Mable: Twice in a row?! Goodness, maybe Thursday uploads truly have returned!... Seriously though, I'm glad I was able to supply the chapter on time. I've wanted to get back on schedule for a while, so I'm going to try and keep this up if I can. Anyway, I hope you Enjoy!
Almost Feels Like Home
Chapter Forty-Five
The warehouse was as it usually was. There wasn't much else to say about it other than that. It almost disappointed Baby as she and Charlie were shut and locked inside. She sent a bored look over the office as she stepped into it, one that then ended on Charlie, who dropped down on the office chair and set her bag on the desk. She began to open it up and take items out.
"So, I brought some things that we can look at if we get bored. It's not too much, but it's what I could get together on somewhat short notice. I wasn't entirely sure if I was coming down here until today… In all honesty, I assumed you would call and change your mind," the Security Puppet admitted. Baby made a dismissive noise. "You can't blame me. You make your decisions quick," Charlie said with a lightly teasing tone.
"I stand by them," Baby answered. She then rolled closer and watched as Charlie set out things on the desk. "And all this will last the weekend?"
"Are you kidding? We'll be lucky if this lasts until tonight. We're going to have to get creative. Thankfully, I'm an expert at that." She set down a few plastic bags with dice and tokens in them. "I brought a board game, but I had to take it out of the box to fit. There's a couple of books, some magazines, my photo album apparently- I didn't realize I packed that actually," she admitted semi-awkwardly. "Whatever I could think of quickly."
"I see." Baby tried not to seem too pleased even though she was. Not about the trinkets- they would get boring quickly- but in how excited Charlie seemed. Maybe someone really did want to willingly spend time with her, even if it was only because Charlie was as socially deprived as she was. Though a new question emerged considering the other's delicateness. "Did you think of where you're going to sleep?"
"All taken care of!" Charlie said confidently. "Mike said there's a box somewhere in the warehouse that goes to this body, so I'll just sleep in that. It shouldn't be too uncomfortable. I've done it before." It would be weird sleeping in an empty box, but she had become familiar with the concept of fitting into the boxes. Hopefully there were leftover plush dolls in that one too. Hopefully ones that weren't too molded.
"I thought you had a bed," Baby said. "No, excuse me. I mean, I thought you had my bed." Something about the question made the self-consciousness return. Charlie had totally forgotten that to non-puppet animatronics, or humans, this would seem like an odd phenomenon. In hindsight, saying it out loud made it sound strange.
"I do, I just… I don't know. Sometimes I like sleeping in a box," Charlie admitted. Her voice lowered as she added, "It's comforting…"
Baby stared at her for a few seconds. "…That's precious." Whether or not it was supposed to be patronizing as it sounded was unclear. The clown tilted her head curiously. "What color is the box? I might have seen it."
"Purple and striped?"
"I know where it is." Baby turned to the office door without another word. Charlie stood and hurried after her to keep from being left behind.
The box turned out to be in the back of the warehouse down the final aisle, where the overhead lights were mostly broken and kept it poorly lit. The box itself was on the lowest shelf and Baby started to slide it out. The box looked as it was described; purple and black striped with a red ribbon-like pattern on the outside. It looked sturdy and just big enough to fit inside, so she could imagine that it would work. Though while she was watching Baby slide it out, she just happened to notice a door at the end of the aisle. One that looked like it had once been sealed up if the strange plaster around it was any indication.
"Where's that door go?" Charlie asked curiously. She could've guessed it was a back door, but something about where it was positioned made it unlikely. Baby looked over briefly before returning to lifting the box out. It was easy to move once slid out around the other items and she set it down beside them.
"That's where they keep the golden bear," Baby answered simply. She continued looking at the box and watched as she opened the flaps and looked inside. "What is this?" she asked as she reached in and pulled out an empty bag of chips. "It's full of trash. How quaint," Baby bitterly said with disgust. She boldly tilted the box on its side, barely giving Charlie a chance to get out of the way and leaned down to scoop out the trash. Meanwhile, Charlie could only stare at the door.
So that was where he was. She couldn't remember if she had asked about it, but there he was sealed behind a door. Or the body he had possessed was. Seeing that Baby was still distracted, Charlie started to approach the door with slow almost hesitant footsteps. She stopped outside of the door and reached for the doorknob. Then she hesitated, wondering if she really wanted to see what was on the other side. Her strings tightened in her arms and chest as she started at the door. All at once she reached out and turned the knob.
