Mable: Hello and happy late Thanksgiving! I planned on posting yesterday, but family arrangements did me in, so here we are a day off. Nothing too unusual. XD Anyway, I hope you Enjoy!

Almost Feels Like Home

Chapter Twenty-Five

Employee meetings weren't common at Foxy's. Usually if there was an issue or idea it was just blurted out in a less than planned fashion among whoever was standing in the area. The only time there was a formal meeting was when something big needed to be planned in advance. Fritz had pulled Mike and Jeremy into the office twice over the last month to discuss expanding the pizzeria. Both times went about the same, with them briefly crunching numbers and nothing coming out of it.

This time was a little different. Fritz seemed more excitable than usual, which seemed to mean that he had an idea that he couldn't wait to throw onto the table. He was nearly pacing as he waited for Mike to sit behind the desk and Jeremy on the sofa. "I've been looking over our profits for the last couple of weeks. I think we can agree that since we've reopened- since the incident with Dave- business has been booming," Fritz led in. The other two agreed with this. "For, what, two or three weeks we had the place packed. So packed that we were probably turning away costumers because of it."

"When was the last time I had to restock the Prize Corner during service?" Mike asked in an answer. "Packed is an understatement. We were swarmed."

"I think we can all agree that if we're going to keep pulling in that amount of business, then we need to expand at least a little bit. We need at least more arcade cabinets, a second oven, maybe even another animatronic to take the load off Foxy," Fritz pointed out. "At this rate, Mari probably needs his own stage and then we could get someone to part-time watch the Prize Corner."

"I'm not sure how well that's going to go," Mike interrupted skeptically. "Ticket exchange is pretty much what Mari does and he does it way faster than anyone else would. Not to mention that he's not going to like a stranger in there."

"Then why don't you just do it? You'd have a view of whose coming through the door and you already have experience in the Prize Corner since you're in there touching the merchandise all the time already." It baffled Mike how Fritz could say that with a completely straight face. "The point is, we need to expand now while we can. Summer is our peak season and winter would be the best time for us to shut down for expansion."

"I totally agree, but expanding takes a lot of money," Jeremy pointed out. "And business has been great, I'm not saying it hasn't, but I don't know… It just doesn't seem like enough."

"It's not… But it could be." Fritz grabbed a notepad off the desk and flipped to a page that looked like nothing but number scribbles and calculations. "If we kept up the business that we had after Magictime Theater closed and threw in a couple of extra gigs outside the business, then we could be looking towards beginning the expansion in only a couple of weeks. We would be set." Fritz paused for emphasis, looking between Jeremy's shock and Mike's interest. "…Except there's a catch."

"There usually is," Mike muttered, any hopes deflating quickly. "What is it, faulty wiring? Bad gas line?"

"We're not packed anymore," Fritz pointed out. "This week we've still made a profit, but it's nothing like our last few weeks."

"Maybe it's just a slowdown. We can't expect every week to bring in more or else we'd be making, I don't know, twenty-thousand a week," Jeremy added.

"I'd kill for twenty-thousand a week," Mike muttered. "I'm lucky if I find a dollar in change dropped on the arcade floor at the end of the day."

"I know, but we can't pretend that Magictime wasn't amazing publicity for us. Missing kids and a dead ex-Freddy employee or not," Fritz pointed out, gesturing to the notepad as though it backed him up. "We need that publicity, so I have a plan."

"-We frame another business and use the attention to pay for a renovation," Mike interrupted. He was obviously joking, but the look Jeremy gave him almost looked like he thought he was serious. Considering what Fritz was saying about the increased income over the last few weeks, Mike almost was. It couldn't be that hard to stage something, especially what Marionette could unlock doors and Foxy hated competition…

"Close! I was thinking that it's about time we had a commercial for Foxy's. I called around and I think we can do it. We might even be able to get it to air in some of the counties around us… If there's anything there other than desert." Fritz flipped through the pad once more. "I even started on a list of reasons this would be a good idea."

"Don't bother, I agree with you," Mike broke in. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "All we have now is flyers, word of mouth, and hand of God catastrophes putting this place's name out there. We need a commercial. Getting ourselves on TV without being connected to a murder is the only way to go."

"Good, because apparently I didn't finish the list. It just says 'money'."

"That's convincing enough," Jeremy said with amusement. "Who's going to argue with money?"

