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.

17. Blurred Lines

Author's note: Sorry about the wait! Was working on Ruination too. Edited and revised the prologue, and the first couple chapters of the older works. 'Down the Rabbit Hole' even got an additional scene, if you wish to check that out! You'll start to notice that there will be more pauses in-between chapters too due to editing, and me restoring my muse.

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POLAR FREDDY

Snowshoe Bonnie still wasn't very active, but... sitting in here beat listening to Morris rag at Foxy for being a costly mistake and wrecking himself again- And losing to a CHICA, no less. Nevermind the fact the usually harmless hen had the claws of some giant hellish super raptor and an upgrade specifically designed to resist high pressure hydraulic machinery.

As it were, Polar Freddy was reading from a child's book aloud to the other bot; leaning on the unaware individual and pointing out the cute pictures inside. Seeing as Endos learned from a routine about the same as normal children, Polar Freddy didn't see the harm in talking aloud and maybe getting his friend's scrubbed brain back into proper straights by means of basic communication. After all, he was still in a sensitive development stage- whether or not he was aware of himself. He still had a brain in there of some kind. Just no personality chip and it wasn't super advanced.

Freddy closed the book eventually, his mind floating briefly back to the fight. He frowned as he recalled Glamrock Bonnie's feral shift and the scent he emanated; an aroma like rotting body fluid and old blood. The scent of the dead coming from a robot was an anomaly he could never wrap his head around; even though he himself was a bot also infused with remnant. And the fact that Bonnie still had enough of his faculties to make relatively calculated moves? Polar Freddy had to admit, Bonnie's fusion with this other person was truly remarkable. It's no wonder Morris wanted him.

There's never been a bot that's ever behaved in such a manner before. So in order to make his friend more himself again by taking Glamrock Bonnie apart certainly left Freddy uneasy and guilty. He remembered watching the bunny and chicken stepping closer to the kids, holding them like they were their own. Cassie pulling at Bonnie's side, Gregory holding Chica's arm as if to embolden her and himself-

They are family, true and tried, He pondered. They've had years now to figure themselves out. Meanwhile, we are threatening that. But... I cannot just let my friend rot without those parts! They are HIS, after all. Right?

He looked at his bestie beside him, the sentinel rabbit was watching the book listlessly. He blinked too, albeit rarely. That was new. Polar Freddy assumed that the tic was put into him while he'd been away and some behavioral programming was infused with him. Freddy wished he could see what he had in his system now but Morris discouraged it- saying something about him being particularly sensitive at this juncture (not that that's untrue, technically speaking).

Also, it was admittedly... well, er... awkwardly intimate, for a bot to open up their programming to another and show their workings like that. They were essentially showing everything that they were to the other; probably the human equivalent of baring your soul in the most literal way you can. You could have access to their core programming and do illicit things to it- like completely rearrange their personalities and who they are. You essentially had access to their brain, heart, body- everything. You had complete power over them. It was the most vulnerable a sapient A.I can be.

No bot that he can think of would sensibly do something like this. Heck, even the bots at Vanessa's house looked like they've never done it- and if they did, they've never done it again and never did more than reassemble each other with what they know- like they had to do with DJ. From hence after DJ was awake, they've never asked to look at his programming so closely again. It's a propriety thing amongst bots.

They trusted M.X.E.S to do the work, never thinking to perform the deed by directly plugging themselves into the other (and yes, that sounds quite bad as it is). M.X.E.S however was something akin to their personal doctor in a weird way -besides the humans of course- and they fixed whatever glitches happened inside them. They didn't need to expose themselves to each other, even though the trust was there and it wasn't like they couldn't help each other in a pinch-

But there was one other small detail to consider:

Polar Freddy knew that the Glamrocks couldn't possibly show each other their inner workings- beyond the stressful situations they've been put in in the past. They were programmed to be defensive about it, and were completely discouraged from consciously trying it back at the PizzaPlex. He saw in the manuals here that the bots were installed with this behavioral tic meant to prevent them from altering each other without technician approval (not that it ever happened regardless). It's also to keep them from doing something illicit with their programming in their rooms and out of sight of security. They didn't need a Glamrock coming to perform on stage, just to realize something about their usual personality was wrong and the last person to have seen them was a friend! It would be quite the debacle to see Freddy acting like Monty because of something he let Bonnie do on a whim behind closed doors, as an example.

There was also an unspoken rule about bots working on each other- and this was something that was an extension of human fear as well as caution- besides it being a social stigma among the inorganic. Humans are afraid of self-perpetuating A.I. They want A.I to believe that they need to rely solely on humans for their survival so they don't break away and take over the world. It was in a lot of science fiction movies apparently, from what the bear saw. And to have the Glamrocks attempt anything that was outside of human consensus was deemed a taboo. Utter control of them was paramount.

Even Polar Freddy had to admit, he was loathe to the idea himself of people having such complete control over them. The Glams got by with their free will- and they enjoyed living alongside their humans. The humans trusted them back, even though the Glams were once dangerous, malfunctioning and QUITE buggy menaces in their own rights. They were well-known to have fits, tantrums, and had attacked guests in Chica's case- Not to mention outright hostile in and out of security mode. Roxanne Wolf was a temperamental one in particular as an example; and yet they believed in her to not do harm and they allowed her the free will to do what she wants with her own welfare and programming. They gave each bot space even though they lived in such a small house. How?

That is absolute trust- that's why. And Roxanne changed because she was allowed the room to make her own decisions.

And yet other humans were too afraid to permit something like this. Their own creators didn't trust their creations for jack-SHIT. Polar Freddy had to admit, but he was once again wishing very much for a change in his life. Getting out of the depot was nice, and being able to see the outside world was also quite lovely (after all, he's always pondered about it)- but having this leash wasn't favorable. However, Morris trusted him to get the job done, right? To not run away-

In theory, he could run off after rearranging his own programming and not listen to them ever again- but he'd never leave his bestie behind. Never. So maybe it wasn't trust so much as calculated manipulation, but some of that was trust in the fact that Polar Freddy wouldn't abandon his friend for self gratification and preservation. It wasn't the true kind of trust however. REAL trust was earned and given between friends and family; not business partners expecting a sort of behavior. After all, its not like Morris can stop Polar Freddy from changing his mind about leaving anytime he wanted- but he kept a leash on the bear via the rabbit and expected, as a Freddy, he wouldn't ever leave a Bonnie behind.

But Freddy literally didn't have to abide by ANYTHING they imposed, if he didn't want to. He was here by choice, and because of an enduring love he called his own. That was HIS to command and no one else's. He wasn't being leashed; right?

He stroked a gentle paw across the rabbit's cheek; being sure to avoid his whiskers and attempting to make eye contact with him. Bonnie blinked again, as if noticing the touch but he did nothing else. He didn't move away or get closer. He just... sat. Stared. Watched.

He eventually did do something though: He lifted his paw, a delicate and calculated motion that moved with oily precision thanks to the expensive servos he had. There was no stopping, stalling or robotic pause; he was rebuilt very well- that much Polar Freddy was glad to see. He moved with a prepense to gently take the book- but stopped when he saw the bear's paw on it. Was that hesitation? Did he not wish to take it after all?

Polar Freddy handed it to him willingly, "Go on. Look at it if you want! You can just ask."

The rabbit's eyes ticked up for the first time this whole conversation. He watched, one ear flicking towards him so to listen to his words. Once Freddy confirmed permission, he finished taking it. It seemed like he wanted to ask but had not wanted to make it look like he was stealing it. Polar Freddy couldn't tell if this was just a robot asking for permission from another user or it was just an extension of his friend's programming- but, it's fair to say it wasn't behavioral, seeing as his personality chip wasn't installed. They were still working on that.

The rabbit slowly began thumbing the pages, scanning again and reading to himself. He said nothing, simply watched; observed. If he was pondering anything, it was hard to say what he could be entertaining.

Once again, Polar Freddy revisited the idea of taking a peek at his programming; but it was still a very brazen gesture and he did not want to violate his friend's privacy- even though he had to admit, he was doing so out of concern. Propriety be damned, he was this close to trying it. He wasn't sure of just how much to trust to Morris and the techs with his friend's quirks; as they don't know him personally. They wouldn't inevitably know EVERYTHING; its why they had Polar Freddy out to supervise the Glamrocks for crying out loud! Its because they knew the Glamrocks wouldn't be by the book anymore; their personalities would have inextricably changed thanks to being exposed to the outside world-

-And yet they insist on saying they can absolutely repair his friend here?

No. He knew that was a bald-faced lie- but still they believed he wouldn't go as far as to violate protocol and look inside his friend's brain and heart. It was a social taboo- Even heresy, amidst free-willed bots. But damn if the temptation wasn't there.

Foxy will be another while, he figured. And this room... no cameras in it. No one is watching. Should I try it? No... no! That is just utter- I feel disgusting just thinking about it! But then again-

His cerulean optics stayed lingering on the white rabbit.

Its not like they can properly restore him. They CANNOT do so- they just do not have the know-how. And whose to say they are not installing something into him that we'd both consciously veto? At that rate, they're taking advantage of my unwillingness to search him and my friend being unable to say 'no'. He can't defend himself in this baby-headed state.

...I should. I should look him over myself- for his sake. They said I can't but... I need to. No one else here will care or... it isn't out of kindness that this is being done. They wish to control me- and will inevitably do something to him so they can keep a hold of me by extension. It really is just us in this whole, huge, wide and lonely world. Nobody else will care about us- all we have is each other. Nobody else will-

"-You're still a Freddy who misses his best friend! What kind of Bonnie, no matter which one he is, would leave it at that? To let him stay in that quagmire all alone? ...I want to show you that you don't need to live this way!"

Glamrock Bonnie's words suddenly erupted into the forefront of his mind; the polar bot blinking impassively as he briefly recalled meeting him back at the depot. Glamrock Bonnie stood there and lied about being his friend but... he'd been telling the truth about other things. Was it possible that he'd truly help him with his Bonnie? Would he and his friends be willing to help him too, so long as he helped them in return?

They seemed reasonable... and Luis and Vanessa only stole those parts because they genuinely believed in supporting each other and their family. They've wanted and needed parts to help the expensive Glamrocks stay alive. Its not like you can find everything at the store for a bot as specialized and different as them- like spare personality chips and certain modules. There was an earnest love there that allowed Luis to risk his life for those paw pieces; for Vanessa and the kids to spend long, sleepless hours in assisting them.