The door stayed shut tightly. It was locked. Charlie didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed as she drew her arm back. She continued to stand there, arms crossed across her chest, and waited at the door as though it would open. It was a few minutes after that when she heard the soft sound of Baby's wheels as she slowly skated up to her. The Security Puppet turned to look back at her.
"It's locked," Charlie simply explained. Her disappointment was evident. "…Did you know him?"
"The golden bear? No," Baby answered. "Why, did you?"
"…Yeah, I kind of did," Charlie admitted. She turned back to the door and stared at it, fighting down a low vibration deep in her chest of somberness. "He was my father."
"Oh." That was all Baby said at first. She wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to react. Obviously the other felt strongly about this in some way, but Baby was so out of touch with her own feelings that she wasn't sure what would be the appropriate response. "How tragic. Both of you ended up like this… Were you close?"
"Almost, but he had his accident when I was young, so I can't remember much about him. I only even remember his voice because I used to have a couple of toys and tapes with it…" Charlie hesitated and decided to open further. "My brother went missing when we were very little, and my mom left after my dad died. I guess it made it easier that I wasn't leaving them behind …" She snapped out of it as she realized what she was doing. "I'm sorry. Here we are trying to have a good time and I've got to bring up my broken family. Can we just pretend I didn't say any of that?"
"I can't remember my family well," Baby suddenly admitted. Charlie got a look of surprise at the statement. It only grew when the clown continued. "But I think my mother died. I don't remember anything else about her… I do remember my father. I remember I was his princess. He loved me… And then he abandoned me." Her hand and claw tightened as a low static rose in her chest before falling back into calmness. "This is why I don't want to go back to that house. If I went in there, I would only remember more of them. So far everything I have remembered has been unpleasant."
"I'm sorry," Charlie said quietly. She almost wished that she never brought it up. Though this brought up a new idea and she got a small smile. "I guess we're sort of in the same boat then. We're not so different, are we?"
"I suppose we're not." Baby started to turn around, but in the motion reached out to take Charlie's arm and with soft force turned her away from the door. "But now you've put a damper on our party and you're going to make it up to me."
"I am?" the puppet asked with growing amusement as she was led back towards the box. All the trash had been scooped out and tossed carelessly aside, and all Baby had to do was set it upright. "And how do I do that?"
"I want you to show me you in your box. Do puppet things. Pop out of it or something," Baby coaxed and waited in anticipation. With an amused ring, Charlie shrugged and started to climb into the box.
"Alright, but just keep in mind that I'm not like a real puppet. I don't do this for a living," she said as she knelt down and shut the lid. She tried to get adjusted inside, only to find a spot of something sticky in the bottom. "Ugh, I think something spilled in the bottom."
"It was probably a soda or melted candy," Baby excused. She glanced over at the trash pile and stared for a few moments. "…Try not to get it on you. It may be flammable."
"Yeah, noted." Another shifting noise. "Okay, I'm just going to pop out now. Just keep in mind that this is my first time doing this." Her prong's bell jingled as it lightly knocked against the lid of the box. It felt cramped without being uncomfortable- save whatever the stain was currently taking up the floor of the box. She considered how she was going to do this and eventually decided to ring out the trademark 'Pop Goes the Weasel' song to time herself down. It wasn't anymore difficult than at the party; if anything, it was easier in front of Baby than a crowd.
The song trailed down to the end as she braced herself for the pop at the end. Anticipation built in her chest as the ringing in her chest nearly caused her to tremble. The music continued to wind to the punch.
Then she popped out of the box. It was faster than she anticipated, and she thrust her arms out forwards out of reflex, like her body suddenly followed its own course. She gave a rich ring after popping out and then waited for a reaction. Though it was while in that pose, half out of the box, that she realized exactly when she was doing. She glanced down at her arms before lowering her hands to the edge of the box. Slowly she slumped down with a sheepish and strained sort of smile.
"I enjoyed that too much," Charlie admitted. "This isn't the first-time ether. I had to stand in at a party recently for Foxy and Mari. It was just supposed to be a quick thing, wasn't supposed to be anything at all, and then somehow I ended up enjoying it and since then I don't know what to think anymore." She tapped her fingers on the edge of the box before looking up at Baby again. "I think I want to perform again, but I shouldn't."