"Okay, then that's it! Maybe we'll do this on Wednesday? I'll get a video camera in here, I'll get someone to help edit the video- maybe Scott knows where to go on that- and…" He trailed off and looked towards Mike. Mike raised a brow questioningly as the technician cleared his throat. "We probably need to start looking into who would do the expansion work… You wouldn't mind calling Glenn, would you? Their renovation at Chipper's was quick."

"Sure, but any reason why you don't want to call Glenn?" Mike inquired, noticing the other's behavior. Fritz rubbed the back of his neck hesitantly.

"I don't know, I just don't want be the one reaching out to him… Everything's really awkward when we talk and he's going to think that I'm fishing for a hand out, which I'm not!" He gave the other man an awkward smile. "You're direct and even if you weren't you don't get intimidated by him, so it would be best if you asked him." There was a pause. "Besides, Burke might be tapping my phone line and I'd rather pretend I don't have connections to Glenn."

"Fair enough. I'll call him later and ask," Mike agreed. With that the 'meeting' pretty much devolved into discussing merchandise and the menu. Normal things that in and of themselves were more anecdotes then actual plans for the business. The plan was made, and life went on.

On Wednesday, Fritz managed to get the camcorder as he had planned. Mike and Jeremy brought themselves back to the closed Pizzeria and everything was ready to begin. Alas, nobody knew what they were doing.

"I think we need more lights on. This thing makes everything look like a dungeon," Mike remarked as he steered the camera around the pizzeria. He finally aimed at the Prize Corner. "Hey, Mari! Come out so we can see if this thing's going to pick you up!" The moment the Puppet came into view, the camcorder was overcome by static and warped visuals. "You're going to have to tone it down a little. You're not coming through."

Marionette attempted to relax his body more. It was just natural to distort any watching cameras, so he had to go out of his way to force the reaction down. "Any better?"

"I see a black blob that vaguely looks like you," Mike answered. After a few moments the footage started to clear up until it was back to normal. "Alright, we're good," he announced, making an 'okay' motion with his hand. He then turned to the stage where Foxy stood attentively. Unlike his sibling, there wasn't any static from Foxy's shot. The captain noticed the camera and perked, ears lifting and yellow eyes focusing in, looking more like a predator than a pirate. Mike was quick to call over, "You're going to have to tone it down too, Captain. I know cameras are a touchy subject, but you're looking at it like you're about to put your hook through something."

"Nah, Schmidt. That just be always how I look at ya," Foxy quipped back with the slightest touch of a smirk. As much as an animatronic fox could smirk. Then he turned towards Fritz and Jeremy, who were moving a table to the side to give more room. "So, what's the plan? Do we get a script er we just go on gut?"

"Actually, I was thinking we could just get some shots of things and then splice them together. Any script is going to be really corny," Fritz pointed out. "Anyone remember, 'Pizza is a bear's best friend?'"

"Oh wow, I do. That brings up so many terrible, awkward memories," Jeremy quipped with a snicker. He started to do a mock sort of dance of shuffling, little kicks, and tiny punching motions. "We got the pizza and pizza's a bear's best friend~" He then looked over and noticed the camcorder pointing on him. His face flushed, and he stuttered, "You- uh- You didn't record that, right?"

"Wrong." Jeremy's eyes widened, and the redness overtook his face. "Relax, this isn't going in the commercial. This is just for future blackmail."

"I'll take a copy," Foxy volunteered with the raise of his hand. Jeremy looked like he was about to die of embarrassment and Fritz snickered.

"If it's any consolation, Jere, it looked way better when you did it when Freddy Fazbear did. Or whatever poor soul was inside that suit," Fritz said. At this, Foxy perked again and looked to Marionette.

"I bet it be Dad. He's the only one who gets his kicks dressin' up in bears and bunnies." Foxy said it so straight-faced that Mike had trouble keeping his own straight face together. Marionette's reaction was a more subdued quizzical look, followed by a light chime of amusement. It was now that Mike aimed the camcorder back on him and he froze up for a moment and then relaxed once more.

"Watch what you record, Mr. Schmidt," he playfully warned. "You might catch me out of character."

