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.

18. The Little Things

~Wednesday, day after Chica's repair~

GLAMROCK FREDDY

Spray painting an entire car... was not what he expected to be doing today.

Correction: An entire party bus.

He was standing outside with Roxanne and Monty, the three of them bustling over the chosen vehicle and getting snow off of it. It hadn't snowed today, so there wasn't much frost stuck to it. Roxanne even ran the motor for a little bit to help warm it up a tad (and the bots figured they can get a charge from its batteries- so this wasn't unusual). After which, they began drying it and putting plastic bags over the windows; with Monty grumbling something about being back inside and watching Vanny as he swore on and off he'd do.

"Moon is doing the job just fine," Freddy informed him. "In fact, if I did not know any better, I dare-say Moon is just right for the job!"

Roxanne snickered on the other side of the van. "Listening to her grumble about him is just straight hilarious too. At least we know who she likes him least out of all of us!" She sneered in an ever-increasing glee, "I'm half-tempted to go in and just listen to her fuss about him right now actually."

Monty only grumped, "I ain't sayin' that he ain't doin' fine 'nuff for the job- in fact, I know he and Chica got her under wraps- but its a matter of me standing by my word. AND!" He jabbed a talon at Freddy here, "-Not like ya'll need me for this! I mean really, why the hell do ya want me doin' this? Sun woulda enjoyed it! And Bonnie- ain't he more the artsy type when he wanna be?"

"We'd need you to help with something else," Roxy told him this time. "I need to do some repairs on these cars, now that we have the parts."

"...They're not broken."

"No, but they do need to be better and quieter-" Roxy rolled her eyes here. "So I need you and Freddy to pick up this one so I can work on the undercarriage. I also need to do more work on the motor too. These gas guzzling, diesel puffing bastards are annoying as is... and we needed to work on them regardless."

"Still not understanding why we're doing this now and not later. I mean, if it was so important-" Monty's teeth flashed here, "-Why did we not do this sooner? There's a reason for this, right?"

Freddy huffed and passed the wolf a look, the pair wearing the same grim expressions as they mulled over Vanny and Vanessa's proposed ideas. The bear turned to the reptile this time and said, "Vanessa wants to go to the building itself. The plan is to hide away from it, but be near enough for Chica and Bonnie to find and get a lock on its Wi-Fi signal and IP address so they can probe around its digital defenses without triggering anything. Through Bonnie, Mex can help. Vanessa planned on using a fazwatch from one of the kids to communicate with Vanny and let her 'tag along' through that-"

Monty blinked and stumbled in surprise, then said, "GEEZ. We're like, actually attacking them now, aren't we? Like... goin' to war with them-"

Roxy tapped a green claw on the hood of their chosen vehicle, "You bet your tail we are. While I didn't approve of this at first, I think I'm all for it now! Getting rid of them fairly is never gonna work-" She waved around. "Like the others said: If there'd been a legal way to do it, someone else with better evidence and resources would've put them six feet under by now. No, taking them by FORCE may be the only way to get them off both the kids and our respective backs forever!"

Freddy fidgeted there, twiddling his azure claws and feeling his frown consume his visage. He did not wholly approve of this, but there was no way he was going to let the company take Gregory and Cassie away from him. He was loathe to admit it, but even he would result to force if it meant to protect them. And when it came to Bonnie and the others- well, he can say that he felt very much the same there. He meant it when he said the prior day that he refused to let anyone take his rabbit away again.

Never.

Losing Bonnie had done a lot of terrible things to him emotionally; beyond the obvious. The event also put into perspective just how little the company cared about them and it taught Freddy a lot regarding his own feelings on the lagomorph bassist and his place in life. Freddy himself may have been the best behaved of his friends after a point, but even he had felt worn down by it all. When Gregory came that night, he learned just how much he desired to get out of that place- he'd even been almost willing to burn the PizzaPlex down to the ground. Had his friends not been in there, he would have.

He looked at his paws now; reflecting on his brief skuffle with the polar bot a couple days ago. The sight of him hurting Bonnie and Chica made him feral with rage; but not beyond reason. He hadn't lost himself completely due to the fact he knew the kids' safety was paramount at that juncture; and he couldn't afford the moment to go ballistic on that other bear and forget their presence. He was also aware of just how grossly powerful that white ursine is. Freddy hadn't forgotten the feeling his talons in his own when they fought at the depot and the vast difference of scale between them. That bear held back a LOT and often- and he was very aware of the fact his own strength is so great, that his metal body could even give from its owner doing something incredibly powerful. He held back by necessity-

Yeah, Freddy wasn't weak- but that polar bear version of himself wasn't anything he could afford freaking out against. That thing could kill them all if he so wanted.

Back in the present, he watched as Monty analyzed Roxy's words and shake his head at her repeatedly. "So we're just gonna drive up in a repainted vehicle, park somewhere out of sight or range of 'em, and digitally spy on them? That's what I'm hearin'-" He frowned, waggling one of his black talons in a circular motion.

"Yeah. Except that we'd need only one visit to get an idea of how to get into their system and fuck it up," Roxy told him. "Chica, Mex, Bonnie and Vanny will be more than enough to get us into the building too once we have the chance later on-"

"Why the FUCK do we needta go into the building?" Monty nearly hollered. "For fuck's sake! That already sounds like a bad idea! Like drivin' within range of their signal ain't bad 'nuff?"

Roxy shushed him, her teeth briefly flickering into view as she did, "Keep it down, wouldja? And I said that ain't happenin' 'til LATER- after we bump out all the kinks! We just want the building layout schematics first, find a way to lock it down, track down the head honchos, and stick it to them. If we're lucky, us hacking the system externally will resolve the job for us, and we won't HAVE to go anywhere near it again! But before doing all that, we need to make sure we ain't jumped by a MILLION other bots that look like Arctic versions of us. I ain't keen on meeting anymore 'sentinel' models, if its all the same to you!"

Monty scratched his head, then looked at their bus. "So... we're just making sure this thing's not as recognizable?"

"It has to be touched up so it looks more... how to say it," Roxy frowned. "We don't want it sticking out too much more than it already does. And frankly, repainting this ugly thing was a long time coming. It needs to look normal."

Freddy kept pulling at his talons, feeling something heavy and regretful settle there. They were talking of killing people. While yes, the CEO and his underlings were straight evil fucks who are experimenting on children and families and making sentient A.I bots out of dead people's souls and their leftover emotions just to torture them too, he still wasn't sure entirely about this. But at the same time, when it was worded like that, he felt considerably less sorry. He had a feeling that while he was hesitating now thinking about it, he doubted he'd feel as likely to hold back if he locked eyes with the CEO personally-

No. If I met that person straight on, I do not think even I would spare him or her any mercy- and that's what scares me. But after they and Morris saw fit to shut down Bonnies everywhere and told us we couldn't find our own- how that DESTROYED us-

He glanced at his paws now, flexing them uncertainly.

They separate families by the hundreds- maybe even more. Thousands perhaps, throughout the years. They've buried all traces of their skeletons; left children to rot in unmarked graves. No... while I am apprehensive of hurting anyone, I do not think I would hold back if I saw them. Not in the least.

And Bonnie- my friend, my heart's half, who has rotted away for so long inside of roach-infested walls in solid, solitary confinement like some forgotten bad dream... For they to tell us to stop looking for him or they would scrap us all-

"I ain't buying it," Cassie's father said once. "They know he's around. I'm going to look for him."

"You cannot be serious-? You could get into more trouble than the rest of us!" Freddy returned. "We do not wish to see you get into trouble for anyone's expense!"

The fleeting, flickering memory left the bear reeling; the brown and creamy coated ursine blinking away his disorientation at that. He felt his mouth fall open; eyes narrowed in confusion as this nauseating resurgence left him further dazed.

Wha... Where did THAT come from-? I don't remember-

"Freddy! Earth to Freddy! Hey!"

The bear blinked blearily and looked up, catching both the reptile and wolf's eyes. He hummed in confusion as a response.

Roxy frowned, leaning in to sniff him. Freddy leaned back away from her a tad, but not by much as she snuffled against his neck ruff. She eventually pulled back and asked, "You okay? You looked a little odd there."

"Er... I... yes. Let's just get this painted-" He found himself saying robotically.

She raised a full brow, then shrugged and focused on the vehicle. Monty however kept a maroon optic on him the entire time; not that Freddy cared to meet it head-on; for fear the reptile would find something there to give him away.

Nonetheless, they got to painting the vehicle good and proper; trying to make it less conspicuous than it already was. While the group considered painting it to look like the vehicles Fazbear Entertainment had now, they'd know it wasn't one of theirs once they saw the license plate around the gates. No, staying away from the building and in a plain civilian-looking vehicle around one of the malls nearby may be best than going around in a Glamrock-themed bus. In fact, the Glamrock gimmick felt like a giveaway to the occupants within.

Matte white was very plain and simple to do- pretty much most vehicles they pass regularly were this color (and Vanessa commented something about color having something to do with insurance being cheaper-? Not that Freddy understood that bit). It'd just take a LOT of coats to get it looking even and natural. They had the cans around thanks to keeping spares of certain colors for the Glams in case their chassis needed to be touched up. Not to mention that when they last went to town, they got more of these cans of automotive paint for the job. Removing the Glamrocks' faces from the van was pretty much the only thing that can really help it now; seeing as the main building isn't likely to have any Glamrock themed party buses around it anymore when they've already shut down the other PizzaPlexes.

As Freddy worked, he considered something else: It was odd that the techs behaved as they did back at the mega PizzaPlex. They stopped working on Chica after a point, didn't bother with Freddy himself, AND it was likely one or two who KNEW Bonnie could've been in that back room and just didn't say anything. He once entertained the odd idea that maybe, just maybe, the old characters were getting 'gently' phased out so they can replace them with newer faces. A way of getting with the times, in a sense.

Freddy almost crushed the can of white in his paws just thinking about it. The fact that his friend was lying in that room simply because the employees didn't care anymore and wanted any excuse to replace him grated against his synthetic nerves like sandpaper on a raw wound. He had no basis in that assumption, but small things he's noticed during his time in the PizzaPlex started to add up as he considered the seemingly inane idea. It didn't help when he noticed just how fast the workers were in removing all the Glam Bonnie themed stuff in the bowling alley and replaced it with the static face of the old purple rabbit. If Vanny hadn't taken him out, someone else would have.

They stopped caring about the older characters, I believe. They wanted to move into the future with new faces; ways to leave behind the old image and the gruesome past it takes with it. It'd make sense to try and shake off their shady history by removing the older characters whose faces only reminds folks of those times... But still.

He remembered Bonnie telling him about Mr. Herman; an older gentleman who came to the PizzaPlex with his daughter Trisha and her -sadly deceased- son, Jeremiah. How Mr. Herman loudly complained of Bonnie being able to walk around freely, and how he was dangerous. He also spoke of the missing children, and how a Bonnie killed many other folks besides (side note, Luis commenting on another Bonnie somewhere else eating someone's cat didn't help). Perhaps, in a horrible way, removing Bonnie from the cast was inevitable if his face only reminded people of the pain of missing children and broken families whose cases have long-since gone cold.

"Retired!" Bonnie had said on and off. "And that ain't gonna change anytime soon!"

As Freddy swept an arm over the bus, he could see why Bonnie was so adamant in maintaining this 'retirement' idea. People were simply unsettled by Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. Its bad enough a Foxy variant was noteworthy for taking off a chunk of someone's frontal lobe in '87. That had never been forgotten- not truly. When one considers it, he can see why Glamrock Foxy wasn't destined to stay at the mega PizzaPlex with time. He was the first decommissioned not even a full year into them being open. And more often than not, people have complained of each of the Glamrock cast being too... familiar in nasty ways.

