Around a week has passed, and there wasn't a single news about the missing child. Although it was good that there weren't anymore disappearances, it still didn't alleviate the worry of what was actually happening inside the Pizzaplex.

Ever since that afternoon, you never had the chance to interact with Vanessa ever again. If not for the administrative and obvious interactions that are required as per the policy. Of course, in meetings and passing instructions—but other than that, nothing.

Whenever the missing children are mentioned, she would advert her gaze or appear detached. It was starting to concern you—topped by the pills you found her purchasing a few days ago. Despite her snappy behavior, she's still your friend... somewhat, still someone you cared for.

Besides, there's only two night guards... it wouldn't be good if you and her are at war with one another.

Despite knowing that perhaps Vanessa is just stressed out as usual but.. what if what Bonnie motioned was true? What if...

You shook your head to clear the thoughts away. You didn't want to accuse or sow seeds of doubt—if there hasn't been at the moment

But her reactions lately... it doesn't sit right with you. She knows something—you're not a psychologist or any behavioral expert to say so, but at some point... her actions mean something.

This sounds like a far stretch, pointing fingers and all—but....

So, standing in Freddy's greenroom like you own that place, in front of you was a large couch fitting two animatronics—Roxy and Chica. On one side of the room, Freddy sat in his vanity's chair, while Monty stood nearby, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Then, on the other side, on one of the cushions sat Bonnie—it was a surprise it fit him without the material being crushed under his weight.

As you checked the time, it was only around two in the morning—although there are tasks left to accomplish, best accommodate this matter quickly while there is still time—while Monty and Bonnie aren't at war with one another, and everyone's yet to be busy with their own agendas.

You would be a fool to not take this advantage while they're still in whatever sense of harmony.

"Officer Vanessa, you say?" Freddy began, leaning back on the swivel chair with a thoughtful hum. His electric blue eyes gazed from the girls on the couch, and the other two bulky animatronics on the wall and cushion. "Her appearance lately is considerably minimal compared to her usual means of interactivity."

"Yeah, she rarely spoke to me outside work matters..." knowing that you two—you were friends, you'd take the moment to interact with her at any given moment when your paths cross in the Pizzaplex. Not even your messages, she didn't try to reply.

She's busy... about something, you have a brief idea on what but... its scary to think it were true.

"I don't know, based on my previous records, Officer Vanessa liked working alone, sometimes, she'd rather not talk to others at all." Roxy shared her own insight, glancing over at Chica beside her. "That's what management said, right?"

"Yep. They say its some kind of... preference? I mean, come on. If she's doing any shady stuff then shouldn't she have done so before?" Chica responded right after Roxy, a finger pointed up to prove her point.

"But still, isn't the change too...drastic?" Monty finally intervened, his tail swaying from side to side—minimally, like a residual idle motion to make sure his servos don't freeze overtime. He doesn't need anymore oiling than at usual intervals or he'd be leaving an undesirable trail behind him. "Cause, people don't change overnight, you know. Something's gotta be up."

"Yeah, either you've been possessed or you're holding a 3-year old grudge—"

"Don't push it. Bonnie." Monty warned with a growl, his sharp eyes sending a dagger-filled glare towards the other animatronic who somehow managed to imply his opinion when it wasn't needed.

"Guys." You warned. Regardless of if the two were in a tight stare-fest, you were still the most authoritative entity, considering you're the security guard. "We came here to talk about what's been happening, especially with Vanessa's behavior, not to quarrel like children." A light scolding was all it took before they all faded into silence, lowly grumbling after conceding in begrudging agreement.

"Sorry."

"Sincere Apologies."

"I can apologize better—"

"Ahem." The orange animatronic cleared his throat, emitting a sound that caught both animatronics' attention and focus. "Behave, please."

"Thank you... anyways. Another reason I asked you guys to be here is that—I want to know from your perspectives on what Vanessa has been up to lately." Sure, this sounds accusatory, but what other reason could explain this kind of predicament? Her behavior was just... it couldn't be a coincidence, can it?

She could have her own problems to deal with but... its better to just be sure.

For now.

"She's just distant, that's all we've noticed so far. I asked the staffs, and they just said it's her normal behavior—but that was prior to the... incident." Monty declared, and silence took place.

Yes, the incident that happened a year ago. One where you were stabbed—and you've lost some of your memories from a concussion. Until now, it was ruled out to be from an attack from a burglar, but that wasn't so simple, now was it? despite moving on and losing interest in investigating what happened to the "incident", at some point... what was your relationship with Vanessa before the incident took place? Was she really as detached and aloof as they claimed her to be?

Or maybe it was coincidental, since Vanessa woke up to be as blank a slate as you were, both without any idea what transpired—or anything before that.

Yes, what exactly happened before the incident?

