Sometime during the PizzaPlex's prime-

GLAMROCK BONNIE

Night 1. Time stamp: 12:15 am.

CARROT TOPS.

What the hell was he going to say? Tell Moon to STOP just after he roped in the guy for the help over a week ago? No, he wasn't going to rescind that- maybe Bonnie can get a better advantage. He also supposed his prior judgement on not asking for help from the others had been apt: He had no need to involve anyone else- its bad enough Moon was in this now. Hopefully, Bonnie can tell the guy to stay out of sight and look out where the psycho rabbit went while he played her game.

What in the bloody nine hells did this turn into? How long had she been here? When did she start doing this? Was she responsible for the workers too? And if she'd gotten Jeremiah... what're the odds she's been making other children vanish too? He didn't know what was going on in the world outside the PizzaPlex, but he heard parents muttering about lost children here and there-

He didn't want to think that could happen here.

And to think, there's no telling how long its been happening right underneath their noses.

Bonnie was already running around like a headless chicken- no offense to Chica there. He stomped back into the atrium after the message, rapidly darting his eyes around and trying to identify what the hell he could or should do to track her down. Despite Moon being able to help, he can only do so for some few short minutes every hour... Bonnie will be doing this almost entirely on his own. Not great in all actuality.

Okay. So to break it down: She wanted him to try and find her, and he needed to make the game good to keep her indulged. He's apparently already been actively looking for her even before he knew officially she existed; and it's been boring for her. She also said she'd been dancing around right in front of his nose this entire time and he just didn't see her-

Hm. Wait... How come she's invisible to him, given its to be taken literally? Was there some sort of limiter somewhere? Was he programmed to not to see her?

Perhaps... but then, what can he do to fix it? He didn't know what program to target! He'd have to sit down for a couple (or more like, several) hours and check all his subroutines. Something literally wasn't adding up here.

He sniffed, recalling her odd scent in that office. Laundry detergent; that suggested she washed the outfit recently after... whatever she did to Jeremiah, so that meant she's ALWAYS been here. Its likely she literally does just lives in these walls with them and she's literally invisible to the Glamrocks- a white rabbit that feeds off of death. A ghost in their tiny world-

And after what she's already wrought- that won't fly.

He needed to rearrange his protocols RIGHT NOW. He'd just have to do so while on the move- and though his task allocation will be a bit cluttered, he believed he can manage if he's careful. He'd have to be careful about running out his motor though- as too many tasks at once will put a lot of stress on their expensive bodies. Animatronics have a nasty tendency to run too hot and maybe kinda sorta combust in some cases, after all. Now while the Glamrocks were sturdily built and meant to be more advanced than what's typical, Bonnie wasn't too sure what his limits entail before over-heating and total system shut-down. Again, he'd just have to be careful.

Back to this rabbit woman- he needed to find our where she lived or dwelled. He was pretty sure she was organic- a human. So it stood to reason she'd leave other trails elsewhere... maybe literal bread crumbs. She'd been rather extraordinarily good about eliminating her trails for the most part, but, there's a reason why he started to suspect this place was being haunted by some kind of ghost to begin with.

Huh. Ghost rabbit. Guess that's all he can say she is until he knew who she was-

"OH CHEESY STICKS!" He stopped meandering, eyeing the stage before him like it was giving him his answer: Vanessa! She was supposed to be on guard duty tonight! And if he can't contact her... he couldn't help but wonder if this ghost rabbit would be responsible for the disappearance.

Bonnie frowned when his whip-smart mind suddenly and quite intrusively zeroed in onto the fact that Vanessa had been alone here most nights and this ghost rabbit woman hadn't come to kill her during all that time. There'd been plenty of chances. Did that change? Will the ghost rabbit go for her instead?

Or worse, he thought. Maybe she IS the ghost rabbit?

As it was, there's nothing here that really said she MAY be the ghost rabbit herself. But on the other hand, there's nothing here that says she really isn't either. The ghastly specter had access to security, the server itself, and likely the power grid... wouldn't Vanessa have noticed that by now? For that matter, didn't that point fingers RIGHT at her?

Now that I think about it, He wondered now, a claw to his chin. Vanessa's been recommended to take the chief security guard position despite not having the prior qualifications- and it was done fast. Literally RIGHT after the chief vanished... which is also suspicious and almost telling. Why was she recommended when she missed all of this? Even weirder and more convenient, she hasn't been hurt by this menace despite all the time this ghost rabbit coulda been here-

No way... but that'd be WAY too obvious, right? Or am I just simply over-thinking it? But, even if Vanessa is somehow this other rabbit, what's her motive? The hell does she get from all this? A promotion? All its doing is drawing attention to herself. Surely there's another means to an end here-? Whatever that entails...

He paused near a palm tree; looking up into it to see if the motion censor would pick up his position and activate. Upon doing so, the camera blinked on and zeroed in onto him; with Bonnie staring right into it in-turn. Was it Vanessa, or the ghost rabbit whose watching him right now? Was it both? He didn't know, and that aggravated him- but he'd wager on the latter.

What's a rabbit without a good gamble? Aren't all rabbits gamblers by nature? He wondered.

He breathed; his compressor whining once as it started to fight his motor already. He's running a lot of background tasks... so he'll have to take this real slow.

"Okay then, ghost rabbit," he said into the camera. "Game on. I wonder if we can make this a little more fun somehow? Chasing games are fine and dandy, but they can get old fast, and you tell me you're bored." He pointed a claw at the lens, "And what am I but a good host? Its my job to entertain, after all! So I've been mussin' over an idea, see. You wager we can share another little moment together so I can tell you what it is? Nothing would excite me more!"