"With your anti-paparazzi programming? There's no way," Mike quipped with a smirk. "I just was thinking that maybe we should get some footage from the Prize Corner. Maybe get you coming out of your box and then just all the stuff they can blow their tickets on." This got another chime, but it was clear that the striped one was somewhat excited by the idea. He beckoned the security guard and entered the Prize Corner.

As they did, Foxy hopped down from the stage and crossed over to the two humans. He crept up behind Jeremy who was between melting from embarrassment and trying to move the table again. He turned to see Foxy nearly peeking over his shoulder and the two stared at one another for a moment.

"I'll move that fer ya, Lad…" Foxy murmured. "…But only if ya finish the dance." With the following laughter, Jeremy had a horrible feeling he wouldn't live that single moment down. This was all but confirmed when Foxy continued the song and dance. "Come down ta Freddy's an' eat like a bear!~"

In the Prize Corner, Mike turned on the overhead lights as Marionette slid into the box. The security guard stood in the center of the room and aimed the camcorder towards said box. "Now just pop out like normal." He assumed he would get some form of a warning, but as soon as he finished the sentence the Puppet's upper half burst from the box, arms splayed and a beaming smile on his masked face. He paused like that, waiting for a reaction.

"…Hold on, I don't think you were all the way in view." Marionette dropped his arms limply; this wasn't the reaction he had hoped for. "Let's try this again with me back a little bit," Mike instructed as he backed up. He silently counted down on one hand and then pointed to the animatronic, signaling him to go ahead. Marionette slipped back into the box, paused a moment, and then burst out once more. Again, he splayed his arms and beamed at the camcorder, then paused and waited, and there was a long, silent pause.

"One more time, but a little slower." For a moment Marionette wondered if Mike was purposely being difficult. If so, two could play that game. With a blank look, he slid back into the box. After a few moments he raised out of the box again. Not popping out, no splaying arms, but slowly raising himself up with his strings.

He then stared at the security guard for a full five seconds, and then flatly asked, "Was that slow enough?"

"No, that was definitely too fast. I actually caught movement," Mike quipped back. "Alright, alright, I get the picture." He looked around the Prize Corner and trying to imagine the best plan. "Let's get one of those little spins you do." The Puppet did as he was asked. "…I didn't mean in the box," Mike flatly said. Though this turned to confusion quickly, "How'd you do that kneeling?"

"Would you believe magic?" Marionette joked with a chime. He then reached into his box and lifted out two handfuls of tickets. "How about all of the tickets and me? I think seeing how many tickets they can win might encourage them!"

"Until they realize that many would only get them a vaguely Foxy looking eraser and nothing else," Mike pointed out. This roused another chime and the human took the time to record him.

"Honestly, you're lucky, Mike. Anyone else and I might be offended by their cracks against my Prize Corner," Marionette murmured as he climbed back out of the box. "Now where do you want me?"

"Out in the dining room. Maybe in front of the Minireena's stage. There's enough room there to get you without getting chairs and tables in the shot." He paused until Marionette was about to pass and then added. "And then I'll need to get a cut of you holding up today's newspaper and saying you're here by your own will."

Marionette laughed again before turning to shoot Mike another smile. "I'm not up to lying today, actually. Though I am prepared to indulge your very specific vision."

"Just because Foxy's head is above the door doesn't mean everyone isn't coming for you. I want you to look good… Not that it'll take too much work," Mike added in. This got a trill as Marionette turned to face his companion and floated backwards into place. The Puppet attached his strings to the track and then spun for the camcorder. He moved slower than usual and turned smoothly, gracefully, showing off for the impending audience. Usually he wasn't fond of it, but as long as he could fool himself into believing that this was for Mike and not the camera, then he could handle it. He twisted and turned in a sort of dance, starting to become more comfortable.

Only to stop short when he noticed a car pulling into the parking lot. Marionette hesitated and looked back out the window before recognizing the young man coming out of the driver's seat. He would recognize that red hair anywhere.

"He's back, Mike," Marionette warned. The security guard's head snapped over, hoping to everything that it wasn't the detective, which it wasn't. Though it wasn't much better, being his son. "I'll be in the Prize Corner," Marionette added and vanished before anyone in the car could notice him. Mike continued watching and noticed two young women step out as well.

"Head's up, Foxy! We've got company!" he called back in warning. It was then that he noticed a fourth person step out of the car and recognized the younger boy as Jason. "I'll be damned, they're in cahoots."

