Mable: Hello again! I'm going to keep the author's note brief again, so Enjoy!

Almost Feels Like Home

Chapter Sixty-Four

It only took a few rings before Mike answered his phone with a simple, "Hello?" The hum of his car could be heard in the background, meaning that he was still in the process of driving home.

"H-Hello? Hello, Mike, hey. Uh, we- I'm over here at your house with Charlie and there was a break in," Scott explained. He tried to keep his voice from stuttering even when he was in distress. He was currently staring out the window into the front yard, watching for signs of any movement, twisting the blinds' cord in his fingers and looking uneasy.

"…I'm sorry, what?" Mike asked in disbelief.

"I-It was Michael. Springtrap. He broke in through one of the windows and ransacked the basement, but he's gone now. He snuck out through a secret hatch."

"Are you kidding me?! You can't be serious, this can't- I leave the house for five minutes-!" Mike cut off and Scott could hear what sounded like Marionette growing static in the background. Though what he made out more clearly was a comment the other man made under his breath. "That old man was right. He was watching the house…" He snapped out of whatever trance he was in and asked, "You said Charlie's okay?"

"Charlie's fine. She's- I mean, she's a little shaken, but so am I and I didn't even see him!" Scott gave a nervous chuckle. "But anyways, so I'm going to stick around here until you guys get back. Where are you?"

"About forty-five minutes out. Forty if I push it. Hold on a second." Mike moved the cell phone aside and could be heard talking to Marionette. "She's alright. Scott said Springtrap's already taken off." Instead of a real answer, there seemed to be a garbled static noise of growing frustration. "Yeah, same here," Mike agreed. He then raised the phone again. "Thanks for this, Scott. If he comes back, then take her and the cat and just leave. I don't care about the house-… Okay, I care about the house, but I can fix whatever he breaks. I don't want him getting ahold of anyone. You included."

"Duly noted. But considering the circumstances at home…" If Ennard knew about this-. "Yeah, I think it would just be better if we waited it out here. Besides, he already left. I don't think he's going to be wanting to come back. Just be careful and don't speed. It's dark out there and we don't need an accident on top of all this… I'll tell her. Take care." He ended the call and turned to Charlie. "They're on their way."

The Security Puppet was sitting at the dining room table with a distant look. She still held the bat in her lap tightly as she looked up at him and nodded in understanding.

"Alright… Now on to the hard part…" Scott gave a shaky sigh and dialed a second number. After a few moments, a familiar voice answered the phone, his own. "Hey! Uh, it's just me! I'm here at Mike and Mari's."

"Well, hey there! Long time no see! Or hear, ha ha!" Ennard chirped over the line, returning to his own voice. "So, what's the buzz? What's going on over there?"

"Not too much now. So, uh, nobody's over here and the house is secure, but Charlie's a little uncomfortable so I'm going to stay until Mike and Mari get back. I just called them; it should only be three quarters of an hour." This was one of those non-lies. Scott was technically not lying but omitting a good portion of the truth. When Ennard wasn't instantly ready with a response, the line falling silent for a few seconds, it was clear that the clown was catching on. "Charlie's pretty upset and I just don't feel right leaving her alone. Better safe than sorry."

"Aww! Well, why don't ya just bring her over here? Baby would love a sleepover!"

"I would but I already talked to them and you know how worried Mari can get. He'd probably pop in right as she got to our house-." He was briefly interrupted by a 'the more the merrier' from Ennard and got a smile from it. "I won't be here that long. I promise I'll be heading home as soon as they get back. You just hold down the fort until then."

"Can do!" Ennard eagerly replied. Though his tone then changed just slightly. "You stay safe over there. I can't protect ya when ya don't let me."

"The only thing you would be protecting me from over here is an overly affectionate cat," Scott assured as he felt Moppet rubbing on his leg again. "Just let Baby know that Charlie alright, okay? Love you."

