaf hare) went to the Glamrock in the bench.

In a matter of seconds, he jerked against his bonds and tugged. His teeth flickered into view as well; his jaw's chassis sliding down to reveal his teeth and crinkling at the corners where the fur flowed and bunched with the movement. A budding froth of black bubbled up; making the girl whimper and sink further into the attendant's grip. Bonnie's eye lids bunched tighter as if in pain; the fur wrinkling beneath the weight of the plastic sheets making up his brows. He was snarling; no doubt about it. And he was fighting to get out of the seat.

He finally cracked his optics open, but there was no sign of the beloved Glamrock there. This was a complete stranger wearing Bonnie's face; a wretched soul whose wrath knew no bounds. He was in a tizzy of fury so corrosive and mind-numbing that he saw anything touching his girl an immediate threat-

In fact, the sight of Eclipse holding Cassie instantly incensed him.

He opened his mouth; and this sound like the growling rasp of an ancient, eldritch demon that's burned entirely too long in its burning brimstone prison arose. There was no other proper way to describe it; as it was a noise that grounded through its wrath like he was gargling on gravel and razor blades and he was chasing it down with acid from the devil's own reservoir. He snapped his mandibles and yanked at his cuffs; the sound of creaking metal making everyone present jolt with alarm and paranoia that perhaps they were too weak to bind him. He wasn't escaping anytime soon, but the sight of his bubbling, blistering choleric vitriol no less spiked the hairs on the girl's arms and made the fur on Roxy spike. Even Vanny looked concerned nearby. The air itself inside the house seemed to possess a thick, grim expectancy that forced hush in most of those present.

"Let Cassie go," Vanny told Eclipse in a low murmur. "Step away slowly."

He found himself doing that all too easily; hating how listening to Vanny there had been almost automatic. He held up his hands in plain submission, gladdened to see the snapping taper off somewhat as he did. Bonnie still maintained that sinister chest-rolling rumble however; one eye more open than the other and giving him that deranged, crooked, pupil-less look. It didn't help that his optics were that shiny black sheen that beheld the glossy, depthless appearance of the abyss itself peering through where the buck's warm, wine red gaze used to be.

Unfathomable, said and agreed the alters inside Eclipse. This entity within. It is beyond us. How can Bonnie stomach having this thing within him?

Cassie approached with that same bravado from earlier, instantly ensnaring the buck's attention and arresting it firmly onto her. The growling stopped immediately at the sight of her proximity. The girl was fidgeting with the tablet, biting her lip and looking a lot like she wanted to either run into his arms, or out the room as a whole. Eclipse wouldn't blame her for picking the latter option though.

"Daddy?" She tried, putting the tablet on the workbench beside her. She made sure to leave it tilting up somewhat so M.X.E.S can watch them too.

He blinked, working his muzzle once and holding himself very still after a point. His fists relaxed on the arms of the bench, ears flopping lower and lower above his head like they're too heavy and unwieldy for him to utilize. One flicked at her; certainly giving the bots the confirmation that he got his hearing back. His optics may be moving around, but it was hard to tell when there was no detail in them.

"Dad-" She attempted again, getting bolder and finally grabbing at the seat. One hand tentatively slid over to his fingers; gently prodding as if for permission.

There was a long pause. Nobody moved, or even breathed. The only sounds in the room where the low hum of the fans in Vanny's terminal and the tick tick of the sun beams in Eclipse's face plate as they shuffled a bit in nervous nuance.

The haunted bot blinked once more, then very slowly -as if trying to remember the motion- tried putting his fingers over hers even despite the cuffs restraining his wrists. There was a breath from him that followed. Like a sigh of relief? Eclipse wasn't too sure, but that's what it sounded like. He couldn't put a finger on it, but it looked like the bot was settling down.

Now he blinked again- but the motion was more meaningful. It seemed to mean something, the slow slide of painted purple lids over endless blacks pools of pure ink. They even narrowed, but it was in a way that betrayed clear affection. His ears swung forward as if to catch anything she would say.

"You... you hear me?" She said now, her voice entirely timid and something above a mumble.

A slow inhale, then he went to move his shoulder- just for him to blink drunkenly and look at his wrist. He produced an annoyed noise, moved again, then passed Cassie an unexpectedly helpless look. The expression wasn't lost on the rest of the bots; who all gave each other saddened or bewildered glances. For a moment there, Eclipse thought the buck wanted to try petting Cassie's head-

Maybe that's what what he wants to do... touch his daughter. It would've been YEARS for him.

"Oh... Mex," Eclipse said aloud. The blue bunny blinked into his Hud there, with the attendant quickly saying, "You think maybe you can let one of his arms go? I don't think he's going to swing if he stays focused on her."

"A dangerous query. Are you sure you want to-"

"Yes!" Cassie interrupted them, looking at the tablet beside her so she can directly address the blue rabbit. "At least one cuff. Please? Maybe he'd feel less trapped and stressed if you do that."

"Be careful of what you wish for, users. I will oblige the command. However, do keep in mind, if he tries anything, I will be forced to seal him back- however way I can."

No one said anything to that; simply watching as the cuff the buck had pulled against prior clinked and freed him. He lifted it up, flexed his fingers and turned over his hand, then immediately went to using it:

He indeed grabbed at Cassie's face in a motion so slow, it couldn't be any less than reverent. He palmed her cheek and thumbed at the bottom of her eye; where a tear had started to bud into being. Cassie drew in a sharp breath and hiccupped; glowing hazel eyes a lit with an old, wounded endearment and choking melancholy. She whimpered too; the sound breaking Eclipse's heart anew and most certainly doing the same to the dangerous bot before them. The buck's ears flickered and swiveled fully toward at her as he receieved the noise. Cassie reached up into the chair as best she could while slightly clambering into it next; the buck removing his palm from her visage so to guide her up.

His free arm smashed her against him next; tilting his head down so his cheek rested on the crown of her head as her own arms found themselves over his shoulders. She was crying now; full-blown ugly sobbing and quite unable to stop. Nobody moved during this moment; too afraid to break it up with any reminders of the fact they woke him up just so they can ask him questions. It was as if a spell has fallen upon them; a crisp, smothering vice that tightened and forced them into silent vigilance.

Cassie cried for a full-on minute before finding herself again. She sniffled plenty, withdrawing a bit but unable to fight her way out of the embrace the bot had her in. Resigning herself to her father's stern embrace, she settled within his cage and murmured wetly, "You were... I-I just want-"

"I'm sorry."

The words made everyone jump; including Vanny in the computer (meanwhile the hare didn't react). Eclipse fiddled with his fingertips and jerked to full attention, suddenly glad he was seeing something human there. The words were... they were spoken with Bonnie's usual tenor, but they were interlaced with a strange overlay of distorted crackling. Its like his voice box was receiving interference. A grumbling rasp was tying itself into Bonnie's voice and wearing it like its a coat covering itself- imposing a sound that wasn't naturally inside of the voice box.

It was once a sound that could be described as honey being poured over guitar strings- but the venom of death has changed it.

Cassie had fallen silent as the sudden words, her eyes bulbous in their sockets and the girl fighting to try and look the buck into his abyssal eyes. If she was afraid of his infinitely dark gaze, there was no sign of it on her face. Only wonder and shock held her visage captive.

"S-Sorry," was the grumbling rasp that cracked out of him again. It held a strange echo to it too, now that Eclipse was really listening to it. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry..."

Cassie placed both hands on his muzzle and forced it still. "You. Y-You- what happened to you? Can you tell me? You know you don't want to hurt anybody. I wanna know why you just-" Her face contorted here, "You just left me. Just like that! You just LEFT-"

A flicker of pain crossed over the rabbit's face. He looked like he was just barely hearing Cassie here and there- and the times he did hear something, it was just salt in the wound where a long knife was still very deeply lodged. His lids were heavy across his optics; teeth flickering once or twice.

"Can't."

"WHY NOT?" Cassie rather loudly thundered.