"Is it Louise?" Tabby called back out as she leaned out of the kitchen. She passed a pepperoni pizza to Fritz who set it down on a table. Tabby had come in to make a mostly fresh pizza with as few frozen parts as possible to be displayed in the commercial. Though this could've been easy enough for any of the other workers, it seemed like she had mostly come to have something to do. Or perhaps to stand in just in case they needed a fourth person, since Natalie hadn't been able to come in due to a lengthy dental appointment. "She's not supposed to be here yet."

"It's not her. It's that detective's son back for round two," Mike recited as he watched the four approach the door. His teeth slightly clenched and he tried not to seem as unnerved as he was. Tabby frowned and disappeared into the kitchen again, probably thinking that the detective was with him. "Jason's here too."

Foxy's ears perked at that name and he turned to flee but was cut off by the door opening. He glanced over at Jeremy and made eyeing motions towards the stage. Jeremy understood and took his arm. "A-Alright, I'm going to walk Foxy onto the stage now, Fritz. We'll just record up there now, okay?" He looked back to wink at Fritz and found him halfway through a slice of pizza. "…Isn't that for the commercial?"

"The commercial will survive with a piece missing," Fritz defended as he continued devouring the piece in his stress. This got a weird look from the other security guard before he continued moving Foxy away. With the three of them being off to the side, Mike was stuck confronting the young man and his friends alone. Not that he was afraid of them- if anything, he was much more scared of Jason than the detective, considering how well he kept it together at the theater.

"Hey, I'm back! You said to come back sometimes, so here I am. I waited until a day off, so we wouldn't be pushing past kids," the young man began. He sounded awkward and he had the smile of someone who had broken into Foxy's before.

"Uh huh," Mike answered unenthused. He glanced back at the other three. One of the girls he recognized from the funeral, so he assumed the other was also a friend of Charlie's. "I'll ignore the fact that you brought your posse and move on to: how'd you know we would be here on our day off?" Mike inquired as he crossed his arms. He raised a questioning brow as the younger rubbed the back of his neck.

"I know what you're thinking and no. I called before I came," he assured.

"He called?" Mike asked as he looked back towards Fritz and Jeremy.

"I called and hung up," the younger assured. Mike looked back with a suspicious look and was rewarded with another lopsided smile. "That woman that was fighting with my dad answered and I just panicked."

"Got it. I'm up to speed." At least this was believable. After that scare on Halloween, even Mike had given Tabby wary looks for a couple of days. "So, you want to see the bots. We have Foxy out, but the Minireenas aren't on stage, so you'll have to wait on them. We're recording a commercial and the little ones pretty much have a mind of their own." There was an uneasy silence. "You could at least humor me, kids."

"Actually, we were hoping we could see the Puppet," the detective's son slowly voices out before pointing a thumb in the direction of the Prize Corner. Mike stared at them blankly. "I kind of saw it when I was here, and I wanted to show it to the guys… Girls… And Jason." This all seemed very sketchy and Mike glanced down towards the younger boy.

"Hey, Jason," he greeted, a bit softer than his exasperation with the detective's son. He decided not to bring up that he noticed him visiting over the last weeks. "How's it going?"

"It's alright," Jason said with a dismissive shrug. "Can we see the Puppet?"

"Sure, he's right there in his box. No flash photography and no poking the Puppet. I'll be checking his mask for fingerprints, so don't even try pulling a fast one either," Mike listed out. The detective's son, Jason, and the other girl headed inside. The girl he recognized approached hesitantly and started to go in last when he stopped her.

"You're Jessica, right?" She looked to him with slight surprise and agreed. "I remember you from the funeral," Mike explained, becoming more sympathetic. Specifically, he remembered her from Charlie mentioning her. "How are you holding up?"

"To tell you the truth… Not too well," Jessica admitted. She seemed hesitant- probably because he was virtually a stranger- but she was perhaps so overwhelmed by her feelings that she allowed herself to vent. "It feels like the funeral was yesterday." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "And now it's been days, weeks, and it still doesn't feel real. She should be here, but she's not."

"I know how you feel. You see all these people who've moved past crying, but you're still not even there because you're waiting for them to come back home." He doubted he was helping and reigned himself in, clearing his throat. "But, you know, everyone deals with it differently."

