Mable: Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Sixty-Seven
There was an eerie silence as Natalie walked Monty and Moon out of the West Arcade. Even though the two were spaced apart, she could somehow feel the tension between them like static rolling on her arms. She was probably the only thing keeping them from going off at each other again. Smitty and Buddy certainly weren't, continuing to wheel beside and behind her innocently, unaware of that ominous pressure in the air.
They only got a few steps into the atrium when Monty suddenly turned towards Moon.
"Hey, hey-," Natalie started to interject. She went completely ignored.
"Ah know what yer up to," he hissed, interrupting the blond's plea.
Moon's red pupils rolled to Monty. His face as static as ever, but the motion giving off disrespect and disinterest.
"Ya know, ever since that kid showed up, weird stuff's been going on. We've been gettin' unexpected blackouts and funky issues with all the hardware, and accidents. A whole lotta serious accidents started happenin' since that night that kid came up in here," Monty said suspiciously. Though his gaze was locked firmly on Moon. Those red eyes staring right over the top of his shades and locking with Moon's own.
Moon responded by turning to Monty and lazily planning his hands on his hips. "And what on earth could you be getting at, hmm?"
"I'm talkin' about Chica," the gator grumbled. He broke his gaze to look towards Natalie, to make it clear that he was telling her as well. "How'd Chica get in that trash compactor? She ain't dumb enough to go crawling around in there where there was open trash and leftover pizza halfa room away. Then the compactor just up and turns on all of a sudden. Even though the button's 'bout, what, five feet away from the door? Behind her. No, we all know that ain't what happened. That was no accident. I think someone pushed her in."
"Tch! Are you suggesssting a child pushed Chica into the trash compactor?" Moon asked incredulously.
"Naw…" Monty stepped forward and jabbed a claw into his chest. "I'm suggestin' you did!"
Moon flinched back in surprise, not expecting the accusation. Natalie's eyes popped open at it, but her mouth stayed shut.
"Are you insane?" Moon threw back.
"It allll lines up. Chica's been on that kid's tail since he's been in here, yer the one built to wrangle kids, and then one night somethin' pushes Chica into that compactor and gets back fast enough to press the button before she gets out. That's you. Yer that fast."
"That is ridiculous!"
"And I know why ya did it too. Not because of that kid, but because of Freddy," Monty growled. "Ya'll hate how the Pizzaplex pushes those two together and ya couldn't stand that she's up on stage with him and yer stuck in some little daycare-."
"That is insane!"
"And ya might have Freddy fooled, but here I noticed that ya didn't seem shocked or all that concerned when Chica got broken up. But you were there, weren't cha? 'Course Freddy would be down there if our girl got crushed, but why were you?"
Moon was so infuriated, so offended by the mere suggestion that he lost his tongue and lost his mind and suddenly it all came out.
"Where's Bonnie?!"
Monty recoiled at the question Moon shoved into his face, along with his own face as he bowed up on the gator. "Wha-?"
"You're going to stand here and point fingers at me, then I'll point them right back! Where's Bonnie?!" Moon repeated. He smacked the gator's already withdrawn hand aside and poked him roughly in the sternum. "We all know, we ALL KNOW, where Bonnie was when he went 'missing'! In Gator Golf, hmm? How odd for him to wind up there. And odder still that YOU didn't see him, as you said. And impossibly odd that you then REPLACED him so seamlessly!"
"That wasn't my fault! They needed a bassist, and they chose me!" Monty defended. He shirked back from the jester in a way he hadn't all throughout their fight and hid his wild eyes behind the safety of his sunglasses. Those sunglasses.
"You loved it! You LOVED sucking up all that limelight on stage, Monty! You LOVE filling in his role! And you LOVE wearing his shades!"
"Oh yeah?! Well, ya'll 'loved' yer technician! Where the hell is he?!"
Moon shrunk at that. "What…?" His voice was impossibly quiet.
"You heard me! How funny izzit that this tech boy is all cuddly with the sun and you hate him and then he suddenly ups and disappears. Leaves- ya'll know none of them employees who 'leave' really leave, so spill! Where'd ya hide the body?!"
"SHUT UP!"
Moon lunged at Monty and nearly had his hands on him when Natalie suddenly threw herself between them. Monty threw his hands down out of reflex while Moon clenched his own and leaned right back.
"That's enough, you two! You're just trying to rile each other up so you have another excuse to fight! Well, knock it off! Neither of you are going down to Parts and Service tonight! And if you are, so help me, I'm going to have Mr. Wight do the repairs!" she threatened. She looked between the two as though challenging them and somehow, unbelievably, she must've been scary enough that they decided not to risk it.
That or scared of Parts and Service. That could've worked too.
After a moment of silence, she took a deep breath. "Okay, now here's what we're going to do. I am going to personally walk both of you to wherever you're going and you're going to cool off. Then you can go do whatever, but if I catch you to pulling this again, I'm going to get Roxy out here and she's going to help me figure out team building exercises. So, unless you two want to be spending a lot of time together, I suggest you stay away. Got it?"
Monty muttered an agreement and adjusted his glasses. Moon gave a 'tch' and turned away with his arms dropping to his sides.
"Okay then. Let's go."
Because it was closer, Natalie opted to go to the daycare first. Largely because she assumed that Moon would cool down the second he stepped into the light and slid down the slide. Though she felt more comfortable with him than Monty, specifically because of what they knew about each other, she thought it would be safest to get the two apart as fast as possible.
Monty stopped by the fountain as Natalie walked Moon into the daycare. He quickly shifted back to Sunny once he stepped through the doors, though she noted that he was unusually quiet through the whole process. He wasn't skipping or prancing either, he just had the same tense walk that Moon had- which was already a far cry from his usual slink. She followed him to the slide.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently.
"I'm fine," he replied tensely. Moon's voice from Sun's body, and he then dropped himself headfirst down the slide. He popped out in the ball pit and she watched him climb out and get towed by his wire up to the balcony before turning and heading out.
