Begin Prompt in 3, 2, 1…

Buried Treasures

Prompt: Foxy hid the treasure and forgot where it was.

"...What?"

He knew that he had dug past the point where it would've been buried, and yet there was nothing there. Here he was, crouched in the dirt, hand and hook caked in soil, and nothing to show for it. He blinked, raising his eyepatch, and found nothing. Foxy was positively stumped.

"Are you sure it was here?" His brother peered over his shoulder curiously and stared down into the empty hole as well. "It could've been the other tree."

"No, no. It be this tree," Foxy insisted as he stood from the dirt. He looked up to the tree. "Right 'ere, under the ol' tire swing." The tire swing still hung there. It was full of water and the rope looked like it was dry rotting, not that either would try to use it. "Said it right on the map: x marks the spot under the swing."

"…The tire swing or the swing set?" his brother asked thoughtfully. Foxy answered with a long silence, suddenly realizing that he had no idea. "Maybe we should check there. The grass never grew back, so it would be an easy dig," his brother suggested before crossing the unkept lawn.

The backyard had grown into a tangled mess of weeds and yet somehow the marks from feet dragging on the grass remained. It wasn't as though anyone had used the swing set in years- it probably hadn't even been there for some time- but the dirt remained. Like scars left behind from wounds of the past.

Foxy caught up with his brother and knelt beside the spots that had been under the two swings. He dug through both and found nothing once again. He gave a frustrated sort of growl.

"Nobody found that map, Lad. Nobody could've found the box…" The fox rubbed his hand over his face wearily. "Maybe me mind be goin', but I knew it was under a swing. I remember it. Did it after it rained and the dirt was all soft. How'd I lose it?" Part of him worried that maybe he was remembering something that never happened.

"Hmm… Well, are you sure it was in the backyard?" his brother tried. "Remember there was that park just over that way that we used to walk by daily. Could you have put it there?"

"…Yes." Foxy suddenly perked and stood abruptly from the dirt. He turned and grabbed his brother by the shoulders, brightening up instantly. "Yes! That be it, Lad! I buried it over there so that purple bloater wouldn't go digging it up! It's all comin' back!" He then hurried around the house, leading the other by the arm.

"Foxy, wait! Someone might see us!" his brother warned as he tried to pull back. Yet Foxy kept dragging him by the wrist until they reached the sidewalk. He seemed determined to get to the park even though this had them walking right beside the road where anyone could see. "Foxy, I really don't think-!"

"Ya worry too much, Lad. It be the middle of the night and in this dead neighborhood. There ain't no one gonna see us!" Foxy reassured. He could already see the opening in the gate to the park. "Here we are! Wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I'd rather not answer that. It would only give you ideas," his brother flatly replied. This got a bellowing laugh from Foxy, but it was cut off as he saw the remains of the park. One swing was missing, the other just half broken, the slide was rusted, and it was as overgrown as the yard.

"Yar, tis be a shame. This place used ta have so many little tykes playin'… Prob'ly for the best." Considering how many children had gone missing in the area, it wasn't shocking that people would become more resistant to letting them play outside. It was a bittersweet thought: the children would be safe from harm, but they wouldn't know the carefree joy that they once had long ago. Things like the playground would be sacrificed for the greater good. To Foxy it was just another symbol of the childhood that both left behind and could never return to.

Still, he squatted down beside the swing that he believed was the proper one. He hesitated only long enough to brace himself for possible disappointment and then dug into the dirt. It wasn't long before his hook struck something hidden underneath. He nearly gasped in surprise and scrambled to dig up his treasure chest, which soon revealed itself as a shoebox secured with duct tape.

"This be it!" Foxy cried in joy. He looked down at the box for a moment, looked up at his brother, and then beckoned him to lower himself. His brother knelt in the grass beside him. "Buried this a long time ago. I meant to give it to ya, but after… Didn't work out." His brother sympathetically reached out to squeeze his arm and comfort him. "Er… Anyways, it be yers."

Foxy used his hook to cut the duct tape before handing it over. His brother took it carefully before slowly opening the box. His usually stoic expression shifted to surprise as he saw the 'treasure' that had been stowed away in the box. Instead of money, trinkets, or even photographs, there was just a single plush toy that had barely been squeezed into the box.

At first glance it looked deceptively like a normal Foxy plush that used to be sold at the pizzeria, but one look at the neck showed crude stitches circling it. It was then that the brother realized that this was his old Foxy doll, as it had been missing its head for some time. He hadn't seen the doll in years.

"It's- It's my old Foxy! I can't believe this, I was sure it was lost forever!" his brother trilled in delight. He hugged the doll to himself carefully as to not risk breaking the messy stitches. "Did you stitch him back together yourself?"

"Aye. Winged it, mostly. It was before I got me hook," Foxy explained. He perked for a moment as he noticed his brother's delight. Though that started to fade as he looked down at the old toy. Just seeing it brought too many memories back. "Just… Just wanted you ta have somethin' nice when ya came out o' the hospital. To show ya I loved ya…" Foxy lowered his head in shame. "And that I was sorry… For everything."

He had set everything up in preparation for his brother's release so long ago. He had buried the 'treasure' and drew up a map that led to it, arranging everything for an easy pirate-themed adventure. It would be the first step to becoming the big brother that he should've been for all those years. He would protect him, he would play with him, he would be good to him again.

But of course, he never did make it out of the hospital.

Foxy made a noise akin to a whine, which his younger brother noticed and got a sympathetic look. "Oh, Foxy…" He dropped the plush on his lap and eagerly took the pirate into a tight embrace. "It's perfect… And I love you too. You know I do."

Relieved, Foxy wrapped an arm back around the Puppet that was still his little brother. "Anything fer me first mate."

It didn't matter that they were no longer human. If the plush proved anything it was that even the most broken things could be put back together.