"No, I understand," Jessica agreed as she turned her head and raised a hand to her face. It was obvious that she was trying to shield that she was tearing up. Exhaling patiently, Mike reached out, pausing a moment to make sure he wasn't out of line, and then patted her on the upper back. For a moment he stood there with the grieving young woman and could only hope Marionette could handle himself.

In what might have been a great mistake, as soon as he heard himself being mentioned, Marionette had raised halfway out of the box to face his would-be observers head on. The detective's son caught one sight of him and stopped in place, looking confused as he stared at the Puppet. No doubt he wasn't the one he expected, Marionette deduced quickly.

"This is it. This is the Puppet that was there," Jason pointed out as he looked up at the Puppet, who stared back silently. The young woman came to stand beside him and crossed her arms, her mouth falling into a thoughtful purse.

"It doesn't look very alive to me," she remarked. All at once Marionette knew exactly what Jason had been telling the others. No wonder the one had been staring in the Prize Corner.

"It hides that it's alive around people who aren't kids," Jason pointed out. He then looked up at her. "…Or maybe he just doesn't like you." She frowned at him and he returned with a cheeky smile.

It was now that the detective's son stepped forward with furrowed brows and utter confusion. "Wait a minute… This isn't the puppet that was in here on Halloween," he said. The other two looked at him and he explained, moving his hands to accentuate his point. "It had a rounder face and there was something sticking out of the back of its head. Its paint wasn't purple either, it was blue, and it's stripes were totally different," he explained. Marionette was moderately impressed that he remembered that much since then.

"Are you sure?" the girl asked. "Why would they replace a robot and then replace it back. Are you sure you didn't just mix up the colors in your head?"

"No, I'm sure of it. There was this little Pinocchio looking thing too. I wouldn't forget that thing; it had the creepiest laugh," he defended quickly. They seemed to fall into an impasse. Jason was still staring upwards at the Puppet when the other two looked over. Marionette could feel his instinct to freeze up slipping in and went as still as could be.

"I'm not making this up. He's really alive," Jason insisted, growing a bit more frustrated at how dismissive everyone was.

"I believe you," the detective's son insisted. "I saw that other puppet moving really weird, and it didn't know I was watching or anything. Unless they train these things to decorate, it was totally moving on its own."

"Carlton," the girl said in almost a scolding way.

"I'm not joking, I'm being serious! I know what I saw," the detective's son, apparently named Carlton, assured her. He then looked back to the Puppet more intently and Marionette was becoming just a bit more uncomfortable.

Thankfully, as luck would have it, he now noticed talking outside the door before Mike leaned in. "Hey, you kids want to be in a commercial for Foxy's?"

Carlton looked back in surprise. "What, seriously?" He looked more than a bit eager. "Do we get paid?"

"In pizza and TV exposure. Pretty much the going wage here at Foxy's," Mike responded. He glanced at the four to make sure nothing suspicious was happening. Upon seeing that all looked fine, he beckoned them. "It's your choice, but we need a couple of non-workers and a willing kid to pretend that they want to be here for the camera."

"I can do that. I pretty much don't want to be anywhere, and nobody notices," Carlton assured. The girl with him rolled her eyes playfully and followed along after him, only pausing to call Jason to follow.

"I'll be there in a minute," Jason assured as he reached into his jeans pocket and started trying to coax out a mess of tickets shoved inside. She left him alone with the animatronic. He looked up at the Puppet before offering the tickets. He also bluntly offered, "I know you're alive. You don't have to act like you're not."

Marionette looked out the door and made certain nobody was watching. Then he turned his head down to look at Jason, his first movement since the group entered. He then reached out slowly to take and count Jason's tickets. Once he had a clear count, he climbed from his box and circled the Prize Counter.

"I'm not stupid. I'm old enough to know if one of you guys is really real or not," Jason clarified. Marionette reached up for a Foxy plush. "And you're not on strings." The striped arm stopped abruptly and the animatronic went still. He hadn't even realized what he had done until called out on it. He had just become so- too- comfortable with children. But Jason wasn't a normal child; he was more observant, older, and clearly asking questions. Unfortunately, this could've been why Dave had targeted him. Just thinking about Dave made Marionette's overprotectiveness return.