Freddy hung his head. His face made people uncomfortable- reminded them of tragedies beyond their control. He stopped for a moment then; sweeping a paw around his recognizable mug and pulling at the fur on it. The rounded, harmless shape of his muzzle and head was offensive and sordid to many; as if he himself committed those crimes and not someone else.

The older characters aren't meant to survive, said a nasty voice in his head. Admit it: Chica, Bonnie, Foxy and YOU are old news. Monty and Roxy- hell, even a Glamrock Mr. Hippo would've been better.

A strange sound of hissing paint and squeaking aluminum made him jump; Freddy lifting his paw and realizing that he'd inadvertently crushed the can in his paw. White stained his creamy pads and bled down into his fur; eggshell colored runnels dragging vivid trails through earthy fuzz and dripping onto the concrete driveway.

"Oh god dammit- AGAIN?" Roxy seethed. "What did I say about your coat!? That ain't easy to replace!"

Freddy moved his jaw; clenching and unclenching it for a long moment and looking dully up at her. He felt... oddly detached from the present. He suddenly didn't care how mad she got; didn't care about the looks he was getting from Monty. He just didn't feel anything like he should. In fact, he wasn't sure how to feel in that moment. The fact he felt so far away should've concerned him- but it didn't. No, his mind refused to leave the one, filthy resolution to all this pain:

Killing them... killing the CEO and Morris- that will make me feel better, won't it? Killing them will... it will answer all our problems, will it not?

It will, said that nasty voice again.

Roxy walked over and peered into his face, her amber eyes narrowed as she said, "Hey- you even in there right now? You don't look well. You ain't having a fit or... slipping into one, right?"

Freddy blinked- then realized he needed to get out of that quagmire before he, in fact, did have an episode right where their neighbors can see it. He stepped away from Roxy, his motor skipping once and his ears sagging. He looked submissively away next, "I just... had a thought is all-"

"What one?" She sounded concerned, her alto dragging noticeably and gently; as if speaking to a child. The tone baffled Freddy, but he didn't comment on it.

Instead, he went on with, "-Chica's idea for us gathering money. I think... I think after we get enough for that dream house, I'll retire too. I'm done with music. I'm just... done." He hung his head, suddenly feeling lost of all gumption and energy. "I was pondering about why Bonnie was indulging this retirement idea for the longest time and... something came to me just now that put a lot of things into perspective: Things that made me truly realize just how little we mattered in the grand scheme of things. And by 'we', I mean the original characters themselves: Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy. Not you and Monty."

He gesticulated at Roxy, "They made you to replace Foxy, but that's because they want people to forget what these older characters did. Foxy's name and face sadly brings up bad memories of his crimes a long time ago. And Bonnie once told me a few years ago about a guest complained about how a BONNIE hurt people- and how people will always associate those accidents with us! With me, and my friends, even though we did nothing wrong! We are the faces of another's crimes, Roxy!"

He spun around helplessly on the spot; his breathing hard and smoky in the wintry zephyr. He also banged a fist to his head; using his clean paw to do so. "I am... I do not feel well suddenly. I think I will have Bonnie come out here and fill in for me while I focus on something else. I- I need to... I need to-" He sputtered a little, looking distressed and lost as he tried to figure out what else he should do to get out of that mindset.

He jolted when he felt Roxy against him; the wolf brushing her muzzle to the underside of his own and a gentle paw taking the offending white can from his now eggshell-painted set. There was a single, low-toned whine that escaped her; a sound so rarely heard, that Freddy genuinely had trouble trying to recognize the sound and properly associate what it meant. Her tail even swept around his legs; as if to help shield him from the cold. He felt Monty's eyes on them, but he wasn't brave enough to turn around and meet the gator's set.

"Just go. I can get the Godzilla reject here to lift the bus for me," She crooned into his neck. "Grab the Easter Bunny's unmentioned and unwanted cousin and we'll have this done while you sort yourself out. In fact, why not go play with Gregory? He's been wanting some of your time, yunno."

Freddy found himself strangely unable to move while she was standing there like that; having a ridiculously painful time trying to recall that maybe he should be going somewhere or properly processing her words. His nostrils flared a few times; indicating his difficulty in breathing and getting his compressor and motor to properly work. It's only when Roxy withdrew did he find himself again. How strange, he couldn't help thinking. At least the effect of her touch had the desired effect; she helped him get out of his prior, murkier thoughts.

"Go on," She said again. "Get out of here. Get your head on straight."

"I- yes. Thank you, Roxy. I am truly sorry-"

She rolled her eyes, but there was no real irritation in it. "Don't be. Not like you can help how you feel, big guy. And for the record-" She waved around, "It don't matter what the rest of the world feels about you; cuz you know you'll always be this family's favorite bear- And especially Gregory's. Its not even a competition there! The rest of us don't have a chance in hell of measuring up to that kid's regard for you." She waved around, "If you wanna retire, no one's stopping you. Literally: No one. No one will be mad or upset if you want to put down the mic for the rest of your life. We'd even encourage it after a point. You understand?"

Freddy nodded, pulling at his blue and white talons and lumbering back towards the house. He said over his shoulder, "Thank you again. And I... I'm sorry about not helping with this."

She waved him off and got back to work. Monty snorted nearby, but the sound wasn't derisive like it usually was. In fact, the gator was giving him a long and unreadable expression Freddy couldn't hope to decipher; then he too waved him off and got to spraying down their vehicle.

Freddy would head back inside, but he couldn't help but feel strange about something else now:

Roxy had indeed helped him to feel better, but the motion of it was so baffling to him. She was very physical to help convey where her words failed; and that wasn't unusual. In fact, as a wolf, body touches were common and casual- and in Roxy's case, meant to be solid, reassuring, and bracing to help a nervous child feel their best. For her to come off as maternal or parental in some manner to her crowd. Indeed, body touches were to be expected-

However, Freddy was unsure about the motion of it sometimes even though he himself was a very huggable bear. Roxy had never been so forward with the other bots. It wasn't lost on him that a long time ago, Roxy would absolutely and brusquely shrug him off with no qualm. She was very... he did not wish to say rude, but she was forward about her feelings on touch- unless you're a child whose looking to pose with their favorite for a picture. Roxy actually used to growl, snap, snarl, and shoulder-check everyone else whose tried touching her before.

Grown humans? Not-uh. They can't do more than apply her make-up. Other bots? HELL NO. Bonnie once made the costly mistake of giving her a surprise hug just to piss her off-

Yeah, the poor dude had to be sent to parts and services for that little incident.

But now its different; Roxy actively went out of her way to touch, hold, and caress everyone here. Her tail embraced when her arms didn't; and the muzzle bumping was a canid-based tic that Freddy believed had multiple complex inflections in it. Some of which were submissive, respectful, and in an off-handedly way, her bodily using herself as some sort of shield for vulnerable areas of their bodies. And while the bots weren't under attack by anything when she did this, it simply meant that she was willing to throw herself there if in dire straits. Moreover, it was a comfort thing to help the individual feel less vulnerable by extension. She has changed so much from the wolf he knew then, it made him GIDDY with pride thinking of it!

But sometimes... Freddy wondered how much of her emotions were what. Roxanne wasn't the master of her own feelings, and even she was confused by it all. Even if she wasn't, it may confuse others, or give some wrong impression- even if the latter thought was utterly ridiculous to entertain.

Freddy had to say this much: Either way, he still very much enjoyed the touches- and it disturbed him how much he relished those. He felt like he hung onto them a little longer than what was proper and it utterly confused and frightened him.

It was weird enough he called her 'dear Roxanne' the other day.

He forcibly shoved the intrusive thought out of his eternally confused mind as he traipsed back inside; finding Gregory sitting on the living room floor with Cassie, Bonnie and DJ. The group was playing a board game- the sight in which prompting for the ursine to immediately forget that he was supposed to be washing his white-crusted paw. Freddy smirked and walked over on that notion, raising a speculative brow as he recognized the game as Candy Land. What an odd choice, he found himself pondering.

Nearby, he just took notice of Chica too. She was lying on the couch with an arm tossed over her head like she blotting out the light of the fire and the overhead ceiling fan's light. She wasn't making a peep either; her chest cavity cracked partially open and a spare car battery next to her so she can charge as she stayed in rest mode. She didn't move at the sound of Freddy's steps, further informing him of her current status. His ability to ping her was also curiously turned off- huh. Even though she was present in the room, it seemed like she wanted to be left alone. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow there- finding her being here and not hovering around in the kitchen a novel oddity. Sun wasn't cooking- and this was the time the hen usually took to make their lunch or dinner. The fact she was here instead was already strange.

Is she feeling okay? He wondered as he cocked his head at her. She was newly repaired, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was something off with her.

Now back to the four that sat around him: At his presence, Gregory looked up and said, "Yeah... Sun was the one who recommended this one. Don't ask. Can't believe I'm playing a game for toddlers..."

"I like Candy Land. Don't diss on it," Cassie bit.

Bonnie scratched lazily at his temple, lying on his bare belly and doing the rabbit loaf. One arm was tucked under his overly fluffy breast, his eyes sleepy and heavy-lidded like he was seconds from nodding off. His chest fuzz almost gave the illusion of him having a second chin as he slouched so deeply into himself he may just sink out of existence. He truly looked comfortable where he was on the floor; legs sprawled out behind him and tail limp to indicate further contentedness. He even yawned; servos whirring faintly as his limbs briefly stretched out further and returned to their prior position.

He sounded almost... high as he said, "Nah, little man. I like how the game's so simple 'n all, yunno? No thinking involved. It also gives us more room to add stuff to it if we wanted! I mean... we could probably add deadly traps and extra steps if we wanted."

Gregory rapped his fingers on his thigh, sitting crisscrossed across from the large lagomorph. "I don't mind thinking games... I find them better. Just a preference though. You look like you're bored, honestly!"

Bonnie waved him off, "Nah... nah. Nah, I'm just chiller, little dude. You should know by now that I'm just relaxed. This game ain't like-" He frowned at an errant thought, his expression briefly tightening up. His jaw worked and closed shut rather swiftly. "Well... let's just say, the last time I had any games outside of ya'll I've played, they weren't the fun ones. Believe me when I say, this game is just perfect for me. I don't wanna be hackin' any runaway vehicles for a cheesed victory, yunno?"

Everyone in the circle winced; with the kids especially looking a little pale in complexion as they no doubt recalled Bonnie's reluctantly admitted horror stories of his time with Vanny. DJ was heard producing an odd noise, but nobody can discern it as anything they can compare.

Meanwhile, Bonnie turned to Cassie, and queried with a slight raise in his left brow, "Uh... did your dad play this with you?"

Cassie and the others blinked at him in response now. "Yeah... a really long time ago. I was super young though. Had no one else to play with... seeing as I was an only child and he had all these games for me." She gave him a faintly concerned look, "Do you... do you actually remember that?"

Bonnie moved his jaw, then said, "Not like an actual memory, no. More like... how to say it-? Its like remembering the feeling of it? Not the memory itself, but the pleasantness and nostalgia of it that sits with you. Like my mind wants to remember, but can't pull up the image? Think like... its like an old person trying to recall a faraway, wonderful memory of their childhood and it just slips out of view each time they try to claw it up from the fog of their failing mind. Like dementia?"

"Wow. That's rather specific and oddly sad-sounding," Gregory dead-panned. He then asked him, "Huh... does that happen a lot?"

