It was hollow.

For some reason, the voices seemed to be getting louder, it was starting to hinder the usual routine. The thoughts were becoming more domineering, and the voice of the holder is seemingly shut out, underneath that raspy voice of something long forgotten.

Just, what was it?

"Vanessa?" her train of thought ceased to a stop when your voice echoed in her head. She turned to your direction; her eyes weary.

"Yes? Sorry, I wasn't listening." Vanessa dismissed her previous thoughts, the voices were simmering down—but she knows they're still there, lingering when silence comes. "Have you found anything yet?" she addressed, recalling the very reason why the both of you were communicating here in the first place.

You simply showed her your tablet, which was connected physically through a USB cord from the main computer in the security office. "Says here, there has been some disagreements in deciding the stage positioning. The technicians assigned passed the control over to Freddy to decide in the end."

"Really? Tell me something I don't know yet. Seriously." It seems that this so-called 'discovery' didn't impress Vanessa at the very least.

After the whole fiasco, you decided to take it into your own matters to investigate what really happened, there should be a programming error if so, right? Because, logically, the commands will have to pass through the technicians before it is approved, should the animatronics take liberty in editing a few commands.

If so, then the staff should've noticed this flaw right away before the animatronics got on stage, right?

Unless.

"There's no data pertaining to the commands entering the command queue after it passed onto the system, when the usual protocol follows the step-by-step sequence of its approval before the command is enforced in their programming." You insisted while tapping onto the long list of records which recorded timestamps of each and every action done to the system, whether it's systematical or manual in entry.

"So, you mean to say... the stage positioning protocols... bypassed the administration system?" Vanessa understood what you were trying to imply, but the possibility is far too stretched that it seems hard to believe something like this—is actually possible. "I mean, sure, technology could do anything nowadays but the systems have been very strict over the months. It's impossible to bypass security protocol with commands so crucial as that."

"Why? Are the admin staff the only ones who could approve of these commands?" you asked in return. Technology—specifically, programming, was never your field of expertise. However, your days with Vanessa and the animatronics—especially, Freddy, has taught you a thing or two on how these protocols and programming codes are enacted to fruition.

But no one knows more than Vanessa.

"I'd hate to raise suspicion, but to bypass administrative protocols in programming approvals could only be done if someone is able to manipulate or... approve those protocols using administrative access." The in-depth analysis of the system has been Vanessa's field as a hobby of hers, but a shiver of dread crept her skin at the thought of something like this has happened under the supervision of the staff.

"Are you saying... someone is... hacking the system?"

"No, not hacking, someone used administrative permissions. Supposedly, only the entities or people who know the system well has those permissions." Vanessa implied, her arms crossing on instinct as her green eyes scanned the information presented on the tablet. "More or less, this isn't an accidental programming bug, nor is it any of the likes. I think someone with sufficient permission is... causing trouble."

"It couldn't be Freddy, right? Since he didn't expect for it to happen too." You suddenly felt the wave of anxiousness flow through you. At first, this was supposedly a little in-depth investigation which you and Vanessa thought of initiating to further uncover what actually happened earlier, since Vanessa refuses to believe that it is a programming mistake to begin with. Indeed, protocols are hard to pass on, and its approval requires plenty of checking before it is enacted into the system.

Its very unlikely that a command as big as this just flies into the system without being detected.

Although nothing bad happened earlier, it still arose suspicion on why it happened in the first place. Because, should the system ever be faulty, then it's yours and Vanessa's job to notify the higher ups of this.

But in the end, you only discovered something that makes that assumption appear more than it meets the eye.

Was it intentional?

"Even so, I tried my best earlier to trace the command path of the stage positioning commands, but it's been erased from the system hours ago after the performance." Vanessa shook her head, tapping on the keyboard to exit the admin controls. Despite its access, it doesn't look like you'll get anywhere with them.

Since the data is no longer there to begin with.

"But why? The situation is already starting to get better, why would anyone want to create chaos between Freddy, Monty, and Bonnie—?"

"That's the clue right there." Vanessa cut you off mid-sentence before you could even finish, she placed a hand down firmly on the desk and eyed you for a moment. "What tension exists between those three concerned animatronics that someone would allegedly mess things up as subtle as possible? What would they gain from it?"

"Does it have something to do with Bonnie's return?" you decided to ask, since clearly, Vanessa was guiding you throughout this flow of conversation, towards the points which she aimed for you to realize sooner.

"Yes, moreover, the tension between both Monty and Bonnie." Vanessa immediately shut off the computer, disconnecting your tablet with the systems shortly after. The whole time, only the occasional sounds of the system is heard, and the whirring of blades from a nearby desk fan.

