New Order
••• Blue Monday •••

how does it feel

to treat me like you do?

when you've laid your hands upon me

and told me who you are?

•••••

Artist: Salix

Artist: Al

Artist: Anima A!

Artist: werifesteria

Artist: Indian Ink

Artist: ღ 『𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡』❥

Artist: roezy_cakep

  "You should take an early lunch," Freddy suggested as he watched me, perched upon his oversized vanity and trying to make it look like I didn't just have an emotional breakdown.

  "Kicking me out, big guy?" I chuckled as I wiped at my wet lashes. I caught Freddy's reflection as he stood behind me with a smile in jest, but it faded at the look on his face. I turned to him. "Are you okay?"

  He stood in the centre of the room, the same spot where he had pulled me in for a hug. He hadn't moved, but he watched me as I pulled on a happy facade and tried to make myself look presentable for the rest of my shift. He watched with an expression of deep despair. It looked as though it had consumed him whole.

  "You're... really hurt, aren't you?" he murmured. His eyes didn't leave my face, searching to find bits of my life story written in the curves of my cheeks and lines of my eyes. "Much more than I thought."

  I gave a sad, one-shouldered shrug. "That's just life, unfortunately."

  Freddy's gaze drifted to the floor. It seemed as though my answer didn't soothe his sorrow, but what kind of answer would? A lie? I couldn't lie to him, not after my own had blown right up in my face when my brother entered the room.

  I felt my facade begin to slip the longer Freddy was miserable. I didn't want him to be sad because of what I went through. I slipped off the vanity.

  "Freddy." I picked up one of his hands and held the heavy weight of metal in my palms. "Whatever you heard Matt and I say about Michael, forget it. You've helped me so much. Meeting you was one of the best things to happen to me."

  That didn't seem to work, either. He slowly slipped his hand from mine and looked away when I frowned.

  "You should talk to your brother," Freddy said quietly. "It seems as though you have much to discuss with him. Besides, I... want to tell Bonnie about the missing children. Three heads are better than two."

  "But there's still so much I need to tell you," I said.

  "Then you can tell us both," he murmured as he began to turn. I watched him, stunned, until he reached the door.

  "Hey," I called. Freddy paused before adjusting his head to the side to let me know he was listening. His ear flicked back at me. "This... this isn't your fault, if that's what you're getting at."

  He didn't say anything for a while and I was left staring at his back. He didn't look like the proud main star with his perfect posture and infectious joy. He looked... devastated. Derailed. He turned his head back to the front so I couldn't see even the corner of his expression.

  "Yeah," Freddy replied in a mumble. The door slid open and I watched him disappear. The quiet was unnerving as I stared at the door, hoping that he would come back, realising that he wouldn't. My frown deepened.

  I didn't get it. Why did he sound so guilty?

⚡️🧸🤖🧸⚡️

  I stared at the floor as I leant against the directory display in the food court, waiting for Amelia and Matt to arrive.

  I couldn't stop thinking of Freddy's guilty face after what happened and how he had all but fled. That look of his - it was so potent with sorrow that it had branded itself to my brain. Was he feeling guilty for being forced to listen in? Was he feeling guilty because of his 'I-love-you' slip from the other week after learning about Michael?

  I couldn't figure him out and it had me yanking my hair from the roots. There was something going on with him. What was it?

  "Y/n!"

    Amelia's call over the crowd's chatter pulled me from my thoughts and I glanced up, finding my brother and niece making their way over. I forced myself into a bright smile - I didn't want them to see me sad, not more than they already have.

  "Hello, smelly Mellie," I greeted with a beam as the little girl collided with my legs. "Have you been exploring the place with daddy?"

  "Mmhm!" Amelia nodded.

  "We were just taking a look around Gator Golf," Matt said. "I... have to admit, it does look pretty cool."

  "We saw the al-ee-gator," Amelia struggled to pronounce. She sent me a bright smile. "Daddy picked me up and ran!"

  Matt sheepishly chuckled when I sent him an amused look. "Can you blame me?"

  I snickered and picked Amelia up, who giggled with glee and asked to go higher. "I guess not, but I promise, Monty's bark is worse than his bite."

  "With those teeth?" Matt was unconvinced.

  "I said 'promise,' didn't I?"