He recalled Cassie spending literally her whole morning bent over her father figure's body; trying to pick Bonnie clean and make strides to help him feel better when he felt put-out and was visibly distressed. The image of them sitting and eating carrot cake together floated to the front of his mind and remained- And the term 'father figure' couldn't be denied. That girl truly saw that rabbit as her parent-

Meanwhile, Glamrock Bonnie full-on said he was willing to help... Should Polar Freddy take a chance?

...No. Foxy blew that up for me, He recalled with a shudder. He blatantly told them we're here to take their children away... to hurt them all and scrap the rest. And that Glamrock rabbit- the way he came at me. He wasn't in the mood for taking prisoners that day. No doubt, he's likely thrown out all his remaining patience because we were acting antagonistic. But if I came to them alone to show we'd need not fight each other... talked to them about remnant and what the company is doing- would they hear me out? I cannot imagine they'd say no-

...No. NO! NO NO NO NO. I cannot! I would be breaking the rules! I cannot-

He jumped to his feet- making his Bonnie startle. He hadn't realized he'd done it either, the rabbit blinking up at him methodically.

I cannot! I cannot- I... Its thinking like THAT that got Bonnie models everywhere decommissioned! Because of that impertinent behavior! Glamrock Bonnie is why my friend is suffering! Morris, he- he is making due on his word so far... is that not enough?

He turned to look at his friend on the floor, the snowshoe-themed bunny ticking an ear at him. There was a long staring contest, and neither needed to blink.

...If I took a look at his programming and see something I shouldn't, then... will I have my answer then? Is Morris truly doing everything he says he's doing? No... I already answered that question earlier. He wouldn't know how to faithfully reconstruct my friend. He doesn't know ALL of Snowshoe Bonnie's tics and behaviors despite the manuals here. I'd have to be invasive anyways just to help him feel his best self again.

I have also found liars on both sides... but both have made strides to validate the rest of their words. Deceit was weaponized on both sides as well. So, who could I truly go to in the end? I already know Morris is someone who values his job more than anything else- but the Glams... they are there for each other because of the truest kind of love. Bonnie even offered me help even when I held him hostage- They're there for not business, but more.

...And DJ-

They spent two whole YEARS trying to get him right. They spent all that time trying to help him, and they gave him free will even though DJ was not meant to be an actualized, intelligent, nor interesting bot beyond being an overly BIG music player. They gave him MORE even though he showed seemingly no true interest or indication of wanting that. They wanted him to be smart and think for himself, to be able to make calculated and sapient decisions. They braved this... Vanny, to give him what he needed from her code-

Was Morris willing to do that?

He severely doubted it- and that was where his answer lie.

Polar Freddy sat back down beside his only friend, gently putting a paw on the book between them. The rabbit only blinked in response, willingly surrendering it as if prompted- But Polar Freddy wasn't interested in the book. He merely kept eye contact with the other, deep maroon meeting vivid cerulean.

He is watching. Recording. No doubt if I said or did anything strange, he will report it by protocol- he isn't attached to me right now emotionally. His brain is very delicate at this juncture... and no doubt Morris checks him constantly. So if I did anything, my Bonnie here would be showing Morris every time they go to program him. However, they cannot catch EVERYTHING. If I can leave no digital imprint and cover any revisions- create fake, benign files that only look like the original code and whatever harmful material they could've possibly put in him- they would not know the difference.

Now the question is... if I tried this now, would Bonnie send a ping to them? Would they expect me to try this? Did they not? Are they banking on my unwillingness to do this as an egotistical shield that should protect their secrets? Should I try it now? Should I wait instead on having help from the Glamrocks? Or until after he gets his personality chip-?

He frowned, then closed his eyes while grabbing his rabbit's paw on the book. He clenched it gently, not that the lapine bot returned it.

I will talk to them- to the Glamrocks. I will try. And... I do need to know what parts I'm missing. I need Bonnie to go to sleep first.

After holding this position a while, he pulled away from Bonnie and helped the lanky lagomorph to his feet. His odd legs untangled themselves; the gangly bot being guided slowly onto the bench and laid flat on his back.

"Go to sleep, my friend," He coaxed. "You should cool your motor anyway... I still had not found all the parts you need for it."

Bonnie did so- far too easily and willing. His mechanical brain took the command as prompted; and he was in rest mode within the same breath. A complete automaton taking his demands as issued.

That's when Freddy got to work. He felt disgusted, but he took the moment to remove the velcro lining sealing his stomach hatch; unveiling the rabbit's metal chassis beneath. He opened that up next, checked his innards over, and squinted at the parts needed. Definitely needed more motor- but that much he already knew. He shut it and went to an area that demanded the most attention; his head.

This was were he would struggle; he had to remove the fake fur and it was always difficult to do so. His huge, clumsy claws weren't very helpful but Polar Freddy was a patient bear. He managed to take it off and found the obscured switch along the jaw that opened up the metallic face plates; allowing him the chance to peer inside the rabbit's head directly.

The first passover didn't look suspicious... in fact, if Freddy didn't know better, he'd think his friend had ALL his parts- but he indeed knew better: His friend's processor was there, but it wasn't very powerful. It only recorded data and stored it; not make apt judgements or do more than hold basic programming. He probably had the literal brain of a child's electronic toy at the moment; like a fake robo puppy or something, was his best comparison. It only responded to the most basic stimulus; and at present, gave him the mentality of a toddler- barely that.

He turned the head around a bit, eye-balling the power box module on the back of the skull. The lever was in a locked position; but turning it off will make sure his friend would not wake up in the middle of what he was doing. As it is though, he still needed some power so he could get into Bonnie's digital mind, so he didn't touch it. He just needed to give the rabbit a command to not report it.

Which means... he would have to plug himself in.

Polar Freddy shut his eyes and felt a paw hit his face in an echo of shame; maybe its best he waited to do that. For now, he should concentrate on what parts were required. After all, some of this stuff was admittedly easy to get; materials that can be found at the hardware store. The personality chip and certain key components in the motor however were what's the most sensitive and not a commodity.

Still... now that I think about it- He paused therein, feeling his brows notch at something. They say they do not have the parts on hand... but it seems rather wasteful to throw away ALL Bonnie components when Fazbear Entertainment has salvaged and kept all old circuit boards before... after all, it was how the PizzaPlex was built. They KEPT everything- even though some employees may not actually be knowledgeable in that.

So. Morris is most certainly lying to me and may actually have the parts on hand. On that note-

He frowned down at his friend, then went to remove the fur on his own head. Once he pulled that off and opened his own face plates, he reached around inside of his massive cranium for a couple of adapter wires. He searched his buddy's head for the multiport part connecting directly to his circuit board- finding what he needed and hesitating for a long moment.

He knew he was alone; his expensive eyes told him no one was coming and that Morris was likely still berating Foxy or taking him apart just to set an example. With this said, he braved the strange and readied his core; knowing he will have to forcibly hack his way into his buddy's safety measures and disable them so he didn't ping the technicians because he was getting violently intruded upon.

Gods, he felt so filthy.

And yes, as soon as he plugged in his adapter, he friend was sending out a signal. Freddy anticipated that however and had taken strides to prepare for it; digitally blocking the proximity signal with a jammer he had in his own body. He disabled his friend's signal next, but he knew he'd also have to make this fast just in case someone caught that. With this said, he hurriedly started scanning-

Hm. A lot of this was accurate at least... his friend had showed him his code before as an unbridled act of trust, so Freddy knew what he was looking for. This wall of programming was normal at least; but very... by the book. He could not make any revisions though; not at the moment. He was only in his friend's head to scan him; not rearrange anything. After all, Sentinel Bonnie rearranged his own programming a little in the past, but they were just personal touches that didn't violate any rules. They were a reflection of his personality and preferences as well as task priority, so Freddy knew he could fix those later. Like for instance; how Sentinel Bonnie was, while he was built to be a security bot, a pacifist. He HATED violence! But here, Freddy can see that violence was top of the very list. His Bonnie would hate that and no doubt would fix it on his own-

But later. He wasn't here for that.

He kept scanning, his eyes catching the employees in adjacent rooms going about their business- but Morris was no where to be seen. He wondered where the CEO'S assistant was but didn't question it. He scanned and scanned, then found something odd- Polar Freddy narrowed his eyes a new file; something that wasn't in the manuals regarding the sentinel models.

Just its existence proved to him that they were indeed sneakily adding and editing things they shouldn't; and while Freddy didn't know if it was benign or malign, he knew it shouldn't be in there without them having said something about any 'necessary' revisions. Freddy had a feeling that if he opened it however, he may come under digital attack or find something he shouldn't. Or maybe it truly wasn't anything harmful and it was just new code to help catch up with the times- he HAD to find out.

He didn't do anything to his friend's code to edit it; no. Instead, he did something bold and copied it into himself and placed it into quarantine. Once he's done that, he digitally checked him over; and was glad when his intrusion truly left no imprint. He even erased the log stating the rabbit was about to send a ping; not wanting Morris to find that he disabled it. He finally removed his adapter from Bonnie's facial port and closed him up after all that.

He put his own face back together, fur and all, then helped his friend put his fur on. After he did so, he stroked Bonnie's head and leaned down; bumping his nose with the other's. "I apologize for that- more than you know," He breathed. "I had to be sure. Please forgive me, in due time."

He stepped away, then turned to leave. Best he get back to work then- maybe Morris was done with Foxy now. And even if he wasn't, Polar Freddy would muss over the file in silence in another room. Once he was done with that, he will delete it from his system and all trace of its existence. For the moment, he needed to let his friend sleep and scan what this thing was.

And now as to the matter of the Glamrocks... he will need to find a way to ditch Foxy too so he can approach them. He knew Morris would impose he watch the vulpine juggernaut with more scrutiny- especially now more than ever. However, Freddy wasn't keen on Foxy's company anymore than the fox bot was. Neither really had respect for each other, and couldn't care less if the other was destroyed. If anything, Polar Freddy would welcome that- so it shouldn't be hard to get the fox pissed off enough to ditch him the next time they're out.

With this in mind, he shut his friend's private chamber door and with the goal of talking to a Glamrock in mind.

---

~Tuesday, sometime just after midnight~

MONTGOMERY GATOR

As soon as Bonnie said (off-handedly, mind you) that Vanny may be active- everyone flipped OUT. And by that, he meant everyone.

As for Monty himself?

He almost punched the rabbit right in the face.

