Present Day-

CASSIE

Food had a tendency to improve mood- and it certainly helped in Cassie's case.

She found herself forgiving Gregory more easily- as it wasn't within her nature to hold grudges as well as she thought. However, what Gregory did to the animatronics still had Cassie making a stink eye at him; even if this Vanny person was really the one responsible for all or most of the chaos. Gregory hadn't needed to hurt Chica the way he had; this much the girl knew.

As to Vanessa, Cassie still wasn't sure how she felt about the woman yet. As she's said before, Vanessa didn't strike her as a mean or cruel-hearted person, but the fact the older woman admitted to sealing away some of Bonnie's personality still had her raising a brow. Worse, it seemed Vanessa hadn't really attempted to get along with the bots before, even though she worked closely enough with them. Vanessa sounded like a person who made things difficult for herself out of spite at some points; although the reasoning for that also remained elusive.

Eclipse avoided her, Cassie noticed. He'd been keen on getting Freddy scanned; to which the bear seemed fine and showed he wasn't tampered with. After which, the attendant certainly relaxed more and left things well enough alone- But Cassie noticed he'd still pass Vanessa a suspicious glance once in a while.

Now Freddy at least seemed himself. Cassie was belated to see that, while he was physically a MESS to look at, he still seemed the same, lovable bear she knew from back then. At one point, the bear even bent down just to hug her again for the sheer, mundane joy of it out of the blue. Whenever they exchanged words, it's always with the same excitement and energy they had back then when the PizzaPlex had been open. Yes, his chassis was broken everywhere and his smile looked more like a snarl with his broken lip-line and all, but he seemed pretty fine beyond that.

Cassie asked Gregory how Freddy got destroyed, and both he and the bear said in perfect unison, "Vanny." It was Gregory who added on, "She tried using the S.T.A.F.F bots to dissemble him."

The more Cassie learned about this Vanny, the more confused she got as well. She glanced at Vanessa, and then back at the boy and bear, "So... Where is Vanny now, anyways? You guys said she hasn't been caught, right?"

"How the heck can we explain this-?" Gregory muttered while scratching at his head. "Vanny is... well, she's... different than what'd you expect of a being. She WAS a virus thingy... I think? Does she COUNT as one?"

Freddy only shrugged, "Her existence is beyond me as well."

Vanessa glanced up from nearby, "I can't even begin to explain her to you either- and I was the HOST. Nothing I can say will do it any justice, but my take on it was... well, Vanny is her own person, in a sense. A cruel, evil aspect born from from my own mind and some errant virus. I still cannot properly comprehend it, so I don't think I can explain it better than that. But the point is-" She passed Cassie a saddened look, "She and I couldn't be more different, even if we did share the same body at some point. And speaking of which-"

She jolted and whipped around; as if just now remembering she left the stove on. The motion made Cassie jump; let alone the clatter of a set of pliers hitting the floor. It even prompted for Freddy and Gregory to startle as well.

She was suddenly at Cassie's side within a moment, looking the girl in the eye as she asked breathlessly, "Cass, tell me: Did you, by CHANCE, find a creepy white rabbit mask lying around? You know- a mask that looks like what you saw in that footage?"

"The V.A.N.N.I mask?" Cassie mumbled, to which she saw Vanessa eagerly nod. The girl blinked rapidly, but then nodded vaguely. "Yeah. Yeah- I saw it. Its actually how I managed to find out how to help Bonnie and Chica there. The mask led me into the network itself. I actually- wait- what-?"

Cassie had started tugging at her sweater; beating and patting all along her torso to try and fish the mask out. She's had it tucked away inside her clothes this whole time, ready to fish it out again on the fly-

Just for her to realize that, in that moment of her frantic searching, the mask was GONE.

GONE.

Cassie stood up partially; patting herself down repeatedly for the most useful article she could ever hope to have. The thing that's saved her (and by extension, Bonnie and Chica's) own life. She even pulled off her sweater and shook it out; looking over herself frantically. She even looked under the plain shirt she wore beneath the Roxy-decal speckled sweater- to which she found nothing.

"Its... I don't have it! Where'd it GO?" She sputtered.

Gregory was sitting up and taking her sweater so to look in it too. He then passed Cassie a suspicious expression, "So you really DID find it?"

"I did! And it SAVED MY LIFE," Cassie told them in a distressed warble. "It was the only thing keeping my leg from hurting so bad! It always dulls down the pain, and it's why I was able to fix Roxy that time. if I didn't have, I wouldn't have been able to crawl out of that tunnel! And, it helped lead me to Bonnie so I can free his mind from the system! Its also how I escaped the other bots when they chased me. I need that back!"

Vanessa was heard gasping and choking on a sharply drawn inhalation; making the kids look up at her when she coughed.

"YOU WORE IT?" She was seen pulling her hair, her green eyes perfectly round in their sockets. She looked so panicked Gregory was partially getting up as a result, as if to go over to calm her down.

Cassie nodded, not liking the look on her face. Worse, she noticed Eclipse (who'd been handling Chica's chassis pieces nearby), Gregory and Freddy were now looking at her with abject horror. "What?" She shook her head and tried to act nonchalant about the irritating amount of scrutiny she was getting. It made her feel self-conscious; like she did something wrong. "Why is that so bad?"

"Cass... did that thing, by chance, at ANY point-" Vanessa was now knelt before her, her hands on the girl's shoulders and beryl eyes boring in Cassie's own warmer set, "-Put anything into your head?"

I do not like the sound of this, she wondered as she eyed the older woman.

"It... yes? It was some technician's chip or something-" She started to say.

She fell silent at the blankly terrified look that consumed the other's visage; Vanessa releasing her grip on the girl and falling back. She even tugged at her face and hair; expression contorting before she was up on her feet and anxiously pacing off. She looked literally like a war veteran was being told to go back to service when they've been trying to enjoy retirement.

"Oh no... no no no no-" She mumbled. "No. No- that isn't- GOD DAMMIT! WHY DID I LEAVE THAT DAMN THING HERE?"

They all jumped at the sudden shout, with Freddy stopping what he was doing at the computer and moving carefully over to her. He placed a gentle paw on the woman's shoulder; not pulling or tugging at all. He only kept it there, a steadying weight that didn't seem to reach her. Vanessa instead kept pulling on her hair and temples, muttering to herself.

"Its my fault- its my FAULT-" She sputtered repeatedly while Freddy kept trying to brace her.

Cassie's unease was now at its max, so she turned to Gregory now just as he planned on getting up. "What did I do? Did I do something wrong?" She asked the boy helplessly.

He shook his head at her, settling back on his bottom for the moment so to help Cassie instead. He looked nervous, but he spoke in an otherwise calm voice. "No, its not you. Its Vanessa actually... she's gonna need a minute," he started, the tone helping Cassie only minimally. "Vanessa's not... well, let's just say her experience with the mask wasn't as positive as yours. She feels bad for the fact you had to rely on it at all."

Eclipse walked up, drawing the girl's eyes to him. He knelt down to her level, his tone a level of seriousness his broken face couldn't betray, "I remember you having that mask just a bit ago... I wanted to comment on it, but I foolishly did not inquire when I should. For that, I apologize. Now on that note- did you not have it too long ago?"

"I DID! It was with me in the tunnel right before I- I-" Cassie trailed off and narrowed her eyes. Now it dawned on her:

The mask musta fell out of my sweater when that thing slithered out of nowhere! I didn't hear it hit the floor with all the noise those other bots where making.

"Its in the utility tunnel we came out of," She said aloud. "It HAS to be. I had it literally not ten minutes or more before you guys found me."

"How'd ya lose it?" Greg pressed.

Cassie coughed away the discomfort of her ribs, slowly informing him of her prior hunch. Gregory could only squint there, placing a hand to his chin to think. Eclipse rapped his nervous fingertips together all the while.

"Maybe we can get it back?" The boy added on after a moment. "It shouldn't take too long..."

Vanessa turned back to them by now, just now catching this. Freddy was giving her a saddened look as she said, "We NEED to find that thing and smash it. It cannot be allowed to do anything else!"

Cassie faced the woman again and queried, "Smash it-? WHY? And if I may ask... why are you so worried? Is there something I should be worried about too?"

Vanessa looked like she was juggling whether or not if she should grace that with a reply; her expression contorting and twisting around as it did. She even grimaced, "Cass, that thing is... that technician's chip it put in? It shouldn't have done that. It needs to be removed. Its uh... bugged. Very badly-" She trailed off uncertainly.

Freddy was giving her an odd look now, his borrowed optics sliding between she and the girl. It looked like he wanted to add on to that, but he thought better of it at the last second. He didn't want to scare Cassie, but he was also someone who tended to tell the truth if he could. He was clearly at war with himself with the idea of saying more.

Are they hiding something from me? Cassie wondered as she watched him.

"Look-" Vanessa sniffled and leveled her hands at her, "If its uh... if this chip of yours starts giving you problems, you'll need to tell us immediately. Okay? ANY issues whatsoever- like REALLY bad migraines, passing out, and... not remembering anything. Did you experience any of that at all?"

Cassie blinked and felt something cold and fishy settle in her gut. "Only the migraines... but not the other stuff-" she mumbled.

"Good," The woman breathed out with tangible relief- although not much of it. She had a distinctly pallored complexion to her skin now; something that wasn't lost on the girl. "Okay. Guess we'll be putting you under surveillance then for the time being..."

Gregory was giving Vanessa a hard look too, but he didn't say anything to her. Instead, he turned back to Cassie now, "How often are these migraines?"

"Frequent," Cassie mumbled. "But it only seems to happen when I wear that mask too long. The light on it kinda is... it makes me nauseous. The weird, purply glow isn't easy on my eyes. And the fact I feel like I'm phasing through stuff when I shouldn't-" She shuddered visibly, "I admit, the mask was useful, but I don't miss wearing it. It made my vertigo act up sometimes."

The boy folded his arms again, "You've felt nothing else?"

"No-"

"No... murdery feelings?"

Cassie squinted her eyes at him. "That is so SPECIFIC. You think that thing's gonna turn me into Vanny? That's stupid."

Gregory flashed his adoptive guardian a glance; who was still being consoled by Freddy. He then said to Cassie, "Vanessa was controlled against her will by Vanny. Vanny is... she's like a parasite of the mind and body. Again, no other real way to explain it. As to HOW she does it-" He scratched his head, "We thought it was through the mask itself at some point... but maybe its through the chip-? No... maybe-?"

Cassie felt herself blanch.

