Mable: A little late, but still Thursday somewhere! Ha ha… Kind of. XD Anyway, here we are again, and here I shall continue without delay. I hope you Enjoy!
Almost Feels Like Home
Chapter Thirteen
Where was her father?
She thought that he was just nearby, but now the diner was empty and she was standing alone. She looked towards the front door and through the wide windows at the pretty, sunny day outside. Maybe her father went outside. Maybe she just wanted to go outside and play in the park nearby. Swings and slides sounded like more fun than staying in an empty diner. She headed towards the front door and reached for it when suddenly she was stopped abruptly by a tug on her hair. She looked back to see that something had caught her lengthy ponytail. It became apparent that tugging at it wouldn't free her either.
The little girl then began to follow the rope of hair. She followed it with her hands as it wound around chairs and under tables, continuing to stretch further into the diner. It passed the stage, followed the tiled floor, and led into the back hallway. She didn't remember her hair being this long, nor as cold and slick as it felt underneath her hands. Finally, she looked up to find herself outside of a door to one of the back rooms. Without even thinking of it, she let herself inside, and…
There was a box.
It stood taller than her and was decorated liked a carefully wrapped birthday gift. Her hair followed along the floor, climbed the side of the box, and disappeared underneath the closed lid. As soon as she saw the box a strange sensation settled over her. Suddenly it wasn't the hair that made her step closer but some sort of other strange suggestion, one that she couldn't see that drew her towards the box. It was nearly hypnotic as she inched closer and reached up for the lid. There was a damp smell coming from the box as she opened it. A gust of earthy, musty air seemed to waft out as she raised herself onto her toes.
She pressed against the hair and peeked inside of the box. The space inside of the box was nothing back a black abyss… Except for two dots of light waiting inside. She started to lift the lid further-.
Out of the darkness, bursting out of the box, came a set of thick, yellowed hands made of moldy fabric. They clamped onto her wrists and yanked her into the box in a smooth motion as the pinpricks widened and brightened. She couldn't even scream before she was overtaken by the light.
Charlie awoke with a jolt and fumbled around in darkness before she remembered that she was still in the closet. Only then did she realize that she had been having a nightmare. She should've expected one and yet it still managed to catch her off-guard. With a weary ring, she fumbled with the closet door and opened it so that she could look out. She didn't want to go back to sleep both because of the risk of more bad dreams and because of how much she slept the day before. She didn't think she could stand being prone for another moment. Though she wasn't sure if she could stand again period.
She held onto some of the heavy boxes in the closet as she stood herself up once more. It still felt oddly floated and stilted, though not in an effective way, such as if she was actually floating. It looked like she would be struggling with walking a bit longer. She took a hesitant step out of the closet and held onto the door to keep her balance as she looked around. Apparently, this would be her bedroom for now on, or for however long she would be staying her.
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this… Maybe it's all the pink. At least it's not as pink in the closet." Charlie thought. She then was stuck with a new hesitation. "…What do I do now?" To Charlie, becoming an animatronic meant a lot of time standing prone, but that was because that was what she had seen of the existence of animatronics. They stood, they waited, and they performed, and it seemed like a dreary existence to someone who had so much beforehand. Yet on the other hand- she looked down and flexed her dark fingers- it certainly was… Interesting?
"Okay, I can't just stand here," she decided with a nod, ringing her prong's bell as she did. "Let's go get a better look at the rest of the house." She noticed that she felt surprisingly lighter standing upright compared to the day before. It was still like standing on stilts and her balance was still suffering, but she didn't have to hunch over as much as she was the day before. "So far so good…" She released the closet door and took a few careful steps to the end of the bed, where she grabbed her jacket off the foot. "Now the door."
It did occur to get that even if she had survived the attack from Dave that she would've been severely injured. Surely, she would've expected a long recovery period, and this was somewhat like that. If anything, this might had been quicker. Charlie made it to the bedroom door and slowly drew it open to stare down the hallway. She could hear talking from in the living room and quietly shut the door behind he and tried to not alert to her presence too quickly. Alas, that wasn't the case. Only a few moments after she had shut the door, Marionette appeared in the hallway alongside her, and she gave startled flinch as the Puppet smiled brilliantly at her.
