~Wednesday~
POLAR FREDDY
He didn't like the ongoing silence of the building.
He couldn't explain it, but the whole structure was quieter than usual; less employees about even though the holidays were nearing its end. New Year's was almost here, but it also meant that the employees should be around regardless (as, after all, Fazbear Entertainment didn't care about holidays and giving its staff that precious break). But now, he saw that that there wasn't anyone around, and it was immediately suspicious. No workers at the terminals, no one constructing endos, nobody overseeing processing and parts as well as planning their next business plans going forward. It was all just... silence.
While the polar bot should be saying something about it, he figured his current companion didn't care to acknowledge it. After all, the old man walking alongside him surely would've noticed something awry with operations otherwise.
Morris was beside him, walking with him to the building's tippy top. THE tippy top. Right into the lair of the dragon itself. He was leading the polar bot right towards the big cheese; the face of the entire company. The CEO, the boss waiting just a few floors above. He was completely calm about it too; sometimes even humming as they navigated the ginormous building.
Now, the bear has never seen him or her before. He didn't know what to expect in all honesty. He didn't even know their boss' name! Last time he checked, a man named Phil or something currently owned the entire franchise but... that could've changed in the years that's gone by while Freddy was locked and isolated inside the empty warehouse. Morris never said if the business changed hands recently, but he said it was going to change soon. Was this why they were up here? To inquire about it? And if this was the case, why did Morris see it fit to have the bear beside him?
Guess I'll find out shortly, he figured.
For the moment, the bear and older man were simply walking towards another VIP elevator that'll take them to the designated floor. He didn't know why Morris was doing this, but the old man assured Polar Freddy that if he listened to this last command, his bunny would be free to go. He had no way of knowing if this was true, but Polar Freddy also didn't care too much beyond a point. He was a short-sighted ursine after all; only wanting what was best for his friend and not himself. He didn't care about himself in any capacity. He was programmed to simply not take himself into consideration- same as the other Glamrocks. It didn't matter they were completely different models.
That was the norm of being a bot. Robots do what they're told, and that's it. And even with sentience, a robot is still expected to listen to an extent and not fret about their own well-being. And while Polar Freddy should feel worried, he wasn't. He wanted his friend free. He wanted to be free to finish fixing Snowshoe Bonnie and let him experience what the sun felt like- to be able to sit under the trees with birds chirping at your shoulders-
Bonnie would love that. He'd want to hear their songs too.
"Do this, and you can keep all the parts you've been securing," Morris told him, breaking him from his musings. Its almost as if Morris was reading his mind when he added on, "You can take the helm on your rabbit friend fully and completely afterwards. Your role will be finished here- unless you chose to keep acting as a sentinel."
"You-" The bear blinked, confused. Was he suggesting what he thought he was suggesting? He scratched his head and pressed, "Erm... So, I will not be scrapped?"
"Not at all. I just don't care what you do after a point," Morris admitted in a deadpan, much to the ursine's continued surprise. "You can leave and do whatever, or stay and keep being a guard bot. I only want you to do this one last thing, then we all walk away happy as could be. Nothing to it! And as to your little furred friend... I will restore his awareness."
Polar Freddy hummed, but he knew that wouldn't be necessary. His friend was already aware again- for the most part. His had his original processor back, thanks to Glamrock Bonnie- as well as a whole host of other components. Snowshoe Bonnie pretended to be dumb and robotic every time he was checked on by the techs here; and the game of pretend was something he was very gifted at. Snowshoe Bonnie was the reigning champion of pretend! So much so, it alarmed Polar Freddy too.
Snowshoe Bonnie had been informed of the fact he wasn't supposed to be aware after the white ursine explained everything a few days ago. The hare/rabbit hybrid only hummed at this, then did something so obscene, even the bear hadn't been prepared for it. His ability to pretend was uncanny, and he became a willing toy bot so they can keep their cover. Morris didn't need to know Polar Freddy had been fixing him up that good.
To cement this illusion, Snowshoe Bonnie had allowed Freddy to take his processor away again. He even said, "Take out the upgrades you've been getting from the Glamrocks too. Let me keep acting the dumb rabbit." He frowned, but looked resolute as he murmured in his timid tenor, "I-Its only for a little while longer, right?"
Polar Freddy was startled, but nodded and removed the processor and other bits and bobs. Now, the hare-like bot had done something else to his system too; to remind himself of a certain command prompt to help him recall he needed his processor. To rely only upon the polar bear and no one else. Snowshoe Bonnie was a small-time hacker himself; and by that, he hacked his own systems to behave a certain way and tried eliminating all traces of alteration from the techs that beheld the trojans Morris installed without Freddy's permission. He only permitted Polar Freddy's touches to his sensitive systems; trusting the white ursine completely.
After all, some years ago, just before Glamrock Bonnie was decommissioned, Snowshoe Bonnie showed Polar Freddy his barest self; everything in his programming, everything that he was or ever will be. He revealed his system in its entirety in an act of trust. This action was why Polar Freddy had been able to restore his friend to such an extent; to reprogram him to being back to his old self.
Snowshoe Bonnie also did one more thing before he let the bear remove his primary processor: He copied all his personality files into the bear and archived them into a folder in his friend's brain. He couldn't have the techs in this building seeing he was back to normal without their help, after all. So beyond removing the parts Glamrock Bonnie had given him, he also copied over his personality and generally sensitive and more intimate pieces of himself so they can be preserved in one safe place, AND it gave Polar Freddy a 'key' of some sort to his system as a potential override in the case Morris tried to do something illicit with him- like install more damn trojans or fail-safes.
So technically, it was pretend, but it also wasn't. The real Snowshoe Bonnie's mind and heart were stashed inside Polar Freddy right now as they traipsed towards the CEO's office. The hare's brain and formerly Glamrock-owned pieces were in his stomach hatch. These were cushioned between several towels and a blanket to keep quiet and to stay intact. Freddy will dig them out the next time he saw his rabbit, and reinstall it permanently after this one last job.
Morris required Snowshoe Bonnie for a side project today, apparently. He said he would send the rabbit out for a 'trial run' on something, then hand him over to Freddy himself upon completion. This was already alarming and suspicious, but it wasn't like the bear can do anything about it. Beyond installing the last of his parts, Morris claimed he needed the rabbit/hare hybrid's uncanny flexibility and speed for this little side-venture he said he was indulging.
"Once your friend and Foxy return from their excursion, the hare's yours completely," He assured him. "That, and this little thing I require of you..."
"What is it exactly?" The bear pressed in a mild-mannered timbre, the elevator dinging and allowing them into the expensive hall of the CEO themself. Polar Freddy had to pause however, stopping to take note of the area he was now in:
He blinked when he realized how big this entire floor was. Literally, the whole top of this sixty-story building was just a few rooms; but all very BIG rooms. This initial one was obscene in its size; the ceiling high enough to allow an elephant to comfortably walk by without touching it even with its trunk outstretched overhead. Every square foot had to be at least $300 worth; with each tile a meticulous pattern and made of some marble-like material Polar Freddy couldn't immediately identify. He could see his reflection in the floor as it is- and he was slightly abashed when the talons of his feet scraped it. There was desks around too, but no one was occupying them. Looks like a spot for several secretaries.
He looked around, finding that straight ahead of them was a fancy, ornate door that had to be made from mahogany or something. It had a lacquered finish; with a golden knob in place. He knew it wasn't real gold, but it LOOKED convincing. It lead into the office of the CEO directly- this much Polar Freddy knew.
Back to the room itself, the desks seemed to be not unlike the door in terms of finish; and the chairs themselves proved to look comfortable for long hours spent at the computers on each of the dozen lining the way to the CEO's office proper. Around them beyond that was a bunch of windows looking out into the rest of town and the world beyond; Polar Freddy pausing to look out and see the world for what it really was-
Beautiful.
He never thought he'd get to see the world from this high up. He doubted other animatronics had either; nor would they be privileged enough to get to see the office of their owner. The world outside was wreathed in warm pinks and golds; the rising sun indicating the morning's strengthening hold on an otherwise shadowy world. Lazy, tufty clouds kissed calm cobalt horizon; bordering the gentle fuchsia and glimmering aureate halo bleeding from the rising star. A literal new dawn was blooming before him, unhindered by trees or houses.
Polar Freddy paused to watch it for a speculative second before turning back to notice Morris observing him contemplatively. The bear blinked and felt odd about the scrutiny but pretended it didn't bother him. Morris' gaze on his back felt strangely piercing in an intrusive way; like he was being judged for his sins. He ignored it though as he walked to the window briefly to press his paws to it and look outside. His toe talons clinked with each stride on the ornate, polished floor.
"Enjoying the view, are we?" Morris said behind him.
Polar Freddy nodded and hummed, "I do not think I'll be able to behold something this beautiful again, so... I apologize if I'm dawdling too much."
"No problem at all, my large friend. Take your time. Mind you, you can check the view after we visit the CEO. I only want this one last thing, then you can go back to enjoying the dawn as much as you like," Morris wave around good-naturedly. He kept his smile too as he croaked in that old, oily murmur of his, "You'll be able to enjoy a million more dawns after this. I will have no more need of you or you rabbit after today."
"Well THAT sounds ominous... and hopefully good," Polar Freddy mumbled.
Morris only chuckled, then after a moment, waved to him to get him at his heels. The white ursine eventually obeyed and glided back to his side.
The bear was confused by whatever Morris would need of him in the CEO's office, so he decided to go for broke and asked, "And what, pray tell, would you need me to do that you couldn't with civil conversation? We are only here to talk to them, yes?"
The assistant took his time here to reply. He sighed, paused, and leveled the bear with a serious expression, "I'm afraid its going to be a tall order and a somewhat... unorthodox task. Asking this of you is difficult, but if you really want you and your rabbit's freedom, I only ask this last thing of you both. I do not achieve anything from betraying you otherwise, and I want to remind you of that while we're standing here. If its not done, I'm afraid no one here will ever leave this building alive if they tried to quit... you understand?"
Now the bear was feeling a modicum more anxious. He frowned at Morris as his ticking brain started to slowly and meticulously piece together what it was the assistant was asking off-handedly. He didn't outright say it aloud though, instead going on to press despite how unintelligent it sounded to be reiterated, "And this 'tall order' you speak of... you saying performing this will give us our actual freedom?"
"Of course!"
"Last time I checked... you and the others were rather keen on recycling bots and using them for a plethora of things. Our parts- especially our remnant soaked ones-" The ursine frowned as he recalled himself being one such example, "-They're too valuable to let go. So... I find this freedom aspect a bit dubious, sir. A little hard to believe."
Morris huffed and went to assuage him with, "I do not gain anything from betraying you, Freddy. Right now, you could kill me if you thought I was going to hurt your rabbit and break my word. I can't do a damn thing about it if you did!" He shrugged, "I'm a strong advocate of mutualism. I want this one thing... and I, unlike our illustrious boss, aim to keep my promises for this one. You and your bunny get your freedom after I borrow you two for this last thing. That's it."
Freddy folded his burly arms across his metallic breast (he wasn't wearing the faux fur at the moment, as it was too warm to use inside the building). "Elaborate, then: You're just essentially replacing Glamrock Bonnie's capture with us, right? On remnant soaked bot for another. And... the other Freddy too, yes?"
"Indeed."
The ursine saw no point in this; seeing as his own Bonnie and himself (as well as Foxy) had remnant in them. He produced a hissing noise by inhaling through his teeth, slanting crooked, heavy brows at him. "Trading one Freddy and Bonnie for the other... I literally see no benefit to this since we're what you already have... and yet-" Now he was narrowing his eyes, "Unless of course, there's someone else valuable inside of them that we do not have? That their source of remnant is somehow different or the soul is someone important-"
Morris only smiled in answer.
"My question from earlier- the one you dodged. Is that what you are using my rabbit for? To go and... hurt them? To capture them?" The bear shook his head, "I know my best friend is STRONG but... he cannot manage that entire family and capture them all at once!"
"I believe I mentioned Foxy was going to be with him..."
"That is not very reassuring," The bear groused.
"I swear, Frederick," Morris shook his head. "If I thought real harm would come to him, I wouldn't have bothered. 'Sides, I never exactly said he went to CAPTURE them."
"Then... what are you doing with them? Antagonizing them?"
