Author's Notes: Wanted to let you all know ahead of time, that I haven't established a predetermined amount of time since Gregory's adventure into the PizzaPlex until RUIN. We can say several months for the moment until I eventually (or not?) determine what a good time stamp would be. I have my reasoning for this- Just know its character-related, as I can't see Freddy not wanting to leave his friends there for so long in that the building alone characteristically.

Keep in mind I may end up going back over ALL my chapters and proof-reading them. I tend to miss a lot of errors the first SEVERAL passes- yes, several. But they will be all knocked out.

ALSO: I'm going to state now that I believe Cassie's father deceased. If any of you were expecting otherwise, then I'm sorry to disappoint. But with the language she used in describing him in game, it was past-tense. I will assume he's gone. Cassie DOES have family beyond him... but that won't be covered until later on in the story. As a side note, I think I have a story element for his passing here to apply. So goody for me! :D

With all this said, enjoy yourself! Been wanting to upload this other half of the opener. XD

THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN REVISED!

CASSIE

She remembered the first time she met him- he, and the rest of the robots.

In the world above this rotten, festering hell-hole- in the PizzaPlex proper during its prime, that was where her mind was even despite her current situation. She could not help but wonder what brought her here; to this little, hopeless, forgotten hovel at the bottom of the world. But then again, the recollection of the animatronics was making some things horribly and jarringly clear to her now in the wake of that... thing's, attack.

Her father- his love for the robots. His love for the rabbit in particular- the same love that would one day bring her to this very place. His attachment to nostalgia, his eagerness to share the merriment of his own childhood with his daughter- That was why she was here. Because he wanted to share that same joy he experienced with Bonnie Bunny with her.

Yes, Roxy was her favorite NOW, but at some predetermined point in the past, she loved the rabbit about as much as her dad did. He'd once been one her 'favorites' too. Although to be fair, Cassie loved ALL the robots... all but one. Monty was a exception to her rule, but that was a different story.

As to how she met him and the feelings she experienced- she was considering that now with no idea why she was doing so. Maybe it had something to do with the fact she came here for a friend- to save Gregory's life. Perhaps now, in the wake of her fall after escaping the Mimic-thing, she figured her few friendships were why she was dawning back on this-

Or she was literally seeing parts and pieces of her life flash before her eyes. Maybe she was experiencing the lucidity of creeping death and it was in this moment, she was remembering the very thing that brought her to the PizzaPlex in the first place:

Her father's love of nostalgia.

At some point in the past-

They were HUGE.

Of course, her father told her that the Funtime animatronics had been bigger and more intimidating than the Glamrocks. The Glamrocks were friendlier-looking and easily more advanced. They were sized within relatively human proportions and more intelligent; alarmingly so. Standing seven feet maximum for the male bots, and a more modest six-and-a-half for Roxy and Chica (eye-level with some patrons, actually), they were definitely not imposing in the truest sense-

But to a tiny, small, young girl whose absolutely puny for her age- they looked larger than life.

She saw them on stage performing a song together. Glamrock Freddy, Chica, Roxy, and Bonnie, back when he was still around. They looked beautiful with their sleek and shiny exteriors and vibrant colors, and oh-so receptive to the crowd's cheers and adulations. Cassie wanted to get closer to them; to see them up close, but not too close-

But then her father took her right backstage after her first show with the power of his technician's level. He had a high level too, and he abused it in some part. He was able to get Cassie closer than she could ever hope. To potentially get her closer to Roxy.

She wondered about all the bots and the 'big three': Chica, Bonnie and Freddy. Roxy was unusual and PRETTY- she stuck out to Cassie immediately, and the girl was drawn to that bravado she witnessed on the stage-

But Bonnie was a fine showman who always knew how to steal people's attentions with just a wave of his finger.

He was Freddy's HYPE man, after all. He was SUPPOSED to reel in attention. He stole her attention right after Roxy did without even trying. It didn't help that she was enamored with the idea of seeing the very thing her father collected likenesses of throughout her life and beyond that: His lunchboxes, pins, and even a tiny model figure of the classic Bonnie are stored in his bedroom back at the house- complete with a plushie of the Glamrock variant. He adored Bonnie, that couldn't be more obvious.

And she can see why.

He was the same size as the other bots, but his ears gave him the additional height that gave him the illusion of being larger than them. It didn't help that his purple high collar made him broader-shouldered in appearance than even the bear he was supposed to hype up. He moved with prepense and flare; he knew stage tricks and waved in the crowd like he was asking them all to bring it in for a great, big hug. His mild-mannered tenor had a wide vocal range too; meant to compliment his best friend's own and contrast the stark differences in characterization between them; to accent the other. Add to that Bonnie's more hot-blooded color palette and smooth gait, Cassie sincerely could not keep her eyes off him or Roxy.

Roxy had a predatory gait instead; liquid mercury on towering, powerful legs with tiger striped calves. Her mane and tail gave her a larger appearance too- complete with the streak of blaring neon-green a rebellious contrast to the hard, platinum white of her fur. Her talons were more elegant and imposing than Bonnie's too; her boiling, sulfurous eyes accentuated by the markings on her cheeks. Again, not hard to picture why Cassie was drawn to them-

Still, she couldn't help but but feel her eyes go to BONNIE more often than not; even despite the wolf next to him on stage. She figured maybe it was because of the influence he had over her life, and why her father had come to work here. Bonnie was, in hindsight, the larger star that burned hottest and brightest between them. He was a novic torrent of blue and rippling red; too bright compared to Roxy's downier grays and metallic coat.

Dawning back on that simile, she can see why he vanished. It was as they say; 'the brightest stars burn out quicker'. Bonnie disappearing almost seemed inevitable, in some part.

As it were, here she was; looking right at the rabbit himself in Rockstar Row. He was RIGHT there- just watching her. He blinked innocently, tilted his head. His ears flopped in a manner that was actually cute to her- but he looked damn frightening at the same time.

WHY WERE THEY SO BIG?

Cassie swallowed, hands folding into each other and trembling at the knees. She didn't think her father would bring her backstage so fast! She never DREAMED she could get back here. She didn't know he'd been allowed to do that (and she'd later learn that her father can, in-fact, visit Rockstar Row when something's wrong with the tech back here).

