~Present Day~
CASSIE
The white door closed behind her, but the girl wondered if what she saw in her shadow had been real.
Bonnie's mind was a strangely elaborate trap; but now she was beginning to wonder if she was now hallucinating the feeling of him being there when she left the main server network. Honestly, she had a weird feeling he'd been with her the entire time while that wet floor sign had been guiding her around. And seeing as Roxy had been right on the money about Bonnie dumping himself in these things, perhaps he had been.
He's looking out for me in his own way, she thought with a modicum of relief and intermingling affection. She rubbed at Bonnie's hair too as she hugged his head tighter, I should've known he was. None of these bots have ever forsaken me. Between Roxy, Eclipse, and Bonnie- I don't think I can stay alone, even if I wanted to.
Still, it didn't matter if he'd been there or not; not when she had more pressing matters to now attend to:
She looked around her environment; raising a brow when she couldn't recall where the bowling alley would be from here. Oh dear... she should've done a better job remembering where that bot lead her! The girl felt her mouth flop open; unwilling to take off the V.A.N.N.I mask until she was sure she can make it back to Parts & Services from... wherever the heck she was now. The mask was still dulling down her pain; and she needed it in order to make the trek. Otherwise, she may be in trouble.
"Not good," She muttered to herself as she clutched Bonnie's head tighter.
She looked around; thinking she was recognizing some lower level of the PizzaPlex- although not entirely sure thanks to the amount of debris lying around her. There was some graffiti here too; and nothing written for polite company. The girl winced as Bonnie's eye lights shone on a particularly detailed image of a- the poor girl had to turn away here; as it was a bad drawing of parts of a human body a child should not be seeing. Again, nothing for polite company.
She scurried as fast as her leg can allow; her hazel eyes taking in the alarming amount of trash, work vehicles, and holes in the walls and ceiling. It was caved in in some places too, and the tunnel looked like it hadn't been used since the PizzaPlex closed down. More piles of rock and rebar-spiked cement blocked corridors and paths she would've normally taken to get to Parts & Service.
How the heck did I even get here, she wondered. Where even IS here?
She frowned and looked again; blinking and going, "Ah!" when she realized she may be in a utility tunnel. This section ran under the PizzaPlex and connected all the attractions- which wasn't a bad spot to be; but with the state of this place and the clearly caved-in spots, she can tell that she didn't want to be in here longer than she needed to be. And it's hopelessly DARK. If it wasn't for Bonnie's eye lights, she'd be in utter and total blackness.
Cassie shined Bonnie's head- his remaining LED eye providing her the light she needed to see in here. She thanked him, though she knew he couldn't really hear her right now (or could he? She didn't think his EARS were broken beyond the superficial scratches). She also took out his other eye from her pocket and slotted it back into the empty socket. It blinked on, but it's far more feeble than the other; no doubt he'll need that eye replaced once she got around to it. Thankfully, it seemed him and Monty shared the same optics, so finding a replacement eye won't be an issue.
But this place... definitely an issue.
She waved his head around; blinking when she also recalled that Roxy was likely still in the bowling alley. Cassie didn't swear but, she felt tempted to do so right now. The wolf wouldn't know where to find her! The V.A.N.N.I mask had taken her much further than she wanted- like all the way from the second floor to the sub basement layer. How the heck did it do that?!
"Stop questioning it," she told herself. "At this point, I think we're WAY beyond questioning it. Hey, Bonnie-" She turned his head around enough so she can see his weaker side-eye. "I know you were guiding me around but... could you have helped get back instead?"
He didn't reply.
"I'd suspect you'd apologize, if you could," She said to it. "And that's okay. I kinda think I know where I am-? Just need another minute to get my bearings."
She started to tip-toe forward; more or less shuffling as her leg kept her from moving too fast. The mask helped as much as it hindered here; as visibility and obstacle permanence wasn't reliable in it but it helped the girl retain some manner of mobility as well as somewhat light up the otherwise abyssal tunnel. Cassie still needed to see where she was going and KNOW what objects were real or not; so she had to remove the mask for a minute to double-check that she was in a utility tunnel and she wasn't about to hit a door or phase through the wrong one. She found that the tunnel didn't feel super far from Parts & Service- pretty much a lot of the tunnels were built with the intention to the help the technicians get around.
With this said, she slipped the mask back on and ignored the throbbing migraine. She'd take the pulsing in her temple over the pulse in her leg anytime. Bonnie's head also helped considerably; seeing as her previous flashlight quit on her when she first went to (accidentally) free the Mimic-
...Which, she just now recalled was a distinct and still very real threat right about now- given its left the pizzeria underground.
Her heart leapt RIGHT into her throat there; with the shadows and claustrophobic nature of this place instantly flashing Cassie back to the moment she had to run for her life from the miming menace. The tenebrousity of this place took on a much more sinister note; prompting wild-eyed staring from the girl. She blinked rapidly; all signs of her previous tears gone as she ducked low to the ground and attempted to discern where in the utility tunnels she was right now. She can definitely get to Parts & Service from here... she just needed to find which direction was the RIGHT one.
"If I find Eclipse, I can tell him to ping Roxy. Yeah," she nodded resolutely. "That'll work. Roxy can take care of herself, right? Heck, she may be able to smell me out!"
The thought was somewhat reassuring; though not by much. It helped to know that Cassie's allies were a reliable bunch, but the help may come too late if she wasn't careful. Until she found them again, she can't shout or yell for help if she runs into trouble. Suddenly wishing she still had her Roxy talkie, she pressed on.
The utility tunnels were expansive and sprawled like an ant's nest all across the PizzaPlex; but the contractors who built this place thankfully thought to put clear signs and symbols next to the entrances of certain tunnels to indicate where they lead. It also helped that Cassie has navigated these with her dad before; so she had SOME memory to account for. Another win for her.
The graffiti over some of the symbols however... well, not too helpful. One of them however had an 'X' over a symbol indicating the direction of Monty golf; but also had a hastily scribbled phrase beneath it specifying that the way was caved in. She wasn't sure if its to be trusted or not, but a lot of the graffiti she's seen too far hadn't been WRONG. She was scrutinizing it for a moment before moving past it.
Endlessly glad her dad was a man who loved taking his kid to work, Cassie found her only problems would be her slow gait due to her leg, the caved-in portions, and maybe potentially the Mimic. Okay, so its a lot of problems, but Cassie can circumnavigate the first two issues well enough if she's clever and patient. As long as the Mimic stayed away from her, finding Parts & Service won't be hard at all. She knew where she was in large part-
And then she groaned when she saw the symbol of the raceway beside an entrance of a tunnel in particular.
"Aw man! The Raceway AGAIN? Well, at least its near Parts & Service... so that's not too bad. I still don't want to be too near that thing from earlier. I really hope its still stuck in the old pizzeria," she told Bonnie's head. Its not like she had anyone else to talk to, and talking to Bonnie's head somewhat helped to allay her nerves. She also hoped that maybe, JUST maybe, he could potentially hear her somehow.
It was a nice thought.
"I can't say the exit from the PizzaPlex server was too bad... could be in a worse place," she continued to it. "You lead me to this tunnel for a reason, yes? Cuz you can see more of this place from the system now that you're free digitally! So-"
She looked up and found, in some areas of the tunnel, there was cameras around. She didn't see any lights on, but it didn't mean the device may or may not be working. Cassie tilted her head at the idea.
"You can see me, can't you?" She said to Bonnie again as she neared the one camera in particular. "I know the processor in your head isn't working but... your ears do, from what I can see. No notable damage to your emitters... Are you using them at all?"
He didn't respond, which was to be expected.
Cassie paused however when she did hear a slight whir; a grinding of a small, inexpensive servo on a wall-mount. She looked up, and was DELIGHTED to see the camera was on! She grinned up at it, wondering if Bonnie was indeed slowly waking up and realizing the kind of situation they're in.
