FNAF Security Breach: Whistleblower

by FrostByterFang

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

24. The Start of Something New

~Wednesday. Same day of attack~

M.X.E.S

"But I'm a reasonable chief, and I'm willing to let them go on one condition: You bots return to your owner willingly, or, I'll have my men head to the hospital and make the arrests right now. Choose wisely."

Every single person in that room- every one, including Rogers and Craigg, couldn't move. The portent itself was damning; and it said enough that their living situation here in this state was now rendered hopeless. There was not going to be a happy ending here.

But even M.X.E.S thought they had more time than this.

He could feel all the bots at once; all of their intermingling horror and festering vitriol. The weight of their sadness at losing Freddy not an hour or more before; the weight of lives being juggled against their own fragile freedom. The overwhelming desire to protect the humans of this household; all in which they were united in. And- rather poignantly may he add, just in how much danger these men -or at least, one of them- were truly in.

They weren't alone in that either: For M.X.E.S too felt something in his system throw him off-kilter at the ultimatum presented- something choleric, toxic, and so unlike himself seething with a vengeance he never understood from observing others. He didn't understand fury or most inflections at their most base, but he knew what these were in concept and what they meant to the bots. He knew fear existed in not just the bots here, but for himself. And now, he was feeling something raging within him too; no matter the level of his pragmatism and limited scope of emotional range. He felt threatened by this chief's proclamation, and never had he thought he could feel something so pressing and damning. Not even when Cassie was taking out the nodes that would free the Mimic, had he felt this way- so very pressured and feeling the need to take action.

No. This was something NEW.

Something deeper.

Perhaps spending all his time inside the bots' headspaces (literally actually) has instilled this upon him. It was all he can assume. It made sense that, as an adaptive program himself, he would eventually pick up and learn some of the bots' traits and mannerisms- like Bonnie's pride in his work, or Freddy's warmth towards organics in general. He was much slower to these cues, having taken the majority of the years to learn; but now he felt, in this moment, that very real rage and frantic desire to take action for this family.

He will not let these men take his creator away.

His tablet- user Luis' tablet actually- was propped up in a way so he could see the men and log their faces into memory. He even took a shot of their likeness so he can commit this chief's face in particular. The noise was subtle; but it caught the eye of the now ever-so loathsome man before him. The chief of police turned to M.X.E.S' tablet and saw, right then, the strange, blue, pixelated face of the security program staring right back at him.

"What in name of-" Craigg finally noticed and blinked. "The fuck is THAT?"

This is the face of the program who runs these bots, chief and underlings. You best watch yourselves, he couldn't help thinking intrusively and somewhat wishing he could say aloud but wisely didn't.

This may be a stretch to entertain, but something else occurred to M.X.E.S in this moment:

The chief of police may just be as corrupt as the family can assume. M.X.E.S now understood: Morris likely bought this man out. He must've tipped the police off about the impending attack too; sending them over only after the fox, hare and owl have done their deed. Morris wanted the bots to know he practically owns the authorities in this town. After all, how ELSE could Fazbear Entertainment get away with so much in all their years? It was OBVIOUS that the police turned blind eyes to their crimes sometimes. Maybe not all the chiefs of police in the decades have done this, but clearly, this one was Morris' pawn. He'd felt it required to leave his station to see a Fazbear-related matter personally. Again, its assuming a lot, but not a WHOLE lot. Fazbear Entertainment has stooped to various lows for many years and has survived for a reason.

With this probability calculated, M.X.E.S tried something new. He blinked the tablet out; then casted a light from the tablet's camera and flashlight lens. The image projected itself onto the wall in the corner beside Monty (that was where it was roughly angled). The cops actually jolted at the sight of the image of the pixelated rabbit that formed a distinctly sharp and almost holographic-like image on the concrete wall. The chief looked the least bit surprised but M.X.E.S knew he hadn't been expecting this other entity.

M.X.E.S was now the imposing size he was when Cassie had been traipsing the ruins of the PizzaPlex; overlooking normal men and staring down with that unfathomable, coldly focused leer. Craigg and Rogers had raised their weapons to it but they knew it was pointless. They were only looking at a projection of the security program casting itself into the wall. The image was eye-level with DJ easily and the most imposing in its alien appearance and current illusion of size. It was just intimidation, but already its working.

"What the- the fuck izzat?" Rogers fought the stutter out of his voice, reiterating Craigg's earlier question.

M.X.E.S made it look like he was bending towards them; not that he could, seeing as this WAS a flat image. He narrowed his heavy brows at them in what should pass as displeased- or perhaps angry. Again, he was no good at emotions, but he'd like to think he's been getting some things right in the last few years. He bore over them as best he could, glaring down on them like the unfathomable force he wanted to come off as.

And he said but three equally-as-damning words:

"SAFE MODE DISABLED."

The sound of cuffs releasing hissed in the air; the men turning rapidly back at Bonnie as they realized his wrists were free. He flexed them, then cocked his head so slowly at them and smiled an acidic smile. It bled ominously across his suddenly manic, trigger-happy features; all teeth and no mirth. His eyes flicked to a brighter red; indicating security mode.

Nearby, Roxy's amber eyes displayed a sudden red light too. Her earlier growl from before resurged into a more lively undercurrent of electrifying, nerve-freezing wrath; tail and mane bristling with the over-charge of static in her body and making her appear much larger. Monty was next, his vibrating throat increasing a couple octaves and so powerful, one can feel the deep bass of his rasp shake their bones from a close proximity. His colder, crueler eyes were alit with the same intensity as Bonnie's own, black talons catching some of the armature's overhead light.

Then came Chica, whose gaze turned perfectly raptor-esque as she laser focused onto them. Her toe talons clinked warningly on the floor, moving subtly nearer to them. Her optics narrowed, moving in front of the doorway and nearer to Cassie's position to block them from possible escape. As for DJ, his lilac optics weren't obvious, but his shades gave away the words Security Mode Activated and then flickered into its usual, enigmatic matte black. His eyewear hide the raging ferocity burning within; but M.X.E.S can tell he was in what could be something akin to his old Bouncer mode. His large, tree-trunk thick arms held themselves up and over like he was in mid-grab; making his spreading size even more imposing. He truly looked gigantic again; a spider with its wicked embrace wide enough to ensnare the horde of flies flying right towards its web.

The cops jolted when they heard a rising cackle; and then they found Moon staring right into their faces, nearly breaching personal space in the suddenly too-small garage. The former attendant kept on laughing and sneering at their alarmed expressions; waggling his fingers in a way that promised he was excited about what he was about to do to them. Cassie had been shoved behind him, so she didn't see how his blue LED eyes now sparked back to that flaring, maddening redness it used to be.

"Naughty. Naughty," He said to them, suddenly tutting like a baby-sitter not taking nonsense from its younger charge. "You shouldn't threaten us like that. You do realize we PUNISH-" He zoomed so fast into their faces and pulled back even more quickly; not giving them a moment to react as he continued patiently, "-Those that break the rules! We don't like RULE BREAKERS. Do we, everyone?"

"Rule breaking, crooked cops? My favorite dish," Monty chortled darkly.

"We punish ALL- without restraint," Chica assured in a voice of absolute adamant promise. "Surely Fazbear Entertainment warned you we get a little... quirky? When we feel pressed."

Bonnie snarled again; the sound like it was before when he possessed, except that he wasn't this time around. His cochineal gaze glittered like someone was shining sun beams directly into a pair of finely-cut rubies fitted into his skull. His talons flexed, and he was up and out of his chair and sauntering around them in a predatory manner. He was cackling like he was having a good time already.

"S-sir..." Rogers was squeaking like a mouse who hasn't hit puberty as he pressed his back to Craigg and leveled his firearm at the nearest bot to him- Monty, in this case. Sometimes Moon fluttered in. "Was pissing them off your plan?"

"I don't get paid enough to get torn apart by vagrant killer terminator kids toys," Craigg told him. "Seriously, sir. With all due respect- The FUCK?"

M.X.E.S immediately gleaned that these two were likely innocent of the chief's motivations and partnership with Morris, but he was not great at discriminating between foes when they were holding fire arms like that. He only folded his light beam arms and loomed over them, not caring if he was just a projection in the wall.

"You will arrest no one here from this house today," The program went on to tell them coolly, almost politely. "I encourage you to leave peacefully. There will not be a second warning before we escort you out ourselves. We only wanted to live in peace- but you and your friends at Fazbear Entertainment want to make that hard for us, I see." His own droning monotone hardened marginally; displaying a bit more of the actual personality he has formulated beneath the surface. "At this point, you all are VERY unwelcome in this usually warm household."

Another snarl- but it was difficult to tell who produced this one. M.X.E.S guessed Roxy considering his position inside her body as well as the others.

The chief meanwhile snorted at him; although one can see he was very much thrown off by the vibrating, smothering pressure of the threats around him. He had a hand on his weapon at his waist, but he didn't draw. "They're not friends... just, they're the proper owners of the lot of you- except for YOU, apparently," The chief added with another raise of his brow. "Didn't realize there was another full-blown A.I in this house."

He also doesn't know Vanny is right there, M.X.E.S almost wanted to smirk, but he was gifted at keeping his expression exactly where he wanted it. And for right now, its his I-mean-business face.

"They do not own THESE particular bots anymore," M.X.E.S went on to say. "They may own the RIGHTS to their faces, but not these particular individuals here. You will have to take note-" He held up a single finger. "They willingly threw these bots away. Once something is thrown away and another person finds it, its as the saying goes; 'One man's trash is another man's treasure'. These bots were purposedly left in the ruins of the PizzaPlex and were in quite a bad state before they were recovered. Fazbear Entertainment does not want them anymore."

"I beg to differ," the chief calmly threw back at him. "There's been a few attempts to send staff in to repair and fix the PizzaPlex, but the danger of the premises scared away and rightfully deterred even their own owners from returning. And speaking of which-" He stared at Cassie now; the look prompting for Moon and Bonnie to hiss especially loudly. "I'd like to talk about trespassing on private property? While obviously this girl here is too young for the charge, Vanessa on the other hand- she's in a lot of trouble. She's responsible for trespassing and stealing when she's no longer an employee."

