FNAF Security Breach: Ruination

by FrostByterFang

Cassie's descent into the bowels of the PizzaPlex's depths posed numerous ramifications. After Gregory's supposed betrayal, she needs to find a way out of the derelict building with the assistance of the broken-down animatronics. Gregory meanwhile attempts to rescue his friend from the depths of the PizzaPlex. FULL summary inside. Main character focus is Cassie & Glamrock Bonnie.

21. Total Insecurity

Author's notes: Yes. I ripped the title shamelessly off from the song. Yes, I have no regrets. Its a good a song. Also yes, you should look it up. Its a Security Breach themed song. And YES, it fits this chapter completely and super well. You'll see what I mean. Imagine its like, the ending credits song to the end of this chapter- if this story was told in an episodic manner. I thank music for my muses.

Anyways, Enjoy!

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GLAMROCK BONNIE

Calling him confused would be an understatement.

He hadn't expected to wake up to Vanessa's voice after Cassie had freed his mind from the AR world. So naturally, he freaked out. Once he noticed there was something different with his body- like the upgrades and the heavier, larger motor, he thought it was a diabolical means to an end for Vanny. For her to turn him into a drone or something. And again, upon waking up and realizing he's different and hearing her voice, he couldn't help but immediately assume that his life would be in peril and he swung first.

Indeed, he hadn't seen the kids in the room with him when he first got up. His ears had tracked Vanessa in the room with him and stayed locked upon her; then his eyes followed. And once he saw her, all bets were off. He went into Security mode immediately and flew off the handle. He reacted; not proacted- even though it'd given the illusion of the latter.

But now, dawning back on the last few minutes, he realized his severe error: His friends were NOT under Vanessa/Vanny's control, they were completely fine, they were rebuilding him, Cassie was here and HURT, and Freddy had to lecture him about not seeing the children and charging in the manner he did. It's embarrassing enough he'd flung the daycare attendant into Roxy- and he smashed Roxy into a wall and nearly flattened her; thinking she was going to rip his throat out again.

Again, he reacted... and it fell more in line with OVER-reacting. Once more, he blamed his partially stupid rabbit brain for the flipping out part. He could've swore he changed some of those behavioral tics out.

For now though, in the lull of his attack, his body had wound down and he felt himself slump into the bots holding him. Yes, ironically, the first hugs he got upon awakening were from the very same bots who rendered him defunct in the first place. Call it a karmic turnabout. Roxy and Chica had jointly destroyed him, but here he was, relishing the fact he was sitting in their embrace while he finally had that moment -for the first time in gods know how long- to properly cry. He needed that cry too; even though no tears ran down his face.

He knew they hadn't meant to destroy him- nor do they apparently remember. And even if they did remember, he suspected the result would've been the same; more hugs, more crying, and apologies everywhere. If they don't remember doing it, he wasn't going to tell them. Why the heck would he tell Chica she helped kill him? She was sensitive enough as it is- let alone Roxy!

As for himself... he found himself shockingly exhausted even despite the new and more powerful chest rig and the fact he was better than ever- despite the way his shell looked right now. His fatigue actually stemmed not from his mad pursuit of Vanessa, but from his own emotions. He never got to properly finish processing that night he'd seen the truth in the underground; never got to process his own tumultuous mindset after Vanny disabled him. He was tired in a way that felt like it extended to his metaphorical spirit; as if his very being was being repeatedly beaten down. Yet at the same time, he felt charged with a live-wire anxiety that electrified his limbs. He wanted to bolt this time, and with the intention to flee-

But how can one flee from his own feelings?

So he cried instead.

He found himself laying partially on Cassie now; his chin over her crown, tucking the girl close with one paw while the other stayed rooted to the ground beneath him. He didn't want to touch her with the bloody one; and frankly, he needed that limb to brace his weight anyways due to aforementioned exhaustion dragging at him. He jerked; shoulders rolling at certain intervals and his eyes shut as he struggled to process that he was here now and he was able-bodied again.

Cassie had saved him. She was the one to have found him, freed his mind, inspired the others to fix him- he was here because of her. And now, he owed her everything that he is or was- and he intended to give it all. Whatever she asked, it was hers.

She loved him. That somehow helped alleviate the majority of his current hurts. She may have come back to the PizzaPlex for Gregory, at first, but she stayed for THEM- even despite being injured and scared herself. Despite the fact she should be in a hospital and not involved with this madness, she stayed for them- for a bunch of expensive glorified children's party bots. She stayed to fix them, to love them when no one else does, to embrace them when they've needed it the most.

Bless her heart, because she sure as fuck has all of mine in her hands. And I can imagine the others feel the same, he's pondered.

He found himself drawing a rattling breath again; the motion a symptom of his sorrow as he attempted to process the weird world around him right now. Cassie was hugging him, Chica and Roxanne were too, and he just had a fight with all his comrades with the exception of Monty. Freddy had just... walked off. He didn't even say anything. Couldn't defend himself from Bonnie's barbed accusation. Even though Bonnie had meant what he said, he still felt terrible for directing those words at Freddy of all people. He resolved to apologize to the bear after a while, but his confusion and frustration will keep his tongue hostage for a time yet.

So he cried some more- like a huge fucking baby. While his sadness wasn't as flippantly obvious as it would be with Chica whenever she was at her worst, no one can mistaken the odd huffs he produced for anything else. He couldn't physically cry like a human, but damn if all the bots can't give their best approximation of it. They showed their sadness in varying ways. Chica's was the loudest by far, and Bonnie's the quietest and most deceptive in all the band. These aren't happy huffs- they were the sad kind.

His nose twitched; his chest movement weirdly rapid as Cassie continued to hug him. She wouldn't move for the longest time; wouldn't budge unless he wanted to. The endearment had the rabbit choked up now for a different reason: This loving girl- caring about them all even when the whole rest of the world had banished them to the depths- she was literally the only reason why Bonnie wasn't resuming his chase right now. He let Vanessa go for the moment- rather savoring the first real hug he's had in...

In...

Well, the fact he couldn't remember said enough. He's been trapped digitally ever since being decommissioned; and even before that, he hadn't deigned to hug his friends in the days leading up to his 'death'. Now that he dawned back on it, Chica may have been the last person to have hugged him.

Back in the present, he eventually opened his eyes again and rubbed Cassie's back; the girl feeling oh-so fragile beneath his platter-sized paws. His maroon gaze fixed on the hen and wolf too; Roxanne's nose stuck to his jaw in what could've been a passably submissive canid manner and Chica fixed to his back like she was trying to become one with him or be his shield- or both? Is that what hens do? Cover their babies like that? He didn't know, but Chica was now producing some sort of odd noise- one he wasn't sure he's ever heard before. He didn't know chicken language well enough to understand it. Roxy was whining on rare occasions- the sound tapering off really fast as if she recalled she was doing it and didn't want to show it.

Finally, the buck pulled away just so he can look at the person who freed him. Bonnie suspected they've been sitting here a few minutes now just holding the position. Cassie wiped her eyes; Bonnie's own red set noticing the girl's leg beneath her and the splint on it. The rabbit felt incredibly foolish for not noticing sooner that Cassie was hurt and he'd almost hurt her further when he'd thrown that glass panel. He won't forgive himself for the error anytime soon either.

The girl sniffed and looked up at him, hazel gaze a warm glow that reminded Bonnie vaguely of bubbling honey. She smiled wetly, "I've missed you."

Her words, so small, earnest and barely heard. If he didn't have good hearing he would've missed them. He merely nodded in answer though, the gesture vague and distracted. Talking again felt difficult. He gave her his best approximation of a smile he can muster.

"I missed you too," he mumbled. "More than you know."

She reached up to touch his muzzle again; being gentle around the area where his whiskers were anchored into his shell. "People kept asking about you. Kept missing you," she was sure to emphasize. She then hung her head sadly, Bonnie taking her hand from his face and gently kneading at it as she sighed. "I kept asking my dad about you... and every time he told me he didn't know, it felt disappointingly crushing each time. I didn't even want to come back to the PizzaPlex after a while- especially after that party."

He blinked slowly at that, head cocked somewhat. "I noticed you stopped coming," He told her, his words factual. He leveled her a slight frown, "I always assumed though it was something relevant to your dad's, erm... *ahem* domestic situation."

"He... he told you about that?"

Bonnie leveled a so-so gesture, "Not all the details. Just the parts where he was concerned about you and what to do with you- making sure to point out how much it would destroy him to live without you. And speaking of which-" Now his gaze hardened. "Where IS your dad? Why are you here? You've obviously noticed by now this place is dangerous! I can't imagine in his right mind he'd let you come here of his own volition!" He waved at her leg, "I mean- how did THAT happen?"

Cassie passed her injured leg an impassive once-over, her gaze distant. There was a shrug; something the buck hadn't wanted to see. "That's a LONG story... and my dad... he..." Her warmed honeyed eyes stayed lingering on the floor, expression contorting briefly. She hissed and inhaled through her teeth; an indicator that the tears would be coming again anew. She even wiped her sleeve across her nose before gazing with watery eyes back up towards Bonnie, "Don't you know?"

He shook his head, "I've seen tons of stuff from those wet floor signs, but not everything... why? Are you not living with him anymore?"

She shook her head, the motion mechanical.

Beside him, Roxy pulled away from him and gently placed a loving paw (oh my god are those Freddy's paws? Bonnie wondered intrusively) along the girl's back. There was some soothing motions before she answered in Cassie's stead, "Her dad's passed away. She's living with other family, I think."

"My aunt... yeah," Cassie mumbled. "From my mom's side."