It must've showed since Gregory waved at her, "I wouldn't worry too much! It sounds like Vanny needed time to do it... or, maybe she doesn't use the chip at all. Maybe she uses something else! We could be wrong-"

"But you're not entirely sure-?" Cassie shook her head.

Gregory bobbed his shoulders, "I dunno myself! What I DO know is that Vanessa hasn't had a 'Vanny fit' since I stayed here at the PizzaPlex. I did something to help her but I can't figure how I did it." He pouted, "Vanny has some kinda control thingy or... signal. Maybe? Kinda? I dunno. I wish there was a way to properly make heads or tails of it. I also know Vanessa had her technician's chip removed within the month of us living together. She went STRAIGHT to the hospital and begged them to take it out. Ever since then, I noticed she seemed to... improve-? Emotionally. A bit..."

The chip in my head... the Mimic did that, I think. Not Vanny, Cassie wondered. But then... doesn't that still mean I can be controlled? No- that's just dumb!

She still didn't feel any better about it, but lingering on it when even the experts here couldn't tell her anything definitive wasn't going to make matters better.

And SPEAKING of the Mimic and that incomprehensibly large thing-

She told them about it after the topic of Vanny was dropped for the moment, and she was shocked to know Gregory already knew it existed. He told her Freddy and himself had to dodge it before, but they couldn't ever figure out how to deal with it. Moreover, it's just too strong and ferocious. It literally couldn't comprehend more than raw malice; explaining the unnerving sensation Cassie got every time it was near her. Instinct told her something was, beyond the obvious, very wrong with it- that its own madness was a corrupt and toxic force of nature within itself. Leaving it to die in the PizzaPlex didn't seem right however- as it may tunnel out with time on its own.

As for the Mimic- apparently it had a deviant copy of the Vanny virus in its head... or rather, a program that seemed similar to it. Cassie (nor the others) couldn't really wrap their heads around that. It wouldn't surprise the girl at this point if its blueprint formed the Vanny virus in the first place.

Freddy told Cassie that when the PizzaPlex was built, some old circuit boards were scanned in to help with programming certain electronics in this place to help shorten workload- the bots all used it in general, but a more tame version of it; including the Glamrocks. It helped them learn human behavior apparently, and was a vital component in the older animatronics the past locations being used to help children feel safer around them by emulating certain emotions- to appear more human. The original reasoning for this base program had been done with seemingly good intentions (though Cassie severely doubted that); and since it seemed sound at the time, the program stuck around a while and became a general backbone for all animatronics following.

The old program in those circuit boards was called mimic1, apparently. The mimic1 program apparently also went back very far into the past; to times where the pizzeria chains were a bit more common and the animatronics weren't sentient. The program was flawed though; and on one occasion, started emulating bad behavior when the tragedies started cropping up-

Like say, murder.

So apparently it learned murder was fine and dandy and it should imitate it. Who would've guessed? As to how, what, why and where all this began, it eluded everyone. They didn't know who built the Mimic itself, why it had a copy of the PizzaPlex circuit blueprint (or a deviant variant of it), and why it wanted to hurt others. Some suspected a Fazbear technician built it in his own home, as it did look jury-rigged. It so happened it could've drawn its cruel side from whoever owned it in the past. Vanessa thought so, anyways. After she supplied this idea, everyone agreed that was the most sound explanation they may get. Beyond that, it seemed the Mimic aberration will continue to elude them.

Best not to overthink it, Cassie eventually figured. Stopping it is more important.

What confused Cassie was the fact the Mimic showed more intelligence than just being a potentially harmful code trapped in a jury-rigged body. It learned to lean on sentimentality to lure Cassie here; manipulating certain behaviors and adapting voice syncing to form complex, structured dialogue and actions that went beyond just pale mimicry. If Cassie didn't know better, she'd think this thing was doing more than just emulating violence. It's demonstrating mannerisms more in line with a well-versed psychopath.

She told everyone some of the things it said and did; like the ways it controlled Helpi and how it made an adaptable jammer to combat M.X.E.S with. Vanessa and Gregory raised brows, but Vanessa could only say, "Still sounds like its behaving to a 'T' in its programming. But... who knows, maybe it is more than that? The Glamrocks themselves are an intelligent breed of bots unlike any other. But they had to LEARN to become that way, using the more 'user-friendly' version of the mimic1 program they have in their own boards to kick off their understanding of emotions nearer to their creation."

Freddy hummed at this as he proceeded to work on Chica. He'd been absolutely dedicated to the cause, barely breaking his focus from her for more than a moment to get a new part or do something relevant to her. He added on, "It does not surprise me that we have a copycat program in our system so we can emulate human gestures. Nor would it be so strange to consider that they developed this newer programming thanks to the baseline this mimic1 established. However, I do not think we Glamrocks so much have the mimic1 itself."

He paused here, tapping a bare claw to his broad jaw and folding his arms in. "Human emotions aren't something that can just be programmed in. Creating a program that can emulate and help us to UNDERSTAND emotions however is a more realistic and feasibly more useful tool when trying to give sentience to an A.I. So yes, I suppose that, no matter what, we do have some kind of mimicry programming. It'd make sense considering all the behaviors we carried over from watching our patrons throughout the years."

"Back to the Mimic itself," Vanessa huffed. "No matter how you slice it, even if it is just obeying its programming to such an extent, it makes you wonder... I mean, it literally sounded like it knew human emotions well enough to understand what to rely on to trick Cassie here. Maybe that thing really is..." She passed Gregory a look. "-Sentient."

"Not gonna lie, that is definitely not relieving," Cassie mumbled nearby.

Vanessa could only shrug helplessly as she worked on the spare endo they were going to use for Chica. They were welding the chassis pieces Eclipse found onto it. She only shook her head next, "All the more reason to make sure that thing never leaves here, is the point I'm getting at."

Gregory nodded, "It does sound like it became more than a mime... and while I feel like I should feel bad that it's just learning from bad behavior and it may possibly not know better... it should also know, given it IS intelligent, what right and wrong is in some capacity. It could hear me talking to Freddy somehow- and it knew about Cassie, so it may know her link to the Glamrocks. It knew kindness was a thing that existed. And yet it leaned on manipulation to get Cassie of all people to free it. And then, it proceeded to try and kill her! If it really is as smart as a Glamrock, it isn't very nice. Not at ALL."

"And it doesn't change the fact we came to decommission it," Vanessa continued with finality.

So the Mimic had to be removed as well. How? Not like she knew. Roxy held it off on her own, but she ultimately lost to it- and it's a tough customer even in its debilitated state. If they have any hope of getting rid of it, they'd ALL have to go at it at once- Freddy, Chica, Roxy, Bonnie, Eclipse, and even Monty if they can manage it. ALL would be needed to take it apart.

Back to the matter of the amalgamation, Cassie simply didn't know. It went beyond whatever they can do. The only way they figured they can deal with it was to set the whole PizzaPlex on fire and collapse the ENTIRE building on top of its head- And they'd have to trap it in place while they did that. It's already ludicrous just thinking about it; a tall order that would have the group bent over it and pondering what to do for a while.

In the meantime-

In the midst of their talks, Roxy thankfully returned safely- but Cassie didn't expect the reaction she was going to get from the encounter:

The wolf had a hold of Bonnie's torso; having some trouble hulling him in but managing anyways. She left the broken endo parts behind; mostly carrying his chassis pieces, upgrades, and more intact limbs with her. It lightened the load, but Bonnie was a LARGE bot- so it was no wonder she'd been so heavily slowed down. As a general rule of thumb, it seemed all the male bots were heavier than she and Chica by at least fifty-ish pounds. His broken motor was left behind (which ultimately lightened her load tons), but Roxy had taken the upgrades and batteries Bonnie had in it and carried them in her own hatch. The new and improved drive he had prompted for a raised brow on her end.

"Cassie? Cassie-" She stuck her head into the cylinder room. "You there?"

The girl was still sitting with Gregory, occasionally helping Freddy with reassembly on Chica whenever her leg can stand for it. Eclipse had been sitting with them as well, getting to know Gregory a bit better while Vanessa tended the details with some of the tech lying around. She'd been studiously welding and fitting wires for the hen; the woman showing a proficiency that was both remarkable and thankfully helpful.

Roxy blinked in confusion for the longest minute, pondering what the hell she was walking in on. She hadn't known Gregory, Freddy, and Vanessa were here, and it rightfully baffled her. Eclipse told her about some intruders but he never specified these guys. Her gaze had locked upon the humans too, her expression completely unreadable.

She slowly put down Bonnie's body without breaking eye contact with them; hardly noticing Cassie as she charged into the wolf. Her tiny arms went around Roxy's waist; the girl rubbing her head into her belly and glancing up, "You're okay! Oh- your ear!"

Roxy twitched her remaining one at her, nodding vaguely when she finally recognized Freddy, Vanessa, and...

Gregory.

The two definitely caught each other's attention now. The boy also gulped; looking abjectly like he wanted to run in the opposite direction as far and as fast as he possibly could. Nearby, Vanessa was seen slowly lowering her torch with her brows notched and her own expression guarded- looking like she was about to jump to him so to be his shield.

Roxy blinked several times. And then, she snarled.

"Roxy-?" Cassie mumbled into her.

Roxy dipped her head into a threatening position; the few, scraggly hairs she had left on her scalp sticking up more despite already defying gravity. She bared every single tooth in her mouth; her last ear falling flat to her head.

"You," She growled.

Gregory's eyes were wider than a doe's; and then he was up so fast neither Cassie or Roxy expected it-

Roxy surged forward-

And Freddy promptly played quarterback and tackled her right as she was mid-lunge.

Gregory hid behind Vanessa; the kid narrowing his eyes as Freddy scooped Roxanne into the air and started squeezing her half to death. The boy couldn't help but snicker at her expense, with Vanessa standing well in front of him as they observed Freddy's strangling bear-hug of doom.

"Oh you're OKAY! I can't believe it," Freddy buried his head into her waist, spinning her around and around.

"OhmygodFreddyLEGGO!"

"No! I shall never let any of you go again, NEVER," He vehemently promised. "You'd have to take me apart in order to get me to let you go!"

Roxy glowered at the bear and wriggled some more. She even beat a paw on his head once, "Wish granted if you don't leggo within the next five seconds! And you're also squeezing too HARD! My chassis is grazing my motor! OW."

He seemed to ignore her prior words as well. "I missed your spitfire bravado. Its so very endearing," He mumbled into her (Was he pretending to not notice? Cassie wondered). His hold was still ever viciously tight; but he lowered the wolf and pulled her more into his body and rubbed his head all over hers.

