Monastery of Spinjitzu
Ken's POV
The next morning, I woke up to find my bandaged arms laying beside me instead of elevated in slings. My parents must have followed PIXAL's instructions about taking them out at midnight; I must have drifted off sometime after her visit. I lifted the limbs and gently ran my fingers down the wrappings. No pain. Absolutely no soreness. PIXAL really is amazing, I thought in wonder as I raised my arms closer to my face, awed at the fact that not a spec of discomfort followed the action.

I accidentally brought my limbs too close to my face, and I heard the rasp of bandages on bandages. With everything going on coupled with my currently limited field of vision, I had completely forgotten that my face had been injured as well. I fingered my wrappings there and discovered that it was mostly large patches, with one long strip stretched diagonally across my face. I brought my fingers down the length of my body, finding even more bandages, some even creeping under the edges of my boxers.

Yet pain didn't follow my fingers.

Exactly how bad was it? I thought when I found wrappings down where my sprained ankle had been. I had known about my ankle, my fractured arms, my cut face and knees, my sore back, along with the additional damage William had dealt, but this seemed like a lot more bandages than those injuries recommended. There was wrapping where I wasn't even aware I had been injured. Just how much did the tea have to heal?

I wriggled on my mattress slightly, testing my muscles. Nothing flared up at me, so I tried pulling back the covers and getting out of bed. The bottoms of my feet tingled as they met the cool tatami floor, though I was miraculously able to keep my balance as I stood up. My toes dribbled against the floorboards until I was somewhat sure that I could walk and managed a few tentative steps.

I saw green out of the corner of my eye, and my gaze traveled the length of the floor until I found its source. A quiet cry of joy fell out of my mouth when I saw my green coat and pants folded neatly on an open chair. The last time I had seen either item of clothing, they both had been stained and soiled beyond recognition, but someone had taken the time and effort to wash every blemish out of their fabric. Fresh stitches even decorated the edges of patches over the pants' knees.

Those stitches and the nearly perfect restoration of my clothing... I could recognize my mom's handiwork anywhere. I looked at her now, sleeping beside my dad in their respective chairs. Her head was on his shoulder, his head on hers. They looked so peaceful, at ease in each other's partial embrace. The entire picture was just so UNBELIEVABLY cute and I was struck with the urge not to wake them, if only to keep them this peaceful for a little while longer. I also wished that I had a camera with me.

My bladder lurched in my abdomen, and I realized that I hadn't used the bathroom in the past THREE DAYS; the soup I had drank yesterday was coming around. I probably didn't need to be wearing so many bandages anymore, anyway. With one last glance at the adorable picture that was my sleeping parents, I swiped my clothes off of the chair and tiptoed over to the door.

I slid it open and glanced cautiously out into the hall, both ways. No sounds that indicated someone was in the immediate vicinity. The light was still soft outside - maybe no one was up yet. I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't ready to explain myself yet.

Memory guided my steps to another door not too far down the hall from my room. It opened into a spacious bathroom that sadly only had one toilet and one shower. Enough to contain a handful of people, though thankfully empty at the moment. I laid my change of clothes on the marble counter and headed to the toilet. After I was done with my business, I went to the sink to wash my hands. Only then did I look up at my reflection in the mirror.

And gasp.

It appeared like I had a double sided white arrow on my face - a bandage strip ran from my right cheek to right above my left eye, marked on either side by triangular patches of bandages. That must've been where William scratched me. Even more band-aids marked the arrow's perimeter like stark white stars. I thought back to all the times I had something run into my face back at the Pizzaplex and grimaced. This amount of bandages seemed reasonable.

It got even worse the further down my gaze went. My chest and abdomen were twin patchworks of bandages and gauze, covering injuries that no longer hurt. They wrapped around my body until they disappeared into the waistline of my boxers, then stopped about halfway down my thighs before starting again as rings around my knees and a makeshift brace around my ankle. I turned so I could see my backside and winced - it was equally wrapped.

From the looks of it, my wounds had been painfully severe, and the phantom pain in my head paid testament to that. I was almost scared to take the bandages off, but I had to know what was underneath. I had to know if the healing tea had done its job.

So with gentle fingers, I gingerly fingered the edge of the long bandage wrapping around my face and carefully pulled it off. I expected the temporary sting of the adhesive that had stuck the bandage to my face, though I expected a lot more pain to accompany it. The sting was alone, allowing me to pull off the bandage with relative ease and gaze upon my uncovered expression.