"Heavens! How droll. I suppose when you put it like that, it does sound terrible, huh? But see, an excursion to those traitors' house... Vanessa and Luis," Morris frowned deeply here. "I want your rabbit and Foxy- alongside an experimental other bot I'm currently testing- to incite the family to action- and to perhaps do something with Vanessa and Luis. They intend on coming here to ruin us, but they're also taking their sweet time about it. So we're going to lure them here, you know?" His oily smirk grew increasingly slicker as it smoothed itself across his older visage. "Also, I wouldn't mind getting Vanny's code. The ghost doe was useful in the PizzaPlex while she was around."
"You're going to abduct Vanny too?" Polar Freddy blinked.
"Yes- or at least, try to. Her code is... interesting. She is a fully aware A.I whose a breed of 'special' here. She is fully actualized without having remnant given to her. Not to mention, a creature born from one of our virtual games, yes? I want to study her," Morris went on to say quite casually. "I wager we can get her to comply too if we promise her a body, AND a position in continued experimentation on remnant!"
Polar Freddy was no organic, but he thought he felt his circuits chill down to the copper filaments within his wires. He was giving Morris a static, unmoved expression, but it belied the tumultuous worry he felt. Vanny was a threat of the highest degree... and yet Morris wanted to mess around with her?
He's literally asking for trouble... what makes him think whatever he does is appealing to her? Even Vanny herself does not seem quite the rabbit everyone makes her out to be. If anything, the family believes that, above all else, Vanny wouldn't touch Cassie, at least. And if she's asked to do anything to hurt Cassie, I highly doubt she'd comply.
Freddy blinked at another thought, Moreover, Vanny, as a killer, wouldn't listen to one preachy old man over the other that had prior control over her. Its an ego thing. She would rather bow to Monty's ass of her own volition than to the next geezer that struts in to boss her around and dissect her programming. Morris is overconfident...
But I wonder if there's a reason for it?
Morris shrugged and said, ignorant to the bear's treacherous thoughts, "Anyways, your rabbit will not be allowed to participate in combat- in case you're worried. He is there to get Vanny, and get out. Her or... we kill off Vanessa or Luis-" He shrugged ever so casually. "Those two are too smart to keep alive. They're an active threat to our security- and they're teaching those kids living with them to be just like them! And the bots they have? They're valuable, Freddy-" He reached out and placed a gentle hand on the bear's arm and patted it. "They are made with OUR parts, and are intelligent in ways we never figured them capable on their own back at the PizzaPlex. Getting them to come here is important. We need more than just their parts... but their minds. Vanny isn't the only one whose sentience and existence is special. And from what you've shown me-"
He removed his hand and folded his limbs behind his back, "Glamrock Bonnie and Freddy... they're possessed, no doubt about it. We need them especially. Their remnant, and to figure out whose inside the other bear. We know who Bonnie is, thanks to your reconnaissance... but Freddy is important to glean. I think I know whose in him already... but I want to double check and get him here, ASAP. So, besides Vanny, getting Freddy here is priority. You understand?"
"So you are risking my friend's life for... whom, exactly? You say you may know whose in him... but is he worth dragging here?" Polar Freddy entreated with a notably icy inflection.
"He is, if he's who I think he is. And if not, well, the remnant saturated pieces will still be useful for other bots down the line," Morris went on to shrug. "I promise you, Freddy. Your rabbit has commands to get himself out of danger, should he feel pressed. Do you not have confidence in his abilities as a sentinel?"
He's baiting me, the bear scowled and lifted a metallic lip, showing the tips of his 3-inch fangs. He said nothing however, simply letting the assistant have this little win for the moment. Besides, Polar Freddy knew his bestie was amazing as a sentinel; he just didn't like violence! Snowshoe Bonnie was lithe, wiry, and flexible in ways that nearly rivaled the daycare attendant model. Not quite as much, but his more compact motor and rotating skeleton was a feat of engineering despite being his frame and size. If anyone can pull this job off, its his rabbit!
And, if they're lucky, the fox will get scrapped. That wasn't a bad thing. But then Freddy recalled Morris mentioning another bot... This had him worrying at his arm by tapping his talons.
He asked, "I believe in my friend absolutely. But... if I may ask, whose the other bot that's accompanying them? Are you not worried Foxy will go on a rampage without me to watch him?"
"Oh no! Our newest sentinel will make sure he stays on task," Morris waved off. "She'll be supervising them from afar and making sure your rabbit is safe. Foxy is... too much of a pain to keep around otherwise. I won't lie, he's a threat and too loose a cannon to keep around, should something else happen to him. We've already repaired him- what, three times? Since you've been on your reconnaissance. He's a public accident WAITING to happen- and we don't need more lawsuits. He's a blithering, biting, spiteful menace to the public. No, this Chica model we made is fresh out the factory, and she's ready and willing to get the job done!"
"A Chica- you made an Arctic Chica?" Freddy blinked.
"Snowy Chica, actually!" He corrected with a blithe air. His smirk retained that lively air as he added, "And why not? The group wouldn't be complete without one! Doncha know? What's a Freddy, Bonnie, and Foxy without a Chica?"
The white ursine blinked rapidly and felt curious stirrings about this concept. He glanced aside and hummed, "And you said... she will keep Foxy on a leash?"
"I've armed her with everything she'll need for this expedition. You need not worry," Morris waved off. He flicked his head towards the CEO's office, "In the meantime, I believe I was directing your attention to something?"
Polar Freddy glanced at the office, then back at Morris. He blinked again, then said, "You... you want me to... is this what I think this is?"
Morris only smiled, expression unchanging.
Freddy blinked, glanced at the expensive door at the other side of the huge floor, then sighed. He unfolded his arms and balled his fists, eyeing the door like he can see the morsel beyond- and he can, if he turned on the specialized features of his Roxy-like eyes. He hesitated, wondered about killing Morris instead... but he knew that if he did, the rest of the building would go on lock-down and he wouldn't be able to leave the structure ever again. He was still carrying his friend's pieces, after all; and it wouldn't do to fail in giving these back to him if he did something outside of mission specs. Morris can lock it down at a second's notice-
Ah, now he knew why all these employees are missing: Its because they're watching from another floor of the building. They were waiting to see what Morris was going to do. Did they want him to take the seat that much? Did he intimidate them into acceptance of his aspiring new position? Or were they truly tired of the old boss just that much?
Polar Freddy worked his jaw, heaved again, then started walking towards the door. He had every intention of making it back to his rabbit so he can make sure he gets fixed good and proper for the last time; so it wouldn't do to double-cross Morris right now. Besides, its fair to say that the current CEO wasn't anyone nobody actually liked... But trading one devil for another, he wasn't sure if it'll be much more of an improvement.
Still, guess he had some cleaning to do. He knocked on the expensive door, flexing his claws in preparation. I'm going to be cleaning myself up for a little while after this. No need to frighten my friend needlessly by being covered in blood the next time we see each other, he thought morbidly as he decided to just open the door instead of waiting to be beckoned in.
He could feel Morris' eyes on him the entire time; and his smile was so corrosive, it could burn right through someone's soul.
~Wednesday. Happening at roughly the same time~
MONTEGOMERY GATOR
Beyond Sunday being a slightly uneasy day, the next few days passed in relative normalcy-
But 'normal' wasn't exactly what others think when the family looked at Freddy.
Monty was a fool- although he wouldn't be the first to tell anyone that. He was aware of the fact he was an ass and can be more or less unbearable at the right or wrong juncture. He liked picking fights- No, he actually loved it, and he'd been thinking on doing so on a whim for the last few days just for the mundane joy of it. He admittedly loved fighting too; he wanted any reason to pick fights, and to end them on his own terms. Call it a masculine thing-
But he hadn't imagined today would turn out the way it did.
To backtrack, he'd been doing his usual thing: Lying on the floor, contemplating his life before this point. He had nothing but time to think nowadays; something he hadn't done before back at the PizzaPlex. He was an uncomplicated case; a character that was designed to be a lazy, chilled-out archetype that's supposed to take things as they happened like water over a duck's back. A gator is one of two things: fierce and ferocious, or lazy and quiet. He hadn't been the latter until after he tasted true freedom.
He wasn't sure about his older self. He learned that his older self had died; burned himself out in a river of electrified sewer water chasing after a kid. He actually agreed with that being a befitting death of a monster (not that he admitted it). To be forgotten in some sunken, dank underbelly of the PizzaPlex. THAT Monty was a beast that needed to be put down. He'd been flawed; broken in more than just the obvious way.
And he had Cromwell to thank for that. Both him, Morris, Vanny, and many more.
The stresses of living in the PizzaPlex and trying to aspire to the popularity Bonnie had got to him. Trying to obtain that stardom, craving the attention the crowd gave the rabbit and that infuriating bear- he'd wanted it so very much and had been pondering the idea of somehow finding a way of moving up. That Monty was willing to do almost anything for it; and his ambitious ways were even encouraged by the staff. Bonnie being removed had been the talk of the plex for a bit amongst the techs- and they were sure to talk of it only when they KNEW Bonnie couldn't hear it.
Monty considered his past further and snorted as he recalled Cromwell's words. The old manager had wanted to move Monty forward; to become an understudy and learn from the buck in spandex. To be more like BONNIE. How annoying- but Bonnie had been doing something right, and people adored him! His 'chiller' aura, cool color, and even cooler demeanor and gentle, melodious tenor voice attracted people like flies to honey.
How could he compete with that?
The answer is, he simply couldn't. So, Monty considered taking Bonnie OUT. He was going to do it too, until Vanny happened. Suddenly, he and Bonnie were both fighting Vanny together. He hadn't wanted the stupid doe to make a fool of Monty Gator and make him a pawn. Not-uh; if Monty was going to be made a fool, it would be on his own terms (although preferably not at all). If he took out Bonnie, he'd do it because HE CAN- not because Vanny made him do it. He didn't want anyone's help for it! HE DIDN'T NEED IT.
But then Bonnie died anyway, no matter how hard Monty and the buck fought her.
Later on afterwards, Monty became a savage animal in every aspect; turned into a ghastly, skeletal specter with a blood-thirsty penchant to chew on metal and little girls. He didn't care; he ate up everything he could until his body failed him. Monty was a driven, true carnivore in every aspect- a violent, angry mass of frustrated wires and snapping teeth.
He had nothing happy in his life but that stardom- and once the PizzaPlex closed and the people stopped coming, he had nothing left but that madness to stew in. None of his 'friends' in the Glamrocks filled that hole inside him, even prior to the plex closing its doors. They didn't much care about him: He knew Freddy was obsessed with that missing rabbit, Chica wanted her food, and Roxy wanted her make-up. They were all shallow in differing ways; and he wasn't any better. That had been fine with him, once upon a time. Monty placed value in popularity anyways; which ultimately, makes or breaks an animatronic at Freddy Fazbear's. It was a poisonous mentality that he figured had survival merit. A popular bot can keep you alive and functioning and relevant-
Unless you're Bonnie. Being a crowd favorite hadn't kept him alive. And truly, it hadn't kept Monty alive either, down the line. Goes to show just how much his prior mentality hadn't meant ANYTHING in the grand scheme of things. All that raging violence within him had been useless in the end.
Still, the staff were planning to scrap Bonnie anyways because they were gently phasing out the older faces. The older faces reminded people of tragedies in the decades before. Parents talked of the missing kids all the time whenever they looked at Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica. Monty was in, Bonnie was out. Simple as that- and it felt right to fill that role. And in the end, Monty's toxic mentality had been enabled and fed into- and he accepted it despite the violent tendencies it instilled.
Monty was a confident gator and couldn't be more SURE of himself under normal circumstances. He couldn't know himself better than anyone else. Cromwell had no right to try and change him; to make him more than what he is and have his personality altered on a whim. For Vanny to control him and prompt him into helping decommission Bonnie. For the both of those crooked masterminds to do him and the blue bunny in like that. HE wanted to take down Bonnie without their goading! ON HIS OWN STRENGTH.
FUCK THEM!
And now, living here in this house, Monty has had time to reflect on all that and realize something else: He still somewhat missed and craved that stardom. He LOVED being the center of attention- but now that Vanessa and Luis has helped him redevelop his character matrix and adjust the bugs in his personality, he found his other true self. He found the lazy, chiller gator that liked to laze in the sun just as much as he loved his food. He loved eating as much as the old Chica does! He literally ate the family's trash (to be fair, it was fresh, tasty home-made trash! The best kind). He liked the quiet times now; the moments where he can sit and be left alone in peace. He didn't mind the quiet normalcy of the household he lived in. Here, he felt appreciated in a different way. The family asked him for his strength for work and to play his bass when things got too quiet.
