Mable: It's weird, but it feels like these chapters are going a lot faster. Even though we're only just over halfway through the story it feels like the chapters are flying by! I don't know if that's a good or bad thing anymore. I suppose good if you want to get to the juicy stuff, but it's not exactly fun to end a long fic. Anyway, Enjoy!

Almost Feels Like Home

Chapter Sixty

As luck would have it, Mike was only a few bites into a sandwich when his cellphone started to ring. "Right on time," he thought with a weary sigh. He still knew he had to get it and answered his phone. "Hello?"

"Mike, it's me." To his surprise, it was Foxy's voice that greeted him. "Look, we got a problem back here. Can't explain it now, 'cause I'm standin' in a hallway and there be people everywhere, but Mari's ran off to who knows where and I can't find him. Ya need to get back here and look fer him."

"Wait, what?" Mike asked in alarm. Still at the booth, turned himself away from the others and lowered his voice. "Are you sure he's not just out looking through the other rooms?"

"It ain't like that. We found somethin' back here that you ain't gonna- Someone's comin'!"

"Wait-." But Foxy had already hung up. He gave another impatient exhale, though this one more marred by concern than before. "And there goes Captain Foxy, stirring things up and disappearing. Just as helpful as usual," he thought as he ended the call and wrapped up his sandwich. "Someone watch my food. I've got to go check on things in the back." The others looked confused and a little concern, but Mike didn't waste the time to explain and just headed into the back.

Even though the call had been cut off, Foxy sounded bizarrely morose and uneased, and his suggestion that they 'found something' immediately put Mike on edge. His assumption was that they found an old animatronic, probably one that already moved on, that they had known in the past. Maybe the old Toy animatronics that Hickory's was trying to pawn off on some unsuspecting buyer. If that was the case, then Marionette could be much worse off than alluded to and he started to head through the back hallways to find him.

A quick check of the storage closet itself showed that both Foxy and Marionette were gone. Charlie's box was closed but that didn't mean she was here, and if she was it was possible she wasn't awake. The Minireenas were sitting on the floor beside the box on Jeremy's jacket that he had left behind. That was a relief at least; there was no doubt in his mind that if the Minireenas got out they would never find them. He headed back out into the halls and continued to search.

It soon became clear why Foxy had to call for help. With the auctions coming up there were more people wandering in the back halls. Workers now moving things out of rooms, with him even seeing what looked to be a sheet covered animatronic getting wheeled out of one room. Now he was starting to wonder if he needed to be more concerned about getting Foxy back without getting caught. Right as he was considering this he stepped into the next hall and it was then when he began to hear something peculiar- other than what sounded like distant cymbals.

At first it almost sounded like muffled laughter from a distance and it wasn't until he got closer that he noticed the dialing accompanying it. It was a familiar mix of static and inharmonious noises that he recognized.

"Is that Mari?" Mike paused to listen closer and then started to follow it. Once closer he realized what he was hearing wasn't suppressed laughter, but heavy sobbing, and once he did his heart dropped. He couldn't remember the last time he heard Marionette crying that loud, especially when he knew he was supposed to be hiding himself. Mike began to quicken his pace as he followed the weeping. "Come on, where is he? He can't be far…" Worry started to grow as he continued to hunt down the noise until eventually found himself at a bathroom.

Mike opened the restroom door and was hit by the sheer volume of the crying. Or maybe not crying but unrestrained bawling, and that sense of panic only grew. "What could they have found that was this bad?" He stepped inside and let the door shut behind him. "Mari?"

There was a soft gasp and a sharp clinking as the striped one reflexively went as silent as he could. Though he then realized whose voice he had heard. "Mi-Mike?"

"I'm here. It's just me," Mike assured as he hustled down the line of stalls. He leaned down to look under the doors and spotted Marionette in the last one, pulled into the corner in a tight ball with purple liquid everywhere. The stall unlocked with a small click as Mike approached it and he hurried inside, shut it behind him, and knelt before the striped one. "What happened? Why are you crying?"

"There's- It- Mike," Marionette choked out as he wiped his mask. It only succeeded in smearing the tears up to his forehead. "Mike, I- I made a terrible mistake!" He dug his fingers in where the mask met the top of his head in distress and gave a shaken choke from his chest. Mike's mind immediately went to the worst and he reached for him.

"Whatever it is, we'll get through it. What happened, were you seen?" the security guard asked. It was hard to watch the other break down like this, but he had to get to the root of it. Marionette shook his head. "Then what was it? Foxy said something about you finding something," he persisted. He had a feeling of dread when the puppet looked at him with this look of total anguish.

