Mable: Here we are with the next chapter! Not too much to say this time, though I do have a poll on my author's page that's been up for a few weeks and I totally forgot to mention. Just a small thing but it's there! Anyway, Enjoy!
Almost Feels Like Home
Chapter Forty-Three
Charlie had never been the performing type. It wasn't that she was against the idea, it had just been something that passed her by without much interest. Even though she was the Security Puppet now, an animatronic made to perform, she didn't expect this to change. So, Fritz's sudden request caught her off guard. Especially since Foxy and Marionette were still technically at the party and wouldn't be incapacitated forever.
"I don't know… I've never done anything like this. I'm not a singer, I don't have any material, and now I ring constantly," Charlie admitted doubtfully. She slightly turned away while adding, "Especially when I'm nervous."
"I know and I don't want to put you in this position, but if you could just try for a couple of minutes, just while we get Foxy and Mari back on their feet, then I would owe you big. Anything you want, I swear, but I'm in a really tight jam and we could really use your help," Fritz was nearly begging. "You don't even have to sing or anything! Just being out there will distract the children."
"…Alright." It wasn't for the favor, but for Marionette and Foxy. She couldn't imagine what they got tangled up in if it was taking this long to get them up on their feet. "Do we have a box, or do we have to use the stand?"
Fritz raised a finger to signal a pause and then went to get something from behind the van's shelves. He pulled out a piece of thick cardboard and began to unfold and open it, revealing a box that almost looked like Marionette's except of cheaper quality, or maybe it just looked that way because it was collapsible and less sturdy. He also brought out a base with wheels, set it on the ground, and then put the box on top of it before opening the flaps.
"It's not the best box we have, but as long as you're in it it's not going to collapse," Fritz assured. He considered adding in 'I hope' and bit his tongue to resist it. "And you won't have to come out more than halfway. Think you can do it?" She hesitated and he added. "You don't have to."
"No…" Charlie quietly agreed as she removed her jacket. "…But I'm going to."
She climbed out the back of the van and stepped and lowered into the box. She pulled the lid closed, with her fingers barely holding the flaps, as Fritz wheeled her around the van and over the stone towards the backyard. He placed her between the table and the fence, where the children would have to turn away from the other animatronics to see her. It looked like Mike had gotten the string unwrapped, but only by removing it from the stand and having to weave it on again. They wouldn't need much longer at all, but he still tapped on the top of the box.
Charlie didn't pop out of the box like Marionette would've. First, she raised up the flaps the smallest bit and peered through at the outside world. Her eyes glowed a curious green and something started to wake inside of her. She felt so attentive and focused, like for a moment she was a real animatronic, and it emboldened her enough to open and raise from the box. Some of the children started to approach, watching her with interested eyes, and yet she felt calm. She knew it had to be programming or some sort of built in instincts into the body. Considering the circumstances, she embraced them gladly.
"Uh… Hey there, Kids!" Fritz greeted them. "Put your hands together for-…" He promptly blanked for a few seconds once he realized that he didn't have a name on standby. 'Security Puppet' was too odd for kids, 'Puppet' would be confusing', just calling her 'Charlie' might raise suspicions with the adults, and whatever name he used had a random chance of sticking, he just knew it. He rushed through a blur of names involving bells and strings, masks and stripes, and drew a blank. Finally, he winged it. "For, uh… Lottie, here!"
"Lottie?" Charlie only slightly turned her head in confusion. She supposed it could've been worse and she wasn't in the position to protest, so she just looked back to the children. Fritz headed over to try and usher more over- and away from the scene with Foxy and Marionette- and she was left to perform. So, she started by speaking to them and greeting them.
Though it wasn't words that came out, she made sure of it. Charlie decided to force the ringing and while comprehensible words weren't made, the bells trilled enough that they vaguely sounded like a greeting. The children seemed to get it and continued watching like they were waiting. It was now that she realized that her presence alone wouldn't cut it. She would have to perform in some significant way.