Okay. He needed his pep. Energy was magnetic, right? Its a crowd pleaser- bravado and confidence always drew people in. If this worked, he can get this ghost woman to come to him- or at least, come near enough where he can start picking up clues AND catch her! He could get her talking again; keep her attention and keep her from getting bored. He didn't want to, but if he had to, he had to pretend to enjoy this sick little game. If she wanted to string him along, so be it. He can play ball.

The camera moved away from him, curiously. It's light remained on however, the lens moving slowly and slowly still until it faced a certain direction in particular and wouldn't move again- huh. Was it pointing somewhere or was he reading too much into it?

He followed it, then it realized it was indeed pointing to another camera in the tree near him. It too started to do the same- and on and on it went. Yes, it was leading him somewhere. He followed it, confused when it lead him into the elevator. He entered it, the doors sliding shut. He wondered if he should be pressing something, but he needn't bother. Because suddenly, her voice was on the speaker inside the elevator with him.

"If you wish to address me directly, head towards a security room- any of them. Find a fazwatch- as I suspect you wouldn't want me fiddling with your system during message exchange." Bonnie couldn't help but feel violated with the way she said it- why'd she have to say it like a caress? "Keep in mind, there will be... narrow windows in which you are allowed to do this, so use this chance wisely. I look forward to your little love note."

A scavenger hunt. Of course, He wanted to face palm. "What rabbit doesn't love an easter egg hunt," He grunted exaggeratedly out loud, all the while rolling his eyes.

The elevator moved on its own. Jumping jackrabbits, how much power did this abomination of a woman have? How much can she control in this place? Surely Vanessa and the other Glamrocks will notice-?

No... she probably has a way to misdirect them. She's been doing it this whole time. Clever little ghost, he inwardly grumbled.

Bonnie glared as the door opened on the second floor again. He stepped out and turned around; El chips was nearby. As he eyed it, he considered what she was doing:

He can talk to her through SOME of the cameras. Not all picked up audio too well though. He didn't always know which ones either- and she can only talk back through speakers in some localized areas of the PizzaPlex, like the elevator he was just in. In order to get a back and forth going between them, the fazwatch was a necessary evil. She was right about one thing; he didn't want her in his systems just for the sake of conversation. On a another note, maybe his treasure hunting will keep her somewhat engaged.

Now he raised a metaphorical eyebrow: How come she hadn't tried hacking him in all this time? Why was he running free? Couldn't she have dispatched him sooner? Why do this? Was she really that bored and wanted to get him to play along? Couldn't she have done this with any of the Glamrocks? She had all the power in the world. What the hell is even going through this ghost lady's head?

He crossed his arms, head lowering as he considered his background processes. He believed he had one answer already as he eyed his system:

As it were, Bonnie had been rearranging a lot of priorities and was actively rewriting some variables in his system as he went- his A.I was advancing in intelligence, however minimal it was. If she tried hacking him, he'd know it immediately and react fast. He could override her control faster than she can fight back. She was organic- she cannot attack him when his brain is literally a computer and he can work faster and better than she can. The only reason his friends had been hacked at all was because they didn't expect it when it happened- And it only happened with each of them once or twice. There was no 'thrice'. He wagered it happened during rest mode on top of all that- which was fucking underhanded.

His friends had been okay after that at least- no new blackouts or mysterious blanks in memory beyond the one time it happened. They were on GUARD now. He wondered if she was trialing a program that could override them however- and its something he started doubting less and less the more he pondered it. Its likely she can hack them, but it'd never be for long; nor would she be able to do so efficiently and not have them put on guard again. The next time she hacked anyone, the program would have to work and keep working.

Okay. So she likely doesn't have as much control over them as he thought- at least not yet. That's something he can bank on. She may need test subjects though... so no doubt once she has the chance, she'll be trying it. Hacking his friends still wasn't out of the question if she can catch someone slacking off or too damaged to fight back.

Back to the matter at hand, he recalled there being an office near there; the one he just left a short bit ago that lies off his internal map. The prize counter office doubled as a safe room- which was the reason why he can't see it until he physically had to walk in while chasing the noise. He didn't want to bother with it again (seeing as he'd been just THERE and hadn't seen a fazwatch conveniently lying around). Granted, he'd been rightfully distracted at the time. He wondered if it was worth looking again just to see if there was a fazwatch discarded somewhere around or under the desk- but he doubted it.

He sighed and gambled again that evening: He will check again. It'd only take him a minute.

He went into El chips and bumped his ears on the sliding door frame. Yup, still claustrophobic in here. All the Glamrocks were too big to be standing around the counter. For some reason, El chips' serving counter was always a little tiny but Bonnie never really took the time to notice. He snorted, took a second to cool off while scanning his tasks and Hud, then moved on. He hugged the counter and went left; heading into the dining area and then veering off towards the dully illuminated right hallway that's only lit by the neon cactus decor- the sliding door at its end opened and let him into Super Starcade.

This area was thankfully wider and easier to navigate than the Mexican-style restaurant. He sniffled, ears flapping and swiveling all the while as he meandered around in plain view of the cameras. Its weird how Vanessa wasn't coming out to rag on him for behaving out of sorts- but this gun-ho method was already paying off in Bonnie's favor: It's telling him everything he needed to know. And if he played his own cards right, he can even confirm if Vanessa and the ghost rabbit were the same people in one night. The thought made him smirk for real.

This ghost rabbit was organic- and therefore, fallible.

He found the security office; thank god for the doors actually being labelled properly with the big shiny badge symbol on it. Sadly, Bonnie found it locked- leaving him with a frown. She locked it behind him- Why?

Of course the rabbit woman was going to bounce him around for fun. After all, she did say she was bored. Best to play along, for now.

"Okay then... guess she really likes to play hard, huh? ...Oh carrots that sounded so wrong. That is NOT a joke to be taken out of context!" He sputtered sheepishly to the camera watching him.

A S.T.A.F.F bot actually paused to look up at him.