You started feeling uneased with this newfound discovery. "This is starting to look much more complicated than it is."

"More or less, it is." Vanessa replied as a matter of factly. She finished cleaning the vicinity, leaving it just as how it is when you and her first arrived. With no more left to deal with, she picked up her flashlight and headed to the open doorway. "Just be cautious. If someone really is messing up with the animatronics, then they'll be bound to doing it again sometime soon."

"Right, but should we tell the staff about this—"

"No, until we've uncovered more about what's been happening, we can't." Vanessa replied, cutting you off once more, her tone was getting stern as she turned back to look at you. "You couldn't be too sure. You may not remember, but someone does."

"Someone... what?" you were taken aback by the sudden change in tone of Vanessa's words. Indeed, you were confused, her words just changed out of context that it made you drop your guard. "Vanessa, who are you talking about?"

It seems as though your voice snapped Vanessa back to reality, her posture stiffened as she held her flashlight firm in one hand. "Nothing, sorry, I'm just exhausted today." She brushed it off as much as she could, even she herself found it baffling to say words that didn't even cross her mind.

Is it intrusive? Is it sudden? Is it a mere spur of the moment? She doesn't know, but the longer she thought about it, the more she began forgetting her words spoken a few moments ago. "Anyways, lets go. I'm sure you don't want another memo for not doing your job, right?"

"Right, of course." You did the same and grabbed ahold of your own flashlight, preparing to leave the main security office. "Though you should take some rest, seems like you really need it."

"I know myself more, don't worry." She dismissed the idea and proceeded to leave, no longer waiting for you to follow behind.

Presumably, she'll go to the Arcade to patrol, one of her usual routes of this hour.

It didn't take too long before you headed out yourself, Vanessa's words repeated in your head like it could've been on loop.

Who is it that remembers?

Knowing you won't get any answers soon enough, you shook your head and left the admin security office as well. Given the location of being underneath the Pizzaplex—technically, the basement area where the kitchen is, you might as well finish patrolling in this area before moving onto Rockstar Row.

That is, if you even managed to get to the stairs.

Before you reached the area leading to the higher floors of the Pizzaplex, a certain, white chicken animatronic crossed paths with yours. It wasn't a surprise, since the area of the kitchen and what's beneath the Pizzaplex is her territory, most of the time.

"(Y/N)! I was just looking for you." She chirped, the sweetness of her voice not ceasing. She maintained considerable distance the both of you, just so you don't accidentally trip yourself over from the surprise.

"Chica! Hi, what's up?" those were one of your usual greetings whenever you crossed paths with her. Out of the two female animatronics, Chica has always been the most outgoing one, choosing to initiate conversations along the way.

Whereas Roxy would only initiate when needed, but most of the time spend her hours with Chica.

"I heard from the staff bots that you're investigating the mishap earlier, is that true?" he questioned, pertaining to the pesky, automated staff bots that cleaned the hallways.

You merely gave a smile, but the edge of your lip twitched in annoyance towards the automated staff. "You weren't supposed to know that, but think you could keep a secret?"

"Of course! You can count on me!" she gave one of her bright smiles despite her permanent expression from their animatronic moldings. "Speaking of the mishap, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh?" it managed to perk your interest; your supposed patrols slipped out your mind in that moment. "Is it about Monty and Bonnie?"

"Yup. I know there has been quite the tension sizzling in their servos but I think they just need some time to... unwind." The enthusiasm in Chica's words were unfaltering, but that only indicated a sense of impulsiveness.

"Chica, what did you do?"

The skeptical look you're giving her made a sour turn. Its not that you're doubting her, but some of her actions often arose from impulsive ideas.

Some of them did not end well.

"Just a rehearsal session. We can't have all the animatronics always going up on stage, especially when some of us are hosting birthday parties. So, I thought, maybe they'll resolve each other's problems without anyone else interfering." Chica tried to make it sound reasonable, but there were many loopholes in her statement.

"Chica! What were you thinking?! We know how Monty is! Sooner or later, he'll lose his cool and--!" you were about to say something more, but paused when you saw the expression displayed in Chica's blue eyes.

Although animatronics can't shed tears, her eyes were slightly downcast, like a child reprimanded for something they thought could do good. "S-Sorry, I just want to stop all these fighting..."

"Oh no, Chica." You suddenly felt guilt creep your chest, your senses of panic now ceased into one of empathy. You knew Chica mean well, she was trying to put a halt to this tension, peace within the Pizzaplex is something everyone would want after all.

She's trying, its something you should be proud of at least.

"... You know what, maybe you're right. They might need some unwinding without anyone around." You couldn't help but place a hand on her shoulder despite her frame being taller than yours. You gave her a supportive smile. "We should keep an eye on them from afar, you know, for safety reasons."