Sneaking that in at the end would always pacify the clown, and then he would pay less attention to the man's abrupt ending of the call. With a sigh, he returned his cellphone to his pocket and looked back to Charlie. All at once he felt a little shameful for his actions.

"You know I wouldn't ever lie to Ennard under normal circumstances. And I guess I didn't lie, but I didn't really tell him the truth," Scott confessed as he sat down across from her. He lifted Moppet to sit in his lap and began to pet her with shaking hands. "I just can't have him trying to get over here. One of these days he might not be careful enough and then- Oh boy. I'd rather not think about that. It's amazing enough that Springtrap's making his way around being spotted… But if they're both taking the same tunnels, then that's a recipe for disaster."

It was bringing up the rabbit again that made Charlie remember how long Scott was involved at Freddy's. She glanced across at him and saw the unease on his face. Probably still from the revelation that Springtrap and Ennard could probably run into one another any day now. She didn't need context to know that it would be bad. Instead, she focused on the subject at hand.

"Did you know Michael? Or how he ended up in that springlock suit? If that was William's suit, I guess he could've had access to it…" She exhaled static and tapped her fingers on the table. She felt wired- her left hand still wound to the bat- and wanted answers that she feared she wouldn't get. "Mari doesn't talk about Michael, and Mike only knows about what happened after he became Golden Bonnie."

"Mari wouldn't know much about Michael. See, he left home when he was still pretty young, not too long after William's wife passed away. I think he went to live with relatives for a while and William pretty much disowned him. I met him a few times though. He didn't like me very much and considering the circumstances I don't blame him," Scott explained. He then got an uneasy look. "…That suit though… You're right, it was William's. It disappeared for time to time, but it was never really gone. He just hid it."

"But why would Michael get in the suit?" Charlie insisted. "I think Mike and Baby might've said that Michael was one of the ones who were targeted in Afton's to be used as a suit, so how did he get back out and in there?"

"That I couldn't really say. Ennard's been a little more open about the scooping since he got some of his memories back, but he- I don't know if he knows much about Michael… I do know he gets uncomfortable when I mention him. Maybe he knows something more than he lets on, but if it's just that he witnessed him being scooped too, then it's not worth making him recount that." An uneasy pause settled on the air. Scott decided to fill it with chatter once more. "But those springlock suits never worked right. I'm honestly surprised this one held up this well."

"Me too. I've seen some of those springlocks outside of the suits before and they just don't hold up. Pressure, water, rust-." Charlie listed them off on her fingers. "Dust, sweat, a light breeze-."

"Any amount of electricity," Scott finished. Charlie glanced to him curiously. "If you can get them on a joint- something connected to the endoskeleton and not just the suit- a quick jolt will cause springlocks to fail. And they fail spectacularly. Even if they're in character mode they'll seize and release- they'll do everything short of bursting into flames." She looked surprised and he got a slight smile. "Just for future reference."

"You know a lot about these suits," the Security Puppet remarked.

"Everything there is except how to rebuild them," the Phone Guy answered, almost bragging. He looked down at Moppet and pet over her back. Cats always made him feel calmer, made it easier to talk without his voice catching. "Especially William's suit… I must've helped him put it on and take it off at least a dozen times. I was the only one he let help him, but I don't think he really needed it. He just did it to make me feel like I was needed." A long time ago he would've thought this was to boost his confidence, but over the years Scott had realized it was only for one person's gain, and it wasn't his own.

Charlie looked to him with both surprise and sympathy. "…You were close?" she dared to ask.

"He was," Scott answered vaguely.

Now she was starting to understand. Now she had a little more context to how he had known so much about Freddy's, and why he had those dull scars on his cheeks. Charlie's voice softened, "Is that why-?"

Everything was silenced by the house phone beginning to ring. Both looked over at it like it was Springtrap himself barging into the room. They silently stared until Charlie gave a quiet, "I thought the phone was out."

