Almost Feels Like Home
Chapter Sixty-Five
The warehouse went quiet as Springtrap started to take his labored steps down the aisle. He limped when first coming out of the doorway, riding through another shiver of malfunctioning pain, but then straightened as he trudged on. He turned back only once to check the door and make sure the Puppet wasn't slipping into the office behind him. It wasn't, so he turned ahead and continued to search, listening for the music.
He believed Marionette would face him directly and he might've been right. However, it wasn't Marionette who made the sounds, and who was currently watching him through the shelves from the safety of the next aisle. With him away from the office, Charlie expected Fritz and Scott to rush out through the back. Yet she couldn't hear anything beyond some whispering from inside. They weren't trying to escape.
"Why aren't they running while they can?" An answer came quickly. "He must have done something to the door… Of course he did. He couldn't trust Fritz to not make a break for it when his back was turned. They'll have to come out this way, and they'll be right in his path again. He won't let them walk out of here without a fight." She turned around and leaned against the shelf as she listened to his distant footsteps. "…I need to stall him or stop him. I just need something less lethal than a taser…"
The Security Puppet's eyes began to gravitate to a large cardboard box on a shelf on the other side of the aisle. Considering that the line of shelves was mostly empty it wasn't surprising that she locked onto it. It looked like there were old animatronic parts stacked inside so it would be heavy. If something like that dropped on Springtrap from that height then he would maybe get knocked down, or at least stagger, and then she could deal with him while he was.
"A good enough idea, but how do I knock it down? I guess I could coax him over here, climb through, up the other side and push it through… He would hear me. There's no way I'd be quiet enough with him that close. And if he sees in the dark then he'll see if I climb to the top…" She could already hear him starting to come closer to her aisle. It would've been so much easier for Marionette; he would've just used his telekinesis to knock it down. "But I don't have powers like him… Right?"
It was then that a curious thought started to come to her. "I didn't think I had strings, but I do. Maybe I'm not so different than him. Maybe I just need to try?"
Charlie looked up towards the box. She wasn't sure how to do this, moving things with her mind, but she raised a hand and attempted to focus. She fixated on the box, flexing her fingers, springs and spools tightening, and tried to get it to move. Just a little, just the smallest bit, just enough to show she could, but to no avail.
She dropped her arm in defeat. "Okay, no. No mind moving powers."
Springtrap started to walk past the end of the aisle and Charlie quickly slipped back into the bottom level of the shelf again. She hid between an old vacuum and a box half full of plastic utensils. He didn't hear her as he simply looked down the aisle and, upon seeing nothing, continued towards the back. She dropped her arms onto her folded legs in relief. It was then, with her body hunched and hooded head angled down, that she noticed her one string still hanging out a small bit from earlier with the baseball bat. She lifted it in her fingers and had an idea.
Charlie pulled one of the attachments off the vacuum and threw it towards the end of the aisle. It clattered against some of the stacked chairs, catching Springtrap's attention and causing him to spin around and hurry over to it. While he was on the move, she quietly darted to the other side of the shelves and carefully climbed to the box at the top. She looked through the parts stacked inside before finding that a guitar that was sticking out was more stuck than it seemed. Just enough to be used as leverage.
She wound her string around her fingers and slowly coaxed more out until it looked like enough then guided the string to the guitar. Charlie planned on having to tie it to the item, so she was more than a little relieved when it willingly slid around the instrument like it had a mind of its own. Or like an involuntary reflex of some kind. Once it seemed adequately secured, she began to climb back down the shelf, stopping on each step down to take out more string. Her spools had never been so unwound and it felt odd, though not in an unpleasant or painful way.
Once back on the floor and sure the bottom shelf had a place to retreat, she knew she was ready. "Here goes nothing…"
The Security Puppet began to ring out the Puppet's warning music as she climbed into the bottom shelf. Within seconds she could hear Springtrap's approaching footsteps.