Her father had noticed her fascination with Roxy and was going to let her try and take a peek at the wolf while they had the chance- but Roxy was also strongly favored by the crowd. She rushed off somewhere else, likely for a party she was scheduled for- she certainly wasn't in her room. Instead, Cassie and her father had caught Glamrock Bonnie instead just meandering about, muttering to himself and loitering near the display case with the antique bass that once belonged to the classic purple variant of the rabbit. Bonnie was actually eyeing it with some appreciation- something that wasn't lost on Cassie.

Here, he took pause and observed her as well; smiling fully and instantly as soon as he caught eyes with her. Smiling seemed reflexive with him. A second-nature reaction at the sight of seeing a girl like her. His optics narrowed in a way betraying his gentle nature and he pressed paws to his knees, slightly bent to look at her better.

And then he spoke, the sound far gentler than how he commanded attention on stage. So different from how he originally came off as. He wasn't nearly as loud, not nearly as boisterous. He spoke in soft murmurs, diminutive and dreamy-like.

"Oh! Now whose this sweet thing? I didn't think we'd have a little princess here today! She's so cute, she'd make the Disney princesses jealous," he cheered as he swapped his maroon gaze between herself and her father.

Cassie was so thrown by the wayward compliment that she was instantly at a loss for what to say. She whimpered and ducked behind her dad's leg, pulling at his denim-colored trousers and eyeing the GINORMOUS rabbit like he was going to jump that distance in a single bound. Bonnie wasn't more than twenty feet away, but even then he and his ruby-tipped talons was making her nervous- even though clearly, that wasn't his intention. In fact, he couldn't be more harmless- she knew that deep down.

But dang if being near ANY of these guys didn't make her startle a tiny bit.

They were so... intelligent. Realistic. She thought seeing them on stage was strange enough- but she can easily believe they could've been puppeteered by the show team on the third level balcony. That perhaps, they were programmed to behave and react at a certain time and weren't THIS aware-

But she saw, in just that moment of even glimpsing Bonnie by his lonesome, that something was unique with the Glamrocks.

They went beyond normal A.I.

A.I wasn't unusual in their world now, but the Glams were the most extraordinary of them all. That was an absolute. Robots in general can be found in some homes- but NONE can hold a candle to these characters here. Even down to the way he moved- they moved- it was impossibly smoother than the usually jarring movements of typical animatronics. NORMAL bots stop and stall and servos whine audibly with each rehearsed movement- but she didn't see any of that here. Bonnie moved like... a human.

"Go on, Cas," her father said above her. "He ain't gonna bite!"

Why did you have to pick those words?

Cassie watched as the rabbit patiently registered her reticence, then he knelt down like a knight before a queen. His expression was so warm, Cassie could swear she saw something similar in her own father's face each time he tucked her in at night. The expression alone was captivating, even though his plastic brows hadn't (or can't?) move. His eyelids and the position of his jaw did what his brows lacked; his gestures wider and fuller and smoother than one figured possible.

If these guys are scripted, then the engineers and controllers did a REALLY good job of it, she wondered back then.

"I'm so sorry. I don't mean to scare," Bonnie said candidly, resting an elbow on a bent knee. His eyes stayed level with hers, having made himself smaller as well. He held out a single paw- to which Cassie noted no paw pads. "Your dad there told me a bit about you. All good things, I can assure you. He couldn't stop talking about you either... and I can see why! You must be Cassie, yes?"

He knows my name?

Cassie kept kneading at her father's pants, feeling his hand splay across her back reassuringly. He wasn't pushing her forward; just bracing her gently.

She found herself nodding, though the motion was halted.

Bonnie blinked- not that he needed to. The fact these bots blink to give them the illusion of being organic was also interesting. "I'd like to get to know you as well, and not just hear it from your dad," He said, his voice a low, velvety croon. "If you would allow me, that is."

Cassie was watching his outstretched paw warily, also noting the length and size of his talons. She'd seen how deft he was with them when it came to using his bass. Still, one cannot help but wonder what else the talons can be used for. It was scary to note Roxy and Freddy had larger talons. On that note, Bonnie seemed softer than them in some part.

Bonnie noticed her scrutiny and wisely lowered his paw. He stayed bent however, his smile unwavering but somewhat more doleful than figured. He even gave his fingertips a little flutter, "Pretty, right? The color? The nails... Roxy does them for me sometimes- given I don't bug her!"

"Roxy paints... your claws?" Cassie murmured, finally gaining a bit more courage.

Bonnie slanted her a small smirk, "Roxy's a good artist. Not just on stage either- she's got this thing with building carts and paint? Her sense of color is amazing too- she's just cool in general. I ask her to do my makeup all the time. I do hers, sometimes."

"...Really?" She was trying to picture the image of the two enormous bots sitting across from each other, one super focused on applying the eye-liner and blush to the other's face. It was a hilarious picture admittedly.

Bonnie flared his claws a bit more tentatively- the motion choreographed and meticulous. The top of his paw was shown to her, claw tips waggling lazily, "Her salon's got the color I want. I go there sometimes. Like I said, I enjoy her work. It don't seem it, but even us bots like doing up our do once in a while, eh?"

Cassie watched him lower it and he passed her another gentle smile, "Again... I'm not scaring you, am I?"

She found herself shaking her head slowly, steadily moving out from behind her dad's leg.

Bonnie was... now that she really looked at him, pretty. Could a guy be pretty? Was that allowed? Well, no matter what, she thought he and Roxy looked pretty.

Cassie looked around for the wolf again, then turned back to him. She wasn't sure why, but she got the impression that he was waiting on something from her. He was still bent double, on one knee, his expression endlessly patient. Wasn't he busy? No- he wouldn't have been dawdling around the bass, otherwise.

She sighed, looked at her dad again, and seized his hand. She pulled him with her, and slowly stepped nearer to Bonnie. He didn't move the entire time, didn't jump or budge as she inched closer. He only smiled, not reaching back out again immediately.

She remembered looking into his eyes, and finding something very human there. And then suddenly, her fears were absolved.

She reached out for him this time, and he'd gently take her hand with tenderness her own father had. She found no fear in the graze of his talons against her hand; no worry in the fact he would entertain the idea of hurting her. She only looked into his crimson eyes- and she'd find home was a little closer than she thought.

Present day

He once said, "Love is all we have in our darkest hour. Always give back the love you take; because this world doesn't have enough love in it."

She'd seen it, for one moment, in Roxy- when she saved her. She'd seen that love carry the bots whenever they felt their worst and loneliest in this horrid place. Love and the willingness to spread it around was all Cassie had when that THING moved to attack her. Love and sentimentality had brought her here, doomed her, and saved her in equal measure.