He flinched there, his palm on her back to keep her supported on his lap but his expression more like he wanted to withdraw. He shut his eyes just so he couldn't look at her, "Can't. Can't. C-Can't..."

There was a hum from nearby; bringing Eclipse's gaze to Vanny briefly but not seeing anything forthcoming from her. She was watching this scene so raptly, it was like nothing else mattered.

So said the buck, "Can't... 'member. 'Member. Can't."

"You don't remember anything-?" Cassie garbled hollowly.

"Head. Floating. 'Member... 'member... 'member-" He trailed off, his glossy, gem-like eyes cutting to Roxy briefly. There was a distinct narrowing, and there his words stopped. His expression very noticeably darkened- making the wolf shuffle upon her footing.

Cassie wasn't having it. "Dad. Dad- please. Look at me. Look at me-" She seized his muzzle again and shoved her head forcefully into his line of sight. "Why do you want to hurt Roxy? You bought her for me one day, remember? For my birthday. Why do you wanna hurt her?"

"...Her."

"What? I don't understand you-" She shook her head, her voice weak.

"Her. 'Member. Her. 'Member-" His gaze now slanted into something more like he was struggling with said recall. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Now he just looked lost.

Cassie shook her head and looked at Vanny hopefully, who only furiously waved back at her as if to make him keep going. She nodded and tried, "Dad. You sure you don't remember? Did Roxy have anything to do with how you died?"

There it was; the big question. Roxy held her breath; the sudden whoosh of air drawing Eclipse's gaze to her briefly before arresting them back onto the girl and her deceased father.

"Her. 'Member... blood. Blood-" His paw, the one resting on her back, slowly crept up between them. It stayed suspended there, with him slowly turning it over like he was picturing it covered in aforementioned substance. His hand looked solid at first glance, but Eclipse can see the tremors of a slight shakiness building there. The paw eventually found rest on his belly and stayed like he was trying to staunch an over-flowing gut wound. His claws dug in; the fabric of Bonnie's faux fur ripping in protest.

Is he vaguely remembering his stomach wound in life? Eclipse wondered. Cassie said he bled out very badly...

Cassie was seen putting her hands on it and gripping it tightly. She added, "You said... outside. You said Cromwell? Does he have anything to do with you? Do you remember dying at all-?"

His eyes flickered, then swiveled alarmingly onto her like he was finding some sobriety. There was alarm boiling up from within him; his posture somehow even more rigid.

"Dying. Dying. I-" He gasped once, expression widening into some true comprehension. "I'm... I'm dead, aren't I? I DIED. I-I left. I left you. All alone. I-"

Cassie rapidly shook her head and tightened her grip on his paw, "Its okay! You're not- you're with me now. Stay here. Stay right here. Don't float away-" Her tone turned ragged and pleading. "Stay right where you are. Don't go there. Don't go into those dark places."

"Dark. Holes," He rasped. His free paw went to his temples and stayed there; dragging and pulling at his dirty visage. His halted words were finally picking up gathering speed as he went on, "Dark. It has a name. Crooked. Bent. Shapeless. Screaming. Consuming-" There seemed to be attempt to swallow, but it looked awkward for him; like he forgot how to do it and was attempting to drudge up the old instinct. "I'm... awake now. I'm awake? I'm not... the hole. Dark hole. Cold. Cold... I feel. I feel-"

"You're cold?" Cassie pressed.

"Cold. This body. Not mine. Not... mine." His talons tightened over his face, his expression growing steadily more manic. "I'm not even- I'm not human anymore, am I? I hadn't... been. I wasn't. Awake. Until now. I was-" He paused, his optics narrowing and pulling his paw away from his face just so he could look at the freshly fallen blood there. His paw had grazed his weeping eyes at some point, "Sleeping. Sleeping. Slept inside of... I'm in a bot, am I?"

He hasn't known this whole time? Eclipse wondered with dawning shock.

Cassie opened her mouth to say, closed it, and put her hand over his sullied paw. Her tears were quieter now, but still free-flowing down her face. Eclipse wanted to wipe them away but didn't dare approach.

"I don't think we're going to get anything from him that makes sense," Vanny went on to interrupt gently and quietly, afraid of startling him with a louder voice volume. "Its possible whatever he's seen has completely muddled and broken his mind. In fact, just realizing he's dead may be too much. There is some sense left in there, but its mostly lost amidst his turbulent thoughts. My guess is that Cromwell coulda wanted him gone... but Cromwell was DEAD by the time your dad vanished, right?"

"Something's not right here," Eclipse turned to the others there, upon hearing that. "She's right; Bonnie killed Cromwell way before Cassie's dad here passed away himself. It couldn't have been him."

"Morris, maybe?" Roxy said, though now she was seen pulling uncomfortably at her wrists like she felt unclean.

"Could be," Eclipse folded his arms. "Who else could it be?"

Cassie watched them briefly, frowned, and returned her watery-eyed attention to her shaken father. "Dad. Did Morris do this?"

There was a definitive head shake, though the motion was slow and drawn-out.

"Oh... first direct answer," Eclipse muttered.

"Then... who did?" Cassie beseeched.

He blinked again, steadily finding a bit more of himself as he did. He passed a glance to a region beyond Cassie's shoulder, then slowly dragged his claw-tip at Roxy.

Roxy shook her head rapidly and staggered backwards.

"Roxy- She wouldn't do it on PURPOSE!" Cassie instantly fired at him. "She doesn't want to hurt anyone! She wants to protect me-"

"Hurtful. Spiteful. Her," He snarled this time, his tenor now turned gravelly. His eyes narrowed, "Roxy. She... she is... HAS. Has harmed staff."

"But- she wouldn't-" Cassie was shaking her head, her voice growing weaker.

Suddenly, there was a sound like a speaker powering up; Eclipse blinking rapidly and turning towards DJ. He looked like he had an epiphany dawning on him; if his alarmed lavender optics were anything to go by. He even lowered his shades down his nose, inhaling gustily and turning away like he was lingering on some haunted thought.

Suddenly, a new voice spoke up; one no one recognized and no one had thought to hear:

"Shut him down. He'll grow more over-stimulated and unstable. It could take over your Glamrock completely if you don't."

It was delivered in a coldly factual, truly robotic, monotone, dead-pan bludgeoning way; though it possessed a light, fluttery lilt that sounded like it was prone to the most sensitive nuance. The voice belonged to what could've passed as a child; but somewhat wrong-sounding due to the emotionless quality of it. It was a sound that confused everyone and brought all eyes onto the hare.

The hare was very much watching the Glamrock with an interest Vanny herself had; although he did no such thing as blink. It was possible he hadn't blinked this whole time. He only watched from the tops of his lids, like he was looking down on the other.

"Shut him down," He repeated, his voice something between tenor and counter-tenor; fairly high-pitched. "Or you will lose your rabbit. Worse, the soul within will start to spiral and recall the details of his death too thoroughly and that will make him the most feral. His anger will burn right through him, and even the soul will be lost in the end- transforming it into true agony. You do not want that."

"But... I don't-" Cassie shook her head.

"Do it," The other, taller buck interjected; though the tone continued to not have any noticeable cadence. "Guide his hand to the bench and have your program lock it back. He will resist, and it will hurt."

Vanny was heard groaning nearby, but she was seen nodding to his words in solid agreement. "I think this is the part where Chica needs to intervene now too. Recall that M.X.E.S and I cannot get into Bonnie's head like this? Chica has the strongest influence so... it has to be her."

Chica shuddered like she didn't want to near him, but nodded in the end.

Cassie was grabbing Bonnie's still out-stretched paw and pulling it towards the bench. She plainly didn't want to trap him again, but it had to be done so Chica can intervene. Once his limb hit the arm-rest, the brace clicked back over his wrist. The buck jerked out of his dead-eyed stupor and jolted when he realized he was snared again.

"I... I don't. Don't under-" He muttered fast. "Cassie. Cassie- what is going on?"