Jason had never given him an idea of what he wanted off the prize wall, so Marionette pulled down a leftover neon colored Foxy. He offered it and the boy hesitated a moment. Then he tentatively took it, glancing back up at the striped animatronic. Then it seemed to click together for him and he changed his questioning. "Is Foxy real too?... He is, isn't he?"

Marionette's lack of an answer confirmed his suspicion instead of denying it. Looking somewhat awkward, perhaps uneasy, he was clearly about to leave. Panic seized the Puppet and he reached out to take Jason's shoulder as he turned to leave. Jason looked back in alarm and the Puppet drew back, shaking his head, and then tapping a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. The boy looked a little confused and tried to read the gesture.

"You… Don't want me to tell anyone?" Jason guessed. Marionette nodded insistently, dropping his act entirely- save speaking, which he still willingly held back on. He looked down at the boy with an unreadable smile and masked worry. He had already brought them here and told them of the animatronics, so he didn't have much faith that he would now keep quiet. Jason surprised him yet again. "…Okay… They already know but they don't believe me anyways." He hesitated a moment, giving a shaky breath. "…Was Charlie really hit by a car?"

So that was it. That was why Jason was so skeptical of the animatronics even after they helped save him. Marionette allowed his features to softened in sympathy and he nodded. Jason's face fell. "Oh…" It hurt the Puppet just as much as the boy. Just thinking of what he went through, what Charlie's friends had gone through, what Charlie went through… It was unbearable.

He reached into a tub of leftover Halloween Candy left on the edge of the counter and grabbed a handful of candy. He then eagerly offered it to the boy who raised a brow questioningly. He almost looked like Mike for a moment; it roused an amused chime out of the Puppet. Jason gave a slight shrug and took the candy. It was at this moment that he was called by the girl in the dining room. He looked back towards the door, back to the Puppet, and then headed out of the Prize Corner.

To Marionette's confusion, he found that he wanted to speak, to say something, but he held back. It was for the best. After all, talking to Charlie had gotten her into this in the beginning. Marionette slumped against the counter with a weary sigh and wished the day was over.

The commercial was going about as well as expected. The scene was supposed to be of Jeremy serving pizza to the small group. They would then look like they were enjoying the pizza and the clip would end. Unfortunately, this was not how it went. As soon as Jeremy came in front of the camcorder he went rigid, eyes popped open anxiously, and got the most unsettled look on his face. Meanwhile, Carlton was trying to overact everything, and Jason utterly refused to act at all. The girl was the only one who did a decent enough job, with a cheery smile framed by dark curls.

Jessica obviously was in no state to step in. She was doing better, but nobody was willing to ask her to perform when she was just forced to revisit her friend's death. Mike manned the camcorder, recording and deleting failed shot after failed shot. Eventually he dropped it into Fritz's hands, took the pizza from Jeremy's, and decided to step in himself. This managed to help slightly, as Mike managed to keep his compositor much better than the other security guard. Unfortunately, not even Mike could smile naturally, and instead seemed to have an unintentionally smug look.

"Let's try to make this the last take, alright?" Fritz asked. He started to raise the camcorder before lowering it again with a frown. "Mike, could you not smirk at the camera? You look like you're serving them poison."

"I look confident," Mike challenged as he leaned against the table. He then looked down at Carlton who had taken the plunge to bite into a piece. "I wouldn't eat that if I were you." The younger man immediately dropped the pizza while Fritz rolled his eyes in exhaustion.

The final take was finally shot and looked passable. It still looked as cheesy as any commercial would, but hopefully it wouldn't be something they would regret later. The group did not leave after this. They moved to the stage and talked quietly amongst each other. Mike wasn't entirely suspicious, but he did find himself wondering why they were still here if their main goal was to see the Puppet. He wasn't feeling up to hovering over them, especially not when he noticed Louise's car finally pulling up into the parking lot in front of the restaurant.

"Tabby, Louise is here!" Mike called into the kitchen. There was a brief "alright" as an answer before he let the door shut. Apparently, the detective's son also heard this, or perhaps Tabby's voice, as he seemed to start directing the others out. Mike noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jessica was lingering, looking around the pizzeria solemnly. She left before he could even consider approaching her about it.

"Hey, Schmidt," Foxy called over almost immediately after the front door closed. Mike glanced over at him to see Jeremy fussing over the curtain beside the relatively nonchalant fox. "There be any film left fer the captain of the ship?"