In that moment, the memory fogged over and she was once again faced with the unbridled, HORRENDOUS pain in her body. Electrified HELL roared through her leg; leaving her with a continuous, endless, deafening ringing that sang in her cranium and left her largely deaf to the dusty, metallic prison settling around her. It'd take Cassie precious time to realize that she was being repeatedly plunged into blinking blackness every so often- and it wasn't just due to her fluttering eye lids.

The light above (and the only source of it for that matter) was some sort of flickering red emergency bulb. It gave little in terms of visibility; but it's not like visibility mattered too much to her right now- not when something akin to burnt bread soured her tongue and the horrendous sensation of nausea removed most of her faculties. She hated having vertigo, but this case couldn't have been more extreme. It didn't help that even outside of this, she knew, inherently knew, that her right leg was broken. The pain that throbbed in time with her heart beat almost seemed to further cement this reality.

She had no idea how long she'd be lying there in that elevator shaft. Time passed in in pulsing tandem with her frenetic heart beat; only creeping along whenever Cassie took another breath and attempted to extricate herself from the floor of the elevator. She cried on and off; her voice crackly and wispy against the unfeeling, dank, claustrophobic atmosphere. Most of her sobs were feeble moans and whines; tears blazing grody trails down her dirt-caked visage.

Eventually, she found herself curled into a ball; hands groping blindly at her lower limbs and pulling at the fabric covering her right leg. Fingers bit and nails tore into her leggings; her face burying itself in the cold floor as the pressure and temperature seemed to help ground her shakily to the present. She dry heaved, sobbed, cried out- the noises bouncing around the occasionally lit red-hued cage. Total black would constantly consume the elevator with every monotonous blink of the fading bulb.

She didn't hear that thing- that miming bot. She didn't hear it trying to claw its way to her; or bang on the doors of the shaft in general. Nay, it was a lulling silence that permeated the forlorn chamber now; one whose immense presence induced a state of utter hush and held spectral vigil in this pitch crypt. Even now, her Roxy talky was mute; the device smashed to pieces around her; not that she can discern the detail so well. She only knew THAT much from having felt its pieces haloing her whenever she moved or whenever her blurry, tear-strained eyes could catch it in the abysmally weak cardinal light. Her drunken mind couldn't properly focus onto much more than that.

Something else was making itself known to her now; albeit quite slowly. The feeling of welling warmth plunging down her face from areas beyond her tear tracks. Even dazed as she was, she can already assume its blood after getting whammed by the fake Gregory's severed metal arm. She heaved again, another sob escaping her as she wearily cracked an eye into the bleak crimson ether.

The aforementioned arm, whose digits were thankfully blunt (small consolation THAT was) lie literally a couple feet away. Had it not been that way, she figured the bot's arm would've cut her head open from being smashed into her during that screaming descent. She hated that thing and EVERYTHING it was; even though now, the limb was an innocuous, inanimate object lying harmlessly within reach. That copy-cat bot couldn't exactly do anything as complex as remote control it.

And speaking of which... why was it so quiet here? Did that thing LEAVE? Just like that? Why was it not working its way into the elevator to get its intended quarry as it had so desperately before? It tried so hard to get to her not so long ago... what changed? She was lying right there, at the bottom of the shaft within easy reach. The door was solid, as well as the grate securing the passengers... but with enough determination, there's no doubt that animatronic monstrosity could get in- the warped studs bracing the gate were proof of that.

She couldn't ponder that for long without her leg constantly reminding her that its own problem was priority. The sharp pain extending from it rippled into the rest of her; leaving her whimpering anew. Even though she was growing steadily more bereft of tears, still more miraculously shoved their way into existence and ran brown runnels down mocha skin. Beyond her father dying a few months ago, deactivating Roxy and seeing the state of this place, not to mention her inability to properly process what just happened- she just felt choked up in a way that stifled the rest of her tears after the initial pain-induced ones.

What did happen? The drumming throb that synonymously beat in time to her heart pounded relentlessly through her noggin; keeping her from remembering too clearly. She recalled few things, but the entire picture was nothing but a blurry series of rushed events; nothing truly discernable beyond that chase and...

Another bot. Another intervened at that last second to save her-

Roxy!

Roxy had... She'd come down after her, even though she'd been shut down by Cassie's own hands just moments before. She still came, regardless of the advent betrayal Cassie herself doled out. She threw herself at the copy-cat menace with no sense of self-preservation and-

Cassie's amber-kissed eyes went round in their sockets; the girl somehow finding the ability to sob again when her mind arrested onto the wolf animatronic's no doubt timely, selfless, and godsent intervention. She rolled onto her side; carefully doing so while blearily attempting to look up despite her sluggish reaction to the emergency bulb's dull blink. The elevator door remained shut, the halls beyond choked by a stifling tenebrosity that induced and demanded utter silence from anything living. A sort of reverie in the hall of ghosts that put all inhabitants under its spell-binding thrall.

No angry, thumping fake-killer-wannabe-Gregory thing stomping down to find her... no Roxy... no Chica... no anything. Nothing. Literally all the noise Cassie heard was the endless thumping of her pulse in her ears once the ringing died to a manageable level. There was no timely reactivation on Roxy's part, no thumping clump of clumsy bot feet, no whir of servos and rotating brackets, no low-toned thrum of a chest motor- nothing. There wasn't even any rodents to squeak around here. Its almost like Cassie truly was the only living thing for MILES in this underground prison. Perhaps, that really was the case.

The girl huffed again, then let her head thump against the floor once more. Another soundless sob escaped her too-tight chest; shoulders bobbing as she heaved again. She was alone here; utterly and despairingly forlorn in this silent tomb. There was no convenient rescuer beyond Roxy- who could potentially be shut down for good this time. No person BUT Gregory knew she was here- and even if that ass had some shred of decency to call anyone after what he did, nobody will come. Nobody knew of the underground sinkhole beneath the PizzPlex. And even if they did know and could track her down to this literal hole-in-the-wall in the old pizzeria... well, its likely they may run into that copy-bot and run into the same issue Cassie just did. Escape wasn't realistic. Literally the stuff of most horrors Cassie's only saw on the internet and happening to other people OLDER than she was- and they survived only by the skin of their teeth.

