FNAF Security Breach: Whistleblower

by FrostByterFang

Sequel to Ruination. Takes place 2 years after the fall and collapse of the mega PizzaPlex. Luis' free runs into the supply depot finally catches up to him in the worst way possible: Bringing about a series of consequences that could bring trouble to the bots and the rest of the family. Vanessa meanwhile decides to orchestrate a rescue operation to save him. Full summary inside.

25. Dusty Bones in Our Closets

~Thursday. Day after attack~

GREGORY

"WHADDYA MEAN I CAN'T HELP?"

"You just can't. Its too dangerous," Roxy told the boy sternly and very not helpfully.

Gregory glared mutinously at the wolf like he wanted to bop her upside her head, but he wasn't dumb enough to try that. Hell nah. His jaw hung loosely instead, completely at a loss of words at what he was being told: That he and Cassie cannot be a part of their operations anymore when it comes to Fazbear Entertainment. They were completely out of the running.

He can't go save Freddy.

Cassie hadn't taken the news lightly either, but she was also far more accepting than Gregory was. After some encouragement, she conceded and quieted down. She knew they could only do so much- especially since the bots did not want the kids to further ingratiate themselves into the morbid and perverted idea of leading an actual assault on the company building. If they helped in that, they'd ruin their future FOREVER. Even being as young as they were, they could get charged for a serious crime if they were found out by the police-

And yes, Gregory understood that- but his stubborn, prideful side refused submission on principle. Besides, Freddy was his father figure. How can anyone ask him to stand idly by? Waiting around turned him into an anxious wreck as is! And it was asking a LOT out of the boy-

Off to the side, the two polar bots were idly sitting on the floor near Sun's fort; the hare playing around with a sticker book of all things. Once he got his personality chip back and his processor installed earlier that morning, he proved to be very intelligent but equal parts childish- being more or less the LATTER instead. He loved coloring books, stickers, candle max making, clay sculpture, shiny things (like Luis' ring of keys for some ungodly reason), Roxy's hair (which he's tried snagging to braid), and he adored the sounds of the instruments. He 'ooed' and 'ahh'd' at EVERYTHING, and he was a tittering, nervous ball of frightful energy. His real personality was NOT what the others have been expecting, that's for sure. The robot killing machine that can hold his own against all the Glamrocks at once from the prior day was no longer there; with him being more skittish than their own Bonnie ever was!

He was a big, sopping wet kitten who cried EASILY.

This was a BONNIE? You're joking. HE'S joking. That white Freddy must be telling the jokes- cuz that thing CAN'T be a true Bonnie, Gregory couldn't help thinking at the time.

Well, that was half true; Snowshoe Bonnie was, indeed, a hare. Not a BUNNY. A true Bonnie was a RABBIT. There was a major difference, like the difference between Glamrock Chica and Snowy Chica, the owl. It was as evident and stark as Sun and Moon doing a personality flip, or Vanny and Vanessa being two separate people. This Bonnie, he was literally everything Glamrock Bonnie wasn't. He was a baby-minded genius who wilted and whimpered at the smallest provocation. He simpered.

WHO SIMPERS LIKE THAT?

Gregory found him impossible. Glamrock Bonnie and this... thing... that COULDN'T be a Bonnie. Freddy's best friend was supposed to be a bold, boastful bunny full of brazen bravado. He didn't give one LICK if somebody punched him in the face- he'd even encourage that person to hit him harder!

But this guy... he'd cry if you just looked at him funny. What the heck was THIS? He was kicking their cans just the previous DAY. Where was that acrobatic badass with the killer cold expression on his narrow, slightly exaggerated and somewhat severe visage when they'll need it?

When Polar Freddy told them that distracting him would be easy, he wasn't joking. Snowshoe Bonnie acted so much like a younger child than Gregory and Cassie themselves; his playful, innocent expression the sheer opposite of what it was the prior day. He currently had his tongue poking out, trying to pull a sticker off his paw and pull the hair out of it so he can fit it into the book Sun gave him. He only got it off, just to get it stuck to his other paw; and then he started struggling with that. He had traces of glitter glue on his hands too; claw tips absolutely coated in flecks of the material from his last attempt at crafts.

Sun and him IMMEDIATELY clicked as friends and it was creepy how steadfastly and staunchly the two latched onto the other; like they've been trying to find that one life-long soul mate and/or friend their entire lives and got lucky enough to find their other half after a long, winding road. They babbled like elementary schoolers on their first-ever sleepover; playing with the same stuff and having the same interests. They've been like this for hours too- since this morning.

Polar Freddy watched contentedly as his hare and the former attendant babbled over nothing and everything all at once; having a brief sticker war and trying to plaster the other with said stickers. There'd been bouts of laughter; as if there wasn't anything wrong. He even chortled with them, wearing this dazed and contented look on his face.

This whole exchange annoyed Gregory in some way. He shouldn't feel like that- as, after all, the hare has never HAD a friend beyond Polar Freddy before. Snowshoe Bonnie was terribly lonely outside of the polar bear; and it was sadly (and pathetically) evident in how he reacted with the others. He cringed when Chica offered him some cake earlier- thinking she was pulling a cruel joke on him or was going to hit him with it.

Who does that? ...Oh. Right. Apparently Fazbear Entertainment does, Gregory wondered, not for the first time. Guess that's another reason why they need to GO. Them abusing the hell out of their bots the way they do is just... its all wrong. I get the bots are supposed to be objects and all- but how can they still be objects if they have EMOTIONS? Why keep hurting them this way after giving them true sentience?

The bear has told them that the staff at Freddy Fazbear's has been unnecessarily impatient and cruel with Snowshoe Bonnie and his childish mindset. After all, endos were taught differently while in development. According to the bear, something might've gone wrong with this rabbit... hare, thing, WHATEVER he was, during his training and conditioning. He hated fighting, and he tended to bolt when someone raised their voice. With that said, Gregory actually felt bad for the guy, and he should feel a bit glad that Glamrock Bonnie's idea of trying to befriend the polar bots paid off in some way; and this poor, wet kitten of a hare could maybe have another chance at a new life-

But dang if the sight of them was something just a bit nauseating.

He supposed though it was mostly because just the prior day, these white bots were almost killing the family and hospitalizing Vanessa. Snowshoe Bonnie was still, in the end, a master-class fighting machine with enough strength to kill everyone in this room in a fit of unpredictability and a single whip of his overly huge legs- given someone hacked him right now. He was too strong for his own good, and yet he has the mind of a CHILD? WHY? Who was the one who thought giving a childish bot like this Bonnie the strength of the Hulk in just his feet was a WONDERFUL idea?

At the brief recall of the fact that this hare wasn't the one who hurt Vanessa, Gregory huffed and calmed. Remember, He told himself. That was the other Chica that hurt Vanessa; not this Bonnie. That isn't fair. This Bonnie is a pacifist, if he can help it. He KNOWS he's a danger. Its why he chooses this. He's been hurt like everyone else here.

...Maybe he's smarter than he lets on. Choosing this innocent guise lets people overlook him and allows him to keep to his own devices. He didn't choose to be a sentinel. He probably woulda loved being an alternate Glamrock Bonnie instead of a killer guard bot at the warehouse and hub. He loves music... That's very Bonnie-like, right?

Somehow, he could picture THIS hare being in Glamrock Bonnie's place, once upon a time, and enjoying himself. He would love to interact with the children and play music every day with his Freddy.

Meanwhile, the real Glamrock himself was a creature of sub-zero chill and absolutely zero qualms about taking what he wants when it strikes him. Gregory STILL couldn't erase the image of Glamrock Bonnie going after Vanessa a couple years ago- sad as that is to say. The brutal ferocity and sheer, feral abandon in which he strikes his enemies was certainly better and more befitting an actual sentinel model. If anything, the manager of the PizzaPlex said Bonnie had been too good at doing his job at being a part-time security bot. So the idea of the Snowshoe and Glamrock Bonnie swapping places and being relatively happy with that arrangement made sense.

Right. Back on topic: The fact that this hare won't be useful in the upcoming flight through the hub was one thing... And then, there was THIS current dilemma:

Back in the present, he glared at Roxanne and couldn't find an argument in regards to his current predicament. He could only glare and hope his expression looked menacing and heart-broken enough for the group to concede, but they did no such thing. Gregory knew Roxy (let alone the other bots) was near unbeatable when it came to raw stubbornness- as her months of dedicated pursuit for Gregory inside the ruined PizzaPlex said enough. She literally spent all of her time in the looking for him out of dumb SPITE. When it came to down to who could be the most stubborn, it was hard to say if it was Roxy or Bonnie- who got himself decommissioned due to stupid tenacity as well. And to be fair, all of the bots had an odd penchant for being relentless in their own, respective ways.

Luis shook his head, the movement drawing Gregory's eye. "I'm sorry, miho," he began, his tone actually apologetic-sounding. "-But after what we had to deal with yesterday, involving you kids in this is absolutely stupid and irresponsible. We also don't want to ruin your futures with this. Its bad enough the police may change their minds about our care over you with the fact yesterday happened the way it did... but if they caught wind of the fact we DELIBERATELY brought you into this-" He inhaled, the sound a gusty painfulness that even stopped Gregory from further interruption, "-Vanessa would be DEVASTED if she were to lose you. She loves you, and you know that. She and I don't want to run that risk."

Cassie sighed nearby, with Gregory saying or doing nothing.

"Anyways-" Roxy said, now looking outside the window. The amount of activity from the neighbors was noteworthy; or rather, the profound lack of it: The total count of people seen leaving their homes can probably be counted on one hand this morning; and Gregory assumed they were still piss-scared of the bots living on their street.

Roxy sighed as she observed this, "-Its bad enough the people around us could get involved too, simply by ACCIDENT. Remember how Freddy got thrown into the Johnsons' lawn? Yeah. We can't be throwing ourselves around with children in tow! We're trying to ERASE that nasty image-" She waved a dramatic paw outside, "-The image of a children-gobbling monster machine that keeps flashing people's PTSD back to God-damn 50-ish years ago! We can't be doing this with you and Cassie- No way in HELL."

Greg opened his mouth, and stopped. He was recalling Freddy's wounded expression; his contemplative ruminations, his constant desire to thumb through his new psychology books like he could find the answers to all his existential problems. Freddy's sad, fatigued, and sometimes lost face stuck out so much, that Gregory couldn't muster the words against it- no matter his bitter vehemence.

"People only remember the tragedies whenever they look at my face," he said only a few days ago.

Roxy huffed, seeing the realization hit the boy's visage just as it bloomed. She gave a slow, sad shake of her maned head, "Its not just that, Greg. All of us, Freddy included, we all agree on keeping you kids out of a possible murder spree is absolutely paramount. You know that-"

"...Why d'ya hafta word it like that?" Glamrock Bonnie bit at her nearby, his tone a biting, scathing rasp like he was a dying, dehydrated smoker who hadn't drank water in days.

He was sitting on the arm of the couch with an arm propped up on a drawn knee, looking rather sorry for himself this morning. His relaxed position couldn't be MORE a lie; as if he was pining himself to that spot and trying to remember what comfort really was. Saying he was in a foul mood wouldn't be doing it justice. Cassie and Chica had been doing their best to help perk him up today, but it was to limited success.

Chica had even given up after a point, too depressed about Freddy being gone to proceed with the idea of feeding false cheer unto him or herself. She was currently draped against his back, warbling sadly on occasion. She sighed like a lover who missed her soul mate.