"So, when I talk, I ring… So, if I did try to really sing, would it work too?" There was only one way to find out. Bracing herself, she thought of the first child-friendly song she could think of, 'My Bonnie lies over the Ocean', and tried to 'sing' it. To her relief, the ringing bells that emanated from her chest began to vaguely start resembling the song. They were not as easy to control as she had hoped and it certainly wasn't as natural as singing used to be, but she found herself slowly starting to adapt into the role. She could do this; she could distract for a few minutes.
…So why didn't it feel like enough? Something felt like it was missing, like she was supposed to do more. Like she wanted to do more. Charlie decided to try and multitask, even though she knew it would take her focus away from the bells, but she started to focus on projecting her normal voice. She began to hesitantly sing.
"My Bonnie lies over the ocean...~" Charlie hesitated for a moment. It sounded good so far. The bells' slightly out of rhythm ringing was easier to ignore with her voice accompanying them. "My Bonnie lies over the sea. My Bonnie lies over the ocean, so bring back my Bonnie to me.~" They were paying closer attention now, but she ran out of lyrics. So, she began to improvise. "I-… Yo, ho, blow the man down. Where there was a smile there's now a frown. It would be a folly to be so jolly when my dear is out to sea. So, bring back my Bonnie to me.~"
It was only now that Charlie's voice grew loud enough that Foxy noticed it. He had his head lowered in shame but raised it quickly and turned to look in the Security Puppet's direction, with his eyepatch raising in surprise upon seeing her. He looked towards Mike and Marionette, who were both obliviously distracted. He looked back at Charlie before subtly moving his arm and firmly nudging Mike in the lower back. The security guard grunted lightly.
"What was that?" he muttered as he looked to Foxy. "What, are two kidneys too many?"
The pirate didn't even look at him and instead pointed over at the Security Puppet, and it was then that Mike noticed her. He was immediately shocked to see her out of the van, let alone half in a box and performing to children. He patted Marionette's arm and pointed over, to which the Puppet also looked, and now he saw what was occurring. It was a struggle to keep his neutral smile when his mouth wanted to drop open in shock.
"Look at that, Marion! Our lil parrot's takin' her first trip outta the nest!" Foxy whispered. Though he then had an epiphany. "…How pathetic do we look that she felt bad enough to come out 'ere?" Jeremy got a slightly awkward smile but that answered him well enough. "…Get me up quick."
"No, wait!" Marionette quietly halted. He hesitated a moment before offering a strand of string to Mike. "We should take this carefully. I might get tangled again." It was obvious what he was really wanting. Mike picked up on it and began to stall. Giving Charlie a little longer to perform, smiling a little as he watched her.
Charlie got about ten more minutes to perform, but she wasn't aware of the passing time. It all just felt like a blur of excitement and endorphins, neither of which she should've been feeling. There was no self-consciousness and not a shred of shame; she just felt good. She rung in delight as she continued singing. "My mother got stuck in the crow's nest. My father was sent to the brig. Our captain fell into the ball pit. My stars, what a fix I am in!~" Their tiny giggles were worth every moment of being watched.
But eventually it came time to blow out the candles and cut the birthday cake. The children were drawn away by the promise of dessert and Charlie was finally given a moment to rest. She didn't realize how drained she felt until she retreated to her box and sat in the semi-darkness. Foxy and Marionette then stepped in, returning to the patio beside the table, and began to perform a routine to entertain the eating children. She could hear when they began to sing and recognized the song- "Let's Eat"- as a redone version of a Freddy's song.
Now she knew why they preformed: it felt wonderful.
Outside of the box, the party was continuing like normal. Seeing that he had a moment free, Mike headed over to the puppet's box and knocked on the top.
"Charlie? It's me," Mike said quietly. He made sure to keep an eye out on the rest of the party. The only person watching was one of his cousins, and he doubted he would tell anyone that he was whispering to an animatronic. Slowly the box started to lift open and Charlie peered up at him through the crack. He smiled down at her and complemented, "Congrats on that earlier. You did great."