He glared at it as he passed it, "And what're YOU lookin' at? Keep workin'. I'm doin' something here!"

As for the door, he could easily rip it off- no biggie for a bot his weight. But he didn't want to be hauled into Parts & Services the next day over for repairs on his behavior after inflicting willful property damage. If this ghost rabbit had as much power in that ward as he believed, its possible he could be tampered with back there by her personally the next time he went. So essentially, just another reason to not get busted up. The technicians would already certainly catch he's been messing around with his own systems. With this said, he moved on and clicked off his mental checklist office number one- the prize counter cubical.

Next nearest one was in Monty Golf or the Daycare's interior- which was something he wasn't sure about checking yet. If he went there now, Sun would ask what's wrong and start getting in his face about it- and there's cameras EVERYWHERE in there. He didn't need the ghost rabbit seeing Bonnie exchange words with Sun about shoving off. Not to mention, if he tried the security desk, Sun would badger him about breaking the rules. Worse case, he goes there anyways. He wasn't sure there'd be a watch there but its worth trying if Monty Golf fails.

With that said, he moved on while running his tasks; smirking when he shifted something around. Motor diagnostic read medium temperature, which was good so far. As long as he didn't try running too fast, it should stay that way.

He looked at the vent near the Starcade security door though, ears perking towards it for a cursory inspection. No noise but, suspiciously enough, the grate was missing. No doubt she used it earlier. He bent down and sniffled; finding her aroma was definitely lining the tunnel. He logged it in his memory bank; detergent, faux fur, and hints of... cupcakes? Cupcake-WHAT exactly? Was that some kind of hair conditioner scent she liked?

Another sniff answered that question. It was Chica brand hair shampoo (Roxy's was usually grapes and something else). Good. Now he had a definitive smell I.D. He had one advantage now: he can use this to compare it to the other human staff and narrow it down further- given he doesn't figure her out by the end of the night.

His smile grew, the rabbit dragging a finger along the vent and rubbing at it. A dust layer been removed. He looked over his shoulder; smirking even more when he noticed no cameras actually had a direct eye on this location behind the arcade cabinets. This was an excellent spot to maneuver with- and she didn't catch him doing this. Another strike for him!

Okay, maybe he might start actually liking this game. It beat Roxy kicking his ass at Merry-Go-Cade and making him wear that Mr. Hippo magnet for an entire week, at least.

A cloud of steam nose from his nostrils as he stood back up. His Hud read out in one corner the varying programs he'd been installed with; Bonnie keeping an eye on each as they instantaneously blipped into view. A normal human trying to run diagnostics on him would've long since given up. His other eye focused on his path ahead- the bot walking to the escalator and towards the ground floor of the atrium.

He found his way to Monty Golf in short order; a little apprehensive of finding Monty inside. Bonnie was also somewhat glad his friends usually stayed in their rooms in Rockstar Row; so its likely he wouldn't see them tonight. He didn't need them to be asking any awkward questions about what he was up to.

Back to Monty: He also didn't need the gator asking questions either, or getting in the way AGAIN like he did fairly recently. Not like Bonnie wanted another punch to his face. He had no idea where Monty hung out in the golf course beyond the catwalks, on that note. He didn't have a room... did he?

Now why do I feel bad for the resident redneck jack-wad, He couldn't help wondering. Did the techs not give Monty his own place? Is that why he's grumpy and depressed all the damn time? Cuz he literally doesn't get his needs filled like we do? Is that why he likes the catwalks and stays up there? Cuz he has no where else to go? Did he like swimming around in the ball pit or hanging in the little shack in the center of the artificial bog? Does he not do anything fulfilling in his spare time? I know Roxy likes to tinker if she's bored or upset... Don't Monty have any hobbies too?

He felt like a jerk for never asking- and its something he'll have to amend at a later interval. Even though they didn't get along, Bonnie was now feeling increasingly like the biggest asshole in the universe the more his mind lingered on the gator's current living situation. The thought that Monty had possibly only that little shack to hang around here (that looked alarmingly like a huge outhouse too) for a room was depressing. It would almost explain why he was always so pissy. Bonnie had TWO rooms for Pete's sake! He can go to either if he felt overwhelmed. What did Monty have?

Nothing, the rabbit couldn't help answering for himself not one second later. His mind threw that answer at him, however unwilling he was to notice this.

He now entered the lobby, ignoring the S.T.A.F.F party bot as it watched for people that wouldn't come until morning. He got inside the elevator, waited another second, then exited out into the golf course proper: and the first thing he did was startle when a gator head popped up out of the water across from him. He planted a paw on his chest as if to stem a heart attack, breathed another plume of steam, then stepped out and smacked the stupid plastic prop in the jaw.

Okay, he had to admit: that felt good.

"Seriously! Why is this okay?" He muttered as he turned his ears around, his head sometimes following the direction his appendages took. "Stupid toys... they could scare one of the elderly patrons or someone with a heart condition! Totally submitting a complaint about those damn over-sized- STOP HISSING AT ME! I'm trying to THINK here!"

He swatted another one when another large Monty-prop head leaped from the water to gurgle mockingly at him. The toy jolted and a punch mark formed in its jowls; the prop listing and pulling brokenly into the water; not to be seen again.

"UGH. WHY DO YOU WANNA JUMPSCARE THE PATRONS WITH THAT?" He seethed aloud. "Hopping pain in my- whoops, accidentally re-arranged my censor filter back into place again. GREAT. Stupid fake heads of my ill-fated rival making me swear like an Elementary schooler," he groaned as he shifted said task back and locked it away. He's learned he quite liked swears, and didn't plain to stop too soon.

After which, he glanced around and started going down the stairway off to the left. His ears went pert as he tried to find Monty, but the other ridiculous toys kept hissing and grumbling all around him. Worse, the sound of running water, birds, and ambient swamp noises had him frowning at the lack of sound on Monty's part. Where was he?