"My logs indicate a change in pattern from her schedule. Usually, she would be at work around two hours prior her actual shift, and most of her idle time is spent somewhere in the arcade. However, ever since the new missing children incident, she has been going to work around four hours earlier, and there has been no record of her location prior the start of her shift." Freddy spoke, his tone a monologues one as he read through the system data presented in his databank—one that was connected to the main network. "Moreover, her Fazwatch shows less record of activity, she must have been removing location monitoring permissions during her shift."

"Maybe we should follow her! you know, to see if she's just doing her job?" Chica chirped up her suggestion.

"It's not gonna be easy, for one, she might get pissy about it. If ever she really was doing something illegal and unauthorized—whether she's involved in the missing children's incident or not, she'll be more cautious. When that happens, our chances of capturing her in the act will be more or less nonexistent." Freddy shook his head, analyzing simulations over his head on how things will go wrong should your suspicion be right.

And in his sensors of probabilities... the chances of you being correct was quite high.

"Well, regardless, I've no idea, not a slightest clue. I don't interact with her often, she gives me the creeps." Monty huffed. Despite being one to be feared—he feared her. not because she could deactivate him at will but—there's something about her that screams "this ain't right.".

Yeah, it ain't right, it ain't natural.

"...Any other valuable insight? Anyone?" you questioned, gesturing to all the animatronics in the room. Freddy gave his point, so did Monty—albeit not as insightful, there's only—

"You know, I don't want to point fingers, especially since I don't know her much. But when the child disappeared the other day, Officer Vanessa was there." Bonnie pointed out, making all the other animatronics look at him, including you.

"What do you mean?" you urged, wanting to know more.

"I mean... Monty was right, according to protocol, we surrender the child to Customer Services. But I didn't because... she went with Officer Vanessa." The animatronic closed his eyes in thought, then nodded to himself. "I'm not sure if it was seen on camera, but I left as soon as Officer Vanessa acknowledged there was a child there."

"That makes sense—" you were about to agree, but Monty raised a hand to stop you.

"Hold on just a second. You clearly told us the kid went off looking for her parents, you never mentioned about Officer Vanessa—also, it wasn't even her shift, why the hell was she there?" Monty pointed out, a slight flaw that questioned the credibility of Bonnie's statement.

But Bonnie didn't seem fazed. "Yeah, I said that. The little girl looking for her parents was still true, it's just that a few moments later, I saw Officer Vanessa assisting the child. The events happened simultaneously; I'm not lying." He defended himself, painting a clear picture of the events that transpired.

It did make sense, since protocol are in place to make the animatronics obey commands.

Unless... there's a plausible explanation as to why that protocol was overlooked. In this case, if handled by an authorized staff member such as security personnel—then the reason is valid.

If what Bonnie was saying is factual then...

"You know, he has a point. I mean, wasn't Officer Vanessa already here during the first few disappearances? Based on the data, she's been the only night guard before Officer (Y/N) applied." Chica questioned, earning herself a series of nods from her peers.

"... It so happened that she was also there when you were injured." Freddy spoke, turning his gaze to you with meaning in his tone.

He could remember it vividly... too clearly...

The bloodstains, your body, the collapsed animatronics—dirty and nearly damaged—and the bunny suit.

The bunny suit... the mask... it was odd when he first came to, the sight of the costume made him question several times if there was a meaning behind it, a purpose. Was it from Fazbear Entertainment? Or was it her own?

Even so... now that it was mentioned... it did seem off.

The whole bunny suit fiasco... he never told anyone about it. somehow, he managed to dispose it by hiding it in his chest cavity and incinerating it somewhere in the kitchen. He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to do it... something hinting towards the greater good, the peace and prosperity he aimed since his awakening that day...

He didn't realized it was oh, too relevant. Was it a sign that... Officer Vanessa was doing things behind everyone's backs?

What if... Vanessa was the one who injured you? And something happened that harmed her—did you take revenge before getting the concussion? Were you hit by her?

Or was she faking it all this time?

So many speculations surrounding Vanessa that the bear spaced on, stuck in his processing gears in an attempt to make sense of everything he thought of thus far.

And still... how could he have not noticed?

"—eddy? Hello? Earth to Freddy? You there?" the bear snapped out of his processing gears of thought when you spoke, it was distant, before it became clearer. Your hand lightly waving in an attempt to catch his attention, to remind him that...

You were there.

"...Pardon me, were you saying something?" the animatronic chose not to disclose it... yet. He looked around and saw everyone had left his greenroom—all except you, who was trying to catch his attention. You were on your toes, trying to reach up and look taller than the animatronic—despite it being in a sitting position.

"I dismissed you guys already... but you weren't responding. Is there something wrong?" you decided to take a seat on a nearby couch, knowing it would probably take a while, wanting to get answers to questions you don't even know.

"I...." the animatronic paused, taking the moment to look around—indeed, the other animatronics were nowhere in sight, the greenroom was deserted aside from his and your presence. "I apologize; I was not environmentally conscious for a moment." He excused, since he would dare not admit that he was... thinking...

Daydreaming? Reminiscing? Something that an automated entity like himself was... not supposed to do.