It was immediately obvious that whatever tea PIXAL had given me packed a punch, because my face was nearly completely healed. Every scratch I remembered getting was no longer there, and there was no discomfort when I pressed my fingers into the skin. The only sign that I had been injured in any way was a faint scar that followed the length of the bandage that had traveled around my face. It was so faint that I could only make it out if I pressed my face close to the mirror and squinted.

The tea must have its limits, I thought to myself as I traced my new scar. It was only a shallow indentation in my skin; one would completely pass over it if they didn't know to look for it. Good work anyway.

I continued ridding myself of my bandage casts, painfully ripping them from my body in great big strips. The tea truly was amazing, for every single place I remembered getting a scratch or bump was now clear. The only other blemishes on my skin to remind me of the rough night I'd had were on my forearms - the places where William had ruthlessly torn into me with his claws. These scars must have been harder to heal, because they were much deeper than my face scar and slightly red in color. They didn't throb when I pressed my fingers into the puckered skin, but they were certainly a lot more noticeable than my face. I could only hope that Keru and Besu were long enough to cover them from the kids at school.

And the Beasts, I thought with a shudder. Who knows what they'll do when they see these?

After pulling off the last of the bandages, I set to work in reclothing myself. I pulled my pants over my now uncovered legs before tugging my coat onto my bandage-free arms. I watched myself in the mirror as I tugged on the zipper, eyeing my patched knees. My mom's stitches were noticeable, sure, but if you weren't looking at them directly, they blended in with the dark fabric. Thank you, mommy! I thanked her in my head, smiling brightly. Thank you thank you thank you!

Fully clothed, I stretched in the familiar fabric, still staring at myself in the mirror. My clothes felt the same, sans the new patches. I looked the same, besides the new scars. My appearance had remained somewhat the same.

"But I'm not the same," I told myself in the silence of the bathroom. I felt I had to voice it out loud, just to get it out in the open. "I'm not the same," I repeated, trying to convince myself. It still didn't feel real. "I'm not the same." I reached out and placed my hand on the mirror; it was almost like I was holding a hand out to myself. "I'm not who I was before." The events of the Pizzaplex flashed through my mind and I repressed the urge to grimace. "I'm not that kid anymore."

My fingernails dug into my palm as I became acutely aware of all the metal in the vicinity: the sink faucet, the shower head, the towel rack, the shower curtain rings and rod. Their metallic presence washed over me like a cold rain. The sensation was both comforting and bone-chilling and I shivered involuntarily, bracing my hands on the counter in an attempt to control myself. "But I don't know what I am now, exactly."

I stood there for a few minutes, breathing deeply and willing both my heart and my Element to settle. In through the nose, out through the mouth, as my parents liked to tell me before every puppet show to stave off jitters. In... out... in... out... in...

Wait... I smell something.

Is that... cinnamon?

I sniffed a few more times to confirm it. Something made with cinnamon was indeed cooking somewhere. Its scent flowed through the bathroom and filled my nose, warm and spicy at the same time. I looked down in surprise when my stomach grumbled in beckoning. The last time I'd eaten had to be that soup my mom gave me with a straw. How long ago was that? Twelve hours? Twenty? I couldn't find a clock anywhere...

My stomach grumbled again, as if to say, Hello? Needing sustenance at the moment!

I laughed softly and placed a hand above the protesting organ. "Alright, alright," I told it jokingly. "We'll do this your way."

I stuffed the bandages into a trash can I found and exited the bathroom in search of the scent's source. The trail led me down the hall, steadily getting stronger the further I went; my stomach growling also got louder until I was certain that the entire Monastery was awake because of it. I should have been self-conscious about it, but all I really wanted was some food - everything else was secondhand.

Eventually I heard mumbling as an undertone to the cinnamon scent. As I got closer to its source, the mumbling sharpened into words:

You know, my family used to always make cinnamon rolls around the holidays.

Really? Mine, too! We usually make other things to go with it, though, like milk bread and sweet pumpkin filling.

Hah! My family wasn't nearly as creative as yours - we just stuck with cinnamon rolls.

I paused in the hallway, hardly believing my own ears. I knew those voices, had heard them before. I just never imagined that I'd hear them both TOGETHER. Let alone having a friendly conversation with each other.