"Er...Monty? You uh, you in here buddy? Hullo? Not trying to step on any toes or nuthin' but... I'm kinda... just, gonna pass through if you don't mind!"

He narrowed his eyes when he got nothing. Neither of them shouldn't be in a recharge station for another half an hour, so where even is he? All he did was spend his time in the golf course, right? Wouldn't Bonnie have gotten a rude and punchy greeting by now?

The blue rabbit couldn't help but wonder if the ghost rabbit was leading the gator elsewhere so Bonnie can look around. He didn't eliminate the chance, frowning as he weighed that.

Now he looked up: The catwalks were shrouded in darkness and hanging vines; the sounds of the artificial environment kept Bonnie from properly discerning if the gator may be watching from above. He knew the gator loved it up there for some ungodly reason... but he wasn't hearing any clanging or moving- not beyond the cranking, gradual movement of the Gator Gondolas slowly creeping along like predatory shadows slipping into further obscurity as they moved through the pitch corners and thick trees.

Why did he feel like he was being watched again?

He started looking for the security cameras, noticing some of them were (on occasion) blinking on. He assumed Vanessa or the ghost rabbit (both?) knew he was there... but they didn't seem overtly concerned with him. Also strange. He decided to count his eggs and moved on towards the security office.

He actually had some fortune here: the office admitted him easily. The rabbit ducked his head to keep his ears from clipping the frame and glanced around the desks; grunting when there was no obvious fazwatch sitting in view. The fazcams however were all piled in random cluttered spots of the desk and floor. He started scouring the desk drawers; snarling in swears when he was greeted with nothing. Guess he counted his eggs too soon!

"FUCKING FLAMING-! Well color me stupid! The hell am I even doing? I'm struggling to communicate with her, and I'm MAKING it harder on myself," he muttered. He actually sat in the chair; not caring if it groaned warningly under his considerable weight. "I could send a message but that's stupid too! Like hell I'm doing that... Okay rabbit, think. What to do?"

He could just tell her his idea in the atrium (why didn't he do that EARLIER?)... but he wanted to use the fazwatch because it afforded certain advantages of instantaneous communication- and it could give him a read on her somewhere if he could fiddle with it. Its possible he could not manage the latter, but it's worth trying. He doubted she was THAT messy, but one never knew.

Well, what other advantages did that stupid watch give? Security camera access. He can use it at a later juncture to hijack the program and eliminate the trace code from his own personal system- And with all the digital wrestling he'll likely have to pull off trying to get access from this ghost rabbit, he'd rather allocate his tasks to fighting her dedicatedly instead of fighting her AND using the cameras at once. That would push his core body temperature to critical ranges in the wrong circumstances- multitasking was hard enough on the Glamrocks (which was also partially why they had to have certain MODES enabled to dedicate their computation on those designated tasks).

The Glamrocks just were NOT built efficiently. It was deliberate so the staff had THAT MUCH more control over them. If they kept running into issues and broke down, they'd be forced to see the human technicians and evaluated. And if those techs didn't like what they see...

Its possible we've ALL had our minds erased several times before, Bonnie thought intrusively. There's no telling what they've done to cripple us and we just don't know it... like that ghost bitch did. We're just... Toys.

...This isn't the time for an existential criss, Bonnie. Move on.

He sighed, forcing himself to shelve that horrid turn in his thoughts. Back to the matter at hand:

He found leaving himself some task allocation wiggle room mattered. He didn't need the security camera app and master control cluttering his memory when it can be done on a separate device- leaving him some memory leftover. He had enough going on in his body as it is. He can always dispose of the fazwatch too once the guards start noticing someone's in the cameras. If he tried running the security program app from his own Hud (and therefore, inside his own body), it could be digitally tracked while it was active- which would ALSO get him in further trouble. A lot of his system (as well as the others) was already tracked and observed remotely by the technicians in Parts & Service as it is.

Long story short: Run the security camera control program from the fazwatch so security can't track signal to himself directly. He can't use the app from his own body; for fear of being found it and breaking the rules. Its a no-no if the Glams had sudden access to what was given to the human staff for a reason.

He drummed his claw tips as another cloud escaped his small nostrils- jerking when a noise echoed from somewhere nearby. His ear swiveled towards the direction of the hall, back the way he came. He craned his head in slow motion; frowning when it thumped a bit louder.

"Monty-?" he muttered.

He got up, that feeling of being watched increasing ten-fold. He ducked his head and stepped back out into the hall- in which he found nothing. Bonnie snuffled and chuffed; running a paw over his nose when his sensors prompted an artificial cue to enact an itch (behavioral rabbit-typical tic. It's supposed to make him cuter and a bit more realistic to the kids). The address to the itch his nose felt rewarding to do, though he couldn't understand why that was programmed into him. He supposed it simulated relief.

He walked back out into the golf course, ears turning every which way and then leading up. Surely Monty was here? He couldn't help but be CERTAIN of it. But if that's true, maybe Bonnie should leave... as he knew there's no fazwatch in the office he just checked.

"-'Kay then, I'm going! Thanks for having me!" He said to empty air, turning on the ball of his heel to leave-

And then his left ear pivots back as a rush of air whistles sharply behind him-

It was all the warning he had: Prompting Bonnie to duck and land on his side and arm. He placed weight on where his nape sat at the base of his high collar; swinging his body around like a break dancer with legs kicking out. His ankle met another bot's shin and threw their weight out from under them. All this happened in less than 3.5 seconds.