He was a little more cautious this time, becoming more suspicious of the music. He still followed the song and was soon looking directly at the spot where she was holed away. But he didn't notice the string hanging down, even when he was standing right underneath the box. Both of her hands held tightly to the string as she watched him slowly started to lean over. His face appeared in her line of sight; that wide, tight smile and those fixated eyes were aimed directly at her.
She yanked the string with all her might. He had only a second of warning from a rustling above before the box tipped over and came crashing down. It spilled parts as it fell and landed on him heavily, causing him to stumble. The guitar fell out beside his leg and she snatched it up as she slid out of the shelf and swung it at the back of his legs, hoping to knock him off his feet. Springtrap staggered but refused to fall.
"No good. Have to get some distance," Charlie decided. She tossed the guitar aside and stood, making a break for the other side of the aisle and diving through the space she had left.
Springtrap threw the box aside with a crash and went looking for her. He started after her when he noticed something she hadn't yet, that she was still dragging the guitar. In an instant he stomped his foot down and trapped it and her string underneath. Her string tugged before unraveling more, and even though she had made it to the other side of the shelf she knew this was a bad situation.
"Come on, release!" His foot was more on the guitar than her string, so it seemed like she could pull it free. Yet no matter how she tried to will it to it gripped tightly to the instrument.
Springtrap didn't give her the chance to figure it out and instead snatched up her string and gave a harsh yank. Her tightened spools sent her thumping into the shelf before beginning to release more. He was planning on reeling her in, and as soon as she realized that her music began again. This time the Marionette façade didn't hold up and instead 'Ring Around the Rosey' took its place. He perked as he heard it, now recognizing that something was amiss, and gave another sharp tug.
Her string was rapidly unwinding when she heard someone running and looked over to see Fritz and Scott appear. Fritz made a mad dash towards her and reached out his hand, to which she desperately reached back. Unfortunately, they couldn't get a proper grip by time her spool ran out and she was pulled through the shelf. She couldn't fight the sharp jolt as her spool attempted to hold its last bit of string.
Charlie was dragged out at Springtrap's feet. In a second he grabbed her by the shoulder, shoved her back against the shelf, and leaned in close to see underneath her hood. Now he could fully see her face and recognized right away that she was not Marionette but the other puppet he had seen at Henry's home. She stared back at him, the fear returning to her just as quickly as it had then.
Scott dashed around the corner and yelled down the aisle, "Stop!"
Springtrap's head snapped over, but he kept his vice grip on Charlie's shoulder. Scott swallowed thickly and took a few steps closer.
"She's not who you think she is. She's not Mari, a-and the only reason she's here is because… I brought her here. It's my fault, not hers." The springlock animatronic started to look back towards her, seemingly curious of her, and Scott didn't take that as a good sign. Animatronic fixation could always go terribly wrong. He needed to lure Springtrap away.
"Please just let her go," Scott begged. Springtrap looked back to him again, staring, perhaps considering using her as leverage like he did with Chance. "P-Please, she's not- she's nobody who's going to hurt you. Fritz already explained everything and I- I'm just going to leave and let him work, okay? Or I can stay or whatever you want. Just please let her go."
But he knew from the distant look on Springtrap's face that he was thinking. Springtrap remembered that Marionette had appeared very quickly after this puppet had been in Henry's house. That this puppet was the one living with Marionette at his father's house. She was close to the Puppet, who would no doubt catch wind and come after him after finding out what happened with Fritz. Unless he had a reason to keep his distance.
He had gone too far to go back now.
When Scott took another step forward Springtrap yanked Charlie in front of him like a shield. He readjusted his hands so that one was tightly grabbing her shoulder, dangerously close to her neck, and the other held her forearm tightly. His intentions were clear, and Scott stared in horror. Like with Chance before her he would use her as his personal hostage.
But the movement was just enough for Charlie to get her one arm into her jacket, which Scott noticed before looking back to Springtrap. He had to distract him and so he did in the only way he knew how.