"I found Lefty." That was all the Puppet got out before Mike suddenly got this stony look. That concern was suddenly changed into a hollowness, as though barely concealing exactly what he was feeling. Foxy hadn't said anything about that, so maybe he didn't know. Because seeing Marionette in this state and remembering what that bear was capable of suggested that something foul had happened. He started to stand and the puppet reached after him. "Wait."

"I'm not going far," Mike assured in what tried to be a controlled tone. He barely withheld his anger. "I'm just going to go behead a bear. Should only take a few minutes." He was turning to storm out of the bathroom, looking like he meant every word, when a hand caught his wrist.

"Lefty is Chance. Chance is possessing Lefty," Marionette corrected. Mike looked back abruptly and that anger was exchanged with momentary shock.

"Is that why they didn't find the body?" He couldn't even imagine what had happened to the man after Springtrap drug him off, and this only raised some disturbing conclusions. "Did he attack you?"

"…He was asking me to break him. He wanted me to destroy his body so he would move on," Marionette revealed quietly. This was the last thing Mike expected to hear and it was just as unnerving for him as it was for the striped one. The puppet's voice cracked, "But Foxy came in and things got out of control, and then…" Marionette shuddered as thick purple tears rolled down his mask once more. "Charlie knows."

"She knows about Chance?" Mike guessed. All at once, Marionette broke down crying again. He hid his face behind his free hand as he clung to man's wrist with the other.

"She knows about everything! She knows the truth about who I am, about who my father is, she knows I've been hiding things, and she's never going to trust me again! All I had to do was tell her and now it's too late!" His voice sputtered as his music box poured out despair in every broken sound. Mike was barely able to hear when he added in, "I'm just like Goldie..."

"Don't say that. This isn't anything like what happened with Goldie," Mike defended as he crouched down again. He was quick to pull the distraught puppet into his arms and rubbed his back reassuringly. Normally the comfort would've had immediate results but this time he was almost completely inconsolable. "Well, I knew this was coming. Good thing I didn't do anything to stop it," Mike scolded himself.

"But it is, Mike. He hid so much from me and I've hidden so much from her. I didn't tell her about my father or the truth about Lefty… I've been lying to her every day." His fingers tightened into Mike's puppeteer shirt and pressed tighter into Mike's chest. "I never wanted to do this to her. It hurt so much when it happened to me."

"Mari, in all consideration, this is a massively different set of circumstances. Yes, you hid that you were related to the Purple Man- who would admit to that- but you didn't do it just for your own gain."

"Goldie didn't always-."

"Marionette, we both know that Henry did some of what he did for his own gain. I won't go so far to say all of it was crooked, but we both saw some shady stuff go down in that warehouse," Mike argued back. He shifted to cup Marionette's mask in his hands. "Hey, look at me." It took a moment as the animatronic seemed intent on looking anywhere else, perhaps out of shame. Eventually he caved and looked at his companion. "I'm not going to sugar coat it: Charlie is going to be confused and upset, but it will pass. We'll work through this."

While Marionette was doubtful, he gave a stiff nod. He couldn't hide in here forever crying. He took a few more moments of comfort but knew that he would have to go deal with the matter at hand. He had left Foxy with Lefty, a terrible decision that no rational person would make. Even though he made this mistake he couldn't hide from his responsibilities elsewise.

"Mike… Mike, we have to go see Chance," Marionette said as he tiredly drew back. His neck seemed limp and his head still hung forward in distraught. "He was down in the basement. We have to go back to him and then… Then we will figure out the rest."

"Sounds like a plan… Are you sure you want to come? I can go gawk at Chance and come back for you. You don't have to get near that bear again," Mike offered. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he trusted him anywhere near Lefty, even if it was now Chance controlling it. He hadn't been the most trustworthy. Yet the Puppet still nodded.

"No, I need to be there. I can't hide forever," Marionette insisted. He attempted to stave off the tears and wipe off his mask on his hands and arms. "Was I terribly loud?"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Mike dismissed, offering him some toilet paper to dab his face with. "You want to hear loud then walk out into the hallway. It sounds like there's a disgruntled drummer taking out all his anger on a set of cymbals out there."

"Oh, that's the Music Man," Marionette admitted as he wiped off the last of the paint. "He's not too happy with me either." With a sigh, he tossed away the purple stained paper and rose off the floor, taking Mike's offered hand. "I'm ready."