They are so lost without him, Gregory noted, not for the first time today. Bonnie's angry, sour, churlish visage and Chica's woe-be-gone features were capable of draining all the happy out of the entire world. He noticed they've been clinging to the other more and more as time went on ever since yesterday. Now they were literally glued to each other's hip today. Sometimes arms stayed intertwined, and there was the usual amount of literal nose-nuzzling.

BLEH!

Gregory understood that the bots weren't human, and cannot perform the usual tokens of affection that humans can, but NOSE NUZZLING? EW.

Okay, that aside- I can't imagine how badly they faired when Bonnie had gone all those years ago, he wondered, intrusively envisioning the image of Chica and Freddy sobbing in their respective rooms in Rockstar Row. If its anything like how they're acting here right now, I think I can get an idea, he also internally added.

As to Roxy, she rolled her eyes- though there was none of her usual bluster in it. She didn't want to agitate the buck when he was still stewing on what happened yesterday. The motion simply looked tired, "Because, Carrot-breath, you and I both know that some people are DEFINITELY going to die when we go to that building- although I'd like to prefer we keep the maybe-casualty count to JUST Morris. Morris is one person whose FOR SURE gonna bite the dust-" She threw a claw over her shoulder, "And I planned on taking out whoever he may have picked out for the vice president or assistant or WHATEVER. No way we take out Morris just for another one of his goons to inherit the business!"

"And then there's the fact accidents in a building like that are sadly prone to happening-" Polar Freddy said from nearby, gathering everyone's attentions. His baritone sounding too much like their own Freddy aside, the rich fullness of it was already commanding. "Just last week, there was an endo-related accident from a programming error... that was covered up really fast. Accidents in the company are too frequent, and any plan we have will inevitably go awry in a war-zone like that- especially once you unleash your Vanny onto it. Involving children is literally asking to get them killed, and is something I agree with. I would listen to your caretakers, young Gregory."

Gregory did not like this strange bear. He felt like he was rubbing it in, even though he also knew that wasn't the truth. Polar Freddy was, when he wasn't trying to fight and squash everybody on orders, was almost as sweet as their Freddy could be. In fact, he was fairly typical in terms of professional sweetness. Gregory however held one hell of a grudge, and he still did not forgive this white bear for nearly killing Luis and almost abducting himself and Cassie last week. Nope, that wasn't going to fly out the window anytime too soon. And the fact he also, oh, impaled Bonnie when they went to rescue Luis a little while ago.

YEP. He hadn't forgotten that either. This bear was an emotional wrecking ball when he wanted to be. He was dangerous, and HUGE. Trusting him in here made everyone antsy too- not just Gregory.

Gregory fought the urge to snarl at him, the trait something he sadly picked up from being raised around the likes of Roxy, Monty, and the more aggressive of the family. He folded his arms and turned his attention back to Luis, unconsciously thinking of the disfiguring scar the man had on his shoulder from the time Polar Freddy almost tore him apart. The idea that Luis would throw himself to the monsters of Fazbear Entertainment and probably get another matching scar on the other side frightened the boy.

"Luis," Gregory started with that stubborn, upward lift to his nose. "I know you're worried but... besides Vanessa, I'm the best hacker here! And I-"

Luis instantly shook his head and cut in with, "And I said no, Greg. NO! We have Vanny, Mex, Chica, Bonnie- literally everyone here can do the job we can in less than 10 seconds. They don't need us, and I get that-" He sighed, "I'm frustrated too, kiddo. But I'd like to not worry Vanessa more by risking your wellbeing. AND, the fact we don't need you children getting a rap sheet before you even graduate high school-"

"But... we're not in high school."

Luis flailed his arms out at him, "EXACTLY! God forbid we ruin Cassie's chances at that technical college she was looking at-" He gestured to her next, "And that one programming institution you wanted to see? Add to that this bizarre plan has VANNY involved in it on the side- then its definitely gonna go wrong! Its inevitable!"

Gregory felt his eyes ache with the presence of tears, but his raw stubborn kept them from blooming into being.

Roxy must've smelled them however, as she was seen nearing and settling next to him on one knee. Her expression was the only thing keeping Gregory rooted in place; otherwise, he would've jerked back out of her reach. She placed a paw on his shoulder and peered imploringly into his hazel eyes, her amber set a glinting conflagration like the apricity of the winter sun trying to bring warmth back to an otherwise frozen earth.

"Kid, out of everyone here, I find you the scariest and most capable- no offense to you or anyone else here," She added over her shoulder at the others. There was a round of shrugs and a "None taken" from Monty as she added, "You literally kick a lot of ass without even trying. I mean, trouncing us the way you did while dodging a serial killer rabbit despite being the age you are takes a kind of mettle nobody else has and I take courage from. I admire your guts- and sometimes, I admit to thinking that I'm glad I'm not your foe anymore-"

"You... you're scared of me?" Gregory blinked, a little shocked.

Roxy sighed heavily, "No... not anymore? Kinda-ish? No- that's not right either... you're just like, you're imposing in a way I respect. Its respect, I promise that much. I swear, its the good kind-" She leveled a strange hand gesture at him. "-Point is, even with your limitations, you're probably more capable than most people can ever hope to measure up to... but you know, at the end of the day, Greg-"

She bumped her head with his; a very rare sign of affection from her end when it came to human-bot contact. She only really did this with the other bots and Cassie, now that Greg thought about it. She held it too, conveying a sort of message and meaning through it alone that wasn't entirely lost to him.

"You're a growing kid, but you're also our kid. You're Vanessa's kid, and you're too young to be dipping your hands in anymore blood. What you had to deal with a couple years ago was already too much to ask for from anyone your age," She mumbled in a tone that slid like a balm and bandage over a raw wound. She even shut her optics briefly, her voice something Gregory didn't think he'd ever hear in a million years. "Freddy, I'm sure, has talked with you about that. About your importance to him. About you being his rock, his boy. You're his boy! You gave him that fire to find life, and in-turn, it would eventually reach US too. You know?"

Gregory hung his head, unable to look Roxy in the face as she pulled away.

"You know Freddy would feel better if you keep yourself safe and at home for the moment. He'd want to come home and see you right here, waiting for him with open arms, and with a wrench in hand-" She added congenially. "Cuz he'll definitely need repairs. You check-some?"

Gregory kept his gaze severed, unbelieving of the fact that Roxy was the one trying to get through to him; and it was working. He knew he had an important role in the house as it is; maintaining their programming and correcting glitches, repairs, and the like. He also knew that, when they get Freddy back, they'll let him at the bear first. They also didn't want his life to get anymore ruined-

Its bad enough his biological parents had to pay the price, a very long time ago.

Their remembrance had Gregory nodding solemnly, his eyes watering up further. Roxy touched his head again with her own and sighed; the boy smelling grapes and engine oil from their proximity. She's always had a distinct smell, he recalled Freddy saying.

She eventually pulled away, "Now with that all said... if you really wanna help, you can help us with the upgrades before we go! Hm? Howzzat sound?"

"...You'll let me do that? Truly," He somewhat implored as he asked. He felt pathetic doing it, but it was some way to be useful to them. To arm them for this expedition.

Roxy nodded with surety, gazing at the others and finding they too were nodding in agreement. "We all need to get into the armature before we go, so... you know. No need to be caught out unprepared, huh?" She bumped his arm with a fist, "We need our geniuses to help."

He nodded rapidly, still fighting tears but winning his battle with said tears in the end.

"I've been wanting to experiment with that self-repair protocol," Luis said while fixing his glasses and looking now at Polar Freddy. "Those files you brought back... they're very interesting."

The subject change was welcomed, with Gregory directing his gaze now to the other bear. To the not-quite-Freddy here.

Polar Freddy nodded, not paying any mind to Sun and Snowshoe Bonnie as they fussed with yet more glitter glue right behind him. "Its entirely experimental," he began with a noncommittal hand wave. "So, I completely understand if you do not want to touch it. Its so new that the development team has not really been able to get around to it. They got the idea though from Glamrock Bonnie, actually-"

"Beg pardon?" aforementioned Glamrock blinked, his rasp dull-sounding but no less intrigued.

Polar Freddy glanced at him, "Your hearing, and the fact it kept breaking a lot while you were still a newer Glamrock. Small things like that can be auto-corrected with the right amount of programming. While you cannot help but need to physically replace SOME parts-" He waved a lazy talon around, "-For others, your body and its programming protocols should be able to adjust dynamically and correct whatever small bugs flare up digitally. These were lessons learned not just from Bonnie, but the daycare attendant, and so on. The bugs you all suffered was imposed upon you and never repaired due to... 'budgeting', and part laziness on the techs' parts," The bear huffed. "Some of it however was fear: Fear of having the staff exposed to you when you're bugging out so terribly. Chica-"

He looked at the hen now, who'd been sitting on the couch with Bonnie and rubbing his back in-between bouts of sighing heavily and leaning on him like she'd forgotten how to smile. She tilted her head at him as he asked, "When you were suffering from that hunger bug, didn't you, at a point, voluntarily stop going to get repaired? I apologize for the topic being so... you know."

Bonnie leveled her the look as he asked this, making the hen cackle uncertainly. She shrugged carelessly and 'tee-hee'd' in that way that betrayed her sheepishness. "I uh... yeaaahhh... kinda stopped. On my own. Yup. Totally did that- I'll admit to that. But let's keep in mind that they stopped caring about getting me repaired in the first place too!" She jabbed a finger at him there. Her teeth flickered once into being, "I did mention that it was Bonnie and Freddy here who were the ones who bothered with cleaning me, after a while."

Polar Freddy merely bobbed his shoulders at her, "Be that as it may, my point still stands: The techs cannot physically make you do anything you do not want. They would have to ask another bot to fetch you, using a special taser to stun you, and THEN manually turn you off and move you via hand truck in order to bring you in for repairs, should you resist. Going near some of us when we bug out is very dangerous and generally ill-advised-" He waved at everyone, "All of us here seems to have this issue, no matter how advanced we grow. With that said, techs trying to make repairs on an unwilling bot simply isn't feasible. So, making a small, new program that can auto-adjust and account for certain errors when humans are not available for the repairs was in the making. They just never finished it."

He then waved at Snowshoe Bonnie, who now was covered in even more stickers. There was a blue ghost plastered across his adorable nose, the ghost smiling and waving and shaped perfectly like a happy mochi ball. Sun was trying to peel it off for him but remained unsuccessful due to the fact the hare had inadvertently glitter-glued it to his muzzle.

Ignoring the toddler-level mess his friend was in, Polar Freddy added, "You all noticed my friend here corrected his walking within moments of getting damaged by that alternate Chica. While his hearing was still impaired, his walking and equilibrium can still be corrected by the right programming. That was exactly what did it: That repair protocol. Its experimental, and they wanted to try it on the sentinels. I offered myself to it after watching Foxy get destroyed several times over... and I figured it may help my Bonnie here if his hearing got messed up- and it seemed to work out in a pinch! Its not totally effective like a real hands-on repair, but it'll do for when you cannot access the armature, each other, M.X.E.S, or have the humans to help."

The hare meanwhile was nodding sagely while miraculously just looking a lot like a kindergartener whose just agreeing to a teacher's instructions. His tongue was poking out, eyes squinted as if in deep thought- although really, he didn't have much going on in his head right now. His cochineal eyes widened with pain though as Sun pulled a whisker by mistake. He slapped his paws to his face and whimpered, prompting for the attendant to hurriedly apologize.