The attacking bot fell onto his front with an audible and distinctly bass "Oomph!"; a groan following. Bonnie rolled over and jumped over a flashing, banded streak of limey neon (Monty's tail! he realized) as it swung wildly where his body once was. The tail also changed trajectory so fast, that it whipped RIGHT back to him just as he touched ground again-

And this time, it connected painfully- right into his waist! The numerous spines along the gator's limb cracked and chipped Bonnie's paint on his chassis too; as well as warped some of the pelvis segments. The pressure was so absurdly strong that it would've shattered a normal person's arm completely and turned it into jelly; his tactile sensors blasting out garbage splashes of electrified triggers that briefly dizzied the already addled rabbit. His Hud flickered from simulated shock; temporarily blinding him.

Bonnie grunted when it threw him off. He crashed violently into the guard rail nearby; almost having been thrown into the ball pit at the center of the golf course. His Hud read out several error messages for a flickering second before showing the damage to a certain number of his tactile receptors. He didn't care; he moved again just as his ears caught the whir and grind of joints moving and jaws snapping-

"Mon- MONTY, STOP!" He rolled out of the way, his arms held out submissively.

The gator bellowed a blustery warning, then snapped his jaws right where Bonnie's head JUST was. The rabbit had backpedaled just in time to avoid the obscenely powerful bite.

He's trying to kill me... for REAL this time, he grimly realized as the pissed gator made a swing as Bonnie's nose and missed. He's trying to hit my HEAD! He wants at my chip!

He dodged again, his spine hitting the railing over the ball pit. He braced himself against it, eyed the gator, and saw no recognition in his matching maroon gaze. Bonnie also tried sending a quick alert message to Monty digitally in literally a second- but was baffled when he found a firewall was erected inside the opposing bot's system; something he didn't have before. All pings were turned off, and he was in Security Mode; the most bugged out mode the Glamrocks could ever run.

Bonnie snarled and tilted out of the way while following the rail, nearly falling into the ball pit to avoid the gator's next swing. He knew he won't have the time to hack Monty directly and free him of this mysterious, new and clearly illicit command over his body. There can be no doubt that the ghost rabbit woman was using him to attack Bonnie and spice up their little game.

He'll have to beat the gator by force, and THEN, hack him when he was immobilized or disabled physically. He couldn't do it now when he was busy trying to keep himself ALIVE.

His motor whined in protest; Bonnie pausing the task manager Hud and allowing himself computational room to enable Defense Mode. He was still in the 'really warm' stages in terms of cire temp, but he shouldn't jump higher than that so long as he made this quick.

He held up both arms when the gator punched outward- and DAMN he hits hard! It cracked his forearms' chassis; pieces fraying and flying from the shock. Once again, error messages from several censors blanketed his vision for a second. He had no idea why their creators would make this gator so offensively powerful... He could no doubt throw Freddy across the room, let alone Bonnie HIMSELF. Hell, its likely he can even throw a car!

Bonnie however wasn't a weakling or an idiot by any means: He struck out just as fast as Monty; blocking and moving backward each time the gator started slugging. The rabbit dodged a mouthful of razors too; jaws snapping shut with an almighty CLANG of screeching steel. It was weirdly akin to the sound of swords clashing against each other. He then rolled and back-pedaled some more so to get some distance. And as soon as he figured he got somewhere, Monty closes in with that stupid gator lunge.

Ghost rabbit has him under control, for sure, he inwardly commented. How and when did she do that? Was Monty in rest mode when she did it? Most likely... its the only way she could've seized control at the moment.

Bonnie caught a fist, then kicked the gator in the gut. While Monty was powerful both up and down his body, Bonnie had the advantage of his legs, at least. A good rabbit never skips leg day, he always says. And it showed when his kick blasted Monty backwards with enough force to smash a clear indentation in the wall several meters away. The gator's stomach hatch caved in; but it was an empty region and the kick hadn't made any contact with anything sensitive- which was the intent. Bonnie didn't want to hurt him that badly after all. He just needed distance.

Now he got it, and the rabbit did what he was best at; running. Monty hissed not too far away, sounding an awful lot like Godzilla's forgotten hell-spawn brood waking from a long sleep. A cloud of steam exited the gator's nose; adding to the snarl he produced as he surged back after his prey. He snapped teeth and whacked a S.T.A.F.F security bot on the way over just for kicks.

He's running too hot! He'll either combust or that ghost woman will kill him at this rate, the bassist figured. Monty will literally DIE if he runs himself that hard! DAMMIT. I needta disable him now!

Bonnie eyed the catwalks, glanced over his shoulder, then JUMPED. He managed to jump so well that he got on top of the shack in the center of the golf course with no wasted movements. He repeated the motion, then latched his claws into the catwalks' grating on the bottom. He swung too; using his weight and inertia to swing onto the platform completely.

Monty JUMPED too- just like himself.

FUCK.

"Why the HELL did they give him my LEG SPRINGS? No wait- ghost bitch did it," Bonnie immediately figured out. "GREAT. Now the local gator jump like a mad march hare on crack too!"

He moved when Monty nearly landed on him; his landing on the catwalks making the walkway groan warning beneath them. He also growled; the thunderous, sonorous baritone so deep it can be felt through the air like the tremor of a groaning engine. Bonnie flattened his ears to his head next; then held up his dukes while scanning his Hud for an advantage. He could push Monty off but... he didn't want to do that. Its not likely the gator can correct himself in a fall. His tail was good for balance only when he's walking; not dropping like a rock.

Monty paused, smirked, then growled, "Rock and ROLL."

"Not-uh, my fine Florida man reject," Bonnie smirked back with a mirth he did not have. "Its Rock and RUMBLE, baby! You need to pump it up when you say it!" He emulated the rock symbol as he pronounced it, then turned towards one of the cameras he knew was focused on him. He knew she was watching as he said, "After all, a good entertainer needs to know how to play the crowd and not just the instrument!"