"Maybe the line's back up. The storm's kind of dying out there," Scott offered as he stood and headed over. He was much more uneased by the fact that someone was calling this late, especially with what was on the loose. He took a deep breath and answered. "Uh… Hello?"

A dull thumping noise roused Natalie out of what was nearly a dead sleep. Groggily, she raised her head from where it had been tucked into the back of Fritz's neck and looked past him towards the window. There was something there, but she didn't get a good enough look before it skirted to the side and out of the way. She blinked a few times and tried to focus as she roused quickly, knowing that hadn't been her mind playing tricks. After a few seconds, she nudged Fritz in the side lightly.

"Hey, I think there's somebody outside," Natalie whispered to him. The man didn't even move, so she nudged him a little harder. "Fritz, I think there's someone walking around outside."

"You're probably asleep," the man vaguely answered. She frowned at him but paused in her efforts to wake him when she heard another thumping from around the sliding glass door. She clenched her teeth and sat up the rest of the way in bed.

"I'm going to go check," Natalie whispered before climbing out of bed. She crept to the door, stopping by the dresser to fumble over it before finding Fritz's heavy-duty flashlight. It was just weighty enough to be a weapon just as well as a source of light. She stepped out into the living room and looked towards the sliding glass door, but there was nothing there. She went over and checked to find it still locked. Content with that, she started to head towards the front door to check it as well.

Only to stop in her tracks when she heard what sounded like someone trying to open the window beside the front door. The shades pulled down she could only see the shadow cast from the outside light. The light had to be playing a trick on her, for the shadow was too tall and broad to be accurate unless the person trying to get in was monstrous. She could hear it rattling at the windows and then the footsteps as it climbed over the bushes outside.

Natalie hurriedly crept across the carpet to the front door right as she heard the footsteps outside and looked through the peephole.

Apparently, her suspicion had been correct; it was a monster trying to get inside. A tall, burned monster with rabbit features and a bared grin. Natalie's blood ran cold as it limped past the door and over to the garage. She barely held back until it was out of sight before bolting to the bedroom. She rushed to Fritz's side of the bed and began to shake him frantically.

"Fritz, get up quick! Springtrap's outside! Or I think it's Springtrap- whatever it is, it's trying to break in!" Natalie whispered in growing panic. It didn't take long for the technician to get the jest and shoot up in bed.

"Are you sure?!" She nodded confidently and Fritz scrambled out of bed. "The doors are locked, right?!"

"I think so… I don't know! It looks like he's trying the windows too!" The blond watched as the brunette leaned over and scrambled to look through the bedside drawer. "Do you have a taser in there or something?"

"I thought I did, but it's not- I must have put it in the van for the trip," Fritz said with a thick swallow. He knew that was where it was and straightened with a shaky breath. "Let's just not panic. Springtrap can't get in here, so we'll just go in the garage, get the taser, and hole up somewhere until either he leaves or sunrise… That way if he does get in then I'll be able to stop him," he explained with attempted rationality. He took the flashlight- Natalie handed it over almost reluctantly- and started to the door. "Wait here."

"I'm not letting you go out there alone! Don't even make me bring up how bad that goes in horror movie. Blondes and couples already die left and right, I can't afford a triple whammy!" Natalie whispered. She sidled up beside him. "We go together. Springtrap won't know what hit him."

"Well… If he stands in the driveway too long, I've got an idea of what might hit him," Fritz added with a tiny smile. A stressed smile nonetheless, which dropped as he turned and led them out of the bedroom.

They headed past the kitchen and living room, with Natalie grabbing a knife out of the strainer as they went. Fritz considered pointing out how little that would do on something like Springtrap, but the sour feeling of dread in his stomach convinced him to let her have that amount of security. He was just about to open the garage door when he heard noises from inside. He froze up as he heard a loud bang followed by the signature squeak of the garage door sliding open. He stepped back, pushing Natalie with him.

"He got in," Fritz whispered frantically. He shoved her back towards the living room. "Back door! We'll sneak out the back!"