"You really think so? I was really just going with whatever I could since I drew a blank on birthday songs," she said with a smile and a quiet ring. Just seeing Charlie look so enlivened reminded Mike too much of Marionette. It was amazing how similar they were even when ignoring how they looked.
"Don't sell yourself short. You did well under pressure and saved whatever was left of Foxy's dignity… Mine too. You'd think I'd be a little better with strings." Mike got an amused smirk before getting to the point. "Thanks for coming out here. I know you didn't sign up for this, but I appreciate it."
"Oh, it's fine…" Charlie looked down quietly. He couldn't imagine what she was thinking of that had her so lost in thought. "But I'm glad Foxy and Mari are back on their feet. I think I need to rest for a little bit. My chest feels a little weird from all the ringing. Like the feeling when you have a limb go to sleep, it doesn't hurt." She placed a hand to her chest, almost wondering if she could feel it from the outside.
"Want me to take you back to the van?" Mike offered.
"I- No, I'll be fine here. Might be nice to peek out at the party now and then. As long as nobody sees me and comes over expecting another song," she said with a playful tone. Even though it was obvious there was a lot on her mind.
"Alright, then I'm just going to close you back up here. If you need any of us, then just whistle… Just don't be surprised if it attracts a hoard of children." With that last joke, Mike shut the box lids and turned away to look at the party. Now it was a matter of finding something to do while the party continued. It didn't take him long to notice the birthday girl sitting at the table, swinging her legs, looking around bored while a recently cleaned plate sat in front of her. She wasn't even paying attention to Foxy and Marionette, but perhaps that was because they were so far away.
"Maybe she might be a little more interested if she had one to herself," Mike thought as he concocted a new idea. "After all, she is the birthday girl."
Between the cake and the gift opening, there was a short window where Foxy and Marionette stopped performing. Mostly because Fritz and Jeremy were going to get the gifts, Grace was trying to fussily pick of plates, and some of the children had slipped away to go return to the bounce house, ignoring the discomfort of jumping around on a stomach full of sugar. He knew he had to be quick; there was a chance Aunt Grace would be too coddling to let him do this if she was paying attention. He hurried onto the patio and took the Puppet by the stand.
Marionette tilted his head in curiosity as he was wheeled over and carefully lowered down the steps. It wasn't until Mike started to steer him towards the table that he realized where they were going. He gave a delighted chime as they closed in on the birthday girl and glanced back at Foxy, who was watching closely. He then looked excitedly.
"Hey Becky, someone wanted to come say hi," Mike said as they walked up. Becky looked up at them and slowly got a look of shock, with her legs slowing to a stop and her attention fully on the animatronic. Mike introduced him. "This is Mari."
Marionette, feeling more playful and eager to please, gave a partial bow while hanging from his strings. He gave a welcoming chime, musical and friendly, and the girl began to look more curious than afraid. He offered his hand and she reached out to give a tiny shake. It was now when Aunt Grace walked up with a gift in her hands, but Becky was still quite distracted by the Puppet in front of her.
"Oh, I thought we were doing gifts now," Grace quietly said. She looked over the scene almost hesitantly.
Attracted by the voice, Marionette turned his head in a mock stiff motion and looked to the present. He boldly reached out and took it, still moving sluggish enough to look like an animatronic, and then started to lower himself. His strings extended and lowered him onto his knees on the stone. Then he offered the present to Becky with a pleasant trill. She eagerly began to tear the wrapping paper off even as he held it.
It was now that Grace leaned in close to Mike and whispered a fussy, "Its been cleaned, right?"
"Here we go." Mike fought the urge to roll his eyes. "…Yes, Aunt Grace. I wipe him down nightly." It was then that he noticed the woman standing on the other side of the table. "Oh hey, Mom. I didn't see you there."
Marionette largely ignored what was going on around him and instead focused on the girl. He watched as her face lit up upon seeing the boxed gift underneath the wrapping paper. She squealed, babbled thanks to her mother, and started to tear off more of the wrapping paper. An immediate transformation from earlier. He didn't think he had too much of a hand in it, rather he believed that he had just gotten over to her at the right time. She just needed the extra attention, someone to slide past the carefully created barrier her mother had created. As it was, Mike had pretty much become the barrier between Grace snatching Becky away again.