Bonnie shook his head, "Not really. Just when I do some of these things like play this kinda game or eat a certain kind of food- like that Coldstone ice cream. I wouldn't know I'm doing something he did 'til it happens- and then when it does happen, it just kinda just... clicks? That's when the feelin' shows up." He shrugged it off, "It ain't unpleasant... just a bit annoyin' at worst."

"Do you feel off at all?" Cassie asked now.

"Nup. Just fine actually! Let's keep playing. Don't worry so much, honey face," he smiled at her, his gaze affectionate as he fingered his character piece on the board.

Freddy had listened rather raptly to this whole spiel, having never quite felt anything like this happen to him yet. Although, its not like he had this... other inside him beyond a week-ish and its been a long enough time for them to likely do anything. Freddy assumed with time he may end up feeling the way Bonnie did, but he wasn't sure he would look forward to it- Especially since he still didn't know who sat inside him and if they'd be as compliant with their place within him as Cassie's father was.

DJ meanwhile looked truly confused by the game of Candy Land- as if it was the most complicated game ever devised. Freddy had to force himself to not laugh at him and the observation helped to remove his particularly dark thoughts. The big man moved a piece forward next; indicating to the ursine that it had been his turn. It may actually be his first time playing a board game, the bear suddenly realized. So picking out such a mundane game like this might've been a decent pick for him. A good way to introduce him to the board game world; seeing as DJ has never seen anything more than just arcade cabinets and hand held devices. This game must truly be blowing his mind. And with DJ being so big before that he couldn't even play to begin with, this could be helping him to feel further ingratiated into the family as well as allow him the ability to find other forms of recreational activity.

After which, Gregory rolled a dice and drew a card. He frowned at the sight it. "Ugh... I have to go ALL the way back near the beginning-? Man that's crappy," he blustered.

"Simple game, but punishing rules," Bonnie winked. "Dunno why, but I like that and how it balances it out."

"I still call bull..."

"Stop yer whining, kiddo. Come on, take your punishment like a man and go back literally 20 spaces," Bonnie continued to smirk.

"I hate you, you smug excuse of a carrot munching, cartoon-parody giga-Chad jerk."

"Ohhhh. Gettin' colorful now, aren't we? I almost thought you woulda borrowed Summer-Eyes' fond 'Bugs Bunny reject' label!"

"Shut yer carrot hole."

"Bwhahaha!"

Gregory threw the dice at his nose; making the rabbit sink into his neck like a turtle trying to duck into its shell. The image of his squished face made the kid laugh a bit though, but then he moved back the assigned twenty spaces.

Freddy seated himself beside them easily, ruffling Greg's hair and elbowing Bonnie as he leaned his weight into him. Bonnie leaned a bit back, or as much as his lying position would allow. The rabbit's head rested heavily against his thigh, with Freddy gently ghosting talons through Bonnie's mussed scalp.

"What's up, papa bear?" the rabbit mused easily and lazily. "Want my attention for something-? Er, Whatcha do to yourself now, Frosty-paws?" He reached over and gently (but still smartly) tapped at Freddy's opposing limb.

The bear winced a little at that, "I er... I kinda crushed a can of paint. By accident."

"-'By accident'," Bonnie echoed, brow raised and expression dead-pan.

Freddy grabbed his white-stained limb and wilted beneath his rather critical inspection. The kids and DJ was looking at him too. Freddy's expression grew solemn, "I er... I apologize, I did not feel very well before long. Couldn't... I couldn't-"

The rabbit's formerly relaxed visage was gone in a flash; then he was sitting up and touching Freddy's face gingerly. He even cupped the bear's cheeks and turned his head, "You doin' okay? You taste anything weird? You seein' or hearin' anything unfamiliar? I don't smell any blood- You're speaking in contractions too... you really don't feel well, do you?"

Freddy blinked at the last questions, suddenly feeling the weight of everyone's stares. The queries were very strange and specific, but he wasn't sure how to answer those. Instead, he went on with, "I am alright... Roxy recommended I come join you to take my mind off things. She and Monty would tend the party bus- in fact, she asked me if you can help her out a bit? I uh-" The bear coughed a little there, gently extracting Bonnie's paws from his face and holding them. "I'm sorry to have imposed in this manner-"

Bonnie was watching him with this long look that had Freddy feeling like he should squirm; not that he did such a thing. The narrowed quality of his optics sat unblinking with Freddy's own wandering pair; maroon pupils ticking very subtly across the features of Freddy's face as if to catalogue every detail he saw take place there. Eventually, he did as Roxy had and even leaned in to give him an impromptu smell inspection; nearly bumping his nose with the bear's own but not quite.

He pulled away and said, "Okay, my man. Hold my place and next game, we can include you fully! I don't think this will take long if Roxy's doin' the repairs-" He went to get up, but not before he rubbed the kids' heads and smiled at them in a way that only seemed to get warmer every time he doled it out. He only paused once more to say, "And... maybe you should go wash your paw off before it dries more, yunno? The kids can take a break from the game while you do!"

"Oh! Right-" Freddy wilted, looking sheepish.

Bonnie affectionately rubbed at Cassie again, but his crimson optics stayed hovering over Freddy during the entire motion. He eventually said, "I'll be back in a few, everyone. Have fun! And Freddy, remember you always got me, okay?"

"I know. Thank you, Bon."

Bonnie leaned down to bump his nose to Freddy's forehead now; a little unusual, but not unexpected- but it wasn't a gesture he's done in a long time. The fact he did so had Freddy briefly trying to recall when he last did it, but his memory eluded him. The rabbit was loping out before they knew it; with Freddy watching him longingly as he did. He'd get back up after that, dusting himself off and shrugging at the children. He smiled warmly at Gregory too; reaching out his non-painted paw to touch his head and gently rub it; not muss it as Bonnie had done.

Gregory was staring at him thoughtfully, reaching up and grabbing the bear's limb so he can hold it near to his heart. His tiny fingers wandered across it, his hazel gaze a vivid intensity that showed a maturation not meant for a child his age. He somewhat mumbled, "You sure you're feeling okay? I mean... you wanna talk about it? Not that I can say I'd be great at it-"

Freddy gently cusped his hand and said, "I appreciate the gesture no less, cub. But as it is, if I had more to say, I would have done so. Sadly, I am lacking in detail on how to convey any of how I'm feeling right now... I just didn't feel emotionally up for it anymore, I suppose. For the task, I mean."

Cassie blinked and raised a brow at him, "Does it feel like you wanna give up some moments and you just can't explain it? Like you're heavy, leaden, and just wanna shut down? It just comes whenever it wants like some intrusive thought and stays. You can't just smile and shake it off either- is that what you mean?"

"Er- yes, actually. That is an accurate observation," Freddy admittedly lowly and hesitatingly.

"Does it happen more than you tell us?"

"I..."

Now Gregory was frowning at him. "Well? Does it or does it not?"

Freddy sealed his jaw shut, then found himself submissively looking away.

Cassie eventually said, "That honestly just sounds like depression- its a serious clinical thing, according to miss Howler. I had it, if you recall? She was able to help me out with it." She scooted over and seized Freddy's other paw, despite the paint. She carefully moved her fingers around the splotch as she said, "Its probably not a stretch of the imagination to figure you're suffering from it in some way. I mean... the avoidance behavior at the PizzaPlex? Whenever you stayed away from the bowling alley and Bonnie's usual haunts- your inability to take action in certain circumstances because you just can't muster the gumption? Locking yourself up in your room for long hours- It really sounds like a classic case."

She blinked rapidly and wilted, "N-Not that I can say I'm an expert but... I can say I understand! It just sounds like to me that maybe you never managed to crawl out of the hole you put yourself into ever since that night Bonnie got decommissioned- like everything that's ever happened after that just kinda piled up and continued adding to it and you never had the chance to properly breathe. You never got the chance to really process it in a way that helps in the last couple years... Yunno? Like, you're free now, but that nasty baggage has an ugly habit of sneaking up on you and you can't figure out why!"

Freddy blinked at that. He hadn't figured it like that in the least- and he still wasn't sure if that was really how he felt but its not like he can contradict it. He took his paw from Gregory and scratched at his head errantly; frowning deeply as he recalled his nights locking himself up in his room voluntarily and just shutting down and crying. He had cried in the solitary confinement of his room after Bonnie's disappearance and the slow, nerve-destroying decay of his relations with his friends. He lamented his loss of his Bonnie paraphernalia (after Morris went right under his nose to take it away from him- sneaky as that was), felt angry at the human staff at unreasonable times, and even had a shameful moment of childish fits during certain intervals and deliberately gave some people a (slightly!) harder time than he should consciously. These were things he was ashamed of, and wished he could fathom the behavior for. He's even made a child cry once-

Not that THAT was something he'd like to admit to. But that wound had been freshly opened in the aftermath of the rabbit's departure. Freddy, for a while, couldn't feel less himself and more like a drone being forced along some monotonous routine. The birthdays after Bonnie's disappearance hadn't been very pleasant for him: with people even asking him for Bonnie and one child crying when he couldn't get the Bonnie Bash Glam Deluxe.

Maybe I truly never got over that, as Cassie says, he wondered. I'm so scared I'll lose him again- him, AND the others. I can't be more frightened of the company taking any of them away!

Back to the topic at hand, Cassie truly hadn't been unlike him in that facet; she and Gregory jointly when they first came to live here had been an emotional bag of nerves. Gregory struggled with sleep once, and tended to draw... unusual pictures in his room for the first while during his first visits to therapy. He was also short-tempered and INTENSE in his displays; and he's proven spiteful at the wrong moments. Cassie had cried herself to sleep and sometimes spontaneously burst out into tears when a certain emotional trigger got her even in public. And now that he dawn back on it, the recollection left the bear a tad foolish since he was the one who had to help Vanessa, Gregory and Cassie here with coping in the aftermath. They said straight up that it felt like he understood them; like he knew what they were experiencing-

And he had. He truly understood how they felt because he'd been there. He still does, on that note.

He sighed after that, turning to head to the nearby bathroom. "In the meantime, cubs, take a break and grab a drink while I wash up! I will not be more than a minute or two."

"Finally!" Gregory rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Man, I don't think I can take another minute of this game!"

Cassie stuck her tongue out at him there, then turned to DJ, "Sorry big guy! You mind waiting a bit?"

He raised a thumb's up and smiled at her confidently.

With that, the group briefly split up to grab their drinks; Freddy meanwhile shuffling into the bathroom with no idea that he was being watched by an all-too-awake Chica all the while.

---

He'd be scrubbing at his paw for what felt like forever.

The paint was... stubborn. He should've taken care of it sooner! Freddy knew Roxy will be a bit pissed at him for taking his time with it- seeing as the damage now meant that some of the fur will have to be replaced with new patches of fabric. Sun and Roxy will have to likely cut out the stained bits and sew on the new fuzz. Beyond that, he didn't care. It was just a little paint- and if one didn't look at his palm so much, they wouldn't notice immediately unless he showed it to them. He only despised the fact that Roxy and Sun will be inconvenienced by it.

As he'd been washing up, he'd been pondering his life again. He once again found himself in the mirror; the bear watching the somewhat shabby, fur-clad father figure before him and comparing it to the bear he saw a long time ago: To the superstar of the stage with a shiny chassis and greased buff exterior. The eyes were the same, as well as the claw tips and earring. His hat however was the fabric one Vanessa gave him a couple years ago; the one with the string on it so he can tie it around his jaw. The bow was also fabric; and something Luis got for him instead. He bought Freddy a few of these in different colors; even teaching him how to properly tie one like a gentleman would around his throat. He loved the color variety with them, and the styles!

He was so different, and the observation still sometimes struck him speechless.