With that said, Bonnie continued to duck away as Monty swung like a wild man. He had no thought nor care in his strikes, his blunt claws bypassing their weakness completely with the force he put behind them. The gator snapped teeth just inches from Bonnie's ears too; the rabbit swinging and dancing as best he could. He leaned back on the rail and kicked up; clocking the gator in the jaw and throwing his head back. Something cracked or chipped- a piece of yellow flying off.

"SORRY DUDE! Not trying to hurt you, man!" Bonnie yammered before bolting again. He followed along the catwalk until he passed one of the turrets- turning sharply and yanking on it as he did. The turret groaned under the force; the rabbit taking that second to book it down another stretch of walkway.

The gator couldn't make the same turn; he slipped on his footing and fell on his side; tail flopping over the edge of the catwalk briefly. His claws saved him from the fall though; anchoring into the floor again and pulling him up. He went into a crouch- then leapt again and landed RIGHT in front of Bonnie-

And the rabbit crashed right into him.

Claws scrabbled; teeth grazed, bodies flopped and paint chipped. The two rolled around on the narrow path with heads hanging off the ledges and appendages flapping against railing. Bonnie snapped his muzzle too; though his only weapon was his buck teeth. Monty meanwhile had a mean mouth full of chainsaws snapping around him. Bonnie held up an arm and let Monty bite into it; and boy did it HURT. His Hud threw various error messages saying he lost contact with the sensors in his limb, but it didn't matter to him. He needed his arm to keep the gator from snapping into his face and neck.

Bonnie gritted his teeth and used his feet to keep whacking at Monty's quads; kicking the gator's weight out from under him when he took a dominant position over him. All the while he had the teeth still stuck in his arm, Bonnie rolled and reversed their position.

Monty growled in a way that'd make anyone's prey response scream in fear. There was something about the sound of an angry reptile that'd chilled even a bot- Bonnie wishing to do nothing more than to disengage and beat it. The gator munched on his offered limb, but his flailing claws were starting to find Bonnie's chest and rip into it. He shook his head wildly; and the force exerted was so great that it threw both the 440 pound and 480 pound bots over and over in tumbles across the catwalks. They almost fell off!

The death roll- he'd never seen it before but now he never wanted to see it again. It almost severed his arm; pulling it out of its socket and shooting needling pain as wires went offline from stress. Bonnie kicked down again; and it was strong enough to bend Monty's leg the wrong way. With his knee now inside out, the gator finally released his arm to yell out in pain and frustration; then he got Bonnie's right ear with a set of flying claws.

He felt pieces of his ear come off somewhere and fall a few stories below; Bonnie snapping his mouth shut with audible clicks as the pain rocketed from his scalp. Monty's claws also grazed his whiskers and the sensation that rocked him he wasn't prepared for; prompting a surprised grunt from him. He's always known his whiskers had SOME function in them as atmospheric pressure sensors, but he didn't know how sensitive they truly were. It made him jerk his head back in surprise like a startled horse.

His chances of victory decreasing every moment Monty got a blow on him, Bonnie jumped off the gator and turned to temporarily disengage-

Just for the gator to grab his ankle and sink his talons into him again.

The bassist hollered out a swear and fell over; then flipped his foot upwards and shook with the same amount of force in his legs as Monty had in his ridiculously powerful jaws-

And somehow, the gator got flipped over Bonnie's body entirely and over the ledge. WHOOPS. Over-estimated that kick!

"MONTY-!" Bonnie watched in blunt horror when the gator fell to the bottom of the golf course.

There was a small blessing here; as he fell into the ball pit instead of hard floor. He still no doubt had broken several somethings in him, but he wasn't in a million pieces, at least! The gator fell silent however; leaving the rabbit to wonder if he still just incidentally killed an up-and-rising Glamrock.

Bonnie lay on his belly far above; his broken arm tucked to his scratched chest and unable to move for a full minute. Literally, he couldn't move not from pain, but dumb shock of the situation. His motor was FAR too hot as well and he needed to wait until it cooled off before he tried movement again. The amount of force and speed their servos had to exert just now had been nothing but fruitless abuse. Bonnie already read out many error messages on quite a few of his joints- not that he was really seeing them, per se. He panted too; quick and rapid as clouds wafted from his jaws.

"Monty-" He hoarsely tried again, though his voice was weaker now. His compressor groaned and whined as he breathed; his fans spinning at max speed to help maximize the cooling rate. His voice box crackled static for a second too, then auto corrected itself as he said, "MONTY! You hear me?"

"Urggg..."

"Shit! Shit shit shit-" He was up now; though not moving as fast as he would've liked. He looked around, wondered about attempting jumping down, then immediately thought against it. He had to slip down as carefully as possible.

He went to where the catwalks touched trees, then jumped onto one and let his claws sink into the false trunk. He hated the sound and crunch of damage he was inflicting, but it wasn't like anyone's going to see it in this darkness all the way up here. He slid slowly down, then let go and fell halfway to the shack. The ceiling almost gave out from beneath him, but held long enough until Bonnie slipped onto its patio. He sniffled; Monty was releasing some kind of fluid- coolant? Hydraulic fluid? He was in bad shape, either way.

"Monty- MONTY!" He went into the ball pit and waded through it. He felt stupid, as the reptile may kick back to life at the wrong moment, but Bonnie didn't have the luxury of deciding to back out now that he was here.

He bent, his arm tucking back to his chest as he used the other good one to find him. He felt claws grab hold; gently. Finding this to be an improvement over a moment ago, he pulled Monty up and was eye-to-eye with a confused but now semi-sober gator. He was blinking rapidly; with one eye fluttering out of sync with the other and holding his belly as if it was going to fall out of him. To be fair, Bonnie was no light weight with the kicks and his chest cavity wasn't stable.

"The heck 'appened?" He slurred.

"You don't recall?"

"Nah. Nah... but dang if it don't suck to be me right now," The gator slumped over warningly; Bonnie shooting out his broken arm to help brace him.