"Good morning, Charlie!" he greeted in a chirp of delight. "We were just wondering about you. How are you feeling today?" 'Wondering about' was an understatement. Marionette had been virtually obsessing over how today was going to go after how 'well' the night before had gone. It was very possible that Charlie could've lapsed into depression, which would've been understandable after everything, so he was relieved to see her awake and willingly leaving the room.
"Feeling… Better? I think. I don't feel… right, but I feel solid," Charlie drew out as she absentmindedly tugged at her sleeves. The striped male chimed in delight.
"Your voice sounds better already! Only one day and speaking freely. You are your father's daughter, I suppose!" Marionette chuckled good naturedly and beckoned her towards the living room. Inwardly, he couldn't help but be even more relieved by all of this. All his worries seemed to slowly be melting away after a morning filled with nothing but worries. They entered the living room with Marionette moving smoothly as Charlie wobbled behind him at a slower pace. "Look, Mike, we have a third player joining us!"
"Rise and shine, Charlie. You're just in time to watch me get beheaded by Balloon Boy's deranged cousin, Scissor Lad," Mike greeted with a playful smile. He briefly looked over before returning to staring intently at the television, with a controller held tightly in his grasp. In comparison to the seemingly bright eyed and bushy tailed Marionette, Mike still looked half exhausted. His hair had a ruffled 'bedhead' look and he was slumped in a still weary way, with their cat sitting in his lap. Marionette trilled and moved to the back of the couch behind him, looking down at his companion with amusement.
It was about right now, as uncomfortable as it was to realize, that Charlie noticed how similar Mike was to John. She didn't know what was worse, the heat settling in her facial region or the pang of sadness in her chest. She was really wishing now that she had swallowed her pride and called him when she had the chance.
"Morning," Charlie quickly greeted as she managed to get to the armchair and collapsed in it. She shifted until she looked like she was sitting normally, even if she was partially slumped and had to prop herself with one arm. As she looked to the television, Marionette began to lightly fuss with Mike's hair, making sure not to start trying to sort it until the girl was looking away. Unfortunately, his light fiddling couldn't reverse the bedhead, but that didn't stop him from trying.
Only a few minutes later the phone began to ring, and Mike gave a defeated sigh. "I should get that, just in case it's the cops calling to tell me that they figured out I broke into the theater. Take over for me?" He offered the controller to Marionette, who eagerly rolled over the back of the couch and onto the seat. He smoothly took the controller, having anticipated this moment to eventually come. "I already checked the door on the right. There's a puzzle in there, but I need a key or something to unlock it," Mike forewarned as he stood and entered the kitchen. He answered the phone, "Hello, hello?"
"Hello, hello yourself!" Fritz answered over the phone. Even though sounding tired, he sounded surprisingly upbeat, and there was an excitement in his voice that Mike wouldn't have anticipated. "You're never going to believe what I managed to do last night." Before Mike could get the chance to ask, Fritz blurted out the point. "I broke Baby's programming!"
"…You broke it?" Mike asked in confusion. "Wait, like, you cracked it? You've got it figured out?"
"No, I literally broke it. I took Foxy's advice: I couldn't get rid of the programming, so I reprogrammed enough of the stuff that the programming can't follow through. I broke the mechanics of it all!" Fritz sounded proud of himself. It was something Mike seldom heard, but he was equally impressed. "It was like this-."
As Mike continued on the phone with Fritz, Marionette stopped listening in when he noticed that Charlie was showing mild interest in the game. At least she was watching the television screen. He decided to take the chance. "Would you like to play?" he offered. "It's not the easiest game, but I'm sure you would do well once you got the hang of it."
"I don't know if I can…" Charlie admitted. He thought for a moment that she meant because of her skill, but then noticed how her free hand shifted in place. She meant physically, so he was quick to insist.