Polar Freddy added while completely and blatantly ignoring this, "-With that said, you could proceed to add that program to everyone here -if you wish- Luis, Gregory, and Cassie. Given the bots say so. In my experience, it seems to work so far, and I believe your M.X.E.S can help you improve upon it! It may even prosper in your hands. Moreover-"

He opened his stomach hatch, unwound something else from one of the blankets in there, and gently passed it to Gregory; who was standing nearest him. Gregory took it reluctantly, a little puzzled by the metal stick he was just given. It literally looked like a dousing rod; a two-pronged fork with a couple of light bulbs and just as few buttons. It literally couldn't look more mundane in appearance- like a kid's half-baked science fair project.

Greg turned it over while Cassie approached, scratching her head over it. Luis hummed near them, with the animatronics all turning back to the Polar bot. "What is it?" Glamrock Bonnie asked this time, pointing a claw at it and fixing the bear with an inquisitive slanting of his purple-painted lids.

"The fact you do not know is saddening to me. You should have seen at least ONE of these things at the mega PizzaPlex," Polar Freddy sighed. He flicked a claw at Bonnie now, his expression its most serious, "That, my blue-furred-friend, is the answer to your dilemma regarding your bear and yourself: This, is a Tracer. A device used to pick up remnant and where its located. I suppose it is, in hindsight, like a ghostly dousing rod?"

"No SHIT! Holy smokes- try it!" Bonnie suddenly barked, pumping his fists. Chica was noticeably perking up behind him too, sharing some of his own excitement as he machine-gun fired, "I wanna see it work! How does it work? How can we use it? Does it need batteries? What can we-"

"Hold on now, let me get there," Polar Freddy chortled. He leaned over and guided Gregory's fingers to where they needed to go so to turn it on; and then one of the small bulbs of light on the rod powered up. "That was the on-button. That red light there indicates no activity. All you have to do now is wave the rod at the desired object. Try it on Bonnie first! Let's see if it works."

Gregory hummed and turned, waving it in front of the blue buck. Now the light turned green and vibrated; reminding Gregory of a gaming controller getting a lot of shock feedback.

"Oh my... yes, it seems to be working just as intended. Perfect," Polar Freddy smirked, even though there was no mirth in it. "Now that green light is obvious. It basically tells you that its a positive for remnant. And the vibration tells you just how MUCH activity is in there. Its moving a lot so... that isn't surprising in the case of Glamrock Bonnie here. If you wave it at me and MY Bonnie, you'll find something similar. Go ahead and try it."

Gregory tried it with them- and sure enough, it blared green again but didn't have the same pronounced shaking. Albeit, it was still a lot. He frowned and asked, "So... you have less remnant in you? Is this what this thing is telling me?"

"Pretty much," The bear shrugged.

"I forgot that you're possessed too," Chica said this time. Now she was frowning and passing looks between them and her rabbit. She frowned prettily, "Now that I think about it... don't you get spells like Bonnie here? In the midst of his 'fits'."

"No, actually," The bear said, much to everyone's shock- and especially Bonnie. "I shall elaborate on that momentarily, if it pleases you."

Chica nodded.

"Alright then. In the meantime-" He flicked his chin at the boy again. "Now to make sure its really working, try it on a bot here who may not have remnant so we can make an accurate comparison. I don't think your DJ has much, nor would your Monty."

Gregory waved it at them as commanded, with everyone else watching with intrigue. True to form, the thing hardly vibrated at all when leveled at DJ. It still fascinated the ursine however when he still got something instead of dead silence and stillness.

"That means you must've given DJ a remnant-soaked part by mistake during his reconstruction," The polar bear informed them. "Luis, didn't you reassemble DJ here with pieces from the warehouse?"

"I did, yes," Luis nodded.

"That explains it. DJ has some trace of it within, but it would only be one or two hunks of metal that could be coated in it. Its actually recommended it stays that range too, so the bot can have its own personality and the remnant itself isn't interfering-" the bear nodded.

Cassie did not look assuaged- in fact, most everyone here was passing looks. "But... what about the person-" The small girl queried. "The er, the person whose... remnant-essence-thingy, is in that piece?"

"There is no person there. Its just a trace of their emotions," The bear told them. "A cold echo. Literally, only a scrap or shard of their emotions upon death. The remnant in your DJ is completely harmless, I assure you. He's got just enough to help him string emotions together better- which is the desired effect the company was going for in their A.I construction. I'll explain that next. Now try it on the others- I wish to see!"

Gregory hesitated, as he noticed the others looked hesitant too upon realizing DJ had something of a dead person in him- echo or no. That fact was creepy enough, but now Greg wondered if it could explain the complexity of emotions here. On that note, he asked the others, "Do you guys WANT to see this? I understand if you don't want me waving it at you..."

There was a round of muttering, then Monty jabbed a talon at himself. "Gimme a lick. I don't reckon I'm like the lot of ya, so... yunno. But er... it'd be nice to make sure."

Gregory waved it over him, and surely enough, he got nothing. He frowned, tried it again, and shook his head, "Nada! I don't think you have anything remnant-soaked in you. Unless its like... just one piece or two-?"

"Probably one or two- none is... unusual," Polar Freddy said behind him. "In order for him to get the complexity to his personality he does, he could just have the one piece. Some pieces at the mega PizzaPlex were stashed by the manager- er, your Mr. Cromwell, with remnant in it so any new Glamrocks could be more humanoid in inflection as they are developed. He and the other staff would have gotten their pieces from my warehouse. Otherwise, programming actual emotions into a bot isn't something that can be done realistically. True A.I is... nearly impossible to create."

"Says the A.I," Cassie said to him, giving him a shocked expression. "Why do you say that? You guys clearly feel!"

"Have you met a proper endo?" He asked now, raising a sculpted, black brow over blazing cerulean. "You should have at that PizzaPlex."

Gregory and Cassie gazed at each other, then back at him. There was nods.

"What did you think of them? Do you think there was personality in there? Any... feelings?" The bear pressed now.

"No," Cassie shook her head. "I just recall how creepy they can be."

"That's just it. They may not have personality chips yet, but they WERE programmed to feel... or be prompted to react, in a certain way to some stimulus," The bear said. "The personality chips are what makes your Glamrocks a Glamrock; A Bonnie being a Bonnie and a Freddy being a Freddy. Those chips have their character-quirks in them; not their actual emotions. Not all of it. The rest is INSIDE those endos and their processors."

He resettled where he was on the floor, fixing the ground with a faintly troubled stare. "Sadly, those 'emotions' are just scripted prompts; cues that are like... its like acting. Its fake. It only SIMULATES the actual thing- it doesn't MAKE the bot feel. That's what the remnant is for... to help us become real. To assist us in making connections where prompts fail."

The whole room was quiet now; hushed and oppressive as if the breaching of the silence was a sacrilegious sin worthy of the highest damnation in all of creation. No one blinked, no one looked away as the bear talked in that low, buttery baritone of his. It was a cradling deceit that captured everyone's ears.

"I'm afraid, young Cassie, that emotionality is an aspect of organic mortality; something a robot simply does not have the capacity for on its own. Emotions are also bio-chemical; hormones and the like rushing through you- something we also lack." His eyes were almost sad as he added, "Programming the nuances of them is literally impossible! You'd be at this same line of scripted code for perhaps decades- or maybe MORE, trying to breath life into a machine. Emotions as they are are not even fully understood by science. There is simply TOO much in them to completely replicate. Its not as easy as being 'sad' or 'happy' at a certain thing. You can ACT like you are sad or happy, but it cannot make you feel immersed into it. To experience it-"

He curled a paw into a fist and shook it, his expression hooded, "-Remnant is a shortcut to that, sadly. It helps 'graft' into place what weeks, months, or even years worth of work cannot do or artificially duplicate. Humans already barely understand their own emotions; so asking a simple technician with a basic degree in electronics that isn't even in a psychology field to replicate their complexity into a bot is just too tall an order! Especially since we will not have the chemical cues to signal happiness or sadness or to transition between them, OR to feel them in varying levels. The 'remembrance' of life is why we emote to the extent we do-"

He pointed a finger at the kids now, "So every single bot in this room has been exposed to remnant in SOME form before. Perhaps in greater or lesser amounts- and to obviously varying degrees. It seems to me that, in the case of Monty here, his old body, his older model could have had remnant in it, and his current mindset right now is a reflection of that; his A.I 'remembers' what it was like to have the remnant's emotions super-imposed. It grafted it, and he learned it. You could remove the remnant, and the A.I will still recall the emotions almost perfectly. The ultimate, unnatural short-cut. The total, impossible cheat-code. The secret to all of life-"

He held up an open palm to the air, "-Its the understanding of the undying soul and its price. Even echoes or traces of it is priceless, but it costs blood to capture and ensnare. Its costs the being what has made them truly so unique... Mortality and its beauty entire; the capacity to experience life as it SHOULD be- THAT is the weight behind your every emotion. The bots around us would remain automaton in nature until they were given even a trace of this remnant."

Now he pointed at Glamrock Bonnie, "If you removed all of Cassie's father from him, Bonnie will still... sadly, act a lot like him. Its influence is fixed. He will not be at risk at becoming him anymore- which is good, but his A.I has memorized and auto-targeted the emotions processed and programmed it into place permanently as a result of a special program that 'mimics' and behaves as a background sub-routine. He will keep remembering what it was like to be sad or happy or angry as a result of it." He shook his head, "Remnant and it variances are just too good to pass up when one wishes to create perfect A.I that is as close to human as possible. Do you understand? So even a bot with no remnant in them currently has had it inside them at least ONCE."

Monty was seen shuddering nearby.

"Jeez... so no point waving this thing around," Gregory said.

"On the contrary, Gregory. I'd keep doing it," The ursine motioned at him. "You can use this to find what pieces of a bot here has remnant in them, and remove those pieces, should they want it. You can save your Freddy like this. Once you remove the remnant-soaked sources, you will have a bot that isn't at risk of being possessed anymore! This Tracer will save your bear from Cromwell, I promise! Your bear would just remember his poisonous emotions all too well... sadly. That would be the priced paid."

Gregory turned the electric spook-dousing rod over and hummed, finding its innocuous appearance still rather deceitful. If this thing can really sift through a bot's entirety and point out what needed to be removed, he wouldn't complain. It felt cheap holding something like this however after of the polar bear's talk- to know he was holding a machine that could, in fact, find something of a human soul; 'cold echo' or no.

Are we that cheap? Are we that easy to make into a madman's machine? To bleed into metal and be remade again? To have our parts sold between companies to make their toys alive? So easily made, that waving a stupid metal stick can find our soul or emotions or whatever? Aren't we more than this? Are human souls really not that special? Aren't souls supposed to be intangible or impossible to comprehend?

...No. We aren't. Its why the Glamrocks are what they are: Because they were cheaply made, right? Cassie and me... we could die and become bots too, if someone else demanded it. We wouldn't be able to control that fate. And once we're bound... we could never escape.

...I hate this. I hate this talk. I don't want this. I don't want to talk about this anymore. It just doesn't make any sense.

Suddenly, Roxy said, "Hey, kid. Can you wave that thing at me?"

The boy blinked up at her, stirred from his morose thoughts. He forcibly shelved them, though he was also somewhat glad to do so. He frowned, "Why? You worried about something?"

Polar Freddy hummed with interest, but stayed silent as Roxy said, "I'm still remembering when those cops said I gave them the creeps... and that white Foxy. He made a comment too. Actually-" She turned to the ursine now. "Didn't you say something too, or did I imagine that-?"