"Michael, I'm sorry, but I have no choice…" The older man then looked past the springlock suit and further down the aisle. "Ennard! Baby! Grab him!" Springtrap recognized the names and turned back to confront the two animatronics who the man had commanded to attack.
Except that there was nobody there. In the second he wasn't paying attention, Charlie reached into her jacket, pulled out the taser she had hidden inside, and jammed it into his wrist.
What followed was sudden. Not only was Springtrap wracked in a surge of electricity but so was Charlie herself, even if it was a lesser current and only climbed her arms. It was painful enough that she ripped herself out of his frozen grasp and stumbled forwards, somehow still clutching the weapon. Scott and Fritz ran to her side immediately.
"Are you okay? How much of a shock did you get?" Fritz asked in alarm. Her voice crackled as she tried to answer and handed the taser off to him.
"I'm okay," she got out. "It stings, but I'll live." She shuddered as her internal metal quivered. "It was either him and me or just me."
"You did what you had to. Don't worry, you'll be fine… Him, not so much," Fritz remarked quietly as he caught sight of Springtrap. Charlie noticed he was looking past her and looked too.
Springtrap was seizing like the electricity was still coursing through his body. Joints trembled and his teeth locked and opened, chattering as his eyes stared ahead, and his limbs beginning to lock. Scott was the only one to recognize it, but it looked uncannily like a springlock malfunction even though his body was not in suit mode. The rabbit began to slowly bow over before his stiff body collapsed. He continued to shiver on the floor as he tried to fight whatever torment his body was going through.
"I… I didn't kill him, did I?" Charlie asked in dread. She stepped a little closer and looked at his state. That wasn't what she wanted, not even to her worst enemy or source of fear.
Fritz shook his head. "No. He's already got some sort of electrical failure. I think you might've just triggered it to flare up," Fritz offered as he looked at the writhing rabbit. "Think of it like pouring salt in a wound."
"I don't know about that. That looks a lot like his springlocks are malfunctioning… They don't handle electricity well," Scott offered.
"Springlocks don't handle anything well," Fritz pointed out matter-of-factly.
"I really didn't mean to do this… but I didn't have a choice," Charlie quietly defended herself. Though it didn't seem like either man was questioning it. "He was out of control."
"That is an understatement," Fritz affirmed. He then gave a winded sigh as Springtrap's shaking started to slow down. "…But he won't stay like this forever… Scott, I hope you were serious about Ennard and Baby being nearby, because we're going to need them to help lug him into the office. We can keep him in there and I can try shutting him down for now… And then he can be someone else's problem."
"He's, uh, still our problem. I was bluffing," Scott admitted. "But there's the cart, right? We can probably do this. Let's do this."
So, they did. Springtrap was pretty much unresponsive, so Fritz was quick to move in and shut him down manually through the neck. Then all three of them lifted and tethered Springtrap onto the dolly to move him into the office. It wasn't just that his body was heavy, it was also awkward and stiff, with his springlock malfunction causing all his joints to lock. It took them much longer than anticipated to move him into the office. The dolly was then sat down on the floor, Springtrap still bound to it, and they retreated quickly from the room.
Then it was just a matter of waiting. Fritz called Natalie and informed her of the situation, and then practically had to beg her to get her to not drive over immediately. He also called and informed Mike of the situation. Scott stayed even when both Fritz and Charlie gave him the option to go. He felt obligated to stay and waited alongside them.
It was only ten minutes or so before a car careened into the parking lot and only a second after that Marionette just appeared in the warehouse. Both Scott and Fritz jumped, their nerves still frayed, while Charlie- who was laying down- pushed herself up eagerly to greet him. He rushed to her and immediately started to look her over, lifting her chin and checking her face. His eyes had their pinprick glow to them and there was low static coming from his chest.
"I'm not hurt. I was just laying down to pass the time," Charlie reassured as she deflected his frantic onceover. "You're just as bad as Fritz," she lightly teased.