Bonnie blinked, and then his expression contorted into horror as this portent sank in. He felt something in his core give; placing a paw to his broken breast in naked shock as he passed glances between the girl and wolf. Chica hadn't let go of him all the while, but now she too was looking at Cassie with something similar. She apparently hadn't known.

The fact that a friend passed away was one thing- but the fact that a Bonnie's already tiny world had gotten that much smaller? He was having trouble absorbing this; blinking rapidly and rubbing at the remains of his own face after a moment. It felt like a 'distant' event; one that occurred to someone else and not him personally. It would take him a little bit of time to finish absorbing this portent too; the buck staring hard at the space between Cassie and himself for the moments to come.

"Ohhh... baby bird," Chica cooed softly; her voice tapering off sorrowfully. The hen leaned over and very gently tapped her beak to Cassie's forehead, the motion slow enough so that it wouldn't hurt or bother her. "I'm sorry... wasn't your aunt kinda... I dunno- Anti-Freddy-ish?"

Cassie nodded, "She doesn't want anything to do with this place. She made me get rid of my Freddy merch- which sucked, since I had that one Bonnie plush and it belonged to my dad-"

"She made you get rid of your Bonnie plush?" Chica scowled noticeably there, the other two bots doing the same. "And a memento of your DAD'S, of all things?"

Once again, the girl bobbed her head in the affirmative. "I miss having it... I kept looking for one while I was here. Never managed to find one..."

Roxy added, "I think I recall you looking through those plushies you piled up in. I'm sorry about that... that's damn mean of your aunt to do that!"

Bonnie himself meanwhile snapped out of his daze, coughing importantly and then assuring her in a stuffy tone, "Well! We can't have that now, can we? I wager there's at least ONE left here somewheres... I bet I even have one back in my dresser room, probably. I can look for one-?"

Cassie immediately waved him off, "No no no no no no! I don't want you to go through the trouble-"

"Toooooo late~" He partially sing-songed. "Now you can't change my mind. Guess I'll be finding ya one when we get the moment!"

Once again, the girl shook her head, "I REALLY wouldn't want you to do that- I don't want to see you put yourself at risk over a toy; especially right now. We got other things to worry about-" She then passed Bonnie an uncertain look, "On the side... I'm more worried about YOU: Are you okay now? Kinda? Maybe? Sorta..."

The reminder of his current situation had the buck thinking anew back to what lead him here: He STILL hadn't fully processed if he was truly an A.I or some sort of ghost in the shell. He's never told anyone of his discovery either- literally, Chica and Roxy here wouldn't know what he's seen that night. Freddy wouldn't know because his memory was deleted, and all they knew was that Bonnie had Vanny to contend with and perished as a result of. In this respect, the rabbit literally felt like the odd one out right now; truly alone in another sense, even though he was now surrounded by familiars.

He wondered if he should tell them his findings in the underground at some point. Certainly not now, but he also wasn't sure if he wanted to say anything later on either. He doubted any of them would take the information very well- especially since they seemed to be in this precarious situation. Nobody here was in a fit place in their minds to absorb the brevity of this damning information.

So perhaps, on that note, he will take this secret with him for the time being.

As for the way this tiny girl looked at him -even after his maddened pursuit of Vanessa- he felt like he can find some security and comfort, with time. He can begin the process of understanding all this and absorbing it in earnest. He just needed to process; and preferably do so with Cassie beside him. She was something like a security blanket; silly as this was to say.

She's always been our security blanket though, he figured as he watched Roxy and Chica. I'm not the only one here who looks forward to seeing her every time she leaves and comes back.

After his eventual nod to her prior question, Cassie was seen touching his face again and turning his head. He followed the motion, letting her direct his skull how she wanted. "Do you feel any pain?" She queried, no doubt looking at his damaged side and focusing on the fact that he was still missing half his face despite the repairs made. "I know your shells had special touch receptors. I'm sorry we couldn't find any spare chassis pieces... Management must've removed it all."

"No, no pain," he assured gently, his reply simple. He didn't feel anything in some regions of his face- the tactile sensors anchored to some areas of his visage having been damaged to that severity. He briefly wondered if the silvery bands under his chassis can be replaced at all, as he knew he wouldn't want to go without touch. It was maddening if he felt numb to the physical realm after having been cut off from it for so long.

Cassie's fingers moved away from his whiskers (at least he can feel with those), her gaze long and fraught with a tempestuous array of pain. He didn't want sympathy, but he wouldn't deny that her ability to wear her heart on her sleeve was a relieving and beautiful notion. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled as well. "Seeing you like that-"

"I'm the one that's sorry," he cut in, though his tone remained low and quiet. "I should've seen you and Gregory in that room. I almost hurt you both flinging that glass. Freddy was right; I was shoulda been more aware of my surroundings." He inhaled; compressor whirring softly as he considered her words as well as his own. He glanced briefly at Chica and Roxy, wearing the same pensive, apologetic expression all the while. "And I'm sorry about the er... the fighting. Roxy, I smashed you into a wall! AFTER I THREW THAT ATTENDANT AT YOU! I really-"

"Don't start with that," She bit, though not unkindly. She held up her paw to stop him, "If we go around apologizing for every little thing we've ever done in all our lives, we'd never be able to move on. I know you didn't want to hurt me; you weren't in your right frame of mind. You also figured I was under Vanny's influence, right?"

He nodded grimly, ears low to his head. "That's still no excuse-" He began to argue.

Roxy flapped her hand in a talking motion. "Tut tut tut! Shut it. I JUST said you don't need to be apologizing. I understand you were just trying to- well, yunno. I get it. Really." She shrugged, "Now as to Vanny, she hasn't been around for a long time. Vanessa on the other hand... while I don't trust her all the way yet, she still helped put you back together and is working to do the same for the rest of us- despite the danger posed to her. I can respect that, I think. She also hasn't tried anything Vanny-like either; and Freddy seems keen to defend her-"

Bonnie snorted there; giving her a skeptical look. "We'll see about that," He half-groused, still feeling (if perhaps childishly so) petty about the whole ordeal. His teeth showed too, "I'd like to kindly remind ya'll SHE was the one who finished imposing those security blocks. Worse, she KNEW I was locked up in the system and kept me in it! While I'm glad she fixed up Chica here-" Bonnie reached up to touch the hen on that notion; Chica slanting him an affectionate expression as he gently grazed a paw alongside her adorable face. His tone wilted some as he went on, "-I still don't think I can trust her. She does anything funny, I can't promise I can keep my temper in check."

Cassie sighed, "Vanessa's not mean... she comes as somebody whose trying to amend for what she's done. I admit that I'm not entirely sure of her either... but I don't think she'd hurt us. She knew what she was getting into while fixing you-" She waved at Bonnie. "And she fixed you up regardless, despite the danger."

He said nothing to that, his paw lingering Chica all the while. He only shrugged nonchalantly and returned his attention to the humming hen beside him- who was very much enjoying the attention he was lavishing her. "And you? how do you feel?" He entreated in a throaty croon.

His expression saddened somewhat as he recalled how BAD she looked until now- and he won't ever forget what he saw from the eyes of the mop bots. And now that he was really looking at her, she looked almost entirely brand new. It may be fair to say Chica was fairing the best right now in terms of physicality out of all of them (Roxy's borrowed paws still had Bonnie wondering what he's missed).

On that note, he lowered the paw that had been on her face and gingerly seized one of her hands instead; noticing she wasn't twitchy or jittery anymore. Her earlier embrace had been solid too; sturdy. She also smelled alright too; completely clean of pizza and smelling literally like her true default scent; baked goods and icing from the new aroma bands that came pre-installed in her shell somewhere. The fact she had NO pizza scent on her was mystifying!

Chica passed him a gentle narrowing of her lids; the kind that showed her relaxation and affection. She also produced an interesting noise; one that had Bonnie's ears flexing with intrigue as she- what was that? Chirped rapidly? It thrilled, lilted and tapered off; the hen gently rubbing at his paw in-turn and butting her head once again against his own.

"I'm fine now... I promise," She murmured between them. "I don't even feel hungry-"

"...Who are you and what have you done with Chica?" Bonnie immediately fired, slanting her a bluntly shocked expression.

Chica pulled away from his face and fluttered a hand at his nose dismissively; making him go cross-eyed. "Bah! I'm still ME- just, a better me. Vanessa honestly did me a FAVOR removing that whole 'hunger' thing. I'm tired of being hungry... I've wanted that sensation gone for quite some time now," she allayed. "In fact, I dare say I think we can trust Vanessa well enough. She DID help fix us and give you back to me. You're right where you SHOULD be-" She bumped his forehead; an old token of their endearment. "Right beside me, and right where Freddy can find you again."

Bonnie blinked at the words, coughing slightly at the intimacy of them. He passed her a lop-sided smirk, but it didn't remain before his sensors (which he's been running in the background) gave him an update to his systems. His softer gaze transformed into a frown, and then his nose twitched in irritation, "Then... how come she did something to me? I just scanned myself and I'm found a few weird things..."

Roxy supplied easily and swiftly, "She didn't put anything in you I wouldn't have wanted for myself. For that matter, I helped her with your reassembly too. I did your motor, for instance-" Her claw touched his broken breast plate, "The programs she would've put in are something we all jointly agreed on and WATCHED her implement. Believe me, its not anything malign."

He snorted dismissively there, then shut his eyes and scanned himself in further detail. His frown deepened when he found a particularly large file on his processor-

And realized it looked terribly familiar.

Bonnie fought a growl when he said, "Then how come she stuck M.X.E.S inside me? What the hell is THAT about?"

Cassie immediately waved at him as if to stop him from deleting the file- which he was actually about to do. "BEFORE YOU ASSUME THE WORST- I just want you to know that M.X.E.S isn't BAD! Its some sort of hard-core, super smart and super adaptive security program that was reformatted and designed to combat the Mimic- which is some kinda evil animatronic that tried to... oh, I dunno... kill me?"