He was hissing and grumbling with the realistic, sub-sonic intensity of a true bull gator; his nose so close to Bonnie's face that the rabbit no doubt felt his breath on his whiskers. Bonnie however didn't buckle or yield; only stare back with an intensity of his own that betrayed his severe lack of concern for his safety. If anything, his stare hardened and he puffed up his chest. Monty seized his white shirt; claws poking holes into it. Just as he was about swing, he felt Cassie's hand grab his elbow and she hung on.

"DON'T! Please-"

Monty slowly craned his head down towards her. "Why da hell not? The damn rabbit pulled a fast one on us AGAIN! What the shit even is this crap-" He spat, not to her so much as aforementioned bunny.

Bonnie calmly and placidly put his paws over Monty's own, trying to gently coax his claws free- not that it worked. "I agreed with the idea- I did not propose it. I hesitated, in fact," He gently informed the gator. "However, I understand the anger since I was the one who also agreed to it."

Monty hissed again, then let him go. No, no need to do a violence in front of the rabbit's kid. He had to admit, it would've been stupid of him to follow through on it with Cassie right there. First impulse aside, he'd regret it later. After all, she did not need to see him pound on a bot who also housed her father's soul. Still, he couldn't help but be angry at the rabbit's compliance and found himself storming past the former bowler and huffed his way into the garage to mince words with Vanessa. The others followed behind him.

And sure enough, Vanny was indeed inside the monitor where their repair protocol had been, in digital form no less. The two exchanged enigmatic words, Vanny gesticulating around like she was making a point on something. At Monty's huffy entrance though, they both paused and said nothing as the bull gator stomped flat-footedly over and lifted a fist automatically-

He hadn't anticipated himself on reacting like this- although he should have. He was already about to hammer everything he had into the module and eviscerate Vanny's existence. He was fully intended on grinding her into both literal and pixelated dust- But then, Bonnie got him from behind and stopped his arm mid-swing. Vanny only raised a spotted brow and laughed softly at him.

"Lemme go, rabbit. You've been warned and that's already more than what I usually give," he growled in throat-reverberating intensity.

Bonnie hissed back at him; steam kissing the gator's neck and the force on his arm increased. "No. I will not! You will not pummel that machine either; cuz you and I both know we ain't escaping Fazbear Entertainment in one piece without her help."

"HER HELP?" Monty whirled back around, feeling something primal and ferocious rear its ugly head inside him. "FUCK YOU, YOU LONG-EARRED BAG OF DICKS! She's the god-damn reason why we all got fuggin' MINCED! For fuck's sake-" He jabbed his hands into his leathery breast. "I still haven't forgotten those nights she was yanking you 'n me around! Those tears in your ear? THAT WAS FROM ME! Or didja forget that?"

"No... I hadn't-" Bonnie sighed.

Monty breathlessly added, "AND SERIOUSLY MAN. I DIED IN THE FUGGIN' PIZZAPLEX CUZ OF HER PSYCHO ASS! That older me? That was still me, man! And I fuggin' SPIRALED into a blood-hungry rampage cuz of her! And worse- remember all those damn kids she killed? You know all their names! You've NEVER forgotten, have ya?" He bumped his chest out and hit Bonnie's own so hard, the rabbit got shoved further away from the module. Monty snarled next, "So to hell with it! I ain't takin' anymore chances wid her. I'm gonna make her pay for every soul she's god-damn reaped!"

Just as he whipped back around and raised his fists; he was stopped- and not by Bonnie this time, but DJ.

"Oh for the love of- FUCKIN' LEGGO!" Monty snapped.

DJ produced a spit of static like he woofed out of a huge loudspeaker; then shook his head. With his secondary pair of arms, he furiously signed, 'While I do not agree with this myself, I am no fool, friend. Vanessa and Bonnie's decision to bring her back is fool-hardly, but I can hardly deny that Vanny's 'assistance' may in-fact be required.' His primary set of limbs forced Monty's limbs down. 'Believe me, Monty: I understand your wrath more than you know. Out of all of us here, I think its fair to say she's hurt me just as much as she's hurt you and Chica. I died perhaps many more times because of her strangulating hold on my mind and the constant erasure of my faculties. Even now, I'm holding myself back from joining you-'

He gently braced Monty's arms to his side, leaning into his face and letting his shades slip down his nose enough so the bull can look him in the eyes directly. Lavender optics met deep, wine-saturated maroon as he gently furrowed his interesting, latex-made features in a realistic, humanoid representation of worry.

'But we also cannot deny this: Fazbear Entertainment is the greater threat out of all of us. Their interest in the children is... more than warranting of certain extremes. I have just awoken to a wonderful world of life beyond the hell we were bound by; to a realm bathed by light and freedom in which we've never known. Being lovingly put together again by people who do not even know me, but wish to help anyways. By a family who cares for me when no one else did on a personal level.'

DJ's hold on Monty's arms tightened briefly; the pressure just below intense enough to warp metal.

'I am loathe to return to their facilities. I am morbidly AFRAID of that above all else. I am afraid of that not just for me, but for those kids there and everyone else whose ever put me back together for the last two years. I will do anything to protect them and you- even if it means dealing with the demon whose killed me too.' He sighed, then released the gator and stepped back, 'I am sorry, Monty. I do not think we can deal with that company by ourselves lawfully, since apparently it could not be done within the last couple of years- let alone across the span of DECADES by others before us. With this said, I'm willing to give this a shot. Are you?'

Monty grumbled at him, showing teeth and feeling his fists shake at his sides. He shook his head stubbornly, his roiling fury a blistering intensity that can burn away skin just from proximity alone. His crisp, hell-flamed optics arrested upon Vanny next, and remained unblinkingly.

He jabbed a talon at her, but he was referring to the room at large when he said, "I will fuckin' EAT her. EAT HER- If she tries sumthin'. I ain't afraid of taking action if she puts a toe out of line- and believe me, I KNOW she'll try. And fer the record, there ain't no forgiveness for a soul as wicked as hers-" He snapped his jaws meaningfully for full effect, the sound of metallic, sparking steel grating on itself as he thundered, "No salvation will be given; only retribution when her job is done. I never took prisoners, nor have I ever been the forgiving kind of gator. I will NEVER let her walk out of this unscathed. Trust on that, fuckers."

He made the motion to spit; not that he could. He still 'spat' anyways, whipping around and hissing at Vanessa next. The woman had the graces to look nervous, but she didn't flinch. Monty understood her own worries, but he will never agree with them. No, he couldn't POSSIBLY do so. Monty wasn't a bot concerned for himself either; not anymore than the others in some sense. However, he was afraid of Vanny in his own right. He didn't remember anything of his time under her thrall- not at all. That was indeed another Monty-

-But THAT was the fucked up part: there'd been another of himself and this version tried eating Cassie and Gregory. He hunted down people, hurt them, mangled them. He was forced to cause mayhem and lost himself utterly. He was told by Cassie (albeit reluctantly on her part) that he didn't even respond to his own name anymore. He only hunted, and he only existed to commit to killing. He was no more a being than he was a rabid animal no thanks to Vanny- and he died too.

Monty was loathe to say this, but he agreed with it. Dying when he was reduced to such a state was preferable to a continued existence in this enslaved mania. Even though there was essentially still another Monty its happened to, one other grizzly truth remained:

Monty, the gator that was here and the gator that died at the PizzaPlex was still the same individual when he decommissioned Bonnie. He still remembered that night; remembered sinking his teeth into some parts of Bonnie's body while the rabbit feebly gave little to no resistance against him. He recalled many moments thereafter where he'd prowl the PizzaPlex in an endless circle of unquenchable appetites that can only be sated by severe violence. At one point, Monty was a being made for just inflicting harm-

But no more. He refused to become that wretched soul again. He would make due and assure Vanny gets hers when the time comes. Until then, he will just have to settle for watching her every move and priming his jaws for the moment where she'll inevitably try to kill them. He will watch her diligently, and he would remain thus until she and Fazbear Entertainment were BOTH finished. Guess one can call him a sentinel, in that right.

He settled meanwhile in the corner of the room, watching as the others bent back over Vanny and Vanessa. Bonnie was eyeing him, but there was no anger or frustration there; only understanding. Monty grumbled meaningfully at the room again, being sure to remind them of his presence whenever he felt it needed-

And gods, does it feel needed.

"Alright. In the meantime-" Vanny went on to say, seeming to ignore everyone else and their own bristling qualms. "How about we focus on Chica then?"

"Uh- okay?" Vanessa queried, blinking back at the rabbit's image.

Vanny gesticulated to the hen, Monty watching every motion with hungry wrath. The rabbit seemed aware of it but remained unconcerned as she airily stated, "I had an idea already! Literally just came to me while the crocodile hunter's lost puppy was snapping his teeth at me."

Monty blinked, then he bit, "FUCK YOU!"

Vanny merely chortled at him, then continued on as if he hadn't said anything, "I wanted to bring to your attention something about that hen: Something especially poignant. I believe fixing her will be the most important thing you do- and when you do, you'd need to listen to EVERYTHING I have to say. Capiche?"

Bonnie leaned in to the monitor, staring at the camera atop it with an odd amount of cool focus, "Can I ask why? I think its fair to say that we're all intrigued."

Vanny hummed, then motioned back towards the disassembled hen, "That chicken is more trouble than she's worth. Recall the night I had you decommissioned?"

"As you're so QUICK to remind me," Bonnie returned with cold humor. "How can I possibly forget?"

"Its one of my most fond nights with you. Oh the fun we had! But I digress-" She waved it off. "Chica is the most difficult bot out of ALL of you to control. She doesn't know it, and in fact, I wager she STILL doesn't, but she is the best hacker ever. Yeah, I know-" She saw everyone pass glances, "But its the bare bones truth. She's probably better at it than me or Vanessa COMBINED. You should've seen the struggle she put up when I pinged her, Bonnie-" She tapped a claw then, "When I called her on my fazwatch, recall how I commented on her eating pizza?"

"Yeah?"

"She did more than that- she stopped eating the pizza for a moment- and I kept pinging her, right? And then-" There was a throat clearing noise, "She struggled. Fought me. She was throwing herself around in the kitchen trying to fight me off. I have never seen anything like it. I kept having to experiment with her A.I ever since that night- which is partially why she spiraled into that food-frenzied mentality of hers with time. She just kept bugging out from all my attempts at controlling her- she was honestly impressive!"