He got some kind of attention and wasn't being compared to Bonnie.
Whenever he went out into town and people saw him, they assumed he was a cosplayer but they adored his appearance regardless. They fawned over him sometimes. Some said they liked Monty Gator as a character, and it cheered him up every time he caught wind of this praise. Some people actually missed him! If that wasn't a bit of an ego-stroker, he wasn't sure what was. And now that he wasn't an angry bundle of iron teeth and wires, he can really stop to appreciate this life.
Was it wrong to still want being a superstar though? Was it wrong to miss taking center-stage? Was it wrong to sometimes daydream you're still a big shot? No, he didn't think so! And so long as he wasn't hurting anyone about it, he figured it wasn't bad at all.
He'd wanted to hurt Bonnie for it once- that's where he knew he HAD been wrong. Monty now no longer desired this; and was startled to realize just how much of himself had been viciously altered by the staff at the PizzaPlex so he can eventually be set up to replace Bonnie. After all, Fazbear Entertainment wanted to get rid of the older bots at some point so they can leave behind all the dirty memories of the pain and crimes untold that their faces brought. Whenever people look at Freddy's handsome, round face, people think forcibly of the tragedies of the past. It made sense that Monty would replace Bonnie in time. People STILL think of the missing 5 kids in the eighties whenever people look at a smiling rabbit or bear.
So yes, Monty was altered to be more ambitious and to replace the buck in time. A slight tweak in his system however catapulted him into madness; and he had fucking Cromwell and Morris to thank for that. Vanny wasn't to blame for his madness; oh no. She only sped along the inevitable after they began the process. Vanny really wasn't to blame for Monty's fate, strangely enough. At least, not all the way.
Tangents aside, Monty reflected on how changed he was now. He also found his musings still tended to coast to the idea of fighting on occasion. He loved fighting; and whenever Gregory got out his little fighter games, he challenged Monty to them. He loved that! And when Vanessa said Monty was ALLOWED to destroy stuff for their flip jobs? He got praised for it! He loved his house flipping job! He got his own MONEY and he can make lazy at the house all he wanted. While he wasn't a star anymore, he quite liked this life too.
At least I ain't competetin' wid that stupid bunny and his bear-boyfriend anymore. Kinda a relief, really.
Bonnie claimed to be retired, and now Freddy wanted out too. If ever the Glamrocks decided they wanted bigger gigs again, Monty literally didn't have to worry about competition. And even if it didn't happen, Monty liked their current set-up too. Maybe less so than actual stardom, but this was a home. Something about the term felt alright with him- and it was a term he never thought he'd find in his life. The PizzaPlex had NEVER been home, and being here was what taught him that.
As he lie on the floor, he watched the ceiling fan and listened to the activities of the house in reflective silence; letting his musings take him away back to other worlds where he can still enjoy being a lazy gator while being adored by millions of fans. Can't a gator dream? He's allowed to do that now, so why not? He wasn't being COMPARED TO FUCKING BONNIE ANYMORE. Nobody was comparing him! That was the greatest thing!
He opened one lazy eye and swiveled it over to the couch. There, he found Bonnie himself sprawled across it with Cassie draped over his fluffy breast. The size disparity was still quite jarring even though Cassie and Gregory had grown some in the last couple years; with the girl still looking rather tiny against the huge buck. The two were napping; the buck's ears drooping off the couch's arm and one paw resting on Cassie herself to keep her from rolling off by accident. It was a gentle, serene scene; with the buck sometimes opening one eye to make sure she was still asleep before slipping back into rest mode himself. He smiled each time he caught sight of her mussed, chocolate hair and sleeping visage. No doubt his 'soul' or whatever was at peace too; perhaps thinking on a time when Cassie was a little baby or something.
Monty still wasn't sure about how this soul thing worked or if Bonnie could actually remember anything of her father's mortal life. He sometimes wondered how much of Bonnie was even there; especially after the anniversary of Cassie's father's death. He still remembered that evening too well; how Bonnie just... stopped being himself. Stopped smiling. Stopped talking. He just drifted around like he was lost. He floated around Cassie that entire day; held her every time she cried. He only spoke in murmurs; and a lot of it hadn't been completely coherent.
It was the creepiest thing Monty ever saw.
He never wanted to be possessed himself; the idea of it scared him. He wanted his body COMPLETELY to himself; for no one else to touch it. If Monty had to share his body with anyone else, he'd rather be taken apart and completely decommissioned! So to see Bonnie still sometimes act out of sorts -like last week- he had to admit, Monty hated feeling weak... but the sight of this unnatural binding of soul and metal rattled him more than anything else. Bonnie not being insufferably smug and proud felt wrong. To see him become a frenzied, blood-oozing, ichor drooling, spiteful mess of hostile wires and black-eyed vengeance-
That was the most disturbing image he could never scrub from his memory banks.
The memory of him seething and frothing at the maw when the polar bots attacked them last week. When they appeared to take the children away and abduct Bonnie himself. To watch Bonnie snarl and bleed both normal blood and oily tar from his skull orifices as he writhed against the white bear's vice-
Even Monty admitted that while he loved fighting, he hadn't enjoyed that one. Bonnie not being Bonnie was unnerving and scared not only himself, but the rest of the family. He never wanted to see the buck act not himself ever again- but that may be inevitable with the life they live. He couldn't enjoy their games, pranks and fights if he was... someone else. Someone else dead. Someone else that SHOULD be a memory. And it was because of this creepy anomaly that sometimes Monty would watch Bonnie for moments at a time, the times he wasn't paying attention. The gator would watch him and avoid him if need be.
And now Freddy was like that too! How much more weirdness can this family take? If Freddy turned into... that... there may be no way of getting him back. At least Bonnie and Cassie's pops got along. They shared the vessel pretty well; even VANNY said there hadn't been much to worry about in their case. Bonnie admitted that if he got possessed again, he could come out of it almost on a whim-
And he did, when the polar bots left and Chica passed out after she got damaged. He rapidly became himself again in literally a SECOND. Bonnie was fine, comparatively speaking. He even said he's okay with this existence; that he accepted and carried it with a gladness that somewhat helped the others to feel better about it. They can only hope though that eventually, it could be the same for Freddy too- although that didn't seem likely.
The gator shuddered; not for the first time as he observed bunny and girl. Bonnie lazily yawned once; the picture of comfort and happiness as he lay on his back with his eyes closed. You wouldn't think he had a qualm in the world with all the relaxation he both endured and exhumed. He moved his jaw sometimes, likely still tasting the carrot cake he ate not an hour before. Monty could almost smell the traces from his lying position near them. On occasion, an ear would twitch in the direction of an errant noise, but he didn't move beyond that. Bonnie breathed deeply sometimes to indicate his restful state; only coming out of it when he heard certain noises and to look at Cassie like she's singularly the only thing that really kept him here, anchored to the world. He even dragged a paw across her head to smooth her wild hair once or twice, the girl not even stirring as he did.
While still watching the buck like he may turn all creepy and weird at any moment, Monty was also listening to the sounds of Chica and Vanessa in the kitchen; the two chattering away at a million miles an hour like they've been best friends their ENTIRE lives. Luis was in there with them, probably reading from his tablet. He'd speak up on occasion, slipping into Spanish whenever he was exasperated about something and complimenting Vanessa like she was the only thing that mattered. The voices only died whenever whatever meat (a briscuit, Monty believed) was being pan-seared began to hiss too loudly, then resume as the sizzling deafened again. He heard Luis and Vanessa smack lips or something once... Might be having a couple moment, if Chica's cheery 'Aw!' was anything to go by.
Meanwhile, DJ was still sitting in his reading corner here in the living room. He had his psychology book, emulating a yawn on occasion even though he didn't need to do so. It merely demonstrated his own relaxation; his interesting lavender colored eyes flitting across the pages as he continued to figure himself out in a life he's never known. Good on him for finding a hobby he enjoyed besides making music (he got a keyboard for Christmas- and he's been playing it on and off). He was also seen adjusting the seat sometimes; making sure to keep Sun's blanket fort in proper straights so his displacing the chair didn't knock its corner to the floor.
Sun meanwhile loved his new fort. He'd been taking blankets and plush toys and piling them in the reading corner behind DJ's armchair just to build with them. For Christmas, besides getting art supplies and an instrument, Vanessa and Luis had gifted him with plush animals and pillows so he can build his fort up. He never kicked that little particularity he carried over from being the daycare attendant; having compulsively built this childish structure the first day he came to living here. That particular fort has been set up for the last two years; though only its blankets or materials have been changed on occasion just to be washed. He lay inside the fort even now; in rest mode with his instrument beside him after having practiced with it just a few minutes before.
Monty wasn't a fan of the violin, he quickly learned. He didn't hate on it, but it wasn't his cup of tea. If anything, Monty recalled fondly his little banjo he had before he became a certified Glamrock gator. He mained the banjo at his attraction for a while before upgrading to bass as an understudy. He still had that yellow bass; Bonnie kept the antique red one the older purple rabbit passed down. The two played sometimes, but Bonnie less so the more time went on. Steadily but surely, Bonnie became less musical beyond singing- tending to tinker with tech in the garage and studying technology outside the PizzaPlex. He was slowly becoming an egghead not unlike Cassie's father in some part. He also tended to play Chica's guitar at times; favoring it over his own bass. It was weird, but Monty didn't care.
Now as to Freddy- the subject of today's little incident. The one who made Monty worry and fuss the most out of everyone else here in terms of unpredictability.
Gregory was sitting at the computer in his room for the last while before finally coming down to find the bear. Freddy himself was sitting in another arm chair next to the couch; the bear sometimes ticking his eyes over at the buck and girl before ticking back to the fire. He moved a bit more as Gregory entered the room; the boy smiling brightly at the sight of his favorite bot and coming to plop down onto Freddy's lap. Freddy threw an arm around the boy's shoulders and drew him in; large nose whuffing as he exhaled heated gusts of air from his motor. He smiled paternally, ever cheered by the boy who changed his life the most.
He acted his truest self whenever Gregory was around. Outside of Gregory though, Monty started noticing something off about him. Something wrong. Freddy stared too much; or spaced out in general as time went on. The further from last week they went, the more distant he acted. The more prone to tempers he became.
Gregory's influence seemed to help steady him. The boy worked on Freddy a lot and meticulously; more than he should, actually. He didn't need to run maintenance on Fatbear that often, but Monty wasn't going to complain about it. With Freddy acting his most odd, the boy being who he is helped them to find normalcy here.
Freddy was seen planting a heavy paw onto the boy's scalp; gently rubbing and combing blue talons through scruffy brown hair. Gregory hummed and shut his eyes, showing a rare display of his own affection and conceding to his ministrations. He leaned against the bear, balling a hand over his fluffy chest and slowly nodding off. Freddy gingerly leaned his head down until it touched Gregory's own; shutting his azure eyes and tucking the small lad under his chin.
The bear smelled okay for now, which was good. Monty watched them another moment and finally broke his gaze. Freddy had been smelling a little... strange, the last few days. He knew the ursine was still a bit on edge when it came to the polar bear version of himself. To be fair, the polar bear was just trying to abduct Bonnie last week and attempting to do the same to the kids. He's started producing an odd smell. Roxy noticed it too, but it was so subtle only the gator and wolf noticed. Bonnie's weaker sense of smell hadn't caught it- but he's sensed Freddy's odd aura to compensate.
Freddy had a wrong-smelling air about him now. It stank of... how would one describe death? Rancid, heady, close? That made sense. It was like rot in your face that you can't scrub from your nose. It was there some moments, and then gone others. It depended on the bear's moods; as Freddy feeling his most angered or irritable is when it made itself known.
Roxy and Monty told Vanessa and Luis about it. She didn't say anything helpful beyond, "Go tell Vanny." So they mentioned it to Vanny, and even she hadn't said much beyond, "Just another unfortunate sign being possessed." Sure, she also added that maybe the soul within may be getting used to its new home, but its not like anyone could do anything about it.
Back in the present, Monty continued watching as Freddy continued to embrace the boy that changed his life forever. He didn't pick favorites with children, but damn if he didn't come close when it came to Gregory. Freddy loved him and Cassie just the same; no one can question that. Both had done things to the bear's life that had made it better. It's no wonder that some moments, Freddy would feel his most defensive around them.
But... he also got like that with Bonnie.