  "I suppose," he sighed as he watched his daughter clamber over my head. "Where do you wanna go for lunch, Amelia?"

  After a lap around the food court, Amelia settled on pizza, which was only natural for a place that was originally a pizzeria. She wanted a seat specifically where she could watch the stage's massive holograms of the band, so we scouted out a seating area that would give her just that.

  Amelia took to the floor as she ate her slice of pizza, watching the looping holograms like it were the band themselves. Matt sat cross legged on a bench with me that overlooked the mosh pit and stage. He shook his head after taking a bite of pizza.

  "I still can't believe you brought Amelia here," he said through his mouthful. "To a Freddy's, really, Y/n? Have you lost your mind?"

  "Matt," I sighed. "A little faith, please."

  "I have faith in you," Matt corrected as he turned to hit me with a look of emphasis. "It's this place that I don't trust."

  "Amelia was fine," I promised. "Tilly and Sun would never let anything happen to her. Besides..." I shifted nervously in my seat and lowered my voice. "The missing kids have been taken from the streets or playgrounds. There's been no missing kids reported from here."

  Matt stared at me before sighing and shuffling closer across the bench. The cheese on his slice was beginning to slide off.

  "So, what, you think it's some kind of copy cat killer bringing them here?" he asked under his breath. "How do you know?"

  I bit my lip and looked to the side. He was really not gonna like this next part, but I didn't know how else to convince him.

  "I... went exploring one night," I murmured. "It was stupid, I know-"

  "You do night shifts?!" Matt hissed incredulously. "That's so- Y/n, I thought you were just the manager-!"

  "I am, I am," I reassured. I grabbed Matt's shoulder to keep him from leaping out of his seat in stress. "I'm not security. It's just so the bots don't get lonely."

  "So they don't get lonely?" Matt echoed. The look he sent almost made me smile. "Is everyone in this place looney?"

  "God, I wish," I breathed. "Now would you let me speak?"

  "Sorry." Matt took another bite of his pizza. "Go ahead."

  "Thank you," I said before going on to recount the events of that night (aside from almost dying to the endoskeletons to save giving him a heart attack). My brother watched me explain with wide eyes.

  "You heard a ghost's voice?" he whispered. "And it wasn't... in a robot?"

  "No," I murmured. "No, not that I know of."

  Unless the endoskeletons were possessed by vengeful spirits, but... my stomach twisted uneasily as I thought back to the army of them who had tried to hunt me down. That's a lot of dead kids.

  "What did it say?" he asked as he slowly put the straw of his drink to his mouth. He was totally invested.

  I shrugged. "Just something alone the lines of not wanting to die."

  Matt scrunched his nose. "Spooky." He eyed me hesitantly. "Do you know if... Michael ever finished putting those souls to rest?"

  "No clue," I murmured.

  "Do you know where those robots are now?"

  "Nope," I sighed.

  "What about that fire at that Fazbear's pizzeria?" Matt asked. "You know, the one that barely stayed open for a year? The one that..."

  "The one that happened a year after Michael left me?" I finished with a dry look his way. Matt gave a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, I... kinda remember. That couldn't have been him, though. Hurricane's way too small - I would've noticed if he was still here."

  Matt hummed in contemplation and took another bite of his pizza. Amelia was happily chewing down on her slice as she sat on the floor and watched the holograms of the band. My hand subconsciously drifted to my locket again, dusting my fingertips over the cool metal. Matt glanced at me.

  "Are you still seeing your therapist?" Matt asked.

  "Yeah," I replied. "Every three months, just like always."

  He nodded, looked at his daughter, then slowly shifted his meek gaze back to me. My brows raised as I waited for his next words.

  "Maybe... you should up the frequency of your sessions again?" Matt asked hesitantly. "Just for a while. And... I really think you should reconsider working here."

  "Matt... I have to stay," I said gently. "Even if it wasn't for the missing kids, I like working here. The people here are amazing and they really care for me. And Freddy..."

  I trailed off, reminded of the guilty twist of his usual bright expression. There was a certain dullness to him since overhearing Matt and I, and it swept over his entire persona as though a switch had been flicked. He looked physically in pain.

  "'Freddy'..?" Matt prompted with an expectant look. My attention jumped back to my brother as he pulled a suspicious expression. "You seem to mention that robot a lot."

  "Of- of course," I snorted while beginning to sweat. "I'm his handler. I have to be around him everyday." 