Bonnie looked alarmed, his jaw falling open. His eyes went to her leg, then back to her eyes, "Did it- was it the thing that broke your leg?"

"No... not directly. Its actions led into it though," Cassie replied. "On that note, I don't think you need to worry about M.X.E.S being an issue. Its biggest vice is just being a super-huge, memory-eating program meant to combat the malicious programs inside this place. And sadly, with the broken terminals here and the blinking power grid...Vanessa couldn't run it. She could only run its most basic features on her tiny laptop; and it was all she could do to keep the Mimic in check until we woke you up. So, she and Roxy gave you that new core so YOU can run it instead." She pointed to his motor next, "You have the processing power to stop and slow down the Mimic, and I think you're the only one that can fight it right now."

Bonnie narrowed his eyes, still very much not liking this. "I'm sorry but... you guys really want me to run this... this program when it made ya'll crazy from Security mode when a threat is detected? I had front row seats to the shit it made ya do! How do I know it won't do the same thing to me?"

"Do... do what now?" Roxy wondered now, blinking rapidly at him (Bonnie was also just NOW realizing Roxy had mismatched eyes- one blue and one amber. He was recalling Freddy was similar and wondered if they're trading eyes between each other for a reason). "What do you mean by that?"

Bonnie flapped his jaws, then stared dumbfoundedly at them. He motioned between the girls with a graceful claw, "You mean you... you don't remember?"

Chica scratched her head, "Remember what? I have WAYYY too many holes in my memory. Worse, even if I DID remember anything, I don't think it'd be really reliable..." She glanced away, "Freddy won't tell me how bad I was... but I assume I've eaten through my own personality chip too. I just... I really don't recall doing anything beyond eating myself into a food coma repeatedly for the last while. The only other thing I think I can kinda remember is seeing Cassie meandering around?"

Roxy added on, "I'm not sure if I want to revisit too many of the moments we've spent here in the aftermath of this place closing. All of that time just kinda started to blur together after a point. I started forgetting things because it simply didn't matter; every day was the same."

Bonnie flashed them odd looks, his expression concerned. They really don't recall killing anyone- do they? Should I mention that? No... that would make them feel worse. I'm the only murderer here. Not them. They really don't need that on their conscious- especially since they wouldn't have done that in their right minds. Meanwhile, I killed Cromwell with genuine intent and on purpose.

"Just ah... nevermind," Bonnie mumbled. He knew they were going to press (they were all pretty good with catching his evasiveness at this point), so he quickly added on with, "Howzabout we focus on the fact I'm still missing context about this... other bot. The Mimic, you called it? I didn't see enough through the eyes of the mop bots that would be helpful... I know I missed things."

Roxy shook her head sadly, "Yeah. The Mimic is an apparently super smart, junkyard scrap piece with a nasty tendency to rip off limbs. It loves smashing things cutely."

"Charming," Bonnie smirked ironically.

"I know. But that aside-" Roxy resettled on her legs; having been sitting on them for the last while. "The Mimic is not only a threat physically, but digitally. Its a hacker, and we don't need it accessing the PizzaPlex's vulnerable systems and spying on us. It can't escape from this place either; it'll kill whoever it comes across-"

"This thing is like, a psychopath?" Cassie elaborated. "Not only did it try killing me, but it abuses human emotions to get what it wants. It really is well-versed in the craft of manipulation. The fact it took one good look at me after I freed it and thought 'I wish to do violence to the same child who saved me' says enough."

Roxy nodded and turned back to Bonnie, "While I know you have your reservations about M.X.E.S... I think its done a better job dealing with the Mimic when it was active than I could physically. I had my ass handed to me on gilded platter!" She snarled briefly, "I couldn't protect Cassie- I failed. And that thing? If it escapes, its gonna do the same to a BUNCHA people. Its so much stronger than one would think."

"You guys are for real serious about me running this thing," Bonnie dead-panned. At all their nods though, he heaved a great sigh and sat back on his ankles. He scanned his Hud; eyes shut briefly as he checked the contents of the enormous file size and the listings of all its features. He raised a metaphorical brow, "Damn... this thing's HUGE. I mean, I appreciate having a new heart 'n all, but... running this thing is still gonna keep me from doing too much moving around."

"That big?" Cassie wondered.

"Yeah... but, I can do it. I'll run it, and see what I can do about this big-bad Mimic thingy," Bonnie finally affirmed. "I mean, I can still do stuff? Just not a LOT at once. I can't imagine getting into a fight while running M.X.E.S at the same time and still expect to come out of that super stylishly. I mean, I know I'm pretty damn amazing, but not a miracle worker-"

"I beg to differ," Chica smirked at him. "As if saving me from death even when you died yourself isn't miracle enough?"

"You tryna make me blush?" He teased lightly. Her expression was making Bonnie scratch sheepishly at the back of his head. "Cuz you'll hafta do a lot better than that to get me all bashful."

Chica then teased back, "'-'Til it works!"

Roxy dusted herself off while rolling her eyes at them, going to stand as well, "In the meantime- back on the subject of the Mimic: Once its disabled, I think we can all get it at once if all go at it physically. And then you won't have to run the program anymore. Vanessa also says you have access to the cameras here too... so, can you find it?"

"I think I can. In fact, I have access to the security system even now-" The buck waved around the room. "Ever since Cassie freed me, I've been kinda tapping into it to find you all. Didn't know you guys were crowding around Parts & Service though. Not many cameras in there, so I missed ya. As to this program-" He placed a contemplative paw to his chin and tapped a digit against his mandible, "I can do a LOT with this thing... its incredible. It has a buncha behaviors in it that're unique, and its so intelligent!"

He grimaced a bit, if in a display of minor discomfort, "Not gonna lie, it almost feels like I'm sharing my body with someone else. Not sure how I feel about that- But I don't think I'll complain too much if it keeps this Mimic thingy in check. Its... hold on." He fell silent for a second, frowning at the Hud blinking before his eyes. "Its rewriting some of my security algorithms on its own-? Rearranging... improving efficiency... I mean, I knew Vanessa was a tech-wiz but this thing's... wow. Should I be stopping it?"

"No- let it do its thing," Cassie encouraged. "Vanessa made it so that if it does anything especially questionable, it'll have to ask for your approval first. It won't do anything you don't want it to do."

"Okay, good. That's okay then," He sighed. He slowly got to his feet next, helping Cassie up next. Roxy took the girl into her arms as Bonnie's motor started to hum louder. "Its compensating for my own errors already. Fixing some messed up stuff... and improving certain defensive features. I feel like I got hijacked but its not terrible?" He blinked in a dazed way, "Adaptive... a little scary, admittedly."

"You sure you're okay?" Chica mumbled.

"Yeah, its not doing anything I wouldn't do; to take the words out of you guys' mouths," Bonnie affirmed after a few seconds of pensive observation. "Even if this thing ain't totally bad, I'm still suspicious of it. I still ain't gonna let it take the helm in my own head. So, you guys said something about Vanessa not being able to run it-?"

"Her laptop's too small. Not enough memory," Roxy added. "And the larger terminals here are either broken or flicking off with the main power grid."

"Right... okay," He glanced around, although his expression suggested that he was watching his Hud and not the world around him. "I have access to the cameras. I'll start looking for this thing. Apparently M.X.E.S has already taken the liberty of imposing some digital firewalls everywhere here in the short amount of time that's passed since I started running this thing. That's fast." His ears perked, blinking dazedly as he watched the tiny girl. He found himself frowning again, "I'm so sorry about your leg, Cassie. Is it bad?"

"No, Eclipse gave me a splint and has been good about tending it," She informed him.

"Okay, good. Good. Now then-" he pressed a talon to the good side of his head. He also smirked, "So uh... can I ask why this thing's got the chiseled cheeks of a Greek God? I mean like, I know you guys said Vanessa designed this thing but... why the heck did she design this rabbit sprite with more cake on one side of his inter-face than I do my whole body? No fair."

Chica let out an involuntary snort, "Oh my god. So like, its a rabbit sprite... and its weirdly hot or something-?"

"...Yeah, kinda. He's hot-ish?"

"...'He'?"

"Yuh. Like I said earlier: its intelligent. Pretty much its own individual but just a step or two down." His expression pinched again, then he muttered, "Does this woman have a fetish for rabbits or something? I swear she does..."

The hen cackled loudly enough to wake the dead on that note; slapping a hand to her face to try to stop the giggles.

Roxy blinked rapidly and slapped Freddy's borrowed paws to Cassie's ears as if to cover them. She glared at the two of them and scathingly grumbled, "Enough of that! We're leaving. Gotta take Cassie to bed-"

"But I'm not even tired-" She groused.

"Yes, yes you are. And we are SO not going to talk about a stupid security program being HOT. I don't wanna listen to Bonnie complain about it!" Roxy spat.

"But I have many complaints! How come my digital interface ain't that sexy? I mean, I knew our cutouts were adorable 'n all but-"

"I just said I don't want to hear it! And do I need to remind you we have a child present?" She snapped.

Bonnie and Chica kept snickering despite this, with the blue rabbit bending over to pick up his almost completely forgotten high collar. He frowned at it, turned it over, then just tossed it to the floor again.

The hen tilted her head at him, "You're not keeping your stylish looks?"

"I think I'm a little past caring about my appearance at this point," Bonnie supplied, opening his arms as if to gesticulate to his whole body. The numerous dents and large holes in him said enough- let alone the ominous stains of coolant on his torso from when Roxy bled him (a memory he definitely did not need to be reminding himself of). "And really, that thing has impacted my ability to defend myself multiple times. I think I'll be okay without it-" He passed it a saddened look, "Though I'll miss how sexy it made me look."