Anybody who touches HIS rabbit (note the oddly possessive pronoun) may just be in danger of a severe dismembering. Even Monty knew Freddy would take the gloves off if it meant to keep Bonnie in his life now. Anything happen to that rabbit again, Freddy WILL come undone. No question about it. The fear of losing Bonnie was crippling to him; the bear having never gotten over his trauma of losing the buck to begin with.
It was obvious in the way the bear stared at the rabbit how much he adored and worried (more like fawned) over him. Freddy sometimes reached out and touched the rabbit like its to make sure he's there; watched his retreating back every time Bonnie left the room. His wanton touches were sometimes unconscious; fretful. His attention on Bonnie was also so rapt. Almost trance-like-
Loving in every way.
Monty was no genius, but if he didn't know better, he'd think Freddy was genuinely in love with Bonnie. He could be, but he wasn't sure completely. Bonnie tended to call Freddy his 'brother' and romped with him in a hard, sibling-like way a lot. He gave him the friendly bro fists and hugs, with their nose nuzzling not being as common as they used to be. In fact, Bonnie's gestures can be taken as lovingly platonic or familial-
But Freddy? Not-uh. Monty was almost CERTAIN the bear loved the rabbit in a way even he may not realize. He didn't do anything to address it, nor did he even notice. Its likely Freddy himself figured it familial. At some point, it might've even been just that: Familial.
But love had a tendency to run away with itself. To evolve, change, and shift phases as smoothly as water without notice to the person it afflicts. And now that Freddy was likely developing more complicated feelings as a result of actualization beyond what he already felt to begin with, its quite possible things can change between them in the time to come. Even now, Monty can see it: Freddy watched Bonnie hungrily. He was afraid the rabbit would disappear again; afraid of his own feelings in some part. He would glance at the buck, sigh, and get back to whatever he was doing. He rubbed at Gregory, keeping a studious, lingering eye on both boy and buck.
Freddy will be FERAL with rage if anyone touches them... and there ain't no guarantee we'd get him back out of his rage like we can get Bonnie back. Bonnie at least has some control over his fits... but even that is questionable.
Its no wonder the household was sitting silently on eggshells. Everybody around here can kind of see it: Freddy hasn't been all the way himself recently, and he tended to swap moods faster and proved to be more volatile in some ways with time. His own emotions were a dangerous fuse that continued to shorten; although it wasn't lit up yet. With time however, that can change-
And Monty and the others would have to be ready for that day.
Gregory was nearly asleep now; the boy sighing against the bear's fluffy breast and slumping like he wanted to fall onto a cloud. Freddy supported his back and kept him tucked under his chin; watching the fire with a long, almost forlorn emotion fluttering in his gaze. It switched to Bonnie every time the buck moved; then slowly glided back to the fire.
Creepy fucker, Monty inwardly groused.
No, that wasn't fair, and Monty knew it. Freddy was morbidly afraid of losing this; to wake up and find it wasn't real. It was obvious in the way he held himself and stared off into the flames like that. He read his psychology books like he could find all his answers about life in them. He engaged with Vanessa and Luis about life every so often; and recently got DJ into it too. Freddy was still looking for answers about his existence in some part; although Monty knew not why. They were happy here; they had all they could ever want!
Was he trying to explain his feelings towards Bonnie? Was there something else no one else sees? Did Freddy crave a different kind of mortality, or was he actually AFRAID of it? What else could there be when they're living their best lives? Was this not good enough for him? Was it too much? Did he want more? Did he shoulder a regret he still hadn't let go?
The latter proved to be more plausible, Monty figured. Freddy dwelling on past mistakes and sorrows seemed not only the most likely, but the best reason why he seemed to be so anxious nowadays. He was definitely afraid of a few things; most (if not ALL) involving this family being hurt. He would not be afraid of losing himself to the spirit within though if push came to shove-
But that was the very thing the family hoped to avoid. Freddy however was more than willing to give himself to whoever sat inside him if it meant to protect the boy in his arms and the buck and girl on the couch within his arm's length. Now while Monty didn't have a strong basis in that assumption, he figured it would be so since Freddy himself tended to be obvious about his feelings. Freddy has even admitted in the past that he's willing to do unspeakable violence to people like Vanny if incentivized enough. He would stoop to that, even BEFORE being actualized.
Why else did Freddy say for Gregory to 'turn the bots on Vanny' the night Gregory stayed in the PizzaPlex? Freddy knew Vanny's vessel was human... and yet he told Gregory to turn them onto her after he was taken apart. Freddy is just as EXTREME as Monty in terms of violence- it was just rarer and harder to see. Always a last resort, sure, but no less vicious in some capacity. And if he was willing to hurt a human when he was nicer before, there was no telling how prone to it he was NOW.
Freddy suddenly reached out; drawing Monty's gaze back to the present. The bear rested his heavy paw onto Bonnie's shin and gave it a faint squeeze as he continued to use his other arm and head to keep the dozing lad supported against him. Bonnie grunted once, peeped an eye open, then smirked and nodded back off within a breath. There was a sigh from him too, even though days before, Bonnie had admitted to being somewhat wary of Freddy. Considering the buck's relaxation now, it's safe to assume Freddy was himself for the moment.
Monty watched them, rolling onto his belly and laying his heavy jaws over his folding arms. He blinked lazily at them and the display of clear affection there. Platonic or not, one cannot deny that there was definitely love there, and in spades. Bonnie and Freddy loved each other intensely and vibrantly; and now even more so now that the two were actualized. Freddy rubbed up and down a few times, watching him like he could live off of just a glance alone.
"All the love in the world, to both give it and get what you're given in-turn- real love comes back to you," Bonnie had told Monty once. "I am a lucky buck, and you? A sad, pathetic little lizard with a cold dead heart."
Those words annoyed him a long time ago. That was also back at the PizzaPlex; when the two were more at odds. What was funny was that Bonnie was the one with an actual soul of a dead person and yet it made him wiser and fuller of life. He was both right, and wrong in a funny way. Monty wasn't a cold lizard- not completely. Although once upon a time, he had been. He'll admit to that, although not out loud.
Freddy kept his paw on Bonnie for a full moment or two, then pulled it back and huffed almost dreamily. He shut his eyes, slumped in the chair, and likely fell into rest mode himself. Ah, that was the real Freddy right there. The GOOD bear. Not the scary bear. He was sitting between his greatest loves right now; the kids and Bonnie in front of a fire, listening to his other greatest loves bustling about nearby in the kitchen.
Chica was seen peeking her head out of the kitchen once, the movement drawing Monty's gaze briefly. The hen burbled at the sight of the ursine and lapine bots, her beak moving in soft, throaty clucks. She hovered into the area with a tray of beverages; lemonade she and Vanessa tended to make together. She placed the tray onto the table, leaned over, and kissed all their heads; making sure to be very careful with her beak. Freddy hummed sleepily at her once, meanwhile Bonnie smirked like the egotistical asshole he was capable of being. He gave the hen a little of his usual leering; the hen lightly fluffing his mussed hair and going to leave-
But then Bonnie snatched her wrist and held; the motion smoother than greased lightning and he pulled her closer. The chicken 'bawked' curiously, but Bonnie was pulling her down to touch his tiny nose to her cheek in the best approximation of a kiss he can manage- seeing as bots, they could not do so otherwise. Humans kissed; bots can't. They can try, but they weren't built like humans. They just didn't have the features. Bonnie did his best here by using a sensitive region of his face -like his nose and whiskers- to make contact with the subject he was lavishing his focus on. It was a show of trust and love that stretched between the bots and each one tried showing that love in small, differing ways.
Chica didn't pull or retreat in any abashed manner as she normally would; she simply stayed there the entire motion almost obediently and soaked it all in. She only budged once he let go; the whole display smooth enough so that Cassie hadn't done more than shuffle around on the buck's chest without waking up. The hen produced a series of low crooning sounds after that, noises that had Monty raising a stout brow. She sighed, waved at him and tossed Cassie another loving glance, then proceeded to move back to the kitchen in a way to keep her servos from making too much noise. Bonnie watched her go with nothing less than affection and slumped back into rest mode- his paw right back on Cassie's head to rub it.
Monty knew the family wasn't supposed to pick favorites, but sometimes, it felt like Chica, Bonnie and Freddy still picked each other over the others. Now, he wasn't sure if that was actually the case anymore and perhaps he was wrong in that assumption... but sometimes, it was hard to kick that thought from his noggin since these three bots were so mushy with each other. It was safe to assume that the capacity to care about and love each other was in their programming when they were first made; and they've never overwritten that forced affection. They won't remove it. They loved each other and WANTED to- and its likely even if they did remove that forced affection, they'd STILL adore each other.
Although he had to admit, there was something a little different with each of them lately that was... a bit beyond the norm. He couldn't put a talon on it, but each of them was a bit more complex in their mannerisms in terms of human emotionality. Now, all the Glamrocks were a complex bunch when it comes to inflections, but these three were a bit more... how can he say this? Not only touchy-feely (although that was certainly true...), but more advanced in their feelings.
"You jelly?" Bonnie suddenly rasped from the couch, the picture of comfort.
Monty blinked at the sudden vocalization. No one has actually really spoken around him in over an hour; the house was just THAT quiet sometimes. Everyone was being chill, sleepy, comfortable. Most of their communication had been physical or through ping messages to prevent any disturbance. The most talking done was between Luis and Vanessa in the kitchen. So Bonnie speaking up almost felt intrusive.
The gator harrumphed haughtily, sneering back in a low mutter so to prevent Gregory and Cassie from waking, "Shut yer carrot hole. I'm fine right where I am, thanks."
Bonnie was giving him that annoying, boastful look. "I still have the ladies fawning over me and I don't even hafta try. I betcha you're jelly," He said in that insufferable lilt, waggling his too-pretty brows suggestively.
Monty growled, but the noise was more vibration than sound. "Go fuck yourself," he slipped the buck the middle finger.
"So eloquent."
Monty narrowed his cochineal eyes at him. Seems like some things just won't change. Honestly, that felt relieving and reassuring in a way he couldn't quite word out. He didn't say that aloud, of course. He hoped Bonnie wouldn't change anytime soon; and if he did, Monty would know something was wrong with him.
Monty was about to shut his eyes and slip back into rest mode himself- when Bonnie's ears flicked up so fast that the brackets in them whirred. He sat up too; the motion actually harsh enough to make Cassie grunt and jerk. The girl slumped free of him and sleepily rubbed her eyes, groggily trying to recall what time it was.
The look on Bonnie's face... Monty had to admit, he already hated the look of it.
The buck's wide-eyed, alert visage was telling enough, let alone the constant twitch of his nose and total forward focus. He hadn't seemed to notice Cassie against him, his jaw slipping open slightly as if he was slightly surprised by something. He turned his head a bit so to focus on the other sounds around him; as if he was doing a head-count of the family and tracking activities against whatever he could be hearing outside-
Which proved to be true when he said, "I hear another bot."
Freddy was immediately awake- leaving the gator to wonder if he'd been in rest mode at all. Cassie was also suddenly jolting like she was being jump-scared but she was braced by Bonnie's paws before she slipped off him by accident. The girl's lower lip was trembling.
Roxy was seen almost vaulting down the stairs and snarling; her chassis lifting off her fangs and revealing every horribly realistic tooth in her maw. Her amber eyes looked a lot like the glowing coals of their roiling hearth; her mane and tail bristling.
Bonnie suddenly did the same; his ears lowered to his head as his teeth flickered into view. He gently pulled Cassie off and muttered "Stay here" to her as he moved to rise. His tail was completely erect in a rabbit's universal sign of alertness and fear. His carmine colored talons caught the firelight in a sinister manner.
Monty felt and smelled something wrong as soon as Roxy had shown up; blinking rapidly and sitting up to his full height. His pressure sensors felt something amiss in the atmosphere; but they were never clear enough to paint him an accurate picture. His scent wasn't helpful either; seeing as the polar bots tended to have little to no smell- given this was them.
Freddy did the same next to him, having pulled Gregory off with the same meticulous care Bonnie had done for Cassie. He produced a thunderous racket of grating; a growl that vibrated his throat and chassis from the sheer intensity of its volume. His cerulean eyes looked more like azure star fire; a celestial body about to go super nova. His huge fangs glinted in and out of view; swords that were being steadily unsheathed as he marched towards the front door.
"I'm going to assume its not the polar bear," Monty said to Bonnie, remembering that the white ursine was supposed to be a neutral party- or perhaps their ally entirely.