"Why not?" Baby simply asked. The Security Puppet was taken aback by the simplistic tone. "You have a perfect body; you just need practice. Your arms should go up when you come out of the box."
"It's not that simple…" Charlie said quietly.
"Yes, it is," the clown persisted. She then slowly raised her arms above her. "There, I've done it. Now you try," she said patronizingly.
"No, not the arms! I mean me performing. Me… Becoming this animatronic-."
"Do you remember what I told you when we left Chica's Party World? I know you do, it wasn't that long ago," Baby interrupted as she let her arms drop to her sides. "You can't live by the same rules as a human anymore. If you wait then you will just waste the time you have, and you shouldn't waste a body as new and untouched as yours." She looked over the other animatronic. She couldn't help but be envious, but it was different than the envy towards Funtime Chica or Natalie had been. There wasn't hate or anger, a somber regret. "All it takes is a single day and then you will never want anything else."
Charlie didn't really know what to say. Baby had a point in what she said, and there was no denying that she did want to at least try it again. Maybe giving into this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, even if she was embracing programming.
"I won't ever be able to return to a pizzeria now. Not just because of my body, but because I know what I was made to do. The influence runs so deeply that I don't know where it ends and I begin," Baby admitted. Her claw tightened for a moment at the thought, at the brief memory of her own pizzeria and the imaginary franchise she could've had, but then let it all go. "But that's okay…" Her green eyes raised to the Security Puppet. "Because I can live vicariously through you."
"…I appreciate your honesty, even if it is a little intimidating," Charlie said with that small smile. "Alright, I'll do it. Or I'll try it out again and see how it goes." She started to climb back out of the box only to have Baby's hand reach to her head and start pushing her back down into the box.
"Not yet. First, we need to fix your act. You can't go into a party like this," Baby firmly stated. She started to close the flaps until they were only cracked enough for Charlie to peek out. "Now this time keep your arms up so I can see."
This was going to be a long night and yet neither of them had been this enthralled in a long time.
While Scott had given small hints about it and Ennard had occasionally made remarks of it, neither Mike nor Marionette could've truly anticipated what living with the clown was like. It was apparent within only a couple of hours that they didn't know what they were getting into.
"Ha ha ha! Good one!... Wait, you're serious?!" Ennard asked in shock as he continued to manipulate the controller in his hands like he was an expert, even though both suspected it was his first time ever holding a game controller. "This? Hard? Ha, this isn't hard! Geez, Mike, ya work at a pizzeria with an arcade! I just assumed you'd be a little better at games!" he mercilessly teased. Especially since he was playing the game like it was nothing.
"Wow, you guys keep a lot of ketchup in here! Guess that means you won't care if I have one, right?" Ennard playfully quipped as he boldly stole a bottle from the pantry. He then started to open it right in front of them. "Scott pretty much never buys this stuff anymore. Which is such a shame, cause it's pretty much the best thing since mustard," he added, then proceeded to carry the bottle around and tilt it back whenever.
"Oh, hey! You know what I was just thinking? I could make dinner for ya!... Don't get that look- I do it for Scott all the time! Or, you know, kind of. Trust me, Mikey. You're gonna love it," Ennard assured before completely overtaking the kitchen.
And the entire time Mike and Marionette just watched it happen. There wasn't much else they could do but watch and occasionally cringe. Ennard was like a young child; excitable, energetic, and almost completely unstoppable. He just kept going; chattering on, finding things to do, and turning the house into his own personal playground. It didn't help that he was constantly seeking their attention too, which meant he was dragging them around with him. It didn't slow down in the evening either. If anything, Ennard was only growing more restless with each passing hour, frantically searching for distractions.
Eventually, Marionette decided that it was time for a more substantial distraction. Ennard was currently back in the pantry when the Puppet approached and tapped on his arm.
"I have an idea. Why don't we sit down and play a board game?" Marionette offered. Mike had to admit that it was genius, getting Ennard pinned into one place and forcing him to focus his constantly shifting attention onto one specific thing. Especially since the game would probably last over an hour. It would at least be long enough to have the ketchup dry. "It's a Freddy themed one."