"You have an interesting smell," He dead-panned pleasantly, as if it totally wasn't about a perverted topic like soul bits or whatever it was. "I think waving that thing at you may be a good idea. I believe you may be the only bot here with most of their original pieces intact. You're still a prototype. Likely, you have a remnant piece and its still in there, in your core-" He pointed at her breast plate. "It'll be deeply anchored into place though, and buried out of sight for the most part. You'd have to sift through a lot of important pieces in order to get to it. It will look like a teensy, itty bitty bit of something that does not quite belong or give any real functional value to your body. Like a loose chunk of scrap metal-"

"You're joking?" Roxy spat, flabbergasted.

"Nope!"

She sighed and looked at Gregory. Now she waved a paw, "Do it."

Gregory nodded, then did just that. He waved it over her, and low and behold, he got the green light and a distinct vibration. Just as Polar Freddy said, the rod grew shakier as he leveled it at her breast and not anywhere else where she's had parts replaced. Roxy stared flatly at the rod like it offended her, then sighed.

"Welp, guess that explains some things," She mumbled, now glancing aside like a couple things clicked into place for her.

Chica and Monty passed each other glances, and then the hen raised a hand. "Me too...? Please? I'm... I'm nervous of knowing, but I wanna know," She said with a steadying sound to her soprano.

Bonnie flashed her a difficult-to-read expression, then it slackened into something like worry and near-pity. Chica waved it off and pushed off of him, displacing his weight enough so he had to place both feet onto the floor to stabilize himself. He watched her solemnly the entire time as she neared Gregory, encouraging him to try it on herself.

"Please," She said, her voice almost a supplication.

Gregory shrugged and did it-

And, just as he did, it flashed bright green and vibrated with the near-same intensity as it had with Bonnie or the polar bots.

Now the room was silent.

Polar Freddy hummed quizzically and turned to the awe-struck hen. "Hm... your body, I have a question about it: Was it not replaced in its entirety?"

Chica blinked several times fast as if she was trying to recover from this development, then passed the bear a slow glance. She worked her beak for a moment, still at a complete loss for words.

Cassie was the one who spoke, "We fixed Chica up with one of the endos in that repair ward... it was the only whole one in there. The others were gone- remember that, Roxy? And Eclipse saw that too-" She looked over at Sun, who has gone deathly silent during this whole exchange. No doubt Eclipse was watching through his eyes.

Roxy folded her arms and watched Chica with this long and difficult expression, no doubt flashing back to whatever horrors she's seen. Gregory knew how bad Chica had truly been; and the sight of her cheese-covered, zombified body wasn't something he'd ever forget. Fixing her had been a TALL order; and it involved all hands on deck at the time. What he also did know was that, morbidly enough, the old Glamrock Chica Chicken was dead and gone as a result of this repair.

This was her second body. Her first one was so rotten and destroyed, it couldn't be repurposed. They literally chose a room in the Endo warehouse to use a crypt, put her in that room, sealed it, and left it be; like some ghastly tomb. The group had pointedly avoided that room throughout the rest of their stay at the ruined PizzaPlex.

Chica, DJ and Monty here were the real victims in the sense that their original bodies were gone. The personalities here and now were downloaded from their old chips and into newer forms. The 2.0 version. The second wind.

Monty was relaxed by nature now, the opposite of his old self. But Gregory was no fool; the gator was uneasy about the fact he was assembled from an older version of himself that was feral and glitchy. DJ was similar. And Chica? He can only imagine what she was feeling right now.

And now to add this.

Is she possessed too?

Her remnant level was so HIGH. Gregory waved it over her again- and yep, he got the same result as before. He frowned, waved the rod at Monty, got zip, then tried Chica. Yet again, the green light flicked with a brightness that cannot be denied.

"That endo you used," The bear said to Cassie and Roxy- and to Eclipse by extension, Gregory realized. "You had no idea, did you?"

"No!" Cassie shook her head rapidly, looking more upset about this than even Chica did. She couldn't look more sorry as she added breathlessly to the group at large, "It was the only endo in there! All the others went feral, remember? The Vanny virus was in them. A-And Vanessa helped us finish putting Chica together HERSELF. There was no way we coulda saved her in any other way... How is the one endo we used that was in there-? Were they ALL like that?"

The boy lowered the rod and sighed. "Not like we coulda known it was dang-near possessed like Bonnie. We had no way of knowing," Gregory huffed. He then flippantly asked the bear. "So, explain something: Is this endo she's using possessed? What's going on here? She's never acted like Bonnie in any capacity- minus being a bit more advanced in her emotions."

"It shouldn't be..." Cassie went on to say as a denial instead of waiting for the bear to respond. "Like, Vanessa pulled parts from Chica's old body into this one so we can preserve as much of her as we can. Some of her frame, voice box, and bits of her core are examples. The rest was so gunked over with cheese, mold, and was burnt from Fizzy Faz acid!"

"Glad they discontinued that drink," Sun said nearby in a low mutter. "Always was a pain... It fries my circuits!"

Bonnie meanwhile was up again now, pacing around the hen and snuffling at her. Roxy did the same, making the hen slightly more nervous. The buck backed off and shook his head, "I don't get it... she's like, almost like me. What gives? She didn't ever actualize, right? Unless she did and doesn't somehow remember it-?"

"I never did!" Chica clucked out in a hurry, hands on her breast. "I swear! I'd think I'd remember doing that- that- that thing you and Freddy did!"

"She won't actualize," Polar Freddy elaborated with absolute calm. "You need not worry. Cassie, if what you say is true about repurposing as much of old Chica as you did, then you might've saved this particular hen's life. That decision is probably why she isn't possessed right now. If there was more of this new endo and its remnant, she would definitely be like Bonnie or your Freddy right now-" He waved around. "But she isn't! So at least there's that."

"Not sure if I find this reassuring..." Chica mumbled while slapping a hand to her face and covering her eyes. She looked exhausted now, reminding Gregory a lot of Vanessa whenever she was overworked. "I can't believe this... my new endo, and it had a nearly whole PERSON trapped in it! What the Bu-BAWK!"

"That sounds to me like Fazbear Entertainment was prepping that endo to make it into a new Glamrock or something," Snowshoe Bonnie said nearby just out of the blue. He now had the ghost sticker off his face, though it left white residue on it. "-They don't put in remnant like that unless they really wanted it to progress into the next stage of development. Had the PizzaPlex not closed, you coulda been joined by another bot, and that endo was it. A baby version of you. An endo who was passing a phase of testing in terms of emotionality-"

"THANKS FOR THAT," Chica growled -yes, growled- at him. "LIKE I NEEDED THAT IN MY HEAD!"

He instantly wilted and sank into his fur, "Sorry sorry sorry sorry! I thought I was helping by informing you-"

"Enough," Polar Freddy clipped at his friend in an excellent imitation of a parent chastising their child. He even smacked the hare in the nose- a motion that surprised everyone somewhat. "No need to spook her like that! Now think about what you just said!"

Chica was then hugged by Roxy and Bonnie, with Roxy combing her hands on the back of the hen's head while Bonnie leaned against her as a means of bracing her. His expression only darkened.

His purple-painted lids narrowed as he said, "They... they musta did that to someone on purpose. To kill 'em... and... to put them IN that body. Why... I don't-" He shook his head, his snarl building across his face, "Were they just killing people to make into robot parts? Just like THAT?"

The polar bear gave a grim shrug, "Not... always? Some of the human staff... if they get nosy, they get used as 'ingredients' for their bots. In rarer cases, some willingly want to join with the bot. I think Cromwell was one of those willing cases in the scenario of your bear. Just someone binding themselves there on a whim- because he WANTED to be there. Like this miss Cassie's father binding himself to you-" he motioned to Bonnie there.

"I'd like to know about that," Roxy asked him. "How did Cromwell get in there...? Is it really that simple?"

"Not so much... I wager a piece of the recharge station he died in was put into your Freddy on purpose by one of the techs with special commands from your bosses- to make it perhaps easier for him to 'find' an anchoring point and guide him there to the new vessel." The polar bot added with a dangerous slanting of his cerulean eyes. "I wouldn't doubt your manager even put in his name as a submission for a possible bot body in the future. The idea of immortality in the majority of these daffy old fools is too appealing, and the fascination too wide-spread ever since Afton and his experiments on the Funtimes so very long ago."

The name of the precursor to all these troubles always got a jointed reaction; with most everyone passing grim expressions or dangerous scowls at the ether like Afton would just appear right there. A hush followed each time his name was even uttered. Still, its mere mention was more than enough for some to understand that indeed, some of the older fools at the hub would probably want to risk anything and everything for a shot at immortality and having a better body.

The polar bear eventually went on with, "In the meantime, turn that rod off and save some energy. You can recharge it too. Keep it on hand as well, so you can use it for everyone here and eventually remove all the remnant-fused pieces."

"What do we do with the remnant pieces afterwards?" Luis asked this time.

The bear put a paw to his chin and hummed, "Hm... well, you could keep them, if ever you somehow wanted to build a bot like the Glams- but I suspect you will not want that though, do you? No, I can see it on your faces." One glance said enough, "Well, think about it like this: The remnant helps bots like DJ and Monty here when their old bodies are gone. And frankly, DJ's old body wouldn't have HAD remnant in it. He was likely quite robotic in origin and quite lacking in sympathy and empathy. Again, remnant helps a bot to make connections like that. While I know the morality of it is muddled and unappealing to you all, remnant has its advantages in helping us bots understand life. To some, that gift is invaluable and most precious. Keeping one or two pieces with it is not a bad thing, necessarily."

He cupped his paws together as he said, "That person died just for us to live. It may not be a willing gift, but it is a gift I want to embrace and not let go to waste, you know? Is life, no matter what form it takes, not worth cherishing?" At their silence, he huffed and glanced away. "Anyways... As to disposing of the rest of the remnant pieces-"

"-A fiery explosion?" Gregory interjected this time, turning the rod off and putting it down on the chair-side table.

"Melting down the pieces until they are molten metal slag is preferable, yes," The bear nodded. "That should be enough to nullify the remnant or agony within it, if not entirely. Its also usually effective in just chasing ghosts out of the bots- for the most part. I cannot say its foolproof though."

"So an ultra powerful incinerator would be needed," Luis mumbled as he looked at Bonnie now, as if picturing the removal of his pieces with remnant in it. The rabbit watched him in-turn, saying nothing and his expression a special kind of impassive.

"If you can get a hold of an incinerator, yes! Now that you have that handy-dandy doo-dad," The polar bear clapped his paws and motioned. "-And the auto-repair protocol, you will all be much stronger and far more capable of helping your friend! And I have a few more recommendations, given you are willing to take it."

"At this rate-" Roxy started this time, "I don't think anyone's gonna complain. We're listening, polar pop."

He nodded eagerly, then turned a scolding expression at his hare, "Meanwhile, you need to keep your nose -literally and figuratively speaking- clean. You go find a corner to stand in and think about what you just said a couple moments ago! Or go wash your face..."

"I was only trying to help I swear-" He babbled.

And to think, this guy almost killed us yesterday, Gregory sighed heavily to himself.

The bear snapped his fingers and pointed again, then turned to Sun and apologized, "Let him stay punished for fifteen-ish minutes... ten, actually. It will be enough. He's still learning to filter his mouth. Now back to you all-" He looked at them, "Allow me to help with the upgrades too, if you will allow it. I can show you what is useable from Foxy too. I think you all will especially enjoy what he has!"

"Like his teeth? Not gonna lie, he had some damn fine teeth," Roxy commented bluntly while folding her arms.

"His jaws will be a wonderful asset to you or Monty," Polar Freddy nodded. "And his core... actually, his core will be better for you, miss Roxanne. Its newer, for one. Two, we can remove the remnant in both it and your own and give you something entirely new, with the help of that tracer. Maybe combine the two into something more viable for the mission ahead."