"Hello?" She said into it while waving a bit. "Can you hear me?"
The camera didn't do anything interesting beyond focusing on her, the green light blinking and turning red. It was recording data.
Cassie clutched Bonnie's head tighter, feeling a bit unnerved after a moment. So she said to help calm herself, "I woke up Bonnie... unshackled him from whatever this Vanessa did. He SHOULD be in the system again, good and proper. He can hack, right? So... that HAS to be him in that thing right now, yes? He can get into security easy now-"
If only the camera could answer! But alas, Cassie was disappointed when it didn't move beyond refocusing its slightly cracked lens. Whoever was on it wouldn't be able to see her too well, but it certainly has some visual. Cassie couldn't recall if all the cameras record audio or not, but she figured this one DID.
Just as she was about to move away, it swiveled; the lens focusing on another point in the tunnel. Cassie followed its trajectory to a slightly more cleared path, shining Bonnie's eyes onto the region. It was a way forward; though it had looked blocked at first with the pile of rocks and roof around it.
Cassie found herself smiling brighter than she had in a while, turning back to the camera this time. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you. I'll get going now and fix you right up!"
It didn't do anything else but refocus the lens. Cassie hoped that was some kind of response.
So, she turned towards the path and navigated carefully around a corner; clambering over the pile of cement meticulously. Bonnie's head rasped whenever it gently scraped rock; the noise a bit obscene in this tunnel even though it wasn't even loud. Cassie jumped a couple times whenever she heard the noise bounce back as an echo; but ignored it as she was put onto the right path-
Only to stop dead in her tracks when he ears caught something else:
Shhhhhaaaaaaa...
The hairs on the back of her neck raised as some sort of instinctual sensation knotted itself in her belly. She ducked low to the ground so quick she didn't even understand why she was doing it; and it jarred her leg. She whined but cut herself short; shimmying herself over to a pile of turned-over crates near a forklift.
Shhhhhaaaaaaa...
She pulled Bonnie's eye-lids shut; as it's the only way she knew how to turn the lights off right now beyond yanking them out. She apologized internally to him over and over as her ears strained to listen to the source of the noise. It sounded way too nearby-
And way too big.
How can she describe what she's hearing? Well, her best guess was a massive amount of metal grinding against naked rock and earth. It sounded like someone was dragging a series of metal cables- and a BUNCH of them, across a construction site. The sensation of its immensity made the ground around her faintly tremble; the girl sitting in complete and utter darkness was forced to rely on any of her other senses save for her sight to sense it. It made her ability to feel heighten: the girl able to detect every faint tremor as the source of the noise slithered- yes, slithered- by. She shut her eyes; not that it did anything to improve the annoying and terrifying amount of pitch creeping around her.
Everywhere she's been in the PizzaPlex, its had light so far. Weak ones, but some scant sources of light to go by. Failing electrical outlets; frayed, livewires and blinking bulbs; sometimes the neon signs and faintly powered conduits on powered doors; as well as her V.A.N.N.I mask to light the way. But now? She had nothing to go by but Bonnie's eye lights feebly shining from between his lids; listening to this giant of the deep creep by like some alien earthworm.
Shhhhhaaaaaaa...
She fought the need to whimper as it sounded like it neared her. She cracked her eyes open in the hopeless abyss-
And nearly cried anew for the millionth time that same day.
She saw its face; not too clearly, but something of it. It had the vague, and usually familiar and comforting shape of Freddy's head- but in this terrible lighting, she couldn't be too sure. Its eyes however- or, lack of them- she can see those quite clearly: A pair of single, pinprick lights colored laser-red to indicate a lack of functional optics; color-coordinated slots meant to fit the usually fragile wires. It didn't blink; only stared as it seemed to loom closer. It was heading towards her quite calmly; no rush, but the grating, slithering noise of numerous appendages of varying size, shape, and metals echoed behind it.
Shhhhhaaaaaaa...
Cassie watched as it came within touching distance of her; how'd she know this? Well, she can hear it right there. She planted her hands over her gaping mouth; Bonnie's head on her lap as she drew her legs in. Tears started budding at the corner of her eyes as the squirming mass of shadows crept easily by like its taking some sort of leisurely, noctivagant stroll. As it did so, Cassie was horrified to see that there was more empty eye sockets.
MANY more.
All up and down its infinite black body, a scintillate series of lights flared the same red color indicating a readiness to receive optics that will never be restored to it. Forms of varying, decaying, furred and metallic shapes of strange familiarity began to emerge from the endless, ophiomormous mass; Cassie believing she can almost make out the silhouettes of numerous animatronic bodies entangled inside the writhing cables. One of the bodies opened its mouth; and while still too hard to see entirely, Cassie knew she saw some kind of moving tendril length emerge. It wriggled and prodded at moist, moldy air; the tongue's owner's eye sockets providing very little light in which for Cassie to see the appendage clearly. The mouth eventually pulled the mutant, dark tongue back in; puffing out its worn breast like its breathing. It took a drought of the dank air; or gave the illusion of it; head lolling limply over on his shared body.
Not too far from it, another body stirred; a single large, dark paw flexed its sausage-thick fingers; the color in which remained elusive to the shivering girl. And even then, the fingers didn't move smoothly or naturally- they jerked and twitched spasmodically; as if short-circuiting or having a seizure. The limb was eventually pulled slowly back into the mountainous mass of metal; the digits reaching outward and stiffening like its stricken with sudden rigormortis.
Shhhhhaaaaaaa...
The many, uncounted corpses continued to crawl by; close enough now that Cassie can smell the decay of the rotten bots attached to it. Mold, burnt furs, and rust was tangled up within this chimeric, chaotic being slithering too near her. She wondered why Bonnie (given it WAS him) had directed her to this spot now, but its likely he hadn't know this thing was here. Or, if he somehow magically did, he wouldn't have known it'd come by right this SECOND.
After a few more seconds of this terse inching around, the sound thankfully started to die down as it made its way quite slowly down the utility tunnel. It paused once; the Freddy-shaped head moving around as if trying to divine some sort of cardinal direction. It coiled upon itself like a snake deciding to coil for a strike; changed its mind, then flexed towards another hole in the wall. The many sightless sockets were the only way Cassie can tell what she was looking at; each set disappearing one-by-one as it whelved into a crack on the foundation. The scraping continued; the noise bouncing around the tunnel and drowning out the squeak of Cassie's gasp.
Shhhhhaaaaaaa...
Still crying and shivering, Cassie out on the V.A.N.N.I mask and used its strange, porphyrous light to shine the way forward; not that it helped too much in this place. She may need Bonnie's weak left eye to keep some sort of guide and not have something too bright to draw that thing's attention back over here. However, she also didn't know how well it can see either- as none of its bodies seem to have optics in any capacity. There's no telling how it perceived its environment, on that note.
With this said, she kept Bonnie's stronger eye shut and cracked open his weaker left one; letting its feeble, yellow glow (akin to a flashlight with bad batteries) show her the way forward. She tip-toed away while trying to be as speedy as possible; teeth gritted and nearly biting her tongue in anxiety. She had no IDEA such a thing lived in the PizzaPlex- and it was in a whole other league. The Mimic was one thing... a bot with a sort of intelligence to it.
But that thing-
What was it that gave her such an unearthly, primal, unnerving feeling? It was literally the bane of the natural world! Prompting for instincts she never knew she had to rise up and drive her to run as fast as she could. Nothing she's faced so far has ever felt so far removed; so impossibly anomalous and incomprehensible. Her gut told her it too would not hesitate to strike; even the Mimic had premeditated, thought, and manipulated. It can think-
But not that monstrosity. It was far above human comprehension.
Was this behemoth what made the many tunnels inside the PizzaPlex? To have caused the so-called 'earthquake' that closed it for good?