Mike paused expectantly only to notice the animatronic not teleporting off. His eyes dropped to their still joined hands. "Wait you're coming with me, with me?" The security guard wasn't expecting the nod of agreement. That could be risky. "Alright, well… Just stay close to me and if someone pops up then I'll just pick you up and say I'm carrying you off to get maintenance. Because nobody's going to argue with a leaking puppet," he said with a small smile, trying to rouse the littlest bit of humor. Marionette might've tried to give one, but it looked very unconvincing. Mike patted his back sympathetically; at least he wasn't still crying.

Mike stepped out of the bathroom slowly and looked around to make sure the hall was empty. He then opened the door more, signaling that it was safe for the other to come out. Marionette slipped out and promptly pressed against Mike's back and securely wrapped his arms around his right one. This would slightly shield him from certain angles of view, but Mike suspected it was more for comfort reasons.

They moved down the halls carefully with the animatronic whispering directions into the security guard's ear. His soft voice was so close that it sent tingles down Mike's spine, which completely contradicted the largely tense circumstances. More than once they had gotten dangerously close to other voices but had managed to evade being spotted as they made it to the other stairwell. Soon they were in the hall outside of the conference room where Lefty had been last seen. Except that things had noticeably changed.

The conference room doors were both propped open and the room's lights were now on, but Lefty himself was nowhere to be seen.

"That's where he was… Someone must have found him and took him away," Marionette guessed. It didn't matter how uncomfortable the circumstances were, Lefty being gone was devastating. Though not the most concerning matter at hand. "You said you talked to Foxy? Where was he?"

"On the phone. He found a phone somewhere and was evading getting spotted… You know, all that activity upstairs is because they're getting ready for the auction. If he's due to get auctioned off then they might've picked him up and carted him off somewhere for that," Mike pointed out. "And if that's the case, he might be out of our hands."

"No, Mike. He's not," Marionette affirmed gravely. "If Chance is in the auction… Then we will need to purchase him."

"Excuse me?" Mike asked in disbelief.

At that second someone walked by in the conference room. The Puppet grabbed the security guard's arm and pulled him aside behind the chairs. Once the person was out of sight- though there was talking from inside the room- the two stepped back into the stairwell. It was only once the door was shut that Mike turned back on Marionette with immediate disagreement.

"Why would we want to do that? Mari, this is the man who tried to kill us. He went out of his way and plotted an elaborate scheme just to set us all on fire. Now I didn't want him to die in that fire, but I don't want to be responsible for him," Mike insisted adamantly. Marionette's own features grew firm as well.

"It's not a matter of wanting to do anything. Certainly not after what he put us through…" Yet just as quickly, Marionette's faced softened again. "But whether or not we want to, this is what we should do. It would be cruel to stand aside and let someone buy and use him when he is already despairing to move on. What would that make us?"

"Maybe, but what are we putting ourselves in the middle of by taking him in? We don't have to be the martyrs in this situation, Mari. It isn't our fault he died. The man had a gun to my head! Do you think he would've given us that same consideration?" Mike whispered harshly. Marionette folded his arms and looked towards the floor. "He put himself in this situation. He put all of us in this situation."

The Puppet considered his point for a few moments, but then he had his own counter. Unfortunately, it was more effective than any plead for mercy. "On the other hand… Chance wants to be destroyed and out of his body. He's beginning to lose his sense of self-preservation. He could become desperate enough to do something… Impulsive."

"And how's that?" Mike asked doubtfully. Marionette's voice was cryptically solemn as he glanced to the door.

"All of us animatronics are in a mutual, silent understanding about our own survival. We don't say it, but even if we are at odds, we know that risking one of us could risk all of us," Marionette explained. His eyes glanced back to Mike. "All it would take is one animatronic to sink all of us."

"…Chance isn't stupid enough to do that," Mike muttered. Though it was less of a statement and more a mutter of disbelief as his eyes widened in realization. "He couldn't be that much of a vindictive-."

"I think we both know he could. He has before," the Puppet pointed out. He shook his head with a windy sigh. "Let's face it, Mike, whether out of pity or self-preservation, we can't afford to let him get sold."

"And if he's not for sale?" the man asked. This challenge was met with a lingering silence. Though Mike already knew the answer and exhaled with defeat. "I usually love it when you're right about something."

"I do too, but I don't think is the answer either of us wanted," Marionette admitted with equal disappointment. Everything about the situation was vexing.

"Alright. We're going to the auction anyway, so we'll keep an eye out for him… Shouldn't be that hard to spot a one-eyed, discolored Freddy."