Cassie balled her fists nearby, then stepped forward, "She came in to save me! Nobody else was coming to help! That isn't her fault! Its not like we could summon the authorities at the time-" She waved a hand around, "I went in like an idiot. I got her trouble. ME! Don't arrest her for my stupidity!"

The chief turned to look at Cassie directly here, "Be that as a it may, she still had a phone, did she not? She literally could've called us in anytime she wished. And, considering the number of bots here-" He stared around again, "Its fair to say she should've just grabbed you and left them to keep rotting. Your safety was paramount; not theirs. She purposefully risked your life to save these glorified toys!"

Cassie was easily the kindest girl for someone her age, but even she looked about as angry as her seething father figure nearby at the comment in regards to both her human caretaker and her mechanical ones. Her teeth flashed as she all but hollered at him, "She had no signal, so its not like she COULD! And besides! Even if she DID call them, the cops would've wound up hurt and trapped like everyone else who came to the PizzaPlex before! The noise level, the disruption to the foundation- more people would've gotten hurt!"

"All the more reason she should've just LEFT after she got you," The chief asserted, his voice volume strict, calculated, but set to a volume that was just a step or two from yelling. "I still don't understand why she had to stay for these... infernal killing machines. Look at them!" He waved around, "Why risk a child for the benefit of a bunch of pieces of plastic and metal with a shady history? Its bad enough Bonnie here was assumed to have allegedly KILLED one of the staff, and the others have manhandled others! And yet Vanessa stayed to help FIX THEM?"

No one has ever seen Cassie get that upset before; so M.X.E.S was firmly taken off-guard by the screaming vehemence that roiled around in her usually kind, hazel eyes. In fact, the crisp color was almost a perverted parody of Bonnie's own wine-colored set in the right lighting- a dark, bloody promise of the anger within.

And speaking of which- Bonnie's left eye lid did a jig; jumping up and down vigorously before it stiffened again into its prior glare. M.X.E.S almost swore his optics turned black again, but neither didn't. The crisp chill of the air was also noticed when the humans felt that wrongness permeate anew from the buck's suddenly too-still form. Bonnie's teeth were already on display; but somehow his wicked expression seemed to deepen. His reddened eyes were sloped so dangerously that it was hard to see his pupils beneath his heavy brows. He was looking more like a ghoul as before. The whites of his optics were an icy flash-

And it wasn't just him; but all the bots in the room were chittering with the same energy. Even on the floor nearby, against Vanny's terminal, M.X.E.S noticed the hare's ear twitch and focus on the chief. His own eyes were open now, and somehow, even without real emotions, the hare looked somehow marginally more irritated than one can figure. He looked ready to get up and join them, but he did no such thing- yet.

The chief hadn't noticed the white buck, but he was watching the other bots with a level of worry M.X.E.S felt a little too pleased to take note of. He continued now for the benefit of the group present, "Vanessa aside, we still have LUIS to discuss: Employees around his workplace know of his little forays into the warehouse and seen him perform his theft. They've even helped enable it and confessed to it. While he's allowed onto some Fazbear property, he shouldn't have been stealing from them. He's been taking parts from it to give to Vanessa- which is active tampering and theft."

He bobbed his shoulders, "I'm just doing my job here. Luis and Vanessa is still, no matter what, a pair of criminals. That cannot be denied... especially when footage of Luis inside the warehouse was found. At the very least, these bots here still need to be returned to their owners- seeing as there's still an invested interest in them and-"

"No."

The single word didn't come from M.X.E.S, Bonnie, Roxy, or any bot present. No bot has said this with such vehemence and surety. If anything, the light, fragile cadence belonged to Cassie, whose anger can take no further bruising.

The girl was standing directly beside Moon now; not behind him. She still had a hand on his waist- as if to hold him back for the cops own safety. Perhaps she was doing just that, but she looked a lot like she was going to let go at any moment. Her face was knotted heavily with stubborn conviction, her tear-tracks still present but now long dry. She looked like she was fighting to spit swears at them.

"You will NOT take my family apart," She told them, her voice shaking but adamant to the very last syllable. "They are my whole world, and the only world I have left. I fought for them; I begged and pleaded to stay for them. I risked my life for them- because they have no one else! I stayed to fix them and bring them up to see the sun! None of you understand what Fazbear Entertainment has done to them, and to me personally! My dad passed away years ago- working for them, might I add- just for them to BURY what they did to him! I lost almost EVERYTHING thanks to that death trap! NOT because they say my father goofed up- he was an EXPERT in what he did! And they besmirch his memory by saying his incompetence killed him! BULL."

The bots were now steadily eyeing her- and it didn't take a genius to know Bonnie's attention was especially the most rapt.

"My foster home? My own aunt-" Cassie went on to say fast while she had the authorities attentions. "She couldn't even give me medical care. I was just shoved into some closet in her house and shut away like I didn't exist. Like some memory that was meant to be forgotten because my dad was an employee. These bots? At one point in my life, were the only things that's treated me like a human being. Literally, they've shown me more patience, love and understanding than the rest of my own family did! And yet-" She threw a finger over her shoulder as if to point out the PizzaPlex, "They were treated in the EXACT same, cruel way I was in their own home too! They are thinking, living, BEINGS. THEY EVEN EAT TOO! Didja get a look at Bonnie's stomach unit? I'm sure you noticed that when you violated his personal space and opened him up when I was in the other room- thinking I wasn't looking!"

Bonnie was seen patting a paw to his stomach hatch door, as if JUST noticing it was damaged. He frowned at it, then his glare returned to its prior, seething ferocity. There was another growl from him.

She pointed at at them yet again, "They sleep and think and even dream like people now! Those philosophy books in there? THOSE BELONG TO FREDDY! That fort in there? That's Sun's! That freshly-made carrot cake in the kitchen in there? Chica's! Who -might I add- made that for BONNIE to eat. Not just the humans here! These car parts here-" She gestured to some of the piles of metal in the corners. "Roxy's, cuz she wants to make a home-made cart! They're as human at heart as we are! Why should they be left in the dark of the rotten PizzaPlex by their so-called owner? No one was coming to rescue them! Even Fazbear Entertainment gave up on them!"

"Enough of this-" The chief started.

"NO! I ain't finished," She was now in front of Moon. "The company emotionally abused them and shut them up in their rooms EVERY NIGHT after show-time just so they don't have to deal with them! I know this cuz I spent SO many hours inside the PizzaPlex in its off hours talking with them. The company threatened to take them apart every time they put a toe out of line! What the heck for?! They left them in that PizzaPlex after a point on PURPOSE! It doesn't matter if they went back for them originally- cuz if they really wanted these bots back, they could've gotten them at ANY time. Fazbear Entertainment has animatronic tasers and other methods they were perfectly capable of employing if they wanted them. They even have other guard bots to help-"

She waved at Foxy at the floor.

"They coulda built these to help them get THESE guys out. They didn't bother. They could've sent a PING to meet them somewhere safer in the plex -like at the lobby or main entrance- but they DIDN'T. They just LEFT THEM! LEFT! The proof?" She pointed at Bonnie, "Just ask him: They knew he was in that ball recycling room. The room he was in had an alternate door for staff to use! They just didn't want to fix him- or even take his pieces for salvages sake! He was just something they can stuff up and silence.

"And Chica? They left her to bug out! They knew she had self-destructive tendencies and she charges patrons often due to a system malfunction she couldn't control, and yet they left that in her! They wanted her to destroy herself! They LITERALLY could've auto-corrected that, but never did! I COULD DO IT IN TWO MINUTES! A KID! A KID SOLVED WHAT THEY COULDN'T DO IN SEVERAL MONTHS OF WORK!" She was beating on her chest on that last point to emphasize herself.

Chica gakeled nearby; her talons glinting maliciously in the dim lighting of the garage. She was nodding to Cassie's words, but her lilac eyes were on the floor some of the time during the mention of her prior issues. She no doubt still felt bad about them. She was meeting the authorities eyes though whenever they finally swiveled to her; concreting that Cassie was correct.

She even added aloud, adding to Cassie's argument, "If they really cared, they would've cleaned the garbage out of my gut every time I 'advertised' for them. Why did my blue boy there-" She waved at Bonnie, her voice a mellow, strangely calm influence in the middle of the tirade. "-And my sweet, orangey-scented bear have to keep doing THEIR work? They really just didn't want to help unless its to make them MORE money; not to lose it."

Rogers and Craigg looked moved, but the chief did not.

Cassie folded her arms at the sight of his expression. She threw in, "They also tampered with Monty actively! Made him out to be... worse, so he can be encouraged take another bot's place! He destroyed their property a lot too- surely you saw their records of repairs on the PizzaPlex? They had so many broken things they just don't bother with, and they didn't care! Monty was hurting himself, and they only ENCOURAGED it so they can replace try making MORE money from replacing an older face! As for Roxy? Every time Roxy didn't do something right, they emotionally DESTROYED her by saying things that'd make her cry! They throw around all her insecurities right back at her face to remind her how much of a Foxy-replacement failure she is! She can prove that too! She has the audio logs of their conversations!"

Roxy's expression contorted briefly, but solidified into a mask of calm she didn't have before. The snarling on her end stopped, although her teeth stayed bare. She was nodding, something the cops noticed.

"And DON'T get me started on Freddy, Moon, or DJ," Cassie spat at them. "I swear! The staff deliberately messed with their memories so they can't recall the shady stuff the staff does! DJ here? They left that glitchy Bouncer mode in place even though he doesn't want to hurt anyone! They LITERALLY coulda programmed that out of him! Then when he feels bad about it and he submitted requests for repair, they erase his memory instead. He has proof of that! They left Moon and Sun here to rot away with the same issue! A programming error- very simple to fix, mind you, and they IGNORED THEM. Sun had to BEG ME for help!"

She beat on her chest again for emphasis, "Begged me! A little girl, who EASILY reset him- took two seconds, and he was okay! They didn't want him... they just wanted to leave him in the daycare to fester in his errors! They LITERALLY put barricades on the doors of the daycare so they didn't have to deal with him! Now that I'm thinking about it- the daycare is RIGHT next to the main entrance. They coulda got him ANY TIME they want! That FURTHER proves they don't care!"