But she? She was but a child. Young, pre-teen at best, and inexperienced with the prospect of survival in any facet. Those horrifying scenarios where even adults struggle? Most DIED. And those that got by would forever be changed.

How the in the bleeding hell could she hope to get out of here? And with a broken LEG no less? It just wasn't happening.

She garbled; the strangled sound perhaps a wordless plea; or maybe a name she recalled from the top of her head. She muttered it over and over; a beseeching supplication that begged for the hope of intervention. Roxy had come for her before, but what were the odds she'd do so again now? She'd been beaten by that mocking imitation-Gregory- could the she-wolf even get back up after all this?

No. Again, not realistic. It didn't stop Cassie from hoping something could change.

Hoping.

So there she lay, her head burying itself into the dirty, now blood-splotched floor. Her hands gripped at her injured legs, body curled into a fetal position. It would remain that way for quite a long time to come; and she knew better than to fall asleep now. She's heard somewhere (perhaps school or a book somewhere) that anyone in shock or with a concussion shouldn't sleep. Honestly, she considered it. Only sheer force of will kept her from indulging that idea.

She just lay there for what felt like hours; huffing and heaving every so often with a sharp pain accompanying it. The only noise here was whatever she produced. Her leg continued to throb, her head pounded in sync, the nausea remained. Welts and bruises blossomed everywhere she couldn't reach; the leaky trail from her head being the only thing that stopped.

At some point, she cracked her crusty eyes open. Now her gaze was on the arm again- and the object she realized that lay just next to it: the V.A.N.N.I mask. It also lie within reach, its glowing cerise eyes ignoring the constant flicker of the emergency bulb and maintaining its own steady glow. Unblinking, the mad hatter's lost partner-in-crime stared sightlessly into the ceiling beyond; a condescending, devilish grin glued into an approximation of an unchanging, mocking sneer; smiling wickedly at whatever cruel angel sat upon its throne above in laughing rebellion. The simile was an odd thing to note; not something Cassie would've figured on her own in different circumstances. But now, in the wake of this hellish scenario, she couldn't help but feel connected with that ugly, vile, stupid looking mock-Bonnie mask.

In the choking silence that engulfed her, Cassie just then noticed it was creating its own low, and extremely subtle thrum-

It was thrumming?

Something akin to a hiss escaped it; perhaps it was damaged in its own right after being thrown around the elevator. But even so, the noise felt unsettling after all the silence she's endured. And it persisted in its function despite the abuse its witnessed and endured. It laughed in small, whispery, secretive chortles; the hum a melodic song that beckoned Cassie's finger's towards its off-white, smudged surface.

She didn't know why... but she had to put it on again. Why?

Well, why not?

So she did- not really expecting the mask to help her right now. She lie just outside the V.A.N.N.I network anyway- which stopped when she left the PizzaPlex's perimeter. She wasn't expecting that putting it on would- would-

Oh. OH!

Wait a second. She was still able to access the AR world here! The dying red light of the broken elevator was gone now; replaced by the lazy, lilac holographic smears of digital distortion. The mask sang in her ears; her pain suddenly MUCH further away-

She was able to sit up now- the girl doing just that but in a lethargic manner. She looked around, frowning when she saw the elevator was suddenly besmirched by... handprints? Small ones. Child-sized. They were all over the place; and Cassie knew she wasn't responsible for of them. The sight creeped her out, but as with everything else she's experienced this night, she pushed the observation aside. The door of the otherwise solid elevator was also gone now too; leaving only what appeared to be a digital skeleton of what was once the grate.

She tentatively walked- only to buckle again with an agonized yelp.

YEAH. She was still hurt bad, but the pain was more manageable now. She'd just had to hobble through this. As long as she didn't put too much weight on her right side, she can move a bit and in increments.

She breathed, waited until the pain subsided in some part, then crept to her feet again. She noticed there was nothing on the other side of the door too... it seems the fake Gregory was gone now. And even if it wasn't, Cassie entertained the idea that perhaps she might be invisible to this thing as she'd been with Glamrock Freddy's headless body-

A theory she wasn't willing to test but prayed was the case regardless.

So she moved very slowly forward; breathing in time with each step. It's weird... it's like the mask was helping in another way now: It made task allocation in Cassie's brain somewhat more surgical- precise. Automaton in nature. She was clear-headed; able to compartmentalize her desperate situation and pragmatically move on. She moved like a snail, but a patient snail. And that pace was also quiet; which no-doubt lended her some meager form of cover from this mimicking terror. Not too bad, all things considered.

Once again, Cassie's mind invasively wandered over to the a question she's asked herself earlier: Who would throw this mask away? She couldn't count the number of times this thing's saved her life. Even now, it was somehow... somehow, helping her out of here even though it wasn't exactly tying a splint to her leg. This mentality of hers- it was so dreamlike but restless. It felt more like an oneirodynia; sleepwalking, in a sense. Her pain was farther away- still poignantly there, but certainly more manageable.

How is it doing that?

She almost jumped when a familiar figure popped in front of her eyes. "H-Helpi?" She choked out, her voice more whisper than anything truly audible.

The image of the white teddy bear in overalls was a mixed sight; never anything good or bad singularly- as he always seemed to be 'helping' in weird, and sometimes not-so-great ways. With that said, she wondered if he'll be any real help right now with what she had to ask for.

"How can I assist you?" He said, baby blues an immaculate coolness that stood in gentle contrast to the purple hue of the underground tunnel. He paused, smile a permanent fixture on his perpetually cool visage as he seemed to identify something without her input. "-Oh. It seems you are hurt! I am detecting a major fracture in your leg, bruised ribs, and a possible concussion. Numerous lacerations are also accounted for. I am submitting a request for immediate removal from the sight to be taken to the nearest first aid station and locating the number for any immediate family-"

There was some kind of noise Cassie couldn't make out, but then Helpi continued before she can get any relief from his prior words. "Error: It seems with the PizzaPlex's main server offline, no contact can be made to the outside. All contact must go through verified staff and reviewed before any extraction can be made."

What?

Cassie wanted to bang her throbbing head on a wall listening to this idiot. No wonder her dad griped about getting hurt on the job! They had to go through APPROVAL in upper management for HELP? BULL. She knew the company certainly hated the possibility of lawsuits, but this was cruel and unusual punishment. She couldn't even muster the energy to groan, swear, or vocalize anything else.