My surprise was short-lived and I continued down the hall until I turned a corner, finally finding myself in the kitchen. Low and behold, there they were at the counter: Valt and Vanessa. Their backs were both turned to me, but I could see two tins of freshly baked cinnamon rolls on the counter, golden brown and smelling heavenly. Valt had pulled one of the rolls to him and was using a spoon to drizzle a creamy white sauce over its top, a glass bowl full of the substance not too far from him. Smudges near the bowl's rim let me know that he'd already dipped his fingers in more than once.

Vanessa had her own drizzling station, though her situation was a little... DIFFERENT compared to Valt's. Her head was significantly shorter in relation to the counter, causing her to physically reach up and over to grab a new cinnamon roll. A plate rested on her thighs with a glass bowl and spoon of her own, which she used to decorate the rolls in strings of white. Her steeper angle caused drops of sugary sauce to occasionally splatter the plain gray shirt she was wearing, prompting her to giggle and swipe it off the fabric with her finger before sticking it in her mouth. There was a wet-wipe nearby that she kept wiping her fingers on.

The reason she was so vertically challenged?

She was in a wheelchair.

The scene was one of happiness and peace, but I couldn't help stepping back in shock. Vanessa was in a wheelchair. I covered my mouth to keep from squeaking as questions flashed through my head at lightning speed. Was it a side effect of William brainwashing her? Just how bad was her condition? Why didn't PIXAL tell me about this?

If the wheelchair wasn't shocking enough on its own, the fact that she and Valt were apparently buddy-buddy was straight up flooring. They were polar opposites: Valt was warm and happy while Vanessa was stern and bloodthirsty. Or she'd at least made herself out that way. PIXAL had said everyone saw the ocular files from the animatronics - everyone must know Vanessa did. PIXAL had made it clear yesterday that Vanessa was to be treated with the utmost caution.

So... why was Valt being friendly?

I didn't want to make any noise to ruin the weird scene in front of me, if only to observe it for a little longer. Valt and Vanessa continued to pass cinnamon rolls between the two of them, chattering about whatnot and laughing at nothing. There truly seemed like there wasn't any hostility between them. Was that just Valt being his open, welcoming self? Or was he just oblivious?

Was there a difference between the two?

I would have questioned it further, but a deep growling suddenly filled the air, making Valt and Vanessa stall in their decorating process. I cursed quietly and searched for the sound's source; it sounded like it was literally coming from the walls. A rumbling in my midsection drew my gaze downwards and I blanched. The sound was coming from me.

How embarrassing!

I tried to settle my stomach, but it was too late - Valt and Vanessa had already noticed me. "Ken!" Valt exclaimed, setting his spoon in his sauce bowl and turning fully towards me with his bright smile. "You're finally up! You had me thinking you were never going to get out of bed!" He rushed forward and wrapped me in his thin arms; his blue hair smelled like cinnamon and sugar.

I laughed slightly and hugged him back. It felt good to do so after feeling certain that I was going to die. "You know me, Valt," I told him jokingly. "I can never stay in one place for too long!"

"I'm pretty sure that's my line, bud!" Valt said boastfully, though there were tears in his eyes as he pulled back and took me in fully. His watery irises found the faint scar lining the width of my face. He made an expression of surprise before it melted into one of awe. "Hey, looking good! Wait 'til Shu gets a look at you - you guys are practically twins now!"

I fingered my new scar and felt my cheeks flush under my fingers. "We're not THAT similar," I protested.

"Sure you are!" Valt rebuffed me. He squinted at my scar in thought. "I mean, the only difference between yours and his is that yours is longer. And... over your entire face."

"And that mine was made from someone physically scratching me?" I offered sourly. The memory of how I got my scar was still fresh, and I wished that it wasn't.

Valt winced. "Well, there's that."

He opened his mouth to say more, but another voice coughed loudly. "Um... hello?" We both turned to see Vanessa staring at the two of us; her own roll and sauce bowl were lying forgotten on her plate. "I take it you're the famous Ken I've been hearing so much about?" She asked with a small smile, her green eyes gazing my way.

I did a double take. "You... don't remember me?" I asked.

Vanessa tilted her head, her smile vanishing into a frown. "No..." She said in confusion. She swept her eyes over my appearance, but nothing seemed to click in her mind. "Should I?"

I stared at her, slack jawed. How could she not remember me? I was only the kid she'd been hunting all night and nearly killed! I was actually slightly offended that she didn't show any recognition. I glanced at Valt, hoping for answers, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

His eyes were wide, though, which told me that he had an idea of what was happening, he just didn't want to tell me in front of the person in question.

