Mechanical hearts (Foxy x Bonnie)

A Familiar Face

   The sound of children can be heard from the other side of the curtain, growing in volume as the overhead lights dim, and the band begins to get into the first song. Toy Foxy's energy seems to have rubbed off on me a little, because I find myself suddenly dreading the thought of being the center of attention. What song was I supposed to start with? Did Freddy need me to do something else before we started performing? Before I know it, it's my turn to sing.

    I remain frozen in place as the spotlight hits my face, and I find myself unable to do anything as hundreds of eyes bore into me. What is going on with me? Am I malfunctioning? Just as the kids start to look at each other in confusion, I hear a cavalier tune being played in the background by Bonnie. My stress level seems to go down a little as I notice that most eyes are now focused on him. 

Freddy looks like he is trying to get him to stop without breaking character, but Bonnie just continues to stare calmly at me as he plays a melody that sounds similar to how my sea shanty goes. For some reason this helps break me out of my trance, and suddenly I'm able to sing along with his melody. I give him a small salute as I continue on, and he flashes a peace sign to me behind his guitar as he gradually lets me take over. Your a lifesaver Bonnie, I don't know what I would do without you.

  After I'm done with my part, the curtains close, and I'm once again out of view from everyone. I put my arms over my head as I take a deep breath to cool my nerves. Freddy is going to put me through the ringer for that one, but I'll worry about that later. I pace around in the darkness for a bit before looking past the curtain at the crowd. It's a lot busier than usual. I guess this place is located in a bigger town.

   I'm about to head to my room since I have plenty of time before my next part happens, but something catches my eye. It's the yellow animatronic that Bonnie was talking about earlier. I could have sworn that he said that it was an old prototype, but it's movement is more fluid than even the toy animatronics. How is that possible? I then notice that he is pulling a kid along with him as they cross the room.

   Something is wrong with this picture. We are programmed to be limited on how we interact with kids. Grabbing a child by the hand or wrist is not allowed because of how easy it would be to injure them. The pieces start to click as I recall the conversation from earlier, and I'm disturbed by the answer. That isn't a real animatronic. 

   As soon as our performance comes to an end, I immediately dash to the backstage area while ignoring Freddy's attempts to get my attention. I barge through the door where I saw the pair enter through, trying to think of where they could have gone while speed walking down the empty corridor. Did they go outside? Please don't let this be an abduction. Please just let this be a huge misunderstanding. The lights become dimmer as I progress down the corridor, and a chill goes through me as I stop at the sound of a man muttering incoherently behind the door to my right. The sign designates this as the parts & service room.

   Being careful to not make any sound, I slowly crack the door open, and freeze at the horrible sight behind it. The man has his back turned towards me as he cleans his hands with a heavily stained towel. At his feet is a spare animatronic suit covered in blood, with brown hair sticking out of neck area below of the mask. He suddenly raises his head as if sensing I was there, and I quickly move out of his line of sight. Not knowing what else to do, I hide in the nearby broom closet. I remain still as possible as I wait quietly for what seems like hours.

 Finally losing patience, I open the door and step back out. There is no one around. It smells strongly of bleach, and when I try to open the door to the room, I find that it is now locked. I'm startled to see a tall man suddenly standing right beside me "You need something sport?" I'm left speechless as I realize who the strange man was the whole time.

 "Mr. Afton?" I ask meekly. "Don't wear it out" he replies with a smile that doesn't meet his eyes. "were you needing a repair of some kind? Jeremy's out at the moment, but  just because I'm a business man now doesn't mean I'm above getting my hands dirty." He holds his hands out as he says this, and I notice that he still has some dried blood around his cuticles. I think I'm going to vomit. "No thank you sir, F...Freddy asked me to grab some cleaner, but I don't mind getting it from somewhere else." I say, trying my best to hide my real emotions. "There's a good lad!" He pats me roughly on the head, and sends me on my way. I can't articulate a single thought as I go back the way I came.

   I manage to hold it together until I make it back to my room, then let myself fall apart as I lean against the wall and slide to the ground. This is exactly what happened in my dream, I can remember it now. The room with the empty heads, the sound of a child crying in pain... everything. I could have stopped it from happening. There were so many things I could have done to help. I was given a chance, and I wasted it. I hug my legs to my chest and quietly sob on the ground, hating myself for letting the kid die. There is a loud knock, and I flinch as the door suddenly swings open. Freddy appears from behind it, the frustrated look on his face disappearing as his eyes land on me. He becomes uncharacteristically awkward as he approaches.

 "Hey buddy, it's ok. Everyone has their off day every once in a while."

 "No, it's not that Freddy. There's something important I have to tell you." I say as I quickly push myself up into a sitting position.

 "What is it?" He asks with an unreadable expression.

   I bite my lip as I realize that what I'm about to say will sound completely crazy. He's not going to believe a single word of it, not without some kind of proof. But what is there to prove that my story is legitimate? William is going to get rid of anything that leads to him. The cameras would have recorded him leading the child to the room, but I have to act fast before he gets somebody to delete the footage. I need solid evidence before I'm allowed access to the camera system. He may have covered his tracks, but he still has to do something with that suit he was wearing. He can't leave it in that room when the child is discovered, because then the police could trace it back to him. He is going to get rid of it discreetly. But how?  

 "Foxy! What's the matter with you?" Freddy asks impatiently while snapping his finger in my face

 "Sorry, I lost track of what I was trying to... " I trail off

"You stared at me for a minute straight without saying anything. We need to have you looked over by a technician"

 "No, I'm fine. Honestly."

  "I can't afford to have any defective performers in my band. This isn't an option"

  "Please Freddy, they'll wipe my memory again."

  "If that's what it takes to fix you, then it's for your own good. Do you have any idea how close we are to being replaced?  They have been looking for a good excuse to get rid of us, and you've been giving them plenty of reasons to do so.  If you think I'm going to let you ruin this for everybody, then you are dead wrong!" He yells while striking his fist into the wall above my head.

     The door slams loudly as he leaves, and I'm left alone with my disorganized thoughts. I try to come up with some kind of plan, but I keep having to backtrack due to all of the factors that are working against me. I hear another knock at the door, this time sounding softer and less urgent. Unlike Freddy, they wait until I give them permission to come in. I secretly hope that it's Bonnie, but it turns out to be Toy Foxy. I can tell that she overheard some of the things that were said with the sympathetic look on her face, however I don't really care at this point. There isn't a chance that I'll be able to convince her of what happened, but right now I need someone to help me with what I'm about to do. I remain silent for a while before speaking.

  "Can I ask you a favor?" I ask while avoiding looking directly at her

  "Of course! I owe you for covering for me today." she says cheerfully

  "I'm not going to make you do anything that might put you in danger. All I ask of you is to be my eyes for the next few hours. There is something I have to take care of tonight."