Roxy spat like a drenched cat and continued to fight him. She went limp eventually, unable to sever Freddy's obscene strength. He was far stronger than she was- and by a MILE. He just never used it until now.

Gregory was smirking like a chaos gremlin the entire time. Cassie glanced at him and folded her arms, her expression rather cross. "Roxy tells me you threw a cart at her face," she seethed.

"Hey! To be fair-" He jabbed a finger at her. "Roxy LITERALLY jumped into the road! I don't think she mentioned that to you, did she?"

Cassie shook her head.

Gregory folded his arms, "Roxy can blame me all she wants, but it's HER fault. I tried to veer out of the way! And it just so happened that once I got thrown from the kart, it went careening right into her- who was literally standing smack dab center of the road! Go on, ask her!"

Freddy was still viciously holding Roxy down- and at this point, its because he knew the wolf would jump the kid if he released her. He stared at Roxy and frowned, "Roxy, is that true? You did, didn't you?"

Roxy snapped her teeth, then looked Freddy dead in the eyes so to retort with something scathing-

Only to realize she was looking right into her OWN eyes.

She blinked several times, promptly forgot about Gregory, and snarled at the bear now, "MY EYES! GIVE THEM BACK!"

Now she was the one throwing him over and shaking him around. Freddy squeaked indignantly but didn't fight her. He raised his paws in surrender, giving her a contrite look, "Alright! Alright alright- just take them! Don't hurt Gregory, please!"

"And, I WANT AN APOLOGY," She petulantly snarled without lowering her obnoxiously loud alto. "A good, sincere one!"

"You gotta be kidding me," Gregory face-palmed nearby.

Roxy only growled at him as a response.

Gregory eventually bobbed his head in the affirmative (much to everyone's surprise), then walked right over to her. "Alright then, fine. I'll happily give one, but I'd like one back for you chasing me around the PizzaPlex and telling me how much of a loser I am! You weren't exactly friendly, you know," he jabbed a finger at her like he was calling her out. Technically, he was.

The wolf levelled him a flat look, keeping it for a FULL minute before finally conceding. She looked like she wouldn't bother at all for a moment there- but if it wasn't for Cassie being present, its possible she may not oblige him at all. So she got off Freddy; not having taken back her eyes yet. She folded her arms and fluffed her scraggly bit of mane primly; her stance haughty.

So she groused, "Well kid, fine. I apologize for chasing you around and making you shit your diapers."

"Roxy!" Both Freddy and Cassie said at once. Vanessa groaned nearby, with Eclipse face-palming.

Gregory glared back and folded his arms, looking quite nonplussed. He even scoffed, "And I sincerely apologize for mussing your hair and shitting in your cereal bowl. So, how did being blind work for you?"

"Gregory!" Same voices, but now include Vanessa's clipped mother tone into the mix. Eclipse threw up his arms like he was fed up with everyone's crap already.

"Not finished-" He said to the group. His expression softened somewhat,"-I didn't have to take your eyes, but... to be fair, you guys were chasing me around, and I had a scary bunny lady chasing me around with a well-used knife. Freddy couldn't even see her so to protect me from her. Your eyes essentially saved my life... so, thank you for that... I guess." He scowled as he added, "Still didn't appreciate being called a friendless loser the whole night though."

Roxy blinked rapidly, cocking her head at the rapid tonal shift. She'd have to credit the boy for giving back every time he'd been knocked down. She wouldn't say it now or too soon, but even Roxy would be remiss to not acknowledge the fire Gregory had. She respected that- albeit grudgingly, and she wasn't keen on letting HIM know that.

Still, the mention of the rabbit lady had her narrowing her eyes anew and shaking her head in mute denial. "Wait... wait wait wait-" She held up her hands in confusion. "Wait... you saw the rabbit lady too?"

"You know about her...?" Gregory blinked.

Vanessa stopped nearby, eyeing Roxy carefully. Roxy felt the scrutiny as well and slid the woman a venomous squint. Her tail even swished once.

"You could say that," She replied in a rather stiff manner, her borrowed cerulean eyes staying on Vanessa and pointedly lingering. "Knew about her... just, couldn't do anything about it. Bonnie discouraged me from trying anything."

That left the group a bit stumped. Gregory even raised a brow, "Why? It sounds like he coulda done with the help!"

"That's what I said!" Roxy planted a paw to her recently replaced breast plate, her expression pained. "But he just... he said I can't help because- well, there'd be REALLY bad consequences than what he's already dealing with. I think the only reason I didn't throw myself in there at that point was because he was- was..." Her gaze softened, "He was hurt when we talked about this. He had a torn ear, and he smelled bad from burning himself out. His physicality and his silence said enough that if anyone blabbed the wrong thing, even more people besides himself would be hurt."

She glanced away, and then hugged herself. Her azure gaze fell dolefully upon the rabbit's head in question; prompting Gregory to follow her sight-line to it. She added on lowly, "There was a LOT of disappearances leading up until his own. He was onto whose doing it- and he showed a capability where I believed he coulda really, actually succeeded in bringin' in the culprit- only to disappear himself. I've never forgiven myself for not interjecting more... guess we both miscalculated."

Cassie was once again left to ponder Vanny. She suddenly felt dirty wearing and using the mask as she did earlier; and was perhaps in some part, glad that she lost it. It belonged to someone who clearly meant ill-will and, from what Cassie gleaned, was the one who caused all this chaos. She suddenly had the strong temptation to throw it away herself, given she found it again.

Roxy knelt and met Gregory at eye-level, her demeanor was much calmer than before. "Its just... Bonnie commented on seeing her and-" She stopped and started a couple times, sighed, then tried again with, "-I never imagined that she'd be a reoccurring problem into the present. After Bonnie vanished, I was stupid to assume he took care of her- things were quiet for a while after he was gone. He said he had it under control too... showing me he can hack and protect his mind. I..."

She shook her head, looking contrite as she watched the boy for a moment before it fell to the floor in shame and guilt. A paw went to her scalp and pulled distractedly at the hairs. "I... I guess I really am sorry, kid. I get needing to run for your life," she added a sullen look there, her gaze sliding over to Bonnie's now eyeless head nearby (they were replacing the optics entirely). Vanessa and Freddy had repaired it already and it was charging. "Guess I'll be asking carrot-breath to be answering a lot of questions once we get him talking- given fixing him really does work. In the meantime, I can forgive the eyes and the kart. You're right... I did kinda throw myself into the road."

"Really? You'd actually forgive me?" Gregory blinked, having lowered his arms at this point. He fidgeted a bit here, looking much smaller than he did a moment before.

"I can... eventually. My Security mode dictated that- now that I'm thinking back on it, it would've prompted me to see you as a threat and hurt you. I stayed in Security mode for a LONG time after that- and every time I think I heard your voice in all the time I was trapped here, I perceived it as a threat... and it didn't help that the kart was the last thing I ever saw. In my enraged sate, I didn't see a difference from it being on purpose or an accident," She shrugged, then got back to her feet. "So I get it. You were defending yourself. I'm sorry I deviated so badly from my code. We all are."

Gregory looked honestly quite blown away, his expression more wide-eyed and doleful. In fact, he truly looked repentant too; nodding slowly and fidgeting all the while. He passed the floor a long look, and then added, "M'sorry for taking your eyes and leaving you blind a while. But it saved my life, so... thank you."

Roxy watched him for a solemn minute, as if to size up the being before her in earnest. Her expression softened further as some enigmatic thought floated around her noggin. It was like she was seeing him for the first time as she took that moment to really watch him. She eventually bobbed her head in the affirmative, "Alright then. So, if you pull a stunt like that again, you're Chica chowda. Got that?" She said this, but her tone bely the mock threat.

Gregory nodded and held out his hand.

Roxy blinked in surprise at this, but she took it and shook gently. Its as if the tension in the air was suddenly gone; the wolf patiently regarding the boy as she indulged the gesture. She eventually backed away from him and turned to Freddy next, "So, Fredbear. Can I have my eyes now? Yours kinda sucks."

"Absolutely," He nodded, his smile so huge it left his face glowing. It didn't matter he had some parts of his chassis missing; his grin was so bubbly and warm it looked like his jaw was actually creasing somehow. "I thank you for their use. I'm just sorry about the circumstances it fell under!"

"I guess... I... well, maybe we're all sorry. I don't think we have the time to pandering around this malarkey anyways... Not like we have the luxury," She placed weight on one leg, bobbing a single shoulder at him. Her tone was slow, raspy and worn; truly tired from all they've had to deal with for the last while.

Freddy walked over and gingerly grabbed Roxy's muzzle; turning her to face him fully. His naked paw cupped her chin, with him leaning in to bump her forehead with his own in the now familiar sign of affection. She returned it with more hesitation; the motion slower and uncertain. Her tail gave a slow wave at the tip, and its quite likely she didn't know she was doing it.

"Sorry about the tackle," She said, her tone something that hasn't really been heard before.

"I quite liked it. I've always loved your spunk in general. Its contagious, and in a good way," Freddy smiled, his baritone sweeter than butter-cream icing. "Don't stop doing it. Goodness knows its a flare that always got the crowd to roar- and it gave the rest of us a reason to try to match up!"

She shrugged in response, her lip line toothy. Her tail kept its waving, but it eventually died down after a moment.

Vanessa stood nearby, her expression completely unreadable. She blinked a few times, then put her tools down and wiped her hands off with a grease rag. She had waited for them for the longest moment, seeming at a loss for when she should speak up. She was noticeably eyeing Roxy with bated breath.

Her next words were slow, somewhat quiet, and awkward-sounding; as if she wanted a topic change and just didn't know how to do it. "Can one of you guys give me Bonnie's pieces next?" She tried, still watching the wolf like she expected Roxy would try to jump her next. "I'm done with this endo here. I've finished retro-fitting it. Its got all of Chica's upgrades, repurposed frame, and the proper chips installed. We just need to get the remaining chassis pieces we have welded on via the armature and do something with the old body..." She cringed and passed the zombie body a pitying glance. "I don't think it'll be good for her if she saw... this."

Freddy nodded grimly, though there was no denying his anxiety was edging the stiff way he walked. He caught Roxy's eye, silently promised to give her eyes back shortly, then made his way over to Chica's old body.