"Eh, I don't know. Maybe," Ennard said somewhat dismissively. He continued shifting through the pantry. "You guys got any popcorn? My show's coming on soon." At hearing 'my show', another adequate distraction, Marionette sent Mike a smile that looked much too wide considering the circumstances. "Any reason why your pantry is cold and buzzing?" Ennard asked in confusion.
"Ignore that, it's just pretending to be the fridge again," the Puppet dismissed. "But your show? Wonderful! We could use something to watch." He reached out and took the clown's arm and pulled him back from the door. "Why don't you come get the game with me and Mike can make the popcorn for you."
"Sound's good to me! He can heat these up too," Ennard added. He grabbed a can out of the pantry and threw it at Mike without warning. "Hey Mikey, think fast!"
The security guard barely ducked out of the way as the can soared past and hit the front door.
"Just throw those in the microwave until they start getting steamy," Ennard instructed. He then hooked an arm around Marionette. "Lead the way!" The striped one was still staring at Mike but snapped to attention and led the clown to the hallway.
"He is definitely trying to kill me," Mike thought as he leaned down and grabbed the can. "Keep it together, Schmidt. It's not that bad. Just make the popcorn and heat up some-." He looked at the can's label. "…Fruit cocktail."
Mike was in the process of opening the can of fruit when the phone started ringing. He finished and set the can aside before answering it with a simple, "Hello?" Mike was almost surprised to hear that it was Scott, considering that it was almost ten o'clock at night.
"Hey Mike," Scott greeted with what sounded like a worried tone. "Sorry to call this late, but I just got off the phone with Charlie and she said Ennard was with you?"
"You better believe he is," the younger boldly said. He then lowered his voice as he vented into the phone. "Scott, your clown is eating me out of house and home. He is literally devouring my soul." Before he could continue, he heard what sounded like rapid footsteps coming down the hallway. "And here he comes," Mike said with exasperation.
Ennard came around the corner almost as fast as Foxy would've. Mike barely managed to get out of the way as the clown grabbed the phone and lifted it. "Hello?! Scott?!... Scott! You called! Ha ha, I was hoping you would find me! How's it going over there? You guys having fun?"
Marionette came out of the hallway and headed over to stand alongside Mike, who was now pouring the fruit cocktail into a bowl to move into the microwave. The man glanced at him out of the corner of his eye as he put the fruit in and tapped twenty seconds into the microwave. "Hey," he greeted, turning towards him and leaning on the counter. "I thought you were getting Freddyopoly."
"That was the plan, but all I could find was the box and nothing in it," Marionette explained. He crossed his arms and had this strange look as he fell quiet. A few seconds passed of him watching his companion.
"You're looking at me like I did it," Mike pointed out. Instead of denying it, the Puppet simply gave him a questioning look. Perhaps even suspicious. "Yeah, I stole all the pieces and didn't get rid of the box. Genius," Mike added as he opened the popcorn bag. "Give me a little credit, Mari. If I got rid of the game, I wouldn't leave the box behind as evidence. I'd pretend it never even existed."
"Aww, that's great! I'm so glad!" Ennard could be heard gushing on the phone. "But I'm not surprised. Who wouldn't have fun spending the whole weekend with Uncle Scottie? I know I do… Just waiting for my show to come on. You know that's pretty much half the reason I came here." He gave a boisterous laugh at that and hesitated as Scott said something. "No, no, no. I'm not gonna do anything like that. Ha, I think if I did that I'd be back out on the street!" He then lowered his voice. "Besides, between you, me, and the phone, I'm pretty sure Mari's got that covered."
"What was "that"?" Mike asked. He noticed that the Puppet looked a little alarmed. "…That good? What was it?"
"Oh… Nothing, it's not important," Marionette excused quickly.
"Yeah, sure! You take it easy, alright? I'm going to be just fine, so you take care of those two kiddos and don't worry about me!" A low chuckle of laughter. "Love ya lots! Call me back tomorrow, alright? Alright!" Then the phone call ended.
For a few moments Mike was too focused on listening to the popping of popcorn to notice something was amiss. Then he glanced to Marionette and noticed that he was looking in Ennard's direction. It was only then that it became apparent how quiet everything got after the call. The clown was dead silent as he stood there and stared at the phone he just hung up. If not for the grandfather clock chiming out the hour shortly afterwards, Ennard might've just continued standing there in an uneasy silence.
