Well, t hankfully, Jeremy was fine physically. For emotionless robots that had until about an hour ago tried to kill him, the four animatronics were relieved.
The bad news was that he was also not fine.
Similar to the animatronic characters whenever they got "a bit sinister", Jeremy had black eyes and white dots for pupils. He hissed like a cat.
The four screeched in terror like the children would during the day if one of them showed up. Then Foxy yanked the door shut.
"ALRIGHT, WHO STOLE JEREMY?" Freddy yelled at them. Everyone looked at each other with worried gazes. "FINE. DEREK, PRESENT. RONNIE?"
"Present," Bonnie muttered.
"CHELSEA?"
Chica replied, "H-Here."
"LUKE?"
Foxy held up his hooked hand, which made a creaking noise that told Freddy he was there.
"WILLY?" Freddy called.
The back-up birthday banners rustled, as if an invisible force like a breeze had swept across the room.
Freddy called back, "I'LL TAKE THAT AS AN ANSWER."
"Sooo. . ." Bonnie asked, tapping together his fingers in a nervous matter. "Who's that?"
Chica gasped, "Purple Guy!"
The breeze rustled many more banners. Chica murmured an apology.
Foxy suggested, "It could be ol' Jack."
"The Marionette was flung into a wall," the deformed chicken warbled. "It can't be him."
Bonnie added, "He did look pretty hurt. . . I think Goldy dislodged a joint and cracked the mask. There's no way it can be him."
Foxy leaned into Bonnie's destroyed face, "Are ya SURE?"
Bonnie leaned back and nodded, pushing the fox's hook gently away.
Freddy answered, "The pirate's got a point. We aren't too sure Jack's not doing that. Aren't we able to think even when we're off?"
There was uncertainty in the trio's mumbling. Banging was heard on the door. They screeched again.
"Will Jeremy be okay, though? He looked bad!" Chica chattered. "We all know how not healthy ink eyes are. Like drugs! And he was breathing like it was impossible to get any air! Asthma!" She hyperventilated quite realistically for a bot.
Freddy cautiously creaked open the door. He whispered, "Jeremy?"
Silence.
Freddy let the door squeal open a little more. It had opened about ninety degrees when a figure came screaming out of the dark.
Jeremy was on top on the over-sized teddy bear of doom faster than you could say, "Pizza". Freddy forced him off like an owner would to a disobedient hound. Jeremy's eyes flickered, for a split-second very fearful, but became angry again as he sprinted off.
The three befuddled animatronics stood over Freddy as they watched the strange watchman disappear behind the corner.
"WHAT ARE YOU FOOLS DOING JUST STANDING THERE?" Fuming, Freddy cried out, "AFTER THEM."
The night watch made it around the pizzeria at least twice, constantly checking the front doors. It wasn't long before the animatronics figured out his pattern and cornered him.
"What's gotten into you?" Chica demanded.
Jeremy crossed his arms and faced in the other direction. That was where Freddy was.
"JEREMY," Freddy commanded. "Explanation, NOW."
Jeremy shook his head. He couldn't speak, anyway. . . right?
There was one thing he hadn't called for.
"BOO."
The night guard screeched inhumanely as a ventriloquist dummy of a fox swung down, stopping just before his face.
"HAHA. HAHA. HAHA. YOU. SHOULD. HAVE. SEEN. YOUR. FACE!" Mangle laughed.
Now it was quite obvious that something was fishy.
Foxy threatened, "Y'can talk, so spill the beans."
Jeremy sighed, This was not the way I originally planned this.
"JACK?" the group of four robotic critters said in shock.
Mangle was trying to silence her giggling head, curious to see where the guy's story went. It warbled more static, but she hit the thing once on the top of its head and it shut up.
Yes, it's fricking Jack. Can you please not call me that? For once? Jeremy, who was apparently possessed by The Marionette, complained.
"We will keep calling you Jack if you don't tell us what you're up to," Bonnie retorted.
Freedom, RON. FREEDOM. I want to be out of this mess and alive again, not a poor little soul who has no control over anything but the animatronics they've been forced to haunt. I can be free like this, DEREK, The Marionette said in two overlapping voices; his and Jeremy's.
Freddy grimaced, then added, "How can you be free, living with the guilt that the air you're breathing isn't even yours? How's that even working for you?"
HORRIBLE, he moaned. But knowing that you're slowly dying is better than actually feeling the eternal agony of death.
Foxy picked up The Marionette/Jeremy by the shirt. He went "Ow," several times. "Gi' back Jeremy right now. We can eas'ly kill ya."
The Marionette gave a sick smile. And wisk huwting ow' wiw' Jewemy? If you kill "me", he's guaranteed dead. Choose wisely! You don't have much time!
He was right; 5:56 AM. If it struck six, the animatronics would lock up and await to be wheeled to their destinations, and Jeremy would be stuck as a puppet of the puppet for as long as it pleased.
Chica suddenly tapped Freddy on the shoulder and whirred in animatronic. Being human, The Marionette couldn't decipher it anymore. It was just machinery clicking.
Freddy immediately lifted up a chair. "Well, if you decided to visit the Living like that, you're going out the same way."
The human's eyes flickered with fear before being hit with the chair.
Author: Yello'. So, I'm going to hopefully do one more chapter after this one if all goes well, with a bit of more formal AUTHOR'S NOTE, but I just want to thank you all for your support so far! You're all awesome!