Bonnie's pensive but determinedly set gaze said enough. He then added, "Frame sounds too small. Servos are moving quicker... has a different sound and gait than Polar Freddy's. I heard- wait." He suddenly froze, his expression growing increasingly worried for a split second. He moved his head in the direction of another source of noise, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he likely tried to paint a mental picture of the enemy's location. He stuttered, "Wha- there's another one? What in the bloody-"
"What?" Roxy snapped behind him.
Freddy wasn't waiting on them; already he was opening the front door and stepping outside. Monty followed him out, unable to keep his budding excitement under wraps.
The Arctic bots are coming to them, huh? WELL THEN. Monty was sure he and the others could rise to the challenge. After all, the family had the advantage of numbers AND strength; not to mention that they had their repair armature in the other room should something go awry. They also had the additional advantage of Vanny, M.X.E.S, Vanessa, Luis, and Gregory doing the hacking all at once- and these bots were getting within range of their ping! Add Chica on top of all that- nobody was safe from them.
Now why would they do this? They're exposing themselves so needlessly...
Monty found himself outside, his maroon optics falling upon Arctic Foxy himself. The white fox was an unusual sight; having the purple stripe markings shaped like Roxy's own cheek marks gliding along his features and having eyes like roiling pools of lava. He still had an uncanny resemblance to Funtime Foxy otherwise, albeit his shorter mane and fully plumed tail made him stick out against other variations before him. His faux fur coat was tattered in some places; having never been properly repaired after his scrap with Roxy. Likely he was too impatient to get it repaired or he literally didn't bother getting another one; seeing as he was here to ruin the one he had the rest of the way.
He looked recently repaired after his scrap with Roxy last week, and his scent suggested he's been doing his best to eliminate his individual smell I.D but got impatient and stopped covering it overall. He had the smell of newness to him; like polished metal, new wires, and plastics. He also vaguely smelled like what he's been walking through recently; some brush and vegetation from the woods near and around their house. Its likely he's come from the backroads and not the public ones.
The fox chortled as the family stepped out and took an eyeful of him; the former looking mightily unrepentant and his most smug. He was literally unable to stop smiling; twitchy upon his footing like he was barely holding himself back from another scrap. His alarmingly bright and too-sharp gaze fluttered between them all- lingering on Roxy more than once.
"Yer lookin' mighty fine there, lass," He opened his arms as if waiting for an embrace. "Been thinkin' boot ye since our tussle! Oh, the JOY it gave me!"
Roxy shuddered like he just said something illicit; staring at him like he was just one giant bug she crushed and realized too late it was a stink bug. She stepped backwards in visible disgust at him, putting her nose haughtily into the air and snapping teeth. The pronounced clink of hardened fangs was audible as she sneered back, "Wish I can say the same- since you ran away most of that fight! All you did was yank on my hair!"
"Thought a lass like ye appreciated a little hair pullin', eh?" He waggled his brows suggestively, once again making Roxy recoil with tangible contempt.
Bonnie had come out by now, with Monty noticing that the humans stayed smartly inside with Eclipse at their front. The buck meanwhile sniffled and swiveled his ears; glaring at the vulpine menace with the hardened severity of chipped granite. He instantly fired, "Where's the bear? That wasn't HIS servos I heard coming up to the house..."
Foxy shrugged causally, "Why doncha look up?"
There was a whir of noise; servos whined and wind snarled as a high-speed torrent of blazing white flickered into view like the glare of sunshine reflecting off of a mirror. Monty whipped around just to see -too late- that another bot has indeed joined the party. It's leg moved past the others and hurled itself STRAIGHT at the blue buck-
Freddy jumped to protect his friend and blocked it on time-
-Just for the sheer velocity and kinetic energy to EXPLODE in a crunch of metal and ripping fabric; hurling the Glamrock leader into the street head over heels. Foxy side-stepped it easily, watching with clear bemusement as the bear got sent hurling past him like a burning meteorite. Freddy literally flipped and couldn't stop either; having been launched into a neighbor's yard. He tore through it; though the snow on it meant he hadn't actually ripped it apart. He was stunned; no doubt about it.
The amount of power in that blow, The gator blinked dumbly. If that hits any of our motors or skulls... shit.
Bonnie recovered from his stupor and blocked the next swing; the owner of the white legs having performed a hand-stand while bringing it's other leg down with the intention to knock Bonnie's head off. He barely managed to stop it; but he wasn't alone in that motion: DJ had grabbed the leg at the same time, having helped Bonnie to brace himself against it as well as take some of the heaviness off the strike. DJ's free limbs went to snatch this other bot next-
Just for the leggy menace to hop up out of the crowd and somersault over them. Roxy snapped jaws at it and Chica kicked out her sharpened toe talons, only for the ladies to miss the assailant completely. They snarled and clattered teeth and beak in agitated, feral vexation as the group watched this second bot launch himself to the house's roof. He made the motion look easy; moving with liquid grace and contorting in a manner not too dissimilar to the daycare attendant. He drew himself up next; the afternoon sun shining almost perfectly behind him as he looked down on the family at large.
Monty felt something in him grow hot and furious, as well as cold and leaden as he beheld another Bonnie variant before them.
This snowshoe-themed buck was taller, lankier, and more wiry than Glamrock Bonnie; his ears being significantly longer and his face shaped more realistically like a rabbit- or like a hare, actually, he figured. He had spots on his breast too, more or less akin to a male snowy owl; but they were faint compared to the black tips on his ears. He stood on his toes all the time; his legs that uncanny, animistic strangeness like he truly was a hare forced to learn to walk upright. They bent strangely, like if he were to kneel over, the position would look more comfortable and natural than this bipedal gait.
He had five fingers- something the Glam family didn't have. The majority of the bots in Vanessa's house (excluding the attendant) had four fingers as a comparison. Even DJ had four, despite being many-limbed and more humanoid in appearance. The hare also had a longer tail than Bonnie did; it stopping about a third of the way down his leg as it flicked and flew back upright in an alert position.
He had no expression on his face; his eyes a cold, tactical neutrality that betrayed the fact he may just have no feelings in him at all. He didn't even blink, the tick a nuance that had to be programmed into the bots to make them more human to others. He also had a similar paint job around his eyes like Glamrock Bonnie did; black eye-liner, but longer, sleeker, and more exaggerated to emphasize and accentuate the severity of his cheeks and face. His ears flicked in the light wind; his talons a crisp, polished obsidian at the tips and gently transitioning to seashell pink at the base against his startlingly white faux fur coat.
The group turned back to Foxy now, looking past him towards the neighbors' yard back at Freddy. The bear was getting up unsteadily, wincing while holding his left arm in place. Monty was alarmed to see it was already pulverized like he tried shoving it into a press. The bear fixed it back into his socket; staring unblinkably at the Arctic bots with cruel calculation.
How strong is this other rabbit? The gator wondered as he passed glances between the newcomer and Freddy himself.
"What the- THE FUCK MAN!" Bonnie threw up his arms at the fox. "The heck is going on here! He shouldn't be attacking! He's a PACIFIST, last I heard!"
"I s'pose then the old joke goes: He just passed a fist to yer friend to show his love," Foxy laughed. "No? Yeah... I thought that joke was dumb too. Probably shouldnae made it."
Bonnie growled in answer, "Dude. Snowshoe Bonnie isn't supposed to fight! And where's your god damn bear? The fuck are you even here for? THE HELL IS GOING ON?"
Foxy kept his enduring smirk as he said, "Nuthin' doin'. Morris is usin' the bear for somefink else today so, yeah. To compensate, he said I get to borrow his bestie for a bit and give him a chance to flex!" The fox gestured at the hare, "He doon have his primary processor and personality chip yet either so... doon expect any pity or sympathy from him: Cuz he ain't got none! Literally. He's got only has his one job, and that is all that matters right now."
Bonnie turned back to face the other buck, likely experiencing that surreal strangeness of knowing there's another version of himself sitting right there. He flashed the other lapine bot a sympathetic expression, Chica doing something similar next to him. He growled once, then fired at Foxy, "Why doesn't he have his main processor and chip? The fuck have you been doing to this poor fool? He's so damn strong he could probably hurt himself by accident just from the sheer force of those kicks!"
Foxy obligingly answered with, "What? We made him into what he's really supposed to be: A true fighting machine. He's a sentinel, remember? That's kinda our gig. Him having 'emotions' and 'FEELINGS' would just interfere with his job- being the sad, sorry, blubbery whelp that he is at heart. Honestly lad, if you knew the REAL him, you'd prefer this cold, unfeeling machine before you. He's so WHINY..." He rolled his roiling amber eyes. "UGH. Never met a lad that belly aches like he does! That aside, he'll get his pieces later after its done! Simple as zat."
The buck overhead knelt and watched them studiously, likely having scanned them each in excruciating detail at this point. He hadn't reacted to Foxy's commentary, somewhat proving that he had no actual inflection to account for at this moment. His own eyes were the same red as Bonnie and Monty's own; a stark vermillion that beheld a vaguely sinister quality against the black lines accentuating his uncannily semi-realistic features. There was a creepiness to him that Monty couldn't put a talon on; and his height and power only helped to increase his menace.
Freddy was up across the street; with Monty noticing the neighbors in that house were watching with alarmed expressions from the window. It was faintly hilarious but also concerning that the Arctic bots had come HERE to do this; as there was no telling what kind of damages will be incurred and who may get inevitably hurt. Moreover, someone may end up calling the police and dragging them over here- just for them to get seriously maimed or to arrest Vanessa and Luis for disturbing the peace.
Meanwhile, the bear snarled with a intensity that actually had Foxy turning around and raising a fully plumed blow; his tail flicking once before lowering at the sight of the angry ursine. Monty also noticed Bonnie twitch next to him; his gaze suddenly frozen as he zeroed onto Freddy with a jarring alertness betraying he could be sensing that wrongness too. It didn't help that Freddy's optics started to bleed from the corners; Monty smelling the ichor and blood as it arrived.
Why is he being so volatile-? Fatbear's gettin' too easily riled up, the gator blinked. And here I thought that was MY shtick!
"Weeelllll... I see Morris was right about ye bein'... that," Foxy unintelligently observed. "He said you were a priority... making you mad is gonna be way too easy now, eh?"
Freddy opened his maw and produced a rolling roar that would make anyone else piss themselves with fright; a sound that could stir the most primordial form of fear in any organic. A real bear's vocalizations naturally frightened people; let alone that same sound coming from a seven foot tall metal automaton with the capability to think and plan and haunted by a wrathful apparition from beyond the grave.
Foxy's pointed face curled and twisted; grinning maliciously at the sight of him. "Yah. Yah. This'll be easy. Boonie-" He flicked his tail at the hare overhead, "Do yer thing."
The hare crouched in preparation from the roof-
Foxy knelt and braced himself as Freddy surged forward-
Monty wasn't going to wait on the bear to clash; rushing forward to snap his teeth at the irritating fox. Waiting for them to perform any kind of jointed move was a disaster waiting to happen; regardless if they were out-powered or out-numbered. The fox's ears however were alarmingly sharp; giving him all the warning he needed to move out of Monty's range and roll to the side.
Monty felt the air vibrations as it trembled with activity. While he was focused on Foxy, he felt the brute force of the hare as he leapt from their roof and clashed amidst the other bots. He couldn't see what happened, but he heard and felt DJ and Glamrock Bonnie clash with him again and caught the instance Roxy lunged; teeth snapping furiously. Chica was producing a series of gakels that were actually startling; a jarring, ear-scraping, harsh rasping noise that almost sounded like pain or fury or both-
Freddy meanwhile had veered past Monty when he charged; not wanting to clash with him by accident. It seemed he had all his faculties for the moment, even though he was definitely standing at that precipice between sobriety and blind madness. His blue talons flew through the air in furious, wide swings; a violent tempest of novic cerulean and scorching orange blurs that had enough power behind them to disembowel a man in one motion. Foxy dodged; using his smaller frame to his advantage and his ears to catch what he couldn't see- not that he CAN'T, per se. Foxy was unnervingly aware of his environment; evident in his sure-footed maneuvering around the enraged star-colored ursine. He kept cackling and leering like he was having the time of his life-
Am I like that? Monty thought intrusively. Am I seriously that annoying and cocky when I fight?
He didn't dwell on it further; opening his arms and trying to grab or punch the fox as he moved backwards towards him. Once again, Foxy moved all due thanks to his ears; his tail wrapping itself around his waist to keep from getting grabbed once. Freddy kept his jaws primed and open; snapping into the air every time his claws missed. Monty did the same; but he also had the advantage of his heavy tail to account for- swinging it spikes-first at the fox once they missed again.