"Contacting nearby staff- Error: None are nearby. Contacting any nearby bots for assistance: Error: All nearby bots are shut down and/or in safe mode and/or residual power mode. Cannot connect unless certain permissions are enabled from the host bot in question. Starting from closest proximity: It seems user Id. 47895298, Roxanne Wolf is the nearest bot, but she is currently offline and no query for extraction can be made in this condition. Submitting emergency maintenance report and extraction request. Error: Connection cannot be made-"

Great. He's broken. And on loop. Without her having to SAY anything. Amazing. Maybe HE had the concussion? Could a virtual interface get one? Well, it seemed to be so here...

Not a good time for this. She had to get out of here before that THING came back!

"Initiating contact attempt number 2: Error. User I.D 98423579, or Glamrock Chica is the second nearest bot, but she is currently offline and no query for extraction can be made in this condition. Submitting emergency maintenance report and extraction request. Error: Connection cannot be made-"

Cassie couldn't help it; she wanted to bang her head on the wall for real, but the severed arm back in the elevator has already done enough of that. It didn't help that she wanted very much to just shut Helpi up. Maybe asking him for anything had been a bad idea.

But so distracted as she was, she almost missed-

"Initiating contact attempt number 3: Error. User I.D 01265783, or Glamrock Bonnie is the third nearest bot, but he is currently offline and no query for extraction can be made in this condition. Submitting emergency maintenance report and extraction request. Error: Connection cannot be made-"

"Wait a sec-" She stopped the A.I there, her eyes rounding in their sockets. Her mouth flopped open, breath hot and sharp as it whistled between her teeth. She placed a hand on her chest, slowly inhaled, and whispered hoarsely and slowly so to not incur any stabbing pain again, "Bonnie? You detected Bonnie?"

The program seemed to bobble its head- strange as that was despite it being a virtual interface. Perhaps this behavior trait was coded into him to make him more familiar with his users. "It seems there was several blocks on Bonnie's I.D that were removed once the main server itself shut down. Blocks were initiated by [name redacted]-" This had Cassie raising a brow. "-But recent attempts to sus them out has not been made. As it is, Bonnie had been under quarantine since his removal from the system, upon checking his history. He is now on emergency residual power saver mode after previously being in security mode. He was previously in safe mode at some point too before he got too low in energy. It looks like he attempted several times to reactivate and send distress signals- but all have been sent to non-priority folders by [name redacted]."

Helpi paused again, as if scrolling through whatever Hud he can see on his end. Cassie didn't see it for herself. She did hear once that someone called the police to the establishment after a distress signal was sent out a long time ago- her father mentioned it. But did it come from Bonnie? She wanted to ask, but didn't have the energy for the query beyond what was required of her. Talking was painful as it is.

The other thing that got her attention was the fact he'd been in security mode- that was NOT a good sign. Glamrock Freddy's body likely had been in this volatile mode too- seeing as it attacked her despite the fact she was a child. Forget that he didn't have a head in which to see her and not come out swinging. Security mode was a bit buggy; emphasis on a bit. Reminiscent of DJ's Bouncer mode, but more refined to a minimalist extent. If any of the bots here had to use it- that was definitely bad news. Bonnie must've detected a high-priority threat before being shut down forcibly- The damage he sustained had been proof of that. He clearly had been in a fight for his life.

And the poor bastard lost.

"-He no longer exists in the PizzaPlex's main server too... Strange. This would've made any attempt to find and extract him prove problematic for staff. Add on the fact his location is in one of the established 'safe rooms' in the PizzaPlex. These rooms are never listed on the bots' internal maps in case of mall-wide animatronic malfunction. Search attempts were made by all the Glamrocks, but no one has succeeded. Staff have made attempts as well, but the search was quickly dropped within a few days of his disappearance- And upper staff have discouraged the Glamrocks from further disrupting their own showtimes for this search-"

Called off after a few DAYS?

And Freddy and his friends were impeded on PURPOSE?

That couldn't be more obviously and flippantly fishy.

If Cassie didn't have more pressing matters to worry about, she'd drill the virtual bear further. However, this was information for later (and sadly, not relevant to her predicament, despite how she felt about the animatronics herself). Its weird enough she saw the electric blue rabbit earlier in the bowling alley in a room that wasn't listed in the PizzaPlex's maps but... now she can glean this was indeed sabotage. For what reason? It mystified her. Her dad hadn't been forthcoming about any details on Bonnie's disappearance back when he was around, but it may be because he simply hadn't known himself.

But still, who would do this to him? Bonnie wasn't exactly unpopular. There was literally no benefit to his removal beyond upsetting Freddy and the other Glamrocks and drawing attention to yourself... and seriously, with the damage he sustained, only another BOT could've done this! Who would do this, and WHY?

Whatever the case, Cassie had to forcibly shelve all that. She had so many questions but they didn't matter as much as her situation right now. She slowly inhaled, making sure to keep her breath long and shallow. She then said in a crackly murmur, "Just... scan again. No one else... around?"

Helpi continued to look in the background while Cassie tried to think of something else. She leaned against the wall for support, her eye on the white bear. The little virtual assistant seemed to tither about in this loop cycle of constant error messages; as if his programming had somehow MAGICALLY been jarred by the fall too and not just his lack of ability to connect to the main server. She had no idea how, but she unconsciously wondered if her fall shook up the occipital transmitter in her noggin- and by extension, Helpi.

Maybe not- seeing as suddenly, he told her in what passed as a hopeful lilt, "Connection established! Host server I.D 01485420, Daycare Attendant allowed permission! Proceed with message request?"

"What? YES ALREADY!" Now she was jarred from her sluggish thoughts. She groaned when her chest contracted painfully; aforementioned ribs creaking their protest to her every vocalization.

Eclipse- he had to be pretty nearby if he was within range of Helpi. Had he come looking for her? Its been some hours (she's lost track of how many, to be exact) since she's seen him last. Did he finally peek his head out of the daycare and notice the obvious wreck around him? Surely he's picked up that something was wrong with the PizzaPlex once he realized the Main Server was offline? Had he requested assistance? Or was it time for his routine hourly patrol and only then did he finally notice the state of the place?

Still... he had to wonder pretty far from the daycare in order to be near enough to ping. She wagered he was somewhere between the distant daycare and the raceway. At that point, SURELY he'd been looking for her?

"Message and request for assistance sent. Eclipse is coming to find you. I am sending an emergency ping in which to help navigate him here thanks to the use of your occipital transmitter!"