Chica meandered about nearby, her expression a lot like that of someone who just got shot in the gut. She'd been wearing that face the entire span since Greg used the rod on her. Even now, the boy didn't (more like couldn't) miss the slight tremble of her legs; no doubt the hen was thrown off-kilter by the fact she was just baby steps away from being like Bonnie and Freddy. Bonnie was watching her with a special kind of astuteness and worry that didn't leave much to the imagination of what he was feeling right now.

She's also had her motor redone recently, so there'll be even LESS of this remnant in her now, he recalled with a weird amount of relief. She'll be okay- definitely not possessed, at least. Just... a little paranoid and shaken. I can't imagine what that's like for them though... to be possessed. To be a part of another person. To not be YOURSELF because you need another person's 'cold echo' as a blueprint.

True A.I... was it really impossible? Now Gregory wondered if that really was the dead truth. He thought Afton -hatable bastard that he was- was somebody who succeeded at A.I advancements. His face was the face of most robotics done in the era. Afton was, despite his personality, a robotic genius. One cannot deny that. Its not like he failed either, right? At the very least, he was the man who came the closest to creating an A.I until the Glamrocks came along. At least, that Gregory knew of.

He decided for the time being however, he will focus on building and upgrading the bots. After all, they will need every advantage they can be afforded for the march ahead. Gregory intended on being as helpful as possible, even though he wouldn't be there in person. He could at least help them prepare and watch them from afar from Vanny's terminal-

That was all he, Cassie, and Luis can really do.

---

~Same day. Later that evening~

DJ MUSIC MAN

Some of the family had gathered in the garage to discuss how to approach saving Freddy.

The kids of course weren't involved; having been told to go to their rooms. Bonnie was listening for them while the rest were milling about the armature getting further upgraded or were talking over the plan in general. Even Luis was present, although he will not be going with them to the building itself. He'd only be an overseer of a kind; to help monitor them from the house once the bots headed off soon.

As for DJ, he knew he was going to be a fairly large part of this; being as physically adept as he was. He was also going to carry M.X.E.S inside his processor; seeing as his motor and memory was larger than Bonnie's own. Chica was the most advanced right now, sure, but she would be required for something else. DJ himself will simply house the program so M.X.E.S can be present too and upload him into the building's own systems.

Vanny was going too, apparently. Its not something they all wanted or expected, but Vanny was going to be an integral part of this. She wanted to see it all BURN; to put it in her exact words. On the side, having her take over the building's systems (with M.X.E.S keeping her in check) will afford them the biggest advantages. They could not do this without her, otherwise.

But then comes what to do with her AFTER this is done, DJ pondered. We really haven't thought past a point, have we? Why are we NOT considering this? He'd looked at Bonnie a few times during this musing, knowing the buck has likely been weighing on it himself. I wager Bonnie has been furiously mulling over how to deal with Vanny when this is done... but seeing as he's silent, I wager he hasn't come up with anything.

So with that said... once she's seen her use, is it really as simple as deleting her forever? To completely erase one's existence so completely? To wipe the chip and computer of her conscience and scrub our hands clean of the matter? Or will Vanny find a way out and make us all regret this?

He was sitting at the wheely chair in front of the module, watching as each bot systematically was getting tuned up by Luis and Bonnie (who was letting M.X.E.S use his body temporarily to do so). Vanny was watching as well beside him, the doe having been giving notes and recommendations. She'd been helpful thus far, not really doing anything to antagonize or instigate anything on a whim or sheer boredom. She was, surprisingly enough, professional to a point- beyond the fact that she still clearly reveled the idea of making EVERYONE inside the FE building suffer, regardless of being innocent or guilty.

At some point, she addressed DJ directly with, "By chance... You haven't mentioned anything about that footage you unlocked. Do you not want to see it?"

The music man turned to her, lowering his shades and raising a brow on his synthetic face. He signed, 'I am no less intrigued, do not get me wrong. In fact, now that you mention it, perhaps it is good we review that. I do not think it will contribute much to what we're already doing at this point, but if it unveils the truth of what really happened at the plex, then... I suppose we can mull it over.'

"You are apprehensive," she observed.

'Do you blame me? I know our managers and 'caretakers' had me do things I would not want to do otherwise. If I've killed my fair share of people as a result of my own terrible programming or as an extension of their will, it would not surprise me. We were but tools at the time,' he sighed there, leveling her a rueful look. 'On that note, looking at this footage of my own wrongdoings isn't something I WANT to do- to see me actually hurt others- but I wish to find something in particular in this, now that we've unlocked it.'

"Cassie's father, right?"

DJ nodded, 'If we can prove that Fazbear Entertainment has been killing people for the monetary gain that they have, we can keep them shut down for good- even after we've dealt with them. Aside from that, the girl's father- his demise still baffles everyone here.' The music man turned and looked at Bonnie nearby, who was occasionally giving him looks as well. He can certainly hear their conversation, but its not like the garage was big enough for them to speak privately anyways. 'I am... admittedly curious about why he is so vengeful. Something about his death is, beyond the obvious, quite rotten. His influence on Bonnie is troubling- and I feel like if we were able to see this for ourselves, our own understanding of this muddled ordeal will finally see some kind of closure. Perhaps that is too optimistic a thought though...'

"It is," Vanny dead-panned with a smirk. She shrugged next, "But its not a bad venture. I suppose therein I should ask if we're ready to see this together? We can crack open those files right now before we all have to do this thing... Not like we have better to do while we're prepping."

DJ meanwhile sighed again, rubbing at his head and giving her a little nod. His anxiety at seeing whatever horrid portent was inside these files couldn't be more glaring. 'I suppose... we can,' he eventually conceded.

"-'To the end of the truth'," Bonnie recited nearby, as if from memory of something. His words stirred both doe and music man from their conversation. He pulled away from the armature, having been helping Luis with Roxy's upgrades (they've been salvaging Arctic Foxy's pieces). He walked over to the computer, staring hard at the digital doe, "You might as well play those. I can't help but be intrigued myself."

"Are you not scared?" She teasingly threw at him.

Bonnie snorted. DJ knew him well enough to know that Bonnie's usual brand of boldness was due to him having long exhausted his worry and fear. The buck was only tired of the whole thing; long-since past the point of exhaustion when it comes to stress and fear. If anything, Bonnie was the one who -out of everyone here- feared the reaper the LEAST. He even gave Vanny a bored brow raise, as if to say, "Do I look like I give a damn if something bad happens to me again?"

She flapped her mouth at him, looking contrite all the while and sighed, "You're no fun anymore. Alright... guess we can do this. DJ? You'd need to plug into this terminal-"

'I'm aware,' he sighed, cutting her off. 'I also know you enough to know you'd tried slipping me something if I do. And I will softly remind you that should you attempt taking over my systems, everyone in this room will not hesitate to destroy your pixel ass and we'll figure out how to deal with FE without you.'

"Oh, don't I know it," She grinned at him while giving him a teasing little wave. She even laughed at his wording. "Don't worry; I'm not stupid enough to try anything now. Not when we're going to destroy Fazbear Entertainment for good."

DJ and the others knew she'd try whatever she could to escape this prison they had her in once they set the plan into motion, so that -in a way- meant she won't actually try anything with DJ right now. She was more patient than that, and her opportunity would come when they're actually ripping the building apart later on. With that said, DJ nodded to Bonnie to let him know he was doing it, then pulled his shades down and removed one end that was anchored into his skull. It ended in an adapter point, plugging it into Vanny's terminal directly.

She didn't try getting into his head or start viciously stabbing at him digitally, as one would expect. She only waited for DJ's own prompt; running a series of programs on the module and reading DJ's files as she unzipped several video files he had stored in his own noggin. These files showed up on the screen; replacing her image with a document folder and more than DOZENS of sealed files.

Behind DJ, he can hear the others stopping what they're doing and watching them instead. The chair Roxy was propped in squeaked; the wolf getting up after having her new upgrades installed from Arctic Foxy. She stopped next to Bonnie and DJ as well, folding her arms and frowning heavily.

"My god. There's a lot of stuff here-" She mumbled thoughtfully.

"More than you know," Vanny said from beyond the monitor. "These files show signs of being tampered with, so they may not be all the way reliable. However, many more are untouched; something we can use. Apparently Cromwell and the other staff archived their activities throughout the years; keeping them as references for other shady employees. I'm personally looking for anything relative to Cassie's dad too- but these files will still do well to perhaps convince your not-so corrupt authorities in town to keep the company closed forever once they're taken care of. So, with that said- where do you wanna start on these?"

There was mutters and glances from the group; all the bots reading the file names, dates and time stamps. Luis was seen fixing his glasses off to the side of DJ's peripherals.

It was DJ who picked though; choosing a specific date and time in particular. He knew this particular file was roughly around the time he started hurting people who looked too closely into the PizzaPlex's secrets; and it didn't help that the thumbnail was of a human employee he no longer recognized in the system. Likely a face of someone who USED to work for the company before they were completely purged from the system.

Vanny made a curious clucking noise emulating a tongue hitting a palette; a thoughtful sound. "As Bonnie said so eloquently," She began with some resignation. "-'To the end of truth'."

She began to play the video.

---

~Roughly a few years ago~

DJ was watching a couple of human staff talking; his hulking body boring overhead as he observed Cromwell and Morris.

This was one of Morris' more rare visits. He didn't tend to come around often; but he did show up for the CEO themself when needed. This particular PizzaPlex was, after all, one of the 'main locations' in the United States. Its progress tended to be the most important. With that said, Morris will come by a few times a year to see what was going on in it as well as veto or give permission for new attractions to be built.

Cromwell meanwhile tended to schmooze his way around. He wanted a promotion; that couldn't be more obvious. He'd gotten to be the Glamrocks own personal manager through sheer cunning and professional resourcefulness in the business field. He also was -abhorrently enough- in on some of the recent happenings here in the PizzaPlex-

Something DJ wished he could sincerely change but was powerless against.

He only watched; akin to some gigantic guard dog waiting for his next command to do a dirty deed. His optics didn't flicker or move organically; nor did they move in his skull casing at all. He couldn't even blink. His eyes were truly insectoid in inspiration; huge and imposing on his head and taking in data EVERYWHERE: Every small detail and nuance that his his periphery field was logged. Any detail that a human would miss, he can catch in an instant. He never missed ANYTHING whenever he wasn't in rest mode.

Even now, he was watching the humans with an astute scrutiny that gave him all the detail he needed just by observation. He had no truly 'advanced' or terribly convoluted emotions at the time, but he did have his reservations on the topic in which they discussed and the energy in which Cromwell was gesticulating with-

They wanted to get rid of Bonnie.

This was quite early on too; long before he was decommissioned officially, they wanted him gone. DJ would blink in consternation, if he could. But no, his large, bulbous eyes stayed fixedly forward on the humans as they talked like he totally wasn't there and listening. They were so unconcerned with DJ turning on them and squashing them himself; as they KNEW they had control over him-

And they were right. Even now, Cromwell had a fazwatch on him hidden under the sleeve on his left wrist. His expensive suit (a rental apparently) cleverly covered the evidence of his control. On the security cameras nearby, DJ also knew some of the other crooked guards were watching them. If DJ made any moves, he would be forcibly stopped. Both the manager, the CEO's assistant here, and the bulk of some of the staff- all in on this illicit... thing, they were doing.

Cromwell waved at Morris, his waxy complexion making the hard obsidian of his gaze all the more stark. "I'm telling you; the kids love him- when he isn't being rough with them," He went on to say. "He can be a bit... over the top when incensed, but I wager a good outlet could help balance that. He can be even bigger than Bonnie Bunny- I mean, look at Roxanne!"