"I can't do this anymore-" Cassie pulled herself down from him. "I just can't."

She suddenly turned and ran into Eclipse, the bot gently holding her as Chica slowly approached like she was afraid the larger bot would take a swing at her even despite having his wrist trapped again. Bonnie blinked and looked up, his muzzle suddenly wrinkling in a sinister warning snarl. Claws gouged and curled at the ends of the arm rest; tearing into the metal with a strangely greased ease. His expression was absolutely cruel and feral; betraying his lack of common sense or restraint.

"Monty. I'll need some help," Chica told him, looking rather like she wanted to run away.

"Er... sure."

The gator followed and stopped beside her, Chica motioning to the rabbit's breast. Bonnie was growling now; full-throated and promising endless violence. Chica removed the fabric flap velcroed over his stomach hatch; jerking every time the rabbit strained against his binds. Monty would be needed to get the hatch open; his talons digging into its edges and straining to pull. There was no way Bonnie was going to open up his chest cavity willingly for them in this state.

The sounds of the furious specter was making Cassie shiver more; Eclipse pulling the girl and slowly backing towards the door. "Let's get you out of this room," he told her gently. "Let Chica shut him down."

She shook her head, staying grimly where she stood. Her red-rimmed gaze slipped to the rabbit, lingered, and then broke when he produced an open-mouthed resonance that bordered a roar. She mumbled through his clothes, "Will he be okay, if we do this?"

"He'll be fine. Just shut down for a few hours until the specter phases out his anger," Vanny said in what Eclipse continually realized WAS in-fact, a gentle encouragement. What in the hell, he couldn't help thinking as Vanny steadily added, "It'll be like last week; just let him stay shut down for a little while until Mex stops detecting its presence in his body. Bonnie should be okay in a short bit."

The sounds he was currently making could snap-freeze anyone's blood in their veins; or in the case of the lingering bots, freeze over their wires. Bonnie was definitely fighting them now; attempting to bite into Chica with his blunt teeth, seeing as his head and chest was still free to lean forward. Monty kept him pinned as best he can; Chica having fed a wire directly into Bonnie's core and focusing super hard on it. It took a long, painful moment, but the rabid rabbit FINALLY stopped- and then he slumped over like an unbalanced ragdoll. His motor literally powered down with a noticeable whir and clink; and Chica carefully removed her wire.

She didn't withdraw. Instead she eyed Bonnie carefully and peered into his chest cavity now that she had a moment to do so. She groaned at the sight of it, "He's super gross on the inside. He needs to be deep-cleaned again. Need to get this crap off this box shielding his circuit boards- or else he'll glitch and short out when he wakes up."

"Do it while I'm here," Monty said. "I can keep my claws on 'em in case he decides to wake up prematurely."

"...'Kay."

As they went to doing that, that's when Eclipse took the moment to encourage Cassie to move. She didn't fight it this time, the girl loyally following him out with Roxy -who looked guilty of sin- right along her shadow. The majority of the family gathered in the living room; including the strange hare who seemed to finally take his focus off Vanny and his Glamrock variant. He was as silent as the grave as he skulked after them; although his ears bumping the low frame had some of them jolting and looking up in brief surprise. The hare blinked at the intrusively low frame, ducked his appendages (as well as his head), and drifted out.

Once they were in the main room, Cassie turned towards him with a raised brow. She was still very much soaked in tears, but her tone was steadily finding a bit of its usual cadence as she asked, "You- You are uh... thank you? I guess-?"

He said nothing. Only watched her. If anything, his crimson gaze was solely resting on her face. The plain, unfeeling stare was definitely nerve-wracking; prompting Eclipse to cough and stand a bit more defensively in front of the girl. Cassie stayed close of course, with Roxy and DJ still watching the alien hare just as carefully. While Roxy was no doubt still lingering on Cassie's father's words (as they ALL are), she was also more worried about the strange hare before them- and within reason. Not an hour ago, he was just attacking them.

"So uh... can I ask what you're doing here?" Cassie eventually asked him, fisting the attendant's star-blanketed sweats and tarot-card themed shirt. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"My prime directive was to disable the Glamrocks and help distract you all from Snowy Chica as she was tasked to kill Luis and Vanessa. I was originally given permission to abort mission once things went awry," He dead-panned so candidly that it -let alone the damning portent of his words- took everyone off-guard. "Fazbear Entertainment does not like how Luis and Vanessa has handled the company's 'merchandise', and says that defacing their properly and tampering with them is against the law and their policies."

"Law SHMAW! Fuck them! Its not like law mattered to them in the first place! And besides-" Roxy cracked suddenly. "They don't own us anymore! And guess what? Luis QUIT. Not like they have any say over him! Not sure if Vanessa put in her two weeks though... did she ever do that-?"

He didn't seem to hear her, or he was plainly ignoring her. He kept going, "That aside, I was unable to enact upon the order to flee even though Foxy was taken out. While they said I was allowed to run away when pressed enough, someone at headquarters forcefully took control of my system and hijacked me amidst the fight. I could not escape or deviate from directive. And then- your eloquently named 'ghost doe' seized control from them." He continued to elaborate with, "Vanny was the primary target this time. As Morris understands her danger of her remaining in your possession and how her data could yield important information for Fazbear techs for future A.I projects. Vanny, alongside the deaths of Luis and Vanessa, was paramount."

"He's kidding, right? He's KIDDING?" Roxy shot over at the others.

DJ was shaking his head while folding his arms. He stood nearer to the white buck and signed, 'I am curious. Even though you say Vanny took control, she said you also freed yourself from both her and the techs at headquarters. Why do you remain, on that note? You could just leave right now. No one's stopping you.'

The buck had carefully watched his hands, then he miraculously signed back, 'I chose to stay. And I did not know if anyone here still remembered sign language or had it in their programming anymore. I would have done that sooner if I knew. I still cannot hear- I've been watching the girl's lips; as I can read human mouths. The mouths of bots and their various muzzle shapes makes spoken language complicated for me whenever my ears are stricken deaf by certain frequencies. It apparently happens very often.'

There was several blinks everywhere; although Cassie hadn't understood the signing she was witnessing. Eclipse quickly translated for her, she nodded, then waved to the white buck. He turned back to her.

"So... you can read lips, right?"

"Correct."

"Not the mouths of the other bots. And... you've been deaf the entire time."

"Correct."

"Just making sure. I don't understand sign language though- everyone has to translate that for me. So, why do you know it?"

"All sentinel models know sign language. Some employees at Fazbear Entertainment that have joined in the past were deaf. Information on sign language was downloaded and included into our systems language software so we can be more accommodating for them. This program is included for the Glamrocks too so they can appease a wider audience- though I wondered if with the degree of change they've been through, if they even knew it still. Good to note they still do."

"Oh... that makes sense," Cassie scratched her head, then frowned at him. "MEANWHILE. You're still here because-?"

"Because I am waiting for my bear," He said in a tone that was distinctly... less robotic, Eclipse noted. It was as if a hint of an inflection was there, but it was a bit hard to tell. "He will come here directly once whatever directive he was given at headquarters is complete. He did not want me to stay inside the building for long, as he told me -and proved to me- that the techs are actively tampering with me during my repairs. They have done this right in the middle of our fight too, so his words stood true. He will also be giving me my remaining pieces; as he had to remove them temporarily to not rouse suspicion amidst the employees. If he was caught installing my hardware he acquired from Glamrock Bonnie, both of us would be in great trouble."

"There it is again- that rule," Roxy grumbled.

"What one-?" Cassie blinked.

"THAT particular rule... the Faz-heads don't want us upgrading or helping each other," She replied while crossing her arms. "You remember why, Cassie?"

"Oh... yeah. Right. They want you to believe that you have to rely SOLELY on the humans for your maintenance. Self perpetuating A.I frightens them and... they don't want to lose more control over their bots if they decide they want to be more independent of people."