That was the turning point of the party. While Mike was now stuck into wheeling Marionette around with Becky, she finally was able to leave the table. Neither were sure if it was her or Grace that kept her there, but whatever leash had been cut and they kept careful eyes out. She was rambunctious, even though she had to stop and catch her breath every now and then. In these moments Mike would push Marionette closer and would watch as he tried to entertain her. It was almost admirable how good he was with her; it wasn't too long before she started reaching up to hold his hand.
The party eventually started to wind down. The other adults left and took their children with them, and a few cars pulled up in front of the house, called or honked their horns, and slowly started to pick up the rest of them. Things began to wind down until mid-afternoon, when only Isaac and Grace's children remained. Now Foxy and Marionette were able to focus their full attention on them for the final duration of their stay.
It was now that Isaac decided to approach Mike. It was quiet now, so he was half convinced that the man was about to say something uncomfortable, but he didn't. "I wanted to thank you again for coming all the way out here. I think she really had a good time," his uncle said. He watched his young daughter hop around in in the bounce house. "She's been stuck inside so much this past year that she hasn't gotten much time to get out around other kids."
"We were happy to come. Not just because we're closed, but to make this special for her. Maybe it's a family thing," Mike said with a lower tone at the end. After all, Isaac had been the one to throw his family back in his face. He expected Isaac to take the bait, but instead his strange behavior returned.
"I know I've been hard on you, but you really pulled through for us this time. This close to hiring a clown and then some whackjob comes out of nowhere and scares everyone. I never thought I'd have to give my kids the 'don't approach strange clowns' talk," he said shaking his head. He seemed too collected compared to usual, and Mike couldn't help but notice that he didn't take the 'family' bait.
"There's something definitely going on here. Isaac's stubborn, he sticks to his guns, and he knows we're charging at full rate, and suddenly now he decides to play supportive uncle? I don't buy it," Mike thought to himself. "Probably waiting for me to say something about it… Maybe I should. Maybe I should just get it over with and just call him out on it. Party's over anyways and this- whatever this is- is killing me. He's hiding something."
Right as he was about to speak though, he was cut off by Becky falling into a fit of coughing. Both men looked over in time to see her crawling to the opening of the bounce house where Foxy reached in to help her out, then sat her down on the edge. She coughed a little longer as Marionette reached out to pat her back. Neither animatronics seemed to care that Isaac was watching and he himself seemed more focused on his daughter. She stopped coughing after a few seconds.
"Yar, here's one fer you, Lass," Foxy began. "What did the ocean say to the pirate?... Nothin', it just waved!" Cheesy jokes aside, they seemed to be distracting her and she seemed to be warming up to her. He hadn't seen them be so attentive with a child in a while. Usually they were friendly, but not this hands-on in their approach. Maybe it was because she kept needing to rest. In fact, looking at it now Becky had been stopping to rest a lot, and nobody seemed surprised about the coughing spells that she kept going through.
"Becky's sick," Mike suddenly realized. "Grace wasn't just being clingy by keeping her by the table. It doesn't seem like it's anything new to them… Which could mean that maybe last year's birthday party wasn't just a simple flu." It all started to fit into place. Even Foxy and Marionette's behavior made a little more sense now as he realized, "They know." The way they fussed and protected her they had to. Suddenly Isaac's out of character behavior had an entirely different context to it. Suddenly it was starting to all make a little more sense, and now that he knew he could ask him.
…Except that the second he was about to he realized he couldn't.
"If I ask him then he's going to get defensive. If he wanted me to know then he would've told me," Mike decided. His thoughts grew a bit sourer. "Who am I to even ask questions anyway? I'm pretty much a stranger to Becky. If I ask, he's just going to point out how I left again. I can just ask Mom… Or maybe not. Maybe I don't need to."
Isaac now spoke again and interrupted his thoughts. "I heard about what happened on TV with the police force. Let me just say that it's about time someone stood up and said something. All those bleeding hearts running our country-."