"Ten already, wow! Guess time flies, huh? Come on, Mari, the show's gonna begin momentarily," Ennard rattled out with less enthusiasm from before. As though the call from Scott had just deflated him on the spot. It clearly concerned Marionette, but Mike was just relieved that he wasn't having things thrown at him. Marionette waited and took the bowl of freshly popped popcorn out with him, leaving Mike with warmed fruit that Ennard suddenly had no interest in.
Mike didn't know if it was cruel fate or a bad joke when Ennard put on the same, cheesy, vampire soap opera that he himself had watched on occasion. Usually out of a twisted sense of humor in the sense that it was so bad it was almost comical, so one episode wasn't a big deal. It turned out that the clown intended to watch as much as he possibly could, and the episodes just kept going on into the night. Most of the time, Ennard was quiet, but Mike couldn't tell if that was his typical behavior while watching the show or not.
Eventually Mike and Marionette had gotten the cards out to play and distract themselves. At first this worked like a charm and the time generally passed easier. Then the Puppet slipped up once with a card. Then he fumbled a little with them. By time he was starting to slow down, the human realized that this too wouldn't last much longer. It was still early, not even midnight, but it was clear that the striped one was worn down.
"You okay?" the security guard finally asked as the puppet clumsily shuffled his cards.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. I just didn't sleep well last night," Marionette admitted. "Usually it's not a problem, but with Foxy…"
"…Keeping you up all night every night, you haven't been catching up?" Mike guessed. While he didn't want to blame his brother, the striped one eventually nodded in agreement. The problem was that Foxy really didn't need much sleep at all and Marionette had wanted as much time as he could get, knowing that the pirate could up and leave at any time. Which he did. "Why don't you go get some sleep?"
"…You don't mind?" Marionette asked hesitantly. He briefly glanced towards Ennard, who was still watching the television. "It's still early. I'm fine." He started to deal out the cards between the two of them. Halfway through he hesitated, stared at the cards he had began to divide, and then looked to his companion. "What were we going to play?"
"The 'go to bed' game," Mike answered unenthusiastically. "Mari, come on, go get some sleep. We'll survived one night without your if it means you getting a little rest," he assured, reaching out to push down the hand that was holding the deck of card. "I can even come wind your box if all this 'excitement' out here is too much to let you sleep."
"No need. I think I'll hit the pillow and that'll be it," Marionette said. He rubbed over his mask as he gathered the cards and set them down, patting Mike's hand. "Don't stay up too late."
"I'm not looking to pull an all-nighter. I'll be in a little later," the human assured. The Puppet rose and looked to Ennard.
"Goodnight, Ennard. Sorry I'm not a better host tonight," he apologized.
"Nah, you're good. Scott would've been in bed by now and Baby pretty much doesn't get up until the crack of midnight," Ennard casually answered, still watching the show. "But you're gonna miss out. I think this is it. I think this is the episode where Vlad and Clara finally call it quits. She just found out that he's been fooling around with the guy who cleans neighborhood pool, whose her boyfriend from high school, but Vlad doesn't know that. It's all coming down tonight!"
"I'm afraid I wouldn't be in the state to enjoy it. I'll have to catch a rerun," Marionette dismissed and then started to head down the hall. He was obviously tired from how quickly he headed towards the bedroom. Mike watched him go before looking back to the television. Almost immediately he felt the boredom start to sink in. Ironically enough, he was starting to regret Ennard's more subdued state. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Ennard was entertaining, but since the phone call he had been largely silent and subdued.
All that Mike could do was watch the show, and after so many episodes he was starting to become groggy and disinterested. He wasn't even really tired and yet he was so bored that he was considering going to bed.
"Clara, it was just a one-night bite! I needed the blood from somewhere, and he was so delicious."
"When was the last time you called me delicious?! You don't care about anyone but yourself!"
That pretty much did it. Mike had almost made it to midnight, but he was just too bored to stand it. Though not bored enough to risk asking Ennard if he wanted to do something other than watch the show and clean popcorn out of his own wires now that the bowl was empty.
"I'm going to need all the sleep I can get. Chances are, Ennard's going to be just as riled as tomorrow as he was today… And I'd bet anything that most of tomorrow is going to be us tearing the house apart to find that game," Mike reasoned with himself. With a sigh, he stood from the couch. "I think I'm going to turn in. Are you going to be okay if I take off?"