Foxy leapt over it, coming back down and planting a foot on a joint and cracking it as he did. Monty winced and snarled as his touch receptors in his tail shut down from the sheer shock of feedback and connection was severed to the terminal in his body and head's processors. Pain wasn't the same for the bots as it was with people, but it wasn't too different either when one considers that a shock of force and energy can shut down and disable the bot in question. Monty was now unbalanced thanks to the loss of feeling in his tail; as he was a top-heavy bot and he teetered forward sometimes as he moved upon his footing.
Just then, he caught the instance Bonnie froze again; his nose twitching and ears pivoting back towards the house before his whole head followed. The hare was scrapping with Roxy, DJ, and Chica all at once in that same second, granting the buck that precious moment to glance at the house-
That's when everyone heard it; a scream of alarm and the sounds of another tussle. Worse, the scream cut off.
Was the bear in there?
Freddy looked away from Foxy, his expression its most Freddy-like when he called "VANESSA- OOMPH!"
Foxy connected a nasty fist to the bear's jawline; arresting his attention back onto him. Freddy's eyes went frenzied with instantaneous fury and he swung again- but he just couldn't connect! It didn't help that his broken left arm refused cooperation and it hurled itself around like there was no feeling in it- which may just be the case. His paw worked, but the arm itself wasn't quite obeying his commands to hold itself up correctly.
Monty noticed Bonnie was running towards the house- but he couldn't get more than a few steps before he was stopped: The hare disengaged the other three bots so fast it was both admirable and frightening; vaulting over the ladies in one graceful flip. He apparently disabled one of DJ's numerous arms at some unknown point too; the music man unable to seize him as he whirled past. He landed away from them and swept a ridiculously long leg out to trip up the other buck. Bonnie was sadly too slow to catch this, falling onto his front with a pronounced grunt and the muffled crunch of furred metal hitting the pavement. Bonnie whipped around at his white variant and kicked- his own legs being his strongest asset. The hare dodged and snarled; reaching out and grabbing him by the ankles to yank him backwards-
They're keeping us outside!
Monty figured this out at the same time everyone else did; Freddy trying to disengage Foxy and run this time. Foxy jumped onto his back and wrapped his arms around him; caging in his torso and snapping his hydraulic powered jaws around the ursine's head. Freddy roared furiously and tried reaching backward to remove the pest- but he's never been super limber. Flexibility was not the male bots' strong suit; leaving it so that Monty had to help him before the fox actually ripped his head off!
DJ meanwhile swept back in to nab the hare, but Snowshoe Bonnie let go of his Glamrock version just to whip around and KICK with so much absurd strength, DJ's torso caved in and he was flung into the white-painted van. DJ couldn't even grunt due to lack of voice box; the vehicle actually tipping over onto its side with the music man still planted into it. Glass popped and cracked as the heavy vehicle collided with the ground; DJ blanking out of consciousness briefly as something in his body jarred loose.
Roxy and Chica tried getting past him now, but the hare was too dang fast, slim, and stupid strong. He snagged Roxy's jaws with his bare paws and crunched his multi-colored talons inward; forcing the wolf's muzzle shut and smashing her teeth together in a painful pinch. He wound up flinging her aside by her own head as insult to injury. In the same whirling motion, his other leg rose to nail the approaching Chica in the forearm; the chicken barely having enough time to block with the reinforced chromium-infused bar in her limb acting as some sort of internal shield. Her outside chassis however chipped away; pieces flying off and revealing her endo within. Both ladies were flung away with no effort on the opposing buck's part.
Bonnie hadn't stayed idle during this move. He rushed into the house half-screaming and half garbling Cassie's name. The commotion inside was worrying, but Monty knew he wouldn't be fast enough to do anything about it. He had to focus on saving Fatbear!
The fox had jaws like some mythical monster; the pressure and lock so obscene that it literally took all of Monty's might to try and pry them apart. He hadn't had time to crush Freddy's head; but it was slightly squished out of its regular shape. The bear was growling, snarling, and snapping jaws; ichor blooming from the corners like black spit mixed with tar. The gooey tangle of webby strands hung from his lower maw and connected to his upper body; a gross display that Monty also found unusually foul smelling. His eyes weren't blue anymore either; having entirely turned a glossy black sheen with white pin prick pupils. If Freddy was in there, he was losing to whoever was within- and badly.
Foxy didn't let go either; Monty spending all he had trying to extract his busy teeth but failing. Monty could assume there was additional mechanics inside the fox's skull housing that they weren't aware of in order to be this powerful; probably similar to Monty's own structure was his guess. After all, the fox had a longer and more exaggerated set of features; not only adding to his vulpine appearance but also hiding more metal and tubing to promote more bite force.
He got lucky; the fox willingly let go once his nose seemed to catch something. Freddy himself wasn't fighting back as much anymore; as if weakening to both the outside and inside forces. Foxy released him just to snap his teeth into one of Monty's busy hands and latch on. He held the gator's limb in his jaws but kept his embrace on Freddy's back; the bear still unable to reach over his shoulders to extract him.
"FUCK YOU!" Monty snarled.
He opened his maw instead of trying to tug his hand free; leaning in to snag Foxy's head.
Foxy leg go and tried pulling away-
But Monty finally got lucky and snapped his own obscene set of hydraulic powered jaws around the fox's collar and neck successfully this time; teeth grazing his prey's lower jaw and dragging long marks and scratches everywhere else. He LITERALLY had the menace by the throat now! Foxy knew he was about to be beat too; having finally released Freddy and wedging his limbs into whatever little space remained between Monty's jaws so he can have his turn trying to pry him off.
Freddy stumbled forward and paused after the release; his head a bit oddly shaped and furs torn but otherwise alright physically. He placed a paw to his head instead of rushing inside the house; falling to his knees and clutching at his skull like he was trying to fight some internal battle that remained unseen to everyone else. Monty couldn't tell what was going on with him too clearly, and it was worrying since the bear wasn't taking the time to go inside with Bonnie, Eclipse and the rest of the family.
He didn't dwell on it; he was going to kill this fox first, save the family in the house, THEN worry about him later. Foxy was too irritating to keep alive; and he was right there; wriggling in Monty's crushing jaws like a mouse whose snared in a cat's own. He was steadily losing fight too; knowing he was lost to the pressure building around him-
He had an uncanny resemblance to Chica after her visit to the trash compactor when his eyes popped free of his sockets; his jaws falling open in a silent scream. They eventually fell loose overall; lower mandible flopping uselessly as Monty's jaws on it and his neck damaged some important hinge. He stopped struggling as well; his arms flopping in the grizzly cage of Monty's dinosaurian vice. Monty kept applying the pressure regardless, and then-
KRRRRRISSSHHHHH!
The fox contorted and snapped inward; the gator's jaws too much for him. His head fell loose from his warped neck; falling to pieces and slumping like a rag doll in Monty's mouth. He fell limply to the ground; spent like a wad of tobacco and spat out in very much the same manner as the leather-skinned bot drew himself back to his full height. Foxy was dead; that or he was close to it. Either way, he was disabled and no longer a threat with his head barely attached to his body by a couple wires and a shard of endo vertebra.
Now he turned to the others, frowning as he watched Chica bent around Freddy. Roxy had rushed towards the house; the wolf briefly looking indecisive between the ursine and the rest of the family. Monty understood; as Freddy seemed unable to come back into himself and the house was suddenly quiet... DJ was still passed out on the van too, certainly not helping matters.
Monty stayed around Freddy, if only to protect Chica from him- should he attack. He knew Roxy would cover Bonnie and Eclipse. He wanted more than anything to check the kids, but it wouldn't do if more of the bots got hurt because of a small lapse of judgement. After all, protecting each other was about as important as the rest of the family; seeing as keeping themselves in fit condition meant they can continue protecting the humans by extension too.
He sighed, unable to do more than grimace at the sight of the struggling bear attempting to overcome the wrongness within while hoping Bonnie, Eclipse and Roxy did their thing.
CASSIE
Just as the bots rushed outside and engaged the fox and hare, did things turn out badly- and it wasn't because of aforementioned fox and hare, either.
Gregory had watched the bots beside her, got that determined look in his eye, then rushed towards the garage; giving Cassie an idea as to his next goal. He likely wanted to grab an animatronic taser or wake Vanny up so she can attempt hacking with M.X.E.S; as the fox and hare wouldn't stand a chance against the two of them combined. It was smart to get Vanny in on this; with Cassie going to follow him to the garage.
Vanessa and Luis were raptly watching the scrap outside, but Eclipse hadn't missed the moment Gregory had departed. He knitted his brows and turned to follow, leaving Luis and Vanessa be while falling into step with Cassie. His lanky form glided almost soundlessly across the area; servos a low whir of activity.
None of them were prepared for the intruder inside their own home however.
The garage, for context, had three entrances; one was the door leading to the interior of the house. The other two led outside; one being the large door to admit vehicles and the smaller door to admit just people. The smaller door was never used though, tending to have things sitting in the way or it was just too small for the bots to actually use. The humans can fit through it, but not the rest of the family. Eclipse and the girls can just make it through-
But to see it wide open, with a new, unfamiliar figure having used it to get in quietly, had both kids and Eclipse taking pause.
Vanny's terminal was unplugged; the figure bent to take it in its entirety as if to make off with it. She'd been caught however, the white figure fluffing its feathers and turning its uncannily long neck at them. The motion was entirely owlish; having turned a full 180 degrees to take in the sight of the children and Eclipse. There was even a soft chittering noise from its voice box; again, like an owl taking notice of some plump prey.
Cassie was alarmed to see it was another Chica... but it wasn't quite right somehow. There was more than just the superficial that was wrong with it; the sight of her oversized, staring yellow optics in her purple facial disk was unnerving as is; more or less leaning towards a bird of prey instead of the chicken Chica was supposed to be. She had a dark purple band (more or less heart-shaped) surrounding her sharpened features, as an owl has a black circle to indicate its disk. Her blinks were out of sync; one lid timing its descent differently from the other the rare times she indulged the motion at all. Her beak was also rather small, surrounded on all sides by feathers and it's base was concealed halfway from its tip. Said tip was orange-y yellow; almost matching the color of her alien eyes.
Like their own Chica however, her pelt was a feathery second skin that conformed to her slim figure; including a feature that allowed primary and secondary feathers to hang from her arms. It gave her an elegant appearance, pretty much for show and not anything truly functional. She even had the correctly colored legs; yellowish orange and layered in scales as any bird. Her tail feathers waggled; more or less open like a fan instead of the normal tuft a regular Chica would have.
She blinked again; one eye closing after the other in slow motion. She watched the kids primarily, moving away from the terminal with an unnerving amount of silence. Her servos didn't even whir; talons on the cement floor the only source of noise she produced. In a motion too liquid to be normal for bots, she drew herself up and passed them a haughty smirk. Her eyelashes fluttered like black butterflies kissing her lilac painted lids. She even had a purplish paint stain (like Glamrock Chica's lipstick) on the very tip of her otherwise brightly colored beak to help bring her entire face together. She also had an unusual series of spots along her breast; though they were few and far between and also the same purple as the heart-shaped band around her face and tip of her beak. There was spots and bands on her wings too.
Cassie wanted to scream, but she couldn't. She was too shocked to even muster any words. It was Gregory who spoke up then, rather loudly and stubbornly might she add, "WHO the heck are YOU? And what the hell are you doin' to Vanny?"
Gregory didn't care about the murderous ghost doe, but the fact this other Chica was trying to take her proved problematic. Cassie snapped out of it then; blinking rapidly as she eyed the disabled terminal. Vanny couldn't ping for help, even if she wanted to. She was blocked from all systems in the house (it was a safety measure); and she likely didn't scream because she hadn't heard or noticed this owl-Chica here. Vanny was disabled before the family even knew it; and it could've ended badly if Gregory or Cassie hadn't come in here to ask her for help.
Eclipse pushed the two kids behind him, spidery hands splaying out to both block and shove them into a safer position. Gregory huffed but complied; Cassie doing the same and grabbing at his pants leg timidly.
The other Chica produced a low humming noise, a contemplative sound that seemed to betray her lack of interest in being here. A scoff perhaps; the owlish hen peering down at them with her beak raised to the air like she just sniffed something unpleasant. Her eyes ticked between them and Eclipse in a brief evaluation of her prey-
And she just straight charged.