"Correct," Snowshoe Bonnie confirmed, upon gathering the information between them based on his watching Cassie's face. "So, with this covered, I can say that, now that they have actively tampered with me and betrayed my bear's trust, I wish to remain here until he arrives. I did not wish to cause harm- nor impose. I have no ill will towards you all. If anything, my Freddy was quick to remind me that I should be thanking you and your Bonnie for my near-completed state."

"Near completed-" Cassie breathed in surprise.

He's incomplete... and he still kicked all our asses, Eclipse internally wondered. Well then... kinda glad he isn't really our direct enemy anymore already.

"Okay. Confused here: How can he wish for anything when he has no true personality?" Roxy spat.

Once again, the hare ignored her; with Roxy blinking and mumbling "Oh right..." before she signed at him furiously. Eclipse read the hastily strung and energetic words, translating them for Cassie's benefit, "She says, besides her aforementioned question, 'What's up with that owl Chica? Is she new? And why is killing Luis and Vanessa so important when, in hindsight, they're not truly a threat? Killing them over upgrading us is a stupid reason to go after them.'"

The hare quietly fielded these questions, then spoke aloud, "I have some semblance of my personality, thanks to my remnant. I'm sure your buck may have possibly sensed it in me, had he been in his right mind. Even the removal of a personality chip isn't completely fool-proof in the case of a bot as advanced as we are. As for Snowy Chica- she is a very recent model. As in, built-within-the-last-couple-weeks recent. She understands her role as a sentinel though, and takes her job very seriously. She does not understand or know anything else- seeing as she's very, as you humans would say, quite 'baby-minded'. The techs literally only gave her basic prompts and commands to adhere to as expected of a sentinel model."

"Killer baby bird flying out of the nest already kicking and clawing and taking names before she even develops a full personality," Roxy mumbled, looking somewhat worried. "...Shit. She'll be messed up forever at this rate."

"She is already in a sensitive learning stage, so yes- technically speaking, she may just adhere to her job and grow to quite like hurting people in time," Eclipse grumbled to himself.

"Not on OUR watch-" suddenly spoke a deep bass from nearby.

They turned and noticed Monty stalking out of the garage, with Chica doing the same. She had Bonnie's fur coat in her hands, gently thumbing at it as she eyed the stranger buck carefully. She narrowed her mazarine optics at him, pulling Bonnie's coat closer to her heart like he was still in it and she just wanted to fulfil the desire to simply hold him and protect him from the hare. Her teeth flickered once into view; no doubt still suspicious of the sentinel.

"Nobody here is gonna let the Fazbear fucks hurt ANYONE else," Chica announced resolutely. "No more."

DJ signed at the hare, to which he nodded and said aloud, "They are intimidated by you all. You are MUCH more advanced than they hoped to aspire to. Not only upgraded and smarter, but you also have M.X.E.S, Vanny, and your humans to help you- thus their reason for wanting to kill Luis and Vanessa. Their knowledge on the company's secrets and their technical know-how being passed along to the children makes you all dangerous to them, and they know it."

"Good," Chica seethed before glaring at him as she went to the nearby bathroom to soak Bonnie's stained fur. Her head literally stayed focusing on his direction even as she turned her back; her skull facing the opposite direction of her body the entire time until she broke eye contact fully.

The hare than asked, "Did she just say 'good'? I could not make that out- Oh? I figured." He'd been watching DJ there for clarification.

Cassie coughed, noticing Monty raising his muzzle line and showing a bit more of his teeth than usual. She braved stepping away from Eclipse; nearing the white buck but not too much. He turned to her as she informed him, "You know... if we're not enemies anymore, would you want us to fix your ears?"

"Say what-" Roxy growled.

Cassie ignored her, "I know how to do the repairs. I've done it for my da- ah, um, for Bonnie. A few times... Given you have the same models. Or- maybe you can borrow our not-so-powerful replacement emitters until your sensitive set is fixed? I'm just offering..."

"Why da hell would ya wanna do THAT?" Monty bit.

Cassie ignored him as well, keeping her warm, melted chocolate gaze on the opposing rabbit. He hummed at her and tilted his head, "You run care on these bots too, you say?"

"I do. And I'm quite proud of the work!" The girl smiled a bit more timidly. "I enjoy it. Bonnie sits down and lets me at his ears often. He says they tend to bug out more than he cares to admit, but he lets us help for a reason."

"If this is true, then it is simply a case where he does need replacement ear upgrades. They do wear out with time and repeated exposure to certain damaging frequencies," The hare told her with what could've passed as a robotic sympathy- given that made any sense. "He could just go completely deaf in just another couple years or less- depending on what he's exposed to. They cannot last forever, due to their fickle nature. Its amazing they still work for him to the extent they do- so I shall defer to your judgement and assume you're doing something right."

While his words had initially been saddening, Cassie noticeably perked at the compliment. Was that a real compliment though? Eclipse wondered as he carefully watched the hare.

Cassie glanced away eventually, measuring his words and resigning herself to the fact she may end up having to give Bonnie regular hearing when possible. Not that Bonnie would LIKE it, as he quite loved his sharpened hearing. But he would rather have duller hearing than none at all.

She suddenly brightened up and asked, "What about Foxy's hearing? Wasn't his upgrades similar? Could we maybe use it?"

"You can. That will do, actually. His hearing model is actually more advanced and durable than the version given to the Glamrocks," The hare specified. "The models were improved upon in the last few years."

"Are the ear pieces kinda... you know. Possessed or..."

"No. The pieces inside his core are what's suspect to remnant. Not the ear pieces."

Cassie sighed, "You wouldn't by chance, impose if we try to use the ears on our Bonnie?"

The hare shook his head, making the girl perk up further.

"So... would you let me look at you too?" she finally asked. "I can help..."

The hare hummed, then shrugged, "It is up to you if you wish to do so. And if its any consolation... my Freddy will be coming with some fresh parts. He was going to save them for me, but I wager some coercing means you could net yourself something for your rabbit too- seeing as Glamrock Bonnie had been kind to the both of us. Not to mention, your DJ can do with more motor repairs."

"Really?" Cassie asked with a distinctive hopefulness.

He nodded, then settled himself awkwardly on the floor near the fire place. His over-long legs gave him that gangly, tangled appearance as he attempted to get comfortable. "Yes, so he can keep his sharp ears, and your DJ can be fully maintenanced and improved upon. I can ask my bear for you, if you do this for me and allow me asylum temporarily until he gets here."

Roxy narrowed her eyes, but she didn't protest. Monty grumbled as well, with DJ and Eclipse passing looks. Cassie however was practically relieved and eager to help a new possible project; nearly skipping over to Monty and tugging on his burly arm.

"Can you grab the tool box and the spare emitters for me?" She asked him.

Looks like she couldn't be in the same room as Glamrock Bonnie yet- which was fair enough. Monty nodded to her and turned to oblige her command.

The snowshoe hare hummed at the sight. "Intriguing," he said. "The gator truly does listen to you."

"Is that a surprise?" Cassie asked back. "It's just a simple request..."

"Monty's character matrix is... complicated," The hare shrugged. "I saw his manuals at headquarters. I was informed to dissect them so I knew all his weaknesses. This included data on his personality- like his emotional triggers and how he thinks. He was originally designed to be 'laid-back, if slightly on the temperamental side. Somewhat aloof and indifferent to other's emotional states'," He air-quoted. "The Monty model that existed at the Mega PizzaPlex was said to be extraordinarily glitchy and... especially prone to violence. He was actively tampered with though, to be fair. They wanted him to be more ambitious about taking Bonnie's place. Monty had no choice but to obey."

"Oh... I actually didn't know that-" Cassie gazed over her shoulder at the garage door. "He's so quiet about his time in the PizzaPlex. He hardly ever talks, actually. He just... lays around on the floor!"