She balled her hand at Moon's side, the attendant steadily reaching to grab it and clutch it tight. His facial disk may be leveled at the chief, but his body said he was utterly focused on the girl too. There was a contemplative "hrrshhh..." from him.

"And Freddy?" She went on to say. "They told him he isn't allowed to even have anything of his deceased best friend. They encouraged Freddy and Bonnie's friendship- and then they wipe Bonnie off the map and leave Freddy with no answers? The told him TO SHUT UP when he went to look for him! They're FREINDS. He was so traumatized from losing Bonnie that he stopped going anywhere NEAR all of Bonnie's attractions! When you live in a place like that your WHOLE life, you just make your world so much smaller! Does that sound like someone who was dealing with his pain in a healthy manner? Does that sound like they cared enough to get something to help their 'star attraction' cope?"

The cops said nothing at this point, which allowed the girl to go on with, " THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE IN THAT STUPID MALL! NOTHING. How many times have you really been in there, HUH? Any of you notice the lack of windows in it? How much it feels like a PRISON? I'd know it because I was stuck in there for so many HOURS of the week during its operational time! I couldn't IMAGINE living in there myself! Heck, did any of you ever notice, if you even visited, how the stupid fire escape door is a blatant OSHA violation that is punishable by law and only VIP members of staff have access to it? No?"

She produced a cold, sarcastic chortle that was unlike herself. She added with less of the anger she had from before, but no less the fire, "So when a dumb prison and a popularity contest to stay functioning with is all you got, can you blame them for being a little upset? Especially when they were left behind to ROT in it? What kind of life are you really living? Its bad enough they punish them by stuffing them into their little rooms like toys in a closet if they misbehave. Starving them of important stimulus when they're LEARNING. But to take them apart and LEAVE them like that for HOURS to teach them a threatening lesson if they get in trouble? To starve them of anything meaningful when they're fully developed A.I? To not go back for their EXPENSIVE A.I bots just because they don't want to look their problems to their face and fix them? No. Not-uh. They don't deserve to have the Glamrocks back- not that they want them! No way in hell."

She jabbed a finger at the chief, "I'm not letting them -or YOU for that matter- take my family away just so they can SCRAP them. I'll even fight you myself if I have to! They're cruel, abusive, EVIL sons of guns who needs to shut down for GOOD. So chief, get the heck out of OUR house and tell them to STUFF IT UP THEIR TAIL PIPES!"

There was no more vocalizations from anyone at this point; not even a growl. Bonnie and Roxy were passing looks, while Chica had her hands over her heart like 'Awww...'- looking a lot like she was going to cry right there. Moon was ticking his head in that impatient nuance of his, but it settled to a placid stop as he clutched at Cassie's hand and gripped it meaningfully. Monty and DJ looked far less threatening too; standing normal now and carefully watching the chief. It wasn't lost on M.X.E.S that most eyes were on HIM- not his underlings.

Rogers and Craigg stared helplessly between each other, then back at Cassie. It was Rogers who spoke next, "I don't... we don't want to fight or hurt anyone or break up any actual family here. We only came to make a couple civil arrests and do our jobs! That's IT. We didn't ask for this, nor do we want to hurt anyone-" He shook his head. "And if you what you say is correct... about the bots being... you know-"

He was lowering his weapon, which helped settle the air some.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even know the mega PizzaPlex worked like that. It was strange seeing so many reports on the PizzaPlex from a lot of customers throughout the years- just for the company to find some legal method of avoiding trouble. I admit, that's shady, but we were told not to look too far into it-"

"By whom? Morris? Or your boss here?" Chica spat for Cassie there, her words gathering his attention. She crossed her arms now, tapping one foot pointedly.

Rogers sighed and said, "Both."

Now a lot of stares flicked to the chief, who was giving Rogers a cold look, as if to say, 'shut your mouth'.

Cassie gave the younger man a piteous look, "I feel like you're a nice man, so I'd like to believe you're actually interested in doing your job right. But is it worth to be splitting families up for your STUPID chief here, whose likely made an under-the-table deal with Morris?"

"I've done no such thing," The chief dead-panned. "Now where the heck did you get such an idea?"

"I'm not stupid," Cassie stared hard at him. "I'm probably the smartest girl you're ever going to meet. I promise, I know crooked when I see it. I've spent what felt like eons being surrounded by crooked staff to know what I'm looking at."

He scoffed at her- just for him to pause when M.X.E.S flat-out said, "You just lied. I detected a spike in your heart rate and, through the eyes of Moon here, noticed the change of pupil size. You just denied making any deals."

The chief glared at the tablet now, his expression especially dark. "That's because its preposterous! I am the CHIEF of police in this area-" He waved a dismissive arm at the program from the direction of his tablet; not the projection on the wall. "I will not take these accusations!"

"Sir?" Craigg mumbled.

"I did no such thing," He stoutly asserted to the slightly older underling. "I am here to do my job in person, for once. And now you assume I'm doing-"

"You're a liarrr~" Bonnie sing-songed, ears fully forward. "I got hearing that got me in trouble, man. I can very easily tell someone's lying just as well as our other blue bun here can." He jabbed a talon to his skull and tapped it once, twice, three times. "Why do you think the staff wanted to throw me away? I kept sticking my nose into their business, kept asking questions about the disappearances of the PizzaPlex- something you gents noticed from your records, I'm sure-" He half-snarled, half-crooned crookedly. They couldn't look away when he added, "My hearing is so good, they were reluctant to fix it the times it got broken. They've tried replacing my ear pieces -which I told them no to- and they threatened to decommission me if I pressed. And low and behold... I still wound up in the gutter, in the end. Want proof of that?"

Craigg and Rogers flashed each other looks.

Now the chief was a lovely shade of puce; his features ruddy with his fury. He blustered, "You're making a bold-faced proclamation with no true basis! For all I know, you could just be making that up to cover up the fact that Vanessa and Luis still need to be arrested. And, really, BONNIE- I still like to bring to attention you killed someone! And you ALL are still, under penalty of law, legally required to return to- what the-?"

He was cut off when the hare finally chose that moment to rise- and beside him, Vanny's terminal turned on. Now the room was quiet again. The ghost doe chortled in a way that was too much like her older self, waving dainty claws at him in a merry way as if to say 'hi! I'm here too'. Everyone present thought she was going to stay inactive- so for her to chose now to show herself made even M.X.E.S wonder what she had going on in that convoluted head of hers.

The hare meanwhile bluntly stated, "You were actually in the Fazbear hub recently. I saw security footage of that. I was undergoing maintenance, but another security bot shared footage of you being there for the time of an hour, during what is assumed to be your break, as of a couple days ago. You were talking to Morris-"

"Even better," Vanny smirked, pushing a finger to her cheek and leaning into it slightly. "I SAW you before at the PizzaPlex. You actually talked with some of the staff on a couple of occasions regarding some of the matters there. I had footage of that.. still do, actually."

Now the chief was completely silent.

"Uno reverse," Bonnie smirked at Vanny, for once. "Damn, girlie! You serious?"

"Deadly," she cooed sensually while winking, now showing a distorted still image on her screen of the PizzaPlex from- what M.X.E.S can assume, about three or more years ago. "He came in to talk to Morris about Cromwell's death- but I was watching everything. I caught all that needed to be said about your dirty deals with some of the staff in the plex and the NUMEROUS cover-ups in regards to the disappearances of the children and staff-" There was an ominous chuckle, "-You have an existing relationship with the crooked Mister Biggs of the whole operations."

Right before everyone present, a full-on video played of the chief talking to Morris while he'd been cleaning out Bonnie Bowl. There had been no staff inside the bowling alley at the time; just the typical bots cleaning and throwing things away. The two men were seen mumbling sometimes, but shaking hands once. Vanny even turned up the audio for the benefit of her human audience here; no doubt relishing what she was doing.

"So... no harm, no foul?" said Morris.

"I wouldn't be too sure of 'foul'," said the chief. "Cromwell's family still wants repayment-"

"I understand! They'll be compensated greatly- they are grieving! They deserve that much," Morris returned genially. "Its the least we can do..."

M.X.E.S noticed a lack of care from Bonnie as it kept playing.

The chief hummed again, hands behind his back. "After which, I believe we still had an arrest to make- some of the staff here have been rather negligent in their upkeep of the bots here... the fact that one of your prized 'Glamrocks' is to be held accountable for some of the damages to your attraction Monty Golf as WELL as the murder of Mr. Cromwell withstanding-"

Morris was smiling, but it was obvious it was with a great deal of effort. He got the hint however, then sighed and shuffled around his feet. "So, what- A couple techs get thrown in the slammer? Then you're done?"

"More than that," The chief harrumphed. His eyes narrowed at Morris especially, "I believe closing the plex for... hm, for an undetermined amount of time will be necessary for a full investigation-"

"Wait a minute now-" Morris threw up his hands. "The money we make in a normal day is NEEDED to keep these lights going. Between the bots, the food, and paying the staff and covering over miscellaneous bills- this isn't cheap. We lose more than $100.000 a month just for ONE missed day! Let alone THIS. Its bad enough we have to close for an entire week once a month just for maintenance!"

"I'm sorry, but it has to be done," The chief said while turning around- only to stop and pass the older man a look over his shoulder. "And the fact you spend this amount of time on your most prized and expensive bots ever made- just for one to go rogue supposedly and start ripping things -and people- apart on a whim... not once, but TWICE? I'm still remembering the 'Fox in the Henhouse' incident-"

Morris looked noticeably shaken. "The CEO... he said he'd cover for any other errors and-"

"I believe your boss said he'd pay the LAST chief of police to turn a blind eye," The current one said with a distinctive surety. "But he's retired now. So..."

There was a pause, and then- there was an uneasy chuckle from the older, shorter man.

"How much are you interested in?" Morris tried carefully.

That's when Vanny cut it off, her expression especially sickening. She was drumming her fingertips together like 'Excellent. Everything is going according to plan'; all the while her face had that content smugness of a cat with a juicy, fat rat caught in its claws.