Marionette looked over towards the two men and simply asked, "Where is he?"
"Out like a light in the office," the technician answered. The Puppet straightened once more and Fritz's brow raised, "I don't think you should go in there."
"I don't care if he's my brother," Marionette started. His hands tightened into fists as venom spilled from his voice. "He's threatened too many lives tonight. He is not walking away from me this time."
Though before he could turn to leave, the warehouse door was flung open and Mike jogged inside and up to the group. "Alright, what's going on?" he asked, looking over everyone. "Where is he?"
"Out like a light in the office," Fritz repeated.
"Get up. You're waking him up and we're straightening this out," Mike affirmed. Fritz exhaled slowly, looking reluctant, but stood and drug himself towards the office. Marionette began to follow when Mike stopped him. "If Springtrap sees you then he's going to get defensive and fly into a rage. Let me talk to him first, then you can strangle him." The puppet looked like he wanted to protest while the man looked over towards Charlie to check on her. Seeing she was fine, he gave a simple, "Hey."
"Hey," Charlie simply answered. She got an uncomfortable smile, "Looks like the crocodile was right."
"I know. This night just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" Mike smirked at her before following Fritz. Marionette frowned after him, obviously disagreeing, but turned his focus back to Charlie. Then both looked to Scott as he announced his presence again by standing with a sigh.
"I guess that's my cue to leave. I don't really want to be here when he wakes up… Believe me, if anything's going to make him fly into a rage it's me." Scott rubbed over his neck and hoped that Springtrap didn't remember where he lived. "I should get back before Ennard realizes something's wrong and tries to trek over here. You guys take care." He started to head to the door when Marionette rushed to stop him.
"Wait, before you go… Thank you for everything," Marionette said graciously. He regained a warm smile. "Fritz said that it was your taser that Charlie used to stop him. Let alone that you came over here of your own volition when you knew that it wasn't going to go well. I appreciate that more than anything."
"It's no problem. You would've done the same for me if the shoe was on the other foot," Scott said and smiled back. He looked between them, "Here's to hoping next time happens earlier in the day?"
"I'm not sure. A six-foot-tall rabbit breaking into houses in broad daylight?" Marionette teasingly asked. He then looked to Charlie a little warily and added. "And we may still be looking at that if he isn't secured."
Scott paled and cleared his throat. "Let's hope that doesn't happen. Good night, you two." He then hurried out the door and shortly afterwards they could hear his car starting to leave.
"You held your own today. I'm very impressed," Marionette complimented as he turned his attention fully to Charlie. "Even had your first jolt. I hope it wasn't too painful."
"Only for a few seconds but I've felt a lot worst. Wasn't even as bad as the time I wrenched my elbow trying to jump off a swing. Or it didn't last as long," Charlie answered confidently. In hindsight, she really had handled that better than the last time she ran across Springtrap. She was proud of herself even though it didn't all go according to plan. Though there was one thing still bothering her. "I'm starting to get control of my strings, but no matter how much I tried I couldn't… Move anything with my mind." Saying it out loud sounded silly. "Nothing happened."
"I can't say for sure that you will get powers, but I also can't say I'm surprised they haven't appeared yet. It might take a little longer with how much physical control you have on your body," Marionette offered. He tented his fingers thoughtfully. "Though practice could always help."
"How exactly do you practice something like that?" Charlie asked with mild amusement.
"It starts with a lot of staring. Usually at paper cups or something equally light," the other chimed. "Don't expect to move anything with substantial weight right away."
"Wait, was the box too heavy?" It was odd; she never had been that focused on acquiring telekinesis, but that though roused a strange hope. She tried not to get those hopes up too high. "I might take you up on that. Maybe tomorrow. If we're not too busy installing bolt locks on all the doors and hatches and what have you."