Roxy blinked; realizing that Vanessa had the thing just about finished already. She hadn't expected that- and yes, you can expect she was back to glaring at the blonde-haired woman like she wanted to indulge her earlier lunge impulse. She had the sense to not do so yet; as she went to eyeing the old body with anxiety edging her movements. In fact, she didn't think the naked endo in here was new Chica- and the idea that there was two of the same person in one room was already throwing her off-kilter-

So much so, she even whined. Nobody expected the sound, and were promptly caught off-guard by the unknown noise they heard scratch its way out of her voice box. Gregory and Vanessa namely watched with startled expressions; while Cassie only slanted the wolf a pitying look. Eclipse was hanging his head as if he was observing a funeral.

Roxy followed Freddy over to the older body and leaned over it. Both touched it affectionately and reverently; bumping their heads with its own and clutching her cheese-slathered hand and gripping. They would proceed to do this for a long few minutes.

It really is like a funeral, the girl realized with horror. They're saying goodbye.

Cassie found herself a littler weirded out by all this (and rightfully so). They were still essentially throwing Chica's old body away- but its not like they can do anything more to it than salvage what they can- something Vanessa has already done. It's so destroyed at this point that there's no use in trying to deep clean it and repair the rest of it. It'd not only take too long, but her body's functions were too buggy from all the food consumed both before and after the PizzaPlex closed. They tried salvaging what they could from it to help preserve as much of Chica as they could; like choice motor parts and certain frames that were only stained and not ruined.

Her old chip was left in it, but the memory was wiped completely at this point. It was a final goodbye to the body Chica would be leaving behind entirely and a way to keep from having two of the same individual in the same place. She was being reborn.

They were still essentially replacing her with an old/new version- the 'old' being the outdated personality and the 'new' being the body in its entirety. The thought was so obscene that Cassie almost spoke aloud the idea of stopping this but it's far too late now. They went this far, and there's no turning back. Cassie had resolved to fix Chica, so here they stood; having completely perverted morality and going forward with it. They were on the cusp of finishing.

Cassie swore she'll be going to therapy one day after this- not that she'd say this now. This whole rotten situation still left the sensation of bugs crawling under her skin.

Next to her, Gregory was fidgeting as well. He was biting his lip and unable to look anyone in the face as Freddy and Roxy picked up the old Chica's body. With her blanked out chip left in it, scrubbed clean of whatever personality had been leftover inside, it made it so that Chica only existed as an individual in one place instead of two. Her personality was now in the new body, essentially; making it so that the zombie one had nothing left in it. It was truly a husk now; an endo with nothing to count for any life or sentience.

It still no less bothered everyone present- as the looks everyone wore right now said enough. Cassie herself would rather personally not want to come back from the dead at all if she'd been like this, but she also knew she couldn't speak for another person on the matter. There was strangely something nice that can be said for the girl to know she only existed in ONE body and not two. It was something the organics had over A.I; the solidarity of knowing where you are and who are in that space of time-

And poor Chica wasn't even given that.

Cassie had argued this much: Bonnie had saved her personality for this very occasion. He knew Chica would one day suffer as a result of her own gluttony, and prepared this copy of her so she didn't have to bite the dust like he did. It wasn't like the PizzaPlex staff would've bothered doing this- and he did it out of love for her and the others. He was afraid of death for them; something very mortal.

Still, there was still a lingering wrongness here within itself. Morality had been completely subverted and thrown promptly out the door at some point- and at this juncture, its best not to continue dwelling on it. It only maddened the mind- but the thought that Bonnie would so liberally throw hits facet of organic inhibition away also truly put into perspective the difference between A.I and herself.

He's also an adult- bot or no. He knew exactly what he was sacrificing when he made this decision, Cassie wondered. She glanced at the rabbit's head as she thought, Maybe Vanessa was right... Bonnie truly did stop caring about collateral. Should we really be bringing him back then, on that note?

Meanwhile, the two bots dragged Chica's old body out; likely taking it to one of the old padded rooms in the endless labyrinth that was the Endo Warehouse. There, Cassie later learned they locked and barricaded the door to one such room; akin to some sort of artificial, make-shift tomb. Old Chica was now gone- but her brain was still here in this room with them. Wasn't there some solace in that?

Why does that feel so flimsy, she couldn't help intrusively thinking. She kept her stare on Bonnie's head nearby, I bet this wasn't an easy decision for you to make. To drag out your friends personalities and save them like this. If you're even remotely stable when we go to wake you up next, I'd be surprised.

Roxy and Freddy returned- and their expressions couldn't have been more perturbed. Freddy looked ready to call it off- as if anyone in the room can speak up about this and say to leave Chica where was, and he'd agree with it. Roxy wasn't far off either; pulling at her arms and mashing her jaws. Freddy's arm went around her shoulders and steadily guided her forward as well; the bear staying right by her as Eclipse and Vanessa placed the new endo into the cylinder and attached Chica's new chassis pieces to the armature. Then, they stepped out and Vanessa let the machine do its thing.

"Okay. Now, we work on the killer terminator rabbit from hell," She mumbled.

"I really wish you wouldn't say that..." Freddy mumbled with a note of clear irritation.

"Did Bonnie ever tell you the dirty thing he did before he went Vanny-hunting? You know... besides making copies of you, the other grody, sordid, bloody thing he did?" She said with a dreadful amount of calm. She suddenly blinked rapidly and face-palmed, "Oh right... Right, nevermind. He wouldn't have had the time to do so. He was decommissioned literally RGHT after he did it-"

"Did what?" Freddy pressed suspiciously.

Cassie was now completely stumped. "You keep talking about him so badly and... I'm confused. What do you mean? How is Bonnie dangerous? What did he do? You keep going on about that and its just WEIRD," she got huffy there as well, wanting to stomp her foot but not doing so since she was trying to keep weight off of it.

"It's... well, I think I've said enough already," Vanessa immediately back-tracked, as if just remembering there's kids in this room. She faced Freddy however, her expression a quality that left it skull-like in appearance. "But there's a reason why it took the cleaners a whole day to get that recharge station in his green room cleaned up so Monty can move in. You saw and heard them-" She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, "I'm shocked you still haven't guessed it yet."

Freddy slowly shook his head, as if in denial. There was a look of comprehension on his face, as if he DID recall a certain incident and he just didn't want to link it to his favorite bunny.

Vanessa slumped, "Guess it'll take me being dead before it sinks in. But, once we go to waking him up, I'm going to humbly request I'm not in the same room when you press his on switch. Give me a five-minute head start when you go to wake him up."

"I don't get it," Now Roxy was asking. "What the heck are you even on about?"

Eclipse was fidgeting more and more, then he turned to Vanessa, "I'm curious as well... These things you've done- was there a means to an end? What were you thinking at the time? And seriously, why push Bonnie to whatever mysterious extent you have?"

"That wasn't me," She asserted with a hand on her heart. "That was VANNY. We couldn't be more different!"

Roxy's eyes widened; going completely spherical in their sockets as something seemed to click in place for her. Cassie saw the shift just as it happened; the wolf's muzzle suddenly all hard lines and her fangs tipped into full viewing for what felt to be the millionth time today. Now she was snarling again, turning towards Vanessa's direction in preparation of an oncoming lunge-

Freddy flexed his talons, shoulders squaring as he gauged the wolf's trajectory-

Ding.

"Process complete!"

The cylinder's cheery voice was such a rude and obscene intrusion that left everyone blinking in drunken stupidity. But then the reminder fell upon the fact they now had this old, and yet new Chica to deal with. Roxy was promptly (if for the moment) snapped out of her blood-fevered haze; her glare unblinking as it stayed lingering on Vanessa. The scowl was so intense she looked like she'd devour the woman right down to the very marrow in her bones from a glance alone.

"We're not through," She hissed, her borrowed blue talons leveled as if the reaper himself was singling out his next victim.

Vanessa nodded rapidly with a bead of sweat blooming at her temples, her hands held in submission. She eventually lowered one to press the button on the repair module's keyboard; giving the cylinder the 'OK' to finally awaken and release Chica.

GLAMROCK CHICA

She was screaming.

It was a night of screaming madness.

It was all she can remember. A night where she'd been prisoner to both her body and its vices. To the chaos of a turbulent, unsound mind and a horribly bugged out program that prompted she'd hurt a child.

Blasphemy. Utter blasphemy.

She remembered stopping and starting; fighting and hacking her own software and making it WORSE. She had no mastery over it as her beloved blue boy did. She could not control herself; could not hope to stop the hunger. Even now, in this drunken stupor, this hunger gnawed and bit at her. It left her limbs trembling in anticipation of holding another pizza; made her unstable on her footing. It was akin to someone dragging out all of her parts and 'innards' just so they can make room for the food alone. It compelled her after ensnaring her fragile mind. It was a persistent, interchangeably sharp and dull ache in her empty core that dictated she do as bade and 'advertised'.

Advertise their food. Look like you enjoy it. Make the crowd WANT you and want what you have. Nothing else mattered.

Nothing else.

Not even you. You don't matter. Only what you advertise does.

She remembered hitting her head on a wall; over and over that night. While she'd been chasing the boy; she stopped to hit her head on the wall numerous times the fleeting moments she had the chance to temporarily control herself; hoping she can jar that control it had over her-

But it did nothing but break more of her chassis off.

She cried. She cried LOUDLY, but not loudly enough. Her voice, even when she had her voice box, failed her. And when she lost that voice box? Its not like it mattered. She just had to eat. Had to hurt the boy. Then eat. Play your guitar. Then eat some more. Eat. Play. Hurt. Eat. Hurt. Eat. Eat. Eat.

"You're not anything else," He once said to her. Their manager, Cromwell. "You are nothing but a way we can advertise our products. That's all Chicas have ever done throughout all of Fazbear history: Advertise food. You're not useful for anything else. You can play a guitar- so what? That doesn't make you unique. That only makes you different from your past versions. You're too much of a mess to be useful for anything else. You are our toy."

I'm no one's toy. I'm no one's toy. Bonnie tells me so. Freddy tells me so. I'm not a toy. I'm not STUPID. I'm Not DUMB. I'm not lesser than them-

Her mind rioted, clawed, and pawed at sobriety; fought to temper it and wrestle it back into place. She spiritually choked on her fleeting will- watched it seep away in favor of avaricious compulsion instead. Her system broke down in the end; her priorities fighting over what should have dominance over the other. Her lapse of tasks created discrepancies in her system; degraded her personality further the more she fought it-

And then, once it was so messed up that she couldn't hope to fix it, she gave up.

Hell, she's given up a LONG time ago. LONG before she felt her body move on its own. Even longer before her body began to fall apart and FAIL her.