Still, the shiny bear that existed before had been a miserable one: an ursine whose never thought his life was so messed up until he stopped to actually THINK about it for once. That Freddy didn't have his Bonnie anymore; he cried in his room some hours and pretended nothing was wrong the rest of it. THAT Freddy completely deterred any questions in regards to his health and truly acted the fool.

This Freddy did that too... but it wasn't to the same extremes. He would, if acknowledged, try his best to be more forthright nowadays. Hearing Bonnie struggle with admitting his pain was something Freddy took some relief from. It was something they both had in common and they both coped with together. It made him feel whole again in a different way; and the two were now readily admitting to whatever seemed amiss more often now. It still wasn't perfect, but they were helping each other to figure it out.

Freddy found himself pressing his head against the mirror, remembering all too well what it'd felt like to not have Bonnie for some point of his life-

---

~During the PizzaPlex's 'prime'. Some indeterminate amount of time after Bonnie's disappearance, a few years ago~

Freddy wasn't a temperamental bear. He prided himself in being the mature, patient one amidst a flock of hot-bloods. After all, it was needed after a point for someone to help maintain some modicum of composure in a band as unrealized as this:

Roxy and Chica were one thing... but Monty. Their 'replacement' bassist... Gods, Freddy still wasn't sure if he can ever fully accept that- the fact they had a permanent replacement for BONNIE. He took it in silence however; and did not wish to judge Monty for being so... physically forward when incensed. He wanted to see if Monty will eventually come into his own and become a better bot, now that he got the spotlight where Bonnie once reigned-

But it wasn't meant to be.

People kept asking for Bonnie. "Where's Bonnie?" "Bring him back!" "Is that gator character gonna be there forever?" "I want Bonnie for my birthday!" "What happened to Bonnie?"

Questions like that were naturally heard for the first while; and poor Monty was, while popular enough on his own, tended to let a lot of these queries get to him. He was admittedly and understandably frustrated by these constant, badgering questions and people questioning if whether or not he belonged up there on the main stage. It wouldn't be long in coming before Monty started showing delinquent behaviors and will not show up for some of the shows themselves- seeing as he wasn't showing up for rehearsals sometimes already. The gator was clearly angry about the fact that people will not shut up about the rabbit-

And frankly, Freddy almost felt a kindred spirit with those same people; as mean as that sounds.

He wasn't trying to push Monty away! Honest! He tried being as welcoming and encouraging as possible and opened himself up to change; but the reptile kept shrugging him off. In fact, Freddy's attempts to try and assuage the gator's nerves were just not working. It only seemed to make him MORE furious! He once called Freddy's words "hollow" and said right to his face:

"You don't want me here. I can see it in yer eyes. You want me gone already, doncha! Well FUCK you, you rabbit-ass kissin' bastard bear!"

Now, Freddy once again understood Monty's behaviors- seeing as it wasn't fair for the crowd to be shooting the gator down so fast after said rabbit's disappearance. It will take more time than estimated for people to finish accepting the change. He completely gets that Monty is a bit of a wreck and he's always been a bit... fragile in terms of composure even before Bonnie had gone-

But those words.

Freddy hated to say it; but he seriously wished for that one, obscene second, that he could punch the gator right in the jaw.

The feeling of that was so advent in its intrusion and uncharacteristic in its rawness that Freddy was understandably alarmed by it- and no doubt ashamed. He didn't want to hear more of Monty's ridiculing though; even though it was just the gator trying to cope with the rabbit's loss in his own way. Freddy knew the two hadn't been enemies; and Monty seemed alright with Bonnie- but to throw his name around like that in the aftermath of his disappearance and slander him so nastily? Freddy just didn't understand that!

And it didn't help that Freddy himself felt personally attacked by the sharp accusations and his emotions were still on the mend with all these changes. He couldn't bear it -no pun intended- if Monty kept flinging hard words like that around. Freddy will tolerate only so much until something broke between them.

In the meantime, Freddy found himself cuddling what is and most likely the ONLY Glamrock Bonnie plush in the whole PizzaPlex. He was lying on the couch with it; curtains drawn and locked up in his room yet again. He'd been thumbing at its fluffy hair; sorely missing combing through the actual rabbit's fuzz instead. He hadn't told anybody about it's presence; as he knew staff would confiscate it if it was seen. Freddy would hurriedly stash it under his couch, his vanity, his charging station, his belly if he thought he heard someone pass by. He was afraid of losing the last bit of his best friend he had left.

He held onto it like a child held onto their own plush toy during an argument between parents. He clutched at it in vain comfort and gladdened of whatever little stability and 'protection' it offered simply by being in his grip. Freddy wasn't keen on letting anyone- not even his own friends, see that he had it. He guarded it like a dragon guarded a hoard; feeling oddly defensive of its existence and feeling a lot like a toddler whose afraid of getting his only toy taken away.

He glanced at the bowling ball nearby on his floor, but it had his own face on it; offensively bright, orange and smiling. Freddy chuffed in it direction derisively, then resumed stroking his toy as he would a pet or loved one. His optics remained arrested on the ceiling above; sometimes only severing contact just to stare into the cochineal eyes of the stuffie itself.

He couldn't talk in reflective moments like this. One would think he would perhaps talk to the toy- but Freddy couldn't do so. Every time he opened his monstrous mouth, he choked up and bowed over like he was going to throw up. Talking to anything that wasn't the real deal felt pointless; and it did nothing to relieve him of the blinding amount of furious emotions parading through his body and mind. He tried speaking to it sometimes, but he fell short and just fell to stupefied silence and staring each time. He'd lovingly caress its hair from its face, then clutch it close and wept anew.

Vanessa cannot see that I have it. She'll take it away, he's told himself. Its bad enough they had to sneak into my room to clean out all of my things that had anything relevant to Bonnie. I can't have them take this away too. She, Morris, all of them- they want him GONE. Roxy might question why I have it. Monty would rip it apart... Chica though-

She misses him too. Perhaps...

He paused then, lifting a single ear and straining to catch anything of the hen's activities in the sullen silence of Rockstar Row. There wasn't anything going on right now; it was late, and the building was under its nightly lock-down regimen until 6 AM the following morning. Freddy didn't hear anything, but it didn't mean that something could be going on right now. Chica's room happened to be the furthest one from him; so its not like he'd catch whatever she's doing from here. Beyond that, their rooms were also pretty well-done in terms of sound absorption. Sound didn't carry out super well, but louder noises and higher-octave voices (like his own) can still be somewhat heard in a quiet enough setting. He kept cuddling the plush, but found himself sitting up a moment later so to listen better-

Huh. There was SOME noise... He couldn't tell what it was however, frowning and pulling himself to his feet a moment later. He carefully eyed the rabbit toy again, gently caressed its forehead and cheeks, then pressed his nose against it's own in a manner reminiscent of their more affectionate displays not so long ago- their closest approximation to a kiss they can possibly get. It pained him to look at it for much longer, so he supposed this was a good enough time as any to put it away and check out whatever that noise was.

He opened his stomach hatch, placing it gently inside and carefully situating it so it can sit up straight in his belly. After which, he was toeing his way to his door and opened it; and now, he can just catch the tail end of what might've been the sound of an instrument-

Ah. Chica's playing again- He wondered.

Suddenly feeling lonely and terribly aware of just how desperate he was for like-minded company, he trudged his way passed Roxanne's room. He saw the curtains were parted, and the wolf within was doing her make-up and hair. She was also trying to style it a bit differently tonight, looking rather fussy with the braid she was experimenting with. Freddy found it attractive, but he wasn't here to comment on that-

He passed Bonnie's old room- no, Monty's. It was Monty's now. That was something he had to get used to. He didn't hear anything at the moment, and the curtain was drawn as well. Freddy absolutely couldn't tell what was going on. Was the reptile asleep? He figured perhaps that was the case- or Monty was off destroying fences again or prowling around his old digs at the golf course.

When he arrived at Chica's door, he found the source of the sound. She was playing her guitar again- and rather loudly. The song that pounded its way free of her chambers was easily recognizable too; Freddy blinking as he instantly remembered Rockin' Rabbit Rumble- Bonnie's signature, bass-heavy theme. Chica definitely had its nuances memorized; and she was tearing at it with a roaring expertise that deserved a standing ovation in his opinion-

Too bad he can almost hear her tears in it too. In fact, if he was quiet enough, he can almost hear snatches of tears in-between riffs and pauses.

As soon as it ended was the moment he knocked; the bear rapping with the back of his knuckles and standing back. He could just enter, but he wasn't rude enough for that. No, he understood perfectly that encroaching her space certainly wouldn't be warranted when Chica too felt so out of it-

In fact, he got a sharp, "Go away!"

"It's... it's me, Chica," Freddy started. "Please... I wish to see you."

"...I'm not in the mood."

Freddy felt his expression grow leaden. She'd been doing this lately; cutting him out. She wasn't frequent with it, but he knew that will soon change. She was taking Bonnie's disappearance so terribly that he knew she wasn't far off mentally as he was. If he didn't know better, he'd think she loved him just as much as he did. In fact, he wouldn't doubt that after further thought.

"Chica, please," He murmured. "I just... I am so sorry to impose... I really do not want to. Truly, I do not. But... I do not want to be alone tonight. I do not think I- I do not... I can't-" He pressed his head against the door and huffed heavily, feeling suddenly too choked up to say. He simply trailed off from there, his voice box having garbled static once or twice in lieu of his crackling words. His paw rested over his abdominal cavity; mentally touching the toy within.

He heard steps, then her door clicked to unlock. Freddy stepped back as she slipped it open, staring up at him with heavy lids and an expression so grim that even the reaper would take pity on her soul. She looked like she wouldn't ever be happy again, to put it candidly.

She must've seen something in his face as well; seeing as she stepped aside to admit him with no complaints. She shut and locked the door behind him, watching him carefully he meandered into the room and stood idly and lost. Freddy fidgeted beneath the weight of her stare, looking sorry and pathetic all the while. She was seen putting her guitar down in her chair, unable to maintain eye contact herself.

He would be standing there a whole minute before she finally said something, albeit even then it seemed forced. "Wanna sit," was her distant words; flicking an arm towards the couch.

Freddy kept pulling at his paws uncertainly, but did not oblige the curtesy. Instead, he went to make sure her curtains were closed; fussing with them and even tying the bottom hem in a way to make sure they stayed shut. Chica's expression lifted slightly at the sight of it; the hen clucking lowly while folding her arms. Freddy would turn to face her after that; his fidgeting increasing ten-fold.

"I... I wondered, see-" Freddy eventually began, feeling increasingly nervous as he eyed her doleful expression. "The cleaners... they completely gutted your room too?"

She waved around, as if to say, 'is that not obvious?'. She finally said, "The only thing they left untouched is the pizza boxes. Of all things, they snagged everything Bonnie-related, cleaned my room so completely of him- but they leave the fu-BAWK-ing boxes!? They leave me in my own TRASH?" Her hands flew to her face and covered it. Her beak garbled out from between her palms, "Oh my god. They just don't fu-BAWK-ing care, do they? They just don't care. They don't-"

She leaned heavily against her chair, Freddy crossing the room and carefully placing a gentle paw over one shoulder. He tugged gently, to encourage her to lean on him. He was lucky when she complied; the hen gasping and gargling like she was choking on water. The sound was breaking his heart anew; prompting the bear to feel a bit braver about the idea he entertained.

Its bad enough the techs already told Chica she was getting too pricey to take care of. They stopped cleaning her out sometimes; only doing so when birthdays came up and she had to be near kids (they didn't need to be smelling the rotting garbage in her gut). Bonnie and himself have been the only ones here helping her with her own innards and assisting in cleaning up her messy room on occasion. She stank constantly of garbage and misery; and nowadays, it was especially bad. Even now, the hen rank of her recent forays into the kitchens and the cans spread across the building.