"Mike, we're at an animatronic auction that was primarily started just to boost up Fazbear Entertainment's massive ego. If we don't see at least three or four recolored Freddy- most of them being 'Fazbear originals'- then I will be extremely disappointed," the Puppet lightly joked. He managed a small smile and struggled to ease the mood. "Would you mind escorting me back to the storage room? I would rather not pop in."

"Sure. What are puppeteers for?" Taking his arm again, they headed back up the stairs and into the back hallways. Things were still uncomfortable, and both knew they would face more discomfort in the coming hours, but they still pressed on with the flimsy belief that they might still be able to control the situation.

After careful circumnavigating of the backrooms, the two managed to make it to the storage closet. The door was still unlocked and Mike was opening it when he suddenly heard rapid footsteps. He only had a second to grab Marionette and move out of the way before Foxy blazed down the hall and skirted into the room.

"Oh, hey Foxy," Mike simply greeted as he stepped in with Marionette and shut the door behind him. "You find the place okay?"

"Bloody 'ell, there be landlubbers all over the place!" Foxy complained. He began pacing within the tight confines of the room with his hand and hook on his hips. "Was hunched down with me knees up to me eyepatch waitin' fer 'em all to move," he exaggerated. He stopped pacing when he noticed the Minireenas coming up to him. He leaned down to meet them. "No joke, lasses! There be close to a dozen of 'em!"

Rose covered her mouth in shock, Forget-Me-Not tapped her chin in doubt, and Daisy hugged his leg sympathetically.

Mike glanced to Marionette with amusement only to notice that he was looking towards the magic puppet box. It didn't take him long to realize that Charlie was probably holed up inside. He considered what to do for a moment and then began to walk over. Marionette watched him and neither stopped him nor followed with him. Mike tapped lightly on the box.

"Hey Charlie, it's Mike. You're in there, right?" he asked. There was a lift shifting sound from inside.

"Hey Mike," Charlie answered. Her voice was tired and morose, but he could tell she was still frustrated. If she was upset with Marionette hiding the truth, then there was no doubt that probably stretched to him too.

"Just double checking. You want to come out and talk?" the security guard asked. There was a long pause.

"… No. Not right now," the Security Puppet finally answered.

"Alright." So, he let it go. If she wasn't ready to talk then he wouldn't make her. Instead, he looked back to Marionette and gave a slight shrug. The Puppet looked aside and squeezed his own arm, a slightly hurt look on his face. "I'm going to go bring the others up to speed on what's going on and I'll give you an update after the auction," Mike said as he passed. He turned to give him a quick one-armed hug before continuing to the door. "Hang in there."

Marionette nodded stiffly as he heard the door shut behind him. Thankfully, Foxy didn't seem to piece together the auction comment. At least that was a conversation avoided for a little longer.

By time Mike got back to the booth, the others were pretty much finished eating and were chatting and laughing like nothing was wrong. The mood dropped as they saw him coming up with the purple paint thick on the front of his shirt. He silently came over and sat down for a second, letting his exhaustion show, and then attempted to explain.

"I got a call from Foxy saying that he couldn't find Marionette, so I'm thinking he's exploring the rooms and just lost track of time. I get back there, Foxy's gone, and I find Marionette hiding in a bathroom. See, Foxy didn't tell me, but while sneaking around back there they found Lefty. I'm sure everyone remembers Lefty?" There were a few nods. "Well, just to bring you up to speed, Lefty didn't get up and start talking last time. This time he did, because this time Lefty was alive." He paused with a slow exhale. "Because Lefty is Chance."

He expected shock and he wasn't even surprised when Fritz shot to his feet. "What-?!" he blurted out too loudly. Jeremy was quick to grab his arm and yank him back, snapping him out of his shock enough to realize that it was probably not smart to go yelling in the middle of a conference hall. The technician sat back down and lowered his voice. "What do you mean, Chance is Lefty?! He's back there right now?!" Mike nodded and the technician dropped his head into a hand, shaking it slowly. "I just thought he slipped out the back and went into hiding."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. Now Marionette thinks we should buy him," Mike answered. "Jury's still out but we're thinking he's going to be in the auction."

"Why would we do that?" Jeremy asked in disbelief. "I mean, this isn't- he's not just some- after the fire- Foxy's couldn't actually agree with this."

"I'm not happy about this either, but Mari had a good point. Chance is unhinged and looking for a quick way out, and he might just throw us under the bus if he gets the chance. And even if he doesn't, he could do something else that either comes back to us or just destroys somebody else's life. The long and short of it is that we have no choice," Mike insisted. Jeremy bit his lip tightly. It looked like he wanted to protest and that he was struggling holding back his disagreement. "I don't want anything to do with Chance or Lefty, let alone some freakish combination of them both."