Its been that way since she got the news he was gone.

Eating was all she's good at. Eating was the only way she'd be allowed to make the pain go away. people liked it when she ate; they can enjoy it too. Eating Monty Mystery Mix messed up her systems, but helped her to forget Bonnie a little while and mattered to people. It made them like her, right? They like me if I show them food is good. They will like me and not leave me-

But they kept leaving anyways.

The food, in time, helped her to stop thinking. She didn't want to think anymore; to longer on Cromwell's cruel words. She didn't want to cry in her room anymore for a friend who'd never come back. She had her food, and her music, and Freddy-

And then even Freddy left her too.

She was alone.

ALONE!

He'd been gone for a long time too. She barely recalled the PizzaPlex being closed. Barely recalled it crumbling around her. Barely recalled her right arm coming off-

She couldn't hardly see. Hers eyes didn't even fix on a single target anymore. She couldn't even WALK straight. She couldn't play, or be good enough for someone to stay by her.

She was despairingly alone.

Roxy didn't see her. Monty didn't care. Freddy was gone- and Bonnie was too. She had been utterly forsaken.

The food was all she had. It was the only thing that made her pain more bearable.

That would have to be enough.

...

But it wasn't.

Such appetites can never be satiated by wanting MORE.

They can never, ever, be enough.

She must find MORE.

She must eat.

She must forget.

She HAD to eat.

She had to be satiated. Nothing else mattered-

And hopefully, her body will quit on her and she can finally sleep.

She only had to eat herself to death to make it stop.

But now she was awake.

She fought for sobriety... and she found it.

It was so ludicrous, but she fought for wakefulness and it too found her instead.

Chica breathed hard; unable to properly keep breath inside her. Her twitchy fingers flew to her face to paw at it- to block the light of that ANNYONG armature-

Wait. The armature-? Am I in the repair ward?

..I can also move. I CAN MOVE? I CAN MOVE ON MY OWN?

She also felt her BEAK. SHE HAD HER BEAK! SHE HAD HER BEAK!

She was now pulling at it; going cross-eyed so to perceive the beautiful length of orange sitting right where it SHOULD be. Her hands slipped around it and her face- hardly believing her situation right now.

She wanted to cry again-

So she DID.

Chica warbled and whined and blubbered when she realized she can physically do so; pulling at her optics and beak to make sure they were sitting straight. She couldn't properly pull in enough air for her motor to turn it into cool air; to calm her suddenly distressed core. She only knew that she was allowed to touch herself again; of her own volition. She can hear herself cry on the outside too; not just trapped on the inside.

So she cried- and did not notice a large, orange, and tattered figure coming to embrace her.

Chicken jolted when she felt the arms of a large- and very familiar- set of metal arms wrap lovingly and languidly around her fragile body. She even heard a chuff and felt the larger body roll and rumble against hers-

And he cried too.

She inhaled shakily, pulling at Freddy as she slowly registered him. Only he can smell vaguely like orange fizzy-faz. She knew his smell by heart. The shape of his body was wrong and broken; but that hard, choked, sob that escaped his voice box was distinctly his. The shivery sensation of him pulling her into himself; the dying smell of orange soda, and the constant head-butting against the side of her own head couldn't have been anyone else.

She had her orange boy back.

Chica felt herself contort; her optics slipping shut and parting her beak. She heard her own voice box gutter nonsense but it was in a voice she recognized; nothing like the dying printer and fax machine nonsense she'd been spitting for gods know how long. She heard her own warble.

"Freddy-"

She choked out his name wetly, amazed by the fact she can even say it at all. She mumbled it again, found an obscene amount of joy in it, and kept muttering it.

He came back for her.

He came back.

He came back for her after all.

There was no telling how long they were like that; just embracing and crying it out. Chica felt him shift his weight until he was properly on the armature's bench too; pulling her close and not letting go for a solid- well, who knows. Moments? Hours? She couldn't tell. Chica has long since given up on telling time properly. He didn't pull away until she did; the hen wanting to see his face for the first time in what felt like eons-

And found herself gawping.

He was BROKEN. BROKEN! He was missing so much of his beautiful chassis; his lower mandible literally skeleton in appearance. She can see where his lower jaw was hinged to his upper; and she saw he had an alarming amount of realistic teeth that ribbed his mouth. She's never actually seen his teeth properly in and in full view like this before, and it scared her to see that this was the case.

Worse, was the rest of him.

No stomach hatch pieces, he had pieces of metal spearing bits and bobs of his limbs, and whatever metal he did have was warped, discolored, and torn. She can see he had the wrong eyes too; Roxy's distinct amber and not his blue set. His head also looked weirdly clean compared to his body; broken or not. It looked like someone had been buffing just THAT and neglected the rest of him- and his neck connectors, they too looked newer.

Her expression prompted for a reaction from him; the bear reaching out to cup her face and gently thumb at her cheeks as if to wipe away the tears she could not cry. The sensation- she can feel it again. She hadn't had the ability to feel in FOREVER, so the contact alone told her she had working tactile sensors again. It also paralyzed her from the gentle, loving nature of it.

It made her feel real again.

"Chica," He crooned at her. "Sweet Chica. How do you feel? Can you tell me? Can you talk to me? Please?"

His tone contained a note of supplication in it; the hen nodding vaguely and slowly sinking into his hold again. She blinked as she slowly ran a system diagnostic and found her systems were working fine now. She actually saw no errors on her Hud, save for the fact that she can see she was missing bits and pieces of her own chassis-

Oh. I'm broken too... but not as badly as HIM.

"I'm... I-" Her soprano was off; shaky. She frowned at the strangeness of it too; how it didn't seem quite right. This was NOT the voice she had when she had her beak taken off.

Did I get a new voice box? This sounds like my old one before they gave me the bugged one...

She frowned increasingly more, then lifted her head out of his tender grip so she can look at herself again. She had both arms, and she was given a new shell for both. She found she didn't have a lot going down the rest of her body, but certainly more than Freddy. She also blinked several times; her eyes moving in sync and normally- already a good sign, and something she took some small joy in. She scratched at her new and shiny head and felt along it; her chassis pieces thankfully whole too.

"How do you feel?" He reiterated.

"Hn... not... bugged-?" She blinked now, realizing that indeed, she wasn't bugging out. Her hands weren't shaking anymore, and she found that as she flexed them, her fingers responded as they should. She moved her head as well, hearing no buzzing or static in her brain. None of that annoying vice attempting to take control of her.

She didn't remember a lot- but she remembered enough to know she wasn't supposed to look like THIS. She started pulling at her hands too; tugging and feeling a bit weirded out by how stable she felt.

To test that, she stood up- and found she wasn't wobbling or dragging her feet either. She felt FINE. She even walked around the cylinder's small chamber, though it was quite crowded with Freddy here. She found no errors in her system too, nervously registering that she also just... unbelievably-

Didn't feel hungry.

"I'm not... I'm not hungry-" She said suddenly, her eyes going wide in their sockets. "Oh my circuits, I'm not HUNGRY? HOW AM I NOT HUNGRY?"

Freddy held up placating paws, "Be at ease, Chica! My friends and I decided to remove the prompt that dictated you be hungry when we uh... repaired you. Was that a bad thing-? OOMPH!"

Chica had thrown herself back at him to hug him anew; suddenly feeling the compulsive urge to cry again. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you-" She babbled.

He only hugged her back, nuzzling her all the while.

Once again she held him for an embarrassing amount of time; stopping when she heard footsteps close by- heavy ones. She looked up to find Roxy now, the wolf slowly toeing her way over to the cylinder-

"OH MY STARS. ROXY?" Chica couldn't fight the shock on her face when she saw how BAD the wolf looked.

Roxy looked ROUGH- no pun intended, nor was that some mild understatement. Between her having Freddy's paws (Chica now noticing that Freddy's current paws didn't seem to quit match up either), she had HIS eyes, she was missing her MANE, and some her chassis was wasn't quite right either. She had newer pieces mixed with the old; as if not quite enough had been found to replace what she lost. Her tail was there, but very unkempt. It looked like she hasn't seen a brush in forever.

Chica had a passing memory of seeing the wolf blunder blindly by her, realizing that Roxy had apparently attempted to repair herself at some point. She leveled Roxy a saddened look, then gazed at Freddy, the wolf again, and herself and found that they all were quite unsightly.

"We're broken... all of us," She muttered lowly. She pulled her hands now in an old show of her tittering nervousness. "How did it come to this-?"

"I'd personally like to know how good your memory is," Freddy queried gently, his tone however was a bit on the enigmatic side. He also sounded rather tense. "A lot had to be done with you. You were... were..."

Roxy coughed, as if to interrupt him. Chica found the notion odd and slightly narrowed her optics, but not quite.

"I'm guessing I was worse off than you two?" the hen dead-panned.

They gave cringey expressions as a reply. Chica only sighed and gazed at her hand again.

"I knew it... I knew something wasn't quite right here, " She mumbled. "We've been abandoned... the PizzaPlex is closed, ain't it?"

"Its closed, but we are NOT abandoned!" Freddy chirruped jovially. "Someone wanted to come back for us! Ain't that right, Vanessa?"

Chica blinked and looked over at the woman, finding her familiar- and not who she would've expected to see in a MILLION years. If she could raise an eyebrow, she WOULD.

The security officer- or rather, the former one- smiled and waved tentatively. She had the graces to look sheepish and uncomfortable, coughing once or twice as if struggling to find something to say but not quite able to do so. Chica was intrigued to see that she wasn't alone either; as she saw the daycare attendant standing nearby. He was just as bad off as she and her friends, what with his missing pieces and broken shell and all.

Now what caught her off guard was the children. Chica felt her beak fall open as she recognized Cassie-

And the lost little boy.

She didn't look away from him for a solid minute. Her also felt her face scrunch up as best she can manage it; her systems a little wound up by the mere sight of him. Her chip was set to a date before they met officially; and whatever little of the 30% that was synced into the old personality (something she won't know of for a while, actually) was rightly baffling and contradicting what she knew currently.

At this, Freddy was at her side again and gesturing to Gregory, "Do you recall this boy at all?"

He was given a terse silence as an initial response. And then-

"YOU! YOU PUSHED ME INTO THE TRASH COMPACTOR AND TOOK MY BEAK OFF! I REMEMBER THAT!" She bellowed, jumping backward and nearly falling into Freddy completely.