Marionette gave a chime of amusement, but it seemed a touch strained. Almost like he wasn't fully convinced it was a joke. He reached out to put an arm around her and patted her arm comfortingly. Then they began to wait for what would come next.
Meanwhile, the two men were heading to the office. Fritz gave a yawn as he approached the door. "I'm exhausted. Let's just get this over with fast, because I need to get home and get some sleep."
"Same. I didn't come out of two hours of driving and one hour of macarena just to spend the rest of my night chasing rabbits," Mike agreed. Fritz stopped with his hand on the knob and looked back curiously.
"Huh, your mom didn't strike me as the macarena type," he remarked with another stifled yawn.
"She's not. Mari is. She's on a plane to Belize and there I am dancing in her living room. In hindsight, I should've stopped about twenty minutes in."
"We ought to get you home quick so you can get in a few more rounds before sunrise," the technician quipped before opening the door. His smile dropped instantly, his eyes popped open, and he slammed the office door shut once again. "He's up!" he whispered harshly. "I shut him off! I had him tied to the dolly! He's standing right there!"
"Wait, you shut him all the way down and he started himself back up?" Mike asked in equal alarm. "How did he do that?!"
"I don't know! I just… Hold on." Fritz tentatively started to open the door again and peer in. He caught a glimpse of Springtrap before a fan was thrown at him. He managed to shut the door in the nick of time. "Oh yeah, he's up, and he's definitely not playing around." The doorknob rattled as his hand began to shake. "If I go home, he's going to follow me back. He's going to hunt me down and bring me back!"
"Don't panic. We were going to wake him up anyway. Just- Okay, get away from the door." Mike pulled his friend away and took his place. "You just stay back. I'll go in and handle this."
"Please tell me you have a something if he gets out of hand…" Fritz half-asked.
"I won't need anything," Mike assured. Though then proceeded to mouth, "On my belt."
Then he started to open the door and head inside. He looked in just in time to see Springtrap snatching up the office chair with every intention of throwing it. The security guard was more than prepared to duck back out of the office, but to his surprise the animatronic just stared at him. He just held the chair in place, waiting for something. He had his back to the corner by the lockers, completely on guard and expecting a fight, and looking worse for wear. Mike slowly stepped into the office and shut the door behind him.
"Long time no see…" Mike cautiously began. He looked over the rabbit's burns and tears. "You're looking… Like you survived Freddy's."
Springtrap made a noise akin to an impatient sigh or groan and set the chair on the floor again. His hand rested on the back of it as he stared Mike down. He continued to stay silent which didn't surprise the man.
"Fritz let me in on what's going on," the security guard revealed. Even if he hadn't, it would've been clear from the evidence in the office. On the desk were things that Springtrap had stolen from the house; blueprints of his own suit, various replacement parts and spools of wire from the basement, and tools that had either come from the van or lockers. "But even if he didn't, I'm sure whatever state you left the house in would've explained enough."
Springtrap's hand tightened on the back of the office chair. Mike assumed he was starting to get agitated again. He couldn't say he was that concerned, not now when Springtrap couldn't handle a tazing.
"Things have changed since the fire. There was an incident with a guy named Dave Miller who tried to kidnap some kids, and now we've got detectives reopening the missing children cases and watching the restaurant. The people in this town used to forget things quick, but not this time. Too many opening and closing businesses, and clowns roaming the streets at night, and you're the last thing we need right now," Mike sized up the animatronic as he took a deep breath. "So, I'm going to make you an offer. If you- What are you doing?"
At first, he thought that Springtrap's shaking was out of anger, but that changed when the animatronic began to bow over the desk. His eyes widened and his body twitched like little jolts were running through it. This had to be the malfunction that Fritz said he had seen and now Mike stared at with surprise. Part of him had been half convinced that this was all an elaborate hoax, yet here was the evidence. Springtrap let out an agonized groan and leaned further forward as he rode out the shocks.