"I don't think I could leave him like this…" Fritz quietly admitted. "I know what he did was terrible and there's no forgetting that… But we also know that living bots don't do well out there alone. Chance was already an old man, just because he's in a different body doesn't change that. He shouldn't be stuck in a Chipper's somewhere." It soon felt like Fritz was playing the defendant for Chance, a role he didn't exactly want.

"Where would we put him?" Jeremy asked. From the defeat in his voice it sounded like he knew that there wasn't much of an option. "I can't take in another animatronic and putting them in the warehouse just doesn't work. It didn't work for Foxy, it didn't work for Baby; it doesn't work."

"He can always come stay with us. We can use the same guest room that we were going to use with Baby," the technician volunteered. Natalie looked alarmed.

"With us? But what if he's dangerous? We thought Baby was dangerous and she didn't surprise us. We know this guy's dangerous and now…" She gave Fritz a strained look, hoping that he would agree. Unfortunately, it looked like he was still willing to fight for it.

"Chance isn't that dangerous. What he did- he doesn't have the means to do that anymore! And that Lefty suit isn't anything like Baby. There's nothing in it that's made to hurt anyone."

"Yeah, I'd like to contest that," Mike butted in. "It's made to hurt someone."

"You've got to admit, Mike. The things that body's made to do won't work on a human. They might not even work at all if he's not been kept up in working order. I just… I don't know. I haven't seen Chance in years, I know he's not the man I used to work with anymore, but I can't just… I can't willingly leave him here." Fritz was beginning to cave underneath it all. "I just need to do something, and this is all I can think of."

Natalie watched him slump, looking as downtrodden as ever, and gave a slow exhale as she too caved. "Alright," she agreed. Fritz's head snapped up. "Alright, if you somehow get Chance then he can come stay with us. But I want to clarify that I'm not doing this for Chance, I'm doing this for you… And Mari, and Jeremy, and everyone else so they don't have to deal with it."

He was washed in relief and leaned over to kiss her cheek thankfully. "Thank you."

"Yeah, don't mention it," she said with a pout. At least it wouldn't be Baby again but honestly it didn't feel much better.

Then it was all a matter of waiting for the auction to begin. Things quieted down with a strained amount of unrelated small talk to pass the time. Mike finished his lunch and everyone did their best to not bring up the elephant in the room. Finally, when the auction opened, Mike, Jeremy, and Fritz headed over while Natalie volunteered to watch the booth. She seemed disinterested in watching the auction for obvious reasons.

The three were soon sitting in the far back corner of the seats and looking past a few dozen people to see the stage. It was all set up rather nicely, more professional than the auctioning they had done before opening Foxy's. There were a lot more people too and they were currently sitting between them and their possible purchases.

"How are they even going to see us all the way back here?" Jeremy asked as he anxiously palmed the paddle in his hand. "We could lose just because we're stuck back here."

"This is the best spot, trust me," Mike insisted. He leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms and legs to try and get comfortable. "If we're in the front then everyone's going to see our bid and if we're in the middle we're going to get lost in the sea of people. The auctioneer knows he's going to lose the back so he's going to subconsciously know to look here more often. Best seat in the house."

"Pretty sound logic," Fritz agreed. It was then that they began to wheel something onto stage with a cloth over it. "Here we go."

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Animatronicon's auction house. We will begin today's auction with-…" The worker turned auctioneer trailed off as another man removed the sheet from the object, revealing it to be a familiar face. "A Fazbear original 'Orville Elephant' animatronic. It is in working condition and ready to perform with a history of only minor maintenance."

"Exactly how minor is sitting decapitated in a basement?" Mike whispered to Fritz.

"If it's related to Fazbear Entertainment, that's still considered a slap on the wrist," the technician joked back.

"We'll start the bidding at three thousand dollars."

"Start?!" Jeremy blurted in disbelief. "How can they 'start' with three thousand? They just said it was old and damaged!... And might be haunted, maybe."

"And I know for a fact it fell on a kid once," Mike dismissed. "They're just jacking up the price because they get to put the good old Fazbear seal of approval on it." There was a long pause as they listened to the continued auctioning and watched paddles shoot up.

"If that's how much Orville the Elephant is going for, what's an actual Freddy going to go for?... Even one that's just a recolor. They won't notice the difference," Fritz murmured quietly. They just watched as Orville's price went higher and higher until he was wheeled off stage for a little over four thousand dollars. "Let's just hope he was the expensive one."