Part of him worried about Chance still downstairs, but he had to get them to safety. Maybe Chance would be safe; maybe Springtrap wouldn't risk using the stairs. They sprinted back to the sliding glass door and Natalie unlocked the door and tried to open it, to no avail.

"It won't open?!" Natalie continued trying until Fritz took over, trying to brute force the door open. "I don't understand, it's unlocked! What could've-!" It was then that she spotted a broken broom handle shoved in the door's track and her eyes widened in horror. "Fritz, he blocked the door!"

"How could he-?" Fritz was cut off by Natalie grabbing his shoulder and pointing to the broom handle. Not only did that confirm that this escape route wouldn't work, but it suddenly suggested something much more devious: Springtrap was trying to keep them from running. "Okay, okay, new plan. We get downstairs now."

They turned and began to hurry back towards the stairs when the garage door was flung open. They stared down the short hall as the hideous rabbit stepped into their home and stared across the room at them. His eyes glowed in an unholy way as his gaze leveled on him. It was in that second that their worst fears were confirmed, because it was clear that he was there for them.

With a cry of, "Run!" Natalie made a break for the stairs with Fritz close behind. Both raced down them, hearing the footsteps following. Fritz noticed that Springtrap wasn't immediately following, as though he wasn't afraid of them getting away. Perhaps he had circled the house. Maybe he knew the only window leading out of the basement was too small to crawl through. They could hear a low groan from the rabbit as they disappeared down the stairs.

The technician hurried across the downstairs sitting room and barged into the guest room. "Chance?!" he called and looked around. But the black bear was nowhere to be seen. "Where-?!"

He bit his tongue as he heard the squeaking of footsteps on the stairs. Natalie rushed up to him and frantically asked in a whisper, "What do we do now?! We're not going to fit out the window!"

"I don't know!" Fritz looked around frantically before stopping on the door to the crawlspace underneath the stairs. "Maybe I have something under the stairs."

He could only hope there was another tazer or a tool for taking animatronics apart on the fly and rushed over. He dove inside, hearing Springtrap's heavy footsteps above, and began to dig through the uppermost box of electronic parts. He wasn't finding anything when he felt Natalie's back brush his as she skirted into the crawlspace and shut the slated door behind them. Suddenly this was their hiding spot and he stopped his searching, quieting down, and hoping that Springtrap would walk right by and leave the stairway open.

Fritz squeezed past her so he could look through the thin crack in the door. He saw Springtrap making his way over to the guest bedroom door that had been left open. He was dripping rainwater onto the carpet and each staggering footstep sent chills down their spins. If he just moved on to the next door then they would have enough room to rush past.

Except that Springtrap was much too aware of his surroundings. He looked around before stopping on the door underneath the stairs. Fritz knew he must've heard him looking for a weapon. The rabbit started to close in on the door and there was simply not enough time to get out. Or, at least, there wasn't enough time for both of them to get out, and there was no way Fritz would leave Natalie behind. He swallowed thickly as the suit closed in.

Natalie hugged him around the middle as she stared past his shoulder with wide eyes. Fritz watched through the crack with an equal look as he slowly reached out to grab for the edge of the door. There was no handle on the inside, so there was no chance he would be able to keep it closed. He was nearly shivering as Springtrap crept closer to the door. The odor of wet and burned fabric and muck wafted in as it stopped on the other side of the door. The rabbit leaned in with a squeak as a single eye looked through the crack.

Springtrap's eye fell on the two humans for a second before he drew back and threw the door open. Natalie gave a short cry and Fritz choked as the suit cocked its head and stared at him. It was looking for him, he knew it from how it stared, and he had only a second to brace himself.

Because then came a few heavy thumps and a black arm swinging out to clock Springtrap in the side of the head. The springlock suit staggered from the sucker punch while his attacker turned to the two humans.