He didn't care. He just wanted to hold her and be held in-turn. He figured neither one of them should be alone tonight- and he shouldn't be the only one with this little secret inside him.

After moments like this, Freddy eventually having wound his arms around her to support her, he gently pushed off and gestured to his belly. Chica hiccupped once; unable to cry visible tears despite her fierce need to do so. Sometimes, Freddy wished they can cry like humans; having learned that the motion itself helped them to emotionally process certain things. It also helped them feel even a bit better with time.

"I have something," he said. "Maybe... maybe it can help a bit? But you will have to promise not to tell anyone about it! Please, you promise to not say anything?"

She nodded, somehow still managing to look watery-eyed as she did.

He finally opened his stomach-hatch- unveiling the final Glamrock Bonnie plush in the whole building. Chica was heard gasping, cackling once and reaching her fingers out like 'Gimme!'. She barely waited for Freddy to finish grabbing it from his gut before she had a hold of it and was viciously cradling it like one would shield a baby from danger. She stroked the top of its head gingerly, her beak working itself and producing these faint, interesting noises the bear just couldn't put a talon on. He didn't understand 'chicken' well enough to glean it properly.

"W-Where... where did you get this?" She eventually asked, continuing to touch and adore it as she would a real infant.

"Stole it," he reluctantly admitted.

"...You. You stole it," She parroted now, a little surprised by the brazen wording- not to mention the fact he stole anything at all.

"Yes. I stole it from the bowling alley bins, just as I went up there to see Morris about the renovations he was doing? That day, you were screaming at him," Freddy reminded her.

"...I shoulda done that," she mumbled. "I was so mad that... I didn't think they'd go behind my back to clean out all my Bonnie stuff from my room! I came in here and-" She waved around, "It was just... all gone. I came back in here and they were... they were so QUICK! I cannot believe I didn't catch them at it!"

"I remember hearing your screaming after coming back to my own room," Freddy sighed forlornly. "I figured they did."

"Why didn't you tell me you had this?"

Freddy didn't say anything there; his silence answer enough for the hen. He'd been selfish, for one. He hadn't wanted to share this one, remaining rabbit toy; for fear of losing it as well. He was paranoid it too will slip from his life, same as the real thing had.

Chica was seen cradling it, not daring to goad a direct answer from him. She merely neared him and bumped her head against his shoulder; leaning her weight into him a bit more fully. Freddy accepted it and leaned back.

"I figured we can share it- I am just sorry I've been so hush-hush about it," he eventually said, his baritone a gentle caress. "Nobody needs to know we have it. Do you not agree?"

"I understand- yeah," She nodded against him. "Just us need to know."

"Hm. I figured tonight, neither one of us should be alone. And maybe, we can take turns holding it some days?"

She nodded again, finally conforming to his side while her voice grew weaker and more warbly. "Yeah. That sounds okey-dokey. So... we share tonight."

Freddy said nothing there, merely wrapping an arm around her and guiding her to the couch. They sat together as well; both the bear and chicken bent over the last bit of Bonnie they'll ever have. They would remain like this too for some uncounted span of time; Freddy not caring to check the time in his Hud and simply laying against Chica while stroking the rabbit toy in her arms. The fact they both missed him to such an extreme made him feel not as alone. He was glad he even managed to get Chica to comply with letting him in at all!

There was a few breaths on her end; as if stopping and starting. She eventually found her nerve and said, "If... I may ask... You 'n him. Bonnie-" She sounded timid there, her expression slanting into a cautious frown as she turned to slightly look up at him, "I know you miss him so much... but you know, I can't help wondering if uh... um..."

Freddy raised a brow. "What," he queried gently, truly not understanding.

Chica hesitated again, her beak smacking together a few times before she apprehensively broke eye contact and tightened her vice on the toy. "You and him were so close... and, sometimes, with how often you and him visited each other..."

Freddy blinked and tilted his head, truly at a loss of understanding.

Chica groaned at the sight of it, "God. Do I really have to spell it out?"

"Spell what out-?"

She rolled her lilac optics, but it wasn't mean-spirited. She finally said, "Weren't you two like... I dunno. Close? Like, close CLOSE. You know-" She lifted a hand and pinched her fingers together. "Like that!"

Freddy blinked innocently, then it clicked. And when it did, he was suddenly glad he didn't have blood running under his shell to indicate any blushing. "Oh goodness! Chica," he sputtered sheepishly.

"I'msorryokaybutliterallyeverybodyandtheirmomwasconfused~" She bemoaned pathetically.

Freddy smacked his own head and said, "Wat you do mean everyone and their- I-I- we weren't- I mean- Well, no... no no. Not really-?"

"-'Not really'?" She gasped comically.

"Its not... oh, I don't even know! We called each other 'brothers'... but-" Freddy glanced away, once again sorely missing the rabbit in question. "That term is... not correct in terms of labelling how I felt or... its also got terrible connotations if I held onto that same label. Its not like either one of us truly understands more than that... and, even if we did, I was too timid to say anything-"

"So... you actually LIKED him? And you lied about it to your OWN face?"

"I cannot believe we are talking about this right now. Why are we on this subject? I thought we were having a moment-" He grumped while waving around.

Chica grimaced and gently gave the plushie back, as if feeling guilty enough to have to show some form of apology. "I was confused for the longest time. You two are like- closer than anything or anyone else here. And I admit sometimes, I was a little..." She planted a hand to her breast plate, her expression sorrowful, "I dunno- Maybe a wee bit jealous of how close you two can be? You and him visited each other a lot and... my god, you guys even had so many shows with just you two? I'm still remembering the Valentine's day bash we had the prior year. Some of our bosses even set it up so that it was just you and him singing? I thought it was supposed to pay homage to the fact the oldest forms of Freddy and Bonnie started the whole band when they were still painted gold. Erm- what was the names- Spring Bonnie and Fredbear?"

"Now that was fun," Freddy admitted with an airy, wistful sigh. "Dressing up with those gold tuxedos we had? Wonder where they put those- anyways, the cute old couple that came in that day- they were so adorable! Couldn't believe Bonnie and me were ordered for them and not a child- it was so unusual and it took us off-guard. But it was so adorable how happy they were, and when we sang for them- I enjoyed it so much! And it was nice singing for a married couple- different!"

"But that's what I found odd- didn't you guys or someone else spring for the idea of trying to appease a larger audience?" She queried.

"Bonnie's idea originally, yes," he said.

Chica nodded burbled sweetly, "It was nice they could be together for so long... like, sixty years married? And yet they spent that on you and Bonnie and having you two sing for them?"

Freddy sighed as he slumped against the couch. "I couldn't forget that song, even if I wanted to. That duet will stay with me- call it creepy," He huffed.

"I'm not. I thought it was sweet," she told him while gently pulling at one of the stuffie's ears. "I loved listening to you two. You sounded great together- and that couple certainly agreed."

Freddy wanted to raise a brow at the odd sound in her voice there- not that he could. None of the Glamrocks had moving brows (silly as that was). Still, the way her voice carried some sort of odd connotation in it had him pondering what exactly she was suggesting- given she was even suggesting it.

He said nothing there however, going on instead with, "Well... I digress. As to liking him or not, Chica, it is not like either of us- oh, ANY of us for that matter, can truly understand what we feel sometimes unless someone explained it to us! I wondered if I was just confusing some of my feelings towards him with something else... as, after all, we are artificial constructs with only certain emotional abilities as due thanks to our creators. So giving us anything that went beyond what we're supposed to be programmed with would not be proper. But sometimes, I wondered if my desire to be so near him was something else... I always felt it improper though." He frowned and produced a chuff, "It felt... it felt so strange. I never wanted to mention that around him! He'd never look at me the same!"

She nodded there, having fallen silent as she observed both him and the toy. "I'm still confused by you two... I've wanted to ask on and off," she said, "Watching human couples make out in corners- gross. But... its sweet-? But its GROSS! But then its cute. And then, I think about our own lives and wondered, 'how come we can't be like that too? Are we not complex enough? Is it simply because we aren't human? Is it because we don't have the same parts or the same heart?' I still feel stupid for asking..."

"No- no no," Freddy gently squeezed on her shoulder. "I do not think so. We are meant to be curious, to that I'm sure! Honestly, I ask some of those questions myself."

Chica huffed there, than added, "Still... I dunno. Maybe we're both looking too far into it... I just got confused because like, some of the things you two do always struck me as a little odd. You're also both inseparable so... not like we'd know!"

Freddy gazed listlessly at the ceiling there, slumping further into the couch and sighing heavily. Now he'd never know if what he felt towards the rabbit was anything else; for him to explore, as a complex A.I, if it was merely his comradery he was mixing up or something else more complicated. As he's said, it hadn't felt like something he could enact upon regardless; seeing as all of them had a lack of understanding with certain inflections. They simply weren't programmed for it. They were code- they had a certain set of behaviors they must adhere to-

But they were developing, complex beings as well; capable of learning more above their station. They were designed to be hyper-intelligent in terms of social cues to maximize a guest's enjoyment factor with them. Call it a deliberate design, or an elaborate flaw. Design flaw? Perhaps both, he figured.

Affection was something all the bots understand to some rudimentary extent. That wasn't strange- But anything that went above the familial was treated as alien and absently catalogued and thrown to the back of their minds. Chica however, even she, oblivious as she can be, had wondered about them being something else-

Not that they ever were.

And that thought bugged the bear more than he cared to admit.

They put the topic aside, only for Chica to eventually say, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said... I only mentioned it cuz... well-" She sat up again and eyed him with such melancholy that one could feel heart-broken by its mere glance, "I just feel bad for... I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for... I'm sorry."

"You've done nothing wrong," Freddy said with so much certainty. He wrapped an arm back around her and drew her in, "Now shush with that."

She nodded numbly against him, watching as his opposing arm swept in to gather the plushie up and hold it between them. She rubbed its head, whilst Freddy rubbed her forearm and nabbed one of its ears. He understood Chica had been just curious and she felt earnestly terrible for them both- As Freddy himself also felt absolutely crappy for not properly thinking on this while he still had the rabbit in his life-

---

~Present day~

What Freddy didn't know until much later however was just how much Bonnie had meant to him- still meant to him. But even then, it was an invasive thing he's stoutly refused to acknowledge.

With time, he's buried the thought indiscriminately and beneath miles of emotional baggage. Anything that suggested that mayhaps his air of love for the rabbit merely suggested anything romantic was an illicit thing he could not afford to face; and it was a topic he and Chica thankfully put behind them. In fact, it would not surprise Freddy to know that Chica forgot this conversation with time. After all, Chica lost 70% of her memories after that point in Bonnie's disappearance. Its likely she did.

But Freddy had never forgotten. He's had nothing but time to think in the last years. He's never acknowledged it- even well into the present and well into Bonnie's resurgence, he refuses to waste any brain power on it's consideration. It's had its intrusive moments where it tried to emerge, but Freddy beat it down as much as he could each time. He was afraid of making what they've so firmly established as their brotherhood into anything else; and it was an image he felt like would forever sully their friendship garden. He believed if he kept calling their bond one of brotherhood, it will eventually convince him that it was just that-

So how come he wasn't all the way convinced yet? That's the part he just didn't get.