Reminiscing the past... yeah...

"Freddy... you could talk to me, you know? Aren't we supposed to be open with each other? to trust each other?" you urged, tentatively placing a hand over the hard casing of his arm. "Come on, please?"

Could he say no to you? At all?

"I just... I apologize for... a lot of things."

"A lot of things?" you urged him to continue. "If you're apologizing from spacing out, there's no problem—"

"No, I meant to apologize for my behavior the past month. I am aware that discord has been sown since Bonnie's return, and Monty became incorrigible in finding fault against him. I haven't been giving you the accommodation and attention you deserve..." the animatronic didn't want to look, he didn't want to see the disappointment or sadness in your eyes. But he knew you, he knows you wouldn't be disappointed for something like that, but something within himself began fearing. Fearing for how you would react, how you would think... how...

"Fred... listen to me. Like, really, listen to me." You urged him to even look at you, it was hard to coax the animatronic, with the entity being bigger than you for a good few feet. But somehow... he listens, if not stubborn—something you learned he was. "It's alright, we have a whole good few years to think this through, I don't want you belittling yourself."

"(Y/N). I can't be the significant other you deserve. You deserve someone with a heartbeat, breathing and—"

"But they're not you."

Something about your words made the animatronic hesitate to a pause, then, even if physically impossible, his eyes softened in his gaze. It wasn't visible, considering the limitations of animatronics, but you could see it in his gaze—it was sincere.

"... Even so, I feel the need to apologize for my inherent shortcomings."

"Freddy please, stop." You raised a hand to stop him from the endless apologies for something beyond his control. "I know that's not the only thing in your mind."

"... Tell me, (Y/N). In the world of humans, is it normal for them to defy all reason for someone they miss dearly?" he inquired, going back to the other topic at hand—Bonnie and Monty.

"Yeah... you know, when Rose suddenly left for the states, I was really sad. But when she contacted me, I felt like I could ditch work just to fly to the states—if that were possible." You confessed, recalling the events that transpired a while ago. The whole Rose being found by her family, up to when she finally was allowed communication.

People are crazy, that's a fact. They'll be willing to go past all boundaries existing just to be with their loved ones. That could also apply to... just about anyone.

Freddy and the rest... day by day, they're growing more accustomed to the complexities of human nature, even as to feel emotions that were otherwise irrelevant in their programming...

"...I missed Bonnie a lot, he has been a good friend of mine. I have been unreasonably ecstatic. Tell me, (Y/N), was I unfair to Monty?" he finally looked at you, his head tilted slightly. Despite his permanent expression brought about by his faceplates, you could see his... emotions.

"Honestly... a little..." you leaned against his arm, the hard, metallic surface of his casing was not unfamiliar to you, you were used to it—you found comfort within it. "Its just... Monty needs you too, his feelings—they're all valid. Even humans reach that extent, and its not their fault. They never wanted to feel this negative emotion against the other."

A hum escaped the animatronics' lips. "Perhaps... you are correct. My emotions cloud my rationality. I believe, I am incapable of providing sound judgement when it comes to Monty and Bonnie.

"Hey, its normal. You know, that's what makes humans...well, human. Humans can't be right all the time, and at some point, they'll be influenced away from rational decisions, but that's not a hindrance—that's a learning block. They teach us something, and that's what experiences are all about." You patted his arm while leaning against it, finding solace in his presence amidst the chaos outside the greenroom.

The chaos being... the missing children incidents, the conflict between Monty and Bonnie... and Vanessa's change...

There's too much to think about.

"Do you perhaps believe that the shift in Vanessa's behavior may include a learning block currently in her path?" Freddy questioned, finding himself relating the occurrences towards the strange and peculiar behavior acted upon by the other dweller in the depths of the Pizzaplex past opening hours.

"That... I'm not sure. Maybe? Maybe not..." you sighed out and slumped your body against his arm—its not like he would mind, he never does. "Though she did acted all off a few weeks ago, something about... remembering? I'm not too sure, its not like I recall anything."

"Perhaps a sense of déjà vu? Perhaps she is starting to recover lost memories." He presumed, eyeing if you were the same. Have you started remembering too?

"Maybe, then I found her at the pharmacy the other afternoon, she bought these... pills? Sleeping pills or something? I'm starting to think something's wrong with her, I don't like it." you then tilted your head up to him. "Then, she started becoming...distant."

"Distant... is an understatement. Perhaps active avoidance is a more appropriate term." The animatronic looked towards the glass wall covered by red curtains, a small gap between the two sets of fabric paving a small glimpse of Rockstar Row outside.

"Do you think... Vanessa might have something to do with this...? The disappearances... everything..."

"Even if I run numerous simulations given the variables, the results remain to be likely plausible. You should be cautious around her from now on, we don't know what's going on inside her mind."

Who knows if... there's something going on during those days, those days when... someone named "Vanny" was still existing.

That bunny suit... may mean something more sinister than he thought. It may not be just some random mascot... it might be something... formidable.