...There was a GPS-thingy in her transmitter? Why didn't she know that sooner?

She frowned at Helpi, but at least she got the help she'd been needing. There was something odd about the transmitter itself being what it is in nature (not to mention that Helpi forcibly shoved the thing into her face before verifying that she wasn't a Fazbear Entertainment employee). But right now, she didn't care. She was getting help after all! It was more than what she had a few moments ago. She could almost cry-

And then it was shot to hell and back when Helpi unhelpfully added, "Error: Signal interception from subroutine program mimic1 01003747 established. Ping has been disabled."

Cassie felt her mouth shut tight. Subroutine? Program mimic1? What the heck was THAT?

Helpi paused, as if he could almost read her thoughts, "Mimic1 established a connection to my c-c-core code. I w-will have to sh-sh-sh-shut down temporarily to prevent from f-f-f-f-further tampering until new firewalls are estash-tab-tab-tablished. Do not despair, [input username here]! I will be b-ah-ah-back online when the hacking attempt ceases momentarily-y-y-y. Eclipse has a read on your location before signal interru-up-up-up-"

And before he can say more, Helpi just... cut out. The pixeled image of his smiling face went to static, groaned, and flickered like there was bad reception. And for that brief second, Cassie thought she saw his pupils blink once more to bright orange instead of that shared shade of blue he had with Freddy.

Mimic1. What the heck was that thing anyway? Was THAT what that copycat bot was? Her only assumption to link the program with the entity was the name. Its a stretch, but it may not be so ridiculous.

Cassie prayed to whatever god above that wasn't the case though- she didn't need that thing to come back to her NOW if its left in the first place. Its bad enough this 'program' was adaptive, intelligent, and already apparently well-versed in hacking a Fazbear approved program like Helpi despite his own A.I. Just how resilient was this thing?

She didn't want an answer to that prior question, to be honest. Its bad enough it had premeditated its escape by using a gross lure tactic and relying on a voice of sentimental value to another person. How it could've known Gregory was a friend of hers specifically, and how it managed to emulate him to such an extent that she fell far enough in this deathtrap to be unable to escape on her own was impressive- and it said enough of just how vile it was. She wasn't even including what it attempted to do to her upon its freedom. It didn't even THINK about not trying to kill her-

It's been able to detect her outside this place somehow and lure her here. But how? And for that matter, how could it have been watching her make her progress through this labyrinthine sepulcher? How can it have eyes on her? Did it have access to the camera feed up above? No... M.X.E.S had been put here to block it, right? Then.. was it because of the transmitter? The mask-?

Cassie frowned, but she didn't take it off though- despite the possible repercussions. If that THING came back down here, the mask may still be her only way past it. The mask helped more than it hindered- and it's her ONLY form of protection right now-

Especially since her leg will give her issue if she took it off.

With that said, she sidled ever so slowly back to the room where she found that thing- pulling out the fazwrench she's kept tied to her denim belt loop. She fidgeted with the rolling scroller on it, then furrowed her brow anew.

Dammit. With Helpi offline, she was about to ask if he could help her with Roxy... but she supposed she can figure it out once she actually saw Roxy. It wasn't like Cassie wasn't somewhat versed in tech- not after having watched her father toil away in those long hours in his 'man cave' at home and his work here. She can only hope that her skill was enough to help Roxy- and hopefully the wolf wasn't so bad off that she couldn't move ever again. And even if this was the case, Eclipse was coming, right? Maybe she'll a way forward after all.

She just needed to take it one step at a time- and stay QUIET.

That's really all she can do.

VANESSA

Gregory eyed his fazwatch, still fidgeting with the buttons and mentally rolling over what just transpired.

Close by, Vanessa was watching with the same grim expectation as the boy; her complexion a ghastly, blanched mask that made her freckles stick out in jagged relief against her oval face. Her breath was held; beryl eyes rather doe-like in their appearance.

She'd heard that elevator fall- Hell, they ALL did. Their respective guts plunged with it, as well as loopty-looped with the final scream of grinding machine and wailing girl.

Vanessa had been the one giving Gregory the instructions about the labyrinth- as she's been in that hellhole herself a few too many times to start with as Vanny. She'd heard that awful thing on the other side of the fazwatch- murmuring and muttering in a disgusting, crackling parody of her adopted boy's voice. Its almost as if it knew it can rub it's victory into Cassie's face once the cat was out of the bag by continuing to employ Gregory's voice despite its advent freedom. It talked like him up until the final hurdle-

It was absolutely vile.

On the bed-side table nearby, Freddy's usually animate head was about as motionless as a glossy still life; watching Gregory struggle with the fazwatch. He'd been in rest mode originally- charging as he did so thanks to the wire Vanessa tied into his neck connectors and into an outlet in the wall. But now, the shriek of chaos, screaming, and the grinding of metal and mimed voice had awoken the orange bear and put him into Security mode DESPITE his lack of torso. His amber eyes dilated and zeroed onto the device; Roxy's borrowed optics a piercing sheen as it added light to an otherwise already bright computer/office room.

All three watched Gregory's wrist like it was going to spring to life and bite his limb off. All expected- or rather, hoped- to hear anything else in the damning, pregnant silence that followed. But no, the girl didn't communicate again; nor did they get more than low-toned static when Gregory tried to contact her talky again.

After moments like this (not that any of them knew how many), the boy finally gave up. His arms fell limp, his hazel eyes arrested listlessly on the floor. He looked defeated at first- But then he was getting up and snatching Vanessa's nearby duffle like it was his missing backpack. It's filled with her computer and basic house repair tools; and despite being heavy, he also sometimes put Freddy's head in it whenever he needed to take it around with him.

Vanessa meanwhile was up and snagging his shoulder- with Gregory shaking her off with a feral clench of teeth. "What," he spat, eyes briefly wild with barely contained annoyance.

"The hell you even thinking?" She started lowly, her tone icier than liquid nitrogen making contact with brittle metal.

"I'm gonna go save 'er! That's what I'm thinking! Now gerrof!"

"Gregory, you have any idea how stupid that is?"

Freddy was oddly and uncharacteristically mute as he observed them; his eyes tick tick ticking between them both while he wracked his processor for some semblance of English. He was also spending a moment to get his mainframe brain out of the idiot hole that was the blinding fury of Security mode. He could never think clearly whenever that mode was active. He listened to them, weighed what could be done, eyes narrowing as they went off on each other.