She hadn't minced words or wasted any time. Already she was in Eclipse's space and kicking out a leg to blast him away- but Eclipse wormed around the attack after forcibly shoving the kids lower to the ground to take cover. He literally swung his waist to the left to avoid her attack and twisted; arms whipping about and clocking her right in the cheek. The sentinel hissed and stumbled backward, dodging another of Eclipse's follow-up strikes and backing into the garage proper once again. Eclipse kept swinging, and she kept dodging.
Vanessa had come over as soon as she heard the noise. The woman was stopping to drag the kids to her sides and walking backwards with them. Luis got in front of them; bodily using himself as a shield as Eclipse and owl-Chica exchanged blows. The two continued their scrap uninterrupted; damaging whatever they collided around in the garage. Eclipse even jumped onto Snowy Chica as some point; using his nimble body to his advantage and attempting to dig his fingers into her skull and pelt. No doubt he wanted to yank out some wiring.
The strange hen wouldn't allow it; and she proved rather nimble herself when she was actually able to grab him from over her shoulders and rip him off with a strength their own Chica simply did not have. She pressed home her attack; jumping atop him and beating the ever-loving crap out of him with no reprieve. Her legs and talons were akin to swords being stuck to a cassowary's legs; throwing everything she had into tearing him apart with just those- let alone using her arms to pin him down.
Gregory rushed out of Vanessa's grip and bullied his way past Luis; whose back had been to him and hadn't noticed the boy making a move until he nearly fell over. Cassie reached out to say something, but noticed as Gregory slid over to the tool closet and ripped it open. The owl-headed hen rapidly whipped her head around to watch him, all the while she tore into Eclipse mercilessly. She narrowed her boiling, sulfurous optics and chittered her beak creepily; the sound of an owl ready to throw itself at a mouse.
"FUCKING HELLS FIRES, GREG!" Vanessa hissed as the hen released the beaten daycare attendant.
Gregory whipped around just as the hen ran up-
The noise and racket of prongs shooting forth and discharging more than 10,000 volts of electricity surged into the air; the hen catching the full brunt of the attack. She whipped her head back and opened her beak, but no sound came out. Her voice box skipped and guttered static however as Gregory unleashed everything he had in that taser; and its likely going to need a new set of batteries and charge after its spent.
The owl-themed bot tilted backward and slumped into the armature; trying fruitlessly to support her weight as Gregory dropped the taser and rushed to the computer. Vanessa rushed over past Luis to snag him; Luis keeping Cassie back and shoving her back into the house. The man was largely blocking her view; hurriedly ushering her in both English and Spanish.
Gregory meanwhile ignored Vanessa's hands as he plugged the computer terminal back in. He was forced back once Vanessa got her hands on his shoulders though; pulling him backward and into herself as the computer instantly switched on. Gregory didn't really fight Vanessa at that point; letting the woman yank him aside as Vanny finally popped into view and produced a groan of annoyance.
"What the heck was THAT about? I didn't do anything- What the HELL?"
She didn't finish her sentence as her endlessly crimson gaze fixed to a point beyond boy and woman; no doubt catching view of the twitching white hen. It likely took Vanny a second to recognize that it wasn't Glamrock Chica. She threaded a paw to her tiny flecks of scraggly hair atop her head in a mirror of the stress Bonnie usually exhibited, fluttering her lids at the sight of the new bot.
"And this is what happens when you take naps," she grumbled.
Cassie was alarmed to see the hen was already waking back up; still twitching and burning from several orifices in her body and smoldering at the point where the prongs where still lodged into her feathery pelt. Her poisonous gaze couldn't have been more toxic; the vivid, lurid yellow acidic enough to burn through metal entirely. She flashed her teeth inside her beak; the grimace also suggestive of her animosity towards the boy. She ripped the prongs free and dropped them, all the while making deadly eye contact him. She suddenly lurched forward at them, hand outstretched-
Eclipse had popped back to life at that second; latching onto her even though now he was missing one of his arms. Cassie hadn't noticed it come off when the hen had been attacking him prior; as the chaos of talons hadn't been localized. He threaded his long, gnarly fingers directly into her eyes; clawing at them even though he had no nails or claws to account for. The hen screamed but the sound wasn't proper; not when her voice box kept shorting out. She once again seized his hand and pulled it off; snapping her beak wildly in an approximation of words. One of her eyes came out with it; the optic falling free of her skull housing as the lankier bot kept a hold of it. Her choleric colored, one-eyed scowl snatched a glance at Gregory; lilac lid coming to narrow against her alarming eye.
Vanessa forcibly pulled Gregory around the flailing hen and attendant; Vanny suddenly swapping to a different mode behind them. The ghost doe proceeded to attempt hacking; Cassie watching her screen as it swapped to different displays of code. Vanessa galloped over to Luis with Greg-
Just for the hen to take Eclipse off of her completely and hurl him straight at her.
"NESS-" Luis reached out to pull her in-
She'd all but thrown Gregory at him; placing the boy between herself and the flying bot. She ended up getting slammed in the back by him; falling onto her front and letting out a gush of air in the form of a garbled scream that cut abruptly. She tried to cover her face with one arm in her descent; likely saving her jaw as she collided with the hard floor. Gregory hollered at her incoherently the instant it happened; his face contorting into an ugly mask of pain as he watch harm come to his guardian of three years.
Eclipse meanwhile had caught himself in the air as best he could; but it hadn't done much to save Vanessa. He still crushed her beneath him; knocking her out and falling limp himself. His servos whirred warningly, and then his systems shut down as his fragile circuit board in his head clattered noisily against the cold concrete of the garage floor. There was a spark of wires at the joint where his missing right arm was; and then he was still.
Luis yanked Gregory and Cassie behind him and produced a sound that lingered between a pained yowl and a gasp; his gaze unreadable to Cassie as his back was to her. Cassie was sadly focused on Vanessa and Eclipse on the floor; both unmoving as the killer hen before them smirked like madness itself was her sole drive. She lifted her beak in that same arrogant way as before, looking down at them from the tip of it. Her one eye meant nothing to her; she only smirked and prowled over at them. The lack of sound from her couldn't have been more unnerving; with the kids and Luis realizing jointly that she truly made no noise; even lifting her feet carefully over the attendant and woman without a scritch of talon tips.
She was no chicken. She is no prey animal. She was a predator; true and tried.
These words came unbidden to Cassie as Luis shoved the kids back into the house and shut the garage door in the owl-hen's face. He locked it too- just for the hen to punch throw it and narrowly miss his nose. Luis stumbled backward and forced the kids into the narrow hall leading outside to the backyard; their only other exit. Cassie can hear the second the owl-themed Chica kicked down the door and pursued them.
They ran out into the snow with no coats or shoes; the wintery bite a solid, nerve-frying shock to Cassie and Gregory's feet as Luis lead them away from the house. Owl Chica kept coming; marching solidly threw the door like it didn't even exist. She trampled their back door underfoot; claws scouring its wooden surface. Her fiery gaze was no less brighter despite her missing optic; the hen smirking the entire time she followed them. She even picked up her pace to match theirs; taking all the time in the world to herd them into the frigid bite of deep cold; a terrain she reigned and reveled in-
Luis kept the kids behind him as she neared; unable to do more than hold his ground as he kept nudging the kids to run-
The owl-hen pulled back a fist-
Just for a rush of electric blue to side-swipe her with the back of his fist; crushing in her cheek and sending her flying off to the side.
The more petite Arctic bot when careening into the trees nearby; slumping and temporarily blacking out as her head rattled against the bark and warped it. The tree overhead cracked and splintered; tilting over precariously above the bot but not quite falling-
Bonnie B. Bunny released a grunt of vehemence and surged at her; crimson claws a maelstrom of bloody trails racking the air as he went. He roared; a sound that didn't sound quite right from a rabbit-themed bot but a strangled, garbled, ANGRY sputter of feral grunting that caterwauled into a higher octave. Cassie was horrified to see the flyaway froth of black from the corners of his mouth and the ominous stains of bloody tear drops at his cheeks-
That wasn't Bonnie.
The specter haunting the bot threw itself solidly into the false Chica; the weight of a hefty 400-pound male bot hitting a slimmer 300 pound one almost deadened when the answering CRACK! of the tree above them gave the rest of the way-
Bonnie -or rather, her dad- bounded out of the way-
And the tree fell atop the owl hen.
The hen was knocked out for now; prone and idle under the log as it pinned her to the snowy ground. The snarling buck meanwhile bared his blunt teeth at her in silent threat; hissing in a manner that couldn't be further from human. He backed from her, whipped around, and ran at Luis and the kids. Cassie caught the odd, ghostly sheen of the polished obsidian of his optics as he bowed over and swept up ALL three of them into his arms. Luis huffed out an alarmed grunt but held on as Bonnie/dad ran back at the house. He surged in without pause; running into the garage next and placing them all down so he can stop by Vanessa and Eclipse.
He moved the slimmer bot; blinking blearily at the pathetic sight of him. He was careful in moving the attendant; but was even more so when turning Vanessa over and listening for a pulse. His ears craned forward and caught something; a sigh of relief escaping him. Vanessa was alive- but she was in deplorable condition.
Gregory, Cassie and Luis jointly stooped beside him to tend to the unconscious woman. Luis was the most busy; turning her to the side into the recovery position and lifting her shirt off her back. He winced noticeably at the blooming color there; swift in its advent coloring of her skin. He turned to Cassie, his expression pained.
"Get the medic kit- in the bathroom," He hurriedly told her.
Cassie nodded numbly, rising unsteadily and turning on her heel. She felt Bonnie's changed eyes on her too; the buck moving to rise and follow her loyally. It wasn't like he could do anything for Vanessa either at this point; instead choosing to guard Cassie as she moved across the house to find the kit. She was also able to find it in short order; having known where to look and turning back to head to the garage-
Just for Bonnie's huge paw to stop her in mid-step and force an "oof!" from her.
Cassie looked up, noticing the bot craning his head towards the front door. She followed his gaze and noticed Roxy come in right then; the wolf panting and darting her amber eyes across the wreckage of the splintered door and fresh talon marks on the floor. She produced a whine when she smelled a different scent, but her expression steadied into its usual maternal one when she glimpsed Cassie- whole and hale.
"Cassie-" She rushed over to meet her-
Just for the buck to snarl again.
Roxy paused abruptly and held up her paws in submission, the male bot flexing his talons warningly and stepping towards her in a threatening saunter. Bonnie's mouth fell open once or twice; blackened goo bubbling like thick tar in his mouth. The wolf was rapidly shaking her head, expression warring with itself. She sucked in air fast, as if to brace herself against him- should he charge.
Cassie reached over and snagged his forearm without any qualm; her grip surer than ever and gently cupping her fragile fingers over one of his own larger, sausage-sized ones. The rabbit stopped abruptly; his growls dying down to something less I'm-going-to-absolutely-maim-you to a more modest Don't-come-near-and-we-won't-have-problems. She felt no fear towards him; and was further gladdened to see he was silently listening to her. Bonnie kept growling, but did nothing more threatening than that as Cassie gently held him in place with the simplest of touches. She even rubbed at his fingers; the buck twitching them back at her but not closing them.
He's calmer with me here. Good to know for future reference.
Roxy wisely didn't approach. Instead, she backed away until the rabbit stopped overall; settling near the garage entrance and frowning. "What... what happened in here-?" She mumbled.
Cassie pulled at the buck; Bonnie (or rather... her father) complying with the demand and steadily falling into stride as she glided to the busted up hall. She said over her shoulder, "Vanessa's badly hurt. Trying to tend her now."
"How bad-?" Roxy's expression contorted.
Cassie shook her head grimly as a mute reply and kept going. She said behind her, "Try not to approach yet, okay? OH! There's another bot in the backward too- she was the one who attacked us!"
"...'She'?"
Cassie pointed, and Roxy carefully moved away from her and the vibrating blue ball of wrath with the care of someone who was walking on eggshells. After which, Cassie went to head back into the garage with the kit in hand. She was relieved to see Bonnie doing the same; instead of pursuing Roxy like he wanted.
That is so strange that my dad wants to target Roxy... but I'll have to figure that out later.
She returned to Luis' side, noticing he and Gregory had succeeded in waking Vanessa. The woman moaned while holding herself stiffly on the cold floor; breathing shallowly like she was having a hard time drawing breath. Cassie wouldn't doubt something was wrong with her spine, ribs and diaphragm. She wasn't sure what the kit will do at that rate; and its more than likely Luis will need to get her to the hospital.