In the meantime, he resituated himself on the floor after having washed his paw as best he could. Once again, he was briefly entertaining that ugly thought and the fact every time he was alone with Bonnie, that horrid idea would pop into being. He was only too glad to be sitting with the children; as their presence helped him get his head on straight. In fact, the kids were sitting with their drinks and close enough for Freddy to snag-

To which he indulged that impulse and pulled them both close; tucking them under his arms and rubbing both their heads. They allowed him that comfort; not resisting him or groaning about being too big for it. Freddy appreciated it too; as the sensation of them helped assuage something ugly within him. Small arms wrapped around his waist, feeling the careful multitude of eyes of DJ upon them as they stared at the game board.

"I believe you have a game to finish?" Freddy eventually tried, feeling noticeably better after a couple moments like this.

Gregory made a face, "Ain't keen on Candy Land. Like, I think Cass will win in the next 2 turns- I'd put money on it. Plus, I think I'd like to chill with you for a while, if you don't mind."

"Chickening out?" Cassie goaded. "You're letting a game for toddlers put you off."

Gregory glared at her, "Yeah, no. I ain't taking this. Screw you, Cass. Seriously. You're just trying to goad me into finishing it!"

"No I'm not!"

"You so are!"

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

Freddy chuckled, ruffling both their fluffy heads and rumbling, "How about we just finish for DJ? Let him see the rest of the game and Gregory gets pick of the next game?"

There was a round of nods and agreements, and the game continued- with Freddy turning out the victor in the end on Gregory's estimated second turn. He didn't care for winning; it was just a lucky stroke and a good card, but the fact he won seemed to make Gregory happy and not so much the fact the boy got to choose to next game-

And that smile the kid gave? That was the thing that made Freddy feel like a real winner in the end.

It's moments like this that truly helped the bear to realize just how alive he can feel now, thanks to them. To them, and the fact these kids and Vanessa had worked hard to help reunite him with his once lost friends- to give him the chance to hug Bonnie and Chica again. To give him a chance to consider his life with them, and to figure out how to improve upon it.

As he pulled Gregory and Cassie close, the boy hardly leaving his side for a breath to help lay out their game of Monopoly, he couldn't have felt more whole and complete for the most part. To truly live as he should have; pain and all be damned. To be lucky enough to even get to see Bonnie and the others again when he believed they've all died- and already that's more than what many others could say in the whole world.

What person can say he and their comrades succeeded in returning from the dead and getting a chance at a family, after all? None: and that was the bare-bones truth in his case. He still felt nervous about dealing with Fazbear Entertainment- but he would do so boldly for them. After all, they've all gone up and beyond for himself as it is.

No one will touch my family again, He's vehemently concreted to himself. Them, and Bonnie. No one will touch my rabbit again. Especially not that white-furred fuck.

...Where in the hell did that come from?

Gregory eventually looked up at him, tapping his arm to get his attention off of the strange thoughts in his head. The kid's right arm was still somewhat wrapped around his middle but still supporting himself while Cassie finished with the board, telling DJ how the next game worked. The boy asked, "I probably know the answer to this, but you SURE you're okay now? You don't feel funny? You're kinda just... staring into space there."

Freddy moved a paw to sit at Greg's crown again and feathered talons through wild brunette hair; watching him like he was singularly the most important thing in the whole, wide world. "I will be, even if I do not always feel great in the moment, cub. Know that I will be. I promise that," he returned as earnestly as he could.

Gregory was levelling him an especially odd look. "You promise," He lilted there, tone stern.

"Absolutely."

There was a contemplative silence, and then, "I'll hold you to that."

As the kid went to help Cass with the board, Freddy felt another set of eyes on him; looking up to notice that Chica had been watching him. He couldn't tell for how long, but she'd apparently stirred from rest mode for a while and had taken to observing him. She blinked her pretty lilac optics at him, looking doleful as if she's heard the whole thing. Her ping radar opened up; he could sense it on his Hud. Right after, she sent him a private message too.

'You're not just saying that, right? That you're okay?'

Freddy smiled gently at her and sent back, 'Nothing like a hug from these children and a good game to help me chug along. I shall be fine, Chica. Please, no need to be fretful.'

'...I love you, yunno.'

'I know. I love you too. I've always had. You and Bonnie are my heart. You two, and these brats, of course,' he added with a growing smirk.

'I'm sorry for not being more available then either,' she told him, her expression alone almost seem to give that away, let alone her message. 'I know my locking you out of my room wasn't doing anyone any favors... especially after a while.'

'I believe we've hashed this out before? And Chica, I also know you were bearing Bonnie's absence just as terribly as I was. We were no better, you and I. Believe me when I say that I completely get it.'

Chica hummed aloud this time, then removed herself from the couch. The motion drew up the eyes of the others; Cassie waving up at her and saying, "Hey! You wanna join us?"

"Not at the moment, baby bird," Chica cooed at her. She was busy unplugging the battery from her core. She shut her stomach hatch as she said, "Maybe later? I was never fond of Monopoly anyways."

"We can pick something else out-" Gregory said.

Chica waved him off, putting the battery aside and striding over to Freddy. "I'll just watch. I don't mind spectating," she informed them as she knelt behind Freddy and wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned heavily on him. She also murmured affectionately, "Realized I didn't give you your customary hug today. I think we both need one, huh?"

Freddy leaned back into her in-turn, one paw over her arm and huffing generously at the scent of baked goods and cupcakes as it pervasively and lovingly assaulted his olfactory sensors. She always smelled nice now, he gladly noticed. No more did she stink of garbage and rot; no more did she smell like mold and forgotten food trapped in her fragile wiring. No longer did she smell of her addictive cravings, shame and unshed tears. She smelled as she should; like a passionate artist and cook who loved giving the warmest hugs she could possibly give and regularly cleaned herself out.

Besides Roxy, she may be the most changed here, he thought.

"Yes," he said to her in reply to her last question. "A hug is never unwelcomed, sweet Chica."

She burbled in response, and she sat for the next while simply holding him well into their game- not that Freddy was going to push her off anytime soon. He would cherish every moment he had physical contact with her; doing his best to bury the once gruesome image of finding her ruined body back at the decrepit PizzaPlex. He'd been viciously painting over that horrendous image of her seemingly robotic zombified form with this new one- and its somewhat worked.

Maybe more hugs will fix that, he figured.

He jolted when he heard the door open; with the raucous voices of Monty, Roxy and Bonnie greeting them. The children, DJ, Freddy and Chica turned enough to notice the rabbit was viciously laughing at Roxy's expense-

Oh. She had paint on her face! And Bonnie...

Had a suspicious dent in his muzzle.

Well then. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened there.

Bonnie kept sneering at her, the wolf snarling with the intensity of a grumbling jet-liner that was about to take off. Her right optic was even twitching in spasmodic nuance; teeth on full display. The rabbit was undaunted however, laughing uproariously like he hadn't a qualm in the world. He didn't even seem to care he had a scratch on his nose and his muzzle was now a bit more oddly shaped- he was just laughing and quite unable to stop.

Roxy stomped flat-footedly passed them and into the bathroom; the kids wincing at the sound of a slamming door. Monty was laughing just as badly; the gator and rabbit leaning on each other like school bullies who just got their way.

Freddy folded his arms and 'tsked' at them. Chica was releasing the bear and rolling her eyes. "Bonnie," The boar ursine started, his tone authoritarian and firmer than bedrock.

At that, the reptile and lagomorph froze, with the latter producing a sheepish grin and innocent look.

"I hope you're going to apologize later," Freddy stiffly reminded him.

"I- Of course I will! Just... when she's not in towering temper," He kept his smirk, his expression a bit pugnacious and rebellious. Freddy knew he was feeling mischievous some moments, but to keep pestering Roxy like this! He still hadn't forgotten when Roxy sent the rabbit into Parts and Service in the past for small things like this!

Freddy rolled his eyes, then waved him off, "Get out of here with that and fix your nose! You look like you ran into a brick wall!"

Monty flicked a thumb at him, "I think its an improvement!"

"Shut your disgusting, trash-compacting mouth," Bonnie leered at him.

"Both of you, shut it," Freddy bit back, sounding too much like a parent and less their friend. "Get out of here and behave! And leave Roxy alone!"

"No fun- but okay," Bonnie harrumphed. "Guess I'll be in here shortly to join ya'll for Monopoly?"

"If you behave, maybe," Freddy chastised him.

"Jeez, man! Hop off my cotton-tail already!"

Bonnie pouted into the garage with Monty laughing at him the entire time- only to hear them them both squeal when Moon reminded them that he was still in there. The sound had Freddy and the others laughing full-throatily; the pair having been clearly jump-scared by the jester animatronic. While Freddy had sounded annoyed with him, he hadn't been. He was smiling at their backs the entire time; passing Chica an affectionate glance while she giggled at their expense.

Indeed- while Freddy will still blatantly deny, deny, deny until the eventual heat-death of the universe, he couldn't deny the fact that at this point, if anything hurt Bonnie and these children-

Those fucks will end up like Mr. Cromwell, he figured.

And that, was an absolute.

---

GREGORY

Once the round of games was over, the boy reluctantly left Freddy and the others in the living room to do something else: Maybe not the smartest thing, but he be damned if he was going to sit on it any longer.

Vanny being back was driving him nail-bitingly crazy- but he was a pragmatic boy. He understood why Vanessa did it; as he also knew she loved the kids very much and she wouldn't have brought Vanny into the equation if she didn't already understand the rabbit half as well as she does. She was confident in her own ability to deal with her; and Vanny was additional help in the sense that she knew Fazbear Entertainment better than ANY of them-

Thus his reason for the visit: Because he knew while Vanessa talked with Vanny enough, the rabbit was going to inevitably withhold information. He needed to make sure they got everything out of her and have ways of making sure she comes clean beyond asking Chica to help coerce her- not that he planned on doing that. Chica would happily help with an interrogation on Vanny, but the hen would go overboard.

No... Gregory didn't need the chicken for this. He knew exactly how to handle Vanny too. He didn't need threats so much as assurances that he can and will make a point. He also didn't need violence- whether digital or otherwise, to get his point across.

He entered the darkened garage; raising a brow as he caught eyes with the ever-creepy Moon. Dammit, he'd forgotten about that guy watching Vanny. Monty and Bonnie were no longer in here- as the rabbit had a game to get to and the reptile wasn't done goading him for being scared.

The blue-colored animatronic meanwhile was favoring his tarot-card themed sweats and baggy shirt today; his LED optics fixed onto Vanny unblinkingly until Gregory's arrival. Its funny his cobalt colored shirt said Justice in bold lettering across its lower hem; with gold threads spun into the shape of a glistening sword and its hilt made into a scale that balanced the pans on its either side above the lacey-like word. His formerly red eyes were blue now; a harmless, gentle shade that still didn't wipe the creepy off him. In Gregory's eyes, this bot will still be his 'least' favorite here. And his choice in using Tarot card themed stuff to go with his ill-omened air and generally reticent demeanor certainly didn't paint him a nicer picture.

Ah hell... he didn't want to say this aloud, but Moon STILL scared him shitless some moments.

The lanky jester twisted and curled upon himself; flipping himself backward while doing a handstand. His spidery fingers kept him anchored into place as he moved; then he crabbed over gently without any jerking movements to prevent alarm- not that the sight didn't viciously flash Gregory back to his night trapped in the PizzaPlex. The boy flinched as Moon neared and got into his face; straightening himself up and looking down at him in a way that wasn't supposed to seem condescending but felt like it.

"Hrrrshhh... Boy. You should not be in here," He gargled thickly.

God how does he still sound like he's possessed? Gregory blinked rapidly at him, fighting the need to wilt beneath him.