Oh well. How many chances do you get to make a first impression?

I sighed and walked over to Vanessa's wheelchair, holding my hand out. "Well, yes, I guess," I told her, trying for a smile of my own. "I'm Ken Midori. And you're Vanessa...?"

"Wheelock," She offered, shaking my hand. The frown was gone and replaced with her previous smile. "And please don't take me not remembering your name too personally... I can't remember a lot of things. Like how I got here or what happened to me..." She trailed off and got a far off look in her eyes. "I remember I was a beta tester for a Fazbear Entertainment video game, but... that's it."

I resumed my staring. "That's it?" I repeated. "You don't remember anything else?"

"Nope," Vanessa said nonchalantly, inspecting a smudge of sugar under her nail. "I remember pulling the VR headset over my eyes, and then POOF!" She brought her fingers and pulled them apart for emphasis. "Three years of my life, gone." At my questioning gaze, she nodded toward the third party. "Valt here told me the year number."

I nodded, though it still seemed crazy to think that she couldn't remember anything from that timeframe. "So you really can't recall ANYTHING?"

"Nothing," Vanessa confirmed with a sad tone. "Three entire years of my life, and I remember NONE of it." She gazed up at me curiously. "I don't suppose YOU can tell me anything about my life, can you? And how I ended up like...?" She gestured loosely down to her wheelchair.

My eyes widened and my throat caught in my throat. What was I supposed to say to that? You were a security guard at Freddy Fazbear Mega Pizzaplex. You were a murderer who killed a bunch of kids and almost me. You were a pawn in a sick man's game.

You were a victim.

Thousands of descriptions filled my mouth, but I couldn't bring myself to say any of them. They were too horrible for her wiped mind. I shot a look at Valt, but he just rubbed the back of his neck and looked away; he wasn't going to be any help. I settled for a long vowel instead: "Uhhhhhh..."

Luckily I was saved from a very awkward conversation by a familiar voice coming down the hall, "I smell cinnamon~" Soon a shiny white head appeared in the doorway and took note of the steaming cinnamon rolls on the counter before taking notice of me. "Kenny? Oh, you're awake!"

A split second later, I was being lifted and smothered in a very large, very STRONG hug. The lack of oxygen should have been my main priority, though I was too deep in my shock to notice. I knew the voice, but... the head I saw didn't match. I had only seen the connected body as a blur of color before I was enveloped, but the palette didn't match the voice either. Something was different. If only I could see who it was.

If only the room wasn't starting to go dark.

I vaguely realized that Valt was yelling outside of my field of vision; something along the lines of "Put him down - you're choking him!" I suddenly felt the floor beneath my shoes and air rushed back into my lungs. I stood there for a second, heaving, trying to bring feeling back to my body. When I felt stable enough to straighten, I took in the being whose hug nearly killed me - again.

And dropped my jaw. "C-CHICA?!"

It was indeed the cheerful white chicken animatronic, but her appearance had changed dramatically. Her pink and magenta leotard was gone, replaced with a periwinkle crop top that showed a little bit of her white chest. Her pink bow had been substituted with a sequined turquoise star hair pin, which made her hair spikes look like a comet's tail. Matching stars hung from her head like earrings. A navy jacket with a sky colored fur collar fluffed up around her neck, and her palms were white instead of the lime green I'd seen them in last. Her feet remained in their triple-pointed shapes, yet her legs had been clothed in dusty cerulean jeans.

The ensemble had clearly been enlarged so everything could fit her comfortably. Question was: HOW?

Chica giggled when she saw my searching gaze, making me flush. Was I staring too much? "Yup - it's me!" She declared, posing with one hand behind her head. "Don't I look FABULOUS?" She blinked her eyes flirtatiously; I could see that her eyelids had been painted with sparkly blue eyeshadow. It paired well with her new navy lipstick.

"It's definitely a good look on you," Valt told her appreciatively. "I'm digging the shades of blue!"

"Seriously," Vanessa added, leaning back in her wheelchair so she could get a better look at Chica. "You have GOT to tell me where you got that jacket!"

Chica's eyes darkened when she took in her former security guard and her current situation. From her expression, I wouldn't be surprised if her gaze had skimmed over Vanessa entirely when she first came into the kitchen. "I-it was custom made," She said quickly, taking one of the flaps in her fist. "I-I'd doubt you could get one in your size."