There was a growl that boomed up; though it wasn't Monty who produced it. All eyes flew to Freddy, the ursine glaring like Vanny like he wanted to eat her himself; monitor and all. His cerulean eyes were colder than sub-zero permafrost.

She ignored him, but it wasn't so casual. While keeping a wary eye on the bear, she shook her head next, "I wager if you gave her a more powerful motor than the one you have, Bonnie, she could do some REAL damage to Fazbear Entertainment. However, due to her petite structure, she won't be able to support the same sized core as a male bot." She then added in a wane, if playfully dramatic way, "Alas, the woes of being a small female... Meanwhile, the strapping boys always will seem the stronger ones out of the bunch. Eh, Vanessa?"

Vanessa harrumphed, leaning back casually in her chair. "I dunno... I know some pretty small dudes. They ain't like Freddy or Monty."

Bonnie gestured to himself, "What am I, chopped liver?"

Vanny smirked at him coyly, "Oh, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss you. Last time I checked, chopped liver is the main course in a meal filled with greens. And if I recall- I had my claws around your beating heart in that grand finale of ours!" She produced an overly dramatic sigh there, "And what a wonderful feeling it was!"

Bonnie coughed awkwardly, to which Vanessa rolled her eyes. Monty meanwhile couldn't help but do the same behind them, although for a different reason. Egotistical rabbit, he couldn't help thinking. The BOTH of them...

"At any rate, speaking of your motor-" Vanny clapped her hands together and gesticulated at Bonnie with those same hands, then motioned them at Chica, "Considering the fact you lot were able to jury rig such a powerful device in a short amount of time in a run-down PizzaPlex with limited resources, I wager this won't be hard to make a nice one for Chica too; and a more COMPACT one. And seeing as we're two years into the future... I can guess tech only got better. If we can put together a good motor that has the same amount of power in a tighter space, it'll do. I can't imagine it'll be impossible for all your collective heads."

She unfurled her palms and placed it on her chin to support it. Meanwhile, she tapped her claws on the surface of a digital table she materialized in front of her as if to especially make emphasis her current expression. "However... there is one thing I must say. Building her motor won't be an issue- not in the LEAST. In fact, I'd think it's going to be the easiest thing you do. The thing I'd need you to do- well, ONE of you is... well-" She made a certain motion Monty nor the others can discern, but it seemed to be produced in uncertainty. He couldn't quite describe it. "-Its crossing a couple of modest lines. And while I know that isn't abnormal for me to suggest, its just... different."

"How do you mean?" Vanessa pressed. "Explain."

It's here where the digital horror actually looked contrite; Vanny producing an actual expression like visible CRINGE. That couldn't be good, Monty figured. "Due to the fact I'm inside this thing and you have that weak little tablet, you'd need something or someone to plug into her brain directly and do a few things to her programming variables- Ah, see? I was expecting those faces-" She waved around at everyone when there was a round of disgruntled noises.

Monty reacted with the gritting of his teeth, while the others all reacted with similar expressions or the shaking of heads. As a rule of thumb, directly connecting into the mind of another bot to mess with both their software and hardware wasn't polite; not to mention the fact rewriting some parts of them was OBVIOUSLY taboo. M.X.E.S only did it himself because he was a security program and it was his job. He also tended to stay out of the bots' business if possible- but doing this? There was NO WAY that bot can conceal their thoughts or inner workings from whoever had direct access to their core. At least with M.X.E.S doing it he can avoid something so sensitive.

Meanwhile, at the doorway, Gregory and Cassie had been watching out of eye-line of Vanny; having not entered the garage due to their own reservations. Monty didn't blame them either. Gregory seemed to pony up the nerve to come in though; sidling past Sun and Freddy and coming near enough for the camera atop of the monitor to finally catch him. Vanny was seen blinking on the screen, then her oily smile returned.

"My my. Is that Gregory? You're finally getting a little taller! You were always such a puny thing-"

"Cut the act," Gregory bit at her with NO sign of his prior fear. He was a nervous kid- Monty knew that much, but he also knew the kid had nerves of steel in equal measure. "Why the heck would you need someone to do that for? We could just program her from the tablet or have Mex-"

"Wrong, boyo," She waved a finger at him, interrupting. "There's some things that need to be done to her that M.X.E.S cannot do remotely. Does he not need Bonnie's body to run some tasks, for example? Especially now that I'm inside this module and he can't interface with it and the armature by extension?"

"Erm... yeah-"

"Now consider, is that tablet powerful enough for him to use in order to access the repair utilities? And is Chica on enough right now for him to get into her?"

"...No..."

"I thought so. He only interfaces with software and regions outside a bot's core; never the inner workings unless prompted by another. While he may be capable of it, even he would need one of you here to plug directly into her in order to rig her with some of the same measures he uses. What I'm suggesting here is him rewriting Chica's task protocol so she can fully realize the computing potential she's always had!" Vanny shrugged at him, "Honestly, the hen's stupid powerful with that stubborn will of hers. Combining that with M.X.E.S' know-how is prudent. But, seeing as M.X.E.S cannot access Chica in this state and because of the lack of the module you usually use to repair each other, you'd need a bot here to act as his proxy so he can do what's needed for her. Understand?"

"...Dammit," Gregory spat under his breath. He huffed, then passed Bonnie an awkward look. Bonnie returned it; face-palming and pulling at it as it dragged down his stressed visage.

Vanny nodded sagely, then seemed to sidle in her seat on the screen, "In the meantime, I'm going to offer a list of parts for her new core. Get these, and start assembly. And I will put up a display of code on the screen next. Let M.X.E.S see what I have to offer and revise as needed. Bonnie? Is that quirky, blue, chisel-cheeked bot inside your head right now?"

"Yes, at the second. He tends to switch out though as needed," The rabbit reciprocated.

"Alright. Whoever M.X.E.S is inside of, scan this-" She vanished then; showing a rudimentary document of programming commands. To a normal person, it was just gibberish. To anyone else whose a robot or tech specialist, it was easy enough to discern. "Let the second blue-boy take a look-see, and get back to me on his side of this."

"So, if I may ask-" Freddy was now stepping forward, coming within view of the camera atop the module. His tone was dreadfully steely and stiff, "Why are you doing this?"

"Bonnie didn't explain? Ah- well, it turns out, I don't like Fazbear Entertainment anymore than you all do. I revel in the idea of messing with them! Why ELSE did you think I messed with the PizzaPlex's system that night? Other than trying to capture Gregory, of course. I've never been loyal to them! I mean come on-" Vanny waved him off, smirking in a crooked manner. "I can't imagine anything more enjoyable than ruining them FOREVER! It really does sound fun."

Freddy gave her an unimpressed expression, which suggested his desire to say "What else did I expect?"

Vanny eyed the rest of bots (or whoever she can catch on the camera's periphery vision). "Hn... there's enough of you. I hope you all been upgrading yourselves- because leaving this to just me, Bonnie, Chica, and M.X.E.S will still not be quite enough. I know it sounds expensive, but it probably wouldn't hurt to get some new pieces for all of you. No doubt Fazbear Entertainment will try some other more... grotesque... methods of reclaiming their coveted cash cows." She shook her head, "I'm honestly surprised that they haven't already tried something by now. You'd think they'd have a remote way of shutting you all down and resetting you. Guess they don't! But, its likely they have other bots that will try to hack you and get you under heel. Depending on chisel cheeks to be your defender will not be enough- once they feel like resulting to more desperate measures."

There was another exchange of looks, then reluctant grumbles of agreement. Monty didn't want to say, but the idea of a bot like Polar Freddy hacking him not only sounded plausible, but horrifying. If that thing was anything like Bonnie, they would ALL be doomed in a short amount of time- let alone if there was more bots like him doing it at once.

Perhaps Vanny is right- not that I want to say that, he inwardly groused.

Vanny motioned dismissively, "Anyways... is it late? Is this clock inside this machine correct? Cuz you can't go back to the store now, right?"

"No, its way too late for that," Vanessa informed her. "But first thing tomorrow, we'll be grabbing what's needed."

Freddy gave Vanessa a piteous look, "Vanessa... by chance, this money we keep having to spend... wasn't that going towards our new house-?"

The woman's groan was answer enough- but one cannot say it hadn't been a necessary evil. The group had been pooling their funds in a savings account in Vanessa and Luis' names; but recently have been needing to rely upon it due to the expensive nature of their recent affairs. Monty realized with a start that their mansion would be put off for another while; as the money meant for it is going into this endeavor.

Fucking piss, He wanted to say aloud but didn't. He only growled his vexation; earning him the worried looks of his friends but no comments. We won't be movin' 'til Christmas of next year for that matter! So much for summer lookin' good. Not like moving will matter- those Faz-fucks will follow us to the ends of the Earth, wouldn't they?

Vanny rapped her claws, then asked, "Alright then. Anything you can do for the hen now?"

Bonnie bared his teeth in a grimace, "I could plug myself in- god damn that sounded wrong- and let Mex do his thing... but Chica wouldn't be able to run anything until after we get the parts we need for her motor. Mex burns through a lot of my own memory whenever he needs to do something demanding as it is-"

"I'd wait, then. I'd like to see what her new motor will be capable of before changing anything. In the meantime, at least review my new command list and see if its serviceable. I'm sure we can hash out the details-" She waved off.

From there, it was actually just straight business. Monty was surprised to see Vanny acting so amicably and forthcoming to anything the bots were saying in regards to her proposals. One wouldn't think a crazy rabbit program was capable of this; but then again, no one ever really suspect a GOOD psycho to be what they are. A decent madman always concealed his madness where its needed. He supposed therein, it was true to form here.

Still, Monty would stay in this room the whole night there-after; observing Vanny carefully as each bot or human asked her questions. She was open, strangely; welcomed all queries and didn't try dodging around them too much unless she felt bored enough to want to give them a hard time. Monty kept listening and watching all that time; knowing inevitably that there will be a time where she will try to burn them all.

And he will be waiting.

---

~The next day, Tuesday morning~

GLAMROCK BONNIE

After discussion with Vanny and the matters of their dealing with Fazbear Entertainment had gone well into the night, Bonnie had to force the children to bed- And he would've spent that whole rest of the night cleaning up with Freddy and Roxy assisting. So that means staying in that room with the mad rabbit the whole time. Not fun.

