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Stepping Out Part 2: Achievements in Violations of Common Sense

As soon as the door started to slide open, Mike could feel an intense feeling of terror flare up within him, despite his best efforts to stymie it. Turned out it didn't really matter anyway; a quick press of the light switch revealed that the rabbit had already left. And yet within the intense relief Mike could feel a great deal of sadness as well. Why couldn't he have opened the door sooner? Surely Bonnie or someone else would be back in due time, but by then who knew what Mike would have decided to do? Just this first try took every ounce of courage he had. Would he have enough to try again if the opportunity arose?

Damn it, that couldn't happen. He wanted this, more than anything in the world right now. And if he couldn't afford to wait for them to come back, then he just wouldn't wait.

So for the first time ever, Mike stood up from his chair, unplugged the fan, and after only a brief moment of trepidation, flicked the light switch off. The ensuing darkness was suffocating, and the small size of the room certainly didn't help, so the guard forced himself to breathe deeply to ease the fear. He was really putting his life on the line, he knew that... but then again, he was more than used to that.

Then, Mike Schmidt lunged out the door and into the West Hall.

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Within seconds, Mike had another realization; the West Hall? No less dark.

Only then did Mike really start to feel scared. Actually, by that point he was well beyond 'scared' and careening through 'petrified.' His legs gave out and dropped him onto the ground as his imagination ran wild. Was he alone? Where were the animatronics? Around the corner? Right behind him? Every sound and sensation, no matter how small, produced a cacophony of nightmarish thoughts.

Desperately, Mike closed his eyes tightly and tried to block his ears, but it didn't stop the terror. He was vaguely aware of tears splashing down his face as he curled up into himself as far he could. This was a mistake, a ridiculous, colossal mistake. To think he could leave the booth and see the others! He wouldn't even see the light of day, he was certain. They'd find him, no doubt, and then they'd pick him up and cram him into a suit just like the guy before him! He'd finally be-

“Hey.”

He was sobbing so loudly that he didn't even hear the voice at first.

“I said hey!”

Okay, that was definitely something. Mike could feel his tears stem slightly, fear replaced by confusion. Who was talking? Was there another human hiding out here or something? He was still too scared to look up, but maybe they'd introduce themsel-

“LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!”

Mike was so startled by the outburst that he reared up and accidentally flipped himself over onto his back. Now he that he was staring straight up, he could see a pair of glowing white eyes, narrowed into angry slits. Animatronic eyes, no doubt. But whose voice was that? It seemed kinda familiar...

Then it clicked.

“...Bonnie?” Mike gasped out.

Mike heard a sighing sound, followed by some quiet muttering. “Can't believe we couldn't catch this kid... yes, it's Bonnie.” Mike could feel himself calming down quickly now. He'd spoken with Bonnie a couple times before, and honestly he'd come across as rather gruff, at least in Mike's eyes. Mike wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but he was fairly certain that the bunny wouldn't try anything dangerous.

“What the hell you doing here, Mike?” Bonnie continued, pulling Mike back into the present. “D'you really think you could just walk out of the booth?”

“...Kinda yeah,” Mike replied weakly.

Bonnie stared at him for a minute or two before speaking. “Alright, on your feet. Take my hand.”

“...I can't see it.”

Bonnie swore under his breath. “Look, just get up. I don't wanna talk to you while you're lying down like that. It's weird.”

Mike sighed and slowly rose to his feet. His first impression of the rabbit had been completely spot on. But at least he wasn't in any real danger, at least for the moment.

“Now let's hear some answers. Why'd you try to waltz on out of here?” Bonnie inquired. Mike couldn't see anything but Bonnie's glowing eyes, but he imagined that the rabbit had his arms crossed over his chest like a bouncer, ready to get physical if necessary.

After a delay, Mike sighed. “Look, I'd really rather not do this out here. Can we go back to the booth?”

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“Alright, lemme see if I've got this straight,” Bonnie sighed, pinching the bridge of his snout. “You thought it'd be a good idea to get out of here and see if we wanted to hang out with you?”

Mike nodded and looked up at the rabbit from his seat in the booth. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“...Why?”

Mike groaned uncomfortably. “I've been bored. Six hours a night in this tiny room? For the past two weeks? At least during the first week I had to deal with you guys. Now I'm just sitting in here talking to myself, and honestly I think I'm starting to talk back.”

Bonnie had to give Mike that much. It was amazing just how skilled the human had become at keeping the four animatronics out in such a short time period, threats to his life notwithstanding. Even Freddy admitted that the boy was just too good.

But was this even in the rules? Every guard up until now had stayed put in this room until six o'clock sharp. Admittedly, they'd all been endos (for some reason), but did that mean that they couldn't leave, or that they wouldn't? Mike, on the other hand, was human, and Bonnie wasn't sure whether that changed anything for him or not.

Bonnie didn't want to do anything that could get Mike fired; he liked the guy, and so did the others. Maybe that was why they devoted so much time to screwing with him. It was a paradox, and whatever the reason the train of thought made Bonnie's processor ache, so he moved on.

“Mike, you know you're supposed to guard this place, right?” Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow. “What if something – or someone – gets in when you're out with us?”

For a moment, Mike couldn't find an answer, but as his eyes trailed downward it came to him. “I'll use my laptop!” On seeing Bonnie's confused look, he held up the device. “It lets me see through the cameras. As long as I look through it every now and then it should be fine, right?”

“Yeah, I guess...” Bonnie trailed off. The metal rabbit couldn't explain it, but he felt an intense conflict at the thought of getting Mike out of his usual booth. On one hand, he loved the idea of Mike joining the little circle of companions that the animatronics all formed, and he was certain the others would feel the same. But still, Bonnie couldn't help but feel some part of him rebel against the idea. Was that his programming? And if it was, how was he rebelling against it?

And most importantly, what should he choose?