  Matt peered closer with narrowed eyes. I leant back as I avoided his gaze, pretending to watch as Amelia nodded her head along to the hologram Monty.

  "No way!" Matt slapped a hand over his mouth, making me jump and turn my alarmed attention back to him. His hand moved down to clasp his chin as he watched me in disbelief. "You're in love with the robot!"

  I bristled. "I am not!"

  "You so are!" Matt laughed with shock. "I know you, Y/n! You're in love with it!"

  "I'm not!" I hissed as I slammed my hand on the bench between us. "He's in love with me!"

  Matt's laughs abruptly stopped. "You're kidding. The robot?"

  I stared at my brother as he watched me for any sign of teasing. When he found none in my pathetic expression, his eyes widened. He dropped his pizza to the cardboard plate on his lap.

  "Whoa..." he murmured.

  "Oh, Matty," I groaned and dropped my head into my hands in defeat. "I'm so screwed."

⚡️🧸🤖🧸⚡️

  "Sorry! Excuse me!" I squeaked as I squeezed through a crowd with a spare part for Freddy's arm clutched tightly between my fingers.

  Matt and Amelia had left two hours before after having a proper look around the Pizzaplex's attractions while I returned to work. They'd managed to catch the five PM show, which Matt begrudgingly admitted was pretty cool, too, and blew Amelia's little mind.

  Her favourite performer was Chica, as I had expected. I wasn't going to break the news to Freddy.

  Nobody else seemed to noticed the slump to his frame, or the lack of warmth in his usual affable eyes. Nobody else noticed how he couldn't hold my stare when I did maintenance checks or only gave one-worded responses. He was off his A-game, and it was all my fault.

  Well, I was dealing with the repercussions for sure; racing through the swarming Saturday evening crowd with the big finale show only half an hour away, and Freddy's arm was badly dented. The spoiled brat of a birthday kid had gone and dented the bear's arm with a chair. A chair.

  The word 'tantrum' was putting it mildly.

  As I snaked through the crowd, I couldn't help but think back to Matt's revelation; 'you're in love with the robot!' and I scoffed to myself - I wasn't in love with Freddy, that was ridiculous. I just enjoyed his company. And his morning greetings. And his affection. And the way he spoke so kindly to me...

  My amused smile faded. I resisted the urge to swear at the top of my lungs with all these young families around.

  God, was I in love with Freddy? I know I had been debating the topic for quite some time, deflecting it or just being plain in denial; but truly, once and for all, do I have feelings for him?

  Was it really... such a bad thing if I did?

  'Of course it is!' one side of me argued. 'Just look at what happened when you loved Michael! Are you seriously going to risk being hurt like that again?'

  'But what if he can help me get past Michael?' the other side of me reasoned while I skidded into Rockstar Row. 'He knows about my past. If I just... let him in and explain my predicament, maybe he could help me?'

  'You're a fool for even considering it,' the other side seethed. 'You can't have a relationship with an animatronic who can't even leave the complex.'

  My face crumpled in doubt and confusion as I pressed my ID to the card reader. Why couldn't I just be told what the right answer was? It would be so much easier that way.

  "I'm back," I needlessly announced as I entered Freddy's room. He glanced up from where he was slumped like a drunk on the couch. I raised my brow. "Existential crisis?"

  Freddy's hand hid his face. "You know it well, yourself?"

  "Every night that I can't sleep," I replied with a dry smile. He glanced at me from between his fingers as I retrieved the emergency kit from out the back and approached the couch. I clambered up beside him. "Arm, please."

  Freddy dropped the hand from his face and laid his arm over my lap, watching as I got started on removing the ruined shell panel. I was used to him staring, but this time it was different. It felt as though he was holding himself back, keeping himself silent, unable to speak. It was as though his voice was stolen.

  "What a throw," I hummed into the silence as I pulled off the arm piece and inspected the dent with an impressed whistle. "Any harder and it would've gone right through to your endoskeleton."

  "He should play baseball," Freddy murmured. His eyes found me as I laughed, and a small, hesitant smile finally pulled at his muzzle.

  The quiet returned as I worked on putting the new piece on. It wasn't uncomfortable - at some point over the past few months, quiet moments with Freddy had become more of a regular occurrence rather than a one-off festivity of awkwardness - but there was definitely a weight to the air that Freddy wasn't addressing.