"Run! Get out of the house!" Chance cried in a whisper. He waved his arm frantically. "Get out! Get out of here!" Natalie didn't need to be told twice. She nearly shoved Fritz out of the doorway and yanked him back to the stairs. The black bear watched them leave before turning back to see Springtrap righting himself. "You want a fight? I'll fight you, William. I'll rip that rabbit skin clean off!"

With the word 'William', Springtrap's head snapped up with his eyes widening and teeth tightening. He shuddered in anger before charging. Chance braced himself to catch him, but he wasn't ready for the maneuver as the rabbit caught him around the middle. He drove the black bear into the bookshelf in the corner so hard that it cracked in protest, and between that and the motion the black bear lost his balance and dragged Springtrap down with him to the floor.

That was the last thing Fritz saw before he was following Natalie up the stairs and towards the garage. The adrenaline was still pumping and forcing him along but as they arrived at the garage he slowed to a stop. Natalie grabbed her car keys and made a run for it, only to look back and find Fritz going into the back of the van.

"Fritz?!" She raced over and found him going through a toolbox. "Fritz, we have to go! Chance won't be able to hold him back forever!"

"I know, but this might!" Fritz grabbed his tazer and hopped back out of the van and hurried back inside. "I can't leave Chance with him, he'll kill him!"

"Fritz, he'll kill you! You can fix Chance! Fritz?! Fritz!" But her calls fell on deaf ears. He was determined to go back. "What am I supposed to do?! Why is this happening now?!" Natalie muttered frantically to herself. She then threw herself into the van and began to scour for some sort of weapon. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything like the tazer that would magically stop an animatronic in its tracks. She would have to use something else.

Springtrap had gotten himself off Chance but was continuing to violently attack him. Fritz came around the corner to see him stomping on the bear's chest, trying to break through his hatch, and when it didn't work, he instead changed targets. He kicked Chance's grabbing hand back, pinned it under his foot, and then reached for a glass candle holder off the bookshelf to bludgeon him. Chance wasn't helping matters.

"Do it, I dare you. You think I'm scared of you? It's not going to do anything. I couldn't get out of this body if I tried," he challenged in a whispering hiss. Springtrap's hand tightened in anger as he crunched down on his wrist and ground it into the carpet. "You're going to have to try harder than that, Will."

Again, Springtrap reacted violently to the name, and dropped onto one knee on the bear's abdomen. He grabbed Chance by the ear, even as the bear was trying to fight back, and raised the holder with the intention and cracking it right into his black eye. But in that second of hesitation Springtrap was able to hear the footsteps past his anger. He released Chance and turned just in time to catch Fritz's forearm, right before the tazer could jam into his side.

This took the technician off guard as his face twisted into a look of horror. The rabbit twisted and yanked his arm to the side painfully, just barely holding back from breaking it. It was enough to cause Fritz to cry out and lose his grip on the tazer. He tried to grab for it with his other arm when Springtrap jumped to his feet, shoved Fritz back, and slammed his back painfully against the closest drywall.

Fritz flinched as Springtrap leaned in with that wide grin. He pinned Fritz's arms to his side, holding him in place, and even though the technician fought he couldn't get free. Chance was struggling to try and right himself behind them, yelling after them as he rolled himself over and tried to push himself up. Not that he would be able to stop Springtrap in time. Fritz was completely at his mercy, and that wide grin began to spread open with a low creak as the teeth slowly inched apart.

He could almost see what lay inside. He almost saw what remained of the man inside.

And then the teeth snapped back together abruptly and the rabbit twitched. Fritz flinched back at the motion, expecting to be attacked, but instead the animatronic's twitching was continuing. Its fingers tightened painfully as its joints creaked. It began to hunch forward with its eyes staring ahead and blinking violently. There was a static noise growing along with a new smell, one that almost smelled like burning plastic or rubber. Fritz's eye widened as the shaking stopped long enough for Springtrap to give a low groan of pain.

That was the same noise that Springtrap had made earlier. Added with the smell and the shudders it looked like he was malfunctioning. Like there was something broken inside of him that was actively short circuiting. "Is that why he's here? Is he breaking down?"