The jester stormed through the balcony door and hopped over the railing, landing into the room with a deft thump. The suddenness caught Jake off-guard, and he looked up from control panel- currently sitting cross legged on a rectangular foam pillow off to the side.
"That was quick," he remarked. It took him only a second to notice the rigidness in the jester's movement, his hands clenched tight at his sides as he walked over to the tunnel that led into their hideaway. "Did something happen?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Andrew said lowly. He then threw himself into the tube just as easily as the slide and pattered off.
If everything else had been red flags, that lone comment was a billboard announcing that something bad had happened. Something serious enough to knock Andrew loose from both of his alter-egos.
Jake sat there a moment considering whether to give him his space or follow him, and finally he sat his control panel aside and headed over to the tube.
He climbed through the tube to find Sunny laying out on his belly on the pillows. His legs bent up behind him, feet crossed, but more in stress than relaxation. He watched as Sunny pinched a Freddy hand puppet out of the box and slipped it on his hand. Manipulating the little Freddy's arms with his fingers, making them waggle and pat together. Jake came over and sat on the blankets beside him.
"So, what happened?" Jake asked again.
"Monty," Andrew grumbled.
"Oh…"
Well, that explained it.
Jake sat there for a second. Taking the moment to size up the other and make sure there weren't any injuries that he was trying to ignore. It didn't look like it, so he assumed it was less of an altercation and more something Monty said, unaware that it was a little of both.
He scooted closer and reached over the other to pluck the Monty puppet from the box and slipped it on his own hand. Andrew side glanced towards him as he held it out beside him.
"Mah name is Monty Gator and I've got a whole lotta issues, and sometimes ah do stuff ah don't think through. But that don't mean nothing's wrong with you," Jake mimicked.
Andrew gave a partially amused little 'tch' sound. Though there was a cynicism to it as well. He brought the Freddy puppet over to meet the Monty one and did a rather close interpretation of his voice.
"What do you mean 'Moon pushed Chica into the trash compactor'?!"
Jake's hand paused in surprise. "He said that?"
"He said that," Andrew hissed. "And that's not all he said."
"Uh oh."
"He said he believes I'm hiding Gregory here in the daycare. And that was after he took a swing at me," Andrew grumbled.
"Oh no!"
"I would've handed his tail back to him on a silver platter if Freddy hadn't pulled us apart," he hissed with a little twitch.
"Andrew! I told you to stop engaging with him!"
"He was running after Gregory! What else was I supposed to do?!"
"…And that's why he thinks you're protecting him," Jake deduced.
"Yes." Andrew looked back down at the puppets again. Fiddling with puppet Freddy's hands and making it wave at him. He rumbled despondently in his chest. "If he goes and tells that I was the one who shoved Chica, there will be problems."
"But Freddy knows that's not true. He'll defend you," Jake pointed out.
"Freddy's defense only goes so far. The employees are out to get me. Monty will certainly be out to get me now."
"Like the employees are going to listen to Monty. They don't exactly like him either."
Andrew gave an indecisive hum as he thought back to what else Monty had said. A creeping chill of panic crawled up his back at the thought of bringing up Monty's second accusation. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
"So… what did you do?" Jake asked.
"I asked him what happened to Bonnie," Andrew muttered.
Jake was struck silent for the second time that conversation.
"Ohhh…" He trailed off on that note for a moment, watching the other fiddle with the hand puppet. "…Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. He didn't lay a scratch on me. Not this time."
"No, I mean: are you okay?"
Andrew sat there for a second as though considering it, considering even the stuff that he hadn't told Jake. Then he suddenly slumped down and planted his face into the pillow underneath him. Burying his head into it as he hooked arms underneath it and squished it tighter to his faceplate. That said all that it needed to.
Jake knew Andrew well enough that he had a hunch there was something he hadn't said. He also knew well enough that pushing him was not going to work, especially with him this upset. He moved in and, when given no indication to stop, wrapped his arms around him in an assuring hug. He had to lean on his back to do so, but he knew he wouldn't mind.
They stayed like that for a few minutes. Content to just stay together in their little corner of the daycare, hidden away where they couldn't be reached, amongst the familiar comfort of pillows and blankets, and trinkets and toys collected over their time here. It made it easier to relax when he felt so wound up. Andrew could feel his points sliding further out as the tension let up.
"I danced with Freddy," he murmured. The hoarseness had eased up in his voice.
"You did? How'd it go?"
"It was…" He thought back to it and felt a giddy buzz in his chest, interrupting himself with a little snicker. "…It was incredible! He tossed me up in the air like a pizza and, oh ho, I was SO sure he was going to miss me on the way down- but he didn't!"
He was overcompensating, but Jake gladly played along. He wanted to hear all the juicy details, especially the ones that didn't concern Monty.
"I wish I could've seen that! What else?"
"Then…! Well, then we got stuck in the bathroom for a while," Sunny lamented.
"You did? Wink."
Sunny flipped back his head with a dismissive scoff. "Foxy was there."
"Wink, wink."
Sunny reached back and smacked a hand lazily over Jake's mask. Not enough to push him away, but enough to instigate a swat away. Which devolved into a brief slap fight before ending with Jake flopping back onto the pillows and propping his legs up on Sunny's back.
"So, what was going on with the bathroom?" Jake finally asked.
"So, it was like this-."
To which Sunny lapsed into his story proper, more than willing to recite the while sordid affair. From the moment he ran off that dance floor to the moment he walked out of the West Arcade, and every sordid detail in between. Even the fight with Monty, even all the craziness that surrounded it. Like he was nostalgic for an event that happened only a little while ago, building it up as though telling a story to a group of wide-eyed toddlers.
Anything to keep his mouth racing and his mind quiet.
Forget Monty. He didn't know anything.
He didn't know anything.
…
These restraints were new. Clever, but Moon wasn't going down without a fight. He kicked the scrawny technician trying to come at him directly in the chest and even at this poor angle knocked him right back into the wall of the repair capsule.