  My watch pinged for attention just as I clicked the last latch into place. It was the time to leave for the stage.

  "Freddy-" I called as he dolefully stood with that same sombre expression that had tainted him all afternoon. His lidded eyes slid to mine. 'You're in love with the robot,' Matt's echo returned and I felt my cheeks tinge pink. "... I hope you're okay."

  Freddy tilted his head. "Are you okay?"

  "That's a loaded question."

  "Then why did you ask it first?"

  "... touché."

  Freddy smiled, at least, before holding out his arm for me to hold onto while I slipped from the big couch. I peeked up at him as we entered the maintenance tunnels.

  "And you say I'm the pro at deflecting," I accused with a small, forgiving smile. His head shifted to the side, silent. Something tinked behind me and I leapt into Freddy's side with a gasp.

  "Y/n?"

  My eyes roved for the source of the sound as I clutched his arm. "Sorry." I whispered. My eyes kept searching the darkness for purple optics or the shadow of a not-Bonnie. I slunk more against Freddy's side. "God, I hate these tunnels."

  Freddy patted my hand that was tightly clasped around his arm in support. I sent him an appreciative smile, one that he returned, if a tad dull. He quickly turned his head back to the front and I felt my smile fall.

  I wonder if I could somehow convince Dennis to invest in therapy for the bots?

  I spent the ten minute maintenance check picturing Freddy spread out on a chaise lounge with his hands over his torso, speaking his woes to a therapist that looked weirdly like Vanessa.

  My frown deepened. Vanessa. I barely knew her, barely got to even see her, but maybe she needed to get some therapy, too.

  "Oh, I can't wait to go to bed," I sighed to Joey after the Glamrocks ascended to the stage. I slumped against his side. "I'm so tired."

  Joey patted my head with a chuckle. "Only a few more hours."

  It was bordering on nine when the show ended and my back was aching from where I had spent the entire hour of it hunched over my laptop in my office. I gave a stretch at the reminder of my Faz-Watch to retrieve Freddy and released a groan of an exhale while my cramped body protested.

  "I need a holiday," I muttered as I picked myself up from my chair and began hurrying back through the maintenance tunnels as fast as my legs could carry.

  "Good show?" I asked after Freddy stepped off the platform and approached. He gave a nod, quiet, and I found myself instantly doubting his answer.

  I caught Bonnie's gaze and sent him a questioning look. He gave a helpless shrug in response. I wanted to head over and ask if Freddy did indeed tell him about the missing children, but Joey was busy talking to his charge, and Freddy was hinting at wanting to retreat to his green room with subtle steps towards the backstage exit.

  I sighed. I'd just have to find Bonnie before opening tomorrow and tell the both of them then about William.

  "Let's go, big guy," I said with a pat to Freddy's arm. He gave a relieved exhale and began to lead the way back through the tunnels.

  "Y/n?" he began. I glanced up at him at the call and his face folded. He turned his eyes back to the front. "... nevermind."

  I frowned as my worry tenfolded. The idea to ask Dennis about therapy for the animatronics was becoming more and more of a reality.

  Freddy headed for the charging unit while I went to sit at the vanity when we entered his room. The quiet was abysmal, palpable, and it felt like we were walking on broken glass. It felt as though I'd get my throat slit if I even opened my mouth to break the silence.

  The chamber's door slid open for Freddy. My eyes naturally found my reflection in the vanity mirror as I placed the tablet on the table. I was about to tear my eyes away from myself when I hesitated; something was... wrong.

  My eyes squinted as I assessed my reflection and tried to spot what it was that had made me falter. I didn't have anything on my face. My hair was slightly messy and falling from its style, but it usually was after a full day's shift. My shirt was all buttoned correctly.

  My eyes found my neck, which was looking a lot more bare than usual.

  I stared at my throat dumbly for a second before panic swept through me so fast that it stole my ability to breathe. My hand careened to my collar but, true to my vision, nothing sat there. A ragged, frightened exhale left my lips.

  "Y/n?" Freddy asked with one foot in the charging unit.

  "It's gone," I breathed. I turned to him so fast that I almost slipped off the tall chair. "It's gone!"

  Freddy quickly stepped over with a concerned frown. "What's gone?"