"Ha ha, yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" Ennard question as he glanced towards the security guard and watched him stretch his back. "Like I told Mari, Scott would've been in bed by now. I can handle myself! Just cruising through the rocky shoreline of Vlad and Clara's tumultuous love life." In the last part his voice changed to mimic the narrator's on the show, and it was punctuated with a giggle. "It's not like you've gotta watch me or anything! Where am I gonna go?"
It was only then when the clown specifically said that Mike felt paranoid. Until then the thought hadn't even crossed his mind that Ennard might try to sneak out. He had gotten too comfortable with Foxy as a guest, since he knew that Foxy only slipped out under specific circumstances, and usually with Marionette. Ennard, however, had a specific problem in sneaking out, which he knew about because Scott had mentioned it once or twice in passing. If not for Ennard directly mentioning it with provocation, he wouldn't have even given it a passing thought. But where would the clown go?
"Back to Scott's?" Mike guessed. He sent the amalgam a flat look and he stared back. It was a few seconds before Ennard gave a response with light laughter.
"What sense does that make?! Why would I go home in the middle of the night when Scott's nephews are still there? I'd just have to walk all the way back!" Ennard defended. He looked back to the television while scraping at the bottom of the popcorn bowl, trying to find any remaining pieces amongst the leftover kernels. "You worry too much! But I get it- gotta keep an eye or two on your houseguest!"
"Yeah, something like that," the human vaguely agreed. His tone betrayed his continued suspicion, but he headed over to make sure the door was locked anyway. He made sure to discreetly slip his car keys in his pocket too. "Just have to double check. With all the cops prowling the street you can't let anyone out anymore." He started to head to the hallway. "Take it easy. Don't stay up too late."
"Aww, you care about me!" the clown chirped teasingly. He chuckled again as he turned to look after the human. "But for all you know, maybe I don't sleep at all! Now that's a scary thought!"
"No arguments there," Mike thought. In all honesty he couldn't tell if Ennard was being truthful or not, but he usually aired on the side of caution when it came to the clown. Best case scenario was that he was considering it but wouldn't actually do it. He just had to hope that Ennard knew how devastating the consequences could be if he was caught out on the street.
Still, Mike left the bedroom door open a crack in the hopes that he would be able to hear if anything happened. He changed quietly, making sure not to wake Marionette, and then got into bed.
And out of all nights, this would be the one when he couldn't sleep.
Maybe it was Ennard being in the house or maybe having Charlie and Foxy abrupt missing that threw him off. Maybe it was because he was more bored than tired, as the pizzeria being closed had completely thrown off his sleep schedule. That would be a nightmare trying to work through. Trying to get to sleep early could've helped him with that, but by time the clock struck midnight he was still awake. By time it struck twelve thirty, he had his arm around Marionette, was tucked comfortably under the warm blankets, and was still absolutely wide awake.
Paranoia about Ennard decided to rear its ugly head right about now. Especially since he hadn't shut and locked the bedroom door. Regardless of his changed behavior, Mike was entirely sure how much he trusted the clown. Maybe a little more than Baby, but not enough to bet money on or feel comfortable around. There were just too many things that were kept hushed and too many times that Ennard outright attacked them. Sure, Marionette had attacked him once, but that had been when he was confused and scared. He could've forgotten the first time they sparred with Ennard, but he hadn't forgotten the second.
Ironically enough, even knowing this Mike was somehow more afraid that the clown would accidently set the house on fire than hurt them in their sleep. Or perhaps that worry too was just a product of a restless mind that wouldn't shut down. It eventually got to the point that he turned over to check the clock, saw that it was twelve thirty-five, and decided that he was going to have to get up and go check. Maybe get a drink, maybe stretch his legs, and maybe then he would be settled enough to take a second crack at this whole sleeping thing.
Mike carefully slipped out of bed and out of the bedroom before heading down the hall. He got just past the bathroom before he noticed that while the TV was still on, Ennard was nowhere to be seen. His eyes widened and he hurried to the front door only to be caught off-guard by the door still being locked. He paused a moment before looking into the kitchen. The popcorn bowl was currently in the sink.