"Don't be passing out on me, Snow White. I can't be bothered to be kissin' you awake," Bonnie attempted jokingly- only to feel himself fall flat. "We need to get you repaired. I can't hold you up on my own. Can you... oh, stupid question I almost just asked," he paused when he looked at Monty's leg. Right, he kicked that in too.

The gator chortled, then slumped heavily into the bassist. "You... Dance right perdy. Hehe. Dancy dancy- spinnin'," he kept drooping his heavy head too, head lolling atop his shoulders.

"...I think I knocked your chip REAL loose for a sec there," Bonnie winced. Small blessing- as it seemed to snap him out of whatever thrall he'd been in. In fact, that chip being what it was probably stopped the ghost rabbit's connection completely; like removing a battery from a whirring toy and setting it back in to reset it when using the on or off button didn't work. A weird reset, of sorts.

The two haphazardly waded through the ball pit and out onto solid flooring; flopping onto their bellies and not moving for a solid several minutes. Bonnie huffed and heaved in sync with Monty, than gritted his teeth. He hoped the ghost rabbit was entertained- because he certainly wasn't!

"What're we fighting about again? Did I step on yer cotton tail?" Monty crackled, his bass weaker than usual.

"Nah, my man. You took my carrots and hid them from me. And what good rabbit can resist an easter hunt? Wait- coulda swore I used that line already."

"Its easter already? You 'n Chica gonna do a jig again? You both wore perdy colors."

"Man, you're loopier than a toddler on a fizzy faz high."

"And yer BLUE."

"Thank you for that profoundly interesting observation."

The two of them chortled for another second, though Monty's laughter was late in coming and even later to stop. Monty then braced himself on a guard rail and somehow got up; injured backward knee not completely stopping him. Bonnie was impressed. The gator's gaze went vacant though as he seemed to scan something on his own Hud.

"Crap," He grumbled with a snarl and some of his usual older self started to re-emerge. "Hey, carrot-face, was I... hacked?"

"Looks like."

"...Who and why."

Bonnie's next sigh was a beleaguered one. "If I told you, I'd hafta finish the job. Hehe... But no seriously-" He frowned as he scanned around the area. He saw cameras, but he wasn't sure if there's any audio on them. His tenor lowered, "I can't say. Not now."

"...Oh. I get it. Aight, guess we visitin' the bot doc."

"The 'butt' doc?"

"You deaf? The BOT doc- oh, right. I got yer ear," Monty slanted him a crooked once-over.

"And my eye, I think?" Bonnie ran a finger along the bottom of his right one. He groaned when some black came off. "Daw! You ruined my makeup! Now I gotta make myself pretty again."

"...Fruit tart."

The two chuckled again as they got heavily to their feet. Monty braced a lot of his weight on Bonnie and his tail; hobbling as the rabbit took the lead out of the golf course. For once, the gator was allowing the help and not saying anything about their current contact; nor did he show any signs of his usually testy self. Bonnie attributed that to the chip being knocked loose and likely not sitting right in his brain-

Maybe, not the worst thing to have happened. He didn't want to say that, but he CERTAINLY did not want to deal with Monty's bullshit brand of crabbiness if he felt his ornery self. Getting to the repair ward would take a lot longer if it did.

Night 1. Time stamp: 3:30 am.

"Don't be expecting me to say this ever again, but... I am so sorry man," Bonnie apologized after he helped Monty inside the cylinder. There was no human staff or technicians here at the moment (as its respectively and ridiculously late), so Bonnie had to help Monty for right now. "I know this is some major bull but... shit."

Monty shrugged; though he wasn't keen on being prodded as much as he was right now by that grabby armature. "M'fault for sleepin' on the job. Literally. I let some weirdo get control of me while I was nappin'."

"Not just any weirdo, but a bunny woman. Real pretty thang, with white downy fur and a super evil, captivating set of red eyes like the stuff of nightmares! And her smile is absolutely killer!" He flashed his palms, then snapped them to his chest again and folded his arms. "I'm tellin' ya, a real treat..."

"You chasin' girls now? I thought you 'n that BEAR were a thang!"

"You serious?" Bonnie blinked.

Monty glanced uncertainly aside like he just had a humbling reality check. "Er- nevermind that. So uh, is that sumthin' we can actually do? Wait- wait a sec here. You fought me for an actual GIRL BUNNY? Why is that hilarious?"

The gator didn't wait for an answer before suddenly blowing out a gusty guffaw. Bonnie himself threw back his head and laughed madly along with him too. There was so many silly and stupid rabbit puns to be had from this whole messed scenario and he was tempted to crack them right now. What was that thing people said about them being symbols of 'promiscuity?' Not like he wanted to know in detail but damn if Monty's reaction and words couldn't make the situation more ridiculous.

"She's uh... well, on a more serious note, she's a problem," Bonnie's tone hardened. It was a sudden tone change but it had to be said, "She's the one who hacked Freddy several weeks ago- took him for a joy ride apparently. And she's been making people disappear everywhere. I need the proof but I'm damn sure she's been doing it. She..." He shut his eyes; severing them from Monty's own matched red set. His thoughts fell to the fluffy haired Jeremiah, "She... she hurt... she hurt a kid."

"Wha- WHAT?"

"She... she hurt him and... did worse. She-" He couldn't finish the sentence, feeling himself slump tiredly against the cylinder. He'd already visited the recharge station behind him a couple times but he still felt tired. His head slumped until his chin hit his breast plate. His unruly hair got in his face, Bonnie absently lifting a paw to fluff it down and run it along the length of his muzzle; also an automatic prompt from his behavioral programming.

Thinking about Jeremiah was making him feel hot under the collar again. If Bonnie ever saw that woman in person, he doubted he'd be able to hold back.