"It would be good for you! Every little thing helps. You'd be surprised how quickly your hands will get used to the controls," Marionette insisted. He moved to the floor and inviting beckoned her over. Charlie was uncertain about whether to even try. This all seemed so odd and playing video games was the last thing she thought she would be capable of doing in this new body.
"Hurry. Mike wasn't joking about Scissor Lad. I'm not sure if he's only in certain rooms, but it seems like he appears wherever if you're still long enough," Marionette pointed out. He chimed in delight as Charlie stood, swayed, and then did an odd half-fall, half-lunge at the sofa, and barely managed to flop down beside him. He watched as she turned herself around, managing to manipulate her legs into a partial cross, and faced the television. He handed her the controller and pointed out the controls. She took a moment to affix her hands onto the controller before beginning.
Marionette couldn't help but be excited as he watched Charlie play the game. He just had to be patient and supportive; neither of which Goldie had been to him. He was going to do things differently that Goldie had.
Fritz wrapped up his explanation on Baby. "So, basically, I got some progress done… The only catch is that I'm sort of stuck here for the day. Natalie's really afraid that I'm overworking again, so I don't want to rush back over there and worry her."
"No, that makes sense," Mike agreed as he poured himself more coffee. "Just take the day off and spend some time with Nat, alright?"
"Well, you see, that's why I called you. I need someone to go to the warehouse and check on Baby. I thought she was doing great…" Fritz hesitated a moment. "So, I left her on."
Mike considered spitting his mouthful of coffee back into the mug. Deciding that would be a waste at the last moment, he gave a heavy swallow, stinging his throat in the process. "I'm sorry, but I thought you said that you left Baby on in the warehouse with the tools, the spare parts, and the computer," Mike remarked. "Which could very well be the worst mistake possible."
"It wasn't a mistake, it… It was a reward. Foxy said that fighting the programming wouldn't be possible without Baby's full cooperation. I thought that if I showed her some forms of perks after progress that it might make her more willing to cooperate," Fritz explained. "Baby was acting strangely friendly last night. I think, personality quirks aside, that she's actually lonely."
"I guess I could believe that…" Mike sent a look into the living room. A month of solitude had made Marionette desperate after Fredrick died, Foxy's time alone had made him unnaturally clingy, and Jeremy's Minireenas treated one day alone like it had been weeks without word; loneliness made animatronics act unstable. Mike's sympathy for Baby was rather shallow but considering his limited time with her- and not considering his time with Ennard dressed as Baby- Mike was willing to readily believe that he was too detached from the situation to cast judgement.
"Alright, I'll mention it to Mari and we'll go over there, but I'm not going alone," Mike firmly insisted. Of course, it wasn't until after he said this that he considered what they would do with Charlie. He hesitated a moment. "Anything else I should know before I go over there?"
"Mention ice cream and her claw should clamp up. Just make sure it's not on your throat when you do," Fritz pointed out.
"Gee, thanks." With that, Mike hung up. He then stepped to the back of the couch. "Mari, could you come in here for a second?" Marionette looked back and tilted his head in confusion, but then nodded and rose. As he started around the couch, Charlie seemed to suddenly notice, and spoke up.
"You don't have to leave to talk," Charlie pointed out. She looked back to the game, flatly accepting what she saw as a pitiful attempt to cover their intentions: to wander off and whisper about her. "Even if it's about me, I don't mind." The Puppet was prepared to defend, but he didn't have the chance.
"That's not it at all," Mike defended smoothly. He then pointed a thumb back into the kitchen. "We're just going to make out in the pantry and spare you being scarred for life." With that, he beckoned Marionette again and headed to the pantry that he then opened. The striped male followed quickly behind.
"Mike, you're putting ideas in her head," Marionette murmured. After all, Charlie had no idea about their relationship. He looked at the pantry, then Mike, then the pantry, and then his eyes widened, and his voice grew quiet. "Wait, were you actually intending for us to…?"
"Actually, I was looking to see if we had any spare cereal, but I'm game if you're looking to try something new." Mike flashed Marionette a wide smirk, to which the Puppet looked immediately flustered. Right after this though, Mike blinked and looked back to the pantry in confusion. "Is it just me, or is this pantry colder than the rest of the house?" He looked down at the floor almost questioningly, as it almost felt like the cool was coming from there.