Her voice box, in all its woeful charm, rattled the bots around her; Freddy, Roxy, and Eclipse even outside the cylinder glitched and flopped; stumbling around and bumping into objects or the walls of the cylinder. While it was a voice box she had before she was 'upgraded', her old one hadn't been much better either since it hadn't been used in a long time and it screeched at an octave that it wasn't capable of before from lack of use; simply put. In fact, the other reason her old voice box had been replaced had been because the sound it produced was grating and unfiltered.

Chica's furious expression turned to alarm and she gasped, "Oh my god I'm so sorryyyyyy... I forgot I can do that!" She helped Freddy straighten up, tossing Roxy and Eclipse a worried look but relaxing when they got to their feet on their own. She bared her teeth in a grimace, "I'm so... oh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry sorry sorry sorry sorrryyyy-"

Roxy waved it off, "Its s'alright. Just- watch your beak. I didn't think your old voice box would DO that! I thought it was the NOT buggy one?"

"It shouldn't be," Vanessa said nearby, watching Chica and then Cassie for some reason. "Its definitely Chica's functional singing one-"

Cassie spoke up, "Maybe I put it in wrong? It was a hastily done job... Probably not wired right."

"Or its just old," Eclipse shrugged. "She hasn't worn this voice box in a VERY long time. Even before Bonnie was decommissioned. Its guttering at odd intervals."

"Could tune it up and it'd be fine," Vanessa waved off. "Easy peasy."

"Lemon squeezy," Freddy smiled, having recovered from the auditory stun-lock. He was grabbing Chica next, squeezing at her encouragingly and bumping his head affectionately with hers again over and over. Chica could only burr and thrill at him; unable to contain herself.

"I missed you so much," She wound up saying, the words flowing out easily and without thought. "It hurt so much to not think of you being here."

"I missed you too, more than you know," Freddy mumbled back into her.

"I'm still confused though," She clucked as she eyed the boy nearby, pulling away from Freddy with some reluctance. "Why do you all look like that? Why is that lost little boy even here? Where's his parents? And-" She narrowed her eyes at Cassie as she suddenly noted her leg. "How come she's hurt? Where's her dad? Her dad should be here! SHE'S COVERED IN BRUISES! And why is this place closed? What's going on here? Why has it been god-knows-when since I recall being actually awake? And for Pete's sake-" She pulled at her cheeks and suddenly sputtered, "Why do I remembering eating so much garbage I think I actually PUKED at some point? HOW DO I EVEN DO THAT WITHOUT A BEAK? Like, I didn't know I could even do that at all-? I also think I remember diving into a syrup vat at some point- Oh my god what is even all this jumbling of information in my noodle? HOW BAD OFF WAS I-?"

"Oh my god Chica, shut up," Roxy snapped, suddenly leaning forward to clench a large paw around the hen's beak. She kept it shut and made eye contact with her, looking both annoyed and... regretful. Chica found the expression rather interesting. She let go after a moment too, sighing heavily, "And really, you don't even wanna KNOW how bad you were."

Chica meanwhile blinked and said, "Yes. Yes I do. I DO wanna know how bad I was."

"No... no you don't," Roxy sounded so severe that Chica was tempted to just drop the topic entirely.

Freddy meanwhile hummed uncertainly and said, "I uh... perhaps we can cover that in detail later? After you've had time to process your information, Chica. I'm still interested in knowing what you can remember."

Chica hummed and lowered her head, "The fact you find that more interesting tells me I shouldn't be remembering anything at ALL. My chip must've been really badly damaged, wasn't it?"

Their silence was answer enough.

They must've had to draw out my personality from it... but then, where would they have gotten the rest of it-? Chica quickly realized, They literally had a copy of me lying around-

She felt her fists clench without her input; the hen unable to meet anyone's eyes as she definitely recalled before too broken to even walk after a point. Worse, as she looked herself up and down, she also realized how much of her was NEW-

Too new.

My body... I'm- Chica turned her arms around, feeling a silence take the room by storm as everyone present watched as some of the truth bled into being for her. They must've had to replace about 80% of me, minimal.

I'm a double.

I'm actually a- ah- WHAT?

Her treacherous thoughts ceased immediately when she saw a pile of familiar red and blue chassis in a corner of the room-

And a whole honking head on the module literally a couple meters from her- complete with BUNNY EARS.

It didn't take her long to realize that she was seeing Bonnie's severed head nearby, and the rest of him was piled up as if in preparation for repairs. She literally forgot about being a double just that quick.

"Bu... Bu... BA-BAWWWWWK!"

She struggled so fast and so suddenly nobody expected it; and very much in the manner of a real chicken. She flailed so badly in fact that she knocked Roxy over just rushing by and stepped on Freddy's foot. Had she any real feathers, they would've gone flying.

"OH MY GOD! BONNIE-"

She was snatching his head and nearly yanked it off the wire he was charging on; realizing just in time she almost inadvertently hurt him by yanking on his neck port. She turned him over with shaking hands; getting the jitters so bad she almost dropped him. She produced a low, distressed thrill that chittered and trailed off; sucking in air like a beached fish as she clutched him tight to her breast. She couldn't get back up on her feet again, even if she tried in that moment.

It didn't take her more than a minute to also start full-blow hysterically wailing.

She stopped comprehending the others around her; stopped caring in its entirety. All she knew in that moment was that her fragile, small world was a bit bigger again- but it was also so despairingly small as she beheld Bonnie's maimed skull in her clutches. The damage on him was bad enough- let alone what she glimpsed of his body nearby.

He was in pieces... In pieces, and even those pieces are badly damaged.

And his chip-

Chica looked up at the module amidst her fit of tears; noticing what looked like an older reader and chip. It looked like he had those replaced, as she also belatedly realized his eyes were gone too. He was definitely in the middle of getting repaired; and saying he was a work-in-progress was QUITE the understatement.

His chip... he'd been murdered, said the nasty words in her head. Bonnie was MURDERED. They wanted him super dead; unable to come back-

She heard someone behind her, barely recognizing it as Vanessa no less, "Chica- I know its a lot to ask right now, but... can you, maybe, be a bit quieter with the crying? Bonnie's trying to get charged and recalibrated- and you and I know how sensitive his hearing is. You'll blow his ears out before he even wakes up, and he doesn't have ANY replacements!"

Chica suddenly stopped, her beak slamming shut and turning what should have been watery eyes at the woman. She kept Bonnie's head tight with herself as she sniffled. She passed her a pained expression, "I don't- I... Bonnie isn't... he's so BAD-"

Vanessa hummed lowly at her, slanting the hen a piteous expression. However, it was Cassie who came over; hobbling along just enough so that she was close enough to touch the chicken on her pauldron. The sight of the little girl was a wonderful welcome for Chica; who had missed Cassie quite terribly. Chica openly received her with warmth and a low burble.

"I remember you," She murmured at the girl. "You're the techie's girl?"

Cassie nodded, her hands resting on Bonnie and Chica equally. She rubbed at the rabbit's hair as she said, "I am. I missed seeing all of you."

"Feeling's mutual, baby bird," Chica replied gently. "You're a favorite patron here, yunno."

Cassie blinked up at her in surprise, but then it fluttered away in favor of a cute little smile and an adorable crinkling of the eyes.

On that note, the hen leaned down and passed a gentle peck to her cheek. She then crooned, "Its good to wake up to see you. I assume you fixed me too?"

"Uh-huh, we all pitched in-" She gestured around the room. "I was the one who found that voice box though. I'm sorry its not quite... yunno."

"I don't care. I'm just glad I can even speak again," Chica continued. She put an uncertain hand to her head and felt herself slump. "I can't imagine what you had to go through for me, let alone anyone else here."

Cassie waved it off. "I don't care. It was a pleasure to help you. And, while we're kinda on the subject-" She slanted the hen a rueful expression, "I know its fast but, you're going to hurt Bonnie if you don't tone it down a bit. Okay? We're fixing him. I promise, he'll be up in no time! Bonnie is getting everyone's best efforts to be fixed. It only looks worse than it is now. In fact-" Cassie waved at the rest of him nearby, "He managed to save himself. He's got his brain back. We were able to download him into a new chip. He really thought ahead- er, no pun intended."

Chica passed a doleful look at Bonnie's eyeless face, slumping her shoulders all the while. "He's hurt so badly," She rasped in a dejected tone. "I'm.. you SURE he's all in there?"

"He is," Cassie asserted gently. "I'm telling you, Bonnie was smart. If he woke up now and started talking, it wouldn't surprise me. He's on low power mode though, so I guess that's the only reason why he ain't up yet. We're literally just moments away from waking him up- just gotta put him back together and nab him another motor. Thing is, you and I both know he woulda wanted YOU fixed first before himself. He'd be cranky if we waited to fix you."

Chica passed him another look, gently combing her fingers through his hair. "I missed him so much," She mumbled. "Every day that went by, it only ever ached. Nothing we said or did felt like it could make it any easier."

"I asked about him myself a few times, " Cassie added on. "Asked my dad every day where Bonnie was. He was very sorely missed; believe me."

The hen sniffled; her arms almost completely blanketing the blue metal of Bonnie's head completely. "It didn't feel like it... not after a while. After how quickly they removed all traces of him-" She bared her teeth again, "The way they wanted to bury him- It just felt like insult to injury."

Cassie only patted Chica's back there, understanding of the sentiment. "I was mad too... I actually came back to the PizzaPlex a bit less after that- if you recall that much."

"N-Nuh- no. No actually. My memory... its-" Chica trailed off, her lavender eyes squinting as if she was having a hard time parsing out what was in front of her. "I'm so confused," she mumbled in a tone that sounded borderline pleading. "I only remember so much... and what I do recall involves a lot of hurt and pain from both me and the people I've harmed. I only have so much clarity up until the time Bonnie vanished... And then, most of the other memories after that was... its all a blur or not quite connected?"

She shut her eyes, inhaled, and released; her chest cavity miming breath.

"Its such a huge blank spot: I remember Bonnie disappearing... Freddy dropping on stage, at least... this boy pushing me into the compactor... I also recall that he was doing that for a reason-?" She passed the people in the room a helpless look. "I remember... crying a lot. A lot. Like a whole lot. Like I was crying super loud, but I couldn't cry on the surface? Like I was trapped in my own body. I literally don't have anything else to go by, beyond eating a metric boat-load of moldy food and... throwing myself everywhere. I can definitely do with remembering far less of THAT."

Vanessa blinked and sat back on her heels nearby. She put a contemplative hand to her chin. "Weird. You seemed to have attached to the most traumatic parts of your memory... All of those instances are rather specific."