"If you're sure," she shrugged before turning to follow Roxy and Cassie.

Indeed, being able to lift his arms over his head now was a luxury he was keeping. Bonnie didn't feel like he could regret it. If anything, his high collar was, while unique in the Glamrock band and rather trademark for him, more hindrance than help. It made him heavier, and when Roxy had a hold of him earlier, allowed her to fix herself to him while she'd been holding him back. Worse, he couldn't even reach up over his head that well, or at ALL at certain angles. The collar even made it harder to fight back the night he was decommissioned. It's about time he left one of his more interesting tastes behind, considering the circumstances.

With that said, he turned and followed them out; leaving behind the last tie to his painful life as a Glamrock.

---

He followed the girls back to the repair ward in reflective silence; Bonnie fixing himself onto his current task:

He had to admit; this M.X.E.S thing was good. He admittedly wished he had something like this back when he was fighting Vanny. He'd been quiet on that note; simply shadowing them as he distractedly tended the security system in the PizzaPlex. It felt weird having access to EVERYTHING here now; and he was allowed to do whatever he wanted to the system right from the get-go. The amount of power was ridiculous and dizzying after having gone without it for so long.

He jumped when he felt something take his paw; blinking out of his reverie when he noticed Chica had been the one to seize it. She burbled at him; a low, silly, thrilling noise that could've passed as a 'purr' of some kind (yes, chickens DO purr- he would much later find out). She eyed him, every bit her real self he remembered: The hen that existed before the bugging out- but still carrying around some of the memories and events AFTER the tragedies. Chica was the best her she could be.

The observation prompted a returning squeeze to her hand. He was wary but welcoming of it regardless; and he was glad he could still feel touch in his paws when a lot of his face still felt numb or absent. He ashamedly kept his other blood-stained paw out of reach; tucking a claw into his pelvic piece. He made a mental note to clean his paws up when he got the chance.

Now that he thought about it... he may STILL have Cromwell's blood in his joints.

Ew. Definitely need to wash up, he thought with disgust.

He ended up being led to the padded rooms; blinking when he heard voices from inside. He bared his teeth once as the door opened; narrowing his eyes as he beheld Vanessa bent over Gregory and pulling some blanket up and around him. The sight baffled Bonnie and felt reasonably obscene; as he couldn't picture Vanessa in a million lifetimes doing something so endearing for anyone. She's pointedly made it clear just how much she's always hated kids in the past.

At their arrival, Gregory was shooting Bonnie looks. The scrappy-headed kid looked like he wanted to dump the hurricane bucket on him instead; and it didn't help that he had a fucking fazerblaster sitting within reach. Why the hell was this kid armed? Even worse, he had a fazcam (which Bonnie lamented had the ability to stun EVERYONE in the room at once) and a... is that a copy of the animatronic taser?

Bonnie stayed far away from the boy as Roxy walked in with Cassie. The wolf bent near Gregory too; pulling up some of the plushies and resting the girl in a bed of toys and what looked like her spare tail piece. After tucking her in, the wolf passed Vanessa a glance and sniffed her curiously- to which the former security guard recoiled and mumbled "uh..." uncertainly.

Roxy chuffed, and then, "You smell tired too- sweaty, exhausted... and you have designer handbags under your eyes. You gonna lie down as well?"

"I said I'd help with Monty first," the woman reciprocated. She glanced at Bonnie over her shoulder, noticeably wilting as she said, "And frankly, I dunno if I can sleep right this instant... Still feelin' a little... um, awake, if you get what I mean."

Bonnie's maroon eyes fixed to her and remained that way; as if he could see into her body and reach for her very soul. Chica popped him gently in the upper arm to snap his focus off her.

Roxy bobbed a shoulder, "Whatever. Freddy's already prepped the cylinder- and his stupid self sounds like he's leaving-"

"WHAT?" Vanessa shot up. "Oh my god that idiot! He needs to be MAINTENANCED first! He better not scoot somewhere before I get a hold of him!"

She turned on her heel and bolted passed Chica and Bonnie; intent on catching Freddy before he straight dipped. Bonnie watched her leave, nose flaring a few times and then focusing on the kids again anew. Chica pulled him into the room fully, then let his hand go so she can bend down next to Cassie.

"You both should rest up! We'll be able to take care of things from here," she assured the children. "You guys honestly shouldn't have to be dealing with this crap anymore to begin with."

Cassie was seen fluffing her bed of toys, laying her head on a large Freddy plush and pulling up replicas of Roxy, Chica and Moon. She smiled gingerly at them all, "Ain't gonna stop me from helping again if I can get away with it."

"Oh no you don't," Roxy grinned at her, reaching for her head and fluffing it. "You're gonna sit tight here and sleep. I don't wanna hafta deal with Moon if he realizes you're still awake."

At that, Gregory shivered noticeably. Bonnie was the only one in the room that heard him mutter, "Nope... not doing that again."

Cassie grabbed Roxy's (or Freddy's?) paw and squeezed, "Will you guys do me a favor and fix yourselves up a bit more? Please? Make sure to actually take the time to yourself for some self-love?"

"We will," Chica nodded. "I think I'll go help Vanessa with Freddy... knowing him, he'll refuse the care until literally everyone else has been finished first. He won't go near the cylinder if he thinks any of us need more maintenance than he does."

Gregory winced there too, "Yeah no... don't let him wander off until after he gets some new chassis pieces on too. He can't be walking around with that worn motor about to quit on him. Don't matter if the car battery kept him charged... Actually, speaking of which-" He glanced at the other bots, "Vanessa put the battery on a shelf in the room too. If you guys don't wanna use the recharge stations, go ahead and use the battery. That thing will keep you guys charged for HOURS."

Bonnie blinked, tilting his head at this. Car batteries... work on us? Is it that easy? You mean to tell me that we coulda -at any point- go out into the parking lot, rip up a car, steal a battery, and LEAVE?

...Why didn't I think to do that?

Roxy bobbed her shoulders and turned back to Cassie. She bumped her forehead with the girl's own, then stood back up, "We'll be in shouting distance if you need us. Just get some sleep or I'll send Moon in here- and I know neither of you would want that." She turned to leave, then paused in front of Bonnie, "Maybe you should lie down somewhere too?"

"Er... why? I feel fine," the rabbit shrugged. "If anything, I feel antsy and I can't sit still for long."

"Running M.X.E.S is gonna tire you out fast. Now that I think about it... maybe you should keep the car battery near you while you route out the Mimic. Its going to fight you digitally once if realizes what you're up to."

Gregory was still levelling Bonnie a suspicious look as he said, "That Mimic-thing has like, self-replicating routines? It'll adapt and change stuff on the fly too. It also has a primitive version of the same virus that shut down the PizzaPlex and messed everyone up is in its head. If you had trouble dealing with Vanny's hacking before, you can BET this thing is just as good- if not better. I'm surprised you haven't detected it already, given you're running the M.X.E.S."

Bonnie blinked and shut his eyes again. He frowned, "Don't get me wrong; I detected a security issue already but M.X.E.S got it cooked and canned so fast I barely paid any mind to it. I didn't really take a closer look beyond that. Still trying to understand what I'm looking at here..."

Roxy and Chica blinked at him. "Wait, you felt something?" The wolf queried between them.

"...Yeah. But like I said, chiseled-cheeks got it. I think at this point M.X.E.S is letting me just power it and be its vessel; and in exchange, he gets to do his thing and leave me some memory to spare?" He blinked and shrugged, "I'll sit and eyeball it a bit more carefully. Haven't caught anything on the cameras yet though... doesn't help that there's not a lot of functional cameras left either. If I'm supposed to find this thing, I'm going to have a hard time doing it, regardless of M.X.E.S's help. The PizzaPlex is just..." He inhaled and shook his head. "Its coming apart. And its likely the Mimic knows that and its just biding its time. Probably hiding out away from the cameras, given it knows they're there."

There was a brief and somewhat grim silence there. Gregory's expression actually pallored, which within itself wasn't a good sign. He ended up adding, "I forgot! After it got free, of course it would've checked the system! Crap! So it'd know where all the cameras are and what we've been doing-"

Roxy's muzzle fell open, then she was looking at Bonnie, "By chance... can you check the exits? Make sure everything's barricaded?"

He nodded, "We don't have to worry about a lot of points of entry, I can say that immediately. I put money on that thing still being trapped in here with us... only way out may be the main entrance right now. The fire escapes are sealed ridiculously tight and the loading docks are locked. All vents are too big for this thing to fit as well... so, even though this thing's got access to the system, it'd know it wouldn't be able to leave." He folded his arms and rested his weight on one hip, "Granted... let's hope it didn't figure out the main entrance is kinda open... I don't have any active cameras near there."

Gregory shook his head, "The only way to the main entrance was through the elevator shafts, and they don't work. The elevators themselves are in the way. Vanessa, Freddy and I only got in because I had to unscrew a maintenance door on the ceiling of one of them. Vanessa made me seal it back too- wanted to make sure nothing leaves the same way. That thing won't be leaving, in that case."

"Good. So its definitely still here," Bonnie acknowledged. "I suppose its... kinda reassuring? But it means none of us have a way out unless we go that way." His ears flattened, "I don't want to say this but... we still can't eliminate the chances that parts of the PizzaPlex can cave in and let that thing have another means of escape."

"Or the tunnels that giant thing made," Cassie mumbled. She passed them all a worried look, "When I came in... there was areas in the floor where that... amalgamation came through. Around the giant Freddy statue in the lobby? The Mimic may leave through that."

Bonnie's expression slipped into abjectly horrified. "You... y-you saw it? The many-faced bot?"