"Yeah, good idea." Her mood immediately uplifted as she heard your approval of her actions, giving her a sense of confidence in her decision.

Hopefully, that's the end result.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the rehearsal stage, the lights were flickered on, the equipment were laid around in preparation for the morning's performance. Musical instruments that were newly ordered littered the area, but the main stage was very much accessible.

For the past hour, after both Monty and Bonnie got the memo of a possible routine mix in their performances, it was speculated that the possibility of both Bonnie and Monty having to perform together was very much likely.

Given the schedule of animatronic rent outs for birthday parties.

Monty was sitting at the edge of the rehearsal stage, his legs dangling from the leftover height above the ground as in his hands was his iconic guitar. His gaze looked cold and sharp despite the permanent expression embedded in their animatronic casing, his eyes distastefully remaining on the other animatronic in the area.

The blue bunny held onto his own guitar, whose design was awfully similar to Monty's, which made the alligator slightly agitated. However, the said animatronic remained standing a few meters away from Monty, seemingly in the position to begin playing.

"You know, nothing will happen if you don't talk to me." The bunny animatronic decided to break the silence, not even daring to strum a tune from his red-themed guitar.

The alligator held onto his own guitar firmly. "I'm aware." That was his reply, as limited as possible. The distrust and tension which his red eyes held towards Bonnie was evident, but he has to keep himself calm.

Victim or aggressor, he'll always be labeled as the latter.

"One song, just one song we could play. We'll call it our rehearsal performance, then, they'll let us go." Bonnie began negotiating. He was already aware that this set up is indeed intentional, made and orchestrated by none other than Chica, with a little help from Roxy. Indeed, given their ratings, there could be a chance that the other three main animatronics will be rented out for birthday parties, which leaves only two of them left to attend the scheduled performances throughout the day.

Despite Monty's obvious aggression towards Bonnie, its still part of their job as entertainers.

"After that, I'll leave." Knowing that telling the bunny animatronic to leave won't work, he decided in his own accord to leave immediately after so. Hopefully, it'll be resolved as peacefully as they could.

Hopefully.

Bonnie saw this as a potential sign as he began to strum, the melodious pattern of his mechanical fingers along the fret chords. After a moment of strumming, he began plucking the strings individually, each one setting a note of a tune.

"You've been runnin' 'round, runnin' 'round, runnin' 'round throwin' that dirt all on my name. 'Cause you knew that I, knew that I, knew that I'd call you up." Bonnie began, plucking the strings of his guitar to match the tune, his foot lightly tapping on the floor in tune.

At first, Monty didn't respond and simply held his guitar close to him, eyeing the other animatronic. He seemed hesitant for a moment, allowing the blue animatronic to continue. "You've been going 'round, going 'round, going 'round every party in L.A. 'Cause you knew that I, knew that I, knew that I'd be at one, oh"

The alligator responded with his own actions, plucking the guitar strings ever so gently to ensure he won't break them this time. "I know that dress is karma, perfume regret. You got me thinking 'bout when you were mine, oh." he didn't meet eyes with Bonnie, but his hands began working as soon as the tune hit him. "And now I'm all up on ya, what you expect? But you're not coming home with me tonight."

"You just want attention; you don't want my heart. Maybe you just hate the thought of me with someone new." As if on cue, the both of them said the line in sync. However, Monty's voice hid a tone which lingered the sense of hatred underneath.

Still, their gaze not meeting, it was evident that the act made was against the will of one of them.

It was against the express will of Monty.

"Yeah, you just want attention, I knew from the start." Despite the tension, Bonnie continued, his fingers plucking the guitar strings, the echoing yet resounding tune echoed in the hollow board of his guitar maintained naught the silence.

"You're just making sure I'm never gettin' over you." Monty ended as he ceased his movements from playing the guitar. He wasn't really planning on prolonging this further, nor does he have any plans to play this charade. The moment the chorus ended, so does this rehearsal.

After all, they just need to prove that they rehearsed, and that's it. Their systems already recorded their attempt, and that should be enough to convince Chica that they tolerated each other's presence.

The latter of that pertaining mostly to Monty alone.

"Who knew you could sing so well." Bonnie attempted a compliment after following silence, he sets his guitar down for a moment. "Did Freddy teach you?"

The alligator animatronic simply looked at the blue bunny, and in less than a second, looked away to set his own guitar down. "It's programmed." He limitedly answered, not in the mood to spare more words out.

But the blue bunny was determined to establish at least a comfortable bond between the two of them. "Monty, come on. I'm trying my best here; can't you just accept that I've come back?" despite his patience, he couldn't help but give a sour expression. Annoyance was clear in his voice; it was uncharacteristic of him.