Morris was smiling on and on; and even if he was upset about something, he'd be smiling. The elder man shuffled around on his footing; likely tired of his own portly physique as he listened with an apparent reservation that flickered briefly into view via the uncertain ascension of one brow.

So said the assistant to the CEO, "I understand that progress starts with taking risky ventures -as is the nature of business as a whole- but suggesting a young, impatient, baby-brained A.I as young and underdeveloped as Monty as a Glamrock so early on in his life to become a renowned superstar is a bit bold, doncha think, Cromwell?" He inhaled next and have a slight shake of his head, "I mean, I am not completely turning down the idea... but Monty is still too young to be able to be able to take the weight of stardom as is. Being a famous celebrity tends to drag at the minds of most; and its even inspired bad behaviors induced by said stress in the minds of even the actual Glamrocks-"

"I find that to be a paltry excuse, sir," Cromwell threw back rather stiffly; his tone oily but somehow barbed. "The Glamrocks were put on stage even before they finished full actualization of their programming- and they're doing alright-"

"-'Alright' being the operative word, my dear man. And yes, but Monty is a bit... er, his personality is-" Morris paused here and shuffled again. He licked his lips and squinted pensively, "He's unstable. His impatience when it comes to small children is already noteworthy; and it shows when he slips into a bout of depression. His personality flip-flops rather wildly; and more so than any of the Glamrocks when they began. Freddy and the others are programmed to have more tolerance and their personality matrix was tailored in a way to help them cope a bit better.

"Monty meanwhile was built originally to be a side attraction; not a star. Worse, the Glamrocks already have their own issues to contend with even though they have more relatively stable mindsets. I got reports -from YOU no less- that says they ALL participate in bad behavior in varying ranges. Roxy rough-housing the staff for tiny, accidental makeup slips? Chica fussing with the controls in the syrup vats- things like that show they still suffer from a form of stress we cannot control. They can at least handle their destructiveness a BIT better by interaction with each other... as is evident with Bonnie and Freddy's friendship helping them to find healthier outlets- but Monty, the LONER, no less? He will do quite poorly in these conditions, and with no actual friends, no less."

Cromwell still looked unimpressed as he all but encouraged, "I did not say, 'bump him up immediately', sir. I was going to say, considering your own wording actually, that mayhaps Monty will do MUCH better if he's actually given the chance to better formulate his connections and personality through trial and error as an understudy instead? He can interact with the Glamrocks and learn from them how to temper his... tempers, and play an instrument we have in storage. His A.I will also improve from observation of the Glamrocks, and he may even become bigger than any one of them- As Roxy has shown us in her beginning stages. While yes, Monty also has his own wild personality to consider-" Cromwell smiled here, "-The times he's in a better mood, he does fine with the children. They love him. I believe his cantankerous outbursts are actually due to his reticence inside his attraction. Him being FORCED to stay there is no good. They are INTELLIGENT, after all."

Morris hummed there, his gaze briefly sliding to the wall of the dance floor. He tapped his fingers on his side, no doubt weighing on this.

DJ meanwhile felt his attention sharpen when he suddenly caught something from the corner of his immense eyes; only moving his head slightly to look like he was repositioning himself more comfortably on his platform and placing his arms under his wide chin to support himself. He didn't want to look like he was actually seeing another person listen in on this from near the golden statue by the entrance to the Fazcade.

There was a man there; one of the staff no less, and he was casually mopping the floor. Yes, he was an average janitor here; and one of many in this giant mall. This was before the more wide use of S.T.A.F.F bots, so human hands were needed for the majority of the megaplex at the moment.

DJ didn't immediately remember him or his name; but he DID know that this man does come in at around this time to mop up the floors after hours. This was quite ordinary in occurrence; but the fact he was choosing to stay out of sightline was a bit unusual. DJ watched him regardless, noticing that he was staying as tucked away behind the statue as possible.

Meanwhile, Morris went on to say, "-And, pray tell, Cromwell. If you think moving Monty up is such a good idea, how do you think he'll do against Bonnie if he's an understudy? Last time I checked, I was getting some gnarly reports of numerous instances of them damaging each other from small spats and scuffles? Monty had to get his legs repaired once already from falling off the catwalks- Thanks to Bonnie pushing him off, no less! And then Bonnie himself getting repaired when Monty turned up the sound system so high that his hearing actually BLEW OUT his brain and he seized up for an entire day? Those two are... something else, I swear-"

Cromwell sighed there, "Well, that's because this started due to Monty being BORED, sir. Monty isn't stimulated enough. It comes with sentience, as you can imagine. They tend to get on each other's circuits because they both don't have anything recreational to do beyond staying in their rooms all the time and being stressed by ornery patrons or other staff. It doesn't help that Monty is constantly playing second-fiddle to the other Glamrocks simply because the current state of his attraction doesn't comfortably accommodate him. He doesn't even have a proper room!"

The manager then added while actually sounding convincingly sympathetic, "Monty is devastatingly underwhelmed by his living situation, and creating sentience in an animatronic that only has a new golf course and a banjo for recreational activity was not the... greatest of ideas, admittedly. Golf requires patience; something Monty characteristically does not have." He waved dismissively next, "Now while I can't deny that him and Bonnie may not improve relations very well -if at all- during a possible tenure as an understudy, I can assure that giving Monty a chance to spend more time with the others will help him. Besides! Its not like keeping Bonnie is paramount-"

He snickered amusedly as well, "Bonnie is... well, he's an issue, sir. Its bad enough he's started to develop more troubling tendencies to wander around and find things he shouldn't. He's actually LOOKING into the disappearances here, for instance-"

Morris blinked here, his smile still present but noticeably strained, "Then, just DELETE his memory-"

"No can do," Cromwell shook his head. "Bonnie is starting to refuse maintenance from human staff. He's also tampering with his own programming; we caught a recording of him swearing one night. He's removed the block on it. More than likely he's messing around with his core programming and has no doubt removed a plethora of limiters on his system. His A.I is starting to advance in ways we haven't foreseen. At this rate, keeping him around may prove detrimental to this particular location and the remaining sanity on the other bots. They'll wind up following his example-" Here, Cromwell's expression darkened. "-We don't want that now, do we?"

"Hm... Well then."

"Well then."

Morris inhaled gustily and considered this a moment.

Cromwell however wasn't going to leave it at that and continued to press home, "Think of it this way; if we move Monty up, we would be able to better control him. He is... of a simpler mind than Bonnie; much easier to handle, even despite his violent tendencies. Bonnie's intelligence meanwhile is starting to become exceedingly problematic for us as time goes on- he's even started blocking messages from the techs and command overrides all the while already. We literally cannot control him now. We've tried! Its bad enough he suspects our favorite resident ghost is in the building at this point and doing her job-"

Morris blinked again and his smile couldn't be more extinct than a dinosaur as he watched the manager in bated consternation. He then said, "Why didn't you just say so sooner? On that note, I'll bring this up to our boss himself. Just make sure Vanny stays hidden from Bonnie- I don't care how. Threaten him, tell him he could get decommissioned, maybe give him something else to chase- Or better yet, Monty's strong, right? Have HIM get rid of him. I don't fucking care. We need that remnant collected for future projects. You and I both know those stupid bots are only half as smart as they are because of it- And we can't open up more locations without the remnant needed for smarter bots. This place is the main location in which we collect it from-"

"Quite right."

Morris slapped a hand to his head and heaved, "We can't let that dumb bunny interfere. Literally, just... I don't care how you deal with him. I'll even let you take the helm on this one. I'll just have to find out how to explain this to the CEO though... Bonnie's a staple character in Freddy's band; and his disappearance will piss people off. But if it means our means of collecting remnant stays stable-" He inhaled gustily, held and flashed the younger man a hard look, "Then by all means; do what you must. If you do this well enough, we'll put in your name for another... promotion, Cromwell."

Cromwell's smile couldn't have been more acidic; his expression more satisfied than the Cheshire cat himself with a fat rat caught in his claws. "I'll be sure to give him a rousing 'pep-talk' for the band's next rehearsal," He added in finality. "If that doesn't work... we'll get on with decommissioning him in earnest. I wager Monty would be over the moon knowing his rival is about to get the heel!"

"Maybe..." Morris didn't look too convinced, but it wasn't like he could say 'no' at this point, nor do anything else.

DJ meanwhile was still watching the janitor; noticing his expression was paling noticeably as something seemed to click into place for him. He wasn't moving his mop bucket, nor was he even mopping anymore; he was only listening. What were the odds he found traces of Vanny's existence in this place too? After all, Vanny was a bit... messy, in her dealings. She's left blood in some places where she's nabbed her victims, as an example. Its quite likely he figured out that Vanny was likely linked to more recent disappearances of some of the children and a couple staff; and it didn't help this talk of maybe making a fully sentient being like Bonnie banish in a similar manner only compounded the fear building in his gaze.

The janitor- whose name was Mack Wallers now that DJ has found and identified his profile- turned to leave. He wasn't even going to grab his bucket or mop-

But the recently cleaned and now even squeakier floor treacherously betrayed the sound of his footsteps. He had TRIED to be quiet; god knows he tried, but the polished, uncarpeted floor cleaned by HIM no less gave away the sound of his shoes.

Cromwell also noticed the very tiny flicker of movement and subsequent squeak but didn't react as expected; he did not call out or say anything. No, he only kept his smile and folded his hands in; gently touching the button on his watch.

Mack tried to tiptoe surreptitiously out- but he would get a nasty surprise when the door of the elevator leading out of the Fazcade locked up and suddenly did not work.

"DJ," Cromwell said levelly, turning towards him now. "Would you be so bold as to clean up in here? Starting to wonder if we should maybe have some of the bots doing janitorial services instead-"

Morris meanwhile had silenced briefly when he heard the squeak; but his expression seemed to have completely written it off as one of the odd noises of the arcade cabinets produced instead. He wasn't here often enough to differentiate one oddball -and admittedly tiny- sound from another; so his surprise at seeing Cromwell give such a command also showed his apprehension. He even whipped around; wondering what the heck Cromwell was looking at.

DJ all the while hadn't wanted to obey. He didn't want to hurt anyone else-

But Cromwell pressed the button on his watch, and then DJ felt his programming shift into Bouncer Mode.

It was time to 'escort' this intruder out, demanded his coding. It literally blanketed his Hud; making him blind to anything and everything else. Only his command mattered.

Cromwell moved away as the gargantuan bot slipped out of his hole and fully out into the floor, stomping his way past the CEO's assistant and himself in the process. He would continue to watch with glee as poor Mack started to bolt in the direction of one of the bathrooms- the only way to keep DJ from grabbing him-

Only for some of the tiny music men to come out of holes nearby to block his progress.

"We will need to vacate this area for now," Cromwell easily added to Morris. "I don't wish to be in here for when DJ gets done. Its somewhat difficult to get him OUT of that mode, after all."

"Wha- oh. Oh, right," Morris rapid-fire nodded. "Good point."

"Guess we'll be collecting a bit more remnant tonight after all," Cromwell shrugged as he and the CEO's assistant began to leave.

DJ stomped over to the now whimpering bystander being surrounded by his tiny likenesses; large hand outstretched to grab him-

---

~Present day~

Only for the present era DJ to stop the video and pant; feeling something in his compressor whir warningly as his panic and fear set in.

He REALLY didn't need to see the rest of that.