In fact, now that she thought about it... the workers who came to dismantle the PizzaPlex, it looked like they left so suddenly- as if in a hurry. She's seen relatively fresher food around too; as if the men were on lunch break while taking the PizzaPlex down. Not so long ago, there'd been people here to move things around for renovations-
But its all gone now, and all the vehicles were broken, turned over, or barely functional. Some of the food the workers left during their lunch breaks were oddly... newer looking than one would figure. Cassie's seen than the moldy stuff she saw in the bakery earlier; and it gave her a rough time estimate about when some of this food was made.
In key locations of this place, she'd seen even a few giant pretzels that looked like it'd been made in a different establishment than here; having been brought in for the workers to enjoy while they've been working. She's seen a BARELY-moldy pizza on her way in to save the fake Gregory earlier; looking a lot like it came from the pizza place her mom's family usually ordered from. The fact Chica hadn't found it was a mystery, but it may be possible Chica may not identity it as the pizza she would normally eat.
Even stranger, the rats haven't even touched ANY of this leftover food. Its like normal, warm-blooded creatures seem to avoid this place too... Cassie hasn't seen a SINGLE rodent since she's been in here, and that mystified her completely. Shouldn't the rats have taken over Chica's bakery by now? Why was the food the outside workers brought in untouched?
Animals must sense that wrongness too, she suddenly realized. They feel the same weird poison in the air... so they don't come in here. That can't be good.
She wondered if their instincts also told them to stay away from that thing- Was it possible that this ghastly giant chased everyone out and is why the animatronics never got properly decommissioned? Was it trying to tunnel OUT?
"It... it can't," She told Bonnie, her tone tapering off in a wavering note. "It if got out... it'd hurt people, wouldn't it?"
He didn't reply, as expected. But she had no doubt that he'd agree.
She started running as soon as she figured she got some ample distance; whimpering a few times as her leg hindered her ability to gain any meaningful speed. She tripped once; Cassie sputtering a choice swear as she hit the cement floor-
Only to hear it return.
Cassie garbled incomprehensively and started crawling along as fast as she could; ducking out of sight as the amalgamation brought a tendril out to where she'd just been. Its Freddy-shaped head clicked and snapped face-plates as if almost thoughtfully; jutting free of another hole not too far from her. Cassie shoved a fist in her mouth to keep from spitting in surprise.
It can't see too well, can it, she observed. Also... that face. Its so white- Is that Funtime Freddy?
The numerous tendrils felt and groped around blindly; the white Freddy head snapping a jaw plate once or twice. It then pulled back into its hole with a discreet hiss; its many limbs going with it.
Cassie wouldn't move for what she could swear was several minutes or more. She was too afraid of making anymore noise and bringing it back again- even though its likely it left the area entirely. She didn't hear anymore odd noises; not beyond the building itself thrumming above her as if uncertain of its own weight.
She can't stay in these tunnels. Beyond that beastly thing, the Mimic, and the fact this building could cave in anywhere, she needed to meet up with Roxy and Eclipse NOW. And the sooner they got Chica and Bonnie able-bodied, the faster they can leave. It'd be a tall order, but Cassie had no intention of leaving them behind here in this god-forsaken and literal hell-hole.
She stumbled to her feet; the V.A.N.N.I mask shining the way as well as Bonnie's fragile weak eye. She didn't open his stronger one; deciding she didn't want to chance if that thing would notice a strong beam in such a contained space and be lured back like a moth to a flame. She focused on her path forward; eyeing up the signs along the tunnel walls as she identified the Parts & Service tunnel-
Only to hear ANOTHER noise not too far away.
The girl whimpered and cried; then once again flopped to her belly behind some crates. It didn't sound like it belonged to that big thing, but...
Wait. Was that Gregory's voice?
"Oh no... oh no oh no no no no no-" she clapped her hands together in prayer; not that she was religious. She was in no mood for Mimic-Gregory now! Of COURSE her luck had to run dry the instant she left the main server! Hell, the main server was SAFER than this place. At least the M.X.E.S-thing wasn't in it anymore!
"I dunno... this place isn't exactly safe..." Said a woman's voice Cassie has never heard before.
"I know, I know... but its the only way we can get into Parts & Service right now. Cassie showed me herself. Believe me-" That voice! "-If we can take a different route there, I'd happily detour you there instead."
"Will it be long now?" Said a boy her age-
That can't be, she wondered.
"Nope! Another few minutes."
"Eclipse?" Cassie now spoke this time, peaking up her head so to catch whatever the source of the voices was.
They didn't sound distorted or crackling with static- beyond Eclipse's own being slightly tuned in a way to betray it was animatronic in origin. She also noticed a couple sets of lights bobbing in the murk: One of the sets belonged to a tall figure with LED eyes; colored amber in origin. The other was a bi-colored set with a red and blue tint; that was no doubt Eclipse's eyes-
But the other two sets of lights were from flashlights-
From actual people.
Cassie garbled and pulled the V.A.N.N.I mask off; then forcefully shoved it into her sweater and hobbled free of the debris. She clutched Bonnie's head tightly to herself; mouthing the names in utter disbelief of what she was hearing.
Was that actually-
"Gregory?" She called out timidly.
GREGORY
The boy rolled his eyes, but hadn't argued with the daycare attendant further on the matter. Parts & Service had never been easy to access to begin with- as the boy recalled that the only ways he knew personally had been from the stage lift and this tunnel.
He glanced at Vanessa beside him, the woman looking decidedly more worried and anxious with the time that's passed. Her pallid expression bespoke of an uneasiness that wouldn't leave anytime soon either. She grunted once, then glanced at the boy once she felt his eyes on her. She shrugged, as if in silent agreement with her adopted boy.
Freddy meanwhile stopped; his amber gaze focused on a point ahead of them. It was so sudden that Gregory almost walked right into the ursine- having been following his shadow loyally for the last while. "Papa bear?" He muttered.
"Gregory?"
The female -and young- voice had the aforementioned boy pausing; Freddy's paw lowering to meet his chest and pushing him further back behind him. "Whose there?" Freddy called into the darkness, his baritone wary.
"...FREDDY?"
Vanessa stepped past her boy, then shined her light where Freddy was looking-
And it landed upon a filthy bunch of pink sweater with star decals and unpolished blue metal. The owner of the figure gasped and ducked, then carefully called out, "Um... hello?"
"...Cassie?" Gregory mouthed, pushing past Freddy.
There she was- literally just right there. The girl timidly hobbled out; an observation not lost on Gregory as he felt his mouth come open.
She was alive.
AND SAFE.
She was also clutching something huge and no doubt heavy like her life depended on it; the thing in her arms had hair on it and was stained to hell and back. Cassie herself was just as bad; favoring one leg over the other as she shuffled into full view of the lights and protected her eyes from the beams. Her face was cut and patchy; and her clothes were just as bad.
"CASSIE!" Eclipse bellowed and swept over so fast, Gregory still hadn't had the time to properly process the girl was actually there.
The daycare attendant whooshed by his party and snatched her up; spinning her around once and clutching her protectively to himself in a manner Sun would. Cassie wrestled from him, then heard and felt the stomp of a bear as he lumbered over. Vanessa and Gregory joined in soon after; with Gregory throwing his light at his adoptive guardian and throwing his arms around her too-
She stank- but that was her.
She's alive, he thought over and over. Oh my god. She's actually ALIVE.
"Gre-Gre-" She couldn't even garble out a proper response; nor could he, for that matter. Gregory hugged her and refused to let go; not caring if the thing in her arms dropped.
The next thing he knew, Freddy scooped up both boy and girl and tucked them to his shattered breast plate; resting his huge head over the tops of their own. He thrummed contentedly; his voice box an octave that was loud enough to make it feel like his chest was vibrating. The sound was a low resonance that placidly reverberated around inside their own chests as well as his with an effect like a cat's purr. His talons were a strange but a strong, comforting hold on both of them.