Rogers and Craigg's eyes were now right on their chief instead, their expressions harder than granite. The former had his hands on his cuffs already.

The bots were passing looks meanwhile, with M.X.E.S folding his arms in a way that felt relaxed. Even he wished he could smirk, but his already-too-toothy appearance was a little harder to convey any real mirth with. He was however relaxing his brow line at the cops, showing something of his amusement. Cassie was producing a hissing noise of disapproval nearby; likely something she's picked up from Moon or Roxy after being around them for so long.

After a half a minute spent like this, that's when Bonnie asked in his usual charming tenor, "So, boys! You want a file of his biometrics when he lied too? Just for uh... you know. More evidence?"

"I can supply something of the footage from the main hub as well," The hare added. "Or pass along a contact that can get you more on his recent visit to the building itself. And the records on the PizzaPlex-?"

Craigg smirked at them, and said, "Would you please do all of that?"

"Done," Bonnie smugly replied, his grin ever-so shit-eating.

And then they were jumping the chief; cuffs clicking satisfyingly around his wrists while bowing him over the seat the bots usually used to sit in for repairs. The bots all watched in growing mirth as Craigg announced, "Sir, you are under arrest for aiding/abetting and accessory, bribery, fraud, and- you get the idea. You don't need me reciting it all, do you? You should know it better than I do!"

"Let me go Craigg-"

"You have the right to remain silent. I suggest you USE it," The former underling bit back as he finally dragged the jerking guard up and out the room.

---

M.X.E.S saw through the eyes of the bots as the rest of the proceedings went as followed:

Rogers apologized formally for the disturbance, and he was especially heavy-hearted when he said, "We'll... see what we can do about Vanessa and Luis' crimes and getting them maybe absolved-? But I cannot promise it will happen."

"You'd- you'd do that?" Roxy asked him.

He nodded as he looked at her, finally seeing her for the first time since Cassie's spiel. "Its easy to forget that, as man heads into the future, A.I will continue to be a big, growing part of our lives. And ignoring you all and the way you've been hurt... its not okay. Vanessa and Luis shouldn't be in trouble for saving your lives too. But... there's nothing in the law that says anything about A.I being officially recognized. So-"

There was a sad hanging of a bunch of heads.

Rogers opened his hands, "Again, we'll try to acquit them of this business. Its just too... morally muddled as it is. In the meantime-" He knelt and met Cassie at eye-level, "You don't need to worry, miss Cassie. We won't be jumping Vanessa and Luis too soon. We'll even give you guys a call if we make any headway-"

Cassie's eyes were shining there, and she even found it within herself to grab his hand and shake it. He shook it back, smiling warmly at her and withdrawing.

He even added, "We'll investigate Morris too, and the rest of the company. We appreciate any contributions of their dubious behavior you can supply- given you can give it."

"They're pretty damn gifted at finding a workaround," Chica said to him. "Loop holes and what-not-"

"We know. We'll try our best," Rogers concluded.

---

After which, the family retired back inside the house- to finally rest and relax for a time. Repairs would be made, and a small dinner would be served. Hours will pass, and the evening arrived in earnest.

It was when the sun had long set did Gregory and Luis come back.

The two were worn out in appearance alone, but they claimed Vanessa was already getting the care she needed. She would be hospitalized for a while though, and it doesn't look like she'll be able to join them in taking out Fazbear Entertainment. As sad as the latter portion was, everyone still couldn't help but be thanklessly happy she'll be okay in time.

And then they mentioned Luis and Vanessa being in trouble.

Poor Luis almost had a heart attack. He literally smacked his hand to his breast and keeled over in his seat; glasses askew on his face. M.X.E.S assured him from his tablet that the police will investigate the situation further before making any final arrests- but it looked uncertain from their perspective.

"Reaaallll reassuring..." He muttered as an answer to that.

Gregory looked like he was ready for a manhunt; his expression an intensity so great one could feel his animosity like they could feel his earlier lament when it came to Freddy. He literally looked like he was ready to choke someone out so to defend his human caretakers; and M.X.E.S didn't doubt he'll find some hare-brained way of getting around it. As soon as the recap was over, the kid was flying to his room to get onto the computer; as if to start researching for answers. M.X.E.S would be used to help Gregory find ways they can worm Vanessa and Luis out of trouble.

Cassie had informed Luis and Gregory about talking to father, prior to the boy locking himself up. They respectively reacted with the proper amount of intrigue and surprise; and Luis was even sent footage of the conversation by M.X.E.S on his tablet. Bonnie would see the conversation play out in its entirety, his expression completely unreadable. It was only after the video finished did he just get up and leave-

Literally. He got and left the room without a word. He went outside, jumped off, and vanished for a few minutes. He pinged M.X.E.S and said he needed to think, then blocked him. M.X.E.S was baffled by this, but not entirely. Bonnie was left alone though regardless, with everyone else understanding the why perfectly. M.X.E.S couldn't help but notice Chica's profoundly lonely airs after he left the house though; the chicken resigning herself to the kitchen to finish her cooking and cleaning with a noticeably heavy heart. After losing Freddy today and seeing Bonnie like this, no doubt she wanted to be left alone as well.

As the day closed out, there was a depressing air that captured them all and smothered the family with a hush that felt absolute. Bonnie returned home only around midnight; the buck completely incapable of speech and sitting in front of the fire with his eyes a million worlds away. Oddly, M.X.E.S even noticed he grabbed the plushy of himself Freddy lavished his attention towards; holding it and thumbing it carefully. He held it for a while, ignoring everyone present. He'd only reacted to anyone when Cassie came to check on him; his smile false but his hug goodnight its most earnest it could be. Beyond that, he'd resign himself to silence and banging his head on the wall.

Nobody can approach him, so no one tried. Chica looked like she would a few times, but did no such thing. She observed him though from a safe distance, to make sure he wouldn't wander away again. She honestly looked like she needed the company however; but whenever Roxy or Sun offered, she politely declined and wandered off to go clean something. It was fair to say both she and Bonnie was in their own world right now; and there wasn't anything anyone can do to reach them.

Just before Luis went to bed himself, he got M.X.E.S' attention.

"Hey. I uh... Vanny wants to talk to you, apparently," He told the program from the tablet.

M.X.E.S raised a pixeled brow at him. "What of? Did she say?"

"No... but I think I have an idea," Luis mumbled with a hand to his lip. "I'll bring your tablet to the garage. Roxy's done with the door so, we can have some privacy."

M.X.E.S was silent as his other user carried his device to the garage; the area largely empty now that DJ was mostly repaired and both Bonnies had their ears fixed. In fact, the hare was in here too; making the situation just a bit more confusing. M.X.E.S wondered where the lanky stranger had settled in the wee hours of the evening, and now its apparent Vanny had been talking with him.

This is... going to be interesting, he already knew.

"Finally," Vanny greeted promptly. "Been talking about our... Fazerific problems."

Luis hummed, pulling up the wheely chair next to the terminal's desk. He propped up M.X.E.S in a way so the tablet is facing Vanny's monitor and the rabbits can eye the other. The man bobbed his shoulders, "Lo lamento," Luis hummed. "Was... trying to settle down a bit. Today's just... its been uh... you know."

"A bitch, yeah," Vanny leaned back in her digital seat, looking a lot like some actual woman whose just sitting in her room on the other side of the world, having a video call with a colleague; minus the fact she was still wearing her bunny fur. "But now we can get started on business: About taking out the company for good."

M.X.E.S furrowed his heavy brows at her, "We are not waiting on the authorities, are we?"

"What makes you think I will? You all revived me to do this- and I shall," She said with too much glib. "Aside from that, they'll just eventually come back after Luis and Vanessa. They can't just ignore that... and if they did, I'd be pleasantly surprised! I considered waiting for them a little bit-" She pinched her fingers together, "But then, I realized something: If they come back to arrest you, what becomes of this house? Gregory and Cassie aren't old enough to look out for themselves legally here. They'll be forced to send them to foster care somewhere else or... however way legal shit works. It doesn't matter if there's grown bots here. They AREN'T allowed to just leave the kids without some kind of HUMAN adult."

There was a glance between Luis and M.X.E.S.

Vanny tented her hands and bobbed it in a shrug, "So, with this said, I highly doubt you'd want to wait around to be arrested. You'd want to take action, do you not, Luis? I know it comes with the risk of making your situation worse... fighting Fazbear Entertainment means you and Vanessa will inevitably draw more attention to yourselves. You'll be arrested indubitably, no matter how you slice it. So I considered this-"

She sighed and leaned in, "You two and the kids stay out of this for now on. Let the bots and programs -like me, that weird hare over there and Mex here- do the heavy lifting. We can take care of Fazbear Entertainment without you all. We could wait around for the cops to maybe finally get some legal lee-way with them... but let's be honest." She rolled her eyes, "FE will just wiggle back out of it again; no matter what the authorities do. They'll try to buy over the next chief of police, and it'll start all over again. Waiting for 'legal reasons' isn't going to stop them. Its just giving them more time to plan out their next loophole to exploit."

"Users Luis and Vanessa will still be held accountable for whatever is done to them on our behalf-" M.X.E.S reminded her. "Do you have a plan for that?"

"Just one... and its not a helpful one," Vanny admitted. "We take the fall regardless and leave the state like you intended on. Maybe move out the country entirely and find somewhere sunny to stay at. This country is so dreary anyways!"

Luis was shaking his head, "We can't just- its not that easy!"

"What did you expect when you said you wanted to go to war with them?" Vanny crisply reminded him. "An easy way out? No, there IS none. And waiting for justice and law to catch up on FE isn't realistic. They're more elusive than meth-head leprechauns on Saint Patty's day. No way you're gonna catch 'em and get their pot of-"

That's when Vanny stopped and looked away, her crudêl gaze bulbous and full in her patchy head.

"Wait... actually, that's it!"

"What's it?" Luis tilted his head.

"When we go to attack them... we can maybe get their MONEY," She grinned, her expression a special kind of evil. She was also pinching her fingers together, "Find some way to grab enough of it to JUST bond yourselves out of jail and out of trouble. Mex and I are programs- hacking their systems won't be easy, but we can do it with Chica's help and funnel some of their funds... elsewhere, and eventually wire it to a place where you can use it..."