"I don't care how stupid it is! S'not like we can just ignore what just happened! We'd need to go back anyways! For Cassie, AND that THING!"

"Oh my god you idiot kid-" She hissed like a spitting cat. "We SWORE we'd never go back there! SWORE!"

"I don't care! I can't be leaving her there like that after I spent all night trying to contact her! Just for it end on, 'Hey, guess what? YOU CAN'T BE FOLLOWED!' She probably thinks I cut the power!" He beat his hands to his tiny chest, "SHE PROBABLY THINKS I KILLED HER! I ain't leaving it to that! To hell with that!"

Vanessa bristled, eye twitching at the equal amount of fire the boy shot off. Maybe they've been living together too long already, but it hadn't been long in coming that they'd rub off on each other- in both good and bad ways. Gregory was already a flippantly disrespectful little urchin even BEFORE she adopted him, but now- It couldn't be more apparent just how much of an impression they leave on the other.

Freddy hummed at something, then produced a grunting, static garbling noise that arrested their attention onto him. Its the only way he can intervene without having to yell; resulting to the weird, glitchy nature of his also-borrowed voice box- curtesy of Chica, however unwilling.

"I believe Gregory's right- and heavens, Vanessa. You know you agree with him too! You are just being difficult because reasonably, you are apprehensive of going back there, and you would not want to put Gregory in harm's way. I am anxious just thinking about it myself!" His eyes ticked to Gregory. "And cub, Vanessa's not exactly wrong about her reservations about this: As this will no doubt be a risky venture. I do not want to say this- and truly, believe me, I REALLY do not want to say this-"

His amber eyes gently swiveled down, his ears doing the same.

"-But we must not march back there with the high hopes that we expect to find her easily- its bad enough my friends-" He produced a groan of static there, imitating a sigh. "-They may still be under the thrall of the tampering of their security mode. Cassie meanwhile has proven resourceful already but... we cannot eliminate that something terrible has happened after what we just heard."

"Freddy- oh my god, YOU of all people saying that?" Gregory put out in a bereaved tone.

The bear quickly glanced back at Gregory, "I am not saying she IS worse off- all I'm saying is that we should not be going back there with the unrealistic expectation that she will be completely alright... I for one usually am the advocate of positive thinking-" He lifted the sides of his muzzle in the best approximation of a smile he could, but the gesture looked strangely strained, "-I believe Cassie may luck out. She has shown incredible dexterity and grit so far. I do not want to believe myself that this would be the end of her! She is smart little spitfire- But I also know better than to expect it will all be okay though. Now then-"

Another ear waggle.

"I do not know about you... but how does a road trip back to the PizzaPlex sound? Anyone?"

Gregory was already reaching over and snapping up Freddy's head with a whip of his thin wrists. He looked the bear straight in the eyes as he said, "Road. Trip."

Then he was tucking the bear in the bag and reaching over to grab a power bank- a device with reserve energy for the bear to use (usually reserved for use of charging cell phones and smaller devices... but Vanessa retrofitted it as of lately for Freddy personally). Thankfully, not having a huge, heavy, hulking body the literal size of an actual bear left Freddy with a lot more energy to spare- he hadn't needed to charge in a WEEK until tonight. With this said, Gregory didn't think they'd need the bank, but it'd help just in case. They could still use their own devices on it too, for instance.

Vanessa huffed, narrowing her eyes at the bag and taking it from Gregory. She got a sharp "hey!" from him before she waved a finger at him, "Look, kiddo. If we're doing this, we're gonna play it safe. You hear me? If something goes tits-up-" She raised a hand over her head and widened her eyes. "-You. BAIL. You hear me? Dip as fast as you usually dip nachos in cheese. Run. Sprint like hell itself is biting your ankles. Ya check-some?"

He was already about to argue back but Freddy coughed and interrupted him from his face-up position in the bag. He told the kid in as gently but somewhat parental, sharp, scolding manner as possible, "Do what she says, Gregory. Your life matters more to us than anything else. Promise you will listen if we tell you to run. Do not promise just her, but also promise me."

"But I-"

Vanessa spat, "You promise, or you stay here and me and Freddy go find Cassie instead!"

"Okay! Fine. I promise. I promise I won't try any heroic stuff and will run when told to," He bit back with a mutinous and resigned look.

Vanessa nodded sharply, then turned and opened the duffle a smidgen, "You go to sleep until we get there. Gregory will beep his watch whenever we need to wake you up."

"Already ahead of you," He gently affirmed. He shut his eyes, powering down until their arrival.

Vanessa turned her attention back to her kid- her kid. Something that still made her head spin sometimes. God forbid he started calling me mom- I'll piss myself if he starts doing that. I ain't ready for THAT term yet- or EVER, she inwardly commented. Same reason he doesn't want me calling him son even though I am his legal guardian now. Is he supposed to count as my son?

Intrusive questions aside, she jabbed a finger into the hallway. "You go pack a second bag. Fill it with the emergency first aid kits I have in the bathroom- you know where. And pack some FOOD. I'm going to help with that too. I have no idea how long we're gonna be there, but we'll likely be doing some physically strenuous trekking. We'll be hungry, climbing over all that wreckage and running from killer bots."

"Seriously? We're going to save a life, and we have to pack a lunch like we're going on a-"

"NOW, mister!"

"Okay! I'm doing it!"

"AND NO SODAS!" She spat after him. "That shit makes you thirstier!"

"ALRIGHT!"

The former security guard went to take Freddy and her emergency tool duffle out to the Freddy and friends themed van; a vehicle she kind of had to take for herself after leaving the PizzaPlex that night. She didn't have a car of her own (too expensive for her meager paychecks at the time), and the vehicle was being loaned out to her during her tenure as a security guard. Once the mega plex closed down, she certainly didn't mind keeping it for herself.

She put the bear on the seat in the front passenger side, then spent the next break-neck several minutes compiling what they need for their impromptu rescue mission with Gregory. She corrected their inventory, double-checked everything, even grabbed their meds (yes, they were on a couple meds, thanks to Vanessa's therapist recommending it). She even grabbed her old security guard hat and slipped it on despite it clashing with her cardigan and casual wear. The hat was a way to show she meant business.