"…That looks a lot worse than I was expecting… You really are damaged, aren't you?" Mike quietly asked. The office chair started to slide under Springtrap's weight and Mike stepped in to grab it out of reflex. It wasn't like the rabbit was in a state to fight back anyway. Now closer to him, he could see that distant look as he finished riding out the pain. "I thought you were bluffing. What is this?" He noticed a loose wire jutting out of his elbow and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Open wiring. How long have you been walking around with this?"
Mike reached out and lifted the wire. Just as his fingers lifted it, even though he was touching it gingerly, Springtrap reacted violently. He snapped out of his post-pain daze and lashed out with the injured arm. It caught the man off guard and he barely got a chance to react before he was shoved into the lockers. It knocked the air out of his lungs.
"Don't touch me!"
There was a long pause then. Mike fought the urge to grab for his taser as Springtrap stared him down, returning the silent stare, both waiting. The clock on the wall was ticking so loudly above them that he could nearly count the seconds that slowly ticked by. Then Springtrap slowly drew away his arm and stepped back to the desk. He stood tall, he was obviously not fearful of the guard, but he gave the distance. Mike slowly pulled off the lockers and took a single step back.
"That couldn't have been from Marionette. I know you didn't leave Henry's house like this," Mike said firmly. "What was it? Did you get in a fight? Did you get hurt climbing around in the tunnels?" Now that he knew Springtrap was still capable of speech he intended to get the truth. The suit still seemed defiant in its silence. Mike narrowed his gaze again. "Work with me, Michael."
That was the first time that Springtrap had broken eye contact. It was such a quick change that it couldn't go unnoticed. More long seconds ticked by. The hand tightened on the edge of the desk again.
"It was the humidity," Springtrap answered. It was the last thing Mike expected to hear- he almost didn't expect an answer at all. "It saturated the air. Rising out of that stagnate sewage and soaking through. It found its way into the holes and into the metal and wires that hold me together, eroding them, rusting them, fraying, wearing down until the circuits started to break. The pain soon followed." His hand tightened into a frustrated fist. "Everything is rotting inside me now."
That colorful picture alone was disturbing enough without witnessing it firsthand. "You can't walk around like this," Mike affirmed with a shake of his head. Springtrap still wouldn't look at him. It was almost like he was ashamed to admit to the weakness. This also put Mike in a very uncomfortable situation where he was looking at Fritz's kidnapper, the man who broke into his house, and knew that he needed real help.
"I'll make you a deal right now. We'll put aside what you did tonight and I'll fix you myself, with or without Fritz," Mike affirmed. Hopefully with Fritz if he wanted to actually fix anything. "But here's the trade-off: you're never going to lay your hands on any of us again. Not Marionette, not Charlie, not Fritz or Scott, or anyone else. I don't care what excuse you have; you will not touch them. And you will not threaten them. And if you do, then you can look forward to spending the next decade dissolving in the sewers with the rats and the garbage."
It was clear that Springtrap did not have a choice in the matter. Mike just hoped he wasn't stubborn enough to refuse it or to try and fight again. By now it was clear that he had been worn down. Not by the man's words but by the spells of suffering. He was already beginning to twitch like another was about to come; they had only come quicker since the tazing. This was the only remaining option and he was desperate.
"Fine."
That was it. Just that single, stubborn agreement. Apparently he took more after Foxy and Baby than Marionette in that regard. It was still good enough for Mike.
"I'm going to need until tomorrow to figure out how we're going to do this. I'll be back in the morning, I promise," Mike agreed as well. He then turned to head to the door and stopped a few steps later. "…And just to be clear, I'm not doing this because I'm afraid of what you'll do if I didn't. I'm doing this because we both know Chance would've gotten me killed that night. Just consider this me paying you back."
With that, Mike left the office. He sent one last glance back to see that Springtrap had turned to grab onto the desk again as to ride out the coming fit. The security guard shut the door and allowed him to have his privacy. He then turned to come face to face with a very unsettled looking Fritz.