A second covered figure was now brought up on stage. It looked to be bigger than Orville was and it was uncovered to reveal an unsettling looking metal spider. It looked to be in even better condition than Orville had been. It was as clean and shiny as something that just came off a conveyor belt.

"Second on the auction block is the 'Music Man' animatronic. It is in 'ready for showtime' condition with original parts and no history of repairs. Paint has been touched up on the back panels and comes with replacement cymbals. Let's start the bidding at five thousand dollars."

This time Mike did react and sat up abruptly in his seat. "That thing is going for five thousand dollars?" He sent a look of disbelief to the others. Jeremy returned it while Fritz dropped his head in his hand. "And that thing was raising cain in the back. It's definitely not in working condition… Do you know what this means?"

"That chances are we're walking out of here with nothing?" Jeremy asked with defeat. He sounded just like Fritz looked. "That chances are we won't even get Lefty?"

"No, it means-." Mike cut off as he considered something else. He paused a moment, thinking about it, and then responded. "It means I got that Security Puppet for a steal. We're going to have to start doing our shopping at failing businesses."

"I know. If they were selling her here, she would've probably been going for- what- ten thousand dollars or something," Jeremy exaggerated. He gave a disappointed huff as he set the paddle in his lap, assuming that he wouldn't be using it today. "Maybe we should just drop Foxy's off somewhere and have him raid the place."

"Hush money would definitely be cheaper than this. Especially if we added in thinly veiled threats and started name dropping Freddy's," Mike said with a growing smirk. He couldn't help but have a little fun, even if he was disappointed. Jeremy noticed it and got a little smile too. Fritz just continued to sulk in his own lap. "Come on, Fritz. Where's that sense of humor of yours? This is hilarious. It's a perfect example that no matter what we do, something's going to go terribly wrong."

"Funny enough but I don't feel like I'm in the laughing mood right now," Fritz said with dry sarcasm. He raised his head with a tired sigh and stared at the stage. "…Though to be honest, I wouldn't have been bidding on that thing even if it was cheap."

With that, Music Man was sold, and the next item was brought onto stage. Mike was fully prepared to be disappointed and braced himself to riff on it to cope with the sheer stress of knowing Chance would soon be up there too. Instead, the cloth was removed, and his brows raised as he recognized the item currently being shown off on the stage.

"Next item up for auction is the 'Candy Cadet' from Smiles and Servos Inc. In moderately functioning condition and in need of some maintenance repair. Let's start the bidding at two hundred dollars."

"Jeremy, bid," Mike spoke before he even thought. Just seeing the thing again and hearing that price piqued his interest. He glanced over to see both the blond and Fritz looking at him in confusion. "I saw it over at Magictime Theater and I'll admit that it's a mess in action, but it might be the closest thing we're getting to an animatronic. All you do is pop a quarter in and it give you candy and maybe a story."

"Maybe a story?" Fritz asked for clarification. Before he could get said clarification, Jeremy's arm shot up to bid. "Wait, Jeremy. We should talk about this first before we do anything. I don't like that 'moderately functioning' comment he threw in."

"It might need a few tune-ups and a refill of candy, but it's a good distraction and an even better quarter magnet. And it's cheap too," Mike tried to convince.

"Mike, we're already pressed on cash in comparison to all these people-."

"Come on, Fritz. We need this." This time Mike was completely humorless. "It's going to be hell once we're back at Hurricane trying to figure out this Chance thing. Just trust me with this. I know what I'm doing."

There was a long pause before Fritz caved. Not because he changed his opinion, but because he did trust Mike's judgement. So, instead, the technician just looked over to Jeremy and nodded. "Alright. Let's ride it out," he agreed. "Let's get us a Candy Cadet."

In the end, interest in Candy Cadet was not as high as the other animatronics. Probably from the warnings before the auction even began. Foxy's secured the win and the Candy Cadet for only a little over three hundred dollars, which was strikingly cheap in comparison to the other animatronics they had seen. Finally, they had received a victory and were on the verge of celebrating their good fortunate when another animatronic was wheeled out. It too was covered in a sheet, but somehow they knew what it was.

The sheet was pulled off and that yellow eye stared out emptily at the crowd of people.

"Next on the auction block is Black Bear animatronic. Currently out of service and in need of repair to return to functioning order. The seller also notes that when activated, the bot is prone to wandering and… Can open doors on its own." Even the auctioneer sounded like he was disturbed. Though that wasn't surprising considering how dead eyed the bear looked, yellow eye angled down and mouth agape. His arms slumped at his sides. "And considering the… Amount of refurbishing needed to get it in working order, we will begin the bidding at a discount."