"Oh Cassie! Goodness gracious-" Freddy rubbed his chin on her scalp, his smile so contagious that it started to creep into the kids he held. "Oh, its been too long!"
Vanessa and Eclipse backed off, smiling pleasantly as they beheld the hugs going around. Eventually however, Eclipse couldn't resist; and he jumped in on the hugs and wrapped his spidery limbs around ALL of them. Freddy picked them all up in the best version of a bear hug he can manage; still rubbing his face all over the kids and bouncing on his feet. He was now holding Cassie, Gregory, and even the attendant in his embrace; spinning around once and laughing merrily.
Cassie couldn't summon words, meanwhile. She'd fallen silent, save for a sniffle or two. She hiccupped several times at length, then reluctantly removed one arm from her coveted metal prize and planted it on Freddy's bow tie so to hang on better. She let him rub his chin all over her crown; whimpering ceaselessly into his neck area like she wanted to bury her face into fur but couldn't. His voice was a warm sound that no doubt lulled the girl into gradual silence again; holding her dear like she and Gregory meant everything to him. Freddy eventually fell to his own knees in slow motion; keeping his limbs wrapped around the children and shoving his muzzle in-between their faces like he wanted to smack them with nose kisses. In fact, his nose squeaked a couple times with a particularly large amount of pressure; making Cassie laugh wetly. One of her hands found his left cheek too; palm cupping it affectionately as if to hold his face there forever.
They stayed like that maybe a minute or more; no one knew except maybe Vanessa. The woman had backed off, smiling sweetly as it went on. Even Eclipse had broken the embrace eventually first, kneading his nervous hands together as he swapped his gaze between children and bear.
Eventually, Freddy relented and let Cassie slip gently from his grasp. One of his paws found her hair and threaded it in a way that was very paternal; his nose meeting her forehead as a sign of his affection. His expression became serious and concerned however when his amber eyes landed upon her leg-
And snapped suddenly, to her prize.
Gregory was now gawping too when he saw it had rabbit ears.
"Um-" Gregory held up a single, questioning finger, pointing at the large object against her chest. "What... is-"
"Bu-" Freddy garbled, his jaws literally slipping open and staying that way.
Cassie blinked the rest of her tears out of her eyes; then noticed their expressions. She pulled the metal object away from her chest, offering it silently to Freddy. Gregory backed off as he watched Freddy hesitate on taking it. He removed his paw from Cassie's head and gradually took it- turning it around and coming eye-to-eye with his best friend's severed head.
Gregory felt his hands fly to his mouth in blunt horror. He caught from the corner of his eye, Vanessa looking away.
Freddy said nothing. His dreadful silence was so heart-stopping that Gregory couldn't even hear his own in his ears anymore. Cassie was seen fidgeting endlessly, her eyes on the rabbit with a faraway look on her face. The bear gently cusped his friend's cheeks and brought it to his own face- his forehead meeting Bonnie's in a candid sign of long lost affection.
And then, his shoulders jumped.
Gregory wasn't sure he can take Freddy's tears again, so he went over and leaned on the bear's shoulder so to hug it away. His arms went around Freddy's absent neck area; being careful to not hurt his skin on the vertebra. He was able to see Bonnie's face clearly now; taking a moment to really see just how bad off he was:
Bonnie had damage to the back of his head as well as the side; his left having looked like its been caved-in and peeled away by a heavy object. His optic wasn't even sitting correctly on the endoskeleton skull inside his casing; sitting lop-sided and barely producing any light even though he clearly had power in him. And... creepily enough, Gregory observed, Bonnie SHOULD be talking if his voice box was there and he had power. Freddy had been a talking head for MONTHS up until a short while ago. So the lack of life or response from him was telling enough of his mental condition despite the fact he was making light at all with his LED eyes.
Wires poked out in some regions of his face like a cruel parody of bloody runnels; with some looking a lot like he's had claws dig STRAIGHT into his noggin just to yank them out. His voice box was definitely still attached to his neck pipe, but its wiring was so tattered, that Gregory knew he couldn't talk, even if he was conscious. His cobalt hair was stained ominously with a fluid he couldn't identify; coolant maybe, that's long since dried and crusted on.
To put it bluntly, Bonnie looked worse then dead. If just Bonnie's head looked THIS bad, he couldn't imagine what the rest of him could look like.
Gregory saw the moment when Freddy looked into his head and noted the broken chip; the way his expression went utterly and hopelessly blank with an impressive, unfathomable shock that exceeded any singular inflection-
And then Cassie blurted out, "D-Don't start crying! Please- There's a lot to explain, but-"
Freddy's claws threaded Bonnie's mussed scalp and tucked him closer to his shattered breast; his chin now resting over the rabbit's crown as he's done with Cassie before. He huffed a few times; the noise a distressed, shallow rasp that fought to be more. His fangs showed; eyes shut and dirty, cracked muzzle looking a lot like stress lines. His breathing got shallower too; and then he groaned as if in pure agony.
Gregory winced like he was about to be struck when he heard that noise.
Cassie continued rather calmly despite the display, "It may sound impossible, but he CAN be fixed. I came upon a solution literally just a bit ago. I was actually on my way to doing it... 'til I ran into you."
The ursine slowly moved his amber gaze to the girl, unblinking as he said in a quiet murmur, "...'Fix him'. How can you possibly fix this? I don't-" he shook his head in morbid disbelief. "He can't be fixed. Look at him, Cassie. I- I-"
"It can be done!" Cassie interjected with balled fists. "I LITERALY just now stumbled upon a way to do it! Also... you can thank Bonnie for being so dang diddly resilient- cuz he thought ahead! He managed to save himself- its just not obvious right this instant." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, "I can explain it, but I'd rather do so when we're NOT in a horrible maybe-death trap?"
Freddy blinked, then very slowly drew himself to his full and imposing, realistic bear height. Gregory noticed Vanessa wasn't keen on breaking her sudden vigil, and Freddy himself wasn't looking at her. Suddenly the air was THICK with something chunkier than clam chowder. Cassie didn't seem to notice meanwhile; likely not knowing the full extent of their connection here. Eclipse meanwhile was fidgeting in increasingly frantic motions.
"You... can fix him?" The bear repeated in a whisper. There was something odd about his tone that sat wrong... The warmth from before was very much dead now.
"Yes," She asserted with such finality even Gregory somewhat believed her. She motioned over her shoulder, "Are we going to Parts & Service, or what? I promise you, Freddy: Bonnie is FIXABLE."
Freddy blinked, his paw stroking and mussing Bonnie's gross hair all the while. He inhaled slowly; his worn compressor jumping and thrumming a bit too loudly. He nodded numbly, then looked on the ground for the duffels he'd been carrying. He scooped up their objects, Bonnie's head still tucked to his chest, and stood beside the children. He nodded again as if to motion for her to proceed.
"Okay. So," Cassie started. Eclipse was seen picking her up so she didn't have to walk on her bad leg. "Bonnie AND Chica can be fixed. And before we get to Parts & Service, you'll have to be mentally prepared for what you're about to see with Chica..." She shook her head, expression grim. "Cuz she uh... she doesn't look that much better either."
Freddy stayed stoically silent. Why was that so strange?
Also, Cassie wasn't saying anything to Gregory directly. Something was up, but he didn't want to interrupt her when Freddy so clearly needed this. Gregory shined the light down the tunnel, letting his head sink when he recalled shoving Chica into the trash compactor.
God, he felt like Vanessa right now. And he imagined he'll feel worse once he actually saw Chica. On that note, he was deathly afraid of what they're about to see.
And he'll hate being right.
~A little while later~
The walk to Parts & Services was fast, thankfully.
Cassie told Eclipse to message Roxy; to let her know to grab Bonnie's body and bring it back since Cassie made it safely back on her own. Gregory was in total awe of the fact Cassie was so calm about it- and somehow, he felt it's making the bear feel a tad bit better by extension. Apparently, Bonnie's ENTIRE body was accounted for and can be brought over.