Yes. They should call the authorities. Yes, they should get better help. Yes, they should be more sensible about this-

But Vanessa also knew that bringing all of the police to the derelict PizzaPlex posed a different plethora of problems. The place was falling apart- and the number of rescuers, the noise they made- it would piss off whatever remaining bots were still active in there and it will get more people KILLED- not to mention potentially endanger Cassie more. If they displaced the wrong thing, parts of the PizzaPlex could also collapse. She knew its structural integrity was already shoddy to begin with- but bringing in heavy vehicles and moving some of the debris WILL make some areas cave in entirely. And then there was this other thing-

She's seen it before.

This... thing.

Not the Mimic, but the other thing-

The amalgamation: The Frankenstein'd remains of older bots that'd stare from holes in the lower pizzeria's walls whenever she went about her work as Vanny in the underground. She's heard it slithering around in pipes around her; its white head ducking in and out of the complicated network of gaps spider-webbing the building's foundation and walls.

She knew this abomination was the reason why there'd been the deaths of many innocent construction workers just trying to move things around in the PizzaPlex above its lair. A mass disappearance of workers was reported not so long ago- and the few that ran out of the condemned building were SCREAMING of some tangled monster with mad, cerise eyes and numerous devils thrashing and pulsing off of a singular, endless form. This was an account made on the NEWS and people just IGNORED!

And then Fazbear Entertainment paid a lot of money to have that buried again, as is typical of them.

Vanessa frowned as the recollection came back to her, unbidden. She had no idea how they'd be able to manage to deal with this thing in conjunction with the Mimic and Cassie's rescue. Their best bet was to leave sleeping dragons where they lie and just focus on Cassie and getting M.X.E.S back online so he can do something about the Mimic. This was already a tall undertaking as is.

There was one other thing...

Vanessa didn't want to say it aloud, but maybe, JUST maybe- she can find that awful mask again.

She felt bad about it every day: Leaving it lying around just as Gregory freed her from Vanny's thrall. If any random bystander picked that thing up and put it on, Vanny could very well control them too! She didn't know if HAS happened or if its even possible, but she wagered that the mad-eyed ghost of the PizzaPlex will not lay dormant forever. If she found that mask, she'd make sure to destroy it this time so that Vanny never bothers anyone else ever again. Its shameful enough she hadn't done so the night she left the mega plex behind.

There is plenty of old demons in this closet to sift through... Guess it's time for some spring cleaning, she figured.

It had to be done EVENTUALLY- as Vanessa intended on talking to Freddy about his friends and maybe revisiting it at some point for THEIR expense (as well as his, bless his nonexistent heart). She wanted to at least maybe do them the justice of shutting them down or remotely hacking and rewriting their security protocol so they're safer to approach. Trying to initiate the emergency override for that annoying mode was hard enough when the bot fought back digitally.

As it is, she swore she'd never go back if she had to- but between Cassie, that mask, the Mimic, and everything else, she had to. And even if somehow she didn't have all that to juggle, she'd go back for FREDDY. At least for him- simply because he deserved to have that closure of knowing his friends weren't suffering anymore.

He'd been her biggest cheerleader in the months she'd spent trying to clean her life up. She and Gregory had been settling in, trying to figure themselves out. For the first couple of weeks after they left the PizzaPlex, they'd even been living in the van- preferring IT over the apartment building owned by the same company who doomed them! Vanessa didn't have a house outside of the place- no where else to live. Luis had been kind enough to help them get set up; and then she went back to therapy and been working on getting Gregory to go. Only until recently she succeeded in convincing him to do so.

And all that while, poor Freddy only supported them and never complained about his despairing position in life. He never said a WORD about how awful he felt. How lonely he secretly must be, or how scared or concerned for his friends he must be.

Bless his soul, she inwardly said for the millionth time. He deserves this. He needs this. Best case, we'll end up rescuing them too!

What a great way to start her week- a rescue mission. Its bad enough Gregory had school the next day... but she supposed she'd have to call in sick for him and do the same for work. This couldn't have happened at a worse time. Oh well... That's the price of putting off their final foray into the dead mall. Guess they had to pay the toll eventually. And if a little missed work and school was (hopefully) the price, then she can swing with just that!

She prayed that was it. JUST that. Prayed even though she wasn't religious. She prayed regardless they'd find Cassie okay- prayed that Cassie can learn to forgive him for something he didn't do. Prayed that maybe, JUST maybe, they can save even ONE of Freddy's friends and help the bear find his peace that he so very much deserved.

As Vanessa got into the Freddy and Friends themed van and put it into gear, she wrestled with the fact that she had face down their final demons with an unstable child and bodiless bear in tow. She was scared shitless, but she would be brave for them. Gregory was her kid now, legally. And Freddy? The friend she wished she had back then and so desperately wished she hadn't been so horrible to during their working days at the mega plex.

She will make due on all her past sins- and hopefully not die trying.

She looked down at her phone, texted Luis a parting message while trying to make it sound casual, and tucked the device away. She knew he wasn't going to like this, but she wasn't going to wait around here for him to stop her. This needed to be done and dusted. To end.

She turned to Greg, "You ready, kiddo?"

"No," he admitted, the frank honesty a bit surprising for her as he settled in and pulled the duffle with Freddy's head in it close to his tiny body. "You?"

Gregory's small stature will never not concern Vanessa. Even after staying with her and eating more, he felt like he hadn't gotten more than an inch- hardly that in the time they've known each other. His diminutive size always struct a desperately confusing but borderline maternal knot in her core; the woman endlessly worried about just how stunted he can be due to his stressful life being an urchin. Not for the first time, she wished she knew more about him- as he hadn't been very forthcoming with their therapist or herself. He was rather surreptitious in his mannerisms; even though Vanessa assured him that she'd learn to be more patient with him in time.

For the moment, she only heaved in response, "I... I figure I'm not, but there's another part of me that is. I don't want to go back, but as Freddy said, it's a long time coming. I suppose in some way, at least one of us is prepared for it. Huh?"

He said nothing there, only nodding in a halted manner. He wouldn't outright admit it, but Vanessa can tell he was more nervous than his earlier bravado belied. The fact he was clutching Freddy's head said enough.

"Let's go save her," he eventually murmured. "Her, and maybe... Freddy's friends too?"

Vanessa put her foot on the gas peddle; the diesel spewing bastard bus puffing in response. "Yup- Cassie, and Freddy's friends too, if we can manage it. They're priority. We kick bot ass, take names, and tell yesterday's nightmares where to kindly stick its bullshit-"

"Up its tail pipe?"

"Good boy," she grinned.