"Huh… Did he go to bed already? I knew he was bluffing on the sleep thing, but I didn't think he would go to sleep this early." Midnight was a second wind for animatronics, though he didn't know if that applied to Ennard. Even if he didn't, he could've never anticipated that the other would've called it a night at this hour. Mike wasn't entirely convinced and before doing anything else he headed back down the hall. He carefully pushed open the door to Marionette's bedroom, where Ennard was supposed to be staying, but didn't find the bed occupied. "And he's not here… Maybe he's in Foxy's."
Chances were, Ennard could've avoided what Marionette offered and just slept wherever he wanted. Mike wouldn't have put that past him. So, he closed the door and moved on towards Foxy's. He opened the door to find the bed also empty.
"Maybe Charlie's," Mike guessed as he started to close the door. Though he stopped right before he closed it all the way. "…Wait a minute," he muttered as he pushed the door back open. "Is that…?"
The window was open.
"You have got to be kidding me," the man snarled as he strode over. He looked out the window and saw nothing in the backyard, but the evidence was already there. "That weaselly son of a-." He cut himself off with the window closing. For a second, he considered waking Marionette, but then thought against it. "There's no point. I already know exactly where he's going. Couldn't have been gone that long, so maybe I can still catch him in the act."
He slipped into the bedroom only quick enough to pull on a different pair of pants and his shoes, then grabbed his jacket on the way out the door. Within a few minutes he was driving towards Scott's and eyeing the sides of the road as he did so. He didn't know whether it was fortunate or not that there wasn't any sign of the amalgam. It wasn't too long before he pulled up in Scott's driveway, shut off the car, and then just decided to wait in ambush. He wasn't sure how long it was- it felt like an hour but was probably closer to fifteen minutes- but he finally caught sight of something.
A figure moved around the back corner of Scott's house and disappeared behind it. Even with only a glimpse caught it was obvious who it was. Mike rolled down his window, thrust his flashlight out, and proceeded to flash the light on and off towards the back of the house. After a few seconds of this, the figure slowly started to lean out from beside the house. It was obviously Ennard and Mike gave him the flattest look he could manage before shining his light on him. As soon as the light fell on him, the clown disappeared behind the house again, and this time the flickering did not lure him out.
Mike was frustrated beyond belief as he threw open the car door and stormed right after the clown. He circled the entire house, almost wondering if Ennard went back over the fence and checking around with his light to make sure he wasn't missing anything. When he got all the way around to the far right of the house, he turned the corner and found Ennard trying to look into Scott's window. The clown looked over at him slowly, staring with that same empty, caught look.
"The one night I don't have a taser," Mike thought as he strode up to the clown. He then demanded, "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I know this looksbad," Ennard defended with an awkward sort of tone, "but I just had to come peek at the kids."
"Yeah, well now it sounds bad too," Mike said, unimpressed with the answer.
"I just- I don't know! I wanted to see them! It's not a weird programming thing or anything creepy like that. I just wanted to see if they looked like little Scotts," Ennard excused as he peered in the bedroom window. He looked around in the dark. "But I don't see them. I see Scott, but I don't see them anywhere."
"They're probably camped out in the living room," the human said with exasperation. At this, the animatronic perked, turned to walk around the house, and was immediately grabbed by the arm by the security guard. "No. We are not playing this game tonight, Ennard. You're going to get us both caught creeping around like this."
Ennard got this strange look where his eyes shifted down as though lowering non-existent eyelids in a condescending or exasperated way. "Mike, I've walked across this entire town in the middle of the night at least five or six times and I've never gotten caught. I even walked all the way to the warehouse, and it was pretty much sunrise when I did. I didn't even need the sewers for that; nobody in this town notices anything."
"Maybe not, but you better believe the one time they do would be the one time you were my responsibility," Mike affirmed. Ennard made a discordant static noise.
"Okay, okay, you win. Let's make a deal: you let me just see the kids for a second, so I know what they look like when Scott's talking on the phone, and then I get in your car and we drive home and everything's all good!" Ennard suggested as rationally as he could. "I wasn't planning on staying, Mike. I can't hang around when there's nowhere to hide. You just saved me the hike back."
Mike exhaled tiredly and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright, make it quick."
"Thanks!" With that chirp, Ennard started around the corner of the house with Mike following behind him slowly. The clown moved to the front windows and tried to see through. Thankfully, Scott had opened the blinds since Ennard was gone and he had visitors, so he could see into the house rather easily underneath them. He soon spotted both nephews. He couldn't see them well, but one was laying on the couch with a thick blanket and pillow while the other was on the floor in a sleeping bad. "I see them over there in the dark!" he whispered back to the human. "…Can't really get a good look though."