  "My locket!"  I choked out as I stumbled to my feet and began searching the floor for the old necklace. A look of understanding fell over Freddy's face. "My locket's gone-!"

  "Y/n, sweetheart." He gently grabbed my shoulder and turned me to face him. I snatched at his wrist in desperation. "Breathe. We'll find it."

  "But what if someone-" I couldn't finish my sentence. I dragged in a sharp inhale. "It's all I have left of him-"

  Freddy's expression greyed for just a second. "We'll find it," he reiterated. "I promise you. Retrace your steps, we'll split up. Check the front desk in case anyone handed it in. Where did you last have it?"

  I struggled to think as I gasped for shallow breath. The edge of my vision was darkening, consuming me slowly, strangling me languidly. It was taking me under nonchalantly while my panic had overcome me with the swiftness of a sharpened knife.

  "Y/n," Freddy prompted. My disorientated gaze jumped to him. "Breathe." He began rubbing my back in slow circles and I tried my best to match his unfaltering rhythm. "Where did you last have it?"

  I swallowed. "Uh- the- uh-" fuck. I couldn't even speak. "Lunch. With Matt."

  "Okay," Freddy said in a soothing answer. My eyes timidly found the intense blue of his. "We'll find it."

  I nodded.

  "I'm going to check the tunnels," he said. "Are you going to be okay?"

  Absolutely fucking not. I nodded again, untrusting of my voice. Freddy hesitated before giving me a staunch nod and slipping through the back room and into the tunnels.

  My hand scratched at my bare neck as I hurried through the sparse crowd to the lobby. I was distantly aware that the blotchiness of my face from the panic and the effort of holding back tears made me a sight to behold, but I didn't have the energy to care - everything within me was focused on finding that locket.

  What if someone took it? The thought was unbearable to consider and made me rush faster towards the lobby. I felt on the edge of hysterics, just waiting to explode into a ball of panic. I couldn't not have that locket. It was the last thing Michael ever gave me.

  My panic rose to exponential heights when the employees at the desk denied having been handed a lost necklace. It rose further when I checked the empty party room and found nothing. I was on the precipice of a meltdown when my watch buzzed - Freddy was calling.

  "Y- yes?" I croaked.

  "... I've found it."

  A sob of relief broke through my chest. My knees went weak. "You did?"

  "Yes," he answered. "I am in maintenance tunnel B."

  "Okay," I exhaled as I began to tear up in solace. "Okay, I'm on my way."

  I found my head clearer now that I knew my precious locket was in safe hands. God- I was tired. And hungry. After this, I'd say my good nights to the band and head home for a much-needed rest. It had been a day.

  Freddy was sitting in the tunnel, staring at the locket he was cradling in his hands. I scurried through the darkness to where he was situated under a lone light. He looked so tired as he stared at the locket. Just as tired as I was.

  As I neared I realised that it was open, and I felt my stomach give a nauseating twist. I didn't want him to the see the photo of Michael and I within the metal tomb. I didn't want to see the photo of Michael and I. But I did, anyway, unwitting. A snapshot of our first date.

  "You found it," I said quietly. His ear turned towards me, but it was the only indicator that he recognised my presence. My hands bunched the hem of my shirt as I stopped beside him. Even sitting, he was head-height. "Thank you."

  He didn't reply. My gaze drifted back to the locket - back to Michael's face - and my heart gave a painful, long throb. I remember when that photo was taken, at the end of our first, proper date. Michael had wanted to take a photo to document the moment and I had agreed to, in that fake little Italian restaurant that was overzealous in everything it did but was the neatest place to go to in Hurricane.

  I remember laughing when he came into my room before the date, wearing a suit and tie to see a movie. He refused to change, called this a 'momentous occasion that deserved the best' and proceeded to outshine my own neat-but-not-that-neat outfit. And it was adorable, seeing him put so much effort in. It was adorable watching him drive us home late at night with a lopsided tie that I couldn't bring myself to straighten. It was adorable. He was adorable.

  I still miss him. I still hate myself that I do.

  "I don't know what I'd do without it," I said with a watery smile. "You're the best."

"I am... not," he murmured.

  I stared at Freddy's face as I tried to process his almost incoherent mumble. My brows folded.

"What?"

"I am not... good, Y/n," he repeated as he stared at the picture in the locket with a burning, livid, hurt look in his eyes. "I never have been."