"What was it Fritz said on the phone?" Marionette asked as he rubbed at his cheeks, as though trying to rub away the embarrassment with his fingertips.
"He asked me to go to the warehouse and check on Baby, who he let run rampant in the warehouse, and I'm not going without a comfortable buffer, which would be you." Mike couldn't help but return to amusement after the interaction before but sobered slightly as he sent a glance towards the living room. "I don't know what you want to do about Charlie though. I don't plan to be there long, but I don't exactly want to ditch her."
"Nor do I… Hmm… I'll mention it to her and see what she says. She already knows we're talking about her, so at this point we should just ask her." Marionette turned to do so when Mike started to close the door on them. "You're trapping me," Marionette flatly pointed out. He knew what Mike was doing. "You're trapping me and Charlie's ten feet away."
"Just a quick kiss on the cheek?" Mike 'innocently' asked. He was flashing that smirk again though, so Marionette had a suspicion that his request wasn't nearly as innocent as believed. It was still hard resisting. Marionette gave a mock exasperated sigh before tapping at his cheek in directing. The man leaned in and discreetly rested a hand on the animatronic's waist. This should've been yet another sign that he was planning something else, but it wasn't obvious until Mike's slow descent to Marionette's cheek was suddenly shifted. He dropped his head down and caught under Marionette's mask, kissing at his neck.
Marionette gave a soft gasp and chime of surprise, then a warble that he could not resist. Even though he knew Charlie was nearby he still found himself tempted to let it keep going. Yet right as he was going to tether his fingers in Mike's hair, holding him in place and moving them further into the pantry, Mike smoothly pulled back. That sly smirk was still there; he knew exactly how to get the Puppet riled. He knew how flustered he was when he gave that look of slight scolding, one that was marred with too much temptation and quite discomposed.
Charlie, meanwhile, could only imagine what they were whispering about her. She almost found it impossible to focus on the game. As much as she appreciated their affectionate behaviors and supportiveness, this was the closest they had gotten to treating her outright like a child, and she was none-too-pleased with it. Finally, she decided to do something and paused the game. She then climbed onto the couch, intending to peer over the back and call them out. Maybe then they would be surprised enough to treat her like a normal person.
Of course, she just happened to look over the back right as Mike had his mouth on Marionette's neck, and that ruined her plans.
"Whoa, okay, never mind." Charlie sunk back down the couch and onto the floor. She was half stunned, slightly disturbed, and rather confused about a few things that she would not bring up. "I think I'd rather not know."
Before either could notice her, or she hoped so, she turned on the game and returned to trying to lose herself in it. She wasn't entirely sure what she thought of Mike and Marionette like this, but she wasn't feeling up to thinking about it either. Humans and animatronics becoming romantic was a foreign boundary she wasn't yet ready to cross. Especially when it involved two people who she was now reliant on. It was only then that Marionette came to the living room to speak to Charlie. Both felt awkward and flustered for various reasons, all while Mike busied himself with looking for more cereal.
"Charlie, we have to brief step over to the warehouse," Marionette began. "Another animatronic named Baby has been getting help from Fritz in writing out some of her programming. He can't go see her and asked us to stop in and make sure she's… Comfortable…" He gave a weary sigh. "I won't lie to you; Baby can be a bit much. She's a bit abrasive and she virtually doesn't like anyone… She reminds me too much of my father."
"I'll be fine if you need to go," Charlie excused without thinking. Then when she did think about it, she came to a different conclusion. "Unless you're… Asking me to come?" She looked to him with growing interest. Her eyes even began to glow in small yellow dots, which she didn't seem to notice. "That… Seems like a bad idea… I'm probably not safe to be out there." Yet as hesitant as she sounded, that flare of light was still, signaling her interest.