Nearby, the attendant was slowly stirring as well; though he shorted once and collapsed back. He was slowly gaining his sense though; one long-fingered hand moving to his head and feeling at the circuit board behind. His plastic brows flexed a few times in consternation, then he was sitting up and glancing apologetically at the humans. He crawled over and put his remaining hand over his chest, looking more sorry than he's ever been in his entire life.
"I-" he began weakly.
"Its not your fault," Luis told him fast. "Not yours. Not... not yours."
Luis missed it, but Cassie hadn't. She witnessed the moment the attendant glanced away and slump into himself; curling his legs in and hugging them. The sun rays sank into his faceplate half-way; betraying his sinking mood. He no doubt blamed himself for being weak; not just the harm inflicted. He was never as large or powerful as the other bots; despite the upgrades put into him. He was nimble and capable in other ways, but he tended to compare himself to the others- which wasn't fair of him to do.
After Cassie passed Luis and Gregory the kit, she sidled over and grabbed the hand resting on his knee. She squeezed, trying to meet his milky eyes. The former attendant sighed but did nothing else.
Cassie turned back to Vanessa next, crawling back over to her and putting a hand over hers now. Vanessa barely cracked an eye there, her breath sharp and quick as she rolled slightly to and fro. To her credit, she wasn't screaming in pain; although Cassie found it odd the woman was trying to internalize it-
Oh. She doesn't want us to worry more, she quickly realized.
Gregory's expression was bad enough; and its likely he blamed himself for the harm done. Vanessa showing more of her pain was going to only make him feel worse.
At least he did something... All I did was gawp and stay out of the way, Cassie wondered. I was perfectly useless.
She looked up at Vanny now, remembering that she was awake. The doe was running a lot of programs but sometimes flickered back into view to catch sight of the haunted male bot in the room. Her camera swiveled towards him when he entered the vicinity, her expression wary but intrigued. No doubt she was observing not-Bonnie out of genuine curiosity and slight wariness.
"You get anything yet- or did I just risk myself and Vanessa for nothing?" Gregory suddenly spat at her.
"I have the strange buck outside quarantined. I can control him too, if I wanted," Vanny informed him with a strangely professional neutrality. If anything, she almost seemed concerned as she eyed the bunch of them. "The fox is disabled- not quite dead, but close. Monty damaged his primary systems, but the one in his head had to be brought under heel. The owl model Chica though... she fought back digitally and-"
Just as she was about to say, Roxy rushed in; making Bonnie snap his jaws in warning. He didn't attack, thank the gods. Roxy's face however betrayed the news long before she delivered it; her expression both a grimace and a scowl.
"She's gone," She snapped. "I just sniffed around and... she's just gone!"
"The owl-thing?" Luis snapped his attention up.
"Yeah... I looked around the yard but the trail says she left. I don't think she's gonna be taking the Arctic Foxy or Bonnie with her though... which is weird," she shook her head.
It took Cassie a second to realize that she hadn't seen what became of the other bots; so Roxy's words confused but gladdened her in some part once sense was made of it. It seemed the attack was over and the enemy bots failed-
And then they heard a sound outside that snapped up everyone's attentions right that second.
The sound of a new skirmish.
The sound of Freddy roaring at something else.
Bonnie's optics didn't stay black; blinking rapidly back to its usual, warm cochineal as his ears flexed forward to catch the noises as they erupted and he came back into himself in some part. He was suddenly at the garage door and lifting it; the car door grinding noisily against the track on the ceiling while admitting the cold, wintry air into the large space. It wasn't even all the way open yet before he and Roxy were dipping beneath it to run outside. Cassie and the others turned to catch the disturbance- Vanessa unable to do more than just peek over her shoulder while still laying on her side.
Cassie felt something colder than the wintery air plunge into her gut at the sight of Freddy suspending their own Chica by her throat.
"FUCK!" Gregory was up and trying to bolt out-
-But Luis snatched him before he got two steps. "No way, Miho! Not again! Stay away from him!"
Eclipse was suddenly up as well, though he hadn't followed the buck and she-wolf outside. He posted himself closer to the humans, but couldn't turn his faceplate away from the grizzly sight of Freddy keeping poor Chica aloft while Monty lie somewhat prone on the cold ground. The gator looked like he'd been conked outside the head; his skull dented in and his eyes uneven in their sockets. He was struggling to rise again; tail waggling uncertainly behind him- Cassie can see where it was broken too; likely throwing him off balance.
Freddy turned cold, beetle-black eyes onto the buck and wolf- suddenly dropping Chica abruptly at the mere sight of them. He opened his maw and charged-
-Right at Bonnie.
Bonnie stopped mid-motion and was holding his paws up in immediate surrender. There was no way in HELL he was going to fight against his best friend.
DJ, nearby, had peeled himself from the van and stopped Freddy just as he bum-rushed the buck; taking all four of his arms and using them to stop both of Freddy's own and grab at his waist. Freddy threw his head around and snapped fangs; almost catching the music man more than once. He was so strong that DJ had to strain back; his teeth showing against his whitened features in a grimace of determined effort and stubbornness.
The bear's brows raised in light of a dawning tactic; craning his head back and slamming the back of his skull into DJ's nose and glasses. DJ hadn't let go, but he was left stumbling in shock and not so much pain- but then, the bear wasn't finished there; he kept trying to do this while lifting his clawed feet-
Roxy lunged forward just as the orange ursine slammed them into DJ's legs and bent in the joint the wrong way; making the music man lose balance. He even elbowed him in the side where the snowshoe hare had kicked him; no doubt rattling the sensitive and misplaced engine inside. DJ produced a series of broken speaker sounds and finally went down; unable to get any strength back as his motor struggled against his forcibly misshapen body.
Freddy and Roxy clashed; though the wolf showed clear reluctance in doing so. She snapped fangs at his face, but all of it was posturing. She wasn't really going to bite him; not now or never. Freddy knew this as he spun her around, his expression strangely conniving in its display. He threw Roxy aside in a dramatic whirl of his mighty body- hurling her into the still shocked and paralyzed Chica.
As they collided into one another, he laughed.
Laughed.
He opened his arms, laughed boisterously, and said in the most oily slick, greasy rasp of his usual timbre, "OH! What strength I have now! I have all the power in the WORLD! I feel IMMORTAL!"
Bonnie hadn't been able to move, but now he was narrowing his eyes at the voice. He blinked rapidly like someone slapped him with a fish-
And then Freddy charged at him AGAIN.
Just as Bonnie lifted his arms, the snowshoe hare threw in a kick.
Freddy (nor anyone else for that matter) hadn't expected it; having forgotten about the hare entirely after he was hacked and shut down. But now, with Vanny controlling it, there was no telling what could happen. The kick almost connected too- but Freddy was just a hair's width fast enough to catch his foot with his good arm and swing him to the side; displacing his balance. The hare tipped over as his opposing foot slipped across icy ground and lost purchase despite his toe talons.
As his back was forcibly exposed to Freddy, the bear brought a fist to his spine and punched; though the blow wasn't as strong thanks to his weakened arm. The hare produced something like a grunt, but didn't seem wholly affected. He actually spun more instead; recovering his prior momentum and clawing at the bear's breast. Freddy staggered as some amount of force was put into it-
"V-Vanny- DON'T-!" Bonnie garbled in fear for his former friend.
The hare hesitated for the smallest of seconds- which gave the bear enough time to recover and paw swipe with enough force to stop a truck completely. The strike hit the narrow-chested hare right in the ribs; hurling him into DJ now. He advanced on Bonnie anew, his grin steadily more manic than before.
He kept laughing.
Bonnie braced himself this time; catching Freddy's talons with his own and holding him back with the same upgrades in his upper body as Freddy did. Albeit, Freddy was capable of generating more torque than the buck; pushing him back after a couple of stinted seconds simply standing claw-to-claw. Freddy was chuckling at Bonnie's face, as if it amused him greatly-
Back in the garage, the family could only look on in wide-eyed terror. Now Vanessa was turning over; ignoring her boyfriend's worried glances and attempts to have her lie still. She stared crisply at the bear, her expression one of dawning horror. Cassie was able to see the moment the light bulb went off in her head too- how she likely already guessed who was there in Freddy's body.
And she wasn't the only one; as Cassie caught Vanny too staring outside at the battle. The ghost doe looked... wow, annoyed? Actually concerned? Her eyebrow spots rose too; her gaze transforming the more she beheld the behemoth bear in his terrible entirety. She suddenly looked really irate- the most foul-tempered in all of anyone's time in knowing her.
"No- FUCK NO!" Vanny seethed.
Cassie just had to ask, "Who- whose in there?"
No one said anything, but Cassie wound up looking back at Bonnie as he got hurled around in a circle while keeping his vice on Freddy's paws. He didn't lose his footing, but he almost did. He kept his jaw set on his blue visage, ears flattening as Freddy almost danced with him in a complete arc on the pavement- still laughing like he was having the greatest time of his life!
He then lifted Bonnie up by those same talons and slammed him into the driveway; Bonnie still holding his arms back bravely. Bonnie's visage chilled again; darkened runnels slipping free from the corners of his optics as a fresh surge of blood poured through and blazed new trails towards the back of his head. His chest beat up and down like someone was pounding on it; air whistling through his buck teeth as he glared into the mad-eyed visage of his former friend-
Cassie noticed the deathly poison of the specter within as it touched her father-figure's conscience again; the girl watching as Bonnie seemed to swap back to the other inside. He snapped his mouth once, twice; then yelled with all his hoarse, rasping ferocity:
"CROMWEEEELLLLLL!"
His voice. It had a dual-tone to it. There was Bonnie's usual melodious tenor, and something else- something like a roar but more primordial and yet familiar. Another person's raw rasp had slipped into it; sliding Bonnie's usual voice over itself like a sock.
Cassie heard it for that second, but that was definitely her dad's voice harmonizing with Bonnie's own.
Still, the girl couldn't even finish processing this as the name he called out couldn't have chilled and worried her more. The name of one of the most hated influences in all the Glamrocks' lives. The one who drank in chaos and murder like it was something he can feed off of solely-
The bear's grin became looser; more open-mouthed as he reveled in Bonnie/dad's identification of him. He leaned in and sneered, "You remembered, the both of you! Took you long enough. Was kinda hoping the rabbit would be on the surface when it happened though- ah well! Guess we'll have plenty of time to get reacquainted now that I have control over your precious Fredbear!"
Bonnie waggled furiously beneath him; then he was snapping his teeth into Freddy's nose and biting down with everything he had. Freddy -or rather, the Glamrocks former manager- pinched his eyes shut and reared backward; his nose producing a poorly timed 'squeak!' as he did. Bonnie pressed home his sneaky bite; swiping his nasty claws into the bear's face and grazing his muzzle with long, scouring ridges that flaked away his fur pelt skin and leathery nose. Freddy's face tore; pieces of his muzzle hanging obscenely as he threw himself backward in shock and pain. Bonnie then kicked right into his belly; hurling the bear away onto his back!
Bonnie got up from his own supine position to keep Freddy pinned onto his own new one; with Snowshoe Bonnie, Roxy, Monty, and Chica diving at him too- Every Glamrock in the house wildly throwing themselves at their former leader-
But Cromwell-Freddy wasn't stupid enough to take them alone. He instantly rolled over and turned tail before Bonnie got him; fleeing away from them and pelting down the street. All the able-bodied bots followed; snapping, snarling, and swiping angry claws and limbs at empty air. A perverted, grim silence followed; leaving the rest of the family bewildered and frightened of the repercussions of this predicament.
Some silent, stagnant moments passed, and they didn't return.
Cassie hadn't noticed her extremities had gone cold until she tried to move again; wincing as her toes reminded her that she's tried running through snow bare-footed earlier. The girl felt numb and void at this second; trying to absorb the bullshit of what just happened. She and Gregory shuffled beside Vanessa, the woman giving them the same hollow-eyed expression they gave her in-turn. They knew that the bots won't succeed in bringing Freddy back, even if they did physically catch his body and hauled it back here by force.
No- Freddy was truly gone. His mind was devoured by the undead manager of the PizzaPlex. And there was no chance that the madman would willingly give the bear back.
The horrid, surging reality of this staggering truth hit everyone present like a bus going seventy on the highway; with Gregory stooping over on his knees and clawing at his wild hair. Vanessa attempted to lean over and put an arm on him, but she couldn't muster more strength than putting a pale, shaking hand on his arm to brace him instead.
In the pregnant silence that followed, the only sounds that escaped the family was the woefully pained howl of a boy whose lost his father again.