Gregory and her now looked at Bonnie in-turn. "YOU saw it before?" Gregory sputtered. "When was THIS?"

Roxy growled, then glanced at the other two bots, "Explain later. These kids need to rest. On that note, I think we made need to make a party to go and seal that tunnel nearer to the main entrance, the one Cassie mentioned."

"Right. Do we have enough paws available?" Bonnie waved at her.

"Just enough, and then some if we get Monty up sooner rather than later," the wolf provided. "I think Freddy will have to get his claws dirty again. We'll have to talk this over."

The bots shrugged at other in uncertain, wane motions. Then, they bade the kids goodnight and left them be. Bonnie's eyes lingered briefly on Cassie and Gregory, but primarily on the former as he turned on his heel.

"Bonnie?"

He paused, then looked at the girl, "What did Roxy get through saying? Get some sleep, sweet thing!"

"I know, but-" Cassie sighed heavily, "Can I ask you something real fast? Just real quick." At his nod she continued, "I know it's a lot to ask and I know you haven't been out of the cylinder for more than a short while, but... Can you... yunno, not go after Vanessa again?"

Gregory passed a look now, then returned his hard gaze to the rabbit. There was a hardness to his eyes that one would never expect to find in a child; and it gave even Bonnie the creeps. It made him wonder what the kid has gone through to be wearing the expression he had currently.

"I won't touch her," Bonnie reluctantly conceded. "But if I think she's gonna do some Vanny-like shit, I can't promise that otherwise-"

"She won't," Gregory said this time, his tone harder than one would expect out of a child his size and age. "I swear to god, you better leave her alone! She wouldn't hurt anyone if she coulda helped it! She couldn't exactly control what she did at the time no more than any one of you could when you're all bugged out!"

Bonnie flicked an annoyed ear at the boy, eyes slanted slightly but not in the severe manner it has been for the last while. "Fine. I won't touch her. But I don't get it, kid... What the heck even is she to you? You weren't exactly on speaking terms with her when you spent the night in the PizzaPlex. Keep in mind that I saw that through the eyes of the mop bots. So, what changed?"

Cassie was now looking at Gregory herself, her honey eyes politely curious.

Gregory's ears seemed to turn pink, then he lie down in a huff. He didn't say it very loud but he did finally reply, "She's all I got, besides Freddy. Just leave her alone."

Bonnie blinked again, both ears lowering. While the kid hadn't explicitly put it into detail, he got a bit of the context. He sighed forlornly, then felt something inside of him twist and release pressure. He nodded, then ducked his head submissively, "Sleep tight, rockstars."

"I love you," Cassie timidly called to him and the other retreating bots.

That had him stopping so abruptly, he almost fell over from it. He even tilted forward dangerously and wobbled to stabilize his footing before turning to look at the girl over his now bare shoulders in blunt shock. Chica and Roxy were reacting similarly beside him; each passing the other a glance and turning to look at the suddenly sheepish girl behind them.

Cassie meanwhile squeaked when she realized she just told these bots the kind of endearment she'd reserve for just family; hiding herself in the pile of plush toys and Roxy's furs out of sudden shyness. Gregory was blinking and giving her a look.

Bonnie felt something inside his core actually stop; staring off into space after giving the girls another passing glance. He worked his jaw, watched the lump of toys that hid Cassie, and felt his broken face slip into the first real smile he's had since waking up without his warrant. His tense shoulders even slumped; and that weird, constricted feeling in his breast where his compressor was felt like something released. He felt like he can suddenly breathe.

"We love you too," Chica said for him, taking the words out of his mouth.

Cassie poked her head out of the mound of toys, her mocha-skinned face radiating some of her unbridled joy at hearing the endearment returned. There was a glow to her expression that looked like she, not unlike Bonnie in that moment, felt like she too can really relax and breathe for the first time in forever- as if their words validated something within her as well. She produced a noise that could've passed a giggle and slumped back into her pile of plushies.

The girls departed, with Bonnie being the last to leave as he passed Cassie one last affectionate gaze and letting it linger poignantly before he too finally walked out. He left the door ajar behind him; feeling some kinda of airy sensation in his head and breast as he did.

---

GREGORY

That expression on Bonnie's face-

It was some of the same looks he'd get from Freddy whenever he went to bed back at Vanessa's house. The kind of adoration and love a child could hope to get from a figure they loved oh-so dearly. He hadn't expected to see it here, on Bonnie of all things.

He gave Cassie another look, a little curious about this relationship she had with the other bots. They apparently ADORED her; and the way it broke through to the buck? Bonnie was suddenly so much more docile with her around; just as Vanessa said. It couldn't be clearer Bonnie had a bias towards someone or another; and it showed through more easily than even he'd probably want.

Gregory saw in his face just that moment when Cassie told him these words the kind of person he used to be. The old Bonnie was definitely gone- but not completely a memory. The real him- the him that Freddy adored and spoke kindly of was in there somewhere; buried deeply beneath the fury and madness. The Bonnie Bunny that people loved and spoke highly of was also someone who loves Freddy as much as Gregory himself did; a lover, by nature.

Gregory did not care for the fact Bonnie had this... scarily single-minded determination about him that made him a frightening adversary. He was also spiteful, aggressive, and probably sadistic at his absolute worst-

But he knew Freddy would argue that that wasn't the real Bonnie Bunny. And its likely Cassie here would agree- if her expression and strange trust towards him even despite his earlier behavior was anything to go by.

He curled up in the blankets meanwhile; scooting closer to the girl and her pile of toys. Cassie had shared them with him; the two barely a meter from the other as they settled in to nap. The padded room wasn't exactly too comfortable to sleep in with its general creepiness, but it didn't have the same amount of menace in it anymore at that moment. It felt... actually secure in the sense that Gregory knew the Mimic can't get in here. He felt safe in some part.

He just hoped Bonnie really would leave Vanessa alone. He supposed though that so long as Cassie asked him of it, Bonnie will abide by that and no longer bother his guardian figure. If Bonnie's expression was anything to go by, he needn't fear. The buck truly looked like he would do anything for the girl beside him.

Gregory turned towards Cassie, lying on his side and pulling the blanket closer to his neck as he lie on a large Freddy plush to use as a pillow. It wasn't completely comfortable, but not unpleasant either. He murmured, "Can I ask you something?"

"Hm...?"

She sounded sleepy. He decided to cut to the quick then, "Wasn't Roxy like... your favorite? I mean, all these guys just seem to be a sucker for you. I don't get that... watcha do to make them so... so... yunno!"

Cassie liked her lips in the gloom, trying to moisten them up and repositioning herself in the mound of toys. She fidgeted with the Roxy plush as he asked this, her voice a low mutter as she breathed, "I just hung around them a lot. I don't think I did anything special. They're just... lonely. You know? I came around here often enough, since my dad worked here 'n all. The times I wasn't in school and my parents both had to work, my dad would take me here. I stayed in the daycare more often than not- but sometimes, one of the Glams would come over and see me."

She twirled the Roxy plush's green hair as she added on, "I spent so much time around Sun and Moon. The Glams otherwise were reasonably busy and couldn't see me during the day. If dad worked late though and the PizzaPlex closed up shop at a certain time, I'd see them at night. They'd come sauntering around the daycare if they knew I was there. It wasn't often, but just enough so that I could meet them all. It so happened that Bonnie was the most frequent visitor."

There was a pause. And then, "Bonnie was always a little... different, from the rest. He doesn't seem like it at first- and its REALLY hard to see if you knew him from back then, but he's a bit of a loner? You wouldn't think that with the way he used to own a room. He's really good at selling it that he's a social butterfly; letting kids hug his legs all the time and what-not." She passed Gregory an odd glance, "Like, he's pretty comfortable just minding his own business most of the time. He tended to act like social gatherings were a little tiresome for him in his off hours. I didn't see how bothered by this he was at first-"

She narrowed her bronzed gaze some, "But with enough time spent around me, he got comfortable enough to admit that he just didn't have the energy for it some days and he tried wandering off so nobody can mess with him. He started missing rehearsals too. He even turned off his pings and misses his game nights with his own friends. He got into fights with Monty a LOT- they have an existing history, actually."

"They do?" Gregory blinked.

The girl nodded, "Yeah. Bonnie and Monty fought some nights out of sheer boredom. Both of them were driven up the wall by the other; and they both have a strong, bold personality. Naturally, they clashed. Freddy admitted that he was worried Bonnie would end up in Parts & Service more often than not if this kept up-" She sighed there, "I admit, I don't like Monty for this reason. I guess it was always bias on that note. I didn't like the idea that he picked fights with Bonnie- who looked so clearly like he was just done with everything after a while. I think, with more time, he probably woulda just... got tired out of the whole thing, even before Vanny became an issue."

She resituated herself on a plush she was lying on; Gregory doing the same before she went on with, "Bonnie told me once that he always wanted to write his own music and he always got frustrated that the showrunners won't let him do what real musicians do; write their own material. The songs they tended to sing at their performances were done by the show-runners themselves. He said the whole thing started to feel a bit too fake after a while. I guess his behavior as a result of this would've eventually lead into his being decommissioned regardless; seeing as they bumped Monty up to understudy not too long after Bonnie started showing more drastic behavioral changes- like wandering around by himself some hours and just staring off into space. They knew Bonnie would eventually just... quit."

Gregory was silent for a time here, turning over and laying on his back to consider this. So Bonnie wasn't doing too great, even before Vanny. Huh. Freddy never mentioned that. He then asked, "Did he try seeing you that much? You make it sound like he was really the only one doing it-"

There was a hum. "Like I said earlier: I think all of them were just lonely. They each have a different way of showing how lonely they are- and Bonnie's was shown in the way that he wanted to spend time with me- seeing as me and my dad were all he had when he's constantly surrounded by his friends day-in and day-out. You know how the people you live with kinda bug you?"