Meanwhile, Roxy herself was A-okay. She was a missing ear, according to Eclipse. One of the music men had ripped it off, leaving the poor wolf half-deaf. Roxy managed to crush a bunch of them though as a thank-you for the transgression. She told the attendant she'll be there soonish- as Bonnie wasn't a very light boy. In fact, he had an 80 pound difference between himself and her- and he was apparently in pieces. So, fantastic.
Vanessa finally broke her silence here, "M-Music men? Wait, the little..." She made waving motions with her index finger, "The wind-up prototypes?"
"Yuh," Cassie nodded. "They're apparently hostile... and... they don't look quite right. Given they're supposed to look like DJ-? They were-" She trailed off thoughtfully. "-Some of them had bunny ears, and others had long faces with metal pulled off in some spots? Like it was on purpose!"
That got everyone's attentions and horrified each individually.
Cassie found herself looking at ALL of them. "What?" She raised a brow. "What did I say?"
Freddy jumped his voice box; but it was Gregory who spoke, "They GOTTA be infected with that Vanny-virus!"
"The Vanny... Virus-?" She reiterated.
Gregory rapid-fire nodded. "There's something about the virus that seems to favor a rabbit look? The bunny ears gives it away. It makes it stupid easy to find it. Its like a tampered version of the coding that already existed in the PizzaPlex and made the animatronics act up. I can't explain it really well-" He looked at Vanessa for help there.
The woman sighed and had a hand hit the flesh between her eyes and pinch, tightly. It was tight enough that even Gregory can see in the low lighting that she was turning flesh red and fighting an oncoming migraine. She said, "The virus was supposed to take EVERY animatronic in this place and make it go crazy. It disables all barriers and removes limiters on strength, Security mode, and exaggerates flaws that already exist in the system. Its also adaptive and self-replicating; the code multiplying like a nasty version of the common cold on steroids and jacked to an 11. Its awful, punishing, and makes everyone here, no matter how nice they are, absolutely bat-shit insane."
"Who... Why would ANYONE unleash something so horrible onto the network!?" Cassie spat, her expression war-like. Gregory has never seen her so fired up before as she added, "Its RUINED everyone's lives! These bots don't deserve this! WHO DID IT?"
"I-" Vanessa inhaled sharply, but didn't reply immediately.
Cassie was so livid that the boy can now see her temples were actually pulsing; the girl wearing this look of absolute, feral rage as she hugged Eclipse tighter. He returned the gesture, tucking her ever closer to his tin body.
"They don't deserve this..." Cassie repeated more calmly now. "To be hurt like this... to what end did this person want to cause mayhem?"
Now while the last query was rhetorical, Vanessa looked liked she would answer but hesitated at the last moment. She was now looking anywhere else but at the girl.
"The person who unleashed it was never caught," Vanessa told Cassie instead, her tone oddly off. "She was uh... she was STOPPED, but never caught."
"You know who it is?" Cassie asked this time, blinking innocently.
Gregory did not blame Vanessa if she didn't reply there. He left it to her if she wanted to broach the topic now or to wait.
Vanessa's visage was noticeably more somber as she said, "Yeah... we know who did it. The name of the virus itself is a kinda giveaway-"
"Vanny... the Vanny virus," Cassie echoed back. "Oh- OH! OH MY GOD. Greg-" She finally turned to face him. "I remembered something! I saw footage earlier of YOU being chased by a white rabbit woman. Was that HER?"
"You saw VANNY?" Gregory blinked back.
Now Freddy was looking at Cassie strangely, having only been partially tuning into the conversation on occasion. He'd been so focused on Bonnie that he hadn't really been listening until now. He blinked several times at the girl's direction, his grip on Bonnie especially tight.
Cassie nodded from her position in Eclipse's arms and said, "I saw the video footage in the daycare theater. I dunno how, but the projector was showing me Greg being chased by a skipping white rabbit. It was weird..."
Gregory gave Freddy and Vanessa an uncertain glance, then asked his peer, "So... how DID you see that footage? Vanny isn't supposed to show up in the system at all! She was invisible to cameras as a weird distortion or glitch-"
Cassie only shrugged.
Vanessa however was eye-balling Bonnie like their answer was sitting right there; leaving Gregory to wonder if Bonnie was the one who'd been showing Cassie this somehow- not that he knew how. In fact, Vanessa's eyes squinted at him tellingly.
"Him," She suddenly said aloud.
"Huh?"
Cassie blinked again, with Vanessa only adding on with, "That had to be him- Bonnie. He is the only bot here who can SEE Vanny. He has overwritten his programming to a point where he can see glitches where others wouldn't. That HAS to be his doing."
"You think he showed me that footage?" Cassie pressed.
Vanessa was keeping her stare on the buck the entire time, as if half expecting he'll start hissing and biting at her. Something about her expression was making Gregory uneasy.
"He was locked up in the system. How could he have done this-?" She was now putting a hand to her chin before looking at Cassie again. "By chance, did YOU free him? Digitally, I mean."
"I did, yeah. I think I had a couple times where- wait." Cassie was now squinting at Vanessa like how the older woman was squinting at Bonnie. "Wait wait wait- Are YOU Vanessa?"
She nodded. "Yeah... I'm her. Um... can't believe I didn't introduce myself- I'm sorry about-"
Cassie's expression turned HOT before she can finish the sentence. The whole group could feel her animosity like its a tangible inferno as she scowled at the elder woman with a fury that looked like it could go supernova. Vanessa actually wilted at the sight of it, holding her hands up in submission.
"Whoa- kiddo. What did I-?"
"YOU HURT HIM!" Cassie looked like she would jump out of Eclipse's arms right now if she could. "THAT WAS YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO HURT BONNIE!"
How does Cassie know that? Gregory pondered before glancing at the rabbit's head. And how is Bonnie conveying this information to her in this state?
Eclipse meanwhile seized the suddenly fussy girl and held one of her flailing arm, "Easy, Cassie. I know, I don't much care for Vanessa myself... but its not worth getting riled up over right now-"
"Not worth- EXCUSE ME-?" Cassie started to rage before she abruptly cut and coughed.
The group paused just as Eclipse lowered her to the ground; letting Cassie cough it out for a moment before they can continue. The girl was holding her ribs; with Gregory suddenly remembering Eclipse mentioning to them earlier that Cassie was terribly bruised. She shouldn't be talking half as loud as she was. It'd take her a full minute to recover too; gasping in a strangled manner before slumping tiredly against the attendant.
"Cassie."
It was Freddy who spoke this time; approaching her and kneeling next to the girl. She looked up at him with tear-strained eyes.
The ursine reached over and patted her head again; the gesture velveteen and patient. "Believe me, I know it is worth the time, but not now. Not when you are unwell. Please, I beseech you to take it easy. Out of everyone here, I understand the most how you feel about how Bonnie and how the rest have been treated-" He hung his head sadly, his ears sagging as well. "As for Vanessa, I would not be so quick to pass judgement yet. There are explanations that need to be shared first; and I want to hear from all sides what happened. And even before all that-"
He motioned around the hall they were in, "We need to get out of here and get safe. The whole reason why we are here is because of you. We came here to rescue YOU, initially. I did not have the hopes to think my friends were well- and I was right." He held up Bonnie's head as an example, "But we are together now, and we shall make the most of it. I'd appreciate some patience on all sides as we deal with these hurdles as we come. Please, dear Cassie: Do not abhor Vanessa for something Vanny was actually responsible for. There's more to this whole thing than either side has information for. You understand?"
Cassie passed Vanessa a mutinous glare, but she nodded eventually.
Freddy sighed above her, patting her head again lovingly, "Thank you, Cassie. Just, hold on a bit longer, okay?"
"Okay..."
He touched his nose to her forehead again; then withdrew. "Now then-," He turned towards the others. "Shall we?"