  I was stumped for a brief moment, unable to pick where this sudden self-deprecation had stemmed from. The grit of his teeth and the knot of his forehead looked so intense that it must've been painful, if he could feel it at all.

  "Where is this coming from?" I asked quietly. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "You've been off all afternoon. Please, tell me what's wrong."

  Freddy's eyes closed. I stepped a little closer and ducked my head.

  "Freddy-"

"Don't- don't call me that," he begged. He still couldn't look me in the eyes. "Please."

  I watched his face, thoroughly perplexed. My concern was building in intensity - was he having a mental crisis? How was I supposed to help him?

"Don't call you by your... name?" I questioned carefully.

  "It is not my name," he mumbled. His hands closed around the locket and I felt my breath die as Michael's face was covered. "I am awful, and that is not my name."

  I tore my gaze back to Freddy's face. "I'm confused."

  Freddy sighed and slipped the locket back into view. He stared at the photo with that same weary sadness that had been eating at him all day.

  "I remember," he murmured slowly. "I remember when this photo was taken."

  I stared at him blankly. His words echoed in my ears while a numbness fell over my body. I couldn't feel my fingers as I sharply recoiled my hand back to my chest.

  "Hah," I managed to choke out a laugh. "Fun- funny. Good joke."

  He finally looked at me. He didn't look like he was teasing - he wasn't cruel enough to make that kind of joke, right? He was genuine, he was telling the truth - and that was far worse.

  "I'm so sorry, superstar," he whispered through a broken, staticky voice. "I know I should've told you sooner."

  I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. My head was rushing but my body was still. He was lying - he had to be. I knew that he was. He was lying. He was lying.

  "Y/n," Freddy began again. He looked like agony itself, as though pierced through by pure pain again and again. His expression was tortured. "Y/n, believe me when I say I wish I could change things-"

  "Stop," I breathed. "Stop. Please."

  "You have to know why I did it," he pled.

  "Stop it." I took a step back. My vision grew blurry. "No, you're not- you're not him."

  "Y/n, please," he said. "We're both living a lie."

  I shook my head as I staggered backwards. His words were crushing me from the inside out, they took my heart and shredded it to bits. I couldn't hear myself think over the rushing in my ears, over the stinging of my eyes as tears fell.

  I was sick, intently nauseas, as I turned away from Freddy with a choked sob of a breath. I couldn't stand to see the look on his face as he stared at me with such longing.

  "I know you must hate me," Freddy mourned as he got to his feet. "And I don't blame you-"

  "You're not him."

  "I am," he said quietly. "Superstar, look at me. I'm him. I'm Michael."

  The name that slipped from his muzzle snapped the last bits of fraying stability I had left. I turned to him with a snarl.

  "No! No, you're not!" I burst. Freddy flinched, but I couldn't tell if it was because of my volume or the distraught look on my face. "Michael's out there, somewhere, living a life I don't get to be a part of anymore! He's out there!"

  "I'm right here," he whispered.

  "No, you're not!" I yelled. I shook my head with a cry. "He's not! He's not!" I grabbed at my hair. "Why are you doing this to me?"

  I didn't want to believe him. I couldn't bring myself to, because while I hugged my head and cried, the semantics began to click into place; if what he was saying was true, then Michael had died. Then Michael had been lying to me for the past eight months.

  Denial careened through me. That couldn't be right. Michael was alive. Michael was alive. Michael was alive. Michael was alive.

  "Y/n," Freddy gently called, sounding dead-fucking scared himself. The familiar sound of his soothing voice only made me all the more miserable. "I have tried to tell you who I am for months-"

  "Stopstopstopstop," I cried. My fingers dug into my scalp. "Stop saying that."

  "What do you want me to say?" he desperately implored. "That I spent every single day for the past eight years terrified that I'd forget your face? That I died and I should've stayed dead, and sometimes I wish that I did?"

  A teary eye peeked from over my arm. He was staring at his hands with an expression of utter repulsion.

  "I abhor what I have become," he continued with ragged disgust to his voice. "A monster, stuck in this prison, parading around as child's role model. And I abhor how I left you after what happened to me." He gave a sick, weak laugh, decorated with static. "My father always did get the last word."

  My entire world was swaying and shattering and rebuilding and breaking over again. My arms fell away, revealing my unfocused vision. "It's not you."