Gregory smiled there, thinking of Vanessa immediately. "For sure. Ness and I always rib each other some days. She's like that annoying older sister nobody asked for, most days. Bossy, and kinda on your nerves," He added with bemusement. He frowned, "And then she has this weird habit of going into mom mode... its so weird with her. She can't seem to figure it out either..."

Cassie giggled somewhat, "Then you get what I mean when I say I think Bonnie was keen to spend time with me at first because my dad and I don't live at the PizzaPlex. He wanted to not be bothered by Freddy and the others all the time, seeing as he lives with them and has to deal with them every single day of his waking life- even though you and I both know he loves them immeasurably. That couldn't be more obvious. But beyond that, he kinda just-"

"-Fucked off?"

"Greg!"

"What?" He shrugged, unabashed at the f-bomb. "I was just saying he liked his privacy in a short-handedly way! I wasn't insulting him."

Cassie shook her head at him chastising manner. She clucked her tongue and waved off, "Anyways. Yeah, you get my point. He just... did that, I guess."

Gregory mulled over Freddy's words about his best friend, the times the bear actually talked of him. He wondered if Freddy had been blind to it, or Bonnie had been better about hiding his disquiet at first. But even then, he'd shown it through violence via fighting with Monty.

He and the others... they don't need to be staying here anymore, he pondered. This place really does get to you. Guess he saw Cassie as a 'safe place'. That's just depressing.

"So... you never answered my earlier question-" Gregory began.

"What one?"

"Roxy. Isn't she your favorite? Its like uh... with all these guys here, I wondered if you ever really had a favorite or something... Or maybe you never picked one cuz you like them all-?" The boy shrugged, "I wondered since I was remembering your birthday... the day we met?"

Cassie sighed there- the motion fatigued. "I remember. Yeah, I ordered Roxy for my birthday, but she wasn't always my favorite. Don't tell her I said that!" She immediately waved off to him. "You're right about one thing; I love them all for different reasons. I was stumped on who'd I want for my birthday too; and it literally took me weeks to figure that out. I kept switching between Roxy, and then Chica, and Freddy-" She trailed off, and then added in a murmur, "And of course, Bonnie. In fact, for the longest time, I was pretty sure I wanted Bonnie for my birthday-"

"What changed?"

Cassie gave him a doleful expression, "He disappeared. I was actually this close to asking dad to get me Bonnie for my birthday- and then he got decommissioned. I was legitimately bummed out and cried when I heard that. It was partially why I kept asking my dad about him. I wanted to have the same experience my dad did as a child. To see what the big deal was with Bonnie-"

She gave him a wistful sigh as well, "I even told Bonnie, right before he vanished actually, that I'd love to have him for my birthday at some point. That made him so, so so happy. Whenever you tell any one of these guys you want their time alone, it makes them super giddy- I think its like a reward prompt for their system? But you can see how happy it makes them if you tell them that. I bet if you told Freddy you want him for your next birthday, he'd do a jig on the spot."

Gregory belly-laughed there, "Actually, I DID tell him! He didn't have his legs, but he did this thing with his ears and eyes-? Like he wanted to dance. He said he'd hug me if he could."

"Aw... so you know what I mean?"

"Yuh! I do. So... Bonnie was actually going to be your Glam pick, you said?"

Cassie nodded, "Yeah. Just... keep that between you and me? I don't want to accidentally hurt Roxy with that. Its not like she's second best! Just-"

"You just told me you wanted to see what your dad saw in him," Gregory echoed. "I get it. And it didn't help that Bonnie clearly took a shine to you and seemed to do what he can to come see you-"

"Yeah. Yeah..."

The boy nodded and fluffed his plush again. It was admittedly stiff material, so the plushies weren't super comfortable. It was all they had though, and Gregory's slept on worse. He sighed and scooted a bit closer to Cassie, now able to parse her out in the unerring darkness of the room. His eyes had adjusted at this point.

Sensing the conversation to be at a near end, Cassie yawned and buried herself anew in the mound of toys. "I hope to get a plush of Bonnie again. I'm still mad about the one my aunt made me get rid of..."

"That was mean of her to do that," Gregory shot. "That belonged to your DAD. Can't believe you're living with her-"

He was pretty sure she shrugged, "My mom's not around anymore. Can't be helped."

"Wha- what happened to her?"

"She died too," the girl replied in a soft, broken murmur. "Car crash."

Gregory focused on the mound for a long, solid moment. And then, "We got a room at Vanessa's... its a big house. Luis helped set us up there. There was a couple other empty rooms."

"Won't it be crowded if you intend on taking the bots out with you?" Cassie prodded- though Greg could've swore he heard a note of hopefulness in her tone.

"Let's be real-" Gregory shrugged. "Even with the bots there, Bonnie would be an anxious wreck. Roxy and him love you to pieces. They'd be antsy if you weren't there. On the side, I don't think none of us much like the idea of you staying with your stupid aunt anyhow. You know Freddy is going to talk to Vanessa about the idea of taking you in too- let alone Bonnie and the rest."

"I guess-"

"So, its settled!"

"What is-?" Cassie shook her head.

"You're gonna come live with us- one way or another," Gregory assuredly proclaimed. "It'll happen. You'll see. It'll be nice having you over too! Vanessa annoys me with her bossy routine as it is. Heh!"

Gregory couldn't quite tell in the darkness, but he could swear she was smiling. There was another sound too; as if she sniffled and was trying to stem it by burying her face in her plush mound. There was certainly some movement there; as if indicative of her trying to hide from view again.

Gregory took that second to reach out, groping around for her hand. He gave it a sheepish clench, tiredly slumping upon his Freddy pillow. "You'll love our house," He murmured. "It'll feel more like a home with you there. Both for me, you, and the bots."

She could only squeeze back; with him being able to catch the sound of her tears anew. At least this time, the sound wasn't an entirely sad one. "I'd like to hope so," she mumbled.

"Keep hoping. It'll come true; whether you want it to happen or not!" The boy half-chortled. "Cuz you and I both know the bots aren't gonna take 'no' as an answer from your aunt... not when she has a half-pissed, half-insane seven foot mad rabbit snarling in her face. That's not even including Roxy and the others-"

"No... I don't think she'd tell him no then," Cassie mused. "She'd probably faint!"

To which, the children only laughed. They would eventually nod off on that note; their minds lingering on a more tranquil image of a possible, near-future of them living together as one family. Gregory would keep a hold of the girl's hand the whole time; with Cassie doing the same.

---

GLAMROCK FREDDY

The bot had been reluctant, but conceded to Vanessa's doting.

He had to temporarily leave Monty's body outside the cylinder; going in and letting the former security guard rig him up with a new set of spare chest pieces. Which was great in hindsight! If he ever had to protect one of the kids in a pinch, he could do so. He was glad that he'd even HAD spare chassis pieces in the spare parts room. He also had some motor pieces replaced as well; and his arms were given new connector wires that fine-tuned his control on his limbs and their respective appendages. He found absolute precision with his claws difficult thanks to the lack of wires in some areas; and Freddy had been lucky when he hadn't accidentally hurt Bonnie in that scrap.

It'd taken everything Freddy knew just to prevent the rabbit from getting his limbs accidentally ripped off! Thankfully Bonnie had noticed him holding back and done so in-turn. And if he had to be real honest, that brief scuffle had been too scary.

The bear was still undergoing maintenance when Bonnie returned. The two caught each other's gaze but the rabbit quickly severed it in a heart beat. There was no way Freddy can tell what was going on in his head, and he noticed Bonnie's inner connection was set to 'private'. He didn't want anyone pinging him right now- no one to get into his head and send messages to him.

The blue rabbit sat in the corner on the left side of the room; the weird, low red light of the bulbs above giving him a ghostly, somewhat zombified look as it cast sinister shadows upon his broken and horrifically maimed body. His left eye looked like it was floating amidst a black void devouring the left side of his face; his endo completely invisible in the dim atmosphere. The only light Bonnie himself gave off was the low glow of his optics and the reflection of the lights above; silhouetting him in a halo of hellish light. Even the brighter fluorescent lights inside the cylinder at the center of the repair ward couldn't quite reach him. His presence in here already felt like some kind of cold spot- and it couldn't be more bothersome.

From there, Bonnie was seen slouching into a lazy, weirdly relaxed position with one knee pulled up and the other leg stretched out in front of him; resting an arm on the drawn-up one. His bloody claws were drying now- and his lack of attention to them left Freddy feeling unnerved in some part. The rabbit's glaring maroon eyes flicked to Vanessa too often; and it seemed to have a tangible effect on all residents in the room. Hair stuck up on Vanessa's head- while Chica merely crooned sadly at the rabbit's direction like she wanted to allay whatever ill remained. Eclipse had gotten between Bonnie and Vanessa and actively blocked his line of sight- in which Freddy was inwardly thankful for.

Freddy felt too ashamed to keep trying to catch his eye after a point. After Bonnie's words earlier, he couldn't help but feel responsible for the deteriorated state of their friends. Yes, Freddy was sensible enough to know that this wasn't his fault either, but one couldn't help feel as they do.

"Okay, so-" Roxy had resumed the conversation between them, "How do we split this up? Cassie tells me the Mimic could escape through the make-shift tunnel the giant blob-thingy made. Should we go and cover that? I mean-" She gestured to Freddy himself. "We wanted to go down there anyways and get an endo from the daycare for Monty. The lobby and daycare are right next to each other... Maybe we can go as a group this time? Two of us can grab an endo and the others check the tunnel out right next door."