Panic erupted around them. Everyone just so shocked that the restraints didn't magically stop him from lashing out. Yelling back and forth about what they were supposed to do now, if they could authorize a controlled shock. Moon had been shocked before, but he was too wound up to be pacified by a vague threat passed around by people outside of the repair module. They were prepared for him to be a problem, so that's what he was going to give them.
They overrode the lockdown procedures and a couple of other men tried to step in and subdue him, to no avail. He continued to lash out in every direction. They sent a female technician in assuming he wouldn't fight a lady, but a quick kick in her general direction made it clear that regardless of gender, age, or threats, Moon wasn't going down without a fight.
He didn't agree to this upgrade. He didn't want it. He didn't want them to touch him.
"What's going on?!"
He caught a familiar voice past the others and for a moment he was alone in the repair capsule. The door shut behind them, but he could hear the conversation outside the windows as he took a moment to rest.
"I told you: I'm the only one who works on Sun and Moon. Especially Moon. End of story."
It was the first time he ever sounded this upset.
"If the update was that important, then you should've called me first. I'm here until seven!"
There was more discussion before the door opened and someone walked in. Moon caught sight of a familiar face and turned his head away defiantly, trying to cover his embarrassment. Especially when the technician leaned down beside him- on his opposite side- as though trying to stoop down to his level. Patronize him, like Moon was expected to do to children once the daycare opened.
"I'm here, Moon. Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything, and they're not either," the technician assured him. "We're going to get Sun down here and then we'll take it from there. How's that?"
Hearing that Jake was being brought down both terrified and assured him. He didn't want him being led around by these humans, but also it hurt being away from him. It made him feel entirely alone, vulnerable. Empty on the inside.
Moon didn't answer but the technician didn't seem surprised. He sat there a little while, patting his hands rhythmically on the side of the chair, and eventually tried some small talk.
"You would not believe the size of the scorpion I found in my kitchen last night. It was about this long; it had a stinger this big."
Moon gave a dismayed side glance as the technician's hands posed over his body, separated fingers showing what he deemed an insignificant length between them.
By the grace of something, Moon was able to withhold through the mindless chatter until a familiar yellow face appeared in the window. Jake waved at him on the other side of the glass, and he subconsciously leaned back towards him.
He vaguely noticed the technician talking to the others.
"Is this a mandatory update? Can we do this later?... I can bring him back myself, I just need to know if upper management's going to let me… Alright! Let's get you back home, okay?"
He could've lashed out the second the restraints came off, but he didn't. Not just because he didn't want to risk it either. He didn't know why. Maybe out of exhaustion. Maybe out of some sort of reluctant appreciation not being withheld by his pride.
The technician took his arm to help him off the chair. Moon snapped his head towards the man with irritation, only to see the technician giving him a beaming smile and snapping his head right back away. He didn't like the weirdly self-conscious and small feeling a smile like that made him feel. Weak, pitiful. He felt downright pathetic as he stepped out the chair and slipped out of the module behind the man, soon afterwards reuniting with Jake.
He should've been happy; he had gotten what he wanted.
Yet instead, he just felt weird.
The walk back to Monty's green room was an awkwardly quiet one. The only exchanged conversation being when Natalie asked the gator whether he wanted to go to his room or Monty Golf. Monty chose his room and off they went. Once they arrived, he slinked inside and Natalie was able to catch a limited glimpse of how it looked. Largely because the lights were off, but she could make out at the least a cracked vanity mirror.
"Thanks fer the lift," Monty muttered.
"Don't mention it. Umm… Can I ask you something?"
"Yer gonna ask me 'bout Bonnie. Well, forget it. Moon's full of it," the gator growled. Just barely holding back a snap he might've directed at anyone else.
"Actually, I was going to ask you about this missing technician I never heard of before."
"…Oh… Yeah, ah can see why that got yer attention." Monty dropped back onto his couch in the semi-darkness. It creaked under his weight but remained largely invisible, with Monty only still in view because of the light reflecting on his casing. "Whaddya wanna know?"
"Anything you know. I heard there were some employees that quit unexpectedly."
"And that's a whole lotta bull. I've heard them talkin' when they don't think I'm listenin'. That techie who was workin' with Sun and Moon went missing. Nobody knows where he went. The higher ups say he quit, but nobody under then heard or seen a word of it."
"That's… extremely suspicious," Natalie quietly agreed.
"And that ain't the worst of it. Don't go talkin' 'bout this or yer gonna get fired, but there was a big ol' construction accident when this place was being built. Scaffold fell. Buncha people got hurt an' one of the foremen disappeared. Didn't even get to search for him before it was called off and said that he had been let go or quit or somethin'," Monty explained lowly. He leaned forward as he added in, "It happened down under Roxy Raceway. Where you can hear all that noise."
"Roxy Raceway?" Natalie asked in confusion.
"Yeah. Ah think they're hidin' somethin' down there. Funny enough how that's where the accident went down."
Natalie was reeling from this rather upfront information from the last person she expected. "And you just heard this?"
"People think I'm stupid. They don't watch what they say around me," Monty explained.
"This is insane… Not that I don't believe you, but Wight- Dad Wight- Wight said that people were leaving. And he's an awful liar because he totally fumbled the ball trying to convince me that Bunnie Bowl wasn't Bonnie Bowl."
"A lotta people can look ya in the face and lie here. All they care about is what they get out of it," Monty replied. He slid down his shades to look over the top at her. "Speaking of which, how's about you do me a small favor for telling ya a story?"
Natalie quirked a brow. Monty didn't elaborate. She crossed her arms, "You could've just asked me for something, you know. But okay, Mister Informant, what's your price?"
"Ah need some passes," he replied. He pushed his sunglasses back on. "They stopped givin' me ones to hand out to the guests. I need as many as ya got."
"Well, I don't have any. Got any idea where I could 'borrow' some?"