"I don't know if we can do it," he started, having listened in. Mike raised a brow in questioning. "Fixing Springtrap, I mean. And not because I have a mental hang up or something. I just don't think we're anywhere near qualified enough to repair a springlock suit. Let alone one that's had smoke damage, broken circuits, and won't stay down for more than two minutes."
"We'll figure it out. If we can't then you can just duct tape him up like you did with Chance," the younger dismissed as he passed by. "Come on, let's get going. We're already on borrowed time."
It was clear that Natalie wasn't holding herself together well. She was pacing constantly around the living room and into the kitchen, then to the front door and back. Occasionally she would sit down and stare at the television that she had turned on to pass the time for both her and Chance, but it worked for neither of them.
In the time he had been living with them, Natalie and Chance hadn't spent much time together. This was probably the longest they had spent in the same room. It wasn't out of any maliciousness, but because Chance usually secluded himself downstairs and kept quiet. He was certainly quiet now, sitting awkwardly in the armchair and trying to wait alongside her. He was nearly overflowing out of the chair; it would've been comical if tonight hadn't been such a harrowing ordeal.
Natalie was sitting again and was staring at an old sitcom rerun without really paying attention when she heard a noise from the garage. She perked and looked back towards the door abruptly, noticing that Chance too was looking back like he heard something. The blond sprung up and hustled over to the door before throwing it open. To her relief, there was the van pulled into the garage, and Fritz already climbing out.
"Thank goodness," she gasped out as she rushed over. "Fritz!" He opened his arms just a moment before she threw herself into them. She clutched onto him tightly. "You said you were going to call…"
"That would've ruined the surprise," Fritz playfully answered. He sounded so exhausted and she petted his hair and pulled him closer against her. "And I didn't come back alone."
Natalie tensed up at that comment. "Please don't tell me…" She slowly looked towards the van and waited expectantly. But instead of the back doors swinging open, he heard a car door close out front. She turned her head just in time to see Mike walking in. "Oh, it's just you! That's so much better than what I was thinking."
"I think we've had enough pop-ins for the night," Fritz assured with slight anxiousness. He managed to smother it down. "They're here on business. Have you seen Chance?"
Speaking of the bear, he was still currently wrestling with the armchair that he had gotten wedged in. He finally got to his feet with a stagger and just managed to keep from teetering into the coffee table. It had already survived one assault from an animatronic body tonight, he doubted it would live with his weight collapsing onto it. He could hear the softest pattering on the carpet, clearly not Fritz, and turned back just in time to see a familiar black and white figure standing by the garage door.
"Charlotte…" Chance sounded dumbstruck as his right eye widened in surprise. She shuffled on her legs a little bit but seemed to be alright, so he wasn't certain why she was there. "I didn't think you'd come back…"
"I wanted to see how you were. Fritz said that you fought off Golden Bonnie yourself," Charlie said as she came to the back of the armchair. "Did he hurt you?"
"He got in a couple of cheap shots, but it'll take more than that to take me out," Chance answered reassuringly.
Charlie smiled a little. "If it makes it any better, I electrocuted." This caused the black bear to perk. His eye widened again and then he closed his mouth in what looked the closest to a smile that she had seen from him.
"Atta girl! If anyone would find the soft spot of that-." The encouragement dropped abruptly as his mouth dropped open. "Wait, what were you doing with him?!"
His reaction surprised her, like he was genuinely that concerned about her welfare. Like he was acting like a protective grandfather. She wasn't expecting that. "It's a long story."
"I've got nowhere to be," Chance grumbled as he crossed his arms as best as he could. He completely ignored their last fight and fit right back into this role he had never been in before. Well, if he wanted that responsibility then she wasn't going to stop him. Maybe he would finally start to realize how proficient she was in her body- if she left out some of the details.
Meanwhile in the garage, Fritz, Natalie, Mike, and Marionette were all getting updated on the plan for the next day. A plan that Natalie especially wasn't fond of and wasn't afraid to voice her disagreement with.