"Might be our best bet," Vanessa mumbled as she reached into the bear's new chest cavity. "I just removed the blocks for Freddy's strength. He can bury the tunnel. You or Chica can probably nab the endo. But... I'm reluctant about you guys getting split up and Freddy ends up alone somehow or the vice versa. If the Mimic finds any of you alone, it'll be a real big issue."

"I ain't keen on losing to that thing again," Roxy growled. Now she was looking at the sulking rabbit, "Bonnie. How's your motor? M.X.E.S still too much?"

"No, but its only because I'm not moving," He reciprocated uncertainly. "I can help Freddy bury the tunnel but... I'll heat up pretty damn fast if I'm running M.X.E.S at the same time. It might be better if Eclipse goes with Chica to take an endo and you can help Freddy? You ain't weak, Rox."

She chuffed at his compliment, making a motion with her head that would've fluffed her mane; had she had it.

Eclipse drummed a finger to his mouth region, the teeth beyond his mask moving as if he'd be kneading his lip. "I have an idea. Do we have more upgrades lying around? Like more strength augmentation or were those few in number?"

"Should be one more set," Vanessa replied. "Why?"

"Give it to Roxy! She can help Freddy while I help Chica with grabbing an endo from the daycare. Bonnie doesn't have to move anywhere- honestly, one of us should stay here to help you with Monty's motor assembly anyways and speed things up. Roxy can send Bonnie the method she used on his own motor. Also, in case any of these... things coming in through Parts & Service-" Eclipse huffed, "Its best if a physically adept bot can defend you and the kids if this place is breached somehow."

Vanessa frowned at the attendant, "You want me. To stay here. Alone. With HIM?" She flicked her head towards Bonnie.

"Don't worry, Summer-Eyes," Bonnie casually threw from his position on the floor. "I told your kid I won't touch you again-" His eyes narrowed, "-Unless of course you give me the inclination you're in it to hurt us. Beyond that, I think we'll get along just fine."

Vanessa shivered, her eyes clearly pained as she shuffled uncomfortably on her feet. She looked back at Eclipse, "Now uh... you sure maybe Bonnie can't go with Chica to grab the endo at the daycare? I don't think that's a whole lot of work..."

"If he gets caught in a fight, he said himself he won't last long... Bonnie, what do you think?" The former attendant queried.

The rabbit held up his finger in a motion like 'gimme a sec', then shut his eyes again. After a minute, they opened back up, "I can last 2 minutes before I hit critical ranges and system shut-down becomes eminent, even with this new motor- and its a given if I'm experiencing high intensity activity. If its not so bad, it'll be longer. I could go with Chica, and hopefully we don't run into any trouble, but- oh. Hold on."

He shut his eyes again, then his expression twisted. There was an audible hissing noise. "Er... Eclipse... um, the endos. At the daycare... can you uh... tell us what the heck I'm seeing?"

"How do you mean? What do you see?"

"Just opened some camera feed there. Look at the laptop, I just synced it so you all can see it."

Vanessa pulled her laptop up and typed. Then there was a pinching of her brows and nose, "Fuck me. They're moving around now? Weren't they docile before?"

Roxy peered over her shoulder, then she glanced at Eclipse, "Hey... you told Cassie and me something a while ago when we first met up. The damage you suffered-" She pointed a claw at him. "That was from them, right?"

"...Yes."

"...Shit. They're probably under the Vanny virus' influence. Like the little wind-up music men were," she supplied to Vanessa while touching her new ear in remembrance.

"So... we may have to fight them. Great. We may have to forget about using a new endo for Monty," Vanessa huffed. "Cassie said his legs are at the golf course. We have his whole body then, on that note... but the new endo could speed along repairs far more easily... what do we do?"

Bonnie twitched an ear, then shut his eyes.

On the laptop, Vanessa was startled to see one endo pause; glitch out, then slump over. She blinked, then stared at the rabbit. She clicked her tongue, "The fuck didja do? I know that was you."

"M.X.E.S, actually," was his reply. "The chiseled cheeked Greek god of digital warfare and I wanted to try something. By the way, sweets, random question: Can ya tell me why you gave this thing so much handsome in one localized area?"

"What?"

"What?"

She glared at him, "Cut it with the cute act. Whatcha do to the endo?"

Bonnie rolled his eyes, "M.X.E.S found the virus inside it and put it in quarantine. Then, he removed it from its system and put it into safe mode. Sadly, me and him can't do this to ALL of them at once. There's enough endos skittering around as is. We can both disable them one-by-one however. By the time you guys get over there, they should all be turned off."

"I knew giving you M.X.E.S was a good idea," She smirked.

"Eat me," he bit back, his expression mutinous. He didn't want to admit to it being a good idea apparently.

The former guard bobbed a shoulder at him. "You wish. So, say we don't want to go to the obviously dangerous area. How about Monty golf? Can you see the legs from any feeds?" Vanessa queried.

He swapped her monitor remotely; the camera in Monty golf showing up. Vanessa tabbed through them, then huffed. "Shit... I don't see them... and I dunno if we can look all throughout the course in a timely manner. Its such a MESS in there. I mean, I can see a lot of the golf course but... where are the legs?"

"Might have to resort to the endo then," Freddy reluctantly admitted. "I don't like this though... the endos may be hostile to all of us. Bonnie, you sure you can get them all turned off before we arrive there?"

"...Pretty sure," He said, but his tone trailed off. "Its a given the virus doesn't spread back again to the individuals M.X.E.S didn't just wipe clean. They're kinda- Oh. OH. OH SHIT!"

Just as he said that, there was a wild noise: Bonnie had swapped the computer back to the daycare- and the sounds from it had everyone in the room jump at once. A garbling chorus of screeches and a cacophonous wailing of static-filled screams filled the repair ward. Every bot minus Bonnie came to look at Vanessa's screen as they identified the sounds of the endos yowling at each other. Vanessa jumped so bad she'd fallen into Chica, who held her up but her beak fell open as they gazed into the monitor:

All the endos near the one Bonnie just cured jumped it... and were essentially tearing it apart. The poor thing couldn't even fight back due to being in safe mode. Limbs went flying- wires were yanked free; looking horrifically like the possessed bots were pulling its guts out. Coolant splashed the floor and coalesced into a black pool beneath it; the wiped endo sparking and fizzing as it was rendered nonfunctional.

There was silence in the room. Nobody moved or even blinked; beyond the falling of jaws and the irregular and frenetic twitch in Eclipse's fingertips. Eyes sat saucer-like in every socket everywhere; with Bonnie having pulled himself somewhat out of his comfortable laze on the floor and letting his muzzle fall open. Freddy's paw went to his jaws to cover the gaping.

"Oh my-" Roxy muttered.

Vanessa pulled away from Chica, blinking as she stared at the screen in a gob-smacked manner. She flipped between Monty golf and the daycare. Eventually, she sighed and looked at Eclipse. "Um... didn't you say you... had to deal with these things?"

"I did... Or rather, Moon and Sun did," He specified. "I think I remember how we got damaged now."

She blinked and pointed to his open waist, "Ya THINK?"

All the bots looked at him. The attendant shrugged casually, "I er... from what Sun tells me, he was free of the Vanny virus. So the day the endos migrated to the daycare, he was the personality in control at the time. I'm going to assume the endos don't much like the ones that aren't infected with the virus and are programmed to target that bot. Vanny didn't seem to properly hack Sun, so... I guess that's why they attacked him. Like a bunch of zombies?"

Freddy moved his jaw, then, "That'd make sense... the S.T.A.F.F bots who jumped me, when Gregory and I had to face Vanny... I remember. Yes, that seems to fall in line with their behavior. So they're hostile to anyone who isn't under Vanny's thrall."

"So it seems," Eclipse shrugged. "After they jumped Sun, Moon surfaced by default. Since Moon is like our 'attack mode' and is the default personality whenever we go into Security mode, he surfaced to fight the endos in self-defense. Sadly, the endos tangled with him and damaged us. They pulled key parts out of us-" He turned and showed them his circuit board on the back of his head, "I think they did something else but... we don't recall. Because after that, Moon stayed the dominant personality and became especially erratic. He was only cured when Cassie came along and rebooted us."

"WELP," Vanessa threw up her arms. "Daycare's obviously more dangerous. So, I'm going to assume we're picking the golf course... did anyone ask Cassie where the legs were?"

"I don't think any of us did," Eclipse shrugged.

"...Triple shit. I don't want to wake her up. She's been through enough. Okay... Can you guys briefly check the parts room back there and see if there's ANY leg pieces available? I didn't see any when I combed it but... maybe I over-looked a set," Vanessa sighed.

"I got it!" Chica chirruped, leaving the room in a graceful lope. "I'll grab the strength augmentation upgrade too!"

"She finds something, we won't have to deal with any of these things," Roxy shrugged. "Except for burying the tunnel."

The former security guard leaned against the repair module, her gaze heavy-lidded. She face-palmed and fought a yawn, but ultimately lost. Ignoring Freddy's glance, she went on to say, "So uh, what happens if any of us run into the er... the giant tangly monster? On the way to blocking the tunnel. Won't the noise of us covering it attract it?"

ALL bots cringed there, with Freddy's eyes falling to the floor next, "My guess is to run away, should we see it. I don't know what we can do to get rid of it... The Mimic won't be an issue after a point, but... we never figured out how to deal with the giant mass of old bots though."

Bonnie twitched an ear nearby, then frowned, "I don't think M.X.E.S can help with it either... it has no presence in the AR world. If we had to do something about it, ALL of us would be required to dispatch it. But its as big as DJ and... not easy to take down."

"I think we can do it as a group, but it may end up breaking some of us," Roxy shook her head.