This thought was cut off by Chance finally getting to his feet and charging in. Springtrap yanked Fritz off the wall and forced him between them to block himself, with one hand digging into his shoulder and his fingers edging towards the technician's neck. Chance stopped right where he stood and stared, glared, but didn't move in further. His eye glanced briefly down at the tazer and back, and the rabbit's quickly to Fritz and back in a silent warning. The springlock animatronic started to back towards the stairs.

"You're a monster," Chance snarled after him. Broken music box noises rattled through his chest as his speaker wheezed in coughing. Trying to clear smoke out of lungs when neither existed. "You leave him out of this, Will. This is between you and me." The rabbit let out a wheezy sort of noise, but it vaguely sounded like a scoff. This only infuriated the black bear more. "You touch so much as one hair and so help me-!"

But Chance's whispers didn't travel as well once Springtrap went around the corner and began to back up the stairs. He continued to guide Fritz from behind, yanking him along and being the only thing keeping the man from tripping on the steps and falling backwards. They turned the corner at the landing and continued on, with the technician catching a brief glance of Chance watching them go. They stopped on the last step where Springtrap froze up momentarily. He trembled again, but not as much as last time.

Just long enough for Natalie to pop up behind him and crack him over the back with a crowbar. She was rewarded with a painful sounding thwack but little damage, as Springtrap immediately turned back towards her. He hooked an arm around Fritz's neck, cinching in enough to choke him, and deflected the crowbar's second blow with his arm. Springtrap then grabbed for the weapon which Natalie noticed and yanked it out his grasp. He started to close in on her as Fritz wheezed and clawed at the arm.

"D-Don't come any closer!" Natalie cried as she swung. Springtrap responded by bending over and grabbing the edge of the coffee table which he then proceeded to flip at her. She just barely scrambled out of the way with a cry as it crashed to the ground. In the second she had to back away, Springtrap drug Fritz over to the garage door. The blond noticed and dashed around the couch. "Stop! Fritz- No!"

Springtrap slammed the door on her hard enough that it made contact and knocked her back. In that second, he grabbed the metal shelf alongside the door and threw it on its side to block it. Then he turned and took a few plodding steps towards the open garage door, with Fritz fighting him the entire time.

"Spring- Michael, don't do this!" the technician frantically begged. "I don't know what you want but doing this isn't going to solve- oomph!"

The animatronic opened the van door and nearly threw Fritz inside. He wrenched his arm and pressed him in so tightly that the man's back was nearly bent over in the seat. The rabbit then leaned over him threateningly with those teeth spreading again. He could smell that burning scent wafting from the inside of the suit as he was hit with something else, a voice.

"Take me to his warehouse," Springtrap spoke in a raspy, forceful voice. Yet even through that threatening tone the technician recognized something else; desperation. Before he could even consider whether he should be sympathetic, especially since the animatronic seemed to be in pain, his voice lowered. "Or I finish what I started with the bear."

That was an obvious threat towards Chance, one that Fritz knew he would keep. And even if he was willing to risk it, who would say that he would stop at him? He obviously knew that Fritz could repair animatronics, so he would keep going until he found something that would work. Knowing he was out of options, Fritz nodded slowly with a thick swallow. Springtrap pushed him the rest of the way in and shut the van door before walking around to climb into the back.

Fritz didn't even try to run. He knew he couldn't.

Scott was reeling as Natalie babbled over the phone. One hand on his head, the other clutching said phone, and him silent with his mouth agape.

"And- And the last thing I heard was something about the warehouse and I'd follow him, but I don't have any weapons or anything! I think someone stepped on the tazer, because I can't get it to come on, and I thought Mike might- I don't know what to do!" The woman was hysterical and her cry for help had been unfortunately intercepted by the wrong person. Or perhaps the right person, as Scott felt the familiar weight of his own tazer reminding him. "What if he kills him?!"