"Er... I was uh... um-" He glanced at Vanny, who flickered back on and was watching them with interest. She was raising a spotted brow, looking rather curious and speculative- although the sight of ACTUALLY seeing her emotions as they are still baffled him. Her wearing a mask before made anticipating her harder. It wasn't like this anymore, so the sight of seeing her active attentiveness was still novel.

Moon meanwhile stopped the motion completely; with only his head tick tick ticking like he was a living timer that couldn't figure out its own setting. He'd jerk his facial disk constantly to the left (his right?) like a minute hand on the clock forgetting to move forward.

Gregory went for broke and realized he couldn't, in his right frame of mind, lie to this bot. There was no way in HELL he could. "I wanted to ask Vanny for something. In fact, maybe you can help me out! Seeing as you're in here already 'n all-"

"Hrrssshhh."

"...Is that a yes?"

Moon finally withdrew; folding his tangly arms together and observing him rather carefully as he evaluated the risk factor (not that there was any). Even though he had the ability to blink now -seeing as Vanessa and Luis had given him functioning eye-lids- he still did not. His baby blue optics remained fixed upon him as he lingered on the thought for what felt like the longest minute; and then, "Fiii~nnneeee. How do I help?"

Why does he sound angry with me? Then again, he always sounds like that.

"Uh... just stand around and keep looking pretty while I question her about something, wouldja?" Gregory told him uncertainly. "I'll let you know if something else comes to mind."

Gregory then gently crept past him like he was afraid Moon would grab him; and the idea of it still made the boy nervous. If anything, he almost felt sorry that Vanny had to deal with him for so long alone- almost. Moon wasn't pleasant for anyone to be around; unless you're Cassie. Cassie seemed to be the ONLY person in the whole world who made Moon feel more approachable and warm- and it was evident in the way Moon treated her that he saw her like family as well and loved her dearly.

But Gregory? He was lukewarm with, at best.

The boy settled in the wheely chair, recalling that even some of the other bots didn't seem to much like Moon beyond a point. Moon felt like the odd one out; the outsider. Even Sun, his own alter ego still didn't like him very much and was grossly afraid of Moon taking over completely again- within reason. There's GOT to be a reason why the other bots to treat him so distantly- not that Gregory's ever seen for himself why that's the case. He only knew Moon to be truly unpleasant due to the virus that took the PizzaPlex by storm- and he shouldn't hold that against the bot. Ever since then, Moon had kept out of sight in large part and only showed his face when it was dark and the body felt it had to be in security mode sometimes.

But damn if he still didn't give off the creep factor.

Vanny settled primly before him, as if ready for an office interview. Her red eyes flicked to Moon more than just a few times- the sight almost hilarious to note as she said, "Pleasant fellow, ain't he? Didn't know he was into Tarot cards now... how poetic. He do any fortune telling in his spare time?"

"Ain't here for the cute shtick," Gregory bluntly began, afraid of saying anything that would offend the jester nearby and get him thrown out of the garage. "Wanted to straight ask you about Fazbear Entertainment and who runs it. I'd put my allowance on it that you know or knew who it was."

"My my. Aren't you the bold one? I always liked that about you!" She cooed at him, "You were always more fun than the other children. Guess it made letting you live all the more enjoyable too!"

Gregory frowned at her, noticing she definitely wasn't going to be forthcoming about this. He bared his teeth, arms folded and leaning forward onto the workbench as Moon hovered around nearby. The jester produced a grumbly noise he couldn't discern; but probably in discontent as well.

"Vanny, I could get Chica in here, but I won't. If you really piss me off though, I may change my mind about it. Or-" He grinned evilly then, "I could let Mex and Moon hack you instead-"

"NO! No no no no no no- That won't be needed! NOPE. Not-uh," She waved him off dramatically. "Okay, I see your point. Alright, I'll stop yanking you around. Jeez, cut-throat nowadays, aren't you?"

Gregory gave her an unimpressed look while Moon chortled unpleasantly behind him. "You do so, and I'll get creative too. I won't just have Mex, Moon and Chica to help," he warned her. "And before you get coy about it, no, I ain't referring to grabbing Bonnie either. I'm going to kindly remind you that I can have someone here disable your personality pixel-by-pixel until you're nothing but a blubbering pre-programmed husk. You won't even remember who you are by the time I'm done with you." He raised his fazwatch and tapped it, "I don't need Luis' tablet to get into you and take you apart like a buncha parasites crawling under your metaphorical skin and eating you from the inside, out. You checksome?"

"...Fucking dammit you mean business today! Okay. Message VERY clearly received," She slowly admitted in a tone carefully wiped of all inflection; as if to hide her own reservations about him. She was also holding her hands up in surrender, "-You're no fun anymore. Okay. Okay... you want to know about the head honchos, you say?"

At his nod, she sighed. In fact, she even slumped into her digital desk and dragged a paw through her fluffy patch of white hair between her ears. She actually looked... exasperated. Curious.

"That information may not be accurate, seeing as I've been out of it for two years... so you will have to forgive me for any amount of ignorance on my part," She began carefully. "I knew who it was before... but there's no telling if that's changed recently. Morris was the last thing I got data on and even then the information is no doubt outdated." She dragged the paw that had been between her ears down her face, looking genuinely tired, "I do know this: Morris wants the CEO spot and no doubt he'd find some way to get it himself. The fact he's still assistant says enough."

"What exactly does that tell you?" Gregory carefully probed.

"-He will likely use his existing power to claw his way up. He was interested in doing this before but never got the chance. He gets a lot of say over the company as it is- he has a LOT of power- but he ain't happy with it. Its one of those classic cases of, "more is never enough". You've never met him, so you wouldn't know. But-" She waved a couple fingers around in a circle around her head, "He's an asshole who would sacrifice his own mother to the devil for that power. He wants perfect control over the bots so he can use them to his advantage. The existing CEO won't even be a problem for us if Morris was given the chance to do away with him. Seeing as he hasn't done so YET though... sounds like the current CEO may be aware of his little ambition and is keeping him pinned, or... there might be a power struggle going on in that building as we speak."

"Really?" Gregory raised a brow, intrigued by this now. Moon produced a grunt too, also equally intrigued.

Vanny tapped the table, looking truly invested into this, "The old CEO I know... he and the other big-wigs are a buncha old geezers whose afraid of death. They know of Afton's experiments; no way they didn't during the time Afton built the Sister Location. They wanted to harness Agony and Remnant as well so they can immortalize themselves. Its as the saying goes-" She shrugged at him helplessly, "-'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree'- and then there's also the other charming saying 'the rot will climb the trunk from its roots'. Both of these apply to these grumbling, greedy, fearful old farts. They want to be IMMORTAL on top of being rich! Silly as this sounds. Talk about a comic book villain motive..." She rolled her eyes there.

Gregory blinked at her and said, "So, they kept the business going for decades because of immortality, you say."

"Correct."

"...Do you think they got it? Its HAS been years... decades! Surely some of them have expired by now!"

"That's the thing, kid: I wager the greasy old bastards that expire probably got themselves infused into some of the bots inside that main building-" She winced there. "Those sentinel models... if there's more of them, they may be these same old men. God I hate greedy old geezers! So GROSS."

She produced a girlish sound of disgust and gagged, emulating the motion on screen. She eventually went on with, "Anyways, back to Afton: He of course had accomplices who knew of his crimes and allowed him to turn the Funtimes into walking death machines. I mean, how could anyone NOT know what he was doing? Of course he had help! There was WAYYY too many dead kids cropping up for anyone to not notice. You know?" She produced a little wave there, "-And when Afton died, others naturally took his spot and furthered his grotesque research. They wanted immortality, and MONEY! The faces of the bots were still making money, even though people knew their sordid history. The fact people continue to willingly fund them even despite what they've done makes the masses just as guilty as the old prunes themselves."

She shook her head, "Just the folly of human avarice, kid. Avarice, childish whimsy, and most importantly, sentimentality. Think about it: Cassie's father was a fan of Bonnie but he knew the company was a gross monster in itself. And yet he still came to work for them willingly and STAYED on? He even brings his daughter into experimental rides like the Foxy Log Ride that's closed to the public FOR BEING A SAFETY HAZARD? How fucked does that sound to you?" She leaned into his face as best she could, the camera on the monitor above doing the same for further emphasis. "-Did you know Cassie's father divorced her mother because of their split views on the company? Because of how she felt about him bringing her to work? How she vocalized her valid complaints about her father taking her there so often?"

The fact Vanny was making sense was already creepy enough. But then, her delving into personal detail like this was making the kid plenty uncomfortable. "Cassie said something like that, but... I dunno. Nothing in detail?" Gregory went on to muse. "She said they fought a lot..."

"Exactly. When I was in Cassie's head, I was able to see... a lot." Vanny sat back and produced a long-suffering sigh. "Its no wonder the poor girl is so torn up about her parents and has this kind of... separation anxiety about her father; she's technically lost ONE parent before the PizzaPlex even closed. Her mom just walked out and never came back, seeing as Cassie told her she liked the bots too and would stay with her father."

"She... she never told me that part," Gregory wondered aloud. He blinked rapidly, and then, "So, what, she just... left? Just like that? This is her MOM for Pete's sake! She sounded like she was still invested in Cassie's life!"

"Hey, I'm confused about as much as you are, kid," Vanny shrugged. "If I can figure why her mom stopped being so involved with her, I woulda mentioned it. Her not calling in to take her girl back after her father died is weird enough. Sometimes I wonder if she just disappeared like every other person who has this view on the company... it seems to be a reoccurring pattern."

Gregory frowned especially deeply there, blinking rapidly at the suggestive undertone of Vanny's words. Did Fazbear Entertainment take her mom away? I guess we'll never know for sure, he wondered.

Nearby, Moon was heard making an especially odd noise; the sound getting the attention of both. His facial disk was hung so low, Gregory could see his sensitive wiring on the back of his plate. The jester had seated himself back onto the floor and was hugging his legs.

He gargled, "Hrrsssh. Cassie spent many long hours inside daycare. Many. Talked to us- Sun and I. Told us things. Did not say she 'picked' us though. To choose animatronics over family- that baffles us. Baffles me. She loves us so much-" His voice had fallen to whispery levels, making it hard for them to hear but hear him they did, "Her staying in PizzaPlex for us... it makes more sense now. She truly had nothing left in the world. Only us. Made her bed with keeping us in her life. Chose her dad over mother- to stay involved with us bots. It makes more sense now. She spent so long around the both of us- around the Glamrocks. Asked for Bonnie long after he disappeared... she sees us as extended family; and yet her mother was asking her to cut us out of it."

While keeping his head low, he eventually added on, "That girl. She deserves the whole world. We still do not understand sometimes, but... we thank her for it. For this love she didn't even give to keep her mother in her life. Call us greedy, but we are glad she is still here. If not for her, NONE of us would be here now."

Gregory watched him take a small breath but he did not continue. He turned back to Vanny.

The rabbit went on with, "Well, at any rate, that's a matter of 'case in point'." She waved around as if to physically gesticulate to the idea itself. "-Her father even paid for Cassie's party with a Glamrock with his own blood money that he earned from WORKING overtime with them- because NOSTALGIA gave him the feeling of satisfaction! Even despite his divorce and the copious amounts of money he spent on it, he wanted to give Cassie a memorable experience. Its no wonder he went broke by the end of it."

She shook her head, "He really was a fool... By then, he knew the company was evil, but still he fueled their ever enlarging appetites. He, and many others like him are fueled by the follies of their own desires and childish dreams. The audience will always come back to spend more, with Fazbear Entertainment eagerly waiting them with their wallets wide open. And her father? He was exactly the kind of creature they fed off of."