"Oh my... I forgot about Mack," Vanny conversationally went on despite the look of the entire room right now. "I feel almost sorry for the man. He's only a part-timer. Poor thing wanted to pay off some debts too... and get his young, infant son fed. I wonder what happened to his family-"

"STOP," Bonnie snarled at the doe, his teeth bared and looking almost sharp in his heavy jaw. "Don't you fucking DARE rub it in!"

Vanny slanted him another sneer; showing a bit more of her usual self. She was likely thriving off of his response; after having been starved of his reactions for the past while. "What? I thought you all WANTED to know about the poor victims of the PizzaPlex? You know, to give their families some rest and what-not like you were going on about a short while ago? To find an end for them and get them justice-" She shrugged next, the motion making everyone present even angrier. "What's more, this footage PROVES that Cromwell and Morris- the CURRENT CEO, mind you, are crooked. You can get this video to the police you talked too just yesterday. Maybe have the company shut-down for good if they try to get themselves back up again- Given they do even THAT once we're done with them. Tee-hee."

Bonnie's growl wasn't the only rumbling in the room; as Roxy and Monty were doing it behind him too. Chica gakeled in a way that betrayed she was trying to do the chicken version of it; her lavender optics more like choleric pools of violet menace. She seriously looked like she was going to hack Vanny right now for the video-

But DJ knew better; Vanny was truly innocent here. Mack Wallers was not HER victim-

But his own.

He waved at the others in the room; sighing heavily and signing at them, 'Please, friends. Calm yourselves. While she can do with less of the sadistic sneering, Vanny isn't incorrect here. We can actually use this and give it to Rogers, Craigg and the others later on. On another note-' He frowned lilac optics at Vanny now, '-This is not what we QUITE needed, in terms of discerning what happened to Cassie's parent... so we will have to check another one.'

"You sure? Because I'm telling ya, from what I'm looking at here-" Vanny flashed the files again at them. "Not very many these end differently from that ONE. In fact, there seems to be quite a trend here. So many dead people... from adult workers, to children... to even the parents of those children and guests of all kinds. Seems like too many were getting caught up in our superiors activities. Huh, looks like they dumping a LOT of these videos into you too, DJ. Your storage space and memory seemed like a regular dumping ground for them, on that note!"

'Don't remind me,' He signed at her in an irritated flicker of gloved hands. He placed a hand to his chin and stared at the file he closed out of, narrowing his eyes as he added on, 'Interesting that they were using our particular PizzaPlex as a culling factory. Disgusting... I never would've imagined our own home was a place of such horrors to the extent they were; your own existence aside.'

"Indeed," Vanny smirked again. "Remnant collection was a little too easy there."

Luis, who'd still been in the room this whole time, looked absolutely sick now. He was white-faced and nearly gaunt with terror; but he kept his posture and leaned in towards the monitor next. He said, even though his timbre was noticeably shaky, "By chance, Vanny... you think you can filter these a wee bit? Find any with Cassie's dad or... something a bit more helpful to our current predicament?"

"Lemme see... yes, I just did it," She informed them just as she zeroed out roughly about a dozen of the video files. It was a lot more than the others figured, but the time stamps on them seemed really short or 'edited'. Vanny's sprite was seen frowning as she looked at the files herself on the screen, "Oh my... a couple of these are tampered with. And this one is corrupted- can't play that one back. Might have to trash it actually. I don't see any way of restoring it."

Bonnie meanwhile was leaning past DJ; his maroon optics harder than granite as he read the dates and titles. He raised a brow at one and pointed to it, "What's up with this one? You know the contents of it? Those people there don't look like anyone whose connected to Cassie-"

"I know. I found this particular one REALLY fascinating," Vanny told him next, her expression avidly intrigued as if to concrete it. "You ALL may find this one particularly interesting actually... especially Gregory. Hehehe."

"Gregory- Wait, Are these from his night at the PizzaPlex?" Chica was now leaning into the space; pushing Bonnie away and eyeing up the file.

"Nope. Guess again," The doe winked.

Now everyone was straining to look at the screen; making the small area feel more claustrophobic for DJ. He didn't complain however as he felt Chica lean her weight onto him and cluck pensively. The hen then pointed to it next, "Wait a second. These thumbnails- Are these his-?"

"His parents? Maaaaybeeee~" Vanny sing-songed.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Roxy exclaimed this time, now smashing everyone out of the way and poking her nose so close to the screen that she was almost touching it. Her breath fogged the glass too. "No fucking way you have footage of Gregory's parents just lying around," she almost spat.

"Oh... I don't. But apparently DJ did though," Vanny chirruped.

DJ scratched his head, dreads flopping around the frame of his face as he struggled to identify the files. He definitely didn't recall these at ALL. They only got these files fished out of his chip just recently and he hadn't the time -or the capacity until now- to review this damning portent.

Luis had to all but shove the bots out of way; grunting as he did so and fixing his glasses to his face. He was blinking rapidly like somebody had flashed him with the fazerblaster. "These files... are they any good? They're not all corrupted, are they?"

Vanny's expression noticeably dimmed. "They are... sadly."

The entire room groaned.

"But-!" The doe held up one finger, "I don't think these particular files are the only ones here. There may be copies of them elsewhere. From what I can see, these videos here were taken from PizzaPlex security; not from DJ's own camera eyes. These files here were moved into DJ for safe keeping; having been taken from the PizzaPlex's own security system itself."

"So files on Gregory's family DID exist in the PizzaPlex prior-" Chica hummed sadly.

"Correct. They were deleted though so that new staff -and innocent ones, at that- can't get a hold of these files and start noticing the weird things going on in their new workplace," Vanny waved a single finger around like she was making a point. "What's more, I think FREDDY might've been the one to record these initially-"

"Wha- Freddy-? FREDDY?" Bonnie babbled while slapping a paw to his head and combing worried talons through it. "How would you know that for SURE-?"

"The numbers on these files suggest if they came from a bot or the camera itself. Its why the titles are kinda convoluted," Vanny waved at the thumbnails like a meteorologist was pointing out the weather pattern on a green screen. "Your numbered user identification is here... and the rest is a date and the time it was recorded. I'm surprised you don't remember these numbers, actually."

Now the bots felt silly and looked again. DJ himself hadn't made the connection immediately; and he suspected the others didn't either; seeing as they were now quite used to being identified as humanized nowadays and less so addressed by their model numbers and so on.

"I wager Freddy has these files in his mind somewhere too-" Vanny continued with. "Perhaps zipped up or locked away-? Though I also doubt that. He probably wouldn't know if he does or don't either; as he and the rest of you were coded into not identifying certain files. If you had anything illicit, the staff would have to remove them from you to prevent you from looking them over and placing them elsewhere- like inside of DJ here."

"Why would they move our own memories into DJ?" Bonnie pressed, folding his arms.

"Think about it: He's the megaplex's BIGGEST and best guard dog. What better to protect their secrets than to have the resident dog actually physically protect them? DJ is huge and nobody can shut him down properly; so its not like anyone could have the chance to actually get them. You'd have to take down DJ, put him into repair mode, and actually digitally remove the files; given you even knew what to look FOR. Moreover, they'd be better protected inside of DJ then they would be sitting in a vulnerable part of the system where someone like YOU, Bonnie-" Vanny chuckled there, "-Would find these and use them. Your development as complex A.I made you more threatening. DJ meanwhile had his programming made simpler and he was controlled more actively than the rest of you."

"I gotta ask," Roxy narrowed her sulfurous eyes here. "Even if we recorded this data, what kept us from using right then? How would they have even taken the files from us? You'd think Freddy woulda freaked out about learning about Gregory's family going missing a long time ago-"

"That's the thing: He DID," Vanny said. "Most of you has had some kind of freakout based on the things you witnessed and endured. However, if you record something you shouldn't, they used some sorta remote override protocol on you so they can put you into some sorta calmer state. Its like a... its like debugging? Except the staff can actively approach you and start taking you to Parts & Service; where they proceed to run 'maintenance' on you so they can remove the files. Bonnie just so happened to grow immune to it, prior to his decommissioning."

Vanny continued with a sigh, "Most of this was also compiled before you all got better developed in personality and individuality too. When you were created, all of you were rather baby-brained. Not like what you saw closer to your creation was something you associated with being wrong or right. And even then, you all were programmed with recording and stockpiling the information; not to review it. Whenever you go into Parts & Service, you were forcibly put under some kind of 'maintenance' mode that had staff get into your heads directly to remove the information so it doesn't clutter space inside your memory as well as remove evidence of whatever crime you caught. And if you freaked out, so what? They can delete your memory."

"Fuckin' dirty," Monty snarled in an undertone.

"No kidding," Vanny chortled. "So yeah, as to these files here... Freddy must've seen what happened to Gregory's parents during this event here. He just can't remember because staff forced him into 'maintenance mode' so they can remove the dirty laundry and erase his memory. No need to traumatize their star attraction!" She shrugged and added on, "What's more, they can review the footage for themselves and put it inside of not-so-sentient bot like DJ there where you Glamrocks can't get to it. You Glams are always in the system; so it was a matter of time before one of you became advanced enough to weaponize information- case in point, Bonnie here-" She flicked a hand towards him.

The group was passing looks here, more like ducklings looking for a mother to follow. Bonnie meanwhile turned towards Vanny and asked, "By chance... you said there may a copy of these videos left somewheres... right? Freddy would've surely said something about these archived and zipped files sitting around in his head space... and, you said they wouldn't be there after his visit to Parts & Service, yes? Where ELSE would we find these files?"

Vanny's smile couldn't be more menacing here as she said, "Inside the main building we're about to attack, actually. I've no doubt they have copies of all the goings-on at the PizzaPlex stored in some sorta database there. When we go to take the building by storm, you can use me and M.X.E.S to route it out and find everything else we need in their digital library. I even wager-" Here, her gaze also took on a more aloof, but intrigued countenance, "They may even have an AR world there too. A realm only the synthetic can see. A place where people cannot hope to see it; unless they had a mask like the one I had. Only you bots would be able to get into this other AR world and check around for what you need. No doubt the main building has a server network to house it."

There was some slow glances.

"Now then, anymore questions? Yes, no, maybe?" Vanny waved her arms at everyone present. When there wasn't none immediately, she said, "Okay then. So, now back to these videos here; I believe THESE are the ones you're looking for. These particular ones were taken - if you've correctly identified the numbers-" She waved at Roxy next, "-From the wolf herself! The rest are from cameras around the PizzaPlex. And unlike the files retrieved from Freddy in regards to Gregory's family, THESE aren't corrupted! Lucky you!"

DJ watched Roxanne now; noticing the fall of her intented expression. She was narrowing her eyes in discomfort; shuffling uncomfortably in place as she was sadly somewhat put on the spot.

Right, The music man recalled. Cassie's father keeps trying to target Roxy... She recorded what happened to him. Its likely the files were taken from her sometimes after Bonnie was decommissioned and stored into me to personally defend.

Vanny waved at them, "Well? You wanna see these, or NOT?"

"Well yeah! We wanna see," Monty said unhelpfully. He folded his heavy arms and tossed Roxy a raised brow and a contemplative stare-down, "Its not like Roxy woulda fuggin' killed the guy on PURPOSE anyways. None of us were in our right frame of minds after a point-"

"Even so- That still doesn't mean the police will understand our innocence in that matter." Eclipse spoke up nearby.

Everyone now turned towards him, having forgotten he was there. He'd been silent for so long that most have figured he was in a different room. Eclipse however has been here the entire time; observing for Moon and Sun and sitting patiently close by. Now here he got up and meandered over, waving a finger about.