"Would you like to come?" Marionette asked curiously. "Only Baby is going to be at the warehouse and there's a blanket in the car to use for cover." Honestly, the last thing he wanted was to take Charlie anywhere nearby Baby, but he was too thrilled by Charlie's own willingness to turn her down. "We don't have to be gone very long. There's not really much that one can do in a warehouse anyway, and Baby's liable to kick us out rather quickly." This seemed to start winning the Security Puppet over. "It's your choice."
"…Okay," Charlie agreed. She set the controller aside and started to push herself up. Marionette offered his hand, but she declined it. "I'm fine. I need to do this," she insisted. "It'll get easier."
"It'll get easier," Marionette echoed with assurance. He then looked back at Mike. "No cereal?"
"If nobody cares, I might go get something while we're out. Preferably after we get to the warehouse. The longer I don't have to be around Baby the better." He pretended that was a joke for Charlie's sake. Baby was someone who had to be seen to be believed. "Let's get this show on the road."
None of the neighbors were out, so Mike was able to get Charlie to the car, where she was covered up in the backseat while Marionette took to the floorboards. She didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or not. If anything, she sort of felt like a criminal on the run, but that wasn't exactly a terrible thing. It was still a step above 'stuck as an animatronic'. Still just the little bit of sunlight making it through the blanket felt like a relief and made the risk worth it. The ride wasn't long before Mike pulled into the warehouse's parking lot and stopped close to the doors.
Once both Puppets were in the warehouse, Mike headed in the direction of the office. "Let me go see where Baby is and make sure she's still sane." With that, he headed off towards the office. He had no doubt that Marionette was going to follow, but he wanted to make certain that Baby was still somewhat contained. The office door was closed, which was an unreadable sign since Mike knew Baby was capable of using doors and fitting through them. He opened the door slowly and started to lean into the office. It was pitch dark inside the room and he felt for the light switch. "Baby?"
There was no response and Mike flicked on the light. The office was empty and the animatronic was nowhere to be seen.
"She's not in there?" The voice right behind his ear caused Mike to give a startled shiver. Not quite a jump or a flinch, but some slight reaction of surprise. A black, fabric hand rested on his shoulder to ease him. "I doubt she would leave the warehouse. Baby isn't foolish and wouldn't go out in broad daylight."
"Was that revenge for the pantry?" Mike asked as he stepped into the office.
"…Yes." Marionette answered as he followed closely behind him. The office looked about the same as usual, with nothing out of place. The only thing he noticed, and he only noticed once he directly looked at it, was that the computer tower was on. He quirked a brow and turned on the monitor. To his slight surprise, the monitor booted up to show it open on a website depicting party supplies. "Looks like Baby learned how to use the computer. Unless Fritz was half asleep and forgot to turn the computer all the way off…" He squinted his eyes at the website. "Probably not. This isn't the supply company we use."
Before Marionette could consider it, he heard a thumping out from the warehouse. He headed out of the office in an instant, but whatever horror he was expecting he didn't find. The source of the noise was simply Charlie moving around boxes on the shelves. He approached and realized that she was looking into the box of security bracelets and cocked his head. She had to sit on the ground with the box to keep from totally collapsing and lifted one of the unlit, yellow bracelets. She only noticed him out of the corner of her eye when he hovered a little closer.
"These bracelets… There was a girl at the theater had one just like this, except it was green," Charlie revealed. She looked to Marionette inquisitively and held up the bracelet. "What are these?"
"Those would be security bracelets. When turned on, I can locate where it's signaling from. The only one currently working is the one that I gave to Chrissy, who must be who you mean…" Marionette kneeled down beside her. "She's a frequent visitor at the pizzeria. We're rather close and I hoped that if something happened… And it did… That I could use it to find her, which we did."
"She was okay?" Charlie asked in concern. "I broke her out of that guy's car right before it happened. I thought- he almost hit her. If he wouldn't have hit me then he would've hit her…" She dropped her arm limply and stared back into the box. Cautiously, Marionette reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. She was a bit more comfortable with his touch and made no attempt to pull away. Instead, she gave the smallest jingling noise and tried to think about the topic at hand. "But you're close?"