"Accept...?" the alligator suddenly uttered in reply. He was supposed to leave at this point, just like he proclaimed earlier. However, before he could even take more than a meter away from the stage, Bonnie's voice caught him in a halt. "Do you really think it's that easy?"

"Tell me, just what is it that makes it so hard to accept me? Is it because I'm a guitarist? That I'm part of the original cast?" Bonnie questioned defiantly; no longer did he feel patient enough to let Monty leave like he was aiming to.

Why? Did he had enough? Was Monty's behavior finally riling up his sentient mind? His personality chip evolves, adapts, and changes whenever he receives new data, and Monty's behavior added something in his pool of data that seemed so foreign to him.

It was the feeling of annoyance.

"Have you ever stopped for a moment to actually think about it?" the alligator replied, very much not liking the tone that the bunny used. He wasn't fazed by the uncharacteristic behavior, but it also made it difficult for him to keep his temper in check. "Do you remember what happened after you LEFT?!"

Bonnie paused, his processors taking in mind what Monty just said. His eyes went downcast as he audibly let out a sound of disbelief. "So, this is what this is all about? You're still clinging onto the past?" the blue bunny released his hold from his guitar and hastily made his way to approach Monty. Slowly but surely, he got nearer towards the other animatronic. "Monty, it happened a long time ago! No one cares about it anymore--!"

"But I do!" Monty couldn't help but cut him off mid-sentence, finally facing Bonnie in the eyes, something he avoided doing since his return. "I still remember, I still feel the pain of being blamed for your decommissioning all those years ago! And do you know how that made me feel!?"

Monty approached Bonnie along the way, his footsteps heavy and filled with rage. "I'm a robot, and I'm not even supposed to feel anything. But do you know what I've felt? I felt like I was casted aside, left to be forgotten. While you and the rest were up on that damned stage, I was watching from the corner!" It was like a waterfall, a dam that's broken, and water gushed out from the frail cracks that was held together for so long. For once, Monty deliberately let his emotions flow without regard to who and what would the other feel. "I never wanted to replace you, but I never wanted to feel what it's like to be replaced!"

Bonnie was taken aback, his eyes wide after listening to each and every word released by the animatronic. He took a step back, finding emotions he rarely experienced to flow into his programming.

Was it concern? Panic? Or was it fear?

Bonnie didn't know, but he felt at a loss for words. "I... I never wanted to make you feel that way—"

"Sure, you didn't! Let me guess, you didn't mean to make me feel this way either?! You didn't mean to mess up my programming earlier?! What else is there for you to refute?!" like a waterfall, Monty couldn't stop the words from leaving his voice box. His programming logs went haywire, it was starting to cause his servos to overheat from the data that flashed into his system, but he didn't care. It wasn't his programming, nor his personality chip that made him speak words that he never knew he was capable of saying.

It made him feel human—its breakable, fragile, and uncontrollable.

"Monty, you have to listen to me. I really didn't know you felt that way! Did I ask for my return? No! I just woke up to learn that I was back! I wouldn't have let the company fix me if you never wanted me around!" Bonnie tried to speak his side of the story, because in reality, he was just a chess piece placed upon a chessboard he long left behind. The story of his decommissioning is something that the company concealed for so long, but it was all in the past. "But you know what? That behavior of yours just makes me want to do EXACTLY what you thought I'd do. You're right, maybe I'll just replace you!"

So why? Why was Monty so keen in clinging onto the past? So bad that he began shirking his own duties?

Bonnie could no longer contain his words that he began shifting away from his usual demeanor, his voice rising, and his words getting much sharper than usual. The words he never even played on his queue suddenly flew out of his mouth—and he could only comprehend at a later time.

"You--!" This time, Monty's temper was beginning to get challenged, reaching new heights as the urge to destroy something has numerously flashed his mind. "Maybe I'll do the same! Everyone's been assuming that I caused your decommissioning, so, let's make it a reality!" something about Monty's tone left Bonnie wavering in realization.

Monty was serious this time.

It was like time has slowed down, and the blue bunny was unable to react at all. The alligator flexed his sharp claws for a split second before he jumped forward, attempting to lunge towards Bonnie with a murderous intent.

No longer was he thinking of the consequences. After all, he'll accept these assumptions with open arms of his misdeeds if it really happened.

As time slowed, Bonnie could only watch as Monty's hostile intent was nearing, his claws flexed in front of him, ready to dismantle him in a way much worser than when staff bots do.

Is he really going to do it this time?

Yet before his inevitable demise came to reality, a voice he long trusted came to his aid.

"ENOUGH!"

This doesn't look good at all.