"Now THAT part is somewhat normal," The hare elaborated. "He isn't supposed to be super talkative or energetic to begin with. If anything, he should be lazy and 'instrumentally-destructive'. And by that, I mean he only should destroy instruments as part of the show. Like smashing a guitar on the stage? Its supposed to hype up the crowd. It seems his destructive tendencies were jacked to a shocking 11 when it was supposed to stay at a mild 3, at worst. Monty underwent the most deviance to his personality, seeing as he was being compared to Glamrock Bonnie. The staff talked a long time about his design flaws and it seems they couldn't really agree on much with him. Monty perhaps suffered the most discrepancies in his system- creating the destructive wreck that became noteworthy in the plex."

On that note, Monty was coming back into the room with the tool box and spare endo ear parts; catching the tail-end of this. He blinked, balled his fist, and almost crushed the emitters before realizing he should be giving them to Cassie. He showed his teeth again in irritation but did nothing else.

"So... am I normal enough now?" He wondered aloud.

DJ signed this to Snowshoe Bonnie, who couldn't make out the gator's words from his moving muzzle. The hare said, "It seems you are more or less what you should be now, but I do not know you super well to say. I was shown footage of you by my Freddy, however- and from what I can glean from that, you seem to be as you should be, minus one or two new traits. I can attribute these smaller traits though to your exposure to the outside world and your newfound joys in it. Nothing negative."

The gator grunted again and placed the box down; letting Cassie have at it and the ear emitters. Just as he pulled himself to his full height, Roxy jolted next to him and whipped her head towards the front door; the wolf openly gawking at it like there was something on the other side of it. Everyone else (although not the hare) heard it too within the next moment:

Sirens.

The sound of police sirens.

"Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. FUCK!" Roxy pulled at her hair and almost fell back into the gator, looking a lot like she wanted out the window and into the wilderness.

"Its the damn po-po! Fuck dis shit I'm out-" Monty instantly turned his tail and started creeping towards the garage; hands throwing itself into the air to further his vexation.

Chica 'Bu-Bawked!' from the bathroom down the hall and poked her head out, looking quite wide-eyed and alarmed by the growing noise. She bared her teeth in a grimace and waddled out into the living room. "What're we gonna say-? What're we gonna DO! Crap baskets... will they try to come in? OH MY GOD!" Her hands smacked her cheeks, "They aren't gonna arrest Luis or Vanessa, will they? I know they're not HERE right now, but... won't they ask about them and come back later when they return from the hospital to arrest them then?"

DJ was mashing and pulling EVERY single one of his fingers like he was so stressed, he may yank them out of his knuckle joints entirely. He passed Eclipse a worried glance and suddenly looked much smaller.

"What is going on?" The hare went on to ask.

"The police-" Cassie turned to him. "We need to hide you guys!"

"Hide us? HIDE US HOW?" Roxy nearly panicked. "If we run out into the snow... they'll just see our tracks! And they'll see the damage to this this house- AND THE VAN!"

"And the number of neighbors who saw us fighting?" Monty suddenly smacked his head and lumbered back out into the living room. "Fuck! What ARE we gonna tell 'em?!"

"Dude... they'll know we're here," Chica sadly reminded them. "Between the van... the damage outside, what numerous neighbors saw, and the people who see us go into town? There's no point... And 'sides... not like they can arrest robots... right? RIGHT? They literally don't have the power for it... nor is it in the law, right?"

"I don't- oh. I don't want Vanessa and Luis getting in trouble- EEP!" Cassie jolted just as the front door was knocked upon. Everyone in the room fell deadly quiet at the sound of it as well.

"Open up! If someone's in there, we want to ask some questions!" called a male baritone on the other side.

Chica was shivering now; her knees banging together almost noisily and slumping to the floor while producing warbling gakels. Roxy shushed her dramatically and fought a budding whimper in her throat. Monty growled however; the sound deep and threatening.

"Let me get it," Eclipse told them all in a calm voice, even though he was just as terrified as they are. "Cassie, I may need your help with this so... go along with whatever I say. Chica, hide Bonnie's fur! They don't need to see the BLOOD on it. Everyone else, garage! Make SURE Bonnie stays quiet and asleep, and tell Vanny to keep her insufferable trap shut!"

He signed at the hare to follow them next, to which the long-legged lagomorph conceded and rose to oblige the command. He stalked after the other bots and they all huddled into the garage; pulling the door back into place even though its hinges needed to be replaced. Cassie meanwhile stuck herself to his side and looped a hand into the nexus of Eclipse's arm.

"You have any idea what to tell them?"

"...No, to be honest. But I'll try to make it up as we go-" He stopped when there was another knock. "-Worse case, I may have to give some truths. Not everything though."

"Okay."

Eclipse nodded, silenced, and approached the front door with the girl in tow. Here goes nothing, he thought as he opened the it.

---

ROXANNE WOLF

Cassie's father may be the hanged man, but it was Roxy who felt like she'd been the one to walk to the gallows and take her own deadly plunge.

She's scathingly pissed about the fact she can't remember ANYTHING about hurting the girl's parent. If she has done it, she could easily blame one of the staff (or even VANNY) about it. The problem? Vanny full-on admitted she hadn't anything to do with his demise, and Cromwell certainly didn't do it... so surely that left Morris? Morris had incentive enough to do it; especially given if Cassie's dad could've found where Bonnie was and they just wanted the rabbit to STAY buried.

It was the only logical explanation.

But why do I feel there's a bit more to that?

Roxy didn't want to say it aloud, but the possessed buck had been correct in one way; she was once a colder-hearted, less empathetic wolf. She was a mean piece of work during the days of the PizzaPlex; and yes, she has... somewhat... manhandled some of the staff in her fits. But honest, she's never actually HURT anyone! She only grabbed them by their collars and gave them a little shake every time they messed up her make-up!

God. Funny how I let a little make-up fuck with me, she wondered now. Its so damn shallow now. I didn't need to hurt or frighten anyone over one stray line of mascara.

Back to Cassie's father: His demise was still up in the air, but it was a bit less of a mystery. Not truly helpful, but it was a start. Roxy had also noticed DJ's expression once during the questioning; as if something had occurred to him. Once the police were gone, she'll have to ask.

Meanwhile, Vanny blinked up at them and asked, "What the heck is going on out there? I heard sirens."

"Cops are here," Monty spat at her. "Stay fuggin' quiet!"

Vanny actually had the graces to look VERY alarmed. If anything, she looked far more worried than Roxy ever figured she'd be. She even said, "Oh HELL no. I ain't a part of this! Going into sleep mode until they leave. Don't let them look too carefully around this room, by the way!"

And with that, she blinked off.

Chica gakeled again lowly amongst them, leaning onto the door while keeping braced on its broken hinges. It bad enough they hadn't had the time to fix it no thanks to her owl version. She produced a very distinctly humanoid whimper too; a sound that snapped Monty, DJ, and Roxy's looks. The hare meanwhile couldn't hear her still, but he was watching each of them in-turn.

"I hate this," she mumbled. "I hate how we aren't anything more than... we'd just be like, accessories or weapons to people! All we do is scare them. The neighbors saw us fend off the fox though..."

"They also saw this guy come in with us," Roxy reminded her while flicking her head to Snowshoe Bonnie. "The hell are they supposed to think? They probably think Vanessa and Luis are a menace to society!"

"Oh my god please no..."

Chica's hands went to her face and clawed; whimpering pathetically in muffled frustration. Between Freddy and Bonnie's current condition, Vanessa, and now this, it was no wonder she was finally taking the moment to cry. Freddy's loss no doubt felt the most poignant; as it meant they might never get him back ever again. And while Roxy loved and adored the bear, she knew she may just fall short on that spectrum when it came to the love between the hen, buck and boar.

Roxy helped keep the door in place, standing just above the now slumped form of Chica. She pressed her ear against the wooden surface and caught the conversation between Eclipse, Cassie, and the cops in some part. It sounds like they were keeping them outside-

But then she heard steps around the house.