"I like the way ya think. Don't worry 'bout the pass machine. I know they got some hidden at those check-in kiosks, I just can't risk tryin' to break in there. They'll know it's me."
"I'll take a look. You sit tight," Natalie said.
As she left, Monty laid back on the couch and kicked his leg up on the back, turning himself enough to allow his tail to stick out beside it. He still felt hot and itchy after the fight with Moon, but his fans had finally kicked off. Sometimes just hearing his own sounds irritated him so this was the best time to get in a nap. He didn't expect the blond back for a while.
If she pulled through, he was going to owe her big. It would be worth it though to get that bombshell redhead back.
It didn't take long before he began to zone out.
…
Monty was roused out of his nap by voices outside of his trailer. Half-awake, he lazily moved his legs to the side and off the green directly in front of him, propping one up on the fake counter to the right of him. This was perhaps the worst place to take a nap, but beggars couldn't be choosers when it came to the golf course. Especially when he wasn't lucky enough to get some sort of luxury green room to snooze in.
It was better than the treehouse at least; too small to squeeze into and even then, it was just a flat wooden floor. At that point it would've been better to just sleep in the fake plants. Compared to either of those, at least the trailer was a little less degrading.
Monty was just about to fade back out and leave the others to their game when a voice suddenly cut through the trailer.
"Eh, what's up, Croc?"
Monty slid open an eye and rolled it to the open door to see a familiar head sticking in the doorway. Ears cockeyed and sunglasses slid down to his nose to reveal pink-red eyes tilted with smugness. His mouth open in a playful grin.
Monty gave a low grumble of, "What do you want?"
"Me? I have no idea," Bonnie replied sarcastically. He stucj his golf club through the doorway and poked Monty's leg, the one still on the hole carpet. "You're sleeping on the green."
"Ya just noticed? Shoot around me."
"Can't you hold your foot up?"
"I could. I ain't."
"Ooookay," Bonnie stretched out. He slowly pulled himself back out.
Monty huffed and readjusted himself. He was barely squeezing in here as it was. They were lucky he wasn't blocking the door.
When all of a sudden, a golf ball flew in, pinged off something, struck him in the snout, and flew off somewhere. Monty's eyes shot open. That was on purpose. With a budding bellow, he rolled over onto his knee and looked out the door- ready to yank that golf club out of Bonnie's hands and thump him right between the ears with it.
Or he would've if it wasn't Freddy posed like he had just shot the ball in and was currently staring aghast. Bonnie stood innocently by his side with a smug look- scratch that, Monty still wanted to thump him.
"Monty, I am so sorry!" Freddy gasped in apology. He quickly pulled the golf club up to his chest with eyes filled with remorse. "Are you alright?"
Monty might've shredded through Bonnie, but not Freddy. He was fresh. Still awkward and clumsy, and new. No amount of programming fixed the brain fog of waking up and being alive, just time. Monty could forgive that if only because he sympathized with him.
Monty himself hadn't already been expected to walk around and learn the ropes when he woke up. He hadn't even had his shell on yet.
"Nah, yer good. But don't do it again. Ya watch before ya swing," Monty corrected. He then readily turned to Bonnie, "Mouth closed."
"Yes, Sir," Bonnie saluted.
Monty finally got out of the trailer. It took a little effort, but he had done it a few times before and knew just the right way to twist and slide his body through that doorway.
"Where's Chica an' Roxy?" he asked. Specifically Roxanne, she was the one with the most braincells of the group.
"They are still over on hole one. Roxy has decided to get a hole in one on each hole and she… has been having a little difficulty," Freddy admitted.
Good ol' Roxanne still fighting programming itself to be the best as something she wasn't even supposed to do. This fiercely competitive side of her was going to lead to a lot of unneeded do-overs.
"She's gonna be here a while."
"Well... Perhaps."
"Roxy ain't built to be hitting hole-in-ones. Good on her if she does, but she's here to race. She's built for speed, not fer slowin' down to line up shots," Monty explained.
He held out his hand. Freddy handed over the golf club. He held out his hand again to Bonnie, waited, then tapped his fingers impatiently. Bonnie rolled his eyes and handed over his golf ball.
"Never practiced a day in my life," Monty remarked as he stepped into position. He dropped the golf ball and positioned it onto the mark with the club, then leveled out in preparation to swing. "And I never lose."
He knocked the ball into the trailer, bonked it across the edges of the hole, and stepped aside to watch it roll in for a perfect hole-in-one. Monty wasn't surprised and gave no cheer of victory, instead puffing up his chest- in theory- and turning back to the two.
"Golfing, racing, shooting lazers; we're all built with that one trick," Monty explained. He then waggled the golf club at Bonnie. "Except Gutter Ball here."
"Ha ha ha ha. Funny," Bonnie said humorlessly.
He then reached in to grab the ball out of the trailer before following suit and hitting it just as Monty had. It hit the edge a little too hard and went over into the trailer.
"Hold on. Do-over," Bonnie requested. He hurriedly picked the ball back up and aligned it back at the beginning. Then he gave it a more careful whack.
The ball bounced around a bit before slowing to a roll and slowly, inch at a time, slowly rolled itself into the hole. Another hole-in-one.
"Ha!" Bonnie cheered in victory. He elbowed Freddy with an eager grin. "Not that tough."
"It's easier when ya got walls to bump off'a," Monty replied.
Bonnie sent him a look which Monty snorted at. He handed Freddy back the golf club, offering the handle to him.
"Finish up, Fazbear. Sooner ya'll get done with this hole, quicker ya'll get out of here."
"Aww, come on, Monty. You know I only come to see you," Bonnie said with a coy little waggle of his fingers and a wink. "I dig the whole bumpkin thing."
Monty gave an impatient huff at his antics. Bonnie only grinned, still as smug as ever.
Monty huffed, wheezed on the heat building up underneath his casing. The panic setting in as his fans struggled to fight back the fever pressing at his metal and pulsing in his head, a dull ache. He turned over on his belly and rested his head on the arm of the couch, but there was no escaping the feeling crawling inside of him. He could see the warnings popping up behind his eyes, garbled and glitched.