"No, Foxy. It's a commercial for a place called Foxy's Pirate Cove Pizza, but we're not going to have the titular character shown in it at all," Mike sarcastically quipped. Then he looked to the blond. "Jeremy, get Foxy presentable while I go make sure those kids don't start snooping around the dumpsters."

"I'm more worried about Fritz going back there." Jeremy lowered his voice, "Don't tell Fritz, but I've been dumping my garbage back there."

"…You know, eventually someone's going to notice a bunch of garbage appearing in the dumpster." He gave a shrug, "But I'm not a nark, so you do you." Mike gave a playful smirk and headed to the front. He was relieved to see the group getting in their car and turning out of the parking lot. However, he then noticed Louise still sitting in hers.

"Jason told them I was alive. That was why the one, the detective's son, was looking in the Prize Corner the other night."

Mike looked to see Marionette leaning in the doorway, just out of view of Louise and the group, if they would have still been there. "Ironically, he did manage to see Charlie, but he had no way of knowing who she was. Probably for the best. That and them not believing Jason. I tried to convince him to stay silent, but only time will tell." He leaned forward slightly. "Have they left?"

"Yeah, they're gone. Louise is out there though so don't get too comfortable," Mike forewarned. He then gave a small sigh. "I had a feeling that kid was going to figure something out. He's too old to not notice that something's odd, and since he knew Charlie he's got an emotional reason to."

"He asked me about her death and whether she was really hit," Marionette admitted. His mask tinged in sadness as he crossed his arms pensively.

"Geez… Mari, I'm sorry." Mike leaned in and put an arm around the Puppet, pulling him close and trying to comfort him. "How are you holding up?"

"I feel guilty," Marionette admitted. He gave a somber, out of tune chime and tilted his head against his companion's. Cool porcelain nudged against warm skin. "I wanted to tell him that she was alright… But I can't."

"I know. I feel the same way." Mostly towards Jessica, but a mutual feeling still. All these people mourned when Charlie was still there, but they couldn't know that she was. It would have to hurt to keep them all safe. Mike exhaled slowly and asked, "What's your call: do we tell her they came or not? I think we should."

"I agree. Maybe it'll make her feel better knowing they still care?" Marionette offered almost desperately. "There's nothing more tragic than thinking that you died and nobody noticed."

"You say that like you know that feeling…" Mike pointed out, looking to the animatronic questioningly. A flitter of something like embarrassment passed Marionette's mask and he gave a dismissive wave. Oddly enough he said nothing to confirm or deny it.

They stayed there like that a few moments. All the while, Mike kept an eye out for if Louise came to the door, but to his confusion she didn't. He started to notice it more until he slightly leaned to look out the front door and realized she was still in her car. "Huh. Louise isn't coming in," he pointed out. He didn't need to explain that this was odd.

Usually Louise bounded in with a cheery disposition and a welcoming smile, but recently she hadn't done so. In fact, since Halloween she hadn't been in Foxy's very much at all. It was assumed that it was due to her mother's scene embarrassing her, but it didn't seem like it would've lasted this long. Even Marionette was mildly curious.

"She's just sitting out there? That's odd." Marionette was able to lean out enough to see as Louise was looking down at something in the passenger seat. "She didn't come in to tell Tabby she was here either."

"I think I might go out and probe. Maybe she's also dumping trash in the dumpster," Mike quipped with a slight smile. "Mind putting this on the counter?" He handed over the camcorder and headed out the front door. As he approached the driver's side window, he noticed that she was shuffling through her purse, but she didn't seem to be looking for anything. He tapped on her window and she jumped before looking over, giving him a smile, and rolling down the window.

"Hey! What are you doing out here?" she asked in a typical chirp.

"I could ask you the same thing," Mike answered. He nudged his head towards the door. "Tabby's still in the kitchen if you want to come in for some pizza and the most poorly planned commercial since Freddy's was running." He noticed the hesitance in her look. "Don't worry, it's just us. Inspector Gadget hasn't shown up, and redheaded Robin Hood and his merry band already took off. It's all clear in there."

"Oh, I don't know. I'm kind of in a rush…" Something was definitely off. He raised a brow in questioning and she regained her smile. "Okay, sure. You convinced me with the pizza." She stepped out of the car awkwardly, fixing her hair- which was still dyed a russet red after Halloween- and brushing down her skirt. For a moment Mike thought all was well and headed over to prop open the door. Though he then noticed how slow Louise was coming. She still entered the restaurant willingly.