While she did not have Bonnie's hearing, she still heard things very well. She heard the crunch and give of the snow around the house as the officers meandered around. Worse, Roxy also realized their spare door here was still unlocked. It may be shut now, but they can still enter-

She suddenly bolted to it and locked it tight; and it seemed to be just in time. The knob twisted and turned; but they did not expect a three-hundred pound metal wolf was holding it in place on the other side. Roxy kept herself anchored there, listening carefully as they grumbled something and moved along.

Okay... more cops then I thought. Not great.

"I assume there's enough of them to be worried about?" The hare started to ask in that lifeless monotone of his.

Roxy signed at him an affirmative, and he nodded.

The tablet on the work bench beside the Glamrock rabbit flared up and M.X.E.S said, "They have entered the home. They are looking around and will try to get into the garage."

"Yeah, no shit," Roxy groused.

"They can't do that!" Chica suddenly exclaimed, but in a low, hurried way. "They can only enter with a search warrant, right? Not that they have one... RIGHT?"

"They are allowed to enter the premises if they believe someone's life is in danger or there was signs of a struggle- in which there are clear signs in the front yard, and as according to the neighbors' reports. Eclipse and Cassie tried to turn them away, but to no avail," M.X.E.S heaved in what was definitely a passably exhausted manner. "They still believe the area is reasonably under threat. To be fair, the assumption isn't untrue in a small sense."

"Pain in the..." Monty grumbled yet again. "Then they're gonna just- fuck!"

The door Chica was holding waggled; and the hen produced a very low squeak and held it. "What do we dooo-?" She warbled in a hurried whisper.

Roxy glared at where Chica was posted, then turned to DJ; who was signing furiously. The music man said, 'How about we post ourselves up as if we're just plain bots? No sentience. Line up on the wall and act like unfinished projects or we're 'turned off' for maintenance like Bonnie here. They'll see Bonnie is in repair mode and they will assume we all need work after our scrap.'

"They'll see Eclipse is sentient though..." Roxy reminded him.

DJ huffed at her, 'Got any better ideas? Not like they can question us if we look like we're turned off!'

To that, none of them can say anything.

With this said, Roxy and the others flew to different positions around the garage; posting themselves up like prop dummies. DJ fitted himself in the same 'pod' he'd been lying in for two years during his construction; instantly slipping into rest mode himself. Monty slumped onto the floor and drooped his head; jaws open and eyes staring at nothing. He definitely looked unalive, in a way. His creepy, toothy appearance should be deterrent enough. The hare meanwhile got the hint and emulated them; laying against the wall next to Vanny's terminal and powering down. Roxy herself posted herself on the corner nearer to DJ and looked as best she can like Monty; still and inanimate against the wall next to DJ's pod. She wasn't all the way on the floor, but she wasn't standing fully upright either.

Chica only moved once everyone else was in position; as her removal from the door meant the cops can come in. She inhaled, moved her beak soundlessly as if in prayer, and quickly threw herself to the side of the door and emulated Monty's dummy look. She even prostrated herself on it like a puppet whose strings were cut; somewhat lying on her belly with mouth agape. She looked a LOT like she did whenever she'd short out from eating the highly acidic foods at the PizzaPlex- so Roxy guessed this current position came, grossly enough, with practice.

Meanwhile, the door opened-

And it fell in right where Chica had been. Since the owl-hen had broken it, it had no support anymore. The cops were bewildered by the lack of further resistance on the door; but they quickly saw that the door was flimsy and assumed its stubbornness came from said bad hinges sticking in place.

It was just two of them, but they swept in with their hands on their standard issue weapons and skulked around the silent room; all the bots eyes on them even though they didn't move their optics. Roxy wanted to reflexively glare, but did no such thing as the two authority figures loomed around the dark space. The wolf can hear Eclipse and Cassie talking to another officer in the living room; so there was at least 6 cops here total once she measured the three in the house and the three outside.

6 ways this can go awry, she said to herself. Gods. How could this have gone so wrong?

The cops, as expected, were stopping to peer at the bots. One of them paused before Bonnie and scratched his head at the sight of him. Roxy was glad Chica had been thorough and wiped the blood from his chassis so nobody can see anything from a glance. To Roxy's growing horror though, he was leaning in and poking his weapon's end at the buck's face; although Bonnie thankfully didn't move or react. He even tried to pry the gut open- seeing the broken region where Monty had dug in his claws. Roxy was glad to see he didn't succeed and gave up rather quickly.

The other meanwhile was prowling around the room and stopping to survey the other bots. He gave Monty a clear berth; as the gator's ghoulish appearance seemed deterrent enough. Roxy inwardly credited him with it and continued to act the unmoving toy as he slowly moved around Chica and found himself standing before her. He met her open eyes, but he did not see or -hopefully- suspect that she was awake and there was intelligence there.

The man before her was fairly young. Roxy could guess around thirty years old but his worry lines gave him the illusion of someone older. He paused at the white buck on the floor, hummed at it, and pressed on. He even nudged the mouse on the computer to see if it will wake up- and wisely, Vanny kept it shut down. He went passed it next and eventually made it to DJ's pod; having made a circuit around the entire garage. Now he was stopping to survey the DJ and Roxy again; although his inspection lingered on DJ and his shades. He gave a pull at them, saw the wire that tied directly into the DJ's skull, and stopped.

Now he was once again eyeing Roxy- as if something about the wolf in particular bugged him. He winced at the sight of her sickeningly realistic teeth and took a step back as soon as he caught her glowing, amber eyes. "My god..." he muttered. "Who the heck designed these things? These all can't be just the girl's 'pet' projects... lookit the teeth in this thing. She could probably rip someone's face off with the right amount of pressure!"

"Speaking of crushed faces- Look at this one," his companion said, kicking at Foxy on the floor. "I'm guessing this bot is the culprit?"

The one standing before Roxy moved away from her. He sidled over to his friend and cocked his head at the dismantled vulpine corpse. There was a hiss and a low whistle. "Wow... You can barely tell what that used to be. Just, wow. The shape of it- wait." He knelt down, then stared at Monty. There was a pause, and then, "Is that... fur? In the gator's mouth?"

The older man hummed and nodded, "Looks like. Seems the gator suffered minimal damage too. His teeth... I can't imagine being trapped in that. I know a real gator is scary and strong enough... but a robo one?"

"You think these things turned on each other?"

"Maybe. That kid is playing with really freaky toys though, if she is... I mean, why the bloody hell is a tiny girl like that playing around with a bunch of giant terminators? I feel like that's suspicious enough," The older cop -one Roxy assumed was maybe in the actual forty-ish range- said. "But keep in mind, this Vanessa and Luis owns these too, I think?"

"Why would they unleash these things into the public?"

"I dunno... probably a system error. But you know something-" The older cop turned around and stared rather coldly at Bonnie. "Is there something... really eerie about these things to you? Like, I can't describe it but... something really unearthly about them?"

"Him, or ALL of them?" The younger queried.

"...Him mostly, but yeah. They all freak me out," continued the elder.

"Lemme see-"

Shit! I forgot about this... Roxy inwardly panicked. Bonnie's aura! Organics can TELL something's wrong with him.

The younger cop stopped around Bonnie, but noticeably kept his distance. He winced like he just stepped into a wall of ice; which, Roxy grimly realized, may JUST be what he's feeling. None of the other bots understood to what extent Bonnie felt altered, but the fact a cop could feel something so physically imposing was bad enough. Gregory once said the presence sometimes felt like ice wind or just a sickening lurch in your gut; it makes you fear things that may not be there. Instinct demanded that man stay away from the unknown; and it instilled just that feeling in any who approached a haunted bot.

The cop loped around the buck at a reasonable length in which Bonnie couldn't reach, even if he did wake up right then. He jerked at the rude smell he gave off; probably noticing the rabbit's aroma wasn't completely pleasant. Once again, a weapon was used to poke him; though it only went to his braced hands. "That's weird... why is this one tied down? And he STINKS," he pointed out. "Look at these cuffs... really heavy-duty stuff. And this thing-" He gestured to the armature above the rabbit's head. "I've NEVER seen anything like this. It looks like a torture device?"