He dragged his claw down the couch and felt the fabric tear under his claws, releasing some of the tension but very little. He turned his head into the couch and was rewarded with his sunglasses pressing into his eye. No, not his sunglasses. Bonnie's.
With a swing of his arm, Monty launched them halfway across the room behind him and continued to thrash and claw at the couch. Working out the heat pounding in his head and through his eyes and waiting for the fans to do their job. Then laying there with his mouth ajar feeling the heat rolling out over his tongue. The fit was over just as it had begun, leaving him in a distant fog. The edges of his vision still corroded.
He wasn't sure how long he spaced out before he heard a knock on the window. He pushed himself up off the couch and onto his feet and made his way to the door before Natalie did. It opened automatically to reveal the blond in question, and she brandished four passes. They weren't golf coupons either, they were meet and greet passes. He nearly snatched them out of her hand in disbelief.
"How'd you get these that fast?" he asked in shock.
"I stopped by the check in counter on my way out- the one over there that comes into Rockstar Row- and what do you know? They had a ton of them. I didn't take all of them so they might not notice, and if anyone does, I'll fess up to it," Natalie said proudly.
"Ah really 'ppreciate it," Monty said thankfully. He looked down at the passes for a long moment, feeling tired and hazy, and then looked back up to her. "Ya know, yer too good fer this place."
"Don't say that. I'm not…" Natalie bit her lip as she considered her words. She exhaled and gave a much more adamantly, "You guys deserve better."
"That's real sweet of ya…" Monty trailed off. After a moment he began to stare off at the floor like Natalie wasn't even standing there.
Realizing that he was zoning out again, she took the opportunity to try and lighten the mood.
"Then you can make it up to me by showing Louise a good time," she offered with a smile.
"Don't have to ask me twice," Monty snorted.
"In fact…" Natalie held out her hand. "Give me one back. I'll give it to her."
He did and she slipped the pass into her pocket. Then she looked back up to Monty.
"I guess I'll be moving on. I should probably start looking around for that kid," she said.
"Keep a close eye on the daycare."
"I always do," she replied. This roused an amused rumble out of him, and she turned to leave. "See you later, Monty," she called back with a wave and then walked off with Smitty and Buddy.
Monty didn't reply but she could hear the squeak of his nod before he hid back into the darkness of his room again. He eyed the leftover passes in his hand before stashing them away where no visitors would be able to find them.
They meant more than just a visit; they were ticket to the only freedom he had. A taste of the outside world wrapped up in pretty dresses and batting its long lashes. He would hoard them as long as he could, those glimpses of something beyond the routine.
Because when he was looking at Louise, he couldn't see Bonnie. He needed more of that.
He didn't pick up the sunglasses until the Pizzaplex opened.
Somehow the rest of evening went without a hitch. Something that Freddy was quite relieved over. No signs of the dancing rabbit lady, no more blackout except for the hourly recharges, and he, Foxy, and Gregory had gotten plenty of time to explore the arcade.
But Freddy was a bear of his word and packed it in before it got too late. Gregory tried to work in a little more wiggle room, but Freddy wouldn't budge and soon the two of them and Foxy were heading back to the green room while the others headed to the daycare. They got there unimpeded and Foxy stayed in the green room while Freddy walked Gregory into the back room. They were almost at the recharge station when Moon sidestepped out into their path.
"Jussst in time," Moon remarked as he looked between the two before beckoning. "Come along, it's time to get ready for bed."
Gregory was slightly peeved that Moon was intending on treating him like a child- a far reach from Freddy who didn't feel the need to ask him to do so like a little kid- but he didn't put up a fight. Largely because after hearing Moon's brawl with Monty earlier, he wasn't sure if he wanted to test pushing his buttons. He wouldn't go so far to say that he felt nervous around Moon, but he preferred patronizing Moon over angry Moon.
He gathered up his pajamas, lightning bolt decaled toothbrush, and Freddy branded bubblegum toothpaste and climbed into Freddy, who then carried him out to the nearest restrooms so he could change and brush his teeth.
A little while after they left, Foxy got bored and turned his attention to the only remaining person and headed into the back to see Moon. He found him trying to fix Gregory's messy blankets into a somewhat neat pocket.
"Natalie letcha off the hook?" he asked.
"Of courssse. She knows I only do what is… necessary," Moon remarked. He twisted his neck back and looked at Foxy with a tilted face. "Wrangling wild animals."
"I saw it fer meself… Heh, saw ya wranglin' in Freddy too," Foxy said slyly. Moon straightened abruptly. Foxy didn't know if it was out of surprise or offense, so he raised his hands. "Easy. I'm just yankin' yer anchor."
"Tch. I appreciate you keeping an eye out for him," Moon replied sarcastically.
It was now that Foxy noticed that he had been carrying books under his opposite arm as he sat them down on the floor. He came over and crouched down beside him, lifting one up to look at the cover. It was a Freddy's themed storybook titled 'Roxy's Big Spill' and depicted Roxanne Wolf snapping on a pair of yellow rubber gloves and wearing a purple bandana standing over a racetrack covered in oil. Far behind her Freddy and Monty could be seen watching with comically dumbfounded looks.
"He likes Roxanne?" Foxy asked.
"He does. She's very popular with the kids, and she hasn't been very active in searching for him," Moon explained.
Foxy gave a hum of understanding. He looked over the cover of the book before giving an amused little chuckle.
"They used to have these back at the old Freddy's. My brother had a stack of 'em. Our father used to bring 'em home from work," Foxy remarked. He hummed thoughtfully. "Wouldn't take much to write one of these. Maybe it's time I penned some 'o my many adventures and had 'em printed up all pretty, stuck 'em in the Prize Corner and sell 'em at a discount. 'Er hand 'em out to kids who I catch readin' 'em."