"You're not going in there, if that's what you're leading to," Mike pointed out. "You got a look and you saw Scott. Let's go before we wake them up." He turned and started heading to the car, not liking that they were standing right beside the road. He hesitated when he wasn't followed and looked back. "Ennard, come on," he said more firmly.
The amalgam made an impatient humming noise and did as told. The man was completely unsurprised when the clown climbed into the passenger seat like it was the most normal thing in the world. Though he then decided that he didn't care enough to correct it and instead just climbed in and started the car. Soon they pulled out of the driveway and were driving back towards the house.
"I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you pretty much walked out of the house the second I went to bed," Mike pointed out. "You could've at least waited an hour."
"That would be wasting a perfectly good hour! I gotta give myself a buffer zone, or I could get stuck outside all day. The places I've had to cram myself to hide- Ha, never again!" Ennard looked to Mike out of the corner of his eye, arm resting on the window, and overconfidence in his tone. "I'm not like the others. Ya don't have to teach me a lesson twice."
"So, next time you'll wait a little longer before you split, or you just won't leave at all?" Mike asked flatly. He noticed the other turn to stare at him alertly. He glanced over and asked, "What's that look?"
"You just... You ever get that feeling… Liiike you're living something that happened before?" Ennard asked as he pointed to Mike. "I dunno, something here feels like this happened before? What's that called?"
"Déjà vu?"
"Bingo! Yeah! Just got this feeling of déjà vu, but I know we haven't been in a car cruising before!" The amalgam seemed a little more excited in his tone. "We should! We should hang out and do things like normal people sometime!"
Mike considered making a comment about the situation or Ennard's behavior, or how he wasn't out here willingly, but he decided not to. He instead looked back to the road and continued driving home. Ennard fell back into that strange silence, reminding him of the time after the phone call. He gave a weary exhale.
"Look, I get it," Mike said. "I know you miss Scott and you want to go home. I totally get that, and I'm the last person who wants to start acting like everyone's dad. This was stupid and risky, but I've done stunts like this all the time. You just have to get your mind off Scott for a while and try to cruise through this weekend. Trust me, it's not a big deal." Ennard turned away to look out the window but said nothing. He had gotten him. He had somehow managed to figure him out. Mike kept trying, "There's got to be something you want to do but can't do with Scott around. Take advantage of your free time."
For a few seconds this seemed to fall on deaf ears. But then, Ennard started to slowly perk. His eyes stared out at the world as though it was suddenly opened to him. He could do whatever he wanted. Excitement pulsed through his wires.
"Well, there is one thing I've always wanted to do, but I didn't want to stress Scott out, you know?" Ennard led into slowly. His head turned just as stiffly as he looked at Mike, with that eagerness bubbling in his voice. "Come to think of it, you're kinda the perfect guy to help me out! Fritz, Jeremy, those other guys- I don't think they know, but I notice they all get flinchy around me. Not you though. You're not scared of animatronics or Freddy's, or anything like that! Whaddya say, you think you'd be willing to do something just a little crazy with me? I've gotta feeling you're really gonna go for this."
"Depends on what it is. I don't like signing up for something with all the details. I worked at Freddy's," Mike pointed out. He noticed how much Ennard was leaning in and didn't know how wary to be. "It doesn't involve anything illegal, right?"
"What? No! Nothing like that!" Ennard chirped. "It's just this one thing that I've been thinking about and I kinda want to see if I can do it, but I can't do it alone. I really could use your help in this!" He was trembling in excitement.
"…Alright, you've got me curious," the security guard almost begrudgingly admitted. "What do you want to do?"
There were a few seconds where the clown just stared at him. His blue eyes literally brightened as he stared at his ticket to whatever he wanted. Only now did Mike realize that he might've given the amalgam too much power, but never did he expect what was about to be requested from Ennard.
"I want to find out what happened to the technicians down in Afton Robotics."
It was then that Mike realized it was going to be one of those nights.
Mable: You got to love Ennard's unpredictably… Unless you're the one caught in the crossfire. Looks like Mike's got a decision on his hands, among other things. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you have a Happy Easter!