Vanessa's face fell, though she still looked at Chica with awe. It occurred to me that if she didn't remember the Pizzaplex, she probably didn't remember any of the animatronics either.

"Chica," I spoke up, drawing the chicken's attention back to me. "Don't take this the wrong way, but... what HAPPENED to you?"

Her eyes immediately brightened. "Oh, Kenny! That teacher of yours has just been TOO KIND!" She exclaimed, flapping her hands ecstatically. "She generously cleaned and fixed our shells, and she could have stopped there but she didn't! She also upgraded our shells so our looks are entirely customizable to our liking! If that wasn't enough, she even gave us entire new wardrobes!" Her toes lifted to send her into a half-pirouette. "I've always wondered what I'd look like in blue!

"Oh, and get this!" She continued as she landed, hardly containing her excitement. "Our faces are totally washable now, so we can do our own makeup! Look look look!" She pressed her face close to mine and pointed to her cheek. I hadn't even noticed, but her triangular cheek markings were gone and replaced with a small blue heart. "I painted this on my face this morning! Isn't it just adorable?"

"It IS pretty cute!" I agreed with her, stepping backwards a few paces. Her excitement was nearly overwhelming.

"Oh! Do you think your teacher stopped there?" Chica asked me, putting her hands on her knees so she could look straight at me.

Her tone and expression went into my answer. "I'm going to guess... no?"

Chica couldn't really beam, but she did something similar to it. "NOOO~!" She sang, reaching her hands towards the ceiling as if in praise. "She also upgraded our power systems, so now we don't need Recharge Stations to keep us going! Now... FOOD is our fuel! Speaking of which-" She turned towards Valt and Vanessa with their golden bounty. "Hand over one of those gorgeous cinnamon rolls and no one gets hurt." Her now-white hand shot out expectantly, palm up. Her tone was cheerful enough, though it held enough seriousness to let us know that she meant business. Valt and Vanessa immediately forked over one of the rolls that they'd already decorated.

Chica took a bite of her prize before continuing, small crumbs decorating the front of her top and littering the floor. "I don't know exactly how it works, but your teacher said it's kind of like the human digestive system. We eat and drink, and our new stomachs burn the food in order to turn it into electrical energy. Then when we need more food, our bodies will give us a notification." She took another bite. "Only drawback is now we have to use the bathroom to get rid of excess waste like everyone else. Other than that - totally worth it!"

Another even bigger bite and her eyes closed in pleasure. "Your robot teacher said something about the system being based off of hers, which was based off of another robot's. She didn't say his name, but if I ever meet him, I'm giving him a big hug and a birthday cake as a thank you!"

A dim memory flickered in my mind and I shared a look with Valt; he'd had the same memory. Zane Julien was the first android to flawlessly resemble a human in appearance, bodily function, and mentality. So much so that he wasn't even considered an android and was given an entirely new title: a NINDROID. Several androids today, including PIXAL, are built using his design.

Little does Chica know, she'll probably never meet Zane.

We were both drawn back to the situation at hand when Vanessa huffed and rolled forward in her wheelchair slightly. "Cover your mouth, please," She told Chica, gesturing to the growing pile of crumbs at her feet. "You're making a mess!"

Chica opened one of her eyes to glance passively at Vanessa before releasing her own huff and hoisting her half-eaten roll higher in her hand. "So what if I do?" She asked haughtily. "The cleaning bots will just take care of it!"

I tilted my head. "Cleaning bots?"

Instead of answering, Chica turned around to the doorway and bellowed, "CLEANING BOTS!! FRONT AND CENTER!!"

As my hands went to my poor ears, a foreign shape whipped through the doorway and sped towards the pile at her feet. It wasn't until it had plopped a broom down into the mess that I realized that it was, indeed, a cleaning bot from the Pizzaplex. It quickly swept the crumbs into a port just above its wheels, then nodded decisively and made to exit.

"Wait!" Valt called after it, causing it to stop in its tracks and turn towards him. He took another cinnamon roll off of the counter and tossed it towards the bot, which it caught deftly in one hand. "For your hard work," Valt told it with a smile.

"Thank you, sir," It said in a monotone, dipping its smooth head slightly. A larger port opened just below its eyes and it shoved the roll inside as it left.

I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my skull as I watched the bot leave. "The cleaning bots, too?" I asked breathlessly, turning my head back to Chica.

The white chicken nodded as she finished her roll and licked the sugar sauce off of her fingers. "All of us, actually!" She told me proudly. "We all got the upgrades! The cleaning and security bots got a few more, though, since they were pretty basic to begin with."