"You should. It is important that children are encouraged to start reading young. Pity that many of my naptime nightshades are too young to read on their own, and they hardly listen to me," Moon murmured out the end. "Your father worked at Freddy's?"
"Not just that, he owned Freddy's."
"How very-." Moon cut himself off abruptly. He tilted his head towards Foxy with his eye lights narrowing as though he was thinking. "Did you… Which Freddy's did he own exactly?"
Foxy could see the gears turning in his head- he could practically hear them- and he knew this was the point where he was either going to blow it off or be bluntly honest.
"Yar, the same one ye went to."
"Is that so?" Moon inquired. "Do you remember a naughty teenage boy in a Foxxxy mask who might've- oh, I don't know. Picked on a few kids, gotten himself into trouble, perhaps hmm?"
"That depends…" Foxy dragged out. "Do ye remember that time I dumped that trash o'er yer head?"
"So that WAS you!" Moon shouted and shot up to his feet. Hands thrust down at his side, voice shooting up back into Sun's range instead of Moon's typical grovel. That might've explained the little points edging out of his shuddering faceplate. "I knew it! From that moment that clown was making all those weird comments, I knew something was up! You've got a LOT of nerve!" Moon hissed. Or perhaps he had fully turned into Sun now, looming over the pirate.
"Hey, take it easy! I might've been a little screw-up, but ye weren't all sunshine and rainbows neither!" Foxy defended. He had to lean back on his haunches to get a little distance between them. "Matter o' fact, I put that garrrbage can over yer head 'cause ya slapped me brother in the face with a greasy slice of old pizza! And ya picked the cheese off first!"
"Oh ho ho, you were way worse than- did you say brother?" Moon pulled back. The gears were turning again, his ticking stilling and then picking up with realization. "...Was that Mari?" he squeaked.
"Mm-hmm."
"But he couldn't possibly remember-."
"He does."
Moon sunk further back into himself, to which Foxy gave a dismissive wave.
"But don't go get twisted up 'bout it. It's all water under the bridge! Just don't bring it up."
"How very soothing," the jester muttered. "And who exactly told him who I was, Charlie? Jake?"
"Coulda been either. Iff'n I be so bold, how'd ya end up in here? In that?" Foxy gestured up and down to his self.
Moon tsked but decided to let his question go. He crouched back down and continued fussing with Gregory's things as he explained.
"Fazbear Entertainment came to reclaim what they owned in a warehouse Jake and I called home. They found us bound in one form, lying broken and forlorn, and planning to scrap us they brought us here. Far from freedom and the home we held dear. And down in the basement, in the dark and the gloom, we found the bodies of the Sun and the Moon. Our souls were sewn to the bodies two and our lives were born anew, and now here I am."
"I see," Foxy said. "There a reason ya said that in rhyme?"
"I'm getting back into character," Moon dismissed.
"Jake from the old Freddy's too?"
"He's is not. Though Jake's story is not mine to tell… They're here."
"Aye, I hear 'em," Foxy said. He stood back up as Freddy and Gregory came in once more. Gregory now in his pajamas and ready for bed.
Foxy walked back out while they continued their nightly ritual with Gregory. Which involved Freddy sitting in for one of the bedtime stories, playing off Moon as the inquisitive listener since they both knew Gregory wasn't going to let himself seem that interested. While Foxy could only vaguely hear their voices through the wall, it was nice to hear. Very quaint, very assuring in a weird way. Like when he saw parents playing with their kids at the pizzeria.
In the meantime, he sat down on the couch and kicked his feet up on the table. Arms crossed, legs crossed, relaxing in the green room and reminiscing on a little of tonight's events. It was weird to think that it felt so long when it was still so early. Or at least, earlier than his usual nighttime romps with Freddy.
Speaking of Freddy, it was about time he got to the bottom of what was going on. After some consideration, he deemed that they had enough good times to balance out the near disaster earlier and decided to go along with asking him about it.
It wasn't too long before Freddy returned, leaving Moon to continue reading in the other room. He turned his attention to the pirate on his couch.
"Now then, would you like to play some Street Skate Superstar?" Freddy asked. Rubbing his hands together before gesturing one to the arcade machine.
"In a bit. First thing's first: is there somethin' ya want to talk about?" Foxy asked.
Freddy caught on quickly. He sighed a little, bringing his hands back together and rubbing them slowed, almost nervously.
"We don't hafta," Foxy offered.
"No, no! I… do want to. That is part of the reason I invited you here. Not for me to worry you with my problems but to perhaps get your… opinion on some of my thoughts," Freddy explained. He came over and sat on the couch beside Foxy. Almost immediately slouching into himself, his hands resting on his knees, his ears drooping. "I do not think Gregory and Moon will hear us…"
"Nah, doubt it. Go ahead, Freddy. Floor's yours," Foxy offered.
Freddy made a noise like a deep breath along with mimicking the motions of doing so. He looked down at the bowling ball to the left of his foot for a moment, a decal of his own face staring back.
"Foxy…" he began quietly. "…Something is wrong."
"With you or here?" Foxy asked.
"Me. There is something wrong with me," Freddy clarified. He slouched down even more with a guilty look. "I am not entirely… happy. With how things are at the Pizzaplex."
Foxy's eye widened a little in surprise. It was such a simple comment that he shouldn't have been shocked and yet hearing it felt so out-of-character. He slid his legs off the table and planted his feet back on the floor.
"Everything is going fine. Yes, Chica is still upset with me. I do not know how much she remembers of her accident, but she is still upset with me. She has lost her voice too… It is terrible, but she is here with us. They could have replaced her, but they did not, and I should be happy for that. I am also glad that Gregory is here with me now. I do not have to worry about when he eats or if he is taken care of, because I have been taking care of him to the best of my abilities. He has been eating more, he has clean clothes, and he has a place to sleep where he does not need to worry about being found… And yet still there is something wrong with me. I feel like there is something wrong."
"How so?"