Freddy's expression was war-torn, the bear and wolf coming to stop nearer to Chica as they mutely gauged the information she offered.

The daycare attendant reasserted his presence here as he commented with "You were stuck in... what I think we can call a very long nap. You were left in a nightmare you couldn't wake up from. Its a sentiment my Sun side agrees on."

This prompted Chica to finally look at him, the hen burring curiously at the sight of him. She stroked Bonnie more but her gaze furrowed. "So... you're not Sun?" she queried. "I don't think I can recognize this personality-"

"Its my default personality," Eclipse supplied with a shrug. "It just got consumed when I was programmed into the daycare attendant. I was originally built for the theater, if you recall. My system was bugged out pretty bad during the transition, so... this personality, Eclipse, drowned in the rift between Sun and Moon."

"Oh wow..." She tilted her head prettily, the plastic hair on her head spinning on its axis. She stood up, gently cradling Bonnie and leaning in to look at him. She then asked, "Um... 'nightmare', you said?"

"I was trapped in an endless limbo in myself for a very long time," Eclipse continued, moving to stand nearer to her. He spoke in a soft voice, Chica noticed. She quite liked the sound of it. "-Besides being lost between Sun and Moon- Moon became the dominant personality when darkness took this entire place. Still warped by Security mode, he became erratic, unpredictable, and hostile; and neither of us could wake up from it. Prisoners in our own body- same as you. The only thing I recall from this entire period is wanting to fight my own body. That seems to be a reoccurring thing amongst us."

The hen nodded vaguely, her expression somber as she rested her chin on Bonnie's head. She watched Eclipse with some sort of fascination, then reached out and touched his face plate gently. She didn't know why she felt compelled to do so, but she obliged the temptation anyway; touching his marred faceplate with hyper-attentive focus and tenderness.

"Are you sure you're okay? I can see I look better than everyone else right now... and I feel better too. I'm so confused- Was I really that bad? So bad that, everyone here is like..." She frowned at Roxy and Freddy again, inwardly lamenting how they both looked like a scrap-yard nightmare. The hen inhaled again, "None of you actually really took the time to fix yourselves good, did you?"

"No. None of us stayed tuning ourselves too long," Eclipse dead-panned. "We had more... pressing things to do."

"Like me," Chica cut in with no small amount of melancholy. When the attendant nodded in answer there, Chica rubbed his face plate again and pulled it back, "Thank you for being honest. I know Freddy there would made it sound like I got a boo-boo or something."

The bear coughed; the sound more like static as it escaped his throat.

Chica returned her attention back to Bonnie, her gaze far away. She returned his head to the desk, her hand lingering on his head and resting between his ears. She glimpsed his body nearby too, then let her eyes slowly migrate towards the humans. She finally released Bonnie, then moved slowly over to both Gregory and Cassie; kneeling before them.

"I'm so sorry," She said to Gregory, her apology so candid it noticeably took the boy off-guard. "I... I was just searching my head and... I think I remember scaring you now. And a long time ago, Bonnie told me we were being hacked... so... I'm sorry. I scared you so bad, you felt like you had to put me in that compactor, didn't you?"

Gregory looked away there, his teeth showing as well. He was balling his tiny fists, "I coulda found a different way to get you off my tail... That was rotten what I did."

Chica was unable to feel annoyed with him, the more she looked at him. He was so small; and the tense way he held himself was in a manner like someone whose already endured far too much at this stage of their life. Chica knew she was a bot whose hurt people before too; jumping at them for their food and breaking arms. It was no surprise to her that eventually, SOMEONE would retaliate.

I deserved it. I hurt way too many people and STOPPED caring about them. I'm not a good bot.

She gently touched his fluffy head, leaning in and eyeing him in a way that betrayed every ounce of regret she's ever shouldered. She took that time to do a facial scan; humming when she realized he came up as something of a positive in her system. The dossier was there- just, blacked out.

I've met him before... even before that night. Now why is his file unknown to me if it exists? Its strange enough I knew his name, She wondered.

"You don't have family, do you? Your guest profile... you have one here," She said aloud now.

"...Wha- wait, you..." He babbled, stepping back from her grip.

Nearby, everyone -especially Freddy- blinked. Even Vanessa looked puzzled and rose a brow.

Chica continued in an eternally calm but lower note, "You're like, one of those orphan kids that sometimes slipped into the PizzaPlex, right? I know sometimes the street kids try to get in here to eat and sleep for a while. I've met a couple..." She shook her head and squinted at the memory in her noggin. "Every time I try to scan their profile, I'd get negatives on their identities. No parent phone, no address, nothing. I had one kid admit to me that he was an orphan and it tended to happen a lot. Your profile was buggy but... it did exist in the system for a time."

"You... how'd you-" Gregory looked so alarmed he may just run.

Cassie was gawping at him in blunt surprise all the while- clearly having not known this.

Chica sighed wistfully, "I learned to keep doubles of children's profiles. The staff here have a messy habit of editing the guest profiles we have access to. Bonnie also noticed this early on. I kept this one thumb drive in my room-" She flicked a thumb over her shoulder, "I'd plug it into my head sometimes to try and update my memory. Because I keep getting into the Monty Mystery mix, I had to find SOME way to preserve myself. Between hurting myself repeatedly by eating and the staff itself messing with my brain, it became a necessity that I keep spares on everything I knew."

She shrugged, "So every other day or every week, I'd take out this thumb drive and update it. And then I'd scan it and compare whatever discrepancies I'd find in my memory. I'd also update it every time I got a new guest profile logged. Doing this got to be very useful when I noticed the disappearances started happening, and I start bugging out and forgetting things more. Children tended to vanish a lot- and then Bonnie told me about the hacking and... well, it only justified what I was doing. I gave him copies of what I knew and he stored it somewhere."

She bobbed her shoulders now, "Glad I did. It means that I've met you at some point, but I don't remember EXACTLY. That feels like that file is elusive to me unless I unlock it somehow."

"Its locked to you-?" Gregory blinked.

Chica scratched her head, "Yeah... I can only assume that, whatever this file had, the person who hacked us coulda sealed it off to me. I wish I knew! But at any rate-as for you, I do know your name, Gregory. You'd been in the PizzaPlex a while here and there. I forgot about you for a while- the times our heads were messed with and I didn't think to check the drive. I think my knowing your profile though was how the person hacking us got a hold of your name though. I apologize for that. This... hacker, they learned about you because of ME."

She hung her head, expression repentant, "I'm so sorry, Greg. I am SO so so so sorry."

The boy flapped his trap like a beached fish, then avoided her gaze and couldn't afford to meet anyone else's. He eventually said, "Maybe, its best we don't linger on that, huh? You don't need to apologize for something you had no control over. Its all Vanny's fault, after all-"

Vanny. That was the name- Chica narrowed her lavender optics. She was the one who did this- I remember that now.

Just as Chica went to continue, Roxy added nearby, "I don't want to be that 'guy', but we're kinda a little pressed for time. I personally think we can afford to share stories later when we're not trapped here. We have stuff to do and friends to repair."

Chica got back up, her eyes moving to Bonnie. She sighed audibly, "That seems to be putting it mildly..."

Vanessa was now taking parts of the rabbit into the cylinder at that point, snapping her fingers at Freddy so he can help her out. Freddy meanwhile had been eyeing Gregory with an odd amount of interest; like he wanted to discuss this later. Gregory avoided his gaze however; something that further intrigued the hen.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Vanessa, who boisterously said, "Alright! Let's get this going. Freddy, didn't you say you still wanted to find Monty's upper body?"

"Hrm- Yes. The frame on it we can use for his new body. According to Cassie, he does not have a lot of spare parts available- but we'd need to get it regardless for materials," The bear continued. "We would not be able to use his wires or chip, but... the facial structure and pieces may be salvageable."

Cassie chirped nearby, "Monty's in a utility tunnel not too far from here. And since there's so many of us-" She counted the room, "I think two of us will be enough to go fetch him. No biggie... not a whole lot of him to account for."

Chica shuddered, definitely recalling seeing only half of the gator slithering around in the time she'd been zombie-tranced.

"All the while," Vanessa pondered aloud. "We need to figure out what to do with the PizzaPlex itself... been mussing over a couple things."

"What do you mean?" Freddy queried there.

"To catch you up to speed," Vanessa told the hen now, turning to her. "We found a means where you guys can exist outside the PizzaPlex. We plan on leaving, but there's several threats here that we need to take care of first before trying any daring escape attempts. If we just leave without taking care of these loose ends, they'll follow us out into the outside world and cause havoc not unlike what happened in HERE- But it'll be on a much grander scale. I'm sure Freddy can explain in better detail."

She pointed at the others, "As Cassie said, two of us can go to snag Monty, while the others polish up blue-buns here. I don't think its wise anyone goes out alone at this point- its too dangerous." She turned back to the computer, typing something on it, "We keep our numbers, or don't go out at all. All the while, I'll try to get M.X.E.S working double-time to keep the Mimic distracted. I want to reactivate him fully but I need a more powerful terminal to work from..." She frowned, "The one that was in the old pizzeria down there was pretty powerful... and all I've done was downgrade from there. We need something GOOD to run him off of... And there ain't any other decent terminals in this place that'll remain active- not with the main power grid blinking like it is."

Roxy opened her chest hatch, then slapped something on the desk next to her. Vanessa blinked, squinted, then pulled the pieces up. Now she was looking at the wolf with a HARD squint.

"Where... did you. Get. These?"

"Bonnie had 'em," The wolf dead-panned while folding her arms. "He had these drives in his body."

"Sunnova bitch. I knew he took them! I swear he's just-" Vanessa stopped, inhaled and relented. Once she was calm, she added on, "Okay, so the bun-bot here had something really precious and he so happened to have been upgrading himself with really powerful drives for computation. Of course he did. That'd make total sense. That dick-" She mumbled that last part to herself, low enough so that the kids didn't quite catch that. Vanessa fidgeted with the drives, narrowed her eyes, then stared at the somewhat reassembled bot in the cylinder. Freddy had been putting him together for the last minute.

Vanessa clicked her tongue and said, "I have an idea. He can keep these drives. In fact..." She resumed typing, then looked around, "I think we can get Bonnie to make up for the M.X.E.S, or let him get control of the program directly and use it. Bonnie's motor was pretty dang okay but not its best. If we get him a slightly better one, he can run the programs our terminals can't- including M.X.E.S. He's already plugged back into the PizzaPlex's main system thanks to Cassie... he'd have instant access to the security cameras and the few, existing defensive measures in the building right as he wakes up from his little dirt nap. Even his old motor is actually stronger than the terminals here... he can run damage control for us and keep an eye on the Mimic."