"That's so cool!" I complimented her. Then I remembered the number of bots I had lifted out of the Pizzaplex and paused. "What - where is everyone?"

"Most of the bots are down in the basement, along with the endos," Valt supplied, leaning against the counter. "Some of them are still in the upper levels, though, because First Spinjitzu Master knows we need the help."

"Your teacher gave us animatronics a room right off of the courtyard," Chica boasted. She flung her hands out and twirled again. "It's like we're staying in a hotel! Did you know that I've never seen stars until coming here?"

"Though the last time I was in a hotel, I was in a bit different situation," Vanessa spoke up, poking fun at her wheelchair. Chica glanced at her but didn't say anything else.

A loud yawn floated to us down the hallway and another familiar-yet-different face poked into the kitchen. "Chica... Why are you so loud at six in the morning...?" They groaned.

Chica giggled. "Good to know I was your wake up call, Roxy!" She told the new party.

It was indeed Roxy, though her attire had also received an upgrade. Instead of her former red and black two piece outfit, she was wearing a loose black hoodie with similarly styled sweat pants. She also wasn't wearing any shoes and her three-toed paws stuck out beneath the hem of her pants. The black stripes on her face had been removed, revealing blank canvases that she could decorate any way she wished. However, for the morning, she'd settled for a simple ponytail in her supple silver hair.

"It's still too early," Roxy grumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. "I didn't know how GOOD sleep was until I could actually do it." She yawned before her amber eyes caught sight of me. "Oh, hey Ken. Good to see you're up."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "So are you, apparently," I told her.

"For the most part, anyway," She replied drily, stretching her arms above her head. "I smelled the cinnamon rolls about an hour ago, but I chose to ignore it and go back to sleep. But then THIS ONE-" She shot a pointed glance at Chica. "Decides to start a ruckus at six in the morning!"

The white chicken only giggled. "Once again, you're welcome!" She claimed.

Roxy continued grumbling under her breath, but Valt cheered her up with an offered cinnamon roll. As she chowed down on her breakfast, Chica reached for another roll, but Vanessa batted her hand away. "We've only made enough for everyone to have one! If you eat another, some poor endo is going to end up without a meal!"

It was as Chica crossed her arms and pouted that I noticed the other tins littering the counter. There had to be dozens of them, lined like battle battalions, covering every square inch of the counters, even balanced precariously over the sink. Every single one of them had at least fifteen freshly baked cinnamon rolls squeezed onto their surfaces. I hadn't done a head count when I had lifted the animatronics and bots out of the Pizzaplex, but I could have sworn it wasn't this many. With how many Valt and Vanessa had baked, I was surprised that the entire Monastery wasn't awake at the moment.

"How long... have you guys been at this?" I dared to ask - I dreaded the answer.

"Since 3:15, I think," Vanessa provided, going back to drizzling white sauce on a roll. "Valt woke me up and told me that he needed help with a surprise for the others, and the next thing I knew, we were whipping up cinnamon rolls by the gross." A jaw-breaking yawn escaped her mouth. "I don't think I've ever been this tired."

Roxy snorted and muttered, "Doubt it." Vanessa glanced up at her questioningly, but she refused to meet her gaze and continued chewing her roll.

"Yeah, but it was worth it!" Valt said happily, carefully testing the sides of a tin before deeming it cool enough to pick up with bare hands. "Just wait until the others get a load of these! Their mouths will be watering in no time!"

"Yeah, except our mouths can't exactly water," Came an unfamiliar voice. We all turned in unison towards the new party in the doorway.

A purple animatronic was standing there, arms crossed and leaning against the doorframe. Like Roxy, he was dressed like he'd just gotten out of bed, in plain sweats and a t-shirt that stretched over his wide chest. But the thing that really caught me off guard was the two long ears sticking out of the top of his head. That, coupled with the black button nose and buck teeth protruding from beneath white cheeks, meant that this could only be one person.

"B-Bonnie?" I stuttered.

The purple rabbit made a laughing noise and approached me. He was taller than me like the other animatronics, but those long ears made him seem much bigger, and I found myself tipping my head back even more to take him in fully. "Yup, that's me," He said in a jolly tone not unlike Freddy's. One of his lilac-tipped fingers pointed back at himself proudly. "Superstar Bonnie, as the kids like to call me!" He gazed down at me with magenta eyes. "And YOU must be the famous Ken Midori everyone keeps talking about."