Gregory glanced away, considering that a bit more carefully before he eventually sighed and scratched at his head. He one again considered Bonnie's behaviors around Cassie; and more and more throughout the years did his affection towards the girl seem to make more sense. He then tried in an effort to slightly advert the topic as well as get back on course, "And the CEO? You have any idea who that is?"

"Probably Phil... given he hasn't expired by now."

"...This big bad... is called... 'Phil'," Gregory raised a speculative eyebrow there.

"He owns a branch of Fazbear Entertainment's products and does independent business contracts- like Philliamco? Never heard of them now, have ya?"

Gregory shook his head.

She clicked her tongue, "Surely you've seen some of these name-brand labels during your tour of the PizzaPlex that night?"

"I don't remember them all... within reason," he scathingly bit.

She sighed there, and elaborated with, "As you know, Fazbear Entertainment has a LOT of shady side businesses and fronts in order to keep their burning dumpster-fire of a business alive. They make their own generators, cleaning brands, medical products, and so on. You know this. They have Fazbear Construction, Torque N Oil, Helpy Hand Medical- aw hell, they even have a little water business! And lastly, there's Philliamco."

She paused for dramatic effect and then added, "Philliamco was a joint project between this geezer and Afton after Mr. Emily, the other older co-founder, quit a real long time ago. Phil uses his resources to keep the company afloat; as do many other of the greasy old geezers up there. Phil though is an old name... Its probably not even him that's there anymore since its been so many decades. I wish I can say I knew for sure-" She passed him a helpless look. "Sorry, kid. I wish I can say I was certain. All I've been told is that Phil is STILL the CEO, but that'd make him REALLY old. Like a dinosaur-in-a-wheelchair old that should be in an Hospice or morgue instead."

She leaned in and passed him a careful expression, "Morris is old too... but not like Phil. In fact, I wonder if Phil was replaced by someone in his own family- I wouldn't doubt family is the leading thing here. If Phil is still magically around though, I honestly wouldn't doubt he coulda put himself into a bot. Him, or any other teetering geezer for that matter."

"Wha- WAIT." Gregory threw up his hands and got up from the chair, moving around dramatically to process this. "You're saying... that a BOT, could likely own the whole company as we speak? An old accomplice of Afton's? Who acts like Afton- and is maybe in a maybe-Bonnie or Freddy or Foxy body too?"

"Most likely! Given it wasn't some other successor he's picked out-" She shrugged. "There's no telling if any of the bots you see around could be him! Though he ain't likely to get his hands dirty... so maybe not. Maybe he doesn't remember being Phil and he really does have a successor on the throne! We just don't know."

"And Morris... doesn't like this guy. He just wants the hot spot."

"Correct."

Greg tossed Moon a look, the jester humming thoughtfully in that weird, gargly way of his. He turned back to Vanny and asked, "And... you wager Morris is still making moves towards it?"

"Also correct- given he isn't toeing his way towards owning all the other side businesses instead... which is also a possibility, now that I think about. Him gathering up all those other fronts wouldn't be enough for him though-" She mumbled more or less to herself, a paw on her chin. She hummed there, and then added, "I wouldn't doubt those sentinel friends of yours don't even know they're accomplices to his plans. In fact, they're probably securing him the assets he needs to make a move on the CEO," She sneered there, her expression gleeful as she likely entertained the bloodied image of these bots tearing the old men and their bots forms apart. "And if they DID know Morris was doing this, they either don't care, can't do anything about it, or just don't know."

Gregory squinted and finally asked, "You wager this whole old, outdated perception of Morris is still applicable though? I mean... you sound so convinced he'd want the seat but it sounds like he can't get it! That or he ain't as interested as we thought."

She held up a single dainty finger, giving Gregory a sagely expression, "I'm a people-person, Greg. It don't seem like it, but I am. I spent enough time in Vanessa's body studying the people around me: I like getting into their heads. You know that! You and the others -especially Bonnie- know that first-hand!" She produced a cruel cackle there as she continued with, "With that said, I've had plenty of time to study, observe, and emulate as needed as I used Vanessa's body. I needed victims to fuel my research- To fuel my understanding of this power within remnant and agony! So people I can lead like a flock of willing sheep to be slaughtered was the FUN part!"

She threw back her head and laughed uproariously; Gregory and Moon both making hissing sounds at the raucous bellow she produced.

She eventually regained her composure and stated as if to wipe merry tears from her cochineal eyes. "As it is, I knew just from meeting Morris in the flesh ONCE what he wanted. When he came to the PizzaPlex, I had the displeasure of talking with him from behind the eyes of Vanessa. He is a filthy, sad, pudgy little man with an expensive coat and big ambitions. He doesn't even have family left- they all abandoned him years ago. Why else would he want to takeover? He literally has nothing left but his money and his age now to account for," She stated pragmatically. "He admitted STRAIGHT UP he'd love to 'move up' in the world- as if that didn't help matters! And the way he took the helm of operations within the PizzaPlex in the wake of Bonnie's disappearance and Cromwell's death? He hardly waited on the rest of the company to make the decision. He was doing things so fast that every employee present couldn't wrap their heads around it."

She placed a palm to her chin to support it, "As it is, little Gregory, I can say for certain Morris still wants it; he just hasn't figured out a way to get it yet. He's probably making more subtle moves for it for the moment. I wouldn't put it past him that he may try to take command of the sentinels to do his bidding in ways that could usurp the current CEO more... forcefully. I wonder if we waited long enough, if he could do the job for us-?"

"Even if we did wait... he'd still have to be dealt with either way," Gregory stated pragmatically.

"Hmm... true. But he'd be doing half the work for us."

"But we'd also be giving him a lot of power."

"Also true..."

Gregory folded his skinny arms and drummed fingers on one of them, his hazel eyes flickering as he weighed this carefully. He eventually tried, "So right now, the plan is to just digitally scope them out, so says Vanessa, right?"

"For the moment. I'd have to borrow a fazwatch from one of you however since you don't want me interfacing with any other devices you could have in the house that has internet access," She chortled at him there. "Its the only way I could go with you to check things out. I'm afraid you won't be able to make any moves if I cannot go along with you."

Gregory glanced at his watch and considered something else, then stared up at her especially suspiciously. "Hm. Call this an abrupt subject change, but I just remembered something. Perhaps you can further elaborate?"

He resettled on his seat and glared at her now, "The fazwatches. I just now remembered Vanessa saying that night that she was able to hear me from its signal. Freddy was the one who gave it to me though- if he knew it was tampered with, he wouldn't have done that. But then, I had to hold onto it anyway because it was the only thing saving my life. You were able to find me ANYWHERE inside the PizzaPlex however-" He saw her grin get especially wide here, but on he bull-dozed, "You already have your sticky fingers in them, didn't you?"

"You are such a smart boy. Look at you!" She cackled again and smacked a knee. "Ah... yes. I tampered with ALL the watches long before you spent that night inside the PizzaPlex. Those watches are too easy with that basic wiring. Also, they get handed out to kids a lot! I could get any child I want to follow it in Freddy's voice. Very simple lure tactic. Following you around was easy!" She waved him off, "I used watches as a means of communicating with Bonnie while he was dealing with me too- I'm sure he mentioned that?"

"Yeah... he did. Its no wonder he asked Cass and me to hand ours over after we came to live here. He spent the whole night tinkering with them," Greg huffed.

"Hm, well, he'll have to re-enable that in one them now," She stated pragmatically. "But yes, the watches were an essential tool for me. Them and many other things besides. You have anymore questions on the matter?"

Gregory considered her for a long moment before shaking his head. He moved away from the computer, "No. If I have any, I'll ask you later. As to this plan about spying on them though-" He looked troubled now, "You ain't gonna try to get us killed getting near them, are you?"

"I'm not stupid enough to do that around Vanessa, Bonnie, Chica or Mex, kid- let-alone the REST of you," Vanny informed him with a stern air for once. "Pul-lease. Give me more credit than that. I wouldn't have been able to do the things I did if I wasn't careful or smart about my resources. You all are my only means out of this computer! Or not getting pulled apart digitally like you threatened."

"I don't make threats anymore. That was a promise," Gregory told her in a dead-pan manner.

Vanny hummed at him, though she had the graces to look more reserved at that, "Well, case in point: I'm not going to try anything to pull the wool over your eyes for this one. Like I said: I don't care for Fazbear Entertainment anymore than you all do. And if nothing else, if I killed you all, I'd make Cassie very sad." She waved around, "If I didn't care about that girl half as much as I did, I wouldn't have let ANY OF YOU walk out of that ruined mega plex now, would I?"

Gregory had to concede to that point. He didn't like it, but he accepted it. Still doesn't mean she won't try to find an opening though, he wondered to himself.

On that note, he turned to leave. He didn't even spare her a goodbye or any parting words beyond, "Just behave yourself for once."

She only giggled in response before shutting the monitor off.

On his way out, he stopped by Moon and nodded at him, "Thanks for watching us. And thanks for... you know. Letting me get the chance to speak? Not chasing me out, I mean."

The bot gurgled lowly, then dipped his head and seemed to bow him out of the room in a slow, but no less stylish flourish more indicative of his role as a former theater bot. He said, "Conversation was... enlightening. If you need to speak to her again, I will permit it with my own observation, of course."

"I'll keep that in mind," Greg told him, gladdened the creepy bot was willing to help.

As he left the room, he was glad to know Moon was definitely improved in his own small ways. He wasn't like what he was back then-

But damn if he still ain't weird!

As to Vanny meanwhile- she'd given him plenty to think about. While they can spy on the building itself, they'd still have more to do beyond that. The fact that there was shops and businesses keeping the company afloat was bad enough... but if Morris was greedily claiming them all, then maybe they can-

An idea came to Gregory then, the kid smiling like some comic book villain as he considered their options. Indeed, if Morris was claiming all of these and he got CEO next, killing him would be like striking the final blow to the many-headed hydra that even the mighty Hercules had struggled to duel with. Perhaps letting that old fart get so much power will help- After all; it sounds like as independent factions, the company was able to stay alive throughout the decades through that.

With this said, Greg wondered if he can research some of these companies on the computer and have M.X.E.S track what they're doing without even leaving the house. If they're lucky, they can find a way to cripple the company before even setting foot near the den of monsters itself.

---

Author's Notes: For context, I wanted to clarify something that seems perhaps canon or leans towards the canon:

That 1: Freddy DOES in fact care for Bonnie romantically and ALWAYS had but he's been hopelessly confused about it (should've addressed this sooner honestly- WAY sooner). I know this is a running thing in the fandom and it seems to be suggested in the main game? I'd feel like a fool if I didn't at least acknowledge at some point here in this story (seeing as its I've based all of this series from what we know of canon evidence)! So do forgive me for that- hopefully it doesn't come off as too terribly out-of-the blue, seeing as I've kinda dropped more subtle hints about Freddy's demeanor throughout time. Maybe too subtle though...

And 2: There ARE actual companies that help keep Fazbear Entertainment alive. There was a Twitter post that showed all the labels Vanny here mentioned that actually feed the beast- so yes, calling it a 'hydra' is apt in some ways. These labels can also be found inside the PizzaPlex itself in-game! I did not just pull those names from my ass. The name 'Phil' wasn't random either. This is apparently canon stuff- or stuff that was hinted in the canon in general.

I also needed to use these names for the sake of the story and the direction its going to take- so please understand my use of them here! Again, its for the sake of this fic. If I got anything wrong, it wasn't deliberate and its due to ignorance on my part.

I hope you've enjoyed the chapter! Please understand that any pauses now is me being VERY careful with thinking out the plot and me fixing Ruination on the side! As I typed this message, I've already fixed the first few chapters of Ruination.