The Protectors; Book 1

Breaking Point

Foxete's POV:

"Foxete! You aren't listening!" Bonnie screams at me.
"No! You aren't listening to me!" I roll my eyes.
"Fox, stand down." Keeva interferes.
"Stay out of this, Keeva!" I snap.
'He's using you. They don't care'
"Stop thinking you're better than me!" I yell.
"I'm your captian!" He yells back.
'He thinks he is more important than you!'
"Oh really?!" I yell.
'He thinks he is superior to you.'
"Yeah! You would be scrap without me!" He laughs.
'You are nothing to any of them.'
"Foxete, stand down." Acron pushes my shoulder back.
"Don't touch me!" My voice grows shrill.
"I'm simply implying that it looks a bit suspicious! That you keep disappearing!" Bonnie tries to lower his voice.
"What!? That you think I'm a traitor?! That you think I'd betray you?!" My voice cracks.
"Yes!" Bonnie yells, "You could very well be betraying us!"
I'm too shocked for words.
'They think you are working with Freddy.'
I can't speak.
"Nothing left to say?" Bonnie scoffs, "You finally realized how to keep quiet, huh?"
I can feel myself get chocked up.
I turn and leave.
"We didn't say you could leave this interrogation, Foxete." Bonnie states.
I turn and look at Acron. I wish he could read my mind at that moment.
You're the one who betrayed me.
    I think he understands because he sighs and smiles apologetically. I turn and leave without saying a word. I can hear Bonnie calling after me, but I couldn't care less. I walk into the med-bay. I take a deep breath.
"Hey Illoha?" I fake a upbeat tone, "You in here?" I ask.
"Yes!" I hear her call. I see new beds and equipment as soon as I walk in.
"Woah! What is this?" I laugh.
"Oh! Otso did it for me!" Illoha smiles.
Illoha's face drops when we make eye contact.
"What happened?" She asks.
Nothing." I smile.
"No, your eyes." She frowns, "They're sad."
"Bonnie." I sigh, "He was being a jerk."
"What did he do now." She scoffs.
"He thinks I'm working with Freddy." I look down.
"He what?" Illoha's voice grows very stern and serious.

Illoha's POV:

'Bonnie screws everything up.' A voice in my head says.
"Where is he?" I ask Foxete.
'He's the reason you lost Beema. Don't make him the reason you loose Foxete.'
"He's in the workshop." She says hesitantly.
"I'll be back." I scowl.

Bonnie's POV:

'There's a traitor on the ship Bonnie.' That stupid voice keeps telling me.
Leave me alone.
"Bonnie?!" I hear Illoha yell.
"Yes?" I sigh.
'She is here to argue.' The voice states.
"If you're here to argue, leave." I say bluntly.
Illoha stops right in front of me.
"You know, you have a serious problem." She laughs.
"Excuse me?" My voice drops to a growl.
"Yeah! You think Foxete is a traitor?" She asks in disbelief.
"I asked everyone." I sigh.
'Lying will only make her more angry.' The voice states.
"Not me."  She scoffs.
"Well, I trust you." I smile.
"Me, a girl you met 6 months ago over a girl you've known for over a year?" She asks.
"You aren't an ex-assassin." I snap at Illoha.
Foxete stares from the doorway.
'Now you've screwed it up.' The voice laughs.
I didn't mean it.

Foxete's POV:

"You aren't an ex-assassin." Bonnie snaps at Illoha.
"Bonnie?" I ask weakly.
"I-I didn't mean it." He stutters.
"Save it." I sigh, leaving the room, "We'll be at the Yizel's planet in a about 2 weeks."
I refuse to let my voice crack, to let myself show weakness. It was stupid to open up to him. Stupid to care.
"Foxete!" Illoha chases me down.
    I walk straight into the med-bay. Illoha follows behind me and grabs my hand. She immediately pulls me into a hug.
Nothing feels worse than a betrayal of a close friend.

Flashback to 5 months earlier

Freddy's POV:

    I wake up to Bonnie by my side. We're in our stupid Santa and Rudolf costumes. Foxete is sitting on the carousel in her human "security guard" costume. She pretends to do the day shift because the "Foxete" animatronic isn't legal anymore. Something about springlocks.
"Hey Fox!" I call out.
"Hey Fred." She smiles.
I walk off the stage and up to her. She's sketching what seems to be a little girl.
"That's really good!" I smile.
"Oh, thanks." She smiles back.
"Who is it?" I ask.
"My sister." Her smile turns sad.
"Sister?" I ask.
"From my life before I became an animatronic, like you guys, I had a life." She sighs.
"But we can't remember it." I sigh and sit down.
"You don't want to remember, Jeremy." She looks at me with her stern eyes, "I would rather forget it all. Ignorance is bliss."
She looks at the drawing.
"I love my sister, but if I had to forget her in order to forget my entire identity, I would." She frowns.
"You mean that?" Bonnie asks.
I didn't realize he woke up.
"I'm an ex-assassin." Her eyes become glossy, "Try to guess how I ended up here."
"You were scrapped." Bonnie says sadly.
"Nearly." She confirms, "I was trained to preform, then kill, then help people."
"Well, what do you want to do?" I ask her.
"Be free." She sighs.
"Would you want to go on an adventure?" Bonnie asks her.
She perks her head up, "Where to?"
"Space?" Bonnie laughs.
"You really are thinking about going?" I ask him.
Bonnie is always looking at star charts and peering into his telescope.
"Yes." Bonnie smiles, "I want to explore space."
"I'd go with you." Foxete smiles, "I'll always protect either of you, so it's obvious I should go."
"Really!?" He asks happily.
"Of course." She rolls her eyes.
"Oh that's great! I'll go prepare stuff and start building a rocket!" Bonnie grins excitedly, rushing off.
I stand up and look at her distraught.
"He would leave one way or another. We might as well support him." She sighs.
"You'll visit, right?" I ask.
"Of course." She turns herself back to an animatronic and stands up, "I'll always be there for both of you."
She hugs me. I close my eyes.

Present Tense

Freddy's POV:

I stand adjacent to the portal. The portal that won't let me in.
She'll be there for me.
She'll be back.
They'll call me when they can.
They'll be back for me.
She promised.

(1080 words)