Gregory noticed Cassie slanting Vanessa another look- and then she was giving Gregory a dismissive nose lift. That following motion had the boy noticing again just how uncaring Cassie was about the fact she was with a FRIEND now. She hadn't really reacted towards Gregory positively this whole time beyond asking him the one or two questions. She'd only really held Freddy and Eclipse; and kept looking anywhere else but at the boy and his adoptive guardian.
Something was clearly up here, but he didn't ask right this instant. He suspected she may think it was his fault she was hurt however- something he will certainly bring up later.
As it were, they arrived at the cylinder room. The room was also, surprisingly enough to Gregory and Freddy, largely unchanged despite the state of the rest of the PizzaPlex. The only real differences was the lack of endos in the cages nearby-
And the limp zombie bot inside the cylinder itself.
Freddy's tool bags all dropped to the floor as SOON as he saw what sat inside the glass prison. He dropped everything but Bonnie's head; his jaws coming open and his eyes pinning to pricks. The next thing the group knew, he was stomping over to the cylinder and very gently placing Bonnie's head on the computer desk. He pulled the cylinder's door furiously, but it didn't budge. The damn thing was built to measure up to an animatronic's strength, after all.
"Hold on there!" Cassie barked at him.
She had Eclipse lower her down and hobbled to the computer; typing on it to wake it up. She commanded the door to open, letting Freddy in to grab the comatose thing inside-
It took Gregory an embarrassing amount of time to realize that the hideous, cheese-slathered, mold-caked piece of scrap metal in there was actually Chica Chicken.
Yup. NOW he felt like Vanessa.
He stepped closer to the woman, grabbing her hand and unable to look at Chica anymore. His eyes fluttered rapidly; the guilt of what he's done boiling forth like a rippling tsunami coming to sweep away an entire city. He furiously wiped his the corners of his eyes with his free hand; unable to stop the tears as they emerged.
He knew when he trapped Chica in that compactor that the need for her voice box had been needed at the time. If it hadn't been, he and Freddy wouldn't be here right now. Her voice box had saved both their lives quite a few times. It had been a necessity-
But it didn't stop him from feeling like a guilty convict as he listened to Freddy producing these rolling whines and whimpers nearby. His breath loud and shallow as he pulled the limp hen to his over-large form and engulfed it in an embrace as if he tried to breathe life back into her with just the motion alone. He sat up on the chair; ignoring the armature overhead as he placed his head on Chica's own.
He cried loudly.
Nobody spoke for a solid minute; all of them realizing just how badly Freddy was taking it. He could take being physically ripped apart like its nothing, so long as its done to just HIMSELF- but seeing his friends in this state? And hurt by Gregory and Vanessa jointly no less, it made the pair ashamed to be in here with him.
Freddy's shoulders rolled and jerked at random intervals; his voice box skipping as if it couldn't properly reproduce the agony coiling within him. His head bumped Chica's constantly; as if trying to get her return their usually signature sign of affection. His teeth showed constantly in a grimace; his naked talons slipping too easily into the broken crevices of her fractured, fragile form. He couldn't even properly breath after a point, his compressor whirring warningly sometimes.
"What is a Freddy," he eventually whimpered brokenly. "-Without a Bonnie and Chica? What is a Freddy without his friends? His family? His greatest loves in the world? His greatest sources of inspiration and livelihood? If I have to leave this place without them... I'd rather not leave at all."
Gregory gasped too, wiping an arm across his sopping-wet, runny nose and leaning heavily into Vanessa. The woman was tangling her fingers into the boy's hair too; gently nudging and kneading his scalp in mutual understanding of how he currently felt.
Gregory vowed to never hurt a bot ever again; even if it was chasing him around with the intention to kill him.
Cassie inhaled, then said, "She can be fixed too. We have all the parts, and her blueprint is here-"
"I don't. Want. A new. Chica," Freddy SPAT.
Nobody has ever heard such a tone before come out of him before. No doubt, if Freddy wasn't in the amount of pain he was in right now, he'd furiously apologize for directing that at CASSIE no less- but he wouldn't do so now. Certainly later though.
The girl jumped visibly, meanwhile. Her own face was falling and tears were budding at the corners of her eyes. She braved his helpless fury by absolving it with, "Her personality is copied into the computer. It's saved. I was also able to grab data from her chip and sync it too... Bonnie, saved her life."
Freddy finally looked up.
Cassie coughed once as she leaned heavily into the attendant; whose been silent this whole time. She then said, "Bonnie thought of everything. He saved copies of you. He saved Chica's personality in the system too- So she's ready to go right now... we just need to fix her body first."
Gregory pulled on Vanessa now, not wanting to see anymore this. He was crying now too; swiping an arm across his face and shoving the heel of his palm into one eye. He never thought he'd see Freddy like this- and it hurt to keep near him when he knew HE was the one who hurt the hen so badly.
Freddy meanwhile chuffed again; bumping Chica's face one last time and laying her flat in the chair again. His claw gently grazed the remainder of her skull casing; his expression so lost that they wondered if he even wanted to try. His cheeks reflected the light of the armature a little too well- giving Gregory the grotesque illusion of shiny tear runnels flowing down his face.
Eventually the bear moved ever so slowly away; walking mechanically to the computer, Cassie and Bonnie. His hand found Bonnie's head again; ruffling the hair on it. He was definitely lost.
"Cassie. I adore your bravery and loving intentions, don't get me wrong," He murmured. His voice was hoarse; containing the quality of gravel grinding on concrete. "-But I just do not think you can fix them. This damage, its... I do not want to hope it works just to be- you know."
"It CAN work though! I wouldn't lead you on like this if I didn't think it won't work," She told him gently but firmly. She stood as straight as she could and GLARED into Freddy's face with unbridled determination, "I know how to save them! Bonnie himself made a complete backup of his personality in the server too. I went into it, unshackled him, and found where he was hiding-" She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, "He apparently dumped his brain into the S.T.A.F.F bot sub-network- its what made it go bonkers that time! I was able to reassemble it, and its ready to go, RIGHT NOW. We just need to get the chips, which are in the office."
Nearby, Vanessa's gaze went white, then she 'Oh'd'. Cassie tossed her an odd look but then focused on Freddy again.
Freddy inhaled, then dipped his head sadly at her, "-And Chica? Say we can do this thing with Bonnie and it works. What of Chica? Give me the truth: Will she be as she was before?"
"She will. She just won't have much memory of being trapped in this state. And frankly, I wouldn't think she'd WANT to remember being a zombie version of herself," Cassie supplied. "I only got 30% of her memory from her chip being what it is currently... but, she had a whole copy of herself inside the system that was dated fairly near to around the time the PizzaPlex closed. So if we sync the two blueprints, she should be herself. She'll have gaps, but it'll be her!"
"...'Should'," He air-quoted.
Cassie nodded, not going to deny this one. "Should," was all she said.
Vanessa released Gregory meanwhile, staring hard at Bonnie, "You clever bastard. Guess Vanny REALLY underestimated you. On that note-" She looked up at Freddy now, "I think Cassie's right. The personalities will be a bit outdated but... they'd be intact and they'll work. I say we give this a shot."
The bear frowned, "I do not understand... How would Bonnie have gotten our- How?"
"Why is that so hard to believe," Vanessa queried while raising a brow.
"He would have had to invade our consciousnesses to do that! He'd have to get inside our heads and..." Freddy glanced away. "How would he have done that-? I'd think I'd remember him hacking my brain and dragging copies of me out of me! That doesn't sound like something he'd do-?"
"Freddy, did I not get through with telling you a while ago that Bonnie is alarmingly intelligent and kinda low-key scary? And super weirdly adaptive and totally kinda-sorta-maybe a bit lacking in care when it comes to collateral?" She shrugged casually. "He probably prodded ya'll during rest mode and made sure to be real gentle so none of you noticed he's making copies of you. Ya'll are kinda in each other's heads all the time to begin with, so it made it easier for him to do this. You wouldn't have known he was doing it since you're so used to it, yunno? And he isn't forceful- He's your friend after all." She shrugged, "He had the foresight to save himself like this, so... its not that hard to believe."