"Dios mio," Luis looked more worried than relieved. "You know what you're suggesting, right? We'll be in even MORE trouble if they realize where we got that money!"

"But they won't know, will they? We are programs, and we're GREAT at what we do-" Vanny smirked. "Come on, Luis: Give me some credit here. I got away with literal murder for YEARS. I'd know how to get you out of trouble! You should be happy hearing this-"

"I should be, yeah- but-" He was shaking his head, his glasses reflecting Vanny's screen. "Now I'm wondering if we should even do this why YOU of all people would bother going to this extreme! You're not exactly KIND, you know."

"Eh, you're right. I'm just bored," Vanny shrugged simply, like it was literally the most obvious thing in the world. "All I get to do around here is sit and THINK. Not like I'll have a body again, so all I can think to do is crimes, how to change 'em, how to be quicker, more clever... How to beat FE like the insufferable immortal god-complex-having assholes they are, you know. I literally have nothing else better to do with my time than what you lot asked of me; how to stir trouble and get out of it! You LITERALLY asked me to do this, and guess what? Not only will I do it for the kicks, its because I genuinely ENJOY this little thing we're doing."

Vanny cackled wickedly, "Talking like this is actually humorous and... different. I am very used to working relatively on my own. So this is a fascinating change of pace for me! To have accomplices while planning a mass toppling of the biggest mega-corporation in the world! Its THRILLING-" She pumped up a fist, "Its EXCITING! Its FUN! The thrill of this, talking of conspiracy and how to get around the law like this? Its new and so much more COLORFUL than I coulda pictured-"

Her grin got even crueler as she eyed M.X.E.S. She even purred, "I betcha you're thinking of something right now, huh? You haven't said anything, chiseled cheeks."

"That's because, strangely enough, I agree with the fact we should take out the company on principle- not on a whim as you would," M.X.E.S admitted. "And protecting my creator and her users is important to me. I am willing to do about anything to preserve their welfare."

"MEX!" Luis half-exclaimed, half-sobbed. "You're serious?"

"Very, user Luis. I apologize for this, but... I agree with Vanny. We should go along with taking out the company and finding a way to get out of trouble," M.X.E.S said without too much qualm.

"Holy shit, hell musta froze over," Vanny laughed almost whimsically. "I got your own security program to agree to doing CRIMES with me!"

"Its only because my sole purpose in life is to preserve their own, as well as the bots here. Make no mistake of that, Vanny," M.X.E.S was quick to remind her.

"I'll take what I can get," She shrugged.

"Ay ay... putting you two in the same room was a BAD idea!" Luis face-palmed.

"I'm not hearing a 'nooo'..." The ghost doe sing-songed, a hand to her ear like she can hear him better.

Luis said nothing to that.

Behind them, Snowshoe Bonnie walked up and gazed down at the Hispanic man; his ears dragging along the ceiling of the garage. "For what its worth, mister Cabrera. You lot will not be working alone. My Freddy and I shall render assistance in this endeavor. Between M.X.E.S, Vanny, Chica, him and I- we already have an idea on how to do it to make it appear legal."

"Wha- how?" Luis slanted him a suspicious look.

There was a casual shrug, "We employ one of their own tactics against them: A loophole. A very simple one." The hare bowed so he can meet Luis' eyes. "A.I aren't legally recognized as living beings. So even if we're caught funneling, you humans aren't necessarily held accountable. We do this of our own volition, and we cannot be arrested for something the law does not have written. At worst, we can say, 'Fazbear Entertainment programmed us to embezzle or whatever', even if we are somehow caught out. We are their property, as they're quick to say-"

The hare wasn't supposed to have emotions, but there was a distinct look in his eyes that seemed to resemble mischief.

"-We were made to deceive people, Luis. Even the sentinels do this. If we're caught, FE is going to be the one held responsible for what their own property is doing. Not you, not even us. JUST them who take the fall for the money we take. We belong to them? So be it; then its THEM who buy you out of trouble like they're so eager to buy out of their lawsuits. They keep money aside JUST to buy themselves out of trouble; a private pool no one actually can touch. We can take this pool and put it towards getting you out of jail, and far more simply than you think."

The man just straight gawped, then flashed a concerned look between M.X.E.S and Vanny.

And then Vanny said, "There's more: DJ's memories. I have funneled information into him a few times... edited him a lot as needed. We've been going over them behind the scenes-" She waved around. "We found out something else; Cassie's father and his supposed accident- the cause is in it!"

"It... IT IS?" Luis blinked while slapping a hand to his head. "Santa Maria! Why didn't you guys mention this SOONER?"

"We only just got into these encrypted files today, after the mess," Vanny sighed. "I put an encryption on DJ's memories a long time ago so no one can access them. When my body was killed by the Tangle at the PizzaPlex, I deleted my passwords and keys so nothing of my secrets can be found. I found security footage that was zipped up and archived safely in DJ's head though, and he managed to finish deciphering it with me after the police left. We think there's something in there that we can use to not only finally find out what happened to Cassie's father, but we can use the footage as PROOF Fazbear Entertainment is covering up their numerous crimes. They attempted to cover up her father's death by saying it was HIS OWN FAULT he got into the accident he did- but that's a lie, as you can guess."

"We... we can actually ruin them? With this footage?" Luis pressed.

"Legally, possibly... and also the most boring way possible, yes," Vanny rolled her eyes like doing it the civil way was beneath her. "But it may help us to cover what we're really doing: taking out the company, stealing some of their precious money, and using it to not only buy you out of jail, but get your new house. Hm? How's that sound?"

Luis was quiet after this portent was dropped, gazing between all the rabbit-themed individuals in this room, with the exception of Glamrock Bonnie. He blinked, breathed, and folded his arms-

And then he said, "I'll do whatever I can to help Vanessa and these kids. I know you said we should stay out of this but..." He sighed, "I'm not sure if I can stay out of it knowing my failure to properly cover my tracks was what started all this. Not to mention, I WANT to help get this dream home of ours. I want- I want-"

He looked at M.X.E.S for a real long time after trailing off, then his eyes were shrouded by the glare on his glasses from the monitor before him. Literally, they were quiet for a full minute or two before Luis spoke again; his voice softer than a baby's bottom and even more secretive.

"I think I want to marry Vanessa too- yeah. I do."

"What-"

"What?"

M.X.E.S and Vanny were gawping at him. Luis had a long look on his face, tired and resigned at the dirty job at hand, but suddenly free of all of his prior qualms and worries he had but a moment before. He looked more than willing to do this- if for Vanessa's benefit.

"I want to marry her," He bluntly admitted. "Maybe not so soon- as I know she will not feel so comfortable with the idea... but I simply can't picture myself with another woman. I helped rebuild the bots here, helped these kids, helped her to settle into this house-" He waved around. "I helped with that armature too- used my money from my actual work to help feed them all. Programmed some of you. Risked my life for a pair of PAWS for Freddy- I just can't see myself anywhere else! I WANT to be here, in this trouble with all of you, and marry Vanessa. I know its only been a short couple years- but I've easily put in more than just that into it. I LITERALLY staked my life on all this- I was willing to die today for those kids to protect them from that other Chica. I want to seal that deal, in time. And, to help with this-"

He waved at Vanny now, "I want in on this, if its still possible. I get it if there's no room in the operations for me, seeing as all of your computing brains will be better than my little human one. But my little human one was also the one who enabled all this trouble. I'm not just making up for my mistake- I want to keep putting more of myself into this. I want to keep trying for Vanessa and these kids. You know? Maybe I can assist with repairs still; or coordination. I want to stay involved. If you all will allow it, and however pragmatic it could be."

There was no reply to that for the longest moment- even Vanny had nothing to say there. There was glances between each, and then they all finally looked back at him.

"I think we can figure something out, probably. But, if we don't-" Vanny levelled a finger at him, "You need to swear to stay out of the way so we don't have to keep covering your ass. Get the picture?"

"Loud and clear," Luis shrugged, slumping forward on folded arms and fixing his glasses. "Let me know what I need to do."

Vanny looked between them, then at the snowshoe hare, "You said your Freddy is coming?"

"He is. He will be here shortly- the walk here is fairly long, after all," the white buck replied. "We have to run in order to make it here in an expedient amount of time. We literally have to hoof it not only from the other side of town, but even further than that. We don't have transportation to this residence beyond our own two feet. So after doing what Morris tells him, my Freddy is likely maintaining himself and running all the way here. It takes all day. He was probably also taking parts as needed- discreetly."

"He's bringing parts?" Luis asked.

"Yes. New upgrades for the bots here as thanks for my construction, and as a way of amnesty towards the harm he's inflicted," Snowshoe Bonnie continued with.

"Alright... we can do this," Vanny rubbed her hands together. "I can hardly wait to see the look on Morris' face when we take that building by storm!"

"You didn't mention how you planned to do that-" Luis reminded her.

M.X.E.S and himself couldn't help but notice the level of smug she wore as she elaborated her own plan- taking way too much pride in the fact she had willing accomplices to the evils she had planned.

---

GLAMROCK BONNIE

He kept banging his head on the wall.

Maybe if he hit it hard enough he'll get some sense into himself, finally. Maybe he can convince himself that this was okay again. That this was totally fine- like always. That his little 'fit' today was reasonable (and it is) and that maybe sharing a body this fucked-up meant everyone can be-

Who was he kidding? Nobody liked it when he was like this- not even Cassie, who gets to be close with her dad again.

He saw the horror on her face in that playback. He saw how scared she was for Bonnie himself and her dad. He saw how frightened his friends got whenever he swung at them and lunged. He knew he was too dangerous like this; that maybe being possessed wasn't as good as he'd been trying to make it out to be. In hindsight, he still hated it on some level- but now in the the aftermath of today, it was so much worse than he thought.

He hated this. He liked feeling, but he hated THIS. Tasting ash and death on his tongue, tasting someone else's fury; having that said fury taken out on his family. Having to clean himself out every time he slips away. And now, he was afraid of slipping away permanently; if his tizzy got to be bad enough. He could be lost forever, and that would make Cassie even more upset! And not just her, but everyone else.