And now he was trapped because he wasn't going to dare interrupt now with his suspicions. Mike just let his eyes glaze through it and pretended like he was listening. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so distant.
But Isaac wasn't the only one who was hiding something. Jeremy's behavior was still an elephant in the room, but nobody had been bold enough to confront him about it. Or, that was, until Foxy could step out of character. It was right before they were leaving, and Jeremy was escorting Foxy to the back of the van. Charlie had already been put inside and Fritz was sitting in the driver's seat in the air conditioning. Mike was still back showing Marionette off to Patrick- all while exchanging the occasional amused look to Isabelle, as though both were in on an inside joke.
Jeremy was opening the van door when Foxy reached out and pushed it back closed. The blonde blinked and stared at the fox, who now held it closed with his weight. "…This is about earlier, isn't it?" he meekly asked.
"Ya better believe it," Foxy answered. He then got an almost smug look of amusement. "As much I loved hearin' ya boomin' 'bout on a couple a parents, this ain't like you." Jeremy looked down almost sheepishly. Foxy softened a bit and added, "Somethin' ain't right when me first mate is biting back more than his captain. All alright, Lad? Somethin' on yer mind?"
The man looked around in paranoia. Nobody was watching and they were protected between the house and the gate, but the road was still nearby and if anyone passed now they may notice something amiss. Not to mention if someone like Mike or Fritz heard his explanation. And that was if he wanted to give the explanation, which he didn't. Though it was clear that he wouldn't get out of this without something.
"It's nothing, it just… I just had another fight with my sister. This one was a little bigger than last time, so I- Things have been weird. I've had a lot to think about," Jeremy admitted. Foxy felt a slowly growing panic as he stared at his companion. All at once he flashed back to that emboldened yelling match that he had on the phone.
"Was it about me?" Foxy bluntly asked. Guilt was already starting to creepy up on him. Jeremy looked confused, then understood, and then shook his head.
"No. She was upset about you, sure, but that wasn't it. It was about-… I really don't want to talk about what it was about. Except it wasn't you or about me dating a guy or anything like that," Jeremy assured. He turned so he could lean back against the door. "I'll tell you later, I promise… I just don't want to think about it now or I'll get angry again, and I drive terrible when I'm angry. I'm all over the road dodging stop signs and stuff."
"A'right…" Foxy agreed. It wasn't hard to see that Jeremy was much more distressed than he let on and he knew from experience that forcefulness didn't help. If it was important enough for him to know then Jeremy would eventually tell him. Or Max would, but he didn't have to know that. Instead, he offered, "…Ya want me ta ride home with ya? I won't be askin' questions, I just know iff'n its good if yer alone."
"Well, I'm not totally alone. Balloon Boy's in the car," Jeremy pointed out.
Instantly Foxy's head snapped over and, sure enough, there peeked out a familiar, unsettling smile on an equally unsettling face. Balloon Boy was barely covered by a sheet and peering out from between the seats. Foxy could already imagine Balloon Boy laughing as he watched him slide down into the backseat and disappear from sight. He would be the second death of him one of these days.
Jeremy forced a smile and a more easy-going tone. "I'll be fine! The whole point of driving myself was so we wouldn't get cramped anyway. I'll be fine. Maybe I'll even- Do you think they'd mind if I came and visited tonight?" He rubbed his neck awkwardly, blue eyes hopeful. "I wouldn't be able to stay the night or anything."
"Sounds good to me, Lad! Spares me the 'joy' of havin' to distract 'em alone," Foxy reassured as he too perked up. "Just stay close an' follow us right back… And then drop of BB at yer house before ya come in." Jeremy gave a chuckle as he seemed to ease up a little more. It was then that the fox heard footsteps approaching and his ears perked, distinctly hearing too many footsteps and knowing Mike wasn't alone. Without a word, Foxy tore the back door open again before diving into the van. Without missing a beat, Jeremy started to shut the door behind him, but was stopped before he could close them all the way.