I felt my cheeks flush and I looked down. "I-I'm not that famous..." I protested weakly. Just what has everyone been saying about me?

"Oh, don't be so modest," Bonnie claimed, waving his large hand dismissively. "I heard all about your adventure from my friends, new AND old." He threw a cheeky look at Valt, who returned it in full. "I heard about how you braved the dangers of the Pizzaplex and took down its evil mastermind." He leaned forward, fixing me with a curious expression and lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "Did you really take him out with one hand?"

I blinked once. Twice. Three times. "First of all, that is NOT true..." I said haltingly. "And second of all... who told you that?" Bonnie's questioning eyes went behind me and gave me my answer. "I thought you weren't FUNCTIONAL enough to remember that," I growled at Chica.

She giggled nervously before responding. "My processing system was compromised, but my ocular devices were working perfectly. And what I saw was EPIC!" Her hands raised before her chest and clenched into fists that shook with her excitement. "Kenny - you turned into a literal machine!"

"It's true," Valt added, sounding equally amazed. "We all saw the footage from their, uh..." He stuttered on the word before settling on one simpler. "Eye files. What you did was totally awesome, Ken!"

"Yeah, and however it went down," Bonnie added, looking down at me a bit more seriously. "The files let me know just what you did for me and my buddies, Ken." His eyes turned downcast. "We were... out of control. Not ourselves hacked. We'd done some serious damage, and we probably would have done even more damage. If we spoke out, we'd be decommissioned. Foxy and I are testaments.

"But then... YOU showed up," He continued, glancing back at me. "You were supposed to be another victim - just another name. But somehow... you pulled through. You found the center of it all, and you set it right. Because of you, the fam's back together... and even bigger! So... I guess what I'm trying to say is..." He held his large hand out to me. "Thank you, Ken Midori. Truly."

I stared at his offered hand, at a loss for words. This is usually the part of the story when the hero is thanked for his actions and he gives a good, rousing speech that will inspire the attending parties for generations to come. I knew this part; I've played it countless times in my family's puppet show. I should know what to say.

But all I can settle for is a lukewarm handshake and a wobbly, "Hey - no problem!" I flushed a deep scarlet when everyone laughed at my poor display of chivalry.

Vanessa grunted in the corner. "Everyone's been saying how great those ocular files are," She grouched loud enough for everyone to hear. "But no one's even bothered to show ME them!"

"For good reason," Roxy whispered to Chica; I hissed out of the corner of my mouth to shut them up.

Valt coughed in the awkward silence that followed; the rolls on his tin shifted slightly as he lifted it higher towards me, his eyebrows up in a daring expression. "What you did in the files... do you think you can do it again?"

All those present started to confirm and egg me on, and I automatically reached out for the tin's metallic presence upon the request. It filled my mouth with the taste of something cold and coppery, sending a shiver down my spine. It was calling to me as much as I was calling to it, but I couldn't bring myself to actually use it; the memory of the terrifying rush I'd felt last time was still fresh. "I-I don't know..."

"Oh, come on, Kenny!" The animatronics moaned with want. Vanessa also sat forward in her wheelchair, suddenly curious.

Luckily Valt, bless his heart, seemed to understand my turmoil. "It's okay, Ken. This is a small thing. Just breathe deeply and concentrate on the object in front of you." He held out his tin invitingly.

I was still having doubts, but I decided to trust Valt. He'd gone through this himself, after all. I took a deep breath and reached out for the tin's metallic presence, both mentally and physically, my hand groping the air in front of me. The tin almost seemed to come alive at my touch, eager to serve me. I raised my hand to guide it, and it gently levitated from Valt's astonished grip. I brought out my other hand to keep it level as I continued lifting it higher and higher into the air, powered by nothing more than my willpower.

Only when it nearly brushed the ceiling did I try something different. I focused more on the metal itself, telling it to separate into squares. It did so, splitting into fifteen equal sections with a cinnamon roll neatly balanced on each square. I then guided the makeshift trays to softly land on the counter, like mini plates for whoever wanted a doughy treat.

"Not bad!" Valt said appreciatively, gazing at my display of power with his hands on his hips. He glanced over his shoulder at me sheepishly. "Though I don't know how PIXAL would feel if she finds one of her baking tins in pieces."