"Just… How do we even know Springtrap's going to keep his end of the deal if you do fix him up? Even if he hasn't outright lied to our face, I'm having a little trouble trusting a guy who broke into our house and chased us around it," Natalie pointed out. Her irritation towards the rabbit was obvious and Fritz wasn't exactly doing much to ease it.
"I can't argue with that…" Fritz looked towards Marionette, who had his arms crossed and his mask twisted in a thoughtful frown. "What about you, Mari? He's your brother, do you think he'll keep his word?"
Marionette shook his head. "I couldn't say. I only really met Michael once, if we don't count when I was too young to remember." He rubbed over his mask with a tired look. "But judging on his past decisions, I can't even be certain that he won't turn on us afterwards. He's a mystery to me." He already sounded like he had little faith in the idea, though Mike had a feel that it was misplaced worry. Or frustration at his lack of control on the situation.
Now Mike offered his two cents. "Honestly, I don't think it really matters whether Springtrap is going to keep his word or not. Where's he been since you and Charlie found him at Henry's? He just split, disappeared, wasn't our problem. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if we fix him that he'll probably go off on his own again. Think about it, the one time we saw him since the fire he obviously didn't want to get caught."
"You've got a point there…" Fritz muttered as he glanced towards the door. He could still hear Chance talking in the living room. "Okay, but here's the thing: what if we really can't fix him? Like I said, I'm not qualified to work on springlocks, and fixing Chance's electrical problems took a lot longer than one day. Even with both of us working together we're in over our heads."
"It would be beneficial to have someone who knew more about these kind of repairs with you," Marionette vaguely answered. Fritz perked, thinking he meant he would help, but then received another cryptic look. "I think we both know a 'technician' who might be capable of working on Springtrap a little more efficiently… As long as Springtrap has no idea he's doing it."
"Please don't tell me you're suggesting the clown."
"If you have to ask, then you know that I am," Marionette said with a small, teasing smile. "What is the worst that can happen? Other than two animatronics tearing each other to bits."
"Now that would be a show for the ages…" Mike muttered. He exhaled with resolve before looking to Fritz. "But he's got a point. You should've seen Ennard crack open Baby when he was giving her a facelift. He knows what he's doing." He paused before looking to the puppet. "Or a broken clock is right more than twice a day."
"I know Ennard can do it, I just don't know how we can convince him to do it. He'll require a hefty bribe just to get him to a place where we can negotiate, and Springtrap would already have to be shut down for him to get anywhere close to him, but I believe it's possible," Marionette assured. "He's our best bet."
"…Well, I'm going to bed," Fritz abruptly announced. "If I'm expected to deal with the rabbit and the clown tomorrow then I'm going to need to get some sleep. Goodnight everyone."
"I'll be there in a second!" Natalie called after him. She turned back to Mike and Marionette and smiled at them. "I don't know how to thank you two for getting him back home safe."
"If you figure it out by morning then we'll probably still be here, waiting for Chance to turn Charlie loose," Mike pointed out. "But hey, that's what we're here for." As she headed off to bed after the technician, he turned to the puppet beside him. "I'm starting to regret turning down Mom's offer to go to Belize with her."
Marionette gave a chime but didn't say anything. His smile twitched momentarily before beginning to fall. He hesitantly looked over to his companion. "Mike… do you think-?" He cut his question off as Mike looked back at him. His blue eyes held weariness and exasperation, but no doubt. He wasn't second guessing his decision and he didn't show even the smallest shred of worry. So, Marionette let it drop, regaining his smile. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."
They would handle tomorrow when it came. It was already coming sooner than they wanted.
Mable: I think at this point it's not a matter of 'will this come back to haunt us' and more 'what gives us more time before this comes back to haunt us'. It's not like they could truly get rid of Springtrap for good. He always finds his way home eventually, whether he likes it or not.