"Kinda... yeah. Like in that one movie?"

"Yeah... makes ya wonder if they built these things just to simulate a horror movie," He drawled in agreement before attempting to near Bonnie again- just to jump back like he felt something. His face contorted and he kept stepping back. "Holy shit. I dunno what the fuck is wrong with this thing but... I suddenly feel cold. Like... cold sweat? Can't figure it, but... I'm suddenly very glad there's actual CUFFS here. Why does a bot who looks like the original Fazbear cartoon character FEEL like this? That is NOT normal."

"Huh... you know, all we need now is some candles and a pentagram. Wonder if they summoned a demon or something and shoved it inside of him?" Snarked the older man. "Maybe the captain will find a Ouija board too!"

"Not funny," hissed the younger cop- although now he was seriously looking at the floor like he was searching for an actual shape and said board.

Do they suspect we're property of the company? Or just replicas? Roxy wondered. Or maybe they really think Vanessa and the others just summoned a demon-? That's so stupid... but probably preferable they think that the family just has some weird hobbies at this point.

"I dunno," the elder cop eventually added with a hand to his stubbled chin. "None of the other ones feel like that- well, except that wolf. She's just kinda... she feels a bit weird too. Didja notice?"

"Not like this guy," the younger mumbled, waving his gun arm at Bonnie. "He literally feels like he's got something inside him that's... he's just so damn weird! You reckon we should pop him open?"

The elder cop hissed, glancing around at the room at large. "Not gonna lie, Rogers. I'd rather leave this creepy crypt but... yeah. We should take a look at 'em. I'm just hoping we won't find anything weird inside... its too much like that one cold case. I'm still remembering hearing from one of the old bosses the creepy horror story from- what was sit, 50-ish years ago? Of someone finding dead kids inside these animatronics at an old place."

They know of that story? Roxy wanted to wince, but wisely didn't. Shit... Freddy was right: When people do look at Chica, Freddy and Bonnie, that's all they can think of: the missing children. Nobody ever forgets that. Maybe Freddy was right... him and Bonnie. Maybe retiring from music for good is all we SHOULD do.

While the bodies had been found (much later on), the spirits had remained. And sadly, these same spirits had stayed in the old Tangle abomination at the PizzaPlex. Roxy recalled the strange feeling she thought she can almost detect when she met the creature.

As it were, the cops went over to Bonnie and- sadly, started to pull his door open. They struggled with it at first, but one found a crowbar and began to pry it open. Roxy and the others all had to fight the urge to pop to life and spook these guys out of the room (although the temptation was, childishly enough, there). Roxy was also glad Chica had the sense to clean Bonnie out; although a REAL deep cleaning took hours to do. She only had a few minutes to clean the worst gunk out. She prayed these guys wouldn't look too carefully.

Bonnie's damaged chest cavity creaked open, then the cops peered inside. There was a noticeable sigh of relief from the both of them.

"PHEW! You had me goin' there, Craigg. Mentioning that old case really didn't help any-" the younger one, Rogers, exclaimed like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Craigg was staring a bit too hard at Bonnie's internals though- like he could just maybe find something. To Roxy's increasing horror, he stuck one of hands in and wiped up something. He pulled back his fingers and pinched the black goop.

"Oil?" he mumbled. "Maybe its lubricant... Gone bad, I think. It stinks real bad enough." He found a rag nearby and wiped his gloved hand on it. "At least it ain't blood or body fluid! And this bot don't look TOO bad... wow, complicated wiring. This guy cannot be cheap to maintain."

You have no idea, Roxy snarked internally.

"He still feels weird though... like, why? Its like everything in me says to 'run away' or something," Rogers grumbled.

The two shook their heads, with Craigg shutting the rabbit's stomach hatch next. "Dunno... but I ain't keen on staying in this room. Its almost as cold in here as it is outside! Also, that dang gator, the... white rabbit, and that wolf? They all creep me out. They look like my wife's glass doll collection."

"Ain't that the reason why you two don't sleep in the same room anymore?" Rogers chortled, still plainly shaking off his earlier unease.

"Yeah! And Jesus... why is that chicken on the floor like that? She looks like a REAL corpse! Hell, they ALL do," Craigg returned.

"You think we should be making any arrests?"

There was a contemplative noise, "No... The owner of the house is hospitalized... and they hadn't exactly hurt anybody, from what I see. Dunno what the chief was so wound up about. Looks like most damage was allocated to just two lawns; this one and the one across the street. No harm done, really. Everyone spooked, but no harm save for the owner-" He put his hand to his chin again. "Which is... strange. I thought she was an expert in these things? Miss Vanessa. Her dossier said she used to work at the PizzaPlex so... surely she knew what she's dealing with- wait."

Now he was looking around the room again, then his eyes fixed specifically on the bots who were in the main Glamrock band; Monty, Roxy, and Chica. His wizened gaze slipped to Bonnie again too, as if something was just clicking into place for him.

Did he finally figure it out? Roxy thought worriedly. Does he recognize us from the PizzaPlex? We look so different now though-

Rogers hadn't noticed. He was passing a look towards where the living room was, "The little girl... Cassie. You think Vanessa leaving her here with these creepy things was okay? I know that attendant model was... weirdly intelligent... but if these things bug out, isn't leaving her here with them -alone- irresponsible?"

Craigg once again produced a sound that seemed to have a lot of meanings in it, not that Roxy can make it out. He turned a full circuit before he said, "If these things are half as intelligent as he is... then- Christ, did it just get colder in here to you?"

"You mean creepier... then, yeah," Rogers shuddered.

While Roxy couldn't tell that well (as her fur was remarkably warm), she noticed even the cops' visage all pallored. Color bled from them, and they turned to look at the buck in the chair-

Bonnie groaned.

FUCK! Roxy could hear the matching pings from the other bots in the room; all of them matching her own thoughts. Shouldn't he have stayed asleep? She wondered. M.X.E.S said he'd make sure-

Bonnie groaned again, although Roxy noticed a distinct lack of crinkly-weirdness in the sound. His voice box didn't gutter or groan; his eyes staying shut tight. He didn't move much beyond pulling his wrists once or twice- likely not noticing he was even doing it.

The cops backed slowly from him, their weapons raised.

Roxy watched as Bonnie suddenly froze in place- as if he was just realizing something was up and he was getting some rude feedback from something. His whiskers twitched, his boopable nose bouncing up and down like normal. He even wrinkled his brow and mumbled-

And when he opened his eyes, they were thanklessly normal.

Normal maroon.

Normal Bonnie.

THANK GOD, Roxy huffed inwardly. But hell that was FAST. He should've stayed asleep for hours!

He was staring at the cops in a very confused manner, knitting his plastic brows and slightly shaking his head. He blinked rapidly, looked at his wrists, looked back up, and smiled his usual charming smile despite the weirdness of the situation.

"Gentlemen," He said oh-so casually, his tone ever its perky leer. "You uh... ya mind where you're pointing those nasty things? Kinda sensitive about firearms, yunno."

Rogers and Craigg looked like they wanted to bolt, but they did no such thing. If anything, Craigg said over his shoulder, "SIR! We got another live one here."

There was a noise of boots on hardwood floor; and then their captain or whatever (not that Roxy knew police terms) lumbered in. He was plainly older and larger than the other two; staring hard at Bonnie and the weird 'torture' device above him. He already logged the cuffs as well, and the fact he likely just walked into what felt like that aforementioned wrongness that seemed to float around the buck.

Cassie and the attendant shyly followed and lingered in the doorway- with the two also noticing the other bots were positioned like inanimate things in the room. Chica winked at Cassie from her position on the floor, then shut her eyes again. The two got the hint immediately. The girl meanwhile also looked noticeably elated about Bonnie having his normal face, and Roxy can almost feel the relief in her even from the other side of the room.