"Oh, right!" I exclaimed, my cheeks flushing again. "One sec!" I reached my hands out for the tin once more and told the pieces to reconnect. They made skidding noises against the counter as they realigned and mended. I didn't have to get close to know that there was barely a seam.

"OOOOHHHHHH!!!"

We all jumped at the sound of yet another voice coming from the doorway, this one nearly deafening with its enthusiasm. Turning around, we discovered an animatronic with a familiar yellow body pointing ecstatically at me. Its thin frame was currently enveloped in a large red t-shirt and baggy pants that cinched tight around its pencil waist. All-too familiar triangular spikes stuck out of the sides of its round head.

But the head ITSELF... it was different. The last time I had seen it, it was frozen in an eternal smile with squished pupil-less eyes and gummy teeth. Now, though, it was stuck in an expression of surprise with wide eyes, shrunken black pupils, and a gaping mouth. It looked the emoji for surprised. When it spoke again, the mouth MOVED. "MAGIC!! KENNY CAN DO MAGIC!!"

I gaped back at him. "Sunny?"

Immediately, the face transformed into a smiling expression, and the pupils had enlarged to include blue irises. "Yup! It's me - your ol' pal Sunny!" He proclaimed, practically flying across the room to wrap me up in a hug. I was able to breathe this time, but I was still unfairly lifted off the ground. "It's so good to see you, Kenny!"

"H-hey, Sunny," I said weakly, hugging him back. "W-what happened with you?"

"Oh, Kenny!" Sunny cried, putting me down before clasping his hands in front of me. "That teacher of yours is AMAZING! She gave me the eating upgrade and even gave Moony his own body so we don't have to worry about the lights anymore! Watch!" He reached over to the kitchen light switch and plunged the room into early morning shadows; his new face stayed lit up like a beacon. After a few seconds, he gestured towards himself and raised his illuminated eyebrows. "Eh? EH? See?" His other hand raised to pat the top of his head. "No nightcap here!"

"Please turn those lights back on," Vanessa asked curtly.

When we were all lit up again, I faced Sunny. "I gathered the eating upgrade and the body thing," I told him truthfully. "But what about your..." I waved my hand vaguely at his animated expressions.

"Oh this!" Sunny said cheerfully. "I told your teacher that I wanted a face that wouldn't scare the kids, and she offered to give me one that could actively portray my emotions." He pointed to his new smile. "It's an LED mask that changes with each new emotion I feel. For example..." He turned towards the cinnamon rolls on the counter. As I watched, his eyes popped into beating cartoon hearts on his face as his mouth opened in happiness. "CINNAMON ROLLS!"

Vanessa stared at him before placing a hand to her chest and sighing. "That's a relief - I honestly thought you were looking at me," She told Sunny.

The hearts disappeared and Sunny's expression turned into one of sheepishness. "Sorry, Vanessa - my eyes are only for these delicious baked goods." A pink tongue stuck out of his mouth as he leaned towards the cinnamon rolls again.

Vanessa pouted for a second before it melted into a laugh. "Well, I should hope so," She told him, reaching out for a roll and tossing it to the animatronic. "Because this is all you're getting for breakfast. Eat up!"

A port opened in Sunny's LED face where his cartoon mouth was and he shoved the roll in, somehow able to take a bite and chew it. Valt also took a roll from the counter and handed it to Vanessa before grabbing one of his own. "We should eat too - I'd say we earned it," He told her as he bit into his treat.

The blonde woman stared down at the sticky roll in her hands, thinking. Then she placed it on her plate so she could use her hands to wheel herself over to me. "Here you go," She said lightly, offering up her roll. "The others tell me that you've been asleep for three days - you've gotta be hungry."

I took the roll and thanked her without thinking. Only when she wheeled back to the counter and took another roll did I take in our motley crew.

We had four animatronics, a convicted murderer with amnesia, and two eleven year old boys who were born with abilities that could control different aspects of the natural world. Chica, Roxy, and Bonnie chatted with mostly with each other; Valt and Sunny were the only ones that even went near Vanessa.

All of us could do and have done things no one else could.

And we were standing in the kitchen of one of the world's best kept secrets.

Anyone else would be flabbergasted at our situation.

As for me... I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt so at home.

I bit into my roll and moaned in pleasure as the cinnamon and sugar melted on my tongue. I swear... it had never tasted sweeter.

—————

7426 words.

So... it's going to be at least another chapter before I can publish my super special holiday chapter.

Sorry to make you guys wait! Just wanted to tie everything together for this goobers.