"He- I don't think- I don't think Springtrap would take Fritz there to kill him. I mean, I hope not… No. He wouldn't, it just doesn't make sense if he did. But…" Scott felt his pulse quicken and blood pressure rise. "I'll go over there and see if I can… Talk him down." Charlie looked surprised by the comment, as was Natalie on the phone.

"I don't know… God, I don't want to leave Fritz out there at that warehouse alone with Springtrap, but he could turn on you just as fast. It could set him off and then he could attack both you- Maybe- Maybe you could take Ennard and Baby over there to straighten him out?"

The thought alone horrified Scott. Just imagining taking Ennard over there when he knew how aggressive the rabbit got towards the clown, and vice versa, and throwing Baby into the mix, especially if she caught wind about the delicate situation with Charlie. It would be a disaster. They could get hurt, Ennard could get damaged, and he was quick to try and concoct another solution.

"Wait, I don't have to do that," Scott insistently defended. "I have a tazer if I need to, but I can talk him down. Trust me, just-… Call Mike's cellphone and warn him. I have to go." He ended the call quickly, pausing as his hand shook on the receiver, and then turned back to face Charlie. "I know you heard that."

"Are you going to take Ennard and Baby over there?" Charlie asked. He shook his head simply and she couldn't exactly say it was a bad call. "Then take me with you."

"I don't think… He's not exactly… Well, you saw him."

"I did see him and I know he's dangerous," the Security Puppet agreed. "…But I also saw other things. He's paranoid. He can be distracted easily and will drop everything to follow noise. We could use that to our advantage if he's not willing to be reasoned with." Scott still seemed hesitant and she stood. "I know I'm not exactly as advanced as some of the others when it comes to defending myself." She nearly had to pry the bat out of the string wrapping it. "But just because I'm not as strong as Springtrap doesn't mean I can't use his weaknesses against him."

"That's… actually a really good idea and I'd rather not go alone… But aren't you afraid that something might- Aren't you afraid?" Scott asked with his own fear on his voice.

"I'm afraid," Charlie admitted, "but not as afraid as I used to be. He's not as scary when it's three against one."

"I guess not," Scott said with only the slightest more relief. "But yeah, thanks. I'm not really comfortable in going alone. Even if it is Michael- though Michael's never even liked me… Let's go before I talk myself out of this." Scott started to head over towards the door, with Charlie pulling her hood up and following. "Or before Ennard catches on and pops up. Whichever comes first."

The car ride felt much too short for Scott and much too long for Charlie. They discussed the plan, or what was their vague idea of one, on the way and stopped only once pulling into the parking lot alongside Fritz's van. They were here, just like Natalie had said. It was a shame too as Scott had never liked this warehouse. Still, he got out of the car and headed inside on his own. The overhead lights were out but a glow came through the shelves, which Scott followed until he spotted the source from the open office door.

Scott tried to keep his footsteps quiet as he closed in on the office. He could hear the clattering of what sounded like a toolbox and once he was within only a few feet of the doorway he could see Fritz's form. He was knelt by one of the lockers against the back wall and looking through something. It didn't look like he was in danger or frantic. Thinking that maybe Springtrap was somewhere else in the warehouse, Scott nudge the door open more.

"Fritz," the Phone Guy whispered. The technician's head shot up and he looked back at the other man. His eyes proceeded to widen in horror as his mouth dropped open. "Are you okay?"

"You're not supposed to be here. What are you doing here?" Fritz asked in a quiet, panicked tone. Then he suddenly switched gears. "You need to go home, now, please. Don't tell anyone I'm here, don't call anyone, just go home. I'm just working late." The lie took the man off-guard.

"No, Fritz, I already know. Natalie called me," Scott assured as he stepped in all the way. Fritz only looked more horrified as the man came closer. "Where did he go?"

Fritz's gaze suddenly moved to look past Scott and he knew he had made a mistake.