"Yes. Chrissy is, for lack of a better explanation, my favorite. She's the only child that knows I'm truly alive. She had a habit of riding her bicycle home and he was waiting in the parking lot… I wouldn't have reached her in time if it wasn't for you though." He looked to Charlie with an affectionately thankful smile, "Her life is in debt to you, as am I." Charlie felt a rising warmth in her chest. Perhaps something good did come out of her loss. It only felt like more of a victory when she managed to suppress ringing that wanted to come free.
Meanwhile, Marionette turned the bracelet over in his hand and looked over it. "Now even though you're a Security Puppet, I'm not sure if these would work on you. They might need to be set to a certain frequency." As soon as he had said that, Marionette suddenly had a stark memory of something else that could attract a puppet. He hesitated and contemplated whether it was worth caution her. It soon became clear that he needed to warn her. "If you ever see a black bear- it looks like a one eyed black Freddy- don't go anywhere near it."
Charlie's mask almost seemed to twitch in questioning. "Why not?"
"The bear can give off the same signals as the bracelets, so it is best to be careful. We're hoping the bear was destroyed, but I wouldn't want you to get blinded by it." Marionette then gave a more easy-going shrug, "The motto at Freddy's is 'If you go chasing rabbits, prepare to fall down a rabbit hole'. I suppose it works for bears too." He then chimed playfully. While Charlie was about to write the whole thing off, the mention of rabbits brought up uncomfortable thoughts of golden suits. Specifically, a golden rabbit suit, and a distant memory of her twin brother.
A wheeling, squeaking noise from behind interrupted any chance Charlie had to ask about the Bonnie suit. Dots of light appeared in Marionette's eyes as he stared ahead with a wary look. He didn't even have to look back. "Hello, Baby."
Charlie turned to look behind her and was taken aback by the mere sight of the third animatronic. It was nothing like the puppets' similar appearance; it was a broken hunk of scrap that might've resembled a female clown at some point. Now it was only a mess spilling wires and staring down with incomplete, glowing green eyes. It certainly was Baby, and her quiet approach only made Marionette feel less at ease. It didn't help that those green eyes were staring at Charlie so intently that they almost looked like they were looking through her. Charlie only managed to stand her ground by staring back and couldn't tell if it was out of defiance or dread.
The female clown then spoke, "How wonderful, you have a new doll to puppeteer." Her voice was soft, humanlike, and rather unnerving. It was much too appropriate.
"Good day, Baby," Marionette greeted with a slightly sour tone. The hostility was immediate between them, and the Puppet rose and faced the clown. "You look better," he forced out.
"I wish I could say the same to you, but you never change," Baby answered. He knew that she was being argumentative on purpose, but it would take more than pettiness to rile him. So, he answered with a chime of laughter.
"Don't feel obligated to," Marionette assured. Then his voice grew flatter as he simply stated, "I always look good." Hearing footsteps, he sent a glance back at the office, then looked back down at the Security Puppet. "And she is not a toy. Far from it, really. She is my friend and she has just recently taken her new form." He hoped that he didn't need to explain what he meant by that. Thankfully, Baby was insightful enough to pick it up and looked down at the Security Puppet again.
"You were one of the stolen children?" Baby asked directly. Marionette was surprised; how could Baby know about the kidnappings when she was shut down? Though he then realized that Fritz must have told her in passing. Either that or she was looking at more than just birthday supplies online.
"Not exactly, but close enough," Charlie dismissed as she finally looked down at the box. "I haven't been a child for a long time." It occurred to her that soon 'child' would be replaced with 'human'. That was a strange sort of feeling.
"And you have a name?" Baby pressed further. Her brief interest dropped into a more unenthused tone. "No, let me guess… Funtime Puppet?" She almost sounded smugly patronizing when she asked that. Charlie didn't get it, but she almost felt defensive as she straightened her back and looked back at the clown.
"My name's Charlie," she corrected the other female. "And I'm… I'm a Security Puppet… Whatever that's supposed to be."