"I cannot explain it, but… it is like the weight of the world is pressing down on top of me. I am fighting to keep it up, but there is also this… emptiness inside. Like I am missing something, or that I want something, but I do not know what it is," Freddy explained solemnly. "It is also becoming more apparent with Chica and Sun and Moon that there are some fundamental flaws at the Pizzaplex. Perhaps it was naïve of me, but I always thought of us as the stars of the show. That we were celebrities- that we were equals to the human staff at least… But I am beginning to notice that the way the employees treat us are not like the ways your employees treat you, Captain."
"What do you mean?" Foxy asked quietly, uncharacteristically gently.
"They… I am sorry to say this, but I do not think they care about us as much as I originally thought they did. At least, they do not care whether we are comfortable or doing well. Their only concern is that we are able to perform. Elsewise they would have cared about Chica's feelings instead of giving her a beak that could not open. I understand their way of thinking- if she cannot open her mouth then she cannot eat, and then she cannot risk getting hurt again- but it seems… cruel! Is that wrong?"
"That ain't wrong."
"And Monty. Monty borrowed some passes to hand out and they were very harsh with him, and then when he, erm, when he began to use some inappropriate language at a rather substantial volume, they became afraid that he was going to do something and discontinued meet and greets for the rest of the day. That seems awfully unfair. It feels like a punishment more than for his or their protection."
Freddy trailed off for a long moment. Foxy reached out to give him a firm and assuring pat on the shoulder and it ended up encouraging Freddy to continue.
"They have also… corrected me a few times," he admitted.
"What does that mean…?" Foxy asked.
"Corrected my behavior, I mean! I was not implying that they did anything else, like an, err, update of my… being," Freddy awkwardly defended. He soon gave up on that and explained. "Recently there have been complaints that I have not be present for enough games of Fazer Blast or have greeted enough customers in my assigned area. Perhaps I have been distracted with everything that is going on. There was also an embarrassing incident a few days ago. I know I should not have, but I went off of schedule and visited Sun at the daycare. I distracted him from his work and overexcited the children, and all it succeeded in doing was disrupting the birthday parties taking place in the party rooms. Including stealing the spotlight away from Roxy."
Realistically, Foxy shouldn't have been getting worked up at this. For years he had been treated like just a tool in a pizzeria. That's just how it was. To normal humans they were just robots set to sing for kids. Though perhaps it was the fact that Freddy's had put on so much of a ruse with the green room and the animatronics being allowed to freely walk around that someone- he- could've easily bought that they were treating them better than Freddy's used to. Hearing this shouldn't have made him angry, but it did.
Freddy was so obedient, there was no reason to not be patient with him. It hit a raw nerve.
"But that is not all that is on my mind… the employees have become a little more aware of Gregory's presence. That is, he has told me that he has gotten recognized. If they found out that he was staying here in the Pizzaplex, they would…" Freddy cut off with a sigh.
"Aye, they would take him away," Foxy finished for him.
"They would… I know what I am doing is wrong, but the thought of Gregory being taken from me and put back into whatever situation he came here to escape… It terrifies me. I am less worried about my punishment, though it will no doubt be no less severe."
Foxy noticed that ominous tone. "What would they do, Freddy?"
"They would replace me," Freddy quietly admitted.
"With who? The DJ?" Foxy scoffed.
"No, I mean… hmm…" He considered how to explain it, rubbing his chin before lifting a finger as though having an idea. "Imagine I am a pizza. Chica, Monty, and Roxy too. We are all different kinds of pizzas. I am pepperoni and cheese, Chica is the Barbeque Special, Monty is the Meat Lovers, and Roxy is Veggie Pizza… Or perhaps Monty should be veggie since he is green- That does not matter. The point is that we are all pizzas. What makes us unique is our toppings. Whether it be meat or cheese or vegetables or sauce. Underneath all of that, there is a crust underneath. You could take any crust and make it into any pizza. It is the same with us and our endoskeletons."
"…Freddy, I don't know what yer tryin' to tell me," Foxy bluntly stated.
"My toppings make me Freddy. Underneath I am the same base as all the others. You see me as Freddy Fazbear, I see me as Freddy Fazbear, but the truth is that I am not. If they remove my casing and enhancements and put them on another endoskeleton, he will become Freddy and I will be an endoskeleton once again. I was long ago, though I do not remember it."
All the humor was sucked right out of the conversation, along with Foxy's stomach if it was still there as he listened to Freddy very casually depict how easy it was to replace him. He made it sound so normal that it gave him whiplash.
"…You think they'd do that?" Foxy asked, his voice flat and his eyes wide. His patch popping up somewhere amidst his realization.
"Erm, well I would hope that they would not. It is standard protocol that they only change out an animatronic when their endoskeleton is too damaged to function properly, and with our state-of-the-art Parts and Service center that is very unlikely to happen!... Unless they deemed me too dangerous due to my own actions. With the history you have spoken of, and the guests have whispered of, I do not think they would react well to finding out that Freddy Fazbear is hiding a child. They may think I kidnapped him."
"They ain't gonna think that, but… Yer right. It's too dangerous to take the risk. Ya can't give 'em the chance to pin nothin' on ye," Foxy doubled down. His voice growing as his neck twitched subtly.
"I will not. Not just for my sake, but for Gregory's as well…"
"It ain't gonna happen, Freddy," Foxy said sternly. As though attempting to shut down even the idea of it.
Freddy could tell Foxy was upset. He couldn't help but feel guilty for it, like he had spoiled their visit, even though he knew he had wanted honesty. So, he decided to give him a little more honesty.
"I missed you," he admitted heartfeltly.
The pirate was almost caught off by it, but he covered with a cool chuckle. "Don't get soft with me, Fredbear."
"I mean it! It felt strange not having our weekly visits," Freddy insisted with a smile. "I realize that I have not said it before, but… I am so glad you came to the Pizzaplex, and I do not just mean coming back tonight. I enjoy spending time with you. Every visit is an adventure! Err, even if tonight was a little more adventurous than we intended on getting. Despite that, I have been having a wonderful time! I always do, whether we are dueling in the Fazer Blast arena or just setting high scores. It is always worth the many, many rules we break in the process. Largely because we were not caught."