There was a slow squeaking as the door started to close behind him and Scott spun around to see Springtrap standing behind it. He had been there the whole time listening. Once the door was about halfway closed, he slammed it shut the rest of the way. The sound was deafening in the quiet room, and it signaled his only escape route closing off to him. Fritz had been trying to warn him. He could've walked off, Springtrap might've let him go, but that wasn't about to happen now.

"Oh no…" Scott took a step back and bumped the desk. His hands reached back to catch himself and fumbled blindly onto blueprints, but he was too busy staring at the state of the suit before him to notice. Soot and dirt stained it and there were more tears in the softer exterior. There was something in its gaze that made the man feel like he was in imminent danger. "I… Uh… Michael?"

Springtrap straightened abruptly, broken ears bobbing and shoulders squaring, and took a step closer. Intimidated, Scott started to slide around the desk, with Fritz watching in horror from against the lockers.

"Michael, I-I know I'm probably the last person you want to see, and I know what happened at your father's house and I know what going here, and I- I came to try and talk some sense into you because… This isn't you," the Phone Guy said shakily. His voice stuttered and stumbled, coming out more pleading than he intended it to, and did nothing to stop the animatronics' slow, methodical gait. "This isn't you, Michael! You- You would never do something like this… To anyone! N-No matter what. You weren't- You're not like that."

But Springtrap's eyes held that same look they had. He only stopped once he was standing over Scott. Even though he was only slightly taller than the average human he seemed to tower over him. Scott fumbled under his jacket and nightshirt to grab at his cross as his heart pounded underneath it. He had honestly thought he could reason with him. He couldn't believe he thought that.

"Michael, please," Scott nearly begged. Springtrap's fists tightened and his eyelids lowered like he was narrowing his gaze. It was only then that a new realization appeared.

"What if he's not Michael?" The horror that gripped Scott was unlike any he had ever felt before. "…What if he's William?"

Right as Springtrap took one last step in and Scott's foot bumped the wall behind him, right when it felt like everything was about to fall apart, something unexpected happened.

'Pop Goes the Weasel' played through the now cracked office door.

Springtrap's head snapped to the door. He stared momentarily before starting to step closer. Grabbing a heavy socket wrench that had been left on the desk, he opened the door the rest of the way and stared out into the warehouse. The music was retreating deeper inside, and he stared into the darkness like he was considering whether to follow it. Apparently the draw was too much as he stepped outside into the warehouse, shutting the door behind him, and prepared for a fight.

As soon as he was gone, Scott turned towards Fritz. "Now's our chance! We can just slip out the back!" he exclaimed in a whisper and gestured to the office door that led outside. "Or- Or you could just get yourself out and I'll stay and see if… If I can do something." But to his alarm, Fritz just shook his head in defeat. "What? Why?!"

"I can't. If I go out that door, Springtrap's just going to go back to my house and attack Chance… Again." Fritz swallowed thickly while Scott stared in alarm, more shocked by the other man's refusal to escape while he still could. "But you need to leave now. See all this?" He gestured to a spread of parts, tools, and blueprints on the desk. "Springtrap wants me to fix him. He needs me, but when he comes back he could turn on you, and I'm not going to let someone else get hurt protecting me."

"This is nonsensical to me. Help me understand this. You're not leaving because you're afraid Springtrap is going to walk all the way back to your house-."

"He broke into my house while I was sleeping, Scott! I almost slept straight through it! He would've just snatched me right out of bed if Natalie wasn't a light sleeper!" Fritz exclaimed frantically. The older man only looked more disturbed and the younger exhaled. "Maybe… Maybe Mari can stop him… He's got a way of getting through to other animatronics," Fritz offered desperately as he looked towards the door. "Maybe he can stop him."

But Scott only felt dread as he knew Marionette would do none of the sort. Apparently, Fritz hadn't noticed that ringing replaced the usual chimes. Neither did Springtrap, but they would know soon enough.

He could only hope Charlie could hold her own.