"Oh, you still have your name." Baby's voice was telling; her interest was piqued again. This really wasn't a recently deceased child, but a female of an age closer to an adult, killed and stuck in a suit. Baby didn't know if it was a sadistic sort of pleasure from seeing an adult being struck down or if it was the fact that it was another female. The only other female animatronic Baby had met was sweet, soft-toned, simple-minded Ballora. Unlike Ballora, who stayed mostly passive until her betrayal, this one showed that she wasn't intimidated by Baby. She already liked Charlie more than Ballora, but that wasn't saying much.
"Fritz couldn't come in today, which is why we're here," Marionette said in a slightly friendlier way. He didn't want to fight with his sister and knew he was partially at fault, letting her empty words get to him and responding to them. Things were supposed to be different now, so he calmed himself down and tried another tactic. "He said that you were staying awake but was concerned that you would be confused when he didn't come in."
"I'll be fine," Baby insisted. She almost sounded offended by the suggestion. "Unlike you, I don't need to keep my human companions constantly within arm's length… Then again, I don't keep human toys either." This got a blank look from Marionette. "I suppose he's somewhere nearby, isn't he? I doubt you would come this far without him." Baby looked around the immediate area of the warehouse and then down towards the office. She spotted movement through the open door. "Oh, there he is. I'm surprised you let him get that far without fearing he would run off on you."
"…Well, Baby, this has been a pleasant visit!" Marionette began in a saccharine voice as he forced himself into his default smile, "but I think we should be going. As you said, you don't need someone watching over you, and we have other places to be." He turned towards the office, hesitated, and then turned his head back. "Mike and I, naturally." It sounded a little more bitter as he started slowly towards the office. He hesitated to wait for Charlie, who got the gesture and started to push herself off the floor. She again struggled to stand on her own legs.
"You have trouble walking by yourself…" Baby began innocently. Then her voice almost turned a little coarser, "There's a metaphor in there somewhere."
While Charlie only felt inwardly annoyed, it came out externally in a low tone, slowed down jingle. It certainly sounded like it portrayed the frustration that she couldn't as she followed Marionette. She forced herself upright and struggled with her balance; she wouldn't let Baby see her fall. Mike was still fiddling with the computer history when Marionette entered the office.
"Alright, we're leaving," the Puppet abruptly announced. "I think I've had enough fun with Baby. Let's go get you breakfast and…" He hesitated a moment as he considered how terrible this went. His first time bringing Charlie out and introducing her to another animatronic and she was on the receiving end of Baby's attitude. She deserved something better; all three of them did. There had to be a way to salvage this outing. He slowly started to get a creeping smile as he concocted a new plan. "And head to the pizzeria to see Foxy." Mike sent him a quizzical look. "He'll want to meet her anyways, and he's been alone over there."
"Really?" The security guard raised a brow before giving a casual shrug. "You're the boss. If I get breakfast out of it, I'm willing to drive you anywhere." He then turned the monitor back off, not caring to shut the entire computer down, and stood from the chair. "I don't want to alarm you, but Baby has an unhealthy obsession with party supplies. So, don't be freaked out if fifty boxes of cupcake printed wrapping paper pop up on the doorstep."
"They can come out of Fritz's salary," Marionette dismissively waved. Though he took Mike's word in that he didn't find anything else too suspicious. Baby could do what she liked if it kept her passive. It was now when Charlie appeared looking a little less eager than expected. The Puppet smiled at her and approached to explain his new plan. Shortly afterwards, they were leaving the warehouse once more, with Mike locking the front door behind them.
Baby was relieved to see them leave quickly. As it was, she had been skating on eggshells anticipating Fritz arriving at any time. Now that she knew he wouldn't be coming everything was perfect. Even if she had become accustomed to his company, she had her own things to deal with now, and they involved research without distraction. She returned to the office and turned the monitor back on. She looked over the images of party supplies for only a moment before she left the set of innocent images and found the map she had been looking at earlier.
A plan was already beginning to form, perhaps Marionette had unintentionally given her the final piece she needed.
Mable: Baby can now complete her dastardly plan of ordering an unbelievable amount of party supplies and opening a pizzeria in the warehouse. Good on you, Baby, our little entrepreneur. The next chapter will be posted next week, I hope you enjoyed!