He was afraid.

He didn't want this anymore like he thought not so long. he wanted her father OUT of his body. Right now. He wanted this man to find peace; to LEAVE. To not be afraid for Cassie anymore. WHY WAS HE STILL HERE? Its been two years! Why can't he have his own emotions to himself? Its bad enough Cassie had to call him out some moments for acting too much like her deceased parent.

I can't love the way I want to. Not like this. I can't even be me anymore.

His head banging was no doubt annoying the family (annoying, and worrying), so he had to stop it eventually. Its bad enough he was spiraling back into that one moment in time- where he clawed at his own throat hoping for release. For wishing for death upon realizing what kind of failure of a protector he was prior to his being decommissioned. He was worse at it than EVER. How the hell can he stop Fazbear Entertainment like this?

He kept hearing her. The hen who haunted the area around him the last little while. She would watch him carefully; no doubt (rightfully) traumatized by the possibility that he could slip away again. She was rightfully worried for his mental well-being. She didn't want to lose her second greatest love in the world.

Or... her first? Technically.

Yeah, he remembered: M.X.E.S told him Chica loved him, organically. She loved him as a person would. Freddy did too- if his actions and his expressions were anything to go by. Carrots, he hadn't imagined they BOTH care about him like this! And when he's such a mess himself? He had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do. He adored them both- but love like that? Could he even DO that in this state? No-

Maybe?

...No.

He honestly didn't know. He was a mess; and that was that. That was the flat truth. He couldn't figure out his own feelings when he had someone else's over-riding what he felt some moments. Worse, even if he didn't have THAT little issue to contend with- he still had to consider that, realistically speaking, he was confused about the prospect of romantic love. That was an inflection that eluded him almost completely despite the influence of Cassie's father. Even though Cassie's father no doubt felt real love in his life (as after all, Cassie was here for a REASON), that sort of love wasn't something that was shared between vessel and soul. This love was... it was simply incomprehensible to Bonnie.

I also love them as they are. Must it be so complicated? He wondered. Even if I didn't have this duality inside me, its not like I can just... I can't shut either of them down. Right? No- I don't think I can.

No. I can't. I literally can't. Nope. Not-uh. A Bonnie shutting down a Freddy and/or Chica- yeah no. Nuh, bruv. Not happening.

But a fucking love triangle is so STUPID.

WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT THIS?

STOP THINKING ABOUT IT!

STOP IT, RABBIT. STOP.

BUT OH MY GOD ITS SO STUPID AND CORNY AS SHIT.

Now he resumed head banging. See why he was doing it? Endless circles. He absolutely HATED the discord that was his life right now. He loved his life, but hated it. And then he loved it again. And then he loved Freddy and Chica. And then he was afraid of hurting them. And then the idea of hurting them simply because of love.

It was made worse by the fact that- while he called Freddy his brother, he just did not picture himself turning the bear away if he had tried to approach Bonnie like that.

THAT was the awkward, weird, bitch part of it.

He once believed Freddy was his sibling in some way. It was a safe mentality. No complication; no confliction of the senses or psychology. It was safe for a robot to care about another platonically. It was safe for a child's toy to not think of it as more than that-

But he wasn't a child's toy.

He was a parent!

Yeah. He was a parent figure with a LIFE now. It didn't just mean because he had Cassie's father inside him. Cassie saw him as another dad; she told him as much, and she makes it abundantly CLEAR. He felt PATERNAL love towards her too. The thought of anything happening to her absolutely destroyed him- and the same can be said for Freddy and Chica to some extent-

But that love...

This, this was a whole other beast.

He knew what brotherly love felt like. He felt it before. He knew what it was. And he was smart enough now to know he didn't feel that way anymore. He just buried it. He even forgot about it! He's had two whole years with Freddy and Chica- and its plenty long enough for SOMETHING to shift. Especially since they all learned progressively more complicated feelings and its nuance. Romance wasn't completely off the table when they too clearly felt something that makes them look at him like that.

Still- Chica.

He stopped banging his head on the frame separating the living room and kitchen; his eyes narrowed and his ears flat to his neck. Chica didn't have the remnant in her as Freddy and himself did. It didn't matter that Cromwell was in Freddy or it was another person entirely: It was the fact that the remnant in Freddy compelled him to feel something new. Remnant helped their A.I develop in ways that was otherwise impossible-

But Chica was built different. Literally. She was built with a new body. She had no remnant put knowingly inside of her by Vanessa and Cassie during her reconstruction... was it possible her old body had remnant and her current A.I simply 'remembers' that inflection? Did she secretly have remnant in her NOW and Vanessa just didn't know it? Did Luis bring back a piece from the warehouse with remnant and they installed it by mistake? Or was it possible Chica's ALWAYS had this kind of affection for him, and it just wasn't comprehensible to them at the time? Seeing how she reacted towards his disappearance though... it could be possible.

He had to admit, something of this mystery intrigued him. He pulled away from the frame now, his paw on it and thumbing along the new indent in it. He'll have to fix it later. In the meantime-

Now he was looking in the living room at Chica- whose stubbornly refused to leave his proximity. Sure, it seemed impossibly clingy she'd stay so near- but this was a small house. It didn't matter if it was two stories tall. Chica was going to be near simply because of the space being what it is, and the fact she was reasonably worried after the behavior Bonnie showed today. It was good of her to stay near when he felt his worst, and he was a lucky buck for it.

Wait... M.X.E.S said that I should give this thing a try, didn't he? No... that's stupid. No no no no no... No. Not like this- not now. I'm too much of a mess-

"...To take a moment to separate yourself between the person you are from the parent figure. The two being so closely intermingled is what may lead into your current mindset."

"...We worry that perhaps your attachment to Cassie is what's making this harder on you-"

"...Being around Cassie makes you feel MORE like her father- which we worry will erase the bot beneath with time-"

Bonnie inhaled sharply and held; then released. He watched Chica as he recalled the program's words, then narrowed his eyes at the fact that acting like a parent may not always be what's best for himself- or even for Cassie, whose growing up and worries she may lose her father to Bonnie, or the vice versa.

But if he focused on things that makes BONNIE happy and not just her dad- that could be better for him, right? That was perfectly logical and made sense.

Freddy and Chica make me very happy, he found himself saying easily. I can't be without them. And they are the same; they've literally dealt with living without me, and its only made them miserable. They both admitted to me that losing me was the WORST thing they've ever had to deal with. They've always loved me, I think-

...God I feel like a stupid fool. A real fucking genius. WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME?

He coughed, then pulled away from the frame and glared at it like it offended him. He put a paw to his head and felt for a dent- and sadly found one, but it was subtle and not really noticeable. He knew he's scratched paint though, but it was a small price to pay.

In the meantime, he watched Chica again; seeing as the hen had found something else to do with her time: She was devotedly fixing his fur; having spent part of her day cleaning it and sewing up all the scratches. She evened out the fur and attached new, stone-blue colored patches to add extra slack; then neatly trimmed the fur as according to the rest of the pelt and kept sewing. She loved doing this for him, and it was a hobby she did for him and Freddy (and the kids too, of course). She sewed everyone's furs and clothes, busied herself in a way like Cinderella stresses to appease her step family-

She didn't need to do that, but she loved being busy. Loved not thinking about pizza, or abusing herself into another early grave. She was doing this because she loved him dearly and she was dodging demons in her own mind. And right now, she was doing this for the same reason Bonnie had been uselessly banging his head on the wall; because she was contemplating her life and her place in it. She was putting her frantic energy into something PRODUCTIVE; the opposite of Bonnie. She didn't need to read Freddy's books for some of her answers; she had what she wanted for the most part-

Everything except his ACTUAL love. The romantic kind.

Bonnie blinked again and raised a brow, then rapped his nails across the frame. This was stupid... and he knew he was in a completely stupid and confusing headspace right now, but the less he felt Cassie's father, the more he can be HIMSELF, right? And aside from that, Chica and Freddy earnestly made him VERY happy- nothing wrong with that.

Should he really be considering this?

Its not just the fact they were... you know, robots. But they were also robots with some small or huge amount of remnant. And not just that; but also, best friends. And it was the three of them and meaning maybe potentially disappointing one or the other- something Bonnie CANNOT do in his right mind. There was a lot of things wrong here-

But right now, Chica couldn't look more lonely, and silently more miserable in her own little dark corner.

Without even realizing he was doing it, he was drifting into the living room and stopping to watch her sew. The hen looked up once, 'bawked' lowly, smiled at him even though it was small, and kept working. She already looked a bit better just from his approach.

"Are you feeling a bit better?" She queried gently, her tone low enough to be secretive. Mind you, Sun was in rest mode in the corner over yonder; curled up in his fort. DJ was in rest mode too, having finished one book and having prodded the fire into life. They were ignorant to Chica's low words.

Bonnie hummed noncommittally and slumped over the head of her arm chair; doing something rather bold for himself. Now while the gesture wasn't unusual between them -in fact, it felt natural- his intention behind this gesture was so very different this time around. His arms came down heavily from behind, loosely wrapping themselves around her shoulders and caging in her little egg-shaped head. He could hear the whir of her blinking; the surprise profound in the stinted movement of her fingers, but then she resumed sewing and fell back against his grip and the chair's rest.

Okay, Bonnie. This is fine. Normal. I guess... We always hug. That ain't weird. THIS ain't weird.

...No, it really isn't weird. Its just... hm.

Well, at least this attempt on his part to experiment was somewhat taking his mind off things. He'll have to give it THAT much. He still wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel something different since he was now trying this with a far more dramatic intention this time around... but the fact of the matter? He, Chica and Freddy were ALWAYS touchy-feely. So, its not like Chica can understand what he was doing was something that was a little out of his comfort zone. She likely figured it was just one of his usual affectionate gestures-

"Bonnie," She eventually said, stopping his turbulent mind for a moment. "You haven't answered my question."

"Whu- what one?"