  He glanced up at my whisper and his pained expression curled tighter.

  "It's me," he said. I shook my head. I wanted to escape. I had to get out.

  "It's not you," I sobbed.

  "I-" he cut himself off when his luminous eyes flickered. He raised his hands to his face as a renewed look of fright crossed his face. "Battery- I- I didn't get to charge."

  I took a step back as his movements began to slow. His gaze shot to me, wretched and yearning. I watched as he staggered forth, hand outstretched, locket dangling from his fingers. My chest heaved with useless, shallow breath. My head ached.

  "Y/n-" His voice cut, shuttering through sheer will. "Y/n, please-" His arm fell to his side. A single optic shut down. "Don't leave- leave me h-h-h-here alone."

  I watched in horror as his entire body drooped. He managed one more shuffled step forward, one eye pinned on me.

  "Please- my love-" he managed to glitch out, "supersta..."

  The silence that fell rang in my ears as his second eye faded. My panicked breaths catapulted around the hallway, carrying the only sound that pierced the sudden quiet. A gurgled sound came from my throat as I choked on air.

  He looked like a standing corpse, frozen in time. His pained expression had branded into place, gazing at me with soulless, pleading eyes, pinning my feet to the spot. Nausea travelled swiftly up my throat. My brain swam and trembled.

  My foot took a step backwards and my knee buckled, sending me sprawling to the floor with a gasp. The pain sliced through me and I scrambled upright in a flurry of terror and tears before bolting towards the tunnel's exit.

  Neon light erupted as I threw myself at the steel door with a feverish sense of trepidation. The darkness of the tunnels was creeping up and the doubt was crawling even faster. I felt closed in, claustrophobic, like the very life was being squeezed from me and I was being squashed, crushed, dying.

  A periwinkle blur stepped into my vision and forced me to stumble to a stop.

"Whoa-hey, champ!" Bonnie laughed in surprise. His upbeat inflection cut through the watery buzz of my hearing. I couldn't tell if I was swaying or if it was just my eyes playing tricks. "Where's the fire?"

  His grin dropped when I glanced up at him. Joey's brows raised in concern.

  "Y/n?" Bonnie asked, serious. "What's wrong?"

  That's Michael. That was Michael. He's Michael.

  "He-" I began, but couldn't push my words out past my teeth. "Fre-"

  No, it's not. It can't be. Michael's alive. He's lying.

  Bonnie's eyes lit up in understanding before fading to sorrow. He knew. I grabbed at the rabbit's wrist with shaking fingers.

  "He's-" I gasped for breath as I gestured back at the maintenance tunnel. "Battery-"

  Bonnie dutifully nodded, comprehending my broken sentences. Joey glanced between us in confusion as I released his wrist with a trembling inhale.

  "I have to-" I shook my head as fresh tears brewed along the shoreline of my eyes. I wasn't sure if I was tearing up in shock or denial. "I have to go home, I can't-"

  "It's okay," Bonnie soothed. He patted the side of my head with a sad smile. "It's okay, champ. I'll handle it from here. Joey?"

  Joey's puzzled face turned to the robot.

  "Can you take her home?"

  The handler, still bewildered, nodded and watched as his charge set off. Joey's wide-eyed gaze shifted back to me before rubbing a tear away from my chin with the end of his sweatshirt's sleeve.

  "What happened?" Joey asked quietly. I shook my head and wiped at my cheeks with the balls of my palm.

  "I have no fucking idea," I whispered through a sniffle.

⚡️🧸🤖🧸⚡️

  Bonnie drew a hand down his face as his heavy footsteps walked him through the nearly-empty Rockstar Row. He sighed.

  He knew this was coming, but he didn't expect it to be so soon. He didn't expect Michael to go through with it the same day he'd come to the bunny, lamenting the fact that he'd just heard from Y/n that she was still in love with his former self and was in agony because of it.

  Though, then again, that could've been the exact cause as to why he had told her so soon.

  "It was never gonna be easy," he murmured to himself. "And yet-"

  He winced at the recollection of the expression Y/n held. He had never seen them look so miserable before, so small and defeated, and he ached for his friend. He ached for the both of them - because he could only guess that Michael was just as distressed as Y/n was.