"...'Scary'-? Bonnie?" Cassie raised an eyebrow. "You're saying BONNIE'S the scary one?"
"Yeah," Vanessa nodded. "He's absolutely terrifying to be around. None of you really know the real him. You never saw what happens when he gets MAD."
Cassie was now frowning at the woman increasingly more, her arms folded.
Just then, there was an audible static cough; all eyes turning to Eclipse next. He rapped his finger tips together and said just as he got everyone's attentions, "How about we talk, clear the air, and get this ball rolling while we work? Hm? We can resolve all this later after we help Chica. With that said- To the manager's office!"
And he was zipping out so fast nobody can stop him in time.
"I need two blank chips!" Cassie called after him.
"Got it!"
"And chassis parts, joints and wires!" Cassie added before wincing at the pain in her ribs. She inhaled sharply; her hands flying to her chest.
Freddy jerked and bent down. He also ran his talons into Cassie's mussed hair as he said, "Okay, we will give this a try. But you need to relax, little one. Please?"
She nodded, slumping down against him. Freddy pulled her close and cradled her; his eyes unreadable as he looked at the computer. His paws rubbed up and down her back in soothing motions. "I miss having soft paws," He admitted aloud randomly. "I know they'd be nice right about now for you."
"Roxy's borrowing your paws and eyes..." Cassie muttered. "I couldn't find any other spares for her."
Freddy bumped his shoulders gently, "I will not take them from her if she needs them- goodness knows I still have her eyes! In fact, I shall be giving these back to her. She can have my paws for all I care. I'm sure I can make due with another set of claws for myself in the meantime." He turned towards Vanessa, "Vanessa, can you assist in this endeavor? Cassie is too tired."
"No, I'm not tired..." the little girl mumbled.
"You are, child. You SMELL like you're tired," Freddy chortled softly. "You'd be surprised how strong this nose is. On that note, I bet you're hungry too! Gregory, the sandwiches?"
Cassie's eyes went completely round in their sockets. Her head darted to Gregory so fast it was comical, "Oh my god you guys had food this whole time? Real SANDWICHES?"
Gregory winced but nodded, reaching over to the Chica bag and walking over to them with the food. Freddy seated Cassie again and went to work on the computer as Eclipse returned at the same time.
"Got the blank chips! And I can go grab some spare pieces for Chica. Cassie, didn't you say Bonnie has all his parts?"
"He does," She affirmed. "His servos looked stressed, but I think they're okay. He just needs new joints and wires at this point. He really ain't that bad compared to-" She winced when she almost said Chica's name. "Well, point is, he's got just about everything he needs. He'll need some TLC though- Oh, and maybe a new motor."
Freddy hummed at something, then stared at the computer anew, "Complete personality blueprints... No way. Bonnie... did he really do this behind our backs?" He turned to Cassie, "I see a copy of Monty too! Can we recover him at all?"
Cassie stopped mid-bite of the sandwich, once again her eyes comically round in their sockets. There was a pregnant silence before she eventually chewed and swallowed in slow motion. She opened her mouth a few times, and then said, "I uh... Monty's body is in one of the utility tunnels. I dunno if it'll be good though... he was electrocuted when a powered door came on. His chip, there'd be nothing left in it. And his body... well, I saw his legs at Monty golf. And as for his torso... I dunno. That's gambling a lot. We may need to find an entire new endo for him at this rate!"
"I didn't see any here on our way in-" Vanessa noted nearby.
Eclipse folded his arms, "That's because the endos are all in the daycare for some reason. I have no idea why they attacked me that day, but..." He shook his head as he trailed off. "I guess we can write that off to the virus doing that."
Freddy, Vanessa, Cassie and Gregory all blinked rapidly.
It was Gregory who eventually asked, "They ATTACKED you?"
There was a nonchalant shrug from the scrawny attendant, "They did. Couldn't figure it! At any rate, We'd have to go all the way to the daycare and back for an endo for Monty. Its a lot, but I think it can be done!"
Freddy's silence was a reserved one, and then he resumed typing in pensive silence for a moment. He eventually resolved it with, "I want to try for him too... At least try, since we're going this far for Bonnie and Chica. I don't care that he doesn't like me- I want to HELP him." His head hung low.
He knew Monty disliked him this whole time? I thought he just didn't notice, Gregory blinked.
Apparently Cassie wondered the same thing and passed Gregory a shrug.
"-I want to do this for him. Nobody deserves to be left behind here anymore," Freddy continued to assert. "Monty is good and he does good... he was helping Bonnie. He was helping Bonnie help us. He deserves that helping hand too, does he not?" At their nods, he smiled gently and added, "After a bit, I shall find his torso and bring it here. As for his legs... you say Monty golf?"
"Yeah... but they're kinda twisted. Could probably just get him a new set of legs here," Cassie supplied.
"Shortens the work load, then. And pragmatically speaking... gives us more time to work with. Okay. I'm syncing the data on these chips now. Bonnie's downloaded entirely in the span it took for us to talk. Its doing Chica's right now," Freddy added.
He took a wire from beneath the computer and plugged it into Bonnie's head; then he reached in and extracted his old chip. He turned it over and checked the reader. He frowned, then harrumphed. "I may have to get a new reader too... this one's busted. And some eyes... Goodness. This is going to take longer than I thought."
Cassie continued to chow down in the meantime, Gregory sitting next to her and pensively considering her as he tucked into a PB&J Vanessa made for him before they left the house. The girl watched him warily too, her hazel eyes critical of his own.
The boy figured this was the time to make mention of the elephant in the room.
"For the record," The boy started. "I didn't drop that elevator."
"Oh. You didn't?" Cassie spat, pretending to not look surprised by the sudden broach of topic. "Okay then. Right. Well, what was it you said... 'We can't be followed'? HM?"
Gregory threw up his hands, looking absolutely mutinous. "I swear I wouldn't do that! You're like, my only friend?" He threw a hand at Freddy, "Besides him and Vanessa!"
Cassie stopped chewing and continued to glare, but something about her expression seemed to slip and soften for the smallest of seconds.
Freddy got between them, as if sensing an oncoming argument. He quickly said just as Gregory went to open his mouth, "Listen, little one. I can vouch for Gregory here: I was with him when he was talking to you. In fact, both Vanessa and I heard what happened on the other side of the walkie. That elevator you were in was weak and well-used, sadly. I know its sounds incredibly hard to believe... but it cut at a rather poorly timed interval on its own. It was giving out."
"So... coincidence?" Cassie spat.
Freddy had the graces to look chastised; his ears lowering but he didn't back down, "Coincidence or not, Gregory would not harm you."
"Yuh," The boy nodded rapidly, reasserting himself back into the topic. "I swear Cassie, all I could think about ever since I heard that elevator give was coming to save you! I swear-" He lowered the food and planted a hand on his tiny chest. "I mean it; you're my BEST friend. I don't have anyone else but you, Ness, and Papa bear! Why would I kill you when I was giving you directions to leave!?"
She didn't say anything to that.
Gregory proceeded with, "Look, Cass. I was trying to contact you that whole night as soon as M.X.E.S let us know there was an intruder inside the plex. When he showed me footage of you going through the building, I made it my mission to try and get a signal through-" He shook his head, "But that dumb Mimic-thingy was blocking my signal the whole night! I really TRIED. Please! You believe me, right?"
She took a while to mull this over, gently chewing on the food while watching Gregory like she wanted to believe him, but a small part of her still wasn't liable to trust so easily after the way her night went. Gregory didn't blame her for it in a way, since the poor girl has few friends as it is and had been betrayed by them often enough before meeting him. It was one of the things she told him about; how the other kids just tended to overlook her or hurt her on purpose.