"Hey," Foxy said as his leaned out the back with that mischievous tone in his voice. "Ya know, if it makes ya feel any better… Yer damn near gorgeous when yer mad." Jeremy's face started to turn pink and Foxy gave a suppressed laugh. "And ya look even better when yer red!" he added. He then pulled Jeremy in with a single arm, nuzzled into his shoulder quickly, and then released him to hide again.
The blonde staggered briefly as Mike came around the corner with Isabelle and Patrick. Marionette was still on his stand and acting dormant, remaining still as Mike opened the back a small bit and began to undo his strings. Jeremy fixed his glasses and was about to head to his car when he was caught off-guard by Isabelle.
"Oh, Jeremy, hello! I didn't know you were here!" she greeted warmly and proceed to fuss on him. "Did you get some cake to take home? There's plenty left, take some cake! You're skin and bones!"
"Only on the inside and outside, Mom," Mike chimed in. He couldn't help but watch in both sympathy and amusement as his mother turned her coddling onto the defenseless young man. He turned away only to hoist up Marionette and set him inside the doors. He set the puppet and stand near the doors and closed them quickly, knowing he would move himself. He brushed off his hands. "Okay, Mom, it's time for us to go. I know how much you want to keep him, but Jeremy's going to have to come with us."
"Alright, alright. I won't push," Isabelle agreed before turning to hug Mike. "Be careful driving home and go slow, okay? Love you, Mikey."
At least she was able to make him feel fully welcome. He still couldn't fathom why being welcomed by Isaac had made his distance stand out so much, but he still felt it, and hugged him back. "Love you too, Mom."
They said their goodbyes before dispersing. Foxy could hear them walking away from the doors, straightened a bit, and then turned to face Charlie who was sitting in the back of the van across from him. He perked up and gave a rousing cheer. "Good job out there, Lass! Captain Foxy saw yer performance and- blow me down- ye be good! Better than good!" The Security Puppet beamed, unable to deny that the compliment was a relief, but was about to modestly decline. She was beat to it by Foxy adding in, "Brace yerself."
All she had time to do was get a confused look before none other than Marionette practically sprung across the van and threw his arms around her. She would've toppled over if he hadn't been holding her upright. His voice was lost to excited chimes, positively oozing pride, and it wasn't until he pulled back that he made cohesive words.
"You did wonderful! And on your first time too!" the puppet trilled. "I never expected you to do it. You willingly went out there in front of all those children- Ah, I could burst into confetti!"
"Please don't do that while we're driving. Pretty much nothing in this van is tied down," Fritz joked back. He then looked to Mike who was climbing in the passenger side. "I have nightmares of that stand careening through the air and stabbing right through the back of my seat," he admitted. He then shook his head and started to back up. "Guess it could be worse. They could've made us pay for that kiddie pool."
"Yar, that kiddie pool be g-arr-bage. Me hook went straight through the bloody thing! They ain't makin' things like they used to
"Yeah, who would've thought an eight-inch deep wading pool wouldn't handle a metal fox that weighs half a ton," Mike added in. Fritz gave a slight snicker and Foxy grumbled disparagingly. "Oh, come on. You and I both saw that pool after you were in it. You crushed all the balls."
"Only cause it be flimsy, shoddy plastic! Ya wouldn't see that in a real ball pit!" Foxy challenged back. He paused a moment and then scoffed. "Kiddie pool full o' plastic eggs. Who heard such a stupid idea? Thing be a health hazard."
Marionette gave a slight chime before his attention returned to Charlie once again to ask, "So, how did it feel?" Obviously he knew how it felt, but he wanted to know what it felt for her. To which it certainly was different.
In all honesty, she didn't know how to feel about it. It had been a strange mix of sensations. Anxiousness, excitement, a mix of shame and delight. She was still a human on the inside, so she wasn't supposed to enjoy this as much as she had. She wondered if it made her less human, but then decided that she was overthinking it.
"This doesn't change anything. I was just helping out. It's a one-time thing," she assured herself. This comforted her enough to face him with a smile and give an honest answer. "It felt good. I didn't expect to have that much fun with it."