  He wanted to ask when it all got so complicated, but he knew that it was complicated long before Y/n arrived. Hell, it was complicated before Bonnie even powered up for the first time. From what Michael had told him, his life was just non-stop complicated.

  Bonnie tugged his ears around his head. Y/n was hurt, badly hurt, and he couldn't help but reluctantly consider the possibility that she might quit. But she still worried for Michael, despite probably feeling lied to and betrayed, so surely that must've counted for something?

  Bonnie released his ears with a low groan and a pinch to the space above his nose. Complicated, complicated. Why must human's lives always be complicated?

  He stopped outside Monty's door and knocked the back of his knuckles against the metal. After a few seconds, it slid open to reveal the gator.

  "Wha'dya want, cottontail?" Monty grunted. Bonnie resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

  "I need your help," Bonnie replied. His gaze squinted. "Well, Freddy needs our help."

  Monty leant against the doorframe and crossed his arms with a scoff through his sharp teeth. He gave an unfeeling, dry smile.

  "Why should I help him?"

  Bonnie lowered his voice. "Because we're family, asshole."

  Monty snorted. "Just because we live in the same place doesn't mean we're family." He waved off with bunny and turned to head back inside. "Go get yer processor checked."

  Bonnie huffed through his button nose and balled his fists.

  "Do you remember when management was discussing decommissioning you because of your anger issues?" he spoke up. Monty stopped and sent a livid glare over his shoulder, but Bonnie continued. "Do you recall who fought for you? Certainly wasn't any of the humans."

  "Do you recall who put Roxy and I in an awkward spot after he started actin' all weird around the newbie?" Monty's tail swiped at the ground with a thump. "We were this close to getting dismantled jus' so Dennis could keep his star from malfunctionin'." The gator turned back to Bonnie just to point a claw into the bunny's chest. "Do ya know how fuckin' terrified I was? Of dyin'?"

  Bonnie's scowl melted away. He'd forgotten that point in time, and from the way Monty's arm was shaking, he had good reason to guess that the gator was being entirely genuine in his fear. Bonnie's head tilted in sympathy.

  "That wasn't his fault."

  "No?" Monty question. "Then whose was it?" When Bonnie couldn't answer, he rolled his eyes and retreated further into his darkened room. "Stop kissin' the ground he walks on, Bon."

  "I don't- fine," Bonnie snapped at the gator. "Fine. I thought you of all people would've known more about forgiveness, but I guess I was wrong. I don't even know why I asked you in the first place."

  Bonnie ignored the last glance Monty sent his way and began for the maintenance tunnels with a frown. Forget human's lives being complicated, why were the Glamrocks' lives just as unmanageable? Why was he the only sane one?

  "Oi."

  Bonnie glanced back and found Monty approaching with an unhappy scowl. His tail swished in frustration as he walked after the bunny.

  "Oh, joy," Bonnie muttered under his breath. "I'm going to get punched in the face."

  "I'm not gonna punch ya," Monty grumbled. "Though yer tempting' me. What does 'e need help with?"

  Bonnie's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
 
  "Don't make me ask again." 

  Bonnie raised his palms. "No, no, you're good. Follow me."

  Bonnie lead the way across Rockstar Row towards the maintenance tunnel Y/n had come from. It didn't take long for them to find Freddy, slumped and still with no battery.

  "Oh, Mike," Bonnie sighed at his old friend. "What have you done?"

  "He forget to charge?" Monty frowned. "That ain't like him."

  "He really told her," Bonnie whispered in shock as he stared at Freddy's pained grimace. "And you didn't charge? Michael, seriously..."

  "What's this?"

  Bonnie turned his attention to Monty, who had crouched and was peering closely at something tangled in the bear's hand. A claw tapped the dangling item, and it glinted softly in the weak tunnel lighting as it swung.

  "It's Y/n's necklace," Bonnie said with a frown. "Why does he have it?"

  Monty carefully slipped open the half-closed locket and pulled his head back at the image that greeted him before peering closer. Bonnie watched as an uncharacteristic look of sadness crawled over Monty's face.

  "They did look happy," he murmured. The gator stood with a grunt and slipped one of Freddy's arms over his shoulders. "Let's get 'im back."

  Bonnie gave one last, long look at the photo in the locket before carefully untangling the cord from around Freddy's fingers.

  "Let's get him back," Bonnie echoed dolefully.