"Think about it: Even if we give these to the cops, they will ALL see us as too dangerous to keep around these children. They would not be wrong in a sense; as we, indeed, were responsible for quite a fair amount of deaths. DJ here may have a personally high body count for all we know- but what's to say ALL OF US may have killed some innocent child's parents? Or mayhaps have abducted others for the company's deviant purposes and we just don't remember it?"

He shook his faceplate and added with a noticeably melancholy note, "We are, after all, capable of being hacked and manipulated. We may be smarter now, and more capable of defending ourselves digitally... but that doesn't make use immortal or completely foolproof to the folly of our computerized systems. A good enough genius could, in theory, hack us even NOW and force us to commit dirty deeds. They've attempted to do this YESTERDAY to Snowshoe Bonnie, for instance- and it WORKED for Vanny when she tried it on her own. And yet he's more advanced than we are!"

The room was damningly silent at these words; entranced by his melodious tenor as he added on, "Once we show these files -pretty much ANY of these, actually- to the cops, its possible they may take the kids away from us because we're dangerous. So in the case of Cassie's father, I daresay its better we may have to keep some things to ourselves. We take out Fazbear Entertainment in relative silence, free Freddy, and let some secrets die with them- if we were to have the hope of continuing on with our lives as we've had been for the past couple years. Anyone here disagree?"

There was more uncertain glances, then shame-filled slants of eyes and shuffling bodies. There was also some vocalized sounds of solemnity from them; with Roxy producing a faint whine and Bonnie chuffing in reply.

Chica then spoke aloud for what seemed to be everyone, "I won't tell. I won't share these if it means I have to be apart from Gregory and Cassie. We are sentient though; FULLY. We can only become more advanced with time-" She waved around at everyone present, "We can continue to become as advanced as need be so that we won't have to take another life. We won't fall victim to this kind of manipulation and control ever again! You know as well as we do, Eclipse, that while we can be hacked, we can ALL fight back together as one against any sort of invasion. We have that advantage as a collective consensus. WE aren't alone in our minds anymore. WE aren't going to fight hacking by ourselves like we had to the night Bonnie here was decommissioned-"

Chica stepped over to the buck and leaned her head against his forearm, sighing heavily as if the mere contact was helping her to calm down. Her eyes swiveled now to everyone present, with DJ noticing that Bonnie was grabbing one hand of hers and squeezing tightly.

"When Bonnie... died, that night," She said a sincere softness in her voice that left none to doubt the self-loathing at committing the deed. "-We fought a virus that took us all by storm. We tried fighting it in our own heads ALONE. We were singled out easily and defeated by a higher power each time. We never thought to fight back as a consensus against these hacking attempts. Nowadays however, we let M.X.E.S freely flit around inside our minds; and we are never truly alone inside our heads as we used to. We tend to literally get into each other's minds now to help the other with maintenance or simply because the comfort pleases us... and its our GREATEST advantage: We can defeat any hacking attempts now because we have the advantage of numerous minds to fight back against a single enemy instead of taking it alone as we used to."

She gave a little rub of her face and thrilled lightly against the buck's bicep and let go of him (DJ saw the affectionate softening of the buck's own expression as she did). She then added on with finality, "Now with this said, and you may call this deluded... but I don't think we can be defeated like that ever again in the state we're currently in! Snowshoe Bonnie couldn't fight the hacking because his was but a single mind against the company's and Vanny's many overrides. They can attempt hacking us now... but as Polar Freddy told Bonnie here some days ago, the company won't attempt it since it knows we can fight the same threat as a unified mind! That's our best and biggest strength; we aren't alone anymore... And THEY know it!"

She waved at Eclipse, "You're not wrong in the fact that the police will not understand that we are not the kind of 'dangerous' we used to be. I don't think, realistically, anybody would truly understand how far we've come from the PizzaPlex. Whenever people look at Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy-" She waved at herself and the buck again, "They see the faces of creatures whose killed decades before. NOBODY is going to understand how different we truly are just because we have the character's face. And the fact we're A.I? Pffft. I'm surprised the cops didn't consider taking the kids into custody already! With that said though-"

She lowered her head and sighed heavily, "You are not wrong, Eclipse: We SHOULD keep some of these videos to ourselves. Destroying the company itself and in as much secrecy as we can manage is the only way this can END. Its bad enough considering that we all might've murdered someone before we got free of the PizzaPlex; and there will be no changing that fact." She flashed her teeth in a grimace there, her soprano warbling weakly as the lament sank in anew, "But I for one am not going to let all of that stop me from living and loving this family we have. Pain be damned, I WILL do whatever it takes to stay by these kids, Vanessa, and you, Luis-" She waved at him now. "I will fight for this family; and I don't care what others have to say about that!"

She stepped forward again and whipped about to look at all those present; her lilac eyes finding each soul in the room.

"I am no one's monster anymore. I am ME. I am Chica, no longer a Glamrock pawn. I am Chica the house hen; lover of music, gardening, and defender of these humans. I am alive. I live as a human woman does; ordinary, routine. I cook, clean, love and tend a family that found me and brought me home into loving arms. I help raise children. I am here to give hugs and kisses and food to them; to sing lullabies to the restless young who cannot find rest and bring good dreams where there used to be nightmares. I will use my talons in the name of that love and no more for the pain that's shaped me- and I know I don't fight alone. I share in my love, and I shall give it to a loveless world who needs it most-

"I am finally ME - the REAL me- and I won't let anyone take that away from me again."

All those present were stock-still in the silence that followed; unable to do more than stare and let her words sink in. Chica meanwhile blinked as if she was pulling herself from a stupor; her head held stubbornly but somewhat softly as if in belated realization of her vehement proclamation. She said nothing else though; only burbled and meandered in place as if uncertain of what else to do with herself. Eventually, she found her way at Bonnie's side again and clucked in a way betraying her sudden shyness but profound affection; doing her best to bury her head under his arm like she was trying to find fur to bury her face in- which was also akin to trying to hide a blush she could not fight (not that she was blushing, or could).

Bonnie stood there unmoving as she chittered like a baby chick trying to find some soft downy feathering to hide in; his purple-painted lids heavy across maroon optics. He looked dazed; but he settled peaceably against the hen as well and wrapped one arm around her in slow motion. He would slowly crane his head around to find everyone else's expressions a lot like his own.

DJ for one certainly felt the same as he; and Chica was right in the fact that, as of right now, EVERYONE can see into the other's heads rather perfectly. They always relayed pings, messages, and so on every time now. DJ had found this routine so odd upon his awakening here in this house; having been so used to being stuck and trapped inside his own mind back at the PizzaPlex. He had no one before to share his secrets with; no one to help him defend his vulnerable mind against Vanny's thrall. Indeed, him trying to get used to this constant breach of privacy here was STILL something he found a bit difficult to do-

But he's found he liked it all the same.

Of course, not always are they constantly in each other's heads. Privacy was still needed after a point; but when it came to running check-ups and asking the other for their well-being, privacy was pretty much out the window after permission was granted. He liked the comfort of knowing that if ever he found an issue inside himself, someone here -or rather EVERYONE- would happily help him resolve it.

It sounds cheesy, said one part of his mind. But family togetherness is our greatest weapon. It will be our saving grace too. We weren't united before and its literally killed Bonnie, Chica and Monty as a result. It also killed ME. It nearly destroyed the rest of us too-

But no more. No more shall this be the case.

"Ya done with the speeches?" Vanny said nearby, finally breaking the silence as a whole. Her words sounded pointed and disinterested; even checking her nonexistent nails like they were infinitely more interesting than Chica's speech. "Cuz we have files to look at and preparations to make- and a company building to set ablaze. Gettin' bored here."

There was now a series of annoyed squints from the crowd; Roxy and Monty showing their teeth in vexation of her nonchalant dismissal of their love. Roxy however was the first to recover and turned to DJ; her head low and her tail fluttering in a way like she wanted to swing it between her legs but didn't.

"She isn't... well, I don't want to say it... but she's right and I DO want to know about what happened to Cassie's father; regardless of the fact I could have hurt him. Its very possible I did-" She waved at Bonnie now, whose ears lowered. "Its bad enough I KNOW I hurt Bonnie here and helped kill him... I know I already have some kind of body count to take into consideration. But even then, I want to know. I want to take this responsibly, if I can."

DJ signed at her, 'Of course. I will play the next one.'

She gulped, and nodded.

Chica and Bonnie disengaged the tangled side hug and approached the screen; with Eclipse and Monty coming up beside them too. Luis stayed in his chair, but leaned in a way so he can see it too. He said to Bonnie, "Before we play this... are Cassie and Gregory in the main room?"

"No, the scamps are in bed," Bonnie informed him while his ears flexed towards the direction of the living room. "Polar pops and Snow-me are in there too. I think they're listening, but its possible they may be in rest mode. Their servos and motors are quiet."

"Okay then... I don't want Cassie to er... you know. Dunno how'd she take it right now," Luis muttered while rubbing at the back of his head. "Not that I'm saying she shouldn't know-!"

Bonnie held up his paw to silence him, "I know... she has a right to know, but... she also needs her sleep and to be in a good head space for it. That will take some time to do. Anyways-" He waved at Roxy, "You okay for it?"

The wolf huffed, then said, "Just... play the damn thing. Before I chicken out."

DJ slanted her a saddened expression, reaching out to grab her paw and give a tentative squeeze. 'For the record,' He pinged her quietly. 'Know that you will not be alone in this sin.'

"Thank you," was her silent message back to him.

They both looked up as Vanny pulled up the video; the entire screen filled with the somewhat grainy footage of one of the PizzaPlex attractions-

And watched the slow horror unfold.

---

Author's footnotes:

The Tracer inspiration was actually taken from a FNAF fan-game. I forgot which one... it had Springtrap and Fredbear in it.

I also did make it so that the in-game PizzaPlex was the main hub for activity; regardless if there was more of them out there. The sequence showing Mack Wallers was to help concrete the importance of cultivation and add to what's at stake here for Fazbear Entertainment; as they can't make more advanced bots without remnant.

Mack Wallers is a random OC. No one important to the narrative really and he's unique only to this story; beyond being another name that's been devoured by the terrors hidden in the PizzaPlex. He was also a character that was mentioned in Ruination; Bonnie listed him and Sarah Winters, as well as Gordon and Mendez, as additional casualties to the staff's madness. Bonnie doesn't forgot names either; figuring them important in the sense that they shouldn't be forgotten.

DJ now apparently has a LOT of trauma to sift through too. :D

Additionally, I APOLOGIZE for the slow nature of the recent update! I have been busy juggling stuff for me in real life as well as in fiction. I have been updating Ruination primarily; as that one is my baby. You all will notice that Ruination has quite a LOT of new things in it; and it has a new cover! I did the art myself, and you can see the full resolution on Archive of my Own. Ruination and Whistleblower are available there for viewing too! My username there is blackdragonhuntress. The image for Ruination I did is also found in the prologue page!

Anyways, I am BACK into writing Whistleblower and you shall expect to see more updates now that the hard part is done for me. Believe it or not, writing this took a lot out of me. Too much exposition stuff... and I get bored of exposition dumping. I absolutely HATE it. I really fucking hate it. But... it had to be done so you readers kinda knew the stakes a bit better and what remnant was (or at least what my TAKE on it is, seeing as the in-canon lore can get super confusing and I never fully grasped what it is in nature myself).

Next chapter shall catapult the characters into the final battle. Also, expect to see Cassie's father taking center stage there! I assure you that this next one won't take as long! I MEAN IT!

Please let me know your thoughts on this stupid beast. I really do apologize for the wait and I hoped you enjoyed it regardless.