The Puppet seemed happy with this. She hoped that he didn't think this would lead to her performing further on. Again, this was just to help him out. He wouldn't need her assistance anytime soon so she wouldn't be expected to perform again. It had been a nice experience and now it was over.
And yet Charlie couldn't stop thinking about it.
The pizzeria was filled with faceless children. Figuratively faceless, as they had features but to the puppet, they were nondescript. There were simply too many children to count wandering around the present box. The puppet wanted to come out of its box and peeked out at all the happy faces before starting to raise itself. It opened the flaps of the box and started to climb out, to which the children didn't seem to notice. They were too busy gathering around an arcade machine beside the front. The puppet began to approach curiously and peered over the top of their heads.
The game looked to be a Freddy themed one, with Freddy walking around in a pixelated forest. The puppet found nothing odd about it and instead just watched as what looked like a tree or an arrow fly out of the side of the screen and hit the bear. The bear exploded in a cartoonish burst and then a game over screen came on, showing a pixelated burning bear and the words "Insert Tokens" underneath it. Suddenly all the children turned back to the puppet and began to chatter. All their voices blended into one and they offered out their hands with need, requesting tokens.
Thankfully, the puppet had tokens, and opened its chest. Tokens gushed out in a fountain and the children grabbed for them with wide faces. The puppet laughed in delighted rings and continued to pour out the coins, unconcerned that so many were coming out. In fact, it would have kept going, but it then noticed that one of the children was not taking tokens. Instead, he or she was standing at the window, staring out into the parking lot. The puppet closed itself and approached the child before tapping it on the shoulder.
The child turned back and only then did the puppet recognize the blond haired, blue eyed girl. She looked up at the puppet and then simply said, "Freddy's outside." The puppet looked outside the window.
The parking lot was a blackened abyss. The only thing visible was a single lamppost on the far side that illuminated only a small area. There, standing under the light, was Freddy. It stared back at the pizzeria unmoving.
Alarmed, the puppet looked back to the arcade cabinet only to find that Freddy was no longer on the game over screen. Nobody had put in a token inside and Freddy had escaped. The puppet turned to tell the children, but when it opened its mouth all that came out was a musical reedition of 'Hot Cross Buns'. It was because the puppet lost too many tokens. It looked back out the window to see that Freddy was now gone.
"He's gone!" the girl screamed. She turned and ran to the door in a panic. She was so scared that she was going to run outside and get lost in the darkness. The puppet grabbed her to stop her, but as soon as this happened the multiple other children swarmed to run out. As much as it tried, the children rushed out of the pizzeria and into the darkness. Within seconds, they could be seen running underneath the streetlight in the distance.
The puppet had to go after them. The girl was still trying to get away and it was clear once she got out that she would never be found again, so the puppet carried her over and tossed her into its box. Then the puppet returned to the door and headed outside before hurrying across the parking lot. It panted as it sprinted across the asphalt towards the single light. Everything smelled like exhaust and smoke, and there was a honking noise, coming from the streetlight.
The children were gone by time the puppet made it to the streetlight. It stopped underneath the light and looked around but couldn't hear anything because of the loud blaring of honking. Eventually it looked up to see where the noise was coming from, and only then did it notice that the streetlight was not a streetlight at all, but a pole with a car tied up to it. It was the cars own headlights that replaced the actual lights.
And then it fell.
Marionette was roused out of his sleep, opened his eyes, and found none other than Charlie leaning over him. It took him a few seconds to realize that she was there, fully awake, and capable of realizing that he was in bed with Mike. He shot upright abruptly and quietly insisted, "This isn't what it looks like."
But she didn't seem to care. She seemed bothered by something- she had to be if she was waking him at what felt like three in the morning- and simply pointed off towards the door. He knew she was signaling him to come with her and slid out of the bed. He tried to keep his compositor as he hurriedly followed her out into the hallway and shut the door behind him.
"I'm sorry to wake you up this late, but I needed to talk to you about something and I don't think it can wait until morning," Charlie scrambled. She seemed just as anxious as he did and awkwardly shuffled from leg to leg.