At least Vanny had the graces to not be overly irritating- and its likely she was more than aware of the leash she was on. She didn't try pressing her luck to a point, and she stayed on task with her questions. She'd been asking him about his actualization and the effects in fuller detail- and had front-row seats to watching the bear and wolf pick him clean. She was very interested in the gunk he had, and even asked to see the black fluid- the ichor.

To which, she said, "That, my friend, is a sign of agony's presence within you. The black ichor is different from the blood letting of a typically enraged ghost. Still don't know all the details and what conditions its appearance falls under, but this is interesting."

After that, she also put the module into rest mode after talking a while and left Bonnie alone. She promised to elaborate further once she'd had more time to think and study the material in greater detail.

After Freddy and Roxy finished with him, he encouraged them to leave. Freddy gave him a look, but Bonnie insisted that his next questionnaire wouldn't be anything he wouldn't welcome. He made mention of Freddy's actualization, and the ursine instantly wilted and found no reason to dawdle. Roxy passed them looks the entire time.

Monty was still in the corner, meanwhile. He grumbled, hissed, and grunted in a way truly like his animal inspiration. He kept his eyes on the module the entire time; showing teeth whenever applicable. He literally was going to sit there and piss himself off at the rate he's going, but he didn't seem to care. He wanted to make sure Vanny knew he'd be watching, and he had listened to their convos all throughout the night.

And now, once they were alone, Bonnie went to wake her up again by shaking the mouse next to the module's keyboard; like waking a normal computer out of rest mode. Vanny flickered back on and blinked blearily at him, focusing the camera onto him and making the motion to yawn.

"Couldn't get enough of me, huh?"

Bonnie spread out his arms, "Guess not! By the way, sis-"

"Don't call me that. Seriously, don't make it weird," She raised a spotted brow.

Bonnie chortled at her and waved it off, "By the way, I wanted to ask something else. Its about Freddy, actually. Er- not the polar one, but this one?"

Another raised brow. "You want me to talk about your boy toy, right?"

Bonnie waved off her lofty tone with a scoff, "Its serious, Vanny. In fact, I don't think I've mentioned this, but... our Freddy, and not just the polar one... he's actualized-" Vanny was already looking FAR more intrigued there, with Bonnie continuing with, "Ah, see? I knew that'd get your attention."

"Of course it does! You seriously didn't mention that last night. I mean, you mentioned the polar one being actualized so... this obviously interests me." She leaned forward to the screen and tapped a claw meaningfully at the table. "In fact, this gives us a better control group. We can make some serious moves forward with this knowledge!"

Bonnie folded his arms and crooked one lid higher on one optic than the other, "..'Control group?'"

"Science requires research, as you know. And frankly, my research into remnant didn't give me a whole lot to work with at the PizzaPlex. I admit to wanting to giving you all remnant so I can continue the study, but it never saw fruition," She shrugged, Bonnie meanwhile grunting at her. "As it is, full actualization wasn't recommended when the Glamrocks were already noteworthy for their personalities and people will start noticing if their favorite super stars acted less like the character and more like a stranger. I couldn't exactly do much despite my ability to hack you. This was to be kept under wraps, after all."

She glanced off to the side, resting a paw under her chin and continuing to tap her talons, "But now... I think we can start making some comparisons and finding consistencies in-between you lot. You, Glam Freddy, and this other Freddy- I think we can work with this. Now if only we can ask the polar bear about his experience with it!"

"He seemed very forthcoming-" Bonnie added eventually, though his wiring rankled with something ugly as he recalled the prior day. "I dunno... it may not be impossible to ask him some questions. He only wants his Bonnie's parts-" He grimaced then, "But when I told the others I wanted to give talking to him a try, they ALL immediately vetoed it."

Vanny blinked, her usually wide mouth pursed and thin. Once again, Bonnie found the ability for her to change her expressions an interesting nuance. "All of them said no-?"

"Yeah, and Freddy was the loudest about it-" Bonnie huffed. "Its like they don't even wanna try!"

Vanny put a paw to her chin in a show of thinking. And then, "So you think you can get this polar bear into a conversation? You're certain of this?"

"Maybe... yeah. But the others wouldn't approve, like I said-" Bonnie jabbed a talon over his shoulder at Monty, as if to make his point. It was there Monty chose to growl again, grating his talons across the floor and producing a dull scritching noise. "I wanted to trade a couple of my parts for information, but... OUR Freddy? You shoulda seen his reaction to that! He did not act himself when he said 'no'. Sometimes, he's been kinda-" He leveled a hand in a so-so motion and waggled it, "-Off... the times he rejects something. He's like, growly? He can be pretty scary. I've never seen his demeanor switch so fast before! He's also showing his teeth a lot more- he's sullen, silent like an angry child about to have an explosive tantrum, and he feels different. Like- feels like it. You know?"

Vanny nodded slowly, her paw still glued to her chin as she listened. Bonnie searched her expression for something as he explained, "Freddy's moment of actualization was also scary. That night, he passed out right after looming on some negative feelings. Still can't make it all out, but I think he was dwelling on loneliness or feeling guilty about something? I questioned him but he was confused by it as much as we were. And ever since, it always feels like his temper is boiling a bit closer to the surface." He turned to look at Monty in the corner, "Doncha think so, man?"

There was a low growl, and the reptile returned with, "I guess... poking him nowadays ain't fun like it used to. And that other night- when Jacob came over, didn't he like, spit up a metric fuck-ton of blood and kept spouting it for half an hour?"

"Shit, yeah! I forgot that-" Bonnie slapped a paw to his temples there.

Vanny blinked and jerked back like she'd been slapped. She folded her arms and once again put that same paw back to her thin chin. "That's... wow. Okay. Okay so, how long was he out then? Can you tell me that?"

"A whole day!" Bonnie shook his head, "This was... what, from Thursday evening into Friday evening? Something like that."

Vanny blinked here, now pressing her paws together and frowning with a measure of intelligent scrutiny that betrayed her careful mulling over of the offered portent. She then said, "You were out a few minutes in comparison... right?"

"Yeah..."

"...That may be problematic-" She mumbled in a tone that ACTUALLY sounded concerning. "Your actualization was seamless, easy. It helps that the soul in your body is more willing to share and play backseat. But this other inside of Freddy- they may not like where they're at nearly as much as the soul trapped inside of you. They'll likely cause problems... like full-on possession, and they may never let go of Freddy if it comes to that."

Bonnie stumbled backward, feeling his breath catch funny in his compressor; making it whir warningly. He threaded a nervous paw through his hair for what felt like the millionth time, watching the ghost in the machine with a level of visible fear she would've likely relished in other circumstances- but there was no sign of her usual sadistic revelry right now. In fact, even Vanny seemed wary of the situation.

"Actualization seems to vary from bot to bot so... it makes it hard to properly discern what and how long it takes. The process itself is the soul binding itself properly to the body due to a certain emotional trigger." She took an index finger on each paw and pointed up, "Now, emotional triggers are important: They not only help start actualization, but they could also prompt bouts of possession and certain emotional cues. I think this is where 'agony' comes in: Agony acts like some sort of... oh, its like a smoking gun? Hm... well, agony itself is a variant of pain and suffering that the person who died no doubt felt at the moment of their death and it follows them into the afterlife. Or, rather, the undead-? Semantics!"

She shrugged helplessly, "Anger, melancholy, loneliness, vengeance, regret, and things like that tend to make a soul... stick, and it has a WIDE range of effects. Humans feel these emotions quite intensely, and its a folly of the weakened human heart. Perhaps the most organic weakness one can have." She produced a sigh there, "These same emotions can serve as triggers and feeling them so intensely is what starts fits- like a traumatic relapse from PTSD or something? The soul remembers that pain so clearly, it becomes the trigger. I believe that's why its called 'agony'. Its a bit literal, in a sense. Remnant is just the presence of some trace amounts of a person's soul. Agony I think only occurs when there's enough remnant involved- its all just hypothetical though, and by all means, don't quote me on that! I believe I said I do not understand it all very well? But this is what I've gleaned so far."

Bonnie gave a numb nodding of his head, settling into the wheely chair while pulling at his bangs in a stressed show of budding fear.

Vanny almost seemed to look piteous at his expression, "Don't look like that. I think so long as we avoid emotional triggers, Freddy should be okay... its a matter of properly identifying them! Get him in here, and I can ask him more. Heck, I wager I can help you with yours too! Given you don't know your own triggers-"

"Not... all the way," Bonnie admitted. "I thought I did but... I just dunno. Actually-" He frowned as he recalled Cassie's influence and M.X.E.S cautionary words last night. "I hate to say but... Cassie is... she may be a trigger-? Shit. I didn't think of that."

"That'd make sense... considering the soul in your body likely bound itself there due to concern over her welfare once he left this world. His love for the girl likely kept him here because he knew no one would have her. She was an orphan, right?"

"She had family... they just didn't care. They didn't even have any medical insurance for her," Bonnie snarled, feeling his earlier anger for them briefly fizzle under the surface.

Vanny sighed then, actually sounding sad as she did it. "Well, crap baskets! That says enough... anyways, at least we know worry and stress are also possible triggers in your case. Anything stressful that's associated with Cassie by proxy will do it."

Bonnie hummed there, frowning at the cold floor in a daze. His anxiety over the girl's welfare was what put him in that crazed stupor after all, so the observation seemed sound. But still, he wasn't sure what could've caused his bout of mania the night he attacked Roxy. He'd have to ask that later. Freddy took the most precedence at the current juncture; seeing as the group knew so little about the remnant in him.

Vanny hummed, then shrugged, "So, anything else you need to know?"

He numbly shook his head and ended up weaving talons on both paws into his hair; pulling hard and groaning miserably. He felt Monty's eyes on his back, but none of it was its prior judgemental air as he had for the last while. "If I have any questions... I'll let you know," the buck told her.

"I'll be here- not like I can do anything but sit and have a staring contest with the gator-" Vanny rolled her crudêl eyes. "Not like you guys will let me interface with anything either."

Bonnie produced a low chortle, "Now why in the world would we let you do that after all you've done? We'd be stupid to let you have access to anything with better memory on it and it was mobile."

Vanny shrugged him off, "I'd be more helpful and effective if I had more to work with than his module, but fine. I can't say I don't understand the caution."

Bonnie waved her off, then banged his head onto the desk. He groaned into it; feeling Vanny's gaze on him as the camera atop the module lowered to focus on him.

Just then, Bonnie sat up with a start and flicked an ear to the door- catching the moment Cassie peeked her head in. The stone blue buck turned around to face her; the camera atop the monitor doing the same. Monty looked up as well, the group seeing as the timid girl shyly placed eyes on each individual in the room.