Monty was silent for a while after that; just letting the armature do its thing. Bonnie knew there was no security camera in this room, so it was one of the only places he can talk freely. He also sent out a ping to Moon, letting him know about what happened. The jester bot had sent him messages back saying he'd keep an expert watch on the vents and try to narrow down this woman's hiding places. He also explained he wanted a fazwatch- to which the jester questioned him about it, but Bonnie refused answers until the next time they can meet in his room.

To his fortune, the attendant had FOUND one: Apparently he's found it after closing earlier last week and turned it over to Lost & Found; alongside a plethora of other children's toys. And while Bonnie didn't want to take any missing children's toys, he had to have the watch. He'd been stewing over another idea in mind for it after this Monty incident.

I must be crazy for considering it, but... the watch. I think I can run backups of something it. Will have to tinker with it. For right now though...

"She has me playing this game with her. Guess she likes me," He shrugged, expression dull and heavy-lidded despite his joking words. He started running his task manager again; running more diagnostics on his subroutines. He needed to be able to see her, dammit. So he kept running his tasks as he elaborated, "Its a fucked-up game of tag and she says I need to keep her enthralled. If I don't, she'll hurt others- us included! So I can't dawdle here for long."

"Let me at least fix ya up a bit, I guess," Monty said, completely taking the blue buck by surprise. "Just don't expect this to happen again, ya hear?"

"You- you're actually not gonna turn me into scrap?" Bonnie would've raised his brow if it could move there.

"Nuh. No point in slightin' ya now. Just turn off the machine. M'good. Let's get you working again, then I can let you back at it. Mebbe I can help somehow?"

Bonnie bobbed his shoulders, then typed away.

Once Monty was out, he was looking at Bonnie like he grew a second head. He cocked his own slightly, and then, "How you do that?"

"Hm? Do wha-?"

"Swear. How ya do it? I didn't know yer the type of person to do that. You 'n Freddy are such fruit loops I wouldn't think you'd like swearing at all!"

The comment prompted a snort from the rabbit. He watched the gator, then, an idea hit him. "I think... if I teach you, you can use it to keep from being hacked again. I'm pretty sure the bunny lady hasn't hacked me because I can rearrange my behavioral pattern on a whim- and she knows this. Been changing my protocols and everything!"

"Oh man! Hot dog, teach me!" Monty pumped his arms in enthusiasm.

"Its real easy. Although, I gotta warn you..." Bonnie raised a cautionary finger. "I don't know how effective its going to be for you for long. It'll protect you until she gets better at hacking. I don't intend on letting her get that good though- wanna catch her before she does anything else. Also, I need to warn you about one other thing."

Bonnie glanced off to the side, his gaze heavy, "You MUST be careful doing this. It could mess up your personality if you rearrange too much shit. And the process itself may leave you unstable. You comprehend, my crazy compadre?"

"Got it, amigo. Tell me how I can help!"

Night 1. Time stamp: 4:15 am.

Bonnie stood in front of Glamrock Gifts, holding up the fazwatch and staring hard at the red-eyed figure beyond the tiny screen. Its as Moon said; Lost & Found had been the place to go this whole time. He just couldn't believe he didn't think of going there sooner. Of COURSE it doubled as a security office!

And yes, technically Bonnie cheated when he asked Moon for help, but she cheated too! She'd used Monty on him, and Bonnie had used Moon to net him the watch he'd been looking for. It was all fair game.

To which she was quick to comment, "You cheated." And it was doled out so candidly.

"So did you," Bonnie returned just as quick and stiffly. "And the saying goes, 'all's fair in love and war'. Ain't that correct? Granted, I'm sure that doesn't matter to you-" He leaned in, then smiled at the tiny lens, "I think you'd like this one better then: A good rabbit must always have tricks- to take a quote from a book."

She was heard scoffing. Then she grumbled, "Whatever. For tonight, I'll let it slide. Your fight with Monty was much too delightful to miss! And I believe you said you had an idea to make this more fun-?" She added that last part airily.

Bonnie matched her amusement with his own, "Of course. I wanted to up the ante, to take your own words from earlier. So, here's my own wager: I learn your name- your real name, by the end of the week. And if I do this, you'd have to crawl out of your hole somewhere and meet me on the dance floor. Then we can finish this game of tag in style. And if I don't, I'll concede to your win."

And you'd have my life, if you did, he thought intrusively and absolutely hated the idea of. Not that he will make that easy for her.

He wasn't stupid enough to ask for her to just surrender or give up; he knew she wouldn't. She'll cheat too, even with this wager. So maybe he can draw her out or get her near him? If she can hack bots, its likely THAT will be what he sees at the end instead of her. He wanted to meet her on a nearly level playing field- though he knew the word 'nearly' was being used very loosely here. Even if she came out of hiding, it'd only be if she thinks she has an advantage- something he'll have to learn to manipulate. They'll both be cheating along the way on that note, but this game of tag will have to find SOME kind of conclusion.

And a small, infinitesimally small part of him figured this would be more fun that way- a sentiment he was also chastising himself for.

She hummed, then raised a single finger, "Fine. We can share the dance floor eventually. That could be fun!"

"You fancy yourself a dancer?"

"The best," was her oily reply, no doubt winking from behind her mask.

"I look forward to it, then. We'll hafta see whose better, cuz I got a mean set of legs here."

"I noticed. Monty's face and his belly tells me so," she was seen fiddling something beyond the lens. "-'Til next time, bun-bot."

Bonnie turned off the fazwatch, then slumped heavily against the glass window to Glamrock Gifts. His ears drooped heavily over his face; the bunny unable to move for a solid moment after she disconnected. His eyes stayed fixed on Freddy's golden statue too; taking that moment to lament the loss of not just one innocent life, but many more. He fell heavily to the floor, pulled in his legs, and cried right there.

That's where Freddy himself would find him come the following morning.