"This better be a massive discount. He still owes me a walk-in clinic bill," Mike muttered under his breath. He couldn't help but stare down the bear with a cold glare. Both the suit that had tormented Marionette and the man who had tried to kill them combined in one; he could feel the anger radiating. He still knew they had to do this.

Fritz was just as determined. He too was angry at Chance, though not as much or in the same way as the others, but he couldn't leave the man to this fate. There was already enough guilt in letting him die, but to have him now trapped in a bear, unattended to, used as a tool; he couldn't stand by for that. Chance deserved the anger, but not like this. No matter the price, Fritz would get him home.

"Let's start the bidding at five dollars."

As the door opened, the light from the hall crossed the room and fell right on Lefty. Almost as though someone set it at that angle on purpose. Fritz swallowed thickly and stepped into the room, his shadow being cast over the bear, and held open the door for Mike and Jeremy to wheel in the dolly and the toolbox. It was just a precaution, but the technician suspected he would need it. He closed the door behind them and began to cross the room. The bear was standing but didn't look at him when he approached.

"Chance?" Fritz tentatively asked while stepping closer. Mike and Jeremy stayed silent, both looking equally wary with the former looking aloof and the latter unsettled. "Chance, do you remember me? I'm Fritz."

It was only then that Lefty finally responded. Its eye suddenly focused on Fritz and it began to raise its head slowly. Then a low gurgling and crackling began to come from inside its chest as it tried and failed to speak. Anything above a whisper converted into garbled noise that was impossible to decode.

"Wait, hold on. I might be able to fix that," Fritz said as he turned to Jeremy and got his toolbox from him. He set it down on one of the nearby shelves and opened it up before turning back towards Lefty. Then, without much warning, he reached for the bear's bowtie. He tried to grab and pull at it. Nothing happened. "Huh… Okay, new plan." He then reached up and pressed the bear on the nose. It let out a dull squeak but again nothing happened.

"…So, what exactly are we doing here? Trying to poke the bear until you get a response?" Mike guessed with a complete lack of amusement.

Jeremy cleared his throat in his fist. "He's, uh, he's actually trying to get it open. That's how the old Freddys would open."

"There's one mystery solved," Mike remarked. "Can't say I was that interested in popping Freddy open though…"

As though listening and realizing what was happening, Lefty himself decided to step in. Fritz's arm recoiled as the bear's raised to his own chest and grabbed ahold of the star. He turned it to the right with the points moving three spots, clicking as it did so. Then he turned the star to the left two clicks, then to the right once, and then pressed in. There was a loud clunk as the chest cavity popped open. Mike made sure to remember the combination even though he never wanted to be unfortunate enough to use it.

Fritz opened the bear and revealed the interior, which Mike stepped forward to look at. It was disturbing to say the least. Instead of the normal endoskeleton that an animatronic was supposed to have, the inner workings were all built around a large cavity in the center of its chest. Most of the wiring was in the upper area and neck, as was the speaker. It was while scanning this cavity that Mike found melted metal that looked like they were once latches and he could only guess that they were to guarantee suit seal. Someone must've melted them to open the hatch, maybe going through the neck to do so.

But it was clear that whoever opened Lefty to repair him had done a pitiful job. Fritz was disgusted to see that most of the wires were still thick with fire residue and tangled together. The ones from the speaker had been taped back together with cheap, clear tape, not even sparing the funds for proper electrical tape. With a huff, Fritz grabbed a pair of rubber handled scissors and the electrical tape from the box.

"Just bear with me and I'll get this all cleaned up. Maybe then you'll be able to talk right," Fritz offered with a smile.

"Really? A pun now?" Jeremy whispered to Mike. "Is this really the time for a pun?"

"I know," Mike agreed. "And I thought the situation was unbearable enough as it was." He sent the older a small smirk to which he frowned back. "What, too much?"

"I don't mean to be the bear of bad news, but that was bearly a pun. Fur Freddy's sake, Mike, you should at least try a different word, beclaws using the same pun over and over again causes it to lose its bite," Jeremy listed out. Now it was Mike's turn to stare. "I thought maybe if I went through as many as I possibly could, I'd kill the joke."

"I am so sorry. This is not what I planned on starting with that comment," Fritz murmured to Chance as he clipped the tape. He wished it was easing the mood, they all did, but it was uncomfortable standing there as the silent black bear was worked on. Jeremy refused to look at Lefty, Mike only did with a poorly hidden scowl, and Fritz continued until he had somehow repaired the speaker enough that it wasn't as staticky. Eventually he removed the tools from inside the bear and drew back to put them away. "Okay, so that should be it if-."