"You dweeb," She sighed before finally putting the fur down. "I asked you if you're feeling a bit... you know. Maybe-kinda-sorta-marginally better? I know what happened today is... well-"

Bonnie flapped his jaw uselessly, then heavily rested his skull against hers. THAT felt normal- in fact, it helped. He even shut his eyes and sighed, feeling one of her hands move to his wrist and grab it in a solid but ginger vice. She thumbed at him too, lilac gaze on the fire in front of her.

That's when Bonnie's crimson eyes went to her sewing kit near her; at the bottom of her feet. He saw orange and blue, and a flash of red threads...

She's making a Freddy plush- like what I asked.

He watched the carefully woven fabrics from her kit, though it wasn't a solid bear shape yet. She was still measuring it, apparently. She had it's stuffing in a separate bag; and the head was mostly done, minus the obvious alterations to Freddy's paint. She wasn't done adding the red trim around his blue mask; and she was also attaching it to the body. The body however wasn't really one so much as it was just flaps of neatly marked and stitched fabrics with no guts; hanging loosely and waiting to be put together so it can receive it stuffing. Bonnie also noticed it didn't have its black nose either.

"Well..." He began in a whispery rasp, hugging her tighter as he eyed the wannabe bear plush and wished solely their bear was here too. He wanted to hug them BOTH. "I'm... coping. That's about the long and short of it, I guess," was all he can say.

"Its a start," She said patiently. "Do you taste goop still?"

Bonnie worked his jaw. Sadly, he felt like after today, he doubted he'd EVER get the taste of pure, horrid death off his sensors. Its weird how machines can find and detect DEATH. Between EMF readers, spirit boxes, hospital equipment... machines can literally have anything 'deathly' attached to it and detect it. Its even almost magnetic if one considers how often Fazbear Entertainment used remnant on their bots.

He didn't lie. He straight up said, "Yeah... still tasting the ichor. Carrot cake ain't chasing this bullshit away today."

Chica produced a sad sound, "I really tried with today's recipe too... dammit. Bonnie, I-"

He hugged her tighter, stopping her words. He leaned his head against hers, somewhat draped across the chair's head rest and burying his right cheek into her noggin. Their chassis wasn't comfortable, he hated to admit. It sucked not having some flesh and blood so he can enjoy the fullness of touch- but his limited sensors were all he and her can manage.

It would have to be enough, for now.

Feeling something in him grow heavy and expectant. He fought a choked, strangled whimper fighting to claw its way out of his throat pipe. He found himself somewhat loathing the fact that as bots, they couldn't ever experience the full ranges of this anomaly he felt. He could only just reach and touch; but never grasp and pull it tight. His emotional range can and will still have that full complication of 'the human condition'- but their physical bodies do not tolerate the kind of touch he was suddenly realizing he was inwardly wanting.

Hugging he did a lot. Nose nuzzling? He did that a lot too. It was a normal, social rabbit-thing for him; a character-cue that said Bonnie Bunny must be affectionate towards Chica and Freddy as his besties at all times. Not just because he wanted to love them in earnest on his own merit and not with forced cues. Hand holding, normal. Head rubbing, bumping, leaning, all of that was almost trivial- all these affectionate gestures, normal and can even be taken at face-value-

He did these all the time- and yet the idea of them felt like they weren't enough for right now.

He shut his eyes again and simply held her, still taking what he can get as she rested careful, small hands on his arms. Something about this mundane hold did feel... different, he had to admit. Something about it felt lazy and welcomed; the kind of balm to his frayed, tattered, and worn-out sensors desperately needed. It was something that made him a feel maybe somewhat human in a way. It was human to want to love and be loved, no matter what form that love took.

Holding her again meant everything to him.

Bonnie sighed against her noggin and felt himself grow heavier; leaning almost all the way on the chair. It protested against him, but it held. Having missed out on all the days, months, and even longer that he could be spending holding her and Freddy had been the most painful thing in his entire life. Watching from the eyes of the wet floor signs, he watched them tear themselves to pieces worrying and crying for him- wishing he would come running to their calls.

He held Chica especially tightly now, being careful to not crush her noggin while savoring the soft roll of fingertips across his limbs. The fire's welcoming heat, the quiet whoosh of air from the resting Sun and DJ, the soft puff from Cassie, Gregory and Luis upstairs, Roxy sleeping in the wardrobe room, Monty on the floor nearby, and even the hare in the garage- all of them was asleep or staying completely still.

Now if only we had Vanessa and Freddy here, I would be happy with this.

"I love you," She said out of the blue, surprising him.

He almost jumped- and then stopped himself from doing so. He had to recall that saying such words like this so candidly was normal between them. Nothing to it. Chica always said this to him- although recently, he was starting to see how it was different now. It contained another nuance that no longer slipped his observation. She meant her words, but she meant them differently this time around. The 'I love you' is normal in every facet, but something about hearing it aloud and now KNOWING this information of her affection towards felt so...

Carrots. How can I word that? I don't think even HUMANS can figure it, let alone an idiot machine like me.

"I... I know, dove," he muttered eventually, finding it super strange to try and muster the ability to echo the words back as he used to. They weren't untrue, but something about saying it right now wasn't quite right either. He could just say it like normal- and she wouldn't be all the wiser to his newer, treacherous thoughts. She wouldn't start wondering why he's hesitating like a DWEEB right now-

So say it, you stupid buck.

"I miss him too," Chica said next, somehow saving him the burden of trying to parrot the words back. "Freddy is... I know for you, its a little... different, now. We had to deal with not having you for so long... so for you, not having Freddy but staying here- I can see how its a little... a LOT hard."

Bonnie blinked at her words, then gritted his teeth against the budding pressure of his lament. He now knew exactly how the bear felt when he left now. Indeed, a full Uno-reverse.

"I said to myself I will spend every day of my functional days hugging you both," Chica said to him next. "I will do whatever it takes to keep you with me. I will make up for all the lost time we could've spent together- and I didn't dare entertain that... for one minute, that maybe this would-" Her voice grew progressively more watery as she burbled, "That maybe... THIS. This could happen again. I didn't dare think-"

She couldn't go on anymore; sinking her head into Bonnie's limbs and doing her best to bury her features in them. He tightened his grip, started hating how there's a chair's head rest digging into his ribs, and then let go to he can move to the arm of the seat. He set some of his gargantuan weight onto it, but not enough to displace it. He didn't want to tip it over. He had a lot of weight on one of his legs as he leaned over now, good and proper, and pulled her against his breast plate and let her bury her head anew against his neck and shoulder.

He seriously and intrusively found himself wishing he was made of flesh of blood so he could feel every inch of her there.

He snuffled once as well; feeling an odd ache build in his optics again. The 'blood tears' were boiling forth, unbidden- and while they're an aspect of having a dead soul within, these were his own tears in another sense. The pain he felt towards losing Freddy had finally given him a real understanding of what crying really was. How it was supposed to make one feel better if you were to 'cry it out'. Cassie's father was kind in letting Bonnie have this gift of tears; no matter how messy and morbid it was.

Bonnie cried, although he didn't whine or whimper or wail. He simply leaned his head onto Chica and desperately held her in place; too afraid of the idea of losing her as well. His nose busied itself with the sweet aroma of baked goods and the hint of bread and cake now becoming a permanent fixture in her chassis and body. He loved her smell now; adored how it reflected some of her favorite forms of creativity. She no longer smelled like garbage and the shame it carried.

However, he knew he couldn't say the same of himself. He knew he stank of blood and ichor. He's bled so much recently that he was aware of the fact his body was going to contain the sharp, coppery tang of mortality in its shell despite its artificial nature. He didn't smell like his usual blueberry and carrot musk. Maybe SOME carrot, if one squinted hard enough, but not enough to cover the ick of the remnant's influence.

She probably thinks I stink.

He didn't know why that hurt, but it did. He said nothing though, simply held her and bumped his nose affectionately against her noggin. He lavished her with as much attention he could give while seriously lamenting the loss of their shared love, Freddy. He cried bloody tears and did his best to not let a single drop hit her shiny, recently buffed skull-

He didn't want her to smell like death too.

They were like that for long moments; simply holding the other. Her arms had crept to his back and planted themselves there; crying even though she couldn't produce any tears. Bonnie supposed in hindsight, he got a lot of answers to some of his earlier questions from that observation. Chica wasn't possessed, she simply felt extremely convincingly. She perhaps realized herself without the aid of remnant. He wasn't sure if this was true but it was his best guess.

He wanted to speak, but something about the air was thicker than chowder and prohibited any breach in silence. His boopable nose twitched and fluttered nervously above her head, whiskers feeling out the pressure his body could not. He kept his skull glued to hers, taking note of the fact he could feel so much from these extensions of his sensors. He was the only one with whiskers in this family; and they were notoriously difficult to deal with whenever someone touched or rubbed them-

Although right now, he wasn't going to lie: He really liked it when she and Freddy brushed their fingers against them. Not too hard, obviously, but they did it in a way that felt different from the rest of his sensors. It was welcomed. It wasn't much, but the graze of sensation along them felt about as well as he figured real human touch could be-

Huh. I wonder if I should experiment with these sensors more?

It was intrusive, but he believed if he took his own whiskers off his face and did what he could to understand them, maybe he could super-impose and invent a new sense of touch in all of them. Maybe he can find some way of doing something like his whiskers and recreate them in a way that's broader and more sensitive; more friendly towards metal instead. His chassis was irritatingly blind in its input compared to the sensors in his face; so the feedback tended to be overwhelming and at odds with the other regions of his body when others touched his face as opposed to his torso.

He made a mental note to maybe experiment with more unique touch sensor designs in the nearest future, all the while keeping hold of Chica until she long cried herself out. His own tears stopped thankfully; though now he was noticing the chicken sniffling for another reason. She pulled away a moment later and blinked up at him, having definitely detected the blood staining his cheeks.

"Oh... again, huh?" She began wearily.

Bonnie shrugged it off and dragged a thumb across the area beneath his left eye. It only smeared and slid across the surface in a runny way, somewhat annoying him.

Chica hummed and got up. "I'll grab a paper towel. Stay put," She murmured gently.

"God I hate that," He grumbled to himself as she moved away. He didn't say anything as she left, simply wiping and praying he doesn't get the mysterious fluid on the furniture. Chica was back within a minute of course; seeing as the kitchen was just right there.