Freddy grinned, clapping his paws together enthusiastically. "So if we wake him up, the Mimic thing won't be able to defend itself digitally!"

"Yes, BUT-" Vanessa pointed at him, "We'd still need to deal with the Mimic physically. That will take everyone here; seeing as its stupid durable and strong. As to the other threat- that big... THING... well, still sitting on that thought. But I'm sure with the terminator rabbit's help, we can figure it out."

"...Seriously. Why do you keep calling him that," Freddy muttered. "Is that some kind of reference I'm not getting?"

His question would go unanswered as the wolf coughed. "Okay, so," Roxy glanced around, "Who wants to grab Monty? Wouldn't mind the gator's help in dealing with the Mimic."

"I can," Freddy offered immediately.

Roxy noticed the others, like Eclipse and Chica, had also raised hands. She waved them off and said, "I think its better another one of us stays with the humans and helps with Bonnie- as well as defend the humans in case of something bad. How do we do this?"

"Roxy, I had another idea," Vanessa tossed out.

She looked at the woman, her expression still bent in a feral manner. She listened regardless.

"Let Freddy borrow your eyes a bit longer- or at least, one of them, and let him grab Monty. He'll be able to see and smell any threats coming since he'll be going out there. Chica can go with him. Both of them have her voice box upgrade too, so-" She shrugged, "If they get ambushed, they can defend themselves well enough and see anything coming from a mile away. Freddy can also get Chica up to speed. Eclipse and you can help me with Bonnie- seeing as you're both kinda tech savvy. Didn't you work on the karts sometimes?"

Roxy blinked and nodded, "A little?"

"Great. You can help me make Bonnie's new motor. Eclipse can help with details I can't reach and I'm not physically strong enough to do."

Eclipse hummed, coming to wheel up in a spinning office chair he found- and he's no doubt having fun with it. Chica wondered where he found it. "So, can I ask if there's other reasons as to why we're being paired up like that?" he queried with his feet in the air and kicking them.

Vanessa eyed him, then said, "You guys compliment each other's abilities in case of attack. Roxy's sense of smell and threat detection would be nice to have here for the kids' sakes. And, you're both very quick on your feet. If we get jumped here in this room, you two can take the kids and bail real fast and long before anything finds us. You're very nimble, the pair of you. Freddy meanwhile can compensate for Chica physically while they're out there grabbing Monty. And since they both have the voice box upgrade, whatever they encounter will get a nasty surprise and leave them be. It wouldn't be able to attack either of them while they're on the move."

The bots glanced at each other. Apparently no arguments there can be found.

Cassie meanwhile mutinously said, "But, Freddy and Chica wouldn't know where to look for Monty! Couldn't I go with them?"

"You can't just tell them where to go?" Vanessa primly said to the girl.

Cassie puffed out her cheeks, looking rather rebellious.

Vanessa nodded, as if that's that. Then she returned to the cylinder and went in. She checked the armature, "Anyways, tell them where to find Monty, and then help me out here, Cassie. You're actually really handy and I wouldn't mind the help. Gregory-" She looked at the boy next, "You still got your fazwatch?"

"Yup!"

"Get on the labtop and and sync your fazwatch. Get control of the security cameras. Keep an eye on the place and watch Freddy and Chica carefully. Cassie, guide them as needed when you're not helping me."

The girl nodded, watching Gregory take the labtop back out and open it. The boy started typing a million miles an hour already.

Vanessa turned and noticed Roxy's look; the expression no less than murderous. She met the wolf's gaze in an unwavering manner, her expression however properly contrite as they eyed the other. "I know you want to say something, so, go ahead," The woman began.

The wolf stomped up, her talon bluntly meeting the former security guard's collarbone. "You have a LOT to account for," He voice a dangerous grind of steel upon a whetstone. "And once this is done, we'll be having a nice long chat about it."

"Roxy-" Freddy's tone nearby was clipped; edged with warning.

The wolf snapped her jaws at him, "Don't you 'Roxy' me! I still don't understand why the FUCK you're hanging around this gutless wretch! She's why Bonnie's IN this state in the first place and why we're still trapped down here! You and I both know Bonnie won't be too happy about hearing you've been LIVING with her and the boy for a pleasant while all the time we've been left to rot here!"

Freddy's gaze softened, then he looked away. Chica can only look between them, feeling something in her core sour.

Did Freddy really leave with them? She wondered.

"That's what I thought-" His keyboardist snapped. She glared back at Vanessa, "We'll play along this song a bit longer, but don't expect any help from me if we get jumped while we're here. I won't hesitate to leave you in the dust if we had to run for our lives."

"ROXY!" Cassie snapped.

The wolf ignored the girl for once, her stare unwavering the entire while. Vanessa meanwhile nodded and said, "I completely understand. I wouldn't expect anything less, really. You SHOULD prioritize Gregory and Cassie regardless."

The wolf snarled, snapped her muzzle again, then stomped flat footedly past the woman. "I'm gonna grab carrot-breath some motor pieces. I'll be right back. If you lay a HAND on those kids' heads-" She threw over her shoulder.

"I won't! I swear," Vanessa held up her hands in surrender.

There was another growl; then Roxy went to leave. She didn't even pass Chica and Freddy a look as she brushed by them.

Eclipse meanwhile fidgeted, then looked at Vanessa with increased interest, "I have questions."

"Don't we all?" She retorted, though not unkindly.

The former attendant shrugged, "Vanny. Was she an alter?"

"A... a what?"

"An alter. You know, a completely different personality?"

"You getting somewhere with this?"

The spidery-limbed attendant shrugged, "I might be. Indulge me?"

Vanessa nodded stiffly, confused.

There seemed to be some sort of shift in the air; not that anyone can explain it. The bot's face seemed to... it was hard to tell, but soften. He dipped his head at her, his tone noticeably gentler as he said, "You are a guardian to this boy, his adoptive parent, are you not?"

"Er... I guess-?"

"Vanny wouldn't do that. Yes?" When he got another nod, he went on, "Okay. I see now. I see. See, this is what Bonnie got wrong-" He gestured to the rabbit within the cylinder. "He was after you for a crime another person committed. Vanny isn't Vanessa: They are two separate entities- as I am not Sun nor Moon. And they are not each other. We are different individuals, trapped within the same vessel. Sun was not held accountable for the crimes Moon committed in Security Mode- Vanny meanwhile should be held accountable for the crimes she's committed alone. Even Gregory knows this-"

He waved at the boy, who was watching them all the while. "If he didn't think this as well, he wouldn't be living with you. Am I not right?"

"I..." Vanessa stared at him, then back at the bot. She fell silent.

Eclipse reached over and waved a mesmerizing finger at the woman's face- a magician preparing for the ultimate trick, "Vanessa meanwhile is a guardian figure who is taking care of an orphaned boy. Vanessa came back here to deal with the mistakes of another person in a responsible manner; a person she had no control over whatsoever. One cannot help but be confused when bodies are shared, but alters are poorly misunderstood constructs for this very reason: They come from a sort of dark aspect of our inner psyche; and are born under circumstances beyond our control, due to stresses in our lives and us trying to cope with it. They become the epitome of the things we fear or do not understand and ultimately are shields against the things we fear the most- ways to perceive what we cannot endure otherwise. Alters are individuals within themselves though; a more nuanced, and yet scarily actualized personality with their own complex thoughts and feelings."

He got nearer to Vanessa again, looking her dead in the eyes as he said, "The science of having multiple personalities in one place is a sadly stigmatized affliction; something others would not try to understand. I am accepting of the fact I have other sides that aren't me within me though. I was built to be that way and I can cope with it. You meanwhile, you couldn't hope to endure it in the same manner- and its not FAIR you get Vanny's flak. You are not Vanny. The other persona that's there is..." He bobbed his shoulders, "She is a murderer, and cruel beyond measure. You are a disgruntled being, but not the same person we've known from before. It isn't fair to be condemned for a crime another person has committed, regardless you share a physical form-"

He reached out and patted the woman's head; Vanessa's face stiffened in blunt fascination and... something else. Her lip was trembling, her breath suddenly shallow and shaky, "You are not guileless, but you are not the instigator either. And once Bonnie is awake, I will try to help him see that. You've been very brave coming in here and facing us despite what has happened, and it wasn't kind of me to pass judgement so early on when I of all bots know what it feels like to be put under the thrall of another person's malignant will. I hold no ire, nor any vendetta towards you, guardian of Gregory. No longer."

He withdrew, his broken face almost radiating purity as he watched the woman before him shiver and stagger from the computer. Vanessa's breath got ragged and steadily shallower; leaning over the module and fighting the need to sob. The attendant placed a hand on her back, rubbing it gently as she tried to reclaim her faculties.

All the while, the others looked on- with Gregory getting up to join Vanessa's side again. He pulled on her cardigan, then leaned against her. The woman's hand slowly found its way around his shoulders; pulling the boy closer in.

From the door, Roxy had come back with a motor in hand. She flicked her remaining ear, then grunted in static. She said nothing; merely deposited the motor and walked away.

Chica had seen that. She knew Roxy well enough to know that she didn't want to let go yet. This was all too fast for her; and she was, reasonably, still on the defensive about their precarious predicament.

While Chica was still plainly confused and was trying to wrap her broken mind around this, she got this much: That Vanny and Vanessa were one in the same physically, but never emotionally. It was as Eclipse said: It was all too poorly understood. Both Roxy and Bonnie however had spent a long time hating her for the things she's done. Vanny's list of crimes was a tall list.

No, Roxy couldn't forgive her. Not yet. Maybe in time perhaps, but not now. Not after all they've endured while being trapped in here. But if they could escape and see the sun... then maybe. In time. There could be a final place of rest for all this madness.

As for Chica herself? Well- if Vanessa could brave Bonnie's fury and stay for them so they can leave together, she can learn to forgive too. In fact, she had half a mind to do so now, but she was still trying to get her head screwed on first. Maybe later, she told herself. I need to take this one step at a time.

She felt Freddy seize her hand; the ursine smiling into her face in that adoring way of his. Chica smiled back easily.

"We'll be out of here," He assured her. "You shall see. And then, there will beno more need for all us to be carrying around this garbage."

Chica couldn't help but believe him then, tightening her grip on his naked paw all the while. "I'd like to believe that," she mumbled gently to him.

He only touched his nose to her forehead in reply.