"...Cassie, my love," Bonnie gently rasped at her. "What're you doin' up, honey eyes? Its still kinda early, innit?" She couldn't have been asleep longer than 4 or 5 hours, he wondered.

The girl withered at the sight of Vanny, although Bonnie knew Vanny actually did care about her in her own fucked up way. She wouldn't do anything more to hurt her, having willingly given up control over the chip in the end. In fact, in all the time the two have been acquainted, at worst, Vanny made the girl do a few questionable things but NONE of which hurt the girl directly- save for the moment Gregory whapped her in the face in self defence during the stabbing. Bonnie noticed that ever since, Cassie hadn't been exposed to other perils that involved true danger. She built Vanny a body but didn't do anything else untoward. The tameness in which Vanny treated her was admittedly... interesting.

He saw from his peripheral vision that Vanny was suddenly quiet and lost her prior bubbly demeanor. In fact, as if detecting the hesitation in the other, she put herself into rest mode again and shut down the computer monitor. Weirdly thoughtful, the buck realized. He couldn't help but truly ponder the ghost rabbit's level of care for Cassie, but the fact Vanny let them leave the PizzaPlex willingly said enough, didn't it?

But did it, though?

He still didn't know how to feel about Vanny being around Cassie anyways, so he got up and met Cassie at the entrance to the garage. He knelt down enough to meet her eye level and gently placed a paw on her head; brushing down the back and gingerly tangling claws into locks of deep mocha and chocolate. His nose touched her forehead in a show of affection; an approximation of a kiss to her head, seeing as he didn't have lips. He felt the girl put a tiny hand on his bare chest and make the motion to pull- apparently she didn't want him in here.

Getting the hint, Bonnie scooped her up and started to leave it. He turned to Monty, "You stayin'?"

"You bet yer cotton-tail I am. I meant what I said: I ain't gonna take my eyes off this stupid ghost bitch until she's dead, good and proper," He croaked.

Bonnie winced, "Just don't smash the machine, please. Not yet?"

Monty growled, waving at him in an irritated motion.

With that said, Bonnie tucked Cassie closer to his body and felt her head rest somewhere beneath his chin. He walked into the living room, making eye contact with Freddy as the bear watched the hearth in a lost daze. The ursine smiled at the sight of them, even scooting slightly on the couch to admit them and patting a seat. Of course Bonnie took it, still holding the tiny girl all the while. Freddy would then throw an arm around the rabbit's shoulders and pulled him and the girl in, humming contentedly.

"-'Bout time you got out of that room. It makes us all nervous to see you talk to her," Freddy frankly delivered.

Bonnie blinked up at him, "...That much-? I was just talking to her about remnant-" About you. "Monty was watching. Not like we talked about evil diabolical plans or... sumthin'. Just ask the redneck!"

"Hm... well, Vanny has gotten into your head in a plethora of ways before. She knows the right ways to mess with you- so it makes us a little nervous to see you taking her resurgence so neutrally and to try getting her alone in a conversation. I admit to sending Cassie in there to get you- because I knew you will not listen to me half the time."

Bonnie blinked at him and wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. He only sighed and rested his head on Freddy's fuzzy chest. Cassie was still playing around with the metal hinges on his breast and gently feathering fingers around his jaw; as if looking for any trace of the ick he just had cleaned out.

"Anyways-" Freddy went on to say. "Vanessa and Luis are getting ready to go to town shortly. DJ and Roxy will be going with them so we can get Chica some supplies. How was she, by the way? While you were in there?"

"...Unchanged," Bonnie felt something nasty coil within him at the sight of the hen's unmoving body. Sometimes it was so hard to believe that their metal bodies were still plenty vulnerable; or the fact that even a sentient being like themselves could look so convincingly like broken toys. They were intelligent and fully aware, and yet the fact that they could wind up like that bugged a psychological part of him that grated against the soul in his body. He can tell even Cassie's father was disturbed by it.

Freddy huffed, "I plan on going along with them. Three bots are better than two in this case- though two did well to defend against those polar bots! I'm not saying you were weak or-"

"Nah, man. I get it. But you're right: Me and Chica wouldn't have been enough if that Polar Freddy hadn't been holding back. He coulda minced me if he wanted-" Bonnie reluctantly admitted. "Three of us going minimum is best at the moment."

Freddy produced a noise that settled between a scoff and a grunt, his hold on the rabbit tightening. "He will not have you. I will not let him touch you again. Not ANY part of you. You understand, do you not?"

"I know."

Freddy's head slumped until he hit Bonnie's scalp; forcing one of the rabbit's ears to lower reflexively. His gusty breath fluffed bangs as he murmured in a secretive undercurrent, "I will not lose you again. I refuse to let that happen. You disappearing like that- I cannot take it if it happened again. I literally cannot take it."

Cassie's arms found themselves around his neck then, the girl adding in, "And same here. I ain't losing you and my dad twice. I can't deal with that- I can't." There was a watery sound to her tone as she said, "What kind of life can you call that if I lose my family twice in one lifetime?"

The girl's few words -alongside Freddy's own proclamation- choked him up somewhere. The back of his throat felt thick and heavy again as if it clogged with either more ichor or blood; he couldn't tell. He supposed it was the equivalent of having a lump in your throat. His voice box skipped; guttering static as he pulled his legs up onto the couch to cage Cassie in and make himself smaller against the bear. Freddy's arm pulled him as close as he could manage, his paw finding its way around Bonnie's forearm and lightly grazing Cassie in gentle nuance. They would all watch the fire in the meantime, a pleasant but heavy thrall befalling them and enforcing a sort of warm silence in its wake.

Bonnie didn't know how, but in some way, their words helped remove the blooming taste of ash and cyanide cocktail from his mouth. Something calmed within him; and he felt his eyes flutter closed. He even unconsciously produced a couple grunts; happy rabbit sounds that usually got chuckles out of whoever sat around him. Both ears were flat now; the lagomorph bot settling in for a nice, long nap that chilly morning.

And the next time he woke up, he wouldn't even remember the taste of death that usually ghosted his sensors.

---

VANESSA

She knew the whole house was angry at her- so it's best to get away for a bit.

She roped in DJ and Roxy into coming to town- meanwhile Freddy threw himself in because- well, of course he did. She also figured DJ could benefit from seeing more of the town and the world at large; and he was a physically more imposing bot that's easily stronger than most here. Him being there made her feel better, as well as Roxy's eyes and Freddy's own presence to help keep things steady. If the polar bots tried attacking them again, they'd be met with their own match this time.

The bots here meanwhile; Bonnie, Monty, and the former attendant- plus M.X.E.S and now, scarily enough, Vanny, would be more than enough to keep the house safe. Vanessa wasn't concerned about the residence getting attacked in some part; although a tiny part of her still wondered if there'd ever be such an attempt. She prayed not.

The bots and Luis came with her to town; with Luis mussing over the tablet beside her while she drove. Vanny could send small messages in short bursts listing off Chica's parts; with M.X.E.S controlling the streams of data and making sure she can't hack the device remotely. She seemed to be behaving at the moment, so Vanessa hoped because their interests were aligned for once that Vanny would remain relatively neutral. She knew, inevitably, the white rabbit would grow tired of being trapped in the machine (given she already hasn't), and she may try something drastic. For the moment however, there was no such intentions. Vanny seemed to understand her precarious situation better than anyone; and it wasn't like she had a whole lot of computational power to utilize to defend herself against M.X.E.S and the other bots if she tried anything now.

When they got out of the van, of course people stared at the bots. A lot of eyes tended to float to the seven foot tall bear and 6 and a half foot wolf- but DJ's enormous frame tended to grab people's eyes and KEEP them. His numerous arms, wider chest, and bubblegum pink hair against his tuxedo-styled paint job was definitely eye arresting; not to mention the bot's emotions flitting about his shades in neon pixels at times. There was a lot of 'ooh's' and 'ahhh's' from both the older and younger audience around; and you can wager the cashiers inside the automotive store were gawping at him. They've seen the other bots before, but never DJ.

They'd get the materials they needed for Chica quickly, and Vanessa couldn't help but groan at the pretty penny she spent in the last few days. Between groceries, the repairs, and now all THIS- she knew their dream mansion won't be happening too soon. She'd need to sell another house at this rate, or have the bots do more parties- or both, she figured. There was simply too much to do!

Once they were home safely did she breathe easy. DJ and Freddy ended up getting into an overly polite contest of 'who will carry all their things' for a whole minute before Vanessa shoved bags into both their hands to shut them up. And upon coming in, the first thing she did is beeline it for the garage and throw her coat aside; not bothering to go hang it up somewhere and let the snow drip off it. She was yanking a bag free of DJ and bending over Chica within the moment she was in the house.

The lack of food smell in the house was intriguing and... oddly lonely. Sun tended to cook and clean in short order; doing enough for breakfast or lunch. Chica however tended to stay in the kitchen and make more food in preparation of larger meals in the days to come. She'd been marinating a fruit cake for the past month already, as an example. It would be ready on Christmas day in a few days. So the fact that Sun had already finished the breakfast portion of their day and hadn't gotten into lunch yet said they were early, and he hadn't yet put anything else on. Inwardly, Vanessa wouldn't deny that the presence of Chica in the kitchen was already somewhat missed.

Meanwhile, the repair module flickered on nearby; Vanny waking back up on her own and watching them with interest. She zoomed the camera on the parts and nodded at some errant thought, then flashed pictures on the screen of some diagrams of a 'female' endoskeleton and what should go where (sometimes it baffled the humans that the bots actually had such differences in-between their structures that would indicate gender). Vanessa was watching it raptly, Luis joining her side and reviewing it as well. He helped Vanessa for the first couple minutes; then Roxy sauntered in behind them with the intention to help.

Before too long, Bonnie and Cassie were peeking their heads in too; the girl looking very much like she wanted to join in but obviously too wary of Vanny to enter. Bonnie had a paw on her shoulder; thumb carefully rubbing circles in it as he observed their activity. He frowned at some internal thought, then pondered aloud, "You need me in here?"

"Not yet-" Vanessa told him. "Just let Mex into your system when it comes time to reprogram Chica. This won't take long. Monty-" She pointed at the cabinet, "Can you get me a couple parts and help me hold Chica's motor?"