Freddy banged a fist on the table; making all in the room jump- especially Bonnie. "We are NOT going through all this effort just to lose one of us at the finish! When we take care of that thing, we do it as a group and ALL get out of that alive or not at all! I will not settle for less." He folded his arms, his nose producing a loud whooshing noise as he considered something else, "When Gregory and I encountered it, I learned its suspectable to Chica's voice box upgrade. We could use that to our advantage."

"That'd only stun it," Vanessa supplied.

"Maybe, but then we'll have to dispatch it after stunning it. From the appearance of its body, it looks like it was exposed to fire at some point... some of the older animatronics on it had burn marks," Freddy supplied. "So setting it on fire isn't going to work... But we could cave in some parts of the PizzaPlex around it? Or blow it up- not that I think we should try the latter option. That'd put all of us at risk- kids included."

Bonnie shook his head nearby, his expression especially pathetic here. Freddy was curious about the shift in his visage, but the rabbit wasn't forthcoming.

"We'll hafta sit on that," Vanessa yawned. "But I agree with you. I don't think we should try blowing it up. That might not even work anyways. Its not like we have a means of blowing it up regardless. No obvious explosives here, and we've already combed this place from top to bottom. Worse, if we try blowing it up in the wrong place... it could domino into the rest of the building collapsing and get ALL OF US crushed by extension-"

Roxy growled in annoyance, "Then what the heck do we do about it-?"

"Back!" Chica clucked as she walked in. She shook her head though, her expression grim, "No more spare endo legs! I think a lot of the leftover single parts went into me and Bonnie's repairs... we'll hafta nab an endo from the daycare or go to Monty golf... which is admittedly not great."

Bonnie checked the daycare feed again, then looked up with a pained expression, "I think... and I REALLY don't want to say this, but considering the fact we're all getting low in parts... we maybe-kinda-sorta need to grab an endo from the daycare after all."

"For the love of- WHY?" Roxy spat.

"Think about it: The legs in Monty golf were damaged, as you guys say. We'd need scrap parts in order to repair them, even if we did get them. And in which, the scrap parts would have to come from an endo, regardless." His expression deepened, "And its not just Monty, but all of us. We'd all need tune-ups. Nabbing an endo or two is literally our best bet. We'll uh... hafta send two of us to daycare and the other two to cover the hole. I can try to get M.X.E.S to pull a hat trick though."

He put a paw to his chin, "I think I'll work on getting two of the endos, or one of them, 'cured'... and lure them away from the rest of the rabid ones. Maybe use a distraction to make them move away from the feral ones. And then, the two of us who going to the daycare can snag 'em real easy. It may be our best bet."

Freddy got up from the bench inside the cylinder, flexing his limbs and moving his fingers. All repaired as far as he can see. He hated it, but Bonnie wasn't wrong, "That could work... and last time I checked, Chica's voice box worked on them too. She can use her voice box to keep the feral endos off, should they attack. Eclipse can make off with one at least."

"Oh! Yeah, I can do that," Chica pumped her arms. She showed no concern despite the fact it was her life being juggled here, "I'll knock 'em dead with a song! I haven't sang anything in so long- it'll be almost fun!"

Roxy stared hard at her, "How much of your brain did we actually restore? Seriously, Chica? Why are you not more worried? How is this fun to you?"

She only shrugged, then smiled sweetly at Bonnie. The rabbit blinked curiously at her, "I learned from the best that we should always put our best foot forward for our friends. Getting hurt for Monty doesn't concern me at all."

Bonnie wrinkled his small nose and waved at her submissively, "Don't take my example! JEEZ I'm a bad influence... I got my life subscription CANCELLED for my stupidity! And these guys just fixed you!"

"Firstly, you're here now, aren't you? Secondly, those endos won't be able to take Eclipse, me and you and M.X.E.S at once. We'll get it done," She winked, her tone completely calm.

Freddy gazed into her face, "You sure?"

"Absolutely! And if I had to be real honest-" she bobbed her shoulders, "If we're going after theses bots with this virus, we might as well go the whole way and take out the endos anyways. Not unlike the Mimic, they can escape to the outside world. They could cause trouble in its place." Her expression darkened, "By all rights, we SHOULD be taking these things out. They're a joint threat."

Vanessa sighed, "Shit. You're right... I didn't consider that."

Bonnie rapped his talons, then affirmed, "I'll get to work, then. I'll try to cut down the endo numbers to manageable levels with M.X.E.S so Chica and Eclipse can get a couple. They shouldn't be too hard to handle if done right."

Freddy smiled at him, "That'll do. In the meantime-" He now looked at Vanessa, "You should go take a nap and get your head cleared. You cannot help with Monty if you're nodding off over his body."

"I... okay," She slumped, her hand running through her flaxen hair. "Not like I can help anymore anyways."

Freddy grabbed her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Go on, then. We got it from here."

The woman huffed, then started to leave, "Alright. Don't get destroyed doing something stupid. And please for the love of god, don't let me sleep longer than an hour or two. I want to be sure this all blows over well."

Eclipse waved at her, "Will do! And don't worry, so long as we have a plan, we'll be okay!"

Freddy looked at Bonnie, "So you're staying here?"

"I hafta," the blue rabbit mumbled. "I can't supervise us, disable the endos, locate, redirect and subdue the Mimic digitally, help dig the tunnel, or carry an endo back all at the same time. I'll DEFINIETLY get shut down. I'll stick here and babysit the humans and direct you all from afar. I can also run repairs on whatever little of Monty we have anyways and get to work on his motor. Roxy, send the blueprints." He got up, then made his way to the cylinder, "Let's get those upgrades into you while we're at it."

The rabbit studiously avoided Freddy's face the entire time he'd been speaking, instead directing himself distractedly to Vanessa's laptop and the repair module. Freddy hung his head, getting the subtle hint that they couldn't speak yet anyways.

Roxy took the upgrade from Chica and sat on the bench, letting Bonnie quickly tend her. Chica and Eclipse waited for the next couple minutes in silence, the room strangely stifling. Nobody would speak again until after Roxy got the augmentation upgrade; which only took 3 minutes at most to implement. The wolf would walk over to some scrapped frame from one of the previously repurposed endos used for Chica; then bent it into a pretzel shape with liquid ease. There was no denying the smirk on her face.

"Dude. I feel POWERFUL. No wonder Monty's so full of himself," Roxy chortled. She turned to look at Bonnie and Freddy, "And you two are walking around with these upgrades all the time! Freddy, you act like a total wet kitten. I legit forget you can easily throw us around if you wanted."

"Why would I want to?" Freddy looked abashed. "I wouldn't dream of it!"

Roxy sank into a hip as she eyed Bonnie, "And you are a loving cheater- carrying around an upper body and leg upgrade too. You and Monty both."

Bonnie snirked and shrugged it off, "Aw, come on. The Florida man reject can't have all the fun!" The grin wore off quickly however, then he went over to Monty, "But no seriously, I'll get to work. You guys please be careful while you're out there."

"And YOU don't bother Vanessa," Chica squinted at him.

Bonnie waved her off dismissively, "I promised the kid I wouldn't touch her. And I won't... Unless she became Vanny."

"She won't," Freddy supplied. "She hasn't been Vanny in a while. And the chip in her head was removed. So..."

"...What chip in her head?" Bonnie blinked, his tone immediately worried. "She had a chip in her HEAD?"

"Some sorta transmitter," Freddy only briefly recounted. "She had it removed a couple weeks after we left the PizzaPlex. Some sorta occipital transmitter her mask gave her? I believe it had a hand in her being Vanny? Although that's a bit of a stretch- er."

"So... it was controlling her?"

"Something was. Anyways, its hard to explain, and we don't have the time for it yet," Freddy shrugged. "Let's get this over with! We'll leave at once and stick together until we get to the front of the building."

Just as they turned away to leave, Freddy briefly paused to touch Bonnie on the shoulder- anything to let him know that there was no bad blood there. He also wanted a reason to simply touch his best friend again after having lived so long believing he'd become some sort of intangible memory. He squeezed the rabbit's naked shoulder joint, then reluctantly left him.

He was satisfied and inwardly gladdened to see a slight softening in the rabbit's face as he left.

---

...

Her dreaming didn't last long.

But in a way, one can say it also didn't end. It never did, in hindsight.

Cassie stirred and opened her eyes, but she wasn't awake. Nay, she stared at her peer in this listless, pragmatic way; blinked, then gazed around him at the tools on the floor. She glanced at Vanessa next, who'd come in a few minutes ago and was already passed out nearby them- soft snores escaping her. The old vessel. The inferior one. The one who failed.

This new vessel will do. It has the bots' trust.

Cassie's body moved, reaching over and taking the animatronic taser without waking Gregory. She then got up slowly; bracing herself on the wall while keeping her awkward steps as quiet as possible. She had to find the V.A.N.N.I mask- as it wasn't far away. All she had to do was go back through the utility tunnel.

The mission was on.

Vanny's new vessel gazed contemplatively at Gregory and Vanessa, but no, there was no knife present to use. The taser could work but the other person would wake up during the execution and catch her at it. No, she couldn't kill them now. She will wait.

The new ghost rabbit slunk out of the room; her hell-born gaze fixated on a destination beyond her visual. She made sure to take a tunnel as far from the repair ward as possible, then slipped into a vent. The little white rabbit found her hole again and escaped- leaving none of her prior companions none the wiser. Gregory and Vanessa merely snored on, and Bonnie was too busy directing his friends and camera feed to hear her.

Indeed, Bonnie was a problem... again. He'll always interfere it seemed, and now she also had his friends to contend with on the side. She'll have to fix it like she did back then. The question was how.

But Vanny was a patient rabbit; she will find a way.

That was an absolute.