"It's not a problem… But just for the record, that wasn't- Sometimes I want to stretch out somewhere that isn't my box or my bed," Marionette scrambled. His usually comfortable smile looked awkward and embarrassed, and the light chime on his voice sounded like a nervous chuckle. "And I was tired from today, so I wasn't thinking and I must've somehow gotten confused and went into the wrong room. Mike didn't even know I was there…" He trailed off as he noticed her tired look. Right, late night talk of importance that couldn't wait. "What was it?"
"It's about the girl who was at Magictime Theater," Charlie said quietly.
"You mean Chrissy?" Marionette asked with a tilt of the head.
"Yes, her. I just… I had a dream and she was in it, and I realized that I never really asked about her after it all. And I know she's fine. I know all the children are fine and probably just trying to move on with their lives, but I just- I don't know. I guess I was wondering how she was doing and if you've seen her recently." She crossed her arms uncomfortably. "I guess that party today must've reminded me of her."
"Chrissy comes by the pizzeria frequently. She's our best customer," Marionette explained with a sympathetic smile. "I would be surprised if she wasn't there for the reopening."
"That's great. I'm glad she's alright. I guess I was worrying over nothing…" Charlie hesitated a moment as she considered a new idea. "…Do you think maybe I could come in for the reopening? I'm fine staying in a box or in the Prize Corner, and I don't want to scare her, but I think I'd like to see her again."
"Sure! We would be glad to have you!" He expected her to follow up with something, but she stayed silent. He watched how she fidgeted and knew there was more than just this. He had a suspicion that the dream wasn't as innocent as she made it out to be. He knew what that was like and how the mind could play tricks. His voice became gentle as he coaxed, "Do you want to talk about the dream?"
No, she didn't want to, but she was going to anyway. "I was in a pizzeria and there were children running everywhere, and tokens- those old Fazbear tokens- were literally pouring out of me. Then Freddy appeared outside, and all the kids ran out, and Chrissy was there, and…" Charlie trailed off briefly before smacking a hand to her face in frustration. "I'm tired of seeing Dave's car in my dreams!"
That was the last thing she had wanted to say but it felt good to vent. It had gotten to the point that it was more irritating and embarrassing than depressing for her. Marionette was sympathetic and reached for her free hand and gave a comforting squeeze. It was easy to empathize when he had gone through the same things, though usually involving a purple man and a golden bear. She slowly slid her hand down her face and looked at him with an exhausted look.
"…So, yeah. That was my night," she finished. He gave a light chime and her a sigh. It helped to talk, and Marionette's hand felt familiar and comforting. "But thanks… I really think I need to see her again. Even if that means spending my day hanging out in a box, but it would just be one day." She tried to not think about being in the Prize Corner surrounded by children. "I'm going to try to go back to bed. Again, sorry for waking you up."
"It's never a bother. That's what I'm here for," Marionette said. He then hesitated before releasing her hand and slowly moving past her and down the hallway, while still watching her. "And since I'm awake anyways, I'm going to just head back to my own room. That way Mike will never have to know that I was even in there," he said slightly nervously. She decided not to tell him that she could straight through his fib.
She wondered if he could see through hers. It wasn't until she returned to her bedroom that she realized the irony. There he was pretending that he hadn't been willingly sharing a bed with Mike and here she was pretending that the only reason she wanted to go to the pizzeria was for Chrissy. It made her feel guilty using the girl as an excuse. Though she did want to see her and was concerned about how she was doing, she knew there was another reason she was looking for an excuse to get into the pizzeria. It was the same reason she got butterflies in her chest while singing at the party.
Charlie wanted to see Chrissy and get closure. The Security Puppet wanted to perform once again. As though her life wasn't already complicated as it was.
Mable: I know this is so weird to say, but I'm really excited for something about to come up. This next arc sparked quite a bit of inspiration. ^-^ I almost wish that I already had it to present, but alas, no dice. Coming soon though, so keep your eyes peeled! I hope you enjoyed!