Louise came to an abrupt halt when she noticed Marionette standing in the Prize Corner's doorway. For a moment she stared blankly with an almost surprised look, but then she reacted in an even more bizarre way. She got a strange, strained smile, and chirped out a, "Oh, hi! You… Mari's out of his box today!"

"I know, it's weird. Someone must've broken the lock. I'm looking at Foxy," Mike joked in what should've been a casual way. Yet he noticed something was off when she seemed to rush past the animatronic and sped towards the kitchen. Marionette sent Mike a confused look, which he returned with a shrug before following. He would figure out whatever it was. The Puppet might've already beat him to it when he noticed her stare uncomfortably at Foxy's stage as she passed.

Louise opened the kitchen door and leaned inside. "I'm here, Mom. Ready to go?"

"I'll be out in a second," Tabby answered, wrist deep in the sink to wash off whatever utensils she used. "Just wait out there." Louise nodded stiffly and let the kitchen door shut as she turned slowly, and then nearly jumped through her skin when she noticed that Mike was standing behind her.

"You- You really like to sneak up on people!" Louise remarked. She got a playful smile and folded her arms over her chest. "You might be getting a rise out of me now but wait until next Halloween. I'm making a mental note of all of this for eventual payback." But even though she sounded normal he still noticed that something was just off in how she held herself.

"Louise, what's going on?" Mike finally asked, addressing the issue directly.

"What are you talking about?" Louise asked innocently. She leaned back against the wall beside the kitchen door. "You keep creeping up on me! That's what's going on." Mike fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Come on, I know something's up. You've been dodging here since Halloween and now you're jumping around like… Like you work here. You've got that same look of horror that most of the people working here have got." He quirked a brow questioningly. "Was it Burke? Did he come after you about Tabby? Because I swear, if he's threatening family members, I'm reporting him to whoever's above him."

"No, it's not him... It's not anything! I'm just in that post-holiday funk," Louise tried to excuse. Mike didn't look like he bought this. "Don't give me that look. You plan for a holiday for three months and then it's over and you're thrown off. That's all it is." This would've been believable if not for how much she jumped when the kitchen door opened beside her. Tabby looked between the two before silently heading to the front door; she didn't even want to know. Louise turned to Mike once more, having pulled herself together, and assured with a smile, "I'm fine. Trust me."

She hurried after Tabby. She briefly glanced over towards Foxy and Jeremy- Foxy noticed- but then dropped her eyes to the floor. She didn't look anywhere near the Prize Corner as she passed by and headed out the door. Marionette trailed out of the Prize Corner's doorway and watched as the two women got into the car. It was only once they were gone that he approached Mike with his suspicions.

"I don't think Jason's the only one whose figured it out," Marionette spoke solemnly. "Did you see how she looked at me? She's never looked so… Anxious around me before."

"No," Mike denied. Like the mere idea was impossible. "Can't be that."

"But if it's not that, then what is it?" the animatronic challenged. He waited for another suggestion, but the human couldn't give one.

"For crying out loud," Mike muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "First the police and now all this. Didn't Louise already know?"

"I think I can speak for us both when I say that we let ourselves get too relaxed. The kidnappings are still fresh in people's memories, so they're going to be looking closer." Marionette's worry was evident, especially in himself. He hadn't realized how much he was slipping up until he came out of the box without his strings being used. Jason knowing he was alive was irrelevant; he had done it without even thinking of it. He could've done that in front of Louise. He could've been too lively at the party and anyone there might've gotten their own suspicions. "No more non-work parties for a while… We just get too tempted to push our boundaries."

"That's great, because after this there is no way we're hosting a Christmas party," Mike swore. He gave a tired exhale. "Louise will be fine. Let's just hope that's the worst luck we have today."

"It's not," Marionette said. "We'll have to reshoot all the scenes where I didn't have my strings out, and I can't remember when I did or not."

And with that, it looked as though they wouldn't be going home anytime soon.

Mable: Don't you hate it when you dance at a party with a sock monkey and then nobody can stop talking about it? What a pain! Ha ha, anyway the next chapter will be next week, hopefully on schedule. I hope you enjoyed!