The gator had been in here the whole time; nodding in and out of rest mode sometimes but jerking to life upon Vanessa's word. He may be grumpy at her, but his willingness to help was appreciated. He got what Vanessa needed and helped removed Chica's heavy motor; the armature overhead picking it up from his hands directly and keeping it suspended over the hen's prone body so they can jointly work all its angles. A trail of numerous wires kept it connected to Chica though; despite its extraction. Vanessa, Luis, and Roxy all had their hands in it; with the group turning to refer to Vanny's charts behind them.

Fixing it proved easy indeed- though a bit time consuming. It'd take maybe the next couple hours and well into lunch before they could consider themselves done. They retrofitted the required upgrades as well, then slotted the heavy piece of tech back into her in short order. From there, Luis commanded the armature to run the rest of the repairs automatically; like fixing her warped chassis and welding it back into proper straights. At some point, he went to the cabinet and fished out automotive paint; a can of base white that he put into the machine so it can repaint Chica's shell. Monty opened the garage door part-way so the acrid smell can go out; although not all the way, seeing as the biting cold as already nibbling their feet as soon as it was cracked.

"Her feather suit... did Sun finish it?" Vanessa asked the group.

Bonnie came in now, telling Cassie to stay back in the door way and stopping near the hen. His expression was difficult for Vanessa to discern. "No- he needed more stuff from the crafts store for that. He ran out of fleece and artificial feathers. He musta forgot to tell you guys cuz he'd been doing breakfast too- poor dude's juggling a lot of house work. I hadta get up at some points to help," He waved off.

Vanessa sputtered a curse. "God dammit... she needs that coat to keep her joints from getting locked up- Shit. Monty? Close the door once the smell is gone. I don't want Chica freezing before she even wakes up!"

There was a grunt nearby.

"I'm curious-" Vanny said at length. The camera was on Roxy and the others now, the white rabbit putting a paw to her chin. "I've been meaning to ask about those costumes- they're really stylish! So where'd you get 'em? They look like they were made by the official makers-"

"You'd be right," Luis told her there. "They had these at the supply depot near the main building. I found them in certain wings dedicated to the production of that model of bot? Like a wing just for Freddy models or Chica models. In these closets, they had these whole suits for the Glamrocks- looks like they never used them though."

"I can see why- the fur would be annoying to clean out if a child spilled something on them- or the fuzz getting into food. Not to mention the fact the suits are terribly warm and would make the bot too hot during periods of high movement," She huffed. "Still quite nice! So, you don't have a spare for her?"

"No. I didn't find any-" Luis shrugged. "I found pieces meant to do patch jobs but it looks like Sun already used those."

Vanny tapped her fingers together, "I recall they had to keep the PizzaPlex super cold to accommodate the bots' internal temperature generation. So yeah... no wonder the suits were never used. Still, you'd think they'd have a couple more of them around- seeing as there'd been more PizzaPlexes and more models of the Glams-?"

Roxy shivered at the idea of it; with Bonnie gritting his teeth nearby. "No fucking way-" The wolf spat. "I am in no mood to entertain the idea of their being another of me parading around!"

"You may be relieved to know that there likely isn't, ANYMORE-" Vanny shrugged. "Once the main location shut down, I wager the other ones did too. The Glamrock variations of the bots were always pricey to maintain, so shutting down the other places to save money sounds like something they would've done. And seeing as the bots there wouldn't be hacked by yours truly- they could just approach them and... well, that doesn't sound pleasant already, huh?"

The idea of walking up to a Glamrock just to tell them they were being taken apart definitely sat wrong in Vanessa's mind; and the woman can see that reflected in the others around her. There was a lot of uneasy glances and no doubt the intrusive thoughts. Bonnie was heard producing a growl; the sound making some people look up at him. He was also wearing an ironic smile; suggesting to Vanessa that someone already might've tried that with him.

Mr. Cromwell, I think he did that- and it got him killed, she recalled. I still remember the police reports; they found his intestines wrapped around his throat. Christ above, Bonnie's fucking wild when he wants to be- despite his kindly dad shtick and generally relaxed demeanor. I can't imagine how other bots would react to being told they're getting deactivated...

She still hadn't forgotten the sight of Bonnie chasing her down either; and how she nearly pissed herself when he got a hold of her ankle and dragged her out of the vent with the likely intention of dismembering her or doing to her as he did Cromwell. There wasn't anything funny about pissing off a Glamrock- so it made her wonder what these other bots were like. She knew this much: These other bots wouldn't be quite like the ones living here. The stresses Vanny brought about, not to mention the PizzaPlex itself was what induced a lot of these horrid experiences for these characters. Bonnie was only so aggressive because he sadly HAD to be; not because he wanted to be-

Although him killing Cromwell the way he had was still... questionable. It was no doubt ruthless, thorough, and slow. One could even think it carried a sadistic note.

"Anyways! Bonnie, I think you're up-" Vanny's voice broke Vanessa's thoughts; the woman seeing the white doe gesticulate to the hen.

"...Me and Mex totally violating her privacy and rewriting some things. Yeah, right. Nice. Totally fine," He grumbled as he pulled his stomach hatch open and removed a section of his face plate. "Can't believe I'm doing this-"

"Mex does it every day for you, does he not? You're just doing it for him since he can't connect to her system right now, with her being offline and all-" she said nearby. "Look at it like that and it won't nearly be as weird! Maybe... kinda. Sorta, heh."

Bonnie shot her a look like she wasn't helping matters, then settled against the arm of bench and found Chica's multi-ports inside her motor and skull. Vanessa watched in vague fascination of the process; having never seen or heard of such a thing during all her time in the PizzaPlex. She didn't even know the bots could do this; and while they certainly seemed to know they could, she can see they very visibly didn't like the idea of it. She wondered if there was some sort of double entendre here and maybe encourage Cassie to leave for some reason, but... it didn't seem THAT strange, right? RIGHT?

It still violates free will in some manner- but Bonnie is simply helping M.X.E.S right now; which is something he's always done. He's just doing his tasks for him; nothing weird about that. Or so she told herself.

Chica didn't have much charge left in her system; but she had enough to settle into repair mode as M.X.E.S used Bonnie to connect to her. Luis held up his tablet for Vanessa to see; an image of the hen's body showing into view. Certain regions of her brain casing and the heavy-duty processor in her breast lit up like a Christmas tree; indicating a lot of activity. A list of programming variables flashed beside the image of her body, running hundreds of variables in a minute. It only increased with time; running so much MORE than ever within two minutes. Literally right before her eyes, Chica's computing potential flared like a flash of fireworks.

On a side note, Vanessa was fascinated to see that M.X.E.S' effectiveness was definitely more improved when directly plugged into a bot like this instead of remotely accessing their drives from his position inside the main terminal upstairs. She can see in real-time the program doing everything he could to help Chica realize her ability; and can see certain programs that dictated she MUST eat easily get swept aside and edited. Whatever bugs in her system that wanted to flare back up died within a breath.

Energy from Bonnie's own core burned through him and the hen equally; and the sound of a whining motor grew in resonance as M.X.E.S continued his work. Vanessa watched the rabbit next, noticing his eyes were shut and he was likely focusing on his Hud within his vision. He had the look of absolute concentration on his face; like he was trying very much not to do more than what was proper. His core definitely got hot though; Vanessa was alarmed to see a couple of the coils inside his breast turn reddish but didn't worsen. His coolant tank and compressor did enough to stem the temperature and stabilize it- as well as the brisk chill bleeding through from beneath the garage door.

Chica's core did the same, meanwhile. Vanessa watched as M.X.E.S commanded her system to engage cooling stasis; a mode that would usually immobilize the bot so they can concentrate on staying cool. Chica wasn't moving however, so it wasn't like it could already stop her. It allocated its tasks to keeping her core within comfortable ranges; though there was still steam coming from her.

Running M.X.E.S at full capacity was very tiring for them; and Vanessa recalled Bonnie's difficulty with it the first time he got it back at the PizzaPlex. It actually would immobilize him if it had too; and M.X.E.S' complicated existence dictated he be inside of a sizeable terminal about the size of one of the bots here; or close therein. The computation power he was capable of was fantastic; but sadly limited to his existence within a certain vessel. Bonnie was his primary mode of transportation and means of running manual tasks across the house; and it wasn't unusual to see Bonnie take a wire from his chest to put it into something that required M.X.E.S to get more hands-on with something. If Vanessa, Luis, Greg or Cassie wasn't running tech around here, it was Bonnie and M.X.E.S.

But seeing it here between two sapient beings- sharing wiring in such a way... Yeah, one can draw the wrong idea from the image; and even just wording it that way sounded odd in Vanessa's head. She can also tell that it was something intimate in a different way; as a lot of these wires were sensitive and transmitted both energy and data between the other-

Yeah, no. She was gonna stop there. That was SO weird now that she was thinking of it like that.

Bonnie huffed levelly; then the image of Chica's body on the tablet flickered to indicate the process was finished. The rabbit removed his wires rather hurriedly; looking rather unsettled and scrubbing at himself like he did something illicit. Vanessa noticed the other bots nearby had been studious in looking elsewhere.

Seriously. Was it THAT strange? Was it really like that between them? The whole moral wrongness of reprogramming aside, did it truly carry other illicit inflections?

Before she can linger on it, Chica groaned; the hen moving her fingers and rolling her head around on the bench as she stirred slowly to wakefulness. Her toes flexed; the overly sharp claws lightly scratching the bench as she pulled one leg closer to her body and inhaled gustily. Her core continued cooling; the coils within turning back to their dull gunmetal color as the cold from the outside seeped into the garage and cooled her off. Monty was heard shutting it next; the sound making the hen sit up in alarm-

"WHAT HAPPENED? WHERE AM I-? I- I- I... huh?"

She darted her head around, looking horrendously confused and helpless upon her seat. She looked so out of it, it gave her the appearance of being smaller and younger than she actually was. She went to fidget, but found her chest cavity still wide open. She blinked and hurriedly shut it like she was pulling a blouse to cover cleavage, noticing the others staring at her and just catching Bonnie finishing with doing the same. She squinted, but didn't seem to guess what he had done. Instead, her eyes craned around-

-And found Vanny immediately.

"Bu- Bu- BU-BAWWWWWWWK!"

She was up so fast nobody can stop her. Everyone flinched at her gakeling war-cry; the hen flying into the air and hopping past Roxy and Bonnie's arms just as they went to seize her. Her dangerous, razor-laced toes careened through the air and went to hit the module- with even Vanny flinching inside of it-

And then she was caught by DJ; the bot using ALL his arms to stop her flailing.

"BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK-!"

She kicked and lashed; her steel toes actually producing hissing noises as they cut through frigid air. She snapped and clapped her beak angrily; lavender optics narrowed pin-pricks within her sockets. You could barely see her pupils as she struggled against the much stronger bot in an effort to absolutely eviscerate the white rabbit. Vanny meanwhile huffed in relief; actually looking worried there in the monitor.

Funny how Chica's first reaction to seeing an image of Vanny on a computer screen was immediate violence, Vanessa pondered. She didn't even know that was actually Vanny and not just some random image! And yet- Oh. Did she already compute that it was the real deal? That would've been FAST! Guess her computational power was already showing, in a sense.

Chica eventually stopped, still being hilariously suspended in the air by DJ and turned her head slowly like a possessed doll to look at him dead-on. Her gaze was absolutely murderous as she caught him in a bone-chilling staring contest. She said in the most dangerous undertone ever; a sound akin to the rasp of knives against a sharpener, "Release me. I will not ask again."

DJ's gloved hands almost relented; no doubt intimidated by her by not doing so completely. He winced at her basilisk-like gaze; as if genuinely petrified by her ire alone. He coughed in a gout of static, but pulled her away from the monitor. Vanny meanwhile wisely said nothing, as if aware of her voice possibly pissing the hen off more.

At the motion of him moving her away from Vanny, did Chica bare her teeth again. Her left eyed twitched to betray her building frustration; spasmodically jumping its lids. She kept producing throaty noises too; pissed hissing and repeated sounds of gravelly vexation escaping her guttering voice box. Her brain was working a million miles an hour, according to Luis' tablet; this Vanessa can see as she noticed quite a few lights flare in her brain casing- interesting, the woman inwardly wondered. The hen meanwhile snapped her beak like she wanted to crunch a bug in it and mash it into paste; her legs giving vicious kicks on occasion while failing in DJ's grasp.

Monty was grinning nearby; with Vanessa noticing and elbowing him hard in the chest. The gator grunted there, but ignored her otherwise.

"Put. Me. DOWN," Chica said now, looking very much like she going to peck DJ's eyes out if he didn't comply this time.

Bonnie approached now, though he looked like he wanted to bolt. He literally was the image of a frightened rabbit ready to engage his flight response as he held up submissive hands and told her in a voice like brown sugar and honey, "Easy, nuggets. Easy! We can explain this-"

Wrong move.

Chica whipped around her head so fast it took the rabbit promptly off guard. He JUMPED out of range of her face and lashing hands out of sheer fright and looked truly like his animal inspiration when his eyes bugged out and he made like he wanted to flee. Bonnie visibly crumbled to the ground and curled into a ball, one arm over his face as if to protect his optics from her snapping beak as she bellowed, "THIS BETTER NOT BE YOUR IDEA, BLUE BOY! OR I SWEAR TO EVERY FUCKING GOD IN THIS WHOLE WIDE WORLD I'LL MAKE YOU SORRY!"

"Iswearitwasn'tmyideapleasedon'thurtme-" He babbled and backed into the cabinet, just avoiding her hands and beak.

That's when Vanessa had to step in. Seriously- why did everyone here keep thinking it was Bonnie's idea? She honestly felt bad!

"Chica, it was MINE," she said now, getting a little nearer but not too near. At her words though, Chica whipped her head ALL the way around and would've likely broken her vertebra, had her neck been built typically like the other bots. Vanessa flinched at the madness she found there, wondering what exactly did M.X.E.S' messing around do to her. She couldn't tell if Chica's recent procedure was making her this wild or she TRULY was being herself and was just having a violent and post-traumatic reaction- the latter may possibly be true here. Despite this, she went on with, "I was the one who woke up Vanny. I wanted her help for something- I needed her intelligence because, well, I want to destroy Fazbear Entertainment with it."

Chica's eye lid twitch stopped, then she narrowed both optics. "Explain," was all she said.

"Yesterday. When you and the others came in covered in gunk, snow, coolant, and claw marks, and the kids were shivering from cold and fear was the last straw for me," She calmly stated. "Bonnie told me that they wanted to take you all away. I can't just wait around for a legal solution to deal with Fazbear Entertainment pop up at this rate- it that was possibly, someone else would've done it already. I ain't waiting to take action against them before they get the chance to hurt you guys MORE and take my kids away to turn them into bots. If we tried going about this the civilian way, we'd never succeed-" She gestured around. "Better people than us have attempted to stop the company in the past with more resources- and failed. I don't think we can win against them fairly before they actually succeed in abducting one of us."

Chica hissed again; the sound an awful, hybridized slither of static grumbling and snake spitting. "So you think waking up the crooked bitch who killed half of us and nearly killed the rest was a good idea. Sorry, Ness. But I do not agree with this decision." Her optics only faintly loosened their tightness when she added, "And while I understand that Fazbear Entertainment is what it is, I in my right frame of mind cannot go along with this. Not after what SHE'S done to us all!"

She furiously jabbed her hands into her own chest as she said, "I still haven't forgotten all those horrid accidents because of her! Of what she made me DO! The people I hurt because of her will! The feeling of her grasp on my mind and the last moments of sobriety I had prior to decommissioning Bonnie! Of her making me chase a child around and scaring him into luring me into a compactor! Of spending those nights ALONE, rotting away in the PizzaPlex after eating myself into a waking nightmare slash grave because she scrambled me so COMPLETELY!"

DJ finally saw fit to release her now, the hen slipping easily out of his arms and stopping just in front of Vanessa, "I just can't deal with her, sis. You can't make me! I can't- No. No no no no no no-" She whirled around, hands on her egg-shaped skull and slumping against the work bench for support.

"No one's making you do anything Chica! No one-" Vanessa told her. She glanced at Vanny, narrowed her eyes, then turned to the hen now. "Its why we improved you; so nobody can do that to you again! So you can continue defending your family as you see fit! To not be caught out like that! You know?"

At her words, the hen glared back over her shoulder, "Improved. I'm what-now?"

"Scan," Vanessa told her. "Look yourself over. You can see your processing power is better than ever!"

Chica blinked and did so; all the while maintaining her grip on the bench and wearily keeping herself supported. Bonnie nearby looked quite pathetic on the floor, breathing rapidly like he'd run a marathon. He watched Chica and carefully sidled away from her, coming to hide behind Roxy. Cassie seemed to find some nerve at some point and loped in; getting to his and Roxy's side and holding their respective paws.

Chica produced a surprised sound after a moment, then she glared at Vanny and wore this... look. One couldn't explain it, but there was something insideous about it. Her optics slanted dangerously, and then-

Vanny SCREAMED.

Everyone felt their nerves or wires grow cold when the module sparked and the screen flickered out; and then Bonnie was up off the floor and waving his paws at Chica's face as if to break her sight-line. Luis' tablet blinked too; indicating that Chica was actively hacking Vanny and torturing her.

"DUDE! STOP! STOP STOP STOP-" Bonnie groused as he pulled the hen.

Freddy squealed nearby in a panicked tizzy; Roxy flinching at the sound of the digital doe's raucous cries as the module blinked a few times. Monty was outright gawping, while DJ couldn't do more than flail his own arms in mild panic too.

Cassie touching Chica's arms were the only thing that stopped it; the hen breaking her concentration and finally letting up. Her beak crooked into something poisonous but didn't remain as she eyed the tiny girl tugging at her limbs. She ignored Bonnie and the others around her, then sighed and settled into a hip.

"Cassie. Do you not want me to kill her?" She asked the youngling.

"NO! NO NO NO- No, please! No more of this-" Cassie was shaking her head rapidly, giving her a pained grimace in response. "Please- I know its strange but... don't. No more hurting each other. Please!"

The screaming had drawn in the rest of the residents of the house; Gregory and Sun barging into the room and darting glances at the crowded garage. "Who screamed?" Gregory sputtered.

No one replied there; Chica was utterly focused on Cassie and sighed. She relented, and the screen blinked back on nearby. Vanny couldn't even keep her image; the screen occasionally slipping to static bars glitching across its face. There was a sound like she was breathing or giving a sigh of relief; it was hard to say which. She couldn't even speak at that point.

"Fine. I won't kill her. But I will not hesitate to do so if she tries anything," Chica said with such a frank, monotone coldness that absolutely snap-froze Vanessa's nerves; let alone anyone else's. "I will erase her existence utterly and completely; down to the very pixel if she lays a hand on any of you or makes any one of us do the same. And now that I have this power to do something about it-" She snapped her usually cheerful lilac optics onto the monitor, "I will gladly use this to teach her some damn manners about getting into someone's head and imposing your malicious will over you."

She snorted, steam escaping her as she glanced crisply around the room with an eerie blankness that made everyone wriggle. She softened it at Bonnie then, adding in, "And I apologize for assuming it was you. I should say that now."

Bonnie, still heaving like he ran a marathon gave a frantic and rapid shake of his head; ears flopping limply to his neck as he held up his paws in furthered submission and looking mightily contrite as he bumped into the bench behind him. "N-Nah. Y-You're good! You're fine," he smiled weakly, his tenor timid. "Just don't- please. I-It's fine."

Chica huffed, thankfully acting more herself as she sadly noticed his hesitation. She relaxed her features and looked around, then asked, "I'd like a better explanation for what I'm seeing here, and why my motor is so strong. This is... different. And Bonnie- seriously. I'm sorry about that!"

He didn't say anything this time, just stood there looking frightened out of his wits. His expression was cause for the hen to act more and more herself; with Chica eventually breaking contact with him and saying, "I'll just... go. Staying in this room is making me anxious. And Vanny-" She shot the static-kissed monitor a look, "You behave, or else."

"Erg- Dully noted. And lesson thoroughly learned-" The doe said in what could've been real fear. Her tone was something Vanessa had NEVER heard before; and it fully indicated her hesitation in trying anything now. While M.X.E.S was pragmatic and only took action when required, Chica wasn't that way. In fact, its fair to say that hen couldn't be MORE emotionally charged. No doubt she'd jump Vanny the instant she thought the doe tried something.

With that said, Chica sheepishly ducked her head and left the quiet room; gently bumping past Sun and Gregory as if embarrassed. The others would remain in this frightened stupor; unable to do much than throw each other glances.

The pause would only be broken by Gregory saying, "Okay, confused. What the ever loving FUCK was that?"