As for Bonnie, he looked past the cops and at her- and seemed to breathe at the sight of her. There was his small smile- also normal. "Cassie," he said gently, his timbre paternal. And then he was raising a brow at the cops, faintly tugging at his braces. "So uh... why is there police in our house? Kinda confused here-"

"Is that weird aura gone to you-?" Rogers mumbled to Craigg beside him, ignoring the rabbit's query.

"...Yeah, mostly. Quick 'nuff," he murmured back. "So funky."

Their team captain (or chief... from what Roxy assumed) addressed the plainly intelligent buck directly and said, "You. What is your name? Do you have one?"

"...Bounder Bunny," he wisely didn't use the title Glamrock Bonnie, Roxy noticed- although she knew he HATED the use of his middle name. She wondered what Eclipse used for himself. "May I help you, sir?"

"Why are you braced?"

"Repairs, I'm guessing," Bonnie said very easily. "Our repair mode is a bit... buggy. When certain wires are fussed with, our limbs tend to twitch and jerk- we can accidentally knock someone upside their nose during certain procedures. Nothing really harmful, I assure you."

Craigg and Rogers looked disbelieving. Meanwhile, their captain said, "Quite. So, who is your real owner?"

Bonnie blinked once, noticing the strangeness of the question and the inflection in it. He coolly replied with, "The humans in this house. Cassie is my primary caretaker. Vanessa is my second, and my creator."

"Do you, by chance, know what happened here?"

Now this was the difficult question. Roxy forced herself to not freak out where they can see it.

Bonnie very placidly replied in his easy-going tenor, "No sir. Memory data corruption detected: I am undergoing repairs, so my recall isn't perfect right now. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Now the captain was gazing at the room at large. "SURELY one of these bots here caught the entire fight?"

Bonnie kept a perfect poker face, but Roxy knew him well enough to know he was freaking out on the inside. His ears gave it away with their sudden twitch and lowering. He didn't even say anything to that.

Cassie spoke up, "I don't have anything you can take from them for study, sirs. All of them have been undergoing some repair and been hit on their heads- see?" She pointed at Monty now, knocking on his green-gray skull for emphasis. "Its caved in. And the others were thrown around..."

"What have you been up to in this place, the lot of you?" The captain directly pressed with his hands behind his back.

"We already told you," Eclipse said this time, sounding both patient and exhausted at the same time. "Someone remotely hacked us and started throwing us around..."

"Did you catch that?"

Eclipse said, "No. The connection was encrypted."

A lie- in some part, Roxy thought.

There was an exchange of glances, then the captain raised his transmitter and mumbled commands into it. Roxy can hear the cops outside stop their search. After a moment, he turned to the girl and said, "When do you think miss Vanessa will return? We have some questions for her, and Mr. Luis."

Cassie gave him a doleful look, "I dunno. Her boyfriend had to drive her so... it might be a while."

Roxy did not like the look on their faces, but there was another silent exchange of gestures before the captain said, "You think it may take a day or something for Mr. Luis to at least return?"

Why are they pressing this, Roxy wondered, fighting the urge to knit her brows.

"I... I dunno," Cassie stepped back, pressing into Eclipse and bracing herself against him. Roxy noticed Bonnie was slanting a dangerous scowl at the captain behind his back- no doubt not appreciating the fact he was making the girl feel pressured. "-Will Vanessa and Luis be arrested?" Cassie went on to ask.

"No... no," the captain said calmly. "No one's getting arrested today, it seems. So don't worry so much, okay?"

Cassie didn't look completely mollified, but she nodded.

With that said, the captain turned around and made a cursory glance across the room; eyeing all the bots but frowning when he didn't seem to find something in particular. "One's missing," he said aloud, just now noticing it. "There was a bear animatronic that was here- as according to you neighbors. Now where would that one be? It would make sense if there was a Freddy here to go with your Chica and Bonnie bots. I find it strange you have another Bonnie here too-" He motioned to the hare. "And a... a Foxy? I think that's a Foxy."

"I'm... not Bonnie?" Bonnie said with an uneasy smile. "It was... Bounder?"

"Mm-hm. Right, sure, Bounder," The cop said with clear disbelief.

The atmosphere in the room dropped another couple of degrees, but it wasn't because of Bonnie this time.

The girl meanwhile coughed uncertainly, then asked, "You know the characters, sir?" Her voice definitely held traces of her anxiety. "You don't seem the type to actually care about the old characters."

"Oh, I know them alright. I know them on sight- you could say," He grinned, although there was something cold about it that sat wrong in Roxy's breast. "My grandson went to the PizzaPlex a few years ago. I ordered him a deluxe party package... and it happened to be Freddy's name I dropped," He said levelly, raising a salt-and-pepper brow at the group at large. "So yes, I know the characters. And I know fully well these are no pet projects of yours, Cassie. These are the ACTUAL missing bots from the PizzaPlex, aren't they?"

He didn't wait for an answer; in fact, he glided partway to Roxy and smirked pleasantly; although there was no bemusement in it.

"And I know fully well you ALL are awake, aren't you," he almost flat-out stated instead of asked.

Roxy blinked, and then growled right at his face. The man actually had the graces to startle a bit (ha!) and stumble at the sudden, vehement noise erupting from her voice box. He blinked at the weirdly hostile greeting, but found his calm within a moment. That part was annoying for Roxy.

Just then, Chica rose from the floor like a zombie from its grave; her steely, several-inch long toe talons clinking and sparking on cold cement. Each spark cast her face in stark relief; giving her an ominous look that just didn't fit her usually cheery visage. Monty was rising nearby her too; instantly producing a sub-sonic vibration that rolled the leather of his throat. A true bull gator grunting at the invasion of his territory. DJ meanwhile was heaving himself from his pod akin to a vampire waking from his coffin; his many arms a mesmerizing display as they moved. His real eyes and his shades reflected the same light; giving him that illusionary image of having a multitude of eyes to help concrete the image of his spidery influence.

The hare wisely stayed on the floor, although it had seemed a strange decision to make. Roxy figured it was to make it so that the cops couldn't hold all the cards here. If they think he's defective, then its better that way- for some reason.

"You are, aren't you? You all are the real deal-" The captain went on to say. "The REAL Glamrocks- and YOU-" His gaze cut to Bonnie rather sharply. "You're not just some replica; but the missing Bonnie himself. Am I right in that?"

Bonnie blinked, then slanted a cocky, sideways smirk. He waggled his fingers, his stare suddenly colder than the weather outside as he grinned maliciously at him, "I dunno! Kinda depends on what happens next, compadre. And whatever happens to be your next move."

"I'm curious," The captain calmly said- ignoring the shivering of Rogers and Craigg behind him. "We were missing evidence when it came to the murder of Mister Donovan Cromwell. The manager at the mega PizzaPlex? The staff were saying you did it- YOU were the one who murdered him. And, whether or not you're sentient or not, still makes you evidence or proof of which."

"Hm... how so?" Bonnie innocently fluttered his eyes at them- too much like Bugs Bunny, Roxy internally wondered and fought to roll her eyes at.

"Well, you could start with a confession..."

"Sorry, didn't do it. Man's a waste of effort anyway," Bonnie stared at the ceiling like 'wow. That plain, gray paint job above me is INIFINTELY more interesting than you are. Can you leave now?'.

The captain frowned, then resumed his smirking. Nobody here in this room cared for it- absolutely hating the sight of it sounded more appropriate wording.

"Alright then, deny it. But just so you know," he began again quite calmly. "We're here to make a couple of arrests; and, its interesting to note that miss Vanessa has stolen you lot from the PizzaPlex and Mr. Luis Cabrera has stolen from the Fazbear warehouse for the last while. A coworker of his reported the crime- so don't try to lie about that one."

The bots in the room were still again; but now for another reason. Cassie whimpered and was tucked closer to Eclipse.

"But I'm a reasonable chief, and I'm willing to let them go on one condition," the captain- or rather the actual police chief himself said. "You bots return to your owner willingly, or, I'll have my men head to the hospital and make the arrests right now. Choose wisely."