He was caught off guard by Lefty's hand grabbing his arm and roughly yanking him in. Mike and Jeremy's heads snapped over in shock, with the former rushing in to try and yank the technician back. Before he could, Fritz was pulled in close to the damaged speaker, just enough to hear Chance's whispering coming through.

"I can't stay inside this bear," Chance murmured. His voice bordered between desperate and deranged, and from that alone Fritz could tell he was not in his right mind. He couldn't imagine what he had been through. "It won't let me go. You have to break me. Burn me." The security guard and bear briefly had a tug of war before the technician was pulled free of the grasp. He staggered back, staring at the bear that stared at him, and Mike glared with the intention of saying something. Fritz beat him to it.

"Chance, you don't understand. Shutting you down isn't going to get you out of Lefty and burning- we're not going to do that. Animatronics have moved on before without being… Forcibly moved on," Fritz insisted. He stepped forward and reached out carefully, somewhat afraid that the bear would grab him again, but when he didn't he rested a hand on its thick, dark shoulder. "We're going to take you with us."

"You see, we own you now," Mike spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest. "But unlike you, we don't burn people just because some bear wills it."

That seemed to catch the black bear's attention. The bear's yellow eye slowly widened as the pupil shrunk, and Lefty stood there in silent horror. They had bought him. They owned him. They could do whatever they wanted and there was nothing he could do. The nightmare would continue.

"Don't worry. It's not what you think," Fritz defended as he stepped between their line of vision. He had his hands raised and kept his voice calm, "I'm going to take you home with me. Not to the pizzeria, not to the warehouse, just to my home where we can figure this all out." Lefty gave no response. "Chance?" It was almost as though the bear had just shut down after that moment of lucidity. With a slow exhale, Fritz decided that there was no use in pressing further. "Let's just get you out to the van. Mike… Jeremy, can you help me?"

"Good choice," Mike sardonically thought as he stepped aside to let them work. He watched as the two loaded the black bear onto the dolly. All joking was long gone now and the two were quiet as they wheeled him out. Unlike the other workers who had moved him, they didn't tether him down, so they had to be careful while moving him out.

Now alone, Mike wandered over towards the Candy Cadet and looked the robot over. "Hey, Candy Cadet. No story today I'm guessing," he remarked to the bot. He gave a dry chuckle and reached out to pat its shoulder in a mock-sympathetic fashion. "That's fine. I'm not really feeling up to one. I've had my fill of drama today…" He looked around the room without actually looking, instead drifting into his thoughts. "What a train wreck. I just wish this was already over."

The security guard shook his head and started to head to the door. He still had some time before they came back with the doll. He could at least go check on Marionette and Foxy beforehand.

"But he would never leave them."

Mike nearly jumped out of his skin and spun around to look towards the Candy Cadet. He caught a glimpse of it lighting up and shaking like it was malfunctioning. "What the-?... Moderately functioning condition, yeah right," he muttered as he walked back towards the robot. "Look, if you're alive or something then I'd like to know now before I get you in the van."

Candy Cadet did not respond. Mike gave an impatient exhale and reached into his pocket for his wallet. "I know what'll get you talking," he murmured as he pulled out a quarter and popped it inside. "Let's see how much repair you really need," he said as he turned the crank.

Once again, the rainbow lights began to flash as the robot started to shudder. There was definitely some sort of issue with it, but it was impossible to diagnose what was wrong.

"Now I will tell you a story about a man with no family. He was very alone and had nobody else in the world, so he decided that he would find a family. He looked and looked, but he couldn't find the family he wanted, so he was at a loss. Then one day he found someone lonely like him and he was nice to them, and they stayed. He learned that he didn't need to find a family, he could make one, so he was kind to everyone and soon he had a happy family made of the people he was kind to. Instead of being a lonely man, he was a kind man."

Suddenly, a piece of candy dropped into the bot's dispenser.

"Have some candy," Candy Cadet finished. Then he started to drop more. "Candy. Candy. Candy." With a piece of candy dropping with every word, until one even fell off and to the floor. Mike just watched the scene with a slowly raising brow.

"…Great story there, Candy Cadet," Mike complimented half-heartedly as he took the candy. He thumbed through the old, melted pieces. "At least it was a story this time…" he thought. Though considering the day he had, he still considered this a victory. "Well, welcome to the Foxy crew. Keep your arms inside the vehicle at all times."

Mable: At this rate, people might start suspecting that Mike helped sabotage Magictime Theater just to get their goods. Though it would fit with the pirate theme, wouldn't it? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!