Gods know Gregory was similar, back when he had a normal-ish life.
"I- I want to believe that," She eventually drawled, her tone uncertain. she lowered her food, staring at him with eyes like fireflies caught in an lantern. "I really do, but-"
"But what? We're here now, aren't we?" He waved at Freddy and himself.
She flicked an uncertain gaze up at Vanessa, then back at him, "Eclipse and Roxy said nasty things about Vanessa. I find the company you keep a little... dubious. I see you're HERE- but I can't help wondering if there's more to it than that."
Vanessa nearby leveled the girl a sad look, but she understood. She eventually meandered over and sat across from Cassie, her arms loose in her lap. Freddy meanwhile moved away to let them speak; returning to work on his friends.
"Thing is," Vanessa started this time. "I am a horrible person... I admit to not liking the Glamrocks once. I especially did not like Bonnie-" She glanced up at his head, her expression leaden but clearly regretful. "He and I clashed a lot. He has this strong, willful personality; bright and loud and vibrant. Even Freddy says Bonnie has this... way about him, where Bonnie can kinda go overboard when he starts bragging. He's super confident, and I'm an insecure mess as a stark contrast. I've always hated that about him; how he knows what he wants, while I can't figure out how to fill out my skin."
Cassie blinked at the words there, her attention rapt.
Vanessa continued, "However, I can admit to being wrong about how I felt about 'em. I know I certainly like Freddy now, and I WANT to help you all. You don't have to believe it, but I mean it: I'm here to help you guys get out, and clear this air. I want to tell Bonnie to his face how sorry I am, and to help rebuild him and bring him home for Freddy- no matter how mad he can still be with me. I want that chance to earn your trust, and help Bonnie and you out. ALL of you-"
She waved around, "Everyone here deserves another chance. I want to give them that since Freddy was so kind in giving ME a chance when no one else does. Freddy showed me that he was capable of a kindness no humans have ever given me in years; that he understood why things happened the way they did-" She passed the bear a gentle smile there, the ursine returning it with one of his own as he typed near them.
She continued with, "I was surprised by his level of compassion; as it showed me that if even an A.I can learn something most humans stop having the capacity to carry, then we can experience a whole new paradigm shift as we go forward into the future. This whole nightmare can be buried; but it can only be done if we can learn to cope with each other. Forgiveness can come later; once we're comfortable at home in front of the fire and eating a full meal together."
She passed the little girl a timid ghost of a smirk; the gesture wilting swiftly as she proceeded with, "We don't have to carry yesterday's garbage. I still have trouble keeping it with me myself, but people like Freddy help me to realize I don't need to keep doing that. That kind of love and good-will is worth protecting and fostering, is it not? If it means that kindness can kill where violence can perpetuate hatred, then I'm all for throwing myself at even the terminator rabbit if it means we can ALL eventually move on from this nightmare together. Nobody needs to fight these demons we all share, alone."
Cassie's mouth slumped open once, then closed just as abruptly. She even fidgeted, effectively forgetting her sandwich as she watched Vanessa with an unreadable raptness.
The older woman sighed there, looking timid suddenly. "Anyways... I just ah... yeah. Yeah. Um-" A tiny grimace took her face, "You don't need to like me; just, I only ask you tolerate me until we can get everyone fixed up. To let me help you all out. I want to be nice too; I want to try again. I want things to go right this time. Don't you think?"
Nearby, Gregory noticed Eclipse was watching Vanessa with a strangely unreadable expression too; as well as Cassie. They were no doubt mulling over her words, likely wanting to pass judgement but not quite finding the moment to do so. In fact, Cassie's expression softened; and the nuance of her face seemed to be something Eclipse had been searching for as well. its as if he was waiting on the girl's own cue before making more judgements on his own end.
Cassie meanwhile said, "You don't strike me as a mean person... who are you, anyway? Greg's mom? He never mentioned you-"
"I'm not his-" She said rather fast before pausing. She sighed there and tried again, "I'm not his MOM, but... I am his legal guardian."
"So... his adopted mom?"
"No- not really-?" She and Greg passed each other helpless stares.
Gregory had to admit, sometimes even he found referring to Vanessa a certain way... difficult. He wanted to call her sister, but that felt weird too. They lived together long enough now that they're comfortable enough; but sometimes it can still be a bit difficult for Greg to swallow that fact that she was supposed to be family in a sense. Sister felt strange because they were enough years apart that she felt a bit old for it; but MOM was pushing it more. He couldn't call her mom by any means unless they've have WAY more time to resolve thing-s and even then that was a painful stretch.
Sister, again, was a strange term; but the closest approximation they can kind of stand on. Mother or sister, Vanessa was still the one feeding him and driving him to school. She was the one with a job and making sure he was safe. She was the one giving him a home and 'love' when everyone else has turned their back on the boy. It was more than enough that Gregory and her still fussed with trying to find the right labelling on this relationship.
She still protects me and feeds me. Helped me find my friend, he wondered. Holds my hand when I need it. Moms and sisters do that, right?
Back in the present, Cassie raised a brow and asked, "Are you guys still figuring that out?"
"Yeah, I guess," Gregory replied this time. "But we do know this: I trust Vanessa to help when I need it."
"And I trust this little hobbit-sized hellion to watch my back whenever I turn it on the wrong thing," Vanessa slanted a smile at Greg there. "He's the smartest kid I know; if mouthy and VERY opinionated."
Greg stuck his tongue out at her, but it was half-hearted.
"At any rate-" Vanessa focused back on Cassie. "Ankle-biter brats aside-"
"Hey!" Gregory grumped.
She kept the smirk as she said, "-We may not know what this is yet, but, we can figure that out together once we branch out and take everyone here home."
"You... you plan on bringing all the bots to your place?" Cassie queried this time.
"Yeah. Freddy deserves his family back," Vanessa said. "Does he not? God knows he's the only reason why me and Greg tolerate each other, and its not like they can stay HERE! And I don't hate the bots, so..."
"Its too quiet at the house," Gregory eventually added on. "Maybe some noise will make it feel more... homey? Homier? More like a home- whatever the term is."
Freddy then said over his shoulder at them, "The idea of it makes me excited already! The house always did feel a bit too big just for the three of us. I feel like I can hear you two THINKING so loudly!"
Both Vanessa and Gregory scoffed at him there.
Cassie meanwhile had returned her attention to Gregory primarily, picking up her sandwich and turning it over before leveling her gaze at Vanessa. She held this repose for a time; simply contemplating them before letting out a long sigh.
"Well... holding grudges always was a bit too exhausting anyways," She finally replied, her smile so fragile, it looked like the slightest breath can make it shatter in an instant. She also quietly added on, "And its as Bonnie himself even says: 'There's not enough love in the world, so why not put some love back into it'?"
Gregory let free a wide grin, his first in a long time.
Freddy leaned down form his position beside the computer; wrapping both kids into his arms and crooning into their heads again like he head earlier. He even said, "Oh BOY! I can't wait to bring you all home and pelt you all with paintballs already!"
"Paintball?" Cassie chortled.
"Well... its not like we can play Fazerblast! So why not? We would have to make do-"
Eclipse raised a hand there, "Is there uh... uh... you know-?"
Freddy got up and reached over to snag him next; giving him a little rattle and a noogie. "Honestly, Eclipse? We'd LOVE to have you there too! The more players, the better!"
There was a distinctly Sun-like squeal from his end before he tangled his ridiculous limbs around Freddy in a vice; giving the bear his tangly version of said bear-hug.
Gregory felt Cassie bump his arm, meeting her eyes again for the first time in what felt like eons. She passed him another tiny smile before she was immediately looking away again like she was afraid of judgement.
He only bumped her back; passing her a pack of crackers and cheese. "We'll go home together," He told her. "Nobody else gets left behind. I promise."
"Nobody else," She parroted back, her eyes watery once again. "Never again."
"Never again."