That roused a chuckle out of Foxy, one that Freddy briefly echoed. His face fell slightly. He was still smiling, but a soft sadness filled his eyes.
"It was only once you were gone that I truly realized how much our friendship meant to me. How dull my life would be if I had not met you… Foxy, you are my best friend."
Foxy was surprised by that one too, but he caught himself quickly. "Now that ain't true. What about Sun?"
"Sun and I have a, err, different kind of relationship…" Freddy replied while gently tapping his claws together. Then interlacing his fingers, or doing so as best as he could, and smiling down at Foxy. "But I mean it, you are my best friend. You have a way of making me feel like I am right where I want to be."
Freddy continued gushing about their time together as Foxy briefly retreated into his own thoughts. It had taken a few seconds to really digest what Freddy had said.
His best friend. He couldn't remember the last time he had been or had been a best friend to anybody. Even in his closeknit grip he had always felt like the odd one out, the fourth wheel who had to step it up to prove himself. Definitely a complex that came from growing up in the Afton household, he was aware of that now and yet that feeling of distance still tended to remain.
Sure, he was close to Jeremy, but they had that different kind of relationship. When it came to friends who weren't his siblings or directly adjacent to his siblings, there was usually comradery, but he would be lying if he ever got close enough to any one person to be good friends with them. The fact that he was broaching that grey area with his competitor, Freddy Fazbear, nearly his opposite in every definable way, was so bizarre to him. It felt good, but it felt weird too.
"I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
Freddy's comment reminded Foxy that he was still there.
The fox blinked a little and looked back at him, considering it momentarily, and then shrugging it off.
"You didn't. I was just thinking is all."
Freddy all but gasped in surprise. "Foxy, your voice!"
"Weird, eh? This is what I sound like when I'm not feeling much like Foxy," Foxy lightly joked. He slouched a little and looked down at his feet. "…You know, I haven't had a real friend in years."
"Foxy, I… Wait, that cannot be true. What about all your friends who you work with? Mike and Natalie? Charlie? Those technicians who helped Chica?"
"Alright, alright. So, I've had friends but… its been a while since I've been close with someone. Not counting Jeremy, he's one of those 'different kind of friends'," Foxy explained, making air quotes with his hand. "This is different."
"It is different, I agree," Freddy replied. He gave Foxy a gentle, playful little nudge of his shoulder. "Doesss that mean I am your best friend too?"
"Ehh…" Foxy drew it out before giving an exaggerated sigh. "I guess it does."
Freddy chuckled and tossed an arm around Foxy's shoulders, pulling him into an unexpected one-armed hug, nearly knocking him over in the process. Foxy still sort of thunked his head on Freddy's side, but he recovered fast. He snickered and pushed Freddy's arm off.
"Alright, get off me," Foxy said. He straightened his hood and stood from the couch. "Let's go shred some street," he offered. His voice starting to slightly slip into his pirate brogue but not yet committing to it.
"Aye-aye, Captain!" Freddy chirped. He got up as well and went to follow, but then slowed and stopped standing in front of the couch. Stuck there staring for a few beats before reaching out after him. "There is one more thing…"
Foxy caught the shift in tone instantly. His ear twitched at it. Before he could respond, Freddy lay a hand on his shoulder and turned him around. Foxy looked up in confusion at the bear looking down with guilt.
"Foxy… I know it is selfish of me, but I am going to ask that you… keep coming back. Please," he quietly requested. His tone just short of a plea. "I know there are risks, but I do not want to lose you and I cannot leave to follow you. We can find a way to make it safe."
That was what all of this had been leading to, Foxy realized. Even if Freddy didn't realize it, all the confessions about what was going on at the Pizzaplex and how he felt about it, about how much he missed Foxy and how he was his best friend, it was all leading up to this very moment. A moment that Foxy suspected to be coming from the moment he was invited over.
Well, either that or Freddy ending the evening with the revelation that he shouldn't come by anymore. Foxy had started to suspect that one towards the end and that was why he was so quick to get back to the games. He wasn't sure which put him on the spot more.
This was the sort of thing he really needed to discuss with Jeremy, Marionette, and the others before giving an answer on.
"I will," Foxy agreed almost immediately. "But we're going to have to be more careful."
Freddy brightened up with relief and happiness. "Of course! Of course."
"Now quit stalling and let me beat you at Superstar."
Freddy chucked again and joined his side at the arcade machine. Foxy went first, booting up the game and soon watching Freddy's cool, teenage counterpart zipping down the street. It was then that he spoke again.
"Does this place ever close for more than a day?"
"It has not so far. Though I suppose that if we had to enter a period of maintenance, we could perhaps be closed for a few days," Freddy answered.
"Next time that happens… Next time that happens, tell me. I'll take you over to my pizzeria."
Freddy was visibly startled. "What?!" he quietly shouted.
"Aye."
"But Foxy, I… I cannot leave the Pizzaplex. It is in my programming and for my and the public's safety," Freddy tried to rationalize.
"I think you can beat it," Foxy replied. He didn't draw his eyes off the screen. He didn't sound swayed at all by the bear's denial.
Freddy started at him dumbfounded for a moment before giving an unsure, "Well… We can certainly try. I would love to see your pizzeria for myself… Then it is a plan! I will try if you will help me."
"I've got your back, Fazbear," Foxy swore.
Contented with this, Freddy smiled and turned his attention back to the screen. Excited for an event that would probably, likely, perhaps never happen.
Foxy was a little more certain that it would.
Because Foxy knew better than to risk letting go. He had lost friends to Freddy's before. He had lost friends to just not holding on tight enough. With how the Pizzaplex was fairing, he was going to have to hang on tight if he wanted to keep ahold of Freddy.
Because one of these days Freddy was going to up and disappear. Foxy was going to make sure of it.