"I find it interesting," she told him bluntly, gently wiping the substance from his visage. "Its only just now occurring to me that maybe I should ask how it feels? Given you feel something from it at all-"

Something about the question struck him as odd, but he couldn't put a talon on it. He only shrugged, "Its... confusing, mostly. But I suppose something of it feels- er, how to say it? Its not SO bad?" He clenched his jaw in thought, "I dunno... I think there is a bit of something there whenever I cry. I think its supposed to make me feel better? But I also suppose it makes me feel more gross."

"Can you describe that a little better? Like the uh, the 'feel better' part," She pressed gently as she folded the towel again and swiped away.

"I dunno... emotionally speaking, I feel kinda better, I think? I wonder if that's like, an intentional feature of crying? I mean for humans, it works-" Bonnie shrugged, gladdened to see Chica was now done already. She watched him steadily as he went on, "-I wonder if for me, the whole 'feeling better' aspect is like when they feel better from crying in the same way? Or if it is different, what's the explanation for it? For now though, it just makes me feel... something close to the relief of tension or stress but also gross-"

"That sounds mortal," She dead-panned, her tone somewhat curious and somewhat awed. "And if it IS, I wish I can feel it."

"Yeah, but at what price?" He bit more scathingly than he cared to admit.

Her expression darkened and reflected her doleful nature. Bonnie felt instantly bad for the slightly off-kilter retort.

"Sorry, dove," He murmured gently while taking his turn to wipe a gentle finger across her cheek; if for the sign of affection he wanted to bestow. "Just... its nice to cry, but I guess what I'm saying is that the price of it isn't worth it. But I won't deny the fact it helps me kinda... process. Its like a luxury and its alien to me. Still is, even after two years."

She nodded, looking up at him from the bottom of her lids and glancing away. Bonnie found himself watching her maybe too raptly, leaning in and bumping his forehead to hers in an old sign of their affection. Again, the application of pressure here was now for something entirely different, and he wondered if perhaps she may get the idea that he was, ultimately, interested.

Interested, he repeated to himself. So weird. I'm INTERESTED. That is just so weird- MAN! What is wrong with me?

He felt himself frown at something else right then: He just NOW noticed he hadn't felt quite like he did earlier- it was already different in a strange but WELCOMING way. He felt something of his spirit lift, though he could not say why or how.

Is... is M.X.E.S right about this? No way he's right about this- is he? Granted... he's not usually wrong anyway, so...

Chica huffed against him, her eyes shut and her hands finding themselves once again on his arms. They moved down, fingers rubbing at the backs of his own. The slow, methodical path they took was entirely too welcomed for him; in a way he definitely noticed was intrusive to his mindset. His thumb twitched once, capturing one of her digits and giving small, miniscule little slips in tension. He had a decent amount of sensors in his limbs; seeing as when he was first built by Fazbear Entertainment, they wanted the Glams to be able to feel human hands so they won't crush them by accident. They needed to know how much pressure to exert and how precisely they can reciprocate any attempts at connection.

The Glams however did NOT have sensors in certain, small, localized areas of the rest of their bodies. Their paws, faces, and a lot of their torsos had these sensors- but not their legs and certain regions along their necks and lower back. Monty had no real touch sensors in his tail, but they did pick up when he's getting pain applied to it- which is, an interesting and annoying feature.

Once again they fell silent, simply enjoying their somewhat smushed, but comfortable position in the armchair. Chica rested herself partially over his legs and lap, having long since tossed the bloody rag onto the chair-side table. She warmly bumped her head with his sometimes; as if she was truly lost in just the mundane simplicity of holding one of her favorite people in the world. She kept a nice, velveteen hold of his limbs, exploring a bit along them but never straying beyond that point.

Bonnie tried thinking again, but realized he may be doing too much of that. He just felt like an awkward dork; keeping his own eyes shut and letting his whiskers drag along her face. Cassie tended to giggle because they were ticklish to human skin; but for the bots, Chica and the others did not laugh or react. She may not feel them too well, if at all. If she did however, she certainly didn't mind its sensation.

They could miss their bear and be lonely right here, he realized. They wouldn't be 'lonely' however in the typical sense; nay, they were lonely in the sense that as of right now, they felt like the only ones not in rest mode. They were sitting right here, literally holding one-another with a fervent but gentle, patient kind of desperation and relief. Chica even wound her arms around him again at some point and pulled him closer; beak on his shoulder and quiet as could be. For some reason, even though DJ and Sun were right there in the room with them in rest mode, this moment felt isolated and intimate. They felt cut off from the others, no matter the space they were in.

This was definitely more than okay with him, Bonnie realized. He was finding a sweet euphoria that untangled his wires and made his stomach actually feel something- no, not his gut, but his core. It felt so light. He couldn't figure it out yet, but he was finding that losing himself in just this moment in time was something he really needed- that they both needed right now. Chica wasn't crying anymore, not working herself to death. Bonnie wasn't smashing his head against a wall and doing some inadvertent self-harm-

Yeesh. It just occurred to him that was all he did when he was alone with his busy and intrusive musings; self harm. A horribly unwanted, and terribly unwelcomed term he hadn't wanted to address or give attention to. But he's done it before; he's torn into his own throat when he'd been left alone in his room at the PizzaPlex-

But finding himself here with this hen, in a world beyond the PizzaPlex and the pain it once imposed- this was alright with him. The picture would be better complete if they had Freddy back, but Bonnie will take this while he had it.

I will save you, Freddy. I dunno how, but I will save you from Cromwell and bring you back to us- to ME. His arms tightened around Chica's body, his eyes now resting on the wall opposing them. I will not leave you in that darkness as I've been left. No one deserves that fate. I won't leave you to rot as I have.

Just as he was considering just getting up to go upstairs with the hen, his right ear perked up. The brackets in them whirred enough to make Chica jump a bit, but she didn't part until he pulled away first. He tilted his head and leaned his head in the direction of the front door- to which, Chica couldn't help but frown and look worried.

"Is... is someone else there?" She warbled in a tone that held all her fear and anxiety.

Bonnie gently placed a hand on one of hers and gently squeezed, "Don't worry... its just that er... that other Fred-"

Before he can even finish saying his name, Snowshoe Bonnie was practically speed walking out of the garage and into the cold weather outside. Bonnie and Chica raised their brows at the sight-

-And then they heard a happy series of noises emanate from somewhere beyond their sight. Peppy chuffs, kicking legs, and loud snuffling. Polar Freddy was no doubt hugging his rabbit to death and not letting go.

Bonnie and Chica decided to get up now, seeing as they were making a bit of noise. Not too bad, but enough to get Monty's attention on the floor nearby. Bonnie had completely forgotten about him and the others here; the gator sitting up and watching them head to the now ajar front door.

"Whu dafuq?" He croaked sleepily.

"Polar pops is here," Bonnie told him lowly and sauntered outside.

He and Chica would stumble upon the sight of something that- well, Bonnie would not deny he loved seeing and he certainly didn't regret:

Polar Freddy was spinning his poor, semi-crushed rabbit in waltzing circles on the front lawn; only the soft, rolling glow of the house's fire inside lighting them in the dim, cloudy evening. Polar Freddy spun and pecked the rabbit like his nose; with Bonnie realizing it was capable of squeaking too! Bonnie and Chica watched in quiet reverie as even the emotionless buck didn't fight him or- anything. In fact, he actually had a smile on his face.

He didn't know how, but Snowshoe Bonnie did have some feelings left in him, no matter the removal of his chip. There was humanity in him, and it was beautiful. Bonnie saw its fragile spark right there in this moment, witnessed how immortal it truly was even though he'd been dissembled completely and put back together again. He's literally died even more thoroughly than Glamrock Bonnie did, and yet he STILL had that enduring love for his bear. He watched as this other buck shared whatever little love he had with Polar Freddy and rest his head on his rounded shoulder. Polar Freddy would stop spinning, holding him for uncounted minutes; literally doing nothing but clutch him like he was singularly the most important thing in the entire world.

I want to greet my Freddy like that too, he couldn't help thinking.

"Mmmmm-MH! I missed you so much-" The bear mumbled sweetly.

The white buck said nothing, only kept his eyes closed and slumped into his embrace with the full trust of a life-long partner. He was put down though the next moment later; the bear smiling like he hadn't a qualm in the world. There was no sign of his earlier madness; of the weakened, desperately lonely and desperately broken spirit that's given up on seeing his bestie ever again. He was a happy Freddy; a bear with his assembled Bonnie. It didn't matter if they were white-furred or blue and orange.

He dusted his bunny off with parental care and was just an endless amount of smiles as he brandished a finger and waggled it, "I got something for you! Allow me-" He was undoing the velcro fabric over his stomach hatch and opened it; pulling out a wad of blankets that were very delicately folded. It didn't take a genius to know what was being safely cushioned in them.

Before he could unwrap them, he turned to the Glamrocks and smiled so wide, it stopped Bonnie's mechanical heart from just how eerily similar it was to their OWN Freddy. He looked, for one dazzling moment, too much like their own Glamrock. Warm, huggable, and completely harmless, no matter if his size and colors were wrong.

"Oh! Sorry- I did not see you there. I apologize," He said in what was now, Bonnie also noticed horribly, a sound JUST like their own Freddy. "I have a lot of things to give you! Many nice tings- upgrades, files, things like that! And I was wondering- did you not get my message? I sent a ping ahead of time telling you I would be arriving shortly. I did not want to surprise you-"

"I... crap," Bonnie scratched at the back of his head, Chica now gazing up at him with her hands behind her back. "I completely... I kinda blocked everything out today cuz... erm-"

That's when Polar Freddy finally noticed the van over yonder (now sitting upright again) with the huge dent in it, and the fact Bonnie smelled so very thoroughly of death. His large, black-tipped muzzle was twitching rapidly; and then he darted his blue gaze towards the garage. He likely saw Foxy's corpse within with his Roxy-like X-ray eyes. His smile promptly died.

"You... where's your bear?" He asked with a noticeably sad lilt, his rounded ears lowering.

Chica only produced a garbled half-sob beside him- a sound that nearly brought Bonnie's tears back anew.